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[it takes a couple of minutes, and when prompto's done, he unplugs the blow dryer, carding both his hands through the hair to look over his handiwork. mussing the bangs wherever and however he wants]

All dry and warm. Bring the beanie and the scarf, yo.

[prompto will wrap him up]

[ Noctis hums, still cooperating as Prompto fixes his hair the way he sees fit. And he's okay with that. Honestly, however way Prompto wants to arrange it, Noctis will allow. It's important he looks good for him. ]

Yes, sir.

[ It's spoken fondly, and he turns on his heel to grab his beanie and scarf. The scarf is draped over his shoulder, beanie in his hands when he comes back to the bathroom. ]

Shouldn't you bundle up, too? You're not wearing a hat.

[prompto's only response to that is a grin and putting up the hoodie of his jacket to cover his head]

I'm not stupid.

[implying noctis is--playfully, of course]

[he arranges the beanie on noctis' head, tucking hair in, and then wraps up the scarf in a series of elaborate twists and turns so that it covers his chin]

Plus, I do alright with the cold. [satisfied, he jumps off the counter and pushes the hoodie down, turning off the light to the bathroom]

Where are we going anyway?

[ It's totally a joke at his expense, but Noctis manages a laugh. ]

Yeah, yeah.

[ But he's too softened by the fact that Prompto bundled him up. Could he possibly get any sweeter than he already was to begin with? Of course. It's Prompto. Noctis will likely die of his heart swelling too much, and he's okay with that.

Noctis follows behind Prompto as they exit the bathroom, and he snatches his hoodie from the foot of the bed, having left it there earlier. ]

Dinner, then maybe some hot chocolate and... I'unno, a walk somewhere? It's cold, but the beach is pretty at night.

[prompto considers if there's any nice places by the beach, and there's that really nice restaurant he went with ardyn a few weeks back. he suggests it out loud, taking out his phone to make the reservation via an app.]

[he waits for noctis by the door, grabs his wallet from his bag, and decides to leave it there. whether he sleeps over or not, he's most likely to drop in all day tomorrow anyway to work on homework together. and make out, maybe. perks of being a couple. when noctis joins him at the door, ready to go, prompto hooks his arm around his waist, keeping close]

Ardyn tell you about Galdin Quay, right?

[ Noctis agrees on the suggestion, fine with anything Prompto wants honestly. He's a finicky eater, but he's not entirely disagreeable when it comes to restaurants.

He grabs his wallet and keys, handing them over to Prompto. He's driving. There's no way Noctis is going to risk getting startled and warping through the car.

And it's nice, really, how easily they fell into this couple thing. Prompto hooks his arm around Noctis' waist, and Noctis is perfectly content to it. He wraps his arm around Prompto in kind, walking alongside him. He casually kisses Prompto's temple as they get into the elevator. ]

Yeah, I remember Galdin Quay. The uh... Beach-slash-resort place, right? We saw Ardyn there.

Exactly.

[he nods, a hand on his chin, as if in deep thought]

Doesn't feel like we recognized him. Didn't wanna say it in front of him, but kind of got a weird vibe off of him in the memory.

Y'know what I mean?

[ The elevator makes it to the bottom floor, where they walk towards the garage. ]

Yeah... Actually.

Did he seem a little, I don't know... Passive-aggressive? Wonder what was up with him.

Ah, y'noticed too.

[goes around the car, unlocking it with the key and getting it. man, get the heating on and working quick, please. the engine purrs to life, and prompto's excitedly getting ready to roll]

I'm more curious about the coin he tossed at ya.

[ Noctis gets into the car, buckling his seatbelt. His brow raises, and Noctis leans forward. ]

Yeah, what was up with that?

He kept looking directly at me when we were all talking to him. Didn't bother to even glance at anyone else.

I'm tellin' ya. You're important.

[out the garage they go, and prompto's content that at least the seats are warm and cozy]

[ Noctis shakes his head and crosses his arms. ]

Either that, or I pissed him off.

[ He's not sticking to this "important" thing, dude. There's no way. ]

He had an accent, too. Did you notice that?

Spoke all prim and proper.

[a Face, glancing at noctis and then back at the road] It's not that I suspect him. Ardyn's like a dad t'me, but it feels like... He's not saying the whole story, y'know what I mean?

[ Noctis leans back in his seat, arms still cross as he looks out the window. Now that they're talking about it, it's weird. And he certainly feels bad for feeling that way, but he... Weirdly can't help it? ]

Ardyn and I are family, I guess? I don't suspect him either, but...

[ He shrugs, loosening his arms. He looks over to Prompto. ]

Back when we were all dream-hopping... I got carted off into his head. He was sitting on this throne in--

[ He pauses. ]

Do you remember Insomnia?

Uh...

[??] Can't say I've ever suffered from it...?

[ lmao ]

Wh--

No. The Crown City. Insomnia.

[ But that obviously answers his question. ]

Anyway, I showed up there, and I remembered the place. It was a giant citadel. Nearly blown to pieces, tore up...

Ardyn was sitting in the throne room. On the throne.

[ His eyes squint, looking down to his feet. ]

There were... Bodies strung up to the ceiling. And he was sitting in front of the Crystal. The one that swallowed me up.

You realize how much of a horror movie you're describing right now, right?

... Can't say I remember any place called Insomnia. That the name of the place against the Nifelelers, then?

--geez, these names.

[meta]

Niflheim.

[ A pause. ]

... Ers. Niflheimians?

[ Noctis shakes his head. ]

Either way, I know he was about as disturbed as I was. Can't say I was able to read him.

While we're on the subject.

[ A pause. Noctis tries to really register how he's going to describe this. ]

Do you recall anything about some sort of... Prophecy? Of eternal darkness or something?

[looks at noctis horrified]

Huh?

[ He likely could have timed this better, but even he's trying to process it still.

Noctis stares down at his feet, wrinkling his nose as he thinks. ]

I kept hearing... I don't know. Random words?

"Anointed by the Crystal..."

"When darkness veils the world, the... King of Light shall come."

[ He rubs at his neck. Uncertain. ]

I don't know. It was really weird. I looked out and the skies were just...

Black. Not the normal nighttime we're used to seeing. It was... Sad. Scary.

Don't remember anything like that.

...

[he keeps driving, keeping quiet afterwards]

[until...] Y'think our--world, or whatever. It's really... destroyed?

That's the thing...

It was a dream, so I don't know what part of it's true or not.

[ Noctis fusses with his hair, lowering his hands and looking at them. Remembering how he was much stronger and with far more muscle in that dream. ]

But it felt real enough.

[he reaches the beach parking lot, and parks the car. he doesn't turn off the engine though, not yet. he just leans into the wheel]

[sighs]

I wanna meet the other two guys who keep hangin' out with us. Is... Cloud even there...?

[he's concerned. he glances at his wristband and decides to keep busy, turning the ignition off.]

I heard one of them speak once. The voice didn't sound familiar. But... No. I haven't seen Cloud.

[ Noctis sighs in turn. ]

The more I find out about where we come from, the weirder it gets. Nothing makes sense.

[he's got a sinking feeling about this]

...well, for now. Dinner?

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