First: Here thar be spoilers for the end of the game

Does it make sense for Noctis to be reincarnated? Fuck no. Do I need a way to Make It All Better? Fuck yes. Title is from another Ben E King song because I think Stand By Me just about destroyed us all.

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There was a crispness to the air as the breeze cut through the trees, rustling leaves and sending dappled rays of light dancing. Prompto looked up, closing his eyes against the sun's rays and let the stirring air wash over him as he inhaled. After a moment, he looked down and forward again, opening his eyes slowly and starting to walk along again, putting one foot purposefully in front of the other. There was something different about this day. Something that he couldn't place but something that he knew deep down in his chest, an existential longing for something he didn't yet have a name for.

It was the same feeling that had driven him to start running in the soft light of afternoon when school let out. There was some nameless drive forward, an odd familiarity as he settled into the routine of things and felt himself changing, softness gradually trimming down to toned muscle. His mother had remarked favorably on his newfound interest in vegetables and he felt such an odd surge of familiarity and amusement when he was handed a bunch of carrots at the farmer's market that he found himself welling up with that same strange feeling of longing for something that didn't exist, something that was beyond his comprehension.

When he had started high school there had been a disorienting feeling that something was missing, a person whose name was on his tongue and who he couldn't find. It had been months since school started now and he could feel himself holding back from his peers, slightly aloof though not unsociable and searching for that nameless something-someone. Every so often a flash of that unknown would catch his eye; an almost-familiar head of hair, a pair of not-quite-right eyes, a smile that was just a tad off. He would focus on that flash, single-mindedly follow it and almost inevitably lose that sense of finding what he'd lost – everyone shrugged it off as an "artistic temperament" as he snapped shot after shot, cataloging what was there in an attempt to find what was not.

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Today he paused at the school gates, allowing himself to feel the breeze ruffle his hair one last time before classes started. As he looked around him he felt it, an odd electric thrum in his veins; a feeling so achingly familiar even as he couldn't place a name to it, only an odd burst of blue light coming to mind the longer he focused on it. Swiveling his head, Prompto looked around him, searching out the source of the feeling and catching out of the corner of his eye, a student with a head of dark hair making their through the crowd as the warning bell rang. He lost them in the rush of people walking faster now across the school yard, the electric thrum and feeling of familiarity pulling away from him and leaving him rooted to the spot for a moment before sprinting to class before the late bell could ring.

It was midway through their first class when Prompto felt that same electric thrum, stronger now, so strong that he could almost swore he heard the ozone crackle of… the word escaped him but the feeling remained. A knock at the door drew their teacher's attention and as he watched his classmates slouch at the reprieve of being lectured, he only found himself sitting up straighter, craning his neck to see who was just beyond that door; the source of that nameless something. After a moment their teacher re-entered, a boy their age trailing behind him with dark hair falling slightly in front of his face and this was, there was – this is what was missing.

"Class, we have a new student who will be joining our class. This is Noctis –"

Whatever came next was of no concern to Prompto as the other boy looked up and their eyes met. There was something distinctly right about Noctis, like a missing puzzle piece had slotted into place and now he could start focusing on bringing all its disparate parts together. And from the look in the other boy's eyes, Prompto had a feeling that he wasn't the only one who felt the strangeness and familiarity between them.

The morning went by slowly as he tried to pick it apart and figure out why the other boy might be familiar to him and kept coming up short. He had lived in the same neighborhood on the hilly, craggy outskirts of New Insomnia his entire life. Both of his parents were only children born to older parents and so he had no extended family to speak of, no relatives to visit or friends of relatives to be introduced to. And yet, he knew Noctis and Noctis knew him. Prompto turned it over and over, every possibility and impossibility running through his mind as he willed time to move faster so that he could talk to this not-stranger, the electric feeling growing more and more insistent until the lunch bell finally rang – and Noctis was dragged off by a group of other teens to be introduced and shown around. They caught each other's eyes over the crowd of people and Prompto felt the corners of his mouth twitch up at the almost-comedic overwhelmed and wide-eyed expression on Noctis' face. Before the crowd could fully close around him, Prompto mouthed "after school" and waited for the nod of affirmation before grabbing his own lunch and heading outside to enjoy the sunshine and try to push away the feeling that he was on the verge of something startlingly huge.

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Normally, Prompto would have had to be missing a limb to not go to photography club after school, but today – today was different as he rushed across the yard and through the gate. Down the street a couple blocks he could see the dark-haired boy – Noctis – slouching against a garden wall, seemingly trying his hardest to not draw any attention, trying to lose that shiny newness of being a transfer student. Staring at his feet there was no way that Noctis could see Prompto approaching and yet his head snapped up at the exact instant that Prompto felt a surge of unknown feeling in the pit of his stomach, something so deep and aching that it traveled up into his chest, pulling at his lungs and catching at his throat. He ran the last block, bag slung across his body and bumping against his hip as he took wide loping steps, his breath hitching and erratic as he stopped just in front of Noctis.

"Prompto?" There was a crack in his voice, too much emotion for a mere stranger who he'd only been introduced to a few hours prior. "Prompto, I –" He cut himself off and shook his head sharply and took in a long breath. "We shouldn't talk here, follow me."

He followed along behind Noctis as he forged a purposeful path down a side street and veered off onto a dirt trail that ran behind a row of houses, squeezing sideways between dense shrubs and ending up in a dense thicket, the only sound was the birds they disturbed as they burst in, their flapping and calls dissipating as they flew off. The silent air closed in around them and they stared at each other, Noctis' gaze intense.

"Nobody introduced us. How do you know me?" Prompto watched him curiously, head tipped slightly to the side as he waited for a response.

"How could I not know you?" His eyes widened slightly at the hitch and crack of emotion in Noctis' voice and he backed away a half step as the other boy moved to close the gap between them. "Prompto, please." He stuck out his hand slightly. "Just. Touch my hand. I swear I won't do anything. If nothing changes we can pretend this never happened. Please."

Prompto's eyes darted between Noctis' eyes, now glassy and red-rimmed, and his outstretched fingers. He couldn't help staring at his palms and thinking that there was something missing there – rough callouses superimposed for a brief moment over smooth skin.

"I know you." Reaching out tentatively with his hand and fingers twitching back ever-so-slightly, Prompto left barely a centimeter of space between their skin. "I don't know how I do or even who you really are. But I know you." He closed that sliver of distance between their hands and he felt more than saw a crackle of blue energy run over his skin. Even after it dissipated Prompto couldn't help but look at where their hands met, fingers still touching, and stare at them almost reverentially.

"Prompto?" It was said tentatively as Noctis leaned in to try and see his expression.

"Noctis. You're Noctis and you're the crown prince and you're… you're my best friend." He sniffed and let out a watery laugh, tightening his grip on Noctis' hand.

"Yeah, I am." There was a brief, thoughtful pause. "Or at least I was." He gave Prompto a rueful smile and received a similar one in turn.

"We missed you so much. I missed you so much." Suddenly Noctis found Prompto's arms wrapped tightly around his waist, forehead resting on his shoulder and familiar blond hair tickling his cheek. He heard a quiet sniffle as Prompto hugged him closer, mumbling into his shoulder. "Really missed you a lot."

Noctis brought his arms up to wrap around Prompto as well and turned his head slightly, blond hair brushing his lips as he spoke, "I missed you too."

"Found anybody else?"

"Well, Luna –" Noctis felt the arms around him beginning to loosen and he selfishly continued to hold tight even as Prompto seemed ready to let go "– she was my neighbor when we were kids and… I don't know. One day I grabbed her hand to go get ice cream and it just clicked. It was a lot to deal with and we were only twelve. Her family moved back to Tenebrae the next year." He paused for a moment, breathing in and continuing to hold on. "I saw Iggy a couple weeks ago but it was right before we moved. All I know is that he's at a university in New Insomnia."

"Of course he is. What about Gladio?"

"Not sure yet but I bet once we get Specs we'll find him fast." There was a lull that settled over them as the light dimmed to gold and Noctis felt his eyes drifting shut. "I still met you in high school."

"You're late though."

"I know, I'm sorry."

"You're here now, so don't be." Arms tightened around Noctis' waist again and he let himself be carried away by the faint but insistent heartbeat he could feel against his own chest. After a few silent minutes passed, Prompto's arms loosened again and he pulled back slightly, no longer pressed firmly against his chest. Noctis opened his eyes and let his arms fall away so the other boy could pull back. "Hey Noct? Can you close your eyes again for a minute?"

His brow furrowed as he squinted through the gathering dark of late afternoon and closed his eyes before responding, "Why?"

"Because I'm not going to be able to say this otherwise. And I've wanted to say it for a while. I don't know if I'd go so far as to say centuries seeing as I only just remembered –"

Noctis cut him off with an amused snort, eyes still closed. "Just say it, yeah?"

"Yeah, okay." Prompto took in a deep breath and let it out. "I just wanted… for a while now… I've pretty much always – oh screw it."

There was the soft feel of lips briefly touching Noctis' own, warm air from Prompto's exhale as he moved back suddenly and Noctis felt himself drift forward slightly to follow, eyes snapping open as his lips parted in surprise. He barely had the presence of mind to reach out and grab Prompto's wrist before he could make the escape he was so clearly trying to.

"Why?" Under his trembling fingers he could feel Prompto's pulse flying.

"Because you died. Because I remember. Because I never said anything before and I can't do it again. So if this is it, if this is the end –" He flexed the hand in Noctis' grasp for a moment before relaxing it, stiffening in surprise as Noctis let go and slid his fingers between Prompto's, lacing them together tightly.

"You know, I think this might actually be the beginning."