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Noctis scanned the darkening horizon. The camp had to be just up ahead, but he couldn't see the smoke.
"Let's try higher ground," Prompto said. He pointed to a hill to their left.
Noctis was already exhausted, but the thought of encountering demons was worse, and he trusted Prompto's sense of where to get a good view. "All right." Gladio and Ignis followed behind. Their elevated position revealed the pale blue glow of the campsite glyphs against the inky landscape. "Good call," Noctis said, patting Prompto's arm. "You get to choose dinner tonight."
"All right!" Prompto did a little leap, fist in the air. All that energy was beyond Noctis' comprehension, but he appreciated every bit of it.
When they got to the site, Noctis sank to his knees and then lay flat on his stomach. Not a hotel bed, but sanctuary and stillness nonetheless.
"Noct," Ignis said. "You don't get to sit down until we do."
Noctis groaned and rolled onto his back. "Just... give me a minute." That felt good. It hurt, but it felt good to stretch and rest his muscles, even if it was on a surface too solid to be called comfortable. He let his eyes fall closed. They could manage a minute without him. Probably better off, too.
Prompto pottered around helping Ignis and Gladio before coming to sit cross-legged beside Noctis' waist. The warmth of his leg seeped into Noctis' ribs. "Your minute's way up, dude."
Noctis peeked one eye open at him. A scattering of stars painted the sky behind Prompto. It was a good angle. "S'okay. You're sitting down now."
Prompto poked his bicep gently. His hand then moved to the ground next to Noctis' shoulder. "Ever wonder what these mean? Besides 'let these poor souls get a good night's sleep'."
Noctis turned his head. Prompto's finger caressed the indentation of one of the glyphs, the soft light reflected on his skin. "I... I think," Prompto's eyes met his as he started to speak. That faint blue was there, too. God, he was breathtakingly pretty today. "I think the symbols were thought to act as protective wards before they were even imbued with magic. People believed drawing the stars would bring the gods' power down, I guess."
"Wow," Prompto said, before looking up at the sky. He was ethereal like this, wreathed in stars and kissed by magic, and Noctis gazed until Prompto bought his attention back to him. "I used to make up shapes and stories about them." He ducked his head and his smile faded into sadness.
Noctis sat up and his hand came to rest on Prompto's gloved one. "Did you ever finish?"
"Huh? Well, n-no."
"If you want, we can carry on. Tell me the ones you remember, and we can make up some more."
Prompto's hand shifted under Noctis' continued touch. "Really? You want to?"
Noctis smiled. "Only if it makes you happy."
Prompto grinned, one shoulder raised as if he wanted to hide his blush. "You're on." His hand turned upwards and caught Noctis'.
He was so close. Noctis liked it, this warmth, this feeling. If he could map the stars with Prompto then he hoped they'd never run out of sky.
"Hey!" Gladio called. "Are you done picking dinner? Not gonna make itself."
"Be right there!" Prompto squeezed Noctis' hand. "Gotta go." He stood and dusted himself off before looking up at the sky again. Then he beamed, which lit him up more than any magic could. "I've got it! I've come up with a new constellation." He winked at Noctis and skipped off to rejoin the others, leaving Noctis with the feeling that Prompto had just drawn it across his heart.