Chapter Text
Later, they couldn’t remember what they had been talking about. Noctis had slipped his entourage that night and they were walking back to Noctis’ apartment, just the two of them. Prompto had made some stupid, stupid joke, the kind that would take thirty minutes of explanation for anyone else to understand, but among the two of them, tired and giddy in the wee hours of the morning, it was the funniest thing either of them had ever heard. Noctis laughed until his sides were sore and he threw his arm around his friend’s shoulder. Their eyes met and Prompto seemed for a moment limned in light, brighter even than the ever present lights of the city of Insomnia. Noctis’ heart swelled with such love for this grinning, chocobo-haired loser, that for a moment it seemed natural that an otherworldly sparkle coalesced around his friend.
Prompto gasped, feeling as if he had received a light electrical shock, tingling all over his skin and inside of his mouth and down into his chest when he breathed.
When it passed, Prompto stared at Noct, their faces still inches apart. Noct stood still, his mouth hung open slightly, and his eyes were wide and round.
“Oh, hell,” he said.
**
Noctis asked if Prompto would stay the night but refused to explain what had happened until they got to his apartment.
“Noct?” Prompto asked when they finally arrived, but Noctis held up a finger for Prompto to be quiet and checked every room, including the closets, flicking the lights on and off before finally sighing and coming back to lean on the kitchen counter.
“Ignis,” Noct responded when Prompto looked at him questioningly.
“He… making a habit of spying on you from your closet?”
“No. But… I just want to be sure. I don’t think I can face him right now.”
“Noct, you’re kinda scaring me.”
Noctis rubbed his face. “I know. I know I must be….” He looked away and ran a hand through his hair. “Look, I’m…. I’m sorry, okay?”
“Might be easier to forgive you if I knew what you were sorry for,” Prompto said, sitting near Noct at the kitchen table.
“Yeah, yeah, I guess it might. So…” Noctis took a deep breath. “So… you’re a member of the Crownsguard now.”
Prompto just stared at him, not fully understanding.
“Not officially, but…. It’s… they call it being ‘brought in.’ Like ‘brought into the light of the crystal.’ There’s a ceremony usually, but what makes it happen is an exchange of trust and I did it on accident and I’m sorry.”
“But, I don’t—“ Prompto laughed nervously. “What does that even mean?”
“Because I trust you, and you trust me, apparently…. you’re like the members of the Crownsguard and the Kingsglaive, now. You’re magic. You have some of my magic. We can… we can keep it a secret if you want, but it can’t be undone. I’m sorry.”
Prompto laughed again. “Why would I want it to be undone?”
“Well, because… because you’ll always have this connection to me now,” Noctis said hoarsely. “Unless I die. And… if anyone finds out they’ll want you to officially join the Crownsguard, which means you’d be sworn to me. For life.”
“So you’re telling me I’m a wizard and I can be a knight if I want to be?” asked Prompto.
“I… yes?” Noctis saw the grin rising on Prompto’s lips with dawning horror. “No. This is serious, Prompto. This is your whole life we’re talking about. You don’t have to do this.”
“My liege!” Prompto shouted, and dropped to one knee on the kitchen floor.
“No! Get up, what are you—“
“My prince! The honor you hath bestowed upon this filthy commoner—“
“No! Shut up!” Noctis said, trying to pull Prompto to his feet by his armpits. “I didn’t mean to—“
“Are you saying you don’t want me as your knight, Noct? My Prince?” Prompto batted his eyes at him.
“Of course I want you—I just don’t want you to—Arrgh!” Noct stumbled as Prompto wrapped his arms around his knee and soon they were both on the floor, laughing.
“Seriously,” Prompto said after they had recovered and they were leaning breathlessly against the cabinets. “I know you didn’t mean to, but you’d let me be part of your Crownsguard, for real?”
Noctis nodded. “If you want. But please. Think about it. I wouldn’t have done this to you on purpose. You’ve never done any kind of fighting and it won’t be easy. You could do anything. You don’t have to spend your life following me around.”
“Thank you, Noct,” Prompto said, aggressively mussing the prince’s hair as he stood.
**
Later, Prompto snuggled himself into Noctis’ couch, a ball of warmth radiating from his chest down to his toes. He even thought he could feel it in the tips of his hair. Maybe it was the magic of the crystal making a new home inside of him, or maybe he was just so happy. Noct may have doubts, but in his heart of hearts, without even meaning to, the prince had trusted Prompto enough to put his life and his power in his hands.
But then again, Prompto thought as he lay awake, Noctis seemed horrified at what he had done, and maybe he wasn’t wrong to be. Who would believe that he, Prompto Argentum, less than a commoner, could stand beside Noctis in the royal court of Lucis without making a fool of both of them? That he could protect Noctis from his enemies? That he could be one of the prince’s swordsworn, like Ignis? Like Gladio? He was a flea next to Gladio. What the hell could he offer the prince of Lucis that those two couldn’t?
But Noct trusts me. Prompto thought, staring up at the darkened ceiling. If Noct trusts me to do it then I can do it.
**
Noctis punched his pillow angrily, unable to sleep. Was he really so selfish? Was he really so desperately lonely that his magic had latched on to anyone who would let him in? Why didn’t he outright refuse to let Prompto be part of his Crownsguard? What kind of person would let his best friend swear an oath to serve him with his life? What was Ignis going to say? What was his father going to say? Would he even let Prompto go through with the Crownsguard training? There were certainly better candidates for it.
Could he still tell Prompto not to do it? If Prompto was serious about this then telling him no would equal telling Prompto that he wasn’t good enough for him, which would probably mean the end of their friendship. The idea of losing Prompto as a friend made Noctis feel physically sick. He had precious few friends in his life. Sure, he had Ignis and Gladio, but they were more like his brothers than his friends, bound to him from birth, or near enough. He had Luna, but he hadn’t spoken to her face to face in years.
And he had Prompto. Prompto who was sunshine incarnate, who was the kindest person he knew, who loved cameras and video games and had a crush on ninety percent of the girls he met, who liked Noctis because he liked dogs and comic books and barely noticed he was the prince of Lucis.
He had always expected his and Prompto’s friendship would have an expiration date. Once they graduated, Prompto would go on to have a normal job, a normal family, a normal life, without the weight of a kingdom on his shoulders, whereas Noctis would spend his life learning to be king, and then being king, a job that would leave him no time for hanging out with friends.
Having accidentally placed this burden on Prompto’s shoulders gave Noctis a sick twinge of hope. If Prompto joined the Crownsguard, he would be at Noct’s side for life, living and working in the Citadel.
This is okay. Noctis thought, flopping onto his back. This will be okay. He wants this. You want this. You need this.
Then why did he feel like a monster?