*(A/N)- Winter is you*
"Come on, just tell the poor guy already," Gladio mused with an annoying smirk on his face. Words couldn't describe the amount of embarrassment Winter was feeling. Every single day, both Noct and Gladio (and sometimes even Winter's brother, Ignis) would tease the girl about her crush on their friend, Prompto. Every time they did, Winter's face would become the equivalent colour of an apple. What made it even worse was that they would pester her more in Prompto's very presence. Of course, the guy was completely oblivious to it all.
"Can you guys just please stop annoying me for one day? Is that really too much to ask?" Winter complained, her green eyes shooting daggers at the two young men in front of her. Normally, the girl was quite bubbly and carefree, but when anyone teased her about Prompto, the poor souls definitely felt her wrath. Both the prince and his shield simply gave a smirk in response.
"Sorry, but we just can't help it. I mean, It's Prompto after all," Noct replied with a chuckle in his voice. Winter's eyes narrowed. What was so wrong with Prompto that they would make fun of the girl for liking him? Sure, he was a bit of a child at times, but he was an overall nice and sweet guy.
"Now, now. I do not want to hear this pointless bickering all day," Ignis stated as he continued stirring a pot of soup over the fire. The whole gang was currently camping out as the next town was over 10 hours away and the sun was already starting to set.
"Hey... Speaking of which, where is Prompto?" Gladio suddenly asked, looking around. That statement made everybody realize it too. They hadn't seen the freckled blonde in over an hour. He said that he was going to take pictures of the wildlife nearby... but it wouldn't have taken him that long to do it.
"Prompto?" Noct called out, his voice echoing amongst the small hills. There was no response.
"Prompto!" Winter called out also. Still no response. Ignis sighed.
"There's no telling where he would have gone to," he said.
"I'm guessing we have to go and find him before it gets really late," Gladio replied.Before another word was said, everyone heard a scream echo in the distance.
"Shh!" Winter interjected, worrying that what she heard was real. Unfortunately, that fear was confirmed when the yell happened again, except more pronounced to the point where everyone knew whose voice it was.
"Prompto!"
***
Winter, Noct, Gladio, and Ignis all rushed to the source of the frantic sounds. Prompto was surrounded by an overwhelming number of MTs. Suddenly, the boy was knocked to the ground and the MT closest to him was ready to shoot him down.
"No!" Winter yelled on impulse and began running towards the danger.
"Winter!" Ignis yelled, trying to stop his younger sister, but it was futile. She wouldn't stop running and started to slash the MTs in half. Soon, their attention turned to her and Winter quickly found herself surrounded instead.
"Come on! We gotta help her!" Noct exclaimed and began fighting the MTs as well. Ignis and Gladio soon followed.
"Thanks, guys! I would have been dead!" Prompto said while shooting his gun at his enemies.
"You're gonna be dead as soon as we're done!" Gladio roared as he fought.
"Hehe. Easy there, big guy," Prompto chuckled nervously.
***
After a long, tiring battle, all the MTs were nothing but pieces of metal scattered all over the ground. Everyone was exhausted, sweating, and trying to catch their breaths.
"What the hell were you doing all the way out here, anyway?" Gladio asked as he wiped the sweat off his brow.
"I was just taking pictures like I said I was and suddenly and an airship came and next thing I knew, there were MTs all over the place," Prompto explained, laying on the ground.
"Well, let's all just be happy no one got seriously injured," Ignis stated, putting away his weapons.
"Noct, are you okay?" Winter asked as she saw her prince slouching over and panting really hard.
"(Wheeze) Yeah... I'm fine. That was just so intense and it happened so suddenly..." he replied. A sigh fell out of Prompto's lips.
"Guys... I'm really sorry about this. If I hadn't gone out, they wouldn't have found us," he began apologizing, scratching the back of his head and lowering his eyes down in shame.
"You better be saying sorry. Anyone of us could have been killed," Gladio said, angrily.
"Hey, it's not his fault!" Winter cried, trying to defend Prompto. "None of us would have known that they would have shown up."
Everyone fell silent. Prompto still looked like a kicked puppy from all the nagging he was receiving. Winter walked up to him and tried to put her hand on his shoulder, but he instantly started to walk back to the campsite alone. The girl sighed, shooting Gladio a harsh glare.
***
The sky was filled with countless beautiful stars, the wind was becoming cooler as it got deeper into the night. The gang had all fallen asleep... except for two. Winter couldn't sleep. She was still mad at Gladio for being so mean to Prompto. The look on his face as still eating away at her. Also, the tent had become too dark for her liking. Even though she was of considerable age, the dark was a fear that seemed to never go away.
With a sigh, she unzipped her tent and decided to go talk to the blonde. However, when she went over to his tent, he wasn't there. After a quick scan of the camp, Winter could see a figure out by the edge of the cliff by the ocean.
Walking up to Prompto, who was huddled up with a blanket around him, the petite woman sat down beside him.
"Oh... Hey," Prompto replied as he saw her. His voice was meek and small, the guilt quite evident. To say it hurt Winter would be an understatement. She absolutely loathed hearing and seeing her crush like this. She, again, put a mental note to get back at Gladio in one way or another.
"Hey. Do you want to talk?" she asked in a gentle voice, putting a hand to his back. The boy made sure not to show his face.
"No. I'm fine. Just a little tired." It was obvious that he was lying. Winter huffed and looked onwards toward the ocean. Just below the cliff was a beautiful beach. The sand decorated with the luminous blue of the moon and the water glittered with the twinkling stars up above. Winter loved the beach. She always dreamed that one day, she would be able to take a walk with Prompto on one, hand-in-hand, completely in love like something out of a movie. "Hey."
The sound of Prompto's voice made Winter come back to reality.
"Yeah?" she replied.
"Why do you always stick up for me?"
The girl was taken aback from this slightly. She looked over at him, but he still didn't gaze her way.
"Uh... What do you mean?"
"Why do you always stick up for me?" Finally, Prompto's freckled face came into Winter's view. He appeared sad and confused. Needless to say, she had never seen that kind of expression from him before.
"Uh... I... Uh..." Winter didn't know what to say.
This is it! This is the perfect time to tell him!
No, don't. It'll probably mess things up between us.
But, there might not be another chance after this!
But... he might not like me.
After a few moments of mental debate, she finally decided to just say what her gut was telling her. She turned her head away from the boy. "BecauseIlikeyou." Her words mangled into one. Prompto blinked.
"Like me? Like, as a friend?" he asked, confused. Almost immediately after those words left his mouth, it was as if realization itself slapped him across the face. His eyes widened and he sat up straight. "W-Wait... You mean... You like me like me?"
Winter's heart was going a million beats per minute, her small body shaking. She didn't want to look him in the eyes. By the way he said that last sentence, it was like he was in complete shock.
I knew I shouldn't have told him!
"I like you, too!"
To Winter, it was as if time itself froze.
What did I just hear?
She slowly turned to Prompto; he was smiling and there was a small amount of pink in his cheeks.
"Wha-What?" she asked, still disbelieving the words that came out of his mouth.
"I like you, too! I mean... I know I never showed anything because I was scared that you didn't feel the same way and you know... your broth-HMPH."
Before Prompto could finish his sentence, he was cut off by Winter's lips on his own. Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, both youngsters were chest to chest. After about a second, when the shock faded away, Prompto's blue eyes closed and began to return the kiss. The blanket fluttered to the ground as Prompto wrapped his arms around Winter, bringing her even closer to him.
~
Click!
Noctis had his head peering out the small opening of the tent, along with his arm. In his hand, was his iPhone and on the screen was a zoomed-in picture of the kiss that was being shared between his two friends in the distance. The prince quietly snickered as went back in his tent... planning to save the picture for bribery and teasing against them both.
END