The Mishaps of the Chocobros

Picture Perfect

"Iggy! Can we stop here for a tiny second, I can't miss this photo op!" He bounced excitedly in his seat, nearly hanging out of the car as he tried to show the strategist the spot he was referring to (of course ignoring the warnings of, "You're going to fall out of the car, Prompto!")

Who could blame him though? He was too excited, it was the background he had only dreamed of capturing for the longest time.

As soon as the austere man parked the car on the side of the road, the freckled ray of sunshine bounded out of the car and raced down to the site before his friends.

"Damn, I must say, you've got an eye for nice sights." Gladio complemented the blonde, who barely registered the compliment trying to get the perfect shot of the sunset from the overlook. 

"Guys come here and pose, will you! The lighting's perfect here!" Prompto yelled at the others, gesturing frantically towards the spot he wanted them to stand by. "Hurry hurry, I want to get this pose perfect before we go."

"Alright Prom, chill out for a second." Noctis grumbled, but he couldn't help but smile like a dork at his best friend; his excitement was contagious and he felt energized.

Ignis was the first to amble up the rock, poised and elegant as he stood in front of the camera, followed by Gladio and Noctis, and the three of them posed as Prompto stood behind the camera. He couldn't help but feel slightly jealous; all of them looked effortlessly handsome just standing there and he didn't want to ruin the shot with him standing there.

"Say cheese!" The shutter clicked as the three men stood against the picturesque backdrop.

"Prompto, you have to be a part of the photo too!" Noctis demanded, walking towards the photographer and dragging him back to the others. "No way! I like it, here!" He showed him the photo, but Noctis shook his head.

"I like pictures when all four of us are in them." Ignis and Gladio nodded in agreement at the statement.

Prompto's heart swelled in his chest, his eyes glazed over as he looked at his three companions. He refused to cry, but it didn't mean that he wasn't touched. The past couple days were rough, going back and forth between soaring confidence and crippling self-doubt. He didn't want to slow the party down with tending to his problems, so he kept to himself.

Prompto didn't think his friend had any idea how much that statement meant to him. Unbeknownst to the chocobo, Ignis noticed this and tried to help the sharpshooter in small ways, such as making him his favorite meals to make him feel better to throwing him small compliments on his fighting skills here and there.

He turned the camera to face himself and the others, to take a selfie of the overpass and smiled wide for the camera.

"Cheese!" He cheered as the shutter clicked, the others not fully ready. He laughed as the others complained that they weren't ready, and waited as the picture showed up on the tiny screen.

The picture was not perfect by anyone's standards; the background was slightly blurry, Noctis's candid face hilariously unprepared, Ignis caught mid-sneeze and Gladio being, well, Gladio. But as the others crowded around him, jovially joking around and laughing at Noct's expression (much to the crown prince's chagrin), he couldn't have taken a better picture.

In fact, he could say it was the best picture he had ever taken.