Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Fuck knows how it happened, but Prompto is a superhero now.

There was… an event, he guesses he can call it. Some dumb field trip he didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to (science was never his subject), an accidental spider bite, and now suddenly he can climb around walls and even lift a car with ease. It’s pretty wild.

Obviously, the next step is going out and kicking ass in style. What else is he supposed to do?

It’s the whole deal, too. Powers, superhero name, costume. So maybe the costume is less a costume and more a tracksuit. It’s whatever. It gets the job done.

At least until Ignis gets ahold of it. Honestly, Prompto might be tough, but his costume just can’t keep up. Man, the number of stitches he’s put into that jacket… so, he braves Ignis’s scoldings and warnings the whole time the man is pulling strings (figuratively and literally) to make him a newer, more durable suit. It’s the least he can do in thanks.

And it’s amazing. When he tries it on for the first time, Prompto feels like he’s finally found his place, his second calling behind photography. He’s a real superhero. Even Ignis and Gladio look pretty satisfied with the suit.

“Much safer, and a bit more anonymous.”

“Hell of an improvement ain’t it, Spider-Boy?”

“Man,” grumbles Prompto, but he can't keep the grin off his face.

Later, though, as he’s putting away his costume, he holds the original in his hands. He was about to shove it deep into his closet without another thought, but his poorly-done stitching caught his eye and now he’s thumbing them absentmindedly. These things tell a hell of a story.

Slipping off rooftops.

Barely avoiding dudes with pocket knives in alleys.

Rescuing his (crush) best friend from near-certain death.

Prompto blinks back the memories. Good times. But as he tucks away the old, tattered clothing, he turns to the suit Ignis made and grins. Time for some new memories to be made. He’s got some ass-kicking to do.

~~~

He hides it from Noctis for over a year.

It’s hard. It’s really, really hard. He keeps slipping up, getting angry when Gladio or someone messes up his name (“It’s Spider-Man!”) or accidentally showing the bruises he gets in the nighttime (“I uh, I ran into my door. You know how much of a klutz I am, haah…”).

Plus, Noct idolizes Spider-Man. He wants to tell Noctis so bad. Hey! I’m the one you think is strong and brave and amazing! Everything Spider-Man is, I am too!

But that’s dangerous. Noctis is enough of a target, what with his dad being the big shot that he is. Feels like Prompto has to save Noctis from crazies wanting ransoms or some twisted kind of revenge nearly every week. Not to mention the stupidly high amount of run-of-the-mill trouble the guy gets into: muggings, stalkings, other shit too. Keeping Noctis alive is a full-time job. Prompto needs a raise.

Which isn’t exactly what’s happening, per se, but he thinks things are going in a good direction. By which he means that he (well, Spidey anyway) and Noct are actively flirting. Which is really, really awesome.

“So… here we are again.”

“Here we are.”

“This is what, fourteen? Fifteen times you’ve saved me? Aren’t there any other people in Insomnia in need of a hero?”

“No one seems to need me more than you, considering how often you get into trouble. And I’m happy to assist you whenever you need me.”

“Guess I owe you big-time, yeah? The debt only keeps getting bigger. Don’t suppose you’re up to getting coffee? My treat?”

“Ahh… as much as I really, really want to, I don’t wanna risk drawing more attention to you. Not that I need any payment besides; helping a charming young man such as yourself is reward enough.”

“Fair enough. See you in a few nights, yeah?”

“Don’t actively get into trouble, dummy!”

Like he said, awesome. Mostly.

Now is not one of those instances.

Prompto stands unsteadily, hugging his hunched form. Everything hurts. Blood pours down his arm from long knife slashes, and he feels bruised to all hell. Plus he took a hit to the nose as well, and he’s pretty sure it’s bleeding. Fuck.

Noctis got himself into one hell of a jam this time.

Said boy is still behind Prompto, apparently shocked into silence. The air is different than normal. There’s no flirty tone here. It’s like the enormity of what happened— what nearly did happen— is settling heavily into their minds. This was way too close.

“Don’t… fool around out here again,” Prompto says through gritted teeth. He’s had fun being Noctis’s knight in shining armor, but this went way too far.

“Shit…” is the whispered response he receives. Prompto doesn’t turn to look. His eyes are on the unconscious man at his feet.

Too close. Too close. It runs like a mantra through his brain. The words are accompanied by flashes of images: Noctis backed against the alley wall, a knife at his throat— a hulking, terrifying man whispering curses and threats into Noctis’s ear— the knife slashing again and again into Prompto’s skin as he struggles to fend off the man while also keeping Noctis out of his reach— the final blow as Prompto slams his fist into the man’s skull as hard as he can manage in his state.

Prompto coughs and eyes the man darkly. He straightens up, trying to regain control over the situation before gasping in pain and falling to his knees.

“Oh shit, oh—“ Noctis stammers, immediately coming to his aid. Noctis hooks his arms under Prompto’s and hoists him back to his feet, practically dragging him to the side of the alley so Prompto can lean against a dumpster.

“You hurt?” asks Prompto through the pain. He’s a superhero, after all. There’s a system here. Noctis doesn’t seem to realize that though, growing almost irate.

“Am I— am I hurt?! You’re half dead, are you crazy? Shit, we need to get you to a hospital—”

“No!” Prompto interrupts. “No way in hell, they’ll turn me into the cops. We can’t go there.”

“Where the hell else are we supposed to go?” Noctis almost shouts. Prompto realizes he’s panicking. “You’re bleeding out!”

“Just… hang on a sec…”

Prompto really has nowhere else to go. He can’t leave Noctis, not in his state. He wouldn’t even if he could, with Noct being such a danger magnet. He can usually patch his own wounds or get Gladio or Ignis to do it, but he’s nowhere near his apartment and he can’t call them with Noctis here.

Or.

Maybe he can. Maybe it’s time.

“Noctis.”

Noctis snaps to attention, eyes worried. “What? What do you need?”

Prompto breathes deeply. “Call Ignis. Tell him to meet us at your place with a first aid kit.”

Noctis looks at him searchingly. Prompto can practically see his thoughts whirring around in his skull. Noct has only mentioned Ignis in passing to Spider-Man, maybe twice in total. There’s no reason for a superhero to randomly request a stranger to patch him up, is there? His expression is caught somewhere between confusion and recognition; it’s like he’s right on the brink of realizing. Like he knows the answer but just can’t believe it.

No point in keeping things in the dark, Prompto figures. He rips off his mask.

Noctis takes a step back and breathes sharply. “Sh. Shit.”

Prompto smiles weakly. “Hi.”

Noctis gapes for several seconds. His mouth opens and closes. It’s kinda funny actually, he looks like a fish. Maybe it’s all the fishing he does that’s influenced that. Prompto feels a little delirious. How much blood has he lost again?

“Can we… get going?” he asks, his voice timid. It’s weird being like this with Noctis. Spider-Man is always so confident with him usually.

“I’m going to kill you,” says Noctis lowly, “as soon as you’re fixed up again.”

~~~

The trip back to Noctis’s apartment is slow going. Prompto can’t walk on his own, and though he tries to hold himself up as best as he can, it’s Noctis who bears most of the burden. He slings Prompto’s arm around his shoulder and grips his side and off they go.

Noctis fumes at him for at least ten minutes before shutting up in anger, and Prompto feels terrible. He doesn’t regret saving Noctis, he would never. He doesn’t even regret how far things went. He only wishes he never lied to Noctis.

Not to mention he’s in horrible pain. That’s bad too. He actually kind of drifts off for a while, he’s not sure how long. When he comes around again, Prompto notices through bleary eyes that Noctis has gone red in the face. It’s from lugging Prompto’s dead weight around, he assumes. Or maybe he’s still really angry. Prompto doesn’t know.

It’s ages before they make it home, but by some miracle there’s no one out in the streets. Maybe the dark mood has affected them too, and they all stayed in. Saves Prompto the trouble of worrying about his secret getting out, at least, so he doesn’t waste any more thinking on it.

Ignis is at the door waiting when they finally arrive, and Prompto can let himself relax. Except apparently he relaxes a little too much, because all he remembers is giving the worried man a weak smile before he can’t feel his limbs and everything goes black.

Ages and ages later, Prompto wakes up. He doesn’t open his eyes at first, barely conscious, barely aware of anything. He can feel the dim pain of his injuries, but that’s all he really understands and he just kinda floats between consciousness and unconsciousness for some time. Waking up is slow, but after what feels like forever he registers that he’s sorta awake and opens his eyes.

He’s in the spare bedroom in Noctis’s apartment. It’s late morning judging by the light filtering through the window. Prompto watches dust catch the light and fall to the ground; it’s pretty. Calm. Morning is quiet.

At least until Prompto realizes it’s a Wednesday, and that he should be in school right now.

“Ah—!” He shoots upright, momentarily forgetting his injuries, and pays for it when a fresh wave of pain racks through his body. He gasps and curls in on himself.

“Easy, man, easy,” says Noctis. Prompto looks up to see him sitting next to the bed dressed in the same clothes from last night. He looks tired, and a little worried. Mostly tired.

“How long have you been there?” Prompto asks. His voice comes out in a croak. Noctis scoots the chair closer and hands him a glass of water that Prompto accepts gratefully.

“Um. Awhile. You okay?” Noctis asks, avoiding Prompto’s eyes and instead staring at the comforter. Prompto bites his lip.

“I’m… I’ve been better. You should be at school…”

“Ignis called in sick for both of us. You gotta rest for today, he’s gonna go get whatever homework we missed later.”

Prompto lets out a soft “oh” and settles back into bed with Noctis’s help. Silence settles over them, and it’s really bad. Prompto can’t think of anything to say to break the tension. Well, he can think of a few things, but he’s not sure how “Sorry I didn’t tell you I was Spider-Man, all three of your best friends have been keeping this secret from you for over a year, and also we’ve been flirting for over half of that oops” will go over with him. Probably not too well.

“I didn’t say thanks last night,” says Noctis, still staring away from Prompto. “I was, um, overwhelmed. But you saved me… again… and I’m grateful. I mean it. So thanks.”

“Oh… you’re welcome. I mean, I do it all the time, it’s no problem.”

Noctis looks up then, and Prompto cringes away from the hard look in his eyes. That wasn’t the right thing to say apparently; oh no.

“‘No problem?’ Are you kidding me?” Noctis’s voice is quiet, mindful of Prompto’s vulnerable state, but his tone is no less forceful. “Prom, you could have died last night! You collapsed as soon as we got home, I was terrified! I—”

Noctis stops short. He takes a deep breath. “I’ve been fucking around every night looking to get into trouble so I could keep seeing Spider-Ma— you— and I’ve been putting you in danger! We only barely escaped last night, what if you had died?! Why didn’t you tell me to quit sooner, if you had died and I pulled off that mask and seen you—!”

He cuts himself off again. Noctis hangs his head and curls his fists. Prompto realizes they’re shaking. He looks like he struggles with himself for a few seconds. Then, with the scraping noise of the chair being pushed back, Noctis stands up and practically runs out of the room.

Prompto thought his physical pain was bad, but now he really feels like shit. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go.

Chapter Text

Gladio enters the room about five minutes after Noctis has left. “Hell of a night, huh?”

“Yeah, something like that,” mutters Prompto unhappily. He wants nothing more than to curl up under the covers and sleep. He doesn’t want to talk about what just happened. He doesn’t want to think about it.

Gladio, of course, won’t give him that. He takes the now-vacant seat and crosses his arms in front of him. “It’s good you two are talking it out, but judging by how Noct looked before hiding in his room, you don’t have it all fixed yet.”

Prompto whines and pulls the covers over his head. “He felt bad about getting into trouble all the time so I had to save him. He thinks just cuz I messed up last night, I was in danger all those other times.”

Gladio sighs. “He feels guilty, Prom. He loved having your attention, and now look where it’s gotten you.”

“But it’s never been like that before! And I’ll be totally fine by tomorrow!”

“Prom, that doesn’t mean anything to him! You’ve both been reckless, and now you’re paying the price. It’s a learning experience for the both of you.”

“I don’t know why you’re lecturing me,” Prompto grumbles. “He’s the one who walked out.”

“Ignis is on his case. The both of you idiots need to see sense,” Gladio says. Then he snorts. “There. That’s the serious stuff out of the way, so we can move on.”

Prompto peeks out.

“Is there any chance that you two being in an emotionally-taxing situation got you to finally tell him ‘what’s up?’”

“Ugh!” Prompto moans and ducks back under. Gladio lets out a bark of laughter.

“What? After all that? He carried you all the way home! I thought that life-or-death instances were supposed to be the ideal time to get out your feelings? That’s what all the movies at your place seem to say, anyway.”

“Shut uuuuuuup. It’s way more scary in real life than in movies.”

“So that’s a definite no to my question. But hey, you got one secret out in the open already, and that was the major one. What’s stopping you?” Gladio shrugs as Prompto throws off the comforter out of annoyance to glare at him.

“Because it’s totally not the same thing, like at all! Telling him I’m Spider-Man? Okay, he’s angry, but he’s still my friend and it’ll be normal again in no time. Telling him that not only have I had a crush on him for years, but that I took advantage of my secret identity to flirt with him without him knowing it was me the whole time? Therefore making the entire thing retroactively super freaking weird? Uh, no! I’m lucky he didn’t bring it up already!”

Prompto puts his head in his hands. Oops. That was a little more real than he was going for. Gladio sighs again, and he’s reminded that despite them all being really good friends, half their group is still a few years older, literally adults. Prompto must seem like such a kid to Gladio right now.

“I think you’re underestimating Noct here, though. You shoulda seen him when you two showed up.”

Prompto looks up. “I didn’t know you were there?”

Gladio waves his hand dismissively. “Ignis called me as soon as Noct hung up. I was there before you two were. Anyway. Noct brought you in cuz you were out cold, and man, I’ve never seen that kid worry so much in his entire life. He kept fretting over you while Iggy patched you up on the couch, asking if you were doing okay and telling Iggy to be careful. Iggy!”

Prompto snorts in spite of himself. Gladio grins and keeps going: “And? Once you were all set and we got you into bed, he refused to leave you and stayed in here the whole night. I doubt he even got that much sleep, the way he was about you.”

That explains why Noctis looked so exhausted when Prompto woke up. Did he really stay up the entire night?

“That’s not proof of anything,” Prompto protests. “I’m his best friend. I’d do the same for him any day, even if I wasn’t head over heels for him.”

Gladio rolls his eyes. “If you’re gonna deny it I’m not gonna fight you. All I’m saying is, it takes something real special to get in between that kid and his sleep. And, I can’t stress this enough, he was worried enough that he questioned Iggy’s first aid skills. Multiple times.”

With his piece done, Gladio stands, patting Prompto’s head gently before walking out. He’s left Prompto with a lot to think about. And Prompto isn’t even sure where to begin.

So rather than deal with it, he curls back under the covers and sleeps. It’s a problem for Future Prompto.

~~~

Future Prompto wakes up feeling much better than he was before. It’s late afternoon now, half past six, and the ache has mostly left his body. He stands up to try moving and decides he feels good enough to finally leave the bed. In fact, he feels good enough to take a crack at fixing the issue with Noctis.

At least until he walks into the kitchen to find Noctis sitting on the counter drinking from a mug, and all of his confidence deserts him at once. But hey, on the bright side Noctis also looks like a deer in the headlights, frozen halfway through taking a sip.

They stare at each other for several seconds, saying nothing, now unsure of where they stand. Prompto’s brain finally kicks into gear and tells him hey, that’s super weird, quit! and he coughs to break the awkward silence.

“Hey.”

“Heya.”

Fuck, this is zero percent less awkward. Scrambling for something, anything to say, Prompto notices Noctis is in pajamas now, wearing pj pants and an old t-shirt.

He nods towards the clothes. “Did you get some sleep?”

Noctis lowers the mug to his lap and runs his thumb up and down the side absentmindedly. “Yeah, I did. Busy night, y’know. Iggy finally made me go to bed and I slept till about an hour ago.”

“Still not as much as you’re used to, though, knowing you,” Prompto says. Noctis smiles but doesn’t respond, and he scrambles to find another topic; he can’t bear the silence right now. “Where is Iggy anyway? And Gladio?”

“You just missed them. They left like ten minutes earlier to go get dinner, pizza I think.”

Prompto nods. He’s trying for the third time to find a topic to carry on the conversation, but something of Noctis’s catches his eye. Curiously he steps forward until he’s close enough to swipe the mug from Noctis’s hands and looks into it over the other’s protest.

“What is… this? Is this Gatorade out of one of Ignis’s tea mugs? Why would you…?”

“Shut up, give it back, I’m really tired,” Noctis frowns, but it’s too late. Prompto begins to laugh.

“Why would— what— why—?” he stutters through his giggles, and Noctis starts to laugh too. That only makes Prompto laugh harder, and before long they’re two idiots cackling like maniacs in the kitchen like there was never a harsh word between them. Prompto has to actually brace himself on the counter next to Noctis to keep standing, he’s laughing so hard.

And just like that, it’s all back to normal.

“Alright, you had your stupid laugh,” Noctis says when they finally calm down. “I want answers though.”

Prompto braces himself. But Noctis only asks, “How’d you end up a superhero anyway? You definitely didn’t have any weird powers when we first met.”

“How would you know? I could have kept it secret from you.”

“Puh-lease. Last year you asked Gladio when we were having the surprise party for his own birthday.”

“Ah. Yeah. Well, you remember that field trip we took last year…?”

They spend the rest of the night talking excitedly about Prompto’s superhero career. It’s super cool how interested Noctis is; he wants to know everything. Prompto’s more than happy to give it to him. There’s so much he’s been dying to tell his best friend. The arrival of the older two with dinner barely halts the conversation; they join in, and Prompto has one of the greatest evenings he’s had in awhile. It feels liberating to be so open after so long.

But they still don’t talk about the flirting.

~~~

Things are different after the reveal. Prompto still goes out on patrol nightly, except now Noctis is in on the act. He doesn’t need rescuing; he can see Spider-Man whenever he wants, cuz hey, Spider-Man is his best friend. He covers for Prompto and helps him do his homework when Prompto’s too busy at night. He gives Prompto advice and listens to him rant about whatever stupid criminals happened to be around the night before. But Noctis is never put in danger again. Gladio was right, they’ve learned their lesson. It’s a good thing.

That’s what Prompto keeps telling himself, anyway. Cuz fuck, he misses what they had before he messed it all up. He misses Noctis’s cheeky smirks when Prompto came to his aid, he misses their playful flirting back and forth when, he misses the awed look in Noctis’s eyes when Prompto… when Spider-Man looked at him. Every. Single. Time.

Noctis doesn’t look at him like that anymore. Noctis looks at him like he always has, like Prompto is his best friend. And that’s good. It is. But Prompto’s has a taste of more, and god does he miss it.

So he decides to do something about it. He’s a superhero now, and that means mustering up a ton of false confidence when he needs it. He’s totally (maybe) got this in the bag.

Prompto asks Noctis to come over after school. He makes it sound casual, like all their other after school hangouts. Noctis agreed readily, and the day flies by before Prompto’s eyes. Before he knows it, his heart is pounding as he leads Noctis up the stairs to his own small apartment.

“Are you player one or am I?” asks Noctis, walking towards the television set, but he stops short when he sees Prompto not following. He gives Prompto a quizzical look; Prompto swallows.

“I was thinking of something else, actually,” Prompto says, his voice slightly higher pitched than normal. Noctis tilts his head. “Do you wanna go… out tonight? I figure the spider-powers could use a workout, if you wanna come with…”

Prompto makes a vage gesture with his hands that’s meant to get his point across. He thinks it works, cuz Noctis’s eyes go wide, and then he breaks into a huge grin. Prompto grins too.

“Okay! Cool, cool, uh, wait there for a minute!” he says before rushing to his bedroom and throwing on his costume (minus the mask) with surprising speed, even for him. He returns to find Noct has shed his school jacket and tie, waiting eagerly for his return.

“Where are we heading?” Noctis asks. Prompto points towards the ceiling before gesturing Noctis over to the fire escape.

“After you.”

“Seriously?” Noctis says. Prompto just smiles.

They climb carefully up to the rooftop. Prompto’s building is far from tall, so there’s not much of a view, but that’s okay. This isn’t their final destination.

“Alright, you got me up here. What’s your plan?” Noctis asks, sticking his hands in his pockets and leaning back slightly.

Prompto extends a hand. “Feeling up for a journey?”

“What does that mean?” replies Noctis, but he takes Prompto’s hand anyway. Prompto takes a breath and mutters “sorry about this” before transferring Noctis’s hand to his shoulder and wrapping his arm around the other’s waist, and boy, they are real close right now.

“Uh??”

“Hold tight.”

That’s all the warning Noctis gets before Prompto sends a string of web flying out from his wrist, and almost immediately they are airborne.

Noctis lets out a yelp and curls his arms around Prompto’s neck tightly, but Prompto keeps a close hold on him. The cool night air buffets their exposed skin; it’s a sensation Prompto has grown to love dearly over the months. Even Noctis relaxes his hold slightly, though he buries his face in Prompto’s chest regardless. It’s cute, Prompto’s man enough to admit that. He kinda wishes they could keep swinging through the city for a while.

But, the adventure comes to an end on another rooftop, much higher up this time. The two land with a light thud.

“Are we done? Are we there? If you do that again without warning me I will kill you,” says Noctis, his face still hidden. Prompto laughs.

“Yeah, yeah, we’re there. Take a look, if you’re able.”

Noctis looks up finally to glare and shoves him away lightly. He glances around and does a double take. A smile spreads across Prompto’s face as he watches Noctis’s eyes light up.

“Oh, wow,” he whispers.

Prompto looks out over the familiar landscape. Noct is right: it’s beautiful, at least to city boys like themselves. The skyscrapers stretch for ages, and each and every one glitters and glows with hundreds of lit windows. Differing heights and shapes break up the skyline. Every building has a story to tell, a piece to add to the beautiful collage before their eyes. Seeing the city from above in photos or on postcards is one thing. Seeing it in person is something else entirely.

“You see this every night?” Noctis asks. “No wonder you love your job.”

Not that Prompto’s getting paid for his stellar work as the city’s local vigilante, but he’s not in the mood to correct Noctis on that point. Nah, he’s got something else on his mind.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Go get ‘em.

“That’s part of it for sure,” he says. “Helping people in need is definitely a nice feeling too. Especially when— when they’re cute.”

Agh dammit, he curses at himself for stuttering at the last second. But Noctis just raises an eyebrow.

“Oh yeah? Got anyone in mind then?” he says. He says it with just a hint of a smile. Prompto realizes: he knows. How does he know already what Prompto’s doing? They haven’t spoken about their flirting since the incident, how could he possibly know Prompto was gonna ask him out tonight—

Wait.

“Do you wanna go… out tonight?”

He already did.

Has Noctis thought they were having a date the entire time?!

Uh. Whoopsie. But… Noctis is smiling. Prompto figures not all is lost. And hey, if the cat’s out of the bag already, may as well seal the deal right?

Man, being a superhero does wonders for his confidence, he can’t say it enough.

Still holding Noctis’s hand from their short flight, Prompto has little to do but tilt his head to capture Noctis’s lips with his own.

A slight squeeze on his hand, possibly out of surprise, and then Noct is kissing him back, and it’s clumsy and hurried and it’s everything Prompto’s dreamed of. Noctis cups the side of his face and Prompto grasps Noct’s arm lightly, and he thinks that man, he scored the jackpot on this thing.