Hey, it's Prompto. Hope this doesn't wake you up -- if it does, I'm really, really sorry. This might be a dumb question, but I just, ah, wanted to ask if you'd seen Ignis. Lemme know?
( the piercing shriek of the phone in the dead of night is enough to shock him off his feet, and prompto swears his heart is still in his mouth when he answers, voice shaking. knowing who is on the other end of the line soothes it over a considerable amount, though the tremor is not entirely gone. )
Wednesday night. He hasn't come back since, and I just went over with the spare key to check it out, 'cause I thought Iggy might've just decided to spend a few nights in the back room? I mean, whenever he did it he'd at least leave a message or something - just, maybe he was so busy he forgot, y'know? But he wasn't there either and he didn't even leave anything this time, so I - I'm not sure where else to look --
[ There's a conscious effort to pitch her voice evenly, to try and shoehorn her normal blasé rasp into something that might pass for calm or comforting. It's not going to help either of them or Ignis if they're both panicking,
Even if what Prompto's saying is so unlike Ignis that it sets a cold little stone of worry in her stomach. ]
Have you checked the hospital and the sheriff's office?
What--? No, I - ( but the suggestion already throws him off-kilter, questions his belief that ignis wouldn't let himself get caught in anything far too antagonistic toward their captors - he's too smart for that. ) Didn't think to even go to those places, to be honest. ( there's a wavering note of hope in his tone, because hospitalisation and getting jailed aren't the best plights to be in, but it's still better than being missing. ) I should probably take a look, then...
[ a sigh. It wouldn't be like Ignis to wind up in a cell, and if he was in hospital they would have been told. By the staff, if Ignis himself wasn't capable; after all, as far as the town's concerned she's his next of kin. But she can't stand the idea of Prompto dragging himself around at this hour, fuelled by hope, and getting his bubble burst. ]
stay where you are. Try to rest. I'll call them and I'll let you know. Or bring him home if he needs bail.
[ Because let's be real, shortcake. If he needs someone to make bail for him she's in a much better position to pay out. ]
But - ( he's never been one to sit and wait; the tension would kill him, for starters - but aranea's logic is sound, far more than his own, and prompto bites back his protests with a frustrated sigh as he casts an anxious gaze out the window onto quiet, darkened streets. ) -- If you get any news, call me, okay? I'll be up.
[ She doesn't. No Ignis at the hospital, no Ignis in lockup, and after the incident with Nyx she was extra careful to refer to him as her cousin as she extracted a promise to call her if he turns up.
He might hear the engine before she knocks on the door. But the lack of news is enough that she doesn't want to leave him alone, and she doesn't especially want to be by herself either. ]
( seems like forever since he hangs up and starts pacing, too anxious to sit, but it mustn't have been that long either, because the streets are still dark when the purr of a rumbling engine crescendos and goes silent in the driveway. prompto nearly almost trips over his own feet in his scramble to meet it, throwing the door open without so much as checking that it's who he's expecting in the first place --
aranea's alone, and prompto can't help the sinking feeling in his gut despite the possibility that ignis was just stuck somewhere, at the moment. ) Did you find 'im? I didn't expect that you'd come right over --
She shifts her weight to one foot, a hand settling on her hip. Stalling, like the physical version of an um before she rolls one shoulder in a half-shrug. ]
Oh. ( anything less than a "yes" is telling enough, and prompto is suddenly hyper-aware of just how tired he is, weariness settling on his shoulders like a stifling weight, all but the last traces of hope he held escaping his lungs in a quiet sigh.
still, it's not just about him, now - aranea's come all the way over in the middle of the night, after all. ) Well - thanks for dropping by, though. Y'can stay over, if you want. It's really late.
[ Late for him, early for her. She'd been asleep when he called, and the chances of her getting back to sleep after this are on the fuck-all side of slim, but it means something to be around someone else who gets it. And it's obvious just how much he does; he slumps under it, shoulders rounding, resignation settling over his face. ]
Prompto...
[ This place. This fucking place. All the messing around in their memories leaves a mark, something that's stirring now as she watches him. He should be nobody to her, a passing acquaintance, but the urge is undeniably there. To comfort him, and be comforted over the loss of someone else she has no business caring about. So there's a second's delay as she turns it over in her head and -
to hell with it. It's too early for this shit. She steps forward and pulls him into a hug. ]
( fatigue does little to help suppress the way prompto's mind wanders, with more than just ignis' fate clouding his thoughts. the contact is unexpected enough to give him a mild jolt out of his reverie, and the gunner can't find it within himself to bother attributing the flood of relief to the purity of the gesture, or the fact that it's aranea...
the faintest hitch in his breath is all the response prompto has to offer for now, allowing himself this moment of respite as he leans gratefully into her hold. come hell or high water, they're still in this together. )
[ She's too full of questions to fuss over how good it feels to have that contact - the pressure of him leaning in against her, the warmth. Fake memories or no, it's reassuring. Enough so that she lingers over it before she eventually sighs and pulls the door shut behind her, eyes shrewd over his face. ]
Done what we can for tonight, anyway. When's the last time you slept?
( if he's any reluctant to let go prompto barely shows it, hanging back as aranea steps away. the light in his own gaze has dulled as it meets hers, and the blond has to take a moment to consider the question before answering. ) Yesterday, I guess. It's fine, I've pulled all-nighters before. ( just not like this. just not ever without his friends. ) Didn't think there was anythin' weird when he didn't come back, it's not the first time... Damn it, if I'd just gone to check maybe this wouldn't even have happened --
[ She's done her fair share of ordering people to bed. Funnily enough, harvesting daemons for the Empire seems to lead to sleepless nights for a lot of people, and her mouth is open to feed him the same line she used to feed her troops - if you have to think about it, it's too long - before he continues.
Aranea's never had much of a capacity for blaming herself, even when maybe she should. The result is that whenever she see it in anybody else she's always got the urge to grab them by the wrists and haul them back up over that steep precipice that comes right before despair, and it's only made stronger by seeing it in Prompto. For more than a year (even if it was an imagined one) he's been her light; she won't stand for seeing him lose his own. ]
How do you figure? We don't know what happened. It might have just happened to you, too.
Yeah, but - ( better him than the most level-headed of their group. the sense of loss is far too keen, almost crippling, only balanced out by aranea's presence, the brightest point in the idyllic unease that shifts restlessly in the veins of this town. )
Even if it did, you guys'd be able to work something out a lot faster than I probably could. Doubt Iggy would've waited an entire day before he thought somethin' was off, for starters.
Or I could be here on my own with both of you gone. C'mon.
[ She's been here often enough to know where the couch is, when she puts a hand on the small of his back to steer him there. It seems like a sitting-down kind of conversation. ]
Can't beat yourself up about this stuff. There's too much shit going on here for us to burn energy on things we can't change.
( the guidance is something he didn't know he needed but is grateful for all the same, almost crumpling into the couch when he finally sits, leaning against the back at the couch and gazing at the ceiling briefly before he turns to her. ) Gladio's here, though. Even if he doesn't remember yet, that's... still something. You wouldn't be on your own.
[ She's angled towards him - back against the arm of the couch, an arm propped on the back - and it makes it hard not to watch his face as he looks up, that little tangle of protectiveness swelling again. Still. ]
Oh. ( is it just a particularly still night, or is his face getting a little warm? the urge to fidget is there in the part of his mind capable of processing anything rational on so little rest, but so is the feeling that this is how they're supposed to be. ) Right.
Hey, Aranea - ( despite the tiny nag that tells him not to, prompto's content to accept things as they are for now; as far as gladio's concerned he's nothing more than a stranger, after all. in times like these, the gunner supposes it's okay to take comfort in places where he can still find it. ) Thank you. For bein' here.
[ It's a weird feeling, to both be aware that the comfort she gets from this is the result of someone messing around in her mind and to not care. Comfort's comfort, and after doing the kind of work she's done for so long she's learned not to spurn it when it comes along. It makes more sense to lean in to the feeling that being together right now will help them feel better than to dance around it and feel worse. ]
Wish I could say it was that altruistic, Shortcake. I didn't feel much like being alone either. Especially not when all I'd be doing is worrying about you alone here. Kind of a two birds, one stone situation.
[ But for all the conscious decisions she's made tonight - chasing up after Ignis like he really was her cousin, coming to Prompto like she has any right to think of him as more than an ally - busting out the old endearment wasn't one of them. ]
Yeah, but remember when you said you weren't my responsibility? I just figured it's the same the other way round, too... you didn't have to do any of this at all, or worry about me or anything, so - ( on a normal day he might be hesitant to broach the subject, but the situation's been anything but normal; he'll take what he can get. ) Whatever the reason is, you being here is -- it just means a lot, okay. So again... thanks.
[ Oh. That's a fair point, but it's also... not exactly what she meant. ]
Well, you're welcome. But I'm trying to say I wanted to see you. I'm not here to look after you. Just wanted to be around you.
[ There's more to say than that - that she's missed him, or that the realization they might have lost Ignis has put a lot of things into perspective - but she'll take a moment to watch for a reaction, to figure out if that's going to be unwelcome information first. She's made good money putting her ass on the line, but her heart? Different story. ]
W-well. You can stay as long as y'want - ( despite all that's happened the fact that his existence even matters to someone who isn't noctis, ignis, gladio or iris is still a relatively new concept that needs getting used to; if prompto though his face was warm before, it's nothing compared to how it feels now, though he shows no signs of discomfort with the idea save the flush that paints his pale cheeks. ) I... I'm glad you're still here. With me. ( he might regret this later, when he's had some sleep and any repercussions will be more keenly felt, but for now he couldn't care any less; after all, either of them may be the next to go. )
[ With me, he says, and he's turning pink but he doesn't seem uncomfortable. That's positive. As mad as she gets about it, the hardest thing isn't knowing that they were given feelings they had no say in. It's the fact that none of them went away when all the real memories came back, and the idea of being able to talk to him about it, to hash it out instead of walking around with it eating away at her is a relief. That's a conversation better had at another time, when it's not still dark out and they're not both shaken by the loss of their friend.
Of course, it is still dark out, and they are shaken. So instead of letting common sense prevail she leans in, lays a hand against against the side of his neck, and kisses him full on the mouth. ]
( this is so far off the list of things prompto ever thought could happen - whether just today or otherwise - that he does what any other 20-something boy without much experience with this sort of thing getting surprise-smooched by a pretty girl would do -- he blanks out.
not completely, that he doesn't reciprocate; the press of lips on his own is enough to relieve his mind of any and all coherent thought, and the blond finds himself leaning forward and into it, just a touch hesitant about pushing too far, but it's still good and he can't yet bring himself to pull back. )
[ The fact that he leans into it is all the encouragement she needs, enough to unlock what she'd stowed away to be dealt with in some undefined later when things with the town didn't seem quite so fucked. But it's clear that day's not coming, and the thought that she could just wake up someday and Prompto would be gone puts a little edge of desperation into it.
Her hand slips back, fingertips edging into his hair as she opens her mouth against the swell of his lip. Edging closer until she's practically in his lap, hands sure and stomach knotting.
She's always been better with actions than words, anyway. ]
( for all his inexperience, this feels... pleasant, warm and familiar, even more so when he takes the cue readily to fit their mouths together, pressing deeper. they've done this before in their imagined memories, and prompto's lost in the strange sense of deja vu that hits him, absently smoothing one faintly trembling hand up her thigh to rest on her hip with far more surety than he would've had if he were completely in his head. )
[ Knowing they haven't actually done this before doesn't do anything to stop it from feeling like safe territory, sweet and comforting when his hand coasts over her thigh. It eases her into it, makes her actions surer; a soft sigh against the warm press of his mouth, knees planted either side of his hips. That sense of familiarity is what has her pausing, eventually. The tiny tremor in his hand on her hip doesn't fit with the memories of them tangling together in need or love or just the sheer joy of being together, and it brings her present enough to pump the brakes a little. ]
You're shaking.
[ Quiet, almost whispered against the side of his mouth. ]
( it's so easy to forget that all of this is new, but he's called out and that just adds a little more surety to prompto's own grasp, even as he pulls back and ducks a little, sheepish. ) C'mon, it's... kind of my first time. For real. ( the quiet laugh that comes on an exhale is just a little nervous, just a little shy. ) Go easy on me?
[ The revelation is not nearly as much of a surprise to her as how it makes her feel. Back home, back in what she still sometimes thinks of as real life, that news would have launched her off the couch like a rocket. Sex isn't the big deal some people make it out to be, like it's either the best or worst thing ever and some kind of huge milestone in a life, but for someone like Prompto - sweet and insecure and almost painfully eager to please - five months ago that would have been way more responsibility than she wanted in her life. He's too tender and she's too brash. Leave that to someone who can make it clear to him how much he's worth, leave him feeling safe and loved and precious.
She doesn't know if she can be that person, but his hand settles more confidently on her hip and he laughs, and damn but it makes her want to try. ]
Yeah. Yeah, okay.
[ And for a moment she just rests her forehead against his, tips of their noses touching, and combs her fingers through his hair before shifting to kiss him again. ]
( if prompto still retained any semblance of rationality by this point it would've been spent pinching himself to make sure this isn't some kind of fever dream, that these months in some weird random town dealing with the most unexpected of things aren't just a figment of his undoubtedly overactive imagination - but the fact is he doesn't; all that's registering is the nudge of aranea's nose against his that calls forth the memories of their first day here, when they had been blissfully oblivious, each other's entire world. gingerly he shifts, moves to thread his free hand in silver strands and when he's wrapped up in yet another kiss it feels like coming home, the answering warmth surging in his chest 'til it feels fit to burst. )
[ When his fingers tangle in her hair it reminds her just how much she's missed this. Just the closeness. The warmth of him, the reassurance that comes with that sweetness that's all his and nothing to do with whatever put them here. She hums quietly at his gentle shifting, slips a hand under the hem of his shirt to rest it against the warmth of his skin, and tips her head to lay a kiss against the line of his jaw. ]
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probably voicemail??? some crazy time like 4:30am, june 2
Date: 2017-06-03 06:20 pm (UTC)4:35
Date: 2017-06-03 07:51 pm (UTC)Prompto. When did you last see him?
wtf go back to sleep lmaO
Date: 2017-06-03 08:09 pm (UTC)Wednesday night. He hasn't come back since, and I just went over with the spare key to check it out, 'cause I thought Iggy might've just decided to spend a few nights in the back room? I mean, whenever he did it he'd at least leave a message or something - just, maybe he was so busy he forgot, y'know? But he wasn't there either and he didn't even leave anything this time, so I - I'm not sure where else to look --
no >:|
Date: 2017-06-03 08:20 pm (UTC)[ There's a conscious effort to pitch her voice evenly, to try and shoehorn her normal blasé rasp into something that might pass for calm or comforting. It's not going to help either of them or Ignis if they're both panicking,
Even if what Prompto's saying is so unlike Ignis that it sets a cold little stone of worry in her stomach. ]
Have you checked the hospital and the sheriff's office?
no subject
Date: 2017-06-04 07:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-06-04 07:56 am (UTC)[ a sigh. It wouldn't be like Ignis to wind up in a cell, and if he was in hospital they would have been told. By the staff, if Ignis himself wasn't capable; after all, as far as the town's concerned she's his next of kin. But she can't stand the idea of Prompto dragging himself around at this hour, fuelled by hope, and getting his bubble burst. ]
stay where you are. Try to rest. I'll call them and I'll let you know. Or bring him home if he needs bail.
[ Because let's be real, shortcake. If he needs someone to make bail for him she's in a much better position to pay out. ]
no subject
Date: 2017-06-04 08:08 am (UTC)you know what voice to action I DO WHAT I WANT
Date: 2017-06-04 08:28 am (UTC)[ She doesn't. No Ignis at the hospital, no Ignis in lockup, and after the incident with Nyx she was extra careful to refer to him as her cousin as she extracted a promise to call her if he turns up.
He might hear the engine before she knocks on the door. But the lack of news is enough that she doesn't want to leave him alone, and she doesn't especially want to be by herself either. ]
no subject
Date: 2017-06-04 09:50 am (UTC)aranea's alone, and prompto can't help the sinking feeling in his gut despite the possibility that ignis was just stuck somewhere, at the moment. ) Did you find 'im? I didn't expect that you'd come right over --
no subject
Date: 2017-06-04 10:03 am (UTC)She shifts her weight to one foot, a hand settling on her hip. Stalling, like the physical version of an um before she rolls one shoulder in a half-shrug. ]
They're gonna call if he turns up.
[ Says it all, really. ]
no subject
Date: 2017-06-05 08:43 am (UTC)still, it's not just about him, now - aranea's come all the way over in the middle of the night, after all. ) Well - thanks for dropping by, though. Y'can stay over, if you want. It's really late.
no subject
Date: 2017-06-05 08:56 am (UTC)[ Late for him, early for her. She'd been asleep when he called, and the chances of her getting back to sleep after this are on the fuck-all side of slim, but it means something to be around someone else who gets it. And it's obvious just how much he does; he slumps under it, shoulders rounding, resignation settling over his face. ]
Prompto...
[ This place. This fucking place. All the messing around in their memories leaves a mark, something that's stirring now as she watches him. He should be nobody to her, a passing acquaintance, but the urge is undeniably there. To comfort him, and be comforted over the loss of someone else she has no business caring about. So there's a second's delay as she turns it over in her head and -
to hell with it. It's too early for this shit. She steps forward and pulls him into a hug. ]
no subject
Date: 2017-06-05 10:20 am (UTC)the faintest hitch in his breath is all the response prompto has to offer for now, allowing himself this moment of respite as he leans gratefully into her hold. come hell or high water, they're still in this together. )
no subject
Date: 2017-06-05 10:39 am (UTC)Done what we can for tonight, anyway. When's the last time you slept?
no subject
Date: 2017-06-05 05:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-06-05 07:41 pm (UTC)Aranea's never had much of a capacity for blaming herself, even when maybe she should. The result is that whenever she see it in anybody else she's always got the urge to grab them by the wrists and haul them back up over that steep precipice that comes right before despair, and it's only made stronger by seeing it in Prompto. For more than a year (even if it was an imagined one) he's been her light; she won't stand for seeing him lose his own. ]
How do you figure? We don't know what happened. It might have just happened to you, too.
no subject
Date: 2017-06-06 09:42 am (UTC)Even if it did, you guys'd be able to work something out a lot faster than I probably could. Doubt Iggy would've waited an entire day before he thought somethin' was off, for starters.
no subject
Date: 2017-06-06 10:03 am (UTC)[ She's been here often enough to know where the couch is, when she puts a hand on the small of his back to steer him there. It seems like a sitting-down kind of conversation. ]
Can't beat yourself up about this stuff. There's too much shit going on here for us to burn energy on things we can't change.
no subject
Date: 2017-06-06 05:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-06-06 07:56 pm (UTC)Gladio's not you.
[ Which is the entire point. ]
no subject
Date: 2017-06-07 11:05 am (UTC)Hey, Aranea - ( despite the tiny nag that tells him not to, prompto's content to accept things as they are for now; as far as gladio's concerned he's nothing more than a stranger, after all. in times like these, the gunner supposes it's okay to take comfort in places where he can still find it. ) Thank you. For bein' here.
no subject
Date: 2017-06-07 08:44 pm (UTC)Wish I could say it was that altruistic, Shortcake. I didn't feel much like being alone either. Especially not when all I'd be doing is worrying about you alone here. Kind of a two birds, one stone situation.
[ But for all the conscious decisions she's made tonight - chasing up after Ignis like he really was her cousin, coming to Prompto like she has any right to think of him as more than an ally - busting out the old endearment wasn't one of them. ]
no subject
Date: 2017-06-11 09:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-06-11 09:53 am (UTC)Well, you're welcome. But I'm trying to say I wanted to see you. I'm not here to look after you. Just wanted to be around you.
[ There's more to say than that - that she's missed him, or that the realization they might have lost Ignis has put a lot of things into perspective - but she'll take a moment to watch for a reaction, to figure out if that's going to be unwelcome information first. She's made good money putting her ass on the line, but her heart? Different story. ]
no subject
Date: 2017-06-11 11:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-06-11 11:18 am (UTC)Of course, it is still dark out, and they are shaken. So instead of letting common sense prevail she leans in, lays a hand against against the side of his neck, and kisses him full on the mouth. ]
JFC
Date: 2017-06-11 04:02 pm (UTC)not completely, that he doesn't reciprocate; the press of lips on his own is enough to relieve his mind of any and all coherent thought, and the blond finds himself leaning forward and into it, just a touch hesitant about pushing too far, but it's still good and he can't yet bring himself to pull back. )
heh
Date: 2017-06-11 10:12 pm (UTC)Her hand slips back, fingertips edging into his hair as she opens her mouth against the swell of his lip. Edging closer until she's practically in his lap, hands sure and stomach knotting.
She's always been better with actions than words, anyway. ]
h ec K
Date: 2017-06-12 03:11 pm (UTC)LOOKIT HIM GO
Date: 2017-06-13 12:26 am (UTC)You're shaking.
[ Quiet, almost whispered against the side of his mouth. ]
Do you want this?
help........... how do i het
Date: 2017-06-13 04:26 pm (UTC)with aplomb, apparently
Date: 2017-06-13 10:52 pm (UTC)She doesn't know if she can be that person, but his hand settles more confidently on her hip and he laughs, and damn but it makes her want to try. ]
Yeah. Yeah, okay.
[ And for a moment she just rests her forehead against his, tips of their noses touching, and combs her fingers through his hair before shifting to kiss him again. ]
gosh
Date: 2017-06-14 05:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-06-15 09:07 am (UTC)Missed you, Shortcake.