YOU didn't hear the door creek or see a person walk into the room and stop by the mat to watch. No. The only thing you saw was your dad in front of you as he ran you through your usual drills with quick succession. And the only thing that could be heard was you calling each hit. Other than that, the whole room was silent.

Not once did your dad have to say any of the moves or explain what you were going to be doing next. With you two, there wasn't a need for words since you could read his body movement better than anyone else. And you knew what he was going to do next, just based on how he was standing or by a simple hand gesture. It also helped that you had been doing the same drills for the last three years and knew each of them like the back of your hand.

Ignis stood there almost in awe, as he watched the two of you work together. He had known that you had been training the whole time that you were gone. But he never expected you to be this good after just a short time. He smiled to himself as he watched.

He had planned on joining in on the floor portion before the morning run. But as he watched, he decided that perhaps he would do his after the run instead. Of course he was worried about what had happened the day before between the two of you after Noctis filled him in when he checked in on him. But as he stood there and watched, he almost started to doubt that anything had happened at all.

Especially as he watched your dad working with you and had you flying through the different drills without so much as a single pause. But it didn't look like you needed one. You smoothly went from one drill to the next. Your breathing was good. Your stance was still strong. And not once did you lose you focus.

In fact you didn't stop until your dad bowed his respects to you after the last strike. You smiled slightly, and returned the same respects. Then you both slightly laughed at each other as your dad pulled you into a hug.

"Not bad, for a teenager." Your dad jokingly said to you as he released you after a few moments.

"I could say the same thing about you, old man." You teased back.

He laughed back at you.

"Touché ." He said as you both turned towards your bags.

But just as he was reaching over to grab his water bottle, he saw Ignis standing by the mat.

"Morning Ignis. "  Your dad said before he took a drink. 

"You can join us if you like." He continued as he put his water bottle back down.

You quickly looked up and turned around. You looked over and saw Ignis standing there. You gave him a huge smile. He smiled back, but stayed where he was. You grabbed your water bottle, then jogged over to him.

"Perhaps later." Ignis responded as you stopped in front of him.

"Good morning." You greeted him with a smile.

"Good morning to you too." He replied as he gave you a quick once over.  "How are you feeling?"

"Good." You replied before you took a quick swig of water.  "Why do you ask?"

Your dad stopped dead in his tracks for a moment as he watched Ignis. He had known that Ignis would check in with Noctis before coming down. But he still wasn't sure exactly what they would talk about. Which was making him a bit nervous as he watched Ignis standing there by the mat as he talked to you.

"I'm just curious is all." He replied in a calm tone.

"We're fine." You said as you moved a stray hair behind your ear. "I'm sorry missed you coming in."

"That's perfectly alright." Ignis said as he smiled back at you. "That was quite impressive. You really have improved. Your moves are practically flawless."

"Thank you." You said as you looked down at your feet as you fidgeted your water bottle. "That's what not having a tv or anything else to do for three years will do."

"I suppose so." Ignis said as he smiled back at you.

"I'm heading to the other training room." You heard your dad say from beside you. "I'll see you at breakfast."

You quickly looked at your dad as you watched him walk past with his towel and bag over his shoulder and his water bottle in his hand.

"Alright dad." You called after him. "Don't be too long."

Paul simply waved with his free hand before he grabbed the door handle and walked out the door. You watched him go with a slight smile on your face. You then turned and saw Ignis giving you a curious look. You smiled back at him.

"What's that look for?" You asked as you took another drink.

"What other training room is he talking about?" Ignis asked as he searched your face.

"Oh." You said as you took a sip water. "He's heading up to the glaives' training room. He was able to make arrangements for himself and Clarus to spar with each other in the mornings."

"Really?" Ignis asked as he raised an eyebrow in shock.

"Yeah." You returned with a smile.

Then you dropped your head and walked towards your bag. "Apparently he's still upset with himself for yesterday. So he has now made it a point that he will only spar with another glaive who is his strength now." You answered as you walked.

"Then what do you call what he just did?" Ignis asked as he gave you a confused look as you grabbed your bag off of the floor and slung the strap over your shoulder.

"Oh." You said as you dropped your head again as you started walking back towards him.

"That?" You said as you walked past him without meeting his gaze as you headed for the door. "That was just his warm-up."

The cool morning air felt great on your face as you stretched out a bit as your got ready for the run. Noctis, Ignis, Gladio, and even Monica were all standing beside you as everyone was getting ready to set out. You smiled to yourself as you looked forward to this run. You had forgotten how much fun that you had had when you ran with the rest of the group. You had gotten so use to running by yourself over the last three years, with only the comfort of your music, that you were actually excited about the run. So now as you looked at your friends as they were chatting and picking on each other, you couldn't help by feel like you were going to be running with them for the first time again.

Once everyone was ready, the group headed out. The route this time included one lap around the citadel garden grounds before heading out the front gate. You had no problems keeping pace with everyone as you ran along the curving walkways in the garden. You were even chatting with Ignis as you jokingly recalled to him every single point that he had pointed out to you the first time that you had ran that route with him. He couldn't help by smile back at you as you tried to act serious with him, like he had that first time.

"Surely I wasn't that bad." He commented to which everyone chuckled at him as they jogged.

"Dude, you use to be as serious as a heart attack." Noctis said as he smiled at him.

"Use to be?  Who are you kidding, he still is." Gladio said with a smirk.

"I heard that." Ignis said as he turned and looked at Gladiolus while he jogged on the other side of you. "And someone has to keep a level head in this group."

"Ah huh." Noctis smiled back at him. "But perhaps you could try to relax every once in a while."

Ignis gave Noctis a curious look. "And how do you propose I do that."

Noctis chuckled as he brought a key out of his coat pocket. Ignis gave him a shocked look. You looked between the two of them in confusion. Then you saw Gladio's face light up.

"I was wondering if that was ever going to come up again." Gladio laughed as he saw the key in Noctis' hand.

"How did you.....?" Ignis started to ask.

"You aren't the only one with connections you know." Noctis said with a smile. "Besides, I am the prince."

You gave Monica a confusion look. To which she returned the same to you as she just shrugged her shoulders in confusion. Ignis sighed as he looked at the key before turning his attention back to Noctis' grinning face. Then he gave him a slight smile.

"Fine." He said as he shook his head. "It's not like we weren't going to be heading there anyway."

"Okay." You finally said as you stared at the two of them. "Would one of you mind explaining to the rest of us, what the heck your talking about? And what's with the key?"

The three of them laughed for a moment.

"How about I show you instead." Noctis said as he came to a stop.

Everyone stopped by Noctis and watched as he handed the key over to Ignis. Ignis took the key and slightly smiled as he ran his thumb over the shiny metal key. He seemed to be lost in thought for a moment as he looked at it. Then he looked back up at Noctis.

"You should be the one to do it." Ignis said as he handed the key back over to him. "After all, you were the one to find it in the first place."

Noctis smiled back and slightly nodded.

"You do have a point there." He said as he took the key back.

"Come on. Let's go." Noctis said then turned and headed back into the citadel.

You stood beside Ignis as everyone was standing by the windows in the back of the green house. Noctis was looking very intently at the windows. You weren't sure why, but you figured that he would show you in a minute. Then suddenly you watched him push open one of the windows that looked like it was locked. He smiled back at you as he pushed it wide-open. Then he smoothly slid through it. Your jaw dropped as you watched him disappear.

"Your kidding right?" You said as you turned and looked at Ignis.

"Unfortunately, no." He said as he pushed his glasses back his nose before he slide out himself.

You shook your head and took a deep breath before crouching down by the window yourself.

"Alright." You said and slid out yourself.

You were surprised when you were out and saw that you were now outside the citadel and standing near a staircase that led underground. You looked around as you tried to get your bearings as to where you were. Ignis stood there and watched you to see if you could figure it out.

Then he watched as you seemed to be focusing on several different areas around the grounds and knew that you were recalling the same maps that he had had to memorize for the citadel. Then you looked at the stairs again and slowly approached them as Gladio helped Monica stand up once she had slipped through the opening.

"This is one of the entrances to the maintenance tunnels." You said as you stared at the concrete stairs that led underground and to the right.

"Precisely." Ignis said as he gave you a nod.

"And that is exactly where we are going." Noctis said as he walked towards you and headed down the stairs.

"Wait, what?" You asked as you stared at him in confusion.

Then you stood there and watched as Ignis, Gladio and Monica headed down the stairs and out of sight. You stood still as Noctis approached you and grabbed your hand. You looked at him as he smiled back at you. Then he led you down the stairs and into the tunnel. The smell of mildew and dirty storm water filled your sinuses as you started down the long walk way.

"Are you sure you know where we're going?" You nervously asked.

"Of course." Noctis said as he squeezed your hand. "This isn't the first time that we have been here."

You gave him a confused looked but continued to walk beside him as he led you around the far corner. You then turned your attention to a door about half way down the hallway. Noctis let go of your hand as he approached the door. Then with a click of a lock Noctis turned to you and smiled as he opened up the door.

You were surprised when you saw the morning sunlight come pouring into the hallway as the door opened up away from the walkway. You gave Noctis a surprised look. He smiled back then gestured for you to go first. You gave him a curious look, but you did as he asked.

You were blown away with the beautiful view of trees as they lined a huge open field. You walked through the trees as you headed for the open field. You paused for a moment as you felt your heart start to race. You felt like you knew this spot. But it couldn't be. Could it.............?

Is this the park? You thought to yourself as you stared at the field.

You had to find out. So you quickly raced out to the open field. Once you reached the field you turned around and looked at the trees. You breath caught as you looked at the same trees that you had looked at for two entire summers as you waited for Noctis to arrive so long ago.

You stood there in shook as you looked at the trees. Then you stopped and stared as you watched everyone else walk out from the tree line as if in a dream. Your heart stopped as you caught your breath when you saw Noctis. You didn't think that you would ever see him walking out from those trees again.

You opened your mouth as you tried to talk, but your throat seemed to close up on you, as you felt all your emotions well up as a few tears started to fall. You put your hands in front of your face as you tried to keep from breaking down as you realized that it was indeed where Noctis had walked out of that whole summer. Noctis smiled as he saw your reaction. For he knew then that you recognized it.

But as he watched you he saw you fighting with your emotions as you were about to break down. So he walked up and wrapped his arms around you and pulled you close to him. You wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him closer as you felt the tears pour from your eyes. He pulled you firmly into his arms and dropped his head down to yours.

"Hey." He quietly said as he gave you kiss on the cheek.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize that this would upset you." Noctis said as he rubbed your back.

"I'm not upset.  It just surprised me is all." You finally choked out as you ran your hand through his hair. "But I'm glad you showed me."

Noctis smiled as he buried his head in your neck as he held you close. You smiled back as you pulled him in tighter. After a few moments you felt him nudge your chin. Then before you knew it, he gave you a gentle kiss on your neck, which sent a thrill through you as he slightly leaned back.

"So am I." He said as he put his forehead to yours.

"So I take it that you all know this place?" Monica asked as she looked around with a puzzled expression.

Everyone laughed as she gave everyone a confused look. You laid your head against Noctis' chest for a moment as you smiled back at her. You had actually forgotten that she hadn't been with the guys when they snuck out of the citadel to come play. So all of this wouldn't make any sense to her.

"When Noctis and I were little, we would meet up here to play. In fact, this is where we first met." Your started to explain as you slowly released Noctis.

"Oh?" She said as she looked over at him as he refused to let go of your hand.

"Yeah." You said with a smile. "When I first met him, he raced out of the trees and was yelling something crazy about my cat."

"I thought that she was attacking you." Noctis interjected as he glanced down at you. "At the time I have no idea what it was. All I knew was that it had snuck into the citadel garden.

Monica gave him a strange look. "Really?"

"Yeah." He answered. "I just happen to see a tail and had followed it all the way out here."

"Then after he realized it was a cat," you interjected as you slightly squeezed his hand "he backed off.  And then we introduced ourselves and made plans to play the next day."

"Then after that, we would secretly met up and play everyday." Noctis continued.

"That was until a certain someone followed him one day." You said as you glanced at Ignis.

Ignis dropped his head as he started to get uncomfortable. You looked at him as he moved his glasses further up on his face with his nose.  But he didn't met your eyes. Even though you you could tell that he was trying to remain unfazed.

"On that day I got to met not only Ignis, but also Gladio as well." You said as you smiled at Gladio who gave you a slight smile back.

"Of course these three had me convinced that they were brothers." You said as you gestured towards the three of them.

"I found out the real truth later." You said as you watched the three of them shift uncomfortable.

"But since that day, I have found out that they are more than just brothers." You said as you gave them all a smile as they slowly looked up at you.

"They are each other's protectors, teachers, counselors, and best friends." You said then watched them each get a slight smile across their faces.

"So now you know the whole story." You said to Monica before you turned back to Noctis.

"I've been wondering how they met you." Monica said as she glanced around at the guys.

"Although there is still one last thing to settle." You said as you gave Noctis a serious look.

"Oh?" Noctis asked as he gave you a confused look. "And what would that be?"

You turned more towards Noctis and gave him a teasing grin.

"Who can reach the swings first." You said, then quickly released his hand and took off at a full sprint.

Noctis chuckled then took off after you. Gladio laughed at the two of you then took Monica's hand and set off at a a steady jog as they followed. Ignis just shook his head as he brought up the rear. But despite himself, he couldn't help but to smile as he remembered watching the two of you racing to the swings the first time he saw you together. If someone would have told him then what the future held for the four of you, he wouldn't have believed it.

The metal frame for the swings slightly echoed as the two of you slapped your hands on the main support at the same time. You both stood there panting and smiling broadly at each other as you used the pole to support yourselves. Then Noctis started laughing as he stood back up. You watched him for a few then joined in. His laughter brought you back to those days when you used to come to the park just to play and have fun with your secret friend.

"I guess we have to have a tiebreaker now." He said as he walked closer to you and wrapped his fingers around your waist.

"I suppose so." You said in a low tone before you gave him a quick kiss.

Then you quickly turned around and grabbed the first swing.  Noctis gave you a half smile before he walked over to the next swing and sat down himself.

"Do you think that this can handle us like it use to?" You asked as you looked at the condition of the swing set.

The swings themselves had been replaced since the last time you had been there. But the supports seemed to be the same sturdy ten foot poles that where buried deep into the dirt to prevent them from popping back out. You were actually slightly impressed that they didn't even show a single sign of rust on them. You slowly started swinging back and forth as you watched the chains carefully.

"I don't see why they wouldn't." Noctis said as he watched you swinging back and forth.

He couldn't help but to get lost in the moment as he watched your hair fly behind you as you moved forward. Then it would gently fall back down as you would go back. He smiled for a moment as he remembered the times that he would spend with you at that very park, watching you swing as you were at that moment.

You were just as beautiful then as you are now. He thought as you turned and smiled at him.

"Hey Noct?" You quietly asked as you watched Noctis simply stare at you. "Are you going to swing or not?"

"I don't know." He said with a smile.  "I was enjoying the view."

You stopped your swing as you watched him.  Then you got up from your swing and walked over to him. He watched you with a smirk. You looked back down at him with a smile.

"Are you now?" You teased with a smile.

"Most certainly.'' He replied as you watched his eyes start to darken.

"Hmmm." You said as you gave him a mischievous grin.  "And is there anything you would change about it?"

Now he gave you a heated gaze.  "Certainly.  But I don't think that it's appropriate to do in public."

Immediately you felt your cheeks flush before you smirk again.  "Then perhaps we should find a more secluding location?"

"I like where this is going." He smirked back. "But how are we suppose to do that without letting on that that is the plan?"

"Simple." You said back as you leaned down close to his ear as the others approached.

"With one of our old favorite games." You said then you tapped him on his arm.

"Tag." You quickly said then took a step back.

"Your it." You finished, then you took off running.

Noctis got a huge grin on his face. But then as he stood up, everyone else also took off running. But he didn't look at them. Instead he focused right at you. But as he did. You stopped and grinned back at him. Then you looked at a tree nearby. Then right as he started towards you, you quickly warped over to the tree.

"That's cheating." He said as he turned to face you again.

"Who says?" You said with a smile as you leaned up against the tree. "I don't recall that being part of the rules."

Noctis narrowed his eyes, then he warped over to the same tree. But as he did, he missed you as you warped over to another tree. He then warped to that tree. But again you were gone and at a tree that was further away.

At this point, Ignis, Gladio, and Monica had figured out what you were doing and they had decided to just watch. Especially since none of them could warp. So they found a picnic table and decided to sit down and watch as you pushed Noctis to go further and further with each warp. Each time he would catch up, you would go to another tree, or to a pole. Even the water fountain was included.

Ignis just smiled as he watched the two of you play. He hadn't seen either of you do these type of drills before. But he could tell that you had done similar drills with each other. He just hadn't seen it, since when the two of you had been training together, he had been preoccupied with other tasks. But after watching for a bit he quickly lost sight of you as you both flew deeper into the trees.

You leaned against the back of a tree as you tried to catch your breath. You had actually forgotten how fast he could be with this. You closed your eyes for a moment as you looked up as you tried to slow down your breathing. But then just as you were starting to feel your heart rate slow down, you felt the tree shake.

Then before you could move, you felt someone in front of you. You slowly opened your eyes. You were slightly surprised by a pair of beautiful blue sapphires as they stared right at you. For right in front of you, stood Noctis. He had his hands on either side of you as he had you pinned up against the tree. He stared right at you for a moment with a slight mischievous grin.

You felt your heart rate start to sky rocket again. But this time it wasn't due to the workout. You smiled back at him as he leaned up against the tree as he looked at you. Then you noticed his eyes started to change a bit as he looked at you.

Then his smile dropped as he started running his eyes over your face as if he was restraining himself. Then he raised one hand and ran his fingers gently through your hair as he moved your hair behind your ear. Your ear started to tingle as he fingers gently glided around the top.

"Your right. This is much better." He quietly said as he looked longingly at your lips.

"Well now that we're alone." You said as you reached up and placed your hand on his cheek.  "What did you have in mind?"

Then without a word he captured yours lips in a heated kiss.  Your gasp was swallowed by him as he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you flush as him. He deepened the kiss by sliding his tongue against yours as he hungrily pleaded for more. Which you eagerly answered back by wrapping your arms around his neck and you ran your fingers into the back of his hair.

He moaned as he quickly darted his tongue into your mouth and started wrapping his tongue around yours.  You melted into him as you messaged the back of his neck. He moaned again and pushed you back against the tree. You could feel his need for you pressed up against you.

You had to move your head to the side as you gasped for breath. But you ended up moaning instead as his lips found your neck.  Your whole body felt like it was on fire as he hungrily kissed your neck.  But you didn't want him to stop.

"I could take you right here." He growled in your ear as he pulled you harder against his body.

You felt your whole body shivered at his words. But even though you knew that there was no way you could actually do anything serious at the park. You still couldn't help but to prop a leg on the tree truck. Which he quickly grabbed and lifted higher as he grinded against you.  The friction felt so good that you groaned deeply in his ear.

"Fuck. If you keep making sounds like that I might just have to take you here." He said in a deep raspy tone before he lightly bit your earlobe.

"If you keep doing that and I might just let you." You groaned back.

He responded with a deep rumble in his throat as he rocked his hips into you. Groaned back as your eyes rolled up into your head.  You felt an ache between your legs for more. And based on the his hard length you could tell that he wanted the same.

Suddenly both of your phones went off at the exact time. You both reluctantly pulled away.

"We should probably head back.  Their probably worried about us." He said in a strained voice.

"Yeah." You said as you slowly slid your hand down his chest.

Then he stood back up and moved away from the tree. You watched as he forced himself to move away. You could see his struggle, since his face became tense and his whole body seemed to be against him. It was as if his mind and body were at odds with each other.

"Come on.  We can continue this later." He quietly said then warped to a far distant tree.

You had to catch your breath as you watched him move away from you. You could still feel the heat from him in your gut. But it was a good heat. And one that you had longed for, for the last three years.

You stood back up and faced the same tree that he now stood at. You then glanced over and saw a tree that was further, so you warped to that one. Noctis smiled when he saw you whip past him and go further. He turned and faced you. Then he warped to a further tree as he tried to push his distance. You smiled as you nodded your head when you saw how far that he had gone. Then you grinned, and followed suit.

You each took turns warping further and further until you saw a picnic table where everyone else was relaxing. You smiled to yourself as you watched Ignis and the others talking among themselves. You then quickly warped up to the table and stopped right beside Ignis. He flinched back as he quickly turned to face you.

The whole table jumped slightly from the motion. Then again as Noctis warped to the other side of the table.  Which made Monica jump back.

"Miss us?" You teased.

"Next time you decide to go off like that, I would appreciate it if you would let us know so that we can setup a safe perimeter for you." Ignis said in a firm tone. "We can't help you if we don't know where you are."

"Many apologies Iggy." You said as you looked over at Noctis. "We didn't mean to worry you."

"Just don't let it happen again." Ignis said as he pushed his glasses further up his nose before he turned back to everyone else.

You glanced at Noctis and gave him a slight grin. 

Noctis gave you a heated smile before he turned his attention back to the others. "Shall we head back?"

"What?" You asked as you gave him a surprised look. "You want to leave without taking a dip first?"

Noctis broke into a laugh when he saw Ignis' grossed out look as he looked at the pond. "I think perhaps we should keep that to the pool from now on."

Gladio broke into a laugh this time. "Yeah Ignis didn't seem to keen on it the first time around either. I hardly doubt that he has changed his mind on that."

"Fine." You said back as you smiled at Ignis as you teased him. "I'll let you off the hook this time."

******Author Note******

I have to apologize that this one was late then I had planned. But I sometimes life steps in and takes over for a few months, or years in my case.  😞

But I do hope to keep up the momentum now that things are starting to get back to normal. 😁

So please be sure to come back and see how the shopping trip will go for our happy couple.

Thanks for reading. :)

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