Chapter Text
Noctis wasn’t exactly expecting to be greeted with a shout and a playful clap on the back on his first day of high school, and he definitely wasn’t expecting the person responsible to be a somewhat familiar face.
He had never been very social, to start with. In the beginning he had hoped to make a friend or two, to feel like he was a normal kid, and he almost had; everyone was very nice and he found himself being polite back, and in no time he was swarmed with kids who wanted to be around him. But even then Noctis had realized that these people didn’t really want to be his friend—for the right reasons, anyway. He was a prince, it was true, and he had a lot of money and power to go along with it, it was also true, but he was not just those things. Noctis was Noctis, but it didn’t feel as if anyone cared about that. So he decided to stop being polite and eventually the number of classmates clamoring to stand around and chat at his desk during breaks dwindled to a steady zero.
Throughout elementary school he failed to make even a single friend, so his father had pulled him out of the public school system and placed him in a more private and prestigious academy instead. Noctis found his company there to be even worse, with his classmates constantly vying for his royal attention and bringing up family status with regards to the Crown in between all the stuffy coursework he now had as part of his regular curriculum. He found himself open up to Ignis, advisor to the Crown Prince, and Gladio, his Shield and weapons trainer, more than ever, if only to complain about his situation—but they didn’t count as friends. It was their job to humor Noctis as well as to provide their other duties, and he was acutely aware of it.
He tried not to spoil their communication, as it only grew rarer as time went on, but he complained to Luna too. They had not seen each other since his trip to Tenebrae years ago, and though they did keep in touch via Luna’s notebook, Noctis could not classify her friendship on the same level as that of a peer in Insomnia. Luna had understood that when Noctis had explained and had prayed for luck in his search, though it did not appear to have worked.
Having had no luck with either situation, King Regis had deferred the choice unto Noctis, who took the chance to once more do his best to live a normal life—this time outside of the Citadel. Begrudgingly complying with the caveats and stipulations that came with his father’s reluctant acceptance, he had resigned himself to being alone once again, but at least this time he would be alone on his own negotiated terms.
So it was a shock, watching the slightly shorter boy drape an arm around him like they’d been buddies forever and grin up at him from under a messy mop of blonde hair. “Hey, Noct!” A nickname, just like that.
Ignoring the fact that he’d used his name without Noctis having told him—because who didn’t know what the Crown Prince of Lucis looked like or where he went to school—Noctis blinked. He definitely recognized this boy. It had been a long time, and he had lost some weight, but he had little doubt that it was the same strange boy that had called out to him once after school all those years ago. After his mishap with the stray bar he didn’t seem very keen on interacting with Noctis anymore, which he supposed he could understand. But why now?
He was sure his confusion was conveyed on his face, but if the boy noticed it at all he paid it no mind, pulling Noctis along with him as they continued down the hallway. “I’m Prompto. Prompto Argentum. Nice to meet you!”
His smile was genuine, so far as Noctis could tell. And it was interesting that he made to act like this was the first time they had ever met, like he figured Noctis wouldn’t remember him, but since he did remember, he could also see the boy—Prompto—willing him to forget that embarrassing moment and start from a blank slate. So he figured he would, because he didn’t have any real reason not to. “Hey, Prompto. Nice to meet you.” He gave him a little smirk to test the waters.
Prompto practically beamed at him in response. “I saw that we were in the same class and then I happened to see you, so I thought maybe we could go together because I’m kind of a lost cause when it comes to directions,” he explained, following his words up with a self-deprecating laugh.
Noctis got the feeling that that wasn’t a lie; he did seem like a klutz if their past encounter had been any indication. “Gotcha. Not really familiar with the school yet, but I’m sure we’ll get there eventually.”
He didn’t look very impressed with that response. “We can’t be late on the first day! That’s no way to make a good impression.” But the frown didn’t stay on his face for long as he launched into another topic entirely, face moving animatedly as they walked.
He didn’t seem to be suspicious or harbor any ill-will, which at this point was plenty good enough for him. Noctis didn’t mind Prompto leading the conversation and was content to listen to him talk, offering sounds of affirmation where necessary as they continued on their way.
The thing that Noctis found most interesting about Prompto was his lack of friends.
They were a week into their first year of high school now, and Prompto had been a prominent fixture in his school life since day one. He seemed very outgoing and cheerful, pleasant to a fault, and kind. Those attributes generally resulted in someone having a lot of different people they could call friends or even acquaintances, as they naturally drew people near. But the number of other people Noctis has seen Prompto interact with on a deeper level than ‘oh, excuse me!’ or ‘thank you!’ could be counted on one hand, and none of them had been fellow students.
Now, Noctis really wasn’t one to talk, as he didn’t have any friends either—and maybe Prompto did actually have friends and Noctis just hadn’t seen it because they weren’t together all the time—but his own situation made sense; he was cold and seemingly disinterested in almost everything, which he was aware of. Perhaps Prompto was also wary of people wanting to be friends for the wrong reasons while also being lonely enough to pursue a friendship with the notoriously lone prince.
Because that’s what this was—what it had to be. Noctis didn’t want to be so forward to think that Prompto was aiming to be his friend on the first day; maybe he was just that nice to everyone now, even though he hadn’t seemed to be before. But after the third day of unprecedented chumminess, he didn’t know what else Prompto could be after. With no auxiliary friends or special treatment from the staff, Noctis had nothing else to offer.
Noctis found that he didn’t mind the idea. He liked Prompto. The blonde spoke to him as if they had been good friends for years, and it made things a lot easier than Noctis had imagined making a genuine friend would be like. He found himself falling into Prompto’s rhythm of banter naturally, slowly learning little details about him, and it made the days more bearable. Noctis hoped that Prompto felt the same way.
“Ugh, a quarter ‘til already?” Prompto’s groan pulled the emergency brake on Noctis’ train of thought, bringing him to also realize that their lunch break was nearly over. “How’d the time pass so quickly, anyway?”
He had woken his phone to check the time, and Noctis noticed the photo he had set as his background. It looked to be a couple of birds in front of a fountain, with sunlight dappling through trees in the background to augment the sheen of their feathers. “That’s a nice picture,” he found himself saying.
It was just an off-handed comment, something to keep the conversation going, but Prompto glanced at him with a meaningful look that said he’d caught him by mild surprise. “You think so?” he asked, looking back down at his phone with a thoughtful look before smiling. “I took it myself, actually,” he admitted. “I like the lighting.”
Noctis was intrigued. “Me too. The shine on the feathers and the shine on the water is cool.” He took another look at Prompto’s face. “You take pictures?”
Prompto nodded, looking a little embarrassed. “Yeah. A lot, actually. I always have my camera with me when I’m not at school. Never know when you’re gonna see something neat, you know?”
Noctis couldn’t help but smile at that. “Guess not. You’ll have to show me more of your pictures sometime,” he said, off-handedly—he didn’t want to draw any unwanted attention to it if Prompto would rather keep his photography to himself, but Noctis really did want to see more of his work.
He couldn’t decide if Prompto looked delighted or bashful. “Sure thing! I’ll have to go through and pick some nice ones, ‘cause I take a lot of pics and most of ‘em don’t turn out, and even then I have to edit them some so they’re decent, but… yeah. Definitely.” He smiled up at Noctis.
It was at that point that Noctis decided that he and Prompto were bonafide friends.
“’Foreign Relations Gala?’ Sounds rough, buddy.”
In the past Noctis had always hated talking about any aspect of his royal life when he was away from the Citadel, because it was the only chance he had to, you know, be away from the Citadel. It also ruined the illusion that he was spending his days like any normal guy would and made people remember to fawn over him like they tended to do when he was Noctis Lucis Caelum.
But he found talking to Prompto about it wasn’t an issue. Whereas most would praise him and his involvement and maybe sneak in some questions to see what the issues might be or what new policies would be discussed, Prompto sympathized with his burden while also expressing some interest in his personal role. It was as if he completely ignored the Lucis Caelum part and just focused on Noctis.
Noctis liked that a lot.
“Tell me about it. My hand already hurts just thinking about all the people I’m going to have to greet.” He knows that whining isn’t befitting a future king but he also knows that Prompto will let him whine with reckless abandon and he’s going to indulge himself a little.
They sat waiting for Ignis to pick Noctis up from school, legs hanging from where they perched on the cement wall framing the entrance. “Well, think of it like this: you shake some people’s hands, you say a few things they want you to say, and then you get to eat as much good food as you want,” Prompto offered, holding his hands out to emphasize his point. “See? Not so bad.”
“Says you, who’ll be chilling out at home instead,” he nudged the blonde playfully.
Prompto’s laughter was breezy. “Sometimes being a pleb is worth it!” He gave Noctis a mischievous grin. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll do some homework while you’re at your gala.”
“Do all your homework and maybe you’ll understand a fraction of my pain.”
Noctis took a cursory look at the road for Ignis’ car—he didn’t particularly want to be rid of Prompto’s company just yet—and made a thoughtful noise. “Maybe I could just bring you with me. Misery loves company.”
It was really only meant to be joking, in line with the rest of their banter, but Prompto spluttered where he sat beside Noctis, earning himself a slightly alarmed set of blue eyes trained on him. “What?” he managed when he pulled himself back together. “Me? At the Citadel? Oh, no no no. No way.” He started to laugh. “They’d never even let me anywhere near the front gates.”
Noctis’ mood fell a bit at that. Prompto was right, of course; they would never let a civilian into the Citadel, especially for such a frivolous reason. But Prompto had taken it seriously enough that now Noctis felt bad for even bringing it up. He didn’t want his friend to feel like he didn’t belong. “Then forget the Citadel. Come to my place.”
Now Prompto was looking at him with wide eyes. “What? Really?”
“Yes, really.”
The blonde examined him for a moment before looking away. “Isn’t that a little…”
Noctis waits for him to continue, but he just trails off. “A little what? We’re friends, aren’t we?”
The expression Prompto gave him next almost upset him. He looked shocked, like until Noctis just said it aloud that he’d had no idea that they’d been friends. Noctis wasn’t sure whether he wanted to take back the statement for being far too presumptuous or say it louder because yes, they were friends, until Prompto gives him the brightest smile he thinks he’s ever seen. “Yeah! I mean… yeah,” he agrees, “we are.”
The prince had to fight to keep from sighing in relief. “Then it’s settled. You’re coming over. Mainly so you can meet Ignis and get a taste of how sucky my life is.”
As Prompto laughs, he sees the glint of a familiar car headed their way from down the street. Speak of the devil… “There’s no way he’s that bad, Noct.”
Prompto’s right, but Noctis would never admit that. “Care to find out for yourself?”
His friend hops down from their spot at the same time he does. “Not today! But soon,” he relents. “As long as it’s okay with Ignis.”
“I’m holding you to that,” he warns, waving Ignis down. He then waves at Prompto, who is heading off to his own house now that Noctis’ ride is here. They say their goodbyes and Noctis slides into the car, not paying attention to what Ignis has to say to him before they pull away from the curb.
His first real friend.