Prompto had finally done it, what he'd promised Lady Lunafreya, and himself, almost a lifetime ago it seemed. All those pictures, the running, the change in his diet had finally paid off.

So why did it feel so empty?

He sat at the kitchen table in the big empty house, with his salad, chicken breast, and steamed broccoli in front of him and he felt empty. Why?

When he'd decided, for Lady Lunafreya's sake, to become friends with Prince Noctis it had turned out to be the quest of a lifetime. He thought of it like one of rpg phone games he played, a beautiful and mysterious maiden asks a favor, and the hero goes on this grand adventure that seems so simple when he starts, but as time goes on he finds that he's had to grow and change to accomplish that goal. He'd had to get in shape, learn to exercise, eat healthy, and figure out how to talk to people to get to where he was. He had all the photos to prove he wasn't the same person as when he started, and he'd fulfilled the quest given to him by the mysterious lady.

So why did it feel so empty?

He chewed the thought over in his mind as he chewed his dinner, trying to figure out where he had went wrong. Obviously he had to have messed up somewhere along the way, or this would feel more satisfying, more fulfilling. Instead it reminded him of the first time he'd put his nightly hamburger aside for a salad, his stomach grumbling demandingly at him for the rest of the night, no matter how many green leafy bites he stuffed into his face.

Prompto thought of the letter he had neatly tucked away in the room upstairs, the sole possession that had any significance besides his camera, and the only thing he owned that was completely irreplaceable. That was the first time anyone had relied on him for anything, the first time someone needed something from slow, shy, chubby Prompto who had no friends or family. He smiled as he remembered how instantly driven he was to succeed, how he had gathered up the courage to approach Noctis and try to talk to him, and how even when he failed he got back up and tried harder.

That was satisfying.

He pushed himself every day, taking pictures of his progress, even on the days he felt like he hadn't made any and never let himself quit. It had been fun, even if he didn't think so at the time. He remembered when he finally was able to keep jogging and greet everyone he passed properly, finally to properly say good morning to the other jogger he had passed every day from the day he started. Just remembering it made him happy for who he used to be.

Pushing a tomato around on his plate he thought about how much he had enjoyed his whole journey, every agonizing step had been worth it, unquestionably. So, why?

His thoughts went back to Lady Lunafreya and Prince Noctis, something in his brain hinting that the answer had to do with one of the two of them.

It couldn't be Lady Lunafreya, she had just thanked him and asked him to be good friends to Noctis. So that was out. It couldn't be Prince Noctis, because he needed a friend and was a really good one too. He was nicer than he let on, and was fun to hang out with, so he was out.

What did that leave?

Himself. The problem could only be with himself, but again, why? He'd done everything he was supposed to, he'd learned and grown and achieved the goal set out before him. He'd done exactly what was asked.

Then it hit him. He had done everything that was asked, or demanded, or necessary to do what Lady Lunafreya asked of him and what Prince Noctis needed. He had done it for them. This whole time he'd done it for someone else, he'd done everything for someone else and forgotten himself.

Prompto smiled, stabbing the tomato and popping it into his mouth, biting down with a satisfying burst of sweetness. His next quest wouldn't be for some lady in a far off land, or for the sake of the Prince, it would be for himself. He didn't regret anything that had led him to this point, it had prepared him for the quest he bestowed upon himself: become best friends with Prince Noctis.

Because, dammit if Prompto Argentum didn't deserve a best friend.