Author's Note: Thank you so much to everyone who waited the several months it took me to start updating this fic again!

Chapter Eight: Silence

{Noctis' POV)

"Come on dude, don't be so anti-social." Prompto whines in my ear as my downcast eyes remain on King's Knight. "Pick up a squirt-gun, let's do this! Me and Talcott against you!"

"Why would I wanna do that?" I rasp in unfeeling response, "It's two against one."

"Yeah, two normal people against one prince who can teleport." Prompto exasperates as he holds the barrel of his toy gun to my temple. "Let's go Noct, prepare to die!"

"No."

"Dude! Why are you such a joykill? We leave tomorrow, we should be enjoying the party that Cindy has so sweetly put together for us." His voice raises a bit, as if to make sure Cindy hears him.

"No." My thumbs continue to mull over the oh-so familiar controls

"How did Iris just spend like four hours with you and still come back smiling?" The blond whines as he resorts to petty comments. "I should have gone hunting with her, at least I wouldn't have sulked the entire time."

"Uh-huh."

"Let's go Talcott, he's not gonna change his mind."

"Thanks anyway prince Noctis!" The child calls from behind Prompto before blasting the blond with a super soaker. The two of them break into all out super soaker war and I sigh trying to direct all of my attention to my game. It's for the best, I have nothing to contribute to anyone's good time right now. I'd much rather 'sulk'.

"Come on cowgirl, talk to me." Gladio groans from behind me. Cindy is still at the grill, flipping burgers, brats, and hot dogs. She hasn't said a word since I sat down. She's really pissed about the car this time around. It's...weird.

{Iris' POV}

Hot water stings the bruises on my shoulders as I rinse the suds from my dark hair. I think I'm all cried out. It was bound to happen at some point. My brother would be every kind of disappointed in me. I've been hiding from him, I've betrayed our family name by overstepping my bounds with the prince, and I've put my feelings before what I know is right. Icing on that cake of disappointment would be that I'm feeling sorry for myself over it.

Wrapping a towel around my body, I bundle up my clothing and Noct's jacket before making my way into the room I'd been told to sleep in. The light door closes behind me with a soft click and I throw everything on the bed. I need to plan my outfit carefully. It doesn't take long for me to decide on a fitted chocobo festival tee-shirt and dark jean shorts over top of knee length grey tights. I towel dry my short, layered hair and comb through it with my fingers. Lastly, I throw on two leather bracelets and make my way into the kitchen. "Are you still doing alright, Ignis?"

"All is well, miss Iris." his answer is terse and he sounds sure. I shrug and salute before folding my hands behind my back and heading out into the yard. The wet grass actually feels nice against my bare feet and the smell of delicious meat hangs on the air.

"Look who finally decided to join us." Glady wraps an arm around my shoulders and rustles my already messy hair.

"Hey Glady. I was covered in mud, I had to get cleaned up." I hug him with one arm and press my cheek against his chest. "That smells amazing, Cindy!" I chirp happily though I have no appetite.

"Thanks shug, I hope ya like it when it's all done." Retorts the curly haired southern beauty without glancing back in my direction.

"Oh so you can still talk." Glady grumbles, "And here I thought you'd gone mute."

"Are you two still bickering?" My brow raises in question. "Over the car? Glady wasn't even driving-"

"PROMPTO IRIS WANTS TO TRY!" My brother shouts so loud I swear I feel my eardrums shatter.

"Wants to try wh-" A harsh stream of cold water smacks me in the face and Prompto cocks a large squirt gun.

"You get a five second head start, blondie!" A smirk graces my lips and I decide that this is a good way to take my mind off of Noct. Prompto breaks into a full sprint, I assume he needs to make it down to the lake in order to refill his super soaker. Five. My hands float above my head and I begin to stretch. Four. Glady is laughing as I bend to the right. Three. To the left. Two. My eyes shift toward Noct, he's still playing King's Knight. One. Like a bat out of hell I tear after Prompto on bare feet.

"Better run runt!" Gladio bellows, "I trained her!". There is a pride in my Brother's voice that breaks my heart. I don't deserve Glady.

{Noctis' POV}

Hearing Gladio shout, I look up from the game in my hands and watch Iris chase after Prompto. There is a fluidity in the way she moves. Every step is carefully planned before taken and her hands are always ready to grapple. She's going to wreck Prompto's world when she catches him. Every fiber of me wants to watch until she does, just to watch her move, work, smile...now that she's running around the yard, it doesn't look so bad. Now that her laughter has filled the air, Prompto's annoys me a little less. It's not that I don't care about my friends, I just have the rest of my life to know them, be with them, talk with them...every moment with Iris tonight, is my last. Damn it. Why can't I just quit? Why can't I just be done with this? I pushed her away, I called a quits! I ended it! I did the right thing…..only after doing all of the wrong things. Prompto is on the ground now, his face is in the grass and Iris has skillfully pinned his arms behind his back. After securing her hold she relieves him of his super soaker and puts it to the back of his head.

Prompto laughs loudly, "WHITE FLAG! WHITE FLAG!"

Iris smirks in response and says something that I can't hear. I just see her mouth moving. I can't do this. I'll slip up again. Standing silently, I walk into the cabin and wrack my fingers through my dark hair. "Iggy?" I question as I round the corner into the kitchen.

"Is everything quite alright, Noct?" The dirty blond responds sharply as he places a pan of cornbread on the stove along with several other dishes.

"Yeah, everything's fine, just wanted to know if you needed any help." I rasp.

Ignis pauses a moment before answering, "I see, and nothing is wrong?" His tone is incredibly patronizing.

"Uh…"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, Ignis. I'm sure."

"It is completely normal to be nervous about getting married, Noct."

"Not now specs." I deadpan.

"By all means then, when?" He adjusts his glasses and turns to face me with calculating eyes. "We leave tomorrow."

"Ignis-"

"If ever there was a time to straighten out your priorities, it has certainly come, Noctis." I hate when he gets like this. All traces of my friend fade into the black and he's nothing more than my confidant, lecturing me. I'm in no mood for it right now. I do what I usually do, simply refuse to have this argument. I'm not sure what he thinks he knows and at this point, I don't care.

{Iris' POV}

"Watcha doin?" Cindy asks softly as I kneel down in the dirt behind the cabin. I cast my brown eyed gaze in her direction and see her standing with her hands wrapped around the porch railing. I guess Ignis has taken over the cooking?

"I was just thinking that a garden might really add something to this place." my voice rasps softly.

"I was just about ta' head inta' town, gotta' grab a coupl'a things ta' protect that car from them' boys. Did ya wanna come, Darlin'?" Cindy cocks her head to the side and a smile graces her pretty pink lips, "Betcha' we could find some seeds for ya ta' plant."

"That sounds nice." I stand, dusting the dirt from my knees with my fingers.

"I'll drive." She shakes the keys to Cid's truck, they jingle slightly in her grasp and we head toward the vehicle. As we round the cabin and make our way into the front yard, Glady raises a brow, "Where the hell are you going?" my brother bellows.

"Into town with Cindy." I gesture to the blonde with my hand as I turn to Glady and keep walking backward. Cindy doesn't respond in any form or way.

"What for?"

"Seeds and car paint." I turn my back to him and Cindy drapes an arm around my shoulders.

"Leave us alone boys!" She speaks in Glady's general direction.

"Cindy! You crazy bi-" My brute of a brother catches up to us with ease and stands in front of Cid's truck in a way that says 'I'm not moving'. "You can't just grab Iris and drive off like this."

"We're just going into town." I state with a huff. This whole situation is so confusing. What is up with Glady and Cindy?

"Imperial troopers could-"

"Glady we're fine. Unlike someone I know, I will check in. We're going to be gone all of forty-five minutes. You had no problem letting me hunt with Noct-"

"Noct knows how to fucking fight!" He shouts and I feel it all over my face. Glady's skin is red and his chest is heaving.

"So do I!" I shout back. I am one of few people who would dare try to out scream Gladiolus.

"And so do I." Cindy finally adds her two sense. Her lips have set into a hard line and I've never seen her look so serious.

I shove past my big brother, "We will be back." I climb into the passenger seat and quickly roll down the window in an attempt to usher some of the smell of Noct and I out of the truck. Cindy takes the wheel and she doesn't seem to notice.

"I expect you to call me when you make it to town safely." Glady growls as Cindy slams her door.

"I said I'd check in." I mumble with a small amount of irritation. As we drive down the forest trail, I watch my brother get smaller and smaller in the mirror. "What is his problem today?" I look to Cindy, who I can only assume has some knowledge of the situation.

She takes a deep breath and tosses her trucker hat to the floor, "If I tell ya, can ya keep it a secret?"

Hurray, more secrets! I nod slowly, "Yeah, anything."

"Y'er brother and me've been seein' each other for a lil' bit now."

"What?" my mouth falls open, "When did-? How are-? Why didn't you guys tell anyone?"

"The fellas had ta' stay near Hammerhead while I fixed the ol' girl up that first night." Her green eyes fill with the sentiment this memory holds. "The other three fell asleep and out walked Gladio ta' check on me, ya know? See if I needed a hand. I told him ta' beat it." A small, broken smile graces her lips, "Told him that I knew what kinda' help he was lookin' ta' give...I was wrong. He ain't that kinda' guy. We talked all night...after that...I had the boys runnin' errands for me nonstop while they were in town, excuses ta' see him...it just happened."

My heartbeat fills my ears and I can't believe what I'm hearing, "Why didn't you guys tell us?"

"For a buncha' reasons." her hands grip the wheel as she draws in yet another deep breath, "For one, he wasn't sure we'd get along, y'er real important to him, ya know that, doncha'?"

"That's ridiculous, I don't see why he'd think that. I just want Glady to be happy, I'm happy that you two found each other." I'm also hypocritically ticked off that he kept it hidden from me.

"I'm glad ya' feel that way, Darlin'." Cindy sighs as we make our way onto the actual road. "Honestly, we were gonna be more open about it after the prince got married. That seemed real simple until everythin' went down. Insomnia fell, the king died, and stakes went up. Everythings' so complicated. There's just no good time to start a relationship right now. We didn't tell anyone because it could end up bein' completely pointless. Up until all this is over, he's gotta' put work before anything, ya know? He wants ta' be with me but he's gotta' get the prince to Altissia, see the boy get hitched and figure out the next part of his life. "

"Cindy." I am completely breathless.

"I was fine with all that, I said I'd wait for him. But then he ran off to fight some legendary warrior, talkin' bout' provin' himself...he coulda' died out there…" Tears line her eyes but refuse to fall.

"Is that where he went?" my voice catches in my throat.

"Yeah, something bout' Gilgamesh. He comes back torn all ta' hell and just expects me not ta' say a damn thing."

My heart sinks, it seems Glady is keeping a great deal from all of us.

"I'm sorry for layin' all this on ya, Darlin'...I just thought that y'er probably the only person I could talk to about' it."

"So it wasn't the car you were losin' your mind over...it was Glady." I place a sympathetic hand on her back.

"Don't get me wrong, they need ta' treat that pretty car with a lil' more respect but...no...it was him...and it's him I'm mad at because...I…"

"I wish I could say that I can't believe he ran off to fight an extremely dangerous battle all on his own without warning but...that sounds like him. So...you think you love Glady then?" I can feel the question in my eyes. "He's always going to be Noct's bodyguard...you will always be second-"

"Wrong." She smiles sweetly, "I'll always be third."

"Cind-"

" It will always be the prince, you and then me. And I'm okay with that." We turn down the road that leads into town. It's a straight shot from here. "I don't really care that everythings' complicated." She explains, "The best parts'a life are. He's real headstrong, stubborn...but he's smart and sweet as pie, in spite of the way he acts sometimes. We bicker, a bunch. He makes me so mad but...he's got somethin'. He felt….like he failed you and Noct not too long ago...he cried in my lap….and in that moment I knew...I love this man."

In the way she says it, I know she means it. Cindy loves my brother and that makes me happy. I want that for him. It just upsets me that he's forced her to keep it secret and that he's been so inconsiderate to her feelings. "I guess you just needed some air, huh?" I feel a smile play out on my lips.

"Sure did." she smiles as she shakes off her tears.

{Noctis' POV}

I sink into the depths of a hot bath. This is the only place anyone will leave me alone. The heat stings the scratches running down my back and I run my fingers across the bite marks on my chest and shoulders. On the sink counter, I've placed a small radio that was initially in the kitchen. I guess Ignis had been using it to keep track of media regarding the Crown City. Right now I'm just using it to drown out any noise outside the bathroom door. My blue eyes close and I draw in a deep breath. Silence is nice. Everyone just seems so loud today. They're driving me insane. A wave of peaceful energy washes over me, I could almost fall asleep right here. The radio cuts out a bit and a male voice repeats something fuzzy twice. "Ship" Static. "Imp-" Static. "Town-" Static. The third time it comes through a barrage of flickering static and radio interference, "Impe-rial dropship head-ing toward town spo-tt-ed off the co-ast of C-ape Ca-em."

{Iris' POV}

"So did you really do some of your brother's tattoos?" Cindy asks as we draw nearer to town.

"Several of them actually." I answer with pride.

"Ya' do some mighty fine work, Darlin'." We've been swapping Glady stories for most of the drive at this point. It's been a wonderful break from war talk and daemon hunting. I'm so happy for my brother, I can't wait for him to feel like he can tell me the truth about their relationship. Until then, I will continue to smile for him while playing coy. Though, I will have to punch him again for running off to fight Gilgamesh...and then get a high five because he friggan won!

"So what do ya think ya wanna plant back there?" Green eyes turn toward me and away from the road as she over-under-hands the wheel. We've finally made it to town.

"I was thinking it might be a good idea to start a couple of different gardens, one for medicine, one for food and one for beaut-" The blast comes without warning or sound. It swallows everything and consumes all noise with a piercing ring.