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Noctis valiantly leads his party into the main exhibition hall after checking in at the pre-order registration desk; they’ve already checked into one of the penthouse suites at the top of the convention hotel. The room already looks like a bomb went off, because their cosplays are epic and bulky—but epic , as Prompto keeps saying. Noct’s money got them all the resources in the world, but they build and sewed and Worbla-crafted every single little piece every day for months leading up to this convention.
The Four Warriors of Light from the original Final Fantasy: Noctis as the black mage, complete with a brown floppy hat, blue overcoat, and carved wooden staff, all hand-sewn and crafted by the prince himself. Prompto’s strutting alongside his boyfriend as probably a pluckier fighter than the game intended, but he still pulls it off well. Scores of hours and thousands of dollars later, after much trial and error, his red foam armor is finally on display, along with his hyper-realistic sword and shield. Gladiolus trails behind them in thick, handsewn blue canvas as the party’s black belt, the deep v and cut-off sleeves of the martial arts uniform showing off his impressive muscles and intricate tattoo. He's beaming, surveying the exhibition space with excitement, clutching a schedule of events in his right hand. Ignis walks close by Gladio’s side as the final member, a white mage in a long hooded white cloak with red trim, carrying a foam staff of his own design. He smiles to himself, happy that his lovers seem so very much in their element among other cosplayers, game fanatics, and anime lovers.
“Oh. My. Gods. Are you guys from the first Final Fantasy ?!” A feminine, enamored voice rings out behind them, and Ignis turns, staring down at a blushing young woman in a Dragonball Z t-shirt.
Ignis adjusts his glasses, and nods, giving her a warm smile. “Quite right, miss. I assume you’re familiar with the game, then?”
“I only watched my cousin play it a billion times over when we were kids,” she laughs, gripping her cell phone. “I finally played it myself when I got a little older, even though the fifth one was out by then. It took me a while, but I beat it.” She swallows nervously. “Man. You guys are all so cool. You look really good. This might sound dumb, but...can I take a picture of you?”
The other guys line up beside Ignis, forming a sort of semi-circle around the fan. Ignis looks at his party, staring at Noctis the longest, wondering if he’s in disguise enough to warrant a layman’s cell phone photograph. He’s in heavy makeup, and his hair obscures half his face anyway. Noctis meets Ignis’ gaze and shrugs, nodding.
“S’okay Specs. She’s fine.”
Ignis gives a tight-lipped nod to the young woman; she steps back a few paces, and the guys strike a pose as the flash of her cell phone blinks, then disappears.
“Thank you soooo much! I’ll have to send this to my cousin. He couldn’t make it today, but he’s gonna love it.”
Prompto beams, cheeks flushing the slightest shade of pink. “Dude, of course! That’s why we did this, to make people smile. And hey, if you’re the only one who recognizes us, it’ll have been worth it. We’ll see you around, yeah? Enjoy the con!”
“I will!” She turns, retreating to another crop of talented cosplayers, the keychains of her ita bag dangling and clanking across the hall.
Gladiolus chuckles, dropping his martial arts pose. “She was kinda’ cute. Should we ask her to dinner or something?”
Ignis rolls his eyes. “Gladiolus, please.”
“What, I’m just sayin’...”
“Come on,” Noctis drawls, tugging on Prompto’s armored hand. “The classic gaming hall is this way. I wanted to see if they have the original Justice Monsters pinball machine.”
“Ooooooh,” Prompto sings, eyes lighting up as he falls into step with his prince-turned-mage.
Gladiolus grabs Ignis’ hand as they trail their younger boyfriends across the convention floor, squeezing. “I heard there’s tabletop gaming too, Iggy,” Gladio purrs. “Can I challenge you a round of Magic ?”
“Hm, what do I get if I win?”
Gladiolus only laughs as he leads Ignis into the gaming room, closely following Noctis and Prompto.
There are several gasps as the party enters the room, eager attendees attempting to take awkward, angled shots of the Warriors of Light; but Noctis shoves his staff at Prompto and beelines for the pinball machines on the back wall. Prompto can only sigh with affection and follow his mage—it's what he does best, both in and out of cosplay.