Chapter Text
“Nikolas! Woo Hoo! Buddy! Look over here for Daddy!” Prompto called out from behind the toddler that was playing in front of him, adjusting the camera a bit to catch the boy in action. Nikolas was trying to catch a frog he saw but it seemed it was a bit harder than what he imagined it would be.
Nikolas Lucis Caelum was Prompto’s and Noctis’ 4 year old son. He had tousled black hair that more often than not resembled a nest rather than actual hair. It was quite the contrast to his pale skin. He had stunning green eyes which were only further emphasized by the dark freckles that peppered his face under his big rosy cheeks.
He was a quiet child; keeping to himself most of the time. He preferred to color in the living room rather than go outside and play. Prompto was trying to get him to get out a little more with these impromptu photo shoots. Nikolas seemed to enjoy them since Prompto often took to him to interesting spots around the kingdom.
They have been at the slough for a few hours now. Prompto wanted to get a few pictures of the place while the lighting was good and it was an excuse to take Nik out into nature. The toddler was reluctant at first, taking careful steps through the grass and tightly gripping Prompto’s pants. But after seeing some of the wildlife that surrounded them, he warmed up; especially when he saw the frogs.
Nikolas had been chasing the frogs for over an hour, only getting his tiny hands on one before it jumped right out of his hands. Prompto could help but document the entire ordeal, chuckling behind the camera, even after Nikolas had scolded him for laughing at him.
Nikolas was sitting down on a rock nearby, looking over at the water in front of him.
“Ready to go home buddy?”
The boy looked at him with sleepy eyes, rubbing them gently as he nodded. Prompto couldn’t help but laugh at his display. He was just like his Papa.
He snapped a few pictures of the tired boy before calling it done. He walked over to Nikolas, picking him up slinging him on his hip. The boy instinctively curled up on his father’s jean jacket, leaning his head on his shoulder.
“Sleepy? Ready to go home and take a nap?” Prompto asked, running his fingers through his messy black mop.
The boy nodded, rubbing his eyes again. Prompto laid a soft kiss on his cheek before walking towards home.
“Too sleepy to get ice cream?”
The toddler perked up in his arms as if he was never tired in the first place. Prompto laughed loudly and bounced the boy lightly on his hip.
“Ice cream it is then.”
----
“Noct! We’re home!” Prompto yelled, setting the now ice cream covered toddler down before closing the door behind him.
There was no answer.
“Noct!” he called out again.
“Papa!” Nikolas called out as well. The boy looked up at Prompto with a sulky frown.
“Hey, It’s okay Nikky. We’ll find him.” he said, walking through the living room. The toddler ran off to check the couch in the back room first. It was Noctis’ favorite sleeping spot in the house. But he wasn’t there.
Prompto checked their room next. Nothing. Just the messy bed he left this morning when he woke up. He sighed deeply as he ran his hands through his hair. He heard the pitter patter of little feet running towards him. Nikolas pulled on the hem of Prompto’s jacket.
“I can’t find him Daddy…” the child said quietly.
“Looks like he might be out. I will call him. Don’t worry about it. Why don’t you color while I call him, okay?” Prompto said, ruffling the boy’s messy hair. The toddler nodded and went off to room to grab his coloring stuff.
Prompto pulled out his phone from his pocket and quickly dialed the familiar number. It rang a few times before the line picked up.
“Hello?”
“Hey Noct. Where are you? Nikky and I just got home to an empty house. He is freaking out a bit because you aren't home.” Prompto said, starting to walk to the living room. Nikolas walked past him, his arms filled with crayons and markers as well as a notebook.
“Oh. My bad. I went out fishing. Gladio and Specs are coming over later so I figured I would catch something for dinner. I didn’t think I would be out that long. Kinda got sucked in.” Noctis’ explained.
“It’s okay. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay.” Prompto said, sitting in a nearby chair, keeping an eye on Nikolas, who had laid out all his supplies on the coffee table and carefully separated the crayons from the markers.
“How was the photo shoot? Did he cooperate this time?” Noctis asked.
“It was better than last time. He really liked the water so I took off his shoes and socks and let him put his feet in. He tried to catch a few frogs too. I got quite a few cute shots of him trying to catch it. He got sleepy though after a bit so we went home.”
Noctis’ laughed a little. “A frog huh? Guess he is more like you than we thought Prompt.”
“Not even! I never chased frogs unless you managed to get yourself turned into one! Someone had to use the maiden’s kiss on you!” Prompto argued.
Noct laughed harder, making Prompto turn a bright shade of pink. He sat back in the chair and sighed deeply.
“Okay it wasn’t that funny! Just tell me what time are Gladdy and Iggy coming over so I can clean up a little. I would rather not get another earful from Iggy because of state of the kitchen.”
“Gladio said around 4 or 5. Knowing Ignis, it will probably right at 4 o’clock.”
Prompto looked over at the kitchen stove for the time.
“NOCTTT!” Prompto whined, making Nikolas look up from his current drawing.
“What?!”
“It’s 3:30! You won’t even be home by then!” Prompto said, standing up and heading to the kitchen to start picking up the dishes over the counter and putting various boxes of sugar cereal in the cabinet.
“It is not 3:30 already! It can’t be.”
“Tell that to clock on the stove Noctis. It never lied to me before.”
“Shit! I hasn’t even felt like I have been out that long. I’m sorry. I’ll be home as soon as I can okay?”
“Hurry please. I would rather not have to deal with the rath of Ignis alone.”
“I will. Talk to you when I get home.”
“Love you Noct.”
“Love you too Prom. Bye.”
Prompto took the phone from his ear and hung up quickly. He tossed his phone onto the table and turned on the hot water in the sink so he could start washing the massive pile of dishes that were in the sink.
“Daddy?” Nikolas asked, looking up from his drawing.
“Yeah buddy?” Prompto answered, slipping on the big yellow rubber gloves and grabbing a sponge and the soap.
“Uncle Iggy and Uncle Gladdy are coming?” he asked, putting his crayon down.
“Yeah. That’s why I gotta clean the kitchen. I don’t want Uncle Iggy to get mad at Papa and I again because we leave it a mess.” he explained, furiously washing the dishes in front of him, not regarding the water that was splashing all over him.
“Okay.” he said, turning his attention back to his drawing, making an outline of what could be interpreted as a frog of the sorts. “Are Malena and Neveah coming too?”
“Well of course. They can’t just leave them at home buddy.”
“Oh okay.” he said quietly, grabbing a green crayon and filling in his lines. Prompto smiled softly and sprayed a heavy cleaner onto the stove to scrub the living daylights out it.
----
Knock Knock Knock
Prompto looked at the time and quietly cursed to himself. 4 oclock on the dot. Just like Noctis said earlier. He sighed deeply and continued to scrub a particularly caked on spot on the stove. He quietly prayed to the Six for their decision to pick a black stove instead of the white one they originally wanted.
“Doors open! Come on in!” he yelled, using all his strength to scrub that stubborn spot on the stove.
The door opened slowly and in stepped Gladiolus and Ignis. Ignis came in first, with a large black bag slung over on one shoulder and a smaller grey bag on the other. Ignis greeted Nikolas, who was still coloring in is frog, with a soft smile and a wave.
Gladiolus came in after and was carrying two infant car seats, one in each hand. He set both down on the floor by loveseat nearby and stretched a little bit, groaning in the process.
“They are getting too heavy to be in these things Ig. Think it’s time to just start carrying them in.” Gladio mentioned, pulling his arm across his chest to stretch a bit.
“Wouldn’t have expected a man who could still take down a behemoth, if the need was present, to be complaining about carrying in two car seats less than 50 feet from the car.” Ignis snapped back.
Gladio rolled his eyes a bit. “You wouldn’t be saying that if you had to carry them.” he muttered under his breath.
Nikolas looked up from his drawing finally to see the 2 car seats sitting by the loveseat. He perked up, dropping his crayons down on the table and ran over to where they were at.
“Malena! Neveah! They’re here Daddy!” he said excitedly, looking at the purple blanket that covered one seat and a deep blue one covering the other. He looked up at Gladio, silently asking for permission to remove it. Gladio smiled and gave the boy a steady nod. He carefully moved both blankets from the carseats to reveal both sleeping baby girls.
“Careful now Nikolas. They have just fallen asleep. They haven’t napped all day.” Ignis said, setting the larger black bag down near Gladio and taking the other bag towards the kitchen.
“Calm down Ig. He’s not doing anything to ‘em.” Gladio said, crossing his arms across his chest, glancing over to look at Nikolas.
“I would rather not have Malena wake up too early from her nap. She gets rather fussy if awaken too early.” Ignis informed Gladio, pushing his glasses up on his nose.
“I know that Ig. She is my daughter too ya know.” Gladio said, looking at the baby.
Prompto stepped out the kitchen, his shirt soaking in water and smelling like some strong cleaner. “Hey, guys! Long time no see!” he said with a big smile.
“It’s only been two weeks Prompto.” Gladio mentioned. “Where’s Prince Charmless?”
“Noct went out fishing to catch something for dinner. He should be home soon.” he explained, pulling the rubber gloves from his hands.
“Good because I am starving.” Gladio said, plopping on the couch and putting his muscular arms over the top. Prompto went to the back of the house to change his shirt quickly since he was practically dripping wet.
“Uncle Gladdy?” Nikolas asked, his eye still glued to the sleeping babies in front of him.
“Yeah Nik? What’s up?”
“When are they going to wake up? I want to play with them already.” he asked, turning to face the large man with a soft pout.
He shrugged, crossing his legs. “Don’t know bud. Babies need a lot of sleep.”
“More than me?”
“Way more than you and your Papa combined.”
He looked back at the baby girls with wide eyes. “That’s a lot of sleep.”
Prompto came back into the room with a clean shirt and dry hands. He looked over at Nikolas, who was sitting criss-cross in front of Malena’s car seat, head in his hands, waiting for her to wake up. Prompto couldn’t help but snap a picture or two of the sweet moment.
He walked over to the car seats and squatted down in front of them both to get a good look. He took a long look at Malena then Nevaeh. “Hey Iggy! Both of them are really starting to look like you! Before you know it, they will need their own pair of spectacles .” he said, mocking Ignis’ accent with the last word.
Malena Marie Amicitia was the “oldest” of the 7 month old twin girls of advisor Ignis Scientia and King’s shield Gladiolus Amicitia. She had a head full of wavy sandy blond hair which was neatly brushed down and held in place with a white headband with a big bow one the side. She had almond shaped hazel eyes and slightly tanned skin, both courtesy of Gladio. Despite both men being tall (and one rather large man) she was tiniest of the two girls, often having to wear clothes for 5 month olds. She was a healthy baby though and it showed in her attitude.
Contrary to both her parents, She was bouncy, smiley, and happy most of the time. She loved to smile and laugh and she always enjoys playtime and lots of company. Although she was an overall happy baby, when she isn’t in the mood, it’s very obvious. She get cranky easily when woken up, sending her in a fit of tears until she is calmed down.
Nevaeh Arya Amicitia was the “younger” one of the twins. She was bigger than her sister though, being able to fit into clothes meant for others her age. Malena and Nevaeh were virtually identical as far as looks went. They shared the same sandy blond hair, almond shaped hazel eyes, and tanned skin. Neveah was a happy baby as well, sharing laughs with her sister and enjoying playtime just as much. Unlike Malena, who could be sent into a crying fit easily, nothing really upset the girl,. She stayed quiet and happy, hardly ever cried and slept soundly through all of her naps, not matter how loud it was around her.
Ignis typically had the girls presentable and dressed at all times, typically in dresses or little other little outfits he or Gladio found. Today, both girls were wearing a summery type dress with ruffles for sleeves and the same ruffles around the hem and the matching leggings. Malena’s dress was a soft baby pink while Nevaeh’s was a bright shade of yellow. Malena wore a white headband over his head, with a big bow decorating the front. Nevaeh wasn’t fond of headbands (she pulled them right off her head most of the time) so, her hair was pulled into neat little pigtails on each side of her head with little white ribbons hanging from each one.
Ignis rolled his eyes at Prompto’s comment before pulling his cooking utensils out of the smaller bag he brought into the kitchen. “I'm surprised you managed to clean the kitchen so well Prompto. It’s almost like you actually tried for once.” he said, taking a look around the freshly cleaned kitchen.
“Hey! I try! A lot actually!” He yelled, crossing his arms and pouting a bit like a child.
“Shh! For gods sake Prompt you are right next to two sleeping babies. One of which will lose her damn mind if she wakes up too early.” Gladio said, quietly scolding the other man.
“Sorry!” Prompto said in a whisper before moving away from the girls. But alas, it was too late, Malena started to stir in her car seat, starting to whine loudly as she woke up. Nevaeh kept sleeping soundly, sucking softly on her pacifier.
“Now you have done it.” Gladio said with a deep sigh before digging into the black bag next to him and pulling out another pacifier.
Malena started to cry loudly, squirming around in her seat as if she was trying to get out by herself. Nikolas reached out and gently pet the girls head, trying to get her to calm down.
“It’s okay Lena. I don't like when anyone wakes me up either.” He said to the infant, still petting her head gently. It didn’t stop her crying but it was a sweet gesture.
Gladio smiled and stepped next to the car seat. He pushed a button on the side that caused the handle to swing behind the seat so he could easily grab the crying baby.
“Watch out bud. Gotta get her out of here.” Gladio said, leaning down and unbuckling the straps across her chest before grabbing the baby girl with both hands. He gently set her on his chest, where she continued to cry, clinging to her father’s too tight tank top.
“I know. I know. You got woken up too early. Blame your uncle Prompto on that one, baby girl.” Gladio said, cutting his eyes towards Prompto before giving the girl her pacifier. She started enthusiastically sucking on the pacifier, calming down enough to stop crying. He started gently bouncing her, holding her to his strong chest.
“I didn't mean to! Sorry!” Prompto said, flushing a little pink. “I’ll be quiet next time!”
The door suddenly flung open, hitting the wall behind it and Noct took a few steps in with a bag of fish one hand and his tackle box in the other. “Prompt! Nikky! I’m back!”
The sudden loud noises made Malena spit out her pacifier and start crying again. Gladio groaned quietly and grabbed the loose pacifier.
“Way to go, your highness .” Gladio said, in a sarcastic tone as he bounced the girl a little more.
“My bad.” Noct said, putting down his tackle box and handing Prompto the bag of fish for Ignis to start cooking. He peeled off his slightly damp jacket off and tossed it on a nearby chair before walking over to his shield and the crying baby. He reached out and grabbed the girl from the stronger man’s arms.
“I’m sorry Malena. Come to Uncle Noct.” He said, cradling the girl in his arms. “I didn’t mean to wake you up from your nap.” he said quietly, rocking the girl in his arms.
Malena started to cry harder, obvious not wanting to be in his arms at the moment. She squirmed viciously in his arms, trying to escape.
“You smell like fish Papa. She probably doesn’t like that.” Nikolas said, looking up at his father, plugging his own nose with his fingers.
Ignis came over and carefully grabbed his child from Noctis’ arms, moving her onto his chest so he could rub her back softly. “Nikolas is correct Noct. You smell like the fish market in Lestallum. Might I suggest a shower or at the very least, a change of clothes.” He said, bouncing lightly to keep the cries from getting any louder.
Noctis groaned loudly and ran his fingers through his hair. “You guys are all over exaggerating. It is not that bad.”
“Noct, I can smell you from over here. Change your clothes ya lazy ass.” Gladio said, plopping back on the couch.
Noctis rolled his eyes and headed to the back of the house towards to his room to change.
Malena’s crying starting to quiet down after Noctis left to change his clothes. Ignis let out a sigh of relief as his bouncing slowed down as well, whispering a few words into the girl's sandy hair.
“Gladio, could you reach in the bag and grab her playmat. I am sure she doesn’t want to go back into her car seat after the fuss she put up.” he said. He turned to Nikolas, who was still sitting in front of the car seats, waiting for Nevaeh. “Would you like to sit down and play with Malena, Nikolas?” Ignis asked the toddler.
Nikolas nodded furiously, quickly moving to get all of his toys out the floor in order for Ignis to lay down the playmat. He tossed the mounds of toy cars, plushes, and random crayons into the bin the the corner of the room. “I’ll help! I’ll help!” he said, reaching to grab the mat from his uncle’s hands. He carefully laid it out, taking his time to smooth out all the wrinkles, just how Ignis like it.
“Good job Nikolas. At this rate, you will be must neater than your parents.” Ignis said with a little smirk. He carefully got down and sat Malena down, fixing her hair a bit under the headband and putting in her pacifier while he was down there. Nikolas sat right next to her, playing her her flailing hands.
The baby cooed loudly, clapping her hands a little as Ignis laid out a few toys on the mat in front of her as well. Nikolas sat down next to her and let her little fingers grip onto his.
“She's strong!” Nikolas said as she squeezed his fingers.
“Got it from her Pop!” Gladio said proudly, patting his chest a bit. Ignis rolled his eyes at the display and headed back into the kitchen to clean the fish for dinner. Even after all these years, and despite the fact that he was now married with a family, he still found himself cooking for Noctis just as often as he used to.
Nikolas was helping Malena play with a musical learning ball, fixing her sleeves a bit as they fell off her tiny shoulders.
“Are Malena and Nevaeh always dressed this nice, even at home, Uncle Gladdy?” Nikolas asked as he watched Malena push the ball away and stumble forward onto her stomach so she could crawl around.
“Yeah. Ig likes them to be ‘presentable’ at all points in time. Just like him. They are always wearing dresses. Dresses and headbands with bows. Those are your Uncle Iggy’s favorite thing to buy. I say, let them run around in their diapers. They like it better anyway.” Gladio said, stretching out on the couch.
“There is nothing wrong with them looking presentable every day. You never know who is watching Gladio. It also instills good habits for later in life.” Ignis commented from the kitchen.
“More like you have to see them in every outfit you buy them. You see a cute dress or an outfit and have to buy it right away. For someone as frugal as you are, you indulge in buying the girls’ clothes and stuff that they’ll grow out of faster than ya bought it.” Gladio retorted.
“Am I not allowed to purchase clothing for my own children now?”
“That’s funny coming out of the mouth of a guy who wouldn’t let us get a hotel room while it was pouring rain outside because the room was a little more expensive than what we normally paid.” Noctis interjected, walking back into the room with a fresh outfit on. He walked over to the other twin, who was still sound asleep in her car seat. He reached down and picked up the girl from her seat and set her on his chest, rubbing his hand down her back to keep her asleep.
“That was a vastly different situation Noct. I am still as ‘frugal’ as you all remember. I just spare no expense for my girls.” Ignis said, carefully gutting the fish.
“So you spoil them?” Prompto pointed out.
“Spoil is hardly the correct word to use.” Ignis spat, defending his choices.
“Yeah, he spoils ‘em. I have been trying to convince him for the past 2 weeks to let me get a new belt buckle. He keeps saying that is ‘isn't in the budget’ yet the other day, he came home with 6 new outfits and 4 pairs of shoes for the girls.”
“Gladio, for the last time, I will not let you get that god awful belt buckle. Even if we had all the gil in the world, I still would say the exact same thing.” Ignis snapped back.
“What’s on the buckle to make you hate it so much Specs?” Noctis asked, still bouncing with Nevaeh on his chest.
“It's big and gold and had BAMF on it. I saw it in the market.” Gladio said, puffing his chest out a bit. “I think it fits me pretty well. It would be a nice addition don't cha think?”
All three men rolled their eyes at the statement.
“Daddy, what does it mean?” Nikolas asked, trying to keep Malena from crawling off the mat.
“What does what mean Nik?” Prompto asked, digging his thumbs into the front of his pants.
“What Uncle Gladdy said. The letters.”
Prompto almost choked on his spit and shot a look at Gladio, who shrugged. Prompto sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
“They are bad words. You don’t need to know them.” Prompto said.
“Like what Papa says when he is mad at his phone or out getting fishies?”
Ignis chuckled from the kitchen, trying to cough to cover it up. Noctis gave his advisor quite the look.
“My apologies but Noctis has always had quite the potty mouth, even when he was younger. Not much a surprise to see Nikolas had figured that much out.”
Noctis rolled his eyes hard before setting the second girl down on the mat beside her sister. “I get it. I get it. I need to watch my language around Nik.” he grumbled. He took a seat next to Gladio on the couch, leaning his head back against the backrest.
“I could use a nap right about now.” he said to himself, yawning loudly right after.
“You always say that Noct.” Prompto pointed out, taking a few pictures of the kids playing together.
“Because I could always use a nap. Never a bad time for one.” Noctis said, putting his hands behind his head. “Specs? How’s dinner coming along?”
“Slowly but surely. I had to properly clean the fish first. That takes most of the prep time.” Ignis said from the kitchen, slicing the now clean fish into fillets.
“What’s for dinner Papa?” Nikolas asked.
“Uncle Ig is making fish with rice.” Noctis answered.
“Fisssshhhh?” the child whined loudly. “But I don’t like fish!”
Gladio held back a laugh, patting Noctis on the back. “Like father like son.”
“It will be good I promise. Uncle Iggy can cook way better than your dad and I can.” Noctis said, sitting up to look at the pouty little boy.
“I would hardly call it cooking.” Ignis chimed in.
“Hey! We really do try! I followed that cookbook you gave me to a T and it still didn’t come out as good as yours.” Prompto said in a half whine.
“Practice makes perfect Prompto.” Gladio said, leaning down in front of him to pick up Nevaeh, who had crawled over from the mat. He set her on his lap, holding her up with one hand.
“Easy for you to say! You get Ignis’ cooking every day!” Prompto said, with a little pout.
“Not every day. I have had to cook more often lately. Iggy couldn’t do much while he was pregnant with the girls so I learned to cook a few things outside of cup noodles. Take out wasn’t really his thing.” the man said, bouncing his knee a little to get Nevaeh to laugh.
“Prompto just wanted take-out all the time.” Noctis teased.
“Oh, we very much knew that. I remember more than a handful of times having to wake up at strange hours because you needed the car to take Prompto to get a cheeseburger.” Ignis said from the kitchen, now starting to sear the fish in a skillet.
Prompto blushed a little bit. “I like cheeseburgers okay? I used to eat them all time when I was younger. The cravings just made me revert back to my old self.” he said, shifting in his seat a little.
“What did Specs like to eat Gladio? I am sure he had some fancy ass cravings in the middle of the night.” Noctis asked, turning his head to face the man.
He heard a loud cough come from the kitchen along with an accompanied glare in Gladio’s direction.
“I would rather not sleep on the couch tonight.” Gladio said, messing with the ribbons Nevaeh’s little pigtails as she noisily chewed on her fingers.
“Aw come on Ignis! Tell us! You were all secretive about all that. We hardly ever saw you.” Prompto said, walking towards the kitchen.
“And there was a reason why.” he said, flipping the fish over.
“You were there every step with Noct and I. Even when I was endlessly throwing up on the side of the road that one time. We weren’t even allowed to return the favor. The least you could do it tell us a little bit about it.” Prompto said, leaning against the door frame with those big blue puppy dog eyes.
Ignis cleared his throat and pushed his glasses up on his face. He could hardly say no when he put it that way. “I...I fancied potato chips and those awful snack cakes you find a local gas station.” he said quietly.
“What!? Mr. All-this-junk-is-simply-disgusting wanted junk food from the gas station? That's wild!” Prompto yelled out, mocking Ignis.
“He also drank those dollar a can, over sweetened, teas. He would beg me to go get him a pack of those chocolate cupcakes and a can of tea all the time.” Gladio added.
Ignis’ cheeks flushed a soft pink and he continued to cook the fish in front of him. “It doesn’t matter any longer. I can’t stand to look at the things now. It makes my stomach churn at the sight.”
“What were your favorite flavor of chips?” Noctis asked.
“Barbeque.” Ignis answered plainly.
“Nice choice! I prefer sour cream and onion though.” Prompto said, still leaning against the doorframe of the kitchen.
“It was a convenient craving so I can not really be upset about it. It wasn’t like I could stand up and whip something up.” Ignis pointed out. “Standing for long periods of time were out of the question. Additionally, my feet were terribly swollen most of the time so having Gladio leave for a few moments to go down the street was fine by me.”
“Not to mention you were sick more often than not those first few months. If you wanted to eat something outside of hot broth, I was ready and willing to go everywhere.” Gladio said, lifting the baby in the air above his head with a smile. Ignis stole a glance from the corner of his eye and smiled softly at the display.
“It was worth it, though. I got two beautiful little girls who were born happy and healthy and Iggy is here to tell the tale. The fact he is still here was a blessing from the gods anyway.” Gladio said, still playing with a loud and laughing Nevaeh.
“I agree. It was worth all the fuss and pain. I’m sure Prompto and Noctis feels the same way about Nikolas.” Ignis said, finishing up the fish and checking on the rice.
Prompto walked over to the boy and scooped him into his arms. “Yup!” he said, peppering kisses all over Nik’s cheeks. Nikolas started laughing loudly, pushing Prompto’s face away playfully.
“Daddy!” he said through his laugh as Prompto continued kissing the boy.
“Looks like dinner is close to ready. About 5 minutes left on the cooking time.” Ignis called out, putting the final touches on the rice.
“Come on buddy. Let’s get you all cleaned up so we can eat.” Prompto said, carrying Nik to the bathroom to wash his marker covered hands. Noctis headed to the kitchen to take a look at what Ignis was doing.
“Looks good Specs. As always.” Noctis said, trying to tear a small piece off the fish to taste. Ignis swiftly slapped his hand away and give him a glare. Noctis laughed and shrugged away.
“Okay. I get it. No tasting.” he said with a smile. The kitchen was quiet for a moment, only the sound of cooking fish echoed through the room.
“You haven't changed Ignis.” he said, his tone shifting just a bit.
“The same could be said for you as well Noct. Nice to see fatherhood hasn’t changed you even the slightest bit.” Ignis replied with a soft smile.
“Well, Nikolas is pretty much a mini-me so I didn’t have to change much.” Noctis said.
“Seeing as I am here cooking nearly the same meal I made for you when you were younger is very telling. Although, it is rather funny that the boy carries such a distaste for fish.” Ignis said with a chuckle as he pulled some plates from the cabinet below.
“Well, there was a long period of time where Prompto was trying to learn to cook fish. We ended up eating fish a lot and Nik got tired of it real quick.” Noct explained, sitting in the nearby counter. Ignis rolled his eyes as the younger man sat on the counter but he would save the argument and let him sit there this one time.
“Oh, poor child. I would have come much more often if that was the case. He probably hasn't had a proper meal in weeks.” Ignis joked, starting to fix plates for everyone. Noctis chuckled softly as he leaned back on the counter, watching Ignis finish making everyone's plates.
“Could you at the very least get some silverware ready for the table?” Ignis asked, carrying the various plates to the table in the room over. Noct sighed and jumped off the counter and gave himself a good stretch before heading over to the nearby drawer to grab a handful of forks and knives, including one fork shaped like a Chocobo for Nik and took it to the table.
Everyone was already in the dining room waiting for the food.
A very grumpy and pouty Nikolas was next to Prompto after arguing that he was a big boy now and could sit in the chair without the help of the booster seat. Unfortunately for Nik, he wasn’t even tall enough to get his entire head over the table so he was forced to sit in the seat yet again.
Gladio had both girls sitting on the tabletop in front of him while he dug into the black bag from earlier to find their food. Without their high chairs, he wasn't sure where to put them while they fed them so he just hoped Ignis didn’t freak out when he saw them on the table. Both girls were sitting, waiting patiently for their Pop; Malena sucking away on her pacifier while Nevaeh had her hand in her mouth yet again, that is, until she saw Ignis walk into room, plates of food in hand. She cooed loudly, leaning forward on her hands and knees to crawl over to the other side of the table. She managed to crawl over to where he was, and plopped down right here, reaching her hands up in their air with a coo and big smile.
Ignis couldn’t help but crack a smile at the girl. “I was only gone but a moment Princess.” He said with a smile as set the other plate down nearby. He picked her up and places a soft kiss on her cheek, slinging her on his hip. “Seems your father has been messing with your hair again.” he said, using his free hand to push the stray hairs back into the pigtails.
“I was trying to fix the ribbons. They looked a little tight.” Gladio chimed in, setting out a few jars of baby food out on the table. Ignis shook his head in a playful manner before heading back to the kitchen to grab more plates.
Noctis bought out two more plates, setting one in front of Gladio and the other in his spot. Ignis came back with a small plate for Nikolas, setting down his plate in front of the toddler before sitting down next to Gladio. Gladio already started feeding Malena, who was already making a mess as usual.
Ignis set Nevaeh down on his lap, reaching over to grab one of the jars in front of Gladio.
“Ahh I do not miss those days. I celebrated the day Nik could eat on his own. I made sure to put a spoon in his hand as early as I could.” Prompto said, watching the other parents.
“Eh. I kinda miss when he was that small. He was a pretty cute baby.” Noctis said, taking a bite of his food.
“He’s a pretty cute little boy too!” Prompto said with a smile. He took a huge bite of his dinner and the noise he made was almost unholy. “So good! Tastes great Iggy!”
“Thank you Prompto.” Ignis said, feeding a spoon full pureed sweet potatoes to an awaiting Nevaeh.
Nik was poking at his dinner, moving it across the plate with a pout still on his face. Prompto sighed deeply and reached over to the boys plate and picked up a small bit on his fork. “Come on buddy. Try it first before you say you don’t like it.” he said, putting the fork up to his lips. Nikolas shook his head and turned away.
“Fish is gross.” he said plainly.
“But this isn’t my fish. This is wayyyy better than mine. I promise it will taste good.” Prompto coaxed, but it wasn’t working. Nik pushed his hand away and crossed his arms over his chest. Prompto sighed deeply and went back to his plate.
“Nikolas.” Noctis said sternly, looking up from his food. The boy didn't budge, still looking away from his plate of food.
“You have to eat something Nik. You won’t get anything else if you don’t eat something. At least just eat the rice.” Noctis suggested.
The boy looked back at his plate and pushed the fish off to the side so he could eat the rice.
“You spoil that boy. He is just like his damn Father.” Gladio said, finally able to start eating his own dinner.
“If he is just like me, then there’s practically nothing we can do to make him eat something he doesn’t want to.” Noctis pointed out with a grin.
“I can attest to that. I was quite difficult to get Noctis to eat anything that wasn’t fried or smothered in some vile sauce.” Ignis said, taking a bite of his dinner and giving a tiny piece of fish to Nevaeh as well.
“Hey! I got better with age.” Noctis pointed out, his mouth still full of food from his bite.
“If that is what you would like to call it.” Ignis said, taking another careful bite. Nevaeh whined loudly, lunging forward to get another bite of his food. He held her back gently and gave her another bite of fish. “At least Nikolas will attempt to eat his vegetables.” Ignis added.
Noctis rolled his eyes and took another bite. Nikolas had finished eating the rice on his plate, leaving his fish untouched. Prompto looked over and dropped his head a bit.
“If you try the fish, I’ll let you get 2 cookies for dessert tonight. If you don’t like it, it’s fine but you gotta give it a try first.” Prompto said, attempting to bribe the kid to eat.
Nikolas looked at the fish on his plate, then at Prompto, then back at his plate again. “Can I get a choco pudding and a cookie instead?” he asked, poking the fish with his fork.
“Pudding and cookie it is! But you gotta have a whole bite. Not a baby one.” Prompto said, leaning over and taking a piece with his fork and holding up to the boy’s face. Nikolas grimaced and leaned forward to put the fork in his mouth. He made sure to get the whole bite before pulling away and chewing slowly, his brows furrowing and whining under his breath.
The men at the table couldn’t help but laugh at Nikolas’ facial expressions. It was clear that no matter who cooked the fish, his mind wasn’t going to change. The boy managed to swallow it all the way down before looking at Prompto with sad eyes.
“I don’t ever want that again…” he whined. Prompto cracked a smile and ruffled the boy’s messy head.
“Okay buddy. You don't have to. Always gotta try it first before you make a choice to not like it.” Prompto said, taking the fish from Nik’s plate and putting it onto his.
“Can I get my pudding nowww? The fishy is still in my mouth! Blegh!” Nikolas whined, taking a huge gulp of juice.
The entire table started to laugh in response.
---
Prompto finished gathering up all the dishes from dinner and headed into the living room where everyone was settling down. He stood in the doorway and watched everyone for a moment.
Nikolas was sitting on Noctis’ lap as they watched whatever was on tv at the moment, devouring his pudding cup, his face covered in the chocolate goo.
Ignis was attempting to change Malena out of her now pureed pea and carrot covered dress while she thrashed around in protest.
Gladio was playing with Nevaeh on the floor, pretending to bench press the girl, giving her a kiss every time she came down.
Prompto smiled brightly, leaning up against the doorframe to watch everyone.
Even though they had all moved on, gotten older, and had families now, it never changed them. They could still get together like they did years ago and still act the same way they always did. Even with the kids around, it was still like the good ol’ days they cherished. It was pretty nice, Prompto thought for a moment before heading into the living room himself with his signature big smile, settling in the spot next to Noct, laying his head on his shoulder while Noct put his arm around the blond.
Some things never did change.