kittycaterer | Recolle AU/OU COMBO BREAKER PSL

Recolle AU/OU COMBO BREAKER PSL - Prompto, Ignis and Noctis

[ Often times, Noctis would wonder when he would become like the normal citizens of Recolle. When he would become blissfully numb and unaware of the oddities that often fell upon those who lived there. With the Retrospec app comes the strange awareness of everything, and when it's taken away? Nothing.

He watched Gladio go from being in disbelief to the world around him to being completely unphased. As if he didn't even notice anything. Often times, Noctis wishes the same would come of him. The second he opens his eyes to an unfamiliar apartment and equally unfamiliar bed, he realizes he's not even one step closer to that.

The alarm buzzing from the cellphone on a nearby nightstand is unfamiliar as it yanks Noctis from a dead slumber. His eyes open to the morning light spilling through the windows, and he rolls to his side to turn off the offending sound.

It's not his phone.

Noctis sits up quick to try and figure out how to turn it off. It's a smart phone, but not at all like the one he has. When it shuts off, he's met with a wallpaper. Himself and Prompto; not weird, but...

They're wearing uniforms in it. Prompto grinning his usual, stupid grin with his hair matted down, a green-striped tie loose around his neck in a blueish blazer. Noctis' hair is significantly shorter in this picture. Prompto and him never went to school together. He's only known him a couple years at best. It's then that a text message comes through, the name not unfamiliar but.

Definitely unexpected.

Dad:
Noctis, it is 12:30.
You were to be here for briefing at 10, as we discussed.
Son, I understand you are newly graduated, but please remember your duty.
You are two days from 20 years and no longer a child.
I've sent Ignis to retrieve you.
- Message sent Sunday, August 28th M.E. 755 12:30PM ]

What?

[ Noctis' eyes go wide, looking at the phone as if something has started to crawl through it. Not only is he being told he's 19 years old, but duty?

What?

He rips the blanket off of him and jumps out of bed. He's only in his boxers, but he doesn't think about that when he yanks the curtains open to see that this is not the city that he is familiar with. This obviously isn't his penthouse in Recolle, and this...

This looks like... ]

... This... Isn't right...

[ Oh god. Oh no. Oh no, this is Insomnia. ]

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[ Noctis is almost late to the fist bump, not exactly unfamiliar with it but that’s... Stopped being their usual greeting for some time now. Noctis is thrown off, but he follows along. He has no idea how to answer Prompto’s question, but he’s relieved that Prompto is the same in that he can’t stick to one subject for long. Thank god for that.

He closes the door as Prompto steps inside, struggling to keep up. The second he knows Prompto is suspicious, he clears his throat and straightens his posture. ]

Look? What look?

I’m fine, just... Slept weird, I guess.

...right.

[he frowns a bit, but soon enough he's letting that go in favor of not putting his best friend into any sort of uncomfortable situation. prompto sets his stuff down on the couch and sits down on it, eager to whatever hanging out they'll be doing.]

Y'wanna order pizza and just play video games, or you wanna go out? I'm feeling like having a milkshake, to be honest. Thoughts? Opinions?

[ He’s slightly relieved when Prompto doesn’t pry, walking over to join him on the couch. By habit, he almost sits too close, but he brushes it off as an accident and scoots a bit.

This is just... He can’t put a word on it.

He leans forward, elbows rested at his knees as Prompto lists suggestions. All of it puts him at risk of not appearing normal; he kind of knows where his games are, but he’s not familiar with the games themselves. He doesn’t know if they have a usual pizza place (if they share a similar dynamic here, they absolutely fucking do), and he can’t navigate through the city for he life of him. There’s a pause as he mulls it over. ]

Milkshake sounds good... Any new places worth trying out?

[ New place. Because that means they’ll both be unfamiliar and he seems less out of place here. ]

I knew your sweet tooth wouldn't resist!

[he does a victorious quip, grinning as he leans forward and quickly taps through his phone, into an app or another, likely looking for the desired information]

Apparently a new Altissian-esque place opened up. Dunno how legit it is--not that I'd know--but people are going nuts over it. They have ice cream and waffles and milkshakes... Oh! Here it is. Locanda.

[he passes the phone over to noctis]

Some ten minutes away.

[ Noctis takes the phone, trying to maintain this casual, cool sort of demeanor. He’s good at it, right?

Jesus Christ he doesn’t know what any of these streets are... ]

We hoofing it or...?

Hoofing it? Never heard you say that one before.

[prompto snorts, taking his phone back and leaning back on the couch]

I guess we could. Y'think Iggy can prepare chickatrice leg rice bowl later for dinner? I've been craving it so bad...

[he bumps at noctis's knee with his own]

Hey.

[this is kind of too casual and could be considered flirty, except they're not an item]

[ Noctis purses his lips. Shit. Is slang different here, too? From being a Brit to forcing more Americanized terms and an accent upon himself, he’s even further away from everyone else. Prompto at least finds it amusing, and he’s able to breathe. But this is getting tougher...

His brow furrows in confusion to the request. What the everloving hell is a chickatrice? Did he mean to say chicken?

Before he can even answer the request or react, he feels Prompto’s knee bump his own. The affectionate gesture isn’t unlike him, but he’s used to something to very different. Noctis jolts back into attention. ]

... Er.

Hey.

[ He doesn’t bump his knee back. He’s not even sure if he should. He feels a question coming. ]

[the response kind of... confirms prompto's worries]

[he offers his best friend a soft smile]

...guess you're not super into celebrating your birthday, huh?

[there has been talk, about niflheim's caravan of royalty and whatnot traveling into lucis. while life in insomnia goes as normal, people are--with good reason--concerned.]

What's wrong?

[ The worst part is that he doesn’t know much about the state of politics. So he’s scrambling to find a lie, feeling awful that he even has to lie to Prompto at all. Noctis is completely disarmed by Prompto’s smile; it’s exactly the same. Everything is the same, save for memories that are very important. His best friend and love of his life is sitting less than twelve inches from him but he feels like they’re a million miles apart.

He should tell him. If he’s anything like the Prompto he fell for, he won’t judge him. He might think he’s a little crazy, but...

Noctis feels himself grow heavy, and he looks down at his feet. He mentally fingers through those files he’d looked at. The headlines on his phone. ]

Just... Feeling overwhelmed, I guess. I’m not a kid anymore, this whole war thing is getting closer to me.

[ There we go. Feign nervousness for your “duties”. It’s not totally a lie. ]

Wish I could just go back.

[ That means two things! ]

[prompto nods, convinced but feeling like there's something off about the way noctis speaks. he's more -- nervous than he is his usual angry. because he usually is, angry and upset at the king, his father.]

[he doesn't put much thought into it]

You and me both, buddy.

[being an adult really does suck]

But... you know that no matter what, I'll stand at your side. [he does a bump of his fist against his chest, by his heart] It's a promise for life. So, that also means that anything that's bothering you, you can lay it on me. We're best friends, right? It's hard to keep things from each other.

[ The relief of convincing Prompto doesn’t last very long.

His gaze shifts to Prompto as he lightly beats his fist against his chest. All noble and dedicated. Not at all unlike what he’s used to, but the context is so vastly different. He promises loyalty and support, and he might think it cheers Noctis up but in reality? It makes his chest tighten and his stomach twist. He can’t tell him now. He can barely wrap his head around what’s happening to him.

He’s not wrong that it’s hard to keep things from each other. Noctis wants so badly to tell him, but how is he supposed to?

“Oh yeah, now that you mention it! I don’t belong here! I’m actually a gawky, deathly-Ill rich boy from the UK who’s been forced to remember this life in tiny slivers, but it looks like the wires got crossed. Now I’m here and totally horrified!”

Yeah, that would bode over well.

Noctis curls his fingers into fists, visibly working over something in his head. Eventually, he forces a smile, nodding. ]

Yeah. I know.

[ He just can’t.

Noctis hesitates before reaching behind Prompto, patting his back like a good old chum. He gets up from his seat, struggling a bit when his knee cracks a little. It’s so stiff. ]

Let’s go get some milkshakes.

Edited 2018-04-22 20:58 (UTC)

[with little trouble they made it to locanda. prompto seemingly oblivious to noctis not knowing how to get there, instead preoccupying him with conversation and easy banter about things at work or how he hasn't really managed to go past his highest score on a phone app... the usual]

[they have their milkshake, eat it, and upon exiting, prompto heaves deeply]

I'm stuffed... That was so much cream. But so good?!

[well, at least prompto in lucis doesn't mind how much he eats]

I might die if I had another one but I also want it so badly!

[ Noctis is about as nervous as ever when they leave the apartment. But he manages to follow Prompto closely, relieved that he isn’t questioned on his lack of direction. And when they get to the shop, the milkshakes are just about as good as Prompto claimed.

They’re out for a few hours. And weirdly enough? He’s at ease for just a moment, hair tucked in a hat so he isn’t too obvious to citizens. He keeps a low profile as they walk out. Noctis isn’t at all surprised that Prompto manages to easily make him smile in this existence too. There’s plenty of guilt, plenty of uncertainty.

He should tell him... ]

Yeah, I’m stuffed. Feels like my brain is half-frozen after sucking that down.

[ He should tell him.

Noctis stuffs his hands into his pockets as they turn around the corner. He at lest as a decent enough memory of where they came from. ]

Hey, think we can go hang at an empty park or something? Feeling kinda smothered after being around guards all day.

[a light smack at noctis's back, and prompto's smiling]

Dude, I know just the place.

[it's hard to find empty places in insomnia, but prompto lives in a pretty quiet neighborhood. there's an empty lot behind some buildings, and prompto leads them there, climbing to the top of the bleachers of the what-was-once a softball field]

--empty enough for you?

[ What a relief. Not a single soul is here, leaving them at the top of the bleachers with the Insomnian skyline. The glittering dome above them that he still doesn’t completely understand the point of.

He’s alone with Prompto.

Noctis.. Feels the safest he’s felt since he was last in Recolle. He sighs as he sits down beside his friend, looking out. ]

Could probably hear a pin drop. So yeah.

[ He exhales, allowing silence to clear over them. Noctis eventually looks to Prompto, then away. ]

I’m acting weird. I know.

--you're always acting weird.

[prompto, for his part, leans closer, shoulders bumping]

It's okay. You're still Noct, and whether you wanna talk about it or not, I won't mind.

[ You’re still Noct...

This is just. It’s almost too much. Because Noctis doesn’t feel like himself. He feels severely displaced and out of control for his life. He’d known for a long time that he was royalty, or another version of him was. And now it’s suddenly been forced upon him. Noctis looks across a city he doesn’t remember, and what little he does remember was shrouded in darkness and destruction. Walking through a Citadel that was whole, not in shambles...

He feels like he’s looking at ghosts.

His fingers curl over his knee, the words on the tip of his tongue but he’s too afraid to say anything. Prompto is opening himself up to this, wanting for Noctis to let him in. He should. He has to. For Ignis’ sake and his...

He bites his lip before speaking. ]

I’m... Gonna tell you something. But you can’t tell anyone else.

[ And he looks to Prompto, expression serious. ]

And it’s gonna sound crazy. Okay?

[prompto blinks several times, especially at the seriousness of noctis's expression]

Yeah, of course. Anything I can do to help.

[a pause]

Even if it sounds crazy.

[ Noctis sighs, trying to mull over his words. He can’t look at Prompto for this, staring out. ]

I don’t... Belong here.

I don’t know if this is some weird glitch or... What. But I grew up on a planet called Earth. I grew up in another country entirely. I wasn’t a prince, I didn’t have any memory of this place until I moved to a town called Recolle. They used this weird app called Retrospec that delivered.. Memories. Of an alternate life.

This one.

I know where I am but I only remember bits and pieces. Of you, of Insomnia, of the Royal line—

I somehow woke up here with no extra memory. And I’m just... I’m so out of place and this sounds insane, but I barely know where I am and I—

[ Okay that’s about as much as he can let out. Noctis covers his face. ]

[noctis probably looked away and into his hands because of the look that prompto gave him--of disbelief and of "you're pulling my leg, dude," only to grow more concerned as noctis goes on--too convinced and serious for this to be a prank.]

[instead of going for a funny quip, prompto instead puts a hesitant hand over noctis's shoulder]

So, let me get this straight. You're Noct from a parallel universe, from this place called Earth, and your life was pretty wacky after moving to a new city. And now you've replaced the Noct from Insomnia, meaning that he-- must be in Recolle...?

Sounds a little hard to believe.

[but]

...next step is: how do we get you back, yeah?

[ Christ, he hadn’t even thought of that. Of the other Noctis winding up in Recolle...

Noctis jolts at the hand to his shoulder, looking up and over to Prompto. Bewildered because he instantly seeks out a solution rather than just outwardly questioning him. ]

You—

... You believe me?

[he pulls back, a bit offended at the question]

[then gestures at the apartments and houses around the field]

Which one's mine?

[ Noctis looks out, absolutely clueless. ]

Uh—

You live out here?

Yeah. You've been at least twice to my place.

[but it just shows that he's right]

--dude. Buddy. Of course I believe you. You still are Noctis, different universe or not.

Last thing I want is for you to feel that you can't even trust me.

[ Noctis takes a heavy exhale, feeling the first bit of relief since waking up here. His posture slacks as he leans forward, rubbing at his face. ]

Sorry, I just—

It’s been... Hard.

[ His Head turns, looking to his friend. Of course he’s understanding. That’s just classic Prompto, and Noct’s heart aches to the reminder of that. He chooses not to tell him about their relationship, because there’s still so much. ]

What am I supposed to do?

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