FRECKLES. YES.

Noctis: 

He’d seen freckles before of course, Prompto was his best friend after all. But he’d never have seen SO MANY on one person. And they wore it well. 

On top of that, they were very gentle looking. So staring ended up being a thing.

They, as it turns out, were anything but gentle.

His S/o, before they were his S/O, would hold their head high and have a look on their face that DARED someone to mention anything about their freckles. 

They’d been made fun of a lot for how many they had. And now that they were older, they had learned how to shut up ANYTHING said about them. WITH THEIR FISTS. 

So Noctis staring at them so much made for a rather interesting introduction. 

They’d be very defensive over their freckles, so when he compliments them (Even after they’ve pretty much threatened to beat him into the ground if he said something negative about their skin) they’re more than a little thrown off guard. 

They tentatively became friends and that soon progressed into a romance. 

Years later, he’d stare staring at their skin again. 

In Insomnia, the freckles had always been faint, but on the road trip together they DARKEN considerably. 

Looking at the mass of speckles across their face and shoulders was entrancing to him, because there were just SO MANY MORE now.

Eventually, his S/O would have enough and be like, “Cut it out!” Oh they’d be embarrassed. They’re fine with their freckles, but with them receiving so much attention from HIM because of THEM again… they would get very flustered.

He would the first time around, just out of embarrassment, because he really hadn’t realized he had been staring so much. 

But later on he would be able to look away and just give up, staring openly and tracing patterns with his eyes. 

This would often lead to his S/O demanding he stop and him smugly pretending he didn’t know what they’re talking about.

But then, at night when they’re lying together in the dark, he’d be close enough to see the fainter ones, the ones just beginning to fill in, that cover their face.

Across their nose, their cheeks, on their eyelids. He’d even notice that their lips had some spotted across them. 

He’d think of how lucky he was that the person he loved has entire galaxies embedded in their skin. 

Prompto:

FRECKLE BUDDIES. 

Seriously, they just saw each other at school and decided to be friends just because they both had FRECKLES. 

It was such a silly thing to bond over, but oh well. They could both use a little silliness in their lives.

From trying to distract each other by jabbing the particularly big ones on each other, or tracing pictures with their fingers on each others arms, it was only natural that they’d become closer. 

When they do start dating, a running joke between them is trying to remember which ones they’ve kissed. 

Sometimes they name each other’s freckles. It’s always a sad day when one of them gets a scar/scratch. “Frankie noooo!!”

When on the trip together, their favorite joke to play on one another is playing connect the dots on the other while they sleep. With bright colors. Pink was his S/O’s favorite color to use on him, and his was green. 

The leads to a rule never letting EITHER of them take first watch or when they’re on watch, they have ONE other person with them.

They retaliate together by bespeckling the others in ‘freckles’ with a permanent marker. (Boy THAT was a day. Good thing they both have some pretty fast chocobos.)

Freckle contests are thing, with them both staying in the sun seeing if they can get anymore to develop. Prompto never wins because his S/O is absolutely covered in them.

They’re also absolutely good looking in his opinion. 

They still try and kiss each other’s freckles before bed. (something less silly and more serious is that for every freckle that’s kissed, they promise to tell each other a secret about themselves.)

Gladio:

They whine when he makes them take off their jacket and uncover their face. They wanted to stay out of the sun, thank you very much, because the sun made the “things” worse. 

But he’d worry they’d overheat and make them take them off anyways. 

They’d do it reluctantly, and when they do they reveal all the freckles strewn across their visage.

Adorned. They look like they’d adorned by the six themselves and they were EMBARRASSED by them.

That would piss Gladio off to no end, but not at them. No, he’d be pissed at whoever made them think their freckles were something to be ashamed of. Because they were damn beautiful, with or without the flecks dotting their skin.

So he’d be sure to tell them that while the freckles were in the open. Complimenting them left and right in small whispers that would absolutely make them blush to the tips of the freckled ears.

“You look like you have pieces of sunlight embedded in your skin.” “You look like someone painted the sky on you.” “Your freckles look like a gallery of art and I want to admire every single one.”

They’d reach for their face cover after awhile and whine again. “Gladio, please don’t be stupid, I look ridiculous with all these ugly…”

They’d trail off at the look he’d give them. And then he’d snatch away their jacket and face cover. It’s be them running around in the sun after him, as he’d darted away, and them cursing him to Ifrit’s side and back. 

They’d manage to catch up to him, but at the last moment he’d turn on heel and sweep them up into his arms. 

“I’m going to show you all the reasons you’re so amazing to look at.” He’d say as he starts poking their freckles where he knows they’re ticklish. “There’s one here, and here, and another…”

They’d screech and try to wiggle away, as he’d start to count every single damned freckle on them, all the while they’d be trying to deny that they were good looking.

Finally, just to get him to stop, they’d agree with him. After which he’d let go of them and they’d just sit on the ground where they were.

Perhaps they’d be a tad upset with him. But they’d know he was only trying to help. 

“…You know how hard this is for me.” They’d whisper, and he’d nod.

When they were younger, their freckles got them tormented relentlessly. Add in that they were the only child in their family with freckles, and considered ugly by ever their own mother, they grew up unaccepting of themselves.

And Gladio would try like hell ot change their opinion about themself.

Ignis:

At first, he wouldn’t know about his S/O freckles. 

They wore make up to hide them, and shirts that covered everything. Not because they hated them, no, far from it. They loved them. They just didn’t enjoy the attention they brought.

So when night falls and they’re getting ready for bed, they take off their makeup and just simply climb in and go to sleep next to Ignis.

And when he wakes up he nearly jerks away from them in surprise. It still looked like them, but HOLY SIX how did he not know about this?

They’d be covered across their collar bone, their shoulders, up their neck, all over their face. HOW had he never noticed?? (Don’t even get him started on the tattoos that create constellations out of their freckles.)

He’d find them absolutely breathtaking, and reach up to touch them, trailing his hand over their cheek. Which would wake them.

They’d meet his eyes and blink exactly once before flushing a deep red color, realizing why he was staring. 

“O-oh. You’ve never seen me without…?” they’d ask quietly.

“I haven’t.” He’d whisper. He’s kiss them very sweetly and cautiously, not wanting to startle them. “You look lovely with them.”

They’d just lay there, and he’d ask about the constellation tattoos and they’d answer, growing comfortable around him. 

But then they’d get up and start getting ready for the day, and they’d cover them again. For their own comfort. And Ignis would understand. 

Though, if they ever missed a spot he wouldn’t tell them with words, but press a kiss there.