WARNING!

The following is a shounen-ai fan fiction, meaning it will contain boy x boy love. This story is AU, but also contains some suggestion of self-harm and rituals during the ceremony within the first chapter. If this or the above bothers you, please discontinue reading. Thank You!

Particles of dust flittered between the stream of sunlight that trickled into the dimly lit chambers, escaping the nearly drawn thick black curtains that hung in generous folds stretching to the floor. The clicking of heels against a glossy marble floor echoed, growing louder with each step. Rustling sounds soon followed as the pair of curtains were drawn open, slowly swaying aside to let the sunshine invade the bedroom. Groans of protest could be heard coming from a heap of blankets in the center of a full-sized bed.

"Your Highness," A gentle males voice apologetically sounded within the room. "I'm afraid it's time for you to awaken."

A muffled sigh responded. "Go away!" it commanded.

"That I cannot do, today's an important day and you're already running behind schedule." The young man reported. His name was Ignis Scientia, the young prince's caregiver. He was only two years Noctis' senior, but was wise beyond his years and entrusted with keeping things in order that regarded the prince.

"Five more minutes," Noctis grumbled in protest. He shifted his small body turning over to face away from Ignis, pulling the heavy covers along with him to block out the sunlight. The prince was stubborn, not much of a morning person and would frequently refuse to leave his bed if given the opportunity.

"Your father has requested your presence in the great hall," Ignis coaxingly responded. "As I've already stated, today is a very important day and you're already running behind schedule."

"My father!?" Excitement could be heard in the prince's tone as he shot up, revealing his delicate face and messy black hair. His deep blue eyes squinted as they were penetrated by sunlight. Trying to allow them time to adjust, he blinked, closing his eyes for a moment, and blinked again. "What are we waiting for?"

"We're waiting for you to get cleaned up and properly dressed your highness," Ignis answered. His short, dirty blond hair was neatly swept up at the front of his hairline. Using his left index finger, he pressed upward on the bridge of his rectangular-framed glasses, adjusting them into a more comfortable position. "I've already lain your clothing out for the day, please wash up and dress quickly. I'll be waiting for you in the corridor. You'll be escorted to the grand hall as soon as your ready."

"I can pick my own clothing.."

A light chuckle escaped his lips. "Do be quick, I'll presume you'll find my selection suitable." His tone was hasty as he exited the room, closing the dark mahogany brown varnished door behind. Its brass colored locks and doorknob were both dulled with age.

Waking up was the worst part of any day. His lids still felt heavy as Noctis slid from the bed, dragging his feet along allowing the blankets to trail behind and gather on the cold floor. Reluctantly, he stretches his arms above his head and yawned, stumbling across to the other side of the room to where his half bathroom was located.

Noctis examined his face in his vanity mirror, poking at his chubby boyish cheeks. The bathroom was small, so small that only one person at a time could fit inside. Turning the faucet on, allowing the water to run lukewarm before splashing his face. Once finished with washing up, he grabbed one of the fluffy towels that were folded elegantly on the shelf to dry off.

After confirming that he looked fine and his now brushed hair was styled to his liking, the prince exited back to his chambers to see what attire had been selected for him. "Pfft, does he really believe that I'd wear something like this by choice?" Noctis scoffed. "I'd rather not feel suffocated and prefer to be comfortable, no thanks!"

Tossing Ignis' handpicked garments to the side, which consisted of well fitted formal dress pants, a white button up, and suspenders. He then grabbed his typical go-to plain black t-shirt and paired them with equally black jean shorts just as a soft knock sounded.

"Everything alright your highness?" Ignis' voice from the outside the room asked.

"Yeah, I'll be out in a sec!" He called back, quickly cramming his socked foot into his shoes. The young boy turned to examine himself once more before joining his escort in the corridor.

You could see the disapproving look on his face once he saw the prince's choice in wardrobe. Using his left thumb and index fingers, the slightly older male held his glasses frame securely on one side to adjust them once more to a more comfortable position. "Shall we be going?"

As they neared the grand hall. Noctis paused for a moment to look down at his feet, stopping his brisk strides completely. His body was tense as he shifted uncomfortably. "W-what was so important about today again?" He anxiously questioned, not wanting to meet Ignis' gaze.

He responded with a calm and understanding tone. "Well, as you know your thirteenth birthday is approaching rather quickly... According to the traditions, all those of noble blood must acquire a humanoid pet of their own choosing once they hit the proper age of maturity. These pets highly resemble humans, the only distinguishing features are the fact they bear ears and a tail of which breed their genetics correspond with."

"A humanoid pet?" His head was now raised, eyes filled with curiosity. "But father doesn't have one of his own... Are you sure this isn't some sort of joke?"

"No your highness, unfortunately, your majesty... Humanoid pets have a certain life expectancy which is longer than normal pets, but these humanoid companions are soul-bound and meant to serve your every need until the end. If one must, they will sacrifice their very lives to protect you. Once you've become soul-bound, they will act as a shield and any injury you may suffer will be inflicted on to them in return. It's a very special bond which uses a unique type of magic that was passed down by..."

"I DON'T WANT THAT!" Noctis exclaimed, cutting Ignis off before he could finish. Shaking his head and looking back down to his feet. "Why would something like that exist... Something that causes harm to an animal?"

Slightly taken aback by the prince's sudden outburst, he adjusted his glasses. Coughing lightly to clear his throat before responding. "These are not just ordinary animals, their bodies are more durable and can withstand almost anything. It's a tradition we must honor, come now we mustn't waste any more time."

"Wait! How do I know if I'm choosing the right one? If this is something so important, then how come I haven't..." Noctis was cut off by an approaching voice before he could finish.

"Ah, I thought I heard muttering in the halls. My son, how are you feeling today?" A formally dressed, older gentleman with silver-gray hair and olive-green eyes interpreted before Ignis could respond. "You'll just know, it's something you'll feel deep within your subconscious." A warm smile showed on his face as the king made a gesture for us to enter the grand hall.

"Your majesty." Ignis bowed his head in respect. "I must apologize for the delay."

"It's quite alright, you're here now and we must get started."

"Father, I..." The prince's eyes lit up, he cherished every second he got with his father. As the young boy aged, it seemed that time had become less and less. His father was always busy trying to fairly rule his kingdom, it was admirable and he wished to be just like his father someday. But this morning was no exception, even with it being such an important day his time with his father was still limited.

"We'll have time to speak later my son, right now I have some important business to attend to and need you to go with Gladiolus Amicitia to select your companion."

"B-but.." He was about to protest but didn't want to talk back to his father and disappoint so instead he nodded with a smile. "Alright, I can't wait to show you what I've chosen!"

Noctis was sitting in the backseat of the car, behind the front passenger seat which sat Gladio. In Insomnia, the legal driving age was sixteen, meaning Noctis wasn't old enough to drive himself and had to rely currently on Nyx Ulric, a young man with dark grey hair, blue eyes, and an admired Kingsglaive. The drive was long and very boring. Frequently Noctis would gaze out the window to see where they were headed, but the route they took wasn't familiar with him.

It was a struggle for the young prince to keep awake. His eyelids would begin to become heavy, a few times he would start to doze off but be awoken by Gladio's obnoxious laughter as he joked around about becoming a Kingsglaive. Nyx would just brush him off and stayed focused on his task at hand, well for the most part.

"Hey, this is it. You awake brat?" Gladio scoffingly asked as he ran his finger through the longer strands of his hair. He was three years Noctis' senior, which was supposed to act as the young prince's shield. His duty was to teach the prince how to defend himself but also keep him away from danger. Gladio's eyes were fixed on him, amber hues barely visible from his squinting gaze judging the young prince. Noctis could tell he was trying to get a rise from him.

"Tch.." Noctis replied as he exited the backseat. He wasn't very fond of the older teen, but the feeling was mutual. Despite the role he played in the young prince's life, he would take every chance he got to poke fun at Noctis. He didn't really see the point in having Gladio around.

Inside the strange store, there were many small metal cages. Each individual one was holding a variety of different creatures inside. An unfamiliar woman approached and greeted us kindly, asking if there was anything in specific we were looking for. Gladio explained the situation of why we graced her establishment with our presence. She beckoned for us to go through a small entryway, which was covered by a tapestry displaying all the symbols of the royal families.

Once on the other side, the strange atmosphere felt even more uneasy. Small metal cages were replaced with fewer but larger sized ones, some even bigger than the prince himself that appeared to be in worse condition than those in the previous room.

"Pick anything you'd like, it's on-the-house for that adorable little prince." The woman called from the other room. Her same cheerful tone hadn't changed one bit. Normally Noctis would have protested being called cute, but he was currently in too much shock to even formulate proper thoughts. What was this place exactly?

At first glance, the first room was just the typical saberclaw or bloodhorn shrunk to a smaller compact size. Not your first choices for pets, but the prince figured they were probably used for some other purpose based on the unusual sizes. This musky room, on the other hand, it housed the humanoid selection. Noctis was spacing out, deep in his own thoughts until Gladio's negative tone invaded his ears.

"Hurry up and pick something!" He demanded aggressively, arms crossed across his chest.

"No, I'll take as long as I'd like!" Noctis spat back, causing Gladio to get even more flustered. The young prince didn't understand why he was always so impatient. Noctis was getting really tired of his behavior but had to settle seeing Gladio was the only Amicitia that was of proper age to serve the young prince.

"Calm down, this is a process." Nyx hollered from the first room before Gladio could lash back a response. "Let's leave him be, he'll do better without our interference."

"How hard is to just pick one? I don't have all day to sit around waiting for a stuck up brat, I have better things to do!" Gladio ranted as he exited back through the tapestry covered door, leaving Noctis alone with the caged creatures.

He let out a relieved sigh that Gladio wasn't going to argue any further. It was important to allow his subconscious to drive him towards something, but nothing was happening. Instead he still just stood in one spot examining the room. Nothing stood out, if anything he was starting to feel repulsed by the smell. Pushing himself to hesitantly walk forward, he took a closer look at each one of the cages.

Eyes peered from the shadows, some looked at him curiously while others were more cautious. Sounds of whining, chirping, yipping, and growling filled the place. Still, the prince didn't really feel anything aside from sympathy for these creatures. Reaching the back wall, he had seen hybrids of basic cats, dogs, rabbits, and then some more exotics like behemoths, chocobos, moogle, and a carbuncle?

"I think this is the one?" He mumbled to himself. Noctis approached the cage which housed a carbuncle-human hybrid boy. His blue eyes looked dull and almost lifeless, light freckles decorated his delicate face with a small crystalised ruby sticking out from the center of his forehead. The boy's short blonde hair appeared very unkempt matching the fur on his ears and tail. He was wearing just a ragged, tightly fitting tee shirt and dirty shorts that had been tattered along the ends.

Despite the condition, he appeared to be in and the fact the boy stayed pushed as far away from him as possible. The carbuncle wasn't making any sort of eye contact, his puffy tail wrapped around his body, and ear flat to his head. Noctis still smiled warmly for the first time in a while.

"You don't have to be scared." His voice was low, holding a comforting tone. The young boy stuck his hand in between the cage bars, offering for the carbuncle to see he wasn't posing any threat. "I'm not going to hurt you, I would like to just be friends?"

Curious, the young blonde carbuncle eased his way cautiously towards the front of the cage. He was studying the prince's body language carefully. Noctis could now see his wrists were bound in front with shackles. "Y-You'd really be my f-friend?" he stammered, voice cracking like gravel as he barely got the words out.

Noctis wasn't expecting the carbuncle to talk, so his immediate reaction caused him to abruptly pull his hand away. This motion startled the carbuncle, causing the cage to rattle as he shrunk back into the safety of the shadows. Shaking with fear, a soft whining sound could be heard coming from his throat. His eyes were wide, almost pleading for Noctis to just leave him be.

"Hey, I didn't mean to scare you... I-I was just caught off guard, I didn't expect for you to talk! I've never met anyone like you before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. My name is Noctis, but if you'd like you can just call me Noct for short if it's easier for you?"

The carbuncle remained silent but blinked slowly to show that he was listening and understanding the words coming from his mouth. The young blonde boy was just hesitant and not used to anyone's kindness. Being locked in captivity for as long as you can remember, it takes a toll on your mental health. The boy's reaction was perfectly reasonable to Noctis and he knew for sure that this was definitely the one, he needed to rescue him from this place.

"What's your name?"

"P-Prompto.." The carbuncle stuttered.

"Prompto?" The prince repeated.

"Everything alright?" Nyx called from the entrance way.

"Let's get going, hurry up and just pick something so we can get out of here." Gladio sounded after him, this time he was less aggressive but still impatient.

"I've already decided, I want the carbuncle."

"The carbuncle?" The woman spoke this time. "I'm afraid I can't let you take that one. Something just isn't right about him, plus wouldn't you much rather select a female companion that's more aesthetically appealing to look at or maybe something stronger?"

"Nothing is wrong with this carbuncle aside from being cramped in a dirty cage all day, plus I was told that I would know which one was right..." Noctis paused for a moment before continuing. "I'm allowed to pick whichever I'd like, I don't care what you might think is wrong with him. I would like Prompto, please allow me to take him."

"Who's Prompto?" Nyx asked.

"My carbuncle," Noctis replied.

"What a strange name!" Gladio blurted out. "Why not a behemoth? Carbuncles are pathetic!"

As Noctis began to speak in defense, he was stopped by the shopkeeper. She had sighed silently. Still looking at the carbuncle, her gaze then turned to the prince. He could tell something was bothering her as she let out another sigh.

"Even though I know that I'm not supposed to allow that one in specific to leave this shop, I'm going to make this exception allowing him to go with you. I'll just need you to sign a few papers and.." There was a long pause before she spoke again. "And then you'll be all set after completing a small bonding ceremony. Everything will still be free of charge as I promised.."

The shopkeeper took out a ring full of keys and searched for the correct one. It took a minute, but eventually, she located the key needed to unlock Prompto's cage. She motioned for Noctis to step back from the cage as she unlocked it. As soon as the door opened, the carbuncle was quick to escape but didn't run.

Prompto stood about the same height as Noctis but was a little heavier set. His tail swished side to side, but his large ears still laid flat. The blonde was examining the darker haired boys face, a little too close for Noct's comfort but he let it slide seeing he already knew the other boy was fairly timid and figured it would be best not to startle him any further.

"Come this way, I'll get the papers and materials." The woman's tone had changed from being cheerful and playful to a more serious tone. She clasped a chain to the shackles that were still connected to Prompto's wrist, then dragged him roughly forward causing the blonde to let out a small whimper.

"Be careful with him!" Noctis demanded.

Ignoring his demands, she continued to keep pulling and continued speaking. "I'll have to ask for only the prince and his companion to come with me, you two will have to wait outside. It's a sacred bond and only those performing or the ones participating in the ritual can attend."

Candlelight flickered, casting oddly shaped shadows along the walls. Noctis swallowed nervously, he sat cross-legged diagonal from Prompto who hadn't spoken a single word since telling him his name. In the dimness, his eyes turned from there natural blue to an almost black, making the carbuncle boy's expression appear worrisome.

Prompto's eyes weren't as lifeless as before, but more so filled with complete fear now. The young prince had already filled out the papers claiming the carbuncle so there was no going back. His mind was racing with what was going to happen next and how his life was about to change forever, but he had to stay strong.

The woman returned to the room where they waited. She was dressed differently than before, wearing a deep scarlet dress that trailed across the floor as she walked. In her hand, she held a strangely shaped bowl that had foreign writing along the side and a blade in the other.

"I promise this isn't going to hurt much at all, but things will not go smoothly if your friend doesn't stay calm this time around." Her voice was flat.

"What do you mean this time?"

"A few months back, we tried to soul-bound that carbuncle to another but he refused and caused a big fuss. What I'm about to do, what your about to do... You'll need to lightly slit the palm of your hand, which then after you'll have to slit your carbuncles as well in the same fashion seeing I doubt he'll be willing to do it on his own." She explained. "Once you're both suffering the same pain, I'll need you to press the wounds together and repeat the words I tell you. This will make your pain into his pain, you'll forever be connected."

Noctis nodded to show he comprehend what was being instructed of him. The blade was handed over to him. His body was trembling, was he really about to do this? So many questions were starting to invade his mind, the feeling of doubt was growing stronger. Did his father really go through this same thing, did he inflict pain upon himself for the ceremony?

"When your ready you may start. It's better to not over think things, hesitation will just prolong the inevitable. You'll both be fine." The woman insured him.

Noctis didn't respond. His mouth was dry, he tried to swallow but couldn't. Carefully he began to make a small incision along the palm of his hand. Crimson liquid began to ooze from the tiny wound running down his smallest finger. "I-I did it..."

"That's not good enough, you'll need to do it again." The woman growled. "Your joined blood will need to fill this bowl. The key is not to think, don't hesitate and just do."

Trembling hands gripped the blade tighter. Doing as she said, not hesitating, Noctis closed his eyes tightly. Tears began to stream down his cheeks as he winched in pain when the blade met his skin for the second time. Quick as lightning, he had slid the blade along the palm of his hand.

Sticky, warm liquid gushes from the second wound. Scrunching his hand closed to cover the fresh wound, he dropped the blade on the floor unable to hold on any longer with his shaky hand. The smell of blood was intoxicating.

"I-I can't do this!" Noctis cried, his clenched hand now pressed against his chest. Blood was running down his arm, soaking his shirt. He didn't dare open his eyes. "I'm n-not going to be able t-to..."

"Shut up already, give me that blade and place your hand over this bowl." The woman snapped forcing the bowl into his lap. She snatched the blade from the floor and made her way towards Prompto who was frozen in fear. Grasping the young carbuncle boy tightly, she made a large slit across his hand causing him to yowl with pain. "It's been done, now press your hands together and repeat these words, we are running out of time."

Prompto was shoved forward, Noctis opened his eyes to be face to face with the boy. He was sobbing heavily, this caused Noctis to become overwhelmed with frustration. He clasped the other boys hand tightly within his own. The freshly cut wound stung when it made contact with the other boy's skin.

"We can do this Prom, we'll get through this."

Dripping sounds could be heard as the crimson liquid escaped from their grip, running down the boy's arms and dropping into the bowl. The air around them became stagnant, the flickering of candles stopped as the sound echoed off the walls freezing time. The woman began to speak with a whisper, it was time to recite the words passed down by his ancestors.

"F-Former Kings of Lucis, witness this bond and allow it to be heard." Noctis began as he tried to project his voice loud and clear. "Channel your sacred power to save the future king from the immense physical burden, release my pain as blood and magic have been mixed. Allow us to become connected, a bond never to be broken."

As the final words were spoken, the young prince's head began to ache. The room was spinning, he blinked his eyes closed and then open again to have their hues shift from blue to a deep red. Prompto's hand became limp and slipped from their grip, dropping to the floor as his body collapsed completely.

Noctis grasped his head tightly as voices invaded his mind, he couldn't understand what they were saying. "Ahhh, what's happening!?" They wouldn't stop, he wasn't able to focus and couldn't feel the floor beneath him any longer. His eyesight blurred, everything around him was becoming fuzzy not because tears were welling up again and obstructing his vision but from the fact his consciousness was being lost.

His heartbeats pounded loudly, now echoing in his ears and replacing the voice. Feeling as if his energy was being drained away. The young Prince's small body collapsed on the floor next to Prompto. His eyes slid shut, finally all he saw was black.

Author's Note: I cannot stress this enough, but please do not try or attempt the ceremony that Noctis and Prompto have participated in during this story. It's actually based from a real ritual, something that can actually be very dangerous. I don't support self-harm or animal abuse, so please do not try to copy anything you read within this story. Remeber that this story is purely fictional and your life is real. Thanks for reading!