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[ 1 | Like a week before everyone finds out they're going to Jhashch:]

hey, what kind of stuff have you guys seen? anything photo worthy?? i wanna see your pics!

[ 2 | And like an hour later, he adds another message. Yes, these are technically separate posts.]

quick question!!
where are you guys from?
bonus points if it isn't earth (but earth is ok too obv!)

[ 3 | And then again, though this one is at least a few days later:]

ssssssssooo
informal poll time!
is it normal for people not to remember joining cost
i mean like
do you remember?

jw bc i've met a LOT of people who don't remember

[ 4 | And at some even later point:]

OMG LOOK

[ATTACHMENT: LOOK.png] [Pretend the background to that photo is more BASE appropriate.]

SHE'S SO CUTE
WHAT DO I DO???>>
😩😩😩😩
someone help how do you take care of a chocobo in omnispace

[I'm sorry for everything.]

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[He starts, glancing back at the screen and then at Rey, before he remembers they don't actually speak the same language. He winces.]

My bad. Kind of hard to remember when it sounds like we all speak the same language.

[And the network auto-translates.]

But ok, pizza, that's doable. [A beat.] Kind of. Do you have cheese where you're from?

I haven't had it, but I know what it is. [And it would probably be good to get this out of the way now, so-] Jakku is a desert planet and there wasn't any natural food, so I lived on prepackaged rations. They're a lot like the protein bars here, actually.

[Which is why you'll never catch her complaining about the food on BASE. As she explains she digs into the satchel at her hip, pulls out a small handful of blink flowers, boiled like instructed, and she holds them out in the palm of her hand to Prompto, not the chocobo.

A good dad taste tests first, plus she figures he might not appreciate her just stuffing his new baby with unknown food without asking.]

So, a pizza is cheese?

Ohhh. [That sounds...shitty.] Man, I wonder if the droids can make a passable pizza? It won't be the same, but maybe it'll be close enough.

[He keeps chattering as he takes the flowers, faintly recognizing them from the database. He tries to remember what, exactly, it said about them—something about berries?—but it doesn't actually occur to him to try eating one just yet. He's still operating in "don't eat the weird plants because you gave yourself amnesia" mode.]

But it's more like a pizza has the cheese! It's sort of a flat bread— [he makes a motion with his hand not occupied by flowers, like it'll somehow allow him to convey a pizza's shape] —with sauce and cheese on top. And then you can put toppings on that! Like meat and veggies.

[Prompto please, she wouldn't give you toxic things she hadn't already made sure were safe. Just for a demonstration of the fact she takes one of the flowers and goes ahead and eats it first, lets him see how it has no effect on her. Totally safe.

The more he explains the wider her eyes get, though, because-]

One food has all of that? That seems a little excessive.

[She looks like she loves it.]

[It says more about him than it does her... But his eyebrows go up when she eats it and, honestly, that is more than good enough for him. He tries one himself and, ok, these are actually pretty awesome? He crouches down and beckons the chocochick over, from where she's mulling over a plate (inasmuch as a chocochick can mull over anything).]

Dude, you have no idea. [He says that with a grin up at Rey.] You can get double cheese pizzas. And deluxe. Can't forget about deluxe. Or custom pizzas! We're definitely gonna have to get one of the droids to make an attempt.

[The chocochick chirrups impatiently and he holds out a couple flowers to her, which she takes oh-so-delicately from his hand.]

Yes please.

[She needs to try a pizza now and chances are, having her try to repeat what he's said would get her some terrible concoction that wasn't even close to an actual pizza.

After he's crouched down she follows suit, but gives the tiny bird space to avoid spooking it. She's fond of animals, has been beyond pleased to find they tend to like her, but this one is still so small that she wouldn't be surprised if it was afraid of her. Seeing the way she eats so daintily, too, makes her smile softly.]

She certainly looks like royalty, look how proper she's being.

[Prompto is probably going to drag Rey off to the mess hall after this and they can both try really, really hard to make a pizza.]

Don't let her fool you! You should've seen her earlier. Her beak was a mess.

[The way he talks is nothing but affectionate and he reaches out a hand to wipe at the chocochick's beak, before it turns into a scratch under her chin. She trills at him pleasantly and he holds some of the flowers back out for Rey.]

You should give her a couple! I think she likes them.

[She takes them, of course, and there's only a slight hesitation before she offers her hand out, palm up, for the chocochick to hopefully peck out of her hand.

It might be the best thing that's ever happened to her if it works.]

I don't know if it would work, but if you do find something she likes maybe you can take some of the plants themselves and replant them in a pot. That way you'd never run out.

[It totally works. The chocochick is more than happy to take offerings of food that didn't come from a questionable machine. She wiggles her wings cheerfully at Rey.]

That's a good idea... I don't have much of a green thumb, but couldn't hurt, right? She sure seems to like these. [Which is pretty apparent from the way she nudges at Rey when the flowers are gone, invested in unearthing more treats.] She ate what I got from the mess hall earlier, but wasn't exactly what I'd call enthusiastic about it.

I don't think most things like to eat artificial food when they're used to fresh.

[She says it entirely absently because she's so, so captivated by the chocochick. She's the same size as a porg, just about, but so much more delicate and... well, intelligent. She doesn't seem like the sort to jump up and down on a lightsaber.

Eyes still locked on her, she reaches into her satchel again and comes out with another handful of flowers which she immediately offers to the chick again. Apparently she was holding some back.]

I'll help you look for some of these, if you want. She should be able to eat what she likes.

Yeah, I feel that. I got used to a friend's cooking when Noct was supposed to get married; made going back to canned stuff way harder.

[He's perfectly content to watch Rey and the chocochick interact, a slightly goofy smile on his face, because, hey, it's adorable? The little fluffball was won over by Rey after that first handful of flowers and she takes to the next one with gusto.

So when Rey offers to help him look for more, Prompto pretty much beams at her.]

Dude, that would be awesome! You're a lifesaver. [But he turns to the chocobo herself with a frown.] Now who gets to babysit you... Can't exactly leave you without supervision!

[Very, very carefully, Rey reaches her free hand out to try to pet the tiny little thing. She sticks with her back, fingertips stroking carefully along her fingers, but then the words Noct and married come of out of Prompto's mouth and Rey just kind of

freezes

a little.

Because what? She's just about to ask, to press for information because what, but that smile, the excitement on his face, it kind of overshadows her confusion and she can't help smiling back at him.]

I would pick someone who hasn't mentioned eating her, but that's just me.

[The chocobo is quick to pick up on the attempt to pet her and goes a step further, lowering her head so Rey can scratch at her neck and kwehs cutely as encouragement.

Prompto needs pics of this, holy shit. But he grimaces first at the mention of someone eating the little featherball.]

Dude, right! I can't believe so many people want to try—uh, hang on a sec, will you? [He says as he sort of semi-sneakily backs off, trying not to interrupt a REALLY GREAT PICTURE!!! and holds up both hands to emphasize the point.

His camera is resting on the nearest table and he grabs it, quickly clicking it on and lining up a shot. He is just...he is just so much, I'm sorry, Rey.]

[Lucky for Prompto, Rey is entirely distracted by the sound the chocobo makes, the way she's practically asking to be pet, and when he tells her to hang on she's not even looking at him anymore. She's focused on carefully, carefully scratching the back of the chocochick's head, still smiling softly as she does.

She misses BB-8 a lot, is all, and he'd done something just like this when she'd fixed his antennae on their first meeting, gently ducking his domed head forward and letting her fuss over him. She would never admit that feathers are just a little better than warm metal, but... yeah, she's in love. Sue her.

So he gets his one shot of her looking probably the softest she ever has in her entire life, and when she hears the shutter click it finally draws her attention back to him.

And she frowns. Way to ruin the moment Prompto.]

What are you doing?

[Ok, but now he has that picture forever.

His head pops up from behind the lens and he at least looks sheepish about it.]

Taking a picture. Sorry, kind of a habit!

[He switches on the LCD and tilts it towards her so she can see. The lighting is indoors, so it isn't the best, but the mood of the photo is pretty clear. In general, it's a nice shot.]

I've been taking a lot since we got back to BASE.

[There's still a little bit of suspicion there, but it's very slowly bleeding into curiosity. She's never seen a camera like that so when he holds it out she can't help leaning forward, but what she sees on the screen makes her cheeks go pink in a very embarrassing way.]

Why? [And that sounds harsh even to her, so she tries to soften it a little bit.] No one's ever taken my picture before.

[She'd like to try to pass it off as him just wanting a picture of his adorable new friend, but it's framed so that it's the both of them. There's really no denying they were both the focus.]

[Her reaction makes him blush and he looks away, awkward.]

Um, 'cause they're fun to share with other people, you know? And...I guess it's proof. Even if I forget. [His nose wrinkles a little; that's never been a concern to him before, but he's been thinking about it a lot lately.] It's like you've always got a little piece of something good.

[He gives her a tentative look.]

D'you mind if I take more...? Not right now! But in general.

[And hadn't she done something similar on Jakku? Picking a desert flower and keeping it as a reminder that even in such a brutal, inhospitable place had given her a sense of hope that she could be like that flower, something that survived even if it didn't thrive. Reminders are necessary, and after a moment she nods.]

That's- that would be fine. I don't mind.

[And his explanation is enough to have banished some of her embarrassment, so she can't help looking back at the screen, curious.]

Can I see the others you've taken?

Yeah, of course!

[He brightens immediately, thumbing back to the previous picture as an example—it is, unsurprisingly, one of many portraying the fluffy little critter pecking at his knee—before he lets Rey have the camera. He looks over her shoulder at the photos, sitting down so the chocochick can climb into his lap.]

I took more with the BCE, but I'm not totally sure how to transfer pics yet.

[Depending how far Rey goes back through the pictures, she'll find all of the recent ones are of the fish and COST recruits, with little snapshots of BASE mixed in; a few at the very beginning are of a strangely empty BASE before Gallipoli. Further than that and...well, it's exactly what you'd expect from FFXV.]

[She takes the camera carefully, making sure not to touch the lens or drop it as she follows his example and swipes through the photos one by one. She takes her time to look at each and every one, smiling at the sheer number of different pictures of his chocobo, the scenery on the fish outside, people she recognizes.

Without even thinking about it shifts so that they're sitting closer together, so he can see over her shoulder easily without having to do too much leaning that might disrupt his little friend.

These are good, Prompto.

[And then... then she comes across this one and she doesn't even say anything. She just looks at him, eyebrows raised, like she thinks he might have lost his mind taking this one.]

[And he turns bright red, even as he tries to go for insouciance and fails miserably.]

Hey, I'll have you know the battle selfie is a tried and true Lucian art form!

[It is so fortunate he isn't from further along his DLC, because oh my god. It would be so bad.

He rubs at his nose, embarrassed but not nearly as mortified as he should be.]

I, uh. Maybe got knocked out right after that. But it was totally worth it!

Oh, I'm sure.

[There's a heavy amount of sarcasm there, but something shifts in her expression as she looks at him and then back at the picture. Maybe she's being a little unfair.]

On Jakku, there was this field of black glass that was caused by a ship landing and super-heating the sand all around the impact sight that we called the Crackle, because when you stepped on it you could hear it cracking and shattering. Part of the ship, a spire that had been part of the hull, was still sticking straight out of the glass, and I used to climb up that when I felt bored. It might have been a hundred meters or more.

It's not taking pictures of giant monsters trying to eat you, but I don't think I'm really in a place to tell you not to do stupid things because they seem fun. Just... try to be more careful here, will you?

[She's seen enough people die, felt enough loss through the Force.]

[He gives Rey a crooked smile, more abashed by her not taking the opportunity to drag the shit out of him.]

Yeah, I will! It's not like I want to get hurt or anything. I guess I just think...once it's gone, it's gone.

[He chews his lip, thinking of Rey's description of the Crackle and how it reminds him of the Rock of Ravatogh. Of permanent fixtures in the landscape that make for once in a lifetime experiences, that take your breath away once you get to the top despite the danger—or because of it.]

It's the kind of thing I would have missed out on as a kid. [He shrugs a little, not looking her in the eye and bouncing one knee to the chocochick's suspicion.]

[She hasn't spent enough time around people to be able to identify a bouncing knee as a sign of anxiety, but the way he won't look at her tells her there's something... off, about whatever he means by that. It's something more, and she can't help wondering if a missed childhood is something they have in common.

She'll never know if she doesn't open herself up, and as unfamiliar with this sort of thing as she is, she wants to try. She doesn't know what's waiting for her at home, what her role in the future of the Jedi and the Force is, but she knows she needs to learn how to be more than she is now.

There's a bit of a hesitation, but eventually she reaches out, brushing her fingertips over the back of his hand before giving it a slightly awkward pat.]

I missed out on those things too.

[His eyes flick down to her hand, surprised, and then back up at her face. Still distinctly embarrassed, but over that he's earnest and questioning, like he's trying to decipher what she means without asking.]

No kidding? Never would have guessed.

[Rey is just so many things Prompto is not; he isn't certain or independent or strong. And while sometimes he relaxes enough to forget about it, he feels worlds away from other people. Literally and metaphorically, when it comes to recruits in COST.]

I guess maybe 'cause you don't strike me as the type to let anything stop you.

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