The thing was they were all on even footing here. There was no extra clout that he and Iggy had here that Prompto didn't have too. Gladio frowned as the blond tried to slip away from him. Talking like he was somehow lesser just because of his family.

He reaches for Prompto, tries to pull him back against him. All the humor is gone, just something somber in his expression as he curls his arms around Prompto, hugging him tight. One hand reaches out to snag Iggy's wrist and tug him towards them.

"Prom..." His voice is a little rough, he hates hearing Prompto talk about himself like this. It doesn't happen often but when it does it's like a knife to the heart. "That's bullshit."

"You're clever and enthusiastic and a fantastic artist and..." Squeezing a little tighter. "Dude we'd have been so fucked without you to keep us in line."

It was what drove them apart in the end, too. Prompto had been an anchor to them all. With Prom they weren't the Prince, the Shield, the Royal Advisor. They were people, they were friends. They were all just guys for a little while. He kept them from losing themselves in their duty completely.

A duty that Ignis refused to be separated from, that Gladio hid behind when his heart was breaking, that they'd left him for and drifted apart. But even with all of that Prompto stayed near Hammerhead, gave them somewhere to come back to when things got too rough, stayed with Cindy and made sure they all had something like home waiting for them when they needed it.

"Gotta stop sellin yourself short, Prom." And if his voice is a little unsteady well... he's just... really glad to have him back.