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[ 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 ]

[For Noctis, it felt like that wasn't so very long ago. Late nights spent laying all over each other playing King's Knight until they're phones night and they had to scramble to plug them in. Wrestling around the hotel rooms. Playing darts and shoving at each other because neither of them could stand losing.

Even in Altissa, they had still acted exactly as they always had. Strolling around, making comments about how romantic it was and how lucky Prompto was to be there with the three of them. Taking pictures and fishing. This all felt so natural.

But it wasn't that way for Prompto anymore and he had to take a moment to reign himself in and remember that. Apparently he had been gone for a while. Could he really blame Prompto to falling out of those old habits?]

Hey, you knocked me over. If anything, you should be helping me up.

[But his hand still lifts, wraps around the wrist of that hand currently pressed against him, tugging on it as he moves to stand, limping a little as he test out putting weight onto his left leg.]

[ prompto wants it to be that way again. he's desperate for it, really, but it's still such a shock to even hear his voice, let alone see or touch him. that doesn't mean he isn't trying to make it the same as it had been, clinging to noct's grip even as he gets his own balance and manages to support them both so noct doesn't fall over again if his knee decides to give out. at least that he doesn't mind, the leaning on one another part.

he's definitely going to be thinking about his finger in noct's mouth for a while though. probably more than is necessary. ]

I got you. [ it's an absent comment, waiting to make sure neither of them need any more support before leaning down to grab both lanterns. he swings them around so they lights up noct's face and highlights his grin. ] We'll stay closer this time. Less chance of tripping over stuff if we're right on top of each other.

[ no pun or innuendo intended. most likely. ]

[Sometimes Noctis hated the weakness that resided within his left leg. How sore his knee would sometimes get after a long battle because he would never baby or favor it. How running for too long would leave him with a dull ache. Hated that something that had happened so long ago still affected parts of his life, beyond the scars that it had left behind.

But it was another reason why he loved being around his friends so much. They never pointed that weakness out. Never made a big deal of it. Just gave him a hand when he needed it. Helped him up, made sure he was stable and then moved on like it was nothing.

So he took the helping hand now, waited until he had taken a step and knew it was going to fine, nothing a pain killer couldn't handle later.

When he turned back to Prompto he had both lanterns and that stupid grin and Noctis reached out for his own, grasping it gently to take it back.]

You'd like that, would you? Me being on top of you.

[Are you sure there was no innuendo intended? Because he sure turned it into one.]

[ he lets noct have his lantern without any fuss, using his free hand to dust off his pants a little. so, he's sort of distracted when that comment comes, blinking out into the darkness as if he's unsure he'd actually heard it. what does he do? does he play it casual and just pretend it hadn't sounded dirty? or... he bites at his lip, unsure how to respond but knowing he has to come up with something or it's going to look really awkward. ]

No way, dude. You're heavy. Better me being on top than you.

[ prompto gives him a wink and then turns to pick up their trail again.

not the worst thing to say, but also not the best? whatever, he'd fired a shot back in noct's direction, and it was up to him to return it or not. besides, the soft jibes are helping to ease his nerves about being alone in this silent and spooky forest of darkness. at least back home there would have been the telling sounds of daemons roaming everywhere. but not here. here, it's silent, almost dead, and it'd be funny if it wasn't going to be their life now. ]

[Admittedly he had been the one to start this. Prompto's action had been relatively innocent, something that couldn't have been easily misconstrued. He'd also been the one to escalate it with that little retort.

But Prompto had finished it. A perfect ten. Technical knockout. And it left Noctis speechless for way longer than he wanted to admit, simply staring after Prompto in the dark.

Mostly because he hadn't actually expected any come back at all, past possibly being called a jerk again. And second because -

- because he actually really would want Prompto on top of him and he definitely should not be having those thoughts right now.

So he does his best to shake them away, forcing himself to focus enough to catch up.]

So your heavy ass can crush me? I don't think so dude.

[There we go. Perfect. Nothing suspicious about how long that took at all.]

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