Enough Sad Prompto for now. Time for a little lighthearted fun at Ignis' expense. :)

Noctis cast his line out for the hundredth time, hoping his luck might finally take a change for the better. The fish were being annoyingly stubborn. And according to Gladio, so was he.

Gladio had been ready to get going on their planned hunt a good half hour ago. But Noct was insistent on circling the pond, and now that he'd finally made it back to pier, he wanted to give it just one more go. Okay, maybe two or three. Or ten, whatever.

He glanced over his shoulder to where he'd last seen his shield. Oh good, he thought upon laying eyes on him. He was still lounging on the small grassy hill not too far away. Only now his face was literally buried in his book. He was snoozing away, the open hardcover draped over him, providing the perfect shade for napping.

This could potentially afford him at least another half hour of fishing time, Noct realized. Excellent.

He briefly scanned their surroundings once more. Ignis had gone back to the car a little while ago; Noct hadn't caught what for. And Prompto...he looked around. Who knew what Prompto got up to when the extreme boredom of watching Noct fish kicked in. He was probably off hunting for frogs or lizards again or whatever he had mentioned he'd caught the other day.

A sudden small splash immediately drew his attention back to the pond. He quickly searched for any emanating ripples from the jumping fish.

Ah ha, he thought, spotting them. Alright, you little bastard, I know you're out there. He geared up for another cast, hoping his aim stayed true.

Bingo. Right where he hoped it'd land. Now for the stubborn turd to just go for the lure...any second now...He bobbed it around a bit, hoping to catch its attention.

Come on. What gives?

A sudden announcement of fast approaching footsteps on the pier behind him caused Noct to jump. He barely had time to turn in surprise before a blond blur rushed past him, flinging itself off the end of the pier.

Noct flinched as he was sprayed by the resulting splash.

"Prompto!" he exclaimed angrily as soon as the blond head reappeared above the surface. A slew of delighted laughter answered in response.

"What are you doing?! You're scaring the fish!" Noct accused, annoyed.

Prompto snorted. "Dude. What fish? You've been at it for over an hour now. Face it, they just don't like you here." He swatted a stream of water at the huffy brunet.

"Gah!" Noct shielded his face a fraction too late.

Promto snickered. "Besides, it's a much better day for swimming than fishing. It's not even eleven yet and I'm already dying." He'd stripped down to just his pants, enjoying the coolness of the water as he kicked out onto his back.

Noct pressed his lips together, watching him for a moment. He willed his temper to subside. The guys had already given him over an hour of peace, which was quite rare. Especially for Prompto. And he supposed it wasn't really fair of him to hog the water all day.

He was about to dismiss the fishing rod when Prompto suddenly brought his feet under him again, quickly standing as something off in the distance caught his eye.

"Dude, dude, dude," he said, voice dropping, "Iggy's on his way back down." He pulled half his weight out of the water, leaning against the pier's end as he reached for the rod. "Here," he said, grabbing for it.

"What?"

Prompto grasped the lure. "Give me some slack," he said. "And pretend like you've got a big one on the line."

"Watch the hook," Noct warned, "Don't stick yourself."

"I got it," Prompto said, waving him off. "This is gonna be funny," he laughed. He ducked down behind the pier, waiting for Ignis to come nearer, then took a deep breath and disappeared under the surface, firmly grasping the end of the line and kicking up dirt to add to the murkiness of the water.

Noct had a pretty good idea of how this was going to go over...but, yeah, he had to admit it might be too funny to pass up.

He drew the rod this way and that a few times, feigning a struggle.

"Iggy!" he called over his shoulder, turning to glance briefly at his approach. "I've got a big one on the line I've just about reeled in! A little help?"

He heard the approaching click of Ignis' shoes on the pier behind him. Noct grunted, pulling at the rod.

"What would you like me to do, Highness?" Ignis asked at his side.

"Grab that net there," Noct instructed, tugging hard to the right. He was surprised Prompto was doing a pretty good job of making the struggle appear plausible.

Ignis grabbed the net, kneeling at the edge of the pier. A crooked grin appeared on Noct's face as he watched.

Just as Ignis leaned towards the water, an explosion seemed to occur right beneath the surface. A lean blond figure burst upwards with a shout, arms raised towards the prince's unsuspecting aide.

Ignis didn't exactly yell, he was too dignified, even in a moment of utter alarm. But he did jerk back with a start, his feet tangling as he tripped over Noct's fishing supplies. Had he fallen directly backwards, he would have been fine—perhaps suffered a bruised backside is all. The angle he ended up falling at, however, was diagonal to the pier, and he toppled over the side, back first, landing with a very undignified splash in the water.

He emerged a second later, gasping and sputtering, glasses askew, face aghast.

Prompto and Noct lost it. Noct doubled over, his breath completely stolen away in a series of bewildered laughs, as Prompto was lost in a similar fit, pounding the water with his fist as he clutched at his side.

"Goddamn—Iggy—" Noct exclaimed between gasps as he practically sank to his knees. "You weren't supposed to fall in!"

Ignis brushed his hair back, straightening his glasses as he waded through the chest-deep water back to the pier's edge. "What a clever little stunt," he deadpanned, as the two younger men continued gasping for breath. "I'm delighted you find it so amusing." It was very clear he was actually anything but delighted.

"Gladio!" Prompto called between bouts of laughter. "Grab my camera!"

Noct straightened a fraction as Ignis reached the edge, offering a hand as he tried to calm down somewhat.

Ignis nodded his thanks as he reached for the offered hand, clasping it firmly. But instead of allowing Noct to pull him upwards out of the water, he suddenly tugged harshly backwards, pulling the unsuspecting prince over the edge towards him.

Noctis let out a startled shout just before plunging in. He emerged gasping a moment later.

"Ignis!" He yelped indignantly, completely taken by surprise at his advisor's atypical retaliation. "What the hell was that?!" He pushed his dripping hair back, glaring, his breaths coming in short spurts at the unexpected chill.

Prompto was now dealing with a renewed fit of hysterics. "Gladio!" he shouted once more between bouts. "My—camera—please!"

Ignis ignored them both as he pulled himself onto the pier, his dress shirt plastered to his lean frame, a suspender dangling free at his waist.

"Nooo!" Noct suddenly exclaimed in distress. "My phone was in my pocket!" He held the dripping device up, horrified.

"As was mine," Ignis seethed, straightening to his full height as he replaced the suspender.

Prompto was still giggling madly away, his faltering breath indicating the laughter had become almost painful at this point.

Gladio had finally joined the scene, camera in tow as requested. Glancing at each of his companions in turn, he settled on asking: "Do I need to blister some butts, Iggy?"

"Just get the shot!" Prompto urged, splashing forward. Oh man, it would be such a shame not to capture that moment for time and all eternity.

Ignis had already started stalking away, ignoring all of them as Gladio complied and brought the camera up. He lifted a blocking hand as he passed him, rolling his eyes as Gladio clicked away.

Noct approached the end of the pier, mournfully setting his phone on its surface as he braced himself against the planks. He was about to pull himself up and out when he suddenly felt arms close about his waist, gripping tightly. He was immediately hoisted up and backwards, once again dunked headfirst in the water.

He struggled, disoriented for a moment before righting himself and emerging once more, completely fuming. "Prompto!" He shouted, entirely unamused as he swatted at the younger man who was reaching for him anew.

"Come on, Noct, let's play some water games!" Prompto exclaimed enthusiastically.

Noct ignored him, turning for the pier. He had barely made it two steps before Prompto was on him again, practically climbing on his back as he caused the brunet to dip beneath the surface a second time.

His last ounce of patience completely diminished, Noctis emerged again, blinking the water from his eyes and turning a fiery gaze on the blond.

He advanced threateningly towards the younger man, and Prompto held his hands up defensively, a playful laugh escaping him. "Come on, Noct, let's play 'Marco Polo!'" he teased.

"I'm not playing any of your lame-ass games, Prompto!" Noct fumed. "It's your fault my phone's a worthless brick now!"

"Aw, come on, don't be that way," Prompto couldn't keep from grinning, even though he knew his friend was legitimately irate. The whole situation had just been too funny.

"Come on!" he exclaimed as Noct pulled himself up onto the pier. "Marco!" he called.

Noct wrung his shirt out, ignoring him.

"It's probably a good thing you didn't catch anything," Gladio said, addressing Noct as he brought the camera down. "It would have been a waste anyway," he further explained, "seeing how Iggy's definitely going to be on culinary strike tonight. Nice work, numbskulls."

Noct shook his hair out, still ignoring them both. He bent to retrieve his phone before stalking away.

"Come on!" Prompto tried in vain one last time, an amused smirk still pulling at his mouth. "Marco!" he called.

"Shut up, Prompto!" Noct retorted, not bothering with a backwards glance as he threw a brazen finger up in parting.

Prompto pushed out on his back, completely pleased and snickering to himself. That had turned out much funnier than expected.