Chapter Text
Being sprawled lazily across his own couch whilst consistently thumbing at the bright screen of his phone wasn’t exactly a trait that could be deemed as uncharacteristic of the Prince of Lucis. In fact, the familiar arrangement was one that said prince would retreat back to often, particularly after dragged-out, boring meetings or distinctly harsh training sessions. Even if it was against a certain advisor’s best wishes to momentarily flip off his responsibilities and duties and all that just to idle and do ‘nothing’, the art of simply lying down and mindlessly playing either a video game or on his phone was the kind of euphoric opportunity that couldn’t be passed by.
In fact, Noctis Lucis Caelum was lounging on said magnificent sofa at that very moment. It was too early for his advisor to be over, he didn’t have any training session scheduled, he had no documents to deal with, and it was a weekend; the perfect opportunity to indulge in some perfect laziness.
And yet, even having said that, the prince was feeling almost completely on edge, his body somehow comfortable and yet notably tense at the very same time. Despite his tiredness due to his early awakening, his brain was working two times faster than what could be deemed to be as his usual, and he could hear his own heartbeat in his ears. The raven found himself fidgeting, carelessly biting at his nails, all this combined with a frustrating inability to un-fixate on how his bangs kept sneaking towards that damned wrong angle.
All of these irksome, tragic affairs were but a few of the many side effects of uncomfortable apprehension that continued even still to build within him. And it was all due to but a single thing.
‘Insomnia’s Guide To A Perfect Date’.
This peculiar, specific title enacting as the current centre of the prince’s attention belonged to an article off some random site consisting of mixed reviews and moderate feedback; and as the name suggested, it supposedly listed off the key steps to that alleged ‘perfect Insomnian date.’
…Yeah. The perfect date.
Noctis bit his lip roughly at the very thought of such a thing. He didn’t think that he’d ever even get to worry about going out on an actual ‘date’. It was the kind of privilege that didn’t seem like it’d occur in the kind of war-laced and kingdom-centred life-style that he couldn’t escape from. For him, the prince and upcoming king of all of Lucis, the future consisted of groups such as councils, princesses, nobles, and empires, followed hand-in-hand by conceptions such as arranged marriages, sacrifice, and ‘for the people.’ Certainly not ‘teenage romance’ or ‘late-night rendezvous at the movies’. After turning 17, Noctis had deduced that he felt more or less convinced that for him to be going on a real-life, romantic, lovey-dovey kind of date, he’d have to legit dive straight into the movie scene; either that, or by some unholy luck happen to stumble upon some random-ass prestigious noble that he could tolerate, said noble additionally requiring a solemn guarantee for them to rule by his side and bear his future heirs to the throne.
But then again, who the hell was he kidding? The very notion of falling in love with a princess or distinguished individual—or pretty much anyone—was incredulous at best. After all, Noctis had known for quite some time that he was asexual. Aromantic. Not once had the prince been able to fabricate the ability to be sexually interested in someone, or muster up any romantic attraction towards another; and it was this bemusing perception that had persuaded him to believe that he’d never in the future, either. He was asexual, and nothing could change that. All it really meant was that he was bound to marry for the sake of his nation, the continuation of the Lucis line. And that was all there was to it.
…Or so he had thought.
Well, to be perfectly candid, it wasn’t exactly like he was being granted his fairy tale romance. In fact, for him it was quite the opposite. With how current matters had folded out, it quite clearly appeared that the Six had a rather peculiar sense of humour and had instead finally decided to intertwine his heart to what could actually be considered to be the furthest thing from a princess.
But Noctis gradually conceded that his love interest wasn’t the worst possible choice of all time, however. Not really. Prompto was, and probably always would be, the very best thing that had ever happened to him.
Before he had accepted his now-seemingly-faulty asexuality, Noctis had always thought that if he’d ever meet the love of his life, he’d know it at first sight. They’d both have that miraculous click, and would be unable to explain the feeling, other than simply knowing that they were meant to be.
However, when it came to his affection towards Prompto, things were a bit more… enigmatic, than he had so naïvely expected.
In all their years of companionship, Noctis had never, not even once, imagined Prompto to be anything more than his best friend. Along with personal space meaning practically nothing between them, they both shared tons of common interests, could cuddle without question, shared practically everything with each other; and best of all, they just got each other on the kind of level that no one else in the prince’s life did. And what with all his royalistic duties becoming more and more discernible throughout his years, Noctis needed the kind of normality that his friend provided to keep him sane. And he was pretty sure that Prompto was heavily dependent on him for his own reasons, as well. Without a doubt, his perfect friendship.
And then, all of a sudden… it had changed. Without even a trace of warning.
When Prompto would casually throw his arm around him as he always did, the raven inexplicably found himself wanting to lean further into the partial embrace. When Prompto would say goodbye to him after the day was over, he wanted to call after the blonde to urge him not to leave him. And on the days when a goodbye wasn’t to arise between them, and Prompto would fall asleep next to him after a hefty movie-watching spree, the blonde’s eyes shut, lips visible to nobody else but the prince… Noctis wanted nothing more than to meet them with his own. What once was a normal expression on the blonde’s face, suddenly became adorable and charming. What used to be a completely ordinary gesture, somehow became intimate. And probably the most unnerving of all… whilst the prince actually did masturbate every now and then… the flustering, foreign desire to grasp a certain member that wasn’t attached to his own body had ever-so-embarrassingly made itself apparent.
All of these abrupt emotions had hit the prince like a meteor. At once the raven began to question what on Eos was wrong with him, and what the hell Prompto could have done to so swiftly violate what he thought was to be his standing sexuality. But even though the prince had been fixating on the matter for weeks, the notion that trumped all of his thoughts, questions, and doubts from the start was blindingly discernible; and it was that Noctis knew that his feelings were wrong, and that they held no place in their friendship—that was the main reason why the raven had sworn to himself that he wasn’t going to act upon his stupid state of mind, why he had kept telling himself that he’d get over this unjust period.
But time had only told the prince that such an ideology was not going to hold up. Not for him.
After weeks of denying his stubborn heart and forcefully neglecting his unchanging emotions, it became abundantly clear that the new and foreign feelings that he had inexplicably developed for Prompto were not a mere phase of sentiment, or some stupid crush. Even though he continued to deny it to himself, deep down in his heart, it was indisputable that he was truly head-over-heels in love with his best friend—and it was pretty damn obvious that said best friend held no such feelings for him in return.
It was this sombre knowledge that had gotten the prince to the point of not even wanting Prompto to be near him, lest he succumb to his desire and do something insanely stupid. The Six only knew what would happen between them if such a thing was to occur, what’d become of their relationship. He didn’t even want to think about it.
And so, Noctis had tried to deliberately put some distance between them. He felt as if he had had no choice in the matter—rather that, then diminishing their friendship altogether. He hoped with everything in him that if for a while Prompto wasn’t so profuse in his day-to-day life, he’d somehow gradually fall out of love with him. …As stupid as that may have sounded, he definitely had reason to try.
As it had been, the prince’s feelings were raging onwards without hindrance, the unwanted menace making it even harder to try to even slightly dissociate with the target of his attraction. But still he had tried, knowing full well that he was really trying to push his best friend away from him; and it even appeared to be fine, for the first week or two. Noctis halted attempts to start conversation, stopped trying to get Prompto over at his place, and even refrained from studying with his friend, the close proximity provided during said task suddenly far too much for him to handle. The prince had literally forced himself to dispel any and all romantic—and even normal—thoughts of Prompto out of his mind; and the blonde didn’t even seem to take any particular notice of his efforts.
…That was, until the day before.
The hour had yet to arrive before the prince could be able to recall their conversation without having an uneasy shiver bitterly caress his body.
“H-Hey, Noct…”
Prompto had uttered the words softly from the prince’s side as the two were walking back from a shorter-than-usual trip to the arcade for the first time in days, their bodies—still clad in their school wear—atypically distant from each other. In fact, the call had been so quiet that Noctis had questioned if he had even heard it in the first place. However, turning around to affirm his suspicions, only to be met with an uncharacteristically troubled expression on his best friend’s face, was confirmation enough that it was so.
“…Did I do something wrong?” were the words that next came out, Noctis’ body promptly stiffening in response due to the current state of his psyche, the blonde staring at the ground before eventually pressing on. “Are you… upset with me?”
The prince had slowed his pace as he continued to gaze over at his friend unintelligently, deliberately feigning confusion to what normally would’ve been a totally bizarre question. But as it was, he just so happened to have known better. And even though the raven was hoping to the Gods that he was wrong, and that Prompto was still ignorant to his attempts to detach romantic sentiments with him, he couldn’t help but suspect the notion at the forefront of his mind. And it was that which was causing him such abrupt, internal distress.
“W-What? Of course, not, Prom.” Noctis had eventually assured his friend with a strained smile, only to realize that—of course—some stupid hesitancy totally compromised the sincerity of his voice. But even so, still he continued his charade of faux confusion. “What do you mean? Why would I be upset with you?”
Even though they had both come to a complete halt at this point, Prompto seemed as if he couldn’t bring himself to meet his eye. “It’s just… lately, you seem… weird. At least, around me, you do. I don’t know if you’re just really busy or something, but lately, you look like- I don’t know, like you don’t want to hang out with me...? Or something?”
The scene that was folding out before the prince’s eyes had instantly materialized a vice around his heart, and yet Noctis had somehow managed to force another smile onto his face in a desperate attempt to brush the matter off. “Prom, I’m sure you’re just imagining things,” he reassured next, this time surprisingly evenly in that nonchalant voice that he tended to use with Ignis during reprimands, his nerves sparking agitation nonetheless. “I always want to hang out with you.”
For some reason, Prompto seemed to be even more disconcerted at that response, the blonde’s eyes narrowing as they continued to bore into the ground. “I-It’s not just that…!” he protested with an unexpected look painted onto his face, his stammering voice noticeably quivering. “It’s- You- I mean, you don’t even seem like you want to touch me anymore…! It’s like all of a sudden, for some reason, you can’t stand me anymore...”
For a second or two, the prince actually inadvertently found himself entertaining the thought that Prompto was in fact doing a pretty decent impression or articulation of his own insecurities from years ago, back when they hadn’t known each other at all. Back when the blonde was introverted and nervous just by being in his presence, scared that at any moment he’d somehow overstep whatever boundaries he’d set up by himself and end up getting rejected from being able to be the Prince of Lucis’ friend. Tiny little whispers of anxiety and dread continued to creep into said prince’s headspace along with that thought, Noctis in turn trying his best to hold them back, all whilst striving to maintain his supposed 'composure'. “P-Prom, really…”
Before he could once again deny the very notion of what his friend was suggesting, Prompto’s eyes finally met his own. Only the customary, cheerful orbs that constantly adorned the blonde’s face were instead replaced with borderline teary irises, fully drenched in trepidation.
“Please, Noct… tell me if I did something to upset you.” He practically begged, Noctis’ heart stopping at the very sight, at that moment unable to even open his mouth to object.
“I-I know that I’m a bit much,” Prompto messily continued, “and that I annoy you sometimes… B-But if you tell me what it is I did for you to so suddenly…”—There was a pause as the blonde sniffled in obvious frustration with himself—“Then maybe, I could try to… change it or something? I swear it, Noctis, I promise that I’ll try-“
And that was all that he could take.
“Prompto!” Noctis piercingly interjected despite their exposed location, the raven struggling to withhold his most personal of emotions, urgently trying to think of a way to defuse their exchange. He strenuously lowered his own voice. “You haven’t done anything wrong, seriously! You know that I love hanging out with you, I don’t… I don’t know where this is coming from! You’re- You’re sounding totally crazy right now-“
“Then why won’t you touch me anymore, Noctis…?!” Prompto sharply interrupted the raven’s pitiful pretence with an unstable voice, his tone having morphed into a soft shout that attracted stares from surrounding individuals. “Why don’t you want to look me in the eyes, won’t invite me over anymore? Why all of a sudden do you barely ever try to text me, or want to talk or study together with me, or just do… anything?!”
Noctis swore he almost succumbed to cardiac arrest at that very moment. The desperate words that had poured out of Prompto’s mouth had acted as the biggest punch of realization to his face that he had felt in the longest time; it was the feared comprehension that his idiotic, now-obviously-failed attempt to ‘subtly’ distance his best friend from his life to ‘unfall in love with him’ was as stupid and shallow as it had sounded the first time round. Even though his actions were fuelled by the desire to place Prompto and their future together before his own selfish wants in the first place, he hadn’t even considered as to whether or not he could have caused any suffering on his friend’s part by doing so. He was too worried and fazed by his own feelings to even think about it.
And now there he was because of that, staring helplessly as his best friend, the one that he loved so damn much, finally had his tears spill over, the sheer insecurity of the blonde having him break down over his own convinced belief that he was sick of him. Perhaps even that he hated him.
After Noctis worried so much over what he could do to make sure he’d never put Prompto or their friendship in jeopardy, unwilling to proceed with the one thing that could end up with them separating as friends; and in the end, all he had managed to do was hurt him.
…It had been kind of jarring in that instant just to reflect over how profoundly he had fucked up.
“P-Prom, it’s not what you think,” Noctis swore tactlessly after a moment, the two of them still standing awkwardly in the middle of the pathway, the prince’s breathing erratic with worry, stomach churning with nausea. “You haven’t done anything, wrong, it’s… something else.”
There was a dense flicker of hope within the prince as to if the blonde would for some reason take such a crappy response; but of course, Prompto wasn’t going to accept some vague explanation from him. Maybe with somebody else he would’ve just let it go and simply complied; but not with him. Not when he had so much to lose.
“…Then what is it, Noctis?” he eventually inquired, scepticism in his words, eyes unable to hide the apparent hurt that he must have been feeling due to his obvious certainty that he was in the wrong. “Please, tell me then… why? Why all of a sudden have we become so distant…? …What did I do?”
His voice cracked on the last word.
“Prom, it’s not you, I swear…!” Noctis impulsively promised once again, his voice trembling with every word that poured out of his throat. The prince was succumbing to so many emotions in that very instant he couldn’t even pick apart his own muddled cacophony of thoughts, couldn’t think straight enough to fabricate some lie in the heat of the moment.
So instead, he powerlessly dropped the erroneous façade. “I-It’s true, I have been distancing myself, I admit it—but it’s not because of something you did! It’s about me, Prom!”
A strained breath was all the prince could reap before carrying on his distraught sentiments. “T-The truth is… the reason that I’ve been keeping myself away from you… it’s because…”
Six… was he really doing this?
“It’s because, I-I…” Noctis gradually managed to choke out again, his entire body abruptly alight with inexplicable heat, exploding sensation radiating out of every pore. “Prompto, it’s because I… I…!“
…I love you. Three little words. That was all he had to say. In that split-second, Noctis realized just how badly he wanted to say it in the first place. No, scream it. He wanted to scream it out with every ounce of raw emotion that he had been holding back for so long, arduously grabbing onto Prompto without restraint as he repeated the same line over and over. And that was in view of the fact that despite the unwillingness of his brain to accept it, they were of the utmost truth. No matter how hard he tried to deny it, to work around it, to change it—regardless of how much it all scared him; Noctis always plummeted back towards the same, unceasing conclusion.
He was irrevocably in love with Prompto Argentum. And nothing he could do would change that.
It was only then, once that irrefutable thought had crashed through his rational shield of worries and anxiety and into his thick, helpless skull, did the prince finally admit his own defeat. Only then, did he realize that he had no choice; he just had to tell him. Even though Prompto didn’t feel the same way as he did, and even if only bad could’ve been wrought from it; he had to at least say it. He had to get it out. He couldn’t keep lying to his friend—nor to himself. He had to tell Prompto those three words.
I love you.
…But of course, the declaration couldn’t leave his lips. Not there, Noctis evaluated with immense frustration as his innards’ heat rapidly diverted back to more comprehensible temperatures. Not by the side of some road, with strangers fluttering around them whilst shooting side-eyes at the teary blonde that couldn’t take his eyes off of the boy opposite him.
Not where Prompto could merely walk away from him, slipping out of his desperate grasp before he could explain himself to the person who mattered most to him.
No, he had to come up with something else. He had to do whatever he could do to make it perfect. Even though the prince honestly expected nothing in return to his confession, it didn’t make said confession any less significant to him; it had to be done right. He needed to show Prompto that his feelings were genuine, and that he wasn’t pulling anything stupid. Without any hesitation, and without doubt.
He just needed to show that he truly loved him.
So instead of confessing right there and then, Noctis had chosen to blurt out something else. The very first excuse that had come to his mind, simply spilling from his lips without any real consideration supporting the act.
“…Ignis.”
The two boys stood staring at each other for a while as an uncaring breeze passed through them, neither of them making so much as a sound.
Noctis had immediately found himself discreetly biting into the inner corner of his cheek as he contemplated as to whether or not it could’ve been perceived as low, mindlessly pinning the blame for something so serious on somebody else; but then again, right then, the prince honestly didn’t have enough energy to care. His brain was too busy working double-time to figure out exactly why the hell Ignis was to blame for their present state of affairs.
Surprisingly enough, the raven actually had quite a few moments to think about it; Prompto appeared to have been completely stupefied by his eventual—and totally bullshit—answer.
“…Ignis?” Prompto finally repeated in a small voice, confusion obviously having penetrated through the blonde’s previous, pained conviction. It was definitely fair to say that his friend had been surprised by the response that the prince had so thoughtlessly announced, said prince in turn using that unusually lucky splash of hesitation to his advantage.
“Y-Yes. Ignis…” Noctis nodded slowly as he tried his best to feign authenticity and construct an explanation to somebody who knew his so well, his palms already sweaty, a hopefully unknown tell-tale sign that he was lying through his teeth. “Prom, the reason I’ve been… distant, lately… is because Ignis said that-”
In a split second, Noctis skimmed through his available options. He sought for something that would of course be believable on one hand, but also something that Ignis would actually be verbal about on the other…
“I wasn’t taking my responsibilities seriously.”
Bingo. Although a celebration for his uncommonly speedy explanation would have to wait, for a moment’s hesitation was all he could spare before continuing, lest he look like he was wavering for words.
“He told me… that I was spending all of my time with you instead of obligating to my duties as a King should. He also said…” Noctis had hesitantly thought about it for a moment, before eventually adding, “…that my dad would be disappointed if he was to see my lack of commitment.”
The prince took a deep breath as he saw the look on Prompto’s face after he had said that last line, his nerves quivering uneasily for Ignis’ sake as he just barely managed to sort out the next words in his head.
“So, I thought that if I stopped spending time with you for a little while, and showed Ignis that he was wrong about me, and that I did take my responsibilities seriously- uh, enough… then he’d ease up on me.”
Prompto continued to gape at him, his eyes wide, mouth slightly open. Noctis rushed to continue before his friend could ask any difficult questions; or even worse, get the wrong idea.
“B-But, I realize now that I was wrong to listen to him…! I shouldn’t have pushed you away, no matter what the reason was. Because… nothing is as important to me as you are, Prom. And- I’m sorry that I hurt you because of it.” Noctis swore with genuity in his voice, for once his words actually speaking truth, the prince inadvertently furrowing his brow in candid repent for his actions. And even though the blonde was unknowing of the fact that he was apologizing for a reason entirely different than from what he was spouting, the raven still poured his heart into those last words.
Nervousness and worries continued to dance hand in hand with the prince’s guilt over lying to Prompto as the look on his best friend’s face morphed back and forth between various emotions, Noctis waiting impatiently for a response to finally hit him. At the very impression that his friend was about to open his mouth, the raven’s breath hitched.
“S-So… it’s not me?” finally came the stunned and soundingly rhetorical response.
Praise the Six.
“No, Prom!” Noctis sighed hugely in a single, spent laugh, an air of consolation and utmost relief radiating throughout his body without restraint, even despite his biting remorse. “You’re my best friend, of course it’s not about you…! This was my fault, Ignis just... got into my head. I was acting and thinking like a total idiot. …As usual.” He added jokingly, albeit gingerly, adorned with a hopefully unnoticeably tense smile.
It only took a second before his best friend’s arms were around him like a vice, the blonde carelessly sniffling whilst laughing as a poor citizen had to dodge the form of the prince shooting backwards from the sheer momentum of the embrace. “Gods, Noct, you are an idiot!” Prompto scolded noisily from his compressed position on the raven, any supposed vexation having been completely nullified by the obvious joy and alleviation in his voice. “You big, dummy prince! You had me so damn worried, and for what? Because Ignis can’t see that you’re gonna be a totally awesome king one day?” A light-hearted scoff rang out from the blonde. “You chocobo-brain!”
Noctis feigned a protestful noise at the emotional reprimand, the prince having been hugging his friend back since his body had veered back forwards. Perhaps even a little bit too ardently. However, the blonde didn’t seem to notice. Either that, or he just didn’t care.
“Well hey, Prom, look at you!” Noctis teasingly jested after his nerves had calmed down for the most part, “You were actually willing to believe that I couldn’t stand your guts? You, the total bestest, most amazing person in my life?” He gasped dramatically—half for show, half in an actual attempt to try to breathe—“After all we’ve been through…!”
“Well, what was I supposed to think?” Prompto retorted as he continued to squeeze the life out of the prince’s organs, “You were acting like I all of a sudden had the plague or something! Subtlety is so not part of your repertoire, dude.”
“That’s a big word.” Noctis quipped dryly.
“Oh, shut up.” Prompto snorted, his smile in his voice.
Eventually, the prince was released from his friend’s unyielding embrace, the sudden rush of oxygen flooding back into his insides rather harrowing; but he didn’t complain.
Prompto sighed as he rocked back onto his own heels. "I legit can't believe you had me this worried. Last time I was this worried, I- well, I can't remember the last time I was this worried. But at the time I probably did something crazy-dramatic. Like set fire to something."
Noctis smiled sheepishly.
“...So, are we good?” the prince eventually tried, despite the answer already having been pretty obvious for them both. Thank the Gods.
Prompto, bless him, actually whole-heartedly beamed at him before adding his own, “Yeah, we good."
However, the smile gradually faltered after a second or two. “Although, Noct… you do know that you shouldn’t neglect all those princely duties and stuff for me, right…? I mean, you are Noctis, but you’re also the prince—you could get into serious trouble if you bail out of work all the time, especially for me.”
The prince nodded, humming in sarcastic affirmation, suddenly feeling a whole lot more like his usual self. “Of course, I know that, Prom. And besides. You know me. I would never abandon work just to play hooky with my best friend. Never, ever.”
“…Douche.” Prompto remarked, unable to conceal his grin. And to his own gratification, Noctis couldn’t hold back his smile, either.
All of a sudden, Prompto held his hand out outwards, an obvious indication that he wanted something from him.
“Hmm?” Noctis hummed in question, confused as to the intention behind the gesture.
“Your hand, dummy,” Prompto pointed out with a smirk as if it was obvious, “I’m not even letting you get the chance to get away, this time.”
Noctis laughed despite himself.
And the two actually held hands as they once again began to make their way back from the arcade. His friend’s hand felt warm in his own, and it just felt so right to be able to hold again. When the prince would squeeze down, Prompto would squeeze back in retaliation as if they were playing a game, a giggle waiting to spill from his lips.
…Those gorgeous, striking lips.
The abrupt, vivid thought had reality smacking the prince out of his daydreams, Noctis nearly tripping over his own feet as he remembered exactly what it was he was supposed to be doing. But even though he already had a notion as to what he wanted to suggest, the prince still had to muster up the courage simply to take the breath that would lead up to speaking. So much for feeling like his usual self.
“Uh… Hey, Prom…” he started awkwardly, his body already fidgeting in more ways than one. Prompto was momentarily distracted by his own arm swinging the prince’s back and forth between them, but the blonde met his eye after a bit, evidently waiting for him to continue. Noctis cleared his throat inelegantly. “As a sign of my… let’s say, gratitude, for you not simply kicking my lame ass to the curb over this thing, let me…” He inhaled a tense breath. “Lemme take you out for dinner tomorrow. Just us.”
Surprisingly enough to the raven, Prompto didn’t seem phased at all by the spontaneous offering.
“Pppft, Noct, you don’t have to do that.” he casually declined as he normally would have after being offered something from the prince. And usually, if he wasn’t aiming to spoil his friend, Noctis wouldn’t have remarked on the matter, knowing full-well that that was just how Prompto functioned.
However, as it had been, he had reason to press.
“N-No, I want to. Someplace nice. I could use a night out with you.” For some odd reason, he confusingly felt compelled to add, “I mean… unless you don’t want to spend time with me…?”
His compulsion was probably just a side effect over how bad he felt for plotting and lying to his best friend; but even so, Prompto thankfully brushed off the deadlock suggestion with a telling huff of breath. “If that’s the case, then we should be spending time studying, not messing around and grabbing food, Noct. When was the last time we studied together? You’ve probably been falling behind, not having your valuable study buddy by your side after all this time.”
Despite the private uneasiness Noctis felt over that last sentiment having reminded him of the past two weeks, the prince decidedly pressed once more. “Humour me. Please…?”
Prompto gazed over at the prince, continuing to swing both of their arms as a look of objection, gradually followed by a look of mischievousness, gradually painted itself onto the blonde’s bright features. “…Okay, Noct. I won’t tell my parents I’m skipping homework if you won’t.”
“Deal.”
“Okay then. It’s a date,” Prompto playfully joked, a charming wink accompanying.
Noctis merely squeezed his hand once more.
Skip forward past the rest of the way back, the rather uneasy yet affable goodbye as the two went their separate ways, the spectacular collapsing of the prince’s body crumpling onto his bed for the rest of the evening until slumber finally took hold of his timid conscience, and here he was. Having succumbed to a most unforgiving sleep, along with having woken up at a time so diabolically early he couldn’t even fathom it, only to migrate to his inviting couch until he could finally muster up the courage to cradle his cell phone into his nervous hand to search for the perfect manner in which he could confess.
Clearly, a date concealed as some spontaneous night out with his best friend was probably not the most elegant or prestigious of choices, but the prince was working with what he had.
Truth be told, when he was a lot younger than he was now, the raven would’ve thought that searching for somebody else’s definition of an ideal date would be totally irrational, and that it would’ve been more engaging and more appreciated if it had come straight from the heart, without any additional and unnecessary effort exerted. Noctis had been under the impression that simply being yourself was perfect sentiment enough, and that nothing else mattered but that.
Well, right now, the prince could concede that such an idealistic notion was obviously not going to accomplish much for him.
Noctis had to be serious with himself. He was certainly not some kind of glistening knight on his trusty stead. He wasn’t some ‘prince charming’, wooing all of the women—and for this matter, men—with a simple flash of his teeth, adorned with an oh-so-endearing wink. He was awkward, and he was anxious, and when he so much as thought about something that would merely implicate towards his feelings when he was around Prompto, he’d turn into a babbling mess of a human; so just ‘being himself’ was surely out of the question for what he had in mind. For the moment where he would finally disclose his feelings to be without blemish.
But of course, with the Gods so blatantly having it out for him, whilst he did know Prompto down to a T, he also just so happened to be almost entirely unaccustomed to the concept of dating. Whilst Prompto was a total fan of those sappy romance movies, and Gladiolus for his ardent intimacy novels, Noctis had never found any outstanding interest in such things—so, whenever he was exposed to said topics, he’d never actually pay any real attention to how all the dates and things were to be properly executed.
A regrettable choice now, he could concede.
What he was certain of, at least, was that a meal—and in his case, dinner—was to be arranged, and…
…Well, that was about it.
But focusing on the only subject that he knew for sure was a given, Noctis deduced that he certainly couldn’t just take Prompto to a place like Kenny’s like he usually would. Whilst on one hand the prince would probably feel the most comfortable in such a familiar place, the words ‘passionate’ and ‘romantic’ just didn’t fit into the same sentence as ‘fast-food restaurant’. And so, it became fairly clear that he would just have to shift out of his comfort zone for this ordeal. For not just the meal, but absolutely everything. For Prompto, he wanted every perceivable aspect to be toiling away in his favour for the approaching evening.
This was, needless to say, solely due to his desire to do everything properly for such an extensive event, to finally share his most personal of feelings to the one he loved in the most absolute and optimum way that he could possibly manage. For both him, and Prompto.
…But of course, life wasn’t quite as simple for only a single, straightforward motive to exist for him. Because deep down, within the darkest chasms of his conscience, lay a dangerously harmful, and possibly even self-destructive incentive that the prince wouldn’t dare admit even to himself. It was the other, less innocent reason he wanted it all to be completely ideal.
But whatever. Whether he allowed himself to contemplate over why exactly he wanted what he wanted, it was impeccability that he craved in the end, either way. And it was that in particular which he alone could not even hope to achieve.
So of course, he immediately sought the indispensable aid of his good old friend—the internet.
Having scrolled through an incognito tab for a little while, Noctis passed various results that matched his initial search, each one’s introductions differing in wording and professed guarantees. Eventually, after a few moments of glancing over various sites’ titles and descriptions, the prince caught himself peering curiously at the summary of an honestly average-looking article.
‘Insomnia’s Guide To A Perfect Date’.
This account in particular was advertised to supposedly list off ‘every important step to succeed in impressing and satisfying your crush and their desires upon your first date.’
Whilst Noctis didn’t really think that trying to impress Prompto was relevant even in the slightest, it was to be his first date—if he could even call it that—and the summary looked as promising as any other did. Why his eyes caught onto this particular article, he couldn’t say; but with an inner shrug of acceptance, the prince clicked on, and at long last began his quest to absorb absolutely everything he could.
A typical introduction and insertion were provided by the author, followed by some predictable questions that readers who’d click onto such an article would find relatable. Noctis ignored all of the attention-grabbing comments with an unimpressed grunt, skimming down to the actual article.
His eyes landed on one of the first decent-looking paragraphs.
’Insomnia has one of the largest arrays of attractions on Eos, from amusement parks to museums—find out what the girl you like is interested in, and make some exciting or leisurely plans for before you take her out for a meal. Not only will this increase the time that you both get to spend together, but having a great time beforehand will likely decrease the chances of your date going down in history as having been an awkward event.’
Noctis considered this for quite some time, momentarily entertaining the thought that maybe he could take Prompto to explore some markets before their dinner date, or perhaps some fair where they could ride on a Ferris wheel like some pining anime couple.
But then again, thinking back to his painfully awkward proposal to the blonde that he had given out without much intelligent thought, he had indeed offered Prompto to dinner, not some play date.
So once again, the prince skimmed onward, past that section of the article, his impatience and annoyance growing even further. The fidgeting was at an all-time high.
‘Fellas, girls will appreciate an air of sophistication. For the food-based portion of your date, you want to give the impression of having both refined taste and wealth to woo and seek the favour of your date; so, save up your cash, and indulge her with a reservation to a fancy restaurant.’ A few suggestions within the city’s walls were listed. ‘Impress her, and please her, and it will surely pay off in the long run.’
Noctis found himself biting his lip in due thought at this, appraising what he had just been informed with. He knew that Prompto was certainly not one to involve himself with anything that screamed out rich or proper, the prince certainly feeling exactly the same way. But then again, whilst his friend definitely wouldn’t be ‘wooed’ by him and the obvious fact that he had money, he’d probably appreciate the lavish indulgence nonetheless. Along with this, the raven also kind of figured that a very grand and chic location would be rather romantic…
So, not long after some intense deliberation on Noctis’ part, the Prince of Lucis had made top-tier reservations at one of the most expensive restaurants in all of Insomnia, nestled on the top of a skyscraper near the citadel. He’d been there once, with his dad, and had made the abrupt decision to never willingly go back into such an uncomfortably extravagant scene; but he guessed that now, for Prompto, he’d just have to make an exception.
’All things considered, you’re going to want to look your very best. A casual but striking outfit will do nicely for a day-time date. And considering that Insomnia is perfect for fancy dinner dates, you’d do yourself well by fitting into a smart and debonair blazer of some kind. If you’ve got the money, get yourself fitted at one of Insomnia’s fine tailors. Your look is definitely going to impact your chances of a second date, and you’re going to want to look as fashionable as possible.
So, whether it’s breakfast, lunch, or dinner, you’re aiming to dress to impress; make yourself look sharp and refined.’
Despite his commitment to make sure he followed all of the correct steps that he was being provided, Noctis grimaced at this segment in particular. A 5-star restaurant was certainly one thing, but some fancy outfit was definitely going a bit far.
’So, you both had a good time, and you’ve finished eating, signalling that it’s time to finish up. If it hasn’t already been brought up, try your best to plan for a second date. Ask politely, but also try to enforce your enjoyment and hope into your words when you ask. Get your date to feel special, and make sure she understands just how much you feel for her. This will hopefully motivate her even more so to see you once again. And of course, since it is you who planned the date, you should pay for the food. A good idea is to tip extra upon finishing, making sure she sees how much you do, just to impress her.’
A frown once again graced the prince’s lips after having read that last bit. Reading through a few other sections, the immense, one-sided efforts that were constantly being pressured and restated honestly had the raven doubting the authenticity of the article. With all of these hoops that he was supposedly meant to jump through for this hypothetical date, it felt as if he should just worship the damn person whilst he was at it. Was simply earning the favour of the one you had feelings for genuinely so demanding...?
But after a few moments of adequate consideration, Noctis sank back to the conclusion that all of this was just how it worked. Because after all, he speculated that for Prompto, he would indeed give him the world if he could. So excessive exertion was to be expected, he guessed.
And anyways, whilst his friend was rather persistent that they split any check that they got, Noctis did end up paying for most of their expenses, mostly because… well, he could. So, for his situation, he couldn’t really complain about the finances.
But with all of that out of the way, Noctis soon found himself at the end of the article.
’After following every step on this list, it’d be hard for you not to get a good-bye kiss. Gratitude can be expressed in many ways after a date, but the most pronounced and appreciated will certainly be that legendary first kiss for all your efforts.’
Noctis accidentally found himself stupidly imagining such an unobtainable thing—for longer than he’d like to admit—that horrid aspiration sparking its ugly face into the back of his mind. The prince willed it away with every ounce of strength that was in his body, dismissive and abusive thoughts soaring after the spot where it was last felt just in case. Meanwhile, Noctis quickly distracted himself with the rest of the conclusion.
’But if you didn’t, then don’t fret; there’s always next time. After all, it definitely depends on what kind of girl your date is, so don’t beat yourself up over it. There’s always just the chance she has to warm up to you before she can express her sentiments. Be patient, and you’ll eventually get to that point. So to all you readers out there, I send my wishes that your dates go as swimmingly as possible, and I hope this will help you win her over. Thank you for reading, and good luck, my dudes.’
Noctis took a deep, spent breath as he finally removed his gaze from his phone—although his fatigue was certainly no match for the sudden barrage of zeal that had abruptly infiltrated his system. His brain was literally doing laps in his head, racing over what he had just learned, hundreds of possibilities and ideas all bursting out before his eyes at once, the lack of order certainly enough to have driven Ignis mad.
When was he supposed to pick up Prompto? Or was Prompto going to come to his place, instead? Noctis blinked thoughtfully, a low murmur escaping him as he mused over that notion. Whilst Prompto came over to his place all the time, the former definitely sounded far more date-like, so it was that which he decided to do.
And he also had to pick out his own outfit. Maybe he could try for something that was at least well-kept, the kind of look that was totally dissimilar to his customary, comfy clothing…? And he could also spend some more time on his hair, perhaps. The prince figured he wanted to set a demeanour that would surely surprise Prompto in the best way possible.
And speaking of such, he could tell Prompto that he got reservations at some nice restaurant, not giving any details or possibilities as for him to guess where, along with that he as well had to dress nicely, discarding the usual wacky—but ever-so-endearing—type-clothes for something more remarkable. Like jeans or something.
The prince nodded quickly to himself as countless pieces of his apparent plan started amalgamating and coming together, the morning sun that was shining through the curtains lighting up his figure as he stood up from the couch, determination brewing.
He had to get ready.