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The popcorn has lost all flavor half an hour ago. Noctis is pretty sure his taste buds are dried up and dead at this point. His tongue has gone numb with the stale taste of salt. But he still shoves another handful into his mouth and munches on it without conviction, because if he doesn’t, he’s bound to fall asleep. The movie is just that bad. It’s some new action flick, but the action is barely there to speak of and hard to see through the stormy darkness shrouding the conspicuous CGI. He stopped making sense of it after the first explosion.
On his left, Prompto’s head drops onto his shoulder like he’s about to bow out too, even though he sounds lively as ever and only stops chattering long enough for breath.
“Seriously? You’re just gonna follow this guy? Dude, he’s obviously shady! Who the hell wears a coat like that at the beach?”
His running commentary doesn’t really help to keep track of the plot, but at least makes it bearable. It’s more fun than the movie itself, so Noct tunes out the cheesy dialogues and tunes in to Prompto’s groans and indignant outcries instead.
“That’s not how you hold a gun! You’ll smash your teeth out with the recoil! You were a soldier, you should know that!”
It’s almost amazing how he still has the energy to get worked up over this dumb movie. His shoulder bumps into Noct’s as he gestures at the screen, shaking his head in frustration. His hair is floppy after the shower, falling over his forehead and eyes. They seem even more blue now in the low light from the screen. If he looks really closely, Noctis can see the reflections flickering in his pupils. If he looks even closer, he thinks he could almost watch the movie like that. Except then Prompto turns, and all Noct can see now is his own shadow.
“Noct? You okay?” The shadow wavers as Prompto looks him over, eyebrows pinched in concern. “You’re kinda spacing out here. We don’t have to watch this if you’d rather go to sleep.”
Noct leans his head back onto the cushions. They’re so soft underneath him. The blanket is a warm weight across his legs, holding him like a fish caught in the net. Prompto’s an even warmer weight, with his curled up knees resting against Noct’s thigh. Noct chews on his popcorn, cheeks burning up from all this warmth.
“No,” he mutters quickly. “It’s fine. Let’s finish it.”
He feels Prompto sink into the sofa beside him, and makes a valiant attempt to focus back on the movie. On the screen, the hero pulls the heroine up from the crumbling ledge of a cliff. She quips at him for the effort, he quips back, and then they’re kissing so vigorously it’s a wonder they don’t tumble down again.
“Ugh.” Prompto’s knee digs into Noct’s ribs as he reaches for the popcorn bowl in his lap. “Why do they always have to cram romance into every movie?”
Noctis doesn’t usually care one way or the other, but right now, he agrees with that sentiment. It’s embarrassing to keep his eyes glued to the screen so intently, but he thinks it would be even more awkward to glance at Prompto. He’s not sure where to look. Nowhere is safe.
“Yeah. It’s so forced,” he says, at last settling his gaze on the popcorn. “They’ve known each other for what, three days? That’s just unrealistic.”
Prompto lets out a pained sigh and rolls his eyes.
“I know, right? Man, I could kill to get someone to fall for me that quickly.”
“That’s… not what I meant.” Noctis frowns, closely inspecting an unpopped kernel. “I just… Don’t people usually need more time before they…” He gestures helplessly to the screen, where judging from the sounds the couple is still at it.
Prompto elbows him lightly in the arm, and Noct can feel his teasing smile before he hears it in his voice.
“What, you’re telling me our very own Prince Charming doesn’t believe in love at first sight? Way to ruin the fairytales, dude.” He grabs a handful of popcorn, catching Noct’s thumb in it. Noct pulls free and jabs him in the knuckles – playfully, but hard enough to make him drop a few kernels.
“Fairytales aren’t exactly right about being a prince. Or about anything else.” But what about the movies? Are they any more accurate? Prompto has been pointing out stupid mistakes since the title screen, but he doesn’t see anything wrong with this. So maybe that’s how it really goes. What does Noctis know about romance, anyway? Not a whole lot. But it doesn’t sit right with him the way they do it in movies. Like all this kissing stuff – it always seems rushed and weird. Not that he thinks kissing in general is weird. Seems like it could even be nice, probably. Apparently. But he can’t imagine himself doing it with a random person he’s just met. Maybe if it was someone he was really comfortable with, someone who clicked with him instantly? Like with Prompto. They hit it off right away, so maybe it can happen after all?
He feels there’s a gap in his reasoning somewhere, like a crack in a cup; he can’t see it, but he knows it’s leaking and his thoughts are spilling all around. He mentally puts a hand over it for now, stuffs his face full of popcorn and turns his eyes back to the TV. The couple on the screen is still making out, so he didn’t miss much. They’re in some kind of a camper, and the guy has lost his shirt between then and now. So maybe he did miss a little.
“Must be nice being an actor,” Prompto says dreamily. “You get to kiss all those pretty ladies… Maybe even multiple times for retakes! And you get paid for it. Like, a lot.”
Noct feels his stomach lurch.
“That’s pretty gross.” He doesn’t like the thought of Prompto kissing random people, either. Maybe it’s just really not his idea of fun. “You don’t even know them. And you don’t even get the choice.”
“But at least you get the chance.” Prompto’s voice all but melts with longing. “It makes things so easy! Come on, we’re almost out of high school and I still haven’t ever kissed anyone.”
“Anyone? So you don’t care who it is?” Noct frowns; the crack in the cup keeps trickling. “I thought the first kiss was supposed to be some one of a kind experience with the right person?”
In fact, he’s never actually thought about it. That’s just what he heard, last week or so, from a heated discussion among the girls in their class. But maybe it’s different for guys. He doesn’t know. Guys in their class don’t really talk about kissing.
Except him and Prompto, apparently.
“I dunno, man,” Prompto says with a shrug. “Sure, it would be great to nail it on the first try. But what if you meet this right person and then blow it because you have no idea what you’re doing?”
“Guess you have a point.” He still can’t find that crack, but it’s just a matter of time now, because his thoughts are starting to overflow. “So what, you’re saying you want to kiss someone just to practice?”
“Well, you know…” Prompto picks at a loose thread in the blanket, flashing a smile that tries to be cheeky and gets maybe halfway there. “A bit of training wouldn’t hurt.”
Noct swats him on the shoulder.
“You sound like Gladio.”
“That’s wrong?” Prompto jabs him in the armpit out of duty. “I’d listen to him on that one. Man, I bet he gets to train on the regular, I mean, you’ve seen the guy—”
“Let’s try,” Noct says quickly, cutting him off before he can gush any more. He doesn’t want to hear that. It’s the same uncomfortable itch as before, when he thought about kissing strangers. About Prompto kissing strangers. Only now for some reason he’s starting to think about Prompto kissing Gladio and it’s not better at all. There’s a sinking feeling in his stomach that only gets worse when he realizes Prompto is staring at him with open mouth.
“Try…?”
“You wanted to practice, right?” It takes Noct some effort to meet those wide blue eyes. “And you said you don’t care who it’s with. So. I can practice with you.”
The crack bursts, and it’s so obvious now.
“Dude, are you serious?” Prompto still gapes at him like an anak caught in the headlights. Noct frowns.
“Yeah. Why would I joke about this?”
“Wow.” Prompto’s mouth twitches into a grin, but at least he’s cool enough not to laugh at him. “What happened to the right person and one of a kind experience?”
Noct shrugs. He’s not sure how to explain that Prompto is just about the only person he could consider kissing at this point.
“You’re good enough.”
“Oh.” Prompto’s grin turns into a tight line. He clears his throat, sits up a little straighter. “Right. Okay. So… how are we gonna do this?”
“I don’t know,” Noct admits. It feels like he forgot to bring his part for a group homework. “How do people normally do this?”
“I guess they just… do.” Prompto doesn’t look too sure, and maybe that’s a good thing. In a weird way, it’s reassuring that they’re both clueless. Whatever they do, at least neither of them will know how badly they mess up.
“So let’s just do it,” Noct decides, and it’s final. A royal decree.
He twists on the sofa until they’re facing each other. Their knees touch. Their knees touch all the time, though. He wonders why he’s so aware of that now all of a sudden. Prompto seems to notice it too, because he’s shifting – but doesn’t pull away. He moves even closer, then pauses, as if waiting for something. For him, Noct realizes. He leans in too, and a hard edge digs into his stomach.
“Hold on.” Noct picks up the popcorn bowl and puts it safely on the floor. It’s not that he’s stalling. He wants this. But he wants it to be good. Because for some reason that matters.
When he looks up again, Prompto’s face is right in front of his. If not for the dim light, Noct could count all his freckles. Maybe he still can; he knows them so well. He can’t remember ever seeing them this close, though.
“Are you sure about this?” Prompto asks, so softly that Noct feels it more than hears. He nods, bumping his nose into Prompto’s. His throat is scratchy and tight all of a sudden. Like when he’s just starting to warp, and it’s a long, long way, and he’s never made it that far before.
Then Prompto closes his eyes and puts his lips over Noct’s.
The light pressure catches him off-guard. It’s not entirely unfamiliar – like drinking from a cup of steaming tea, only instead of the hard porcelain edge it’s soft, pliant skin. It lingers, and Noct wonders idly if that’s all there is to it. He kind of wishes he’d paid more attention to the movie. Maybe he could’ve gotten some last minute tips. But it’s too late and he’s doing it now, and it feels pretty nice, so maybe he’s doing fine. He closes his eyes too and tries to do the same as Prompto, leans his head forward a little and
oh.
Yeah, there’s definitely more to it, and it definitely feels nice. He leans in closer. He’s not sure how he can possibly get any closer than this, but he does. His nose is smushed against Prompto’s, and maybe that’s why it’s a little hard to breathe. It comes out with a whimper, stifled and weirdly pitched. Prompto snorts at that – a puff of air that sweeps between them and tickles his cheek. He’s smiling against Noct’s lips, and Noct starts to feel warm, so warm, with embarrassment flushing his face and with Prompto’s breath on his mouth.
It’s too much, and somehow still not enough.
His head spins. He sucks in another breath, loud and shaky. He doesn’t want to stop, but his chest is throbbing so hard it threatens to explode if he keeps going. It’s throbbing so hard that maybe even Prompto can feel it, because he draws back – slowly, but still too suddenly.
“Something wrong?” Prompto’s eyes are wide and worried and so, so blue. Noct stares deep into them until he’s not sure if he’s looking at Prompto or at his own reflection in the blown pupils.
“It’s nothing.” He shakes his head, but that does nothing to clear it.
Prompto is still looking at him, with an anxious gaze that Noct knows all too well. “You… didn’t like it?”
He did like it. He thinks that’s the problem. He liked it maybe a bit too much. Too much for something that was supposed to be just for practice. Way too much for something that’s not going to happen again.
“It was fine,” he says at last. “You tasted like popcorn.”
Prompto’s smile twitches, but it’s a smile nonetheless. “Is that a compliment, or a complaint?”
“A bit of both.” Noct returns the smile with ease. “You might want to work on that.”
“Yeah? Well, you might want to work on your noises.” Prompto pokes him in the arm with his finger. “You sounded like a baby chocobo. Not like that’s a bad thing! Baby chocobos are cute,” he adds quickly.
Noct pokes him right back. “Thanks. Glad to know I didn’t ruin your first kiss with my animal impressions.”
“Nah, dude.” Prompto bites down on his smile. “You didn’t ruin anything. You were… It was a good first. I’m glad we did it.”
He keeps chewing on his lips, and Noct can’t stop looking at them.
“Want to practice some more?” he blurts out.
Prompto looks at him with surprise. His mouth hangs open, skin worried pink on the bottom. Then he looks away.
“No.” It’s quiet and hoarse, and a little guilty.
Noct swallows the disappointment. It sinks to the bottom of his stomach like a chunk of ice. He’s used to hearing that – but not from Prompto. Was it wrong of him to expect he’d agree? Would it be wrong to ask why he didn’t? He wants to, but his tongue is stuck to the roof of his mouth, dry and numb and tingling with salt. And then, Prompto takes a breath and beats him to it.
“Can we do it for real now?”
Noctis stares, his head swimming as if he spun around too fast.
“You… want to kiss me?” he asks, which is pretty stupid considering they just did.
“Only every day since I met you.” Prompto’s voice is light, but it frays on the edges. “Sorry. Forget that. I shouldn’t—”
His lips are still moving against Noct’s, but the rest of his words melts into a muffled groan. Noct can feel it trembling through him, settling at the base of his spine like a buzzing nest of bees. Then Prompto finally stops talking and starts kissing back.
The difference between practice and the real thing is – everything, really. The real thing is just so much more. It would be completely overwhelming if Noctis didn’t already know what to expect. It still makes him dizzy even now. Prompto’s mouth is almost scalding, and he’s pressing into him like he needs it to breathe. Like he’s afraid Noct might change his mind any second. That’s a conversation they’ll need to have later, but for now it can wait. For now, Noct just holds onto Prompto’s shoulders and pulls him closer. That’s enough. Under his touch, Prompto’s muscles lose some of the tension. His hand wanders up, to cup the back of Noct’s head, hesitant fingers slipping into the hair at the nape of his neck. It’s like a rush of electricity. Noct lets out a rough breath; when his lips part, he thinks he catches just the slightest brush of Prompto’s tongue – just the tip, but oh gods, even that is a lot to take in. He tightens his grip, and Prompto obliges eagerly, crawls into his lap until they’re pushed flush chest to chest. And even further, until they tip over.
The room sways and turns around them. In the corner of his eye, Noct sees the credits rolling on the dark TV screen. Then his vision fills with spots, golden and familiar.
He closes his eyes and kisses Prompto with tingling lips until that’s all he can feel.