Cranberry Vodka

Disclaimer- I own nothing!

Lying in the grass Noctis watched the clouds go by. He was so bored. Today started the same as most, training, more training, more learning of what it took to be in charge. Now though he had nothing to do. He was so bored. He wanted a change of scenery.

"Yo! What's up Noct?"

"Hey, Prompto. Need something?"

"You look like your having the time of your life."

Sitting up with a groan Noctis kept his hands between his legs. "I am just bored."

"Want to play King's Knight?"

"Nah. Thanks. But I want to get out and do something."

"Anything in particular?"

"Kinda. It's a weird thing that I want to do but I want to go drinking. Nothing fancy but I want that kind of atmosphere."

"Well than let's go! I know there isn't a bar far from my house. If you drink too much you can always spend the night. Not like I have anyone telling me no."

"Thanks. I doubt my dad is going to be okay with that idea though. I get it I am a prince and I have lot ridding on me but sometimes I wish I had some freedom to do whatever."

"Hmmmmm…what if we asked Iggy?"

"Specs? I don't know if he will want to. I don't see him as being big on drinking…or bars."

"Come on, let's ask him. Maybe we will get lucky and Gladdy will be with him and he can convince him to tag along. Your dad won't be so upset with you leaving if they are with you."

"This is true. My dad is always more ready to listen when Ignis mentions the plan." Forcing himself to get up and stretch his legs the two headed inside the inner court of the castle. Figuring the time of day, he knew exactly where Ignis was.

The two boys kept up light conversation as Noctis led the way knowing Prompto knew very little of where things were inside. He wasn't allowed in most places since he wasn't official staff or royalty but since they were friends, he had the clearance to at least enter the castle.

"Ignis is probably inside with my father, their war meeting should be just about over."

"I'll wait out here than. I am not allowed to be inside the war room."

"Come on! You're with me. It's fine. If anyone says anything, I'll tell them to shove it." Grabbing Prompto's arm he dragged him inside the room. Sure, enough Ignis and his father were talking privately in the corner. Both men shook their heads seeing the Prince enter.

"Need something Noctis?"

"I want to go to a place near Prompto's. I'm bored here and want to get out for a little while."

"H…hi your majesty." Prompto put a hand behind his head, as he bowed the best he could with Noctis still holding him.

"You know how I feel with you leaving the castle alone."

"Father I am not a child. I can protect myself."

"Your majesty. I can go with them if you'd prefer. I can drive them."

"Yes! I came here to ask Ignis if he wanted to come along as well!" Right, that was the reason they were here. As much as he wanted to prove to his father he wasn't a little kid anymore he really wanted to get Iggy on board.

"I can trust you to keep him honest Ignis."

"I believe I know where Gladiolus is Your Majesty. I can ask him to come along as well. If you are worried about harm coming to him."

"If you can find him, I will never say no to him being there. His father left the meeting to go meet with him I believe."

"Of course." Ignis bowed as Prompto finally broke free of Noctis.

"Yes! The four of us hanging out together! It's been ages!"

"Well. Than we will be off dad. See you later."

"Be careful Noctis."

Turning with an eyeroll he led the way towards the training grounds. He would bet money Gladiolus was there.

"May I inquire where you two were thinking of going? If I have to drive and all."

"I want to go to a bar."

"A bar? You know your father will be furious when he finds out."

"He isn't going to find out. I don't want to get drunk I just want to do something not in the castle."

"If you wanted to drink you could have gone to your apartment."

"I want to go out. Besides, my dad trusts you and he likes Prompto so he won't question it."

"As you wish Noct."

Together the three walked together towards the training room, a room Noctis despised. Hearing metal clashing together they figured they found the person they were looking for before they saw him. Coming in the room they stayed in the corner as to not bother the two that were sparring. If Noctis thought Gladiolus could beat him the man's father could kill him in seconds.

"Prince Noctis. Your highness. I didn't see you there. Do you need something?" At the bigger man stopping first both quickly bowed as they saw the Prince and his current party.

"Didn't mean to disturb you two. We just need to borrow Gladio for a little while. If you don't mind sir."

"He is yours Your Highness." With that, Gladio came forward grabbing his duffel bag on his way.

"Hey Gladdy!"

"What's up? Is there something going on?"

"We will explain as we walk. Come on." Leading the way to the car they took off together. Finally, they could get this night going.

Explaining to his Shield where they were going, they all stopped as he looked at them.

"You grabbed me so you could go drinking?"

"Yes. I was just going to grab Ignis, but my dad said I should grab you too."

"…Okay…I'm good for a beer. And you don't mind going Ignis?"

"There is nothing wrong with wanting a bar every so often." With that the three men stopped in front of him to stare. "What?"

"You…I didn't see you as a bar person."

"I enjoy the occasional drink. Gin is my personal favorite. Though, I don't care too much for the bar scene I don't mind them. You don't remember Noct? I took you out for drinks when you became legal."

"Oh yeah! I forgot about that. I think that was the last time I went out. That was a fun night."

"Indeed." Continuing to the car they made light conversation as they got in and got going. It wasn't a far drive but the sooner they got there the better chance of decent seats. No one was up to sitting at the bar, they wanted a nice booth.

Settled in their seats Noctis got down to business and order a beer for him and Gladio while Ignis got his gin and tonic. Prompto really wasn't a fan of beer or most alcohol but he didn't want to seem like an outcast with the others.

"Since you don't like beer you should try something mixed. You could try my gin if you'd like."

"You might like something with a splash of color actually. They taste less like booze most times."

"Thanks guys. I don't know. I might have to try yours Iggy."

"Go right ahead."

Getting their drinks Ignis slid his over to the other who took a sip. He made a face that said it was gross, but he sat there and tasted it a bit before sliding it back.

"It's not terrible. It hit me all of a sudden I wasn't ready for that."

An hour in Noct and Gladio switched to rum and coke, Prompto was trying a Pina Colada. A waitress was brining it to another table, and it looked good, so he thought he'd give it a try. So far it was a good experiment. Ignis was sticking with what he knew. One of them had to be good to drive, even if they crashed at Prompto's they had to get the car there.

"Iggy. Have you ever tried vodka?" Noctis asked as he swirled his drink around with the tiny straw.

"No. I don't particularly like the smell of it."

"That's a lie."

"Pardon me." Everyone looked at Gladio who had shot back the rest of his drink and shrugged the eyes off of him.

"You've had vodka before. I went with you when you turned legal remember. We tried gin, vodka, and scotch that night.

"I don't remember that at all. I mean. I know we went out but…was I drunk?"

"You weren't plastered but the alcohol was more than you were ready for."

"Hmmm….well Noct. I guess I have. "

"You should try something mixed with vodka. You might like it."

"There is nothing wrong with gin."

"Except it's an old man's drink."

"Excuse you."

"I'm just saying."

The table was silent minus Prompto going "oooooooooo." Both men had smiles on their faces but Ignis knew when he was being challenged. If he was going to try something new now would be the time to do it. Today they had more talks of Noctis going to marry Lunafreya next year so who knew when they would get the chance to be together like this.

When the waitress came back to clear the table and see who wanted more Ignis asked her about popular mixed vodka drinks. He really had no idea what was good with it. He just knew the smell always turned him off.

"Our most popular vodka base is a cranberry vodka. The on-staff bartender is known to make them really well."

"I'll get one of those then."

"Would you like to make it a double?"

"No. Standard is fine." Nodding, she went off to put the order in.

"Look at you go Specs, trying something new. Breaking out of your comfort zone."

"Not liking something doesn't mean I'm a prude. Mister, I hate all vegetables."

Prompto burst out laughing with their banter. Ignis made a mental note that Prompto was cut off after he finished what he had. It was a good thing they were safe in the crown city because the way things looked right now only Gladio would be of any use to the Prince. He was still okay, but he didn't know how he would feel after the vodka.

A few minutes later the waitress came back with his cranberry vodka. It didn't smell bad, almost sweet from the juice. Taking a sip, he could taste the alcohol, but it was nothing as bad as he expected.

"Well?"

"It's not bad at all." Offering a taste to Noctis he passed.

"Thanks. But, I am just so proud we got you to try something with color. You have to get some excitement in your life Iggy."

"I have you to watch over I have enough excitement thank you."

"I don't count. I mean… I don't know. You just seem so dull at times man. I mean I love you but live a little."

"He isn't dull Noct. I mean only Iggy can pull off that color and print." Gladio mentioned.

"What is wrong with my clothes?" Looking down at his outfit he didn't see anything wrong with anything he had on,

"I like it Iggy. The guys are just being mean." Looking at both men they were laughing about some joke he missed apparently.

"I guess you are walking back home tonight. You know since I'm just so dull."

"That's my car! I can drive myself." Going to stand Noctis stopped as the room started to spin. "Or, I'll just wait here a bit."

"Drunk are we Noct?" Laughing now, Ignis wasn't sure what came over him. He could tell he suddenly had a case of the giggles. His mind was making jokes up as looked at the others. This was new.

"And I'm drunk?" Noctis looked diagonal at Ignis ready to prove his point only for Ignis to start laughing.

"You know, I think this is one of the few times I've seen you laugh Iggy." Prompto pointed out with a smile. It's a cute laugh."

With those words Ignis's face burst out in a red tint. No one had said those words to him before.

"We should leave here and do something while the night is still young. What do you say Noct? Cool if we head back to my place? We could play a game or something."

"It might be best if we stop drinking. I will agree to that." Ignis said as he continued working on his drink. He did like it, even if it was messing with his mind.

"We should probably walk. Think the car will be safe here overnight?"

"I can call my sister and see if she can get someone to bring it back for us. She will make sure the king doesn't find out."

"Jared should be able to get it no problem."

Paying the tab, a little later the group made it out of the booth no problem. As they walked down the aisle to leave though two of the men walked behind Ignis and Noctis who were holding each other laughing. Clearly the others had missed whatever the joke was. Heading for the house on foot the road opened up a bit more giving them the space to walk side by side again.

"Guys…guys look!" Running a few feet ahead Ignis pointed out a shop that had a light going out. "it reads 'cock and dreams instead of cocktails and dreams. And have you guys ever thought what it would be like….ooo pickles!" The three men stopped as they watched this new side of Ignis as he looked to see if the shop was still open. Noctis liked it a lot. His friend was always fun to be around but this side of him made things much more interesting.

Coming to Prompto's house he got them set up for the night as best he could. While he wasn't in super giggle mode the way Ignis was the alcohol was starting to get to him. Noctis was getting tired as well as sleeping bags were placed in the living room floor.

"I'd offer you guys a change of clothes, but I don't have anything that would fit." Stepping back into the living room with extra pillows he saw Ignis had taken his jacket, shirt and belt off to get comfortable for the night. He had never seen him with his shit off before. He was lean as his figure showed with clothes on, but you could see his arms were well worked on. He had the beginning of a six-pack starting as well. Damn, he really needed to keep working out if he wanted to keep up to their level of shape.

The first rays of sunlight hit Ignis's face as he rolled over in the sleeping bag. What time was it? Slowly sitting up he saw he was shirtless. This was new, he wasn't home.

"Morning Iggy." Hearing Gladio's voice he looked around to see him stretched on the couch drinking coffee. The others were still sleeping, he could hear Noctis snoring. "How do you feel?"

"Fine actually. I don't get what made me take my shirt off, but I don't have a headache or anything. Did you make coffee?"

"Fresh pot in the kitchen." Getting out of the bag and grabbing his shirt he slipped it back on to mess with the buttons as he walked over the coffee. "And you said something about being really warm once we got here." Taking a sip, Gladio got up off the couch so they could talk quieter.

"See. I remember most of the night. The conversations are a little foggy but the bar and walking here I remember."

"Do you remember how you felt?"

"I felt fine. Why?"

"No reason. Just curious."

"Think Prompto would get mad if I used his kitchen to make everyone breakfast?"

"He loves your cooking, so I am going to say no."

The other two woke up as the smells of breakfast were making their way throughout the house. This was probably one of the fastest they got Noctis up. While they ate, they talked about what they remembered from last night. None of them were too far gone from their drinking though Prompto woke up with a headache and Noctis said his head hurt a little but he blamed the lack of sleep. The car had safely made it back home last night in one piece and Noct had no message that his father was pissed with him so that meant he had no idea they were caught. Finishing up with breakfast they cleaned up so Prompto wasn't left with the mess before all gathering their things and heading back to the castle for a day of meetings and training. They would have to do that again sometime. And Ignis would have to get that drink again, that Cranberry vodka. He liked it a lot and the taste still lingered on his tongue. Not getting drunk from it was a plus as well. Perhaps he would try to keep the ingredients at his place.

0o0o0o

It's been forever since I wrote any sort of fan fic and this came to me because I was beating XV and playing episode Ignis while I was drinking a homemade cranberry vodka (though mine had more flavors in it.) This story was much easier to write in my head while I was laughing at the idea. But, I hope everyone likes it. I have no real plans to write in this fandom. ~Femalefighter~