Having waited for years, 10 to be exact, only to have their King back for a night then gone again to have the dawn, it was bittersweet; perhaps more bitter then sweet. Yet there was something tugging in his chest that told him, no matter how he, how they, felt, this was their happy ending

He couldn't see what their King looked like, of course, but Prompto described everything to him. Everything. He didn't leave a single thing detail. He appreciated it, he honestly did. Perhaps his eyes didn't work anymore, but his mind still did. Imagination may not have been his strongest suit, but memory served him well, combining the old and new.

The funeral they had for the King was a private ceremony. They would have a proper memorial service for the public, but they had wanted just a little more time to themselves before having to share their memory of the Prince now King with the rest of the world. Prompto again described everything he could right down to the detailing of the King's coffin.

Now, as he sat alone staring up at the night sky, he found himself contemplating just what life would be like without Noctis, without the promise of his return. At least during those dark years, they had known Noct would come back. Now, there was no such hope. "Iggy's thinkin' again."

Prompto's voice sounded suddenly, though it still didn't deter him from looking up at the sky. "Afraid so."

"About what?"

"The future."

Prompto huffed though there was a smile to it. "Can I sit?"

"There's nothing saying you can't"

"Just askin'."

He felt the warmth of the blonde next to him, a feeling he realized he'd missed during the years they'd grown apart. Prompto had been there for him so many times when he'd first lost his vision. "Have I ever thanked you?"

"Huh?"

"Thanked you, for what you did for me." he waited but Prompto didn't reply. "After Altissa." he clarified.

"Oh!" there was a shrug. "I mean, not really? But like, it's cool. I kinda thought I was botherin' you."

Ignis finally lowered his head, closing his only open eye. "I was more bothered by my lack of hindsight. I should never gotten this wound in the first place."

"…was that a pun?"

"Must you ask?"

"Yeah, guess not." the blonde playfully nudged his shoulder. "So, what about the future are you thinkin' about?"

"Noct."

Prompto fell silent again. When he spoke next there was obvious pain in his voice. "He's not comin' back this time."

"No, he will not."

"You think he's watching us?"

"I don't see why he wouldn't be. Him, his father, Lady Lunafreya. They all could be watching us."

"Yeah…"

"You two act like we're never gonna see any of them again." Another voice he couldn't mistake, just like Prompto's. Gladio's presence was suddenly on the opposite side of him. Heavy and warm. "It's gonna take a long time, but we'll see 'em again."

"Noct better be as old as us when we get there." Prompto said. "I don't wanna be some eighty year old man with by best friend still stuck at thirty."

"I'm sure we won't have any of those concerns by the time we've finished our duty to Noct here." Ignis sighed. "We still have much to do. Lucis won't rebuild itself."

"It won't lead itself either." Gladio added.

Prompto groaned, leaning his full weight on Ignis' side. "I don't wanna think about all this political stuff right now."

"That's Iggy's territory." Gladio's hand rested heavy on his shoulder. "You sure you're up for all that?"

"Of course. In case you've forgotten, I was meant to be a royal advisor."

"Yeah. Sorry you're never gonna be put to use."

"Nor will you."

"At least you guys had positions to lose. I was just the pleb that tagged along."

Ignis finally unfolded his hands from his lap, reaching one over to place on Prompto's head that was still resting on his shoulder. "You did so much for Noct, Prompto and you've done so much for us as well. You were more then just a friend Noct met in school."

"Iggy's right blondie. Don't sell yourself short."

Ignis took a deep breath, feeling Prompto relax further on him. He didn't mind. The weight was nice. "Thank you, by the way. I don't think I ever properly said it until now."

"No problem Igster." Though Ignis couldn't see it, he could feel the smile on the blonde's lips. "You think we're gonna make Noct proud?"

"Why wouldn't we?"

"I dunno…just don't wanna mess this up."

"We'll only let his royal pain in the ass down if we drift apart again." Gladio said, his large hand moving from Ignis' shoulder to take his other hand. "Right now, let's swear we won't separate again. We're to be there for each other like we were when Noct was here."

"I swear." Ignis said, squeezing Gladio's hand.

"I swear." Prompto repeated, his hand dropping over Ignis' and Gladio's, squeezing them both. They remained silent for so long Ignis lost track of time but they never parted. If anything, they inched closer to him, physically promising they would not drift apart. "Hey look!" Prompto called out.

Ignis took a moment to figure out what Prompto was suddenly so excited about, but subtly, he could detect just that touch of light. Had they sat out here all night? "Heh. Looks like Noct's comin' to say good morning to us for once." Gladio had a smirk in his voice.

There was a subtle shake in his motion, only his brothers could tell as they touched him, but he reached up to remove his visor that guarded his eyes from the light. His one eye opened and he greeted Noct to the best of his ability. "Good morning, your highness."

"Hey buddy…" Prompto choked out. He lifted their entwined hands, audibly swallowing the lump in his throat. "Look Noct. We're keeping our promise to you and we made a new one to us. We're never leaving each others side again. We're gonna…we're gonna walk tall, together."

Ignis felt a prickle at the corner of his eye, a tear slipping over his cheek before he was the one to yank Prompto into a tight embrace, pressing the blonde's head to his chest, letting Prompto sob and around him, he felt Gladio cradle him, resting his bearded chin on top Ignis' head. The sun continued to rise as they remained together, the beams reaching across Lucis. The dawn had come.

Figured I might as well put FFXV on this profile as well. A re-upload from AO3

AO3 Author note:

This is my first FFXV work, so I'm sorry if something's a bit OOC. I've played the game way too much, but I'm still learning how to write them myself.