Title: The Fugitive

Summary: 'Got a place you have to be?' The blond man sighed, 'No.' 'Good, because you're coming with me.' Noctis. Prompto.

Disclaimer: Don't own anything but the plot, ofc. :)

A take on how Noctis and Prompto might have met. This fic is sort of friendship-y, but also contains NoctisxPrompto... if you look for it. I was kind of at loss in which category to place it. xD
Well, I hope you guys like it.

Enjoy~

'Idiots!'

Noctis' fist collided with the tree, making small bits of bark fly off. How could people be so ignorant? How could they be smiling and laughing, ignoring the enemy troops invading their home?
His other fist crashed into the tree with possibly even more violence.

'Peace treaty, my ass,' he muttered venomously. If anything, the occupation forces were growing by the day, slowly taking over all the cities.
According to Ignis, they were even searching the kingdom for fugitives of their own country, to execute them. The downright shamelessness with which Niflheim was prancing around, pretending to own the place, was infuriating.
Noctis hadn't been able to stand looking at it any longer, so he'd done the only thing he could do: snatch the car, and drive off to the forest. He couldn't be caught acting like this in public.
Deciding he had abused the trees enough, Noctis took some deep breaths to calm himself, and moved on.
Aimless, no direction in mind, and lost in thought.

It was only when he looked up at the darkening sky a lot later, he started to wonder... How long had it been now since he left? He'd lost all track of time after he'd started walking. Noctis shuddered when some branches crackled behind him unexpectedly. Not that he was afraid of the dark or anything, not at all, but maybe he should've at least let Ignis or Gladiolus know where he'd went… A feeling of discomfort washed over him. He really should be heading back soon.

Walking on, Noctis was much more alert to the forest sounds. Every breaking branch sounded louder, and every movement in the shadows looked more dangerous. Noctis almost leaped into the air when he heard something in the bushes. Something bigger than usual.
The little hairs on his neck were standing up, but he wasn't afraid. He was a Prince dammit, he never feared anything! And there weren't any creatures in this place he couldn't beat...
Despite hearing Ignis in his head, sighing and telling him not to, Noctis cautiously approached the bushes. He materialized his sword in his hand. It couldn't hurt to just make sure there was nothing, right?
When he got close enough, he swallowed nervously, and with one movement, pulled the leaves aside.

Nothing.

It was just his own mind and the twilight playing tricks on him, after all. Noctis sighed with relieve as the tension left his body. Now, he'd better get moving again.
He turned around, found himself looking straight into the barrel of a gun, and froze.

Crap.

Okay, okay, stay calm, and observe, he told himself.
Noctis moved his eyes from the gun, to the man holding it, scanning him over with his eyes. Blond messy hair, beat up face, dirty clothes, breathing heavily… a Niflheim fugitive? Very possibly even one that the enemy soldiers were looking for, Noctis swiftly deducted, remembering Ignis' words.

Ignis… What had his advisor told him to do in such situations? Try to reason. Right!

'I'm not a Niflheim soldier,' Noctis tried, glad that his voice didn't sound as spooked as he felt.

He had not expected that to work at all, but the tense face of the fugitive relaxed somewhat, and he lowered the gun.
'Ah, my bad. Sorry.'

'It's... okay,' Noctis said, dumbfounded that his stupid line had actually worked.
He couldn't help but wonder how such a gullible person could've escaped Niflheim. But this did verify the man as an escapee from that hellhole. If that was so, Noctis was almost obligated to do something to obscure their attempt to capture him.

'A word of advice: don't go to the city nearby. It's crawling with soldiers right now,' he told him.

Noctis saw the blond man tense again at the mentioning of the soldiers, but a sort of sly grin soon made place for it.
'I see… but I will have to ask who's offering this advice first though.'

Hm, maybe he wasn't as naive as Noctis initially thought. Like hell he was going to say that he was the Prince, though.
'I'm just someone who believes it is in his best interest not to let Niflheim have what they want,' Noctis said instead.

The blond man seemed to consider his words, before he smiled yet again. 'Well, okay. If that's the case, I'll be taking that advice.'

Noctis just nodded solemnly, resisting the urge to smile back- his smile was kind of contagious, and turned around to leave.
He'd only taken one step, before stopping again though.
'You may have been lucky so far, but you're far too trusting you know,' he said, not sure why he'd done that. He shouldn't be feeling concerned about someone he just met. Especially not someone from Niflheim.
Noctis couldn't see the blond's face now, but he could feel his eyes on his back.

'So are you, for turning your back on me while I got a gun,' he countered.
It could've been a threat, but Noctis could hear the smile sounding in his voice, making it clear he was only teasing.

'...If you wanted to shoot me, you'd have already done it.'

The fugitive let out a laugh, and Noctis couldn't help but chuckle a bit himself too. At both his laugh, and at the absurdness of this situation.
He made sure he had his emotionless mask plastered on again before he spun around to face the other man, though.

'You… got a place you have to be?'

The blond's grin vanished, and Noctis immediately regretted asking it.

'Try tons of places I shouldn't be,' he sighed, with a dejected look on his face.
Noctis shifted uncomfortably. That sulky expression didn't suit him at all, and he wanted it gone.

'Good, because you're coming with me.'

The words had slipped out of Noctis' mouth before he'd even considered the consequences, but he didn't mind. He cared even less when he saw the eyes of the blond man widening in surprise, with a perfect 'o' shaped mouth finishing the look. It made him look so comical, Noctis wanted to laugh.
He had only met him minutes ago, and he didn't even know his name, but it seemed this guy could make him smile effortlessly with anything he did. Noctis quickly turned his back on the fugitive again so he wouldn't notice his amusement, and started walking. More content with it than he thought he'd be, Noctis registered the quick footsteps behind him, indicating that the blond was following.

Heh, even his footsteps made Noctis smile.

Hm, this ship should totally get a name. Maybe something like Promptis, or Nocto? I prefer Promptis, lol! Not that it's related to this or anything, but the name Ignito (IgnisxPrompto) is pretty amusing too. xD