˙✧˖°📷 ᴘʀᴏᴍᴘᴛᴏ ᴀʀɢᴇɴᴛᴜᴍ 📷

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this wasn’t a dream he’d wake up from.

❝ ...I'm really glad you're here.❞

There was an itch in his palm where the phone wanted to be, but he wouldn't bring it back out. This wasn't a moment he wanted behind glass. It was one he wanted to hold onto with his own two hands.

but you did. and I guess I never forgot it. ❞

A crooked, almost disbelieving smile tugged at his lips as he shook his head, half-laughing under his breath.

❝ guess the gods have got a sense of humor after all. 'cause here you are. and I, ❞ he broke off, glancing at her like he still wasn’t sure

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He remembered sitting on his bed. Reading those same words. Feeling that whoever had written them understood him in a way no one else did.

Now here she was.

❝ ...you said that once, ❞ he finally managed, voice quieter now. ❝ in a letter. back when I... didn’t really think anyone could see me.

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Something from years ago, inked in handwriting he'd read over and over until he knew every loop and curve by heart.

He’d kept that letter. Still had it tucked away with the others in a little box. That box survived moves, Crownsguard dorm inspections, and who knows what else.

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For a moment, all Prompto could do was stare. Like her words had brushed right past his ears and gone straight to his heart.

He remembered.

Not instantly. Not with the lightning-bolt clarity in romance movies. But he remembered.

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His blue-violet gaze was uncertain, but sincere. ❝ if you wanna keep the mystery going about who you are, that's fair. but I'm still glad I met you tonight. just... throwing that out there. ❞

shy all of a sudden.

❝ yeah, my name ain't the most noble sounding. it's even kinda weird, but it's mine. ❞ He'd written the same thing to Stella, more or less. It wasn't less true since the last time he'd said it.

His gaze then flicked up to meet the young woman's.

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He nodded.

❝ Prompto, ❞ he said. The name felt small compared to the weight of the moment, but he gave it anyway. And if she asked for everything he had, he'd give her that too, honestly. ❝ Argentum, if we’re going full disclosure. ❞

He paused and looked down. He rubbed the back of his neck,

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it made his throat feel tight and his chest feel full.

Then he offered to give his name to her, and she accepted the offer. He cast the thread first, but her confirmation felt like a blessing. Or a spell. Something sacred, like that.

His mouth curved in a smile. It was sheepish and warm.

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Even if he didn't know what it was just yet.

There were things she said that stuck in his ribs. In the hollow places he didn't know were waiting to be filled. Peace, tranquility. Words like that, said with her voice and with her gaze the dreamiest shade of his favorite color...

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To be honest, Prompto didn't know why certain things struck him as beautiful. Only that they did, and he saw it, and felt it, and wanted to catch it before the feeling faded. Put words to it, too, if he could. This quiet, this moment beside the nameless star? It meant something.

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He was still gonna milk this, though. So for now, he poked Ardyn's chest, right over where his heart was meant to be.

❝ not to worry, I can space those kisses out so I don't take your breath away all at once. ❞

that you've only passed out from such breathtaking smooches? ❞

There was laughter in his words, but there was warmth in it too. He knew enough to see how careful Ardyn was. When it came to being vulnerable around others, caution was right. But Prompto would be gentle. It was only right.

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There was no chance of eavesdropping. Still, he liked the closeness.

❝ ooh, should I be worried about my immortal date not breathing every time I kiss him? I mean, I could make CPR part of the evening, but how would I explain to the waiter at the fancy restaurant we'll go to,

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Prompto was proud for getting under Ardyn's skin. Not in the festering, Starscourge kind of way that the man was familiar with. It was the good way. The '𝘐 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥' way.

He leaned in enough to speak like they were sharing a secret. No one else was around.

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then straightened up and booped Ardyn on the nose. ❝ you said it, not me. you can't take it back now. ❞

Not that he ever wanted Ardyn to take it back. Not even a smidge. But teasing the man about it was half the fun, especially with that smile that would tug at his lips at such antics.

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Oh, Prompto heard that for sure. Ardyn said 'official', and the young man's whole expression lit up. He grinned with the triumph of a man who just won, then gasped like he'd just been proposed to on live television.

❝ a really real, official date? ❞

He fake-swooned a little,

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Though there was something . . . off?

He zoomed closer. Zoomed in on Ardyn in particular. Did he . . . were his eyes blue in this shot?

He glanced over at Stella, then back at his phone. He held up the photo where she could see it.

❝ check out his eyes in this one! ❞

❝ this lady definitely looks like she could handle him, and not just in the 'humor him before he breaks something' way, ❞ he commented aloud. He flicked between two photos. One where they were talking, and one where it looked like Ardyn was listening. Like, 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 listening.

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but she 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 to reach him, and that means a lot. ❞

He slurped his boba loudly and sprawled across Stella's bed. His phone was in the other hand, and he scrolled through his photo set of the lovebirds like some undercover matchmaking cryptid. His cheeks hurt from grinning.

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There was something there, potentially romantic. Prompto's instincts were good for that. Always had been, especially when it came to people who didn't know to ask for what they needed.

❝ yeah, it's better if we're up front. we're just trying to help Ardyn; he's kinda unreachable in his own way.

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So for Ardyn to genuinely smile and mean it, stuck with Prompto more than he'd readily admit.

That mystery woman had just what Ardyn needed, he was sure. They may not have known her name, but Prompto had seen enough. She was elegant. Commanding. She had sharp eyes with a softness in the corners.

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See him happy?

That sounded too good. But the truth that Prompto figured out early was that Ardyn didn't 𝘥𝘰 happy. Sure, Ardyn smiled. And he laughed. But actual joy? There were rare instances that were genuine, but it was mostly performance. A mask carved to hide his grief and other things.

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Not right now.

Tonight, they'd be about the walk. About her arm in his. Their shared laughter. Silly stories.

And right now, he tightened his arm around her and held her close. They sat there, comfy and warm in their cuddling.

❝ I love you, ❞ he said.

That part didn't need to wait.

but didn't. What scared him was how much he wanted it.

He shut his eyes for a bit and pressed a quiet kiss to her hair. He hadn't said anything to her, of course. He imagined what he'd say. He didn't want to be cliché or overwrought. Just real, and them.

But he didn't need the perfect speech.

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pretending to judge everyone's dog names. I bet someone out there has a corgi named Admiral Waffles or something. ❞

He grinned but his chest fluttered.

She was right. The season was changing. Everything would change. That thought should've scared him,

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never need was grandiosity. Just him, and a promise he wanted to keep.

He turned his head enough to take in her scent. She smelled like the spring she spoke about. Fresh petals and a faint trace of lavender.

❝ a long walk sounds perfect. maybe we can find a park and sit on a bench

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Stella was accepting of Prompto's awkwardness, but a little thread of tension lingered in his gut. To reveal his surprise, or not?

It was tucked away between padded lenses and memory cards. Detailed but not ostentatious. He'd chosen it weeks ago, when he realized the one thing Stella would

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