can we climb this mountain ( OPEN )

[nightcure]

Who: Noctis and YOU.
What: Catchall.
When: Latter half of the month.
Where: All around.
Warnings: Nothing currently. Will update if necessary.

[ Noctis is getting into the swing of things here. He's still a little restless from not doing things like hunts, or helping people by going on fetch quests, but... it could be worse. He has Prompto and Ignis here, so everything is fine. Still, he needs to actively go out and find things to do.

So.

If you happen upon him in the audio/visual center, he grins and raises a hand to wave. ]

Hey. [ He points to the DDR machine. ] Feel up for a challenge?

[ He's in the library here and there, too. He's not really looking for anything in particular, but there's a lot. Maybe there's something familiar? Some days, he seems to be looking for something. Other days, he can be found curled up in a chair, a book on diseases in his lap. He's also asleep, oops. Come nudge him or whatever; Delilah is there curled up on his shoulder, whenever he naps.

At night, he's found on the roof. It's beautiful, and Noctis gazes up at the stars with a quiet, thoughtful expression.

And then there are some days when he goes to the beach. He's ditched his jacket, and after stretching out a bit, he takes a quick jog. Then... he summons his father's sword in a burst of light, and-- throws it? He disappears, then reappears, with that blue light following him. This, he repeats several times, until he's bent over at the waist, hands on his knees, breathing hard. After a period of rest, he repeats.

It seems like he's pushing his limits, seeing how far he can go. ]

Comments

Roof

[photoshooter]

Hey.

[Prompto claps his hand affectionately to Noct's shoulder before sitting beside him, sliding right into place like he always does, like he did once on another roof in another world, in another life. This time, he sits closer, his arm brushing Noct's. That's the only difference between now and then.]

Whatcha doing?

[nightcure]

Hey.

[ Noctis nudges him gently with his shoulder. Prompto's warm next to him, and being here with him makes this all the more special. ]

Just looking at the stars.

[photoshooter]

Stars, huh? Cool.

[Prompto leans back on his hands to look up at them, too. After a while, he speaks again.]

I remember when you couldn't see almost any, even here. The fissure effect was that bad...

[nightcure]

Huh. Really?

[ Noctis watches him for a long, lingering moment, then turns his gaze to the stars. ]

I'm glad we can see them now, though.

[photoshooter]

Yeah. It's nice. Even if they're different from home, they're just... gorgeous, you know? All that light, even after dark.

[On purpose or not, Prompto ends up leaning softly into Noct's shoulder, bare skin to the brush of his sleeve.]

Were you thinking about anything? Wouldn't want to interrupt.

[nightcure]

Yeah. But... there are things more beautiful than the stars here.

[ He slides an arm around Prompto's waist, and he's blushing lightly. Noct brushes his lips against Prompto's cheek. ]

Nah, you're not interrupting anything. I was thinking about something, though. How... happy I am here.

[photoshooter]

[If Noct is blushing lightly, Prompto goes from zero to incandescent in the half-second lips touch his skin. After a second, though, he scoots even closer in, sinking into Noct's arm like high school sweethearts.]

Yeah?

[His voice is almost light around a deep, deep, melting center.]

Aaanny particular thing you like about it?

[nightcure]

[ He holds him closer, basks in the warmth of Prompto's weight against his. It's comfortable, and his heart feels full in a way he hasn't quite gotten used to. ]

Hmmm. [ He makes a big show of thinking for a long time. ] The chickens are pretty great. Sunny, too.

[photoshooter]

I'm telling Sunny you rated her second to the chickens.

[nightcure]

You'd rat me out? Rude.

Anyway, the chickens are fourth. Sunny and Delilah are tied for third.

[photoshooter]

Huh.

[Prompto tilts his head to the side.]

Is there something in second place in this system or is that built into the tie?

[nightcure]

Yeah, Ignis is second.

[photoshooter]

Oooooh, don't tell him. He'll be so upset. I wouldn't believe he's ever been second in anything in his life.

[nightcure]

Pretty sure he won't mind that he's second to you.

[photoshooter]

Noct.

[Flushed again, Prompto pushes his face into the crook of Noct's neck, embarrassed but not displeased.]

Dude, you forgot to put turning into a cat on your list. I'm, like, at best in place one point five.

[nightcure]

[ He laughs, warm and light, as he presses his face into his hair. ]

Okay, fine, it's a tie.

[photoshooter]

Mmm.

[Warmth and light. Tucked into Noct like this, Prompto feels safe and comfortable enough to wrap his arm around Noct in return, to speak softly into his skin.]

My number one favorite part about being here is seeing you happy.

[...]

Tied with Sunshine.

[nightcure]

[ He sighs contently and kisses the top of Prompto's head. ]

Hah. Well, I'm always happy with you.

And Sunshine.

[photoshooter]

Sunshine loves you, too, bro.

[It's still cool to call your boyfriend 'bro,' right? It's fine. It's chill.

...]

Okay, but seriously, Iggy's really in first place, right? Noct, come on, I get it, it's fine. I'm not gonna try to compete with Ignis.

[nightcure]

[ He stays quiet for a moment. ]

It's both of you, honestly. You're both important to me, and you've helped me in different ways.

[photoshooter]

[That seems to set Prompto at ease.]

Mm. Good, I like that. And we'll both help Iggy, too, as much as we can. [Firmly:] We'll be okay.

[nightcure]

Yeah.

[ He's still holding Prompto, like it'll take an army to pull them away. This is nice. Just this. Just them being normal guys.

They have chances here that they couldn't, back on Eos. ]

As long as we have each other, it'll be okay. [ A pause. ] Just... wish we had the big guy here.

[photoshooter]

[Mock-huff. It's more just a breath out over Noct's skin.]

Just like him to turn up late, isn't it? He's always got to make an entrance.

[Gently, he noses against the side of Noct's neck, and then places a delicate kiss on his cheekbone, just under his eye.]

He'll turn up. I know he will. ...I don't think there's anything that would keep any of us from your side, Noct. Not even crazy alternate dimensions.

[nightcure]

[ It's soft and sweet, and Noctis lays back, gently tugging Prompto down. ]

He'll probably burst in looking all cool. Show-off.

[ He chuckles a little. ]

He'd be a pretty crappy Shield if he didn't follow us.

[photoshooter]

[Prompto pops back up to look at Noct, rolling half on top of him.]

Hey, if he's not here, does that mean I can be, like, your temp guy? Like a substitute Shield? I'm tough!