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"Sweetheart, I'm home!" Prompto yowled, pushing the front door as gently as possible with his foot before dropping his two heavy bags with a relieved sigh. His greeting earned him a loud snort in the living room, followed by rushed mumbling. Prompto couldn't make out the words, mind occupied as he spotted Ignis's shoes neatly put away against the wall -- wondered why he should have grabbed some Ebony after all -- and removed his own sneakers to line them up next to Ignis's shoes.
Despite their respective part-time jobs and their schoolwork, Prompto and Noctis had managed to always get their Friday evening free of all obligation, thus creating their current tradition of weekly games-and-movies night. They usually didn't get company: Ignis tended to work late on Fridays, and Gladio liked to go for a drink in bars or go on dates on the rare occasion when he was off duty. They had made it a few times, but it was mostly Noct and him gorging themselves on fast food and unhealthy snacks while they played until the end of the night. It was their final year of high school, and Prompto doubted they would be able to enjoy nights like these once they both started university.
"Hello, Prompto," Ignis greeted him. "How was your day?"
"Good, thanks Iggy. And you?"
Ignis peered curiously at the grocery bag Prompto had carried and frowned upon noticing the contents were mostly a different sort of chips, but ultimately didn't comment on it, for which Prompto felt grateful -- he didn't feel like hearing another lecture about eating habits, even from a well-meaning friend.
Sitting in an armchair in front of Ignis, Noctis was busy dividing a deck of long, white and purple cards into piles. He briefly gazed up and shot Prompto a smile before huffing and slamming the card he was currently holding into the nearest pile with a frown.
"Good, good. I didn't know you'd be here. Is that 'Know(ck) It All'?, he asked.
He'd already grabbed the purple case of the game discarded on the couch and sat down in it instead, eyes gliding on the game instructions.
The game had become incredibly popular barely a few weeks after its launch. It was everywhere on social media and extremely trendy among the teenagers. It was claimed to incite players to bond by sharing their most memorable memories, funny stories and embarrassing experiences.
Each card displayed a sentence spurring the player to narrate or act out a memory. All players selected three cards at the beginning of the round and chose one they would narrate to the other players. Once the round was finished, the players selected the least ‘memorable' memory by knocking the narrated card out next to the player who had lost the round. The player would win by having the lesser number of cards in their pile by the end of the party.
Prompto had never played, but the game was all the rage during lunch break among his classmates. Noctis had been invited to play several times, but he had always managed to elegantly decline the invitation or simply made himself unavailable as soon as the bell rang -- a feat he was notorious for, so no one had picked up the avoidance act yet. Prompto hadn't thought about it twice either, figuring Noctis was simply uninterested in socialising. It seems, however, that there was more to it.
"Yes. Noctis informed me he has been solicited to play many times lately. Considering the nature of the game itself, we will have to review the deck."
The card in Noctis's hand read "Most memorable rollcaster drive". He seemed to consider it for a moment before placing it on top of the smaller pile.
"People keep bugging me about it," he finally said. "It's only a matter of time before I have to say yes."
"Yeah," Prompto agreed, putting the box away, still wondering what this 'review' implied. "You probably won't be able to escape it during the high school festival. I bet our class will want to organise a tournament or something. Maybe a Kow(ck) It All café so people can come and play the game."
It would be popular with the visitors, too, Prompto mused. Considering how popular the game was, it would be surprising if several classes came up with his idea. Since Noctis's and Prompto's class had won first place last year, their class would be able to register their event with the faculty before everyone else. To be fair, their anime music concert had been the most popular because Noctis played the piano, and everyone wanted to watch him play. No matter what their class chose to do this year, Noctis was bound to be heavily involved.
"You're gonna be the attraction, as always," he teased. "I bet they will make you the final boss of the tournament."
"Ugh, don't tell me. I'm already tired just thinking about it."
Prompto startled from his snickering as he felt something cold against his fingers, only to find a cold can of diet Pampalanda pressed against his hand. A second can was placed near the prince while Ignis opened an Ebony for himself.
"So this is the reason why you moved forward with our meeting," Ignis said.
"Mmh. The teacher will ask us to vote for a theme next month or so, and Prom's right, I would be surprised if the game isn't involved in whatever theme our class chooses. Better get this done now."
"I can only applaud your proactivity on the subject," Ignis praised.
"Better get this done now." He abated yet another card, this time on the higher pile. "Bahamut's shit, how many cards are there ? Seriously? What's this?" he waved a card angrily -- another one for the highest pile. "It will take hours ."
"It usually does, "Ignis replied calmly, leaning forward to take a glimpse at the card.
Prompto watched him frown and tried not to fidget. He still had no clue what this reviewing was about, but clearly it wasn't going in the direction Noctis had wanted it to.
"Fuck. Sorry, Prom, I thought I could expedite this, but..."
"Don't worry about me. Maybe I can help? Even if I'm not sure I understand what you're doing...Are you, like, trying the game out?"
"In a way. Considering his station, games like this that require answering personal questions can put Noctis in a difficult situation. We will review all the cards in the deck to determine which could be problematic, then try to find suitable answers that don't put his public image at risk." Ignis explained.
"Wow, really? Is that really necessary? It's just a silly game..."
The fact that Ignis and Noctis both physically winced told Prompto his answer.
"So, if you don't have a good answer..."
"We can run it to the PR department, although I would like to avoid involving them for such a trivial matter. It would be best to avoid playing the game altogether if we find too many problematic questions. However, if your prognosis about your classmates proves true and Noct is required to play at the festival, then we may require their support."
"All done," Noctis announced, cracking his own can open and taking a large gulp. "Let's get this over with -- Prompto and I have a King's Night raid to win after this."
"Go on."
"So this is the 'red' pile and this is the 'green' pile", he said as he pointed to the respective piles. One was as high as the other, and Prompto wondered if that was a good sign or not.
"This is the 'orange' pile," Noct finished, gesturing at the biggest stash out of the three.
Out of curiosity, Prompto selected the first card of the 'red' pile.
"Most memorable card ride," he read aloud. "What, really?"
That sounded like such a random and question-boring, even. Maybe Prompto was a poor example since he'd barely been driven anywhere his whole life. His most exciting trip had been a ride to the dentist. Naturally, Noct had been driven around his whole life, so he had a bigger pool to draw from. Still...Prompto couldn't phantom how this card was problematic.
To his surprise, Ignis seemed to immediately pick up on Noctis's dilemma:
"Well, I understand why you put this one on the red pile," he muttered. "I might need to take some notes, after all."
"Consider me officially lost ," Prompto declared, baffled. " Why ?"
"You don't get it?" Noctis asked, intrigued. "Oh, right... You know about the daemon attack, right?" He said, tapping on his bad knee.
"Yeah? I mean, Kind of? You were in a coma and then in an armchair for a while."
"We were attacked on the road by a huge marilith while we were outside the wall for a diplomatic trip. We were driving at night when the deamon attacked the car. I'm surprised you didn't know, " Noctis added, sounding somewhat chipper after finding out about his friend's cluelessness. "It's been a big thing because the Council thought I would die. But, yeah, most people know I almost died when the car was trashed, so if I don't mention this, they will know I lie. I don't exactly want to speak about this part of my life with everyone either, so it's tricky. And I think some details are classified, anyway," he added as an afterthought.
"Oh...," Prompto flustered, suddenly feeling stupid.
Now that he thought about it, he remembered the attack being on the news. The media must have mentioned the car, but Prompto had just remembered how people had become extra wary of travelling at night after that, and how scared he had been whenever his parents resumed their work outside the Walls. For a month, he had dreaded the phone to ring, scared to learn his parents had perished by the claws of a horde of deamons.
Prompto was great at compartmentalising. It had been easy to ignore that Noctis was a prince, especially when his friends were just a big, lazy nerd. Their daily life bloomed with reminders that Noctis was from old money, but so were many of their classmates. It was only when Noctis mentioned his military training and Ignis used their car ride from school to brief him about council meetings that Prompto was reminded of Noct's station.
For all he complained about being tired and hating training, Noct let people know little about his struggles, current or past. Prompto could seldom count the number of times Noct had complained of his bad leg bothering him, even though Prompto had noticed his best friend's limp was much more noticeable whenever it rained.
"My first time driving the Regalia would have been a nice answer to that one..." Noctis mopped, oblivious to Prompto's turmoil.
"This is not the worst idea," Ignis materialised a tablet out of nowhere and started typing on a table sheet. "Let's mark it down as a possible answer. Even if it's not true, perhaps the PR will green light."
"Well, maybe they could just convince Dad to make it true," Noctis sighed wistfully.
Ignis not so gently reminded him that the Regalia was a State vehicle and one couldn't just borrow it, even the prince of the country. It sounded like an old argument. It had been one of Noctis's dreams to drive his father's car. Besides video games, the Regalia was one of the very few subjects Noctis could help but babble, so naturally, as he self-appointed best friend, Prompto knew all about it. Just like he knew it, one of the very few cars entirely built within the Walls and designed to survive gunfire and daemons attacks. No sane person would leave such an engine in the hands of a young driver, especially in the hands of some crazy speed-lover like Noctis. Although the real issue revolved around the fact that the Regalia could only be used during formal events and official diplomatic trips, and thus using it outside those parameters could be classified as misappropriation of the kingdom's assets.
The longer Prompto knew Noct, the more he realised how simple things became convoluted in the Prince's life.
"Prompto, if you would be so kind as to draw the next card?"
"Oh, I'm the official host of this game now?" he joked with a cheer he didn't feel. "What was your favourite fairytale story as a kid? Okay, that one should be easy. I'm kinda worried that you put it in the red pile."
Ignis seemed just as baffled.
"Truly, Noct?"
"What? You know, I was mostly read the Cosmology -- you were the one to read it to me most of the time!"
"Your father read to you," Ignis accused.
"No, he told me stories he made up. Or he told me about the times he travelled Lucis, stuff like that. I don't think I was ever read fairytales. Or maybe Marnie did, but you know I don't remember anything about her. She was my nanny", he added to Prompto's benefit. "She was killed during the accident. I didn't completely forget about her, but because of the starcourge infection, every memory of her is fuzzy."
"Dude, it sucks," Prompto feebly commented.
"People will draw weird conclusions whatever I choose," Noctis grumbled. "Remember last time I agreed to answer one of these stupid magazines quizzes in class? People went into full psychoanalysis over them on the Mooglenet. It was crazy. And if I answer the truth, people will call me "groomed" or "fanatic". Again ."
"Then choose a Tenebranean fairytale with a happy ending," Ignis cut in, typing quickly. "There should be a compilation at the royal library. I will bring it to you tomorrow. Your classmates will believe it's your favourite because of Lady Lunafreya, which will earn you pity points."
Prompto watched, stunned, as Noctis nodded along the proposition and gestured at Prompto to draw another card.
Were they truly gambling on the tragedy of Lunafreya's and Noctis's relationship to gather pity and make the choice of a favourite fairytale acceptable to the public's opinion?
Was that truly Ignis, Noct's not blood-related brother, who had suggested such a cold-heated absurdity?
"Did you ever break something or were you ever involved in an accident?"
"I swear, " Noctis moans, slouching deeper in the backseat of the couch, "this deck is out to get me."
"Quite an unfortunate series, indeed," Ignis quietly agree, glancing pensively at the divided piles, probably wondering how long this review will be, too. Prompto sure was.
"To be fair, I don't think the game designers expected the 'car ride' memory to be answered with 'accident'. It's probably aiming at people telling a cure story about their holidays. Or something funny. Like...dunno, baby sibling pooping nasty in their diaper while the family is stuck in a traffic jam for two hours," Prompto feels obligated to advocate.
"Ew, how is that funny?" Noctis grimaced, making a face.
"Is it funny for the audience? It's the shadenfriend."
"You mean shadenfreunde?"
"Yes, whatever, mister Dictionary." He tried to flaunt the card at Noctis and missed spectacularly. Not bothered in the slightest, Noctis doesn't even pretend to dodge. The jerk.
"Anyway, instead of speaking about the biggest accident you've been in, can't you just mention the last time you broke something?"
"A smart way to deflect the question to safer waters. That's quite astute, Prompto," Ignis praised. "Noct, be sure to keep your answer constant should you fall twice on this card and - "
What did Ignis mean by 'consistent'? It wasn't like Noctis hurt himself every other week...did he?
Expect that Prompto could visualise three separate occasions where Gladio had inquired the prince about the welfare of one of his body parts, and thus only for the last month. Did that mean that every time Gladio had asked that question, Noctis had actually been injured? Broken bone- should be in hospital- kind of injured?
"- Don't mention I use potions from the military stash to heal myself after training, I know Iggy," Noctis whined. "I guess I'll go with the dislocated shoulder. I can say it happens whenever. It won't look suspicious since it doesn't involve bandages."
Prompto felt his mind blow and was forever leaving the stratosphere when Ignis nodded along.
"Happens often enough that it will be plausible."
The words nailed Prompto's brain against a wall of horrors. Watching Noctis digging in the bag of grocery bag to fetch his favourite flavour of chips felt like stepping into a whole different dimension.
Dull, it took a moment to realise Ignis was staring at him silently. Feeling exposed, Prompto tried to shake off the uneasiness that coated his ribs and selected the next card.
Much to Prompto's relief, they went through the deck much faster after that. Ignis and Noctis still managed to bicker over some of them, and Prompto sided with Noctis on some whimsical propositions a few times just for the sake of witnessing Ignis roll his eyes. The grin stretching on Noctis's face was worth it.
It made him feel like they were actually playing, and not studying for an upcoming interview.
Because that was what it was.
Just a long, painful interview. With only politically correct answers allowed.
Prompto assumed the green pile would be easier.
They weren't.
Oh, Astrals, they weren't .
If the 'difficult' questions had enlightened Prompto in the censorship process, his every word had to go through before reaching the public domain, the green pile taught a much harsher lesson:
There was a script.
One that Noctis had learned and recited dutifully when probed. Which was why he'd classified these cards as greens: it was not about the innocence of the questions, but a matter of whether he already had an approved answer for them.
That night, when they went back to their routine of playing games until early morning, Prompto listened as Noctis complained about the mechanics of the current opus of his favourite RPG not being balanced enough and how he'd like the previous game better. How he didn't like that the game focused so heavily on the cosmology because, at this point, frankly, it sounds like propaganda, it stumps the narration, and he realised Noct would have never worded this opinion aloud outside his apartment. Just like he never dove into deep conversations at school or when they were hanging out at the mall, unless they happened to be alone.
How much of that behaviour was his personality, and how much was it learned?
He almost asked Noctis if that censorship bothered him, open his mouth to open the question and -
- closed it.
He knew the answer already.
~~oOo~~