Chapter Text
They kept their wedding as small as possible, Luna’s better at being the centre of attention but she doesn’t actually like it any more than Noct does. It’s still not really small though and Noct had hesitated over asking Prompto to be his best man for that very reason.
Prompto has to make a speech.
He’s still so shy, even after all these years; not in the same disinterested way that Noct is but rooted in a more genuine worry that people simply won’t like him.
Unfathomable concept as far as Noct is concerned. He has yet to meet someone that genuinely doesn’t like Prompto.
Noct has never liked a person as much as he likes Prompto.
Well, maybe his wife but that’s different. Even Noct's ability to love his wife as fully as he does is forged in some way by Prompto.
But they kept the wedding as compact as possible, anyone that could not be invited without causing massive offence or incident was simply not invited.
Hopefully the extended tour of their honeymoon goes some way to appease those that hadn’t been brought to Lucis. Noctis would much rather spend two weeks on the beach in Galdin Quay but he’s the prince - is going to be the best King he can be, someday - and he wants to start acting like it.
“He looks nervous,” Luna murmurs to him, hiding the sentiment behind the lip of her wine glass. Noct knows there’s only sparkling water inside, had watched Luna talk over and over with her mother about how easy it would be for them to over indulge on their wedding day and all the various reasons why that's not a good idea.
“He’ll never forgive me,” Noct sighs.
Luna shoots him an indulgent smile. “I’m sure he’ll make you repay the favour,” she muses, “One day.”
“One day,” Noct echoes. When Gladio gets his ass in gear and proposes. Noct was so sure he was going to do it at graduation but he just hadn’t - Noct can’t fathom why.
“I shouldn’t have asked him to do this,” Noct says, “I love Ignis too. He’s used to this. It was selfish -”
Luna squeezes his knee.
“If Prompto felt unable to do this, he would have said so.”
“Right,” Noct breathes, “Right. Of course. You’re always right.”
“I try,” Luna teases.
Prompto’s sitting at the top table with them, though by nature of security measures and juggling people into a sequence to avoid arguments he’s next to neither Noct nor Gladio. He’s between Clarus and Sylva, with Noct’s Dad on the other side of his Shield. It’s wild that Noct has Gladio and Prompto here with him but they couldn’t make allowances for Ignis too.
Noct kind of hates it, but the wedding is much less for him and Luna than it is for everyone else anyway.
Gladio’s being a good sport, at least, humouring Ravus even though they famously don't get along very well. He always was the best of them at playing nice.
Ignis is still involved of course, unable to flip the switch in his brain that makes him ensure everything is running smoothly at all times. It’s Ignis that catches Prompto’s attention to warn him, signals to the attendant from his position at table one, to get the speeches started.
Ravus speaks first; standing in for Luna’s father and delivering a speech about as sweet as Ravus ever gets underneath the formality and woodenness of being over rehearsed. There’s some expectation for Dad to make a speech too, purely on the basis of him being King, but they'd all decided against it. Dad didn’t want to detract from Noctis and Luna - or make Prompto more nervous - and Noct really just wants his Dad to have a single day where he gets to be a father and nothing else.
Ravus takes his seat again and Gladio is nervous enough to fidget.
“He’s fine,” Noct murmurs to him, even though he’s feeling pretty much the same.
“Wish I could hold his hand,” Gladio whispers.
Luna leans into Noct’s space so when she speaks in her softest voice Gladio can still hear her.
“Your Dad’s there,” Luna reassures, “He and Regis will make sure he’s comfortable.”
“Have you heard his speech?” Noct asks him, watching from the corner of his eye as Clarus gives Prompto a gentle pat on the back so he starts to stand. Noct half expected him to pull out note cards or a ream of paper but he doesn’t, just gets up from his chair and squares his shoulders like he’s preparing for a fight.
“Um.” Prompto starts and Noct bites back a laugh. “So, hi. I’m Prompto for those of you that don’t know. I uh, was lucky enough to meet Noct – Noctis - at university a few years ago.” Prompto clears his throat. “All things told I definitely haven’t known Noct for the longest time, but I think, in a lot of ways, I know him best.”
In all the ways. Prompto might not know everything about him but he knows the important stuff, the stuff Noct’s never told anyone else, all the things he second guesses telling even Luna and Ignis. All those thoughts pass from Noct’s mouth through Prompto’s ears and he never shies away, never tells Noct he doesn’t want to hear or doesn’t have time for him.
“I don’t really know Noctis Lucis Caelum, the Crown Prince of Lucis - I mean I do, obviously. Shi -” Clarus coughs pointedly and Prompto cuts off with a nervous laugh. “I mean that I know Noctis as the college kid first and foremost and I think that’s how he’ll always be to me.”
“I wasn’t really sure what I was going to say, when Noct - Noctis asked me to do this because I’ve never even been to a wedding before. And to me Noct is just some guy I met at college with bad taste in video games -” Gladio snorts and Noct jams an elbow into his ribs - “And Luna, well – frankly she's far too good for him yet loves him just the way I needed someone to love my best friend before I could happily let him go to them. Everyone I asked just said I needed to be honest and wish them well, so.” Prompto looks at them, nervously grabbing for his glass and almost knocking it over in the process. “Noct, Luna. You guys are so special and so important. You're going to be the happiest couple in the world or I’ll be having very strong words with you that I can't say in such fine company.”
Noct laughs outright and Luna’s shoulders tremble where she tries to keep it in.
“You’re going to be amazing to each other. You’re going to be amazing parents. You’re going to be the most amazing King and Queen Lucis has ever seen -” Prompto turns to Dad so fast Noct’s surprised he doesn’t crick his neck “- you excluded, obviously, sir.”
Everyone laughs at that, pretty much, and Noct didn’t think it was possible for a room full of stuffy councilmen and foreign diplomats to all unite over one thing.
Of course it’s Prompto. Kind, charming Prompto.
They don’t ever talk about Noct being King. Noct doesn’t like to think on it too often and Prompto either feels the same or understands that he’s Noct’s only escape from that reality. So Noct’s never known if Prompto really thinks he’s cut out for it or not – his teasing to the contrary cannot be trusted - and Noct feels oddly choked, that Prompto would think to mention it now.
Luna slips her hand onto Noct’s thigh and gives him a squeeze.
“Um, anyway,” Prompto says, lifting his glass again, more decisively so everyone follows suit. “To Noctis and Luna, may you have as many happy years together as you deserve. Which is infinite, by the way.”
Prompto swallows his wine obviously too fast, desperate for it to be over. Both Noct and Gladio lean forward slightly to make sure he’s okay as soon as he's sitting again. They let out twin sighs of relief watching Clarus wrap and arm softly over his shoulders and speak quietly into his ear. Noctis leans back but Gladio doesn’t leaving himself obtrusively in Noct's space with a, quite frankly, goofy and lovestruck expression on his face as he continues to stare at his boyfriend.
Noctis puts his palm against Gladio’s forehead and gently shoves him back.
“Sorry,” Gladio says, sounding not very sorry at all. “He’s just so…” Gladio trails off, no words spilling forth to describe exactly what Prompto is.
Noctis gets it.
~ ~ ~
Noct’s seen him around before but they've never spoken.
No big surprise there as Noct hasn’t really spoken to anyone.
Half the students observe him warily, knowing full well who he is and the other half he’s too afraid to approach. It was extra bad the first week, when he’d had to bring his crutches to classes. Noct’s managing without them now, proved he’s capable, but he supposes the damage is already done.
Noct’s never really had to socialise outside of the Citadel before, barely ever made more than meaningless conversation with anyone but his Dad, Ignis and Gladio. Basic chatter with the Crownsguard and Kingsglaive during training. A few members more particularly than others.
And Luna, of course.
Noct wonders where the boy is from, not Insomnia, surely, with hair like that. Tenebrae, maybe. They take in a lot of students, from all over the world, so long as they have the grades and talents to be here. And the funds. Noct wishes they could do more about that part, but it was hard enough for his dad to convince the council to ease up border rigidity as it was, let alone asking them to help these people they deem outsiders.
The boy is a little frantic today, tripping into the hall right on the very cusp of late and collapsing into the first available seat. Right next to Noctis.
He’s still digging through his bag when the professor flicks on the projector and starts the power-point. Noct barely pays attention to that, instead watching the boy next to him produce a notebook before diving back into his bag. He makes a frustrated little noise then pushes his other hand in too, like he needs all ten fingers to dig up whatever he’s searching for.
He sighs and mutters a curse. His accent is kind of bland though markedly not Insomnia local; his vowels a little affected but definitely not the same drawl that Ignis and Luna display sometimes. Noct thinks he might just be from the outskirts, a country boy coming to make his mark in the big city.
“Hey,” the boy says softly, turning to Noct and fixing what turn out to be eyes a blue only one step away from lavender. He looks heartbreakingly guilty when he asks, “Can I borrow a pen?”
Noct blinks and hands over the pen in his hand without thinking. He does have another pen in his pocket but he's having trouble looking away from the positively beaming smile being shot his way as he drags it out.
“Thanks,” they say, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me today, you’re a lifesaver.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Noct mumbles.
The boy smiles again. Is that normal? Do people normally smile this much?
“I’m Prompto, by the way,” he introduces himself, not reaching out to shake his hand or anything. Noct likes that better than being forced to shake hands with clammy palmed old men.
Noct hesitates, not knowing if this guy knows who he is or not – not knowing if he even needs to introduce himself. It's probably rude not to, he thinks, either way.
“Noct,” he offers Prompto and the blond nods, mouthing the syllable like he’s committing it to memory.
- - -
[Noct 11:21] dude im so bored
[Prom 11:25] aren’t you in class?
[Noct 11:26] ….
[Noct 11:26] whats your point?
[Prom 11:27] literally nothing I guess
[Prom 11:28] is it that bad?
[Noct 11:30] weve been looking at the same slide for 11 minutes
[Prom 11:31] ouch
- - -
Prompto said he didn’t want anything from the coffee cart but Noct’s pretty sure he only said that because he’s tight on money in a way that means he’s slinging sushi for more hours a week than Noct can comprehend on top of all his classes. So Noct bought two coffees, one bag of mini donuts and uttered just one complaint that he shouldn’t eat them all by himself so Prompto would feel compelled to dig in too.
“Is that like…mandatory?” Noct asks, trying his hardest not to frown.
Prompto’s so busy already, rushed off his feet almost every day with the kind of frantic, barely keeping it together look on his face that Noct thinks is probably more common in third year’s right before final exams.
“No,” Prompto says, “But we get credit - or I will, next year. So I can ease up my class schedule a little.”
“Well that’s something at least,” Noct mumbles. “Can’t you start next year though? Isn’t it a waste of time?”
“I wanna start learning now,” Prompto says enthusiastically.
Noct isn’t sure he can relate to that. Part of Noctis coming to college was to learn, to prepare to be a passable King one day but mostly he just wanted to have a little independence. Or the appearance of it at least.
If he turns his head all the way left he’ll find a Crownsguard, dressed down in jeans and dark clothes to pass unnoticeable. Sharp focus reveals the sound piece in their ear and the way they just never quite relax like normal college kids. Or never actually go inside any lecture halls.
“You can do your first tattoo on me,” Noctis tells him and Prompto laughs.
“I’ll hold you to that,” Prompto says, pulling apart another donut before popping a section of it in his mouth.
“When are you going to talk to them?”
“This weekend,” Prompto says, “I’m not working until the afternoons.”
“They have an application for you to fill in?” Noct asks him. He’s never really had a job; has never had to apply for one – was just sort of born into a role he can't say no to.
He hadn't even applied for college. The crown had simply reached out to IU and they’d metaphorically slammed down a welcome mat.
Prompto shakes his head, looks a little less sure of himself.
“Just gotta go shoot my shot,” Prompto says.
“I have complete confidence in you,” Noctis tells him.
Weirdly, he means it.
- - -
[Noct 13:57] break a leg buddy!
[Noct 13:58] thats what you say to you arty types right?
“Why do you look so concerned?” Ignis asks warily. Noct looks up from his phone.
“You’re not supposed to say good luck to artists are you?” Noct asks.
Ignis takes the out of nowhere question in easy stride.
“That’s just actors and dancers,” Ignis says, “What’s going on?”
Noct turns back to his phone, tapping out a couple more messages before setting it down on the arm of his couch.
[Noct 14:04] okay iggy says thats just for actors
[Noct 14:04] so good luck! i guess
“Prompto’s asking for an internship today,” Noct explains.
“On top of his job?” Ignis muses. Noct hums in agreement.
“That explains why he’s not here at least,” Ignis says, “I thought you’d have him here constantly now you have permission.”
“Yeah,” Noct says, voice coming out a rough squeak for some reason. He coughs to even it back out. “Yeah. Soon. Prompto’s so busy.”
“I hope he’s resting enough,” Ignis ponders.
Noctis too, but he doesn’t know how to voice that concern to Prompto without sounding like a nag.
Is that bad? Noct doesn’t particularly like it when Ignis nags him but maybe that’s just because it happens so much.
“Did you get your homework done?” Ignis asks, as though he’s proving a point.
“My essay is written,” Noct confirms, “Letting it marinate for a bit before I edit and submit it.”
“I’ll look it over for you if you like,” Ignis offers.
Noctis snorts, “I can’t believe you miss school.”
“I miss learning,” Ignis corrects, laughing.
Noct glances at his phone, wondering if he missed it vibrating with a notification. He turns it over but there’s no reply message from Prompto. Noct sets it face down again, then quickly snatches it back up to turn the volume up so he can’t miss it by accident.
“What are we doing for dinner?” Noctis wonders.
“I hadn’t decided,” Ignis says, “If you have any requests I’m open to hearing them.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Not for too long,” Ignis warns, “Not if I need to go shopping for something.”
“Pie?” Noct asks.
Ignis sighs, “You never make it easy, do you?”
They both know it's a rhetorical question and Noct grins as Ignis snaps his laptop shut and rises fluidly to his feet, stepping through into the kitchen in a few easy strides.
Noct drums his fingers anxiously against his thigh.
How long does something like this take? Surely not long. It’s a simple yes or a no answer.
Noct takes his phone in hand again and opens his message with Prompto.
Is Prompto ignoring him for some reason? Noct doesn’t think so. He’s not done anything bad that he can remember; and he's not sure Prompto is the type to ghost people when he's upset anyway.
Silent treatment is more Noct’s style. A stuffy, shortening of responses is generally Ignis’ tell he's upset. Gladio’s the one of them to face things head on, barrel through any wall you try and put up and make you talk - or yell - the problems out until they’re gone.
Prompto probably falls somewhere in the middle of all of that. Or else he might just pretend it's not happening, forgive and forget before an apology has even been made.
Noct doesn’t know that he likes that. It means Prompto probably has been taken advantage of in the past.
Noctis should just wait until he gets an answer, his limited social acuity knows that. And yet.
[Noct 14:26] results?
Just something little. Something simple so Prompto is absolutely sure that Noctis is interested in what’s happening and wants to know what’s going on. That’s all. He's not nagging, not being invasive.
The next fifteen minutes seems to take an hour.
Prompto should be done by now. Surely.
What’s taking so long?
[Noct 14:45] dude don’t ghost me how did it go?
“Noctis,” Ignis calls, “What are you doing?”
Noctis drops his phone guiltily.
“I wanna know how it went for Prompto,” Noct admits.
Ignis smiles.
“I’m sure he’ll tell you just as soon as he knows,” Ignis says.
Ignis is right. Utterly, completely right. No question about it.
And yet.
[Noct 14:51] prrommmmmmmmmmmm
[Noct 14:52] telll meeeee
It’s the sort of text he might retract, if he could. But he put it into the world so now he has to live with it. Hopefully it makes Prompto smile and not anything else.
The Gods bless Noct just this one time because the reply text arrives just a few minutes later. With second and a third following before Noct can formulate his reply.
[Prom 14:55] I got it!
[Prom 14:56] well kinda. owner said no but one of the other artists took me on
[Prom 14:56] noct he’s so cool, holy shit
[Noct 14:57] dude. well done. so proud of you
“Good news I presume?” Ignis asks. Noct shoots him a thumbs up without looking at him.
[Noct 14:58] hope you still have time in your schedule for little old me
[Prom 14:49] dude i’m getting a NOCT stamp all ready for you to use in my diary
“Tell him congratulations from me,” Ignis calls.
[Noct 14:50] iggy says congrats too!
[Prom 14:51] aw thanks!
[Prom 14:52] i feel a little weird. like i can’t believe it
[Prom 14:52] is this really happening?
[Noct 15:53] of course it is!
[Noct 15:54] you deserve it
- - -
“I saw him interview for something else,” Noct says, twisting his phone around so Prompto can see the screen and make out the casting announcement for the newest attempt at making a movie version of their favourite video game.
None of them have been good yet. Noct’s not super hopeful for this attempt either.
“I just thought - I’m not sure what I thought. That he’d be more charming or something,” Noct tries to explain.
Prompto looks at his picture for a long time, expression mostly unreadable.
“I dunno. I think I’d let him fuck me,” Prompto says absently.
Noct blinks - lowers his phone.
Prompto’s eyes go comically wide and his face changes from his standard pale to scarlet red over the span of a few fraught seconds.
“Um,” Prompto says, “Forget I said that.”
Noct starts laughing and struggles to stop.
“That wasn’t how I planned to come out to you,” Prompto says, following it up with a mumbled, “I hadn’t actually planned on doing that at all.”
Noctis tries to get himself under control again.
“Why not?” Noctis asks him, curious now.
Gladio and Ignis had never come out to him, either, but it hadn't really been necessary. Ignis has never looked at a woman with interest once in his entire life and Gladio has had a rotating mix of whatever gender he fancies at any given time for as long as Noct can remember.
Noct’s never come out.
How do you come out as nothing? It’s not that he’s straight, necessarily - Luna makes his stomach flutter with excited nerves but he’s not sure he wants to have sex with her.
Noct’s never wanted to have sex with anyone, really. He’d always assumed he simply didn’t like any of the people in his orbit but Noct’s starting to wonder if that’s just the way he’s built.
Noct doesn’t know what he should do about that. Talk to Ignis probably, he always has the answers. But what would he even say?
Hey Iggy, did puberty not work right for me?
Prompto seems unable to look at him for a long moment, scuffing his wristband against the knee of his jeans.
“Prom,” Noct urges, kicking out with his foot under the table at lightly tapping Prompto’s shin.
“I’ve not always had the best reception to that information,” Prompto admits.
“It’s legal in Niflheim,” Noct blurts. That much he knows.
“It’s technically legal to drive a bus without a driving licence in Gralea but people don’t like it when it happens.”
Noct stares at him.
“You’re making that up,” Noct says.
Prompto shakes his head, half smiling. “You only have to be certified by the bus people. So you can learn to be a bus driver without knowing how to drive a car.”
“Wow,” Noct says, “That’s really dumb.”
“That’s Niflheim,” Prompto mumbles, rubbing his wrist again.
“It’s better here,” Noctis says pointedly, “And even if it wasn’t, I would be. I don’t care about that stuff.”
“Right,” Prompto says, “Good - that’s good.”
“Is it - is it just boys?” Noct ask, feeling more than a little awkward. He’s never had to ask anyone these questions before. Never needed or wanted to - both Ignis and Gladio made their preferences, or lack thereof, blatantly obvious.
Prompto scrunches his nose as he considers the question. Noct thinks he might be the cutest thing alive.
The thought pulls him up short.
Objectively he’s aware that Ignis and Gladio are attractive, and that he thinks Luna is the prettiest girl he's ever seen. But he never thinks about it. Why would he when it's not important to him, when it doesn't have the power to make him feel differently about them?
“I guess,” Prompto says, half laughing and dragging Noctis free from the twisting mess in his mind and the weird ache in his belly.
Why does he feel anxious all of a sudden?
“I’ve never really thought about it,” Prompto admits. “But I think so. What about - uh, what about you?”
Noct’s not ready to have this conversation, doesn’t have an answer that makes sense to him let alone someone else.
“Pass,” Noctis says.
It’s unfair considering Noct just asked Prompto for details, unfair when Prompto did his best to be honest even though it’s clearly something that makes him uncomfortable.
But Prompto doesn’t call him out on it. He just laughs and rolls his eyes before checking the time on his phone to confirm that they better be on their way to class.
- - -
[Noct 09:07] dude i’m never here first
[Noct 09:08] did you get lost?
Prompto has shown himself to have a pretty terrible sense of direction. Almost nothing would surprise Noct at this point.
[Noct 09:10] prom?
Prompto’s never late, is usually early enough that Noct feels guilty about turning up right on time. He’s chatty in the mornings too, more so that Noct is used to so there’s sometimes a half dozen texts waiting for him on his phone when he's barely gotten his eyes open.
[Noct 09:15] are you okay?
[Noct 09:16] lemme know if you’re sick. iggy can bring you some soup
Noct’s not panicking, but he very much is considering texting Ignis anyway – just to double check how long they have to wait before filing a missing persons report.
It's got to be more than twenty minutes, Noct knows, so he waits, deciding to only text Ignis if Prompto hasn't turned up or contacted him by the start of class. Maybe Noct won’t go to class, maybe he should walk the route Prompto does, check nothing happened to him on the journey in.
Noct takes two steps, ignoring the twinge in his hip where it’s all tight and achy, when his phone finally goes off.
[Prom 09:21] [Image 07652.jpg]
[Prom 09:21] i was on a rescue mission
[Prom 09:21] can be on campus in half an hour
[Noct 09:22] ….
[Noct 09:22] pls tell me thats your cat now
[Prom 09:23] currently being reunited with its parents
[Noct 09:24] this is the only acceptable reason to stand me up
[Noct 09:24] for the record
Noct scrolls back up to the picture. It’s a nice picture, the cat is cute and Prompto’s cheeks dimple with the force of his grin. Noct saves the picture onto his phone, just so it doesn’t get lost.
- - -
Gladio catches him around the shoulders with one of his broad arms and runs the knuckles of his other hand over Noct’s scalp.
“Dude,” Noct hisses, slapping at Gladio’s arm in a way that is immediately embarrassing.
“What are we doing for your birthday?” Gladio asks him, letting him go with a playful shove.
Noct rolls his eyes, “Stuffy Citadel party, I assume.”
“Okay, I mean just us,” Gladio specifies, “I can finally meet your little friend.”
“Oh,” Noct breathes.
Oh shit.
He can have a birthday party with his friends. He can invite people he chooses to spend time with him while they do something he likes.
“Can we go to the arcade?” Noct blurts.
“Hell yeah,” Gladio says, “Just the four of us?”
“And the security you’ll hide everywhere,” Noct grumbles.
“I could not hide them,” Gladio says, “And then people other than us would be able to tell they’re there.”
“Please no,” Noctis begs.
“Prompto bothered by it all?” Gladio asks.
Noct shakes his head.
“He says no,” Noct mumbles.
“Then you gotta trust that’s true,” Gladio says.
Prompto had taken the news that Noct is the Prince of Lucis pretty well all told. Not even caring that Noct had technically lied to him for the past few weeks; he’d dropped his coffee, sure, but then he'd simply gone oddly quiet for a few moments before breathlessly asking if he'd get in trouble for calling Noct a wheedly little fucker a few days before.
“Friday?” Gladio checks.
Noct nods, “Closest day we’ll have - ugh. You know I have a nine am lecture on my actual birthday.”
Gladio ruffles his hair again, but it’s softer this time, less annoying and more affectionate.
“You wanted to go to college,” Gladio reminds him.
“I know, I know.”
- - -
Noct’s too old to be having his first sleepover.
Technically he could count Ignis and Gladio crashing here if he really wanted but at the end of the day nothing will change the fact that it’s two days past his twentieth birthday and he’s just getting back from hanging out in an arcade with his friends to have his first sleepover.
Noct has a spare room but should they just crash on the couches? Share his bed? They’re too old for that, he thinks, even if it wouldn’t mean anything.
Noct wouldn’t want it to mean anything.
He’s sure of it.
Noct covers up his nerves by forcing the same sort of bold indifference he does in every single council meeting and before every single speech he has to give when a camera is rolling. Noct rushes through his bathroom routine and comes back out in an old pair of pajamas. Only when he’s settled on the couch does he consider that he possibly should have dressed a little better. Because he has a guest.
He should have checked with Ignis ahead of time, it's too late now.
Prompto’s sort of meandering his apartment, looking around in quiet awe and barely taking notice of Noct at all. Noct doesn’t want to bother him or imply Prompto can’t do whatever the hell he wants in Noct’s space so he busies himself on his phone. He'd been wanting to check in with Gladio anyway.
Poor Iris, he thinks as he starts texting. Noct still has his appendix but he’s had his fair share of surgeries. He wishes she didn’t have to go through any of that.
[Noct 22:44] hey. is iris ok?
[Gladio 22:47] Surgery went well, she’s sleeping now and they’ll let her come home in the morning.
[Noct 22:48] are you crashing there?
[Noct 22:48] you and your dad can use my suite if you want
[Gladio 22:50] For real? Thanks. Sorry for missing the arcade, I hope you had a good time.
[Noct 22:51] yeh. prompto kicked iggys ass at dead 4 dayz. was amazing
So amazing. Ignis usually wipes the floor with them, it’s good for him to have a little healthy competition for once.
[Gladio 22:53] Damn, I wish I’d seen that. Next time.
So does Noct. It surprises him how much he thinks his birthday lacked for Gladio not being there. They’ve always butted heads, never quite seen eye to eye on a lot of things. Yet celebrating without him feels odd, a little off. Noct thinks Gladio and Prompto will get along too, once they finally meet each other.
[Noct 22:55] next time for sure
“Is that Gladio,” Prompto asks.
Noct glances up, spots Prompto hovering by the wall holding his few framed photographs. There’s only one person in those pictures that Prompto won’t have ever seen before so Noct just focuses back on his phone and hums an assent.
There’s a lengthy pause then Prompto mutters just one word.
“Wow.”
“Gross, dude,” Noct blurts, heart pounding uncomfortably in his chest. “Don’t even.”
That would be - not good.
Lots of people find Gladio attractive, Noct’s kind of used to that, he’s not blind.
But Prompto is -
Prompto is his.
Noct’s friend. His new friend. His first friend.
“Noct, buddy. You okay?” Prompto asks. He abandons the wall of pictures and pads over to the couch, sitting down just a few hand spans away from Noct.
“Yeah,” Noct says, as bright as he can manage. He forcibly shoves the thoughts down, not sure where they came from or why.
“Ready to game?” Prompto asks, eyebrows quirked.
“Born ready.”
-
They go to sleep too late but Noct knows Prompto is a habitual early riser and remembers to set twenty alarms in three minute intervals starting at ten o’clock right before he passes out.
If only to stop Ignis from actually having to wake him up.
Prompto is already awake when Noct drags himself out of bed after the twelfth alarm, curled up on Noct’s couch with his phone and a half empty glass of water on the coffee table. On a coaster no less. They hadn’t really cleaned up before they crashed yesterday but all the regular trash is gone, the recyclables lined up neatly at the edge of the sink.
Prompto visibly startles when he notices Noct’s appeared in the living room, dropping his phone down onto the couch.
“G’morning,” Noct mumbles, pulling his hand through his hair to try and smooth out his bed head.
“Hey - morning,” Prompto says quickly, “Did I wake you? I cleared up but I wasn’t sure what to do with the recycling so…”
“Dude, it’s fine,” Noct says, “You didn’t even need to do that.”
“I wanted to,” Prompto says earnestly.
“I should have helped though,” Noct says, “You’re a guest.”
“You told me to make myself at home,” Prompto reminds him, “And at home I sleepily clean up my mess from the night before almost every day.”
“Fine, fine,” Noctis laughs. “Iggy got me these caddies to sort it into under the sink -”
Prompto jerks to his feet.
“Woah, woah,” Noct says, raising his hands palm out to stop Prompto from flying right into the kitchen. “I can do this part, chill.”
Prompto doesn’t look happy about the prospect but he lets it slide without argument. Noct wonders what he’d have to do to get Prompto to argue with him. Not that he wants too, just a morbid curiosity.
“Now that you’re awake -”
“It’s not even midday,” Noctis points out, “I did my best, dude.”
Prompto presses his palms together and does a little half bow over them. “And I thank you for it. But now that you’re awake, do you mind if I have a shower?”
Noct had sort of rinsed off the night before so he totally understands wanting to wash away a long evening in a busy and humid arcade. Doubly so after it’s sat on your skin for almost a dozen hours.
“You could have showered while I slept,” Noct tells him, “You would not have woken me up, I swear.”
“Noted,” Prompto says.
“For next time,” Noct goes on. Prompto grins at him. “So uh,” Noct barrels on, feeling oddly flustered, “Ignis left you a towel and stuff, help yourself to literally anything you want.”
“Thanks dude,” Prompto says, voice full of sincerity as always.
When Prompto disappears Noct follows through on his offer to organise the recycling and wipes down all the counters even though they mostly went unused the night before because he’s full of a sudden burst of energy that makes him almost jittery.
Noct’s rooting around in the fridge when the bathroom door opens and closes again, Prompto disappearing into the spare bedroom before Noct has a chance to see him. Not that Noct needs to see him right then, it’s just that Prompto made the journey so fast as to be noticeable, is all.
It’s almost a relief to escape his own thoughts when his phone goes off.
[Iggy 10:52] I hope you’re awake, I’ll be coming down at 11 regardless.
[Noct 10:54] way ahead of you for once
[Iggy 10:55] I am both shocked and pleased, I’ll admit.
[Iggy 10:56] I won’t try and hide carrots in anything you eat all day.
[Noct 10:57] thanks lol
[Noct 10:57] ….
[Noct 10:58] do you do that a lot?
[Iggy 10:59] What would you and Prompto like for breakfast?
[Noct 11:00] ill ask him. he was just showering
[Iggy 11:01] Nyx and I will be down in fifteen minutes!
Noct wanders to the door to the spare bedroom and raps his knuckles against the wood a few times.
“Hey, Prom,” Noct calls, “You naked?”
Prompto's laugh is muffled by the heavy barrier between them.
“No -”
Noct pushes the door open before Prompto can say anything else.
He’s dressed, that much is true.
Noct doesn’t think he’d realised that Prompto always wore a wristband until right now, because the sight of it bare is startling.
Not completely bare. There’s ink embedded in Prompto's skin, stark black against pale peach. Noct stares at it, something about it familiar and sickening in a way he can’t make out.
Prompto turns away from him, reaching for the band where it's laying in wait on the bed and pulls it on over the tattoo, covering over the bars and numbers.
Noct needs to say something. Anything.
“You said you didn’t have any tattoos.”
Almost anything would have been better than that.
“I said I’d never gotten one,” Prompto says defensively, tucking his arm around the front of his body so it’s completely hidden from view. His voice is rougher when he adds, “And I never really got this.”
But that must be a lie. How would Prompto have a tattoo if he’d never gotten one? There’s no way there can be ink inlaid in his skin without -
Black bars.
Numbers.
Like a serial code.
Noct suddenly understands why he feels sick.
He’d been too young to understand everything when it first happened and he has vague memories of uncle Cor and aunt Monica coming back after a long time away suddenly looking much older than when they left. Remembers them being locked away with his Dad and Clarus, talking for hours and hours, and how Cor had seemed even more withdrawn than normal.
They’d explained it all when he was older, shown him pictures and caught him up on all the legislation and international statutes that had come into play after the discovery.
Noctis knows Prompto is from Niflheim, knows he grew up right in the capital city, Gralea. Noctis knows he’s an orphan, that he doesn’t even know who his parents were before they died.
Noct hadn’t been expecting this.
Prompto was one of those kids. Taken from his family and raised to be a soldier. Noctis doesn’t have the head space to work it out but he must have still been young when he got out, at least, though that just reiterates the fact he was too young to have ever gone through something like that.
Anyone is too young to have lived through that.
But it feels a particular kind of horrifying that bright, generous, kind Prompto would have been subject to all manner of experimentation and ill-treatment.
“Oh,” Noct eventually manages.
Noct drags his eyes away from where Prompto’s wrist once was and surveys his friend properly. He’s still not turned to look at Noctis and there's a subtle tremble in his shoulders; his breath coming in short, sharp little inhales wet with tears.
“Oh fuck - shit,” Noct mumbles, darting forward to put his hand on Prompto’s shoulder. “Prom. No. I didn’t know - come here.”
Prompto turns under the gentlest pressure of Noct’s hand, teeth buried in his bottom lip and tears steadily and almost silently running over his soft cheeks.
Noct doesn’t really hug people, normally, but he wraps both his arms around Prompto’s shoulders to drag him in and hold him close as he shudders through the attention. Slowly Prompto’s arms come up to embrace him back, fingers of one hand twisting into the well worn fabric of his t-shirt.
“Those bastards,” Noct seethes.
Prompto hiccups into his shoulder, clutching him a little tighter.
“You know what it is,” Prompto guesses.
“Yeah,” Noct says, his own voice not completely normal. “I’m so sorry that happened to you.”
“You don’t think I’m, like, a monster?” Prompto asks as quietly as he can. Noct half suspects he’s hoping Noct won’t have heard him.
How could Prompto possibly be the monster in this situation? He was just an innocent kid. Those people - the people in the facilities, the labs that had put tiny children through all that pain - for what? To be soldiers? To be broken and beaten into a loyalty so strong they’d lay down and do everything asked of them without the ability to think if they should or not?
Prompto’s not the monster here.
“What? No -” Noct pushes Prompto only far enough back that he can see Noct’s expression as he promises, “- you’re just Prompto. That’s all I care about.”
Prompto sniffs and rubs his palm over his cheeks to chase away the tears and Noct lets his arms fall away properly so as not to smother him. Noctis doesn’t know what to say now, to reassure Prompto that he really means what he says. Noctis feels like he needs to, too, because Prompto’s made no intimation that he agrees with Noctis - that he believes what he’s saying.
He lingers close though, not rushing to leave the room or move on to something else. Noctis came into the room for a reason but he can’t quite remember what it is in the face of a fresh tear welling up along the root of Prompto’s eyelashes.
Prompto gives another little sniff and Noct’s right on the cusp of hugging him again when there’s a muffled knock. The front door, rather than the bedroom.
Ignis. Brunch. Of course, that’s why he’s here.
“That’s Iggy,” Noctis reassures Prompto when his eyes widen slightly in shock.
“But I can send him away,” Noctis offers. Prompto’s comfort is his priority. Ignis might not understand at first but Noctis can make an excuse, alluding to something without spilling Prompto’s secrets.
It occurs to him that Ignis almost certainly already knows. Gladio too, though that's less certain. And his Dad. Perhaps Noct's the only one that didn’t know.
“If you don’t want to see him or you wanna talk about it - or…” Noct trails off.
“I’m good,” Prompto says with a small shake of his head, voice only cracking a little.
Noctis sighs, not convinced. He reaches for where the wristband is now covering Prompto’s barcode tattoo, a mark of how Niflheim once thought they owned him, like cattle or a simple object.
“They’re not ever having you back,” Noctis promises.
“I don’t wanna go back,” Prompto whispers, “Not ever. I really meant it when I told you I was never happy there - it’s not all just to do with this.”
“Things weren’t better, once you got out?” Noct asks. They had to be better, they certainly couldn’t have been worse.
Prompto’s shoulder half raises, “They were better,” he explains, “But they were rarely ever good.”
The final word is cut through by a second knock on the door. Ignis has a key and he’ll use it, its probably only Prompto’s presence that’s making him hold off this long. Noct knows he needs to handle that, to say something to Ignis to warn him that Prompto might be out of sorts but he can’t make himself leave just yet.
Noctis doesn’t normally hug people.
He throws his arms around Prompto’s shoulders for the second time that morning, pulling away as soon as Prompto’s hands return the embrace. His face is burning when he steps back, giving Prompto a pat on the shoulder in the vain hope the whole exchange feels a little more natural to him than it does to Noctis.
“I’ll get him to make pancakes,” Noctis says as he turns to start leaving. Noct remembers talking to him about cheese, how he’s never had pepperoni or fresh peas before and turns neatly on his heel to walk backwards instead.
“You have had pancakes before, right?” Noct asks him.
Prompto flips him off with a giggle that makes some tightness on Noct’s chest give away.
Ignis’ hands are knocking again when Noct pulls the door open, his face creased in irritation that eases at once when he looks Noctis over. Nyx is hovering behind him and that’s a complication that Noctis had forgotten about.
“What happened?” Ignis asks sharply, “Are you unwell? Is Prompto unwell?”
Noctis shakes his head and eyes Nyx warily. The Glaive probably doesn’t know, Prompto’s file should only ever have been shown to Ignis and Gladio.
Noct has enough respect for Ignis to know he’s not the type of person to just spread that sort of personal information around when it's not necessary.
“It’s not that,” Noctis hedges. “Me and Prompto had a - a tough conversation.”
To Noct’s surprise Ignis and Nyx share a startled look.
“You okay, bud?” Nyx asks him.
Noctis frowns. “Tough for Prompto,” Noct clarifies, though he hadn’t exactly enjoyed finding out, would rather there hadn’t been anything to find out at all.
Nyx’s eyebrows lift in surprise.
“I see,” Ignis says carefully, “I’m pleased - if a little shocked he opened up to you about that. If I’m assuming the right information.”
“He didn’t have a choice,” Noct mumbles, suddenly realising that it’s his fault they’re in this mess, that he just barged in without waiting for an invitation. Noct assumed that Prompto had nothing he would want to keep private from Noct the way Noctis has nothing he wants to keep private from him.
“What am I missing?” Nyx asks.
“Something you’re going to keep on missing I’m afraid, love,” Ignis tells him, “It’s neither for me nor Noctis to tell you.”
Nyx takes that in stride - as he always does. This is not the first secret thing Ignis and Noctis have had to discuss in front of him.
“Can I at least keep missing it inside?”
“Uh,” Noctis hesitates. Turning over his shoulder he raises his voice and calls, “Prom?”
“In the bathroom,” Prompto calls back. Good, Noctis thinks, not at all surprised even though he’s only just gotten out of the shower. Let his friend take a little refuge for a while.
“You can absolutely keep being an idiot inside my apartment,” Noct tells Nyx.
The Glaive yanks his ear as he and Ignis funnel inside.
- - -
It had evidently gotten dark while Noct was reading because he flinches when the light flicks on, bright overheads seeming to burn his eyes.
“You weren’t answering your phone,” Ignis explains, almost apologetically.
Noct’s not even sure where his phone is right now.
“I thought you were done with all your school work,” Ignis goes on. “Can I help with anything?”
Noct shakes his head, still squinting against the bright light. He must have dimmed the backlight on his laptop without being conscious of it as the room grew darker, the report he was looking at barely visible now in the harsh glow.
“I was just looking up some stuff,” Noct admits.
Ignis steps closer, moving around the back of the couch and Noct adjusts the laptop on his knees, turns the brightness back up so it’s easier for him to read. No use trying to hide it from Iggy. A bad call, to hide it from him, when Ignis might be the only person in the world he can talk to about this right now.
Prompto seems like an obvious choice, but there’s no way he’s going to drag the particulars of half a lifetime’s abuse out of his best friend. Especially not when Noct doesn’t think he should even know about it at all.
“Oh Noctis,” Ignis murmurs. “Why are you looking at all that?”
Noctis doesn’t really know what possessed him to read through all the intel in the first place. But he’s forced himself not to bow out, not even when it got truly terrible because -
“If Prompto lived it, I can read it.”
Ignis reaches over and with gentle but unstoppable pressure closes his laptop.
“This does neither of you any good,” Ignis says.
“But -”
“You'll drive yourself crazy thinking about it. Imagining Prompto in every single scenario set forth in those papers when chances are they never happened. And Prompto benefits not at all,” Ignis tells him. “It doesn’t take it away, stop his past from being his past.”
“But -”
“Talk to Prompto,” Ignis urges. “If there are things you want to know - to be able to help him, then ask him. Know the things he wants you to know.”
Noctis sighs, a long drawn out frustrated exhale.
“I hate that you’re so smart,” Noct mutters.
Ignis smiles and as he straightens up he gently smooths his hand over the back of Noct’s hair.
“Come downstairs and have dinner with Nyx and I,” Ignis tells him.
Noct pushes his laptop to one side, in amongst his messy couch cushions.
“Nyx sure is over a lot these days,” Noctis says airily.
“Yes,” Ignis agrees.
“But he doesn’t actually live here, right?”
Ignis clears his throat.
“The apartment is for me to use as part of my contract as your retainer,” Ignis says, “So of course I would not move another person into it without filing all the proper paperwork first.”
Noct bites the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling.
“Uh huh.”
- - -
“Tobin?” Noct repeats, committing the name to memory and wanting to make sure he got it right.
“Yeah,” Prompto confirms. “We were housed in two orphanages together. Got taken in by the same foster family, I think, three times? Four, if you count the last one that sent me back but kept him.”
Noct swallows, throat tight at the casual mention of something that seems like such inconceivable cruelty to Noctis.
“Were the orphanages really bad?”
Noctis doesn’t have any information about that. He can look up the long list of experiments run on the kids and torture himself with thoughts of them. He can plug the numbers on Prompto’s wrist into a database and see how tall he was and how much he weighed the day he was rescued. He can’t see who his parents were though, no connection to any family in Niflheim at all it seems. He supposes they were all long dead by the time Cor stormed the facility and dragged his friend from further harm.
“Sometimes,” Prompto says evasively.
“Were you in one right until you left?” Not asks and Prompto shakes his head.
“They put us in supported housing at sixteen,” Prompto explains. “A tiny room with a bathroom and kitchen shared six ways but there was barely any supervision so I could work as much as I liked and no one was ever there to check I was in at curfew and not sneaking around with my boyfriend.”
Noct rolls over onto his side, peering over the couch to where Prom is belly down on his rug, adding seemingly random sketches to his sketchbook for homework.
“Were you seeing someone when you left?”
Prompto snorts. “I got dumped by a note stuck to the fridge in my very communal kitchen,” Prompto mutters. “Pretty sure the other five people I lived with knew I was single before I did. Not to mention he outed me by doing it, basically. I’m lucky they were all chill.”
“Dude,” Noct says, rocked by yet another revaluation. “You need better taste in men,” he tries to tease.
“On that we can agree.”
Noct watches him quietly for a few moments, the confident way he pulls his pencil across the page in complete counterpoint to the way he behaves in so many other parts of his life.
“Oh hey,” Noct says, “Speaking of guys that may or may not be terrible -” Prompto snorts again “- did you like Gladio the other day? Was he nice to you?”
Noct has no reason to suspect he wouldn’t have been. Gladio is usually kind to strangers, almost to a fault, charming and friendly and open.
Flirtatious.
Noct’s stomach churns, inexplicably uncomfortable and he focuses on the way Prompto swings his legs, slowly and without purpose, in the air as he draws.
“I liked him just fine,” Prompto says.
- - -
Noct thinks he’ll remember it for the rest of his life.
It was like a horror show, carnage that all the power at his fingertips just couldn’t prevent.
Never before has he been annoyed that the guards following him keep their distance, never has he been so bothered by people pressing close, by grabbing a hold of him when all he’s ever wanted is to be left alone.
Noct will remember it forever; jerking away from the girl and fumbling with his soda, the way it crashed down onto Prompto’s canvas and fell onto its side, the brown liquid bubbling up over it and lifting the paint as it went.
Prompto had worked so hard. The work had been phenomenal and Noctis had ruined it, destroyed all that effort with one small misstep. A month’s worth of work messed up with less than twenty-four hours before the deadline.
Noct rubs the cleaning solution onto the tips of the paintbrushes - the ones with the darkest stains and sets them out to rest on a dish towel while he boils the kettle.
“Your brushes are synthetic, right?” Noct checks, glancing over at Prompto where he’s on the floor in front of his couch, sketching rough lines onto a new canvas.
Noct’s never really seen him work before, not like this, not more than rough little sketches in his book in between games or while Noct drums legislation into his brain by rote. He’s never seen Prompto use colour before really, it was why he’d loved the piece so much that morning - the first thing he’d seen of Prompto that really felt like a manifestation of everything that Prompto represents to him.
“Yeah,” Prompto says, “You can pretty much do whatever to them.”
Noct runs his fingers over the wooden handles as the water in the kettle starts to bubble noisily.
“Are these good ones?” Noct asks, “Synthetic I mean, or is natural better?”
Prompto looks up at him, a funny little smile on his face - the first one Noct’s seen all day.
“What videos did you just watch?” Prompto asks.
Noct looks away. “I just wanted to be sure I wouldn’t mess it up,” Noct hedges. “I didn’t even know there were different types.”
“Some people don’t like synthetic brushes,” Prompto says, “But I do. Plus,” he says, turning back to his canvas, “They’re cheap, so if you do mess it up, it doesn’t really matter.”
“I’m not gonna mess it up,” Noct promises, more confident now than was forty minutes and three videos ago.
Noct’s going to try not to mess things up for Prompto ever again.
-
Noct pushes the lemonade into Prompto’s hand, encourages him to press the straw into his mouth and take a few pulls. It doesn’t seem to help much, Prompto’s still pale, still shaking, his breaths still shallow and quick.
He presses his palm between Prompto’s shoulder blades but tries not to crowd him, letting Prompto know he’s there without inadvertently startling him in any way. Noct migrated from the couch to the floor next to Prompto a couple minutes ago, surprised by the rapid decline in his friend's demeanour. Noct’s had panic attacks before, has witnessed them a dozen times over.
Noct thought Prompto’s painting was going well, has been largely ignoring the show they have running low on the TV in favour of watching Prompto build colours on the canvas. Noct could never do something like this, not with decades’ worth of training and practice. Sure he could learn the fundamentals, the proper way to pull a pencil across paper and how to frame a piece, how to technically indicate shadows.
But he could never do this.
Noct could never make art.
“C’mon,” Noct murmurs, “Breath for me.”
Prompto inhales and it catches, so Noct makes him lean forward, rubs his back until his chest is filling deeply, slowly and steadily in tune with Noct’s.
“That’s it,” Noct congratulates, shifting so he and Prompto are sat shoulder to shoulder.
Prompto shivers slightly and Noct leans more weight into him.
“Sorry,” Prompto whispers after a while.
“Don’t be,” Noct says quickly. “I kinda - well I used to have panic attacks sometimes.”
Prompto sits up a little, eyes Noct with obvious surprise.”
“Yeah?”
“After my accident, yeah,” Noct tells him.
It’s not weird to be open with people, Noct has very few secrets from Ignis and Gladio. It's weird to want to be open with someone however, to want to push the deepening of a friendship and not simply sit back and wait for it to happen.
“Oh, of course - sorry,” Prompto says.
Noct waves the apology away. It’s not Prompto’s fault. It was a long time ago too, Noct barely even remembers it truth be told.
“Hey is that -” Prompto starts and hesitates a moment before going on. “Is that how you lost your mom? In the accident?”
“She died when I was barely more than a baby,” Noct explains, “Dad says she was never particularly healthy and she just got really sick at some point and couldn’t come back from it.”
“I’m sorry,” Prompto says again, “I bet she was great.”
Noct shrugs. He doesn’t actually feel strongly about it either way. People say she was lovely and kind so he believes them but he has almost no connection to her Noct on any deeper lever than: “Dad says I look a lot like her.”
Prompto makes a thoughtful sound and without talking about it they both turn to look at Prompto’s canvas at the same time. Noct thinks it looks good and Prompto’s breathing stays steady at least. Noct leans closer, resting his head against the side of Prompto’s and his friend relaxes a little, sinking into the touch.
“Did you - do you know what happened to your parents?” Noct asks carefully.
Prompto doesn’t say anything.
“Just - I know they found a database,” Noct stumbles on. “And I know you were in foster care, but I wondered -”
“I don’t have any parents,” Prompto says firmly.
“They were both dead?” Noct asks. Figures, really, as Prompto ended up in foster care but it still sucks to have it laid out for him so precisely.
“No - they…I -” Prompto stutters.
“It’s okay.”
Noct reaches out and loosely warps his hand around Prompto’s bicep, trying to offer a physical comfort where words have failed him.
“I don’t have any parents listed in my file,” Prompto says, swallowing thickly. “And everyone else does. So who knows where the fuck I came from.”
There’s bitterness in his tone Noct’s not used to from Prompto, the sound of it foreign and uncomfortable in his ears.
“You want one of those cookies Iggy and Gladio bought us?” Noct asks, desperate to pull them into lighter topics.
“Yes,” Prompto agrees.
Noct knocks their heads together, in essence a head-butt yet the sentiment behind it quite different.
“I’ll go grab them,” he offers.
- - -
Prompto turns the little charm over in his hand and Noct feels he might boil alive from nerves and anxiety.
“It’s adorable,” Prompto says.
“You guys don’t have carbuncle’s in Niflheim?” Noct asks.
Prompto shakes his head then shrugs, “Maybe, actually. But no one ever told me about him. He’s a harbinger of sweet dreams?”
“Yeah,” Noct says, “I didn’t sleep very well when I was a kid -” Prompto snorts “- I know, I know. So Dad gave it to me for protection from the nightmares.”
“I think he’s great,” Prompto says. He looks up at Noct, smiling softly. “Were you embarrassed to show me?” Prompto asks.
“No,” Noct says quickly, sighing when Prompto smirks. “A little,” Noct admits, “It’s like doing show and tell with a stuffed toy.”
“Nuh uh,” Prompto argues, “You were telling me a Lucian legend. And I thank you.”
“You’re such a nerd,” Noct tells him.
Prompto turns the Carbuncle charm over in his hand again.
“If you say so.”
- - -
"What's he like?"
Dad asks it slightly differently than Gladio and Ignis both have - with them there was a little uncertainty, maybe a warning and apprehension. Noct knows it's only because they care, only because they're worried about him getting taken advantage of - used up, abandoned.
But dad is all eager excitement for this step Noct has taken in the world. Maybe he knows Prompto has been cleared, maybe he just trusts Noctis' judgement more than anyone else does.
Yet despite answering this question several times over in the last few weeks Noctis still flounders, still hesitates.
"He's nice," Noct tells his dad. It's the perfect word for Prompto really, though insufficient and hollow in the light of everything he truly is when you scratch beneath the surface.
Dad stares at him, one eyebrow cocked just so. It reminds him of Ignis and sometimes it's so brazenly obvious that he and Noctis grew up in the same home.
"He's fun," Noct adds, "And kind. And, you know, normal."
"I've been told he didn't recognise you," Dad nudges him.
Noctis shakes his head, "Not even a little. I think he could probably walk past you in the street and be none the wiser. Well he could, I think he probably knows now."
Dad laughs. Noct's glad, that definitely doesn't happen enough.
"I like him already," Dad teases. "Have you told Luna about him?"
Noctis has, though he's not had a reply to his letter yet. They'll probably talk on the phone before she writes back but he'd wanted to tell her that way. Noct knows she'll be happy for him, he was mostly worried about how obvious his childlike excitement over making a friend would have been in his voice if he'd had to say the words aloud.
"Yeah - I," Noct starts and hesitates again. Dad's expression is still open, interested and pleased. "He reminds me of Luna, a little," Noct says, "Being with him. It feels like being with her, in a lot of ways."
Dad looks genuinely surprised for the first time since they sat down to dinner. Noctis watches him carefully, the way he's obviously chewing his thoughts just as much as his food.
"He must be very nice," Dad says. "Is he - do you know if he's dating anyone?"
"I don't think so," Noct says, but he frowns thinking about how preoccupied with his phone Prompto is sometimes despite claiming Noctis is his only friend.
Why does dad care about that? Noct doesn't like thinking about, doesn't like the idea of some faceless person putting his hands all over Prompto, of getting to spend all that time alone with him. They probably wouldn't treat him right, not half so good as he deserves.
Noct knows it's not fair to be this selfish with Prompto; that he deserves as many friends and companions as he wants.
Noct's just jealous, he thinks, that Prompto can make friends and hold conversations so easily. That's all it is, he doesn't actually want to keep Prompto all to himself.
It might be kind of great if Prompto liked him best of everyone though. Like Noctis does him.
- - -
Prompto’s phone goes off and he unlocks the screen and looks at it while Noct tells him about the horrendous essay he just got assigned.
“Dude that’s too many words,” Prompto agrees but there’s a small smile pulling up the corner of his mouth as he says it.
Noct doesn’t care. He really doesn’t want Prompto to only speak to him forever and always. Noct is just curious.
Is it someone from his course? From his job? The apprenticeship? Did he meet someone on his morning run?
“The professor was like I made it high so you understood the depth of research I want you to take and it’s like, just tell us you want us to research specific things,” Noct goes on.
“They never make it easy for us, do they,” Prompto replies. He shoots Noct a sympathetic smile then he picks up his phone and starts tapping out a response.
“Are you mad at me?” Noct blurts.
Prompto drops his phone immediately.
“No - why would I be?” Prompto asks. His hands sort of flutter, like he wants to offer physical reassurance but doesn’t know how to go about it.
“I knew that Gladio didn’t know who you were,” Noct says, “I didn’t warn you - I thought it was funny. Maybe that made things awkward for you.”
Prompto laughs. “Nah, dude. That was funny.”
“Good,” Noct says.
Afterwards, Noct had discovered that Gladio had been planning on hitting on Prompto, or whatever it is he does. Noct can’t understand wanting to do anything with someone who’s name you apparently don’t know.
Still, Gladio and Prompto have met as themselves now. It’s all good. They can be friends too.
- - -
“I thought you normally work Tuesdays?” Noct wonders.
“Swapped a shift,” Prompto explains. “When she offered I thought that was cool because, you know, I could hang out with all of you guys for a change but -”
“This fucking trade meeting,” Noct mumbles. “What will you do? Take advantage of the school’s art supplies?”
“Huh?” Prompto says, “No I um - I found something to do.”
Noctis wishes he’d just said yes.
It would have obviously been a lie but Noct would have believed him. Would have believed Prompto was doing school work and not suddenly been almost obsessed with the idea of him hanging around with someone else.
- - -
“If I didn’t know my son better,” Clarus says to Noct’s Dad, “I’d say he was on a date this evening.”
Dad sighs and Noct tries to pay attention to the conversation in order to resist the temptation to check his phone.
Prompto’s probably seeing someone. Dating someone, Noctis realises. He doesn’t know how he feels about it.
Only that the feelings don’t seem to be positive.
“He’ll settle down at some point,” Dad says reassuringly.
One of the few Councillors not to leave the room scoffs quietly. Noctis immediately bristles, which is hypocritical of him because his first thought to Dad’s comment had been fat chance.
“Something to say, Tameo?” Clarus asks, pinning the Councillor with a cold glare that almost has him squirming in his seat.
“No, My Lord,” he simpers, “Nothing at all.”
“We’re almost done,” Dad says and for a moment Noct thinks Dad is trying to console the Councillor and then his hand touches Noctis’ arm.
“I’m fine,” Noct says reflexively.
“Your back isn’t sore?” Dad checks.
Noctis shrugs, “Not really.”
Clarus hums, “Make sure you do your stretches later. I’ll send Gladio round if I think you haven’t.”
“I’ll do it, I’ll do it,” Noct promises, flushing a little at all the attention.
-
By the time the meeting is finally over Noctis hasn’t heard from Prompto and he huffs as he stares at the empty notification screen on his phone.
“What’s wrong?” Ignis asks him.
They’re the last ones to leave and as Clarus leads Dad from the room Nyx comes in with Noct and Ignis’ coats in his hand.
“Thank you, love,” Ignis says, blessedly distracted.
Nyx drapes Noct’s coat onto his shoulders and ruffles the back of his hair.
“What’s bothering you, kid?”
Noct glowers at him. “You know I’m only two years younger than Ignis, right?”
“Physically,” Nyx says.
“What does that mean?” Noct demands.
Nyx ignores him, just drags him into a one armed hug that Noct escapes by digging his knuckles into Nyx’s ribs.
“Come on,” Nyx says while Noct drags his arms into his jacket properly. “Spill.”
Noct huffs again.
“It won’t do you any good keeping it bottled up,” Ignis puts in.
“I think Prompto’s on a date,” Noct admits, annoyed by how angry he sounds. Annoyed by how angry he feels.
There’s a beat of silence then Nyx mutters, “I told you.”
“Yes, yes,” Ignis says, “It seems you were right.”
“Right about what?” Noct asks, “Did you see Prompto or something?”
Nyx stares at him, eyebrows notched together and his eyes sympathetically wide.
“About the fact you have a crush on Prompto.”
Noct takes a step back from Nyx, collides with Ignis and might have fallen down if Ignis hadn’t caught him around the shoulders and steadied him.
“No I don’t,” Noctis says.
“It’s perfectly natural,” Ignis says. “Prompto is handsome and kind. You’ve never really spend this much time with someone that you weren’t forced to -”
“No. I. Don’t,” Noct seethes.
Noct can’t.
Even if he thought he was physically capable of it he can’t. It would ruin everything.
“It’s fine,” Nyx says softly, “Noct, buddy, nothing is gonna happen. It’s okay.”
Noct doesn’t realise he’s almost hyperventilating until Ignis’ hands are firmly pushing his shoulders, spinning him round and propping him up so he’s leaning against the long table.
“Breathe,” Ignis demands, “In for three.”
Noct does what he says, inhaling with a soft catch and holding it until Ignis’ palm presses against his chest and he whispers, “And out.”
“I don’t,” Noct says, “I really don’t - I can’t. I don’t work right. Something happened or didn’t happen and I…”
“What do you mean you don’t work right?” Nyx demands, Ignis whispers his name in reprimand but Nyx ignores him.
“I don’t want to have sex with Prompto,” Noctis says, his entire body recoiling at the very idea.
“That doesn’t mean -”
“I don’t think I want to have sex with anyone,” Noct admits and his face feels hot, eyes burning and blurring.
He finds himself in Nyx’s chest, the cold metal buttons of his Glaive coat cold against his cheek but oddly grounding. Ignis’ hands are gentle against his upper back.
“I thought you had the sex talk with him,” Nyx mutters.
“I was asked to make sure he knew how condoms worked,” Ignis responds. “I never realised I needed to…”Ignis trails off.
Noct remembers that conversation well, of forcing himself to sit through Ignis’ chat and try not to boil from the inside out as his oldest friend had slipped a condom onto a banana and told him to come to him with any further questions. They’ve never spoken about it since, both blocking it from their memory, he'd assumed. Noct had never had any more questions to ask because he’d never experienced that kind of desire towards another person, let alone the opportunity to follow through on such a thing.
“Noct,” Nyx says firmly, one hand cradling the back of his head. “Not wanting to have sex with people does not mean you don’t work right. It’s normal. And fine. You’re fine.”
Noct pulls back and Nyx lets him go without fuss. His face looks honest and stays that way even as Noctis stares and stares at him.
“But everyone else -”
“Not everyone,” Ignis says.
Noct sniffs and scrubs over his face with the sleeve of his jacket, embarrassed to have made such a display of himself. He sinks back onto the table and stairs at the ugly patten in the carpet.
He’d always assumed it was wrong the way he felt, or the lack of feeling he had. Luna makes him happy and he wishes he could spend more time with her. When he’d turned sixteen people had started saying things, implying that he and Luna were more than they were, that Noctis would suddenly be doing things with her if he had the opportunity. She’d visited not long after that and where they used to be allowed sanctuary and privacy suddenly everyone was keeping an eye on them - on him.
It was annoying but Noctis hadn’t understood why it was happening at first, not until Luna was long gone and Gladio made an offhand comment about how stupid everyone was to think Noct was the type of man to be dumb enough to get Luna pregnant when he was only sixteen. That people would think he hadn’t been taught better than that.
No matter how much and how hard Noct thought about he just couldn’t fathom how anyone would think that. Noct likes Luna. Likes being close to her and talking with her and he particularly likes it whenever he manages to make her laugh.
Holding her hand might be nice, he thinks, sitting close enough to touch on the couch. He probably wouldn’t push her away if she tried to kiss him but when he tries to imagine going further than that he simply can’t.
And Nyx is just now telling him this is normal?
“So, all this time,” Noctis says, “I’ve been worrying about nothing?”
“Why did you never say anything?” Ignis asks.
“You mean - hey Iggy, I know I need to make an heir one day but when I think about having sex with someone I feel like all my skin is gonna fall off.”
“That bad?” Nyx murmurs. Noctis shrugs.
“I’m exaggerating a little,” he admits.
“It doesn’t vary by person?” Nyx asks. “Like the concept of sex with Luna?”
Noct swallows, “Uncomfortable.”
“One of the new recruits? You know their name but -”
“I think I might be sick,” Noct says, pressing his hand to a stomach that tries to turn over on itself, “That’s - do people really like that? Want to just rub up against a stranger?”
“Some people,” Ignis confirms, “But not everyone.”
“Gladio,” Noct mumbles.
Ignis makes a noise, “I think he’s actually more complicated than you imagine in that regard.”
“Me,” Nyx says easily, “I need very little emotional connection to have sex with someone for the first time.”
“It’s the second time that’s trickier for Nyx,” Ignis says dryly. Noct winces and Nyx winks at his boyfriend.
“All this to say,” Ignis presses on, “Everyone is different and there’s nothing wrong with you if you require a very strong connection to someone before you feel that desire or even if you never feel that desire even after falling in love with someone.”
“So you see how its impossible for me to have a crush on Prompto - wait, what did you just say?”
“Which part?” Ignis clarifies.
Noct looks between Ignis and Nyx.
“I can’t fall in love,” Noct says, swallowing around a familiar disappointment, “You heard what I just -”
“Little prince,” Nyx interrupts, “You’re getting sexual and romantic attraction confused.”
“Assuming they’re the same thing,” Ignis adds. “You’re perfectly able to love someone without wanting to have sexual intercourse with them. That doesn’t mean you have to of course, some people experience one but not the other. Some people neither.”
“Sexual intercourse,” Nyx repeats, mocking Ignis’ accent so extremely that Ignis kicks him in the shin.
Noct manages a genuine laugh.
“I didn’t realise,” Noct admits, heart hammering in his chest.
Something inside him feels light, almost buoyant. He’d been so worried about this, stamping it down into a thing never thought of to stop it from overwhelming him.
He’s fine.
Ignis and Nyx think he’s normal.
Noctis can - he can fall in love?
He’d been so convinced that he would end up trapped in a loveless marriage purely based on the nature of who he is but now…
Wanting to fall in love must mean he’s able, right?
If Ignis is right and they’re not connected - maybe some of what he feels for Luna is more than friendship, maybe one day he’ll be able to feel the depth of feelings for Luna that she deserves.
Maybe -
Prompto makes him so happy. Noctis wants Prompto to think of him, almost exclusively. Noct doesn’t want to have sex with Prompto but, selfishly, he’s not sure he wants anyone else to either.
“I know you’re at a disadvantage because you’ve never seen the way you look at Lady Lunafreya,” Nyx says, “But my assumption would be that romantic attraction might not be an issue for you. Pretty sure you’ve had a crush on her for like ten years.”
“Oh,” Noctis mumbles.
Maybe Noctis wouldn’t mind holding Prompto’s hand. Maybe he could -
“Shit,” Noct whispers, “Gods, this is all so messed up.”
“It’ll be okay,” Nyx promises, “Nothing that can’t be sorted out over some food. What do you fancy? Ice cream? A too late to be good for you pizza?”
“Taiyaki from that gods’ forsaken food vendor you like so much?” Ignis offers.
Noctis perks up in interest.
“A chocolate one?” he asks.
“As many chocolate ones as you’d like,” Ignis agrees.
- - -
Noct’s lecture lets out early so he busies himself buying lunch - and extra fries for Prompto - while he waits for his friend to appear.
He feels weird. There’s no other way to describe it.
Noct still doesn’t know how he feels about Prompto - only that he cares about him more than almost anyone else. He doesn’t know how to untangle the actual root of those feelings. He’s never had a crush before – that he's been aware of anyway - how is he supposed to know what it feels like.
Unless Nyx is right, and it's how he feels about Luna and in that case, well - the Glaive might be onto something.
Noct doesn’t know what to do about it. If he can do anything about it. If he should.
Prompto doesn’t have those feelings for him, Noct is sure. If he did he wouldn’t seemingly be dating someone else.
“Dude I swear Professor Natsuo is trying to kill me,” Prompto complains, dropping down onto the bench.
Noct thinks he looks tired, dark bruises under his eyes and he can’t help but wonder if he was out late with his friend last night.
“That bad?” Noct asks. He got his food in a takeaway bag and he reaches into it now to pull out the second cardboard container of fries he’d bought.
Noct’s finally understanding that spending money on Prompto sometimes makes him uncomfortable, that Prompto sees it as a thing to be repaid at some point even though the money is meaningless to Noctis.
Fries and lemonade he can swing though, the full meal is what would make Prompto bristle. Noct learns something new about him every day.
“Oh thanks,” Prompto says, taking it and immediately tossing one into his mouth. “Yeah it's that bad. He’s obsessed with drilling the theory into us without letting us actually practice.”
“Gross,” Noct agrees, digging into the bag again to pass Prompto the ketchup and hot sauce packets he grabbed for him.
They eat in silence for a few minutes, Prompto happily eating down the tomato slice Noctis pulls from his burger.
It feels the same as it always has, really. Noct thought he’d feel different, or awkward around now he better knew himself, now there was the possibility that he’d been misunderstanding his own feelings all this time.
Nyx admitted he and Ignis might be wrong of course and Noct supposes only time will really tell.
“How was your thing last night?” Prompto asks him.
Noct shrugs. “Was okay - I mean they went well but that’s boring politics stuff you don’t need to worry about.”
“Try me,” Prompto challenges, “I mean, if you wanna talk about it.”
“We’re not buying coal from Niflheim after next year because we like the environment,” Noct says quickly. This part is important but Noct doesn’t really want to dwell on any talk of Niflheim for any longer than absolutely necessary. Not that Prompto’s likely to focus on anything other than what Noct’s about to say anyway.
“And Lucis is probably uniting with Tenebrae in a, like, official way in the next maybe five years.”
Noct’s face burns, little pricks of hot pain across his cheeks.
It’s part of what made yesterday so surreal.
He’d just agreed in that meeting to be open to the idea of a political match with Tenebrae. Had decided that he could manage what he anticipated to be the uncomfortable parts of a marriage to Luna as long as she knew what she was getting into, that she could assure him she wouldn't be made unhappy in turn.
Predictably, Prompto smirks. Noct knows if he talked to Prompto about all of what happened yesterday after the meeting - new terms like asexual and demi-sexual and grey-romantic that have Noct’s head in a spin - then he’d listen and talk and help him through it. But Noct stays silent because he doesn’t know how to explain it all to Prompto without pointing out that he might very well be the main cause of these revelations.
“Oh yeah?”
Noct rolls his eyes, “Shut up.” He’s pleased his voice is steady.
“The coal thing is cool though,” Prompto tells him.
“Yeah, the council didn’t get it at first so I’m glad they listened to me,” Noct goes on, slamming his mouth shut to stop himself talking about it any more.
Noct just really cares about this, he doesn’t want to take over ruling a country still doing more harm than good to the environment. Noct wants them to at least be on the path to sustainability even if it's going to take a ton of work and effort to get there. And plenty of help from people far smarter than him.
Noct leans across, dragging his fry through the dregs of Prompto’s ketchup, his own long gone and sticks the fry into his mouth.
He regrets it immediately.
Prompto likes to mix his hot sauce straight into his ketchup - or mayo if that’s what they’re having. Noct hadn’t noticed him doing it this time but he evidently had, the burn of it filling Noct’s mouth until he’s almost choking on it.
Noct swipes the last of Prompto’s lemonade too, out of spite, watching as Prompto gets distracted by an incoming text on his phone.
“Maybe you should ask first,” Prompto teases without looking up.
Prompto smiles, grins in a way that makes Noct’s gut churn, knowing it must be caused by whoever is on the other end of that phone.
Gods, he’s jealous, isn’t he? That’s what this feeling has been this whole time. How stupid can he be?
“Who are you talking to?” Noct blurts, evidently the exact amount of stupid it takes to not keep that to himself.
“Huh?” Prompto murmurs, looking up.
“You’re texting someone else -” Noct says, stopping himself from saying any more, from incriminating himself further.
“Well, yeah…”
“I just - I didn’t know you hung around with anyone else,” Noct explains carefully. He shoves more food in his mouth, chewing too fast then slowing down when he realises eating is a good excuse not to say anything for a few moments. Prompto watches him carefully.
“Oh,” Prompto says quietly. “Dude, you don’t want these texts from me.”
Noct frowns. What could Prompto have to say he wouldn’t want to hear? What could he be saying to someone that’s not -
“Oh,” Noct breathes, colouring again. Yeah. No. Recent revelations included Noct’s still pretty sure he’s not interested in anything like that. “Oh,” he repeats, smacking Prompto playfully in the shoulder to try and cover up the depth of his anxiety. “Yeah. Don’t send me pictures of your dick, please and thank you.”
“Dude, I’d never,” Prompto promises.
Noct bows over the last of his lunch, “Thank you in advance.”
-
Ignis' phone vibrates loudly, sliding a little across the counter until it hits a metal pan and fills Noct’s entire apartment with the discordant noise. Ignis stops cooking and reaches for it, his mouth pulling up in a little smile as he reads it over.
Something about that makes Noct realise something.
[Noct 19:21] you never told me who it was
[Prom 19:22] who what was?
[Noct 19:22] dick pic guy
[Prom 19:23] there have been no dick pics
[Noct 19:24] (￣ー￣;)ゞ
[Noct 19:24] okay. no pic dick guy. who is he?
[Prom 19:25] why does it matter?
Why is Prompto being so secretive about this? Noct’s pretty sure Prompto’s not the sort to see anyone he shouldn’t. And even if he were, if he was seeing a staff member or a married man or something Noct’s not going to judge him. He’s not ever going to stop being his friend. Prompto must not understand that yet.
[Noct 19:26] its my obligation as your bestfriend to make sure theyre not a creep
[Prom 19:27] they’re not a creep. promise
[Noct 19:28] so just tell me who they are
[Noct 19:28] i dont want you to get hurt. maybe i know something about them you dont
[Prom 19:29] i’m not going to get hurt. don’t worry about this. i know what i’m doing
[Noct 19:30] i feel like youve probably said that before and then gotten hurt anyway
Noctis knows it.
[Prompto 19:31] its not nice to call your best friend out like that
Best friend.
Noct’s been thinking it for a while. Has been saying it too, but he thinks this is the first time he’s ever seen it from Prompto.
[Noct 19:32] prom
[Prom 19:33] noct
[Noct 19:34] ╮(╯_╰)╭
[Noct 19:34] you’ll let me know if anything changes
[Prom 19:35] you’re the only one i would tell
And that’s -
Well it's kind of everything.