#i still think about these city slickers in cowboy outfits | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mako-lies · 6 years

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Finally finished the promnyx thing. You can read it here or on AO3.

yards & milkshakes (ffxv, promnyx, t, part of the oracle!gladio verse)

Nyx's milkshake brings Prompto to his yard.

(Or: Nyx jumps out of an airship and is lucky enough to get a lift from a cute mechanic.)

Nyx was honest enough to admit he didn’t exactly follow orders to the letter. (Sometimes at all, but those were special cases, even Crowe agreed.) Occasionally it could be bothersome, given his profession. But when your boss said, “You couldn’t even if you tried,” without looking up from his mission report, you just had to prove him wrong with all due respect. Which was how Nyx wound up warping out of the speeding airship, calling back to the others, “Race you to the City!”

Last thing he saw was Libertus’s exasperated smile.

They weren’t that far out from the Crown City when he’d jumped out like some idiot action hero. Which, if half the stories the Glaives told about him over drinks were to be believed, wasn’t a bad description. Leide was hot as ever, especially in his leathers, but it wasn’t Galahd hot, so he’d pull through.

He warped out his landing, smack in a gaggle of grumpy garula. Just typical. Nyx considered them in that split second before they charged, his kukris up and ready as ever. Garula meat fetched a good price, but he didn’t really need the money. Not like he had anybody to spend it on, anyway. And the outposts could do their own hunting, they didn’t need some city slicker sliding in to do it for them. Most outposts had conservation programs for the herds these days. Who knew what elaborate planning he’d fuck up if he just killed them.

Yeah. Running it was.

Two towering adults and three car-sized babies started toward him then. He tossed one of his kukris and appeared, running, his stomach swooping out and tingling from the warp. Like drinking liters and liters of soda that had been all shook up.

Tusks first, the herd raged after him, ground rumbling like an earthquake.

The road rose up ahead, thankfully closer than he’d been expecting, and—

A neon yellow truck screeched to an abrupt halt just ahead of him.

Nyx warped again as the door shot open to reveal a lanky young man. A tuft of blond hair, styled like chocobo tail feathers. A neon yellow tank with hot pink lettering—HAMMERHEAD!!!—and the tiniest pair of frayed denim shorts Nyx had ever seen, and he’d been to Lestallum plenty. His entire look was topped with some black, thick-rimmed glasses that he’d seen kids wearing in the Crown City.

“Garula!” Nyx called, pulling in a breath so he could warp again. If this guy didn’t get moving, Nyx was gonna have to kill the beasts after all. Damn.

The guy flashed a smile—all sunshine and freckles—and in one hand he held a beat up, old school camera and in the other, a revolver that looked like it came out of one of those cowboy movies his mom’d liked. It was a lot to take in: somebody less shiningly attractive probably couldn’t have pulled it off, but as it was, the effect was breathtakingly silly.

The guy was so much to take in Nyx forgot to warp, just ran to the flashy truck and even flashier man. How old was he? Didn’t look older than twenty, but maybe that was just the pink converse haphazardly laced. “Get in!” He called, chipper for somebody holding a weapon.

Nyx was in no position to decline. He could outrun the garula, sure, and run back to the Crown City, but this guy looked like an adventure waiting to happen, and Nyx had a problem. That was what Libertus told him, anyway.

“‘Preciate it!” Nyx said, as he threw open the door.

The camera shutter sounded—taking a picture of the stampeding garula? Really?—guy was was probably crazy. Nyx could work with crazy.

Without firing a shot, the guy slid back into the driver’s seat and dumped the camera and gun in the backseat—and just gunned it. “Hang on,” he said, a second or two after he’d floored it. Better late than never? Wasn’t like Nyx objected to the thrill, lived for it, actually. The truck purred as it shot down the road. Nyx caught his breath. “I’m Prompto! Nice to meet ya!”

He turned to look at Nyx. His stomach lurched more than it had the first time he’d snatched up the King’s offered magick and warped. Hell. At the least the garula—Nyx double-checked the rearview mirror—were well behind them. “You one of those Crownsguard guys?”

“Kingsglaive, but close enough. Name’s Nyx Ulric.” Outside of the city, the distinction carried little heft, but inside it was everything.

“Headed to the city?” At Nyx’s tense nod, Prompto finally turned his full attention to the road. “Lucky I found you. I’m on my way to the Crown City, and well. Never been before, so I could use some company. Besides, you’re like super hot. Wins all around.”

Well. He was being flirted with. Guy was cute, and he’d saved Nyx a lot of trouble. A winning combo, for sure. “What’s your business in Insomnia?”

“Eh, you know. The uze. My dad kicked me out and now I’m off to college.”

“Your dad kicked you out?” Maybe he shouldn’t ask, but it was a hell of an opener.

“Yeah. Y’know Hammerhead? I work there. Or I did, before he fired me.” He half-shrugged, both hands firmly on the wheel.

It explained why the truck ran so smooth when most cars outside the Wall tended to be beat up at best. Did that mean that old mechanic at Hammerhead was his dad? Never would have guessed. Prompto didn’t look like he has an ornery bone in his body. “Know what you’ll study?”

“Eh, I’m gonna study poli-sci. Maybe someday I’ll get into politicks and everything,” he said with the air of somebody doing standup at their own hanging.

There’s weren’t a lot of white collar jobs for Outlanders, but especially politicks was a rich nobleman’s game. Still, if he could get his foot in the door, that’d be good for the Outlands, right? Nyx didn’t really know much about politicks, but it couldn’t be bad to have some more kinds of people making decisions. “Know anybody in the city?” He could already see the checkpoint looming up ahead.

“Well, I know you!”

It pulled a laugh from him. Cute. Forward. It didn’t hurt that Nyx had always had a soft spot for blonds. “Yeah,” Nyx agreed. “If you give me your number, I could help you out.”

Prompto beamed, all teeth and blinding light. “And here I was, hoping you might invite me to dinner!”

“Could do that.”

Prompto took both hands off the wheel to shove his phone at Nyx. Hell, Nyx couldn’t say for sure that reckless was his type, but it really should have been alarming and not flattering as hell that Prompto would risk their safety just for Nyx’s number. His heartbeat picked up even as Prompto put his hands back on the wheel.

He programmed himself into Prompto’s phone, a newer model with King’s Knight installed. Nyx put the phone on the dash. “There you are.”

“Thanks!” Prompto slowed as they hit the checkpoint. “So, Mr. Kingsglaive, got any tips for getting through?”

“I got it.”

He was ready to flash his Citadel badge, except the watch took one look at the car and asked, “You Prompto Sophiar?”

Prompto chewed his lip, fingers drumming the wheel. “Yep. That’s me!”

“Papers? The King just notified us that you would be coming.”

The King ? Nyx couldn’t help but stare as the guy fished out some old ratty papers from his tiny shorts. The girl examined them. “Looks to be in order. Who’s your friend?”

Nyx flashed his ID and they were let in without any more fuss. “The King?” Nyx had to ask.

“Oh, him and my dad used to be friends or something. Does that mean I have to meet him?”

“Probably. Want me to show you the Citadel?”

Prompto stared at where it loomed in the distance. “Thanks, but I wanna get settled a bit first. Where can I drop you?”

It would be easy enough to tell him where his apartment was, but Nyx had never been one to do things the easy way. And the guy was cute, biting his lip as he navigated the city with considerable more care than he took in the Outskirts. “My apartment is fine. How about lunch first? I know I promised dinner, but…”

Prompto took his gaze off the road for a half second, eyes wide, then he grinned. “Maybe a quick snack would be ok. Do you know somewhere nearby?”

“Sure. There’s a place that does burgers and milkshakes a few blocks down from my place.”

“That sounds like, amazing. Let’s do it!”

They made it without any mishaps, and Prompto even remembered his wallet and his camera. It was a small place, just a few tables with mismatched tables and a counter with a couple of worn stools. A family was there, taking up two of the tables, dipping their thick cut fries into their milkshakes.

Prompto beamed. “You sure know how to cheer a guy up.” He surveyed the menu. “The strawberry looks ama-zing.” He snapped a quick picture of the menu.

Before he could put the camera away, Nyx had already ordered and paid for their shakes. One strawberry and one mango. Contrary to what Crowe liked to tell Libertus, he could be a gentleman. Especially when there were cute blonds involved. Prompto let his camera hang around his neck. He squinted at Nyx from behind his boxy glasses and didn’t seem to notice the cashier staring at his (lack of) shorts. “Speedy. Well, I’ll just get it next time, then…”

Bold, if not a bit presumptuous. But that was the kind of thing that unfortunately worked for Nyx.

They sat by the window, and Prompto kept twitching for his camera as people walked by. He got a shot of some kids in their high school uniforms, then asked, “So uh. Why did you join the… Kingsglaive?”

Nyx didn’t pay attention to the way his fingers toyed with the fringe on his shorts. Nope. Guy had nice legs though. “Well,” he tried to think of a more delicate way to put it, but didn’t come up with anything. Guy’d asked. If he couldn’t handle the answer, best to know now, probably. “Why does anybody join the military? Grew up in Galahd.”

That seemed to explain everything to Prompto. He toyed with the subdued black leather wristband he wore. Nyx frowned. The black stuck out, given his screaming outfit, but he hadn’t noticed. Then, if Prompto had some connection to the King—still. Strange.

“Guess that makes sense. Sorry, shouldn’t have pried…” Prompto said.

Could have been worse. At least he seemed to get it, unlike most of the Insomnians. Outlanders were good that way. Given that the Outlands were all either already swallowed up by the Empire, or one step away from it… Same story, across all of what had once been Lucis. Soon, they’d probably have an influx of new Glaives.

Their milkshakes arrived, thick and sweating in their glasses, and Prompto lit up like one of the signs in Insomnia’s city center. He hid his face behind the camera and asked, muffled by the plastic, “Can I get a picture of you? And the milkshakes?”

“…Why not?”

Nyx held up the two milkshakes, obliging, and thought maybe it was worth it when Prompto flushed at him. “You can have a copy after I develop them… I’ll just have to find somewhere to do it… Man, it sucks—I had my own darkroom before.”

Not sure why he’d need a picture of himself and some milkshakes, but Prompto looked happy and maybe he could give it to Crowe just to prove he’d actually gone on a date, or whatever this was. “Here,” Nyx said, feeling like the least smooth person in the world.

(Growing up in the Glaive would do that to a person: surrounded by people like Crowe and Drautos and poor Pelna, who couldn’t even land a blind date.)

“Oh yeah, I’ll definitely come to your yard,” Prompto chirped, as he took the milkshake.

Halfway, his hands stalled and his freckled skin went bright with a flush. He fumbled his drink and only barely kept his grip on the slippery glass.

Nyx frowned at him. “My yard?” He had no idea what yards had to do with milkshakes, but he guessed it was some kind of sex thing from the mortified way Prompto hid his face after plopping the shake on the table.

“It’s a song,” he said, and then laughed, looking back up with a wicked glint in his—blue?—eyes. “An amazing one.”

Definitely a sex thing. He’d have to listen to it, so that next time he could tease the hell out of him. Seemed like he’d be a fun target. Prompto slurped up about half his shake in one go, crazy guy. Nyx was a bit slower—enough cases of brain freeze would teach a person. Contrary to popular belief, he could learn new tricks.

Sure enough, a moment later, Prompto clutched at his skull, face screwing up like he’d been stabbed. “Slow it down, hot stuff,” Nyx said around his straw.

“So. Many. Regrets,” Prompto moaned, but a second later he was back at it.

Well, Nyx couldn’t really fault him. The milkshakes were amazing. Cold and barely liquid: just ice cream with a bit of fruit mixed in. He really did love this place. Crowe used to take him and Libertus here all the time, when training was particularly tough. “All right, I’ll bite. Why would a mechanic want to go into politics?”

After a long pause where Prompto whined through the consequences of finishing his shake, Prompto finally answered, “Well, like, in school I was always really interested in it? My adopted dad… He’d had a falling out with the King because of immigration policy, y’know? So I got curious why, especially when my crazy uncle would come to visit and tell me about their awesome adventures from the good ol’ days. You know Reggie and Clarus and Cor and my dad? And so I got super curious, because they sounded like such good friends?”

Crazy uncle? And was Reggie supposed to be the King? This was getting more interesting by the minute, and not in the sexy way, but in the oh shit was this actually work-related kind of way, which would be awful. Shitting where you ate just made things complicated. “Sure. Just real quick. Your crazy uncle is…?”

“Cor. He always came to visit me. I guess he was the one who convinced my dad to adopt me,” Prompto shrugged like that wasn’t a revelation at all, but Nyx hadn’t gotten to where he was without being able to read the air. This was way bigger than Prompto probably knew. “So anyway, I wanted to know why immigration was something that could break up the strongest friendship I’d ever heard of? So I went down the politicks wormhole in school, and… Well. Started talking big about how if there were more Outlanders in politicks… More people who look like… well, me, that maybe things might change a bit? But I said it too loud, and my dad was all like ‘that’s a great idea, sonny, now yer fired and off to Insomnia with you, bwahaha.’ Can you believe it? Evil laugh and everything.”

Prompto’s face was calm, at odds the animation in his voice, complete with a telltale Leide twang when he mimicked his father. Nyx was sure there was more there—Prompto’s blond hair wasn’t damning in itself, but he sure as hell didn’t look Insomnian—but he wasn’t gonna ask. Not his business. “I think your dad might have been on to something,”said Nyx, then finished up his shake before he could really stick his foot in his mouth.

Prompto sighed. “Well, I’m here now. And my sister said that if I ended up sleeping in an on-fire dumpster, she’d convince him to let me come home. So. There’s that!” He smiled. Then glanced at his phone. Sighed again. “This has been super cool… Sorry about rambling. But I kind of have to meet my new landlord before four… Mind if I drop you home?”

“Nah. I live a few blocks away. I can walk. It’ll give me time to think of what to tell my boss.”

“…Your boss?”

“I jumped out of a ship against orders earlier,” he shrugged, and as Prompto’s eyes went wide and he opened his mouth to ask a question, Nyxsaid, “You’ve got my number. Once you get settled, you wanna do this again?”

Prompto leaned over the table, close enough Nyx could see that his eyes were definitely blue. “Like a date?”

There it was. Out in the open. It was a relief. Nyx had no idea how to do this shit. It wasn’t like he’d ever—”Yeah,” he said, “Like a date. So once you get set up, we’ll work out the details. And I’ll see about getting you an audience with the King.”

“That’d… be super amazing. Wow, Cindy’ll never believe this. Wow.” They both stood, and once they got out onto the street, Prompto launched—hugged Nyx quick and bright. “I’m really, really looking forward to it.”

Nyx clasped him briefly, before Prompto rocketed off just as quick as he came on. “I’ll see you soon,” he called, as Prompto threw himself into the car. And then he was gone.

The walk home was shorter than he remembered. He’d meant to call Drautos, but all he could do was think about Prompto’s pretty legs, infectious smile, bright attitude, freckles. And when he got home, he found that Prompto’d already sent him a text: about fifty smiley emojis.

He told himself to shower before answering—

Except he sent of a “drive safe” before he even got his jacket off. Now, to find out what yards and milkshakes had to do with each other.

#promnyx #final fantasy xv #prompto argentum #nyx ulric #oracle!gladio #my fic #prompto #nyx

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