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English
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Published:
2017-04-11
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2,267
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1/1
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just bros bein' bros

Summary:

kissing was a thing friends did, right?

 

prompto and noctis have been happily together for a couple of months now, except for one tiny, insignificant hitch: prompto kind of didn't realise they were dating.

Notes:

eta 2024: sorry if anyone who got an email about this fic randomly if you did! i briefly privated it and unprivated it and i am still trying to figure out if that EMAILS EVERYONE

 

i'm weak for promptis and i'm weak for pining and i'm weak for bros being idiots so really this nonsense was inevitable

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

 

   Kissing was a thing friends did, right?

   This was normal. Everything was fine. Prompto squirmed, trying to shift the broom handle from where it was jammed into his back.

   Didn't work.

   It wasn't his biggest concern right now anyway. Noct's hands, tangled in his hair, provided a much more distracting distraction than any broom handle could hope to do.

   The door opened suddenly and Ignis, equipped with a pair of rubber gloves, peered at them.

   "Oh," he said, with what Prompto thought was a frankly offensive level of disinterest. Prompto squeaked and tried to take a step back. He tripped over a mop bucket and fell sideways into a pile of sponges.

   Ignis began to close the door, rolling his eyes. "My apologies."

   "Wait," called Noct. "Wait, Ignis - could you get us a snack?"

   "NOCT -"

   "Certainly not," sniffed Ignis. "And do stack those sponges back up when you've finished, would you?" He closed the door.

   As a final insult to his dignity, a small piece of soap toppled off an overhead shelf and bonked Prompto on the head.

 

 

   This – that was to say, Situation Normal - had begun a few months ago, and Prompto still wasn't entirely sure what to make of it.

   The arcade – that was where it had all started. They went almost every afternoon so Prompto could kick Noct's ass in every available shooter and so they could waste what was probably now hundreds of coins on the claw machines trying to win Prompto a stuffed Chocobo. The Day, That Day, had begun like all the others, and they'd been playing Garula Hunt for about half an hour when Prompto had pulled off inarguably the most spectacular win of his life.

   Noct tossed down his gun in frustration as Prompto whooped and sang and danced in a circle. "It's just a game," he said, a little sulkily, but grinning nonetheless.

   "Yeah, cos you lost," jeered Prompto, shoving Noct's face away and making him snort with laughter. "Who's the best?! Oh yeah! Greatest sharpshooter in town, step up ladies -"

   Noct surged forward suddenly and pressed his lips to Prompto's cheek. "Not letting that stand," he said, and picked his gun back up. "Go again."

   Prompto gaped at him. Things had suddenly gone rather hazy and there was a sort of fuzzy halo around everything - especially the something that had just kissed him. His cheek burned.

   But Noct was staring determinedly at the screen, with nothing but a light touch of pink to his face to show that he had done anything out of the ordinary at all.

   Perhaps this was something royalty did. Or perhaps it was something all friends did - heavens only knew that Prompto – well, that Prompto didn't know. This was all new. The kissing. Having a friend. Having a friend that kissed you.

   So Prompto did the sensible thing and leaned forward to peck Noct right back.

   "Game on, Highness," he said, with a nervous, high-pitched giggle (smooth), and pretended not to notice when Noct's mouth opened in surprise - or the shy little smile that followed.

 

 

   "Want to go into town?" asked Noct after school one day. "Need to pick up some groceries."

   "Sure. Since when do you buy groceries?"

   "Since Ignis won't get off my back about it," grumbled Noct, and Prompto laughed.

   "Sounds like fun," he said, and Noct smiled.

   They’d been ambling down the road for a while, Prompto chattering happily about a camera upgrade he was almost done saving up for (periodically denying Noct's offers to just buy it for him) when Noct carefully slipped his hand into Prompto's.

   Prompto stopped talking and looked at him. Noct was staring at the floor. "Keep talking," he said, a little more quietly than usual.

   Prompto blinked, and then smiled and squeezed his hand. "Okay! So, the lens range..."

   By the time they reached the store, they were laughing and swinging their linked hands between them. Like nothing was different. Like it was only natural.

   It felt natural.

   Impulsively, Prompto pulled Noct to a stop before he could walk in. "Wait," he said.

   "What?"

   Prompto leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to Noct's mouth, then immediately pulled back. "Sorry," he squeaked. Stupid! STUPID, why did you do that, why did you - "Sorry, I don't know why I -"

   "It's okay," said Noct quickly, apparently emerging from a state of paralysis. "It's - it's okay. I liked – uh, it was nice."

   Prompto breathed again. "Okay?" he asked.

   "Yeah," said Noct, smiling again. "Yeah." And, hesitantly, he leant forward again.

   Slipping an arm around Noct’s waist to pull him closer, Prompto reflected that friendship wasn’t anything like he’d ever pictured it would be.

 

 

   "How come you never kiss Gladio?" asked Prompto one day as they lounged together on the sofa watching TV, and Noct stopped fiddling with Prompto's hair.

   "What?!"

   "I mean, I'm just sayin'," said Prompto. "You kiss me all the time, I just thought - you know - it's only fair, isn't it?" Noct and Gladio were friends, weren't they? It made sense...

   Noctis stared at him like he'd sprouted a tentacle where his nose ought to be. "Is that - is that what you're into?"

   "...What?"

   Noct seemed to be fumbling with his words. "I mean, I'm - I think I'm open-minded, but - I - I don't think I'm comfortable -"

   It appeared that Prompto had somewhat misread this situation, which wasn’t surprising, given that it was apparently written in a language he’d never learned. "No, wait!"

   "I'm… sorry?" offered Noct awkwardly, shuffling sideways and forcing Prompto to sit up so that they were facing each other. "I can – I mean, if you want I can ask -"

   "NO! No-no-no-no-no-no-no –" Prompto shuddered violently, trying not to think about the conversation that would start. "Never mind. Never mind, forget I asked."

 

 

   Okay, something was off.

   Prompto had been dutifully ignoring this feeling for a while now, but it had progressed from a polite nagging in his mind to the voice of a screaming mother whose child had just broken her favourite vase. This needed to be addressed, it needed to be apologised to, and it needed to be grovelled in front of for about an hour.

   He might... actually like Noct.

   Like, like him like him. Like more-than-just-a-friend-even-one-who-he-occasionally-made-out-with like him.

   Hoo boy.

   Prompto had come to this particular conclusion one afternoon while they'd been playing some racing game, it didn't matter what, Prompto had been winning but hey that didn’t matter either, and Noct had been staring intently at the screen and shouting obscene things at the virtual karts and his eyes had been wild and intent and Prompto had just thought, fuck.

   What exactly was the protocol here?

   Prompto didn't want to screw this up, didn't want things to change, although if he was being quite honest he didn't know exactly what would change, given that they were already kind of doing all that stuff that couples did – except that Noct was only doing it as a friend. Right?

   Right?

   Ah, gods, he had to fix this. He had t- but what did you do in a situation like this?!

   Prompto stuck his head into his pillow and screamed.

   Nailed it.

 

 

1:42PM

Yo noct. Free this afternoon?

 

1:43PM

Yeah

 

1:45PM

Meet at the movies?

 

1:45PM

Sure

 

1:45PM

:)

 

1:46PM

Swurt 8D

 

 

   I can do this. This is fine. I can do it.

   I cannot do this and I am going to die.

   "Hey," said Noct, strolling up to where Prompto was hovering anxiously by the cinema door. He squinted. "What's with the flowers?"

   “Um,” said Prompto, and shoved the flowers behind his back, as if his skinny ass could hide them. “Nothing. What flowers?”

   Noct was beginning to smile. “Aw,” he teased, “did you get those for me?”

   “W-what?! N-n-no. I just… happened to… pick them out of the garbage…”

   “Charming,” said Noct, and swiped them out of Prompto’s hands. “Thanks. What’s the occasion?”

   “I,” said Prompto, and took a deep breath. And then sneezed. Shouldn’t have gotten the flowers. “I have something to tell you.”

   “Okay, shoot,” said Noct.

   “Um,” said Prompto, and then decided that the most effective course of action would be to say everything in one breath, like a calm and coherent human being would do. “Well. I – okay look, I didn’t want to make this weird but I have to tell you and I kind-of-really-like-you-in-a-not-friend-way-I-mean-yes-in-a-friend-way-but-also-in-a – that is – I think you’re – date me?”

   Noctis blinked. “What?”

   “I like you,” blurted Prompto. “A lot.”

   “Uh, thanks,” said Noct, frowning. “I like you too.”

   “No! Yes? Thanks – ugh? I like you.” Prompto buried his face in his hands. “Like, I like you like you.”

   “Yes,” said Noct.  “Me… too. You, I mean. I like you. Not me. I mean, I’m okay too –”

   “No, Noct – I have a crush on you.”

   Noctis stared at him. “We’ve – you – what?”

   “I know it’s hard to take in but please don’t hate me,” said Prompto, all in a rush. “I – I know we’re friends, but I –”

   “We’ve been dating for like two months,” said Noct, a rising note of panic in his voice. “Haven’t we?”

   Prompto froze. “S-sorry, what?” He stared, and Noct stared back in equal horror, and then what Noct said clicked in and he shook his head as if to reset his brain. “WHAT?!”

   “Prompto, you kissed me,” pointed out Noctis. “Like, you kissed me yesterday.”

   “I thought that was a bro kiss between bros –”

   “We made out in a broom closet.”

   “…Bros do that.”

   A lot of things were beginning to make sense to Prompto all at once, and the hazy world was slowly coming back into focus, like a camera which had just zeroed in on its subject.

   Which, as it turned out, was Noct’s face.

   And subsequently his look of complete devastation.

   Prompto’s anxieties switched direction at once.

   “Don’t be mad,” he pleaded, reaching out to grab Noct’s shoulders. “I’m sorry, please don’t be mad, I just didn’t –”

   “No, I’m sorry,” Noctis interrupted. “I’m such an idiot, I just assumed –”

   “Why wouldn’t you assume?” asked Prompto incredulously. “I mean, you’re right, we made out in a broom closet, I’m the idiot –”

   Noct shook his head. “I’m sorry,” he said again, in a low voice. “I – I don’t know anything about this stuff –”

   “You think I do?”

   “– and I just thought, in all the – this is stupid – in all the stories I got read as a kid, the guy kissed the girl and then they lived happily ever after.” Noct shrugged helplessly. “It’s – it’s dumb, I just – I kissed you, so I figured…”

   “Oh,” said Prompto in a small voice.

   “I didn’t – nobody ever really told me how this stuff worked so I just – sorry,” said Noctis, looking at his feet. “I’m – stupid.”

   “No,” said Prompto, “no, I’m – look, any normal person should have picked up on – that it was – I just, well, a guy like you, I… I didn’t even think you could ever… feel that way. About me. That’s all.” He shook his head. “I just figured you were like, a really affectionate friend.”

   Noct looked at him. “Dude.”

   “I know,” groaned Prompto. “I’m not perceptive –”

   “No, not that,” said Noct. “You – do I make you feel like you’re not – is it because of the royalty thing?”

   “Huh? N-no, that’s not –”

   Noct scratched the back of his head. “I mean, I know I’m a prince,” he mumbled, “but I thought – you know, I thought you were just, like, my friend. I didn’t know you were like, intimidated by me.” He looked almost betrayed.

   Prompto backtracked immediately. “No!” he protested. “That’s not what I meant.”

   “Then what did you mean?” asked Noct.

   “Just,” said Prompto, and he shuffled his feet. “I dunno. You’re – really great.”

   “So are you.”

   “No, I just… I dunno.” Prompto shrugged. “I dunno. You’re really great, man, I – sometimes I can’t believe you’re even my friend. …I just didn’t even think – I dunno why you’d wanna look at someone like me – like that. That’s all.”

   Noct opened his mouth, and then closed it again.

   “That’s dumb,” he said at last. “You’re great, and I like you a lot. You’re funny. And you’re kind. And you’re the best friend I could ever want.” He paused. “Also, you’re a pretty good kisser.”

   “I’m better than pretty good,” scoffed Prompto, and Noct made a noncommittal noise, so Prompto swatted him.

   “Don’t be so down on yourself,” said Noct. “That’s my point. Think what you will, but I think you’re good enough for me.”

   Prompto blinked.

   “Uh,” he said, and then blinked harder.

   “Are you crying?”

   “No.”

   Noct laughed. “You’re such a loser,” he said, and shoved Prompto’s shoulder. “Can I keep the flowers?”

   “I – yeah. Yeah. They’re yours.”

   “Thanks,” said Noct. “Will you go out with me? For real?”

   “Uh –”

   “You don’t have to,” said Noct at once. “I just thought – you know – better clarify this time.”

   Prompto gaped at him for a second. “No fair,” he said, “I was s’posed to ask you out today.”

   Noctis laughed again.

   “Alright,” he said, “go ahead, then.”

   “Well, now it’ll just sound stupid –”

   Noct shut him up, in what Prompto thought was a fairly effective way. “That was a date kiss,” Noct informed him, after he broke away. “Not a – a ‘bro kiss’, or whatever you said. Yeah?”

   “Y-y-y-yeah,” said Prompto. “Y-y-y-y-y-yeah.”

   “We don’t have to –”

   “Yeah,” said Prompto, more firmly. “Go out with me.”

   “Are you giving me orders? I’ll have you know I’m the Crown Prince –”

   “I hereby crown you the biggest ass ever. Go out with me.”

   Noct grinned. “Yeah, okay,” he said, and leant forward again.

Notes:

i'm honestly pretty apprehensive about writing for this game bc i've only just started playing it myself (chapter 6, yo) although i did watch a playthrough before when i thought i was never going to play it, so i'm like, super nervous about my characterisation and stuff! but whatever, i really just wanted to write dorks being stupid nerds and no amount of Serious Literary Criticisms can take that from me so just take this nonsense and don't take it too seriously <3
also i multiship like there's no tomorrow so uh, brace for more shippy garbage, i suppose?

 

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