"Noctis invited me to a gala and I actually said yes!"
Prompto had been thinking about the scene over and over again for the past several days, still almost unable to believe any of it. It still felt like it had been a dream, just a figment of his imagination born from some secret ambition to be around Noctis more. To be by Noctis's side all while dressed in fancy suits with eloquent food to be eaten was such a lofty idea that if he had been told it when he first met Noctis, he wouldn't have believed it.
On the other hand however, the more he thought about the idea that he would actually get to go to a big gala as Noctis's plus one, the more it made his heart race with excitement.
Trying to settle with the concept in his mind, he fiddled with reloading his web shooters, wanting to make sure they were fixed up and ready before he headed out into the kingdom.
"If things go smoothly at the gala, maybe I'll try to talk to Noctis about my feelings. Would that be a bad place to do it? Or would the moment be right? Could… Could I ask Noctis to dance? Would he accept it? Is he even allowed to dance with some pleb like me? I don't even know how to dance!"
He knew his thoughts were already spiraling out of control, but there was no stopping them at this point. He wanted to make the most of this future gala, hoping that it could shine some light on his situation, giving him reason to figure out who he wanted to pursue.
Noctis or Nightwing.
The dorky, loveable prince who Prompto cherished dearly or the mysterious but kind hearted superhero who Prompto admired.
On the one hand, he still had no idea who the secret identity of Nightwing was, while he already knew Noctis probably better than everyone at school. But, if he had to guess from the way Nightwing acted, he was just a regular, cool dude. Just the type of guy he liked
It felt like the choice of the century at this rate, and the closer the gala would be the more tense it would feel.
"Guess I just need to keep rolling along until that day comes… and that meets running into Nightwing probably anytime I go out patrolling. Oh hey! Maybe we can finally exchange those King's Knight codes!"
When Prompto was finished with his web shooters, he suited up as Spider-Man and snuck out of his house. As soon as he was swinging above the rooftops, he started to finally feel a sense of calm. With the wind rushing past him as he picked up speed, he let out a happy yell before descending deeper into downtown Insomnia.
He could already hear and see people shouting and waving to him as he swung by. He chuckled and waved at them before focusing on where he was going. All he needed was to wait for some alarm to go off, or someone to scream, and he would be on the case for saving the day.
But things had been rather quiet lately. Once again there was a lulu in the crimes being committed outside of the very small types. With those being the only major things going on, Spider-Man really had to buckle down and focus to make sure he didn't miss anything strange.
After a few more swings around the city, checking every area that he could, he swung himself up onto the rooftop of a building. He sighed before sitting down, letting his legs dangle over the edge.
Watching the clear skies over the city helped bring another feeling of relaxation. It washed over him gently, embracing him in only ways he could describe through the pictures he captured.
So, he took out his phone and started to snap a few shots, knowing they would look great in his album, or even a computer desktop.
It wasn't long before he started thinking about texting Noctis. If there wasn't any crime to handle at the moment, he could easily just call Noctis and ask to chat or possibly hang out with him. They still had so much time to make up for when Noctis had been stuck in the Citadel for days on end.
But then again… on the other hand… he could maybe try paging Nightwing. If Nightwing was also out patrolling the city, maybe they could do it together. He hadn't seen Nightwing since that day that they kissed, or even heard from him.
It was a little worrying, his anxiety wanting to gnaw at him, making him tempted to fear for the worst. But, he made sure to keep his head on straight, knowing Nightwing wasn't the type to just stop talking to him. If there was a problem, he was sure that the two of them could work it out.
It still left Spider-Man with a choice however; call Noctis or Nightwing.
He groaned as he laid back on the roof, staring straight up at the sky above him. "Ugh! Why do things have to be so hard! Why can't I just make up my mind?!"
"Can't make up your mind for what?"
Spider-Man sat back up a little too quickly, nearly falling off the rooftop due to the fact he still had his legs hanging over. As he balanced himself out, keeping himself from actually falling, he turned to the side to see that Nightwing had just landed on the roof.
"Dude! Were you spying on me?!"
Nightwing shook his head. "Just happened to be patrolling when I noticed a familiar red and blue spider."
"Oh, well in that case…"
Spider-Man swung his legs around from the ledge and jumped up to his feet. "It's good to see you again! How's… Uh, well how's it been? You know, since the… you know what?"
"It doesn't have to be anything secretive, well, at least not between us," Nightwing explained.
"But it has to be a secret to everyone else?"
Nighting let out a soft sound before he sat down. "I think so. You never know how the public would react to two superheroes who start to date, let alone two gay superheroes."
Spider-Man sat down next to him. "Yeah, guess that would make sense. So we just keep it a secret? Cause, it's not like we'd just tell each other our secret identities so we could date that way."
Honestly it was probably a very stupid thing to say, but the words had just kind of rolled off his tongue. Secret identities were meant to be a secret for a reason, to keep everyone in the mundane normal life safe from the whole superhero life. Even if they were both superheroes, revealing that was still such a huge risk.
"I mean, I won't say I'm opposed to it. I know it is a risk, but I trust you," Nightwing replied.
It wasn't a flat out denial like Spider-Man had expected, but it still gave him a feeling of uncertainty.
Suddenly something twitched in his chest, a pain twisted with 'what ifs' that started to make him regret ever even coming up with the idea.
"What if he doesn't like the me that is Prompto? He has no idea I'm not actually Insomnian born, so who's to say he wouldn't end up hating me for it?"
There was always that possibility that Nightwing was just another person who held prejudices against Niflheim. Without knowing who it was under the mask, he had no way of knowing, and the unknown scared him just as much as being hated.
"Superhero life comes with it, totally get that," he answered. "So maybe, we can just keep our normal lives secret? I think I'd rather keep that all a secret if that's okay."
He watched Nightwing nod, his expression unchanging from his usual neutral look. "I gotcha. And to help reassure you, I promise I won't use any resources I have to figure it out. I'll respect your choices."
Feeling that reassurance, Spider-Man smiled to himself. "Thanks. But, we could still… Well I don't know if you'd want to if we'd have to keep it a secret."
"Even if it's kept a secret, I wouldn't be too bothered. It's not like I want the whole city to have to see us," Nightwing replied, scooting himself a little closer to Spider-Man. "Besides…"
"Besides?"
Nightwing sighed. "I don't know… I know what my preferences are, but I've never really found anyone… Well, never found anyone who I know that would like me in that kind of way."
Spider-Man nodded his head, feeling his heart open up on subjects he thought he only would have with Aranea. "I feel that. You… ever feel like there is someone you like, but you don't know how they'd feel about you? Mostly you feel like they never would like you that way, but you're left unknowing? Too nervous to ask?"
"Yeah, funny enough I do know that feeling. You just feel… afraid… not wanting to deal with the possible rejection, right?"
It was strange that Nightwing resonated so well with him, but hearing the words come from another put his own worries at ease. There was someone else who understood him, someone who knew just how he felt.
It stirred the feelings he had inside of himself, creating a comforting warmth born from a shared feeling of hiding their true feelings.
"Yeah, I always am afraid I'd mess it up, so I don't say anything."
"Aw hey, I doubt you'd mess it up, you're a pretty cool dude," Nightwing replied as he nudged Spider-Man's arm.
"Heh, thanks… but I really don't know if I could ever say anything."
"There's no stopping you if you do or don't, but if anyone rejects you, then they suck," Nightwing stated firmly.
The sudden seriousness in Nightwing's face caused Prompto to laugh. "Hey, thanks dude, I appreciate it. And the same goes to you. If anyone hates the cool and mysterious Nightwing, then they aren't meant for you."
"I know I want to try and say something to him one day, but I just… I need the right time and place." Nightwing said before leaning his face in closer, smiling warmly. "But if that all goes south, at least I know I'll have you to talk to."
"Same right back at you," Spider-Man replied.
"May I kiss you again?" Nightwing asked, his voice growing a little softer.
Spider-Man almost reached up to his mask, ready to roll up the bottom, when he found himself hesitating. "You sure? Even when you just talk about possibly trying to tell that guy you like?"
Nightwing sighed, turning his head to the side. "I don't know what I feel right now… I'm split on. But on the one hand, I've told you how I felt. I've kissed you. I just… maybe I should stop before I make things worse."
"Maybe we could both be brave and ask the people we think about?" Spider-Man suggested, even though his mind hated the idea of being brave enough to say it to Noctis. "And maybe we can figure it out from there?"
Nightwing leaned back finally, slowly moving his head up and down. "Guess you got a point… But if things do work out for us, we'll still be friends."
"Yeah, friends is still good. Oh we could exchange King's Knight codes? Finally figured out how to make an alternate account."
"Same here! Let's do it," Nightwing said as he pulled out his phone.
The two soon opened up their King's Knight apps, and added each other under their new accounts, enjoying chatting about their favorite things in the game. It was enough to alleviate any remaining tensions that Spider-Man had been facing before, now knowing there was at least a future in some shape or form with Nightwing. Whether they just remained friends, or if things turned around in the end for them. He couldn't be certain which would happen, since now he knew he had to try with Noctis, but he was happy to know he would always have Nightwing by his side.
"So the Tenebraen prince returned after being set free?" the Big Man asked his main associate.
"Of course he did! Shortly after his release, we activated that little device in his arm and he headed straight here without any complaint. Sure, it may cause a stir in the news that the prince has vanished for a few days, but we'll take care of it soon enough."
"And the others?"
"Oh yes, we got one of our new buddies up and ready to hit the streets," he chuckled.
"The streets are a viable option… but I was thinking of having something else in mind," the Big Man said as he tossed a newspaper towards the other.
He caught it before looking down at the front page. "The gala at the Citadel? You want them to crash the event?"
"Why not? It would be a good way to not only draw attention, but help show we mean business to those Lucis Caelums and other noble families," he chuckled deeply. "Our lovely heroes wouldn't be able to resist coming to aid those types of people. To them, even the high and mighty royals are on equal grounds to the commoners they love to save."
"Very well then, sir! I'll make sure to bring it up to them when we are preparing," the associate replied with a chuckle.
Hey, if you are out there reading this and enjoying it, please let me know what you think. It really does help, even if its just a few simple words.
