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You and Noctis glared daggers at each other from across the campfire, the only thing keeping you both in your seats were the men beside you cleaning up your injuries.
“Why the hell didn't you get out of the way?” he hissed at you, fidgeting to the edge of his seat until Ignis tugged him back sharply.
“Because you were in danger, stupid!” you retorted, likewise starting to stand from your seat and being reseated by Gladio.
“I had it just fine! Besides, that's not your responsibility,” he said.
“I'm part of this guard, Noct.”
“Yeah, your job is to help fight, not take on something twice your size for the hell of it!”
This time you fiercely broke free from Gladio's grasp and he let you.
“Are you even listening?! I was protecting you!”
Now Noctis followed your lead and dodged Ignis's grip. When he tried to get him back, you saw Gladio out of the corner of your eye, motioning to Ignis. Ignis hesitated, then complied and sat back. Even Prompto was now looking up from his phone and watching the two of you in awe.
“That's his job! And he could've done it if you hadn't gotten in the way,” Noctis jabbed towards Gladio as he took an aggressive step forward. You started feeling a little light-headed.
“I kept you safe so what's the problem?”
He looked at you like he couldn't believe you were asking it.
“The problem is you're bleeding all over Gladio when it was completely pointless!”
You took a step so you could gesture to his injury.
“So?! You're bleeding all over Ignis! Bleeding is like part of our job description! Why do you care so much this time?!”
Noctis let out a sigh and threw up his uninjured arm in exasperation.
“Six are you really that clueless?”
That set you off.
“Me clueless? Are you kidding me right now? Gods you're so-- You make me wanna just--”
You let out a loud frustrated groan and grabbed him by the shoulders, moving forward and capturing him in a kiss. Chaste and closed, but hard enough to convey your frustration. It didn't last long, your panicked mind made you break the kiss and push away. There was silence. The two of you stared at each other, mouthes open. As your brain assessed what just happened, your heart began pounding wildly. The second you heard quiet, soft laughter you bolted.
“Woah, woah, hang on...” Gladio objected, and you felt a hand trying to keep you from jumping right off the rock. Maybe it was adrenaline, or desperation, but you managed to rip yourself from his grip and make a run for it towards the woods.
You rested your back against a tree next to the creek. As the realization of what you did set in, you sank to a crouch. You rested your face on your arms, hoping the sound of the flowing creek would wash out the panic in your head. Instead, the sound of footsteps intruded on the peace. You straightened up and whirled your head around, relieved to find it was only Prompto, approaching you with some caution.
“Did Noct send you...?” you asked quietly. He raised his hands and shook his head.
“Nah, just me. Promise.”
You sighed and buried your face again, you could hear his footsteps approaching. It would be hard to face him. But not nearly as hard as it would be to face Noctis. Prompto crouched next to you, staring out at the water.
“So that was... Something.”
You groaned and picked up a stone to throw into the creek, it made Prompto jump.
“I'm kinda surprised you finally did it.”
This caught your attention. You lifted your head and slid your gaze over to him.
“What d'you mean?”
“Well I mean... It was pretty obvious you wanted to...”
You looked at him horrified.
“What?! No it wasn't!”
Prompto laughed and casually tossed a stone into the creek to follow yours and the waves bounced off each other.
“You're lucky Noct is totally clueless.”
“Well even he's not clueless enough to miss that...”
Your friend shrugged.
“So?”
“What do you mean 'so'? I can't be in love with my future king, that would totally cost me my job!”
Prompto opened his mouth to say something, but before he could a voice behind you sent pangs of terror through you.
“Nah. If it would we'd lose half the Citadel.”
You watched painfully as Prompto stood up and stretched, giving you a not so subtle wink before strolling off towards the camp. You weren't positive but you thought you could hear Noctis sigh behind you.
“Your modesty leaves a bit to be desired, Highness,” you jabbed playfully. For a second, you felt like normal. Then you turned to look at him and shyness got the better of you. He flopped down on the ground next to you and you weren't quite sure if his hand meant to land on yours or not.
“You're not gonna run again, are you? Cause I don't think I have the energy to track you down again...”
When you shook your head he laid back on the ground with an exhale.
“Lay down,” he said, looking up at the sky. Your head tilted in confusion but you obeyed on instinct. You were pretty certain he moved closer when you did.
“My dad always made us lay down whenever we needed to talk about anything. Said that its easier than sitting face to face...”
You said to admit it was a lot more relaxing.
“So... Did you mean all that?” he finally asked. You sighed, focusing on the trees and their shifting leaves in order to keep your head.
“I guess it would be weirder if I said 'No', wouldn't it?”
Hearing him laugh was a bit of a relief.
“Okay so the Citadel thing was a joke.”
“Yeah, I figured...”
“But I still get strangers hitting on me a lot.”
“If this is supposed to make me feel better I'm not following...”
He groaned and rubbed his face.
“That's not-- What I mean is that they don't know me. They hit on me cause... I dunno, cause I'm the Prince or something.”
You knew that wasn't strictly true, he was after all a very attractive person. His point did stand, though.
“But not you. You were my friend first. And it's.... Kinda nice to be liked as Noctis for once.”
At the very least, you could give him that. Knowing he wasn't upset made you feel better.
“So where does that leave us?”
You didn't really want to know the answer, but you had to. Your mind would never let you live this down if you didn't find out one way or the other.
“Honestly, I don't really know,” he shrugged, and reached over to intertwine some of your fingers in his. Out of the corner of your eye you could see him smiling at you, in that small shy way he always did.
“But I think we could probably figure it out.”