"Hey Noct," Prompto whispered as he got to his chair.

"Hey Prom. Good to have you back. I missed you." Noctis whispered back with a little smile.

Prompto took his seat and sat up straight. He glanced down at the silverware and items placed around on the table before him. "So, how was it waiting for me?"

"Terrible. I missed you for hours." Noctis said dramatically.

Prompto snorted. "Drama prince."

Noctis smiled, stifling back his laughter at that in such a public venue. "No one would believe you." He teased.

"Like I would rat you out to the public."

"You wouldn't. That's why you are the best. They're about to serve the first course, you ready?" Noctis asked, a little furrow on his brow in worry.

"Yeah, ready as I'll ever be for something like this."

"You'll be fine. You've learned well and listened well, and I have full faith in you." Ignis assured him as the first course came into the hall.

The food was set down and the announcement was given that the dinner would begin. Prompto took in several more deep breaths before he started eating, doing what he had been taught. He tried his best to not constantly look at Noctis as he ate, not wanting to look like he was copying him. He had to keep on trying to show Noctis that he was okay being there with him.

Noctis had little trouble settling down to his prince persona for the meal, though he looked over at Prompto to make sure he was alright. When he saw the other struggling, he turned to look at him. "Is everything to your taste? Or is this a bit rich for your refined palate?" He asked softly, trying to find a good excuse why Prompto would struggle with the dishes.

"N-No it isn't that. Food tastes great, it's just a lot to constantly keep remembering. How do you do it?"

"I guess some practice. I've gone to plenty of these in my life. You'll get used to them?"

"I mean I guess. I doubt I could ever get used to it," Prompto muttered.

"It's hard to get used to, but, I'll invite you to as many as you'd like if you want to learn more."

"R-Really? Y-You'd do that for me?"

"Of course. I'm ever at your side, Prompto." Noctis said softly, knocking his wrist on Prompto's wrist.

"Hey, that's my line," Prompto laughed.

"I've got you. I won't let you fail, promise." Noctis assured him softly. "You'll be great."

"Okay," Prompto whispered. "Lead the way."

"I've got you, through all of this." Noctis promised as he put them into the not familiar dance position for a more complicated waltz. They started the dance with the music. "Would you like to do a spin? Or not now?" he whispered during their dance.

"I think we need to build up the excitement with the audience first," Prompto replied, trying to hide his nervousness under a joke. Even when he tried to do that, Noctis could still see underneath now Prompto really was.

Noctis nodded at the response. "Alright, we'll build the excitement. I plan on having plenty of dances with the guest of honor." He said with a smile.

"Wait, there's another guest of honor? Someone besides me?"

The question made him tilt his head. "There's only you, silly. I want all the dances with you, Prompto."

Prompto's face began to redden again, but he was frowning. "Come on, you don't mean that. I thought you were wanting to get dances with the girls and stuff..."

"There are plenty of girls, but you are the guest of honor for tonight. The only one." Noctis confessed softly.

Prompto's hands tightened slightly. He closed his eyes as they still stepped to the waltz's beat. "Yeah I guess so. Don't understand why... but if it's what you say, then okay."

Noctis squeezed his hands back. "I speak the truth. Now, for this moment, enjoy the dance until it ends. We can keep dancing, or you can find someone else."

"I... I'll keep dancing with you," Prompto admitted.

"Then I'll keep you safe, till you find a girl you want to dance with." Noctis assured him, happy to keep Prompto in his arms.

"Sure yeah, sounds good," Prompto muttered, sounding a little disappointed.

Noctis felt his brow furrow at those words. "You okay Prom? Should I get you a seat or something?"

Prompto looked up at him, his eyes widening a little. "Huh? O-Oh no, I'm fine. Just... a little lost in my thoughts. No big deal."

"Okay, then, let me guide you along the dance floor and give you a fun time dancing." Noctis said softly, leaning in to whisper softly to his ear.

"Alright," Prompto said, giving the best smile he could. "Let's show these guests just what we know."

"Oh, if you want to do that, then you should just trust me." Noctis said with a giant smirk on his face. "But next song. This one is nearly done."

"You're the leader, I'll follow after you. You are the master dancer after all."

Noctis gave a little laugh at that. "I like how you trust me so much. The next one should be a foxtrot from the guide Ignis gave me. I would happily dance with you through that."

"Of course I trust you, you're my best friend. And foxtrot sounds fun, we could do that."

"Then we do a foxtrot. I'm so glad you're here. I've been hoping to have a gala with you like this for years. You make this evening so much better."

"Thanks. Thank you for inviting me. I mean, this is actually a lot of fun being here with you."

"And I'm really happy to have you here. You've made tonight so much more interesting than I could have expected." Noctis said softly.

"Really? What did I do? I just ate food and danced."

"You were you. I like spending my time with you."

"B-But..." Prompto faulted. "I still don't get why. Why do you make it seem like I am so special?"

"I know you can't see how great you are right now." Noctis said softly while they kept dancing through the music change. "And, I know you can't see how special you are during all those other times, but you really are."

With Prompto's face red again, he lowered his head. "You're just saying that."

"Why would I say that? I mean what I say, no matter what."

"I know! It's just... even with what you're saying, I still feel so out of place. Like I don't belong, and the negative thoughts in my head tell me you're just saying all this just because..." Prompto sighed. "I'm sorry... I don't want to ruin anything, I've just had these thoughts building up all day and..." Prompto trailed off with a shaky breath.

"Prompto, no, you can't-" Noctis pulled him a bit closer.

A loud slam startled the musicians enough to cause them to stop. The sound of an explosion added to the cacophony of the guests and guards getting into a panic. All Nocitis knew to do was to keep Prompto safe, pulling him in close, and watching over the area.

Screams broke out amongst the crowd, with some guests running towards the doors. There were already Kingsglaive running through the people, trying to make their way to where Noctis and Prompto stood.

Before they were able to get close, another explosion went off, this time somewhere close by and it shook the boys to the ground.

Noctis pulled Prompto in close. He eventually called the Engine Blade. "Trust me, I'll try and Warp us out of this." He semi-yelled to his friend over the shaking and the screaming. He was interrupted by another shake, and a group of people started to gather around him. "Prompto, I can try to get you away." He hissed in desperation.

"Alright!" Prompto shouted," his voice cracking a little over the crowd. He clung to Noctis tightly, preparing for anything that could happen.

He gripped Prompto hard and started to throw his sword. He didn't know if it was possible to warp someone else with him, but he would try no matter what. The sword flew from his hand, and they were soon followed but crashed to the floor getting only a little bit of the distance they needed to cover.

"Holy shit!" Prompto shouted despite crashing to the floor. "I actually warped!"

"Not far enough. Can you run?" Noctis asked while scrambling to his feet.

"A-Yeah! I think so!"

Noctis helped Prompto get to his feet as he heard people following them quickly. "Run, we have to run!" He hissed while holding his sword tightly.

"I'm trying!" Prompto said as he started to run. "But what about the Kingsglaive?"

"They should take care of the intruders. We need to get to a safe room."

"Okay yeah! Makes sense!"

Noctis grabbed his wrist and started to run out of the room. He stumbled as they got out of the door and ran straight into another body.

"Well, well, well, the prince came to us. Grab them!" The man ordered, a strong arm clamping onto his shoulder.

Prompto let out a shriek as someone suddenly grabbed him from behind. He was abruptly pulled away from Noctis's grip as he struggled in his captor's arms.

"No! Don't hurt him!" Noctis yelled as he fought against the person holding him.

"Come with us then, and we won't hurt him," was the tempting counter offer.

AN: GG: Let's have some dinner and dancing! Time to enjoy this gala. What could go wrong?

Noctis looked up at Prompto, eyes wide, before he nodded. "Okay, just don't hurt him."

One of the men smirked coldly. "Tie 'em both up. We need to hurry before those Glaive come."

"No, you said you wouldn't hurt him."

"We said we won't hurt him. We never said we wouldn't take him too. You need to pay better attention, prince."

Noctis struggled a little bit at that before a bag was put over his head.

"Retreat, we have our bounty now." A voice to the side said, and Noctis was shoved forward with people on either side of him to frog march was nothing else for them to do now but comply. One wrong move and Noctis knew it would end badly, so he had to wait for the right opportunity to act again.

AN: Riku: Well... that could have gone better. But hope you all enjoyed anyways XD