Chapter Thirteen: I See The Sea

Things were going considerably well. The travelling group now had a large amount of Gil to get them through the next few weeks. Regis had left with his parting gift being two pouches full of Gil. Noctis had refused them at first, insisting that they'd be fine without, but the King had surreptitiously planted them in the tent. By the time the pouches had been discovered King Regis and his Shield had been long gone.

Noctis, Ignis, Gladio and Prompto had been travelling around for a few days now, visiting the outposts and small towns littering the lands outside Insomnia. They'd stick around for a couple of days, Noctis making a particular effort to socialise and get to know the citizens of what was to one day become his Kingdom. Then they'd move on to the next location.

Prompto was enjoying it, seeing the sights of the world for the first time. He was happy here, happier than he'd ever been before. He was with his friends, being protected and cared for and seeing new, wonderful things every day.

It was perfect, he decided, except for the cutting pain deep in his chest, growing by the and day. He could ignore that though, just like he was ignoring how the stickiness of black daemon blood rose in his throat every once in a while. How he had to leave -under the premise of a 'pee break' - to go and throw his guts up out of sight of the group, only to force a smile and pretend like nothing had happened. He didn't want to worry Noctis, nor Ignis and Gladiolus. He wouldn't be a burden to them. He refused to be.

"Noctiiiis, are we nearly there yet?" The Prince looked down at Prompto as he heard his name leave the blonde's lips, a smile tugging at his lips at the smaller male's whining. "Not yet. If you went to sleep it'd go a lot quicker."

Prompto groaned at that, shifting to try and get comfortable. He was sat in the back of the car with Noctis, stretched out across the seats with his head resting in the Prince's lap. His boots were safely tucked away on the floor of the car. It had taken a full ten minutes to figure out how to unlace the damn things, but he'd refused to get the pristine seats of the Regalia dirty with his mud-caked boots. He was pretty sure Ignis would straight up murder him if he had.

"I don't know how you can sleep so easily." Prompto grumbled, turning his head slightly so his eyes were hidden from the sun in Noctis' shirt. " 'S not fair."

Despite how the words had been muffled by his shirt Noctis understood them well enough, running a hand through soft blonde locks to try and calm his friend down. "Come on, it's not too hard. You'll fall asleep eventually. Just try harder."

"Of course, your Majesty. As you wish" Noctis rolled his eyes at that, giving the blonde a jab to the ribs in retaliation. Prompto squeaked and didn't say anything else, Noctis relaxing in his seat once he heard soft snores coming from the sleeping blonde. Well, seemed like Prompto was finally out for the count then. Good.

Prompto had been subjected to a particularly long night; last night they'd had to stay at a regular campsite due to the lack of nearby havens. It would have been reckless to sleep without someone standing guard. Prompto had insisted that he could do it, and after only a little grumbling Gladio had agreed to let the blonde guard them. Both Prince and retainers had slept peacefully through the night, Prompto staying vigilant outside the tent the whole time, not falling asleep even once.

That morning Noctis had sworn that if Prompto didn't get some sleep during the drive to Galdin Quay then he'd put caterpillars in his food. The threat had been enough to make the gunner agree to getting at least a few hours sleep, which had lead to their current seating arrangement: Gladio was staring out the window at the front trying very hard not to get motion sick. Noctis was sitting in the back like usual, Prompto spread out across the empty seats, Ignis taking the wheel.

Noctis noted with a fond smile that Prompto looked relaxed like this. Happy, at peace with the world. He decided he'd like to see more of that face. A happy Prompto was the best kind of Prompto, after all.

"C'mon sleeping beauty. Rise and shine."

Prompto's eyes cracked open as he was woken by Gladio, the man tapping his leg until he managed to rouse the blonde from his slumber. A sleepy yawn left Prompto's lips as he sat up and stretched out all the aches and pains that came with sleeping in the car. Luckily the aching was minimal- it turned out Noctis made a surprisingly good pillow. Prompto's eyes snapped open as the sudden, unfamiliar smell of the sea filled his lungs. It had a particular scent, brisk and salty, and it was something he'd never experienced before.

"Iggy, what's that? Why's there so much water?"

Prompto had propped himself up in the Regalia, elbows resting on the sun heated metal as he stared out at the sea. The waters of Galdin Quay were particularly clear today, only a slight breeze blowing through the area, keeping the sweltering heat of the sun at a pleasant warmth.

"That's the ocean, Prompto. I assume you've never seen it before?" The blonde shook his head in response to the advisor's question, finally exiting the Regalia as Noctis opened the door for him.

"I'd never been outside before I met you guys" he admitted, as the group begun to walk down the boardwalk towards the bustling restaurant, The Mother Of Pearl. They couldn't afford to rent rooms there, but they could at least get some good food.

"Master said it was to keep me safe, but I guess he just didn't want me to run away"

"Master? Who's that?" Prompto looked up in momentary surprise at Noctis' words, before remembering the concept of being owned was something completely foreign to the Prince.

He was quick to explain himself, a nonchalant shrug accompanying his words. "Oh, just a stupid scientist." He assured, trying to banish the memories that had flooded his mind. Wavy red hair that always seemed to have a certain scent of decay, and a grating voice that spoke mockingly playful words, which could turn harsh and cruel in an instant.

Prompto shuddered despite the sun smiling down on them, suddenly feeling inexplicably cold. "Come on, can we go inside already? I'm starving to death."

Ignis nodded in agreement "Yes, let's. Perhaps I'll be able to pick up a new recipe or two?" Noctis laughed at that, pulling a bag of Gil from the ether so they could pay. It was going to be expensive, but even Ignis admitted they deserved a good meal, and they had the Gil to spare.

"Let me know when you do, specs. I'll try it out, as long as there aren't any vegetables included"

It turned out that, while there were many wonderful dishes at Galdin Quay, the one Ignis was particularly interested in was completely vegetable based. Noctis complained that his advisor was doing it just to spite him, and Ignis ignored the accusation completely, not willing to deny it. Lying to the Prince was technically treason after all.

They'd ended up ordering quite the range of meals. Noctis had ordered the Galdin Gratin, hold the side-salad. Prompto had eaten the Steamed Crab with Rock Salt. The blonde had enjoyed it immensely, although had admitted that the salt was just a tad too strong for his tastes. Gladio had gone simple with the White Fish In Tomato Sauce, and Ignis with the delectable Sea's Bounty Risotto that he hoped to later recreate. The food had been brilliant, almost as good as Ignis' cooking. Nothing could quite match the well practised chef's dishes though, each one crafted with love and an eye for perfection.

While the food had tasted wonderful -and had cost them an eighth of their total savings- it hadn't been all that filling. The portions had been decidedly small, sticking with the 'fine dining' theme Galdin Quay had going, and it really hadn't been enough to satisfy the four testosterone filled men.

As night set in and the sky darkened they'd ended up buying fish and chips. Armed with three huge boxes full of chips and four servings of Allural Sea Bass Fillet, they'd sat by the sea at Galdin Shoals and ate their fill. Both Noctis and Prompto were sprawled out on the sand, staring up at the sky that always had the blonde so entranced. Ignis and Gladio chatted, finishing off the last of the chips as they scraped the dregs of ketchup from the bottom of the polystyrene frya trays.

"Hey Prompto, why do you like the sky so much? You never told me."

The gunner didn't look away from the field of stars scattered across inky black, taking a few moments before he answered Noct's question. His voice was hushed, barely audible over the waves crashing just a few feet away, as if he was afraid the whole world would fall apart if he spoke too loudly.

"I was never allowed outside, remember? So I never got to see it 'till now."

Noctis raised an eyebrow at that, turning his head back up to the sky with a small yawn. "Mm.. how did you get your vitamins then? Did they force feed you loads of veggies, too? Gross"

The blonde laughed at that, shaking his head. He knew he'd have a lot of sand stuck in his hair after this, but he didn't mind. Sand too was something new to him and he loved it, how it could be soft like silk but hard and grainy all at the same time. "Nah, they injected us with all that important stuff to make sure we got it. It was like five injections every morning?"

Noctis shuddered at just the mention of injections, and they fell back into comfortable silence. Ignis and Gladio had gone quiet too, content to simply stare out at the sea for a little while. Every now and then the flashing lights of boats were visible in the distance, little ships milling around in the vast expanse of waves.

Prompto looked over at Noctis as he felt warm skin against his hand, the Prince intertwining their fingers. He was met with Noct's soft smile, those kind blue eyes twinkling in the dark. "Love you, Prom Pom"

Prompto felt a smile bloom on his face as he heard the soft words from Noctis, squeezing the other's hand gently in reply. "Love you too, Noct"

Note: These four give me life hnngh.