A/N: This was going to be a one-shot, but I lengthened it a bunch and made it more than a simple one-shot! Also, this idea came about because I sometimes got annoyed whenever Prompto would turn around in the front seat to kneel while talking to Noctis and Gladio, but that doesn't quite matter yet. You'll find out eventually, though! Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but this idea. Co-written with Milaya Milen Zeal.

Matchmaker

Chapter 1

Prompto sighed internally for what was probably the hundredth time as they got set up to go in Hammerhead, the Regalia now repaired, thanks to Cid, and ready to drive out to Galdin Quay. He was heavily regretting his decision to go with Noctis to see him to Altissia for his wedding with Lady Lunafreya, but he'd wanted to be a good friend. After all, it's hard to watch your best friend and the only person you love have to get married to someone else. Especially when it's due to a stupid treaty and there was nothing that could be done to stop it besides a war.

"Prompto, are you coming?" Ignis called from over near the Regalia. "We're getting ready to leave."

"Ah, okay, I'm coming!" the omega yelped, hurrying to join the beta from where he sat on a stack of tires near the convenience store. Gladio smirked as he came over.

"Spacing out again?" the alpha teased, and the blonde huffed.

"And if I was?"

"Leave him alone, Gladio. We need to get moving before the daemons come out," Noctis pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah," the brunette chuckled.

"Actually, before we go, I'm going to take Gladio with me to stock up on supplies, just in case," Ignis told the pair, and tugged Gladio after him, making Prompto quirk a brow in confusion.

"O…kay?" he uttered, before looking at Noctis, a false yet convincing grin in place. "So, any idea what Lady Lunafreya's dress looks like?"

Noctis snorted with a bemused smirk. "I'm not supposed to know, yet, remember?" he pointed out.

"True, but I'm sure it's gonna be good," the blonde agreed. "Are you ready for the big leap into marriage?"

Noctis sighed as he crossed his arms over his chest. "As ready as I'll ever be, I guess…"

"Yeah, I hear ya," Prompto nodded. Before either could speak further on the matter, however, Ignis and Gladio returned, and Prompto caught a flash of a smirk on Gladio's face before it was gone.

"Ready to go?" Ignis inquired, heading to the driver's seat of the Regalia. However, instead of Gladio getting in the back behind the front passenger seat, he got in behind Ignis, confusing both Noctis and Prompto.

"I thought you needed the leg room, Gladio," the omega frowned as he got into the front passenger seat.

"Eh, I'll get it back once we get to Altissia," the brunette shrugged. This left Noctis to sit behind Prompto, which was different.

"So what's all this about?" Noctis asked as he settled in his new seat.

"Nothing, really," Ignis replied.

"Figured you deserve some legroom for a while," Gladio added. Prompto mentally frowned, wondering what the pair was up to, but with no real proof, he couldn't outright accuse them of anything.

"Since we have the time before the daemons come out, we'll go to Galdin Quay now, and rest for the night there before catching the ferry in the morning," Ignis announced, and Prompto nodded, feeling a slight tightness in his chest at the thought of things ending so soon.

"Fine…" Noctis sighed out, crossing his arms as he leaned back, stretching out his legs. And with everyone settled, Ignis started the ignition, before taking off the parking brake and putting the Regalia in drive and pulling away from Hammerhead and off to Galdin Quay.

As they drove, Prompto couldn't help but think about what his plans would be after the wedding. He honestly wasn't entirely certain if he would be able to bear attending the wedding ceremony. He wanted to support Noctis like he should as his best friend, but felt he may just have to return to Insomnia early after they get to Altissia. After all, a broken heart won't do him any good when he's forced to watch the man he loves get married to someone else.

Ignis occasionally glanced at the omega out of the corner of his eye as he drove, having a strong feeling that he knew what the gunner was thinking about. He had taken notice of Prompto's behavior around Noctis over the past few years, and knew that with how close he was to the prince, he was in love with Noctis. And the sandy blonde knew for a fact that Noctis love Prompto, thanks to the alpha's frequent venting back when the treaty had been proposed. This, along with the fact that Noctis only saw Lunafreya as a sister than a love interest thanks to their time spent together as children, made Ignis determined to see Noctis happy with Prompto. Hence his plan to recruit Gladio and have the large alpha help him in getting the two best friends together. Besides, the beta had a strong, nasty feeling that the treaty wasn't going to hold, so he wanted the prince happy regardless.

When they arrived in Galdin Quay, it was dusk, and the sun had almost fully disappeared beneath the horizon, and Prompto groaned as he climbed out of his seat, stretching his arms over his head and popping his joints in the process.

"Geez, who knew a car ride could tire you out?" he laughed.

"Yeah," Noctis groaned as he stretched out. "Nrgh…! I just wanna flop onto a hotel bed."

"Whew! Cannonball for me," the blonde agreed as he lowered his arms.

"You'll get your chance soon enough. We just need to check in," Ignis told them, and Gladio grunted as he climbed out of his seat.

"Then let's get going. Besides, once we're in a room, we'll all order room service," he said. "After all, I think we're a bit too tired to deal with restaurant staff right now."

"True," Prompto nodded, and then the four friends headed to the hotel, where Ignis got them their room.

"There's a slight problem, but it should be fine," Ignis told them. "It seems they only had two singles available, and no doubles. So we'll have to split into two rooms for the night."

"Guess it's you two in one while Iggy and I take the other," Gladio shrugged, looking at Noctis and Prompto. The blonde nodded, despite his nerves.

"Works for me," Noctis said with a shrug. With that agreed upon, Ignis handed Noctis the appropriate room key, and Prompto followed after his best friend, praying to the Astrals that he wouldn't do anything stupid, especially in his sleep. Once they were alone in the room, Prompto sighed internally yet again. He was really going to have to fake it to make it tonight if he wanted the raven to believe he was okay.

"Mind if I take a shower? Feeling kinda gross after those hunts Cindy had us do while we were waiting on the Regalia's repair," the smaller male said, hoping a shower would help with tonight.

Noctis chuckled. "Go ahead; knock yourself out. Just don't use up all the hot water."

"Why, I would never!" Prompto gasped, falsely affronted, before laughing as he grabbed a change of clothes and headed to the bathroom. Once he was inside and had locked the door, he stripped before stepping into the shower with the hot water immediately relaxing his sore muscles. He cleaned himself up, and as he finished rinsing off the last of the suds from his body, his thoughts trailed to Noctis. He wished that things were different, that he could be with the prince, and that Noctis didn't have to marry Lunafreya.

'I always bring it on myself…' he thought in a grumble, lightly banging his forehead against the shower wall in frustration as his depression crept back into his mind. He managed to chase it off somehow, before finishing up his shower and wrapping a towel around his waist and stepping out into the bedroom with his change of clothes.

"Your turn, buddy," he called to the alpha.

Noctis looked up from messing with his phone, before he nodded and stood up, grabbing his own change of clothes. "Right, thanks," he said as he walked by—ruffling the blonde's soaked hair as he went.

As soon as the door was shut and the water started running, the omega gave the tiniest of whimpers, knowing that that touch had been only as friends, nothing more. Quietly, the blonde dried off and got dressed in his t-shirt and boxer briefs, before crawling into the bed they were to share, his appetite definitely gone. If he was being honest with himself, he felt sick to his stomach at the situation he was in. Sighing quietly, he curled into a ball and closed his eyes, hoping tomorrow would be a little bit better.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

By the time Noctis finished up and walked into the room, still toweling off his hair, it took him a few moments to spot Prompto, since the blonde was curled up under the blankets. For a moment, the alpha watched him, before he snorted softly with a smirk on his face as he walked over. As he dropped himself down on the bed, he quietly watched the sleeping blonde.

With a heavy sigh, he reached over and tugged some of his blonde hair out of his face. 'It's so soft…' he thought with a small smile, lightly moving his finger along the blonde's forehead. However, he forced himself to pull away, sighing softly. 'If only things were different…'

After tossing the towel on the nearby chair, Noctis settled down on the bed under the blankets. 'No point in fussing about it… It ends tomorrow, anyway…'

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

When morning came, Prompto woke first, unsurprisingly, and he sat up slowly, remembering Noctis was in the same bed, the blonde's back to him. For a bit, he watched the taller male sleep peacefully, before biting his lip as he looked away.

'He'd never want me in that way, anyway…' he thought miserably. 'Not a chance…'

Then there was a knock at the door.

"Prompto? Noctis?" Ignis's voice called.

"I'm up, Ignis," the blonde called back. "Noct ain't yet, though."

"Not surprising," the beta sighed. "Would you please wake him? Once you're both quite ready, we'll go to the ferry."

"I'm on it," the omega agreed, before placing his hand on Noctis's shoulder and gently shaking him. "Noct, Iggy says it's time to get up. Otherwise we'll miss the ferry."

"Nnnrgh…fiiiiiine…" Noctis whined as he rubbed at his eyes. This drew a light laugh from the smaller male.

"You act like you never get enough sleep," he teased.

"Feels like it…" the alpha groaned as he sat up and moved to get changed. Prompto copied him, sliding out of the bed and getting dressed as well, making sure to take his suppressant pill before they left. Once the pair was dressed, they headed out of the room to rejoin Ignis and Gladio.

"Morning, you two," the brunette greeted.

"Mornin'," Prompto smiled back lazily. "So, we're heading to the ferry, right?"

"Yeah, may as well get a move on," Noctis agreed.

As they began to head for the ferry, though, someone spoke up to them. "I'm afraid you're out of luck…"

Noctis frowned as he turned to face the maroon-haired man that had just stepped up to them. "Are we?"

The man gestured in the direction of the pier. "The boats bring you here…but they'll not take you further…"

Prompto didn't say anything, as the strange alpha just oozed a bad feeling from him, and he instinctively stepped back so he was partially hidden by Noctis.

"And what's your story?" Gladio growled.

"I'm just an impatient traveler," the man said after scratching the back of his head and began to walk away. "Ready to turn ship." As he walked past them, he murmured, "This ceasefire is getting us nowhere…" right before he turned and flicked some sort of object at Noctis. Gladio caught it, however, as Noctis flinched slightly.

"What's this? Some sort of souvenir?" the brunette snorted.

"Consider it your 'allowance'," the man said with a vague smile.

"Yeah? And who's allowing us?" the shield retorted.

"A man of no consequence," the stranger said with a half shrug before he turned and left without another word. Prompto tensed as the strange alpha's gaze locked with his briefly as he left, a nearly silent whimper escaping him once he was gone.

Noctis was frowning openly after the man, before he turned to Prompto. "You okay?"

"Y…yeah… That guy just really weirded me out," the omega muttered.

"Perhaps we should check into the boat situation," Ignis suggested.

"Yeah…" the prince agreed, starting to get a little worried.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

The following morning, Prompto sat in his and Noctis's hotel room with the prince and Gladio, waiting for Ignis to return so they could leave on the boat Dino had promised them for helping him get the stone he wanted for his jewelry. The blonde was anxious, wondering why the boats weren't taking anyone to Altissia, when Ignis returned, holding a newspaper with a concerned look on his face.

"…What's that look for?" Noctis asked when he caught the look. Instead of answering, the beta handed Gladio the newspaper.

"It's in all the papers," he murmured.

"What is?" the prince nearly demanded, growing annoyed with his advisor's evasion. Prompto stood up, and looked at the headline, his eyes wide as he read it aloud.

"'Insomnia…falls'?" he read.

"Wha…!?" Noctis choked out, his eyes wide in alarm, before the anger set in. "Is this your idea of a joke?!"

"I need you to calm down so I can explain," Ignis told the raven.

"I'm as calm as I'm gonna get!" Noctis almost shouted.

"There was an attack. The imperial army has taken the Crown City," Ignis informed them all, looking at Noctis.

"'As treaty room tempers flared, blasts lit the night sky,'" Gladio read from the paper. "'When the smoke about the Citadel had cleared, the King was found…dead.'"

"No, wait, hold on…" Noctis got out, almost choking on his own words. Prompto watched helplessly, worried for his best friend.

"We had no way of knowing," Ignis sighed.

"What? Knowing what?!" Noctis demanded.

"That the signing was last night, that Insomnia—"

"But the wedding! Altissia!" At the reminder, Prompto almost visibly flinched out of Noctis's view.

"I know, that was the plan," the sandy blonde frowned. "Yet the reports of the invasion are all the same. How could every headline in the kingdom be wrong?"

Noctis looked like he wanted to object further, but it was clear that the entire situation was now beginning to sink in with him and it turned his angered frown into an almost agonized one. "…Lies," he managed to get out, not wanting to believe that his father was…dead.

"…If only," Prompto mumbled.

"What else do we know?" Gladio asked Ignis, but the beta shook his head. "Then we can't be sure until we see it with our own eyes."

"And that means we go back to Insomnia," the omega murmured.

"Might not be safe for us there," Ignis tried to argue.

"Might not be safe for us here!" Prompto retorted. After a tense moment, Gladio looked to Noctis.

"Turn back?" he questioned.

Noctis looked over to his friends for a long moment, seeming to consider, before he said heavily, "Yeah…"

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

This led to the four friends fighting Magitek troopers as they climbed their way to the top of the hill overlooking their home. Prompto fired away at the armored soldiers, aiding the others as they fought with their own weapons. And then they arrived at the hill, seeing the smoke still rising from the Crown City. They listened to the newscaster on Gladio's phone as they looked.

"As to ceasefire discussions between the two nations, all provisional terms have been suspended in light of recent developments," the reporter's voice said from the device. "Moreover, in the wake of the news of King Regis's death, we've now received word that Crown Prince Noctis and the Oracle Lunafreya have also been pronounced dead."

"Keep it on," Ignis told the taller alpha firmly as Prompto listened quietly. As Gladio tried to up the sound, though, the item slipped from his fingers.

"Don't bother!" Noctis almost shouted when Gladio moved to pick it up, the anger obvious in his voice alone. Ignis handed the brunette his phone wordlessly as Noctis made a call on his phone while air ships from the Imperial Army flew overhead.

After several long moments, the line finally connected. "H-hello? Cor?" When he lifted his head as Cor responded, his anger began to bleed into his voice once again. "The hell's going on?!" he demanded as he walked a little further away. "…Outside the city, with no way back in," he said, probably in response to Cor's question about his location.

There was only a brief pause before Noctis ground his teeth together and almost shouted into his phone, "'Makes sense'?! Are you serious!? What about ANY of this makes sense!? The news just told me I'm dead—along with my father and Luna!"

The marshal said something on the other end that made Noctis growl in annoyance…but that was before his eyes widened in shock and he gasped for breath, whirling back around to face the city. Prompto wanted to comfort his best friend somehow, but refrained from getting closer so as not to upset him further.

After what felt like forever, Noctis finally got out a shaky "…Right…" before he lowered his arm to let it hang by his side.

"What did the marshal…have to say?" Ignis asked quietly.

"…Said he'd be in Hammerhead…" Noctis said slowly.

"And the king?" Gladio questioned. The alpha didn't say anything in response; he merely hung his head as he bit his lip, his shoulders trembling subtly. This time, Prompto couldn't help but at least place a hand on Noctis's shoulder, reminding him that they were here for him.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

After going to Hammerhead, Cid pointed them in Cor's direction, which was at the Tomb of the Wise near a Hunter's post nearby. When they got to the tomb, the door was open already, and they found Cor inside, waiting for them. After some explanation, the friends knew they had to find all of the royal tombs so Noctis could gain the appropriate power from the royal arms inside of them to overthrow and defeat the Empire.

Cor escorted them to the next tomb, where he then split off to do some looking into on some other Empire-related things, and the group was quick to recover the second royal arm. Upon emerging from the daemon-infested cave, Prompto sighed in relief once they were out in the sunshine again.

"Have I ever mentioned how great the sun feels?" he smiled slightly.

Noctis chuckled softly at the response as he stepped outside…before his phone went off suddenly. "Yeah?" he said in response once he picked up.

Prompto tried to listen in, but soon enough, the alpha hung up, and the blonde asked, "Was that Cor? What'd he say?"

"Ah, we got people to see…bases to burn," Noctis said absently with a shrug. "Let's go see Monica at the outpost."

"Right," Gladio nodded, and then the friends learned the details of their next job. And they successfully destroyed the base, Cor splitting off once again after the defeat of Loqi.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Soon enough, the group found themselves at a rest area, where Prompto immediately got excited upon seeing the Chocobo Post sign.

"Noct, there's Chocobos! Can we PLEASE go? Iris won't mind waiting, I'm sure of it!" he pleaded the alpha with puppy dog eyes.

Noctis laughed at the blonde's enthusiasm despite his own mood. "Yeah, sure, let's go."

"Woohoo!" the omega crowed enthusiastically. Even Gladio eased up this time, deciding to go with it so as not to cause tension. He knew Iris would be able to wait patiently. They purchased some potions while there, and then drove off to Wiz Chocobo Post, where Prompto was quick to hop out of the Regalia in excitement.

"Kid's got it bad," Gladio commented as he climbed out from behind Ignis.

"There are worse vices, I suppose," the beta chuckled slightly. Prompto led the way over to the owner of the Chocobo Post, Wiz, and smiled brightly at his friends before turning to Wiz.

"'Scuse me. We'd like to ride the Chocobos," he told the older beta politely.

"The Chocobos, huh?" Wiz said. "I hate to break this to ya'll, but we can't permit our birds to leave the post. Not while Deadeye's still about. He's an uncommonly ferocious behemoth that's taken to prowling these parts of late. His scent makes our birds nervous, an' to prevent accidents an' tragedies, we have no choice but to suspend rentals." He then perked up as he looked at the group. "But hold on now—ain't you lads the hunters that've been makin' a mark? You reckon you could handle the likes of Deadeye?"

"Come on, Noct, we should do it!" Prompto urged, looking at the alpha. "Besides, it's not fair to the Chocobos that they're stuck here while Deadeye's out and about."

Frowning at the news, Noctis considered it for a moment. But when he took one look at Prompto's face, he cracked. What was he gonna do when Prompto was looking at him like that?

"Yeah, let's do it."

"Yes!" the blonde grinned, and they took on the job before setting out on foot to find Deadeye's lair. They found the area pretty easily, surprisingly, thanks to Deadeye practically leading them there. And when they tracked him down to the very depths, Prompto noticed something interesting, which also caught Ignis's eye as well.

"Seems there's barrels here with old fuel inside," he commented.

"Noct, you can use a Fire spell and make them blow up when Deadeye gets close!" Prompto added, and Gladio grunted his approval.

"Good thinking. Should make quick work of the damn beast," he nodded.

"Got it," Noctis murmured. They headed in, and sure enough, Deadeye spotted them, leaping down to attack them with a roar. Prompto prepared himself, just in case the spell missed, and then fired his first shot at Deadeye, immediately drawing the behemoth's attention to him with a snarl.

"Shit…!" he hissed, before quickly aiming and firing several more shots, but they didn't seem to be doing much.

"Prompto!" Noctis shouted, fire coiling around his arm before he threw it forward. As the fire bit into the barrel, it detonated with a massive explosion, throwing the massive Behemoth backward and away from the blonde. After breathing in relief, he rushed for Prompto's side and helped him up to his feet.

"Th-thanks," the omega stammered, accepting the help. Ignis and Gladio rushed over as well, Gladio's broadsword braced on his shoulder.

"Are you quite all right?" Ignis asked.

"Yeah, just a bit shook up, is all," the blonde replied, before looking at Noctis. "Thanks again. Damn thing nearly had me. Dunno why my bullets didn't do much, though…"

"Probably resistant to firearms," Gladio answered, before looking to Deadeye. "Seems that did it. Good work, Noct."

"Thanks… Let's get to Wiz and let 'im know it's over."

The other three nodded their agreement, and then returned back to the Chocobo Post, where they reported to Wiz.

"You boys did it!" Wiz grinned when they reported in. "On behalf of the locals, I give you my heartfelt thanks."

"So, about the Chocobos…" Prompto began, trailing off. One could easily see the excited tension as he resisted the urge to crow his eagerness.

"Our birds are at your disposal," the beta chuckled. "You can rent them anytime you like."

"Whoop!" the omega cheered, looking at Noctis with a pleased grin. "Let's set up for rentals so we can ride anytime!"

The raven laughed at the words. "Well you're excited," he teased.

"Oh come on, who wouldn't be?" Prompto replied, sticking out his tongue childishly.

Smirking, Noctis pointed out, "You should be more careful before something snags it."

This drew a blush to the blonde's cheeks, and he couldn't help but think he'd want Noctis to be the one who 'snagged' it. "Hush," he mumbled, looking away in embarrassment.

"Well, like Prompto suggested, it would be wise to purchase a week's worth of rentals for the time being, just in case," Ignis advised. "Once you do that, Noct, we'll head out to Lestallum."

"Actually, the sun's starting to set," Gladio pointed out. "Maybe we should camp for the night."

"Wouldn't it be easier to get the caravan?" Noctis pointed out, gesturing for said caravan. "It's closer."

"In that case, Gladio and I can camp, while you two take the caravan," the sandy blonde retorted.

"Really? I'll take a bed over the hard ground any day," Prompto agreed with a smile.

"Then that's settled. Feel free to get some dinner here, but just don't order too much," Gladio warned.

"Yeah, yeah, otherwise the food coma hits," Prompto snickered. "Thanks, guys! See you tomorrow!" And with that, the shield and advisor left, riding their new Chocobos out to the nearest campsite. "Ready to rumble, Noct?" the omega asked his best friend suddenly, giving him a sly smirk.

Noctis blinked once, a bit confused, before he caught on and smirked. "In King's Knight? Hell yeah."

"Sweet!" Prompto grinned. "Then let's grab some food and take it to the caravan, and we'll get our game on!" With that said, the omega led the alpha off to get their dinners, before they retired to the caravan for the night, where they ate and played King's Knight until they fell asleep in the same bed.

X*X(With Ignis & Gladio)X*X

"You sure this plan of yours is gonna work?" Gladio asked as he and Ignis ate their dinner of cup noodles with behemoth meat in it, per the alpha's request.

"Undoubtedly. I know of Noct's feelings for Prompto from during the treaty setup, and I'm fully aware that Prompto's trying to hide his own feelings for Noct, based off of his behavior around him," Ignis replied coolly. "This treaty did not help things one bit, and has made quite a mess of everything, but I'm certain Noct will still end up finding true happiness with Prompto as his omega."

"Have you considered the possibility of Prompto running out of suppressants before then?" Gladio questioned.

"That won't be an issue. They will end up together before then," the beta smirked confidently. "After all, with these moments of them getting to be alone together, it won't take much more until the final step before they confess."

"And Noct ends up screwing Prompto's brains out when it does happen," the alpha snorted into his cup.

"Whatever the outcome, as long as they are together," Ignis chuckled. And with that settled, the pair fell into a companionable silence once more before going to sleep when they finished their meals.