burstmodes | ic contact ( inthenight )

[ he easily loses track of time trying to play with his tablet and the lighting, which is very poor, and so, when he hears noct's voice, he practically jumps out of his skin. right. he has to get used to that again. it's strange how quickly he'd adjusted to not having him around, and now that he's here again... ]

Yeah! Let's get to it. [ he gives him a smile. ] Which way did you wanna go?

[You know Prom, that's gonna start getting real suspicious real soon. Since last he checked you definitely should not about jump out of your skin at the sound of his voice.]

Might as well head north. I told Iggy we'd be back in a couple of hours.

[ he adjusts his own lantern so that when they walk together, there will be more light. ]

Good plan. Do you think there's anything out there? This place is pretty – [ don't do it, prompto. don't say it. ] – dead. If you know what I mean. [ oops. too late. he punctuates it with a shrug and a faint smile. ]

[God damnit Prompto.]

Won't know until we look. Maybe we'll run into a zombie horde like in the video games.

[And there he goes, just making it worse ]

[ ... why. ]

Dude. Don't bring that kinda stuff down on us. Fighting zombies isn't exactly a skill either of us have in real life. [ he walks steadily, gaze focused on the shadow of the forest that stretches out in front of them. ] Anyway, you know trees make it hard to run away.

It can't be that hard. You just gotta aim for the head.

[Please don't mention the fact that he can barely run for his own life over flat land with absolutely nothing in the way.]

Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, hotshot.

[ his smile is even softer now, wondering if he'll get used to this kind of thing again. he's missed it, craved it, but he really doesn't want to be weird about it. so, prompto skips on ahead a little. ]

Let's hope it's nothing but trees and sticks.

[For Noctis it was so natural just to fall right back into the way things had been before. This was something he'd only ever had with the three of them. And with Prompto, it was even more special.]

Scaredy cat. [But the forest was looking more and more ominous the closer they god.] Hey, I should've asked before, but Armiger's still working for you, right?

[ prompto pauses in his step, turning back around so the light from his lantern casts a soft rainbow of color around them. ]

Um... [ well. he hadn't had access to that in over two years, but it should be like riding a bike, right? prompto tries to draw his gun from the space – still a weird thing for him, even now – and the most surprising thing is the fact its weight settles into his hand without the familiar flash of light. ] I guess it works? Does it do that for you too?

[ he means the whole "no light" thing. ]

Yeah. Kind of weird, right? [But the important thing was that it still worked.]

The Royal Arms are missing though. [So. There was that.]

[ he hums, unsure what to say to that. altissia was a long time ago for him, and he tries to think back to what they'd had during that whole thing. noct would have had most of them by then. rather than store his gun, he keeps it on him. just in case. ]

Pretty sure I had more on me when I died too. Not a lot, but... yeah, I dunno. My flashlight doesn't work either. [ or the flash on his camera. #sadface ]

Guess they're serious about this whole leaving us in the dark thing.

[He was completely certain, between the four of them, there had been far more in Armiger than he currently had access to. But as hard as he tried, he couldn't get any of it to appear. Only his Engine Blade. Then again, maybe he should be lucky they had left him that.]

We have no potions. But our recovery still works.

Been there, done that. [ it's a soft mumble, sighing as he picks up walking again. they get to the edge of the forest and he holds his breath before taking a step in. ] We'll just have to try not to run into any fights. [ prompto gives him a mock salute. ] Don't worry, though. If anything pops up, I'll keep you safe.

[ after all, he's got some mad skill now that noct probably doesn't remember. ]

Taking over as my shield for Gladio? [Not that he really needed one. Considering he was already dead, and that was what his shield was supposed to keep him from.]

Is it just me or is it even darker in here?

Nah. Pretty sure I couldn't throw you far if I needed to. [ it'd honestly be them falling over each other. prompto pulls his eyes from the ground where his lantern reflects those sweet colors of the glass. ] Is it?

[ he squints. ] You afraid of the dark now, buddy?

What happened to pumping that iron? Getting them gains?

[There's also an elbow being stuck lightly into Prompto's ribs as he speaks.

His own lantern cast a pure golden light, without the colored glass to change it into a rainbow pattern above the ground. But even if it, he still can't see more than a couple of feet.]

More like I'm afraid of what might be hiding in the dark.

[ he laughs, and though the sound is genuine, it feels like it echoes around them in the quiet of the night. there's a light shove before he thinks better of it, returning his gun back into the armiger and grabbing at his wrist. ]

Come on, Noct. Since when did you ever let the dark bother ya? We'll be fine.

[ he pulls him along, aiming for confident and finding that having experience in the dark with all the daemons seems to really help him navigate through the trees so they don't get smacked in the face by branches. ]

[Prompto catches his hand, and while he knows it's more so that they don't get separated and end up having to search for each other in the dark, it helps to calm his nerves. And for once, he's content to let someone else lead the way.]

If you say so, master hunter.

[ it's the warmth of the hold that has prompto relaxing, and maybe it's because he hadn't seen noct in so long that has him tightening his grip just a little. to keep him there, to make sure he doesn't leave again. even if it's for a moment. ]

Count on me, okay? We probably won't even find anything that exciting out here anyway... [ but now that he's talking, it feels very, very quiet and makes his voice seem extra loud. ] All we gotta do is distract ourselves.

[Well, this is new.

And strange.

Because Prompto is actually taking charge, acting far more like a leader than he ever had. Seeing him like this, so bold and confident makes the part of him that solely his friend swell with happiness and pride.

And the part that's his prince, his king - because that part is always there, despite how much he wishes to deny it - knows how amazing Prompto is going to be one day. A true member of his Crownsguard.

Somewhere, deep down and hidden, there's part of him that likes it for an entirely different reason. But he gives it exactly half a second of thought before he pushes it away completely.]

Whoa, where did this confident guy come from? Who are you and what did you do with my Prompto?

[ in truth, he hadn't thought any of it. because it had been years of living in the dark, in the wake of noct having disappeared into the crystal, and not only that, staying together with ignis and gladio hadn't been conducive to trying to save as many people as possible. so, he'd only had himself to rely on all that time, and it had become prominent in survival to stop second-guessing himself. he'd also come to terms with a lot of things about himself too, which isn't something noct knows about either.

he turns to look back at him as he continues to walk. ]

It's still me, dude. I remember the world a lot differently than you, remember? It's was li– whoa! [ mid-explanation, and he's tripping over the root of a tree sticking out of the ground, grappling with noct's had and trying not to fall flat on his face. but it just causes him to stumble and drag noct down with him as they both fall, and landing on his side causes the wind to rush out of him, barely having a chance to squeak out an apologize. ]

[Didn't he literally just get done complimenting you? Apparently that's something he should never do. Because then this happens.

He tries to stop the downward momentum the second he feels Prompto going down - because he can lift and swing around swords that weigh more than he does, he should be able to catch someone who's falling, right? But it's so sudden that he's caught off guard, thrown off kilter and before he knows it he's following him down.

At least he manages to keep a hold on his lantern, keeping it from smashing against the ground, and the second he lands he's searching for the light from Prompto's ignoring the way his hip and knee are screaming at him. Because it's always the left one that catches him. Always.

But the light is there and he relaxes, setting his own a good foot above his head so it's warm glow cast over them, far enough away that it won't get knocked over.]

Yeah. It's definitely still you.

[ he scrambles too, trying to make sure his own lantern hadn't gotten smashed or gone out, but it seems to be okay. pretty resilient for something that looks fragile to him, setting it upright before dropping back against the ground and spreading himself out as he sighs loudly. this is so embarrassing. why does he always have to do stuff like this around noct? it couldn't be anyone else who might not hold it over his head and tease him for eternity.

no. it had to be his best friend.

which is saying something because there's that small voice in the back of his head that's suddenly desperate to wrap his arms around him and hug him tight. it's been so long for him. this sort of camaraderie. he'd missed him, and in truth, it had been terrible without him. he'd lost a huge part of himself when noct had disappeared, and this... this would be the sole reason why being dead wasn't so bad. he was with him again, and that's all prompto had wanted. ]

I said sorry! [ it's another weak apology. ] It's really hard to see anything out here. Like, I can barely see your face.

[ to demonstrate, he reaches up to poke him in the cheek and catches the corner of his mouth with the tip of his finger instead. ]

[Of course it had to be in front of Noctis. Who else would you be going on these kinds of crazy adventures with, Prompto? No one.

And he's about to say something. Honestly and truly he's about to say some snarky comment in return. A real winner of a comeback. But then that finger presses against the side of his mouth and he completely loses the words. Because all that's going through his mind is that actions are so much better.

So he reaches up, fumbles a little with grasping Prompto's wrist and gets his forearm instead, sliding downwards until he fingers can wrap around it properly. And proceeds to move his hand until that finger is sliding past his lips, dipping into his mouth and pressing against his tongue.]

Yeah. [And then he's letting go, letting it fall away so he can speak in return.] I see what you mean.

[ there's something about this moment that feels... different. maybe it's the fact they're sort of tangled together on the ground in the dark. or maybe it's the fact noct is just going with it and pushing his finger into his mouth until he – is that his tongue? he freezes where he is, everything in him unsure how to respond.

it feels like something they would have done when they'd been younger, a thing that comes when you're goofing around and try to dislodge the other person as fast as possible. just fun. nothing serious. (because he's definitely licked or bitten body parts when they'd been wrestling before; it's honestly just a thing that happens.) but prompto doesn't get why it feels more than that. noct could have just batted his hand away and ruffled his hair or a thousand other things. but no. he goes and does that, and prompto's brain loses all conscious thought. ]

You – [ come on. think of something. ] You're such a jerk.

[ the words are playful, feigning a grimace even as he rubs his hand against noct's collar and down to rest against his chest. he's warm, he realizes, and prompto has to catch himself before he says that out loud like a weirdo. ]

Help me up. We still have to see if we can find anything. [ #smooth ]

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