Title: A Different Point of View
Fandom: Final Fantasy XV
Rating: G
Length: 4, 014 words
Content notes: n/a
Author notes: n/a
Summary: Noctis tries his hand at photography.

"Oh--! Noct, wait a moment, I just want to get this."

It hadn't taken long for Prompto's habit to become routine; the first couple of times, he had seemed almost shy about interrupting the walk home, but Noctis hadn't minded, and so his confidence had grown. To Noctis, it seemed amazing that there always seemed to be something new to photograph - it would have been easy to say that the route to and from school never changed, but several months spent in Prompto's company had taught him differently.

They'd met in the spring, with flowers and trees bursting to life around them; neither Noctis nor Prompto knew much about those flowers, but you didn't have to know about something to say that it was beautiful, and to take a photograph of it. The months had eased gently into summer, with the crowds of students changing to their lightweight uniforms; those mornings were brighter, warmer, granted a different shade to the photos taken. The spring flowers had gone over, with different blossoms taking their place. There wasn't a cat sunning itself across Insomnia that Prompto hadn't taken pause to capture; Noctis would approach as close as he dared, not wanting to disturb the shot and not wanting to disturb the animals. (They would both enjoy looking at those shots together, afterward.)

Sometimes, Prompto would wander off without comment, and Noctis would walk a short distance before noting himself alone, looking back to find Prompto crouched and aiming his camera at whatever had caught his attention. Whatever that was was not always obvious, but Noctis trusted that there had been something that had demanded immediate capture. He would wait, and Prompto would rush back over, apologizing. Noctis would only smile, and ask to see the photo; any suggestion along those lines would cause Prompto to grin, bright and sudden, allowed to indulge in his hobby.

Prompto took photos of Noctis, too. The amount of time they spent with one another, it seemed basically inevitable. Again, the first couple of times, Prompto had been hesitant to state what he wanted - a shot of Noctis under that tree, or beside those flowers, or by that wall where the light hit... and he kept asking, you don't mind, do you? It's okay to take photos with you in, right? Noctis couldn't think of why he'd mind, and he found the whole process quite entertaining. Before meeting Prompto, he'd thought little of photography in general, let alone as a hobby activity, and so any and all aspects of it held some degree of interest.

The first photo that had given Noctis pause was one that Prompto had taken while he was napping, once. From one of those days as the season had been changing, when the walk from school to home had demanded no urgency and so they'd stopped by the park, lying on the grass to look at the wide blue sky above. Noctis didn't remember falling asleep at that time, and hadn't been aware of the photo being taken; his first response had been when did you take this!? and Prompto had just laughed, but Noctis found himself staring at the photo for a little longer than usual, and he hadn't been sure why. It had been hours later, back at his apartment and alone, that the thought had occurred - you never usually saw yourself asleep, did you? He certainly hadn't, previously. The sound of the shutter was like punctuation to their conversations, and Noctis found himself looking through a number of photos that captured certain things he wouldn't have thought about otherwise. Angles that he never saw himself from, expressions he wasn't aware of making - without putting any deep meaning into it, Prompto seemed able to effortlessly capture them all. It was almost unnerving, sometimes. Do I really look like that?

Noctis stood and waited as Prompto took the photo he wanted, and then returned, smiling.

"Got it--! Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Not a problem. Did it come out well?"

Prompto enthusiastically pressed the buttons on the back of the camera, showing the landscape shot he'd managed to capture; they had reached the part of the road that gradually transformed into a bridge, with the river - and its banks - visible below. Seemingly they'd happened by at just the right time to catch the sunlight playing on the water, and there was just something about that otherwise quite normal view that seemed special for having been frozen in time, somehow. It was the same river that they walked past every day, but just over a week, even Noctis knew that the light could change. The days were getting longer, but there would come a time in the year that they would shorten, and the sun would set during the walk home, and doubtless Prompto would be able to capture that with as much skill as he caught the summer sunrise--

"Could I take a photo?"

"Ye--... eh?" Prompto looked up in surprise once the meaning of Noctis's words dawned on him. He looked down at the camera and then back up at Noctis. "Sure, I guess? Um--"

Noctis held out his hand to take the camera, then realized that Prompto had fallen back into his old hesitation (despite his answer to the question). "I'll be careful with it, don't worry. It's important to you, right?"

Seeming to consider his options for a moment, Prompto then pressed the camera into Noctis's open palm. Noctis took it with a grin, and then turned the camera around to get into the right position. At that point, he paused; he'd certainly seen Prompto turn the camera to him in order to show off his latest collection of photos often enough, but he suddenly realized that that same knowledge didn't quite extend to the camera's other functions. In that moment, he became the one to hesitate; Prompto caught that, rocking from one foot to the other for a moment to give Noctis his space, but leaning in slightly closer to give his suggestion.

"Would--... would you like me to show you how it works?"

The immediate urge was to give a reaction of it's fine, I can do it myself--! but even as he thought that, Noctis knew that letting Prompto do so would be the easier option; not being able to use it even after having watched him use it for so many months was annoying, but he knew that that wasn't Prompto's fault (which, also, was slightly annoying). "... Yeah. I haven't really used things like this before."

Prompto stood a little closer still, able to point to the camera in Noctis's hands. "Well, most people just use a cellphone camera these days, don't they? Here, um--" He leant in to indicate as he spoke, his fingers brushing against where Noctis still held it as he did so. "You use this button to take the picture, uh, and this part here is where you zoom in and out - so you can get close-up pictures even if you're kind of far away, um... there are other settings, like the color tone and the filter, but you--... you probably don't need those, right?"

"I just have to press this button here?"

"Yeah, it--" (Noctis took a photo of where the camera was pointing; the edge of the path, and the grass strip beyond.) "Yeah, that one."

"Oh--.... it worked."

"Right? But you didn't just want to take pictures of the ground, I'm guessing. Was there anything in particular you wanted to take a photo of?"

"Yeah, you."

"I--...!? Me...?"

Noctis stepped away from Prompto's instruction, one hand on his hip. "Yeah. You're always taking all these photos, and you're always showing me your photos, but they're never pictures that have you in them. You've taken more photos of me than you have of yourself!"

Prompto gave an embarrassed smile, scratching the back of his neck. "Well, it's kind of hard to take a photo of yourself. There is a timer on it, but then you need to like, set that up... there are selfies, too, but I guess I never--... I never really thought about it? There were always other things I was more interested in, heh."

"It's easier if there's someone else doing it. Right? So I'll take a picture of you." Noctis held up the camera, as if he was about to do so; Prompto waved his hands around in protest.

"Wai-- wait--! Should I, uh... stand in front of something, or something?"

"Huh?"

"Like, I don't know, the bridge, or, uh, that tree just there, or... I don't know. You gotta think about the shot...! It's not just, like, point and shoot--... or I guess it is, but, there's more to think about than just that. I, I mean, not that it's complicated, or anything, just, you know, that there are things to think about."

"... Seems kind of complicated to me." Noctis glanced around their immediate area. Maybe the bridge? Prompto had taken that shot of the river, and that had turned out pretty nicely. Those feelings of you're always taking photos and you don't take photos of yourself had come together to form the question, but Noctis suddenly wondered if this was something he should have put more thought into. Not that there was anything wrong with the current situation - he could take a photo of Prompto and that would be that, but--. "... Yeah, okay. Go stand just there, by that nearest part."

Prompto did so, leaning back against the concrete. "Like this?"

"Sure, that's fine."

"Um--... maybe stand a little closer? You don't need to get too close, but--..." (Noctis moved a little, in response.) "Yeah, that's--... around there is fine."

Confident that the distance, light and subject were all right, Noctis stared intently at the small image on the camera's screen as he pressed the button. He paused as it took the picture, as he had seen Prompto do many times before; following that, Prompto returned from his position. "Did it work?"

"Uh..."

"Here, you press that, and that goes to--... yeah, see? That's how you get to the gallery. If you press this one here, it shows you the most recent one you've taken."

Noctis pressed the button, as instructed. He wasn't too sure how he felt about the resulting photograph; it wasn't that it was bad, as such, but he didn't get the feeling that he had achieved his goal, either. Certainly, the picture in his hands was one of Prompto, but it wasn't quite what he'd been aiming for. This conflict seemed obvious on his face; Prompto tilted his head slightly in response, his tone gentle.

"... Not good?"

"It's not that, it's just--... I don't know."

"I know, right?" (Noctis looked up in mild surprise; how could you know that?) "Sometimes it's definitely like, there's a thing you want to get a picture of, and it's right there--!... But it just isn't working, somehow. I'm not, like, a professional or anything, so I don't really know how all this stuff works, I just sort of try and keep trying and then they come out well, sometimes. Maybe I'm better than I was five years ago, heh. So what were you trying to do?"

Even a question like that seemed too vague to put into words. "I don't--... know." He pressed away from the stored photo, deactivating the screen. "Could I--... borrow this for a little longer? Say, a couple of days or so."

That time, Prompto's conflict was quite obvious. On one hand, Prompto hadn't been without his camera for that length of time since he'd got it, as far as he could remember. On the other hand, it was an unusual request - and it was unusual for Noctis to request anything to begin with. "... You'll definitely be careful with it, right? Because if anything happens to it, I'll get really angry--!"

"I'll protect it with my life--!"

"I, I mean, you don't have to go that far--"

"I'll be careful with it, Prompto." Noctis gave a wide grin, mind already racing with the possibilities. "I promise."


-----


"Hey, Ignis."

Ignis didn't look up from the paperwork he was sorting. "What is it?"

"Smile."

Ignis ignored the command, but glanced up all the same. He did so just in time for Noctis to take a picture; he remained still for a full couple of seconds, only the slightest twitch of his brow giving any hint to his confusion. "What--... was that?"

"I borrowed Prompto's camera. I told you he's always taking photos, didn't I? So I thought I could take some photos too."

"That's rather unexpected. Should I expect an order for the latest camera and its equipment within the next couple of days...?"

"... It's not that big of a deal." Noctis turned the small camera over in his hands, glancing at the photo of Ignis('s confused face) as well as the overall shape and size of it. The thought had occurred that, if he asked for it, it would probably be easy enough to get his own camera - the latest, the most powerful, whatever. However, to think of that was almost like defeating the object; immediately pulling in new equipment felt something like cheating, although Noctis wasn't sure why. The fact of the matter was that Prompto took his photos with this particular camera - those photos where he'd managed to capture that elusive something didn't need the best or the most expensive. Noctis wasn't sure what it needed, but felt that it must be possible with that camera and that camera alone.

"And that photo will be deleted, I take it?"

"Huh? Oh, I don't know. It's kind of funny."

"... I'm not sure I like your tone."

Memories of all the times that Prompto had asked if it was really okay, really, is it really? to take photos of Noctis came to mind, all of a sudden. "Oh--... might it be that Ignis doesn't like having his photo taken...?"

Ignis glanced to the side, all but confirming the answer to that query. "... It just seems unnecessary. And somewhat unfair; I'd call it bad form to surprise somebody in such a fashion."

"Prompto takes photos all the time without saying anything, that's the whole point. He gets all these pictures that are just like..." Noctis sighed slightly. "... I don't know how he does it. He gets all these interesting photos, pictures of, you know, landscapes and buildings and things, or pictures of me... I thought I might like to try and get a photo of him, too, so I ended up borrowing the camera. Maybe get a little bit of practice in at home."

"Just as long as it doesn't distract you from the important things. Here; these need your signature." Seemingly declaring the conversation at an end, Ignis held up a number of papers in Noctis's general direction. Noctis sighed once more - deeper - and placed the camera to the side, knowing that Ignis wouldn't give up until everything was complete.

After those duties were finished, Ignis took his leave; Noctis had watched him hawkishly, in case there was another opportunity for a photo - but despite being primed and ready for it, he never quite found his moment. And then Ignis was gone for the night - probably for the next couple of days, if not a week or more - and Noctis had the apartment to himself, once again.

He took to the couch and turned the camera on himself; this is a selfie, right? He checked out the result, and then winced. Weren't they the sorts of photos that people took all the time, on the spur of the moment? The sorts of photos that they plastered all over social media? Noctis deleted the picture immediately; maybe there's more skill to it than I thought.

The flash worked against the bathroom mirrors, rendering the resulting photographs mostly obscured, but the flash could be disabled. Would mirrors help? That, also, seemed to be a common sort of a photo for people to take. Noctis tried any angle that came to mind - photographs of himself in the mirror, of himself with the mirror behind him, trying some sort of gaze to the side--...

(He was down to his boxer shorts by the time he remembered this is Prompto's camera. ...It would be okay if he deleted them afterwards, wouldn't it? Just to take a look. After all, the camera was good at capturing angles that weren't usually visible, right?)

(Noctis hadn't been aware that it was possible to embarrass himself so thoroughly while at home by himself. Deleting the photos didn't feel like enough; they're definitely gone, right? Prompto won't find them, will he?!

The camera went away for the night.)


-----


The days that followed went by mostly as usual, although with Prompto being more inquisitive than normal. From the moment they met before school onwards, he was deeply interested in what Noctis had managed to take photos of; the extent of his excitement was such that Noctis almost felt guilty for not taking more interesting photos. Despite that, he would show his progress, and Prompto would seem happy all the same. Even if it was just a shot taken from his apartment window, or from the train platform, there still seemed to be something there that Prompto enjoyed seeing. Noctis wasn't sure that he understood it, but it felt nice to see Prompto so excited, and so excited over something that he'd created - even if that creation was just from the click of a button.

"If you took a photo of it, it has to be for a reason, right?"

"I, I don't know about that, I just thought that maybe it would look good..."

"Right? That's reason enough--!"

Of course, Prompto had been taking photos for years; Noctis knew that, as much as Prompto liked to play it down, he must have gained some sort of skill through his ongoing practice. Despite that, Noctis was still determined; landscapes and inanimate objects were fine, but he still wanted to be able to take at least one picture of Prompto that caught his breath in the same way that Prompto's own photos of himself had done.

He found himself thinking on the subject through class. Things that you don't normally see. Expressions you don't know you're making. Angles you never see yourself from. It wasn't enough, it seemed, to just ask Prompto for a photo; maybe it had to be off-the-cuff, unexpected. But when? They spent enough time together that trying to catch Prompto unawares was something Noctis wasn't sure that he knew how to do.

For some reason, Noctis was reminded of those days of his childhood - of their childhood. Those times he'd been aware of Prompto's presence, back before he'd dared to make a move. That wasn't in order to take a photo, but that was--... maybe there's something there?

At the end of the day, Noctis set his plan into action; at the end of the lunchbreak, he'd fabricated a small lie. Said that he needed to ask something of one of the teachers, and so Prompto should go on ahead of him. Small and boring enough that there was little need to question it, and Prompto indeed seemed to accept it at face value. He'd wait near the gates, he said.

Noctis had waited for all of the students to filter out of the classroom, leaving him alone with the camera. The front gates of the school were visible from that elevated position, and there--... Prompto was there, waiting. Would it be possible to get a photo from that distance? It didn't seem impossible, but perhaps unsatisfying. Even the zoom function would do little to help that. Therefore: he needed to get closer. That part of the plan was more risky; he had to approach Prompto from a different route - it would all be for nothing if he stepped out of the school building to be spotted immediately, after all.

For the most part, there was no reason for students not to use the main entrance, but that didn't mean that there weren't other exits out of the school building. Corridors led to other departments, led to alternate routes, led to fire exits; some doors were kept locked, others were lodged open in order to aid the flow of air. The front of the school was generally a large open area to facilitate the gathering of students, but the walls were punctuated by trees and bushes - it felt a little embarrassing, but the bushes were tall enough to crouch behind, and the trees wide enough to use as cover. A side exit took Noctis to the tree-lined edge route, where students might otherwise have taken themselves to the school gym (were they not on their own small personal quests). Enough time had passed that most students had left the gates - a few still milled around, and Noctis knew that there would be rumors started if he happened to be caught skulking around the trees and bushes after school, but that simply firmed his resolve; you just need to not get caught.

Prompto was stood by the tree closest to the gate; there was still some distance between them, but Noctis was confident about closing it. Just a little further - just a little further...! The spread of trees across the open area meant that he could either hide or attempt to get a photo, but not both at the same time. It seemed possible that, perhaps, he would only get one chance at this; Noctis made his way around the rear side of the trees, pressed up between bark and brick wall, hoping that the sound of movement against leaves wasn't too audible (or too suspicious). He took a tentative peek, just to be sure--

If there was a moment to take a photo, then that felt like it was the one. Leant back against the tree, Prompto looked... wistful, somehow? Simply waiting, glancing up towards the classroom as if the structure itself might give some answer as to when Noctis would be ready to meet him. He would glance around, too, clearly agitated by the comparative emptiness of the school's grounds. It felt unusual, too, that he wouldn't have just got his mobile phone out while he waited - but that, also, was a chance in itself. Noctis readied the camera in hand, strap around his wrist, finger ready on the button. He steeled himself, then stepped out from behind the tree, taking one picture - Prompto turned around on noticing movement - and then another--

"Noct--! What were you doing there!? You surprised me--! That's... that's a really weird place to come from, you do know that, right? I thought you were going to come from the classroom, like a normal person."

Noctis was already clicking to look at the photos he'd taken - and couldn't help a triumphant grin, because there, between the one shot of completely unaware and one of surprise, there seemed to be--... something. That thing that he didn't know how to put into words. He pushed the camera back into Prompto's hands.

"I did it--!"

"Yeah? Awesome!... What did you do?"

He clicked through to the photographs himself, habit taking over; even to Noctis, it was obvious to see when he'd reached those photos. He looked up, then, his expression somewhat ambiguous. "... I guess you did it, huh?"

"Right? I'll leave the rest to you--!" Noctis hit Prompto playfully on the shoulder, and then ran off through the open school gates. Prompto followed him, but not before looking through the gathered photos one more time.