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Noctis had been waiting at the usual corner for about 5 minutes now. It was here he met up with Prompto, a blond and cheery boy he’d known for years. Noctis remembered meeting him back then, all the way in elementary school. It was either he was busy, he hadn’t really bothered to make friends, or that Noct really just prefered to be by himself, since being known as “The Crown Prince and Future King of Insomnia,” surely brought unwanted attention.
Noctis wasn’t really quite the kind of person to be.. open with other people. It was something he knew wasn’t a good quality for being a prince—but social interaction just wasn’t his forte. He was shy as a child and always hid behind his father during big banquets and parties. Ignis could quite recall times where the prince could be seen holding onto the cloth of his father’s pants with small fists and big, sapphire eyes peering on into the crowds with both a curiosity and timidness to them. This act carried on throughout his years growing up, but to others, it only ever came off as a “cool and mysterious air to the prince.”
While Prompto also saw this and awed at the prince as a child, he resolved to see further past that and become his friend. It was long after their first meet as children that he worked hard to meet his own goals for himself, and that he would try to introduce himself to the prince again. Though, to Noctis, he thought that he never had to go through any sort of trouble to become his friend. Noct was the same as everyone else. Even as prince, the high ranking status it gave him never really meant anything to how he would treat others. He would have accepted Prompto for who he was, no matter how he looked or what he did.
… A few more minutes passed as Noct had taken a moment to relive his memory of the boy, and still no sign of him. It was odd, though. Prompto—surprisingly—was sort of an early bird… he had made a habit out of getting up in the morning for a run since he was a kid, and still did it now. Noctis pondered for a moment, taking out his phone to shoot him a quick, ‘where are you?’ text his way. He decides he’d wait just a bit longer, an extra 5 minutes or so, but if he doesn’t show up by then, the boy would have to walk by himself to class.
So, he waited once more, moving back to lean a bit against the wall of a store at the corner, dazing off into his own imagination. He took all that time there to sit back and relax a little, savoring the little bit of peace he had before he had to hit the hell-of-a-time that was high school. Time ticked by while lost in thought, and so, Noct checked his phone once more. Prompto had yet to text back, which left the prince in a bit of confusion. He went on to dial the boy’s number and call him.
The line beeped a few times, only fueling more cause for concern for Noctis, but eventually it was picked up. He spoke first.
“Hey, Prompto. Where are you? Are you okay?”
“Wh.. Uh, yeah.. You just woke me up..” Prompto paused and yawned. Noctis sighed a bit, and whether it was from relief that he was okay, or an ’unbelieveable’ kind of sigh, for the fact that he seriously just now woke up, he did not know. It was probably a mixture of both. Usually it was himself that would’ve been sleeping in so late like that.
“Prompto.. You do know what day it is, right?”
“Huh? Yeah.. it’s sunday isn’t it..? I’ll go out for my jog later..” There was muffled shuffling on the other side of the line. Prompto was probably stuffing his face into the pillows.
“Ha ha—no. It’s monday. There’s school.”
“Mmph..” More shuffling on the other side of the line. He might have been trying to lay more comfortably in bed. There was a pause. “W-wait.. There’s WHAT?!”
Noctis couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle in response. He could tell the boy had probably jumped up from bed and was scrambling around, trying to grab his clothes and get ready. He sounded like he was far away from the microphone. There was shuffling for a moment, and then Prompto spoke—he probably approached the phone again, as his voice was louder and more clear. “Noooct, why didn’t you tell me this sooner?! I’m so late!!”
“You’ll only be even more late if you keep talking. You should hurry. I’ll meet you in front of the school gates instead, okay?”
“Okay, okay. Be there in a jiffy!!”
“Yeah, see you later.” Noct hung up the phone, and with a breath, began walking.
A few blocks and turns later, Noct found himself in front of the high school's large gates. Classes were starting soon, so it made sense that not many people were around. A few people were still here and there on the courtyard, making their way into the entrance. He shared his room with Prompto, and so Noctis decided he’ll just be able to meet and catch up with the boy in class.
“H-hey!! Wait up!”
He had just began to walk past the gates and through the courtyard before hearing that familiar voice, turning around to see Prompto, running towards him. The blond came closer, bag in hand and tie flapping behind him. He seemed different.. Noct noticed that he had something over his eyes.
Prompto came to a stop in front of him, dropping his bag next to him and putting his hands on his knees, pausing to catch his breath.
“AAhh... Noooccttt.. I had to run all the way here…”
“Mhm. And who’s fault was that to sleep in?”
“Usually it’s yours!!”
Noct couldn’t help but let out a laugh at his comment. Well, he was right about that.
“Mm, but hey. What’s with the glasses?” Prompto looked up, and so Noctis was now able to take a better look at his face. It just occurred to him that he.. never really saw Prompto with glasses since they were kids. It was a change of pace from the usual.
“Oh, these? Well..” The blond straightened himself, standing up now. He tucked his tie back into place and smoothed out his jacket. “I tried to get here as fast as I could! There wasn’t any time to put on contacts, but I have them in my bag.. And at least I remembered to grab my camera too. God, I hate mondays..”
“Mm.. yeah, understandable.” Noct didn’t really tune in on most of what he said, and only continued to note how he looked—the glasses framed his face rather well, though Noct noticed that the frames of the glasses itself blocked a bit of Prompto’s freckles from view. His bangs were side swept, yet still fell over in front of the lens—probably from all the running. Prompto noticed this himself, and so he lifted his hand to move his hair back again. He also seemed to notice how Noct kept looking at him, and so he had to ask.
“Noct? I-is something wrong? Do these look weird on me? I can go put on the contacts, I can ask the teacher if I can go to the bathroom—” He sounded a bit embarrassed, and it showed. Prompto’s cheeks flushed a very light pink.
“What? Oh—no, no. You look fine.” Noctis blinked. “Sorry. Though.. Can I see your camera?”
“Huh, yeah, sure.. But, shouldn’t we be heading inside..?” Prompto handed him his camera. He still had a blush on his cheeks.
“Yeah yeah, but, just give me a quick second. And stand still. I want to take your picture, if that’s okay.” Noct pulled the camera closer to his face and looked through the viewfinder, pointing the lens towards the boy in front of him. He pressed the shutter button, and the camera clicked.
“Um.. Jeez Noct, I’m flattered, but, why me? I’m sure these things make me look weird.. The frames are all big and covering up my face..” Prompto took his glasses off, holding it in his hand. He picked up his bag from the ground and tried to open it, beginning to walk towards the school entrance doors. “Um, we should go in.. we spent a while out here and we’re already late..”
Noctis turned and grabbed his arm, stopping him and making him turn around. He then took the pair of glasses and held it in his own hands, along with the camera. Prompto turned around all the way and faced him, confused.
“Noct, we’re late—”
“So? If we already are, one more minute wouldn’t mean anything.” He smirked a little, and moved to take both of Prompto’s hands in his own. He lifted them up and set the camera in the boy’s palm again, but kept the glasses to himself. Noct unfolded the arms of the glasses and lifted them up. With one hand, he swept blond hair out of the way once again, and with both hands, slid the frames back onto his face.
Prompto’s eyes had widened by then—cheeks flushed a more bright shade of pink—at the gesture. Noctis noticed how red his face had gotten.
“Prompto, you look fine in glasses, I promise. I hope you wear them more often.”
“Ahh.. do you really think so? Then.. I will...” Prompto looked away and covered his face with his hand, trying to hide his blush. There were times where Noct himself would do the same thing, to be honest—hiding his blush and acting embarrassed. But with Prompto, Noct felt more comfortable and outgoing than he usually was with other people. He was thankful that they had met. Prompto had gradually helped him become more open with himself, and while not to everyone, one other person was better than none. While he was still young and in school and knew that he still had a lot of things to learn, being with Prompto helped to ease off some of the stress and tension he felt with carrying the weight of his responsibilities. He found himself with a liking and fondness to the blond that he hadn’t felt with other people, a solace and contentment in him whenever he was around.
Noct took a few steps past the blond, heading closer to the entrance doors. Prompto continued to stand there the same way as Noct had left him, cheeks growing more and more pink and at a loss for words. Noct called out to him.
“Hey, so you coming to class or what?”