It has been a stressful day, so when the group sat down their camp near Myrlwood, everyone was glad for a little break. After a marvellous dinner prepared by Ignis, which again contained too many Veggies for Noctis' liking, everyone sat down to their own leisure. The warm summer evening offered enough sunlight for at least a few hours more, so a campfire was not yet needed.
Gladiolus had settled down in one of the camping chairs with a book, and Ignis was putting away the last cooking utensils, when Prompto came out of the tent. He had his camera out and seemed very excited. "Noct! Hey, Noct!"
The Prince in question turned from his place by the fire. "What is it?" Prompto made a gesture for him to come over and so Noctis reluctantly got up.
Prompto was bouncing up and down on his heels, clutching his camera and giving Noctis a look that said it all. "Let me guess, there is a photo spot around here and you want me to come with you?" Noctis rolled his eyes but couldn't help but smile at Prompto's excitement. Every time they passed a particularly beautiful spot, Prompto made the whole party stop just to get the perfect shot. It was a bit annoying at times, but the results spoke for themselves. It made Prompto happy to be able to contribute to their journey record, and Noctis loved to see the events of the day in candid photographs.
"Dude, yes! There is a lake in this forest somewhere…that way." Prompto pointed in a general direction somewhere to their left, after looking at a map on his phone. "It's supposed to be very beautiful and kind of famous around here. Also, there probably will be fish. Loads of fish." He gave Noctis a pouting smile. "Pleeease?"
Noctis sighed. "Okay, okay. I come with you. Might as well go fishing while you take your shots."
"Yes!" Prompto cheered, took Noctis by the wrist and dragged him over to the campfire. "Hey, guys, we wanted to go check out that cool lake. Do you wanna come with or…?" He let the end of the question hover in the air and Noctis knew he only asked out of politeness. Gladiolus knew it, too, and exchanged looks with Ignis, who just nodded. "No, I think we're good. You kids go have fun. Just…don't get lost or anything. And be back before dark."
"Don't worry, we will. And according to the map it's not that far away. So…see you later then." Noctis waved a short goodbye and followed Prompto, who was already on his way out of the haven.
"Oy, Prompto!" The addressed stopped at Gladiolus' call and turned his head back. "Remember to keep an eye out for prince charming. We don't want him falling into the water and drown just because he was kissed by a fish." Ignis choked on his coffee and Noctis turned bright red.
"Yeah, right…we should go." Noctis took Prompto by the wrist and the two walked towards the forest. Moments later they were gone between the trees and Ignis gave Gladiolus a disapproving look. "Kissed by a fish? Really Gladio?"
"What? Ok, that was a bad one. But you can't tell me this is going to be a pure photo quest? Have you seen Noctis face?" Gladiolus let out a guffaw and Ignis rolled with his eyes. "So? Let those two have their private time, for whatever quest they desire. Besides, we will have at least an hour to ourselves now, too." The cooking utensils were neatly put away by now and Ignis was drinking a cup of Ebony, leaning against the camping table.
"Oh, really?" Gladiolus put his book away, got up and walked towards Ignis, eyebrows raised.
"Yes, really. The way to and from the lake takes roughly thirty minutes, plus the time…." Ignis stopped mid-sentence, when Gladiolus placed a soft kiss on his neck. "…spent at the lake itself."
"We should have at least three hours of sunlight left…how do you want to spend your evening?"
Ignis placed the empty coffee mug on the table. "I have something in mind…"
"We need to move a bit to the left, and then straight and then we should see it already!" Prompto was walking ahead, phone map in hand and camera dangling around his neck. Noctis was following close behind, paying attention to the surroundings. The forest was actually really beautiful, and one of them should at least try to keep an eye out for potential danger, although at this time of day an attack should be highly unlikely. They had been going through the underbrush for nearly forty minutes now and despite the view, Noctis was looking forward to leaving it behind. Walking through bushes in shorts was not the most pleasant thing to do, even when you were wearing boots.
"There it is!" Prompto exclaimed as they broke through the forest edge. Ahead of them was a lake in the middle of a huge clearing, nearly as big as the Vesperpool. "Oh wow, it sure is beautiful! Look at those little islands and…hey, there even is a fishing spot!"
Prompto already snapped pictures of the lake, and Noctis decided to let him have his fund and whip out his rod. The fishing spot was small and consisted of a sandbar leading from the edge a few meters into the lake. He decided on an all-round lure, not determined on a particular catch, just zoning out a bit. It was quiet, besides the clicks of Prompto's camera and his footsteps in the muddy grass. This was Noctis' favourite thing about fishing: No stress, no responsibilities or expectations, just him and the water. He could stay here for hours.
After a few minutes, or hours, Noctis didn't keep track of the time, the clicking and running stopped. He looked up but couldn't see Prompto anywhere. "Prom…?" Turning around, he was greeted by a camera snap and a grinning face.
"Ha, gotcha!" Prompto was standing close behind him, laughing. "Dude, look at your face! Did I interrupt your meditation or something? Don't let Gladio hear that I managed to sneak up on you."
"Haha, very funny Prompto. I was just…focused on the fish, that's all." In that moment, a tug on the string brought the attention of both men back to the fishing rod. "Uhhh, I think you got one!" Prompto started jumping up and down, while Noctis tried to reel in the catch. "Hey, a little help here?"
"Ah, right, just a minute…" Prompto put his camera in a save place and put his hands over Noctis' on the fishing rod. "Ok, one, two…" Both tugged as hard as they could, but the sandbank provided no footing and their feet just got dragged through the mud.
"I can't…!" Suddenly, the rod slipped out of Noctis' hands and the momentum was enough to send both falling to the ground.
"Ouch…" Noctis landed on top of Prompto, who was laying in the mud like a starfish. "I think, we still need Gladio for this stuff."
"Yeah… are you ok?" Noctis got up, careful not to entangle them in the string of the fishing rod. "Jap, no biggie. Although, my pants are now…woah!"
In one swift movement, Noctis had grabbed Prompto by the hand and brought him back to his feet. However, he did not let go of his hand and their faces were now mere centimetres from each other. "What were you saying about your pants?"
"Ah…w-well…nothing." Prompto stuttered and was turning red as a tomato. "Mhm, if you say so…" With a smile, Noctis closed the space between them and softly pressed his lips on Prompto's. The blonde returned the kiss and moaned softly, when Noctis' hand slid in his back pocket.
The kiss was broken after a few seconds, but they were still standing there, Noctis' hand in Prompto's back pocket, the fishing rod forgotten to their feet.
"So, do you wanna show me that picture you took?"