Unlike his "date" with Regine, Prompto made sure he looked as fresh as he could be: he took a long shower, shaved accurately, fixed his hair and put on the best clothes he had. He knew Iris was not the formal type, so he went for skinny blue jeans, a light blue shirt that matched his eyes and black sneakers. As he stared at his reflex in the mirror, he had to admit it was nice to be able to have civilian clothes on every once in a while, even though he wore his Kingsglaive uniform with pride.
Iris's house was a few miles from where he lived, and it was still early afternoon so he doubted he would be stuck in the traffic. And so, he sat in front of his PC to browse the best places to take a girl to. The pub he had been at with Regine was nice and all, but a bit too formal and classy for his tastes. He thought of Iris as an easy-going and down-to-earth girl who liked simple things. So he closed the tabs he had visited which all suggested fancy and expensive restaurants in Insomnia, and thought he would keep the promise he had made: take her out to eat Salmon Jambalaya at the corner of Blossom Street.
It was time to go when he impatiently looked up at the clock on the wall for the umpteenth time, and he finally left his parents' house to walk to his dad's car. With the only exception that his dad's car was not where it was supposed to be.
"You gotta be kiddin' me" he muttered calmly to himself, staring at the empty parking spot "Crap. Damn it."
He grabbed his phone and dialed Noctis's number, sighing in relief when the King himself picked up.
"'Zup, blondie?"
"Good afternoon, Your Majesty" Prompto replied in the politest tone he could muster "I do hope you are enjoying your free week-end with your lovely wife".
"What happened, Prom?" Noctis asked with a sigh, as if he knew his friend was being all formal because he needed something from him.
"Dude, I'm taking Iris out for dinner today!" Prompto dropped his fancy façade and confessed "But my dad took the car!"
He heard Noctis burst into laughter upon hearing his panicked voice.
"So what?"
"So yeah!" Prompto almost shouted "I need a car, bro!"
"Then come pick mine up" Noctis said simply, and Prompto could imagine the dark-haired King shrugging his shoulders.
"Y' know, I'd marry you if you weren't married already and I weren't into Iris" Prompto mocked, and heard the King hum for some seconds, as if pondering something.
"Nah, friends only" Noctis finally replied.
"Right" Prompto laughed "Thank you, buddy".
Prompto checked his watch which read 4:37 PM. He had only twenty-three minutes left, and he would NOT be late for Iris.
He started running towards the Citadel, avoiding the crowd going in the opposite direction and muttering curses when the traffic lights went red. He sprinted as soon as the cars slowed down to let the pedestrians cross, and was soon running across the square outside the Citadel.
"Where do you think you're going, sir?" A solemn-looking guard stopped him when he tried entering the King's private garage.
"I'm a Kingsglaive. Prompto Argentum. I got allowance from the King himself" the blonde blurted out while panting.
"Yeah right, and I am Corleonis the Immortal" the guard mocked without moving from his spot "Identification card, please".
Of course Prompto had forgotten it at home.
"Ehm…" he hummed while desperately trying to think of a way to quickly get away with it.
"Let him in, Jakob".
The guard and Prompto snapped their heads upwards, where Noctis was staring down at them from a window, before waving at his best friend with a smile.
"He can borrow my car" the King informed the guard who immediately stepped aside to let the blonde through.
"Surely, Your Majesty".
Prompto laid his hands in a praying-like position to show his eternal gratitude to the King before sprinting inside the garage.
"Hey Blondie!" Noctis called after him from the tower "Good luck!"
"Thanks, dude! I mean… Your Majesty!" he corrected himself when the guard sent him a shocked look.
Prompto almost crushed the accelerator pedal with his foot in his hurry to get to Iris in the remaining minutes. However, he inwardly cheered for being able to show up with a brand new Regalia belonging to the King himself.
When he finally arrived, he quickly got out of the car and went to ring the bell, smoothing his shirt and hair in the process.
He gulped when he was met not with Iris, but with her brother Gladio.
"The hell you want?" he asked, raising one eyebrow at him.
Oh. Snap.
"I-ehm…" Prompto stuttered. At this point, he wasn't sure Iris had told her brother she was going out with her fellow Kingsglaive colleague.
"It's ok, Gladdy. He's here to pick me up".
Iris joined the conversation and soon came into Prompto's line of sight. For some reason he couldn't explain, he stared at her in fascination: she hadn't done anything special to herself, looking pretty much the same as always. She had, however, used some make-up, especially around her eyes, and was wearing a simple yet stunning turquoise sheath dress and a pair of flat shoes. She was so different from the way Regine had looked in so many ways, proving he had been right all along: Iris definitely didn't need to put on fancy clothes and lots of make-up to look like the most beautiful woman in Eos. At least to him.
She smiled at the blonde when she saw the way he was staring at her, blushing slightly.
"Wait. You're going out with… him?" Gladio broke the magic as he stared from Prompto to Iris and back to Prompto again.
"Yes" she replied simply "Problems?"
"Well, yes?" her brother frowned "You can't go out with Prompto!"
"Why not?" she said irritated. She had always thought Gladio's brotherly jealousy was cute, but she was indeed a grown-up woman now, and didn't need him to make a scene in front of her date.
"'Cause… 'cause he… he's Prompto!" Gladio couldn't even explain why it bothered him so much. He just felt sort of… betrayed.
"Exactly, Gladio, you should know I'm in good hands" she retorted, while grabbing her coat.
"In good hands. With Prompto?" Gladio snorted in disbelief "No offense, dude. But really? Of all people you had to pick my little sister?"
"Ehm" Prompto was utterly mortified. He wished Gladio would just leave them in peace.
"Gladio, shut up or I'll tell mommy" Iris threatened, secretly winking at Prompto.
"One false move, young man and you'll be very sorry" Gladio turned to Prompto, pointing a finger at him "Break her heart and I swear…"
"If you don't go back inside, you'll be the sorry one, Gladiolus" Iris commanded firmly, and her brother stopped to give them one last glance before closing the door behind himself.
"Finally, thought it'd never end" Prompto sighed in relief, making her chuckle.
"I apologize. Gladio can be so thick at times".
"Yeah. By the way, did I say you look lovely?" Prompto decided it would be best to change topic after the awkward encounter with Gladio.
"Thanks" she smiled genuinely "You too".
Prompto offered his arm to her and guided her to the car parked outside.
"But that's Noctis's car!" she exclaimed when she saw the brand new Regalia.
"Yeah, long story. Hope you don't mind" Prompto grinned.
"No way! Wait until I tell Serena!"
He opened the passenger door for her before taking the wheel.
"So, where are we going?" she asked.
"Theater" he answered "the new Psychkiller is finally out! In 3D!"
Iris had never been a big fan of horror movies, but his excitement was contagious. Prompto parked nearby and they walked toward the theater. The blonde bought two tickets and a large box of popcorn as well as two sodas, as Iris picked up the free 3D glasses being handed out by an employee.
When they took their seats, Iris was surprised to see the room was almost empty. Then she thought it was still relatively early, and that most Lucians went out after 7.
The movie itself was not the best she'd seen, quite stereotyped and with a terrible ending where all the protagonists died horribly, but it did make her jump a few times. Prompto had, of course, been more than willing to hold her hand or put an arm around her shoulders when she had been too scared to look.
"So, ready to walk for a few minutes? Blossom Street is not too far from here, and I thought we could leave the Regalia at the parking lot. It's safer to keep her there than just parking her somewhere random. Noctis would kill me if something happened to her…" Prompto suggested, shivering slightly at the thought of a damaged or-worse- stolen Regalia.
"I don't mind at all" Iris answered warmly. It was a beautiful evening, with stars peeping in the dark blue sky as a gentle breeze stroked them. The streets were starting to fill up with people enjoying the beautiful weather and the week-end after work or school. To Iris, being there with Prompto felt like heaven.
They arrived at the small restaurant where people were already waiting in line for their turn to get a table.
"We can go somewhere else if you're hungry" Prompto suggested, looking worriedly at her and then at the crowd.
"It's fine, I really crave some salmon jambalaya and I think it's worth the wait" she smiled at him.
They talked about the long week they had had at work while waiting for their turn and, before they knew it, they were standing in the front facing the waiter taking the orders.
"Two salmon jambalayas, please. And two sodas. With unlimited refill" Prompto placed their order and paid, despite Iris's protests.
"You paid for the cinema tickets!"
"And for food. Problems?" he mocked her while pocketing the rest he was given by the smiling waiter.
They sat at a table by the window overlooking the square outside the restaurant.
"Why unlimited refill?" Iris asked out of the blue, staring at her diet coke.
"Dunno" he admitted "I just like the thought of being able to drink as much as I want, even though a couple of glasses are enough to fill me up".
"So you just paid three times the price of a normal coke just 'cause you like the thought of drinking as much as you want, even if you never do?" she asked with a smirk.
Prompto pretended to mull over it before answering. "Yeah, I think you can say that".
Their food finally arrived, and they ate eagerly, enjoying the spicy taste of it.
"This is by far the best salmon jambalaya I've ever had! Even better than Takka's!" Iris said overjoyed.
"Didn't think you'd enjoy it that much. A fan of hot stuff, are we?" Prompto said, before falling silent instantly. Iris stared blankly at him.
"Did you just…?" she asked, with the shadow of a grin starting to form on her lips.
"Oh. Em. Gee. Just erase that, please!" he pleaded embarrassed "I meant spicy! Spicy stuff! Oh for the love of the Six…"
Iris couldn't stop laughing at the sight of Prompto's red face as he stabbed his salmon in an attempt to forget the slip of tongue, causing other customers to glance at them with a questioning look.
"Let's get outta here" Prompto suggested when they were both finished eating "Need to cool down with an ice-cream".
He thought the only good thing about his date with Regine was discovering the Moogle café. Iris was totally in love with Moogles, just as much as he was with Chocobos, and decided to surprise her by taking her there. Hopefully she had never been there before.
He smiled relieved when he parked the Regalia outside the crowded café, earning a surprised "ooh!" from her.
"I can't believe it! There was a Moogle-themed café in Insomnia all along, and I never knew it?" she asked in disbelief while trotting excitedly towards the entrance.
He smiled tenderly as he watched her examine the shop while they waited in line, poking the Moogle plush dolls on the shelves and studying the menu to decide whether to try the "Moogalactic Pavlova Cake" or the "Ultimate ChocoMoogle Dream".
When it was their turn, she was still undecided so Prompto ordered both desserts for her and his usual Triple-Decker Fantasy as he dragged her to the nearest available table.
"Prompto, I'm gonna sneak into your locker room at the Citadel and drop a bag of money, I swear!" she protested when he refused for the umpteenth time to take her money.
"Go ahead. But don't say I didn't warn you. What you'll find inside might change your life forever" he joked.
He couldn't believe how nervous he had been to ask her out: she was by far the nicest person to be around with. It felt so incredibly natural to converse with her and walk around with, as if they had always meant to be together. Once again, he thought of Regine and how awkward he had felt around her.
"Well, well. Who do we have here?"
Prompto felt a cold shiver run down his spine at the sound of the familiar voice. Iris lifted her head from her plate and stared at the dark-haired girl who was standing behind Prompto with crossed arms.
"Regine?" Prompto asked wide-eyed "What're you doing here?"
"I may ask you the same question, bad boy. But I can see you moved on fast" she said with a venomous tone.
Iris gave Prompto a questioning look as he frowned.
"I mean" the other girl continued with a malevolent glance at Iris "I have, after all, suggested you take me here, bad boy. So I'm afraid you're no exclusive, honey".
Iris felt her blood boiling in her veins. That girl was just plain annoying, but her words were almost hypnotizing. Did she mean to say she had been in that same café with Prompto before?
"I was waiting for a text from you, Prom" the dark-haired girl continued, changing the tone of her voice from ruthless to honey "After our night together".
Iris didn't like the way she had underlined the word "night", and gave Prompto one more questioning look. The blonde looked horrified.
Prompto thought he knew what Regine was playing at: pretending there had been something more between them in order to destroy his chances with Iris. But how could he convince the girl he loved it was only a lie?
"Let's go, Ir" he said standing up.
"I don't think so" Regine interrupted, putting one arm around his shoulder seductively "Forget this kiddo and let's go have some fun".
He immediately stepped away from her, sending her a murdering look.
"Leave me alone" he warned before turning to Iris "Ir, let's go. Please".
Iris stood up without a word and walked past Prompto and outside the café.
"Oops" Regine giggled "A bit touchy that girl, huh?"
When Prompto turned to leave without bothering to reply, the dark-haired girl grabbed his arm and gave him one last, pleading look.
"Prom, we make a great couple. Forget about the Amicitia girl! Remember how much fun we were having some nights ago?"
"If you can call a one-night stand fun" he retorted coolly before slapping her hand off his arm and leaving the café.
Iris was nowhere to be seen.
Next Chapter: Iris is mad at Prompto, understandably. But will she be able to put her pride aside when the Empire suddenly attack? And what will Prompto do when he is faced with a life-threatening choice?