Prompto didn't expect Noctis to be so literal. He was very surprised when the king took him to the marketplace in Lestallum, just like he said he would.
It was smaller than any sort of market that was in Insomnia but people still bustled around one another as they shopped. Stalls littered the area with baskets, tables, and people huddled around everywhere. There wasn't as many people as Prompto imagined but there were still enough to take notice of them and whisper to each other of the royal presence and his guest.
Prompto's eyes darted back and forth between so many different people that they all started to look the same to him. He could feel the anxiety forming in his stomach, the feeling making him think that he had swallowed ten rocks which he would have probably preferred. It felt like the night out with Noctis just a few weeks ago except worse. The people were packed close together in the closed space of the market making their whispers and stares even more noticeable.
"Is that the King of Lucis? Who does he have with him?"
"I don't know who that blond boy is but the king is right there!"
"Maybe that kid is part of the Miracles-Do-Happen program? Perhaps his miracle was to meet the king?"
"Do you think I can get close enough to the kind to say hi?"
Prompto's not sure if he can do this. He hates to ruin Noctis' plan but this is becoming too much.
"So how did you like the ride here?"
"What?" Prompto's head snapped towards Noctis as his voiced pulled Prompto out of his hysteria. He was so caught up in everyone else he forgot that Noctis was standing right beside him.
"The ride. How did you like it?" Noctis had a smile on his face as he asked his question, eagerly awaiting Prompto's answer.
Prompto thought back on their journey to Lestallum. It started with them meeting up at Crow's Nest like any other outing, but Prompto noticed that something was different when Noctis pulled up in a car that looked similar to the Regalia yet different. He didn't really question it and got in with a smile on his face at finally being able to see Noctis again. Noctis had smiled back at him and leaned over to kiss his cheek, beard scratching against his cheek. A simple but intimate act that made Prompto's cheeks flush. They drove through Insomnia silently; Prompto waiting to see where Noctis would take him and Noctis waiting for the right moment. It wasn't until after they had were outside of the Wall did Noctis finally launch his surprise on Prompto. In just a few seconds, the Regalia had transformed and was in the sky. Noctis laughed at Prompto when he scrambled for anything to hold onto in his state of fright.
"It was cool! I never thought that something like that would have happened. One of the best moments in my life." Prompto laughed as he remembered the ride.
Noctis laughed with him, "Cool, yeah? It's the Regalia Type-F, something that my dad's mechanic's granddaughter did. She's pretty handy with some tools. Give her a wrench and a pile of scrap metal and she'll make you something amazing." He picked up an apple from one of the tables and handed it to Prompto while he gave the merchant money for the good.
Prompto turned the apple around in his hands a few times and let out a small laugh, "She sounds amazing. It would be nice to meet her one day," He took a bite from the apple as he walked through the stalls idly, glancing at the many goods that were scattered on the tables. Noctis walked beside him, glad that his mind was taken off of everyone else. A small smile had made its way onto Noctis' face as he watched Prompto walk from stall to stall. The sun seemed to have put a spotlight on Prompto, enveloping him in light and making him radiate as if he was some sort of being from another realm one can only dream of seeing. And when he turned around and flashed a smile Noctis swore that his heart skipped a beat.
Noctis opened his mouth to start up a conversation with Prompto- about what he doesn't know, anything that came to mind he supposed- but Prompto was gone in an instant. Surprised by the sudden movement, Noctis followed Prompto to the stand that he seemed to have darted to. He was holding a decal in his hand, turning it over in his hand and admiring it. It was a decal from the Ebony coffee brand that Noctis never really had a taste for even at his age now. He wondered why Prompto was so interested in it until Prompto answered his unspoken question.
"I have a friend who drinks this stuff a lot. I'm pretty sure it runs in his blood. He would love this." Prompto's smile grew bigger at the thought of giving this to Ignis.
Noctis nodded and reached for his back pocket, "Alright, let me just grab my wallet."
"No!" Prompto's hand grabbed Noctis' wrist to stop him. He let go when Noctis gave him a confused look, "It's just that this is going to be a gift and I want to buy it. Seems kind of weird to have someone else buy a gift for a friend." He gave Noctis an apologetic smile which Noctis smiled back at.
"Alright. I'll be over there whenever you get done." He pointed to the next stall over and left Prompto to make his purchase. Prompto watched him walk away before turning back to the merchant and groped around for his wallet in his pants.
Weird. He could have sworn his wallet was in one of his pocket. Maybe it was in one of the pockets on his vest.
He gave the merchant a sheepish smile when he failed to locate his wallet. He swears to the Six that he had it on him! He must have accidentally left it somewhere. But now he had no money and the perfect gift in his hands.
"Hey Noct?" Noctis turned around to face Prompto, eyebrow cocked in curiosity.
He gave Noctis a flattering smile, "Can I borrow ten gil?" He fluttered his eyelashes at Noctis to boost his charm.
Noctis laughed before pulling his wallet out, "Of course you can."
Once again, Prompto didn't expect Noctis to be so literal.
A few blocks away from the hotel was a park. Not a large park but big enough to hold some equipment for the children, joggers, and such that frequented the park. It was one of the nicer park though with gates lining the outside and the equipment looking brand new. The grass was a vibrant green and seemed to have been just cut that day. Children ran around joyfully as they played with one another on the playground and the jungle gym. Joggers ran by on the paved paths and people did yoga out in the open areas.
Prompto and Noctis decided that it would be a good idea to walk to the park rather than drive to it as the weather was nice. They made conversation on anything that caught their attention as they walked, hands brushing against each other. Their conversation died down when they reached the park entrance and looked around.
"So, what are we supposed to do?" Prompto's eyes swept the park for an idea of something to do but instead all he saw were stares. Because some of the people were busy, not many noticed them enter. And the ones who did stared for a second before turning back to watching their children or returning to their activity. Prompto felt relief at this and took a few more steps into the park.
Noctis crossed his arms as he thought, "We could throw a Frisbee."
Prompto let out a short laugh, "With your knee? I don't think so."
"What's wrong with my knee?" Noctis had told Prompto of the accident he had when he was younger but didn't expect him to make connections.
"Noct. I see you limping every now and then. I don't think playing Frisbee with your knee like that it a good idea. I mean, what if you blow your knee out?"
It was Noctis' turn to let out a laugh, "I'm not going to blow my knee out," He stared at Prompto for before opening his mouth, "What do you suggest we do then?"
Prompto looked around the park again until his eyes landed on a tree. Childhood memories flashed in his mind before he grabbed Noctis' hand and began pulling him, "Come on. I know what to do," When they were standing in front of the tree Prompto released Noctis' hand and sat down in the shade. He patted the space next to him, "Sit down," Noctis gave Prompto a perplexed look before following his instructions and sitting beside him. "Good. Now take your shoes off."
"What?"
"Your shoes, Noct. Take them off. And your socks." Prompto simply smiled at Noctis when he gave him another confused look.
"I don't exactly understand what I'm doing." But despite not knowing Noctis took his shoes and socks off before looking to Prompto.
"You're not supposed to understand. Now put your feet in the grass," Prompto began to take off his own socks and shoes to join Noctis in his unknown activity. Noctis, knowing that asking more questions would result in him getting more vague answers, did what Prompto said.
A few minutes passed before Noctis spoke, "I think I'm missing the point of this. What are we doing?"
Prompto grinned at him, "We're putting our feet in the grass and enjoying it. This," He motioned to their feet, "Is what kids do on a boring day."
"Prompto, I highly doubt that kids do this."
"Well I did it," He ignored the skeptic look Noctis gave him, "Wiggle your toes in the grass. Forget everything that is on your mind and just relax as you wiggle your toes. Doesn't it feel nice to do some wiggling?"
"Say wiggle one more time and see what happens." Prompto laughed at the threat, Noctis joining him after a few seconds.
Prompto laid down in the grass, watching as Noctis quickly followed his action. He smiled at the other before closing his eyes and enjoying the comfortable silence that surrounded them. He felt Noctis delicately trace his knuckles before interlocking their fingers together. He felt the smile on this face grow. He gave Noctis' hand a light squeeze and felt Noctis grip his hand a little tighter. Although they have held hands before, Prompto's heart was racing in his chest. He felt like this was different from the many times where they would hold hands to drag the other to somewhere or when they held hands in bed during one of their intimate moments.
A soft wind blew making the leaves above their heads rustle and neither of them said anything for a while. Until a smirk grew on Prompto's face.
"How does it feel to wiggle your toes in the grass?"
"Alright. I warned you."
Prompto opened his eyes to see Noctis standing up and looming over him. A fire lit in his eyes as he jumped up and ran to the other side of the tree. He poked his head out from around the trunk, "See if you can catch me, old man." Noctis watched as Prompto's head disappeared behind the tree again.
"Old? I'll show you who's old." He rounded the tree to see blond hair retreating to the other side again. He sighed and made his way to the other side to see Prompto nowhere in sight.
"Yoo-hoo!"
Noctis looked up and found Prompto sitting on one of the limbs in the tree. "How did you get up there so fast?"
Prompto shrugged nonchalantly, "I have many talents, Noct. Catch me." He braced himself to jump. The limb wasn't that high off the ground. Prompto could have jumped off of it and landed on the ground unharmed.
"Prompto, wait!" Noctis was worried that he wouldn't be able to catch Prompto and instead would have to take him to the hospital. But Prompto didn't wait and threw himself off of the branch. Noctis threw his arms out to catch Prompto. He was not prepared for when Prompto collided into his chest and knocked them both onto the ground. He groaned as he felt his head throb.
Prompto sat up on his knees quickly, "Oh my Gods, are you okay?" It was now Prompto's turn to be worried as he gently placed his hands on either side of Noctis' head.
Noctis blinked a few times then smiled, "I'm okay now that you're in my arms."
"That was so cheesy," Prompto sighed, "I'm so sorry. I should have listened to you. Are you seriously alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Noctis stared at Prompto with the only thought in his head being how the sun made Prompto's hair shine like a halo.
At this point, Prompto wasn't surprised by how literal Noctis was.
"Okay, yeah, I understand what you mean but I'm saying is that I don't think that the mall is the best place to help me overcome this." Prompto looked away from his window to Noctis.
Noctis laughed, "Have you seen the Lucian Mall?"
"Of course I've seen it. But I've never been inside, it's too expensive." Prompto remembered all the times he would jog by the mall and wonder what kind of shops were inside of it. He's always opted to use the stores around his house or the smaller malls that were within his price range.
"So you've never seen the size of the stores in it," Prompto shook his head, "Or the underground floors." Noctis smiled when he saw Prompto's eyes widen.
"There are underground floors? What happens if the mall collapses?" Prompto thought of all the possible outcomes that resulted in the people on the underground floors ending up trapped.
"There are tunnels leading out of the mall in case of an accident like that. My point is that the mall is huge and there are a lot of people coming in and out of it every second." Noctis glanced at Prompto and frowned when he saw the perturbed look Prompto had. "If you're not comfortable with this then we can always go home and hang out. We don't have to do this."
"No, I want to do this. I want to get over this and be able to be with you without having to worry about what other people think." When Prompto looked at Noctis again he had a determined look in his eyes that made Noctis smile again.
"Alright," Noctis parked the Regalia and turned the engine off, "And I don't care if people still talk. I like having you with me."
Prompto felt heat rise to his cheeks. "I like being with you too." Noctis' smile softened and they sat there for a few moments, staring at each other and smiling. Prompto realized that his staring was starting to drift down to Noctis' lips. He breathed out a laugh of nervousness before getting out of the car, Noctis following his lead. They walked to the front entrance of the mall in silence, fingers brushing against the other's hand every now and then. Noctis held the door open for Prompto, bowing to him like Edwin does to guests. Prompto entered the mall and looked around in amazement. There were at least fifty full sized stores on the first five levels above ground before decreasing to twenty stores on the last two levels. The entire ceiling was glass, letting natural light fill the mall. Elevators, escalators, and stairs led both upstairs and downstairs to the underground levels. Prompto wondered if there were more stores on the underground levels than there were on the above levels.
Prompto was too stunned by the mall that he didn't notice almost everyone turning towards them to see the king. Some smiled and some waved to Noctis before turning their attention back to what they were doing. Noctis approached Prompto and placed his hand on Prompto's lower back. Prompto turned his head to Noctis and gave him a big smile.
Noctis held his hand out to the mall, "Just let me know where you want to go and if you see anything you like."
"You're going to buy me stuff from here?" Prompto thought that they were just going to walk around.
"It is my job to spoil you." Noctis' hand moved to wrap around Prompto's waist, "Lead the way."
Prompto's heart fluttered before he could control it. It was beating a mile a minute and he briefly wondered if Noctis could hear it. He willed his heart to calm down and looked around the mall, deciding on which store to enter first.
I'm so sorry y'all get this short filler chapter as an update. Y'all deserve better. And by better I mean the next chapter so be prepared for that, hehehehe.
Feel free to leave a review!