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Chapter Text

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Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Noctis’ heart beats loud and steady between his ears, a calming melody that offsets the chaos around him. He’s in his element - years’ worth of training guiding his sword as he zigzags his way through the seemingly endless sea of sharp claws, snarling jaws and whip-fast whiskers. The ankle-deep water they’re in has soaked through his boots and tries its best to bog down his movements, but he keeps his concentration. He can’t afford to slip-up; the air around him crackles with energy, serving as a reminder that a single touch from one of those long whiskers could stop his heart in its tracks. 

Underneath the sound of his own heavy breathing and the growls of the coeurls, Noct can hear the grunts and pants from his three comrades; can see flashes of them moving in the corners of his vision. He tracks their movements as closely as he tracks those of the animals they’re fighting. They’ve done this hundreds of times, and together they work like a well-oiled machine - collaborating their attacks when possible and covering each other’s backs when needed. 

It’s a difficult and fast-paced fight, but one by one the coeurls start to go down, until finally the last one is slain by Noct’s own blade.  

“Finally ,” he groans, his chest heaving as he pulls his blade from the dead animal. He pushes damp hair off of his forehead and looks around at the creatures all laying lifeless around the bank. “I forgot how much those things suck.” 

“No kidding,” Gladio grumbles, plopping himself down on a rock at the edge of the bank and yanking his shirt off. “And now I’m fucking soaked.” He wrings his shirt out in front of himself, water from the lake dripping out onto the ground around him.

“Yeah - me too,” Prompto mutters, still standing in the shallow water bent over with his hands on his knees. He lifts his head up towards Ignis, who’s leaning against a nearby tree trunk. “Since when do coeurls live near water?” 

“It is certainly unusual,” Ignis responds, looking out at the expanse of water behind Prompto for a moment. “Mind you - it’s strange enough for them to be out in Cleign at all,” he adds, removing his glasses and using the sleeve of his arm to rub the sweat off of his brow. “Let alone for them to be near the Vesperpool.” 

Gladio hums in thought. “They might be hunting for fish in the waters here, but they won’t have been camping on the bank. They’d want somewhere drier. Might be a good idea to do a final sweep of the place, just in case.” 

“A fair point,” Ignis says, sliding his glasses back onto his face. “And for the sake of the fishermen in the area, we won’t want to leave any behind.”

They scan the area around the bank first, but don’t find any spot that indicates it could be where the coeurls were staying full-time. There’s a cliff formation behind them that fringes the shoreline - only about a dozen or so feet tall, but long enough to provide a sufficient area of land that would be nicely elevated away from the water. Gladio suggests they check it next. They walk down the bank of the lake until they find a spot where the cliff starts to slope downwards towards them, then climb their way up it. 

As soon as they reach the top of the cliff, Gladio nods his head and readys his sword. “This’ll be the spot. Everyone keep your eyes open.”

They separate and spend a few minutes combing the area, all moving as quietly as possible in case there’s anything hidden around them. Just as Noct is about ready to announce the area safe, a faint noise from somewhere to his left draws his attention. He freezes and turns his head towards the noise, but it seems he isn’t the only one to have heard it. 

Prompto is already creeping towards the small rock formation that the noise came from, his gun at the ready. Noct moves to follow him, careful to keep his footsteps light and silent. As he approaches, he sees Prompto squat down to peer into a small cavern-like den within the rock formation. The space doesn’t look more than a few feet wide or deep, but it does look like the perfect place for a smart coeurl to lay in wait. 

When Prompto’s only a couple of feet away from the cavern, he lets out a sudden gasp and halts in his tracks. Expecting the worst, Noct immediately moves to rush to Prompto’s side - but before he’s taken even a couple of steps, he sees Prompto suddenly pocket his gun and move closer to the cavern instead of moving further away. 

…Not a coeurl, then?

He jogs the rest of the way to Prompto and scrunches up his face in confusion, watching as his best friend starts to crawl into the cavern on his hands and knees. 

“What is it?” 

Noct may as well be talking to himself. Prompto is far too distracted by whatever it is that he’s found to give him an answer. He tries again. 

“Prom-”

A repeat of the original noise that drew them over to begin with rings out from the dark space, and Noct pauses and furrows his eyebrows. 

Was that… a meow?

Prompto starts to carefully back out of the space, seemingly oblivious to Noct’s presence as he coos down at something nestled in his arms. When he’s finally back out in the open, Noct can see that whatever it is is small, and furry, and-

“Shit ,” he suddenly jolts, raising his sword back in front of himself. He can’t see its face from the way Prompto’s got it tucked into himself, but Noct can still see enough to realize what it is. He swallows thickly, his skin instantly prickling with fear. 

Prompto is holding a kitten. But not just any kitten…

It’s a coeurl kitten. 

His startled outburst seems to finally draw Prompto’s attention, but the other man looks completely unphased by the situation. 

“Dude ,” Prompto says, grinning up in excitement at Noct from his kneeling position on the ground. “Can you believe how cute it is?” he asks, oblivious to Noct’s concern as he immediately bends his head back down towards the kitten. 

Noct can’t care about how cute it is. He knows what these things are capable of, and he’s witnessed what they can do to people. His panic rises as he imagines Prompto’s body being suddenly lit up by blue electricity, the putrid smell of burning human flesh and hair wafting through the air. 

And here Prompto is just casually cradling this thing against his chest.  

He’s about to demand that Prompto put the kitten down when Prompto’s fingers suddenly move to gently card through the tiny creature’s fur. Noct sucks in a breath, his hand instinctively reaching out to stop him. 

“Prompto! Y-you can’t just-”

But the rest of his sentence dies on his tongue when he sees the coeurl kitten finally lift its head away from Prompto’s chest. Bright, green eyes - ones so big that they take up half of its little face - blink up at Prompto’s hand, then close in bliss as Prompto’s fingers gently move through its fur. The kitten burrows into Prompto’s touch, happily purring away as it does so - and if it wasn’t for the telltale light-brown fur with black spots, it would really just look like any other adorable, non-lethal kitten. 

“Shit,” Noct says again - feeling himself soften immediately. His anxiety withers away into nothing as he continues to watch the kitten snuggle against Prompto’s chest, and before he knows it, he’s returning his sword to the armiger and dropping to his knees in front of Prompto, already reaching his own hand out towards the kitten. 

“It’s so little,” he says quietly, carefully holding his fingers out in front of the kitten’s nose. The kitten raises its big eyes up at him in curiosity, then leans in and gives him a cautionary sniff. Making its mind up almost instantly, it quickly ruts its forehead against Noct’s fingers - a clear indication that he’s received the same stamp of approval that Prompto has. Noct smiles lightly and returns the affection with a rub of its head, a flush of endearment for the small animal overthrowing any lingering doubts. 

What can he say? He’s a total sucker for cats. 

A light giggle falls from Prompto’s lips as he watches Noct and the kitten’s exchange - and just when Noct thought he couldn’t possibly melt anymore than he already has, he makes the mistake of looking up. The smile his friend is giving him is just so soft, and Noct feels that oh-so familiar sensation stir behind his chest.

Okay… So he’s a sucker for several things. 

He bites his lip and quickly ducks his head back down, trying to hide his blush. 

“Wish they were all this cute,” he jokes, hoping to turn Prompto’s attention back to the kitten instead.

It seems to do the trick. Prompto laughs, looking back downwards. “Yeah, no kidding.”

When Noct returns to petting, the kitten raises its head up and exposes its chin to him - an obvious invitation. Noct chuckles as he complies with the unsaid request, scritching it underneath the chin instead. 

“A lot friendlier than those other ones, too-”

He cuts himself off, his fingers freezing underneath the kitten’s chin. 

“Wait. Prompto, ” Noct starts, his head snapping back up to his friend as a horrifying thought strikes him. “Did we…?” 

For a couple of seconds, Prompto just blinks in confusion at the unasked question, his smile starting to wilt as he tries to understand what it is that Noct is asking. But then a lightbulb seems to go off, and his face crumples as he immediately looks back down at the kitten in his arms. 

“Fuck,” he answers sadly, his arms tightening around the kitten protectively. “Dude.” He lifts his head back up to Noct, now looking dangerously close to bursting into tears. “Noct. We… We killed its family.” 

“Fuck,” Noct echoes, suddenly feeling like complete garbage. He looks back down at the kitten - this poor little kitten who’s still happily purring away, completely oblivious to the fact that its life has probably been ruined - and he feels his heart break. “M-maybe there’s still one alive?” 

Even as he says it, he knows it can’t possibly be true. There’s no way an animal as protective as a coeurl would be letting Prompto and Noct manhandle its baby right now if it was still alive. This kitten is an orphan now, and it’s entirely their fault. 

“What’d you guys find?” Gladio’s voice suddenly booms from behind Noct. 

The boys both jump at the intrusion, their eyes flying up to meet the other’s in sudden panic. Noct can tell they’re both wondering the same thing: will Gladio and Ignis insist on killing this kitten, too? Technically, the job was to take out the whole pack - and this kitten is going to grow up to be something that may cause problems for humans later in life…

Suddenly, Noct is struck with the instinct to hide it - but Gladio and Ignis are already pulling up beside them, and it’s too late to come up with any sort of plan. He and Prompto both turn to blink up at them, Prompto pulling the coeurl a little further against his chest now that the other two men are close enough to see it. 

“Um-” 

“W-well, it’s, uh-” 

Noct can pinpoint the exact second that the other two men realize what it is that they’ve found, both of their stances immediately changing and their hands flexing as if itching for their weapons. 

“Fuck ,” Gladio mutters. 

“Good gods. Don’t tell me that’s a coeurl.”

“No - it’s a coeurl kitten,” Noct quickly amends, a surge of protectiveness pulsing through him. He stands and drags Prompto up by the elbow, immediately moving his friend and the kitten behind himself and backing them all a few paces away from the two older men. Maybe he’s overcompensating because of his guilt, but he decides then and there that he can’t let anything happen to this kitten - at least nothing worse than what they’ve already done to it. 

Gladio’s jaw sets at Noct’s obvious attempt to put space between them. “Prompto - put the kitten down on the ground and step away from it,” he instructs, a firm warning behind his eyes as he glares down at them. Noct looks towards Ignis in the hopes that he may still find an ally, but the serious expression on the other man’s face is a clear indication that he’s taking Gladio’s side in this. 

Prompto pokes his head out from behind Noct. “B-but!”

“Don’t even think about it, Prompto,” Noct growls, reaching behind himself and grabbing Prompto to pull him and the kitten flush against his back as he stares down Gladio. He doesn’t play the “king” card very often - but for this, he is willing. He pulls himself up straighter. “I’m making the final call on this, and I’ve decided we aren’t killing it.” 

The forceful words echo between them, Noct keeping his gaze steady as the group falls into tense silence. At first he assumes it’s because he’s had to assert his authority - something he almost never does with his friends. But upon closer inspection of Gladio and Ignis’ expressions, he’s a little thrown-off to see that they don’t just appear to be angry… It’s actually more as if they’re… insulted?   

Gladio is the first to break the silence. “We’re not gonna ‘fucking kill it,” he scoffs, clearly offended by Noct’s suggestion. 

“Of course not,” Ignis adds indignantly. “It’s just a baby, for gods’ sake.” 

Noct blinks and shakes his head in confusion, his defenses coming down a bit. “O-oh-” 

“Nice to know you think we’re so heartless ,” Gladio continues, crossing his arms against his chest defensively. 

“Indeed ,” Ignis quickly agrees, giving Noct a disappointed glare. “Really, Noctis - I’d have thought you held us in higher regard than that. ”

“Uh…” Suddenly feeling embarrassed, Noct deflates. Okay, so… maybe he overreacted. Of course Gladio and Ignis aren’t going to suggest killing a baby animal, even if it is a coeurl. Still, that doesn’t explain why Gladio’s telling them to step away from it. “O-okay. But then, why…?”

“You idiots can’t just go around picking things up because you think they’re cute - especially if they’re things that can kill you,” Gladio snaps, gesturing towards the kitten again. “I need to see its whiskers.” 

“Its… whiskers?” Prompto asks, still peeking his head over Noct’s shoulder. He’s no closer to relinquishing his hold on the kitten, despite Gladio’s request. “Why? ”

“Because,” Gladio grumbles, rolling his eyes in annoyance before approaching them himself. 

When he steps around Noct and bends down to inspect the kitten in Prompto’s arms, Noct has to force down the instinct to push him away - reminding himself that Gladio has no intention of hurting it. Reluctantly, Prompto holds the kitten at a better angle for Gladio to perform his inspection. A few quiet seconds go by while the other three men watch him - but then Gladio nods to himself, seemingly satisfied with whatever it is that he sees. 

“Looks like its whiskers have barely even started to grow in,” he says. 

Prompto cocks an eyebrow. “Meaning…?”

“Meaning it probably couldn’t do that much damage yet, even if it wanted to,” Ignis supplies, stepping forward to get a closer look at the kitten himself. “A coeurl’s whiskers are where their energy attacks derive from - but it takes a while for the whiskers to fully form after birth.” 

Prompto pulls the kitten back towards himself and grins down at it. “Aww - you wouldn’t have hurt us, any ways,” he says fondly, squishing it up against his cheek and earning himself more happy purrs. “Would you, little-?” He pauses as his own words catch up to him, then holds the coeurl in front of his face instead and raises a curious eyebrow at it. “Little… guy? Uh,... girl?” 

Before anyone can say anything else, Gladio carefully plucks the kitten out of Prompto’s grasp with one giant hand and unceremoniously holds it in the air above his head, quickly inspecting it again before gently turning it back into Prompto’s hands. 

“Guy.” 

Prompto and the kitten both blink at Gladio in surprise for a second, but then Prompto quickly returns his attention back to the coeurl. “Little guy,” he continues, affectionately rubbing his nose against the kitten’s. “Of course you wouldn’t!” 

The kitten responds by giving the tip of Prompto’s nose a few tiny licks, and even Gladio and Ignis can’t hold back their smirks as they watch. Noctis lets out an affectionate laugh as he reaches out to pet the kitten again. 

“So…” Prompto says, grinning up at Noct before directing his next question at Gladio and Ignis. “Does this mean we can take him with us?” 

“Wait - what?” Noct asks, his head quickly turning to Prompto in surprise as his hand stills in the kitten’s fur. He looks over at Gladio and Ignis and sees their smiles are already melting off of their faces. 

“Prompto…” Ignis says delicately. 

“Just because we aren’t going to kill it, doesn’t mean we can just… take it with us,” Gladio says, giving the kitten a guilty look. “It’s still a coeurl.” 

Prompto pouts at that answer and looks back at Noct instead. “But we can’t just leave it here by itself ,” he argues. “We killed the rest of the pack! How’s it supposed to survive out here alone?” 

Noct’s heart twists again at Prompto’s reminder of what they’ve done, and he looks back down at the kitten. “Y-yeah, but… Prompto. We can’t just keep a coeurl,” he says gently. “You know we can’t.” 

“I’m not saying we have to keep it,” Prompto responds. “But if we leave it here by itself it’s gonna’ die, dude. That’s just as bad as killing it.”

Noct can’t deny that Prompto is right. “So… then what should we do?” he asks, looking between the other three men in hopes that one of them can come up with a solution. 

“I-I don’t know. Can’t we, like… take it somewhere?” Prompto asks, biting his lip and shrugging his shoulders helplessly. He turns to Gladio. “What if we found some other coeurls? Maybe they could take him in?” 

“Not how coeurls work, kid,” Gladio answers, giving the kitten another regretful look. 

Prompto’s shoulders sag at the answer. 

“Look-” Gladio continues. “If there was something else we could do, of course we would-” 

“Wait!” Prompto cuts him off, head flying back upwards. “What about Wiz?” 

“Wiz?” Gladio blinks. “What about him?” 

“I know he mostly deals with chocobos, but he took in that injured garula that one time - remember?” 

“Little bit different of a situation,” Gladio argues. “He nursed it back to health and released it back into the wild later.” He gestures at the kitten. “This guy is gonna’ need more than a few weeks of healing. He’s gonna’ need someone to raise him, and it’s unlikely he’ll be able to be released back into the wild after being raised by humans.” 

Ignis nods his agreement. “You’re talking about a lifelong commitment.”

Prompto’s shoulders start to slump again, but Noct has already made up his mind. He can’t live with himself if they just leave the kitten here to die. He has to at least try. 

“Well,” Noct says, already slipping his phone out of his pocket. “Wouldn’t hurt to at least ask Wiz…” 

Prompto’s face brightens at that, his eyes flicking back to Noct. “Yeah?” 

“And if he says no?” Ignis asks, watching as Noct punches the number into his phone. 

“I’ll tell him it would be a personal favour for the king of Lucis,” Noct answers plainly, shrugging his shoulders as he holds the ringing phone up to his ear. He turns to Prompto and gives him a sly smirk. “See him say no to that.”  

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Surprisingly, Wiz doesn’t say “no” - and Noct didn’t even have to bring up his kingly status during the call to persuade him. 

He agrees with Gladio’s assessment that it would be impossible to integrate the kitten into another pack, and that he’s unlikely to be able to be released back into the wild if raised on the ranch. But the alternative of leaving the kitten to its death doesn’t sit right with Wiz, and he’s willing to do what he can to help it. He’s seen a handful of domesticated coeurls in his lifetime, so he knows it can be done - and he suspects it might even come in handy on the ranch for protection from other predators. 

Noct ends the call and delivers the good news to his friends, taking especial delight in Prompto’s excited reaction. As for Gladio and Ignis, they aren’t necessarily pleased about having to escort the kitten around for a couple of days - but they’re still relieved to have found a solution that doesn’t involve leaving the kitten behind to fend for itself. 

There’s a brief conversation about how they’re going to fit the kitten delivery into their current schedule. They’d taken on the coeurl hunt when they arrived at the Vesperpool and heard about the local fishermen’s struggles, but their initial reason for coming to the Vesperpool was actually to collect some Fine Tail Feathers for Kimya’s next batch of curitives. She’s expecting them back at Malmalam Thicket tomorrow evening, so they decide they’re going to have to bring the kitten along for the feather delivery before heading east for Wiz’s ranch.

“But just so we’re clear - you and Prompto are claiming responsibility for this animal until we are able to get it to Wiz,” Ignis insists, crossing his arms against his chest. “That means feeding, cleaning and any other care it may require.” 

“You got it, Iggy!” Prompto agrees, giving the man a mock salute and grinning down at the kitten again. His voice goes up several octaves as he rubs his nose into the kitten’s head again. “And we’re gonna’ be the most awesome babysitters you’ve ever had, aren’t we little guy?” 

They walk back to their campsite, Prompto and Noct fawning over the kitten and passing it between themselves the entire time. By the time they get back to the campsite the sun is already starting to set, and Ignis is keen to start making dinner right away. He’s willing to prepare food for the kitten alongside theirs, so long as Noct and Prompto take responsibility for the actual feeding. Gladio lists off things that would be part of a coeurl’s regular diet - the most easily accessible option for them being fish - and Ignis checks their ingredient stores. 

“I’ve got enough fish for him for tonight, but you two will have to do some early-morning fishing tomorrow morning before breakfast.” 

Noctis groans. “But that means I’ll have to get up early.” 

“And I hate fishing,” Prompto adds with a pout.  

“Not my concern,” Ignis answers, tying his apron around his back and turning to the cutting board at his cooking station. “As I said earlier - he is your responsibility. I already offered to do the cooking, but you’ll have to take care of the rest.”

The rest of them sit around the fire waiting for dinner to be ready - Prompto seated on the ground while he keeps the kitten entertained with one of his boot laces. It isn’t long before dinner is ready and Ignis plates up everyone’s meals, including a small amount of fish for the kitten. Prompto takes the smaller plate from Ignis and detaches the kitten from his boot, placing both of them down a little further away from the fire. 

“Here you go, little buddy!” he says, pushing the plate of food a little closer. The kitten looks at the fish with interest and gives it a sniff, but then he looks up at Prompto and tilts his head to the side, clearly unsure about the food. 

Noct turns to Gladio. “Thought you said they eat fish?” 

“They do,” Gladio says around a mouthful of his own dinner. “Probably not used to seeing it cooked, though.” 

Prompto hums, then leans over to the fish and picks off a small piece between his fingers. He holds it up directly under the kitten’s nose. 

“Go ahead! I promise it’s tasty - especially if Iggy made it.” 

The kitten blinks at him once before sniffing again at the tiny piece of fish. He sticks his tongue out to give it a cursory lick - and as soon as he does, his hesitation disappears and he’s quick to devour the piece from Prompto’s fingers.

“Told ya’,” Prompto giggles, watching as the kitten uses a small paw to hold his fingers still to lick off the remaining fish residue. He slides the plate closer to the kitten with his free hand. “And there’s lots  more where that came from.” 

While Ignis and Gladio chat through their meal, Noct is content to just eat in silence, smiling to himself as he watches Prompto and the kitten. The kitten is more than happy with the fish - having now literally climbed onto the plate to finish it off - and Prompto is trying his best to keep the fish on the plate for him, laughing out loud as he does so. 

It’s been a while since Noct’s seen Prompto laugh so much, and it suddenly strikes him how much he’s missed it. They used to laugh a lot when they were still in school - back before Noct’s dad shipped him off to get married; before everything went to shit. Noct’s decision to temporarily keep the kitten may have been driven by guilt and a desire to protect it, but he can’t deny that seeing Prompto this happy is an added bonus for him. He loves to see Prompto’s smile, but he loves it even more when he’s helped play a part in putting it there. 

When the kitten gets momentarily distracted by Prompto’s own plate, Prompto laughs and lifts it high above him. “Not mine, dude!” he giggles. “You eat your own!” He tries to redirect the kitten back towards his own plate, but the kitten seems more interested in Prompto now. Putting his own meal off to the side, Prompto rolls his eyes good-naturedly and takes some of the kitten’s fish off the plate to start feeding him by hand instead. The tactic seems to work, and the kitten goes back to eating pieces that Prompto rips off for him.

A strong burst of affection for the other man blooms behind Noct's chest as he watches them. He’s not entirely certain how long he’s had these feelings for his best friend - although, he suspects they've always been there, bubbling underneath the surface. He can definitely pinpoint the moment when he realized he had them, though. It was the day his dad told him about the peace treaty and the part he’d be playing in it. He’d been upset - but not just because he was being sent away, or because yet another life-changing decision was being made for him. 

His first thought had actually been “But what about Prompto?”

It had taken him a little bit of time to recognize why he was thinking about Prompto in that moment - but once he’d finally figured it out, he felt like a fool for not having realized it sooner. He became painfully aware of how frequently he found his gaze drifting towards his friend; of how he’d somehow already committed every single one of the other man’s features to memory. He had this constant urge to be near him - and if Prompto wasn’t there, he’d be thinking about him until the moment they were together again. There was just this undeniable feeling of happiness that he felt around Prompto; a feeling that nothing else has ever given him. 

In hindsight, it probably should have been glaringly obvious what it was that he was feeling. 

Unfortunately, the timing for such an epiphany was completely awful - because by then he couldn’t actually do anything about it. He had a duty to uphold: for his country, his people, and of course - his father. And so he kept his secret, convincing himself that with enough time, he'd be able to get over it and move on; that things would get easier as time went on.  

Yeah, right… he thinks now, aware that he’s been full-on staring at Prompto for over ten minutes.  

Things did not get easier. In fact, since they’ve left Insomnia, things have just gotten messier. They’ve lost their home, and numerous people they considered friends. Noct and Gladio have even lost their fathers. Overnight, Noctis has become the king of a fallen kingdom - and now its entire population is depending on him and his choices to bring it back to life. Noct knows his priority needs to be on Lucis right now - and it is. 

And yet…

Lately whenever he looks at Prompto, there’s this quiet voice in the back of his head whispering things that are far-too enticing - telling him that he probably doesn’t even need to get married anymore; that maybe he could actually do something about those pesky feelings of his, after all…

“I got something on my face, or something?” 

Snapping out of his reverie, Noct realizes that he’s been caught staring. He watches as Prompto rubs at cheeks, trying to get rid of an imaginary mess. 

“Uh - n-no, you got it off,” Noct lies, giving him a tight smile before quickly refocusing on his uneaten dinner.  

Of course you can’t do anything about your feelings, he thinks to himself. Don’t be such an idiot. 

The truth is, even if Noct’s no longer engaged, there’s still no reason for him to believe that Prompto wants anything to do with him in that way. Noctis wasn’t always engaged to someone else. There would have been other opportunities before then for Prompto to say or do something if he had been interested in anything like that - and he didn’t. Noct’s not going to risk ruining their friendship now for something he knows is a lost cause. 

And so, he goes back to eating his dinner in silence.   

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After dinner, Prompto helps Ignis clean up - leaving Noct to attend to the kitten. He does his best to clean him up, carefully running a towel through his fur to get rid of any of the remaining fish pieces he’s managed to get lodged in there. When they’re done, the kitten seems more than content to curl up in Noct’s lap by the fire, ready to sleep off a good meal and a long day. 

“It may be in your best interest to get to bed early tonight,” Ignis says, taking a seat around the fire when the cleaning is all finished. “Since you’ll be up early tomorrow morning.”

“Ugh - don’t remind me,” Noct mutters. 

“Good idea, Iggy,” Prompto says, squatting down in front of Noct so he can pet the sleeping kitten. “And it looks like this little guy already has a head start.” He bites his bottom lip in thought, then looks back at Ignis and Gladio. “Is he, uh… sleeping in the tent with us?” 

“Course he is,” Noctis answers for them. He gently maneuvers the kitten off of his lap and up against his chest so he can stand up. “Can’t just leave him outside by himself all night.” 

Neither of the two older men seem to have any objections. “Just keep him off of my pillow,” Gladio sniffs. 

“As if he’d be able to sleep next to your snoring,” Noct counters, turning towards the tent to open it. 

Prompto laughs. “Don’t worry - I don’t mind sharing my pillow,” he says to Gladio, before following Noct inside the tent. “Night, guys!” 

“You sure you want him on your pillow?” Noct asks once Prompto’s zipped the tent closed behind them. He peers down at the kitten cupped against himself, feeling a strange pull in his chest as he watches him breathe in and out in his sleep. “I don’t mind if he sleeps on mine. You know… if you wanted more space for yourself, or whatever...”

Prompto smirks and pins him with a knowing look that tells Noct he’s not fooling him. “How about he sleeps between both of our pillows?” 

“Deal,” Noct answers, unable to stop his own smile. He carefully sets the sleeping kitten down in his new spot between their pillows.

They change into their pyjamas before slipping into their sleeping bags beside the kitten. Normally Noct lies flat on his back, having trained himself to stare at the ceiling at night instead of… other things. But right now he has this inexplicable urge to be able to see the kitten, so tonight he allows himself to lay on his side - Prompto mirroring him on the other side of the kitten. 

“I feel really guilty,” Prompto suddenly says, expression turning wistful as his hand moves between them to gently stroke the kitten’s fur.

“Yeah, me too,” Noct admits quietly. “But we were doing what we had to, Prompto.” 

“I know,” Prompto sighs, still focused on the kitten. “Just sucks to lose your whole family like that. Now he's all by himself.”

There’s an underlying pain behind Prompto’s expression - one that Noct has witnessed many, many times - and he wonders if his friend is drawing parallels between himself and the kitten. 

“He’s not by himself,” he answers, eyes deliberately trained on Prompto as he says it. “He’s got us now.”

At that, Prompto finally lifts his eyes over the kitten’s form to meet Noct’s. A small smile pulls at the corner of his lips, and Noct can tell he understands. 

“Yeah, he does,” he agrees, slight colour rising in his cheeks.

Pleased that his point has gotten across, Noct turns to reach for the lamp in the corner of the tent. “Alright, time to sleep,” he says, quickly flicking the light off before Prompto realizes that he’s blushing, too. He flops back down onto his pillow and shuts his eyes. 

“...Hey, Noct?” Prompto murmurs after a minute or two of silence. 

Noct opens his eyes again, but all he can see is darkness. “Yeah?” 

“Just, uh… Wanted to say that you're not by yourself either." 

Noct blinks in surprise at the words.

"Yeah…" he says quietly, warmth spreading behind his chest. "Uh - thanks."

"No probs'," Prompto says around a yawn. "Night, buddy."

Noct smiles to himself as he shuts his eyes again. "Night, Prompto."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter Text

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"Ahem."

The noise ripples through Noct’s subconscious, infiltrating the rather pleasant dream he’s having. He knows that sound - knows it like the back of his hand. Ignis is trying to wake him up. But Noctis is so warm and so comfortable, and he’s not ready to get out of bed yet. Something soft and furry is tucked underneath his chin - barely audible hums coming from it as it breathes in its sleep. The kitten has nestled itself into him through the night. He sighs and lifts a hand to run his fingers through its fur, trying to hold onto the disappearing threads of his dream.

"Do I need to go fetch a bucket of cold water? You doubted me last time. Don't think I won't do it again." 

He’s not gonna' fall for that. Ignis might be willing to douse him in water, but Noct knows he won't do it to the kitten. He keeps his eyes closed and pulls the kitten a little closer, refusing to let himself fully awaken. 

"And if he gets any on me, I'll fucking kill you two."

A groan of displeasure - but not from Noct. It's actually come from the kitten tucked against him-

Noct's hand freezes in the fur, a sense of dread building within him. Kittens do not sound like disgruntled, human men. His eyes fly open, and his stomach drops out of him when he sees what his hand has actually been petting.

Not fur! Not a kitten! Abort, abort, abort-

"S-shit," he says, immediately pulling his hands out of Prompto's hair as quick as if he's been burned. He tries to pull away further, but Prompto’s arms are still wrapped tight around his middle. “Uh - P-prompto?” he stammers, shaking his friend’s shoulder to wake him up. 

Prompto groans again, but this time he lifts his head and finally opens his eyes. When he sees what it is he’s clinging to, he lets out an honest-to-gods yelp, before immediately pushing himself several feet away from Noct. 

“S-sorry!” he says, face turning a brilliant shade of red. “I-I didn’t mean to-”

“N-no - me neither!” Noct says over him as he sits up as well. “Uh. Obviously…”

“O-obviously!” Prompto says with an awkward laugh, his eyes looking anywhere but at Noct. 

“Idiots. ” 

Noct turns to his left and sees Gladio is still laying in his own bag with his back to them.

“Well said.” 

Feeling his face burn hotter, Noct turns his head towards the tent doorway. Ignis is there with the kitten, barely suppressing a smirk as he watches them.  

“Now if you’d kindly get out of bed,” Ignis continues, placing the kitten on the tent floor so it can toddle over to Noct and Prompto. “You’ve a responsibility to uphold.” 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A few minutes later, Noct and Prompto are dressed and ready to go. When they haul themselves out of the tent, they find Ignis leaning against the table, a mug of freshly brewed coffee to his lips.  

“Are you taking him fishing with you?” he asks, gesturing towards the kitten in Prompto’s arms.

To be honest, Noct’s surprised by the casual question. He was half expecting some sort of teasing comment - but apparently Ignis is feeling generous this morning. He feels some of his prior embarrassment start to fade.  

“Yeah,” Prompto answers with a shrug. “Thought it might be less boring for him than hanging out here at the campsite.”

“Well, I don’t know about that…” Ignis smirks. Noct doesn’t miss the pointed look he gives him over his mug. “We do see the occasional interesting development, here.”

And, there it is. 

“Alright - time to go,” Noct says, hurriedly grabbing Prompto by the elbow and dragging him away before anyone can say anything else. 

“Ah - just a moment, Noctis,” Ignis says, stopping them in their tracks. 

Noct rolls his eyes towards the sky, but turns around anyway. “Yeah?” 

Ignis reaches into his pocket. “Since you’re already going to be out,” he says, pulling out the car keys. “Would you be so kind as to fill up the car with gas before you come back? That way we don’t have to worry about it after breakfast.”

“Uh - sure, whatever,” Noct says, hastily holding his hands out for the keys. He pockets them, then grabs Prompto to continue their getaway. 

“And Prompto-” Ignis calls out to them as they leave. “Do make sure to keep an eye on him, will you?” 

“I’ll be fine,” Noct grumbles over his shoulder, rolling his eyes again. 

“Not you. I was talking about the coeurl.”  

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“All I’m saying is that it might not be such a bad idea to have a fierce, bloodthirsty beast fighting alongside us,” Prompto says, glancing up at Noct from his position sprawled out on the ground.  

Looking away from his bobber on the lake, Noct turns towards the kitten. He’s stalking a beetle in the grass a few feet away from them, wiggling his tiny bottom to prepare for a pounce. When he finally jumps, he faceplants into the dirt and misses by several inches - leaving the beetle to merely fly up in the air away from him. 

Noct snorts in amusement. “Yeah - real fierce and bloodthirsty,” he says with a fond roll of eyes. 

“Aw - don’t listen to him, buddy,” Prompto says to the kitten, reaching out to rub a hand against his tiny head. Already forgetting his failure, the kitten happily purrs as he nuzzles into Prompto’s touch. “Trust me. You’re gonna be a total badass, one day.” 

“Not if he’s hanging out with you all the time.” 

Prompto scoffs and kicks a leg at Noct’s thigh. “You sayin’ I’m not a badass?”  

“You’re about as intimidating as him,” Noct teases, gesturing to the kitten with his head. 

Before Prompto can respond, the fishing pole in Noct’s hand starts to violently pull towards the lake, and Noctis has to scramble to catch it - causing Prompto to burst into laughter. 

“Shut up,” Noct laughs, aiming his own kick back at Prompto. 

There’s a bit of a struggle as Noct tries to reel the fish in, but eventually he succeeds. He’s been fishing for an hour now, and he’s caught about a half dozen fish - all of which are three times or more the size of the kitten. Deciding he’s got more than enough to last them for a couple of days, he sends his fishing pole back to the armiger with the most recent fish and pulls himself off of the ground.

“Think that should be enough, for now.” He pats his stomach. “And I’m getting pretty hungry.” 

“Yeah, me too,” Prompto agrees, standing up to stretch. He turns to where the kitten is in the grass. “Time to go, little guy-” 

But then Prompto freezes, the words dying in his mouth. Noct quickly looks to where his friend is staring - the spot where the kitten should be - but immediately gets a sinking feeling in his gut when he sees that the kitten is nowhere in sight. 

“Uh - Noct ?” Prompto says, his voice already panicky as he starts whipping his head back and forth around them. “Please tell me you saw where he went...” 

“Shit ,” Noct says, immediately moving to search the shrubs nearest to where they’ve been sitting. “Uh - c-call out his name, or something?”

Prompto’s on his hands and knees now, searching around the taller grass along the bank. “Dude - he doesn’t have a name!” He pokes his head in a hollowed out log laying near the edge of the water and groans so loud that his voice echoes back to him. “How could we not have given him a name? ”

“I-I don’t know!” Noct answers, his voice starting to sound hysterical even to his own ears. He’s moving so quickly now that his arms are getting completely shredded from the branches in the shrubs, but he’s too terrified to care. “He has to be here somewhere- ”

His words are cut off by a loud snarl that comes from the other side of the shrubs. He immediately lifts his head up towards it, his heart nearly stopping at what he sees. There’s a group of sahagins about twenty meters down the bank from them - and it looks as if they’re circling in on something. 

“Prompto!” Noct yells, already summoning his sword from the armiger as he sprints towards the group. 

He hears Prompto curse, followed by footsteps immediately coming up behind him. Prompto quickly overtakes him, putting his years of running practice to use. By the time Noct is close enough to see that it is in fact the kitten that the sahagins are circling, Prompto is already almost there.

The kitten is crying out and shaking in terror, already backed up towards the water as far as he can be without touching it. Unfortunately for him, sahagins are swimming up behind him in the water as well. There’s about a dozen of them surrounding him, and Noct realizes that he needs to get the kitten out of that circle now before he can worry about killing anything. 

Working off instinct, he launches his weapon towards the sand beside the kitten, using his warp power to transport himself past Prompto and right into the centre of the danger. The sahagins are all snarling and hissing a few feet away from him, but Noct takes no time at all to scoop the kitten up off the ground. He’s never tried warping while holding onto another living being before - and he’s not about to risk trying it now - but he can’t fight these things off properly while he’s holding the kitten, either.

“Prompto !” he yells, slicing his sword at a sahagin to his left with one hand while clutching the trembling kitten to his chest with the other. “We need to clear a path-” 

“On it!” Prompto yells back, pulling something out of the armiger. “Cover him up!” 

Noct sees Prompto pull back his arm to throw something, and he immediately understands. He tucks the kitten into himself to shield him as best he can. The spell lands with perfect accuracy in the water behind Noct, and a burst of ice instantly surrounds them. Noct’s skin prickles in pain from the coldness of it, but he doesn’t care about himself right now - he only cares about protecting the kitten. He quickly realizes that the water around him has frozen - stopping the sahagins that were coming up behind them in their tracks - so he jumps onto the newly formed path of ice to get to a safe section of the beach. 

Prompto is already engaging in battle with the sahagins that are still on the beach, so Noct finds a large rock far enough away from the action to place the kitten on. The kitten is still shaking and crying, and Noct wishes he could stay and comfort him, but he has to make sure they’re out of danger first. At least he’s pretty sure that the kitten won’t try and make a run for it with how terrified he is right now.  

“Stay here ,” he says anyway, giving the kitten one last comforting pet before turning back to the sahagins. 

He hops back into the fight alongside Prompto, finding his friend has already taken down several of the beasts on his own. By the time the spell wears off and the lake unfreezes, they’ve already eliminated most of the sahagins on the beach. They make quick work of the ones coming in from the water, until finally the last one has been downed. 

Just when Noct thinks they’re finally in the clear, a hiss from behind him tells him there’s still at least one left - but when he turns around to face it, his blood runs cold at what he sees. Somehow, the kitten has jumped down from the rock Noct left him on, and he’s running as fast as his little legs can carry him to get back to Noct and Prompto on the beach. 

And coming up fast behind him is the final sahagin.   

“No ,” Noct growls, already kicking himself for not placing the kitten somewhere further away or higher up. He throws his weapon to use his warp again to get to the kitten - dropping to his knees as soon as he gets there - but as he’s scooping the kitten into his arms, he realizes that the jaws coming at them are already mere inches away from making contact and that it’s too late for him to actually do anything about it. 

Out of desperation, he quickly cups the kitten against his chest, turns his back towards the sahagin, and folds in on himself - closing his eyes as he mentally prepares himself for the inevitable pain he’s about to feel. But just as he’s sure he’s about to feel those sharp teeth pierce through his skin, a loud bang sounds from in front of him, followed by the whoosh of something skimming over his shoulder. 

There’s a couple of seconds of silence before a tiny meow from underneath him makes Noct realize that the pain he’d been preparing himself for hasn’t happened yet. His eyes fly open and he sees the kitten still clutched to his chest - clearly shaken, but definitely safe. He blinks in confusion before whipping his head around behind him, trying to determine if they’re still in danger. He’s stunned to see that the massive sahagin is now laying dead at his feet, blood gushing from a bullet hole positioned directly between its eyes.

He turns back forward - the only direction the bullet could have come from - and blinks in shock as he takes in Prompto, still in his shooting stance and wearing a downright frightening glare on his face as he keeps his gun trained on the sahagin. 

Suddenly, Noct isn’t sure if the intense beating of his heart is still from fear. 

“Fuck , Prompto.” 

Prompto blinks and shakes his head as if he’s coming out of a trance. He looks down at Noct and the kitten, his face immediately transforming from that of an angry, smiting god to one more like a frantic, distraught parent.

“Shit - is he okay?” he asks, racing to fall to his knees in front of Noct to check the kitten over for injuries. 

Noct blinks again. “Uh y-yeah,” he finally stutters, snapping himself out of his stupor to properly hand the kitten over to Prompto so he can see for himself. “He’s fine.”  

Prompto pulls the kitten into his neck for a hug, cooing and whispering comforting things as the kitten affectionately rubs his head against the bottom of Prompto’s chin. Noct can’t help but shake his head at the scene - trying to process how at odds this version of Prompto is with the commanding presence from thirty seconds ago. 

When Prompto looks back up and notices Noct staring at him, he gives him an apologetic wince. “Oh. Uh… sorry about that, by the way…” he says, gesturing at the sahagin behind him. “Guess I cut that one a little close.”

Noct has to laugh. “Are you kidding me? Prompto - don’t apologize. That was incredible.” 

“O-oh…” Prompto answers, his eyes widening in surprise. A slight blush blooms across his cheeks as his face lights up at the praise. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Noct says sincerely, reaching out to scratch the kitten’s chin. As he does so, he feels gentle purrs rumbling through his fingers - suggesting the kitten is starting to calm down from the ordeal. “Fuck, that was really scary,” he adds more quietly, thinking about how close they’d been to losing their little charge.

“No kidding,” Prompto laughs lightly. “For a second there, I really thought you were about to become a royal snack.”

Noct blinks and looks up at him in surprise. He’d been talking about being scared for the kitten, but Prompto sounds like he’s talking about being scared for him . He tries to quell the flush of warmth he feels building at the thought of Prompto being worried about him. 

“You were really gonna’ take that bite for him?” Prompto continues, his expression softening as he looks back down at the kitten. 

“Uh - yeah, guess I was,” Noct answers, feeling his cheeks start to heat. He shrugs his shoulders in what he hopes is a nonchalant gesture. “Good thing I have you.”

He’s a little embarrassed to have said it, but the affectionate grin that Prompto hits him with afterwards seems more than worth it.  

“Well - you know me,” Prompto shrugs, his fond smile quickly turning cocky despite the reddening of his cheeks. “Just bein’ my regular badass self.”  

Noct rolls his eyes at the reference to their earlier conversation on the bank. “Seriously? ” he smirks, reaching over to give Prompto a solid punch in the shoulder before standing up and walking away. 

“Ow!” Prompto laughs, quickly standing up to run after him. “Dude - just admit it!”   

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They both agree before getting back to the campsite that they can’t breathe a word about the close call they had with the kitten to anyone else - especially after Ignis specifically warned them to keep an eye on him. When Ignis inevitably questions the scratches and streaks of dirt all over their bodies, they make up some story about getting too carried away while playing with the kitten. When it then looks like Ignis may not quite believe them, Noct chooses that moment to present him with the fish he caught - and soon, all is forgotten as Ignis starts babbling away excitedly about all the different dishes he’ll be able to prepare. 

After breakfast, they pack up the campsite and immediately head to the car. Noct and Prompto argue about who the kitten should sit with during the drive, but eventually Prompto decides to forfeit his seat up front to Gladio so that they can both sit with the kitten in the back - a solution that pleases Noct for several reasons. Prompto sets his pillow up between them so the kitten has something comfortable to nap on, and then Noct kicks back for a long nap as they set off for Malmalam Thicket.

They get about an hour away from the Vesperpool before the thing that Noct and Prompto forgot to do comes back to bite them in the ass. 

Noct is still sleeping when it happens. He awakens to Prompto reaching across the seat beside him and violently shaking his knee. 

“Dude . I, uh… think you better wake up…”

Lazily blinking open his eyes, Noct assumes he’s slept the entire seven hour drive to Malmalam. He looks around - but then his sleepy brain processes the scenery around him, and he realizes they’re nowhere near the thicket. 

He sits up straighter, taking in the fact that they’re still on the road - or at least on the side of it - and that Ignis, Gladio and Prompto are all staring at him from their respective seats. Ignis and Gladio look entirely unimpressed with him - although he has no idea what he could have possibly done to them while he was asleep - and for some reason, Prompto just looks guilty. 

“Uh… Something happen while I was asleep?” he asks hesitantly, eyes flicking between the three faces.  

Somehow, Ignis and Gladio look even more unimpressed by his question. 

“We… may have run out of gas,” Prompto answers awkwardly, rubbing at the back of his neck as he avoids looking at Ignis and Gladio. 

“Wait - seriously? ” Noct asks, horrible flashbacks from the start of their roadtrip creeping their way into his brain. He looks around the area they’ve stopped in again. “But we haven’t even gone that far! How could we be out already?” 

He looks back to the front seat, then reels back a little at the expressions glaring back at him. He’s not sure, but he thinks he may actually see a vein popping out of Ignis’ forehead, now. 

Prompto clears his throat. “We, uh… never filled it up,” he answers, subtly gesturing down at the kitten with his head. “Remember?”

Oh. Right. 

“Fuck,” Noct says, running a hand through his hair. It'd completely slipped his mind after the sahagin encounter; they'd just been concerned about getting the kitten back to camp safe. “I completely forgot to fill it up this morning.”

“No shit,” Gladio grumbles, turning back around to face the front and crossing his arms against his chest. 

“We’re over an hour’s walk from the nearest station,” Ignis adds, turning back to the front himself. “And that’s without taking into account having to push the car that far. Tack on another couple of hours to that, at least.”

Noct groans and lets his head fall back against the seat behind him. “Do we really have to push it again?” 

“Yes ,” Ignis snaps. “And you have nobody to blame but yourself.”

“Can’t we just call Cindy and get a tow?” 

“Already called her,” Gladio mutters. “She’s a day and half’s drive away from here.” 

“And we simply cannot wait that long,” Ignis continues. “This little incident is already going to set us off course to Malmalam Thicket by a whole day, since it’ll be getting too close to night by the time we push this thing to the station. We’ll have to stay in the caravan at Burbost for the night and carry on tomorrow morning.”

“Better get this thing moving, then,” Gladio mutters, pushing open his car door and stepping outside. “You two idiots are with me,” he adds, pointing at them as he walks around to the back of the car.  

With much grumbling on Noct’s part, he and Prompto join Gladio at the back of the car and get themselves into position to push. 

“Ready?” Gladio yells up to Ignis. 

“Ready!” 

As soon as the car starts to move, Noct sees the kitten jump up onto the back of the car and take a seat directly in front of him and Prompto. He curiously tilts his head to the side as he watches them, as if silently asking them what they’re doing outside of the car. 

“I hope you realize this is your fault,” Noct mutters, blowing a piece of hair out of his eyes as he continues to struggle and push. 

The kitten responds by flopping over on his back, looking at Noct upside down, then playfully batting at Noct’s fingers where they grip the back of the Regalia.

Prompto giggles as he watches - and despite his annoyance, Noct can’t help but laugh, either. 

Maybe some things are worth suffering for.   

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It takes them nearly three and a half hours to push the Regalia all the way to Burbost Souvenir Emporium. As predicted, it’s far too late in the day to carry on the journey to Malmalam Thicket without risking daemon attacks at nighttime, so Ignis secures the caravan for the night after filling up the gas tank. Noct, Prompto and Gladio - sweaty and dirty from pushing the car - take turns showering, while Ignis prepares dinner. 

“Man - I am exhausted,” Prompto says, setting his freshly cleared dinner plate down on the table and leaning back in his chair. 

“No kidding,” Noct says, already closing his eyes. “My arms are killing me.” 

Prompto hums his agreement. “Mine too.” 

Gladio snorts in amusement and reaches over to pinch one of each of their biceps. “That’s because they’re so puny.” 

“Hey!” Prompto laughs, pulling his arm away from Gladio. “I’m working on them, okay?”

“Yeah - we can’t all be the size of a behemoth,” Noct adds. 

“Well, maybe we need to start incorporating some more intensive workout routines into your schedules,” Gladio suggests. “It wouldn’t hurt to squeeze in an extra workout in the mornings-”

“Don’t even think about it,” Noct cuts him off, tilting his head back and closing his eyes again. The three other men all snicker at his reaction.

“Damn, you’re lazy,” Gladio smirks. He turns to Ignis. “Lady Lunafreya really dodged a bullet, didn’t she?”

Despite the fact that he’s being insulted, Noct can’t help but find it interesting that Gladio is operating under the assumption that the wedding isn’t happening anymore. Even though he had pretty much already come to that conclusion on his own, he’s weirdly relieved to hear that other people aren’t still expecting it to happen. He decides to roll with it. 

“She could have done a lot worse…” He grins as he pins Gladio with a teasing look. “Could have ended up with a meathead like you.”

“Hey - you never know… Maybe she will,” Gladio says with a wink.

“Don’t think she’s that desperate,” Noct smirks as he closes his eyes and tilts his head back again. “But if it does work out for you, I’ll try not to sleep through the wedding.”   

He hears Gladio chuckle again, but it’s Ignis who speaks next.  

“Are you quite alright, Prompto?”

Worried that his friend may be sick or injured in some way, Noct quickly whips open his eyes and turns towards Prompto - but when he lays eyes on his friend, he finds the other man looks healthy enough. 

He just looks kind of… distracted.  

“Hm?” Prompto responds, blinking in surprise at the attention now on him. “Oh - uh, yeah. Sorry. Just kinda tired…” he says with a tight smile. 

Noct can tell the smile is a forced one. He finds it odd considering Prompto seemed fine a few minutes ago, but there’s obviously something on his mind now. He wonders if he should try and talk to Prompto about it. Maybe the next time they’re alone? 

“I can certainly imagine,” Ignis answers. “I take it you two will be wanting to get to bed early again tonight, then?” 

“Uh - y-yeah,” Noct nods quickly, pleased that the opportunity to get Prompto alone has already presented itself. “At least I am. You?” he asks Prompto. 

“Definitely,” Prompto sighs. He looks back at Ignis and Gladio. “If that’s okay with you guys?”  

“Of course,” Ignis says nonchalantly. But when Prompto and Noct both move to get out of their chairs, he continues talking, his tone turning wily. “Just as soon as you’ve finished giving the kitten a bath.” 

“Wait - what?” Noctis says, freezing in his chair as he raises a confused eyebrow at Ignis. 

Rather than answer, Ignis simply gestures to the ground to his left where they left the kitten with his plate of food. Having temporarily slipped the notice of everyone (except Ignis, apparently), the kitten is now gleefully rolling around in a dirty puddle, caked in mud from head to toe. He stops for a few seconds when he notices everyone looking at him - two little white orbs blinking up at them through newly browned fur -  then gives them a happy little mew before quickly resuming his splashing.   

“Dude ,” Prompto groans. 

Noctis sighs in exasperation before glaring at Ignis. “You could have at least stopped him,” he says, pulling himself out of his chair to go and fetch a towel. 

“What - and ruin the little scamp’s fun?” Ignis smirks as he takes a sip of his coffee. “I wouldn’t dream of it.” 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“This is his way of paying us back for forgetting to fill up the car, isn’t it?”

“Yep,” Noct answers, trying his best to keep a tight grip on the squirmy kitten - who he now has wrapped up like a little burrito in the towel - while Prompto finishes filling the sink with a few inches of warm water. 

Turning off the taps, Prompto bends down so he’s eye-level with the kitten in Noct’s hands. “It’s a good thing you’re cute, little guy,” he says, booping the kitten on the nose and giggling when the kitten responds with a meow. “Alright - time to put him in.” 

Noct starts to unravel the towel, trying his best to keep the messy kitten away from his clean clothes. When he’s finally got it off, he lets the dirty towel fall to the floor and slowly starts to lower the kitten into the sink. But as soon as the kitten feels one of his feet touch the water, he immediately tries to wiggle out of Noct’s grasp, releasing a fit of highly distressed meows as he does so. 

“Uh - Prompto?” Noct asks, feeling himself start to lose his grip on the kitten. “Little help, here?”

“Aw, it’s okay buddy,” Prompto coos down at the kitten. He pets the kitten’s head with one hand while he uses the other to scoop up some water and gently tip it over the kitten’s back. “See? It’s just a little water- OW!”

As soon as the water touches the kitten’s back, his wiggles become more desperate - and he digs all of his claws into Noct and Prompto’s arms to try and hoist himself further away from the sink. Startled by the sudden pain of claws in his arm, Noct loses his grip on him, and the kitten manages to claw himself all the way up Noct’s arm to his shoulders, spreading dirt and mud all over Noct as he goes. 

“Ow - fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!” Noct yelps, trying to reach behind himself as the kitten starts clawing his way across his back. “Get him, Prompto!” 

“I’m trying, I’m trying!” Prompto panics, doing his best to pluck the kitten from the back of Noct’s neck. 

“Try harder!” Noct groans, face wincing in pain as the kitten tries to dig in deeper.

“Sorry! He just won’t - let - go-'' But on the last yank, the kitten’s claws finally detach from Noct’s skin. 

Noct immediately exhales in relief. “Thank gods .”

“Okay - now let’s get him in there quick!” Prompto says, holding the flailing kitten at arms-length from his face. 

They work together to get him back in the sink, restraining his legs as gently as possible. As soon as he’s semi-submerged in the water, his meows seem to become impossibly sadder. 

“Aww, I’m so sorry little buddy,” Prompto apologizes, his voice thick with guilt. “Blame Ignis - not us!” 

“I definitely am,” Noct mutters, looking at the claw marks and mud now trailing all over his and Prompto’s arms. 

Filling one of his hands with dish soap, Noct starts lathering up the kitten. After a minute, the kitten seems to accept his fate and stops struggling as much - although his meows are still undeniably sorrowful. 

As they stand shoulder-to-shoulder at the sink, Noct and Prompto fall into a comfortable silence - Noct working on cleaning out the mud while Prompto keeps the kitten in the water. It occurs to Noct that now would be the perfect time to try and ask Prompto about what’s bothering him. But - much like himself - Prompto can be kind of complicated when it comes to having these sorts of conversations. He almost certainly won’t open up to Noct unless he’s asked to, preferring to have everyone believe that he’s fine, even when he’s not. 

Deciding that directness would be the best option, Noct breaks the silence. “So…” he starts, aiming for nonchalance. “You seem a little… preoccupied.”

“Hm?” Prompto hums, looking away from the kitten and up to him. “Oh. Do I?” 

“Something on your mind?” Noct presses further. 

He’s surprised to see Prompto blush as he looks back down at the sink. 

“Um. Kind of, yeah.” 

Noct patiently waits for him to continue, but when he doesn’t he rolls his eyes fondly and breathes out a laugh. “You wanna’ tell me what it is? ” 

The way that Prompto hesitates and bites his bottom lip has Noct realizing that the other man is either really nervous about it, or really nervous about sharing it.

“Just, uh…’ Prompto starts, lifting his head back up from the sink but refusing to actually meet Noct’s eyes. “Did I, like… miss something?”

Noct’s hands slow a little in the kitten’s fur, his eyebrows furrowing as he wonders where this could possibly be going. “Uh… Such as?” 

Prompto shrugs and looks back down at the sink. “It… kinda’ sounds like you’re not getting married anymore.”

The answer only confuses Noct more. “That’s what’s bothering you?” 

“I’m not really bothered,” Prompto quickly insists. “Just… Feeling a bit out of the loop, I guess,” he says with a shrug.

“Oh…” Noct answers, turning back to the sink himself as he works on one of the kitten’s front paws. Is this really what’s upsetting him? That he’s been excluded from some sort of discussion or decision? It seems a little far-fetched, but he knows from their last little talk in Longwythe that Prompto does have some hang-ups about “fitting in” in their little group - so he supposes it does kind of make sense.  

“I didn’t mean to leave you out of anything. To be honest I just kind of assumed that was the case…” he continues, trying to ease Prompto’s mind. “But it looks like Gladio and Ignis are assuming the same.” 

“Oh…” Prompto says. “So you’re not, like… certain , then?” 

“Well, I mean… It was a condition of the peace treaty, and the Empire kinda’ fucked that up, so…” He shrugs his shoulders. “No need to go through with it.” 

“I guess that makes sense,” Prompto nods. But Noct can tell by his tone and the absorbed look on his face that Noct’s words have not slowed his thoughts at all. He suspects there’s more to this than what Prompto’s told him, but he’s not sure how to get it out of him. 

Before Noct can come up with anything, Prompto lifts his head back up at him.  “So are you, uh… you know. Upset?” he asks awkwardly. 

Noct can’t help but let out an amused snort. “Uh. Relieved, actually. Neither of us wanted to to begin with.” 

“Really?” Suddenly Prompto seems able to meet Noct’s eyes again. He looks genuinely surprised, but there’s something else flickering behind his eyes that Noct can’t quite put his finger on. “You never said.” 

Noct shrugs again. “Nobody asked, and it didn’t matter what we wanted at the time, anyway.”

“Oh…” Prompto says quietly, his expression turning regretful. “My bad. Seems like something a best friend should probably be asking about,” he adds, wincing apologetically. 

“That’s okay,” Noct says sincerely. “Not like we really talked about it or anything.” Now that he thinks about it, it does strike him as a little odd that they’ve never talked about this before - but if Noct’s being honest, he’d have probably gone out of his way to avoid talking about it with Prompto. It’s not like he could have told him he didn’t want to marry Luna because he was in love with someone else.

“No, I guess we didn’t…” Prompto says thoughtfully. “I think I just assumed you’d be happy about it.” The corner of his lips pull into a smirk, but something seems hollow about it. “I mean, it is Lady Lunafreya…” 

“Nah.” Noct shakes his head. “We don’t see each other that way,” he says, keeping his gaze on the kitten as he works more mud out of his fur.

“No?” Prompto asks in surprise. 

“No,” Noct says decisively, lifting his eyes directly to Prompto’s. Ever since the peace treaty was announced, Noct’s always felt it was easier to let people make that assumption about him and Luna - but for some reason, it suddenly seems important to correct Prompto. “Not at all.”       

Prompto blinks at him for a second - that flicker of something else that Noct saw earlier back behind his gaze - but before Noct can try and figure out what it is, the other man’s already looking back down at the sink. 

“Huh,” he hums to himself. “So no wedding, then.” He still looks pensive, but his tone sounds noticeably lighter - so Noct figures something about their conversation seems to have helped some. 

“No wedding,” Noct echoes.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When the kitten is finally clean, they wrap him back up in a fresh towel and try to dry him off. By the time they’re done, his fur is standing on end as if he’s been electrocuted - but he doesn’t seem to mind. He’s clearly just happy to finally be out of the water. 

They both have to re-shower to clean off the mud that the kitten left behind, but Prompto lets Noct go first since he took the brunt of the damage. Once he’s out of the shower, Noct slips into the bed in the back bedroom, leaving the room closer to the front door for Gladio and Ignis. He lays flat on his back - adamant to avoid a repeat of the situation he and Prompto wound up in last night - and stares up at the ceiling while he waits for Prompto to get out of the shower. The tiny puffball that is the kitten is quick to curl himself into Noct's neck, where he falls asleep almost immediately. 

When Prompto does finally slip into the bedroom, he giggles when he sees the kitten already asleep against Noct’s neck. 

“Guess there’s no hard feelings about the bath,” he quips, closing the bedroom curtain behind him and sliding into the bed beside Noct.  

“Maybe not for him,” Noct answers sarcastically. “My arms are shredded.”

“Aw - come on, dude! You can’t stay mad at him,” Prompto says, reaching out to gently rub the kitten. “Just look at him!”  

“No - but I can be mad at Ignis…” Noct smirks.

“True,” Prompto giggles. 

They’re silent for a minute, but then Prompto laughs lightly. “Man - I still can’t believe you’re not getting married anymore,” he says, folding his arms underneath his head.  

Noct blinks and peeks a look at Prompto, a little surprised that Prompto’s still thinking about that. The other man is looking up at the ceiling, but Noct can see a slight smile on his face along with that little “something” from earlier behind his eyes.

He furrows his eyebrows when he thinks he might finally realize what it is. 

Is that… relief?  

“Uh - y-yeah,” Noct answers, quickly looking back at the ceiling. 

He’s probably not reading this right. 

But if he was … Why would Prompto be relieved that he’s not getting married anymore? 

They’ve been inseparable since the first day they met - and even though they’ve never talked about it, Noct knows Prompto was upset about Noct having to move away. The most likely explanation for Prompto’s relief now would probably be because it means Noct isn’t going to be stuck in Altissia anymore, and they’ll get to stay together in Lucis. 

And it’s definitely not because he has other motives for wanting Noctis to be single… right? 

Don’t be an idiot. Of course that’s not why. Get it out of your head.  

Noct swallows thickly. He needs to stop with this wishful thinking. He’s sure Prompto’s relief has nothing to do with his marital status, and everything to do with the fact that his best friend doesn’t have to move away. He chastises himself for even thinking about the possibility.  

Prompto breaks the silence again. He laughs lightly - although now it sounds stilted. “I mean - I can’t even imagine how many people are gonna’ be happy to hear you’re back on the market.”

Noct forces himself to laugh in return. “Please don’t remind me.” Flashbacks from his time in highschool and all the uncomfortable interactions he had with self-proclaimed “fan-girls” pop into his brain, and he has to repress a shudder.

Prompto flips over onto his side to face Noct - inadvertently closing a lot of the distance between them - and reaches out to poke him in the shoulder. “Aw, come on - it must be nice to know you could have anyone you want, now...” 

“Nah. I’ve already got everyone I need,” he says with a smile, bumping his leg into Prompto’s under the blanket. It’s just innocuous enough that he can deny he means anything by it besides a platonic appreciation for his best friend. 

Prompto beams back at him - all fondness and affection - but then he wrinkles his nose and giggles. “Dude. That was so mushy.” 

“I know,” Noct laughs, wrinkling his own nose. “Just so you know - if you tell anyone I said that, I’ll throw you in jail.”

“Way to ruin the moment,” Prompto smirks. 

Noct shrugs his shoulders. “Hey - I’ve got an image to maintain.”

Prompto laughs again, but then the laugh turns into a yawn. “Lights out?” he asks, already sitting up to reach over for the lamp. 

“Yeah,” Noct agrees, yawning alongside Prompto.  

The room is plunged into darkness, and Noct feels Prompto settle back down into the bed beside him. He closes his eyes, and yawns again, ready to fall asleep. 

“Noct.”

He can’t help but let out an amused snort at Prompto’s whisper. Prompto’s the one who suggested they go to sleep, but unsurprisingly, he’s apparently still feeling a little chatty. 

“What?” he laughs. 

There’s a slight pause. “I’m happy you’re not getting married anymore.” 

Noct’s heart beats quicker. He can’t help but be hung-up on the choice of words. Not “I’m happy that you’re not moving away” - but “happy that you’re not getting married”. He wishes so desperately that those words meant what Noct wants them to mean, but he knows deep down that he’s just making a big deal out of nothing. 

“Yeah,” he says quietly, smiling wistfully as he turns to Prompto in the dark. “Me too.” 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter Text

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Life isn’t fair. 

Noctis already knew this, of course. He’s dealt with more than his fair share of unfortunate circumstances over the past few months that all helped explain it to him. 

And yet, as he lies stockstill in bed - his best friend’s face resting on top of his chest and his limbs clinging to Noct as if he’ll somehow float away otherwise - Noct can’t help but continue to be surprised by how truly unfair life can be. 

He’s not sure why this keeps happening. They’ve shared a bed so many times before now, and it’s never been an issue. He did what he was supposed to this time; kept himself to his side of the bed, pointed up at the ceiling, away from the temptations beside him. He has to assume it has something to do with the kitten being in the bed with them. They both seem to gravitate towards him in their sleep, which then leads to… this.

He was already struggling enough to fall asleep, having tortured himself with tantalizing, yet unrealistic thoughts of the possibility of Prompto returning even a sliver of his feelings. But when Prompto suddenly threw an arm around him in his sleep and pulled himself close, Noct knew sleep was a lost cause. He lays awake for hours, both resenting and reveling in the weight of Prompto’s body pressed against his; torn between wanting to wiggle free and never wanting to leave the bed ever again. 

Eventually, the sun starts to shine through the open caravan window - and Noct feels the kitten in the crevice of his neck start to stir from his sleep. Still clinging to the fantasy that he might be able to get some sleep, Noct tries to lay still, hoping that the kitten will take the hint and go back to sleep as well. But soon enough, he starts to feel tiny paws batting at the bangs hanging over his forehead, followed by the kitten gnawing on the ends of his hair. Quickly tiring of getting bopped in the eyeballs, Noct reluctantly decides to extract himself from Prompto’s grip and pulls himself out of bed, taking the playful kitten with him so that the other man can continue sleeping in peace. 

He quietly slips out of the back bedroom and pulls the curtain closed behind him. Deciding that some fresh air might help clear his mind, he tiptoes his way to the front door - opening it as quietly as possible so he doesn’t disturb Ignis and Gladio in the other bedroom - then steps outside. 

“His Royal Highness awake before anyone else? Surely I must still be dreaming.” 

He supposes he shouldn’t be surprised.

“Don’t you ever sleep, Specs?” he mumbles. “You’re always awake before everyone else, even if you’re the last in bed.” 

“I enjoy having the mornings to myself,” Ignis answers, taking a sip of his coffee and turning his head towards where the sun is rising in the distance. “It allows me some time to unwind before a long day on the road.” 

“That a hint that I should leave?” Noct smirks, taking a seat beside the other man. He places the kitten on the table in front of them, far away from any mud puddles on the ground. But as soon as he pulls his hands back towards himself, the kitten follows them to the edge of the table and bats at his fingers, insistent on playing whether Noct wants to or not. He huffs a small laugh and spreads his fingers out on the table so the kitten can have better access to them. 

“Of course not,” Ignis responds. “I always appreciate good company. It’s just not normally yours that I have at this hour.” He turns back to Noct, a hint of concern now behind his eyes. “Trouble sleeping?” 

Noct’s smile fades. He considers denying it, but he’s sure he probably looks as exhausted as he feels right now. 

“Prompto was kind of, uh… hogging the bed,” he says evasively, keeping his eyes down at the table while the kitten flips onto his back and starts to bite and kick at his fingers. 

“I see,” Ignis says, turning back to the skyline. “Didn’t seem to bother you yesterday…” he adds in a quiet, amused voice. Noct feels himself blush at the reminder, but thankfully Ignis spares him and changes the subject. “Speaking of Prompto - did he seem okay to you when you went to bed? He seemed a bit out of sorts after dinner. 

“Uh, yeah - he was fine,” Noct answers, looking around for something else he can distract the kitten with instead of his own hands. He reaches down beside him and grabs a stick off the ground to give to the kitten instead. “Just had something on his mind, I guess…”

“Hm,” Ignis hums, turning back to Noct. The worry is back in his expression. “Everything alright?”

Noct nods. “Yeah, I think so…” He hesitates before continuing, not sure how much he can say without betraying Prompto’s confidence. “Just, uh… didn’t realize that the wedding was called off. Guess it kind of surprised him when we were talking about it yesterday.”

Ignis raises an eyebrow. “He presumed you’d still be getting married, even after the Empire betrayed the peace treaty?” 

“I guess so? He, uh… thought I wanted to marry Luna,” Noct answers, feeling his cheeks darken.

“Oh, please,” Ignis snorts in amusement, shaking his head as he looks back out ahead of them. “The boy can’t possibly be that blind.” 

“W-what?” Noct says quickly, his head snapping over to Ignis. His heart starts to race. 

…Does Ignis know?

“Noct - it’s been abundantly clear to everyone that knows you well enough that the prospect of getting married has made you completely miserable.” 

“O-oh-”

“Or rather, the prospect of marrying Lady Lunafreya makes you miserable,” Ignis adds, his eyes flicking to Noct to give him a knowing look. “Ironic that Prompto is the only one who can’t see that…”    

Oh gods, he does know.

There’s a part of him that wants to lie; to deny it and insist that they never talk about it ever again. But he’s surprised to find that a bigger part of him is just tired of keeping the secret to himself and pretending everything is fine. There’s a long silence in which Noct is trying to decide which way he wants to go, and in which Ignis is pretending not to notice Noct’s internal panic. But finally, Noct lets out a long exhale and sags back into his chair, looking out towards the sunrise. 

“So when you say that Prompto is the ‘only one’ who can’t see it…”

“Well, the only one in our little group,” Ignis says gently, raising his coffee to his lips for another sip. “Although, I more than suspect your father was aware, as well…” 

Noct groans in embarrassment, slumping forward to lay his head on the table in front of them. Seeing an opportunity, the kitten immediately ceases attacking the stick Noct gave him and leaps towards Noct’s head instead, burying himself into the dark locks as he chases and chews at them.

“Mind you, I don’t think he quite figured it out until after he arranged the treaty and saw your reaction…” Ignis continues nonchalantly, ignoring Noct’s obvious humiliation. “I don’t think he’d have agreed to it if he had known beforehand.”  

“So you guys have known the entire time since we left Insomnia?” Noct grumbles into the tabletop, his hands moving to at least try and protect his face from the kitten’s assault. 

“Everyone except Prompto, it would seem.” There’s another brief pause before he continues, albeit a little bit more hesitantly. “Noct - forgive me for prying. But have you by chance considered telling him?” 

“Please tell me you’re joking.” 

“I can understand why you never said anything before, of course,” Ignis answers. “But things have changed. I can’t possibly see why you wouldn’t want to.”

Noct sniffs. “Do you have any idea how awkward things would be?” 

“If you’re worried about making Gladio and I uncomfortable, I can assure you that watching the two of you pine after each other now is significantly more uncomfortable for us…” 

“I’m more concerned about making Prompto uncomfortable if he finds out-” But then Ignis’ words suddenly sink in and his head shoots up from the table, ripping his hair away from the kitten. “W-wait - did you say… the two of us?” 

Ignis turns to Noct again, blinking in stunned silence. “You can’t possibly both be so blind.” 

“I-I… I don’t think-”

“Oh, for the love of gods,” Ignis sighs, closing his eyes and rubbing his forehead in exasperation. “You really are both helpless, aren’t you?” 

Noctis can do nothing but gape at him. 

He thinks Prompto likes me back?

“Noctis.” Ignis finally reopens his eyes and continues. “That boy is so head over heels for you, it’s a wonder that his eyes don’t literally transform into cartoon hearts and pop out of his face when he looks at you.” 

“N-no way…” Noctis answers stupidly, all the while wanting nothing more than for what Ignis is saying to be true. “D-did he tell you this?” 

“I didn’t need him to. Anybody with half a brain can see it.” He smirks to himself as he takes another sip of coffee. “Might explain why you never have…”

He knows he should be offended, but he’s too struck-dumb by this revelation that he can’t say anything else in reply. 

“Noct - I really don’t mean to overstep,” Ignis says, placing his coffee on the table and leaning forward in his chair. “But every day that we spend out here is a day that could end in death - for one or both of you. For any of us.” His expression softens as he looks at Noct. “If there’s anything left in this world that could give you some sort of happiness, you should be grabbing onto it and holding it for dear life.” 

Noct flushes, biting his bottom lip in thought as he considers Ignis’ words. 

“Just… think about it,” Ignis says, grabbing Noct by the shoulder and giving him a small smile. “Alright?”

He still doesn’t seem able to speak - too many thoughts whirring through his brain - but he hesitantly nods his head in confirmation. Apparently pleased with this response, Ignis squeezes his shoulder once before rising from his chair and heading over to the door. 

“Well - time to prepare breakfast,” he says, pulling the door open. “I’m sure the others will be awake shortly.” 

Noct nods mutely again, understanding the unspoken warning for what it is: that he’ll have to compose himself sooner than later if he wants to avoid any suspicions from the others. As soon as Ignis has slipped inside, he turns his gaze down to the table, where the kitten is now looking at him curiously, as if somehow able to understand that he’s thinking very hard about something. 

He snorts a disbelieving laugh as he picks the kitten up off the table and places him on his lap instead. “Ignis has gotta be wrong…” Noct says out loud. “Right?” 

The kitten merely blinks up at him, then turns around in a circle a few times before laying down and snuggling his head into Noct’s belly. Noct lets his head thump back against the chair as he rubs at the kitten’s head, staring out in thought at the sunrise.  

“There’s just no way…” 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ignis has definitely messed with his brain. 

Nothing has changed, and yet things feel… different. 

For one thing, Prompto keeps staring at him. He feels the other man’s eyes on him the entire time that they’re eating breakfast. He feels them once they get on the road, burning into the back of Noct’s head as he leans out his window. He even feels them when he’s just standing in line, waiting to pay for some snacks during a pitstop. Numerous times he’s looked up to find those blue-violet eyes staring at him with what looks to be a burning inquisitiveness - but everytime their eyes meet, Prompto quickly looks away and pretends as if it hasn’t happened.

It’s not just the intense gazes, though. It’s the lingering touch of the other man’s fingers when Noctis asks him to pass the hot sauce at breakfast. It’s the way Prompto leans all the way up against him when he shows Noct the shots he’s taken on his camera in the back of the car. Or the way he reaches over and gently brushes a piece of potato chip off of Noct’s cheek himself instead of just pointing it out for him. 

Noct has no idea what to make of it. He’s never noticed this behaviour before, but he admittedly wasn’t really looking for it before, either. He tries not to get his hopes up; really, he does. Prompto’s always been a little touchy, and Noct is aware that he might just be overthinking these things because of his earlier conversation with Ignis. Maybe this is completely normal behaviour for Prompto. Maybe the reason he’s been staring at Noct is just because of that potato chip on his face earlier.  

But Noct can’t help but wonder if maybe Ignis is right, after all. 

And he really, really wants Ignis to be right.

When they finally make it to Malmalam Thicket, they traipse through the forest up to Kimya’s cabin to make their feather delivery. Noctis apologizes for being a day late, explaining the situation with the kitten and the car. Kimya couldn’t possibly care less about their situation, but she does promise to contact them again soon with more requests for ingredients. 

“We won’t be able to make it from here to Wiz’s before nightfall,” Ignis says, sliding into the driver seat once they make it back to the Regalia. “We’ll have to stop somewhere soon before it starts getting dark.” 

“Should be able to make it to Cape Caem with lots of daylight to spare.” Gladio says. 

“I was thinking the same thing,” Ignis answers, putting the car into drive and pulling out onto the road. “We can visit with Iris and Talcott, as well as check on the status of the boat with Cid while we’re there.”

“Hear that, little guy?” Prompto beams down at the kitten. “You’re gonna get to meet Talcott!” 

They drive the couple of hours to Cape Caem, arriving at about mid-afternoon. Talcott and Iris are both instantly enamoured with the kitten, and Talcott in particular is delighted at the prospect of getting to play with him. They settle into their room upstairs, then Noct and Prompto let Talcott take the kitten outside to play in the yard while Ignis and Gladio stay indoors to catch up with Iris. 

They’re leaning up against the railing of the front porch watching Talcott and the kitten play with a ball together when Noct senses it again: that feeling of being watched. He looks over at his friend, catching him in the act before Prompto yet again looks away and pretends as if he hasn’t been staring. Noct’s been holding his tongue all day, but now that they’re mostly alone, he feels himself cave. 

“So…” he says, looking back out at the yard. “Everything okay?” 

“Hm?” Prompto hums, turning his head back to Noct and trying to feign innocence. “Uh - y-yeah, everything’s fine.”

Noct bites his bottom lip in hesitation. He might be imagining the excessive physical contact, but he knows for sure that he hasn’t been imagining the staring. There’s obviously something on Prompto's mind, whether it’s what Ignis thinks it is or not.  

“You sure?” he finally answers. “I kinda’ feel like you’ve been, like… looking at me a lot today,” he adds, feeling himself blush as soon as the words have left his mouth.  

Prompto blinks in surprise at being called out, his own face flushing pink. He swallows tightly, then looks back down at his hands without saying anything - and for a moment, Noctis wonders if he’ll even respond. But then the other man blows out a long breath and seems to steel himself, then properly turns his body towards Noct. 

“A-actually… there is kind of something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about,” he says, awkwardly rubbing at the back of his neck with one hand. 

Noctis feels his heart start to beat faster, his body practically vibrating with anticipation. The logical part of his brain is telling him that whatever Prompto’s about to say could mean nothing, but there’s a small, hopeful part - the part hung-up on his conversation with Ignis from that morning - that tells him this could actually be everything. 

“Um…,” Prompto starts, his eyes landing anywhere but on Noct. “B-back at the caravan this morning-”

“Prince Noctis!”

Noct and Prompto both turn their heads at the sudden interruption, finding Talcott running up to them. Noct can tell immediately that something bad has happened from the panic strewn upon the boy’s face, and he instinctively races down the steps of the porch, temporarily forgetting his conversation with Prompto. 

“Talcott? What is it?” 

Talcott looks ready to cry. “I-I’m sorry, I just looked away from him for a few seconds when the ball went into some bushes!” 

Feeling his stomach sink at the words, Noct looks around the grass for the kitten - only to find it empty. 

Fuck! Not again…

“Prompto,” Noct calls out in a warning voice, already ducking around Talcott towards the last spot he saw them together. He hears Prompto curse under his breath as he hops down to join him - but Talcott puts them out of their misery quickly. 

“H-he’s up there!” he yells, pointing upwards towards a tree. “I just don’t know how he got that high up so quickly!”

Following Talcott’s gaze, Noct looks up at a tree close to the edge of the yard. He gasps when he sees that the kitten is up on a branch that hangs out over the cliffside, trembling as he clings to the branch for dear life with his claws. The kitten lets out a few terrified mews as he looks down at them, clearly too frightened to move.

Noctis and Prompto both move at the same time - Prompto sprinting towards the tree while Noctis summons his sword and launches it at the upper section of the trunk. He uses his warp powers to thrust himself up to the branch the kitten is on, then carefully inches himself out a couple of feet until he’s close enough to safely grab the kitten. As soon as he has the shaking kitten in hand, he brings him tight against his chest, then quickly moves them back towards the trunk.  

With his back flush against the trunk, he exhales the breath he’s been holding since he saw the kitten dangling above the cliff. He takes a moment to peek down at the kitten. He still looks terrified - his little head buried into Noct’s chest - but at least he is safe. Feeling relief wash over him, Noct’s heartbeat starts to return to a more normal pace. 

He leans over a little to peer down at the foot of the tree, seeing Talcott waiting anxiously on the ground for them. He also sees Prompto - who is clutched around the tree trunk with all four of his limbs - face red from exertion as he tries to pull his body up the tree. He's only managed to make it about halfway up so far, but as soon as he looks up and notices Noct already at the top with the kitten, he freezes in his tracks. 

Noct raises an incredulous eyebrow at him. “Were you really just gonna’ try and climb up here even though I can warp?”

Prompto looks from side to side before sheepishly shrugging his shoulders. “Uh… Maybe?”

Noct snorts in amusement.

“Guess I wasn’t really thinking about it,” Prompto continues, letting himself drop back down to the ground. 

Noct can understand that - he was probably just operating on instinct, just like Noct was. 

“Here,” he says, carefully passing the kitten down to Prompto so that he can get himself down from the tree. 

“I-is he okay?” Talcott asks, looking over the kitten in Prompto’s hands with concern.

“Little scared, but he’ll be fine,” Noct answers, dropping back down to the ground himself. 

“I’m really sorry…” Talcott says guiltily, reaching up to gently pet the kitten on the head. The kitten returns the affection by nuzzling back into the boy’s hands.  

“Hey - don’t worry about it, dude,” Prompto says, giving him an encouraging smile as he wraps one arm around his shoulders. “It’s not your fault. These things just happen sometimes.” 

“Especially with this one…” Noct smirks, patting the kitten on the head.    

Just then, the front door to the house then opens, revealing Iris. 

“Ignis is putting on some dinner,” she calls out to them from the porch. She looks Talcott up and down and notes the dirt stains on his knees from his earlier romp in the grass with the kitten. “Better come clean up, before Monica and Dustin see the state of you,” she adds with a giggle.  

“Uh - just give us one second,” Noct answers, holding up a finger towards her. 

Iris looks at them curiously, but then she shrugs and slips back inside. As soon as the door is closed again, Noct leans down to Talcott and grabs him by the shoulder. “Talcott - I need to ask you a very important favour.” 

Talcott’s eyes widen in surprise, some of his sadness from earlier disappearing at the prospect of being asked a favour of the prince. “W-what is it, Prince Noctis?” 

“I need you to never tell Ignis and Gladio about what just happened.” 

Talcott eyebrows crease together, obviously skeptical. “Oh. Uh - o-okay?” 

“Good,” Noct says, ignoring the way Prompto is clearly trying hard not to laugh from behind the boy. “It’ll be our little secret.” 

The word “secret” seems to bring some of the excitement back for Talcott, and he breaks out into a grin. “No problem!” he says, nodding his head. “Our secret is safe with me!”

He turns to run back into the house to clean up, and Prompto chuckles as soon as the door is shut. “Good save.” 

“What they don’t know can’t hurt them," Noct says with a shrug of his shoulders. "And what they do know, they can hold over my head for the rest of my life,” he adds with a smirk, reaching out to give the kitten another pat. “Ready to go inside?”

“Oh,” Prompto says, looking taken aback by the question - although Noct can’t for the life of him understand why. He seems to shake it off, then smiles at Noct again - but Noct notices that now it looks forced. “U-uh, sure, yeah. Let’s go in.”

Noct raises an eyebrow at him, confused at the sudden change in demeanor. “...You sure?”

“Yeah!” he says again, already walking towards the house. He looks down at his clothes and laughs, almost sounding back to normal. “Think I better clean up before dinner too.”

It isn’t until they’re already sitting down to dinner with everyone else that Noct finally realizes he never finished asking Prompto about what was on his mind.   

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After supper, they spend a couple of hours chatting with everyone around the dinner table. Cid catches them up on the status of the boat, but from the sounds of it it could still be a few weeks until it’s ready to sail to Altissia. It’s disappointing news, but not news they weren’t expecting to hear. At least Iris and Talcott appear to be thriving in Cape Caem, and Monica and Dustin - who are used to seeing a little bit more action than what they’re seeing now watching over two kids in the middle of nowhere - seem to be enjoying their downtime as well. 

When Ignis reminds them that they’ll have to get up early in the morning to make it to Wiz’s at a decent time, they decide to head to bed. Once they’ve all got their sleeping clothes on, Ignis and Gladio each tuck themselves into one of the four single beds - but Noct and Prompto are left awkwardly standing between the other two, realizing for the first time the predicament that they're in.

“So…” Prompto says, clutching the kitten to his chest. “Guess he can only sleep with one of us, tonight…” 

“Guess so…” Noct answers, looking down at the kitten in Prompto’s grasp. The kitten is looking curiously between the two men, not understanding the situation but probably sensing the tension. Noct looks back up at Prompto. “So… which one of us is it gonna’ be?” 

“Just hurry up and decide so we can turn these lights off,” Gladio grumbles from his own bed. 

Prompto bites his bottom lip in thought, his hands subconsciously pulling the kitten a little closer to himself. “Um… Rock, Paper, Scissors?”

It’s obvious to Noct that Prompto really doesn’t want to give the kitten up for the night - so he rolls his eyes and laughs. “Tell you what - You take him in your bed tonight - but then I get to hold him in the car tomorrow.” 

Prompto gives him a small smile. “You’re sure?”

“He and I will probably both be sleeping in the car, anyways,” Noct says with a shrug, reaching over to pet the kitten once more before climbing into his own bed. “So it seems fair to me.”    

As soon as Prompto’s slips into his own bed with the kitten, Ignis turns off the lamp in the far corner nearest him, and Prompto turns off the one in the other corner. The room is plunged into darkness, and Noct closes his eyes. 

It’s not often that they get their own beds like this - in fact, it’s really only when they stay here in Cape Caem. Hotels and caravans have double beds that they have to share, and in the tent they’re packed together so tightly they might as well all be sharing one bed together. Noct should be happy to have his own space - but as the minutes tick by, he finds himself wishing he had taken Prompto up on his offer for Rock, Paper, Scissors. He misses the warm softness of the kitten curled up in his neck, or of Prompto’s body pressed against his side.

He feels kind stupid it for it since they’re really only a few feet away - but he admits to himself that he actually feels lonely.  

A couple more minutes of silence go by, but then the kitten starts meowing into the darkness. Noct blinks his eyes open and looks toward Prompto’s bed, but it’s too dark for him to see anything. 

“Dude ,” Prompto half-whispers towards him. “I, uh… think he might want to sleep with you.” 

Noct raises his eyebrows in surprise. “H-he does?” 

Prompto sits up in bed and turns the lamp back on beside him, earning him several groans of frustration from Gladio and Ignis’ side of the room. Noct squints as his eyes adjust to the light, but then he looks over to see the kitten standing at the very edge of Prompto’s mattress, meowing sadly towards Noct over the space between his and Prompto’s bed. 

He definitely looks as if he wants to be over on Noct’s bed. 

Noct sits up, his heart warming at the thought that the kitten might miss him too - although he can’t help but feel a little guilty after telling Prompto that he could have him for the night. 

“Hey - don’t worry about it,” Prompto smirks, as if being able to hear Noct’s thoughts. He gets out of bed and carries the kitten over to Noct’s bed instead. “He’ll just sit with me in the car tomorrow, instead,” he says, grinning down at the kitten to give him another pat. The kitten purrs at the attention. 

“Oh. O-okay, if you’re sure…” Noct answers, taking the kitten from Prompto and laying back down. The lights go back out as soon as Prompto’s back in bed, and Noct places the kitten on his chest so that he can get comfortable. 

He waits for the kitten to lay down like he normally does, but for some reason the kitten remains standing. He tries petting him to coax him into a sleeping position, but after a minute, the kitten jumps off of his chest and wanders to the edge of his mattress - exactly like how he just did on Prompto’s bed. Sure enough, he soon starts meowing into the darkness towards Prompto’s side of the room. 

Gladio and Ignis both sigh in unison. “Let me guess…” Gladio says sarcastically.

“Uh - Prompto?” Noct says hesitantly. 

Prompto’s light comes back on, and they both sit up in their beds again, the kitten still meowing in Prompto’s direction. 

“Aww - you wanna’ come back over here, little guy?” Prompto asks, getting out of bed yet again. He picks the kitten back up and gives Noct an apologetic wince. “Sorry, dude.” 

“Don’t worry about it,” Noct echoes Prompto’s words from earlier, feeling a little offended that he’s already being tossed aside by the kitten, but hoping it doesn’t show in his expression.

Once again, they all lay back down, and Prompto turns the lights off for the third time. Noct closes his eyes again, still feeling a little stung but reminding himself that the kitten doesn’t mean anything by it. He did just do the same thing to Prompto, after all - so it’s clearly not personal. 

Another minute goes by, but then the sad little meows start up again. 

“That’s it,” Gladio gruffs out. 

All of a sudden, there’s a loud scraping noise, and Noct realizes with a jolt that his bed is moving . His eyes fly open and he sits up in the bed. Both Ignis and Prompto turn their lamps back on, and Noct blinks down in shock when he sees that Gladio is pushing his bed across the floor towards Prompto’s.

“Gladio - what the fuck are you doing?” he asks, his whole body lurching to the side when his bed is suddenly rammed flush against Prompto’s. 

“I am not fucking listening to that all night,” Gladio says bluntly as he stands back up. He gestures down to the kitten. “And he clearly wants both of you.”

Noct and Prompto both turn towards the kitten, who’s now happily rolling on his back in the newly formed space made up from their beds being pushed together. Noct has to admit that he does look much happier. 

Gladio is already climbing back into his own bed, and Ignis turns off the lamp in his corner of the room. Noct and Prompto look up at each other in surprise, both blushing at this unexpected turn of events - but Prompto doesn’t protest. Instead, he merely gives Noct a timid smile and shrugs his shoulders as if to say “I’m fine with this if you are?” 

Returning the shrug and smile with one each of his own, Noct lays back down against his pillow and settles in on his side to face the kitten. He reaches out to give the kitten a few quick pets on the head, the kitten happily purring and nuzzling into his hand - a drastic difference to how he responded to Noct’s petting when it was just the two of them on his bed over there. Prompto laughs affectionately, then turns out his lamp and settles into his own pillow. 

Finally, the kitten is silent - with the exception of his light purring as he lays between them. Noct smiles to himself in the dark, reaching out to give the kitten one last pet on the belly before he lets himself fall asleep. But when he feels warm skin underneath his fingers instead of the soft fur he’d been expecting, he quickly pulls his hand away, realizing that Prompto’s had the same thought. 

“S-sorry,” he whispers, suddenly happy for the darkness when he feels his face flame even hotter. “Didn’t see you there in the dark.” 

Prompto laughs softly. “S’okay,” he whispers back, amusement evident in his voice. There’s a brief pause before he continues. “I don’t mind…” 

To anyone else it would probably seem insignificant, but Noct swears something about the tone of Prompto’s voice sounds different; something that almost made it sound like a veiled invitation, rather than an ordinary statement. 

Is he just hearing what he wants to hear, or is this real? 

Noct isn’t sure. He wishes he could see Prompto’s face right now for some sort of hint. The silence stretching out between them seems charged, and his heart is pounding loud enough that he’s sure Prompto must be able to hear it. 

He decides to take a risk. 

Slowly, he returns his hand back towards the kitten’s stomach. When his fingers make contact with Prompto’s, he hears a small hitch of breath - but Prompto doesn’t make any attempt to pull his hand away. 

That has to be a good sign… right? 

They’re not exactly holding hands - more so just resting them on top of each other. He’s not willing to do anymore than this without being able to see Prompto’s reaction - but it doesn’t feel platonic to him, and he finds himself hoping that Prompto’s thinking the same thing. 

For once, he has very little trouble falling asleep - letting the warmth of both Prompto’s hand and the kitten underneath his fingers carry him off to sleep. 

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Chapter Text

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“Prince Noctis?” 

Noct’s eyes twitch behind his eyelids at the voice, his brain starting to stir from sleep. There’s a comforting weight in the palm of his hand, and he instinctively squeezes his fingers around it. He feels the weight squeeze back, then hears a soft sigh from across him.  

“Prince Noctis…”

Something is gently shaking his shoulder now. He breathes in deeply as his eyes start to flutter open, another face in front of him slowly coming into view. He recognizes the face of his best friend right away; sees Prompto’s own eyes are blinking open as well. He looks down at his hand and sees the weight in it is Prompto’s, their fingers interweaved together as their hands rest in the empty space between them. He flushes and looks back up at Prompto - whose own freckled cheeks are tinted pink as well - but he can’t help but notice that Prompto makes no move to untwine their hands. 

“Prince Noctis,” Talcott’s voice sounds from behind him. “Ignis sent me up here to tell you guys that breakfast is ready…” 

They both blink in surprise at the reminder that they aren’t alone in this room right now, then quickly untangle their hands, their faces burning brighter. Noct flops onto his back to face Talcott, who's standing at the side of his bed. Unsurprisingly, it seems as though the kitten was awake before them - because Talcott is already holding him in his arms. 

He briefly wonders if it was Ignis who took the kitten out of the bed earlier, and if so, if he happened to notice Noct and Prompto’s hands when he did. His face flushes again at the thought.  

“Uh - t-thanks, Talcott,” he says, sitting up in the bed and swinging his legs over the edge. He yawns and stretches his arms over his head. “And thanks for keeping an eye on him while we were sleeping,” he adds, reaching out to scratch under the kitten’s chin. 

“No problem,” Talcott grins, looking pleased with the praise. “Although, I think he really wanted you guys to get up. He kept running up the stairs to sit outside the bedroom door.” 

“Guess this is the last morning we’ll get to spend with him,” Prompto says sadly, walking around from the other side of the bed to take the kitten from Talcott. 

“Really?” Talcott asks, expression turning sad. 

“Yeah,” Prompto sighs. “We’ll be dropping him off at his new home later today.” 

Noct feels his mood sink at the reminder. It’s only been a few days, but he’s grown so attached to the kitten. The thought of having to leave him behind at Wiz’s later today breaks his heart, but he knows it’s what has to be done. From the look on Prompto’s face, he’s dreading it just as much as Noct is. 

“At least we’ll know where he is and who he’ll be with,” Noct says - perhaps for Prompto’s sake, or perhaps as a reminder to himself. “We’ll still get to visit him whenever we want.” 

“Could you bring him back here to visit sometime?” Talcott asks hopefully.

Noct winces apologetically. “Probably not after he gets much bigger. But I’m sure we can bring you to Wiz’s some time to visit.”

“Cool,” Talcott answers, seemingly pleased with that answer. 

Noct smiles back at him before looking up at Prompto. “You want first dibs on the shower this morning?” 

Prompto shakes his head, still preoccupied with paying the kitten attention. “Nah - you go ahead,” he says, tone wistful as he pets under the kitten’s chin. “I’ll go after you.” 

Noct nods in understanding. It’s clear that Prompto wants to spend a bit of time with the kitten now - which Noct can understand. He knows he also wants to soak up as much of the kitten’s attention as he can before they have to drop him off later today. He grabs his shower stuff and starts to slip out the door, leaving Talcott and Prompto in the bedroom. 

He’s halfway down the hallway to the bathroom when he hears Talcott. 

“So do you guys always push the beds together like that?” 

Feeling himself blush in embarrassment, he quickly hastens his pace to the bathroom, suddenly wishing the floor would open up and swallow him. 

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After breakfast with Iris and Talcott, they say their goodbyes and head out for Wiz’s. They expect to arrive in about six hours, just before evening sets in. Normally Noct would be content to nap for such a long trip, but between his anxiety of having to part with the kitten later and thoughts about what’s going on between him and Prompto, he’s got too much on his mind to be able to sleep.

He divides his time between idly watching the scenery pass by and sneaking glances at Prompto in the seat beside him. He watches the other man’s hands as he adjusts his camera to take photos, thinking about the way those long, slight fingers felt in his this morning. He finds himself fighting the urge to reach out across the seat and grab the other man’s hand now. 

He wonders what would happen if he tried. Would Prompto pull away? He didn’t last night, but maybe he just wanted to stay near the kitten. He didn’t this morning, but Noct can’t fault him for things he did in his sleep. Ignis is so sure that Prompto feels the same way as he does, but Noct can’t help but second guess. He wishes he had the courage to go for it, but he keeps thinking about all the worst possible outcomes if Ignis is wrong. He needs more time to figure it out, or some sort of proof before he makes a fool of himself. 

For the most part, the drive is passing rather uneventfully - Noct preoccupied with his brooding while the rest of the party carries on like normal. But a couple of hours into it, Gladio suddenly sits up straight in his seat when the car comes around a bend in the road. 

“Iggy…” he says, a warning in his voice that has Noct and Prompto instantly alert as well. 

Following Gladio’s gaze to the sky in front of the car, Noct realizes what it is that’s caught his attention. An Imperial airship is coming in for a landing in the middle of the road a couple of hundred feet in front of them. 

“Shit,” Not breathes, looking down at the kitten sitting on the pillow between him and Prompto. 

Suddenly, Ignis is slamming on the brakes, and Prompto and Noct both instinctively throw their arms in front of the kitten to prevent him from sliding forward. The car skids to a halt about fifty feet from the airship, and they see the back door already starting to open to unload the MTs inside of it. 

“We have to get him down low,” Noct says, already scrambling to move the kitten and the pillow to the floor of the car instead of the seat. The kitten looks up at him nervously from the floor, clearly picking up on the panic and fear in everyone else’s behaviour as the other men all start to leap out of the car.   

“We’ll have to take them out as fast as we can - before they can get a chance to get any closer to the car!” Gladio bellows, already summoning his giant two-handed sword from the armiger. 

“Please stay here,” Noct pleads quietly to the kitten, giving him one quick stroke before hopping out of the car to join his friends. Gladio and Ignis are already charging ahead, but Noct can’t help but hesitate as he looks back at the kitten in the car, unable to stop the thoughts of what happened during their sahagin fight back at the Vesperpool. 

Prompto seems to sense Noct’s hesitation. “Noct - Gladio’s right,” he says firmly, touching Noct on the back of the arm. “We can’t let them get any closer to the car if we want to keep him safe.” He summons his gun from the armiger and holds it up between them. “But I’ll try and hang back as close to the car as I can, okay?” 

Not seeing any other choice, Noct reluctantly nods his head, then turns towards the ship and sprints into battle.

The first couple of MTs he takes down admittedly almost get the jump on him. His attention is split between fighting and sneaking looks over at the car to make sure the kitten is still safe, and Gladio has to not-so-gently remind him to stay focused on what he’s doing. Prompto keeps his word, sticking as close to the car as possible while still being able to shoot at the MTs pouring out of the ship - and after a couple of minutes, Noct relaxes a little and gets into a better groove. 

They’ve cut down about half of them when Ignis yells out a warning. 

“Prompto! Coming up behind you!” 

Momentarily forgetting himself, Noct whips his head around towards the Regalia - just barely avoiding an Axeman’s swing as he does. His stomach drops when he sees a second ship coming in for a landing behind the car, MTs already starting to hop out of the open door. Prompto quickly turns around and starts shooting at the incoming swarm of MTs, but Noct knows that regardless of how good of a marksman he is, he can’t possibly take on the sheer number of enemies closing in on the car by himself. 

Abandoning his fight with the Axeman near the first ship, Noct immediately sprints towards Prompto, desperate to keep the new arrivals away from the kitten. As he’s approaching, he watches in horror as the nearest MT lifts up its hand and unleashes its built-in firearm towards Prompto, a spray of bullets hitting the back bumper of the car as it does so. Feeling a white hot flash of anger thrum through him, Noct growls out loud and throws his weapon towards the unit, warping with his sword as it pierces the enemy through its chest and knocks it to the ground. 

He rips his weapon out of the destroyed unit’s chest, rage taking over as he moves onto the next ones, his focus suddenly completely honed in on killing these machines. He takes on several at once, slashing off robotic heads and limbs as he warps around the area. He’s moving too quickly for any of them to get a hit on him, and he doesn’t dare slow down for even a second. For a while, he seems to be successfully holding them all off from reaching the car - but then he hears Prompto shout out for him. 

He pauses his rampage for just a second to turn to the Regalia, but his blood runs cold at what he sees. One of the Assassins has made it through his barrier without his notice. Prompto is backed right up against the back door of the car to put himself between the MT and the kitten - unloading round after round into the MT’s chest - but the unit is already only a few feet away. Before Noct can even process what’s happening, one of the dual swords that the MT is expertly swinging around gets close enough to slice open a deep gash in one of Prompto’s thighs, blood violently spurting from the wound as Prompto cries out in pain.

A wave of terror comes over him as he watches Prompto fall to one knee, still shooting at the MT despite his obvious pain. Noct hears himself shout Prompto’s name, already pulling his arm back to launch his weapon into the side of the MT. He makes the shot, managing to warp into the side of the machine and tackle it to the ground before it can get another hit on Prompto. Seething in anger, he pulls the blade out of the damaged unit’s side and thrusts it through its head with all of the strength he has. The MT’s limbs twitch as its body immediately short circuits, then they fall limp onto the road.

He can hear Prompto gasping in pain behind him, the sound snapping him out of his anger. He quickly runs back to Prompto - who’s now fully seated on the ground with his back against the car - and falls to his knees in front of him to try and inspect the wound. 

“Fuck,” Noct mutters, trying to fight off a wave of nausea when he sees how bad the cut is. It’s still gushing blood, a starling amount of it pooling on the road underneath them. 

“N-Noct ,” Prompto warns through gritted teeth. He starts firing his gun again over Noct’s shoulder, and Noct realizes with a jolt that the MTs he left by the ship are now all making their way over to the Regalia and coming up fast. The wound will have to wait a little bit longer. 

He readies his sword, still kneeling on the ground in front of Prompto - but shouting from Gladio and Ignis suddenly draws his attention in the other direction. On top of the MTs coming at them from behind the Regalia, there are more that have slipped past Gladio and Ignis coming at them from the front. Gladio and Ignis are clearly trying their best to make their way back towards them, but the MTs are still keeping them locked in battle near the first airship.  

“Shit,” Noct mutters under his breath, instinctively pressing himself back into Prompto in a bid to protect him. “Fuck!”

There’s too many of them approaching from all sides now. Noct has enough time to warp out of the way, but he won’t leave Prompto; won’t leave the kitten in the car behind him. He’ll do what he can from where he is now, but at this rate they’re not likely to last more than a handful of seconds. He braces himself for the fight anyways, prepared to die trying.

A sudden mew sounds from above him, and he and Prompto both immediately look up. The kitten has jumped up on the side of the door of the car and is looking down at them on the ground, fear evident in his eyes. 

“N-no!” Prompto yells in anguish, trying and failing to push himself up from where Noct has inadvertently pinned him against the car door. “Get back down!”

The kitten doesn’t get back in the car, but he does look up at the horde of MTs circling around them from all angles, his eyes darting in fear between them all. The MTs are mere feet away now, and one of the Axeman in front of them raises its axe in the air over its shoulder, preparing to swing down towards Noct and Prompto. Prompto starts firing again, and there’s nothing that Noct can do except raise his sword in a hope to deflect the blow. The axe starts to come down towards them, and Noct grits his teeth and prepares himself, all the while hoping that the kitten has enough sense to get back in the car and hide.

But suddenly - before the axe can actually make contact - a bright blue web of electricity ripples through the air around them, and the axe halts in its tracks. Noctis blinks in shock when he realizes that the Axeman is being electrocuted by something, and his shock only deepens when he looks around and sees that all of the MTs around them are being struck. He watches in confusion as the electricity continues to pump into them, slowly short-circuiting the units until they one by one start to collapse to the ground. He feels Prompto tilt his head upwards, then hears him gasp in his ear. Following Prompto’s gaze, Noct looks up, too. He’s amazed to see the kitten still standing on the door, a newly determined look on his little face as bursts of blue energy stream from the tiny, barely-formed whiskers that Gladio had previously deemed incapable of harm.

It goes on for several more seconds, until each of the MTs have fallen to the ground. Finally, the electricity stops flowing, and Noct looks around in stunned silence at the heap of metal beings around them, all sparking and twitching with leftover electricity. He looks back towards the first ship where he last saw Gladio and Ignis - expecting to see at least some of the MTs still alive - but apparently a coeurl’s electricity attack can be a lot further reaching than he thought. Gladio and Ignis are standing together looking just as shocked as he feels, their eyes wide as they take in the writhing, short-circuiting MTs that surround them on the ground.

He and Prompto both tilt their heads back up to the kitten, their mouths gaping in awe. But the kitten is now nonchalantly lifting his back leg up high to his face so he can lick it, having apparently decided that now is the perfect time for a bath.

“Holy shit, dude.” 

Prompto’s voice pulls Noct back to reality, and he suddenly remembers that the other man is still gravely injured. He turns himself around to properly face him again, swallowing thickly when he sees the blood puddle on the ground has definitely spread. He reaches for Prompto’s injured leg, his hands visibly shaking as he gently pulls it straight in front of Prompto so that he has easier access to it. Prompto winces in discomfort, but he lets Noct do it anyway. 

Noct swallows again. The wound is so much deeper than he originally thought, almost down to the bone. Blood is still pouring out all over Prompto’s pant leg, and Noct realizes with a start that his own clothing and hands are covered in it, too. He looks up at Prompto’s eyes in horror, his mind completely devoid of all rational thought. 

Realizing that Noct’s brain is currently imploding, Prompto helps him out. “D-don’t suppose we’ve got any potions on us?” he says with a grimace, his chest still heaving from the pain he’s in.

Right. Potions. He needs a potion. 

“Here,” Ignis suddenly says, handing a bottle over Noct’s shoulder to Prompto. Noctis hadn’t even noticed that he and Gladio had run up to join them. “It’s all we have right now, but it should at least heal the wound.” 

As Prompto grabs the bottle from Ignis, Noct glances at the label. It’s a regular potion - not as helpful as a hi-potion would be, but it will have to do for now. Prompto squeezes the bottle in his fist, his face relaxing almost instantly as the magic starts to work through him. 

“Oh my god,” he breathes, letting his head fall back against the door of the car. “Thank fuck. ”  

Noct looks down at the wound, his shoulders slumping under the weight of his own relief as the bleeding stops and the wound starts to heal. He vaguely recognizes that a hand has slipped onto his shoulder in an effort to ground him.

“Noct - you didn’t sustain any injuries as well, did you?”

Ignis’ question barely registers for him. He looks back up at Prompto - noting somewhere in the back of his mind how preposterous it is that Prompto now looks worried about him after almost just dying. And then - unable to think or do anything else - he suddenly collapses into Prompto, his arms wrapping tight around the other man’s shoulders. 

He crushes their chests together - admittedly a little harder than he means to - earning himself a noise of surprise from Prompto. He tucks his chin against the side of the other man’s neck and squeezes his eyes shut, basking in the feeling of Prompto’s arms slipping around his lower back to return the embrace; in the fact that Prompto is alive. He’s probably getting blood all over the back of Prompto’s vest, but he can’t find it in himself to care right now - and it doesn’t seem like Prompto does, either. 

They stay like that for several moments, until another meow sounds out from above them. Noct loosens his hold on Prompto enough so that they can both look up at the kitten, who’s curiously looking down at them with his head tilted to the side. Noct’s arms slowly slip off of Prompto - an intense desire to also hug the kitten coming over him - but the thought of spreading any of Prompto’s blood onto him stops him from actually doing it. 

Instead, Gladio walks over to the kitten and lifts him up, holding him up to eye level and staring intensely at his face. Noct’s sure he’s just trying to work out how he could have been so wrong about the whiskers - perhaps even assessing if he needs to be worried about the kitten after all - but the kitten is just happy that someone is paying attention to him now. He rubs his head against Gladio’s face and purrs, closing his eyes in delight.

Apparently deciding that it’s not worth questioning, Gladio just grunts and repositions the kitten to be resting against his chest like how Noct and Prompto tend to carry him.

“You okay to walk?” he says down to Prompto. 

“Uh - y-yeah, I think so,” Prompto says, suddenly looking sheepish as he looks back at Noct. Noct realizes with a jolt that he’s still blocking Prompto from being able to stand due to his close proximity, and he feels his cheeks flush, embarrassment for his emotional outburst starting to set in. 

He scrambles to get off the ground and out of Prompto’s space, but to Ignis and Gladio’s credit, neither even so much as hint at teasing him about it. Ignis reaches down a hand to Prompto to help Noct haul Prompto upwards, but the other man seems steady enough to stand on his own. 

“How do you feel?” Ignis asks, eyes trained on Prompto’s legs to make sure he can support himself before he releases Prompto’s hand. 

“Okay,” Prompto answers. “A little sore and tired, but I can walk.” 

Ignis nods. “You lost quite a bit of blood. Another potion should fix you back to normal, but we’ll have to stop somewhere.” He looks between Noct and Gladio. “We’re not too far from Taelpar Rest Area now - any objections to stopping for the night? We can allow Prompto proper time to recuperate, just in case.” 

They both nod their agreement, then Gladio looks down at the kitten nuzzling into his chest. 

“Looks like you’re stuck with us for one more night.”   

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When they get to Taelpar, they get Prompto another potion right away, then settle into the hotel room. Noct and Prompto are both still covered in dried blood, so they have to clean up. Ignis insists that Prompto eat some food to help raise his strength before he does anything else, so Prompto lets Noct take the first shower. 

In the bathroom, Noctis strips off his soiled clothing, combating a fresh wave of nausea when he gets a whiff of iron as he pulls his red-stained shirt over his head. He gets in the shower - turning the water as hot as it can go - and scrubs the blood off his skin until his arms are pink and raw. As he watches the rust-coloured water circle down the drain, it’s all he can do not to vomit right there in the shower.

He needs a little bit of space; some time to himself to decompress. 

Ignis asked him to leave his clothes in the bathroom so that he could clean them properly, so when he gets out of the shower he changes directly into his pyjamas. He has to look away from Prompto when the other man approaches for his turn in the bathroom, feeling his stomach churn when he sees the blood still on Prompto’s own clothing. 

As soon as he hears Prompto turn on the shower, he lets Gladio and Ignis know that he’s going up to the roof for some air. They both look at him with concern - he probably looks about ready to puke everywhere - but neither of them protest. 

He takes a seat on the edge of the roof and blows out a long sigh into the cool night air, looking around the barely-lit area. 

Ignis was right. 

Not necessarily about Prompto returning his feelings, but certainly about the fact that they could die any day now. 

One of them almost did die today. Maybe even both of them. 

Noct doesn’t think he’s ever been more scared in his life than he was the moment he saw that Assassin’s blade slicing through Prompto. He’s already lost nearly everything; he’s not sure he could have withstood yet another loss. Especially not that one. 

He sits up on the roof in silence for twenty minutes - trying desperately to not let that horrible moment from earlier replay in his mind - before he hears the door to the roof slowly squeak open behind him. He doesn’t have to turn around to know who it is. He had thought he wanted to be alone, but now he realizes he thinks he may have just wanted to be followed up here by someone in particular. 

“Seems kinda’ familiar,” Prompto jokes, taking a seat beside Noct on the roof. 

Noct lets out an amused huff of laughter as he thinks about the last time they were up on a motel roof together. “You about to ‘get real’ with me again?” he teases, turning his head in Prompto’s direction. The other man is also in his pyjamas and socked feet, his hair still a little damp from being freshly showered. Noct feels himself relax just a little at the image, no trace of what happened earlier left to remind him. 

Prompto grins at the joke and knocks his shoulder into Noct’s, but then he turns to meet Noct’s eyes, and his smile loses some of its lackluster. He pulls his bottom lip between his teeth and looks back in front of them, hesitating before speaking again. 

“And what about you?” he asks, bumping into Noct’s shoulder a little more gently this time. “You okay?” 

They both know he’s not. What Prompto is really asking is if he wants to talk about it. 

‘It was just… kind of a lot, today,” he says quietly. He shrugs his shoulders and looks down at his lap. “Kind of scary.” 

“What - with the kitten?” Prompt asks, turning back to Noct. 

“Well - yeah, obviously,” Noct says, shrugging his shoulders again as he looks back up. “But also you. And your leg.”

“What? Dude - you don’t have to worry about that,” Prompto says, lifting his leg up by the knee and exaggeratingly bending it up and down. “See?” he adds with a grin. “Totally fine!” 

Noct shakes his head and looks away. He knows Prompto means well, but he’s not ready to brush it off like it was nothing like Prompto is. 

Sensing the situation is more serious now, Prompto quickly drops his leg and leans in to try and catch Noct’s gaze. “Noct…?”

 “Prompto - you almost died.” 

It comes out a little shakier than he’d have liked, and his cheeks quickly flush in embarrassment at how pathetic he sounded.   

“Noct…” Prompto says again, his voice much sadder this time. 

“Sorry,” he answers, closing his eyes and running a hand over his forehead in exasperation. “I know this is stupid.” 

“N-no! It’s not stupid,” Prompto quickly insists. “It’s just…” He pauses and shrugs his shoulders. “I mean, I probably come close to dying, like… at least ten times a day. I don’t get how this was any different.”

“You know it’s never been that close before, Prompto,” Noct answers, letting his hand drop from his face. “I know you know that.” 

“Okay, fine - it was kind of close, yeah.” Prompto sighs. “But… this is what I signed up for. What we all signed up for.” 

Noct exhales in frustration and lets himself fall back against the roof, covering his eyes with one of his arms. “I guess I’ve just been thinking about things differently, lately.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Just…” He pauses, feeling himself blush again. “What if there’s, like… things I wanna’ say? Or things I wanna’ do? What if something happens to one of us, and I don’t get the chance?” 

There’s a long, drawn-out silence - so long that Noct might have thought Prompto had left, if not for the fact that he can still feel Prompto’s dangling legs swinging beside his own. 

“Hey, Noct?” 

There’s a strange tremor in Prompto’s voice that wasn’t there earlier. Noct removes his arm from his eyes and peers up at Prompto, but the other man is still staring out in front of them, so he can only see Prompto’s back. 

“Remember that thing I was gonna’ tell you yesterday?” Prompto continues, a hand coming up to rub at the back of his neck. “Before the kitten got stuck in the tree?” 

Noct blinks in surprise. He can’t believe he’d forgotten again that they hadn’t finished that conversation. Prompto had been about to tell him something - something he’d been thinking about all day - and Noct had never asked about it again after they were interrupted. 

What was it he had been starting to say yesterday? Something about the caravan?

Prompto doesn’t give him the opportunity to answer though, already speaking again.

“I was saying that, uh… yesterday morning… back at the caravan in Burbost…” He pauses, and Noct can tell that his whole body is fidgeting with nerves. “Um… When you and Ignis were outside…”

Noct stops breathing. Prompto had been asleep when they were outside. But if he knows about it, then… 

“Well… The window to the back bedroom was kind of, uh… open.”

Oh gods. The window. How could he forget about the fucking open window? 

“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, or anything,” Prompto quickly continues, his voice suddenly sounding rushed. 

No. No no no no no no-

“I just woke up, and then I couldn’t really go anywhere because you guys were outside and I didn’t want to, like.. embarrass you by walking in on that conversation, so I just kinda’ laid in the bed and, uh…” He finally pauses to take a breath, swallowing audibly. “And I heard it.” 

Noctis is frozen in place, unable to move. Prompto heard it. He replays the conversation with Ignis back in his mind, trying to tell if there’s any other way he can spin it - but he determines almost immediately that it’s a lost cause.

Prompto knows. Prompto knows his secret, and he can’t possibly lie his way out of this. 

After a painfully awkward silence, Prompto finally turns around to look at him. “Uh - N-Noct?” he says, his face redder than Noct’s ever seen it before. 

Noct blinks up at him stupidly, trying to fight the urge to throw himself off the roof. Finally, he convinces his mouth to make sounds. 

“You heard… everything?” 

Prompto winces apologetically. “Uh… yeah.” 

Noctis groans and pulls the collar of his t-shirt up over his face. He knows it’s childish, but he doesn’t care - he can’t look Prompto in the eye right now. “And you’ve known since yesterday?” he mumbles from underneath the fabric of his shirt. 

“Since yesterday,” Prompto confirms. 

Noct groans again. No wonder Prompto was staring at him all day yesterday. He feels so stupid.

“Noct - can you please take the shirt off your face?” There’s amusement in his voice that wasn’t there before, and Noct can’t help but be offended that Prompto thinks the death of his best friend’s dignity is an appropriate time to be smiling.

“Absolutely not.” 

Prompto actually laughs this time, and Noct feels the hem of his shirt being pulled at. “But I’m not finished telling you what I have to say!” 

 “Fine, ” Noct sighs, pulling his shirt down just under his eyeballs. Prompto has now tucked one of his legs up onto the ledge so that he can sit sideways, his arm supporting his weight as he leans forward towards Noct. By the way Prompto is now biting his bottom lip to keep from laughing at him, Noct suspects that he probably looks ridiculous - but at this point he can’t find it in himself to care. 

He rolls his eyes. “Go on, then…” 

Suddenly, Prompto’s amused expression becomes a nervous one. 

“R-right…” he says, no longer able to meet Noct in the eyes. He’s fidgety again, his free hand back to scratching at his neck. “Um… You remember the part where Iggy was telling you that he thought that I, uh… liked you back?” 

Noctis is broken again, his imagination swinging violently between the two very different directions that this conversation could go. He blinks up in stunned silence at Prompto, frozen in fear as he waits for his friend to either dash his hopes, or bring to life a long-standing fantasy.

When it’s clear that Noctis isn’t capable of doing anything but staring at him, Prompto swallows tightly and presses forward. “Uh… He was right,” he says quietly, his eyes finally meeting Noct’s again.  

Noct’s eyes widen, his heart pumping wildly as he stares back at Prompto. 

“H-he was?” 

Prompto rolls his eyes fondly, the smile returning to his face. “Of course he was. It’s Iggy.” 

“Oh…,” Noct says flatly, unable to comprehend just what the fuck is happening.  

Prompto laughs lightly, but after another awkward pause, his smile starts to fade into worry and pulls himself back from Noct. 

“Right,” he says, an obviously forced chipperness to his voice. “Well, I uh… Guess I just wanted to let you know?” 

The shift in demeanor confuses Noct - until he remembers that he’s still just lying on his back while he gapes up at Prompto with his shirt pulled over his face like a fucking moron. 

“W-wait!” He shoots back up to a sitting position, scrambling to pull his t-shirt collar back down to uncover his face. Prompto turns to face him, some of the worry easing out of his expression now that Noct has remembered how to function, and Noct pulls one of his legs up to turn himself sideways like Prompto has. “P-Prompto… Why didn’t you say anything before?” 

Prompto blinks at him. “Noct… You were literally engaged.” 

“No - I meant, like… before the peace treaty,” Noct says in mild frustration. “You never said anything.” 

“Dude - you didn’t say anything, either!” 

Noct’s eyes shift away guiltily. “Y-yeah… but that’s because I didn’t realize it until they told me about the treaty…” 

“Well, neither did I!” Prompto says with a blush. “Not until the option was taken away from me.”

Noct stares at him in surprise for a moment, then shakes his head incredulously. “So when Ignis said that we were both helpless…He was right about that, too?”

Some of the embarrassment in Prompto’s expression seems to ease at the joke, and huffs a laugh. “Iggy’s always right.”

Noct laughs with him, feeling himself relax. It occurs to him that it doesn’t really matter much why things happened the way that they did - what matters now is that Prompto likes him back . 

As they grin back at each other, Noct's fingers twitch with the urge to touch - so this time he decides to let them. He plucks up all of his courage and slowly reaches his hand out to Prompto’s, gently entwining their fingers together like they had been when they woke up this morning. Prompto’s eyes drop to where their hands are now resting in his lap, a more tender smile starting to pull at the corner of his mouth before he raises his eyes back to Noct’s. He squeezes Noct’s fingers gently in his own. 

Noct smiles shyly and squeezes back, but then his eyes tick down to Prompto’s lips, and he realizes that he wants more than this. He looks back up at Prompto’s eyes - silently seeking permission as he starts to lean in a little closer. He sees the moment of comprehension that passes over Prompto’s face when he processes what it is that Noct is after - and he’s relieved to see Prompto start to lean in as well. 

Finally, he feels the warmth of Prompto’s lips against his - and Noct closes his eyes in bliss as their mouths slot together. He tilts his head to the side just a little, his free hand coming up to rest on the side of Prompto’s face. He gently strokes his thumb along Prompto’s cheekbone, hoping to somehow convey everything that he wasn’t able to put into words earlier. 

After a few seconds, Noct pulls out of the kiss - but he only pulls out about an inch from Prompto’s mouth. Prompto’s eyes slowly flutter back open, his warm breath still mingling with Noct’s in the small amount of space between them. Noct watches as a lazy grin slowly spreads across Prompto’s face - his own smile growing in return as he gently caresses Prompto’s cheek with his thumb. 

He feels like there’s a lot more that he wants to say, but then Prompto is closing the distance between them again for a much deeper kiss. It’s slow, and gentle, and languid - and Noct lets himself get swept away in the sensation, all of the words he's been thinking temporarily flying from his brain at the first touch of Prompto's tongue against his. It doesn't matter. For now, this is more than enough. They've got the rest of their lives to talk. 

And however long or short that may be, Noct promises himself to make the most of it. 

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Chapter Text

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Prompto cries - but of course, that was to be expected

What Noctis wasn’t expecting are the tears starting to well up in his own eyes as he hands the kitten over to Wiz. 

He thinks he does a decent job of hiding the tremor in his voice as he and Prompto start randomly babbling about which types of fish are the kitten’s favourites, and how he prefers sleeping on the left side of the pillow instead of the right. 

Wiz merely blinks in confusion at them, briefly questioning why they seem to think the kitten will be sleeping in a bed with him when he is, in fact, a coeurl.

This just makes Prompto cry more. 

“You know… You boys are welcome to come visit him whenever you want,” Wiz says, sounding at a bit of a loss as Prompto now openly weeps into his hands while Noct gently rubs at his back. “He ain’t goin’ anywhere...” 

Prompto sniffles as he tries to re-catch his breath. “C-can he sleep in the caravan with us when we do?” 

“Uh… sure?” Wiz says, looking to Ignis and Gladio for help. 

“O-okay,” Prompto answers, trying his best to smile as he rubs the tears off of his face with his forearm. “T-thanks, Wiz.” He reaches out to pet the kitten in Wiz’s hands, but when the kitten nuzzles happily back into his fingers, his watery smile crumples, and he turns into Noct’s chest to start crying again.  

“...You sure this boy is gonna’ be alright?” Wiz asks in bafflement.

“Uh - eventually,” Noct says, awkwardly patting Prompto’s back. “Might take some time.” 

“You know…” Ignis suddenly says, having remained silent through most of their exchange with Wiz. “I don’t believe we have any pressing matters to attend to over the next few days.” He looks at Gladio and raises an eyebrow, something conspiratorial behind his eyes. “Not until Cid is done with the boat, anyway.” 

Noct feels Prompto freeze in his arms.  

Gladio hums, picking up on Ignis’ hint. “Could probably pick-up a few hunts around here,” he says, looking expectantly at Wiz, now. 

“Got lots of hunts available,” Wiz agrees, eyes sliding over to Prompto and Noct now. “Could sure use the help.” 

Prompto lifts his head from Noct’s chest, his face wet but his eyes brimming with hope. He turns his head to Ignis, already starting to grin. “We can stay?” 

“For a few days, yes,” Ignis says with a smirk.

Noct feels himself smile, making a mental note to somehow thank Ignis for this later - but Prompto is already pulling himself out of Noct’s grasp and launching himself at the taller man. He wraps his arms tight around Ignis’ shoulders, almost toppling him over with the force of his hug. 

“Oh, come now,” Ignis says, gently patting the back of Prompto’s back a couple of times. “No need for all this.” Despite his words, he looks oddly touched. 

“Here,” Wiz says with a small laugh, handing the kitten back over to Noct. “Looks like you’re on babysitter duty.” He turns to walk over to the shop, but sends a cheeky grin over his shoulder at Noct as he leaves. “And if he scratches up my caravan, I’ll make sure to charge it to the King of Lucis’ bill.” 

Noct laughs as he pulls the kitten in close, delighting in the feeling of the kitten’s purrs against his chest. When Prompto releases his hold on Ignis, he quickly comes over to them, already chattering away to the kitten as he rubs their noses together. Noct smiles softly at the both of them, feeling his heart swell in his chest with a sort of happiness that he hasn't felt in a very, very long time. 

As far as he’s concerned, Wiz could charge him every damn gil to the royal throne’s name - and it’d still be worth it. 

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