Noctis parked his car inside the parking deck beneath the Citadel carefully before shutting the vehicle off and unbuckling his and Prompto's seatbelts. "Are you ready, Prompto?" The name still felt new and wonderful on his lips, and he couldn't help but let out a small smile as he asked the question. He watched as Prompto nodded excitedly, already trying to open the door himself with fumbling hands, like a toddler. He laughed. "Hold on. I'm coming." Wasting no further time, he exited his seat, closing his door behind him before walking around and opening Prompto's door for him.
Prompto stepped out of the vehicle carefully, still trying not to fall over or trip on his own feet every now and again and looked around the parking deck. From the LED lighting overhead, to the oil stains along the concrete, to the other numerous pristine, shiny vehicles parked alongside Noctis' own, everything caught his attention. The blonde took a few steps away towards the other cars, and Noctis watched as he delicately traced his fingers over the hoods of a couple of them, eyes gleaming brilliantly and face beaming down at all the chrome. Eventually, one car caught his attention far more than the others did and he darted over to it, pointing at it questioningly and glancing back at the prince.
"Oh, that one?" He walked over to stand near the car as well, looking on it fondly. "She's pretty, isn't she?" Noctis watched as Prompto nodded in agreement, tracing his fingers over the mirror along it's side before cupping his hands around his eyes and pressing his face into the window, trying to peer inside. "That one's my dad's car. The Regalia." He sighed wistfully, remembering the many times he and his dad shared in that car, driving to and from the ocean when he was a kid.
Distantly, the memory of a woman looking back at him fondly from the front passenger seat began to flood his mind, but he shook it away fiercely. He didn't want to remember that right now.
"She's a real piece of work. I remember my dad and Cid working on it when I was little… Haha… They'd spend hours and hours fixing it up, putting in cool new parts… some purely for the purpose of it being 'cool'…" He sighed, crossing his arms and leaning against one of the other cars in the lot, head upturning to stare up at the bright lights above them with a small frown tugging at his lips. Of course, all of that was a long time ago. Back when his father wasn't so weak, and his leg was still good. Back before Cid took over his family's auto shop and hardly had any free time. Back before his mother… No. No, he wouldn't think about that. "…Those were the good old days…"
He barely noticed as Prompto looked at him, a slight frown forming on his features, before jumping, seemingly with some grand idea, and hurriedly extending a hand to tug on the passenger door of the Regalia. Noctis bolted up and opened his mouth in warning, but it was too late one. As soon as the Astral did so, the car alarm went off, blaring it's sirens and causing Prompto to jump back, falling to the ground and roughly landing on his butt in shock.
"What did I do?! Did I make her angry?! I'm sorry, Regalia! Please stop yelling! I was just trying to make Noctis smile again!", Prompto called loudly in his Astral voice, seeming to almost shake the room with its intensity, bringing his hands to his ears to try and shut out the shrill car alarm.
He didn't mean to make the car mad. He only wanted to go inside of it with Noctis. Maybe being in the car he seemed to love so much would make his smile come back? He had hoped as much, but alas, that plan wasn't looking like it would work out in his favor as his ears were blasted with the most awful and scary sound he'd ever heard in his life.
Noctis cried out in pain as Prompto yelled, bringing his own hands to his ears, but unfortunately it only helped to mute the car's noises and not the Astral's inhuman ones sounding off loudly in his head. He watched Prompto look between him and the car with worry, eyes tearing up as he was at a loss for what to do or what was happening and why. Again, the blonde opened his mouth, his lips moving in what could resemble words, but only incoherent nonsense came out and ripped through the prince's mind.
"I didn't mean to make her mad at me! What should I do, Noctis?! I'm sorry!"
Noctis screwed his eyes shut and fell to his knees, hitting the cement ground with a heavy thud. He felt like his head was going to explode. Like there was an invisible pressure pushing in on him, threatening to crack his skull like a walnut. That seemingly nonexistent, imaginary white noise combined with the very real siren of the Regalia was quickly becoming entirely too much for his ears and head to take. "S-Shut up! I can't help you when you're doing this, Prompto!", he all but screamed out, trying desperately to talk over and rid himself of the whispers and screams that were consuming his mind.
"Oi! What's going on over here?!" A Glaive walked into the parking deck quickly, looking around frantically before his eyes finally fell upon Noctis and Prompto from across the deck, on the ground with their ears covered as the Regalia protested. Breathing out a sigh of relief that it was only the prince and not a thief, the Glaive reached into a pocket, procuring a set of keys and clicking a button, successfully stopping the alarm, filling the lot with silence once more. "Prince Noctis, what are you doing down here?! Everyone's been looking for you all morning!", the man scolded, walking up to the two men with heavy steps.
Noctis lowered his hands and slowly raised to his feet, trying to ignore the way his knees ached from their impact with the cement. His fingers and legs trembled as he did so, brushing the dirt off his pants with a heavy, ragged sigh. His skin felt clammy and his nerves were fried. His ears were ringing, so he could barely make out that anyone was talking to him at all, but when he looked over, Libertus was hobbling his way. Surely, he'd be hearing a rant. 'Out of one trouble and into another….', he thought.
"Relax, Libertus… I just went fishing. You know, like I always do?" He couldn't stop the sarcastic tone in his words as he said them. Sure, he was the prince, but couldn't he just go somewhere one time without everyone jumping down his throat for it? "I wanted to catch something for Dad's birthday." He looked over to Prompto, who was still huddled into himself on the ground, eyes large and filled with barely unshed tears, and it only made the frown on Noctis' face deepen. The Astral was gazing up at the Regalia, still trying to figure out why the car alarm started and why it ended just as suddenly. He walked over to the blonde and offered his hand, to help lift him from the ground.
"You were supposed to return hours ago! You had a full schedule planned, you know! Your advisor has been running around like a madman! like it's my fault you're gone instead of sitting through your lessons and chewing my ears off! I swear, I thought I was going to go insane! Just because it's The King's birthday, doesn't mean you have an excuse to-" Libertus stopped short in his rant, body freezing and eyes squinting as he noticed the blonde that the prince was lifting from the floor. At first glance, he seemed to be just another man. But the closer Libertus had gotten, the more things he noticed about him that weren't normal at all. "Hold up- who's this? And why the hell is he glowing? Are those… Are those scales?!" At this point, the squinted eyes were blown wide, mouth hanging open as the blonde turned to face him more directly, darting to hide behind the prince slightly as he looked over the Glaive with worried yet curious eyes. "Um…Noctis… Just what kind of fish were you trying to catch again…?"
Noctis ignored the Glaive during his rant, for the most part. It wasn't as if he hadn't heard it all before from other people in his life. He could practically recite the whole speech from memory without even trying, so Instead he focused his attentions on Prompto, ruffling his hair and gently wiping the wetness from the blonde's eyes with his thumbs. "Hey…", he whispered softly, unconsciously leaning in a little closer than was probably necessary. "don't cry- it's okay! That was just a car alarm. It goes off to prevent the car from being stolen. Mine has one, too. It's pretty common. Uh… understand?" Prompto didn't seem to understand though, continuing to look between the prince and his father's car with a trembling lip and furrowed brows, shifting uneasily on his feet until Libertus was practically next to them, grabbing his attention.
"Oi, Prince Noctis, I'm talking to you over here!" Libertus grunted before stepping closer still, an accusatory finger already being pointed at the prince as he prepared to continue his lecture.
The prince rolled his eyes, turning away from Prompto to regard the Glaive with a shrug. It seemed he wasn't going to give up any time soon, unfortunately. "Chill out. He's just a friend, Libertus."
The older man scoffed, eyeing them up and down. "Forgive me for saying this prince Noctis, but since when do you have friends? You barely speak a word to anyone!"
Noctis flushed in a mixture of irritation and humiliation. Why was everyone picking on him about not having friends today? "Hey- I have friends!", he was quick to retort, but it fell on deaf ears as the older man waved away the suggestion dismissively with a gloved hand.
"Quit trying to change the subject. Who's the kid?"
Noctis rolled his eyes. If the man wanted to know so badly, then fine. It wasn't like the whole castle wouldn't know about it soon enough. "His name's Prompto. I pulled him out of the water at Cape Caem. He's an Astral." Noctis offered up the answer nonchalantly, a half-shrug to match, as if he was discussing something as casual as the weather.
"A-an… Astral?!" Libertus balked, walking a small half-circle around the blonde, eyeing him up and down in even more disbelief than he previously had upon his arrival. "Y-you're telling me that he's the one who caused that storm earlier today?! That freak storm was all over the news!"
"Yup. We were actually on my way to meet my dad. It seems like Prompto doesn't have a way to go back to that Astral realm, so we're kinda at a loss for what to do… Figured dad could help. I at least thought he could stay here with us. After all, it would be rude to leave a holy creature out on the streets, right?" Noctis moved to the trunk of his car as he spoke, eager to hurry and end the conversation so he could het to his father already. He pulled the cooler of fish from his trunk and practically threw it in Libertus' surprised hands, the Glaive fumbling to catch it so suddenly without dropping it. "Be a pal and bring that to the kitchens while I do that? Tell the head chef to use it in Dad's birthday dinner. It's his favorite." The prince merely smirked at the mixed look of awe-struckness and confusion on the older man's face as Libertus looked between the cooler and Prompto. Noctis grasped the Astral's hand gently before tugging him away. "Come on, Prompto. Time to meet Dad."
Libertus locked eyes with the Astral briefly as they began walking away, staring into gorgeous blue-violet irises. "H-hey! Wait!", he called, turning around to look at their receding backs. "Don't think that I'm finished getting onto you, Prince Noctis! This isn't over!"
"Yeah, yeah…", Noctis muttered, waving flippantly over his head at the man as he continued to pull the blonde along, out of the parking deck and into an empty elevator. The heavy metal doors closed softly, and he let out a long breath, sagging against the wall and relaxing. "Geez… What a pain… You alright?"
Prompto was looking around his new surroundings, staring at the many buttons along the wall next to the door, before looking at Noctis and offering a small, hesitant nod. He seemed to be a lot calmer than before, thankfully, but it was painfully obvious that the man still thought that he had done something wrong. "Don't worry. It was an accident. You didn't know, and, well, no harm done, right?"
He watched as Prompto frowned, pointing a finger towards Noctis' ear before using his own scaled hands to clasp over his own in a reenactment of how Noctis had been in pain, clasping his head earlier. "Oh, yeah… My ears…", the prince muttered, bringing a hand up to rub the back of his neck. "Well, it's more like your voice is coming from inside my head more than my actual ears… I mean, I can still hear it outside of my head, too. Which is also weird. But…" He struggled to find something reassuring to say to the Astral so that he wouldn't feel so bad for breaking the one basic rule they had between each other so far but fell short as he realized nothing he was saying seemed to make Prompto feel any better. "…Yeah. They're fine. Don't worry about them. I promise."
Noctis offered Prompto a warm smile and pressed one of the floor buttons, setting their destination for the floor that contained the Throne Room, and Prompto jumped slightly, clinging more closely to him as gravity shifted and the elevator began to rise.
The prince felt a light tapping on his shoulder, and when he looked at the Astral, he was looking up at him shyly, shuffling his weight of his feet. "Yeah?" The blonde broke eye contact, looking at the ground with a light blush as Prompto's hand lightly grazed against his own for a moment, hesitantly, before slotting his fingers between Noctis' and grasping lightly. Prompto's hand felt cold in his own, the fingers trembling, and Noctis gripped back a little tighter than probably necessary when he felt the blonde's head begin to rest comfortably on his shoulder. He blushed deeply at this, heart fluttering in his chest at the action. Even though he knew it was probably because the Astral didn't know what an elevator was and was possibly scared of it much like the car situation, he couldn't push back the intimate feeling it gave him, making him feel oddly giddy and excited.
After a brief silence while he tried to gather his thoughts, he finally had the mind to say something to sooth him. "I-it's alright. It's just an elevator. They take you up and down to get to destinations quickly… Understand?" He watched as Prompto raised his head from where it was resting atop his shoulder, large eyes blinking up at him. He had the sudden urge to run his fingers along the scales on his cheekbone, but quickly bit back the urge by physically biting down on his lip, stopping himself. Prompto nodded, answering his question, but continued to stare into his eyes as the elevator ascended, each second ticking by painfully slow. The blonde clung to his arm tightly with his other hand, all but wrapping his arm around Noctis' own. "Okay… Good." Noctis forced his eyes away from the Astral's to instead look and watch the digital numbers on the wall, keeping track with what floor they were on. For some reason he felt like if he didn't stop staring he'd end up doing something ridiculous. "…Almost there."
After another minute or so, gravity shifted once more, and Prompto let out a little whine in protest to it before the doors slid open with a soft whirring noise. Noctis chuckled. "It's over, don't worry. It was just the elevator stopping. Feels weird, right?" Prompto's ears perked as he heard Noctis laugh, light and genuine, and it caused a smile to spread across his face, all prior fears and worries melting away. Noctis felt warmth bloom in his chest at the sight. If he knew all he had to do to make the man feel better was laugh, then he would have tried doing it before. But, well, it wasn't exactly like their communication right now was the best. So, he'd take what he could get. At least he was looking better now. "I never get used to how it feels either.", he confided. The prince leaned in closer to Prompto's ear as he said so, making it feel like a secret just the two of them shared, and the way the blonde blushed and shifted his hand within Noctis' own, gripping it tighter, made his stomach do a little flip-flop. He cleared his throat, straightening up. "The throne room is just down this hall. Let's go."
They walked down the hall swiftly, Noctis pointedly ignoring the strange looks he received from the Citadel workers and other Glaives along the hall. Their hands were still together, and that should probably have been a little odd, but honestly Noctis didn't really care. He liked the feeling, and he didn't want to lose the man or get separated from him, having him get ambushed by curious council members or uptight Glaives. Prompto, on the other hand, was barely paying attention to Noctis anymore, turning his head in every direction, looking at each person as they passed and offering them curious glances at their clothes or little smiles and shy waves as their eyes lingered on him. He attracted a lot of attention no matter what, that was for sure, and once they made it to the large double-doors of the Throne Room Noctis wasn't surprised when they were stopped by two larger Glaives guarding it.
The one on the left raised a hand stiffly, holding Noctis from entering with a large palm against the prince's chest. "Hold up, Prince Noctis. Where've you been? The Glaive have been looking all over for you since this morning."
Noctis groaned, throwing his head back a bit. "Not this again…"
The other Glaive smirked, taking amusement from the younger man's frustrations. "Yes. This again. And don't think you can sweet talk your way out of this one, Prince. Edymion has been running all over the Citadel and probably half of Insomnia looking for you. Says you were supposed to meet him in the library for your lessons hours ago. Mind letting us know why you missed it… again?"
Noctis groaned once more in retaliation, louder this time, not caring how bratty he seemed. He was twenty, for Astral's sake! Why did he still need to take lessons, anyways? All they did was make him sleepy, and Endymion's voice was so monotone and boring. He'd much rather do just about anything else than sit through another one of his dreary historical lectures.
The Glaive on the let crossed his arms over his chest. "This is the third time this week you've 'missed' them, if I'm correct, Prince Noctis… I know I'm not your father, nor am I your advisor, but-" As they obviously would, before the two men got farther along in their ranting of the prince, their eyes cut to Prompto and they froze up, words dying in their throats, looking him over in amazement.
Noctis smirked and took the opportunity as it came, same as he had to Libertus. "Well, it's been real fun chatting with you boys, honestly, but I really outta go. Astral stuff to attend to. See ya!" Faster than the guards could protest, Noctis was pulling Prompto gently by the hand once more and shoving through the large doors and into the Throne Room, leaving them stuttering and babbling at one another in his wake.
…
Prompto allowed himself to be led through the large doors, and when he gazed upon its interior, his eyes widened, and his mouth hanging open, almost forgetting to walk or hold onto Noctis as they made their way through.
The room was tall, impossibly tall, with high windows, letting in the natural light to shine down upon the throne. The ceiling domed to a point above them, and Prompto was pleasantly surprised to see all of the Astrals carved into the marble, creating a lovely picture. The gold accents along the large throne glittered and shined splendidly as King Regis sat upon it, looking at them with curious eyes. A large staircase led to the throne, splitting at on point in the middle to branch off to either side of Regis, various council members sitting at long tables behind slim railings. The floor was so shiny, Prompto could see everything reflecting back up at him in an upside-down mirror image. It was lovely, truly lovely.
At the very base of the stairs, Noctis stopped, letting go of the Astral's hand to bow low to his father, rising with a bright smile afterwards. "Hey, Dad."
Prompto's eyes stayed on King Regis as they talked, and he smiled. He was older now. Greyer in the hair, light wrinkles settling in the creases of his eyes. But there was no mistaking the man Prompto used to see with a much younger Noctis, sitting along the dock and fishing with his son. His face was thinner than now than Prompto remembered. His skin paler. He looked tired and weary, but as soon as he saw his son his entire face seemed to light up, and instantly he seemed a good ten years younger.
Regis tried to keep his face from cracking into a smile as he looked down towards his son. "Noctis. Good to see you, Son. How did your lessons go today?"
Noctis was quick to lie, not quite in the mood to have to explain himself after doing it twice already. Better to just go with the lie and hope his father wouldn't already know he skipped. "It went great! I'm learning a lot. Endymion is a wonderful tutor." The way the council broke out in hushed murmurs and upset shakes of their heads completely ratted the prince out, but Regis didn't comment on it any further, thankfully. The king's eyes rested now on Prompto, and the Astral couldn't help but stand a little straighter under the scrutiny. "And who is this? A friend, perhaps?"
Prompto watched as Noctis stepped off to the side, leaving him more open to everyone's line of sight. He looked to the Astral and gave him a small, reassuring smile before regarding everyone in the room. "This is Prompto. I know this is going to sound crazy, but, you know that freak storm at Cape Caem that the news is talking about? The one with the incredible light?" Noctis waited as the council and his father exchanged wary glances before continuing. "Well, Prompto caused it. I was there! It happened when he left the Astral Realm and entered ours. He's… he's a real-life Astral, guys!"
Prompto jumped a little when everyone started talking at once. Some of the council members were leaning over their tables, trying to peer down at him through their glasses. Others were trying to talk over each other, arguing about the story. A few were even directing all their attention just to the king, soundly telling him that the story was a lie and it was just Noctis' excuse to miss his lessons. Regis, though. Regis just kept staring at him through calculating eyes. After a long moment, he raised his hand, wordlessly commanding silence from the room.
Noctis was quick to defend Prompto. "Dad, listen, I know how crazy it sounds. I thought it was crazy, too! But he's real and he's here, and he can't go home. He's stuck here, and we have to help him!"
Prompto felt a pang of guilt at that. Perhaps he shouldn't have lied when he said he didn't know how to return.
"Well, Prompto…" Regis began, stroking his beard in thought. "…Do you have anything to say about all this?"
Prompto licked his lips before taking a step closer to them all, his mouth opening to speak. He noticed Noctis flinching out of reflex from the corner of his eye, moving reflexively to stop him, and it made his heart sink. "Dad, I don't think that's such a good idea, he-"
He didn't want to hurt Noctis anymore. He had to get around this.
Closing his mouth, he swallowed thickly a few times before opening his mouth once more. He needed to try. "H… Hellllll….oo." The words felt strange and foreign to him, yet he knew them all the same, without even having to think about them; much like how he knew how to read. His voice was raspy and dry from the lack of using it up until now, and he inwardly winced at the sound of it through his own ears. Compared to his astral voice, his human one was weak and small; quiet. He wondered if the room could even hear it at all, but there was no way he could be louder right now. His throat hurt from the effort, still possible far too early for his vocal chords to be working like this, and it felt like he was swallowing needles afterwards.
Noctis' eyes widened when all he heard was a regular voice, body already having been braced for the inevitable, but he lowered his hands from his ears quickly and stepped towards Prompto immediately. "P-Prompto! You're talking!" There was surprise and wonder in his tone, deep blue eyes looking over him proudly.
Prompto flushed and looked to the ground with a small whine. Sure, he talked. But he could barely get out a "Hello!" without it sounding weak and not quite right, like a toddler learning how to talk for the first time. Not to mention, a simple greeting wouldn't suffice as any form of explanation or proof. He'd have to try harder. Knew he had to try harder.
"Prince Noctis, stop this ridiculous lie. Spare the king your jokes.", one of the council members called out from his chair, and Noctis glared up at the man. Prompto couldn't help but give the man an unamused look as well. Who was he to call Noctis a liar?
"It's not a joke! He's an Astral!"
Regis stood up slowly, grasping his cane in his hand. The council began to murmur disparagements once more.
"Please, Your Highness, you don't have to play his games. It's just another one of his excuses!", another council member called out, and Noctis turned to glare at that one as well.
"Silence... I want a better look, and these old eyes aren't as good as they used to be." Prompto and the rest of the room watched as Regis descended the stairs slowly and carefully. The blonde frowned as every step seemed to be a little painful for the man as he winced softly. When he was finally at the bottom, Noctis met him there instantly, lending a helping arm. "Thank you, my son…" The king walked towards Prompto with Noctis' help, eyeing him up and down curiously.
"I swear, I'm not lying, Dad. I pulled him out of the ocean and that storm almost blew me off the dock! I mean, look at him!" Regis stepped around Prompto a bit, looking him over thoroughly. He took note of how he seemed to glow, scales shining when the light from the high windows caught them just right. When he reached out to touch some, Prompto didn't flinch or seem offended. He even extended an arm, allowing the king to trail his fingers over his cold, pale skin. "T-this is actually the first time I've heard him talk. Up until now, his voice has been this- I don't even know how to describe it- this sound. Like every sound in the world, every voice talking, all at once! And he healed a cut I had on my forehead earlier."
"How did you get a cut on your forehead?" Regis asked, a mild scold in his tone, though his eyes were still roaming over Prompto.
Noctis let out an exasperated sigh. "I'll tell you later, just- I'm not lying just to get out of my lessons again, Dad, I promise!" Regis nodded, removing his hand from Prompto's scales to rest at his side.
"Well, let's hear this voice."
Prompto flinched, flicking his gaze towards Noctis with worried eyes. "A-are you sure, Dad? It hurts… It's a lot to take in…"
Regis looked straight at Prompto, head held high and body growing tense to brace himself. "I'm quite sure. I want to hear it for myself, if it is indeed true."
Noctis nodded hesitantly, locking eyes with Prompto for a moment. "Okay… Um. Cover your ears. It's not going to help much, but it's something." Regis nodded and did as he was told, giving his cane to his son to hold for a moment.
Prompto looked to Noctis once more, just to be sure, and the prince nodded his approval. With only a little more hesitation, he took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak as softly as possible, hoping it wouldn't hurt them so much. "Hello, King. What Noctis said is true. I am an Astral. I apologize for causing such a stir." He bowed politely as best he could before straightening back up.
Much to Prompto's relief, Noctis and Regis didn't scream, only letting out mild grunts of pain and clenching their teeth. The council, on the other hand, were alight with wails and cries, covering their ears with their hands and begging forgiveness for their words of doubt. It was quite the sight afterwards. One that Prompto couldn't help but to feel bad for, while Noctis just looked at them with bold triumph written all over his face.
The king relaxed after Prompto stopped speaking, ignoring the cries and shouts of the men and women behind him. "Well. It seems Noctis is telling the truth." He smiled, taking Prompto's cold hand in his own. "We welcome you to the Citadel, Prompto. I hope we have not done anything to anger or offend you?" Prompto smiled a shy smile and shook his head. "That's good. I do not know why you are here, but please, do stay as long as you like. I'm sure we'll figure out how to get you back home in no time."
The Astral swallowed, trying his best to ignore how raw his throat fell. "Th…thaaaaank… you." The painful stabbing feeling still persisted, but he did his best to ignore it. This was for Noctis' sake. It would be worth it.
Regis patted Prompto's hand a few times before letting it go, grasping at his own cane once more.
Noctis' face lit up. First at Prompto, then at his father. "Thanks, Dad!" He hugged the man tightly. "I'm sorry for missing my lessons… I was catching you something for your birthday. The chef is going to cook it up for you for dinner tonight."
"Thank you, son. How thoughtful." He smiled over to Prompto. "Will you be dining with us tonight, Prompto?"
The blonde shook his head. He didn't have a need for food, just the thirst for water, and he didn't want to intrude on what felt like a very special and important event between Noctis and the King.
Noctis was quick to interject, though. "Of course, he'll be there." Prompto looked at him in surprise, but then Noctis was giving him a little smile and a wink, and he was instantly unnaturally warm inside, heart drumming in his chest.
"Regis nodded. "Very well. I look forward to eating alongside you, Prompto." The king looked over the Astral once more before snapping his fingers, an idea shining brightly. "I'll see to it that the royal tailor has something more appropriate for you to wear tonight. You're an Astral, not one of us regular folk. You shouldn't be dressed in this- this… woman's clothes…?" Regis' gaze caught Noctis' and his son looked to the ground, his cheeks heating slightly.
"It's… a long story?"
"Noctis Lucius Caelum!" A loud voice boomed, the large doors to the Throne Room bursting open, making Prompto turn around quickly with large eyes. "There you are!" A tall man stalked towards them, hands closed into fists at his sides and an angry scowl on his face. The man looked disheveled, clothes wrinkled and normally dark, slicked-back hair falling out of place. His tie was crooked and his dress shirt halfway untucked. When Noctis saw the man he groaned loudly, rolling his eyes. Prompto watched as Regis did much the same, only much more quietly, causing the blonde to smile inwardly. Like father, like son.
"Hey, Endymion…", the prince greeted dryly, turning to face him.
Endymion stopped right in front of them all, huffing out in loud breaths, tired from probably scouring half the Citadel and Insomnia to locate the missing prince. "Do not 'hey Endymion' me! Do you have any idea how long I've-"
"Endymion." Regis cut in abruptly, silencing him easily with a soft, commanding tone. "Noctis is excused from all of today's lessons. It's my birthday, after all." He winked at his son, gaining an incredulously frustrated squeak from the tutor. "He will continue them tomorrow morning, rest assured. We have a special guest here at the castle today, so consider the rest of the day free for you."
Endymion balked at his king before reeling in his improper reactions and straightening up, slicking his hair back and straightening his tie. "O-of course, Your Highness… Thank you." He still shot Noctis a look that clearly stated 'This isn't over!' before bowing curtly at his king. "Tomorrow then, Prince Noctis…" He made his leave begrudgingly, not so much as sparing the Astral a glance, but Prompto didn't mind.
Regis sighed wearily when it was just the three of them once more. "Go, Son. Look through the Cosmogony with dear Prompto. Perhaps a solution is written there?"
Noctis smiled. "Good idea." He took Prompto's hand again, causing the blonde to flush in surprise, butterflies forming in his stomach. "The book is in my room. Follow me." And with that, they were leaving the Throne Room, Prompto offering the king a small wave of farewell that was gladly returned.