flamesburned | The Apartment Above the Photo Hut

Entry tags:

The Apartment Above the Photo Hut - Friday Morning

The last twenty four hours had been such a whirlwind - an amazing, wonderful whirlwind and Liz was still afraid that this was a dream, that she would wake up back in her room at Dr. Lecter’s and Prompto would be gone, still unaware that he was going to be a father.

After a while they found that they couldn’t stay awake and as nice as it was on the couch, the bed was much more comfortable and so they retreated to the bedroom with Prompto stopping to have a shower on the way before they both ended up in the bed. Liz had thought that she would never get to experience anything like this with Prompto again, she didn’t want to get her hopes up in case this was all just a very cruel dream.

For a long while they had just stayed there, not willing to let the other go or fall asleep but eventually Liz found herself falling asleep. She knew that it wasn’t realistic or healthy for her to stay awake, especially after the last few weeks of not sleeping properly but she was so afraid that she was dreaming this, that she wanted it so badly that she had started to dream that Prompto had returned to Fandom.

When Liz woke the next morning, she was expecting to wake up alone but then she felt Prompto move beside her, snuggled up against her and she had to stop herself from crying.

Everything was real.

She was with Prompto again.

[for Prompto who is modded with permission!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

And once sleep came for Prompto, it hit him like a truck, because forget about the last twenty-four hours; the last several days had been a whirlwind, the last week, from the moment Ignis got that vision and rallied them...all of them...together again. Add to that just the simple, warm comfort of being able to just wrap himself around Liz and the luxury of not having to sleep with one eye open because of the daemons...

...it had to have been years since Prompto had slept that well. And by the time he was starting to wake up, he fought against it, wanting to cling to the incredible dream he'd been having, where everything was finally over, and he'd gone back to Fandom, of all places, and it had miraculously only been a few short months, and Liz was still there, and the only thing that had really changed had been....

Groaning slightly against the impending wakefulness and the assured return to the nightmare that had been his life for the past ten years, Prompto found himself curling up around that dream, holding it tight, wanting to never let it go...and then he slowly realized that it wasn't just some ephemeral idea he was clinging to, but an actual physical presence. An actual Liz.

Needless to say, that jolted him awake with incredible effectiveness, even if he wasn't quite sure he was believing what he was seeing. What he was feeling.

"You're still here," he murmured, staring as if he thought, if he blinked, it would all disappear.

Or, more accurately, he supposed: "I'm still here."

In Fandom. With Liz. In their bedroom. Not a dream, an actual reality he could touch, he could see, he could smell...

Liz heard Prompto’s voice and turned to stare up at him, blinking back tears in her eyes when she heard his voice.

He was here, she was really here with him.

They were in the apartment together again.

“I’m here,” she said in a voice that was barely above a whisper, “I’m ...I’m here, you’re really here,”

The tears that she had tried to stop, started to fall as she smiled brightly at him.

"Hey, now," said Prompto, a sort-of laugh wrangled out of him, straight through the lump in his throat, his smile somewhat trembling, just like his hand, as he lifted it to Liz's cheek to gently brush away some of those tears, "come on. Don't do that. If you start crying, I'm going to start crying, and we'll all be crying, and then what?"

Yeah, it was already way too late for that. The tears that were gathering in Prompto's eyes clearly had no plans of staying there, which was fine, because they were just blurring his vision, anyway. And now that he didn't feel like the brightness of the entire world was trying to burn those eyes out, he just wanted to just look at Liz, look at her face, and just the fact that it was there, that thumb now brushing a little bit more than just tears, just because it was there and he could.

Liz started to laugh but it came out in a choked sob instead and she stared up at him, even just being able to feel a gesture like his thumb on her cheek … brushing away those tears. She had missed him so much, she had felt so alone and now all she wanted was to just be right next to Prompto, she was afraid to let him out of her sight.

“I love you so much,” Liz stared up at him, “I … I still can’t believe that we’re both here,” she told him softly, “I’ve missed this … missed us,”

"Missed you more," Prompto murmured, despite himself, somewhat teasing and wry, but he wasn't just being cheeky about it, he did have a timeline to back that up, but he also didn't really possess the kind of vocabulary to express more sincerely just how deep and unfathomable that longing had been, how desperately he'd tried to make some kind of connection, long after he knew it was hopeless, that he would never see her again, that Fandom was just forever going to be a figment of his halcyon past...

...and with all that flooding back to him as he looked at Liz, that thin line of humor began to waver with the release of a shaky breath, and then he leaned in to kiss her, a kiss that stood absolutely no chance of being anything but hungry and desperate, especially when his arm tightened around her to pull her in closer, closer, never close enough right now.

Liz couldn't help but smile back at that, remembering that there was now such a time difference between them and instead her eyes lit up when Prompto drew her closer to him and leaned into kiss her.

She happily let herself be drawn in closer as she leaned in to meet Prompto's kiss.

She still couldn't believe that this was happening.

And even though they'd made it through the night without having found themselves brutally thrown back into their tragically separate worlds, Prompto still wasn't sure this was real, and it showed, with the way he kissed Liz like he would never have the opportunity to do so again, like if he pulled away for anything longer than a breath, it would break the spell and everything would just vanish.

Eventually, the other thoughts would start to come in, the dizzying logistics, the questions of what he'd left behind, of what happened, of why he found himself back here, of Ignis and Gladio and Noctis and Eos....but, for now, in this moment it, it was just her and only her and his own desperate need for it to just stay this real.

Liz kissed him back just as hungrily, just as eagerly … she had long for this moment for so long and now that it was here, she wanted to savour it, she wanted to stay wrapped in his embrace and not let go.

She knew eventually they would have to break apart when a thing like breathing became a necessity but for now she wanted to keep that kiss going for as long as it was possible to do so.

Which meant that it was definitely going to go on like that for a while. Minutes? Hours? Days? Clearly, time was all relative now, anyway, just some amorphous blob that could now squeeze ten years into just a few short months, so why not weeks' worth of kissing and touching and clinging into a morning? They certainly had a lot to make up for.

But, eventually, mind even fuzzier about how long it had been than before, Prompto did pull away, with a shaking, shuddering breath, and he closed his eyes and just leaned his forehead against Liz's, still only moving enough to try and catch that breath, only to hold it again to see if it would all end.

But it didn't. He was still there. Liz was still there. Neither of them seemed to be going anywhere.

"S-sorry," he muttered softly, sincerely, though he wasn't entirely sure what he was apologizing for. For kissing her like that? For clinging? For the tears still his eyes, or for having left in the first place, for having returned like this, for having taken so long? He didn't know. Yes, probably, to all of it. "I just--"

But there were no words.

So he was sorry for that, too.

“It’s not your fault … you have nothing to apologise for,” Liz told him softly after they had pulled apart, she trembled, staring up at him as she did.

“You’re here … “ she repeated the words she had told him early, still not quite believing it, even after they had just spend all that time kissing and being in each other’s embrace, “you’re here, with me … I … I still can’t believe it …” she said softly.

“I … I don’t want this moment to end,” she said softly.

"Me, neither," Prompto admitted, like it was some big secret, smiling softly back at Liz, and taking advantage of just being able to look at her a little more, unnecessarily brushing a bit of hair away from her face, just as an excuse to touch it, to swoop his finger gently around her ear and bring it back along her chin. "It's perfect."

Well. He could probably do without the oppressive weight of dread for it ending that was heavy on his chest, but it was a very, very small price to pay.

He was also, in light of everything, starting to realize that he hadn't eaten in a while, there was a different kind of hunger starting to take over, but he'd happily put up with it right now, if only because it was serving as proof that this wasn't a dream, you didn't get hunger pangs in dreams...well, he supposed you could, but not like this, it grounded everything in reality in a way that he couldn't help but dare start to actually believe it.

Liz would have been content to just lay there, staring up at Prompto with a smile as he touched her hair, even though she was beginning to realise that she hadn’t eaten and she had missed dinner and then felt rather guilty as she realised that she had left yesterday without leaving any kind of note to where she was going.

She should really call Dr. Lecter to let him know that she was okay.

Her stomach rumbled loudly.

“Oh,” she started to blush a little, “I think I might be a bit hungry,” she admitted.

Hearing that rumble made Prompto laugh a little, though his eyes didn't stray away from Liz's face for even a second.

"I'm actually a lot hungry," he admitted, and, here came yet another thing to marvel at, swirling out of the whirlwind of thoughts just constantly churning in his brain right now, "and I'm not even eating for two."

It felt...weird to say it, honestly, because he still felt he couldn't be sure what was real and what was made-up, what existed in some sort of delirious dream state. Had he even been gone at all, when it felt like things were right back to where they were? Maybe some parts of last night had been imagined, including everything Liz had said about being pregnant. He hoped it wasn't, even though his mind started reeling whenever he tried to think about it for more than a second.

To be fair, his mind was kind of reeling about everything right now.

He gave Liz a smile.

"I'm so torn," he said. "Food would probably be good. Food would be smart."

And it would be real food, too, not just rations and hunted meat and fish, there would be fresh vegetables here, even fruit. It was September, there would be pumpkin spice everything at the coffee shop....oh, gods, pumpkin spice!

And now Prompto's stomach was responding in kind and he laughed again, mouth now as watery as his eyes.

"But I don't want to even move from this," he admitted, pulling Liz in again and shifting underneath her to increase the comfort of it all. "I just want to stay right here, like this, forever."

“I know,” Liz agreed with a smile as she made no effort to leave the bed, “it’s so nice just being here, like this …even though I know I do need to eat,” a hand went to her stomach just then.

Then she heard Prompto’s own stomach and her smile widened at that, a giggle of her own escaping.

She looked a little guilty, “I don’t have any food though that would qualify as a proper healthy breakfast,”

"Believe me," Prompto snorted faintly into Liz's hair as he nuzzled into it a little, "it'll still probably be better than half the stuff I've been eating for..." He trailed off, just for a moment. "...a while now."

But he did remember her telling him yesterday that she'd been staying at Dr. Lecter's place, so what she had here probably was equivalent to the 'not much at all' his diet had consisted of lately.

"Nice thing about Fandom, though," he mused, "is that there's never been a shortage of places to order from, right? Unless that's changed in the last...er, since I left."

Liz gave a soft murmur of contentment as Prompto nuzzled into her hair and she smiled up at him. “There’s still plenty of delivery options,” she assured him.

“Then we should definitely order a massive breakfast,” she considered what Prompto was telling her, wishing that her phone wasn’t all the way over on her nightstand.

It really wasn’t that far but it would still require moving away from Prompto and she really didn’t want to do that.

“I’ll have to go shopping and stock up the fridge and cupboard though at some point,” she realised.

Oh, gods, Prompto was going to get so sick from having so much food available, wasn't he?

But...well, it wasn't like he didn't know how to rein it in when he had to, and all the stuff he was really craving? All the stuff he hadn't really had in nearly ten years? Fresh stuff, vegetables and fruits, the kinds that didn't really do well in a harsh, sunless environment...were overall mostly good for you, anyway. With maybe one major exception.

"Oh, man," he said. "Can we order pizza? I can't even remember the last time I had pizza."

Then he laughed, as another thought came to him.

"Or Cup Noodle^TM! I'm pretty sure Gladio ate every last remaining Cup Noodle^TM by, like, year three, unless he was holding out on us with a secret supply somewhere, but, believe me, we looked."

There was going to be so much food.

Liz smiled at that, “how about we order both?” she suggested and then listened to that last part, “you mean Gladio’s gone seven years without Cup NoodleTM?” she blinked a bit at that.

“actually maybe we could order quite a few different dishes,” she was getting pretty hungry, she realised and she was beginning to hear Summer’s voice in her head about not eating properly and she felt guilty.

"Well, you know," said Prompto, a little quietly, "we've all had to make our sacrifices. It..."

He trailed off a little, that mirth that had been there just a second ago drained away, and he bit his lip. His fingers started to trail idly on Liz's arm, already wishing he hadn't said anything. Bringing down the mood like that. The last thing she probably wanted to hear about...the last thing he wanted to talk about was...any of that.

"...hasn't really been easy," he finished. He was quiet for another moment, before he sort of smiled, softly. "We've got time, though," he said, "to work through all the options, I'm sure. Let's get whatever you want. What's good, lately?"

“I’m sorry,” Liz said quietly, “that you all had to go through that,”

She wished she had been able to help more, she should have done more.

“Pizza does sound good,” she nodded, “I heard there’s a new owner, I haven’t met him yet,” she added.

“Maybe some pastries from the bakery as well? I’ve been really enjoying soft pretzels as well,” she admitted, “it’s been one of the foods I’ve been craving these last couple of months,”

"So it's true, what they say about cravings?" Prompto asked, letting a little bit of his amusement back in, along with a small shake of his head, because it was still a lot to wrap his head around, that Liz was actually going to have a baby...their baby. "I could definitely do some soft pretzels. Maybe a few cupcakes while we're at it."

His grin grew more sincerely.

"Pizza, pretzels, and cupcakes," he noted. "A true breakfast of champions!"

The long, sustained grumble of his stomach clearly agreed.

“I haven’t had too many cravings but soft pretzels is one of them, I actually discovered it by accident,” Liz admitted, “and I’ve been craving it ever since, well that and s’more soda,” she tilted her head a bit as she looked up at him.

She wondered if it was possible to reach for her phone without moving too much and while still staring up at Prompto she reached back towards the nightstand and fumbled for a bit before she got her phone.

She realised she had messages from Steven and Marc as she went to her door dash app to place an order. She would eventually reply but for now food was definitely the focus because her stomach was rumbling as well.

“Cupcakes, pretzels and pizza,” she smiled as she began to make the order, “is there any type of specific pizza that you’d like me to order?”

"Mmmmm," Prompto hummed a little thoughtfully, tempted to just say 'everything,' but, with a soft grin, decided, "Something with just a lot of veggies? And....this is probably going to sound crazy, but I'd kind of kill for a salad right now, too..."

“How about a supreme vegetarian pizza?” Liz suggested, “there seems to be a lot of good vegetable toppings,”

She looked at the menu, “and a salad does sound like a good idea,” she agreed, “I think I might order one as well,”

She had another look through the pizza, “pepperoni also sounds good,” she admitted

Which wasn’t really healthy for breakfast.

"Let's get one of those, too, then," said Prompto. "Why not? Leftover pizza just means we won't have to go out for food again quite as soon..."

And he didn't know how Liz felt about it, but he knew that he had absolute no intention of going anywhere else if he could help it for as long as he could manage it.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject