I want to ride my chocobo all day!

Thanks to an oh-so-mysterious *winkwink* benefactor with a subtle, secretive olive branch of a distraction in mind, Prompto had scored a few tickets for a day in the sun and surf at pretty swanky water park, the significance of which was probably sadly lost on everyone attending. But the main reason this particular park had been chosen, actually, was because it boasted the continent's largest wave pool, which was perfect for when you had a nine-foot-tall shark prince to consider!

"I call dibs on riding Sidon in the wave pool first!" Prompto announced, once they got in and got all suited up for the park.

Because that was a totally normal thing to say.


[[ for the sister and...myself...and...myself again!

Look, I planned on being glued to my computer today, anyway, soooooo.... ]]

With Prompto now teaching and there being a few workshops that Ignis himself had wanted to take, their schedules these days, trying to split their time between Fandom and Insomnia, had been all out of whack. Which Prompto figured was probably driving Ignis mildly insane, but honestly? Prompto himself didn't mind it very much, it kept things interesting! Hopping back and forth so much made him sort of feel busy and less idle, even if some of it did seem a little superfluous. But, for now, he was feeling fine with spending a little extra time hanging out at the Fandom apartment for a nice lazy Saturday, and that had nothing to do with the shamelessly modded cat on his chest as he lay sprawled on the couch, playing video games on his phone.

(Actually, it had everything to do with the shamelessly modded cat on his chest as he lay sprawled on the couch, playing video games on his phone. You just couldn't say no to a cat once they claimed your chest, brah, it was, like, a rule).

It wasn't all video games, either, though, because he knew what next week was, of course, and had a few things in motion, and it was probably about time the thing he got in motion next was invitations. So he was working on an email to send out to his whole Fandom contact list (minus one, of course), so that people could have some time to plan and arrange.

(He also hesitated about including another particular name on that list, but honestly, removing her seemed way more of a dick move. She'd included him in her mass email about her tournament, after all....Whatever. She could just ignore it or delete it, like she had everything els---no, no, that wasn't what happened, he had to keep reminding himself of that....)

( Cut for EMAIL to EVERYONE, EXCEPT NINA. No Ninas Allowed! )

[[ email sent to all who would like to receive it (EXCEPT YOU NINA)! Post is def. open for replies, visits, roommates, etc, etc, etc!! ]]

There had been a little bit of redecorating around the crown prince of Insomnia's apartment over the weekend, redecorating all around quite possibly the best painting in the entire multiverse, of Noctis hanging from his sword from the top of the Citadel while the world spun around him, and there was definitely a singing fish and a burrito blanket featured heavily, as any great piece of art should have.

And Prompto had seen it probably a million times since Nina installed it, but he still couldn't help pausing every once in a while as they were all hanging out, and just sort of...marveling.

"It's almost hard to think that I know the people who painted that," he commented, not for the first time, shaking his head a moment before popping a chip into his mouth and trying to go back to focus on the game he was currently kicking Noct's ass in.

"It is a bit of a masterpiece, isn't it?" Ignis commented from behind the counter in the kitchen, where he was diligently putting dinner together for the lot of them. "Shame that it's hidden up here where so few people will even be able to bask in its glory. Perhaps I should talk to someone about having it moved down to the Citadel? I'm thinking the main entrance hall..."

"Don't. You. Dare," growled Noctis, doing a poor job of sounding intimidating with it. "It's fine where it is."

"I don't know, Noct," Gladio said as he placidly flipped the page of his book. "Iggy's got a point, it would look great hanging in the dining hall, too, maybe."

"Haven't we already been over this?"

"Only about five times every day since you got it, buddy!"

But Prompto really hoped they were joking about that. Not for Noct's sake, though, but rather for his own, because that painting was huge and a pain to move, so he'd be perfectly fine if it stayed right where it was.

He was pretty sure Noctis would miss it if it was moved, too.

[[ open for chocobrothers, chocosisters, chococalls and chocotexts! ]]

Prompto hadn't just gone back to the island for the Wednesday shenanigans, no matter how much he made it seem like he was only there for the fun of it. He had some business to attend to, some arrangements to make, some squirrels to ply with lots of rum for secrecy sake, before heading back to his world, and once he was back and took care of, you know, stuff he needed to do and his training and whatever, he finally had a chance to send out a very important email.

( Cut for Email to ANYONE on the Fandom mailing list, EXCEPT NINA! No Ninas allowed! )

And, yes, there was a mass text sent out, as well, though that one was a little more straight forward: SURPRISE BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR NINA ON THE BEACH SATURDAY NIGHT! IT'S A SURPRISE SO DON'T TELL HER! SEE YOU THERE! DESTROY THIS MESSAGE UPON RECEIPT!

And then he leaned back in his chair, grinned proudly to himself, and booted up some games to pass the time with until he probably passed out for the night, even though he should, you know, get some rest because he had, ugh, training in the AM.

[[ email and texts to whoever and whatever might want to have received one (and even those who might NOT have wanted to!), wooo! Also most definitely open for any responses, calls, emails, texts, carrier pigeons, you name it!! ]]

Prompto was not sulking; he wasn't moping; he wasn't--

---aww, hell. He probably wasn't fooling anyone. He knew he probably shouldn't be sulking about the whole picture thing, but he kind of couldn't help it. And, okay, okay, maybe some of the attention the party pictures were getting on social media were a bit of an ego boost, he had to admit, but it didn't really account for much when he considered the boyos definitely would have seen it and none of them were saying anything, and that was almost worse that them just making fun of him for it or whatever. He tried to convince himself that, hey, maybe that meant they actually hadn't seen it, maybe they'd been too busy or it got lost in the social media shuffle, but it seemed pretty unlikely.

The whole thing was making him feel kind of lethargic and blah that day. Like, he went for his run, like usual, but it was a rough one, he didn't have the motivation, and he even hit the gym and the range afterwards, too, but the spark just wasn't there. So he went back to the room, plopped on his bed, rolled over, and just laid there, staring at the ceiling, with one arm and one leg draped over the side of the bed in a position that probably didn't look very comfortable at all yet surprisingly was, and just sighed.

But, hey, at least the spring break trip was coming up soon?

You know, the one to a nice tropical-sounding place where he'd be probably in a pool a lot, topless, reminding everyone about that party...

Prompto groaned, and stopped just staring at the ceiling, because you couldn't stare at a ceiling from underneath a pillow.

[[ door and post are open, yo! ]]

Oh, man! What a week! Prompto was definitely feeling like he'd been through the wringer a few times and then some, but it was all sort of an oddly good feeling, too, because the training had been tough, and the subesequent mission that followed had been nerve-wracking and stressful, but they did it, and they'd done it well, and it was hard not to feel totally accomplished and maybe, just maybe...feeling like this all wasn't just some big mistake and he really was on the right path, he really would make an excellent Crownsguard, even if he was miles and miles behind Noctis and Ignis and Gladio and everyone else. Maybe he actually did belong there after all.

He was riding that high a little bit once he finally got back to Fandom, relieved to finally get a little bit of R&R after all that rigerous training. At least, he hoped so, because, knowing Fandom, he'd probably tumble straight out of training and into chaos, though he hoped whatever he did find was just more of the holiday silliness that Nina had oh-so-handwavily kept him updated on through multiple texts and messages and videos. He was almost a little disappointed to not run into any cute beverage-distributing bears or squirrels in santa hats on his way back to the dorms, but, at the same time, he felt a little too tired to have truly appreciated it, anyway.

"Ahhh," he sighed as he burst into his room, threw aside his bags to take care of later, and then just headed straight for his bed, where he did a little turn before plopping down onto it with an even deeper, more content sort of sigh. "Dorm sweet dorm..."

And he was just going to revel in that moment for a bit, before pulling out his phone and shooting off a few texts to interested parties to let them know that he was back, and then he tucked his phone away and just stared at the ceiling and enjoyed not moving for the very brief amount of time he suspected he'd have before a certain sister came bursting through the door. He had to cherish this little blip of peace and quiet while he could.

[[ because I'm ready to have at least someone back! Door and post are open! Feel free to mod getting a text if'n you like! I may be a bit slow here and there but I've missed you guuuys ]]

Prompto had returned to Fandom in the wee morning hours of that Sunday, slipping by room 221 to leave a package all done up to look like it really had been airshipped overnight from Insomnia, and then he went to his room to hide out for a bit. He killed some time with video games, but he didn't check in on his kitty farm yet, because that could raise some flags. Had to be low key. He wasn't here, he was a ghost, just had to wait out the hours until that wedding was in full swing and hopefully, Nina and Vette were gone, so he could slip back downstairs and to the scene of his crime-to-be.

Dragging with him a very large and surpringly heavy duffel bag and a few tools that he'd need to set this all up.

He paused, listening carefully at the door for any sign of activity from within that wasn't sleepy-kitty or jelly-daemon related. All quiet. Good. Eeeexcellent. So he got to work on picking the lock, wishing his was better at it because it was going to be kind of awkward explaining this to anyone who might come out into the hallway unless everyone was at the wedding. But he got in, and he slipped in quickly, and he looked around to hush Foomy and Miss Dozy with a finger to his lips (unnecessary, really; Foomy was just sort of burbling a hello and Miss Dozy was sleeping, of course), and then he got to work.

Vette had said she wanted traps, didn't she?

And so it began.

Cackling to himself, Prompto slipped back out into the hallway, heading back up to his room, where all he had to do now was wait for them to get back, and watch it all enfold thanks to the little lipstick camera he'd included because this? Was going to be glorious and not to be missed.

[[ room modded and boobytrapped with permission! Mostly for the girls and their nice little junk mail glitter bomb, but, hey, if anyone wants to snag him in the hall before he's gone, I'm for it! but SP because I have the ever awesome and excting ~inventory~ tonight ]]

Although it was a little bit tempting, Prompto decided that, if he was going to pick up and leave for home and not bothering returning to Fandom Island, he wasn't going to just do it without a word. There had been a massive influx of messages sent out, albeit belatedly at the zero hour before he left. Yang, of course, obviously, and Nina, too, espsecially since he figured he wouldn't have been able to just slip away without a word with her around, anyway. And then Sidon, the normalcy of asking the Zora to cover for him at the shelter this week feeling odd in one way yet comforting in another. And, finally, one to Zack, which felt the strangest out of all of them, because when had he ever called Zack to let him know when he wouldn't make it in? Or that he and Sidon were switching shifts or covering the other? He'd always been cool about that sort of thing, he and Sidon just sort of did what they needed and he didn't care, not even when they missed because they were incapacitated or sick or turned into horrible frightening monsters that would eat all the animals, anyway...

...and it felt, in a way, that there was a certain sort of...finality in that call to Zack. Like tying off loose ends. Closing a chapter of a book....

Either way, he'd arrived in Insomnia that morning, inexplicably the next day, portal logic!, fumbling with his keys a little as he approached the quiet little house he'd grown up in. He pushed the door open, calling out into the stillness, though he knew there was no point. "Mom? Dad?"

Silence. Of course. Of course they weren't home, and he felt another terrible swell of sadness taking over him. You'd think, after pretty much his whole life of this, he'd get used to the feeling of coming home to an empty house, that he'd eventually stop feeling disappointed that his parents weren't there, but it never really faded, and, right now, when he felt like he sort of needed them the most, it seemed to hit especially hard. When he had so many questions he wanted to ask them. When all he wanted was answers and the only people in the world he could think of that might have them were...no where to be found. He just wanted them to hug him, and smooth back his hair, and tell him everything was okay. He wanted to hear that they knew about it, they knew everything, but they still loved him anyway, but did they even know? How could they not? Who just dumped some random Niflheim MT clone in an orphanage, and who then just picked up that random Niflheim MT clone to adopt...especially when they clearly had no interest in actually doing much parenting? He wanted answers, he wanted comfort, he actually wanted to talk about it, but all there was was empty rooms, walls scattered with photographs, old video games, and a cupboard full of Cup Noodles, cheap and easy because there was no time for them to make him any leftovers, but there's some money on the table if he wanted to eat out...

Absently, Prompto went to the mailbox to collect the usual stack of letters that had been stacking up while his parents were gone. Mostly junk mail, really, no one really sent anything important to the house, because everyone knew that the Mr. and Mrs. Argentum weren't likely home to receive it. But the stack seemed unusually thick this time around...he scoffed a little, derisively. Probably because he wasn't around to clean it up! And he idly glanced over them, sorting through it to make sure there weren't any bills or anything mixed in with the coupons and savings offers.

...wait a second.

Prompto blinked, staring down at the envelopes as he shifted through them, not even sure he was seeing what he thought he was, because that seemed...that was...how in the hell?

We got library cards! Ignis helped us!

Prompto was staring down at a handful of junk mail boldly addressed not to any Argentums who might be living at this address, but, instead, to the supposed Nina Libris and Vette Libris that did!

"What the hell?"

Honestly, he wasn't sure if that question into the ether was more for Nina and Vette...or for the clearly out-of-hand state of Insomnia's junk mail.


[[ junk mail modded with permission? lol. Anyway, it's open if anyone wants to get in touch! ]]

Well, this week had been one hell of a ride, hadn't it? Prompto always did have a problem with getting all wrapped up in his own head sometimes, but last weekend and the events that followed meant that he'd been mired in even deeper than usual. And, in light of certain events, he found himself in a situation where he couldn't just ignore and avoid certain people for their own damn good. Which meant that he'd have to do the other thing to do when things got like this, the thing he didn't really like to have to do, the thing he tried to avoid at all costs, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized that it was the right thing to do.

He really needed to talk about it.

And since treats always made talks easier, he remembered an unfulfilled idea to go get milkshakes at some point and latched onto that. Of course, getting around the island was a pain in the ass for nearly everyone except Sidon, and while the thought of commandeering Sidon for a trip had crossed his mind, he didn't even know whether any of the good milkshake spots in town were flooded or not, and he didn't want to bother with figuring it out when he could just make milkshakes himself and his room would be more private for all this crap, anyway. So, with more trouble than there should have been (he decided to blame class yesterday, somehow. After blending all those CDs, blending milk and ice cream and fruit seemed suspiciously smooth-going), he managed to make one strawberry one for Nina and one banana one (he was going for a yellow color, which he did not really get, but whatever), found fancy glasses to put them in, even whipped cream and a cherry (thanks, mysteriously accommodating refrigerator!), and then brought them back to his room where he could take a picture and send her a text:

If you're not up here in five minutes, I'm totally drinking your milkshake.

He figured that would do the trick, so he settled in comfortably on the floor, leaning against his bed, contemplating sending her a picture every minute or so with a little bit of her shake sipped away each time to prove that he was serious.

[[ mostly for the one, but can be open if anyone wants to swing by after Nina! And the fact that they met to talk about stuff is a-okay, but if the nitty-gritty deets of the convo could be NFB, I'd greatly appreciate it, squirrels! ]]

Right. Classes were done for the semester for Prompto, his room wasn't covered in ketchup anymore, he was mostly planning on sticking around for graduation because, duh, obviously he wasn't going to miss his girlfriend graduating (although at the same time, no, please don't, like, ohgods, what was going to even happen now?), but he wondered if he should stick around for the whole week before then, or, like, head back home for training early, get in more work, take a break to come back for the weekend, and then back to Insomnia again until the start of the next semester. That...was easily the best plan, he felt, and he knew going back and forth wasn't much of a problem for him. He'd have to make sure it worked with Noct, though, and, in the meantime, he'd just hit the shooting range here as much as he could, get in some work here before really hitting the ground running with the boyos.

He still felt pretty antsy about everything, though, to feel entirely comfortable getting behind a gun right now. But he figured some mindless video games would be a good way to clear his mind, and it was actually working pretty well before his phone started buzzing to alert him to a new text message.

From Noct.

U OK?

Amazing how just three letters could fill a person with such a firm and distinct sense of dread and forebodding.

yeah. y?

Prompto did not like the stretch of time that existed before a response came in.

Got a message yesterday from one of your friends saying you had a real bad weekend. 'Tragically rough' she said.

Well. That definitely helped Prompto get an idea of exactly which supposed friend had gone and sent messages back home, and was just going to let his avatar die a horrible bloody, fiery death right now while he tried to figure out exactly what he thought about that.

She said she'd like to come visit, too, Noctis contined, that your hoes need to meet your bros...

she SAID that????????

Murder. So much murder, Nina. Like, literally, all the murder.

Yeah, she did. You think you'll bring them with you over the break? We can make arrangements.

No. That was a big, fat, emphatic no, one he hoped Noct could feel through the phone. Not this time. Too much work to do. And i'll explain everything later promise. But i think i might head out tomorrow after work, if that's cool. i'll have to come back for graduation but...

He took a long moment, debating on whether or not to include the next part.

I think I really just need to be home for a bit.

The swiftness of the reply was almost as encouraging as the reply itself: Whatever you need, Prompto.

Thanks, buddy.

And he wasn't going to get all teary eyed, he wasn't going to change his mind and head to the portalocity office right then and there, he was going to just go back to his video games and blow the shit out of some stuff, before heading out to the shooting range and blowing the shit out of some stuff there. And then cuddle all the puppies tomorrow, followed by whole weeks of blowing the shit out of some stuff back home.

Perfect plan, really.

It was going to be okay.


[[ I am clearly taking advantage of my day off while I can. door and post are open! ]]