"Noct, are you sure about this? It's your training session, and you didn't even ask your instructor if it was okay"

"Prom, calm down. Gladio will be okay with it. You don't need to worry"

I tried to say something else to refute him, but a low, gruff, baritone voice reverberated through the air, freezing me in place. I had never heard a voice so commanding, yet also there was something else to it as well.

"Noctis! You better be in this room within the next thirty seconds, or I will work you twice as hard as I was already planning to!"

I gulped. How the hell can Noctis tell me not to worry. Just based on this guy's voice, I can tell he isn't one you should mess with. Oh god, what did I sign up for when I agreed to sit in on Noctis' training. He didn't warn me about this either.

"Hold your horses Gladio. I'm coming!" Noctis called back, looking back at me with a smile.

I know his smile was supposed to be reassuring, but I knew that smile. It was the one he used when he knew he was in trouble with teachers, but didn't want me to worry. I had learned the differences between his smiles and other expressions as well. But, I suppose it's easier to recognize fake smiles, when you've been making them all your life.

I feel bad, keeping my actual self hidden away when I'm around Noctis. He feels like he knows me so well, but he really only knows what I want him too. He sees smiles and happiness because I refuse to let him see the tears and depression. Hehas so many problems to worry about as the crown prince that me adding my problems would just be unfair to him.

"Prom, you coming or what?"

Hearing Noctis' voice broke me from my trance. I snapped back to my happy demeanor and started walking toward the direction the boomimg voice had come from. The door was open, Noct having forgot to close it when he entered.

I look in to see Noct already doing push ups. It wasn't like Noct was weak, very much the opposite. That was apparent in the way his arm flexed when he was in the middle of the downward motions. But even with his aboce average physique, push ups can be a challenge when you have a behemoth of a man placing a boot on your back, adding resistance.

"So, you're Prompto? The prince has been talking about you non stop. Glad I finally get to place a face with the name" the giant spoke, voice booming.

I could only stand there eyes wide in a mixture of shock and fear. This man could crush anyone by simply wrapping his arms around them. Yet, here he was, being one of the most polite people I had ever met. Maybe he was a gentle giant.

"Oh, my name Gladiolus, by the way. But princess here usually just calls me Gladio"

"N.....N....Nice to meet you" I stutter after stumbling to make words come out.

"If you want, you can make yourself comfortable on one of the benches. Lucky for you, the prince was late, so I am gonna work him harder than usual" Gladio says, puahing down more on Noct for emphasis.

I just nod and make my way over to one of the empty benches against the back wall. I decided now, with all this elegant decor, and weaponry, would be the perfect time to take a few pictures. I take out my phone and start to snap a couple of pictures, before a hand claps on my shoulder.

"Do you mind putting on some music? My phone is dead, and we can't have a proper workout listening to Noct's shitty pop music" Gladio asked.

"Sure, I'll see if I can find something" I said with a slight tremble in my voice.

I just selected the first song that popped up, and as soon as it started playing, I got looks from both Noctis and Gladio. They look surprised, like they weren't expecting me to play hard rock.

"If you guys don't like it, I can pick something else" I offered, reaching for my phone.

"No, Prom, it's alright. Just didn't know you listened to this kinda stuff" Noctis said, confirming my suspicions.

"Yeah, you didn't exactly strike me as the 'Coerls' type, ya know?" Gladio agreed rubbing the back of his neck.

I just shrugged and smirked. I said that I enjoyed them, that it was easy to sort of lose yourself in the music. Gladio chuckled and said he couldn't have put it better himself.

The training session seemed to go pretty well, if you consider Noct getting knocked on his ass numerous times as going well. It was in the middle of a water break when Noct said something that made me stop dead in my tracks.

"Prompto, you want to train a little?"

"Oh, no. This is your training time. From what I saw, you need all the time you can get" I teased.

"While that might be true, I think it would be a little fun to see how much you've learned off the streets" Gladio added, siding with Noct.

I bit my lip, not really wanting to turn down the offer to train, especially since I hadn't been to the gym as much as I would've liked. Still though, I didn't want them to make fun of me for not being as agile or as good of fighters as they were.

"C'mon, I'll go easy on ya" Gladio added with a grin.

"I guess. But I'll hold you to that" I said with a drawn out sigh.

I walked out onto the training floor and just felt myself shrinking the longer Gladio stood next to me. We both took a stance, and prepared for the other to attack. I studied Gladio for a minute, trying to see if I could land a quick hit, but found that he didn't leave any space open.

I had to leap out of the way of his fist, barely escaping a black eye. I rolled onto my back and sprang back to my feet. He seemed shocked, so I used this opportunity to sweep his legs out from under him. He only staggered but it was enough of a victory for me.

The rest of the session was me dodging his attacks without doing much attacking myself. I surprisngly found myself able to keep up with his attacks, only sending one of my own when he was recovering from a chain of attacks.

"Okay, that's enough. I need a break" I said after about half an hour.

Gladio nodded in agreement, breathing ragged. We walked over to the bench and I stole Noctis' water bottle. I felt eyes on me, so I looked over to see Noctis practically oogling me from across the room.

"Prom, you made it seem like keeping up with Gladio was easy"

"Huh?"

"Hate to admit it. But I thought you could go all day. Was scared to think someone could actually have more stamina than me" Gladio said, backing up Noctis.

"I mean, I run everyday. And I hit the gym maybe once a week" I admit rubbing the back of my neck.

"Want to go running sometime? I have to know how you made it seem so effortless" Gladio asked.

"Uhhh sure. What kind of runs do you usually do? I like recovery runs myself, but sometimes an all out run for a few miles feels good too."

"I can do a recovery run. How's Friday morning?" Gladio asked.

"Friday works" I replied with a smile.

"Alright, that's enough of a break princess. Get back out on the floor" Gladio says walking over to the future king.

As I watch them spar each other, I start to think to myself. Did I just accidently agree to go out on a date with this guy?