Chapter Text
Being the literal God of Death meant that Noctis didn't have paperwork to do- because if he did, he would push them over to his Advisor, Ignis, whose entire job was to do Noctis' paperwork. It would be an understatement to say that he was surprised when Ignis dropped a rumpled Soul Acquisition form on his breakfast table.
"What," Noctis asked slowly, "is this?"
Ignis raised an eyebrow at him, but Noctis knew him well enough to tell there was a hint of humour in Ignis' expression.
"A Soul Acquisition form." he said blithely.
"I can read. Why is it being brought to me?"
"The other Grim Reapers all seem to have reported some... ah, difficulty... in acquiring this particular soul, Your Majesty."
"So bring it up the chain of command."
"It has." Ignis paused. "You're the last on the chain of command."
Noctis put down his butter knife and leafed through the Soul Acquisition form. Ignis was right, the soul was first assigned to an Apprentice as usual, and then it just kept being reassigned. Unable to carry out task , read a hasty note. Soul could not be acquired , read another. All unhelpful as to why .
He hasn't gone to the Above in... decades, probably. The very last time he ventured into the Above for something as mundane as Soul Acquisition was when the humans started dying in tens of thousands and his department had to work around-the-clock and then still couldn't keep up with all the souls to be reaped.
Nevertheless, it might be nice to have a change of pace.
Noctis stepped out of the shadows and into the windy cold chill of a spring night. He was on a rooftop somewhat away from the city, the twinkling urban lights distant and lonely. He could feel the soul immediately, fragile but strong. It was disconcerting.
"Oh hi!" chirped a happy voice.
Noctis was surprised. Humans don't usually notice Grim Reapers at all, and the ones that do are so close to death they've pretty much detached themselves from the physical plane.
The human was waving at him excitedly, beckoning him closer. This was extremely suspicious human behaviour, but Noctis moved forward anyway. After all, what’s the worst a human could possibly do to the God of Death?
"Oh you're a new one!"
Noctis blinked. "I'm a what now?"
"A new one. Oh sorry, I meant I was expecting Cor to show up since he's the one who's been coming to see me. Anyway, I'm Prompto!" The human stuck a hand into Noctis' face.
"Are you saying that Cor- among others- have been visiting you... casually?" Noctis asked, keeping his tone light, even though he's already thinking of calling a disciplinary meeting to get to the bottom of this. And from Cor, of all people!
The human, Prompto, grinned. At least he had the decency to look sheepish and take his hand back. "Yeah, it's pretty nice. They don't stay very often though. And after a while they never come and visit anymore. But then they always send someone else to come, so I guess they're just busy."
"Look, do you even know what we are?"
"Yeah, I got quite a shock the first time one of you showed up in the whole black cape outfit." Prompto laughed. Laughed! "It was a little girl named Iris! She said I was her first actual mission, she was so excited about it too. She explained the whole Grim Reaper situation to me."
Noctis made another mental note- Iris probably meant Gladiolus' sister, since she recently made the promotion from Novice to Apprentice. Gladio wouldn't shut up about how proud he is of her. Still, telling humans about "the whole Grim Reaper situation" was not protocol.
"Hey so I know this is a little weird for you, but like... Do you wanna go play at the arcade or something?" Prompto asked shyly.
Noctis sighed. He would be lying if he said he wasn't intrigued by the human. Plus, if it helps him get to the bottom of this… "Sure."
"Okay! Oh and uh," Prompto stopped shyly as he reached the rooftop door, getting ready to head down, "Can you do the thing so other people can see you? Nyx didn't, so the whole time it looked like I was talking to myself and I've literally never been able to go back to that pizzeria again."
Noctis could only stare as the flash of blond hair disappeared past the door.
Noctis shook out his black cape and spelled himself to be visible. It was absolutely ridiculous, really, that he was even going along with the human's plans. He was just here to pick up the soul. Yet this particular human has been resistant to all attempts at soul acquisition, so perhaps this case should be observed for just a bit more. Besides, it has been so long since he's been up at the Above.
Prompto was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs, flashing Noctis a giant grin when he appeared. "Okay so do you want to eat first or arcade first? Actually, let's hit up the arcade, we can work up an appetite that way."
Prompto turned on his heel and walked towards the city, fully expecting Noctis to follow along. Noctis wasn't entirely sure if he was mildly insulted or strangely amused, so he settled for the latter. Prompto chattered happily away about the latest game at the arcade and how he's so excited to try to beat his own high score again.
Noctis listened to Prompto idly, while he was mostly focused on taking in the sights and sounds of the world Above. The night was at its darkest, yet the whole place pulsed with life. Neon lights flickered, bathing everyone in unnatural colors. Cheers and raucous laughter punctured the buzzing silence of the night. Once in a while they would pass by small food stalls selling questionable-looking meats that smelled delicious. Noctis soaked it all in. It was truly a far cry from when he was last here, surrounded by a plague of death.
"We're here!" Prompto said cheerfully, ushering Noctis into the arcade flashing its games aggressively, the deafening discordant sounds making it hard to think, let alone hear anything. Prompto shoved a few plastic arcade tokens into Noctis' hands in a clear attempt to make Noctis pick a game- any game.
He probably didn't expect Noctis to pick a fishing game, complete with plastic reel and tinny music.
"Are you for real?" Prompto asked, as Noctis complained a third time about how the game was wrong and completely different from the actual fishing experience.
It turns out that Noctis enjoyed first person shooters significantly more than arcade fishing games, even if he claimed that the fake gun was an irresponsible representation of real guns. He still ended up climbing up the scoreboard with Prompto, though apparently the blonde was the undefeated champion in solo games.
Still cheery from their high score, the pair stepped out of the arcade and into the cold quiet street, their ears buzzing from the sudden absence of sounds.
"How about that dinner now?" Prompto laughed breathlessly, already strolling away. Noctis followed, a surprising warmth settling within him. It has been too long.
Prompto brought him to a diner called Kenny Crow's, claiming that it's one of the best places for a true Insomnia experience. They flopped into a booth at the far end of the restaurant with their greasy burger and fries, while Prompto recounted the whole arcade experience in joy.
"Hey, so I still don't know your name." Prompto said in between mouthfuls of fries.
"...I'm Noctis."
"Cool, nice to meet you for real this time, Noctis! If you don't mind me asking, how do you like being... you know... a grim reaper?"
Noctis chewed on his burger slowly. It was an odd question, but Prompto was an oddity all on his own, so Noctis just accepted it. "How do I like being a grim reaper? Well... it just... is."
Prompto leaned over the table, whispering conspiratorially, "How many souls have you like... reaped?"
Noctis blinked. "Oh, you mean soul acquisition? To be honest, I don't do that anymore. There are other reapers to do that. You're actually a special case, which is why I'm here."
Prompto's eyes widened. "You don't? What do you do then?" he asked excitedly, sidestepping the fact that Noctis just told him that he's a case . A special case.
"A little bit of this and that... A lot of traffic control, actually. It's mainly logistics. Trying to not let the souls get eaten up by the Scourge. Keeping The Wall up." Noctis shrugged, not expecting Prompto to keep up.
Instead, the blonde nodded sagely. "So you don't come up here often?"
"No, not really. This is the first time in... about a century, really."
Prompto whistled lowly. "I can't ever imagine being alive that long."
Noctis glanced at Prompto, but the other boy was already picking up his tray and walking away.
They made their way back to the rooftop of Prompto's apartment, sharing a companionable silence. The night had ended its sleep, the world on the brink of rousing. Pre-dawn creeped around the horizon.
It was time for Noctis to go. He, too, had failed to reap Prompto's soul, but he wasn't particularly worried about it. He had a few things he needed to do back in the Below.
Prompto sat on the edge of the rooftop, swinging his legs recklessly, peering at the pavement below him. "Hey, Noctis?" he asked in a voice tinged with emotion.
Noctis hummed non-committedly, turning his gaze to the visibly nervous boy.
"I really had fun tonight. Will you come back to see me? Please?"
Noctis hesitated. He took another look at Prompto, who looked so small hunched over in the light of the dawn, and stepped back into the shadows where he belonged.