Prompto appreciates Noct taking an interest in his hobby - he knows a lot of people find it boring, but the fact Noct even tries to understand it is just one of the reasons Noct is awesome. Prom tries to return the favour by listening and paying attention whenever Noct shows him an article in a fishing magazine or talks about a new lure he's seen. He doesn't really understand the difference between them all, but the shapes interest him - especially the ones that look like chocobos.
"It's a macro lens, so it can take really up-close and detailed shots of tiny things. Like this... check it out..." He presses at some buttons on his camera, making a mental note to delete the blurry mess of a photo from when Noct made him jump, and scrolls to a crisp, clear photo of the leaf and butterfly. The details were stunning - the fur, the curled up proboscis, the veins and the tissue-paper thinness of the wings.
"I've been saving up forever for it. Then the shop gave me a huge discount because the box had gotten damaged, plus my 10% staff discount on top of that and it worked out way cheaper than I expected." Which is probably for the best, given Prompto has a list of bills to pay as long as his arm.
"Whoa, dude." Noctis says it appreciatively. Sure, it's a butterfly, and normally who cares about that kind of thing. But he almost gets the interest, seeing how thin the wings are, how weird it looks close up. He bets if Prompto showed Iris that, she'd lose all interest in things butterfly-like.
He grins all the same, looking over at Prompto. "Sounds like you made a pretty good deal, then." And he knows Prompto is working to pay his own way. If Noctis occasionally uses his own pocket money to pay for some bill ahead of Prompto... well, he has a long enough list that Prompto probably chalks it up to paying already and forgetting.
"So have you taken pictures of like, the giant pillows under Iggy's eyes yet?" He asks in a low tone, only teasing about his advisor, but a smirk all the same on his lips.
Prom lets out a soft laugh at Noct's question. He spares a sidewards glance at Ignis, who is sat reading reports, before looking back at Noctis. "Dude. No way. One, I like being alive. And two! The only reason he has it so bad is because of us." Honestly, Ignis isn't given enough credit for babysitting these two dorks.
"Well~ mostly you. But kind of both of us."
If Prompto ever discovered that Noct has been helping out with his finances he'll freak out. He made a promise to Ignis and Gladio - and to himself - that he would never use Noct for financial gain or fame and it's a promise he intends to keep. He still remembers quite vividly the 'talk' Ignis and Gladio had had with him right back when he and Noct first became friends. It had been intimidating to say the least.
He hopes that by now Ignis and Gladio know his friendship with Noct is very real. He considers them both his friends every bit as much as Noct these days. And he's sure if they knew just how bad his money situation gets at times they would be more than happy to help. But he's not prepared to break his promise.
"Hey Noct? You think they'd let us camp out here in the gardens? It's not quite the same as out in the wild, but it could be fun?"
Noctis heaves a sigh after a moment. "I know, I know, I'm gonna give him gray hairs before he hits twenty-five. As he likes to remind me all the time."
Noctis does appreciate Gladio and Ignis, but it's hard, to express that, when at the same time the care chafes. Gladio has already been injured because of him once before. While he learned his lesson there, he still can't help but to rankle under all the supervision.
And it's precisely because Prompto doesn't expect it that Noctis wants to help. He knows if he did it too often or took care of a bill too large, Prompto would catch on and make him stop. So he just makes sure it's occasional, to help out.
Prompto's question, though, has him tilting his head.
"I mean... I don't see why not. This place is pretty well secured, and it wouldn't take too much to have an extra 'guard or 'glaive put out here, I think."
Noctis grins, and nudges Prompto's shoulder. "What, that desperate to rough it?"
"I mean... he wouldn't look that bad with grey hair though, like, a proper silver fox - especially with the glasses and the... everything." Not that Prompto has ever thought about that... ... okay, okay, so he has once or twice. He can appreciate beauty, that's all. Totally doesn't have a slight crush on all his friends or anything. Nope. Nosiree. Not here.
"But we could try to not stress him out quite so much. We totes need OD to go ahead. It'll be good for him to unwind." Prompto knows Ignis hears and sees far more than they like to believe he does so outright talking about Operation Drunknis is a bad idea, then again 'OD' probably isn't a much better codename.
He laughs more when Noct nudges him, giving him a light shove in return. "No, dude. I just, I've never been camping before. Gladio always makes it sound so fun. Sleeping under the stars, surrounded by nature... Well, I mean, I know the starts wouldn't be so clear because of the wall, and the nature is pretty much trees and flowers but... it's kind of the same thing, right? Could be cool." Such innocence. Unaware of how uncomfortable sleeping on the ground can be.
"Quit drooling over Iggy," Noctis says, rolling his eyes a little and pushing his shoulder against Prompto's again, a little harder. That's totally not a little bit of jealousy eking through over hearing him gush over Ignis.
But, his expression softens, because Ignis absolutely needs the time to unwind. Operation Drunknis was originally kind of a joke, but now he really does want his advisor to take some time to unwind and not feel so stressed. Which probably means there will be a similar operation for Gladio in the future.
"He probably won't trust any gifts anyway, unless we behave," he murmurs. And then he looks up at the sky, at the stars he can see through the wall that his father is holding up. Gladio does make it sound pretty fun, but Noctis would never admit that.
"It would be fun, though, you're right. Maybe you could even get Gladio to help you pitch a tent." And the double entendre there is definitely intended, if the twinkle in Noctis' eyes is anything to go by.
Prompto squeaks as Noctis nudges him, followed by a laugh. "Totally not drooling. I just know a good looking guy when I see one." And unfortunately for Prompto's hormones, he happens to be friends with three of the best looking guys in Eos. Noct definitely has no need to be jealous though because he is top of Prompto's crush list. Painfully so.
That said, Prom has never had a best friend before so he's not entirely sure where the line between best friend and more is. Sometimes it seems like they push that boundary given some of the comments they've received over the years.
"We need to like be on our best behaviour, but not enough that Ignis gets suspicious. It's a very fine line. Plus, we totes need to behave so you can get your butt ungrounded and be allowed back to the arcade. The games aren't going to play themselves!" Besides, it's a lot less anxiety-inducing to hang out at Noctis' apartment with him than at the freaking Citadel.
Operation Gladio? Night at the strip club? An overindulgence in carbs? A marathon of cheesy straight to video rom-coms? They should probably wait to see if they survive Operation Drunknis without being murdered first.
Prompto doesn't rise to the bait of the double entendre, save for a hint of pink high on his cheeks. "We should do it. Camping. In the Citadel gardens. All the fun of the outdoors with none of the danger. Not sure the groundskeepers will let us have a real fire though... So, probably no marshmallows... camping stove, maybe?"
It doesn't help that, in the right mood, Noctis is like a cat. He'll lean or drape over Prompto, or drag him by the hand around the arcade or the citadel. He knows he's probably pushing his own luck - he also doesn't know a lot about having a best friend, but he knows there's a spark of more with him and Prompto.
And that it's a bad idea. He's literally supposed to go off and get married to Lunafreya to help establish peace. He might ignore certain parts of his role willingly, but he would never break Prompto's heart on purpose like that. So he keeps it to himself.
"You're right," he says with a soft laugh. If they're too good for Ignis, he'll be just as suspicious as if they were obvious about it. "Plus, I really miss going out to the arcade." Sure, he had plenty of games in his room, but it wasn't the same.
"They might let us have a camping stove. Pretty sure Gladio's got one stored in the Armiger somewhere. Who do you think has a better chance of convincing Iggy to let us stay out here?"
Prompto's no better when it comes to draping himself over Noct, or giving far too friendly butt-slaps and high-fives. It's just bros being bros, right? All too often finding himself staring at Noct's mouth and wondering what it would be like to kiss him is probably a little more than bros being bros though. So he keeps those thoughts to himself.
"Pft. Please. We all know Ignis has been immune to your puppy dog eyes for years. Leave it to the expert!" Prom shoots Noctis a grin before pushing himself to his feet to approach Ignis.
"Heya Iggy. Whatcha up to?" He inches closer until he siddles up to Ignis' side by the fountain. Eyes wide and voice almost singsong in tone and so painfully obvious that he wants something.
Ignis looks up from the reports he had been reading. What did he do wrong in a previous life to be saddled with babysitting these two idiots? "Reading very important and very confidential reports," he responds as Prompto leans in to try and see. "Prompto, it is obvious you require something, so please do stop beating around the bush and get to it while we're both young, hm?"
"Oh, yeah. Right. Well... you know how me and Noct went on our adventure? And well, I just wanted Noct to have a bit of freedom and fun and we were hoping to camp out under the stars and stuff but that never happened and so we were wondering if we could camp, here, tonight?" How on Eos they had expected to camp in the wild with no tent, no supplies and only one scrunched up blanket was anyone's guess. But then they hadn't exactly planned their trip very well.
Ignis pinched the bridge of his nose before adjusting his glasses. "Prompto, need I remind you that Noctis is currently grounded? And that you even being allowed to visit is a privilege that shouldn't be abused?"
Of course Ignis was never going to fall for that obvious puppy dog act. But that had been Prom's plan all along. Time to pull out the big guns. Prompto's eyes welled with tears, his bottom lip wobbled.
"I... I know, Iggy. I'm sorry. It's just... well my parents are away again and I don't want to be at home by myself - especially after that mugging on the street near my place the other day." He folds his arms around himself protectively.
Already Ignis is weakening. "Prompto... you know you are more than welcome to stay at the Citadel for the night."
"I know. I just... I don't want to put the staff out. And the Citadel is so intimidating to a mere pleb like me." He shrinks in on himself more, looking even smaller than usual.
"You realise no one sees you as a 'mere pleb', Prompto? You are a very important part of his highness' life." Oh, Ignis is definitely weakening. A soft sniffle from Prompto and Ignis is well and truly broken. He excuses himself and pulls out his phone, moving out of earshot of both Noctis and Prompto.
A few minutes later he returns. "Gladio shall bring a tent and some supplies over. In exchange, you are both expected in the training room at seven in the morning. Is that understood? No tardiness. And no complaints."
Prompto wipes the tears from his eyes and nods. "Thanks Iggy. You're the best!!"
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
No worries <3
"It's a macro lens, so it can take really up-close and detailed shots of tiny things. Like this... check it out..." He presses at some buttons on his camera, making a mental note to delete the blurry mess of a photo from when Noct made him jump, and scrolls to a crisp, clear photo of the leaf and butterfly. The details were stunning - the fur, the curled up proboscis, the veins and the tissue-paper thinness of the wings.
"I've been saving up forever for it. Then the shop gave me a huge discount because the box had gotten damaged, plus my 10% staff discount on top of that and it worked out way cheaper than I expected." Which is probably for the best, given Prompto has a list of bills to pay as long as his arm.
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He grins all the same, looking over at Prompto. "Sounds like you made a pretty good deal, then." And he knows Prompto is working to pay his own way. If Noctis occasionally uses his own pocket money to pay for some bill ahead of Prompto... well, he has a long enough list that Prompto probably chalks it up to paying already and forgetting.
"So have you taken pictures of like, the giant pillows under Iggy's eyes yet?" He asks in a low tone, only teasing about his advisor, but a smirk all the same on his lips.
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"Well~ mostly you. But kind of both of us."
If Prompto ever discovered that Noct has been helping out with his finances he'll freak out. He made a promise to Ignis and Gladio - and to himself - that he would never use Noct for financial gain or fame and it's a promise he intends to keep. He still remembers quite vividly the 'talk' Ignis and Gladio had had with him right back when he and Noct first became friends. It had been intimidating to say the least.
He hopes that by now Ignis and Gladio know his friendship with Noct is very real. He considers them both his friends every bit as much as Noct these days. And he's sure if they knew just how bad his money situation gets at times they would be more than happy to help. But he's not prepared to break his promise.
"Hey Noct? You think they'd let us camp out here in the gardens? It's not quite the same as out in the wild, but it could be fun?"
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Noctis does appreciate Gladio and Ignis, but it's hard, to express that, when at the same time the care chafes. Gladio has already been injured because of him once before. While he learned his lesson there, he still can't help but to rankle under all the supervision.
And it's precisely because Prompto doesn't expect it that Noctis wants to help. He knows if he did it too often or took care of a bill too large, Prompto would catch on and make him stop. So he just makes sure it's occasional, to help out.
Prompto's question, though, has him tilting his head.
"I mean... I don't see why not. This place is pretty well secured, and it wouldn't take too much to have an extra 'guard or 'glaive put out here, I think."
Noctis grins, and nudges Prompto's shoulder. "What, that desperate to rough it?"
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"But we could try to not stress him out quite so much. We totes need OD to go ahead. It'll be good for him to unwind." Prompto knows Ignis hears and sees far more than they like to believe he does so outright talking about Operation Drunknis is a bad idea, then again 'OD' probably isn't a much better codename.
He laughs more when Noct nudges him, giving him a light shove in return. "No, dude. I just, I've never been camping before. Gladio always makes it sound so fun. Sleeping under the stars, surrounded by nature... Well, I mean, I know the starts wouldn't be so clear because of the wall, and the nature is pretty much trees and flowers but... it's kind of the same thing, right? Could be cool." Such innocence. Unaware of how uncomfortable sleeping on the ground can be.
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But, his expression softens, because Ignis absolutely needs the time to unwind. Operation Drunknis was originally kind of a joke, but now he really does want his advisor to take some time to unwind and not feel so stressed. Which probably means there will be a similar operation for Gladio in the future.
"He probably won't trust any gifts anyway, unless we behave," he murmurs. And then he looks up at the sky, at the stars he can see through the wall that his father is holding up. Gladio does make it sound pretty fun, but Noctis would never admit that.
"It would be fun, though, you're right. Maybe you could even get Gladio to help you pitch a tent." And the double entendre there is definitely intended, if the twinkle in Noctis' eyes is anything to go by.
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That said, Prom has never had a best friend before so he's not entirely sure where the line between best friend and more is. Sometimes it seems like they push that boundary given some of the comments they've received over the years.
"We need to like be on our best behaviour, but not enough that Ignis gets suspicious. It's a very fine line. Plus, we totes need to behave so you can get your butt ungrounded and be allowed back to the arcade. The games aren't going to play themselves!" Besides, it's a lot less anxiety-inducing to hang out at Noctis' apartment with him than at the freaking Citadel.
Operation Gladio? Night at the strip club? An overindulgence in carbs? A marathon of cheesy straight to video rom-coms? They should probably wait to see if they survive Operation Drunknis without being murdered first.
Prompto doesn't rise to the bait of the double entendre, save for a hint of pink high on his cheeks. "We should do it. Camping. In the Citadel gardens. All the fun of the outdoors with none of the danger. Not sure the groundskeepers will let us have a real fire though... So, probably no marshmallows... camping stove, maybe?"
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And that it's a bad idea. He's literally supposed to go off and get married to Lunafreya to help establish peace. He might ignore certain parts of his role willingly, but he would never break Prompto's heart on purpose like that. So he keeps it to himself.
"You're right," he says with a soft laugh. If they're too good for Ignis, he'll be just as suspicious as if they were obvious about it. "Plus, I really miss going out to the arcade." Sure, he had plenty of games in his room, but it wasn't the same.
"They might let us have a camping stove. Pretty sure Gladio's got one stored in the Armiger somewhere. Who do you think has a better chance of convincing Iggy to let us stay out here?"
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"Pft. Please. We all know Ignis has been immune to your puppy dog eyes for years. Leave it to the expert!" Prom shoots Noctis a grin before pushing himself to his feet to approach Ignis.
"Heya Iggy. Whatcha up to?" He inches closer until he siddles up to Ignis' side by the fountain. Eyes wide and voice almost singsong in tone and so painfully obvious that he wants something.
Ignis looks up from the reports he had been reading. What did he do wrong in a previous life to be saddled with babysitting these two idiots? "Reading very important and very confidential reports," he responds as Prompto leans in to try and see. "Prompto, it is obvious you require something, so please do stop beating around the bush and get to it while we're both young, hm?"
"Oh, yeah. Right. Well... you know how me and Noct went on our adventure? And well, I just wanted Noct to have a bit of freedom and fun and we were hoping to camp out under the stars and stuff but that never happened and so we were wondering if we could camp, here, tonight?" How on Eos they had expected to camp in the wild with no tent, no supplies and only one scrunched up blanket was anyone's guess. But then they hadn't exactly planned their trip very well.
Ignis pinched the bridge of his nose before adjusting his glasses. "Prompto, need I remind you that Noctis is currently grounded? And that you even being allowed to visit is a privilege that shouldn't be abused?"
Of course Ignis was never going to fall for that obvious puppy dog act. But that had been Prom's plan all along. Time to pull out the big guns. Prompto's eyes welled with tears, his bottom lip wobbled.
"I... I know, Iggy. I'm sorry. It's just... well my parents are away again and I don't want to be at home by myself - especially after that mugging on the street near my place the other day." He folds his arms around himself protectively.
Already Ignis is weakening. "Prompto... you know you are more than welcome to stay at the Citadel for the night."
"I know. I just... I don't want to put the staff out. And the Citadel is so intimidating to a mere pleb like me." He shrinks in on himself more, looking even smaller than usual.
"You realise no one sees you as a 'mere pleb', Prompto? You are a very important part of his highness' life." Oh, Ignis is definitely weakening. A soft sniffle from Prompto and Ignis is well and truly broken. He excuses himself and pulls out his phone, moving out of earshot of both Noctis and Prompto.
A few minutes later he returns. "Gladio shall bring a tent and some supplies over. In exchange, you are both expected in the training room at seven in the morning. Is that understood? No tardiness. And no complaints."
Prompto wipes the tears from his eyes and nods. "Thanks Iggy. You're the best!!"