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"What is that?"
"Um, it's a couch, Iggy," Prompto grunted. "What does it look like to you?"
Ignis regarded Prompto with a skeptical gaze as he folded his arms over his chest. Noctis' high school friend was carrying in a large box with Noctis lifting the other side, and they'd just made it through the doorframe when Ignis intervened.
The two had spent nearly an entire day hunting for a new piece of furniture for the prince's apartment, but judging by the box picture their choice was…questionable to Ignis. Simply put, it was hideous.
The box landed on the ground with a loud thud. Noctis stretched his arms while Prompto cracked his back, and they both yawned in unison. Prompto soon went behind the kitchen counter and began digging through drawers.
"If you're looking for scissors, third drawer from the right," Ignis instructed.
Prompto flashed him a thumbs up and a grin. Thankfully he at least knew better than to run with scissors, walking over to Noctis with his grip on the blades. Noctis was busy staring intently at the couch already in the room, most likely trying to figure out the placement of the new one.
Ignis adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat. "Are you sure you need a new couch? Just yesterday you bought a new television set, and now this," he said cautiously. "Maybe I can look past the wasting of your expenses, but shouldn't you both be studying?"
For all his efforts and constant reminders, Noctis still shrugged him off. "Plenty of time for that. It's the weekend, and we don't have any exams for a couple of days." Of course Ignis couldn't hope for him to study. "Oh, and Prompto's staying over tonight." The boy raised his head at the mention of his name and gave a curt wave and a smile.
With a small sigh he didn't even try to conceal, Ignis straightened his back. "Very well. In that case, I'll be taking my leave. There's plenty to eat in the fridge, and I suggest eating at a reasonable time tonight. And do try not to make a mess."
"Yeah, alright. Bye." Noctis barely glanced at him, helping Prompto to open the box.
"Bye, Ignis!" At least Prompto acknowledged him more.
Ignis retrieved his shoes by the door and looked back one final time before he left. He couldn't help but wonder if one day he'd check in to find Prompto fully moved into the place.
As the door closed Prompto slid the scissors over the thick tape along the sides of the box. "Shouldn't we tell Ignis about us sooner or later?" he asked.
Noctis pulled the final flap of the box so that it stood open. "I have a feeling he already knows. He's just not saying anything about it."
"Wait, for real? Aw, I thought we were being careful!" Prompto pouted and flicked a speck of stray foam packaging onto the ground.
"Around Ignis?" Noctis shook his head with a laugh. "Prom, you're just short of making out with me right in front of him. Trust me, he noticed."
Prompto fished around the inside for the instructions. "But I like kissing you," he joked. "He should be fine with me kissing you, yeah?"
Noctis shrugged. "I hope so." He leaned over to place a quick peck on Prompto's cheek. "Now let's get this couch together before we get too lazy and tired to do it."
"Good idea," Prompto agreed, turning his attention to the instructions.
"Alright, it says here that the parts are numbered, so…ah, here!" The numbers on the pieces were a bit difficult to distinguish, but he was putting them nonetheless. One, two three, four for the bottom supporting beams on the thing. All the other ones were more confusing, smaller pieces meant for attachments.
Prompto was beginning to have a difficult time trying to decipher the instructions after the first few steps. Even Noctis was still struggling with one of the springs, putting it in various places not even remotely near each other in attempts to fit it somewhere.
After nearly twenty minutes of getting nowhere and grumbling frustrated noises, Noctis finally spoke up. "Okay, these instructions aren't making any sense."
"I know!" Prompto exclaimed. "Can you do some magic thing to make it finish itself?"
"You know I can't do anything even remotely like that."
"Worth a shot."
A deep rumble of thunder cut through their conversation. Prompto hadn't even noticed how dark the sky outside had grown throughout the day. "It's about to rain," he pointed out.
Noctis nodded. "Yeah, looks like it."
"Well," Prompto announced, "now we have to finish this soon."
"Because of the rain?" Noctis asked, a look of confusion on his face that Prompto found cute on him.
Prompto was already beginning to scan through the directions again. "Duh. You think I'm passing up an opportunity to wrap up in a huge blanket with you and watch movies in the rain? Don't think so."
It had always been Prompto's routine during a storm to find the softest blanket he could and cocoon himself in it while watching a movie or even just taking a nap. The idea of finally sharing that with the person he cared about most made him ecstatic.
Noctis only shrugged. "Alright. Do you want me to call Gladio over to help?" he offered.
"That guy? Nah, I think we've got it," Prompto said. In reality, he was just the slightest bit intimidated by the prince's shield, especially since he barely knew him. So he just began to work faster. "Look, I got it to fit!"
The two ran through the process more quickly after that. Noctis yawned at least four times while they were working, and Prompto began wondering how long he could stay awake.
Once they were finally done, Prompto took a few steps back to admire the new couch. It was a short thing, a weird greenish-gray cloth that was the kind of fuzzy material where you could run your finger over it to create darker patterns. It was hideous and didn't go with anything else in the room, but both Prompto and Noctis had agreed in the store that it was the absolute softest thing they'd ever felt. Now was the problem of where to put it.
"Maybe if we put it on the side of the other-"
"Aw, but that's too far from the TV!" Prompto interrupted.
Noctis sighed and moved around the couches to see the different angles, Prompto following him around to do the same.
Once Prompto realized that there was no other optimal spot, he decided that the only possibility was to move the old couch.
With a quick heave, Prompto pulled the arm of the couch closer to the other end of the wall just enough to make space for the new one. A decorative pillow fell to the ground in its place, which Noctis picked up.
"I'll help," Noctis said as he walked over to the new couch. Together they managed to fit it into the space between the two, and Prompto was very ready to fall into it the moment they were done.
The rain was beginning to drum harder against the large windows, and Prompto hurried to the kitchen in search of food as a distant rumble of thunder reached his ears. "Hey, Noct, you wanna just make cup noodles real quick?"
"Sure, I guess." Noctis snatched a few blankets from a nearby closet and tossed them onto the couch. "We can use those."
Prompto was already getting out the food. He'd learned Noctis' kitchen structure even before they'd started dating when he would visit, and since Ignis always kept it organized the same way, he could easily find whatever he wanted.
While Prompto stood by the counter waiting for them to finish heating up, he felt a gentle pair of arms snake around his waist. "Look at you, acting like you live here."
Prompto chucked. "Not yet I don't. But I do think I know this place better than you do."
"Oh yeah?" Noctis asked. "Prove it."
Without looking at him, Prompto tilted his head towards the furthest cabinet. "Ignis hides the extra food behind the bowls you never use so you don't eat it."
The look of shock on Noctis' face was priceless. "He what?"
"Wait, don't tell him I told you that!"
"Nope, too late. You already told me."
Prompto pouted. "Don't get me in trouble, please," he begged. "Ignis isn't even in charge of me and I feel like he's my parent."
With a small laugh, Noctis rested his chin on Prompto's shoulder. "Imagine how I feel."
"Dunno, my parents are always out for work." Saying it out loud, Prompto felt a dull pang of sadness at the reminder that his parents were always gone for days, sometimes weeks at a time. He wished they would check in more. "I don't think they even know we're friends, honestly."
He felt Noctis' embrace tighten ever so slightly and breathed a quiet sigh. "Sorry, being dramatic again. Didn't mean to turn the joke to be about me," he said.
"Don't be sorry, I understand. But I'll do my best to be there for you in their place." His words brought a warm smile to Prompto's face. He felt really lucky to have someone like Noctis around to keep him company.
The moment was cut off by the beeping of the microwave.
"Noodles!" he yelled in excitement.
"Let them cool off for a minute," Noctis said. "Wanna pick a movie while we wait?"
"Will do." Prompto flashed a thumbs up and hurried over to the small shelf of movies, kneeling to see the ones at the bottom. The stack of movies—most of them were brought by Prompto over many visits—had a selection across a few wildly different genres, including a few more romantic comedies than he would readily admit.
Prompto glanced outside again. The rain was only getting worse. "You up for horror tonight?" he asked with a small smirk.
He wasn't entirely sure of his boyfriend's stance on horror, but he wasn't about to let the opportunity pass. Noctis would either enjoy it and they'd laugh at all the dumb characters, or he'd be terrified and they'd hold on to each other the whole time. Either way, it was a win.
To his slight disappointment, Noctis only shrugged and leaned against the counter, looking apathetic and dramatic as ever. "If it's fine with you," he said casually.
"Aw, come on, I need a little more enthusiasm here." Prompto stuck his bottom lip up and stared at him like a hurt puppy. "Tell me you really want to?"
Noctis looked momentarily stunned. "Okay, I really want to watch a horror movie with you."
Prompto beamed. "That's the spirit!" He shuffled through several of the films as Noctis came to kneel beside him. "How's this?" he asked, holding several up for Noctis to see.
"What's…The Babadook?" Noctis looked him in the eyes quizzically. "That a weird name."
"Oh, that," Prompto said with a laugh. "I've heard it's really stupid. We have to watch that."
Noctis tilted his head slightly as he looked over the cover, but didn't seem to mind. "If you say so. Let's go for it."
The noodles had cooled down enough by the time Prompto retrieved them, and Noctis had already inserted the DVD and was waiting for him under the pile of blankets. To say Prompto was excited was an understatement. He was a sucker for being sappy.
With all the lights off and the movie starting up, Prompto plopped down into the space between the arm of the chair and Noctis. He situated himself so that the four blankets covered him and Noctis with allowed arm room to eat their cup noodles.
"Ready?" Noctis asked.
Prompto nodded. "Hit it."
The movie began, and they fell silent.
Of course, they couldn't even make it past the first scene before they began ridiculing it to no end.
"Can you tell what's going on?"
"I really can't, Prom."
Prompto slurped his noodles and watched the woman onscreen flail about in slow motion.
Out of the corner of his eye he could see Noctis squinting. "Did they get in a car wreck or something?" They both registered the confused look in each other's eyes and shrugged.
Several more minutes into the movie, the empty cups set down on the coffee table, Prompto pulled the blankets up to his chin. Noctis leaned into his side and laughed a bit. "This is the weirdest beginning to a movie I've ever seen," he mused.
"And that kid really likes to scream a lot. Just look at him, mom lady!" Prompto yelled at the screen.
Prompto felt Noctis' arm wrap around his side and his lips press against his cheek in a small kiss. "Pretty sure they can't hear you."
"What, you want me to say it louder?"
"Please don't."
They both tried to suppress their giggling as Prompto leaned in for a proper kiss.
Noctis smiled. "This is absolutely the most unromantic movie we could be watching right now," he said.
With a grin, Prompto shrugged. "We both picked it."
"Hm, kiss me again," Noctis muttered.
Prompto gasped dramatically. "But what if the Babadook sees and tries to take me away?"
Noctis snorted. "He can try."
"Alright, alright." Prompto figured he could spare a few kisses for him.
While they sat on their awful couch and locked lips in a sleepy kiss, the movie played on. They only stopped when a scream onscreen jolted Noctis back.
"Maybe we should…watch this first," he suggested.
"Uh-huh, yeah."
They spent a while still criticizing every bit of the movie and laughing at each other's comments. Prompto was glad that they could find time to do these things, fairly sure that Noctis felt the same.
It was a bit of surprise to Prompto to see that Noctis had stayed awake for over half the movie. He had slowly snuggled up to Prompto, who was leaning against the arm of the couch. Prompto could feel Noctis' warm breath against the base of his neck as the other boy rested his head on Prompto's shoulder and breathed a soft sigh..
He wasn't really paying attention to the movie anymore either, so he shut off the TV for the night. As the rain continued to drum its dull pattern behind him and Noctis' breathing evened out, Prompto smiled..
"Hey, Noct," he whispered. "Thank you. I really love spending time with you, and I'm so happy we can be together here. Love ya." He ended the sentence with a kiss to the top of Noctis' head.
Since Prompto was fairly sure neither of them would be very comfortable in the morning if they stayed sitting up, he gently hooked his arms around Noctis and lowered him to lay down on the couch. Prompto positioned himself so that his back was pressed against the couch and Noctis was facing away from him, since he knew Noctis would inevitably throw his leg off the side of it during the night.
A low roll of thunder drowned out any final thoughts Prompto had as he held Noctis snugly against him, knowing he could sleep soundly that night. He was content to stay that way for as long as possible.