Renovating the Heart (FFXV)

IX) Returning

The blaring alarm bursting from her vibrating phone was the first thing that brought Rue to her senses in the morning. The second was the instant panic that stuffed her chest and frazzled her heart. She threw back her covers and practically ran to the bathroom to wash her disgusting hair. She almost slipped to her death when she quickly hurried out of the shower and the sound of hairs snapping left and right hit her ears as she violently combed through her short, soaked hair. Ignoring the purring cat at her ankles, the panicked woman ran into her closet and pull anything that looked half decent off its hanger and threw it onto her bed.

One shirt was too baggy. Another had a hole front and center. Rue finished buttoning up a third and crinkled her nose. Not only did she look homeless, but she did not want to guess at what the stain on the collar was. Huffing, she threw the shirt to the ground and picked up a gray shirt, tugging it on over her head, adjusting the long sleeves, and chewing her lip as she looked herself over. Not exactly professional, but it would do. She strung a suspiciously cheap silver chain about her neck, almost clawed her eyes out as she put in her contacts, and tugged her way into some black pants.

"Definitely should've woken up earlier," she muttered to herself, throwing half of her hair up, grabbing her jacket, and rushing out the door.

Her legs moved as quickly as they could. People stared as she sped past at a high-speed walk, which was arguably more distracting than a run would have been. Rue checked her phone just as she passed the gates to the Citadel, breathing a sigh of relief. One minute to spare. Prompto stood in front of the towering doors, beaming at her as she breathlessly climbed the stairs.

"You alright?"

"I'm fine," she waved him off, crossing her arms uneasily. Suddenly, this didn't feel like such a great opportunity. She looked ridiculous, first of all, and second, she could hardly help but wonder why these two men had decided to help her out. Was it really all for Ignis? And why's this guy so #$%^ friendly? "Is he here?"

"He's been here for hours," Prompto laughed, scratching at his thick blonde hair that was spiked up into some sort of elaborate construction on top of his head. "And he still doesn't know that you're the one that took the job, not that that matters."

"It will for Rayne," Rue muttered, tucking her hair behind her ear anxiously. Prompto offered a smile.

"Well, there's nothing she can do to you now, as long as you keep up with Specs."

"Specs?"

"Ignis, sorry." Prompto stiffly turned and opened the door for her, following her inside. "I hate feeling like I'm leading you," he teased, slowing down so she was walking beside him. "You know where his office is, right?"

"Yeah," Rue nodded. "I know the basics of this maze. Doesn't matter that I've been here for months now; I still get lost."

"Oh, I do too," he reassured her, skipping a step energetically. Rue arched an eyebrow. If he was this energetic now, she couldn't imagine what he was like when he was younger. "Sometimes Rayne and Ignis make fun of me, but I like to think I go on an adventure every time I leave that silly little office."

"That's a nice way to view it," Rue laughed to herself, looking around at the familiar halls. The floors looked recently polished, always reflective enough to work as mirrors, and the paintings on the walls had been straightened and dusted off. It was almost as though the building reset itself just as she had.

"Okay, so," Prompto started as they walked down the hallway of Crownsguard offices. "Don't be offended if he comes off as grumpy—he's just like that. Takes him a bit to warm up to people." He laughed, shaking his head. "He treated me like some dumb kid for the longest time. I think Noct got on his case about it because after our graduation he got real nice real quick."