Housemates, a Final Fantasy XV fanfic by Raberba girl
Part 9 (rough draft)

A/N: I wasn't able to access Word today, so all the formatting, such as italics, has been stripped out of this chapter.

o.o.o

The plan ended up being a staged fight. Ignis wanted to rehearse it, but Gladio thought it would be less convincing if they practiced beforehand. They were still arguing about that when Prompto got home and rendered the whole thing moot.

"You cheat, Ignis," Noct broke in when he heard the front door opening. "I specifically asked you to keep vegetables out of my food, but you sneak them in anyway and I can tell."

Ignis and Gladio, caught up in their practice vs. no practice argument, seemed caught off-guard for a split second, but then Ignis switched over to the actual important fight without even glancing at Prompto, and Gladio followed suit. "Oh, forgive me, I see it was out of line to prevent you from dying of scurvy."

"That's not your business, and even if it was, you can't hide the taste of vegetables! Prompto, come here and back me up!"

Prompto, who'd made it halfway up the stairs, froze. Gladio gestured in an impatient way and Prompto crept back down. Noct felt bad about subjecting him to the yelling, but Prompto had to be present to hear how it played out. To make up for it a little, Noct scooped up a spare cat and absently handed it to Prompto when his friend came to a stop, directly behind Noct's chair as if trying to hide behind him.

"We're getting off-subject," Gladio said before Prompto could attempt to obey Noct's order to contradict Ignis. "The point is, the food thing isn't working, and we need to figure out how to fix it."

"I agree, but not because of vegetables," Ignis said, with a pointed look at Noctis that Noct was pretty sure wasn't faked. "It's already tiresome enough trying to keep track of all the receipts and who paid for which portion. Adding more complication by further diversifying the meals-"

"Just give me meat!" Noct burst out, interrupting Gladio's attempt to keep to the sort-of script. This argument might be staged, but Noct felt some real frustration, and he was pretty sure that Ignis and Gladio did as well. He didn't think that any of them were good enough actors to be sounding so convincing right now unless they were drawing on genuine emotions. "How hard is that, Ignis?! Set some meat aside for me before you ruin the rest of it with green crap!"

Ignis started to say something heated, but Gladio talked over him. "I don't have time for this; how about I just pay for everyone, to save your delicate head from calculations, Ig, and you guys work out the actual food part between yourselves. After all, throwing money at problems is the only thing I'm good for, right, Ignis?"

Ignis glared at him. "Rubbing it in, are we?"

"Yeah," Gladio growled. "I'll pay for you, I'll pay for him, heck, I'll even throw in Prompto. Money and food for everyone, hurrah, problem solved! I'm dismissing myself because you guys are making me late, as usual." He stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door. The air echoed with the sudden silence - Gladio's angry tone had been loud. Noct felt Prompto's body heat as his friend edged right up to him, stopping just shy of leaning against him. Even the extremely affectionate cat in his arms had stopped purring.

Ignis sighed and took off his glasses so he could rub at his face. "If he really meant that about covering the entire household cost of groceries, I suppose that solves one problem, and goodness knows he can afford it. But, Noctis, as far as the meal content, I cannot in good conscience-"

"Whatever," Noct scoffed, throwing up his hands. The veggie thing still bothered him, but that wasn't important compared to making sure the plan worked. He turned to Prompto. "Hey, I'll trade you my veggies in the future for some of the good bits."

Ignis made an outraged sound.

Prompto swallowed. "If I...have any good bits, sure-"

Ignis pointed a stern finger at him. "You will have a good everything, because I do not make meals with quality gaps, and you will eat your entire portion and leave Noctis to his."

Prompto's eyes widened. "But- Gladio was just, he's just saying things in the heat of the moment, I don't know if he'll actually start paying for-"

Noct barely resisted the urge to headdesk.

"Oh, he certainly will be paying for the entire household as he promised, because I will hold him to it," Ignis said fiercely, apparently channeling his frustration in a more productive way than Noct wanted to.

It even seemed to work - Prompto's shoulders relaxed a little. "Really, I'll go along with anything. Whatever you guys want."

"Of course," Ignis said. He pushed the serving bowls toward Prompto. "Start by finishing the leftovers, I'm too angry to put away perfectly good food just because certain people-" He glared at Noct. "-eat like toddlers."

Noct stuck out his tongue at Ignis, which, admittedly, did him no favors in disproving the man's point, but he was relieved to see Prompto sit down and obediently start eating what was left in the serving bowls as Ignis started taking plates to the sink.

o.o.o

They had been playing video games long enough for Prompto to calm down from the stressful evening when Noct put down his controller and sighed.

"Should I turn off the game?" Prompto asked. It was still comparatively early.

"No, I just need a break," Noct said, so Prompto lay down beside him and tried not to smile when Noct cuddled close. "You're coming with me to the Square Enix con, right?" Noct murmured. "Don't worry about the entry fee, we've got it covered."

Prompto swallowed. It was amazing to have a chance to go to SE con, but he felt guilty about mooching off his rich friend. He wasn't that kind of person, but he wouldn't be able to go to the con otherwise, and Noct seemed to genuinely want Prompto to accompany him. Prompto ought to accept, if for no other reason than to make sure his friend didn't have to go alone. "If you really don't mind..."

"I'm serious, it's cool. You don't not want to go, right?"

"Oh, I'm definitely interested," Prompto said. "I'll just have to mooch off you to do it."

"Mooch away, I can afford it. And I really want you to come."

"Okay."

Noct closed his eyes, and they were comfortably quiet for a while. Prompto finally gave in to the impulse to pet Noct like a cat, palm running down his head and spine to about mid-back before repeating the motion. Noct smiled like he got the joke, then opened his eyes again. "Ignis and Gladio were saying they wanted to go."

Prompto paused, staring, not sure he had heard right. "They want to-? Ignis and Gladio like video games?!"

Noct shrugged. "I dunno about that part, seemed more like they wanted to party-crash. Ignis thinks we're gonna die if he's not around to feed us and clothe us like babies, and Gladio's an idiot who can't tell the difference between fighting games and RPGs or something, I don't know. They just said they wanted to come, and I said only if you're okay with it."

Prompto took a minute to process this.

"If you're not, I'll tell 'em to get lost."

"No, I just," Prompto said slowly, "I'm- I don't...object." He tried to figure out how to articulate how he felt. "I actually...kind of like the idea of going as a group, I'm just worried they'll be bored."

"I think Gladio can always find some way to entertain himself or someone to flirt with, even if it doesn't turn out to be what he expected. I was more worried about Ignis; his mother henning is annoying, but - you actually kind of like it, right?"

Prompto blushed. "I..."

"It's okay if you do," Noct assured him.

Prompto bit his lip. "I just...my mom, I mean my foster mom, was never really- She didn't, you know, fuss, the way Ignis does, and I guess if she had, maybe I would think it's annoying, too? But I always saw that sort of thing in the movies, and now this is the first time I'm getting it in real life, and it's just...kind of nice, I guess, since I've never had that before. I'm sure it'll get annoying if it goes on long enough, but for now..."

Before he could quite bring himself to look at Noct and see if there was pity or something equally humiliating in his eyes, Noct saved him the trouble by bumping his head against him and tucking it up under Prompto's chin. Such a cat, it was hilarious.

It also meant that Prompto was smiling, more relaxed than he'd expected, when he brought up Gladio. "If Gladio really wouldn't mind, that would be cool, too. I just- I've been a little jumpy lately, but that's just a me thing. I think if I have time to hang around him and...sort of get used to him again, I'll be fine. Just...will you, um...protect me, if-?"

"Of course," Noct said immediately, untucking his head to meet Prompto's eyes and look at him very seriously.

"Not that I think he'll hurt me or anything! It's just, sometimes he's kind of loud, and I...I get kind of scared when people yell, so it's just..." He trailed off after offering up that bit of vulnerability, hoping that Noct would continue with his track record of being gentle with it. His friend didn't disappoint.

"Absolutely, Prom. If either of them tries to yell at you, you can hide behind me and I'll just yell right back."

Prompto smiled. "Thanks, Noct," he whispered. Noct offered him a fist, and Prompto bumped it.

o.o.o

When Noctis reported that Prompto had accepted the convention proposal, Ignis immediately started putting the plans he'd made into motion. First on the list was to get everyone registered. Second was to decide on costumes, so Ignis scheduled a brainstorming session at a time when all four of them could be present.

"I'm going as Vincent from FF7," Noctis announced as soon as Ignis stated the purpose of the meeting. "Like, I decided before I even met you guys. I've already commissioned the gun and the gauntlet and stuff."

"Gun?" Gladiolus said with a frown.

"Fake gun, obviously. But I want it to look nice, you know? I'll put it on display or something after the con."

"How complete is your costume?" Ignis asked.

"I dunno. I haven't put in all the orders yet; I just did the more complicated stuff first because I know they'll take longer."

Ignis asked to see a picture of the character, who turned out to be even more ridiculous-looking than Ignis had anticipated, and Noctis pointed out the various elements of the costume that he'd already made progress on. Ignis was relieved that the remaining work to do was within his abilities to create.

"What game is this Vincent guy from?" Gladiolus asked.

"Final Fantasy VII, he's an optional party member. You can get him by looking around Shinra Mansion for the code to open the-"

"We don't need to know the game mechanics," Ignis said, trying, for Prompto's sake, to keep the irritation out of his voice. He needed to be reasonably enthusiastic about this whole endeavor, though he drew the line at getting truly immersed.

"Optional party member," Gladiolus mused. "So there are others who aren't optional?"

"There's seven you get automatically by progressing through the story," Noctis explained, "and if you play your cards right, you can get Yuffie and Vincent, too, but if you mess up, they won't join your party." He pulled up another picture on his phone. "This is all of them. Cloud's the main character," he said, pointing at the foremost figure who carried an impractically enormous sword.

"Who's the little ninja girl?" Gladiolus asked.

"Yuffie. She's a thief who collects Materia so she can fight against Shinra."

"She's a dead ringer for Iris," Gladiolus remarked.

Ignis gave him a sharp look. "Are you intending to bring your sister to the convention with us?"

Gladiolus shrugged. "Why not? Talcott, too; it'll be fun."

Prompto, who had been listening without comment all this time, perked up. "Iris and Talcott? You think they'll like it?"

"Oh, definitely," Gladiolus said. "I think Talcott is actually already into these games. They're the ones with the cactus things, right? The ones with faces?"

"Cactuars," Noctis said. Ignis was starting to feel like everyone around him was speaking a different language. "What, you're thinking like a group cosplay? I've got a couple people I could invite." He seemed to brighten as he said this.

"I'm not making costumes for them, or for Iris," Ignis asserted. "Only for the four of us in this room."

"That's fair," Gladiolus said. "Noct, you said you commissioned someone for the accessories? Think you could give me some references so I can get that giant shuriken for Iris?"

"Sure."

Noctis, with some help from Prompto, went through the main cast of characters, describing their personalities and backstories. Gladiolus seemed rather taken with the martial artist called Tifa Lockhart, especially after Noctis showed him some video clips from the movie and the video game remake.

"You wanna go as a girl?" Noctis laughed.

Gladiolus grinned. "Why not? I like her fighting style - your bare hands are dependable when all else fails. And I'm really digging that outfit of hers from the first game."

Ignis tried to suppress a groan. Of course Gladiolus would go for the character whose costume would allow him to strut around half-naked.

"What's up, Ig?" the insufferable man taunted. "Think that outfit is beyond your abilities?"

"Certainly not," Ignis snapped. "If you insist on showing off, I'll at least make sure you look decent doing it."

"Forget 'decent,' I look good, even before you add clothes," Gladiolus scoffed. "What about you, Ig, which one you gonna pick?"

"My name is Ignis." He considered the group of characters. None of them were at all appealing, but he needed to pick one and do his penance.

Thanks to Gladiolus, he didn't automatically skip over the female characters, though there was only one still available: Aeris Gainsborough, who wielded a staff and specialized in magic and healing. Her role was quite significant; from what Noctis and Prompto had described, she was actually the most important character in the game despite not being the primary protagonist.

All of that appealed to Ignis, and when he considered the available male characters again, none of them even came close to being someone Ignis wanted to slip into the skin of, so to speak. The only exception Red XIII, but he was a literal animal, and Ignis was not about to outfit himself with furry ears and a tail. "I choose the mage, Aeris."

Noctis and Gladiolus burst into laughter, and Prompto blessed everyone with one of those lovely smiles of his, the genuine ones that he only seemed to bestow unthinkingly.

"Her gender has nothing to do with it," Ignis huffed. "She's simply the least unpleasant option." Too late, he remembered that he was supposed to be acting interested in this, but when he shot a subtle glance at Prompto, he was relieved to find that the younger man didn't seem to be offended.

In fact, Prompto sounded almost jolly as he spoke up, "I think it'll be great. And hey, Noct, I can go as the Mog and take one of your cats to be Cait Sith."

Noctis frowned. "What? No, dude, you should go as Cloud."

Prompto sputtered. "Huh?! You're kidding, right?"

"Well, hold on, he's got a point," Gladiolus said thoughtfully. "Your hair's already spot-on."

"Right?" Noctis said triumphantly.

"Uh, okay, but nothing else is," Prompto insisted, gesturing harshly at himself.

"I can make a version of the costume that will suit you," Ignis said. "The real difficulty will be that ridiculous sword. Does the character have another weapon, Noctis?"

"Sure, but the Buster Sword is iconic," Noctis said. "I've seen vids of people doing really nice replicas out of foam and stuff, though; it doesn't have to be metal."

"Hold up," Prompto protested. "I never actually agreed to be Cloud." He seemed a little taken aback when all three of them fixed their gazes on him at once.

"Prompto," Gladiolus said, "do you actually want to be the robot cat? 'Cause if you do, great, be the robot cat. But if you're just saying that because of some 'too fat for anything else' bullshit, forget it. I think you'll make a better Cloud than you would a robot cat."

"Me, too," Noctis said immediately.

"I'll certainly have an easier time making an outfit for an actual human character than a creature that doesn't even exist in real life," Ignis put in. Just thinking about having to make a 'Mog' costume threatened to give him a headache.

Prompto hesitated, his eyes darting between them. "You're not just...?"

He didn't finish the question, but Noctis said, "Come on, dude, you're Cloud Strife," and changed the subject.

Prompto was quiet during the next round of planning, but eventually, he edged closer to Noctis and leaned against him with a soft smile. Noctis, without any break in his argument with Gladiolus, leaned back.

TBC

A/N: I know that modern FF7 media spell her name as Aerith rather than Aeris. I don't care. :)