During the ninth ball, Noct took him up to the top floor of the Citadel.
There were no guests at all in the long, polished corridors, and the elevator required a passcode. As they slipped up, level upon level, Prompto wondered again at Noct's rank, that he had such unrestricted access.
Then the elevator dinged to a stop, and Noct took his hand and pulled him out onto the balcony, and Prompto forgot about everything but the view.
The lights of Insomnia were spread out below them, twinkling white pinpoints and splashes of neon. Above, like a still reflection in water, the stars stretched overhead, the moon hanging among them round and yellow.
Prompto walked to the balcony's edge as though living a dream. When he looked at Noct beside him, he could not help but notice that Noct's hair was the color of the sky, and that the moonlight caught in his eyes.
Noct huffed a soft laugh, and Prompto swore he'd never heard a better sound. "Thought you might like it."
"Yeah," said Prompto. "Cause it's awesome. Quick, gimme your phone and get over here. It's picture time."
"About that," said Noct, and then faltered to a stop.
Prompto turned to look at him – really look at him. His face was carefully blank, but his shoulders were hunched and he had one hand behind his back. If there was more light, Prompto suspected he'd see that Noct's cheeks were pink.
Noct opened his mouth to speak again – got nothing out. In lieu of words, he took his hand from behind his back and thrust something Prompto's way: a small box, edges crisp and surface glossy.
Prompto took it carefully, squinting down at the image splashed across the front. His eyes grew very wide.
"I figured, someone doesn't have a phone, they probably have a reason," Noct said. "But I wanted –" He stopped, seeming to need time to gather the words. "You ought to be able to take your own pictures."
With trembling fingers, Prompto eased the lid of the box up. He lifted the camera from its wrapping with the reverent care of a mother cradling her child.
"It's for me?" Prompto asked, uncertain. He'd never owned anything before. He'd never imagined the sweet rush of warmth at the thought that, beyond the dreamlike pleasure of these glittering nights, Noct had thought of him.
"Of course it's for you," Noct said, and Prompto felt his eyes stinging, throat unaccountably tight.
"Thanks," Prompto told him, and dredged up a watery smile that glowed brighter than the sun. "It's –" Incredible. Amazing. Mind-blowing. Something he would hide away until the day he died, like a talisman to remind him of better times. Something precious, set aside for when the last of these balls was years in the past and Noct was nothing more than a treasured memory.
Prompto swallowed, the words sticking in his throat like the blade of a knife. "Thanks," he said again instead, more fervently this time.
Before they left the balcony, Prompto filled half a memory card with pictures of the moon, and the shining lights of Insomnia, and their faces, side by side, laughing there in the dark.
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timeasmymeasure
Re: [Fill: 9/?] Noctis/Prompto Cinderella AU
Date: 2017-03-25 07:45 pm (UTC)During the ninth ball, Noct took him up to the top floor of the Citadel.
There were no guests at all in the long, polished corridors, and the elevator required a passcode. As they slipped up, level upon level, Prompto wondered again at Noct's rank, that he had such unrestricted access.
Then the elevator dinged to a stop, and Noct took his hand and pulled him out onto the balcony, and Prompto forgot about everything but the view.
The lights of Insomnia were spread out below them, twinkling white pinpoints and splashes of neon. Above, like a still reflection in water, the stars stretched overhead, the moon hanging among them round and yellow.
Prompto walked to the balcony's edge as though living a dream. When he looked at Noct beside him, he could not help but notice that Noct's hair was the color of the sky, and that the moonlight caught in his eyes.
Noct huffed a soft laugh, and Prompto swore he'd never heard a better sound. "Thought you might like it."
"Yeah," said Prompto. "Cause it's awesome. Quick, gimme your phone and get over here. It's picture time."
"About that," said Noct, and then faltered to a stop.
Prompto turned to look at him – really look at him. His face was carefully blank, but his shoulders were hunched and he had one hand behind his back. If there was more light, Prompto suspected he'd see that Noct's cheeks were pink.
Noct opened his mouth to speak again – got nothing out. In lieu of words, he took his hand from behind his back and thrust something Prompto's way: a small box, edges crisp and surface glossy.
Prompto took it carefully, squinting down at the image splashed across the front. His eyes grew very wide.
"I figured, someone doesn't have a phone, they probably have a reason," Noct said. "But I wanted –" He stopped, seeming to need time to gather the words. "You ought to be able to take your own pictures."
With trembling fingers, Prompto eased the lid of the box up. He lifted the camera from its wrapping with the reverent care of a mother cradling her child.
"It's for me?" Prompto asked, uncertain. He'd never owned anything before. He'd never imagined the sweet rush of warmth at the thought that, beyond the dreamlike pleasure of these glittering nights, Noct had thought of him.
"Of course it's for you," Noct said, and Prompto felt his eyes stinging, throat unaccountably tight.
"Thanks," Prompto told him, and dredged up a watery smile that glowed brighter than the sun. "It's –" Incredible. Amazing. Mind-blowing. Something he would hide away until the day he died, like a talisman to remind him of better times. Something precious, set aside for when the last of these balls was years in the past and Noct was nothing more than a treasured memory.
Prompto swallowed, the words sticking in his throat like the blade of a knife. "Thanks," he said again instead, more fervently this time.
Before they left the balcony, Prompto filled half a memory card with pictures of the moon, and the shining lights of Insomnia, and their faces, side by side, laughing there in the dark.