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Prompto knelt down, a smile dancing on his lips. The evening sun was setting right behind the hills in the distance, and his new buddy, a yellow chocobo by the name of Apple Pie, had sat down by his side a while ago. He gently petted the fluffy bird, leaning lightly against him as he attempted to find the perfect angle to capture the sunset.
It had been a warm day, full of discovering the area in the morning and riding chocobo races against Noct afterwards. Noct had demanded two rematches, but after the third had shaken Prompto’s hand and called him the undoubtedly best with a little smile and a shake of the head. Prompto had been overjoyed and, fueled by the exhilaration from the races, had pulled him into a tight hug. A silent "Thanks for letting me come here" slipped past his lips, whispered into Noct's hair. Noctis had reached out with his free arm and pulled him even closer for a second, nodding a "Sure thing, buddy" before letting him go. There had been something in Noctis's eyes that he couldn’t fully describe in words when Prompto, too, had let go. He had smiled at Noctis and turned to pet the chocobo he had ridden the races on, feeling absolutely happy for the first time since things had gone downhill in the Citadel. He wasn't sure if he had only imagined the silent whispered "Anything for you, Prom" as Noctis left to find Ignis and ask him about dinner.
Now, an hour and a half later, they were back at the resting spot and Ignis was busy cooking a delicious dinner for them. Not too far away from the trailer they would spend the night at again, Prompto finally had found the right angle for his photo of the sunset.
He activated the shutter a couple of times, looking forward to look at the pictures over a bowl of Iggy's stew. He activated the shutter one last time, just because today's sunset was particularly pretty and he wanted to make sure he captured it in all its beautiful details, when the image the shutter closed on suddenly changed.
Prompto startled and almost fell backwards, but managed to catch himself just in time. "Hey there, buddy," Noctis greeted him, looking both amused and sorry for the scare, and offered him a hand. "Stew should be ready in a couple of minutes,” Iggy called from in front of the trailer. Prompto was about to reply, when he finally reached his usual height again, coming to his feet almost chest-to-chest with Noctis. He muttered an awkward "Heh", scratching the back of his head and making to step a step back as to put space between them, but Noctis's hand reached out more quickly, holding him in place. Seeing Noctis not acting all awkward about their proximity put Promo at ease. Sure, he still felt more than friendly affection for his friend and this closeness didn't help him much, but if it was nothing to Noctis-
"I loved seeing you so happy today, Prom." Noctis's quiet comment interrupted Prompto's train of thought. "Lemme show you something else to make you smile?" Prompto nodded, too captured by the light blush on Noctis's face to look anywhere else. Maybe he would have seen the meaningful glance Ignis and Gladio were exchanging back at the trailer at the sight of the two of them.
Either way, he immediately followed suit when Noctis headed toward the chocobo stables and nearly fell when the back of Noctis's hand brushed his briefly, before Noctis took a determined hold of it, pulling Prompto along behind his prince. Prompto had, for the umpteenth time ever since he had first met Noct, the realization that he would follow him anywhere. Holding his hand only strengthened that sentiment, he found.
Near the stables, Noctis slowly let go of his hand, looking around. Prompto started walking sideways to keep looking at the chocobos as they kept walking toward the edge of the hill. Surely the sight there would be even bett-
He stumbled when he walked with his back into the Rent-A-Chocobo station.
Noctis, too, came to a halt when he heard him exhale sharply at the impact. He smirked when his eyes fell on the sign on the station, hanging right above Prompto, though. "What's it?" Prompto asked. He wanted to be in on the joke. Noctis let out a quiet "heh" as he approached him, eyes still glittering with amusement. "It says 'Chocobos for rent'. With you right underneath it."
Now, Prompto had been compared to a chocobo quite a handful of times in his life already, not minding the comparison even a little, rather seeing it as a compliment. But Noctis, too, had made that connection in the past already, so why was it so funny now?
Suddenly, Noctis stood as close as to him as he had when he had pulled Prompto to his feet again. But this time, he was leaning into Prompto's personal space even more. "Say," he whispered, a smirk on his face. "What does it cost to hug a specific chocobo?" "Wha-" "And what does it cost to rent and to kiss one?" Noctis's face was suddenly mere centimeters away from Prompto’s, and the blond nervously wetted his lips. He must be imagining things. This couldn't be Noctis trying to-
"Of course only with a clear permission."
"You'd get it, I'm sure."
"Do I have it?" Noctis's forehead rested against Prompto's now and their gazes searched each other's thoroughly as they waited for Prompto to make his decision.
"You have had it for months."
This confession was all it took for Noctis to lean in and press a soft kiss to Prompto's lips.
Prompto's eyes fluttered shut and he sighed happily. "You sure know how to steal a boy's heart."
When he opened his eyes again, Noctis was blushing brightly. "I wouldn't know, man. You were the only one I ever had my eyes set on."
Prompto felt something - something warm, something strong - flutter in his chest in response to Noct's confession and took hold of his best friend's jacket collar to pull him in for another kiss. He wrapped an arm around Noctis and carefully deepened the kiss, feeling warm and fuzzy all over when Noctis placed his hands on top of his shoulders and kissed him back.
Over at the trailer, Gladio smirked as he glanced over at Ignis. "Save some of the stew for them in the boxes. I have a feelin' it'll be a while until they come back here." Ignis shook his head but he didn't try to hide the smile that was tugging at the corner of his lips. "It was about time."
Many meters away and out of earshot, Noctis and Prompto reluctantly broke their kisses to walk over to the edge of the hill as Noctis had originally planned to, dangling their feet as they watched the sun slowly disappear behind the hills in the distance. They were leaning against each other, their hands resting between them and their fingers interlaced. And but for the occasional adoring gaze that they shared, nothing else needed to be said to further their happiness.