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“Almost there!”
Gladiolus Amicitia panted, shifting the weight of the fir tree to his other shoulder. “I still don’t see why we couldn’t have taken the elevator,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Because Prompto picked out the one Christmas tree that wouldn’t fit,” Ignis Scientia replied from the other side.
“Thanks, blondie,” Gladio grunted.
“Hey! I’m doing my part too,” Prompto Argentum quipped from the front. He walked backwards up the stairs, grasping the upper end of the tree. He was being extra careful not to let any part of it drag on the floor. “I just thought,” he said, panting, “with everything going on…we could all use a little fun.” He glanced back. There were a few more steps to go. He reached behind him and pushed open the door.
They were all able to catch their breath a little as the trio carried the tree down the hall. “Iggy, you got the key?” Prompto called, once they reached Noctis’s apartment.
“Of course,” came the tired reply.
Once the tree was inside, Prompto directed them where to set it up. He had already scoped out the spot the night before: next to the sofa, by the window. As soon as that was done, Ignis strode to the kitchen. He set the oven temperature and started unpacking the food he had brought, while Prompto and Gladio hung decorations. They hung paper chains from the ceiling, and strands of beads on the tree.
Gladio pulled a ball of greenery out, grimacing. “Mistletoe?”
Prompto shrugged. “It’s traditional,” he said defensively, as he untangled a string of lights. “It’s not like there are gonna be any girls here, anyway,” he said, blushing. He glanced up and caught Ignis eyeing him with a raised eyebrow. Ignis gave him a small smile, then went back to mixing the eggnog. He turned back untangling the lights, knowing what the smile was for. Ignis had seen his longing glances towards Noctis, the hugs that lasted a little too long. He knew, but he didn’t say anything. He was grateful for that.
“Prompto,” Gladio grunted. He held the mistletoe up to the ceiling. “Here?”
Prompto shook his head. “Put it more towards the hallway.” Gladio moved it. “Yeah, that’s good.”
A half hour later, the lights were hung on the tree, the appetizers were ready. Prompto focused his camera on Ignis, who was hanging tinsel on the tree. He took a few shots before Ignis turned around with a frown. “What? I have to practice,” he said at his friend’s disapproving look. He flipped through the shots he had taken so far. Most of the were blurry. Damn low light. One or two were worth keeping.
“Noctis will be here any minute,” Ignis said. “Let’s save the photography till then, hm?” He poured himself some eggnog, then another glass for Prompto. He watched the blonde as he sipped at his drink. “So, what’s all this about, anyway?”
Prompto shrugged. “It’s Christmas. I dunno.”
Ignis raised an eyebrow. “You put an awful lot of thought into this.”
Prompto averted his eyes. Ignis always saw through everything. Was he that transparent? He let out a small sigh. “It’s nothing, really. I didn’t know what to get him for Christmas, so I threw this together. I mean, what do you get a guy who has everything? It would have been a mess without you guys, though.”
“What’s going on here?” Noctis said. Prompto whirled around. He hadn’t even heard him come in. His expression was bemused as he looked around, taking in the familiar, yet unfamiliar surroundings.
“Merry Christmas!” Prompto whipped out a noisemaker and blew hard in it. He grinned. “With everything that’s going on, I thought we could all use a fun night.” Prompto handed him a glass of eggnog. “Probably you most of all.” He chuckled softly.
“You put all this together?” he said, eyeing his best friend.
Prompto glanced back at the others. “Are you kidding? The king of procrastination?” He laughed.
Noctis marveled at the tree. “How did you get that tree up here?”
“We helped,” Gladio said, cracking his neck.
“And Ignis made all the food, of course,” Prompto quipped.
The prince looked at him, smiling. “It was a pleasure,” Ignis said, raising his glass.
“Wow,” Noctis breathed. “This is great, guys. Thanks.”
Prompto clinked their glasses together with a grin. Noctis held his glass up, smiling back. “Well, bottoms up.” He tipped the glass into his mouth, gulping down the eggnog. Prompto watched him, eyes wide. Maybe Noctis was having a rougher time than he had initially thought. He had already had half a glass of Ignis’s concoction, and it was strong. Noctis breathed in sharply through his teeth. “How ‘bout another?”
Ignis ladled more into his glass. “Try not to overdo it this time,” he murmured.
“I’m at home,” Noctis scoffed. “What’s the worst I can do?”
Until that night, Prompto hadn’t been aware of just what happened when the prince overdid it, as Ignis put it. After four glasses of eggnog, he was ready to sing, so they set up the karaoke machine, and Noctis boldly belted out his favorite songs. He pulled Prompto and Gladio up for one—Ignis absolutely refused. Gladio had had his share of eggnog as well, so he was more than willing to sing along.
Noctis and Gladio were quite the pair. Prompto wondered if they were trying to out-drink each other, like some kind of competition. When Gladio threw up in the potted plant, the night was over. Ignis said he would take him home, leaving Prompto to clean up, a responsibility that he gladly took.
“Drive safe,” Prompto said as he walked them to the door.
“Will you be able to get home all right?” Ignis asked.
“Yeah, I’m good,” he replied. He glanced back at Noctis, who was sprawled out on the couch, watching the blinking lights on the tree. “Worse case, I just sleep on the couch,” he said with a shrug. “Hey, thanks for your help today.” He nodded at Gladio. “Tell him thanks too, when he’s sober enough to understand.” Ignis smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Prompto locked the door and when he turned around, Noctis was behind him. “Hey, I’ve got something for you too.”
“You didn’t have to get me anything,” Prompto said quickly, waving his hands dismissively.
“Shut up,” Noctis drawled, grabbing his arm and dragging him to his bedroom. He let go of his arm at the door and stumbled into the room. “One sec.” He disappeared behind the bed, and when he came back up, he was holding a box. It was neatly wrapped in colorful paper and topped with a bow. He climbed onto the bed, looking at Prompto expectantly. “C’mon. Sit.”
Prompto slowly approached the bed and sat down. Noctis handed him the gift. “You shouldn’t have gotten me anything.”
Noctis rolled his eyes. “Prompt, you’re ruining this for me—you’re supposed to be excited!”
“All right, fine!” Prompto said with a laugh, tearing the paper off. His breath caught in his throat. It was…a camera. He glanced up at Noctis, eyes wide.
Noctis’s cheeks were a little flushed, but that could have been from the eggnog. “The guy at the store said it was the latest model. DSLR…or something like that. You know I’m shit with technology like that.” He rubbed the back of his neck and Prompto tried not to cry. “Is it…okay?”
Prompto stared at the camera, completely blown away. “I…don’t know what to say, Noct,” he murmured. “I mean, thank you—of course, thank you!” He flung his arms around his friend, hugging him tightly.
“I know how much you like photography,” Noctis said slowly. “And you’re good.” Prompto blinked at him. He hadn’t thought that Noctis had really paid attention to that. “But you aren’t going to get anywhere with that little camera.”
He cradled the gift in his hands, staring down. “Geez, compared to this, a party’s nothing.”
“Shut up,” Noctis said, clapping a hand on his back. “This is just what I needed.” He slid off the bed. “Come on, let’s finish off that eggnog.” Prompto smiled and they headed back out to the kitchen.
“Well, I’d better head out,” Prompto said. Noctis drained his glass of eggnog, finishing off the bowl. Prompto had lost count of how many his friend had consumed, but he guessed it was about eight. He had only had two, and that had been enough. Ignis definitely hadn’t skimped on the booze.
Noctis caught up with him at the entryway, bumping into him. His arm lazily slid around Prompto’s shoulder as he looked up. “Mistletoe.”
Prompto turned beet red and he let out a nervous laugh. “Yeah, just another decoration. I thought it was kinda pretty, y’know with the green and the little white flowers. I probably should’ve taken a picture. Come to think of it, I hardly took any pictures tonight—”
Noctis interrupted him with a tender kiss on his lips. He could scarcely believe it was happening, even when the prince went back for another, and this time, his lips stayed pressed against Prompto’s until he acquiesced and opened his mouth. Noctis’s tongue slid inside, searching every inch of him. He was drunk, Prompto told himself. He wouldn’t have been kissing him if he’d been sober. But…hell, it was Christmas. He rested his hands at Noctis’s hips, which did not go unnoticed. Noctis pushed Prompto up against the wall, kissing him even harder now, grinding his hips against him.
The jarring vibrations from Noctis’s cell phone finally broke them apart. He pulled the phone out of his pants pocket, stumbling back a few steps. Prompto, still flushed, caught his arm so he wouldn’t fall. “Hey, Iggy. Yeah, I’m good. Prompto’s heading out, and I was just giving him a goodnight kiss,” he slurred.
Prompto’s eyes just about popped out of his skull. He squeaked and grabbed the phone. “Hey, Ignis! Noct’s just messing with you. He’s had a little too much to drink.”
“Mm-hm,” Ignis said flatly. “Don’t do anything you’ll regret in the morning.”
Prompto laughed nervously. “Sure thing. See ya.” He tapped the phone, ending the call, and hung his head with a sigh. When he looked up, Noctis was staring at him tiredly, slowly blinking his eyes. For the moment, Prompto’s anxiety melted away and his lips formed a small smile. “You’re not gonna remember any of this in the morning,” he said, shaking his head. Then he leaned forward and kissed Noctis’s cheek. “Merry Christmas, Noct.”