noctis lucis caelum ✨ (somnifer) wrote in thedisplaced, @ 2017-12-08 13:42:00 |
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There weren't a lot of romantic spots in Tumbleweed appropriate for proposing to someone. But then again, what did Noctis really know of romance? Prompto had been his first-ever relationship — unless you counted his arranged long distance engagement to Luna, something that he'd played no part in. After everything was said and done with the time-travel business, the two friends had actually, briefly considered a wedding, but then they'd giggled nervously about it and parted ways after an awkward, if heartfelt hug. He adored Luna. But she was queen of her own country now, and their lives had never really intersected enough for them to know much about each other beyond pen pal correspondence. Noctis desperately hoped she was happy in Tenebrae now. More than anything, he wanted to formally introduce her to Prompto, for the two to meet and adore each other as much as he adored them.
Maybe someday. Because now, Noctis knew without any shadow of a doubt that he wanted to marry Prompto. It might have seemed impulsive to anyone on the outside (he could sense Iggy's eyebrows raise somewhere out in the universe), but it wasn't. This was, quite frankly, the most he'd planned for any idea, and his brief texts with John had only solidified that. He'd spent months back in his homeworld carefully considering every possible scenario: how the public would react to their King marrying a commoner, how they would react to said commoner being a man, how they would react to said commoner man being from Niflheim. More importantly, Noctis thought about just how perfect Prompto was for the job of Crown Prince. How he'd proven himself a hundred times over, skilled and charming and loyal and dedicated, unafraid to tell Noctis when he was being stupid and blatantly dismissive of titles and regulation. Noctis was building a new world, and Prompto was the perfect person to stand by his side.
He also loved him more than he thought he was capable of loving anything in existence, but this was a lot to ask of anyone. Noctis couldn't simply consider just his own feelings. He had to think about his people, and equally as important, he had to think about Prompto. Would he want to sign away his freedom? Marry not just his best friend, but essentially all of Lucis as well?
Except this version of Prompto didn't know about the new world Noctis was building back home. He hadn't seen it yet. So all of this ... might feel as though it was coming out of left field, despite Noctis having spent so long imagining it. Prompto, a prince, acting as the voice and heart of the people Noctis worked so hard to help. But there was also the fact that his boyfriend would look smoking hot in formal regalia. Minor detail.
"It's a good view — eventually," Noctis explained, sitting up on a motel roof with Prompto that was deliberately reminiscent of a moment they shared on the road trip. It wasn't quite nighttime yet, but the sky was already darkening to a pretty, deep orange that bled into red. "You can see a ton of stars from here. I asked around about it." Noctis knew he was pretty shit at surprises. Prompto probably already anticipated that his boyfriend had dragged him out here for a reason, but he said nothing about that. Not yet. He'd acted a little cagey and tight-lipped all day, though, and had only begun to let the tension ease out of him now that they were alone. "How's the garage?"
Prompto was definitely aware that something was up. What exactly that something was he hadn’t the first clue - though the way Noct had been acting nervous for most of the day had a few moments of preying on Prompto’s own anxieties until he forced himself to decide that was stupid and not get dragged down by it. The fact that Noct dragged him up to the hotel roof though was what finally did calm any lingering nerves. Or at least he found himself fairly certain that Noctis wouldn’t bring him up here, the familiarity of it to that night on their trip not lost on Prompto, to do something like break up with him. So as Noctis relaxed, so did Prompto.
“It’s a pretty good view now,” he said cheekily as he let his eyes linger on Noct pointedly, a slight raise of his brows. And okay, his flirting skills were cheesy as hell but Noctis seemed to like it so it worked for them. Honestly that was the best part of all of this, that the things other people might find lame and terrible, worked for them. Despite the issues that lingered from their own respective traumas the general aspects of moving from best friends to boyfriends had been at once so easy Prompto honestly wondered why they hadn’t done it sooner but still more than enough to reduce him to a pile of giddy infatuation.
The comment melted into a small shrug of his shoulders and he leaned back on his hands a little, eyes moving to where the colours of the sky bled together. Tumbleweed was no Insomnia - but then what was - but it had a quiet sort of beauty to it. Especially from up here. “It’s good, keeps me from thinking too much,” a casual sort of admission. It’s what had pulled him to the work back in Hammerhead too - outside of the need of multiple people to keep all the vehicles up and running. There was something almost hypnotic about fixing something broken that cleared his head, shut up all the intrusive thoughts and let him just exist in a silent space for a while.
Another small shrug. “I’ve been thinking about maybe signing up for some classes too though, like you did.” Not that he had the first clue what he would take but it was kind of nice to see Noctis doing it and he figured maybe it was a good chance to improve himself too. Back in Insomnia he’d just never gotten his act together enough in those couple of years after high school. He’d been told it would have been an option even in the Crownsguard, in fact it would have been recommended, but then the world fell apart.
This was a huge reason why he wanted to make Prompto his husband. Everything about Noctis' life was complicated, tangled up in rules and prophecies and expectations. And yet his friendship with Prompto had always felt easy to the point of it being ... well. Strange. Noctis didn't open up to people. Noctis didn't make friends. Then Prompto approached him, and all of his standoffish hesitance crumbled? It was like he'd wanted this from the beginning, as if somewhere inside him something just clicked, and that was that. Prompto had always been so different from anyone Noctis had ever known, and his heart ached every time his boyfriend made a cheesy, flirty comment. It was just so unbearably cute.
"That's your worst line yet," he shot back, but he was smirking far too much to really make a point about it. He let his own gaze linger, dragging over the new clothes Prompto had picked up with open admiration. Well. As open as Noctis' facial expression was, though he knew it would translate to one of the only three people who could read him like a book. I really want to see you in a coronation suit, he thought, easily able to imagine his boyfriend in all white. It was Lucian tradition for the would-be Queen (in this case, Prince) to wear white finery so that when the King removed his black cloak, the act of draping it over their shoulders signified the official welcome into the family.
Woah there, Noctis thought, a blush spreading across his cheeks. Getting ahead of myself. He forced himself to look out onto the landscape in front of them again. A few street lamps were beginning to flicker on, like fireflies coming to life along a dark, winding road. It helped him pay attention to what Prompto was saying, at least. He'd noticed a difference in his boyfriend's mood whenever he returned from work — that it seemed to help him, which made Noctis happy. His own schedule was pretty set, and he'd been filling up his off-hours with learning basic domestic tasks and trying to provide for Prompto in a way he hadn't before. It was ... nice. Relaxing, almost.
Noctis realized he'd glanced back at Prompto again at some point, and likely looked completely lovesick. He sighed a little. I'm so hopeless, he thought. "What classes are you looking at?" He asked, genuinely interested. While he wouldn't mind a study buddy, Noctis wouldn't wish all this law stuff on anyone. Not until he'd made sense of it, anyway. Who knew there were so many forms of government?
Completely lovesick was a good way of putting it. But it brought a little smile to Prompto’s face and he couldn’t help but lean over and brush his lips lightly over Noct’s cheek. It never failed to make him feel beyond special when Noctis looked at him like that. Well, Noctis had always made Prompto feel special even just when it was for nothing more than being his friend. But it was so much more now and it was butterflies every damn time.
He settled back on his hands again and let his gaze drift back over the town. He shrugged a little and pressed his lips together before he spoke again. “I really don’t know yet,” he admitted and gave a bit of a laugh. “They have some art classes which might be fun but not really the most useful thing if we get hurled back home again.” If - when. Prompto figured it was bound to happen at some point. And there was a part of him that kind of liked the prospect of it. Not that he was super keen to return to his exact point in the timeline, but everything Noctis had told him about altering the fate of Eos made him kind of excited about what the future of that might entail.
Noctis ducked his head to hide a smile when Prompto bestowed a kiss on his cheek. It's not that he was embarrassed by their relationship — far from it — but he was so unfamiliar with public displays of affection that even the simplest gesture from his boyfriend made Noctis feel shy. Pleased, unbelievably so, but still a bit bashful. What a ridiculous king he made.
"You should study whatever you're interested in," he said, managing to fight down the blush. "This might be your only chance, anyway. All this free time. We'll be really busy when we get back." But just how busy Prompto in particular would be was still in question.
He shifted a little, the nerves coming back full force. How would you do this, dad? Noctis thought, and he regretted the fact that he'd never asked for the story. His father had been arranged to marry his mom, but they'd known each other as kids. Did he propose to her anyway when they became adults? Had he been nervous she might turn him down when faced with the reality of what she was agreeing to? Marrying for love was all well and good, but marrying a kingdom was a big fucking deal.
Suddenly, Noctis didn't feel so confident.
"Prompto, there's ... there's something I have to say." He watched the way the sun dipped below the horizon and set the sky ablaze, but he wasn't homesick. Not with his best friend and boyfriend here, and that's what strengthened his resolve. He glanced at him again, deeply and profoundly fond.
"We've known each other for a really long time. Even when you pretended we didn't in high school." That made him smirk a bit, an old joke he'd never stop harping on. "Truth is, I thought about you a lot back then. Before you introduced yourself. And I've been thinking of you ever since." A breath. Then two. "I know this might seem ... fast. And crazy. But I ... I've had eleven years to think about it, and I know this is it for me. You're who I want to be with for the rest of my life."
Gods, this was hard. Noctis didn't look away, though. He'd never felt more certain of anything in his life, even if it was difficult forming the words. But there was no hesitation when he took his father's ring off his finger. For now, Prompto couldn't wear it on his finger. Soon, though. If he accepted what Noctis was about to suggest.
"You're right for me. And you're right for Lucis. I want you beside me, to rule with me. Because I love you, and I believe in you. Um. Wanna get married?" There was an amused glint in his eyes despite the nerves. Noctis was nothing if not impish about giving tradition the finger. He offered the ring to Prompto in his open palm, hoping, hoping he wasn't pushing him away by being so forward.
Prompto hadn’t really been sure what to expect when Noctis had suggested this little roof top trip and he’d honestly just figured they’d hang out and watch the stars come out, shoot the shit, maybe make out for a while and most just enjoy that they had this time to do just that. And that was enough, it was more than enough. Even when Noct started talking it didn’t really dawn on him - they tended to be stupidly cheesy in various levels of articulation and it didn’t even really register that this might be something more than that.
Even as Noctis brings up being together for the rest of his life it still doesn’t sink in that marriage is where the conversation is headed.
It’s not until Noctis kept talking, until there was a ring - and not just any ring but Noctis’ ring with generations of kings behind it - held out in Noct’s palm like an offering and wanna get married echoing in the silence between them that it actually hit him.
Noctis wanted to get married. To him. But it wasn’t that simple and it was so much more than that as the entirety of Noctis’ words sunk in. It wasn’t just Noct wanting to get married to Prom, the relatively normal people they could be underneath the mess of their lives. It was Noctis Lucis Caelum the freaking King of Lucis wanted to get married to him - Prompto Nobody Argentum who hadn’t even been born in the damn kingdom and thinking it was a good idea. That he, Prompto Nobody Argentum was right not only for Noctis but for the kingdom he was responsible for with the kind of faith that Prompto had never had in himself.
Idly he wondered if he looked as floored as he felt right then.
“I - you want to - shit, dude -” and consider that tradition getting the finger again. He laughed - a weird mix of nerves, confusion and elation. Because Noctis wanted to marry him and honestly Prompto had never imagined that happening in a million years. He’d always just assumed - those long hours he didn’t sleep, or those moments the reality of who they were crept up in the back of his mind - that this had an expiration date. Whether he wanted it or not. That they’d get sent back home and Noctis would go be king and all that it entailed including a marriage to someone who was - well, not him. Kings didn’t marry people like Prompto. Kings didn’t marry someone who actually replied to their proposal with the word dude and he groaned as he realized that yes, that happened.
“I mean, not - you know, dude - wow that was bad, sorry -” Breathe, he reminded himself as his gaze fell to the ring in Noctis’ palm again, fucking breathe before you completely freak out.
The thing was, it was yes. It was an absolute yes - Prom to Noct. But the rest of it - the rest of it was a very daunting prospect and Prompto swallowed hard before he looked back up to Noctis. “You - you really think I’d be good for Lucis?” And okay, it wasn’t a yes. It wasn’t a no either. It was the very real knowledge that what he decided wasn’t just between them, that it affected a whole lot of people and that was not something Prompto took lightly.
Noctis was getting a little worried. Not for whether or not his proposal would be accepted — either way, he would always love Prompto and completely understood why any sane person would turn him down — but because the color was rapidly draining from his boyfriend's face, and that wasn't exactly a good sign. "Prompto. Hey." He set the ring aside (a huge fucking deal, considering what it was) and reached out to take both of Prompto's hands, gently cradling them in his own. This was more precious than some old ring. "Breathe, babe. It's okay. You don't have to make any decisions — now or ever. We're good. Promise." And it was the truth. Prompto could take forever to decide and it wouldn't make any difference, because Noctis knew this was the man he wanted to marry, and he wouldn't change his mind. It didn't feel like waiting anyway. They'd be together no matter what. How could he want anything else?
He waited until Prompto didn't look like he was about to pass out before answering the question. When he did, a smirk tugged at the corner of Noctis' mouth. "How much time do you have? Might take a while." It was partly a joke, but really, he'd had years to consider this from all angles. And anyone who met Prompto knew he was the closest thing to perfect any human being could get. So. It just made sense to him.
But Noctis knew it would take more convincing, and he felt strangely calm now that the initial proposal was over and done with. This? Talking about how great his boyfriend was? Easy.
"I think you're kind. You love literally everyone you meet. You see things in people they don't see in themselves, and you're always trying to help. Always. It's really inspiring, dude. I've seen the way people look at you. How they feel better when you're around, and what a shitty time it is if you aren't. Fuck, do you even know how wise you are, too? Like. You're seriously a genius. I didn't even think I could go back in the first place — that it was even possible — until we talked in Knowhere. I'm who I am because of you, and Insomnia is still standing because of you, and even if we didn't get married, I'd be asking for your advice all the time. Literally. You'd get sick of it."
Noctis laughed a little bit, awkward, but his eyes were warm and bright with total confidence. He continued to gaze at Prompto, unwavering. "There's also, you know, political stuff. Like how I think it'd be really good for people to see you on the throne. To know we're all equal, and that you're really looking out for them. They'll love you as much as I do, man. It's kinda inevitable." He hadn't realized he'd been rubbing his thumbs against Prompto’s knuckles, the motion soothing him and hopefully doing the same for his boyfriend. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I figured ... we've been through literally everything else together. Maybe ... you'd want to come with me on this trip, too?" Cheesy. So very cheesy. At least he looked vaguely sheepish about it.
How Noctis saw him never failed to completely blow Prompto away. And it wasn't as though Prompto himself thought he was some awful person, he didn't. He had even got better at seeing himself as a useful person. One who had a place in the world, a place he could be proud of and one that he maybe even had earned. But it was a far cry from the way Noctis saw him. But then… Noctis didn't see himself the way Prompto saw him. Maybe it wasn't so much about the faith you had in yourself but rather the faith others had in you. The kind of faith Prompto knew he would do his best to live up to.
Prompto glanced down to where Noctis’ thumb ran over his knuckles. The touch grounding him in a way nothing else ever could. There's a soft smile at that - the feeling that even in the face of something as big and scary as the prospect not of being married to Noct, but rather the political end of it everything somehow didn't feel that daunting with that little touch. Because it was Noct - and every single important moment in his life the man beside him had been a part of in one way or the other.
More than that, every moment he had doubted himself it was Noctis - whether he realized it or not - who made Prompto find a way to look past it. So it would stand to reason that this would be no different.
“You changed my life, you know that right? Like, completely changed it. For the better,” the last part added quickly with a chuckle as he realized belatedly that might sound bad. “This person you see me as, I don't think I'd be him without you, Noct. Without the sheer amount of faith you have in me that some days I don't even know where it comes from but some days - some days I - uh - I like to think maybe I haven't let you down yet, so…”
He shrugged as he laughed again. Less nervous and confused this time and more on the side of sheer elation. Noctis wanted to marry him. It still felt big and daunting and just a little terrifying, but it also felt… right. “So I think yeah...” A pause. “I mean - yes.” That was better. “Yes I wanna get married.”
He grinned, absolutely blown away in the best way. “Just - under one condition,” he added with another laugh. “You have to swear you will fire me if I suck at the whole… wait -" the grin turned a bit sheepish, “what would I even be?” In his defense, they didn't really cover this particular arrangement in their history classes.
"You changed your own life, Prompto," Noctis insisted, his boyfriend's high regard for him only solidifying this decision. He was so generous with his heart, so trusting in those he cared for. It made Noctis feel absolutely certain that Prompto would do right by their people.
"Yeah, maybe I had something to do with it. Ignis and Gladio and everyone else we know, too. But you're the one who busted your ass to get here. You decided to come with us, even if it meant leaving everything behind. You learned how to fight, and to face your fears, and to push through even when it was shit. Even when other people had given up." There were tears in his eyes, he knew, but they were happy. "You couldn't let me down, you goof. Never have. Not once — not for a second."
He snuck in a quick kiss after Prompto laughed, relieved that he didn't seem quite as nervous as before. Even if his acceptance right after took Noctis completely off-guard. "What? Really!?" He burst out, then blushed. "I mean — seriously, babe, there's no rush. You can ... you can decide later ..." Okay, he was definitely ruining that by smiling like he'd never smiled before. Noctis blew out a breath and tried to control the sheer, unadulterated joy radiating from him. It didn't work.
"Um. Prince. You'd be a — you'd be a prince." He was going to die of happiness before they'd even signed the paperwork. So Noctis went with practical: he retrieved the ring and pressed it into Prompto's palm, covering both with his own hand. “I’ll swear only if you promise to fire me if I suck, too." He smirked, because it was true. This would put Prompto next in line for the throne, and with it, the ability to overthrow him. The thought deeply amused Noctis. He approved.
He shook his head a little, that giddy grin still plastered on his face. “I don’t need to decide later,” he assured Noctis. “You’re - you’re it for me, Noct. Always were.” He’d even tried, once - to see if someone could loosen that iron grip hold Noctis had had on him since... longer than Prompto even realized. Let himself be open to the idea that there could be someone else out there for him, but it hadn’t worked. Not even close. And then Knowhere had happened and that was that. “I just didn’t think I’d be lucky enough to be it for you too,” he added with a smile. And any lingering doubts he might have had were erased by the sheer joy that had overtaken Noctis’ face at his answer. This was right. This felt like where they were always supposed to end up.
“And if you think I’ll be a good prince -” and wow that was a sentence he’d never imagined he’d utter in his life - “then I’m in.”
He looked down as Noctis put the ring into his palm and let out a slow breath. This was real. This was happening. And honestly the fact some mystical force of generations of Lucian Kings didn’t strike him down right then and there kind of helped a little. He figured there had to be some kind of fail safe for the current King of Lucis being an absolute idiot and trying to give this ring to someone they thought completely unworthy of it.
“Deal,” he agreed - though he doubted there would ever be a need on that end. He laughed and looked up at Noctis. “Shit, does this mean I have to stop joking about things being treason? That’s like half my material, dude.”
For the most part, Noctis was pretty good at containing his emotions. It was way easier to handle disappointment when feigning indifference, after all, and he'd deliberately put on a brave face for this conversation. Noctis wanted to think he could handle rejection — that, despite being upset in the event of this going poorly, he wouldn’t let his emotions get the better of him. He refused to wallow in heartbreak if Prompto said no, which was a perfectly reasonable response to 'Hey, wanna be responsible for an entire country?' But his noble attempt at self-sacrifice instantly fell apart when his boyfriend (fiancé, fiancé, fiancé, he thought, deliriously happy) said yes. And then confirmed his decision for a second time.
"Cool," Noctis replied, his attempt at casual ruined by the fact that he was still grinning like an absolute goofball. "That's — really fucking cool." He continued to gaze at Prompto even when he passed the ring over, and wondered if he'd ever chill out a little. If, one day, his heart wouldn't feel like it was leaping up into his throat whenever he looked at the guy. Probably not, but he didn't mind one bit.
Prompto's last statement made him actually giggle. "Kinda, yeah," Noctis said, leaning in again to kiss his cheek. Was he even allowed to be this happy? It seemed too good to be true somehow, after everything they'd faced. But Noctis ignored that for now. "You'll have to find another way to spin it. Like making new laws nobody needs. Or calling official meetings for stupid reasons." Gods, ruling with Prompto was going to be a fucking blast.
If you couldn't be grinning like a complete goofball when you got engaged then when could you. And really, Prompto wasn't much better. Especially as the fact they were engaged started to sink in.
The ring was a warm reminder in his hand. And he's not sure if it's just his own excitement at the entirety of it or something else, but he swears he can feel something from the ring against his skin. And it is, of course, not lost on him what exactly Noctis is giving him with this, that this is not just some ring picked up at a store. And there's a part of Prompto that wants to immediately insist that this is too much, to try to give it back - not the engagement that it represented of course, just the ring. But he also knew Noctis wouldn't give him this ring if he didn't completely want to. If it wasn't important to Noctis that he have it.
Mostly he just wished he had something of that kind of importance to give back.
He grinned at Noct, eyes bright with the tears of happiness that threatened for most of this conversation. “I can make new laws? Fuck, babe, you're really going to regret this,” which was said with little to no seriousness of course. Punctuated by him leaning in to kiss Noct gently, a hand sliding behind his neck. “I love you, I love you so much and I can't believe this is actually happening.”
Noctis found himself admiring the ring in Prompto's hand. It felt so right for it to be there, as if he'd only ever been holding onto it until the moment when he'd pass it on. Whether that was against tradition or protocol hardly mattered to him. This was what he really wanted, and Noctis had so few opportunities to do things that simply made him happy. They'd have to be careful with it, of course — and probably have it looked at by someone with way more magical experience than either of them had — but for now, his father's ring was in the right hands.
He smiled as Prompto drew back from the kiss, his eyes bright and warm. "I've never regretted anything involving you. Not ever," Noctis said, knowing Prompto had been joking, but feeling as though he needed to set the record straight. And if he spent the rest of their lives together working to prove that to his husband-to-be, it would be a life very well spent. Noctis met Prompto halfway for the next kiss, drawn to him as if by a force he couldn't control. It felt like that a lot — like they were magnets, or tangled up in a thread he couldn't see — and he was all too happy not to fight against it. Where Prompto went, Noctis went, and now he could say it was legally true, too. Gods he was so excited for this.
"Believe it," he replied, grinning with an insufferably smug look. Noctis was all confidence now that the hard part was over. "Now you're officially stuck with me forever." He rubbed a hand along Prompto's side, the other resting atop his thigh. It felt good to touch him again, to establish contact after the nerve-wracking conversation when he'd been avoiding it. "I want everyone to know how much I'm stupidly in love with you," Noctis murmured, and he pressed feather-light kisses along Prompto's neck, following the path of freckles.
It had been just that, a joke. But it was nice to hear Noctis’ rebuttal to it regardless. And there’s a little smile that curls at his lips as a warmth at the words spreads through him. He’s half tempted to point out that maybe there were a few things he should - the countless half dead mornings when Prompto had distracted Noct till all hours with some new video game and other such shenanigans. But he doesn’t. Instead, fingers curled in those longer strands of hair at the back of Noct’s neck he smiled again. “I’ve never regretted anything either,” he said softly. Not a moment of it. Even even when entwining his path with Noctis’ had led to some pretty dark places for the both of them there had never been a moment of regret. There had never been a moment of doubt that his place was exactly where he had been - at Noctis’ side.
That little smug look earned Noct a grin in return. There was something entirely endearing about it, those little bouts of smugness that he could fall into sometimes that were never vindictive or mean spirited in nature. A grin that turned into a soft sigh at the press of lips against his skin and Prompto’s hand moved to Noctis’ hip as he tilted his head a little to the side.
It was still a little bit surreal. Of course he knew Noctis loved him, that much had been made more than abundantly clear. But this was a whole other level that he’d honestly never thought they’d be able to have. “I’m stupidly in love with you too,” he replied with a soft laugh.
And suddenly that letter from all those years ago crossed his mind and he smiled to himself. Did Luna - had she known what she was setting in motion with those words. Prompto’s hand moved to the side of Noctis’ face with a gentle tug to look up at him. He remembered when he echoed the words, in the aftermath of everything that had happened after the train and in the wake of Noct’s declaration to make their world a better place. He’d said it so easily then, a declaration he had meant every word of and still did. He was going to marry his best friend - but he was also going to marry a kingdom and a way to do what they had wanted to do all those years ago: make it a better place. Prompto grinned and let his forehead fall to Noct’s. “Ever at your side,” he declared once more and pressed his lips to Noctis’.