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Noctis sat on the same bench he did every time he visited the aquarium — at the bottom of the rows of concrete seats, so he could stare up at the giant tank of kelp and small fish. They swayed back and forth with the mimicked constant movement of waves. It soothed Noctis, watching the fish go along with wherever the current took them. Watching the way the leaves of kelp floated. Sometimes he moved with them.
Well, until someone sat nearby and the fear of looking like an idiot overtook him. Today, it was a guy around his age who sat down on the same bench just a few persons width away. Noctis paused but didn’t turn his head, just looked out of the corner of his eye.
This person held a camera up and took several photos. Notably it wasn't a digital camera, but instead an older one that looked from what Noctis could see well used. After a few clicks, the guy let it rest on his lap as he continued observing the tank. Noctis tried to do the same, but couldn't help checking every so often to see if the guy was still there.
After a few minutes, the person stood, hands on his camera and clearly looking to take more pictures. As he passed in front of him, Noctis got a better look at the stranger. Short blond hair peeked out from under a faded black beanie. He wore a red and black flannel shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows to reveal intricate lines and colors of tattoos and leather bracelets. Black rimmed glasses.
Just another punk guy in Osaka. Noctis watched as he disappeared down the hallway and deeper into the aquarium.
Noctis returned his attention to the tank. Or rather, he tried to. Something pulled at Noctis. Usually he wasn’t so distracted by the people walking through the aquarium. But now, he was. Unable to stop thinking about it, Noctis got up, shoved his hands in his pockets, and slowly walked towards the next exhibit. It wasn’t the first time someone in the aquarium took photographs, so he wasn’t sure what it was that made Noctis think this guy was somehow different. Maybe different was the wrong word - interesting? To be honest, as he thought more about it, Noctis didn’t usually see a lot of guys the same age as him wandering the aquarium alone. Maybe that was it.
Noctis didn't consider himself lonely. More of a loner. But that was how he liked it. He'd always been happier by himself and found it difficult to really step out of his comfort zone and talk to people. In school he had acquaintances and people he'd hang out with in groups, but he never reached out to someone. He couldn’t explain why he didn't feel compelled to. It was just who he had always been.
In the tunnel of large fish Noctis found the stranger again. This time he was up close to the glass as he watched one of the main highlights of the aquarium, the whale shark. This signaled to Noctis that the guy most likely was a tourist. The Osaka Aquarium was known for its sharks. Noctis stayed a distance behind and to his right in an attempt to stay casual. But Noctis couldn’t stop watching him instead of the fish. He kept his distance but positioned himself in front of the glass, with the ability to still see him.
The guy took a few more photos and looked into the viewfinder. Messed with some buttons. Took some more.
Then he turned, and looked directly at Noctis. Who, in turn, stared right back. Because he didn’t know what else to do, honestly.
The moment was fleeting, before the guy also appeared unsure what to do and turned away. He immediately left the room, and Noctis huffed. He went back the other way, to his kelp forest, needing the rhythm of the waves to soothe the rapid beating of his heart.
When Noctis returned to the aquarium a few days later, he did it thinking about the guy he had dubbed as Blondie. He had been ever since his last visit; almost obsessing over him, wondering anything about him, conjuring up possible life stories. An art student. Marine Biology exchange program. Recently moved here with his family. Doing a little eat pray love thing after a bad break up. A million different reasons why maybe he wouldn’t be just another tourist and instead someone Noctis could see again.
Osaka was a big city, sure, but the aquarium wasn't. It made it seem a little less foolish to imagine seeing Blondie again.
Once again Noctis sat where he always did. One hour. Two hours. Not the longest he’d ever been there, watching the water, but it sure felt like it was. But he refused to move. A small part of him challenged fate — if Noctis was meant to see Blondie again, he would show up today. It also would then mean if Blondie didn’t show, Noctis should forget about him and move on.
And then, to his right, Blondie appeared.
Noctis couldn’t resist tilting his head to look at Blondie, who had already lifted up his camera to take pictures of the kelp forest. To see Blondie, to look at his profile and see the focus in his eyes as he snapped pictures and looked at the viewfinder, it tugged at something in Noctis’s chest he couldn’t quite explain.
Nostalgia? That didn’t make any sense, Noctis had never met this person before. Affection? Also a big no, Noctis didn’t have random crushes and fleeting feelings for strangers.
“You know, if you keep staring, I might do a trick.”
For a beat Noctis thought someone was saying that elsewhere around him, not directed at him. But Blondie, camera still held up to his face, looked Noctis dead in the eye.
Like the last time, something weird clicked into place. Then Noctis realized just how fucking creepy he was being.
Noctis jolted and lifted up both his hands. “Sorry uh, sorry you just look familiar. Sorry.” It wasn’t entirely a lie since there was that insistent nagging at the back of his mind. The constant circle of trying to identify the feeling.
Blondie let the camera go - it hung on a strap around his neck - and studied Noctis. His hair wasn’t covered by a beanie today. It was styled up with a very rockabilly vibe to it. His short sleeve shirt revealed more tattoos along his arms, arrays of symbols and swords. His eyes were blue, and he had freckles all over his face that were somehow highlighted by the blue green water in front of them.
“I don’t think we’ve met,” Blondie finally said.
This was exactly why Noctis avoided people. He was terrible at this kind of thing.
“I - I don't think so either. Sorry, I’ll stop being a weirdo now.” Noctis didn’t allow more time for embarrassment. He got up, ready to go to one of his other sanctuaries in the aquarium to calm the fuck down.
“Hey wait,” Blondie grabbed Noctis’s bicep.
Something like a shock from static electricity shot up through Noctis's body. He jumped back, away from the touch, and when he spun around to see what the hell that was, Blondie stood staring at his hand.
“What the hell was that?” Blondie asked, eyes wide when they met Noctis’s.
“You’re the one who grabbed me!” Noctis whispered as he stepped closer. Blondie didn’t back down, though. He studied Noctis with his arms noticeably pulled back.
“Down in front!” Someone shouted at them, and Noctis realized they were standing in front of people trying to watch the tank. The greatest of aquarium sins.
“Can we just —” Noctis grabbed Blondie by the forearm, and that same shock happened again. They both jumped away from each other.
“Come on,” Blondie pushed past Noctis while noticeably avoiding contact. Noctis assumed the intent was to follow. So he did. They got to a small space between exhibits, where there was a little more room to breathe and talk without blocking views for others.
“Look, I'm sorry, I'll leave you alone.” Noctis figured if he just got this over with, they could part ways and Blondie wouldn't think he was some creeper. Well, not much of one, at least. Or even if he did, Noctis could just move on with his life.
“Will you chill for a second?”
The words made Noctis’s brain come to a full stop. “What?”
“I saw you last time too, dude.”
Okay, so this guy already thought Noctis was a creep. Cool. “I said I'm sorry, I thought you looked familiar. But clearly I was wrong —”
Blondie rolled his eyes, but he was laughing. “Are you always this dramatic?”
Noctis blinked. He wasn’t, at least he didn’t think so, and he also wasn’t used to being called dramatic in the first place.
“Ah, spoiled rich kid huh?” Blondie followed up after Noctis couldn't stop gawking.
That got Noctis’s blood boiling. But Blondie didn’t look pissed, or even that he meant it necessarily as an insult. The truth of the matter was Noctis was a rich kid. Spoiled maybe not so much, at least not in the way other kids in his dad’s circle were. But yeah, he was part of a rich family and yeah, he kind of hated when it was called out like that.
Blondie didn’t reach out to touch Noctis this time, but he did hold up his hands in surrender. “Okay okay, how about we start over? I’m Prompto.”
There were two options before Noctis. He could give his name, risk Prompto knowing exactly who he was and so then take advantage of Noctis somehow for money. Or he could walk away and just forget about Prompto and whatever the hell was going on.
The first was something Noctis worried about with just about anyone he met for the first time. It was part of the struggle of his desire to live a normal-ish life despite the lifestyle he could be living.
Hearing the name Prompto though only made that strange feeling grow stronger. It was such an unusual name. But again it was…familiar.
“I’m Noctis,” he said, and he bowed his head. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Prompto tracked his movement, and the way he grinned took Noctis’s breath away. “Nice to meet you!” He didn’t bow. He put out his hand.
“Not from around here, are you?” Noctis smiled, and when Prompto shook his head, Noctis took Prompto’s hand in his own.
This time it wasn’t so much static shock as it was a blinding kind of flash behind Noctis’s eyes. Whatever it was, it affected Prompto, too. They both pulled away as if burned, and Noctis covered his eyes with his hands, stumbling until his back hit the wall.
When he managed to open his eyes, Prompto was gone.
Well. Guess that settled that.
Noctis found a new place in the aquarium to relax watching the whale sharks. They swam slowly in circles in the tank, sometimes turning and cutting through the center. Sometimes lowering to the ground. Something about it helped Noctis in a different way. It wasn’t completely predictable, and so he had to focus. Had to watch to see what the sharks would do next. And it occupied his mind more.
Noctis didn’t want to know if Prompto returned to the aquarium. He didn’t want to know if Prompto was a tourist, or if he was a foreigner who moved into Osaka. He wanted Prompto to become a figment of his imagination. The way he had wormed his way into Noctis’s brain was annoying at best and maddening at worst. He was glad it was summer vacation, because if he had to focus at all in classes he would definitely be failing.
“So you have been avoiding me.” Prompto whispered beside him.
Noctis closed his eyes against the way his heart jumped and held himself still as much as possible to avoid making a scene.
“I figured you made yourself clear when I saw you last.” Noctis managed to say, but he didn't turn his head. He could sense Prompto beside him, just far enough away to avoid touching.
“In my defense, I got a migraine that laid me out for days after…whatever the hell that was.”
That got Noctis to finally spin to face Prompto. “What?”
The way Prompto shrugged was nonchalant and yet didn't stop the concern Noctis experienced.
“Yeah, I somehow got myself home but it was the worst pain I've felt in pretty much my whole life.”
Noctis filed the information of a home away for later. Was it a home home? Or a hotel that he just referred to in that way?
“I’m— I'm sorry. I had a weird thing too? Behind my eyes, just a bright flash of white light but when I opened them you were gone.”
Pressing his lips together, Prompto lifted a hand, and for a second Noctis thought he might reach out and touch Noctis again, but then thought better of it. Instead, Prompto gripped his left wrist with his right hand, wringing it.
Self-soothing. It made Noctis do the same out of habit, running a thumb over the birthmark on his right middle finger.
“Can we go somewhere? Like, even just the cafe here?” Prompto whispered.
Noctis nodded, and followed even though he knew the way. Prompto seemed to, also. They didn't get in line to order anything, just grabbed a table in the corner away from tables of screaming children. Prompto offered for Noctis to take the seat with his back to the wall, facing the crowd.
“Why does this feel so weird?” Prompto asked, and Noctis couldn’t help once again the way things felt so familiar.
“I was hoping you might know. But it…like I don’t even know how to say what I'm feeling.” Noctis caught that Prompto didn’t have his camera today. Which might mean Prompto came to the aquarium to find him.
“How about, we each share something about ourselves? Maybe there’s something we missed, and we have met before.”
“But you aren’t from Osaka.”
“Bold assumption.”
“But the other day—”
Prompto laughed. It did nothing to help.
“I'm messin’, you’re right! I’m not from Osaka. But I have been living in Japan for years. Got adopted by Japanese parents who lived on the military base.”
“In Okinawa?”
Prompto nodded. “So I like, live here, but I know I stick out. For a lot of reasons. At least until I came here, to Osaka. I like the vibe.”
Something about the cadence of Prompto’s voice, the tone of it, the way he laughed, it all stuck under Noctis’s skin.
“Hellooo? Earth to Noct.” Prompto waved his hand in front of Noctis’s face.
“Did you just call me Noct?”
Prompto lowered his hand to his lap, and it was clear he was touching his wrist again. “Sorry, I don't know why I said that. It just…slipped.”
They stared at each other. Noctis was notoriously bad at small talk. He hated how much this was obvious right now.
He could do this. Prompto talked about himself. Noctis could do the same. “I’m uh, not from Osaka. I'm from Tokyo. But I moved here for university.”
“Something to do with marine animals?”
“No, gods I wish. This is just…” Noctis splayed both hands out on the table. “I just always liked being here. Or around water in general.”
“It’s a pretty cool place. You have good taste.”
“Are you a photographer?”
“Boy do I wish,” Prompto laughed nervously. “It's just a hobby. Something to keep me sane when I'm not working my job. But — before we keep going with our interrogation, want some ice cream? I’ve been eyeing that whale shark cone for weeks.”
Noctis laughed. “Yeah sure.”
Later that evening, Noctis collapsed face first onto his bed. He was still…processing? Maybe? Not just the day with Prompto, but also the last few weeks. Ever since that first time he caught sight of Prompto, Noctis had felt like he wasn’t quite right, like something itched under his skin.
He rolled over onto his back and stared at the ceiling.
Prompto worked at a tattoo shop nearby, as their receptionist and social media manager. He let the tattoo artists practice on him. He wants to be a professional photographer one day.
It had all sounded so cool and interesting, and different than Noctis and his own life. He would finish business school. Take over Lucis Incorporated one day. Of course there was also the expectation he would have a family and continue to carry on the lineage of his father.
The thing was, Noctis had always been fine with this. He’d had it easy — wealthy family, planned out future, no reason to fear anything.
Now though something new appeared in his mind. Doubt. He wasn’t used to it and didn’t like it one bit. So Noctis resolved to ignore the feeling, shower, and go to bed.
He sprung up off the bed and headed to the bathroom. He turned the shower on as hot as he could take it and stayed under the water until the whole bathroom steamed up. As he rinsed off, suddenly his body felt…off. Like the bathroom was moving. It was so intense Noctis braced himself on the walls to keep himself upright.
It didn't stop. It dawned on him it was an earthquake. Noctis calmed down. Earthquakes he could deal with. He carefully got out of the shower to the mat so he had more grip to stand, then held on to the counter.
It still didn’t stop. Noctis didn’t even have his phone with him to try to sort out what was going on. But when it still wasn’t done, and nothing around him seemed to be affected, worry crept back up his throat. He swung the bathroom door open despite still feeling like he would fall over any second.
The steam escaped around him. For one second, Noctis couldn’t sort out what he was seeing. Instead of his bedroom, he was in what looked like a shitty motel room. There were two beds with thin covers. A single window open with curtains billowing. And there was….stuff…littered all around the room. Different boots and food wrappers and cards and —
“Noct?”
“Prompto?” Noctis spun to look around the room. He caught a glimpse of himself in a mirror that shouldn't have been there and Noctis didn’t see what he expected. In so many ways.
Noctis should have been naked, dripping wet. Instead, he was dressed all in black. His hair was done up in a cool, hip fashion he did sometimes. Behind him it was still the same room he saw when he came out.
But no one was in the room. Another - wave? Aftershock? Hit and Noctis stumbled. He landed on one of the beds, the scratchy material far too real. He covered his eyes with the heels of his hands. Took several deep breaths. The sensation finally faded.
When he removed his hands and opened his eyes, Noctis was met with a view of his own room. The soft lamp at his bedside table gave the space a warm glow. When he turned his head, there was just one bed in the room. The clutter he had seen was gone. He was still naked - which was awkward. Somehow. Even though he lived alone.
Noctis sat up slowly. The sensation of vertigo was also gone. He went to the bathroom for his robe, and once back out he grabbed his phone.
There were no reports of an earthquake. But his whole apartment had been shaking for minutes, he was sure of it.
Right?
Earthquakes usually didn’t cause intense hallucinations.
Maybe Noctis had been in the steam too long. He dried himself off fully, and climbed into bed.
Yeah, he just overheated. Easy explanation.
Two days later, Noctis went to the aquarium, even though it wasn’t his usual day to go. His week had been absolute trash. He hadn’t been sleeping well at all. But at least he hadn’t had another weird episode. Though he also hadn’t taken a long hot shower since. All that to be said, for some reason Noctis couldn’t shake that he needed to go to the aquarium like some kind of addict needing a dopamine hit.
He and Prompto hadn’t gotten to the exchanging personal information part of….whatever this was. It was nothing. That was stupid to even think. They literally were just two dudes who both happened to enjoy the aquarium. Noctis couldn't help hoping Prompto would be there as well.
Noctis took a seat on the edge of the stairs in front of the kelp forest. It was a Wednesday, and less crowded than when he usually went on Fridays.
Nocits needed to feel better. To feel like he wasn't falling apart.
“Hey, Noct.” Prompto appeared to his right. Instead of having a camera in hand, Prompto had his hands shoved into the front pocket of his hoodie. His beanie was pulled down far as on his head, and he had glasses on.
He looked really fucking cute like that.
“Hey,” Noctis choked a little on his words, “you’re here.”
“Hah,” Prompto breathed. He looked up to watch the waves of the tank. “Just needed it today I guess.”
“Needed what?”
When Prompto turned back to Noctis, he was visibly chewing on his bottom lip. “Have you—” he pressed his lips together and shuffled his feet. “How are you feeling?”
Noctis motioned to the open space beside him. Prompto hesitated, really looked like he was thinking about it, before he accepted the invitation and stepped around to sit beside Noctis. There was about half an arm's length between them.
It was obvious something was on Prompto’s mind. Once seated his right leg started bouncing and he had his hands clasped together in his lap.
“What's up?” Noctis broke the silence.
“I asked you first how you were feeling.”
“Sure, but why?”
Instead of answering Prompto focused on the kelp forest. “You’ll think I'm crazy.”
“Try me.” Noctis’s pulse quickened.
At first Noctis focused on the tank to give Prompto a moment. Then that feeling, the nostalgia, the familiarity, spread from Noctis’s chest, to his arms and legs, warming him. It pulled at him, and he couldn't stop himself from tilting forward, elbows on his knees, and then looking up at Prompto.
“Spit it out, dude.”
Somehow that seemed to knock Prompto out of the zone. He blew out a long breath. “Fuck…I keep having these weird…thoughts. Dreams? I don’t know what they are. I think I’m awake, but things happen around me that make me think, oh shit i’m actually dreaming. But then…”
“It just stops, right? And then everything is normal. And you’re awake.”
When Prompto spun to face him his eyes were wide. “How did you know?”
“It happened to me, too. I thought it was an earthquake.”
“Same! Have you ever felt this before?”
Noctis shook his head.
Prompto looked around. The crowd was getting thicker around them and Noctis felt very exposed all of a sudden.
“Wanna get out of here?”
“I…” Noctis hesitated. But only for a second. “I do. Come on.”
His nerves were suddenly alight but Noctis pushed through as he stood and headed for the exit without looking behind him. He was sure Prompto would be following.
Once outside, the sun was bright overhead. When Noctis did turn, he had the chance to see Prompto in a new light, literally. Bright sunshine instead of the muted blues and greens of the aquarium or the fluorescence of the cafe. Prompto's eyes had mixes of blues and purples. His freckles spattered his nose and cheeks.
“Come on,” Noctis said before it was too obvious he was staring. Prompto fell in line beside him, hands in his hoodie pockets, and so Noctis did the same. He wasn't sure if Prompto had the same thought as him about not wanting to touch unexpectedly, in case something happened again.
So Noctis led them outside the main park area, to the edge of the water where there were benches they could sit at. It was quiet.
Noctis sat with his legs on either side of the stone bench. Prompto mimicked Noctis.
There was hesitation in his expression. Noctis understood it.
“So hear me out. What if we don't let go.” Prompto said, holding out both of his arms so his palms faced up.
Noctis inhaled sharply. “I don't know…”
“We just hold on and see what happens. We can sort this out! There has to be a reasonable explanation.”
At first all Noctis could do was stare at Prompto’s offered up hands. He was right, there had to be some kind of reason for all this. They just needed to sort it out.
Slowly Noctis lifted his hands, palms down, and lowered them until they could grab each other’s wrists.
Which was a good thing they did, because the reaction was instantaneous.
Once again there was a flash of bright white that flashed across Noctis’s vision, forcing him to close his eyes. He still felt Prompto holding onto him though, and so he made sure to squeeze back.
After seconds of blinding pain in his temple, the sensations became strange. It was like watching a movie behind closed eyes. He saw himself, but appearing the same as he had in his bedroom the other day. He saw Prompto, also different. Then flashes of moments of them as kids, in a city Noctis didn't recognize. On to high school. On and on.
Things got weird, with crystallizing swords and monsters Noctis had never seen the likes of before in any kind of movie or video game.
It continued, and he held on, and so did Prompto, with whatever he was seeing or feeling. Noctis was sure they looked strange to anyone walking by, or maybe they just looked like two people holding hands.
The scenes continued, until Noctis faced death by strange floating swords being driven into his chest over and over again.
Then it was quiet.
In the silence Noctis could hear his heartbeat ringing in his ears and how quickly and loudly he was breathing through it all.
Something shifted in him. The flashes of what he saw weren't just a film. They were memories. He wasn't sure how he knew it, but he did.
Everything fell into place.
Slowly, Noctis opened his eyes. When he did, Prompto was already staring at him with wide eyes and lips slightly parted.
“Noct,” Prompto whispered.
“We did it.” Noctis said, though the words barely made it out. His throat tightened and he knew he was on the verge of crying. Prompto moved first, pulling Noctis towards him and then releasing only to wrap his arms around Noctis’s shoulders.
Noctis welcomed it. He buried his face in Prompto's neck.
"You did it, Noctis. You saved us all.” It sounded like Prompto was crying.
Noctis shook his head. “I couldn't have, without you guys.”
There was something else though Noctis sensed. it was what had pulled him towards Prompto, maybe what drew them to each other.
Back then, Noctis had kept some things close to his chest. There hadn’t been time. There hadn’t been the space to allow for things like….feelings. They had their fate set and Noctis didn't think there had been room for more.
Maybe now they were getting their second chance.
Noctis forced himself to sit back, though he kept his hands on Prompto‘s ’s waist, not wanting to break contact. “You okay?”
Prompto looked away out towards the water.
“I am now, I think. Better than I've ever been.”
“Can….” Noctis paused. Prompto did turn back towards Noctis.
Somehow Noctis believed this would be okay. “There's something I've always wanted to do.
Maybe Prompto understood. Maybe, the kernel of hope in Noctis's chest that had been sitting there in a previous life, had some truth to it.
Prompto still had his hands on Noctis's shoulders. Their knees touched. Noctis leaned forward, pressing their foreheads together, and Prompto's hands slid up to cradle the back of Noctis’s head.
“Finally,” Prompto whispered.
Noctis took the cue. He tilted his chin and their lips pressed against each other. The moment was more intense than even touching minutes ago. Tears streamed down Noctis's cheeks and he didn't care, not when Prompto held on tight and kissed back.
Finally
Remembering themselves, Noctis found the ability to pull away. He and Prompto stared at each other in awe. Noctis still couldn't believe they were there, alive. That they had been given this chance.
“Come with me to my place?” Noctis blurted out.
Later, when they were exhausted and a mess of limbs in Noctis's bed, he got to ask more questions.
“What did you do?” Noctis softly drew lines around Prompto’s tattoo on his forearm. He remembered the tattoo on Prompto’s wrist so clearly. The weapons Prompto had inked into his skin were those of Noctis’s armiger.
“When?” Prompto cleared his throat a little.
“After. With the dawn.”
“Oh,” Prompto buried his head further into Noctis's neck, nuzzling and pulling their warm bodies closer.
“Oh?”
“There wasn't an after, for us.” Prompto admitted quietly.
Noctis blinked. “What?”
“The daemons, they were everywhere. Trying to get into the Citadel. We had to stand our ground to make sure they didn’t get in.”
Prompto didn't say anything further. Noctis didn't need him to.
“Maybe that’s why we’re here, then.”
Prompto hummed. Noctis didn't press on, not wanting to ask Prompto to recount his final moments. It was already so much, he was sure, to have to suddenly see it in his mind.
“What about Ignis and Gladio?” Noctis asked instead. “Do you think they’re out there, somewhere?"
“Maybe they finally hooked up,” Prompto laughed. “Those two were always dancing around each other.”
“Even those ten years?”
“I…don't think they stopped to think about themselves much during that time.”
They laid there in silence. The sounds of the city around them filled in the silence. Noctis felt more…himself, than he had his entire life. This life.
“Should we try to find them?”
“Where would we even start?”
“True.” Prompto shifted to lay on his back as well, their bare shoulders touching. “Maybe first we catch up a little. Who knows, maybe they’ll show up like we did, for each other.”
“I bet they will.” It was hard not to smile at the notion.
“In the meantime, do you…” Prompto tilted his head and pressed his lips to Noctis’s shoulder.
“Wanna order pizza and play smash?” Noctis smiled wider.
At that, Prompto laughed and nipped at Noctis’s skin. “Fuck yeah.”