YOUR heart felt like it was going to beat out of your chest as the boat flew across the water. But it wasn't due to fear for once. No, this time it was for pure excitement. You were on your way home. And you were about to see Ignis again after three long years. The boat couldn't seem to go fast enough for you.  Plus you couldn't help yourself as you let the thrill take over and you screamed out your joy.

"Wooooooooo!  Hooooooooooooooo!" You shouted as you couldn't contain your excitement anymore.

Your dad looked over at you and chuckled. He hadn't seen you this excited since you got your cat.

It's great to see her happy again. He thought as he kept the boat at a steady course as it thundered across the water.

He watched for a moment then let out his own shout. "Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

You looked at him with a huge grin and you both shouted again as you raised your hand in the air as you let the excitement flow through you.

"Wooooooooooooooooooo!" You shouted over the roar of the engine as the vessel raced across the water.

Then you dropped your hand again and gave your dad a huge grin.  "Faster dad!  We don't want to be late."

Your dad chuckled at you. "It's already Full Ahead Flank honey.  So unless you have rockets to put on this, this is all she's got."

"Sooooooo speaking of the boat."  You started as you gave him a sweet glance.  "It's okay if I take it out  every once in a while, right?"

"Not in your dreams kiddo. You too young for that."  Your dad returned with a slight grin.

"But I'm sixteen now."  You added.

"And still to young to try and handle a boat this powerful."  Your dad added as his grin dropped.

"But I drove the gondolas hundreds of times."  You argued back.

"Yes you have."  Your dad said as he acknowledged that fact.  "But they only go about 5 miles an hour.  This boat can go up to 80 knots, or around 90 miles an hour to you.  There's no way I'm going to let you drive this at that speed.  Besides, you don't know how to handle it."

"Well I know someone amazing, who already said that he was going to teach me how to drive."  You said in a sweet voice as you tried to charm your dad.  "Why not start with the boat?"

"Who said that I was going to teach you?"  Your dad teased back.

You looked appalled at your dad.  He saw this and tried to hide a slight chuckle at your shocked expression.  You saw it and walked up to him and hit him on his arm.

"You promised."  You said in a hurt tone as you hit his upper arm again with your hand.

Your dad chuckled at you again as he held up his arm as he tried to defend himself from a third hit.  "I promised driving lessons in a car. Not in a boat."

"What's the difference?  They both have steering wheels and engines."  You said in a pouty voice as you dropped your head.

Your dad looked at you and grinned.  You always knew how to make him melt.  He then wrapped his arm around you and kissed you on your head.

"Perhaps I could squeeze in a boating lesson or two in there."  He said as he slightly rolled his eyes as he teased you.

Your heart leaped into your throat as you heard his words.  You then wrapped your arms around his waist.

"Eeeeeeeeekk!"  You slightly shouted.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"  You said as you squeezed him tightly.

Your dad chuckled at you as he squeezed you back.  "Don't thank me yet.  I'm not quite sure how I'm going to handle you driving a car yet."

You looked up at him and gave him a huge grin before you leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek.  "You will handle it fine daddy."

"Yeah....we'll see."  He said as he slightly rolled his eyes before he refocused back on the water.

"Your an amazing teacher dad.  I'm sure we'll be fine."  You sweetly said as you gave your dad a loving look.

Your dad gave you a side glance along with a slight grin.

"You can save the flattery for Ignis."  He teased back.  "I have had more than my share lately."

"That wasn't flattery dad."  You returned as you hugged him tight.  "That was the truth."

Paul tutted to himself then slightly squeezed you as his heart filled with his love for you again.  He may have lost half of his family, but he wasn't about to lose you.  Not at any cost.  That was why it had been so hard for him after losing Lynn.  He couldn't stand the thought of losing you as well. He didn't think that he would be able to live with himself if that happened.  Of course that was also probable why he was giving into you more then he use to.

And even though he trusted you and knew that you could take care of yourself in a fight.  He was afraid to have you out of his sight.  Which was why he had had so many eyes in Altissia.  He knew were you were at, at all times.  But in Insomnia, he was going to have to rely on Ignis and Noctis to keep an eye on you.  He took in a raspy breath as he thought about that as the Galdin Quay restaurant came into view.

"There it is!" You shouted as soon as you saw the round dome of the resort.

It was hard to see the pier though, due to the high number of boats that were on the pier. Several people got excited when they saw your boat getting closer.  Your dad eased back on the throttle and started scanning the pier for a mooring spot and for anyone looking out of place on the pier. You were after all back in Lucis, where it all started.

You started scanning the pier as well, as you tried to find Ignis.  You knew that Noctis and Gladio would meet you at the citadel.  So you weren't looking for them.  No, you were to be met by Ignis and Korn for pick-up.  The plan was to have lunch at the restaurant so that Korn could explain the plan for getting you both back into the city safety.  Then from there you would ride in with them to the citadel.  You were to stay there for a few days until your dad had a chance to get the house ready again.

Finally you spotted Ignis as he was standing by the light post at the end of the pier. Your heart leaped as your mouth fell open as you stared at his much taller, much stronger frame and more handsome than you remembered face, as he scanned every boat as it arrived. Then he looked over and spotted your boat. You couldn't breath for a moment as you watched him freeze then turn behind him. That was when you saw Korn standing behind him. Even he looked a bit older then before.

Your dad glanced at you when he saw that you froze in place. Then he followed your gaze to where they were standing.

"Ah." Your dad said. "There they are."

And with that, he slowed the boat down to a much slower speed so that it felt like it was sliding smoothly over ice.  But you couldn't seem to move as you were transfixed on how gorgeous Ignis looked.   He stood there in his khaki pants and white button up shirt, that had the top two buttons undone. He looked much older and stronger then when you had seen him last.

He had told you that he had been working out and getting ready for the swim season. He had even mentioned once that he hadn't missed one year of it since he started high school. And based on what you were seeing, you could believe it.

"Wow. I see Korn has had the same issues that I have." Your dad commented as he further slowed the boat down and started to make his approach to the dock.

"What do you mean?" You asked as you finally looked away from Ignis as you gave your dad a startled look.

"He's turned out to be quite the handsome young man." Your dad said as he continued to bring the boat closer to the dock as you watched Ignis walk over to the front of the boat. "You may have to fight off a few girls yourself."

You froze in place as your dad stopped the engines and went out to toss the mooring lines to Ignis so that he could tie them to the dock. You then dropped your head as you thought about what he had just said. For you hadn't even thought about that. He was 17 going on 18 now and a senior in high school. He was practically an adult now. You then looked back up towards him as you heard them talking as they tied the boat to the pier.

Does he even want to be with someone who is just a kid? You though as you closed your eyes tightly and dropped your head again.

"Alright.  Now that we're secure. Let's head to the pier." You heard your dad say as he walked back into the bridge area.

He paused when he walked in and saw that your head. He then walked up and put his hands on your arms as he tried to get your attention. But you just turned your head away from him as you balled up your hands as you tried to keep your hands from shaking. Your dad lifted up your chin with one hand. You slowly opened your eyes and looked at him. You could see the concern on his face as scanned your eyes.

"You alright?" He quietly asked as he searched your face. "You look scared all of a sudden. Did you see something?"

"No." You quietly said as you slowly shook your head as you dropped your gaze. "It's nothing like that."

"Then just tell me. You know that I'm no good at this stuff." Your dad said as he looked at you.

You slowly looked up at him. "What if he doesn't want to be with me anymore?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well look at him dad." You replied as you waved at hand towards the pier. "I'm practically a kid compared to him now."

Your dad gave you a huge smile as he ran his hand through your hair as he put it behind your ear. "You are more than just a kid. To me and to him. And you know that.  You have become a very strong and resourceful young lady. No one else could have survived those events without having nightmares for the rest of their lives. Sure we have our scars. But you were the one to save us."

You slightly dropped your eyes as you felt your cheeks start to heat up. You knew that he was talking about how you had rescued him, your mom, Chad's dad and Gwen's parents from the empire's holding cells. Well, almost saved your mom.

"And I couldn't be more proud of you. And anyone should feel privileged to know you." He quietly said in his fatherly tone.

"Your just saying that because your my dad."  You said as you slightly smiled.

"No. I'm saying that because it's true." Your dad said as he tilted your head up so that you had to look at him.

"And because I'm your dad." He said as he rolled his eyes in a joking matter as he released your chin again.

"You are the most important person in my life and I don't want you to ever forget that. You hear me?" He asked as he put his forehead to yours.

You slowly nodded. He smiled back, then he kissed your forehead before moving away from you.

"Now come on. I hear the fish is really good here." Your dad said with a smile.

You slightly smiled at his words.

"Not like we haven't eaten enough fish over the last three years to fill a sea or two." You joked back as you looked down.

Your dad laughed before grabbing your hand.

"I'll tell you what.  I'll buy you a cheeseburger at the first burger joint we see in Insomnia." He replied back to you.

You nodded as you smiled at him as you met his eyes again.  "That sounds amazing."

"Okay then.  Now come on." He said as he started to lead you off of the boat. "It's not nice to keep them waiting."

You smiled at him as you let him lead you out onto the open deck and into the warm summer sun. Ignis felt his breath leave him as he watched you walk out onto the open deck of the boat. He knew that he had to be prepared for a few changes that may have taken place since he last saw you. But nothing could have prepared him for what he saw as you walked out.

For as you stepped out into the bright sun, the light made your bare skin glow.  And your hair brilliantly shined as a slight breeze caught it and blew it away from your neck. His legs felt like jello as he looked up and down your trim body as it was being caressed by the smooth fabric of your dress before showing off your beautiful legs.

He had never seen anyone look more stunning in his life. His heart was racing and his hands started to tingle as they longed to touch you again. He had thought that you were beautiful before you left. But now he was having a hard time finding the right word to describing the true beauty that stood before him, except perhaps, angelic. Ignis took a deep breath as he tried to calm his nerves down again as he watched you approaching the edge of the boat. He finally stepped forward on shaking legs as he reached over to you to help you off.

You nervously looked down at the stairs of the boat and at the pier itself. It would have been easier to jump off. But since you had on heels, that option was out. So you looked around as you tried to figure out the most gracefully way to get off.  But as you looked around, nothing came to mind.

That was until Ignis reached over and grabbed you by your waist and lifted you off of the boat. His strong fingers firmly held you as they wrapped around your waist while he carefully lifted you off the boat and pulled you over to the pier.

Your whole body immediately started tingling from his touch and your heart seemed to beat in your throat as you placed your hands on his shoulders for support. Once he had you over the pier he pulled you in closer as he set you back on your feet. You slid your arms around his neck and gave him a huge embrace as you relished in his strong frame. He dropped his head as he closed his eyes and buried his nose in your neck.  He instantly fell under your spell as your sweet perfume filled his senses once again. The two of you stayed like that while Paul climbed off of the boat and stood talking to Korn for a few minutes.

But you didn't hear anything that they said since your ears were too tuned in to your racing heart as it matched the beating of Ignis' in his chest. His strength and warmth felt like heaven as he held you tightly. Your closed your eyes and let all of your fears disappear. Because if he really didn't want you, he wouldn't be shaking as much as you, as you stood there holding each other. He slowly started rubbing your back before he slightly lifted his head.

"Welcome home." He whispered in your ear in his sweet accented voice.

His voice sounded heavenly in your ears as you smiled and pulled his closer.

"Thank you." You whispered back.  "It's good to be home again."

Ignis pulled you in closer as he felt his heart tremble from hearing your voice again. He had spend many nights trying to remember your sweet voice in his head. But it didn't compare to the real thing. For your voice was the one thing that he could count on to calm him down and get him excited all at the same time.

And that's exactly what it was doing. For as he was enchanted by the calmness, he was also battling with the excitement as his hands longed to touch every inch of your bare skin as he could feel the heat trying to rise.

"Come.  We have already reserved a quiet table for us." Korn said in a slightly deeper voice then before. "And we have much to discuss."

"Sounds good." Paul said then turned to you and Ignis. "Then perhaps we could let these two catch up for a moment after lunch. While we talk in private over a few drinks."

"I don't see any harm in it. There's no rush to return today." Korn said as he shook his head. "Besides, Ignis will be driving us back. He does have his license after all."

"(Y/n) wants to get hers this year." Paul said to Korn as he looked over at you and Ignis. "I'm not quite sure how I feel about her driving yet."

"Don't worry." Korn said with a smile as he put a hand on Paul's shoulder.

"We can have Ignis help out with that.  But for now, let's go eat." He finished as he dropped his hand as he started to make his way back down the pier.  "You must be starving by now."

"Right you are." Paul said before he turned to you and Ignis as he started to follow Korn.  "Come along you two."

You slowly released Ignis' neck and brought your hands down to his chest. Ignis loosened up his grip as he brought his hands back down to your waist. You then looked up and meet his dark emerald eyes as they stared right back at you with a mixture of love and longing. He then reached up and grabbed one of your hands and gently kissed it, before releasing you with the other. His gentle touch was like electricity through your hand as you saw a flash of passion in his eyes before he turned to lead you to the restaurant.

You felt like you were gliding beside him as you both walked down the pier holding hands. Your heart and body were so light that you felt like you were about to float away like in some dream. So you interlaced your fingers with his so that you could reassure yourself that he was indeed right beside you and that you weren't dreaming. He glanced down at your hands and slightly squeezed yours before bringing it up to his lips and kissed it again as he looked at you. You felt your heart flutter at his action as his emerald eyes seemed to dance behind his silver rimmed glasses.

Ignis felt like he had just woken up from a bad dream as he held your hand again as you walked down the pier. Then as if you were trying to reassure him, you interlaced your fingers with his. He had to look down to make sure that he wasn't imagining it again. But when he saw your hands together, he raised them up so that he could feel your soft skin against his lips again.

As he gently kissed your hand, he saw that spark in your eyes that he longed to see all those lonely years. The sight was enough to ignite a flame that had been dormant for the last three years. You were indeed back.  And you still had that power over him that one else had, and he loved every aspect of it.

After yet another seafood lunch. Which wasn't really bad considering you had been eating fish for what felt like forever now. Korn went over the plan for the next week or so.

For tonight the plan was simple. Ignis would drive everyone to the citadel for dinner and so that you and your dad could get settled. Tomorrow you would get a chance to catch up with everyone else and check on the house. Then over the next few days, everyone would be helping with the preparation for the Founder's Day Celebration.

The celebration was to take place the following weekend. But there were still several things that needed to be taken care of before then.  And it sounded like they could really use Paul's assistance with those preparations. He was thee best security manager after all. And his expertise was going to be needed for this celebration. The rest of the citadel was going to help with putting out the decorations and set up the speakers and display boards for the announcers to use.  All of these would be throughout the Main Street area. 

To you, the whole event was actually starting to sound like a lot of fun. There were suppose to be bands playing and vendors selling various products in different areas that lined Main Street.    Plus there was going to be various activities taking place near the shopping center.  And the entire area was going to be blocked off from everything to help security control the foot traffic for the celebration.

The whole thing would start off with a parade that King Regis and Prince Noctis would be featured in.  Then there would be the dedication to the founders, whose statues stood at various locations all across Insomnia. Then the celebration would continue as the bands would start to play until late into the night. At the end of the day, the celebration would conclude with a beautiful fireworks display that was to light up the night ski.

You smiled over at Ignis as your dad started asking more specific questions. Like; where would people be parking? Was there going to be a checkpoint that everyone had to go through first before they were allowed to enter? How many people where they expecting? Did they have guards post at certain inter-volts.  And so one and so forth.

You didn't really care to hear the details as you gave Ignis a sweet smile from across the table.  All you care about was being able to stay as close to Ignis as possible. And since you were both going to be assigned to keep an eye on Noctis. That was going to be the easy part.

"Why don't you two go for a stroll on the beach." Paul said as he looked at the two of you. "I need to talk to Korn about a few things."

You gave your dad a curious look as he sat there. He had never sent you away like that before and it made you a bit uneasy. He saw your expression and simply smiled back.

"Don't worry. It's nothing serious." He said as he tried to reassure you with a smile.

"Now go on." He said when you didn't move.  "I hear the beach is quite nice this time of year."

Ignis saw his uncle nod to him, so he stood up and held out his hand to you.

"It appears as if we are being dismissed my dear." Ignis said as he grinned at you. "So let's take our leave for now. Besides, a stroll sounds nice."

You looked up at him and smiled. "That it does."

You then took Ignis' hand as you stood up and said your goodbyes. Then the two of you made your way out of the restaurant and towards the parking lot. You could just barely hear your heels clicking on the wood slats of the pier as you made your way to the shore. Which was a daily long pier since the whole resort was out away for the waters edge. You smiled at him and held his hand tightly with one hand and wrapped your fingers around the same arm with the other. He smiled at you and simply led you down the walkway.

He was still having a hard time believing that you were right beside him again.  Even thought he could see you and feel your hands on him.  But all that did was make him want to confirm you were there in a different way. And he knew how he wanted to do this. But he would prefer to find a place where the two of you could have some privacy, just in case he lost control of himself. Which he could already feel would be his greatest challenge as his heart rate was already high and he was only touching your hand.

You glanced around a bit as you looked at the people on the beach as they were talking to each other. They looked like they were enjoying themselves for the most part. But you were disappointed that there were quite a few people on the beach. You had hoped to have a quiet moment with Ignis, away from prying eyes. For there was still one thing that you wanted from him that you didn't feel comfortable doing in front of strangers.

Of course you weren't even sure if he wanted the same thing or not. But there was only one way to find out. But first, you had a find a place that was a bit more private. That was when you noticed the cave up on the hill. But before you could say anything, Ignis almost seemed to be reading your mind.

"There seems to be a cave up there." He calmly pointed out, as his heart rate increased. "Would you care to investigate?"

Your heart leaped as you felt your hands start to tingle again.

"Sure, let's." You tried to say in a calm voice as you were starting to get nervous.

"Should I carry you over so that you don't get your shoes covered in sand?" He asked as you crossed the parking lot as you headed for the stairs that lead down to the beach.

You smiled at him as he looked at you with a hint of heat in his eyes.

"As exciting as that sounds, I think it would be best if I walked." You said as you returned the gaze. "We wouldn't want you to lose your footing now would we?"

"I don't think that's possible." He said as you watched his eyes darken as he looked at you. "But let us not temp faith."

As you approached the stairs that led to the beach and ultimately the cave, you paused for a moment so that you could removed your heels. You really didn't feel like trashing them out. Ignis paused for a moment as he let you hold onto him so that you could remove your shoes without falling. Then once you had them both off, you carried them in one hand and held his hand with your other one.

He smiled at you as he started to lead you to the cave. He could already feel his heart pounding in his chest as the cave got closer with each step. The sand seemed to help stead his nervous legs as they carried him across the way and into the cave. Already he could feel a change in the air, as the cool damp air from the cave seemed to kiss his face as you both walked inside.

You were glad that you had taken off your shoes before trying to walking across the sand. For the soft warm sand felt great on your feet. Even though you did have to pick up your feet a bit more since you seemed to sink in a bit more than Ignis. But you figured that this was because you had less of a flat surface to cover the sand as you moved across it.

You were grateful that the ground became firmer once you reached the inside of the cave. The sand inside the cave felt as cool as the air that was traveling through the tunnel like cave. You walked through the entrance and noticed that part of the ceiling was open to the sun above like a skylight. You looked around and marveled at the unique rock structure until Ignis stopped near the back of the cave, and out of sight of everyone.

Ignis slowly pulled you closer to him as his slide his hands around your waist and gazed in your (e/c) eyes. He felt his hands start to shake as you moved in closer to him. He then slide one hand through your hair as he moved it behind your ear. You closed your eyes, as the motion sent a thrill through your body as his finger gently touch your ear.

You could already feel your heart trying to beat out of your chest as you felt the heat coming off of him. He then slowly ran his thumb over your lips as he tried to keep himself under control as he tried to savor every touch. You slightly opened your mouth to the sensation as you felt the urge to kiss him skyrocket. You quickly exhaled as you kissed him thumb once it reach the center of your lips.

The motion felt like a torch had just been lite in his core as he felt your kiss on his thumb. What little control that he had, he could feel start to slip away as he slid his thumb over to your chin. He then slowly leaned in and was within an inch of your lips when his phone went off. You both jumped at the noise as it shattered the heated moment. He quickly looked down as he removed his hand and pulled out his phone. It was Korn.

"We have a change of plans. We need to secure their boat at the lighthouse before we can do anything else." Korn was telling Ignis as he had the phone to his ear. "Meet me at the car so that we can drive over and meet them there once they dock the boat."

"Understood." Ignis told Korn then hung up the phone.

You gave him a questioning look as he put his phone back in his pocket. He turned back to you and ran his hand through your hair again. He knew that this moment would have to wait for the time being. He just privately hope that it was only for a moment.

"What's wrong? Is my dad okay?" You asked as you gave him a worried look.

Ignis gave you a reassuring look as he ran his hand through your hair again.

"He's fine." He said as he marveled at how soft it felt. "But we need to head to the parking lot."

"For what?" You asked.

"We're going to take your boat over the lighthouse so that we can secure it at the dock over there. It's a hidden location that thankfully, only a few people know about. So the boat will be safe there." He said in a calm voice as he tried to bring his heart rate back down.

"Oh. I see." You said as you dropped your head as you felt your heart slightly break from losing the intimate moment.

"But not to worry." Ignis said as he lifted your chin back up. "We're not done here yet."

You gave him a puzzled look until he leaned in and gently pressed his lips to yours as he gave into the moment. Instantly you felt like your whole body was alive again as the electricity from the kiss shot throughout your whole body. He pulled away a moment later only for you to quickly wrapped your arms around his neck as you returned the kiss with the heat and passion that only he could bring out in you. Ignis heatedly exhaled as he deepened the kiss as he pulled you closer to him. Your body trembled as you parting your lips as you hungrily kissed him back.

Ignis quickly slipped his tongue into your mouth so that he could taste you again as he pulled you hard against him. The dept of the kiss caused a muffled moan from you, which added fuel to the fire that was burning in him. He hadn't felt like this in so long that he was losing control as his hands trembled from the urge to touch your bare breasts and stomach again. But this would have to wait. He argued with himself. And with much force, he slowly pulled away from you.

"We should be getting back." He said breathlessly as he fought to get his body back under control. "We shall have to finish this later."

You stood there breathless and shaking from the need to continue now. But you knew that he was right. They would be looking for you any moment now. And the last thing you wanted was for them to catch the two of you making out. They would never let you be alone again if that happened.

"Okay." You said as you looked at him with the raw heat still in your eyes.

His eyes reflected the same heat that you felt as you gazed at him. He then smiled at you and took your hand. Then the two of you walked back to the parking lot. Once you arrived, you and your dad headed for the boat while Korn and Ignis headed to the car.

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

My favorite part about coming back from deployment was seeing my family again after being gone for all those long months. No emotions in the world can describe the relief and love that you feel as you hold your loved ones.  Especially knowing that everyone was still safe and sound.

Well I do hope that you liked this chapter and I hope that you will come back to find out how hot things can get between our heroine and her hero.

Thanks for reading. :)

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