Chapter 33 - Chocobo Curry Rice

Prompto was very anxious whenever it was Saturday. It had been two months since he started training with the marshal, but he couldn't get used to the older man's heavy presence.

The first and second training were very fine for him because there was a crownsguard medic—a kind young lady named Eira Heallint—who made Prompto feel at ease. Moreover, she is the same age as him, and it was easy to talk to her.

Prompto admired her. Especially at her skill at being so comfortable near the stern marshal. Eira could talk to the Immortal at ease, which Prompto couldn't imagine that he would be capable of.

At the third training, Prompto was devastated when he knew that Eira wouldn't come. And worse, the marshal didn't seem happy that day. Cor just said that she had other things to attend, and Prompto didn't dare to ask more.

Today would be the tenth day of training at the shooting range, and as usual, Prompto was very anxious. The marshal never scolded him though, and he was very kind when he taught Prompto. Probably it was just because of Cor's hoarse and deep voice that intimidated Prompto. Moreover, the marshal rarely smiled, not even when Lucas threw some jokes at them. Which left Prompto to be the only one who gave off a (nervous) laugh.

Prompto was sure that when Eira was there, the marshal smiled a lot. Just a thin smile though, but a smile is a smile, right?

Looking at his watch, it was five minutes before their appointment time. And from afar, Prompto noticed Cor in his crownsguard uniform walking toward the entrance. Prompto immediately straightened his back as he waited for the marshal to come closer before he bowed down to greet him.

"Good morning, Sir!" The trace of nervousness was so thick in his tone, shown by a little stutter. But at least it was far better than last week—Prompto almost bit his tongue when greeted the marshal.

"Good morning, Prompto." Cor said.

Prompto raised his head, and looked at the marshal's face. Stern, of course. Scary, a bit. Intimidating, certainly.

Cor then halted his step at the entrance and faced the road. "Someone will join our training again today."

Blinking, Prompto gulped and looked at Cor in disbelief. "Eh? Who?"

"Ah, she's there." Cor said, eyes pointing at the direction where the guest was coming.

Prompto turned his head and looked at the same way as Cor. A grin carved on his face as he caught Eira's figure from afar.

"Eira!" Prompto cheered unintentionally, forgetting that Cor was standing next to him. Glancing to the marshal, it seemed that he didn't mind that Prompto was being loud. Without anyone else in shooting practice but Cor and himself, Prompto was calm and rarely talking loudly. Therefore, Prompto was panicking when he cheered like that now.

"Prompto!" But it seemed that his worry was unnecessary as Eira was also cheering at him. She ran toward them while waving her hand. A wide smile was blooming on her face.

"It has been a long time!" Eira said.

"We did meet sometimes in the citadel though." Prompto giggled.

"Well, in the shooting practice, then." Eira added, "Been two months, huh?"

"You've been busy, right?" Prompto asked.

Eira glanced at Cor then smirked before answering, "Yeah, something like that."

"Good morning, Marshal!" Eira greeted Cor who was standing next to Prompto.

"Good morning," Cor replied, then walked inside the building, with Eira and Prompto following him behind.

"Aa, it has been a long time since I visited this place." Eira said as they entered the building.

Prompto, who was walking next to her, asked, "Let's have fun today!"

"Of course! Hei, hei! I'm curious about your progress. Handle a rifle, yet?" Eira asked in excitement.

Prompto blushed while nodding, "Ehehe…"

"I knew it!" Eira giggled. "Is Cor— I mean… Is the Marshal a good teacher?"

Prompto widened his eyes for the question. He glanced at Cor who turned his head to look at them. The man was listening. And now Prompto was sweating because he needed to give a review for the marshal's performance as teacher, even though it was just a small talk between him and Eira.

"O-Of course!" Prompto didn't lie, however his stutter wasn't convincing. Cor was indeed a good teacher. Just a little bit scary.

Today was really really fun for Prompto. No anxiety, no nervousness, and the atmosphere in the shooting range was great. And it was thanks to Eira.

Once again, not that Cor pressured Prompto or scolded him often. No. Not at all. It was just that Prompto hadn't gotten used to Cor's presence. That man was the marshal, the second highest rank in crownsguard. And he is also the Immortal, the strongest man in the entire crownsguard. There was a status gap, and age gap, and usually it was just the two of them in the shooting range. Cor's face was so serious, and moreover he rarely smiled. Of course Prompto felt intimidated.

But, today the marshal smiled a lot. He was really in a good mood today. It was nice. Prompto was very happy.

They were having dinner now, in a family restaurant not far from the shooting range.

"Ah, chocobo curry. So cute." Eira said as she looked at the menu.

Prompto, who was sitting next to her, quickly lifted his eyes from the menu and looked at Eira, "Eh? Which one? Which one?"

"This one." Eira moved her menu toward Prompto, letting him see her menu.

"Aaa! So cute!" Prompto's eyes were sparkling in excitement when seeing the picture of yellow rice which was shaped into the chocobo's face. "Should I have it…?"

"No need to be reluctant if you want." Cor said.

"You can order ten different menus if you want!" Eira added.

"Eh? ... Ehehehe…" Prompto gave off a nervous laugh.

"Take your time to look at other menus too." Eira said.

"Um!" Prompto nodded and looked at other menus.

… But at the end he ordered Chocobo Curry Rice.

When their order came, Prompto couldn't stop squealing and taking pictures of his curry rice.

"Oh no, it's so cute! I don't know if I had a heart to eat it." Prompto said after taking probably the dozenth picture.

"The chocobo will cry if you don't eat it either." Eira said, which then gained a soft chuckle from the marshal.

"Ah!" Prompto just realized that both Cor and Eira were waiting for him to finish taking pictures. They didn't touch their food yet. "I'm sorry! Are you waiting for me? I'm sorry! Let's eat!"

"No need to hurry," Cor said, a thin smile on his face. "You can take more pictures if you want."

"Yes, take your time," Eira added. "Maybe you can slip one picture of the three of us."

"Ah! Sure sure!" Prompto then stood up and stretched his hand that was holding his camera. He adjusted the angle and made sure that they were in the frame before smiling, "Cheers!"

"Yeay!" Eira cheered. Then when she heard the shutter sound, she said, "Once again!"

"Three, two, one!" Prompto grinned widely at the camera. After a few shots, he returned to his seat and looked at the camera display.

"Ah, it's good!" Prompto exclaimed. He then let Eira sneak a peek.

"Look, Marshal is smiling!" she giggled.

"Oh!" Prompto widened his eyes when he noticed that Cor was indeed smiling.

"Aherm." Cor cleared his throat, snatching Eira and Prompto's attention from the camera. "Shall we eat before it gets cold?"

"The marshal is shy because he was caught smiling at the camera." Eira teased.

"Let's eat." Cor didn't respond and took his spoon instead. And at that split second, Prompto couldn't believe his eyes when he caught a glimpse of blushes on the marshal's cheeks.

A… Adorable… That's…? Marshal? Blushing?

Eira giggled then took her own spoon. "Let's eat!"

Prompto nodded and they began enjoying their dinner.

It was a very pleasant dinner. They talked about their daily activities, but mostly it was Prompto who did the talking. He really enjoyed talking with Eira and Cor today. Weird… But Prompto felt like he was with parents figure.

Ahahaha… No… No…

The other one is the same age as him, though! What a weird thought.

"Ah! By the way, tomorrow is the summer festival right? Will you both come?" Prompto asked, looking at Eira because he thought that she would be the one who was most enthusiastic about it.

"Eh?! I totally forgot about it!" Eira then turned her head to Cor, "Will you come, Marshal?"

Cor gulped then stared at her without answering.

"I want to go," Eira said, with a grin on her face.

Cor glanced at Prompto, then looked back at Eira. "Sure."

Prompto didn't notice that Eira implicitly asked Cor for the date. The boy didn't know that these two were a couple, unfortunately.

"Woah! That's amazing! Let's meet over there tomorrow! I can't wait to see the fireworks." Prompto said eagerly.

"Me too! I'm so excited! Thank you for telling us about it. If you didn't tell us, I'm sure Marshal and I are going to miss it. Right?" Eira turned her head to look at Cor and smirked. Again, unfortunately Prompto didn't know the meaning hidden behind her smirk.

"Let's take a lot of pictures!" Prompto suggested.

"Definitely!" Eira nodded.

Prompto smiled from ear to ear, happy to know that they will meet again tomorrow. Especially knowing that Cor would come. It was really unexpected. He thought that Cor wouldn't want to come to a crowded event like that.

If only Prompto knew that Cor indeed wouldn't come if it wasn't because of his girlfriend.

Author's Note:

Heyya!

Thank you so much for reading/leaving comment/adding to fav!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well!