The aroma of fresh onions fills your tiny apartment as Noctis stands beside you in the kitchen. Dinner parties at your place had been a tradition since high school. It was only recently that Prompto stopped attending, fed up watching Noctis tiptoe around his feelings for you. Now that you were both adults, it was inevitable that your lives would start diverging, and there was a time limit for how long he could keep stalling.

Noctis watches with a small smile as the glow from the stove light softens your features. Your apartment is small but homely, and every time you move, your elbow brushes his. For years, he’d carried a torch for you, afraid to broach the boundary of friendship. He wonders if tonight was finally the night he’d tell you. “You know,” he says, voice steady despite the rapid beat of his heart, “I like our dinner parties. Even though you use too many vegetables.”