YOU woke early the next morning and started getting ready for the gym. You needed to work off some of your nervousness before you headed to the house today. Besides, it's not like you really got much sleep, even after the happy thoughts of having Noctis' company again. Which did let you get a couple more hours of sleep. But it still wasn't enough to keep your mind from starting to race again. Which is why you gave up and decided to head down to the gym instead.

You were a bit surprised when you opened up the gym door and heard the sounds of someone working on their strikes against the full body bag. But then you could hear a familiar voice calling out each strike just before you heard the hard strike of skin on canvas. You quietly walked in and looked over towards the bag and saw the person that you had expected. You smiled at him since your weren't surprised. For standing in front of the bag was your dad as he paused for a short break.

He was standing in his kick stance with his hands up as they were wrapped up in his hand clothes. He was only wearing his sweatpants. He had discharged his shirt on a count that he was covered in sweat from his workout. You stood there for a few minutes as you watched him in awe as he went right into his next set. You watched each strike as he flawlessly executed each one in quick succession.

Then you happen to notice something on his back that you hadn't noticed before. But then again, you wouldn't have seen it, since he hadn't had his shirt off in front of you in a long time. In fact the last time was when the two of you had gone to the pool to go swimming with your mom. But now you looked at him in shock as you noticed the huge scar that was right by his right shoulder blade. The scar made it look like he had been run through with a spear or sword.

Your breath caught for a moment when you realized that he must have been the one who was injured when they were attacked at the house. That would explain the blood on Snowball when she showed up at the citadel later that night. He must have somehow tossed her outside after they were attacked. You dropped your head at the thought as you heart started racing again as you recalled the events back on that day.

Then you glanced back up and looked at your dad when you heard him stop. Then he turned towards you as he went to grab his water bottle. When he saw you he paused and stared at you for a moment. That was when you noticed the scar on his right peck that was right on the other side from the other scar. Your jaw dropped as you realized that you were right. Your dad had been the one hurt at the house.

"I see your up as well. Good." He said as he grabbed his water bottle and took a long drink.

"This means I won't have to fight to wake you up." He said with a smile.

But he stopped when you didn't respond back to him. Instead you stood there and stared at him. He paused and gave you a curious look. He hadn't seen you stare at him like that before. And it was starting to make him nervous.

"You alright kiddo?" He asked as he took another drink before he closed the lid back up.

"Hooow......how....how long have you had those scars on your shoulder and chest?" You nervously asked.

You hated to be direct like that. But you couldn't think of how else to ask him. It's not like it would ever come up in a normal conversation between the two of you. Besides, your dad wasn't very good at reading in between the lines in any of your conversations. So beating around the bush with him would get you nowhere.

Paul froze in his tracks as he stared at his daughter. For that had been the first time that he had actually forgotten about those. He had been so into his workout that he hadn't even thought about you walking in and seeing them. For up until then, he had been very conscious to not show you.

He didn't want you to see them and start to worry about him. Or worse yet, remember once again that horrible day. It was bad enough that he had to live with looking at them everyday. The last thing that he wanted was to retraumatize you with the same sight. You had enough of your own scars to remind you of that day.

"Dad?!" You said with more force as you stared at him. "When did you get those?"

"That's not your concern." Paul said as he quickly walked over and grabbed his shirt off the floor to put it back on.

"Don't you do that." You said softly to him.

"Do what?" Paul asked as he pulled his shirt over his head, then back over his chest and back.

"Don't you do that to me again." You desperately said as tears started to form. "Not now. Not after everything that we've been through."

"What are you talking about?" He said as he grabbed his towel and started wiping his face as he tried to keep calm as he turned slightly from you.

"Don't you darn shut me out again." You pleaded with him. "You promised me no more secrets."

Paul slowly lowered his head and hands from his face. Then he dropped the towel on the floor as he felt his heart start to pound against his chest. This was one conversation that he had hoped that he would never have to have with you. He had been trying to avoid it at all costs. And yet, here you were bringing it up, despite everything.

"It's not a secret." He quietly said as he placed a hand on the metal structure that held up the body bag for support as he tried to steady himself.

"If it's not a secret, then why didn't you tell me?" You angrily pleaded again.

"Because I couldn't." He half shouted.

"I couldn't tell you about them. I'm......... I'm ashamed of them." Paul said is a quiet tone as he dropped his head.

"Ashamed.....?" You quietly returned.

"Yes, ashamed." He returned with more force. "Ashamed of my failure."

"These scars do nothing but remind me that I failed to protect my home...... my family....... even myself." He said as once again he started to see the haunting images again as he had answered the door that night.......

That night had started out simple for your parents, since they had decided to treat themselves and have food delivered from one of their favorite restaurants. But when the doorbell rang, instead of it being their pasta dinners. Paul had opened the door to a person who forced their way through the open door while holding a knife to Paul's throat. He had desperately tried to fight them off. But in the process, he had broken several lamps and family knickknacks when he got slammed up against the china cabinet hard enough to break the glass doors.

The force of the slam had knocked the wind out of him. He was then thrown to the floor in the dining room. But then when he tried to get back up, he was stopped short as a sword was stabbed through his back, right next to his right shoulder blade. The strike was true and prevented him from moving his right arm as the sword blocked his arm from moving since the shoulder blade was now jabbed off to the side. Plus the sword went through him and into the floor beneath him.

As he laid there, as he watched two other assailants come in through the back door, attack Lynn and restrain her. But every time he tried to move, the first assailant would push the sword back and forth in a way to open up the wound more. He had been forced to lay there in shame and in pain as he watched them tie her up and rip off her clothes before one of them proceeded to rape her right in front of him.

He tried to scream out and kick at them as he tried desperately to get to her. But to no avail, since all it got him was a gag and then he was knocked out cold with a hard blow to the head. The last thing he remembered before he blacked out, was him kicking the cat out of the house with his bloody boot. And Lynn's hauntingly desperate cries for help through her own gag.

Suddenly all of the frustration and hatred from that day came back to him in full force as all he saw was Lynn desperately trying to get away. His heart rate skyrocketed and his blood boiled again as he remembered her cries. Then his vision went black as he rounded on the body bag and drove his fist straight into the bag and punched a hole straight through the outside canvas. The impact seemed to echo around the room as he stood there panting. He didn't move for a few minutes as he tried to calm back down again as the sand came pouring out of the bag and onto the floor.

You heart stopped at his actions as your body jumped from the impact. You had never seen him that upset before. Let alone you had no idea that he was strong enough to break a bag. The sight actually scared you as you stood there gaping at him. You knew then that whatever had happened, was so bad that he physically couldn't talk about it. And his actions showed you that he wasn't even close to talking about it now.

"I'm sorry dad. I won't ask about them again." You quietly said before turning on your heel as you started to walk back out of the room.

"I think I'll just go for a swim instead." You said as you exited the gym. "I'll just see you at breakfast."

As the door closed Paul felt all of that fear and shame come back over him again. But this time instead of fighting it, he collapsed to his knees on the floor and wept. He felt like he had failed everyone. And with each tear and sob, he remembered every detail of Lynn's beautiful face as she smiled at him, laughed with him, cried when their children were born, and call out with pleasure from him. Only for them all to end in her screaming in pain and fear. And then silence as he had held her lifeless body.

~~~~~~~~~~0~~~~~~~~~~

You weren't sure how many laps that you had done in the pool before you had decided to get out. For you lost count shortly after starting. Your mind was racing to much to concentrate as your head was filled with thoughts of your dad. You had no idea how extent the internal wounds that he bore were until then. They seemed to still be as raw as the scars were rough on his chest and back.

You couldn't help but to think that that truly did change how much you were going to have to keep an eye on him. If the wounds were still that harsh, it explained why he dug in so deep into work at Altissia. You had to figure out a way to help him before he drove himself insane.

Little did you know that while you were doing your laps, Korn was watching you as he thought about what he had just seen. He had just come from the gym and saw the freshly taped up body bag. Along with the dustpan and broom sitting up against the wall near the bag. He knew that you weren't capable of breaking the bag. But then it made him wonder why you were in the pool and not in the gym.

There was only one explanation that he could come up with. Paul must had broken the bag after the two of you had had an argument. Of course he couldn't be sure without asking. But Paul's actions so far had shown him that he had been right to keep an eye on he.

"Uncle Korn," Ignis called over to him as he watched you through the open door, "have you seen (y/n)? I looked in her room for her, but she wasn't there."

"That's because she's been up for a few hours already." Korn said as he turned to face his nephew. "I've been watching her for the last half hour. And I do believe that she had already been in the water for awhile now. But she doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon."

"But I thought that she wasn't swimming just yet?" Ignis asked as he looked through the door at you as you did a flip turn off of the wall. "She told me that she wasn't going to start training again until about a week before the swim season."

"Well it looks like there may have been a change in plans this morning. And it looks like it may have involved her dad in the gym." Korn stated as Ignis watched you stop at the pools wall for a moment.

Korn put his hand on Ignis' shoulder as he turned towards the foyer. He slightly smiled at Ignis. Then slightly squeezed his shoulder before dropping his hand as he started walking back down the hallway. Ignis silently watched him with his mouth slightly open as if to say something, only to close it instead as Korn reach the door at the end of the hallway.

"Be sure to keep a close eye on them for me. Let me know if there seems to be a miss between them. I'll see you at breakfast." Korn said just before he disappeared behind the closing door as he walked through the foyer.

Ignis stood there in shock for a moment as he watched Korn walk away. He wasn't sure what his uncle meant about the gym. But perhaps he could get you to elaborate for him. It did disturb him though that you had been up for awhile now, when it wasn't even close to dawn yet. It made him wonder if you had gotten any sleep at all.

After the door closed, Ignis turned and walked into the pool area. You were still by the wall as you were trying to make adjustments to your goggles when he walked up to the edge of the pool. He couldn't help but take in your beautiful body for a bit as you stood in the water with your goggles in your hands as you worked in the straps. He had forgotten how good you looked in a swimsuit. But then again, he didn't seem to remember you fitting into one as well as the one you were currently wearing. He slightly shuttered as he became glued to the sight of your toned body that the suit seemed to accent in all the right areas.

He shook out his hands as they started to tingle with the urge to touch your bare skin and firm breasts. He was starting to be a bit envious of the thin fabric that was covering you up. He shook his head as he tried to gain control again. For now wasn't the time for that. He needed to make sure that you were okay.

As he got closer he could tell that you weren't quite yourself. You hands seemed to be shaking and your whole body was stiff. Everything about your posture told him that you were having a bit of a rough morning so far. Perhaps his uncle was right about you and your dad having a disagreement earlier. Which is the last thing that either of you needed at this point.

"Morning," Ignis said once he reached the wall right by you, "you're up early."

"I couldn't sleep." You quietly said without looking up at him as you tried to concentrate on the issue in your hands.

But it seemed that nothing that you were doing was helping you out. Your hands didn't want to work the way they should and your fingers kept slipping on the slick surface. Each attempt was just making you more upset with yourself since you couldn't seem to fix your goggles. Finally after your fingers slipping for the tenth time you felt your temper get the best of you.

"DAMN IT!" You shouted as you slammed your goggles down in the water.

"What's wrong?" Ignis asked as he slowly crouched down near you on the pool edge.

"My goggles just broke." You said in defeat as you turned around with you head down as you tried to hide the tears that were threatening to fall.

"And I can't seem to fix it." You said as you walked over to the wall without looking at him.

"Let me see what I can do." He said as he held out his hand.

You handed him your goggles without looking at him. You didn't want him to see the real issue in your eyes. For you knew that he would be able to read the fear on your face from earlier. And you weren't quite ready to face it just yet.

As he held your goggles, he saw that one of the head band straps had snapped in half. He slightly smiled to himself. He had had that happen more than once through the years. And he also knew that you knew how to fix this issue yourself. Which made him think that whatever happened this morning, must have been severe enough to rattle you to the point that you couldn't quite think clearly. He knew this wasn't a good sign since he already knew that you were nervous about seeing the old house again. Today was truly going to be a challenge for both you and your dad if this was any indication.

With quick and expert fingers, Ignis corrected the issue with your goggles and handed them back to you. You quietly watched him as he worked. As you stood there in the warm water, the cool air started to send goose bumps across your dripping wet upper body. But you didn't notice, since you seemed to be mesmerized as you realized how much you had missed how quick it was for him to be able to fix any issue that could come up. Then you dropped your head as you felt a bit silly that you couldn't get it yourself when he handed them back to you.

"There," he said as he handed back your goggles, "all fixed."

"Thank you." You said as you took them back and held them in your hands. "But I think that I'm done for now."

"Let me get your towel for you." Ignis said as he walked over to the bench, while you started to climb out of the water.

He grabbed your towel off of the bench and walked back up to you. Then once you were standing on the deck again, he draped the soft towel over your shoulders before he brought it around front. He looked at you as you kept your gaze from him. He gently placed his hand on your chin and raised your head so that you had to look him in the eye. You tried to look away but he only tightened his grip on you. The pressure wasn't harsh, but you could tell that he wasn't going to let you get away this time.

"Do you want to talk?" He quietly asked as he placed his hand on your waist after he saw the distance in your eyes.

"Not yet." You quietly said as you grabbed a hold of the towel and pulled it firmly around yourself.

"Is it your dad?" Ignis asked as he dropped both hands.

"Yeah." You quietly said before you turned and started to walk away from him. "But it's okay. Its practically a norm now. I'll meet you upstairs for breakfast."

Ignis stood there and watched you walk out the door. There is nothing normal about being upset with someone.

~~~~~~~~~~0~~~~~~~~~~

A short while later, you were walking into the kitchen where you found Ignis in a grey short sleeve pull over shirt and blue jeans as he stood in front of the flat grill. He was carefully laying down the bacon for the sandwiches that he was preparing for Korn and himself. He looked up as you walked in and grinned at you. You shyly smiled at him and walked up to him.

"It smells good." You said a you walked up and stood beside him.

"Thank you." He said as he glanced at you.

Then he turned back to the flat grill as he placed down two metal circles. Then he took an egg and cracked it on the edge of the ring before pouring it into the ring, then he repeated it for the second ring. You stood there and watched him for a moment and smiled to yourself.

"That's a clever little trick you learned there." You said as you watched him.

You then grabbed a couple eggs yourself and set the spatula on its sideways in the grill. Then you cracked each egg on the edge of the blade, then poured them on the grill. Ignis glanced over at you, as you carefully kept moved the eggs with the spatula as you kept them from getting to far away. He then watched as you set down a couple of strips of bacon yourself by your eggs for the same type of sandwiches.

"Can you watch those while I put in our toast?" You asked as you turned away from him.

"Would you mind doing four for me?" He said over his shoulder to you.

"Not at all." You said with a low tone before heading to the toaster and putting the first four slices in.

Then you set out the next four before you walked back over to the grill with Ignis.

"Can you watch my eggs while I get the oranges out of the cooler?" He asked as he gave you a side glance as you flipped over your eggs.

"Hmmm. I'll think about it." You said in a teasing voice before meeting his with a slight smile.

He narrowed his eyes as he smirked at you. Then he disappeared in the cooler for a few moments. Then just as he reemerged, the toaster popped. You then smiled at him as you walked back over to the toaster as he walked past you with a bag of oranges and a slight smile.

"Let me get these first then I can help you with the juice." You said as you approached the toaster.

You then traded out the bread and buttered the slices that you had just removed while the next two sets cooked. You then placed one slice each, on four plates before putting an egg and slice of bacon on each slice. Then you placed them under the heating lamp. After they were under the lamp, you placed a slice of cheese on each while Ignis turned on the juicer.

You turned off the grill after you put the last slice of cheese on the last sandwich. The toaster finally popped again with the last set of toast. So you pulled them out and placed them on top of each sandwich.

Once you were done with that, you walked over and joined Ignis by the juicer as he was holding a orange half over the rotating top so that the juice could be pulled from the orange. He smiled at you as you walked over to him. Then he removed the now depleted orange half and grabbed another to do the same thing. You looked at the table and saw that there were several oranges that still needed to be cut in half. So you grabbed a knife and cut up what you though might be enough for the four of you to get a decent amount of juice.

"Would you like a go?" Ignis asked as he gestured to the machine.

"Sure." You said then you went around by him and grabbed an orange half.

He moved off to the side and discarded his spent orange so that you could put yours on it. You tried to put it on the spinning tip, but it kept slipping in your hand. You tried to gripping it tighter, but then the machine started tearing the orange apart. But then when you relaxed, the orange would slip again.

"Here, let me help." He said then placed his hand on yours.

He moved his body behind yours so that he could better grip the orange in your hand. But as he gripped your hand, his body started to heat up from the closeness of you. He slightly lowered his head as he felt the heat starting to build up in his body. His hands were starting to tingle with the urge to touch you. The vibration of the machine was starting to drive the urge to compare the firm feeling of the orange, to the firm feeling of your breasts. The feeling was starting to win as he could smell a hint of your favorite perfume coming off of you.

As he held the fruit, he tightened up his grip slightly as he struggled against himself. He stayed there until the orange was depleted then reluctantly released it. You smiled after it was finished and you threw out the orange and grabbed another and placed it on the juicer to do the same thing. But this time, Ignis stood back and just watched.

You simply smiled as you continued to juice each orange half that was on the table. All Ignis could do was watch and slightly smile as you worked. He knew that he would have to keep his distance if he was going to control himself around you. Otherwise there could be something else cooking in the kitchen besides food.

That was when you heard someone in the dining room.

You dropped a spent orange in the garbage right as the door opened up to the kitchen. Ignis took one step to the side so that he could see your dad. You glanced towards the door to see your dad standing there. You smiled at your dad as you placed another orange on the juicer as you continued to work. He slightly smiled and started walking up towards you.

"I'll put away the rest of the supplies while you talk." Ignis whispered to you as he turned away from you and started gathering up the rest of the supplies.

"It smells amazing in here." Paul said as he stopped right beside you.

"Thank you." You said as you grabbed a new orange and continued to make juice.

You looked up at Ignis as he looked at the two of you. He nodded back at you as he opened up the cooler door. Then he smiled at you before he disappearing in the cooler to put away the unused supplies. You smile back at him before turning back to your dad.

"It'll be ready once we're done making juice." You commented to him as he stood there watching you.

"Sounds good." He said as he watched you for a moment.

"Hey. About earlier...." He started to say.

"It's okay dad." You quickly said. "I shouldn't have asked you like that."

Your dad stopped in his tracks as he looked at you. You looked back at him as you gave him a half smile. He stood there for a moment watching you as you continued to go through each orange.

"I know you'll talk when your ready." You quietly said as you threw away the last orange.

"But until then," you said as you slowly looked up at him, "I can wait."

Your dad gave you a slight smile before he placed his hand on your back.

"Thank you." He quietly said before he kissed you on the head. "That means a lot."

He then stepped back and smiled at you. "I'll be in the dining room."

"Okay." You half smiled back. "We'll be out in a moment."

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

Raging teenage hormones can be tricky and testy, even for the more sophisticated ones. And that certainly goes for a certain green eyed friend of ours. Who luckily is calm enough to restrain himself from acting on the pull that he feels with you. We wouldn't want a certain blue eyes prince to get jealous now would we? ;)

I do hope that you enjoyed this chapter. I know if was a bit odd considering. But then again, how else can I set up for the next stage correctly.

That being said, I hope that you will join me in the next chapter as Paul has to once again face his past and the events that changed his whole world.

Thanks for reading. :)

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