Noctis had to call in Regis's help to schedule a piercer to come to the Citadel, and then there was a delay to find a time where they could distract Ignis during one of their free slots to keep the secret going. So, by the time they were slipping through the halls several days after he had gifted the jewelry to Prompto. He stifled some laughter at sneaking around his advisor like this.

"So today's the big day," Prompto commented. "Going to be totally badass with skull earrings."

"Yeah you will. Feeling good about this?" Noctis asked curiously.

"A bit nervous. I mean it's still getting my ears pierced! What if it hurts?!"

"I bet it wouldn't hurt that much, otherwise why would people do it so much?"

"Uh... good point! Plus you said your mom had earrings. So it can't be all that bad."

"Exactly. Plus, we'll be doing this together. I'll be right there with you. If you'd like, I'll go first."

"Wait a minute!" Prompto gasped." You're going get your ears pierced too? Why didn't you tell me before?"

Noctis looked sheepish. "I wanted it to be a surprise. But, you were getting worried, so I told you now."

"So now we'll really be matching!"

"Exactly! And, we can mix and match earrings if we want."

"We gotta keep up being the most stylish couple don't we?" Prompto chuckled.

"Exactly. I have a wonderful boyfriend to show off."

Prompto blushed just before they headed into the next room. "You're pretty wonderful yourself."

Noctis tried to not flush at those words, but he could feel the heat on his feet. "Thank you. you make me feel wonderful."

He hurried ahead so he could open the door. "Here we go, time to be awesome together."

Inside the room had been set up as a temporary earring parlor. A worker was already waiting for them by the chair.

"Ahh, Your Highness. It's an honor to meet you. And of course your friend too."

"Thank you so much for coming out of your way to do this for us," Noctis said in his official voice. "We appreciate your willingness to meet our requirements. Do you have the earrings requested for the piercings?"

The worker nodded before retrieving a box from the nearby desk. She opened it showing two sets of silver colored skull earrings.

"These are the ones you requested, correct?"

"Yes ma'am." Noctis looked over his shoulder to Prompto. "I'll go first, if you don't mind."

"Yeah, if you want to. That way I can see if I need to be scared or not," Prompto laughed.

"Great. Then, I'll go first." Noctis smiled and went to sit in the chair. He did his best to hide his nerves as he settled into the seat.

The worker smiled and explained what she was doing as she put two dots on his ears to show where the holes would be put and made sure that he would be alright with their placement. Once he agreed, she went to get everything else set up for him.

With a small warning of a pinch and a small pain, Noctis was surprised at how quick the process went once the piercer was in motion. The hole was made and then almost instantly the skull stud was inserted with ease. Then the other ear was done before he could really register anything beyond the pinch he was warned about.

"Wow," Prompto whispered. "That was fast."

Noctis went over to Prompto's side as soon as he could, just in time to hear him. "I know. No time to really think about what's happening."

"And you look great!" Prompto said as he stared at the new earrings. It really did give a different look to Noctis, making him look even more handsome than before.

"Thanks. Now it's your turn. You can do it!" Noctis assured him as he gestured toward the chair.

Prompto gave Noctis's hand a squeeze, avoiding a kiss at the moment since there was someone else in the room. He took his seat and breathed in deeply, waiting for the next step to happen.

Once again, the worker repeated the same steps. She marked the dots where she wanted to put the earrings and confirmed the location. Then the similar whirlwind and warning happened as it did for Noctis. She worked so quickly to not allow nerves to build up in Prompto. Then, she was holding up a mirror for him to inspect the silver skull earrings in his ears.

"Whoa, this really is a different look when you see it on yourself, isn't it?" Prompto asked.

Noctis couldn't contain his laugh at that. "Definitely different. I doubt we could hide these for a while."

"Ready to see if Iggy and Gladio notice?"

"If they don't notice, I'll be in shock." He laughed. He turned to the worker to give her a smile.

"Thank you so much for today. This was exactly what we hoped it would be. If we ever need these services again, we know who to call upon," He assured her as he gave a light dismissal.

"Oh! Yes thank you!" Prompto added.

"Of course! It was my honor to serve the crown today."

"Thank you. You were great. We're very happy and glad to have had you today," Noctis said with a bright smile. Then, because he was too intrigued to see what the rest of his friends would say, he guided Prompto out of the room to the other rooms. They had already gotten the long speech about proper aftercare for their earrings before their piercing, and the solution would find its way to their bathrooms.

"I still can't believe I got my ears pierced!" Prompto exclaimed. "Man, wait till my parents..." Prompto suddenly stopped walking, his enthusiasm leaving his face. "Oh... that's right."

Noctis saw the moment the realization hit Prompto and made sure to hold him through it. "Hey, it's alright." He said softly. "Clarus won't have any problems with it. And Dad loves the idea. You look great in it." He tried to speak in a rush to try and stem off the possible panic.

"Yeah I know Clarus won't... he's been really great. But it just makes me realize how little they, my old parents, actually cared," Prompto admitted.

"We care though. We care a lot," Noctis said softly while rubbing his arm. "Don't doubt that. You now have more family than I think you'd like."

"More than I expected ever, but I won't reject it," Prompto replied with a smile. "Now come on! Let's keep the happy feels going and find Iggy and Gladio!"

Noctis laughed merrily at that and let Prompto guide him back to their rooms. "How long do you think it'll take Specs?"

"I dunno, Ignis usually knows everything. He knew when you had a stain on your school shirt before even taking the jacket off."

"Yeah, I'm expecting him to notice as soon as he walks into the room," He mused. "It'll be fun to see his reaction. I hope he approves. Cause Dad does, and he's the ultimate bar for me."

"I bet Ignis will be fine with it... hopefully. It's not like we snuck out against his word to do it."

"We didn't warn him though, and I bet that'll give him a moment of pause. He likes to know things when they happen. Surprises startle him."

"But he wouldn't assume we snuck out, right? And hey, what's wrong with surprises? Don't tell me he plans out his own surprise birthday parties."

"He plans out his own surprise parties," Noctis said seriously. "But, I'll take care of any issues he has with the piercings. The moment I mention Dad approving, he should back down."

"Alright good good. Don't need Iggy scaring us anyway," Prompto said with a laugh.

"No one needs a scary Iggy at any point," Noctis laughed.

"Nah not unless its Halloween."

Noctis giggled at that. "Do not tell him that. I do not need him plotting for Halloween now."

"My lips are sealed!" Prompto said as he did the zipping lip motion.

"But I would say mine aren't," the familiar voice of Ignis said from behind them.

Ignis being so sudden and close was a surprise to Noctis, who jumped in surprise. "Iggy, I thought your meeting was going to be for another hour."

"The meeting ended early," Ignis replied as he crossed his arms. "So do tell me what you had planned? I see there is no point to try and 'surprise' me anymore."

"Ah ha! Well uh you got us at least before we could surprise you!" Prompto said nervously.

"I'm not telling you when I know a tabloid reporter could pick it up in about five minutes," Noctis said with a smile. He started back toward his apartment while tugging Prompto with him. "Catch up or be left behind," he teased.

"Don't think you can get away that easily," Ignis said as he followed after the two. "And don't think I can miss shiny new accessories on your ears either."

"Ah, you did find the new things," Noctis laughed. "Do you like them? I love them. Prom looks great."

Ignis smiled warmly at the two teens. "I think they suit you both wonderfully."

"Thank you Iggy. I thought we had a good break in our schedule, and you were pretty busy right now. Did we miss something?" he asked curiously.

"Nothing that was of super importance. Your relationship takes precedent to all of that."

"Thanks Igs. You didn't miss anything of major importance. Regis helped schedule this appointment, but otherwise, we had the afternoon free," Noctis explained. He hoped knowing the King was involved with this would help Ignis know to relax on the secrecy of the whole activity.

"Of course. I understand. And Prompto, I am sure now you understand the meaning of the skulls?"

"Yeah! I mean Noct and I already are dating and stuff, but the skull earrings just make it more official, y'know?"

"I made sure he knew what he's getting into before giving him the earrings this time." Noctis replied as he reached down to squeeze Prompto's hand.

"Good," Ignjs replied. "It pleases me to see the two of you recovering smoothly."

Noctis smiled a little bit at that. "Thanks. And, thank you for all of the help with that."

"Of course. We wish to ensure the two of you are happy."

"And we really are Iggy!" Prompto added. "I've never felt this good before."

"I- Ignis, and Prom, tell me if this is too soon, but, we might need a public statement soon."

"Oh? And a public statement of what matter?"

"About Prom and I being a couple."

Prompto looked to him. "You really ready to tell the world? About us?"

"I am, if you are. It might not be the easiest thing we do, but I don't want to hide this."

Prompto reached forward and grabbed Noctis's hand. With a firm squeeze he smiled. "I'm ready if you are."

"Well Iggy, up for the challenge then?"

"I will prepare a speech at once.,"

"I bet it'll sound great. You have... a way with words."

"I'll make it as eloquent as I can," Ignis grinned

"Thank you." Noctis said sincerely.