2Final Fantasy XV and its characters do not belong to me, I own nothing but the intangible stories I come up with.
Prompto Argentum was a simple man. He liked simple things. He liked his camera, he liked chocobos, and he liked people who could kick his ass. He'd slowly figured this out over the years due to his various crushes on people who were a lot stronger and smarter than he was. He liked people he knew could protect him. Which was why it was so unbelievably awkward to be friends with the Princess of Lucis. Noctis could beat him up without any problems and it was so difficult to not get a boner when he was sparring with her. At this point Noctis was the only person in their quartet who hadn't figured out Prompto's incredibly obvious crush.
"You know, you should just tell her." Ignis told him at one point. "It would certainly help your concentration during training."
"But what if she doesn't like me back?" Prompto whined, face down on the couch in Noctis' apartment. It was easier not looking at his friends during this moment. The fact that they were even talking about this made him want to curl up in a ball and disappear.
"It'll be awkward for a little bit, but you'll both get over it." Gladio paused his digging through the fridge. "It's happened to me before. It'll be fine."
"Yeah, but I'm not...you." Prompto gestured towards Gladio. "I'm not tall or all muscley or anything. I'm not even smart like Ignis!"
"I fail to see what this has to do with what Gladio said." Ignis said.
"She's a princess! Asking her out isn't like asking out Crowe or one of the girls at school." Prompto said. "I'm a nobody, why would she ever say yes to dating someone like me?"
"Please, Prompto, just tell her. This is frankly getting ridiculous." Ignis sighed deeply. "If her standards were as high as you seem to think they are, she wouldn't be friends with the three of us." Prompto made a high pitched whining sound and pulled a pillow over his head. Gladio shouldered the fridge closed and cracked open his leftover cup noodles. Ignis wrinkled his nose but said nothing. He just hoped Noctis wouldn't come home while Gladio was eating that filth. It was all he could do to keep the princess eating a balanced diet. And that wasn't even mentioning her stubbornness to not eat vegetables. Unfortunately, Noctis did walk in.
"No luck I assume?" Ignis asked as Noctis laid her fishing gear down.
"They just weren't biting today." Noctis collapsed onto an armchair across from the couch. "...What's up with Prompto?"
"He can't confess to his crush." Gladio said through a mouthful of noodles.
"Wait, he has a crush on someone?" Noctis leaned forward in her chair. "Why didn't I know about this?"
"Because Prompto's a dork."
"Big guy, you're kicking me while I'm down."
"Who is it?" Noctis demanded. "Guy? Girl? Do we know them?"
Prompto made more whining noises but answered her anyway. "It's a girl...Yes we know them..." Noctis narrowed her eyes, steepling her fingers. Ignis took out his notebook and pretended to write while he watched the events unfolding.
"Is it Luna?"
"No! Dude, Luna's way outta my league!" Prompto sat up immediately. "Plus, she's like a big sister to me or something. Especially cause I really like her dogs."
"Okay, not Luna...Crowe? You like her again?"
"She already rejected me, dude."
"Gentiana?"
"...She froze me, like, twice. You guys had to thaw me with a hairdryer! I don't want that to happen again!"
"He has a point there." Ignis said.
"I'm running out of girls we know." Noctis groaned. "It's not Iris, is it?"
"If it was, he'd already be dead." Gladio said. It was hard to tell whether or not he was kidding. Prompto really hoped he was.
"Noct, don't let Gladio kill me!" He latched onto his friend, holding tight to her arm. "I don't wanna die!"
"Relax, no one's going to kill you." Noctis rolled her eyes and patted Prompto's head. "Especially not Gladio."
"As annoying as he may find you at times, I hardly think he harbors enough animosity to end your life." Ignis closed his notebook and stood up. "Now, I really should begin preparing dinner. Noct, Prompto, if you would be so kind I have some ingredients I need you to gather."
"What? Why us?" Prompto asked. "Why can't you send Gladio?"
"Because I need him here to help with preparation." Ignis smiled sweetly. "Now off you go." He handed them a list and pushed them out the door.
"Ugh." Noctis glowered down at the list.
"What? Did he ask for vegetables?" Prompto peered over Noctis' shoulder.
"...Yes."
"Cheer up dude!" Prompto put on a smile and put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I'll eat them for you!"
"I don't think Ignis is going to like that." Noctis said, but smiled back anyway. It wasn't like it was the first time the two of them had done it. With that problem solved, the two set out to gather the ingredients.
.
.
.
Prompto could be surprisingly dense at times, but in this instance, he knew exactly what was going on. Ignis was trying to force him into confessing. Prompto wasn't thrilled by this, but he was pretty sure he could get through this whole thing without giving Ignis the satisfaction of having his plan work. He ended up carrying most of the bags, although Noctis was equally weighed down.
"He can't need all this stuff for just one recipe." Noctis said. Between the both of them they had 8 bags filled with various groceries.
"He's totally using us to get his shopping done." Prompto groaned.
"Wouldn't be the first time." Noctis shrugged, veering off the course back to the apartment. Prompto frowned and followed. Was there something they'd missed? He nearly dropped his bags when he saw what Noctis had been distracted by.
"Oh my astrals it's a chocobo stall." He squealed. Noctis had found a stall that sold chocobo products. Plushies, books about them, chocobo feed. Prompto was interested in all of it, babbling excitedly as he looked at everything. Noctis couldn't help but grin. Prompto was so cute when he was surrounded by something he loved. This was almost as fun as the time she'd given Prompto that new camera for his birthday.
"You want to buy something?" She asked. Prompto bit his lip and checked how much gil he had. It wasn't much. He could get something small. And so when they headed back, he was carrying a tiny black chocobo plush.
"What are you going to name it?" Noctis asked.
"That's gonna take some time." Prompto nodded seriously. "I have to come up with the best name I can."
"Prompto Jr.?"
"Dude, how conceited do you think I am?!"
"Sorry, sorry." Noctis moved out of the way of the shoulder punch Prompto had gone in for, grinning. Prompto proceeded to fake pout the rest of the way back.
"You are such a dork." Noctis said as she fumbled with her keys.
"Which makes me a-dork-able." Prompto grinned. Noctis rolled her eyes and opened the door. She immediately stopped in the doorway. Her apartment did not looked the way it was supposed to. For one thing, the lights were dimmed, and someone had set up what looked like a restaurant table in the middle of her living room.
"What's going on?" Noctis frowned and went to the kitchen area, where Gladio and Ignis were waiting.
"What does it look like?" Gladio asked, smirking.
"We have prepared a romantic dinner for two." Ignis gestured towards the table with a flourish.
"You two are dicks." Noctis said flatly. Prompto was bright red and stuttering, dropping the bags of groceries. Oh astrals, this was way worse than the grocery thing. Where was a hole when he needed one?
"Why are they doing this?" Noctis asked, looking back at Prompto. The blond photographer swallowed and tried to muster up all his courage. Just take deep breaths, he reminded himself.
"Because I have a crush on you?" He squeaked. That was pathetic. She was so going to laugh at him.
"That was the big secret?" Noctis asked.
"Yes?"
Noctis rounded back on Ignis and Gladio. "You're both dicks. I'm taking him out for burgers." She grabbed Prompto's arm and hauled him out, looking genuinely angry. Prompto was a bit afraid now. Was she angry at him?
Noctis only stopped dragging once they'd reached the burger joint.
"Sorry." She said, letting him go.
"It's okay. Um, are you mad at me?" Prompto shrank back a little, afraid he was about to get yelled at.
"No no." Noctis waved her hand dismissively. "Gladio and Iggy were being dicks. They should've just let you take your time."
"Well, it has been, like, 2 years?"
Noctis blinked, then snorted. "Two years? How did you manage to keep your mouth shut that long?"
"I kinda didn't..." Prompto grimaced. "I mean, Iggy pretty much knew from the start. So did Gladio."
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Noctis asked. "I'm your best friend, what did you think was going to happen?"
"You'd laugh and reject me?" He said, beginning to chew at his lip again. "I mean, you're a princess. And I'm just..." He trailed off and gestured to himself. Noctis smiled sadly and wrapped an arm around Prompto's shoulder.
"I wouldn't have been friends with you this long unless I liked you." She said. "Yeah, sure, you're not royalty or anything, but that doesn't mean you're worth less to me."
"...Really?" He asked in a small voice.
"Really." She patted his back.
"So...Do you want to go out with me?" He offered a small smile.
"Sure." Noctis shrugged and smiled back. "Now, are you hungry or not?"
"Well, yeah. But we should probably head back. Iggy'll be mad he made all that food for nothing."
"He'll never let me live it down." Noctis pulled away and groaned. So they went back, and Noctis promptly gave both Ignis and Gladio an earful while all four of them ate the "romantic meal for two" Ignis had prepared. Prompto didn't listen to most of it, lost in his own little world. It was all over now and he had survived it without being laughed at! He was okay! And Noctis had agreed to date him! This had to be one of the best days of his life.
"Hey loverboy," Gladio said. "You're getting spaghetti on your shirt." Prompto dropped his fork and grabbed a napkin.
"Aw, c'mon! This shirt is new too!"
And just like that, everything was normal again.