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ahouseoflies · 6 years ago

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The Best Films of 2018, Part II

Part I is here. Let’s keep it moving. ENDEARING CURIOSITIES WITH BIG FLAWS

103. Zama (Lucretia Martel)- In this movie there's a motif of Zama, an officer of the 18th century Spanish Empire, starting a scene by talking to someone or staring at someone off camera. After a minute or two, the camera cuts to some servant and disorients us. There's a person there, always there, to serve him, and it doesn't really matter who it is. It's a brilliant way to get at the colonialism that the character depends on but is still trapped by. So I get a little bit of what the film is trying to do, but it's boring. I'm an ignorant person who doesn't know how to watch Lucretia Martel's films or have any context for South American history, but I know what boring is. 102. I Feel Pretty (Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein)- I like that Schumer tried something different instead of falling back on her persona, but there isn't enough new or interesting here for me to recommend--besides National Treasure Michelle Williams, of course. The film nearly displays "Do you see that she's turning her back on her real friends now?" on the screen. 101. A Simple Favor (Paul Feig)- At times cheeky and sexy and juicy, but it still wears out its welcome by twists ninety-one and ninety-two. 100. Double Lover (Francois Ozon)- Diverting until it gets silly, then so silly that it gets diverting again. There are about five too many twists, and I'm still unclear on how seriously the film takes any of those twists. More importantly, I don't think there's much of a takeaway from any of it. Ozon seems to have found a real muse in Marine Vacth though. 99. Borg Vs. McEnroe (Janus Metz Pedersen)- As a Shia Pet, I felt obligated to see his portrayal of Johnny Mac. I didn't learn anything that I didn't already know from this mediocre biopic though. Watch the documentary McEnroe/Borg: Fire & Ice instead. 98. Ralph Breaks the Internet (Rich Moore and Phil Johnston)- There's some clever visualization of the the Internet, such as the way that a link shuttles an avatar off in a transparent car or the way that shady newsboy types whisper about pop-up ads. And I liked a lot of the Disney tie-in stuff that critics are wincing at. As far as textbook screenwriting goes, it's great at that idea of making you think that the protagonists will accomplish their goal very easily, only to have them be re-directed to square one. The voice acting is top-notch. Why do these movies get so plotty though? I felt as if the internal logic started getting inconsistent about halfway through--at the same time that the first one got bogged down with candy stuff instead of 8-bit video game stuff. And if there are so many lovable characters from the first entry, why do we get such tiny servings of them here? The movie's too long already, but what I wouldn't give for an occasional cut back to Fix-It Felix raising some kids.

97. We the Animals (Jeremiah Zagar)- The Tree of Life is one of my favorite movies, and on its face, We the Animals is a really similar impressionistic memory. So why do I like it half as much? Are lighting and music that important? Is Jessica Chastain? Is latent racism? All I know is that this felt like a story I had seen before pitched at the same intensity for a running time I was happy to see expire. 96. Kodachrome (Mark Raso)- The three leads are all pretty good. (Ed Harris does this bashful, pulling-on-his-eyelid thing that killed me.) But with mathematical precision, the film matched each element I liked with another thing that infuriated me. Specifically, the whole plot hinges on one scene, and that scene is preposterous and alien to human behavior. 95. Deadpool 2 (David Leitch)- The pacing of these movies is bizarre to me; they're half-over before they really get started. No one else is bothered by the fact that Cable has no motivation or backstory for the first hour? Some of the connections to X-Men felt more forced this time around, but I thought this entry was much funnier than the first, even mixing in some more subtle visual gags. (The exotic locales montage ending in Biloxi really got me.) I have to give credit to the X-Force parachute sequence, which is audacious and unexpected. And clear out for Zazie Beetz, who is a huge star in the making. 94. At Eternity’s Gate (Julian Schnabel)- Something about Van Gogh was essentially unknowable, which is a great reason to make a movie about him and a terrible reason to make a movie about him. I'm not sure that Julian Schnabel got to the bottom of the man any better than anyone else has, though maybe that's an unfair expectation. To his credit, Schnabel yada-yadas the ear business and Van Gogh's death in favor of his more poetic understanding of the artistic life. The movie doesn't coalesce for me, but there's a banger of a scene between Dafoe and Mads Mikkelsen about the responsibility an artist has toward God. That short nested inside makes the whole thing worth seeing. The conversation I had afterwards with one of the two other people in the theater, an art historian, was a solid three stars. 93. Bohemian Rhapsody (Bryan Singer)- Some biographical movies do a good job of compressing time, and their supporting characters don't feel sacrificed or glossed over. For many other mediocre ones though, including this one, I submit the Three Scene Rule. Three scenes is kind of the minimum for a character to register an arc and for an actor to present any kind of dynamic performance, so in a lot of these true story movies, that's all that a supporting character gets. If you're looking for it, it's glaring. (Watch Hidden Figures again with the husband and boyfriend characters in mind. I'll wait.) This movie has a few characters that matter: Freddie Mercury, obvs; the other Queen members; Paul Prenter, the unfairly composited villain; and Mary Austin, the platonic love of Mercury's life. The movie spends way too much time on her, as if to tease the audience with the idea that Freddie might be straight. As for everyone else? Three scenes. Ray Foster, the record executive played by Mike Myers (!): A. "Look, guys, I like formulas. This opera stuff you're talking about? That sounds crazy." B. "The opera stuff is crazy. I ain't making that the single. You can walk out of here for all I care." C. [hangs head in shame after being proven wrong] Jim Hutton, Freddie's partner for the seven years this movie doesn't care about: A. "Look, pal, I may be a waiter, but you can't just grab me like that. On second thought, let's talk. You should learn how to love yourself." B. "Oh, hey. Glad you tracked me down, slugger. You love yourself now? Sure, let's go meet your parents." C. "Guess I'm your boyfriend now. Looking forward to the show." Freddie's Parents: A. "You go out every night! What are you doing out there? Why can't you be a good boy? What's up with your new name?" B. "Why can't you be a good boy? What's up with your new name?" C. "You're a good boy, I guess, even if you're gay. Guess that's your name for real." I like the idea of reproducing the Live Aid performance in full, and the movie comes alive during its musical sequences. But I wish that the same attention given to, like, the number of Pepsi cups on the piano was also given to the nuts and bolts of the storytelling.

92. The Predator (Shane Black)- I get why other people don't like this. The final fourth feels obligatory, and it seems cut to the verge of incoherence. But if you don't get a little tingle out of a game cast saying Shane Black things like, "Predators don't just sit around making hats out of rib cages," then we are very different moviegoers.

91. Sorry to Bother You (Boots Riley)- I admire Boots Riley's ambition, the way he's taking many of the ideas that drove his music and channeling them into film. But there are too many ideas and, strangely, too much plot to cohere. I liked some of the jokes, especially the Robocop-py TV clips laced throughout. I think my main problem, however, is Lakeith Stanfield as Cassius. He's a fascinating actor, but his energy is completely wrong for an everyman lead like this. I don't think he was the right choice to carry it. 90. Thoroughbreds (Cory Finley)- The repartee at the beginning is sharp, and there are some engaging elements of style. God knows I've never complained about rich, sad, nubile brunettes with strange eyes. But there are pieces missing in that forest-for-the-trees way that happens sometimes with debuts. Like, how do these privileged girls not have access to a gun when our national nightmare is based on all young people having access to guns? Or what is the exact motivation behind the crime at the center? Lots of great characters have been spurred by a violent curiosity, but a zinger here and there doesn't make these girls Raskolnikov. 89. White Boy Rick (Yann DeMange)- Even if this isn't it, I think Yann Demange has a great film in him. There's some urgency to White Boy Rick's politics, and it looks interesting. If nothing else, it succeeds in making the surroundings seem as gloomy as the characters all acknowledge them to be. But this isn't a great film in either of its halves. It's motivated by plot until a crucial event that I don't want to reveal, then it veers much more into character. I would normally sign off on that, but this movie grinds to a halt in the change and never recovers. McConaughey pulls his weight, but Richie Merritt is pretty bad in the lead. 88. The Strangers: Prey at Night (Johannes Roberts)- Despite some striking images and a welcome lack of explanation for the menace, Prey at Night doesn't reach the heights of its predecessor, mostly because the characters are too paint-by-numbers. 87. Ant-Man and the Wasp (Peyton Reed)- Probably the first Marvel movie that would benefit from more action. Some of the material is genuinely funny thanks to Michael Pena and Randall Park, but I got a little drowsy during the middle hour of talk about phase-shifting and the quantum realm. Get back to making things big or making things little, Dr. Molecule! 86. Creed II (Steven Caple Jr.)- The pieces are there, but it's a problem when Jim Lampley, who has one hundred times as many lines as the fifth lead, explains to the audience what they literally saw an hour earlier. If nothing else, this movie proves, through his absence, how good of a director Ryan Coogler is. I would be lying if I said I didn't get the chills at some key moments. Stallone’s performance and Jordan's muscles are good. But there was a dark, honest way for this movie to end, and it went directly against that ending into something more Hollywood. 85. Let the Sunshine In (Claire Denis)- Like Taxi Driver if Travis Bickle just wanted the guy to get him a glass of water afterwards. The film does have that kind of myopic focus--the sexy, ever-candid Binoche is in every scene--but it's far more elliptical, progressing only through character, never through plot. Let the Sunshine In is unique in a way that is different from Denis's other unique works: No one talks like an actual person, and she acts as if you should know all of the characters instead of properly introducing them. It's not supposed to be funny ha-ha, so excuse me if that's what I wanted.

84. Revenge (Coralie Fargeat)- like the style of this film, the color palette, the synth score, how far it's willing to go with the gore. But if it's called Revenge, and it's clear who the hero is (hint: not the rapist), then the whole thing feels like a fait accompli. We know exactly who's going to be the last woman standing, and we even know the order of the people she's going to kill.

PRETTY GOOD MOVIES 83. The Rider (Chloe Zhao)- This movie is trying to be a poem, but the parts I like the most are prose. It's a promising piece of filmmaking with heartbreaking moments, but I found it most effective when the storytelling spelled things out. It's an all-hands-on-deck independent film, so the amateurism of the piece shines through in the performances from non-professional actors. The relationship between Brady and his autistic sister is interesting because she speaks with that sarcastic cadence that can be learned from only children's programming. It's unlike what we usually see because, you know, she's a non-professional actor and real autistic person. So what do I know? 82. Unfriended: Dark Web (Stephen Susco)- Pretty tight from a storytelling standpoint and definitely grisly enough to get under the skin. But these laptop flicks move with such alacrity that it's hard to believe them whenever they ask you to buy something like love, since they paint it with the broadest strokes imaginable. Not that I would want a two-hour version of this anyway. 81. Juliet, Naked (Jesse Peretz)- Charming enough, arriving at a more realistic place than I expected, Juliet, Naked does nothing to make me revoke my charter membership in the Rose Byrne fan club. What an odd shape this film has though. The inciting incident happens at the hour mark, and it races obligatorily to an ending at an hour, thirty-seven. 80. Ocean’s Eight (Gary Ross)- It sets its marks and hits them adequately, with most of the charm that made the other Ocean movies fun. But there's something lifeless about Ocean's 8, both in the direction and the score. Take, for example, Richard Armitage's bland, sort of lost performance as an old flame/mark. It's such a nothing part that I began to think that it was a thesis: The men are just chess pieces, and they shouldn't take attention away from the women this time. But then James Corden emerges in the last half-hour and shines. So maybe Armitage was just bad and directed poorly? This movie exists for the Movie Star interplay though, and it delivers on that level. Cate Blanchett was good for so long that she's popular, and Sandra Bullock was popular for so long that she's good. Rihanna has to dress like a janitor at one point as a disguise, and she proves how absurd it would be for her to ever blend in. Anne Hathaway is the funniest of the bunch, balancing on a highwire of how big she's supposed to seem. Helena Bonham Carter gets the "and" hammer for all my credit fetishists. 79. Mary Poppins Returns (Rob Marshall)- I saw this on Christmas night with my family. The original Mary Poppins was the first movie my mom ever saw in theaters, and it's probably my wife's favorite. To the extent that insulting it is kind of insulting an important part of who she is. So I couldn't be the guy coming out of the theater like, "The Bankses definitely deserved to lose their house." Between you and me though, it's just fine. Entire sequences could be cut without damaging anything--do we ever come back to the bowl that Meryl Steep is supposed to be mending?--and most of the conflict feels manufactured. These legasequels always end up feeling like boxes being checked. We all know that the guys with the cannon had to come back, right? But some of the numbers are so joyful or stirring that even this grinch snuck a few smiles at his daughter as she pointed to the screen and said, "That's so silly." It's a good movie to see on Christmas night with your whole family. 78. RBG (Betsy West, Julie Cohen)- This movie is designed to make the viewer who would seek it out go, "What an American hero." It does that, I suppose, and there isn't a whole lot wrong with it. Yes, she is a very impressive person. But the film has too much untapped potential and too few teeth to recommend beyond that rubric of achieving its goals. For example, what about half of the population that would sneer at the notion that Ruth Bader Ginsburg is an American hero? Besides the inclusion of some radio clips over the credits, the filmmakers aren't concerned. "Look, she was friends with a conservative!"

77. Searching (Aneesh Shaganty)- Since I've seen thousands of movies that don't take place inside of a computer, there's still some novelty to the handful that do. On one hand, there are four or five twists too many, and the film isn't consistent with its own rules. On the other hand, it gets intriguingly dark for PG-13, and it never stops moving. 76. Uncle Drew (Charles Stone III)- The attitude toward women is retrograde, and to call the plot cookie-cutter would be an understatement. But this works, mostly because of the sunny, natural performances. Kyrie Irving, whose handles are even more of a marvel on a forty-foot screen, has to act through pounds of makeup, but he pulls it off. With only commercials to his name, he has to carry scenes of, like, standing at someone's grave and apologizing, and he has the presence and confidence to do it. I also should mention that Nick Kroll has a nothing-to-lose, galaxy brain performance for which probably zero of the lines were written ahead of time. "Shout-out to Oberto, shout-out to Aleve, the number one pain reliever in the game right now." I have to extend some of the credit here to Charles Stone III, who has made a calling card out of coaxing performances from newcomers. 75. Christopher Robin (Marc Forster)- Cute. 74. Unsane (Steven Soderbergh)- What seems to be a B-movie hitting its marks gets elevated by one fantastic scene that makes it seem timely and vital. I can't help but think Steven Soderbergh is punching below his weigh class though. I'm glad that an experiment like shooting a movie with an iPhone gets him up in the morning, and I know he doesn't want to make another Traffic or Out of Sight. But maybe, here's an idea, audiences might? 73. 22 July (Paul Greengrass)- The first thirty minutes are harrowing, in part because of their disciplined cross-cutting and Anders Danielsen Lie's chilling stoicism. The mistake that Greengrass makes is thinking that, later on, the three strands of story are equal in importance. He cuts away from the court case at its apex to see a kid trying to walk again or a prime minister demanding that his administration get tougher. Some moments are powerful, and Greengrass's composition and editing have mercifully softened, but this becomes a grind at a certain point. 72. Solo: A Star Wars Story (Ron Howard)- I hate to state the obvious, but this feels like multiple movies stitched together because that's exactly what it is. On one hand, we have the foggy opening, featuring an airtight inciting incident and setting up Emilia Clarke as that rarest of things in a Star Wars movie: a character with unclear motivations. But as the film goes on, it reveals why Han doesn't work as a protagonist. (Ehrenreich is bad, but the storytelling sinks the movie more than his performance does.) Everyone else in the movie drips with charisma and comments on the action while Han is left to connect the dots. In other words, the other characters get to be Han Solo, and Han Solo doesn't. By the time we get to the marauders, past the two hour mark of a movie that shouldn't have been more than two hours, the narrative crumbles under its own weight. These movies are way too competent to fail--I can list five or six moments that transcend the flaws--but each of these origin stories has a way of erasing the myth of Star Wars with a pen. 71. Bird Box (Susanne Bier)- This is a genre film that you've seen before in one way or another, so your expectations (and filmgoing experience even?) will dictate what you think of it. There's a metaphorical reading available, but that doesn't make the picture more artful automatically. Trevante Rhodes is a Movie Star. Here's what I can tell you: We need to appreciate John Gavin Malkovich while we can. Delivering the apotheosis of the selfish dickhead survivor character, he a) asks why the group can't stay in the grocery store forever, b) points shotguns at people when they try to let in strangers, c) drinks as he's telling people matter-of-factly that this is the end of the world, and d) (sort of) explains why he is the way he is. And-he-does-it-all-with-the-deliberate-cadence-that-you-are-doing-in-your-HEAD-right-NOW. I'm not saying the guy should win Best Supporting Actor or anything, but I admire his career more than any that would get a Best Supporting Actor.

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wolfgoddess77 · 8 years ago

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Knight In Shining Leather

FFXV Prompto/Reader Oneshot

Word count: 22,514

Rating: Explicit (NSFW)

Summary: After saving you from a bad fall, Prompto asks for a kiss in return, only to realize that he wants much more.

(Originally posted on Archive of Our Own and AdultFanfiction.)

Disclaimer: I do not own FFXV or any related characters, nor do I own you. No money is made from the writing of this story.

Author’s Notes: I recently bought FFXV, and I was so hooked that I finished it in five days. I love it so much (minus the ending), and I completely fell in love with our four heroes. While Ignis is my favorite, sweet Prompto is a very close second, and I couldn’t wait to write stories for them.

“It had to be bugs.”

You came to a stop, glancing back over your shoulder to look at the blond walking a few feet behind you. “Hey, it could be worse. They could have sent us after a behemoth.”

Prompto made a face. “I would have preferred that! Anything but killer wasps…” He shuddered, and you had to smile. His hatred of bugs was well-known to the group, and the moment Noctis had agreed to the hunt, you had known that Prompto wasn’t going to be happy about this one.

“I wouldn’t have complained about that, either.” The deep voice came from your left, where Gladio pushed past the trees that pressed in on you from all sides. With his massive stature, his presence made the small gaps between the trunks seem even smaller. “We still have some Cup Noodles left over from Lestallum, and behemoth meat makes them taste the best.”

“That particular ingredient is difficult to come by, I’m afraid,” Ignis commented. He walked just ahead of Gladio, and didn’t look back as he spoke. Instead, his green eyes scanned your surroundings, searching for any trace of your current quarry. “We were lucky to happen upon that one when we did.”

“If you can call running into something like that ‘lucky’,” replied Noctis, who led the group. “Personally, I’d rather not do it again any time soon. The noodles were good, but I could do without facing down a one-ton pissed off monster beforehand.”

Gladio chuckled. “Considering how eager you always are to accept these hunts, I figured you’d be up for a little challenge.”

“Not when that challenge has the potential to eat me.”

“Aww, Noct, don’t take it personally. Behemoths will eat anything. Besides, it would probably spit you right back out; I bet you’d taste bad.” Prompto grinned, causing you and Gladio to snort with amusement, and even Ignis cracked a smile at the irate look on the prince’s face.

“Gee, thanks,” he said dryly.

Privately, you had to admit that Noctis had a point. While the five of you were even able to take on some of the daemons that roamed the land at night, there were some beasts that you preferred to avoid; behemoths being one of them. Your style of combat was up close and personal, and you didn’t like getting that close to something that could rend you in half with a single swipe of its claws. In fact, out of all of you, Prompto was the only one who was truly safe in that regard, since his guns allowed him to keep his distance from whatever it was that was trying to kill him.

You weren’t afraid of fighting; in fact, you quite liked it. There was nothing like the adrenaline you felt during and after a difficult battle. But even so, you weren’t eager to leap into a fight with something so much larger than you were. Even Gladio looked small compared to one of those, and that was saying something. It took a long time to bring a behemoth down, and the last time you had tried, all of you had ended up sore and decorated with a multitude of cuts and bruises.

So when Noctis had accepted this particular hunt, you were grateful that you were at least going after something of a more reasonable size, even if that something happened to be a nest of killer wasps. Not to mention the fact that the bounty reward was quite nice.

Unfortunately, Prompto hadn’t agreed. He didn’t go as far as to ask Noctis to reconsider, but the look on his face had made it clear that he was far from pleased. He kept to the back of the group as the five of you moved through the trees, glancing warily around him as if he expected to be ambushed at any moment.

But you all knew that, regardless of his protests, he would enter the fight when the time came. Prompto was reliable, even when it came to things he disliked.

Noctis fished around in his jacket for a moment before pulling out the map, pausing as he studied it. “We should be getting close. They’re supposed to be somewhere in this area…” His voice trailed off and he looked around. “Maybe we should spread out. We’ll waste less time that way.”

“I dunno, Noct… If they find one of us alone, do you think we can take them on by ourselves?” Prompto asked. “Killer wasps are pretty nasty in groups. And they’re always in groups.”

“Prompto is right,” Ignis agreed. “It would be unwise to take such a risk. It may take us more time to find them if we stay together, but the alternative is dangerous for us all.” He turned to look at the black-haired young man, knowing that the prince had the authority to override him, if he wanted to. While Ignis may have been the group’s tactician, Noctis had the final say in everything. Ignis just hoped that he was willing to listen.

Noctis put away the map, then turned to look at you and Gladio, arching one eyebrow questioningly. It looked like he was going to go with the majority vote on this one, rather than making the decision himself.

“I agree,” you said, nodding. “If it was just one or two, we could probably handle them alone, but we don’t know for sure how many there are. We still have a few hours before sunset, so we have time.”

“Speak for yourself. I don’t think a bunch of bugs will be too much of a problem,” Gladio commented, crossing his ink-decorated arms over his broad chest.

“Sorry, Gladio,” Noctis said, shrugging. “Looks like we’ve been overruled. We stick together.”

Prompto gave a sigh of relief, and you saw him visibly relax. If there was one thing he hated more than bugs, it was having to face them alone, so this seemed to be a weight off his mind.

“Let’s get to it, then,” Gladio said, taking the lead this time.

It was surprisingly peaceful in the forest, with no sign of the usual wildlife, but you didn’t let this fool you. You knew that it was probably only like this because the wasps had chased off the other animals. The absence of anything else meant that you were drawing close to your target.

Sure enough, within another two hundred feet, you began to hear a faint, low-pitched hum. Noctis came to a stop, frowning. “You guys hear that?”

“Sure do,” Prompto agreed, making a face.

“The nest is just up ahead,” Ignis said, summoning his twin daggers in a burst of blue crystalline shards. “Everyone stay sharp.”

Slowly, the five of you crept forward, and before long, you could see movement between the branches of the trees. Four gigantic wasps, each one bigger than any one of you, hovered above the ground.

Prompto shuddered upon seeing them. “Let’s get this over with,” he whispered to Noctis, who nodded.

The prince summoned one of his weapons, in this case, an elegant lance, and the moment it materialized, he launched it at the closest wasp. Even before it struck, Noctis had disappeared, following the lance’s trajectory as it – and then he – collided with his target. The force of the blow knocked the insect to the ground, though it didn’t stay there for more than a couple of seconds before it was airborne again, buzzing angrily.

Now that the element of surprise was lost, the fight truly began. The four of you were showered with blue light as weapons materialized out of thin air, and you scattered, each of you making sure to stay out of everyone else’s way.

Like Ignis, you held two weapons, a slender sword in your right hand, and a dagger held backhand in your left. Your eyes scanned your surroundings, and you quickly picked a target. Just ahead of you and slightly to the right, one of the wasps hovered, its antenna twitching as it spotted Gladio, who was coming towards it on the other side.

You locked eyes with the big man, and gave a single nod, which he returned. In one smooth motion, you lunged forward, leaping into the air to swipe at the wasp’s thorax. The upper half of your sword connected, biting into its hard shell and sticking there. You hung in midair, your weight pulling the wasp downward a couple of feet.

This caused it to turn its attention away from Gladio, who was rapidly closing in on it, and it jabbed at you with its stinger. You blocked its strike with your dagger, turning the dangerous appendage aside before it could sink into your flesh.

The king’s shield drew back, swinging his broadsword in a powerful horizontal slice. Just before it connected, you kicked off against the wasp’s body, flipping back out of the way as the massive blade smashed into the insect, damaging one of its wings and shearing off two of its legs. The wasp dropped from the air, fluttering its now-useless wings in an attempt to rise back up. At it fell, it scored a shallow slice across Gladio’s broad chest, but he didn’t even flinch.

Yanking his sword out of the wasp’s body, Gladio breezed past you, clapping you on the shoulder as he went. You grinned back in return. You hadn’t expected a successful combination so early into the fight. Sometimes being the smaller target really paid off. When teamed up with Gladio, your opponents tended to focus on him, viewing him as the bigger threat – which, realistically speaking, he was.

Upending both your sword and dagger, you plunged them into the wasp’s head, ceasing its struggling. As it went still, you straightened, looking around. Prompto and Noctis were confronting a second wasp, the prince warping away every few seconds to allow the gunman to fire off a barrage of bullets, before returning to skewer the insect with his lance. It was slow going; the tough exoskeletons of the wasps didn’t give easily, so the lance would only penetrate a few inches into its body before he would have to withdraw it and retreat to allow Prompto another volley. Still, the streamlined lance was proving to be a better weapon than your own sword; you’d needed Gladio’s help to bring one down quickly.

Ignis was holding his own with a third wasp, keeping it at bay with his own lance, slicing at it when it came too close and scoring the occasional wound across its body.

Behind him, you could see Gladio’s massive form as he confronted the fourth wasp. It swooped in, attempting to impale him on its stinger, and he nimbly dodged out of the way, shearing off one of its antenna as it passed harmlessly by him.

You turned, closing the distance between you and Ignis, and the wasp he was facing lashed out, raking one of its serrated front legs at the green-eyed man, and opening a slice along his cheekbone. He hissed, leaping back out of range for a moment before driving his lance in a downward arc that struck the wasp’s abdomen, piercing into it and driving it to the ground. He used his weight to pin it there, using the shaft of the lance as a vault to get on the other side of the insect, allowing you to move in and slice off the wasp’s wings, preventing it from ripping the weapon out of the ground.

Ignis landed on the wasp’s head, severing it from its body with a slash of his summoned daggers. He straightened, turning just in time to see Prompto and Noctis bring down their own insect.

Movement on your left drew your attention, and you swung around to face the fourth wasp just as a hazy cloud of noxious smoke enveloped you. Unable to hold your breath fast enough, you choked on it, and everything around you shattered. Pieces of the world spun around you, fragmenting into shards that danced around too quickly for you to get a read on anything.

Your hands tightened on your weapons as you looked around, trying to make sense of what you were seeing, but nothing you did helped. Your body swayed on the spot as you fought to keep your balance, and in the distance, seemingly coming from three different directions at once, you heard a distorted voice.

“Something’s wrong with (Name)!”

As you turned towards where you thought the voice had come from, you suddenly felt a sharp pain in your right arm, and an intense pressure in your shoulder. It took you a moment to realize that the remaining wasp had caught you, and was now lifting you into the air. You cried out in a mix of pain, anger, and panic, twisting in the insect’s hold, but this only caused your arm to hurt worse as the spiked mandibles dug deeper into your skin.

You ignored it, swinging your body up in an attempt to kick the wasp and force it to release you. “Let. Me. Go!” Though your foot connected, the wasp’s exoskeleton kept it safe from harm, so your attack did little more than cause it to buzz angrily.

Bringing your body up again, you planted your feet against the wasp’s body, dismissing your dagger and replacing it with your sword. You upended the weapon with your free hand, and drove it into the insect’s thorax. At the same time, you heard the singing of a blade as it flew through the air, and a heavy weight smashed into the wasp, causing it to drop several feet, and making your stomach lurch.

Without warning, you were falling, but you didn’t make it far before you felt a warmth against you, and a strong arm snaked around your waist. Noctis’s voice rang in your ear, “Prompto!” Your downwards plunge was suddenly altered as the prince flung you to the side, towards his blond friend.

“Gotcha!” Prompto all but sang as you dropped safely into his arms, causing him to stumble back a few paces. You heard the sound of glass breaking, and the pieces of the world fell back into place as the effects of the smoke faded away. As it did, you found yourself cradled gently against the gunman, who gave you a bright smile.

“Nice catch,” you told him as he set you back on your feet. You looked up just in time to see the wasp that had seized you plummet from the sky, its legs twitching as it perished.

Noctis landed a short distance away in a burst of blue light, his own sword disappearing as he dismissed it. He looked around, dusting his hands off with a sigh. “That takes care of that.”

Behind him, you saw Gladio straighten, his broadsword, which was as big as you were, slung casually over one shoulder as if it weighed nothing. “Everybody okay?”

“I’m great,” Prompto said with a grin, returning to his usual sunny disposition now that the wasps had all been dealt with.

You looked down at your arm; deep grooves indented the skin where the spikes of the wasp’s mandibles had dug into the flesh, and you were frankly shocked that your shoulder hadn’t been dislocated when you had been yanked upward so suddenly. But other than that… You gave Gladio a smile. “Just fine.”

The brown-haired man turned. “Iggy?”

Ignis had appeared from behind one of the wasp’s bodies, brushing himself off. You could see a thin scratch on the side of his face, and his usually pristine clothes were a bit ruffled, but it seemed that he hadn’t been injured too severely. “No worse for wear. Noct?”

The prince rolled his shoulders. “Tired, but good.”

As they gathered closer, you saw that they all sported minor wounds; Gladio had several shallow cuts crisscrossing his bare chest and arms, and Prompto was similarly pattered. The only one who seemed to have been able to escape mostly unscathed was Noctis, since he had been able to warp away from any potential attacks before they could land.

Ignis circled the corpses of the wasps, bending over a couple of times to pick something up. When he returned, he was holding two large stingers. “These should fetch a nice price,” he commented, tucking them safely under one arm.

Prompto grimaced. “Oh, come on, we’re really going to be taking pieces of those things with us?”

“Yeah; wanna be the one who carries them?” Gladio teased, amusement lacing his deep voice.

“Hell, no!”

Noctis patted his friend on the shoulder reassuringly as you gave a soft laugh at Prompto’s vehement reply. “Don’t worry, we’ll put them in the trunk.”

“Not cool, Gladio…” Prompto grumbled, but you could tell that he wasn’t truly upset at the large man.

“Shall we be off, then?” Ignis asked, shaking his head at the bickering between the two. It was rare for him to join in the teasing, but it was equally rare for him to try and stop it, either. Even though his own personality was rather serious, he didn’t mind the lightheartedness that came with the playful conversations. In fact, he quite liked it. It brightened the days that the five of you spent together, and made things much more pleasant.

He led the way back to the Regalia, stowing away the wasps’ stingers before climbing behind the wheel. You and the other three piled into the black car, situating yourselves comfortably for the long ride back.

~ ~ ~

The sun was beginning to settle onto the horizon by the time Ignis pulled the Regalia over onto the side of the road.

“I fear this is as far as we go tonight,” he said, pulling a spare map out of the dash and looking over it. “We won’t make it back to the rest stop before nightfall, so we must wait until morning to report back.”

“Camping it is, then,” Gladio said.

“Just give me a place to lay down, and I’ll be happy,” Noctis agreed, getting out of the car and stretching his arms over his head.

You followed them out of the car, your arm folded tightly across your stomach. By this point, the abused flesh had become swollen and tender, and a patchwork of dark bruises had bloomed in various places. Your shoulder ached, but you’d been injured worse in the past. It could have been a lot worse, after all, so really, you had been lucky.

As Ignis popped the trunk, you and the others gathered around it, collecting the camping supplies. Gladio took the heaviest of it; the collapsible table and the tent, while Ignis grabbed the cooler and the portable stove, leaving the lamps and chairs for you, Noctis, and Prompto.

It wasn’t a long hike to the haven, and light still lingered in the sky when you arrived, giving everyone plenty of time to set up the camp. While Gladio set up the tent and Ignis set to work on supper, you lit the lamps, hanging them up on either side of the table where the sandy-haired man was preparing what promised to be a very good meal.

Soon, the camp was finished, and you looked around, contemplating your next move. While you wanted nothing more than to stretch out inside the tent and wait for supper to be finished, you knew that wasn’t an option. There was something else you needed to do first.

“I’m heading to the river; I’ll be back soon,” you told them. Though your leather jacket had deflected most of it, the cloud of smoke the wasp had sprayed on you had soaked into the shirt you wore beneath, causing the material to become sticky, and you wanted to be rid of it as soon as you could.

“Stay alert,” Ignis cautioned, pausing for a moment in cutting up a haunch of garuda meat. “We have little to fear from daemons, but other things may be prowling around in the dark.”

“I will,” you promised him before turning around and heading off into the forest. Within five minutes, you could hear the sound of rushing water, and the trees thinned out, opening onto a small clearing with a shallow river threading its way through it. You made you way over to it, pulling off your gloves as you did so. Your sleeveless leather jacket was next, which you folded up and placed on a rock so it wouldn’t get wet. Finally, you unbuttoned the short-sleeved shirt beneath it, shrugging out of it and leaving you bare from the waist up, save for a black lace bra.

Before doing anything else, you knelt down, bracing yourself on one hand, and dipped your other arm into the cold current. You gave a soft sigh as the temperature of the water seeped into your skin, cooling it down and numbing the worst of the sting.

That felt so nice…

Holding yourself there for a couple of minutes, you finally straightened, putting your shirt aside for a moment. Cupping your hands beneath the water, you splashed it on yourself, shivering faintly. While you could have simply waited until you were back at camp and asked Ignis to let you borrow some heated water, you wanted the foul residue of the wasps off your body immediately, even if it meant that you had to deal with goosebumps and chattering teeth.

When you were clean, you shook out your shirt and plunged it into the water. You rubbed the fabric against itself, washing away the stickiness that had been bothering you since the battle.

While you worked, darkness settled over the land, and the moon rose, illuminating the clearing enough for you to see what you were doing. There was nothing quite like sleeping out beneath the stars; you understood why Gladio liked it so much. As nice as a soft bed was – and you had to admit, it sounded very nice right now – you also enjoyed the nights the five of you spent camping. It made you feel a sense of camaraderie that a hotel could never manage to replicate.

Just as you were wringing the excess water from your shirt, you heard a twig snap behind you. You froze, your breath catching in your throat as you strained to listen. The normal sounds of the night surrounded you…for the most part. But directly behind you, they had ceased. Something was there. Something big enough to disturb the nocturnal animals into an uneasy silence. Quiet footsteps were coming closer – whatever it was didn’t seem to be overly large, thankfully, but you didn’t lower your guard. In all likelihood, it was an innocent creature coming to drink from the river before settling down for bed.

Still, in a glimmering burst of light blue, you summoned one of your daggers, the blade materializing out of the crystalline shards. In a single, fluid motion, you stood up, turned around, and flung it into the darkness.

“Yaah!”

There was a shriek and the sound of a body hitting the ground as the dagger buried itself in the trunk of a tree, four inches to the right and just above a very startled Prompto. He had fallen backwards, you saw, thinking that the blade was going to find its mark in him, and was now sprawled out on his rear in a position very unbefitting for one of the Crownsguard.

“H-hey, it’s just me!” He held up one hand in an attempt to ward off any further attacks; he knew you still had two other weapons at your disposal, just waiting to be called forth.

“Prompto? What are you doing out here?” you asked, coming out of your battle stance and turning to fully face him.

“It’s not safe to wander around alone at night,” he explained. “The guys sent me…to…” His voice trailed off as you moved, and you saw his dark blue eyes trail down over your body, taking in what you were wearing. Or, more accurately, what you weren’t wearing. Quickly, he looked away, and even in the darkness, you saw a faint hint of pink bloom on his cheeks, beneath his freckles. “The guys sent me to keep you company,” he continued, though you swore that his voice was a bit more flustered than it had been a moment ago.

Your head tilted slightly to the side as you watched him. Prompto Argentum, shy? This was new. He had never really shown much embarrassment about anything before; you had been half-convinced he couldn’t even feel something like that. But his sudden show of modesty made you smile.

“You know, you don’t have to look away. It doesn’t bother me if you see me like this.” You had officially become one of the Crownsguard a couple of years ago; at this point, you had long since passed the point of being comfortable enough around them all to not be embarrassed if one of them saw you partially undressed, or you saw them in a similar state – which had actually happened a few times…just never with Prompto. Really, it was a near-miracle that it hadn’t happened sooner, with the amount of time the five of you spent together.

Those cobalt-blue eyes – which seemed almost indigo in some lights – flickered back to you uncertainly. “Are…you sure?” he asked.

“I’m sure,” you confirmed, moving closer to him and extending one hand in an offer to help him up. “Sorry about the, uh…” You nodded to the dagger still lodged in the tree. “I wasn’t expecting anyone to follow me; we’re close enough to the haven that we should be protected from any daemons.”

“Yeah, you say that, and then I almost get turned into a Prompto-pincushion.” Regardless of his words, he took your hand, standing up and dusting himself off with a sigh. “If you don’t want me here, I can go.”

“I didn’t mean it that way; I don’t mind the company.” You reached out to touch the dagger, and it vanished in another shower of blue light. “And I didn’t intend to attack you; it was a reflex. If I’d actually meant to hit you with it, you wouldn’t be standing here right now. I missed on purpose.”

“That’s true,” he agreed, leaning back against the tree trunk and hooking his thumbs through his belt loops. “You can give Iggy a run for his money with those things.” As he spoke, you saw that he still kept his eyes averted for the most part, though every now and then, his gaze would flick back to you, trying to drift downward.

You turned, heading back to the edge of the water and picking up your shirt. Thankfully, the stickiness had washed out, so all that was left was for the material to dry. Once you got back to camp, you could change into your casual clothes, which you had intended to do anyway; you loved your Crownsguard attire, but it wasn’t the best for sleeping in. Until then, though, you could just wear your jacket. But as you reached for it, you paused, straightening as a thought flashed across your mind.

“Hey, Prompto?” you murmured.

“Uh-huh?”

“I didn’t get the chance to say it earlier, but… Thank you. For catching me like that. You saved me from a nasty fall, and probably a few broken bones.” You looked back at him, giving him a warm smile.

He waved one hand dismissively. “It was nothing. Just happened to be in the right place at the right time, is all. You and Noct did most of the work with that thing.”

“Still, I really owe you one.”

Prompto’s eyes narrowed, then, and he stood up straight, turning to face you. “Yeah? Then there might be something…” His fingers traced over his camera, which he had strapped to his hip, as usual, and for a moment, you thought he was going to ask for a picture. It wouldn’t be the first time, after all, though he usually only asked for permission when it had to do with landmarks.

“All right,” you agreed warily. “What do you want?”

“You said I saved you, right? Well, Noct already has the Prince Charming thing, so I can’t claim that for myself, but in the stories, when a heroic knight rescues a lady, she always gives him a reward, in appreciation.”

You blinked, then laughed, though it wasn’t mocking, but gentle. “I’m hardly a lady. And I think you and Noctis have been playing that game of yours too much,” you teased, giving him a smile to let him know that you didn’t really mean it.

“I am a knight!” he insisted. “A knight in shining…” he stopped suddenly, looking down at himself, then back up at you, returning your smile with a bright one of his own. “…leather.” Another pause as he thought this self-bestowed title over. “Yeah, I like it. It’s got a nice ring to it.”

“Knight or not, don’t sell yourself short. You have plenty of charm of your own, even without the benefit of being a prince.” That was the thing about Prompto. His charismatic disposition was like a magnet, drawing in anyone who happened to be nearby. When you first met him and the others five years ago, it had only taken a few hours of being in his presence before you had been ensnared as well, and had been ever since. Over time, it had turned into an attraction to him.

His grin grew wider. “Think so? Well, then, as your charming knight, I’m going to ask for just one thing. How about…a kiss?”

This made you pause. “That’s it? That’s really all you want?” You had expected something…well, more. But this was easy enough, and something you were happy to do.

He held up one finger as you took a step towards him, halting you. “But! It can’t be a kiss on the cheek or forehead.” As he tapped his lips, you saw his smile turn almost devilish. “Right here. Okay?”

Very interesting… Of all the favors he could have asked for, this one hadn’t even made it onto the list of potential guesses. But it shouldn’t have been any real surprise; he had always been very straightforward when he wanted something, and it seemed that this was no exception. His earlier hesitance in looking at you was completely gone, and his cheerful demeanor was back, just the way you liked it.

For several moments, you simply watched him, your expression unreadable. Just when you saw his smile beginning to falter, you moved over to him, tossing your shirt aside. Curling your fingers into the front of his jacket, you stood on tiptoe so you could reach him easier – despite being the shortest of the four, he was still several inches taller than you.

If he wanted a kiss, that was what he would get. Closing your eyes, you placed your lips gently over his. They were slightly rough, you noticed, probably from the hot weather. You felt him bend down slightly, to make things a bit easier for you, which you appreciated.

Just when you were preparing to break the kiss, there was a sudden warmth on either side of your waist as he rested his hands there. They slid around to your lower back; the soft material of his well-worn gloves was a stark contrast to his calloused fingers, and you jumped as you felt his touch on your bare skin, but you didn’t even consider moving away.

Prompto pulled away for only a moment, just long enough for you to catch a glimpse of his blue eyes, darkened now almost to black, and hear a sudden sharp intake of breath before his mouth was on yours again, and he deepened the kiss. He pulled you completely against him, one hand rising slowly up your back, tracing along your spine, then back down.

At first, you had expected it to be awkward, not knowing how much experience he might have had, since he always seemed to strike out with whatever woman caught his eye – then again, it didn’t seem like he had ever really tried all that hard, either, now that you thought about it – but nothing prepared you for the heat you felt. It was borderline passionate, the way he was kissing you, the way he was holding your body against his. Through the material of his clothes, you could feel the solidness of his form. As slender as he was, there was strength there.

Fire seared through you, leaving your body tingling, and you felt it settle somewhere in your lower stomach. It took root there, slowly spreading tendrils through your blood, and causing you to warm up in the most delightful way. The feeling took you by surprise, but you didn’t try to push it away. Instead, you embraced it, letting it fill you.

He tasted good, you couldn’t help but think; there was a faint hint of something familiar…was that cinnamon? It was difficult to tell. The scent of the leather he wore wove around you, along with his own natural smell – a mix of sunlight and the brand of soap he used (unlike Ignis and Gladio, he had never been one for cologne) – until you could no longer tell what was scent and what was taste, combining into a flavor that was uniquely him.

But you didn’t have much longer to ponder these things, as he finally broke away, his chest rising and falling more rapidly than it had been before. It might have been your imagination, but you thought you could feel his heart racing beneath your hand where you were still clinging to the front of his jacket. Idly, you had to wonder whether he could feel yours, as well; it was certainly beating hard enough.

“Prompto, that was…” you trailed off, unable to come up with the right words. A hell of a kiss, your mind supplied, and you fervently agreed. You hadn’t thought he had it in him to do something like that, and he had proven you wrong on every level.

Reluctantly, his hands slipped from around you, and he stepped back, giving you a sheepish grin. “Sorry, I got a little carried away.” There was something in his eyes that you couldn’t identify, veiled thoughts that were only hinted at, so you had no idea what they were about. But you thought you detected…

No, you couldn’t jump to conclusions like that. Instead, you focused on his words, rather than things you were unsure about. “I take that to mean you’re satisfied with your reward?”

He gave you a sweeping bow. “Yes, milady, thank you.”

Reaching out, you lightly swatted his arm, but you were laughing. “Knock it off, will you?” Prompto had always had a flair for the dramatic, and more often than not, it always ended up having this effect on you.

What you had never told him was that you were grateful to him. Ever since the fall of the Crown City, the world had seemed like a darker place, and without the blond to lighten the mood, you were sure that everyone would have succumbed to that darkness, try as you might to push it back. You adored the other three, but even you had to admit that they could be a bit too serious at times. Ignis in particular was very rarely given to levity, though you had seen it happen on occasion. Gladio was more laid-back, allowing himself to crack a few jokes, especially when it meant teasing someone, and even Noctis had gotten to the point where he could almost be called playful.

But Prompto was the light that illuminated the shadows that had fallen over the five of you after the invasion, and with his help, you and the others had slowly been able to lift Noctis out of the despair that he had almost sank into.

As you drew back, his gaze went to your arm, and he frowned. Slowly, he reached out, as if he expected you to smack his hand away, and when you didn’t, he gently took hold of your wrist, examining the marks that twisted their way up your arm. “Does it hurt?” he asked.

You shook your head. “Not so much anymore.”

His fingers skimmed lightly over the nearest bruise, never once using enough pressure to make it uncomfortable, and you felt a wave of goosebumps erupt over your skin at his touch.

“Let’s get back to camp before the others come looking for us,” you suggested suddenly. “Ignis probably has supper ready by now, and he’ll be upset if we’re not there to eat it before it gets cold.”

For a moment, Prompto looked like he wanted to protest, but at last, he nodded, his hand slipping from around your wrist. “Yeah, you’re right. He won’t let Noct and Gladio start eating until we’re all there.”

Turning around, you retrieved your discarded shirt, shaking it out and folding it up before grabbing your jacket and sliding it on. You buttoned it closed, shivering a little at the feeling of the cool leather against your bare skin. Stuffing your gloves into a pocket, you returned to your companion.

You let him take the lead back to the outcropping of rock that served as a haven for your group, and before long, you could make out the flickering of the campfire, and the forms of your other three friends situated around it. Gladio’s impossibly massive form was stretched out in a chair, a book in his hand. Ignis was bent over a small table, precisely arranging food on five plates until it met his exact specifications. Noctis was sitting on the ground in front of the tent, head propped up in one hand, eyes closed. At first, you thought he might be asleep, until Ignis said something to him, and he replied without even looking up.

As you entered the circle of firelight, you made your way over to the tent that had been set up behind Gladio, ducking into it and finding your belongings, which, along with everyone else’s, had been tucked into a corner on top of a pile of blankets. You found your casual clothes, shrugging out of your Crownsguard gear and replacing it with a button-up sleeveless shirt and a pair of jean shorts. As you changed, you could hear Prompto’s voice from outside the tent.

“For the record, guys, don’t ever come up behind (Name) when she has her back to you. You might get skewered.” There was the sound of shuffling, and the creak of leather as he plopped himself down in one of the empty chairs.

“It might help if you didn’t stomp around so much,” Noctis quipped. “She probably thought you were a daemon coming to eat her.”

“Hey! I do not stomp around!” A pause. “That’s Gladio’s department.” Prompto’s voice was smug, and you heard the sharp sound of Gladio snapping his book closed, and then a thump as he smacked the blond with it. “Ow! I was just kidding…”

“Say that again and I’ll be the one to skewer you,” the big man rumbled.

“Settle down,” Ignis’s smooth, accented voice cut in. “Supper is ready, and I would rather my hard work not be spoiled by threats of violence.” You exited the tent to see him holding a plate of food in each hand, the first of which he handed off to Noctis, who eyed it warily.

“Did you put extra vegetables in mine?”

The green-eyed man ignored this, moving around the fire and passing out the other three plates as you sat down in one of the empty chairs.

“I just want to say that if Prompto had identified himself before sneaking up on me, the attempted skewering wouldn’t have happened,” you chimed in, unable to stop yourself from joining the playful banter. These were the moments you loved best; the five of you gathered around the campfire after a long day, sharing conversation and teasing each other.

Prompto brandished his fork at you. “You didn’t even give me a chance to say anything!”

Ignis heaved a long-suffering sigh as he took his own seat, crossing one leg elegantly over the other. The firelight glinted off his glasses as he turned his head to look at you, his eyes following the movement of your arm as you speared a piece of carrot with your fork and brought it up to your mouth.

“(Name), how are your wounds? We have a surplus of potions, if you wish to heal yourself.”

You paused, looking down at the pattern of dark bruises that mottled your skin, which you could still feel throbbing on occasion. On your right, Prompto went still, eyeing you in what would have been a surreptitious manner, had your chair not been angled in such a way that you were able to see him in your peripheral vision.

“I’m fine,” you assured the prince’s advisor after a moment. “It’s nothing that won’t go away on its own in a day or two; we should save the potions in case one of us needs them next time.”

“Hm. Very well, but I would at least suggest a cold compress, to bring down the swelling.”

You couldn’t help but smile at this. Trust Ignis to insist upon proper medical treatment, even out here in the wilderness. Whenever one of you was wounded, he was always the first to notice, and the first to act. Thanks to this, you and the others had been able to avoid some very serious injuries in the past.

“If I have to,” you replied, knowing that you would. He’d always been very firm about making sure that everyone took very good care of themselves, and you all knew better than to argue with him when he was like this. Even Gladio was no match for him when he used his advisor voice.

“I’ll get it,” Prompto said suddenly, putting his plate down and bounding to his feet. He disappeared into the tent, returning a moment later with an ice pack in his hand, which he then wrapped carefully around your arm.

You hissed at the sting of the cold against your skin, and had to resist the instinct to jerk away from it. “Thanks, Prompto.” You gave him a small smile, though you couldn’t help but wonder why he was being so attentive.

“Welcome,” he chirped, taking his seat again.

As you returned to your meal, you didn’t notice Prompto fall into a pensive silence, his eyes growing distant as he became lost in thought.

You didn’t notice, but someone else did.

“Hey, Prompto, you’re going to fry your brain if you keep thinking so hard. What’s up?” Noctis put his plate aside, the dish still littered with uneaten vegetables. As he had suspected, Ignis had indeed added extras to his plate, much to his dismay.

Prompto started, looking up. “Huh? Oh, nothing. I was just coming up with a new strategy for King’s Knight, so I can whip your butt again next time we play.”

“Again? You make it sound like it’s a regular thing,” Noctis shot back, a smirk on his face.

“It is unlike you to be so quiet,” Ignis observed, stopping whatever retort Prompto was about to fire back at his friend. The two of them had a fierce rivalry when it came to that game, and they were always trying to outdo each other. Noctis won more often than not, but Prompto could hold his own well enough to provide a challenge for both Noctis and Gladio. Through you weren’t a player yourself, you often enjoyed watching the three of them play, and making casual bets with Ignis about who would win each round when they competed.

“It’s nothing, really,” Prompto insisted, shifting uncomfortably now that four sets of eyes were fixed on him curiously. He stood up, carrying his plate of half-eaten food over to the table and putting it down, which made Ignis arch one eyebrow, and surprised you. Prompto never left food on his plate; now you were starting to believe that Noctis and Ignis were on to something.

Abruptly, he changed the subject. “You up for a round before bed?” he asked Noctis, pulling out his phone and flashing the prince a grin, which Noctis returned.

“You know it. Let’s see if this new ‘strategy’ of yours is any good.”

“I’m in; better get ready for an ass-kicking,” Gladio told them, getting up long enough to add his empty plate to the table.

You added yours soon after, returning to stretch out in your chair and soak in the warmth of the fire. Propping your head up in one hand, you closed your eyes with a yawn. That hunt had tired you out, and now that you were full of Ignis’s delicious cooking, you were on the verge of falling asleep.

Only half-awake, you listened to the chatter of the three beside you as they played their game (Gladio was making good on his threat; he had already knocked Prompto out of the running, and was well on his way to claiming victory over Noctis), and the sound of Ignis putting away his cooking utensils.

Just when you were about to slip into true slumber, you felt someone gently shake your shoulder, and you looked up to see Noctis. “You’re as bad as me tonight; come on, you can’t fall asleep out here.”

“Bet you I could…” you murmured, but you stood up nonetheless, stretching. As you entered the tent, you noticed that everyone had changed out of their Crownsguard attire in preparation for bed, and were settling down into their customary places.

Your own position was nestled snugly between Ignis and Prompto, with Noctis on the blond’s other side, and Gladio taking up the far edge. Cautiously, you rested your arm across your stomach, not wanting to let the ice pack touch the men on either side of you. While the cold was soothing to your inflamed flesh, you didn’t think they would agree, should they have to try and sleep with it against them.

The last thing you heard before drifting off was Gladio zipping the tent closed, and laying down with a deep sigh.

~ ~ ~

One arm folded behind his head, Prompto lay on his back, listening as four breathing rhythms began to slow as his companions dropped off to sleep one by one. Unsurprisingly, you were the first, and he glanced over at you. It wasn’t completely dark in the tent thanks to the low flames of the fire seeping through the walls, and he could barely make out your features beside him.

He hadn’t wanted to tell the others, but he’d clearly not been thinking about King’s Knight earlier; his swift fall to Gladio had been proof of that, but thankfully, Noctis had seemed satisfied by his explanation, and hadn’t pressed him further.

In truth, he had been thinking about that kiss. He’d known what he was asking from the beginning, and was under no illusions about what it meant. But as soon as your lips had touched his, a fierce hunger had overcome him, and he hadn’t been able to stop himself from embracing you, and taking control of the kiss.

You had been on his mind more and more as the weeks passed, but he’d never thought that he would actually get the opportunity to do something like that. So when you had offered him a favor in return for keeping you from harm, he had seized it eagerly, even though Noctis was probably more responsible than he had been, since it had been the prince who had grabbed you out of the air and changed the trajectory of your fall.

Unconsciously, he licked his lips, remembering your taste; sweet as any dessert, he hadn’t been able to get enough. He wanted to do it again, as many times as you would let him get away with, even though he had no good reason for why you should allow this. But the soft feeling of your body pressed against his…

He shifted uncomfortably beneath his blanket; his pants were feeling a bit tighter than they had a moment ago, and he knew that his thoughts were leading him down a path that there would soon be no turning back from. Really, he should try to occupy himself with something else…but he also realized that he wasn’t sleepy, and the image of you standing there in the moonlight, with almost your entire upper half bared to him refused to leave his mind, no matter what else he tried to think about.

Suddenly, he froze as you turned over onto your side, giving a soft sigh in your sleep. Judging by your peaceful expression, it looked like your arm was no longer bothering you. A lock of hair came untucked from behind your ear, falling across your cheek, and without even thinking about it, Prompto reached out and brushed it back. You didn’t so much as twitch as he did this, making him smile. Noctis was usually the heavy sleeper, and after your accidental attack on him when he’d found you in the forest, he’d half expected your eyes to open even before he’d touched you. But still you slept on, oblivious to him.

Maybe that was a good thing, though. If you had woken up, he had no idea how he would explain the growing bulge in the front of his pants that was becoming harder to ignore by the second. It looked like he wasn’t going to be able to make it go away through sheer force of will; his mind automatically drifted back to you within a few moments. There were other methods, though…

Carefully, silently, he slipped out from beneath his blanket, kneeling in front of the opening to the tent and starting to unzip it, moving slowly so the sound wouldn’t wake anyone. A sudden movement caught his attention, and he froze, turning his head just enough to be able to see what had caused it.

With the absence of his warmth beside you, you had brought your legs up, curling up into a tight ball. The motion caused the blanket to slip from your bare legs, and Prompto’s mouth went dry as his gaze swept upward, taking in the sight of you. If you hadn’t so clearly still been sleeping, he might have thought you were doing this on purpose, just to tease him. But this settled it; he needed some kind of relief, immediately.

He finished unzipping the tent, pausing just long enough to cover you back up, then slipped outside. As he straightened, he looked down at himself in some annoyance. Now almost fully hard, he could feel his pulse shooting through his entire body with every beat of his heart, and heat was starting to collect in his lower abdomen.

“Always gotta pick the worst times, don’t you?” he muttered to his traitorous body as he moved past the fire, disappearing into the shadows that led away into the forest. He didn’t like the idea of leaving camp in the middle of the night, but you had been right; the river was close enough to the haven to be protected by its wards, so he had nothing to worry about.

By the time he reached the waterside, his breath was coming quicker, and the heat within him had turned into an ache. Dropping down onto his knees, he unbuckled his belt and pushed his pants down a few inches, not even bothering to fully discard them. His black boxers were next to follow, and he gave a soft sigh of relief as his length was finally freed from the tight confines of his clothing.

Bringing one hand up to his mouth, he used his teeth to yank off the glove before reaching down to take hold of himself, hissing as he touched the heated flesh. Gently, he stroked the skin, and before long, he was completely hard, and almost panting. His eyes closed as he ran his fingers over the tip, collecting the liquid that had appeared there, and smearing it down his shaft. Taking a firmer hold of himself, he set to work.

It wasn’t difficult for his mind to return to the events that had transpired just a couple of hours ago. He could still taste your kiss, still feel your warmth as he pulled you tightly against him. Your skin had been so soft and smooth, and as he’d slid his hand up your back, he had gone to mental war with himself; a part of him wanted to unhook your bra and take your full breasts into his mouth. It had been torture, knowing that you were right there, but that he couldn’t do more than hold you. That would have been crossing a line, and that was something he wasn’t willing to do, regardless of the circumstances. No matter what his feelings for you might have been, he would never do that to you.

But in his mind, the scene played out differently, taking on a life of its own. Never one for silence, Prompto let out a soft moan as he envisioned you pressing yourself against him. His hands would trace over your curves, moving down over your hips to cup your rear, and pull you more firmly against him, so you would be able to feel the full extent of his arousal. You would reach down between the two of you, caressing him, and he would kiss you again, coaxing you into opening your mouth so that he could fully taste you.

At long last, he would reach up to free your breasts, sliding the annoying piece of lace down your arms and tossing it aside. Now fully bared to his gaze, he would sit down and pull you into his lap so the two of you would be closer to the same height. With the soft swells easily within his reach, he would help himself to them, his mouth closing on one sensitive peak.

Prompto could only imagine the soft moan you would make in response to this, but it was enough to leave him gasping as he felt a faint tension beginning to grow within him. His hand worked furiously over his length, though he was barely aware of what he was even doing anymore. All he could think about was the way your small hand would curl around him, your delicate fingers tracing over his skin and making him shudder.

Another moan, a little louder this time, tore from his throat. His hips were moving in time with his hand now, bucking forward instinctively as he lost himself in the pleasure. In his thoughts, he would lay you back, his fingers unfastening your belt and unsnapping the button on your pants. Slowly, he would draw the garment down over your legs, leaving you clad in nothing but your panties. He could hear your voice whispering his name, begging him not to keep you waiting.

He licked his lips as he thought about what awaited him beneath that cloth barrier; he couldn’t wait to taste your most intimate flavor…

A soft cry escaped his lips as his release suddenly overwhelmed him, and he spilled himself onto the ground. Slumping forward, he caught himself on his hands, breathing hard. He hadn’t even realized that he was that close…

“Damn it!” he growled. Of all the annoying… First his body wouldn’t let him get any sleep, forcing him to come out here and take care of himself, and then he finished before he could even get to the best part of the fantasy he had begun to weave for himself!

Trembling slightly with the aftershocks of what had proven to be a powerful climax, he stood up, moving closer to the water’s edge to clean himself off. When that was done, he fixed his clothes, replaced his discarded glove, and made his way back to the campsite. Finally, his heated body was beginning to cool off, and he could feel drowsiness setting in.

But even still, he was cautious as he knelt down in front of the tent, listening. Four sets of even breathing; everyone was still asleep. No one had noticed his absence. Slowly, he climbed back inside, zipping the flap closed. Laying down in the open space that he had left behind, he pulled his blanket back over himself and closed his eyes.

In the darkness, he was extremely aware of your proximity; your arm was just barely brushing against his, and he could feel your warmth next to him. But his fierce desire had been satiated for now, so he was no longer flustered by you being so close.

As he began to finally drift off, however, a realization entered his mind. The fantasy had been good, even though he hadn’t been able to finish it. It had been good, but…

But it wasn’t enough.

He wanted more. More than an image in his mind, more than imaginary touches and pretend words. He wanted the real thing. The problem was, he didn’t know if you were interested in anything like that. You had seemed responsive enough when he had turned the tide of the kiss, but there was a big leap between that and everything else he wanted to do with you.

Well, there was only one way to find out whether you would agree. He just had to figure out the best way to go about doing it.

But he thought he had an idea.

~ ~ ~

Midday found you back at the rest stop, where Noctis collected the reward for disposing of the killer wasps. While you were taking inventory of the remaining supplies, Ignis and Gladio were inside the mart, restocking what you were running low on, but Prompto had decided not to join them. Instead, he was attempting to convince the prince into taking a couple of days off.

“C’mon, Noct, what do you say to a little break?” Prompto said, his voice taking on its most persuasive tone. “We’ve been going nonstop for a while now. Don’t you want to sleep in a hotel bed for once?”

Noctis sighed. “Galdin Quay is so far away, though. It’ll take us the rest of the day to get there. If you want a bed, there’s a caravan right here.”

“I know, but I’ve been really wanting some seafood lately, and we don’t have any left. Plus, I hear the fishing is supposed to be really good there right now.” He nudged his best friend. “You know you don’t want to pass up an opportunity like that!”

This made the prince hesitate. It had been a long time since he’d had the chance to do any fishing, and Prompto was right; there had been a sign stapled to the notice board outside the shopping mart that advertised a rare fish that had been sighted along the coast. Not to mention the fact that it would give everyone a chance to recharge from the battle with the killer wasps.

Prompto saw the opening, and seized it before it could slip away. “Fresh seafood, soft beds, hot baths, and all the fishing you can handle,” he listed. “Sounds like a dream come true, doesn’t it?”

“All right,” Noctis relented at last, making Prompto grin happily. “I guess a couple of days of rest couldn’t hurt, and we have some extra money after that hunt.”

“Yes! Galdin Quay, here we come!”

The blond didn’t have a chance to celebrate any further before a massive hand closed on his shoulder, and he was hauled away none too gently by Gladio. “Okay, enough cheering; come help Ignis and me carry this stuff.” A row of bags had been lined up in front of the mart, where the man in question stood, his arms full.

But instead of pulling Prompto over to where Ignis was carrying the first of the bags to the Regalia, Gladio steered the gunman out of earshot of anyone else. “All right, spill it,” he demanded, releasing his grip on Prompto and crossing his arms over his chest.

“Spill…what?” the blond asked in some confusion.

“There are a dozen places that we could be staying, most of them cheaper than Galdin’s hotel. Why there specifically? And don’t give me that line about the seafood; if you wanted fish, you would have gotten some from the river last night.”

Those dark blue eyes blinked. He had forgotten how perceptive Gladio could be; usually Ignis was the one who noticed the little details. Most of the time, the king’s shield simply didn’t care enough to want to pry deeper when something seemed a bit off. But this had gotten his attention.

Prompto sighed, looking away. “Okay, okay… I can explain.”

Gladio waited silently, arching one eyebrow in a universal I’m waiting gesture.

“I want to go to Galdin Quay because…well, it’s the most romantic place I can think of here in Lucis.” There was a tinge of redness staining his cheeks as he said this.

“And…you want a romantic place because…?” Gladio asked, his voice a slow rumble as he waited for the missing puzzle pieces to fall into place, though he had a suspicion that he knew where this was going.

“Because…” Prompto hesitated, then turned away, running his fingers through his fair hair in a mix of frustration and embarrassment. Spinning around, he began pacing back and forth restlessly. He hadn’t expected to be called out like this, and he didn’t want to tell Gladio exactly why he wanted to make this little detour. It wasn’t something he was ready to share with anyone else.

But he knew that he had no choice. The big man wasn’t going to let this go without an explanation. “Okay, look. Last night, when you and Ignis sent me to find (Name), she said that she owed me a favor for saving her. I couldn’t let an opportunity like that pass me up, so I took it.” A long, uncomfortable pause. “I asked her to kiss me.”

There was a moment of silence, in which Prompto thought that Gladio might burst out laughing. But he was only met with a surprised raising of eyebrows, and a single question.

“Did she?”

“…yeah, she did. At first. But then, I… I couldn’t help myself! I kissed her back. And then I realized, I didn’t want to stop. I like her, Gladio. A lot. And I want to do something nice for her, so I thought I would take her on a date or something, and Galdin was the nicest place I could think of.”

Gladio remained silent as the entire story came pouring out. The truth was, he already knew a little of it; for a while now, he had been watching Prompto’s behavior around you, and noticed him sneaking furtive glances your way whenever you weren’t looking. At every opportunity, he would snap a picture of you, though he was careful not to take more of you than he did anyone else, lest he draw suspicion to himself. But there were other signs that Gladio had picked up on, whether Prompto realized it or not – and it seemed like he hadn’t.

But it came as no real surprise that Prompto would want to go about things this way. Gladio was exceedingly familiar with his personality, and knew that a casual lay wasn’t his style at all. He was the type to go all out, wining and dining a woman before even thinking about making a move. That he had been aggressive enough to ask for a kiss in the first place was almost astounding, but it seemed it had been what he had needed to get the ball rolling.

His amber eyes narrowed slightly in thought. There might be a way to help this along, just a little… Not much; he would stay out of it for the most part, but he could make things a little easier for both you and Prompto. The blond had courage to spare, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t get nervous as the time drew closer to put his plan into action.

“All right,” Gladio said after a few seconds. “A few days in Galdin won’t hurt anything. If it gets to be too expensive, we can always camp instead.”

Prompto let out a sigh of relief and stopped pacing, the tension leaving his body. “Thanks, man.”

Gladio clapped him on the shoulder, almost causing him to lose his balance. “Now, go get the rest of those bags.”

The blond saluted. “Aye-aye, sir!" He bounced off to do as he was asked, leaving Gladio alone to make his way over to Ignis, and whisper something in the elegant man’s ear. Ignis blinked, his emerald eyes widening slightly behind his glasses, but he nodded, murmuring a reply back, which made Gladio grin and glance over at you.

Back at the Regalia, you were carefully packing everything away into the trunk when a shiver skittered its way up your spine. You straightened, looking around. What was that feeling…? It took you only a moment to find the source. Gladio was watching you, though he quickly looked away as your eyes met his.

You frowned. What had that been about? There was something almost devious about the way he had been looking at you, and you couldn’t help but wonder if he knew something about what had happened the night before. You didn’t think Prompto would have told him, but…could he have found out about it on his own, somehow?

Your attention was drawn away from this mystery by Prompto bringing you the rest of the bags, which you tucked into place. “Is that everything?” you asked.

Prompto nodded, leaning back against the Regalia and crossing his arms. “Yep. And it looks like we’re going to have a little vacation, too. I convinced Noct to let us spend some time at Galdin Quay.”

“Ah, a vacation at the beach. I’ll take it!” you commented. You’d always had a fondness for the ocean, and nowhere was it more beautiful than at Galdin. Or at least, nowhere that you had found. It had been quite a while since the five of you had been there, and you were looking forward to returning for a few days.

Noctis was already in the backseat, his arms tucked behind his head and his eyes closed, so you had to get in on Gladio’s side, sliding to the middle. Because you were the smallest, it was easier for you to sit there, though Prompto had offered on several occasions to switch places with him. You had accepted only once, and immediately regretted it when you saw how stiff he had ended up, climbing out of the backseat. He’d had to fold himself up like a piece of origami, and you knew there had been little room for his long legs, sandwiched between Gladio and Noctis. From then on, you had turned him down whenever he tried to convince you to sit up front.

Gladio’s weight settled in beside you, and Ignis and Prompto took their places in the front seats. After glancing back to make sure that everyone was situated, Ignis started the car, pulling out onto the highway that would lead you to your destination.

~ ~ ~

Nightfall at Galdin Quay was almost enough to take a person’s breath away the first time they saw it. The white sand beaches were illuminated by the lights that lined the bridge leading to the hotel and restaurant, and the trees rooted deeply in the water waved softly in the warm breeze. The restaurant itself was lively, filled with patrons enjoying their meals. Even now, though you had seen it many times, you couldn’t deny how beautiful the place was.

Ignis backed carefully into a parking place before getting out. “I’ll book our accommodations for the night,” he offered before striding away towards the combination restaurant and hotel.

Noctis all but slithered out of the backseat, rubbing his hands over his thighs in an attempt to get the blood flowing through his legs again. “Man, those long car rides really kill me.” He took a few steps away, looking around.

Freed from the confines of the car, Prompto headed towards the beach. “Anyone up for a short walk?”

“I’ll go,” you said, moving over to him. “I need to stretch my legs.” You paused, looked back at the other two. “Noctis, Gladio?”

The amber-eyed man shook his head. “Nah, I’ll pass this time. You two go on ahead. Iggy and I will take care of dinner.” He saw Prompto shoot him a grateful look, though it was gone before you had time to notice it, and he smiled to himself. Guy really had it bad…

Noctis was already turning towards the bridge. “No thanks. There’s a hot bath that has my name on it, and then I’m going to see if I can’t find that fish everyone’s been talking about in the fliers.”

You shrugged. “Suit yourselves. Guess it’s just us, then, Prompto.” You flashed him a smile as you turned back towards the beach, which he returned.

As the two of you walked along, you noticed that the gunman was close enough that his hand occasionally brushed against yours. A night of rest and the ice pack had done wonders for your wounds; though the bruises were still tender to the touch, they had stopped aching, so you weren’t averse to the contact, whereas you might have been the night before.

While you walked, Prompto pulled out this phone, tapping out a quick message before putting it back in his pocket. If this was going to work, he was going to need a little help. He just hoped that you wouldn’t be offended by him enlisting the help of the others, just a little. Under other circumstances, he could have done it himself, but he hadn’t had the chance to prepare beforehand. If you weren’t pleased with it, he would just make it up to you at another point, he decided.

A few seconds later, his phone chimed a reply, and as he glanced down at it, he grinned. Excellent. Gladio had agreed. Now to stall for time…

“What’s with that look on your face?” you asked curiously, noticing the way he was smiling.

“Huh? Oh, Gladio just said that Noct stole all the hot water in the shower, so the rest of us are going to have to wait a while if we want one. I just thought it was funny, since he does the same thing.”

You arched one eyebrow. Given the size and reputation of the hotel, you didn’t believe this for a moment. There was no way that one person could use all of the hot water in a single shower, unless they stayed in there for hours. But you decided not to say anything to the contrary; let him have his secrets for now.

“It was a good call, asking to stop here of all places,” you commented after a few minutes of companionable silence. “Galdin Quay is one of my favorites.”

“I know,” he replied. “That’s…actually why I suggested it.” He came to a stop, reaching up to rub the back of his head.

You paused and turned to look at him. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that I wanted to come here…with you.” Shifting from one foot to the other, he finally looked at you. “Look, I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner with me tonight. Just…the two of us.” Hesitantly, he reached out, hooking his fingers lightly around yours, though he wasn’t quite holding your hand. “It’s really sudden, I know, but…

You smiled. “Honestly? I would like that a lot.”

The nervousness seemed to evaporate from his body, and Prompto took your hand in a bit of a firmer hold.

“Mind if I try something?” he asked.

“N-not at all.” Now it was your turn to be a bit nervous. You recognized that expression in his gaze. It was the same type of confidence that he had displayed when he’d asked you to kiss him. It seemed like once he had your assurance that you weren’t going to push him away, an entirely new man took over.

Gently, he pulled you closer, bringing your arm up and pressing his lips to the darkened skin, tracing over each bruise with exquisite delicacy.

This made you give a soft gasp as you felt your heart flutter in your chest. Where had he learned to do that? You hadn’t known that Prompto could be so…well, sensual. He was a bit clumsy at times, and tended to put his foot in his mouth more often than not, but occasionally… Occasionally he showed you a side of himself that you never would have imagined existed. You had seen it the night before, and now again, as he kissed his way along your arm.

“Prompto,” you breathed, feeling yourself beginning to melt into his touch.

A sudden shiver ran through him; hearing you say his name like that was even better than he had imagined it would be. He wanted to hear it again, and again… As many times and in as many different ways as he possibly could. He hooked his other arm around your waist, so you were flush against his body, and his lips traced their way up your arm, until he reached the sleeve of your undershirt. Pushing the fabric up, he placed more kisses up to your shoulder, where he was forced to stop by the leather of your jacket.

There was a faint blush on your face by this point; even though he was making heat flood your body, you were very well aware of the fact that the hotel and restaurant were just a short walk down the beach. You were too far away for anyone to get a clear look at you, but you were still technically in a public place.

“We shouldn’t… Someone might see…” Despite your words, you wrapped your arms lightly around him, and you knew that you didn’t want him to stop, regardless of the fact that anyone looking in this direction would be able to see the two of you twined together.

“Don’t worry,” he replied, his voice lower than it had been before. “I bet people do things like this all the time.”

You had to admit that he had a point there. In a location such as this, innocent trysts – and maybe some not so innocent ones – were probably quite a common sight.

Still, he raised his lips from your shoulder, looking down at you. In the moonlight that shone down, you saw that his pupils had dilated to the point where you could barely see the rings of dark blue around them. “Do you want me to stop?”

You considered the question for a moment. Though unexpected, his touch and kisses were anything but unwelcome, and while it was true that you would have preferred a more private place, the darkness concealed enough that you weren’t overly self-conscious of any potential watchers. Besides, you knew that, even if he continued, he wouldn’t go too much further. There was a line drawn about what was acceptable in a semi-public place, and what wasn’t, and it was a line neither of you would cross.

With this in mind, you tilted your face up towards his, closing your eyes.

He took the hint, and his mouth descended on yours. It wasn’t as fierce as it had been the night before, but there was still enough heat in it to make you tighten your arms around him.

Hands partially covered by gloves came up to run through your hair, and a moment later, you felt his tongue touch your lips hesitantly, just once, before backing off again. He was getting bolder, you noted with approval.

Without giving him a chance to change his mind, your own tongue moved to trace along the seam of his lips, as you coaxed him into opening his mouth. He’d had the right idea, but not the confidence to go through with it. Something would have to be done about that, and you thought you knew exactly how to remedy it.

That would have to wait, though, as he responded to you, allowing you to deepen the kiss. Your tongue slipped inside his mouth, brushing against his for a moment before he took charge once more, forcing you out of his mouth and back into your own. A soft moan tore from his throat, and he finally broke the kiss, eyes glazed, chest heaving.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” he admitted breathlessly, still holding you close while his hands slid down your back. He rested his chin on top of your head and closed his eyes as he tried to slow his frantically beating heart.

His words made you pause. If they were true, that might explain a couple of things. Why he had been so worried about your wounds the night before. Why he had stopped checking out other women. It would mean that the one he had his eye on had been with him the entire time.

You.

“Then…why didn’t you?” you asked after a moment. That was the one wrinkle in all of this that you couldn’t figure out; twice now he’d said that he’d been interested in you for some time, yet the night before was the first time he’d ever shown any hint of it.

His eyes flicked open again, and he leaned back enough to look down at you. “Seriously?”

“Well, yeah. It wouldn’t have bothered me at all.” You paused for a moment, considering your next words. “I…always did think you were the cutest.” Reaching up, you gently brushed a lock of blond hair back out of his eyes.

The grin that lit up his face was so brilliant that it made your heart ache a little. What you wouldn’t give to see him smile like that more often…

“You…think I’m cute?” he repeated.

“Absolutely.” Smiling, you nuzzled his chest, inhaling the smell of his leather jacket, combined with his own natural scent.

“The truth is, it took me that long just to work up my courage,” he admitted. “I’m not like Gladio; he can just walk up to a complete stranger and ask them out without a second thought, but…I always found a way to talk myself out of it.” He tugged idly at the bracelet he wore on his right wrist, his fingers tracing over the bands of leather. “I guess I convinced myself that you wouldn’t want…someone like me.”

Your brow furrowed. “‘Someone like you’?” you repeated, in some confusion.

He opened his mouth to reply, then closed it again, seeming to change his mind about what he was about to say. Finally, he continued. “There are a lot of things you and the guys don’t know about me,” he said quietly, not meeting your gaze. “And to be honest, I’m a little scared of what might happen if – when – you learn everything.”

Without thinking, you reached up, placing your hands on either side of his face and turning it so he was forced to look at you. Lightly, you stroked your thumbs over his freckled cheeks.

“Prompto, nothing in this world could change how I feel,” you told him seriously. “I promise you that. And I bet they would say the same thing. You will always be our Prompto, no matter what.”

He reached up, placing his hands over yours, and for a moment, you thought his eyes seemed a little brighter in the glow of the moonlight. “Thank you, (Name),” he whispered. “Sorry if I brought down the mood.”

You shook your head, giving him a smile. “You didn’t. But if you ever need more reassurance, just let me know. I’ll be happy to remind you as many times as you need.”

It was strange. Most of the time, Prompto was the very definition of confidence. He was always quick with a joke or a flippant remark, and he was loyal and courageous to a fault. But the last couple of days, a crack had appeared in his persona, and you saw something different beneath it; a shy, scared young man who was more self-conscious than he would have liked to admit. He was afraid of letting you get too close, you realized. It hurt you to see him like this, and you wanted to do whatever you could to make sure that this side of him never had reason to see the light of day. More than anything, you wanted to see that sweet smile, as often as you could.

He held you for a while longer before finally pulling away, his hands skimming down your arms before he released you. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to stand like this for much longer before his body betrayed how he was feeling, and he wasn’t ready for that yet, and especially not while he was in public. Already, he could feel a faint straining that was the beginnings of his arousal.

“Want to finish that walk?” he asked. For a moment, you thought he was going to take your hand again, but since you would be heading back to the hotel, he seemed to decide against it.

“Too bad we have to go back. It’s nice out here,” you replied. But you could feel your stomach threatening to growl; dinner had been hours ago, and you were starving. You had to wonder whether Ignis was happy to have a night off, or if he would rather be the one to cook for everyone, as he usually did. He was talented enough that his dishes were usually better than what was served at a hotel, but Galdin was one of the places that matched his skill, making you look forward to what they had to offer.

That mysterious smile returned to Prompto’s face; now you knew he was up to something. “We’ll be here for a couple of nights, so we can come back out here whenever we want,” he pointed out.

“That’s true,” you agreed, though you weren’t sure if the current mood could be replicated again so perfectly. He had truly picked a good place for a date. A date… It was hard to believe that was what this actually was. That kiss had been the beginning of all of this, and you hadn’t even realized what such an innocent suggestion would be setting in motion. But the path the both of you were heading down was one that you didn’t want to turn back from. You wanted to follow it to its conclusion, and see where it led.

Passing by the fishing pier, you spotted Noctis sitting at the end, fishing pole in hand. He glanced back at the two of you as you passed, and you swore that you saw a smirk on his face. He had probably seen you in Prompto’s embrace, you realized. The question was, would he tease you about it, or let it go? It would all depend on his mood, you supposed; it could go either way.

Let him tease, you decided. You didn’t regret for a moment everything that had led up to this, and you would happily do it all again the exact same way as before.

As you reached the bridge that led to the hotel, you found Ignis standing on it, watching the trees wave in the wind. He glanced up as you and Prompto approached, turning to face you. “Supper should be ready by now. Hurry along, so it doesn’t get cold.”

A suspicion rose within you, then. Ignis always insisted on the five of you eating together, even when it was in hotels or at rest stops. He maintained that food always tasted best when enjoyed by all. Yet here he stood, saying this, which meant…

He knew.

You should have expected that, though, really. Ignis was the most perceptive out of everyone; he was able to pick up on the most subtle clues that you weren’t even sure had been there at all, until you looked back on the situation and were able to notice them. But not only did he probably know, he also seemed to be encouraging the two of you along, in his own subtle way.

“Sure thing, Iggy. Thanks a lot,” Prompto said, giving the taller man a wave as the two of you passed by. He certainly didn’t seem to be embarrassed by this, somewhat to your surprise. His relaxed reaction meant that Ignis not only knew, but it was also likely that Prompto had been the one to tell him.

Galdin’s hotel was tucked into one side of the restaurant, where a young, well-dressed man stood by the door. A friendly smile came to his face as you approached, and he opened the door to let you and Prompto pass through. “Enjoy your stay!” he said. It looked like Ignis had already booked a room for everyone, since you had been let through without any trouble.

As you stepped into the hallway, you looked around. Just before you could ask which room was yours, your gaze landed on Gladio, who was leaning against the wall at the end of the hall, twirling a keychain around one finger.

“Well, I guess we know where we’re staying tonight,” Prompto commented, leading you towards the amber-eyed man.

Gladio grinned when you stopped just outside of the door, and tossed the key card to the blond. “Have a good night,” he said, his deep voice laced with a secondary meaning. He brushed past you, vanishing into a room across the corridor.

Separate rooms; one for you and Prompto, and one for the other three… You blinked. “Prompto…” you began.

“Yeah?” He slid the card through the lock, and the door swung open. With a smile, he turned to face you.

“Did you…tell everyone about this?” Your voice was emotionless as you spoke, betraying no hint of your thoughts.

The smile faded from his face. “No!” he insisted vehemently. “Gladio cornered me after we turned in the hunt, and I told him that I wanted to do something nice for you, which is why I wanted to come here. But I knew that I couldn’t set it up myself without a lot more time, so I asked him for help. He must have asked Ignis, too. I’m sorry; did you not want them to know?”

You considered this. Truthfully, you weren’t angry, though it seemed like no secrets could be kept from the group. Or at least, not from the two of them. They would have found out sooner or later anyway, and you were somewhat touched that they seemed so willing to help Prompto out with his plans.

“No, it’s all right,” you said at last. “I think it’s actually kind of sweet, that you would do so much just to try and make this a nice night for us. But you know that Gladio is never going to let you live this down, right?”

Prompto shifted restlessly. “Well, I haven’t had many chances to ask a beautiful girl out on a date, so I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it alone without more time. I knew Noct wouldn’t be of much help, but Gladio and Iggy… If anyone would know how to do something like this, it would be them.”

You smiled at his words, feeling a faint heat rise into your cheeks. “Beautiful girl, huh?” you murmured as he led you into the room.

It was almost completely dark as the door closed behind you, and you automatically reached for the light switch when Prompto grabbed your hand.

“Leave it off,” he instructed. “Just trust me, okay? Come this way.”

Slowly, he led you across the room, towards the balcony. You noticed the glass doors had been opened, and occasionally, the curtains drawn across them would flutter in the breeze, revealing glimpses of silver moonlight on the floor. When you reached them, Prompto pushed back the curtains, letting you see what lay beyond.

In the middle of the white linen-draped table was a single candle, its flame protected by a small glass dome. Two plates had been set out, each one holding a filet of herb and pepper-encrusted fish on a bed of greens, and garnished with a wedge of lemon. Beside the plates were a pair of wine glasses; the liquid within a light, translucent red, though you couldn’t tell what brand it was. This was an interesting choice; neither one of you were very big on alcohol. Finally, there was a third glass, a champagne flute this time. Instead of champagne, however, it was filled with a chocolate pudding, with a strawberry perched on the rim. Beyond the balcony was the ocean, the moon reflected on its rippling surface and covering everything in an argent glow. It was a simple set up, but it took your breath away nonetheless.

“Do you like it?” Prompto asked.

“It’s amazing,” you breathed. “Did you come up with all of this by yourself?”

He grinned proudly. “Well, Ignis chose the main course…” Ah, that explained the wine. Ignis and Gladio were the only ones who really drank alcohol, though the king’s shield had talked you and the other two into sampling it on occasion. “…but everything else was my idea.”

It was incredible that sweet, sometimes goofy Prompto could throw all of this together on such short notice, but you found that you were very impressed with how romantic the entire thing had turned out to be. Even knowing that the other three were probably very well-aware of what was going on did nothing to dampen how you were feeling.

He reached up, unbuttoning his sleeveless leather jacket and shrugging it off, along with his gloves. Taking a step closer, he extended his hand. “Why don’t you get comfortable?” he suggested.

You smiled, removing your own jacket and gloves, folding the garment up before handing it to him. It seemed like some of Ignis’s behavior was rubbing off on him, you noticed. It wasn’t like him to offer to take your jacket. But it was clear that he was striving to be the perfect gentleman tonight. Idly, you had to wonder if you could push the right buttons to awaken the more aggressive side of him that he had shown you at the riverside.

He disappeared into the bedroom for a minute, and you sat down, looking out over the water, listening to the waves lap against the building’s supports. When he returned, he took his own seat, and the two of you began your meal. The fish was delicious; you were half-convinced that Ignis had actually made it himself. Which, if you were honest with yourself, he might have. It was certainly up to his level of skill. But what surprised you most was the flavor of the wine. You could hardly taste the alcohol in it at all; light and fruity, it was sweet enough that you had no trouble drinking it, and it seemed that Prompto didn’t, either.

“How long have you been planning this?” you asked after a while, your curiosity getting the better of you.

He gave a thoughtful hum. “About twelve hours,” he said at last, an impish smile appearing on his face. “I’ve known for a while that I wanted to do something, but I didn’t know any of the details until last night.”

“You could have fooled me. This doesn’t seem like something that was thrown together at the last minute at all.” Done with your fish, you sat back in your chair, sipping at the wine. Even if you drank the entire glass, it wasn’t nearly enough to get you drunk, which you appreciated. You wanted to be clear-headed for tonight.

He shrugged modestly. “I just wanted to do something you would like.”

“I’d say you succeeded; I couldn’t have asked for a better date,” you told him honestly.

“It’s not over yet,” he replied, leaning forward and picking up the glass of chocolate pudding. “Come on.” Retreating back into the bedroom, he pulled back the curtains. Moonlight spread across the floor, falling on a large bed tucked into one corner…and only one bed. To make up for the cost of two rooms, it looked like Ignis had decided to ask for only a single bed for the two of you.

Prompto froze. “Ignis, I’m gonna kill you,” he muttered.

“Are you sure this was Ignis’s idea? I smell Gladio’s handiwork here,” you commented. The idea of sleeping together in one bed didn’t bother you in the slightest; all of you slept side by side in a tent so often that you were not only used to it, you quite like it, especially when the nights started to get colder. But then again, it was something entirely different to share a bed, and you knew that whichever one of them had decided to do this, sleep hadn’t been on their mind when they’d asked for this room.

Prompto looked over at you, listening to the casual tone of your voice, and studying your expression. Slowly, he began to relax when he realized that you weren’t upset about how things had turned out. He sat down on the edge of the bed, patting the blanket beside him in invitation. “Ready for dessert?”

You took a seat next to him, tucking one leg beneath you. Your eyes followed his movements as he plucked the strawberry from the side of the glass, covering it in the chocolate before offering it to you.

A wicked thought came to your mind, then. The gesture might have been innocent enough, but you weren’t going to let it stay that way. You wanted to see just how worked up you could get him, and what might come of it.

Leaning forward, you braced your hand on his thigh, taking the strawberry into your mouth. At the same time, you sucked lightly on his fingers, licking away the excess chocolate. To your delight, you heard him inhale sharply, and his body stiffened. When the digits were clean, you drew back, chewing thoughtfully on the tart fruit. “Delicious,” you declared at last. “You picked the dessert yourself?”

Prompto’s voice was strained when he replied. “Y-yeah. I thought we could split something…” He trailed off, swallowing hard. When he’d offered you the fruit, he certainly hadn’t expected you to lick the chocolate off of his fingers, as well. Whether you’d meant it that way or not, it had been one of the hottest things he had ever seen. That one simple gesture had sent fire blazing through him, and it took every ounce of his willpower not to throw you down on the bed and devour your mouth, and every other part of your body he could reach.

“In that case, don’t let me eat it all; you should have some for yourself,” you suggested.

“I think I will.” Before you had time to reply, he had wrapped his free hand firmly around the back of your head, and his mouth descended on yours. His tongue swept into your mouth, thoroughly tasting you, and the combination of flavors from the pudding and strawberry. All trace of the hesitation he had displayed before was gone, washed away by the surge of heat flowing through his blood.

At last, he drew back, leaving both of you breathing hard. He licked his lips, then grinned. “You’re right. That is good.” Slowly, he leaned down, putting the still-full glass on the floor beside the bed. “But there’s something else I want even more than chocolate.”

“And…what is that?” you asked, your voice barely audible. Your heart was pounding in your chest, and you wouldn’t have been surprised if he could hear it.

He leaned towards you, and for a moment, you thought he was going to kiss you again. But instead, he whispered one breathless word into your ear.

“You.”

Bracing himself on one knee, he gently lowered you onto your back, placing his hands on either side of your shoulders. The next thing you knew, his lips were on your neck, kissing and licking the sensitive skin. He trailed down to your collarbones, and one hand moved to the first button of your shirt. He unfastened it, placing another kiss on the triangle of flesh that was revealed.

Your arms twined over his shoulders, and you held him close, tilting your head back to give him better access. He certainly knew what he was doing, you noted idly, and you gave a soft gasp as he suddenly nipped the skin just beneath your right ear. Soothing the now-pink skin with his tongue, he pulled back far enough to look at you, his hand resting on the second button of your shirt.

As you felt him lean back, you opened your eyes, returning his gaze. Your own hands came up, and you hooked your fingers beneath the bottom of his shirt. Slowly, you pulled it upwards, your fingers trailing over his ribcage as you raised the fabric.

He let you pull the garment over his head, tossing it aside as it pooled down his arms. This was all the encouragement he needed, and he returned the favor, slowly opened the rest of the buttons on your shirt. His gaze was riveted to you as each one came undone, revealing more and more of your body. He had seen you partially undressed just the night before, but this felt different, somehow, and he wanted to savor the slow unveiling.

Though you had seen him with his shirt off before, it had never been in this context. Even in the dim light, you could see that his shoulders were dusted with freckles, and beneath his fair skin, you could make out the curves of muscles in his arms, chest, and stomach. He wasn’t anywhere near as well-built as Gladio – few men were – but for all his slenderness, he was still nicely filled out.

You didn’t want to keep him waiting. “My turn,” you told him, reaching up and pulling him back against you. Your mouth went directly to his collarbones, and you lightly scraped your teeth along the smooth ridges, before biting down hard enough to leave a mark. He jumped in response to the sting, but to your surprise, managed to stay silent. You’d thought that would get him to make some kind of sound. Well, you’d just have to work on that. Leaning back a bit, you studied your handiwork, feeling a trickle of satisfaction. The mark would be barely visible above the collar of his shirt, there for anyone who cared to look. But then again, they would also be able to see the one he had left on your neck.

Well, turnabout was fair play, after all. You weren’t going to let him get away with doing something like that without returning the favor. You might be setting yourself up for grief from Gladio and Noctis when you saw them in the morning, but you didn’t care. Tonight was all about you and Prompto, and you were going to make the most of it. You would deal with the rest when it happened.

Placing your hands on his arms, you rolled him onto his back, leaving your shirt behind as you did this. He looked a bit startled, but didn’t protest. You threw your leg over his waist, and lightly sat down on him. Immediately, you could feel him pressing against your core, even through the leather of both of your pants. His eyes automatically went to your lace-covered breasts, and he started to reach up, only to restrain himself just before he could make contact, and let his hands fall back to the bed.

This made you smile gently. “It’s all right,” you told him, taking his hands in your smaller ones and bringing them up to your chest. “You can touch me.”

He drew in a slow breath, and he lightly trailed his fingers over the clothed mounds, caressing you as if he thought you might break if he handled you too roughly. Occasionally, his fingers dipped beneath the thin fabric, but never very far. The amount of self-control he was showing impressed you, even though he had no reason to hold back.

When you were sure that his hands were going to stay in place, you leaned forward, kissing him deeply. At the same time, you rocked your hips against his, and at last, this drew out the moan you had been waiting for.

Feeling the pressure of your core against him, Prompto instinctively bucked his hips up against you. He could feel himself straining against the front of his pants, and he wanted some kind of relief, even if it came from the friction of where you were seated on him. You were using just enough pressure that he could clearly feel you – and he was sure that you could feel him – but it only served to make things worse. He was sure that you were aware of this, and he could only hope that you wouldn’t draw out the torment for too long.

Through the fabric of your bra, he found your nipples, already stiff and begging for attention, which he was happy to provide. But the material was in the way; it would have to go. He slid his hands slowly around your sides, and when you didn’t protest, he traced the straps of the bra to the back, fumbling a moment before he found the clasp. But once he located it, it was swiftly unhooked, and the flimsy garment came loose from around you, slithering down your body until it landed in a heap on his chest.

Feeling this, you broke the kiss and sat back, tossing the bra aside, not caring where it landed. You held still, allowing Prompto to get his first good look at you without anything covering you from the waist up.

His cobalt-blue eyes raked over your body, lingering on your breasts for several seconds before sweeping upwards to lock gazes with you. The expression on his face was a mix of lust and adoration, making your breath catch in your throat. No one had ever looked at you like that before, and you felt your heart twist in your chest in response.

When your bra had come free, his hands had settled lightly on your waist, but now he slid them slowly up your sides, over your ribcage. You weren’t ticklish, he noticed; you didn’t so much as twitch as he touched you. His thumbs traced gently beneath your breasts for a moment before he finally reached up, covering the soft mounds with his entire palms.

You closed your eyes as he caressed you, enjoying the faint tendrils of pleasure that were slowly spreading through you. Not wanting to let him do all the work, you rocked your hips against him again, using enough pressure that it couldn’t be called teasing, but it wouldn’t be enough to give either of you any kind of release.

Suddenly, Prompto sat up, and his arms went around you, bending you back slightly. For a long time, he simply studied you, to the point where you found yourself beginning to grow a bit self-conscious.

“Say something,” you murmured, your hands rested lightly on his arms. “What are you thinking about?”

“Just wishing I had my camera,” he said at last.

You blinked, looking down at his waist. Sure enough, it was gone. He must have taken it off earlier when he’d removed his jacket. But at that moment, you were glad that he didn’t have it. You weren’t sure how comfortable you were with him potentially taking pictures of you while you were half-naked.

He correctly read the expression on your face. “Don’t worry, I won’t take any pictures. The lighting is too bad in here, anyway, and using the flash would ruin the image. I guess I’m just going to have to memorize it, instead.” He paused for a moment, and an impish smile came to his face. “Then again, that might be a good thing. I don’t think I would want to share those pictures with anyone else.”

You gave a breathy laugh, which turned into a gasp as he leaned forward, capturing one of your breasts in his mouth. The warm sensation sent a pleasant shiver up your spine, and your hands slid up his arms, curling around his shoulders as you held him close.

He flicked his tongue over the peak, circling it for a few moments before lightly scraping you with his teeth. His other hand came up to squeeze the other globe, and he gently tweaked the nipple, just hard enough for you to feel the barest sting. When he finally released you, he placed kisses along the sensitive flesh, sucking every now and then, and you were sure that there would be multiple marks before the night was through.

He trailed upwards along the center of your chest, leaving a soft nip between your collarbones before he found your mouth again. The moment that his lips touched yours, you found yourself being lowered back down onto the bed, but this time, Prompto was kneeling between your thighs, preventing you from closing them.

Sitting back, he slowly unlaced your boots, pulling them off and dropping them beside the bed. He ran his hands slowly up your legs, dragging his fingers along the smooth leather. When he reached your hips, he reached for your belt buckle, pausing for a moment to glance at you questioningly.

You nodded silently, giving him permission to continue. It was touching that he was so concerned for you, not wanting to push you beyond what you were willing to do. But he needn’t have worried. By this point, you were worked up enough that you had no intention of stopping him, and you had a feeling that he was of the same opinion.

With surprising slowness, he unbuckled your belt, but instead of pulling it through the loops and discarding it, he leaned forward, placing a string of kisses along your waistline, from one hip to the other. When he was done with this, he carefully unbuttoned your pants, and began to draw them down. The speed at which he was doing this was torturous, and you had to wonder if he was feeling the same way. If he was, he was hiding it well.

As the garment slipped down your legs, Prompto was treated to the sight of the last remaining item of clothing that covered you, a pair of black panties. He had to move back to draw your pants completely off, but as soon as they came free, he resumed his former position, and rested his hands on your smooth thighs, his thumbs tracing circles over the skin.

His pulse skyrocketed as he gazed down to you, almost completely laid bare to him, and his mouth went dry. In less than twenty-four hours, he was going to get to live out the fantasy he had created for himself the night before, something that he wasn’t sure he would ever get the chance to do.

Except, there was one small problem. He didn’t know how open you were to the idea that had taken root in his mind.

Lightly, he placed one hand over your center, and began to caress you through the fabric, watching your reactions like a hawk. Your body stiffened, and a moan caught in your throat as a faint burst of pleasure exploded within you. He smiled slightly, noticing that the soft fabric was slightly damp, betraying your arousal.

He traced along the crease of your right thigh, and you jumped as his fingers slipped beneath the garment, coming into contact with your folds for the first time. Collecting the evidence of your arousal, he pulled his hand back, examining the digits thoughtfully. “You’re this wet…for me?” he murmured, as if he could hardly believe it.

At his words, a fierce blush lit up your face. It was embarrassing, hearing him say it like that…even if he was technically correct. “If you want to think of it that way,” you replied, not meeting his gaze.

“Huh… I like it!” he declared, and before you even had a chance to look back at him, he had licked his fingers clean of your essence, giving a soft hum of appreciation. “And I think I like that even more than the pudding.” A devilish look came to his face. “Mind if I have another taste?”

“Um, sure,” you said simply, unable to come up with a better response in the wake of what you had just heard. He kept switching between bold and shy so fast that it was hard for you to keep up. But it also made it difficult for you to predict what he might do next, and you liked that element of surprise.

That brilliant smile returned to his face, and he bent down, catching a section of the waistband between his teeth. Slowly, he drew the garment down over your hips, inhaling the scent of your arousal as he did so. It made his length twitch within the tight confines of his pants, heightening the ache of desire he was already feeling. It was so tempting to just unfasten his pants and relieve some of the pressure… But for the moment, he kept his eyes fixed on yours, watching your reactions.

At last, he drew your panties completely off, settling down on his stomach between your legs. But instead of tasting you again, like you had expected, he traced over your folds with his fingers. His index finger barely brushed against the hidden bundle of nerves, and a bolt of electricity shot straight through you, making your body burn, and a ragged moan tore from your throat. The roughness of his skin against the sensitive, delicate flesh was an incredible contrast, and you struggled to keep still, when all you wanted to do was increase the contact he had with you.

He froze, and with the smile still on his face, repeated the motion with a little more pressure this time, circling around the tiny bud. “Feels that good already?” he asked, noticing the way you were trembling as he touched you.

“Yes,” you breathed.

Frankly, Prompto was amazed. It wasn’t that he had never done this before, but he was by no means an expert at it. He had only been with a woman a handful of times, so he wasn’t overly confident in his technique. But here you were, shuddering beneath him, and he had barely even begun to touch you. Never before had he gotten this kind of reaction from someone.

But you were different, in many ways.

You repeatedly reassured him when his nervousness got the better of him, even going as far as to soothe his fears about things that he never wanted to come to light. And the fact that he was able to make you feel like this was just the icing on the cake. He wanted to do whatever he could to make sure that you received as much pleasure as he could give. He wanted to see you come undone beneath his touch, and prove how much he cared for you.

But what he didn’t know was that you were of a similar mindset. Despite how sweet and caring as he was, you could tell that, even though he had probably been intimate with someone before, he had most likely never allowed himself to forge a bond with who he slept with, never allowed them to get too close. You wanted to be the exception, and based on the look that had been in his eyes when he had gotten his first look at you after removing your bra, the two of you were on the same wavelength. Over the five years that you had known him, and the two years that you had been a fellow member of the Crownsguard, the friendship that had blossomed between the two of you had deepened into affection, advancing beyond what you felt for the other three.

You were well on your way to loving him.

A single finger sliding into you brought you out of your thoughts, and your hips jerked as Prompto circled the nerve cluster at the top of your entrance, pressing down on it as he stroked your inner walls.

He studied you closely, committing to memory all of the places that made you squirm, so he could use them again next time. It was a learning experience, but he was eager to be taught so he could perfect his admittedly relatively unpracticed technique. He twisted his hand, hesitantly adding a second finger and pausing when your walls hugged the digits tightly.

You let out a shuddering exhale, and the motions of the fingers of his other hand sped up, causing hot pleasure to unfurl within you. “Keep doing that,” you instructed him. “And you can move your hand; it doesn’t hurt.”

Gently rolling the bundle of nerves between his fingers, Prompto alternated between using fast and slow strokes, until you began to quiver beneath him, your legs shaking as the pleasure he was providing began to grow. At the same time, he drew back his other hand, hooking his fingers so that his knuckles ran along your velvety flesh. He set up a smooth rhythm, and with the new angle, as the digits sank back into you, he brushed against the patch of rough skin deep within you that was so easily missed.

Your breath caught in your throat the first time he touched it, and the sound made him pause, his blue eyes narrowing. “Right there?” he questioned, rubbing up against it again, and causing your hips to twist as you sought to maintain the contact.

“Yes,” you all but moaned, your own fingers curling in the sheets of the bed. You hadn’t expected him to find that particular place on his own; but whether he had just gotten lucky, or whether he had been purposely looking for it, you didn’t care.

He gave a thoughtful hum, adjusting the movements of his hand so that he struck it with each stroke, pushing the pleasure within you ever higher. But his patience was running thin, and at last, he could wait no longer. He bent down, and his mouth latched onto the sensitive bundle of nerves. He sucked hard, causing you to arch up off the bed as the pleasure suddenly spiked.

What he lacked in experience, he made up for in enthusiasm, as his tongue flickered rapidly over the bud, circling and prodding it before he applied more suction. After a few moments, he trailed down, tracing around your opening and getting a better taste of your nectar. He sat back, licking his lips with a thoughtful expression on his face.

“Yep, just as good as I thought,” he decided, nodding.

“Then don’t stop,” you practically begged, making his eyes widen. He had never heard you sound like that before, and it was intoxicating. Having you at his mercy like this was incredible, and all that you were feeling was coming from him. It seemed like his inexperience didn’t matter to you.

He grinned. “Sure thing, babe,” he sang, lowering himself back down and resuming his attentions to you. His tongue lapped eagerly at your core, and this, combined with the continued motion of his hand, had you moaning as the pleasure climbed ever higher, pushing you towards release.

Prompto could feel the muscles in your thighs beginning to tense, and he doubled his efforts, determined to make you climax. Reaching up, he used his free hand to press down on your stomach, keeping you still as his tongue washed over you, drawing out more pleasure than he would have guessed possible.

Just when you were about to reach your peak, he suddenly clamped his mouth over you, sucking hard enough to make you cry out, and sparks flared before your eyes as the intense pleasure broke, spiraling through you and lighting your nerves on fire. Shudders racked your small frame and you shook beneath him as he continued working you through your climax, prolonging the pleasure as long as he possibly could. His continued efforts set off a ripple effect, though none were as strong as the first one.

He eagerly lapped up the liquid proof of your release, devouring you as if he had just been presented with a lavish feast after starving for days. When he had cleaned away all traces of your sweet essence, he sat back, a self-satisfied look on his face as he gazed down at your limp form. This time, he didn’t need any kind of reassurance; the reactions of your body told him exactly how well he had done, and he couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride.

You turned to face him as he snuggled up against you, draping one arm across your side.

“Whatcha think?” he asked lightly.

You looked up at him, and your eyes narrowed. Reaching out, you lightly ran your fingers over his still-clothed length. You could feel that he was rock-hard, and probably very uncomfortable. His pants weren’t exactly loose to begin with, and now the material was strained as he pressed against it.

“I think we’re not finished yet,” you replied, propping yourself up on one elbow and leaning forward to kiss him. Your taste still lingered on his lips and tongue, but you disregarded this as you pressed against him, encouraging him to turn over onto his back.

“Are you sure?” he murmured against your lips. “We don’t have to…”

You trailed down to his neck, nipping him lightly in response to his words. “Oh, yes, we do. I’m not letting you get away so easily.” Stroking him through the leather, you glanced up at him. “I don’t think you’re ready to stop yet. Don’t you want some relief of your own? Especially after that performance, I think you deserve a little something for yourself.”

He allowed you to push him back, and he reached down to pull his boots off before stretching out. You sat up, your fingers going to his belt buckle. Unfastening it, you leaned forward, licking at the place on his collarbone where you had bitten him earlier. Slowly, you trailed back down, leaving a line of kisses in your wake. Even before you reached the top of his pants, you heard him give a soft moan, and you glanced up to find that his own eyes had closed.

That wouldn’t do.

You nipped his stomach, causing him to instinctively flinch, though the bite wasn’t hard enough to hurt. “Eyes on me,” you ordered. You didn’t know if he had ever experienced this before, and if he hadn’t, you wanted him to watch every moment of it. He had been waiting so patiently, and had even been willing to forego his own pleasure if you were too tired to continue. But you could have been utterly exhausted, and you still wouldn’t have let him go without something for himself. You were determined to end the night with him inside of you.

But first…

When those beautiful cobalt eyes were fixed on you once more, you began your work, unbuttoning his pants and drawing the leather down over his hips. He raised up to make things a bit easier for you, and you slid the garment down and off, adding them to the pile of clothes that had accumulated beside the bed. This left him dressed only in black boxers, but you didn’t remove these just yet. Instead, you ran your hand over him, getting an idea of his size. From what you could tell, he was a bit larger than average, but not obscenely so.

Prompto’s hips jerked, and he let out a shaky breath. You knew that your soft touch was probably torturous to him, after waiting all this time. While you could have drawn it out more, you didn’t want to tease him; not tonight.

Your fingers slipped beneath the waistline of his boxers, and you pulled them downward. At last, his length was freed, and it sprang up, already glistening with traces of his arousal. Settling yourself between his legs, you placed one hand on his thigh as a warning for him to keep still, while the other wrapped around the base of his shaft to keep him steady. Slowly, you leaned forward, licking the tip.

His taste burst on your tongue; salty, with a faint bitterness. You couldn’t say that you disliked it, though. Without warning, you engulfed the head, and to your amusement, you heard him swear, his voice shaking. If he did have experience with this, it couldn’t be very much, based on his reaction.

Your tongue lapped at the sensitive underside, tracing along the ridges, and at the same time, you began to stroke him, your grip firm, but your movements slow. Carefully, a centimeter at a time, you began to take him in farther, increasing the pressure of your mouth as you sank down.

His hips trembled beneath your hand, and you paused, preparing for him to buck upwards, but to your surprise – and relief – he kept still. Just before he could hit the back of your throat, you pulled back, your tongue drawing patterns on his skin as you slowly released him. You felt a soft touch on the back of your neck, and his fingers twined gently through your hair, tenderly brushing it back out of your face. Even without looking up, you could feel that his eyes were fixed on you, just as you had instructed, but you couldn’t resist glancing up, just to see the expression on his face.

His eyes were glazed, and his mouth was slightly open as he exhaled in soft pants. Pleasure seared through him, collecting in his abdomen and sinking sharp claws into him, refusing to let go.

Your movements controlled, you took him in again, setting up a slow rhythm designed to wring every ounce of ecstasy out of him that you possibly could. He probably wouldn’t last too long, you knew, but you didn’t care. A release now would enable him to last longer in a short while.

Very, very lightly, you allowed your teeth to scrape against him, and this made him shiver.

“That feels so damn good…” he murmured, his fingers still sliding through your hair.

Hearing him say that sent a burst of renewed arousal through your blood, and you narrowed your eyes slightly, letting him know that his words had reached you. But you never once backed off of him, using as much pressure as you could as you took him in, then released him. The entire time, your hand was still stroking him, your thumb pressing against the underside of his length as you gave him the occasional squeeze.

Your tongue danced around the tip, and you felt him twitch in response. Every now and then, a moan would drift to your ears; you liked that he was so vocal. Hearing his voice pitched low in pleasure just heightened your own excitement, knowing how much he was enjoying himself.

The pressure you were exerting on him with your mouth was incredible, and it caused the sensations flowing through him to contract into a tight ball deep within his core. To make things worse, the sight of his length disappearing into your mouth was one that he couldn’t keep watching without losing his composure, as you probably intended.

Suddenly, you felt his hand tighten in your hair for a moment. “(Name), stop. I…I’m gonna…”

Ah, that was what you had been waiting for. You pulled off of him, though your hand kept up its movement, never letting the rising pleasure die down. “That’s fine,” you assured him. “That’s the entire point.”

“But I don’t want to…in your mouth.” You could see the faint trace of pink dusting his cheeks again; he was embarrassed at the thought, but that just made you even more determined. You were going to make absolutely sure that he enjoyed himself tonight.

“It doesn’t bother me.”

With that, you took him back into your mouth, letting him slide almost to the back of your throat. Knowing it would probably send him over the edge, no matter how hard he tried to cling to the shreds of his self-control, you gave a soft hum.

You were right. The sudden vibration was enough to push him into his release, and with a quiet whimper, he emptied himself into your mouth. You swallowed quickly, your tongue catching the last drops of his essence and preventing them from escaping. To prolong his pleasure, you kept up the tension around his length, and you felt him shaking as wave after wave of his climax broke over him.

At last, he went still beneath you, breathing hard. You released him, crawling up his sweat-dampened body and resting your chin on his chest. It came to your attention that he was still semi-hard, and you knew that he would be ready to continue before long. For the moment, though, he was drained.

While he recovered, you reached down, picking up the forgotten glass of chocolate pudding that he had set aside earlier. Scooping up a spoonful, you took a bite before laying back down next to him.

“I hope I didn’t disappoint,” you told him, offering him the next bite.

He looked down at you, blinking. “Are you kidding me?” Licking the pudding from the spoon, he lay back, wrapping one arm around you and stroking a path up between your shoulderblades.

“Don’t get too comfortable,” you warned him. “There’s still one more thing left to do. Unless you’re too tired?”

“For you, I think I can manage. What did you have in mind?” He watched as you swirled the spoon through the pudding, considering your next words.

“Well, I was thinking that we could have a shower together, and I…” You didn’t meet his gaze as you spoke; suddenly you were the one feeling shy. “I want to feel you inside of me,” you murmured at last, your face taking on the same tinge of pink that had appeared on his a few minutes before.

You felt him freeze beside you, and the next thing you knew, you were lying on the bed alone as Prompto vaulted to his feet. He was halfway across the room before you even realized he had gotten up. Never before had you seen him move that fast.

“What are we waiting for, then?” he chirped, all previous trace of tiredness gone as if it had never been.

You couldn’t help but smile as you got up a bit more slowly, putting the glass aside and following him to the bathroom. As you passed by a lamp that stood in the corner, you flicked it on, providing just enough light in the bathroom for the two of you to see by.

By the time you got to the bathroom, Prompto had already turned the shower on and climbed inside, his usually-upswept blond hair plastered to his head. He extended his hand to you as you came close, and you took it, allowing him to pull you beneath the water with him. As the warm water poured over your body, he wrapped his arms around you, pressing you back against the wall and taking hold of your right leg, hooking it over his hip.

It took a bit of balance on your part, but with his hand beneath your thigh for support and his other arm wrapped firmly around you, there was no danger of you falling. Steadying yourself with one hand on his shoulder, you used your other hand to take hold of him, guiding him to your entrance.

Once he was properly aligned, he gently pushed forward, sliding into your tight heat. Because of your earlier release, your inner walls were slick enough that he had no trouble fully sheathing himself with you, and you gave a soft gasp at the pleasant ache of him stretching you. It wasn’t enough to really hurt, but you were grateful when he paused, allowing you time to get accustomed to him.

“You feel so good,” he murmured against your neck as he rested his forehead on your shoulder. He had been dreaming of this for weeks, and finally, now that he was getting to experience it, it was even better than he had imagined.

You wrapped your arms around him, the fingers of one hand playing with the ends of his wet hair. “So do you,” you replied.

After a couple of minutes, he began to move his hips, starting with long, slow strokes. Both of you were still sensitive after you had found release, and he needed to be careful. But at the same time, feeling you squeezing his length the way you were made it difficult for him to take things slowly.

Before long, he had set up a leisurely rhythm that had a slow burn of pleasure setting itself up within you. It felt nice, but it wouldn’t be enough for you to reach your peak. At the moment, though, you didn’t care; you were just savoring the feel of him.

Slowly, you could feel him returning to full hardness within you, and as he did, his pace picked up, becoming a bit rougher. Your grip on his shoulders tightened, your nails digging shallow crescents into his skin that made him hiss softly.

Now that he was moving more quickly, the pleasure grew exponentially, and you moaned as you felt it flourish, searing through your blood. Because of the sensitivity of your body, each sensation was heightened, and you were acutely aware of every small movement he made. Your walls fluttered around him, making him give a soft groan.

The way you were positioned, it was difficult for you to move your own hips, but you did the best you could, rolling them forward to meet him whenever he thrust into you. Slowly, you felt a tight knot of pressure beginning to grow in your lower abdomen, but though it continued to coil further and further, it never snapped. The friction between the two of you was exquisite, but it wasn’t quite enough.

“Touch me,” you whispered, knowing that you only needed a little more to reach your second peak of the night.

The arm that had been around your waist unwound itself, and you had to tighten your grip on his shoulders to keep your balance. His hand snaked down your stomach, finding the nerve cluster again and beginning to stroke it gently. It was still overly-sensitive, so the barest touch made you yelp, but when he stopped the movement of his fingers, you shook your head.

“I’m fine. Just don’t stop. I’m so close…”

Sure enough, once he resumed the motion, you felt the tension pushing its way towards the breaking point. Without warning, the coil exploded, sending you spiraling into white-hot pleasure that had your inner walls clamping down and convulsing around him. A cry rose up in your throat, and you stifled it by biting down on his shoulder, hard enough to leave an imprint of your teeth on his freckled skin.

This caused him to give a soft cry of his own as your climax triggered his, and his warmth filled you. The once-smooth movement of his hips became erratic, but he never stopped moving until the pleasure had drained from both of your bodies, leaving you exhausted. He released your leg, allowing you to stand on two feet again, and held you close as you slumped against him, breathing hard. He had one arm wrapped tightly around you, while the other was braced against the wall for support.

The two of you held each other as the hot water poured over your exhausted bodies, and at last, you regained enough strength to pull away from him.

“Let’s get cleaned up and get some sleep,” you suggested.

He nodded his assent, and after a quick wash, took your hand and led you back into the bedroom, where you curled up beneath the blankets together.

“I have to say, this might have been the perfect night,” you told him, tucking your head beneath his chin as he wrapped his arms around you.

“Can’t argue with that,” he said, amusement in his voice, though there was an underlying current of sleepiness, as well. “So…I have to ask… Does this make us a couple?”

Though you had closed your eyes, this question made you open them again, and you looked up at him. His face was serious as he looked down at you in the dim light. You studied his expression closely, trying to read his thoughts, but you learned nothing.

“Do you want to be?” you asked after a moment.

He placed one hand on the back of your head, pulling you to him and kissing your forehead tenderly. “I won’t lie, I care about you. A lot. Maybe more than I’ve ever cared about anyone before.” Realizing what he just said, he backpedaled quickly. “I mean, as more than just friends.”

You smiled. Even during a serious conversation, Prompto still had a tendency to put his foot in his mouth. You reached up, brushing a lock of hair back out of his face. Leaning forward, you kissed him softly. “Then we’re a couple.” You paused for a moment, your fingers tracing lightly down the side of his face. “My sweet knight…in shining leather.”

He blinked, then grinned that brilliant smile, and you felt your heart melt all over again. “I knew that title would grow on you eventually.” He pulled you close, giving a soft sigh of contentment and closing his eyes. Soon, his breathing had evened out in the pattern of sleep as exhaustion finally claimed him.

You rested your head against his chest, letting your own body relax. A couple… It was going to take some getting used to, especially with the teasing that no doubt awaited you from Gladio and Noctis. But you didn’t care. Let them say what they wanted. You were happy enough that it didn’t matter, and it was clear that Prompto was, as well.

Within a few more minutes, you had joined your new lover in slumber, the two of you safe in each other’s arms as the moonlight shone down on you, bathing you in its argent light.

Author’s Notes: Given Prompto's past, I imagine that he's probably a little shy about letting someone get close to him intimately, and might have moments where he's a little insecure about himself.

I also believe that he's probably not very experienced. No matter what I tried, he kept turning shy!

That being said, though, he's still so much fun to write for, especially his interactions with the other three.

So...more to come?

#prompto/reader #prompto argentum #ignis scientia #gladiolus amicitia #noctis lucis caelum #ffxv #reader insert #complete #oneshot #prompto x reader #ffxv fanfiction #ffxv smut #ffxv x reader #smut #fluff

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