AN: Past what I'm assuming is halfway through the game. One shot for now. Nothing extreme, just a little on the sweet side.

They all heard it. A faint whimper echo down the corridor. They were getting closer. Their hearts beating faster. Faster than their legs could carry them. Was that a sniffle? None of them wanted to imagine what scene they'd walk in on. Better to just leave the thought alone while they could.

No one spoke. No one checked in on the other. It was like a race but one none of them wanted to finish. But they had to. They had to make sure he was okay. A hard swallow, another sniffle, what sounded like a sigh; all getting slightly louder. Their footsteps increasingly got louder, too; maybe it was on purpose to mask the sounds emanating from down the long hall. One more turn around a corner and there he was. Strapped into something they could have imagined but wished they didn't have to actually see.

Prompto.

His head lazily hung before the rest of his body. It looked sore. None of them dared to look anywhere but his bruised face. They weren't sure who hurt more. Obviously Prompto, but seeing their friend in this state was something no amount of alcohol or drugs could erase.

Fuck.

After wasting what seemed like an eternity just standing before the bars, Gladiolus gladly threw them open. Noctis went in first and started to undo Prompto from the crucifix-like contraption he'd been placed in. Ignis mirrored his actions. Gladiolus was there to catch him.

For a moment, there was peace. Noctis backed up, Ignis adjusted his glasses, Gladiolus held Prompto. For a moment, they could all breathe.

Prompto stood himself up, Gladiolus' arms lingering a moment before completely letting go. Noctis stepped forward and placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder. Ignis straightened his back.

Clockwork.

After that wreck of a train ride, the four of them were synchronized again. And nothing was going to tear that a part.

"Did you miss me?"

The question threw the three men off guard.

"Because then you'd have to kiss me."

Gladiolus choked on his saliva a bit. Noctis smiled and Ignis let out a sigh of relief. Prompto looked up at Noctis with a grin as the other man let his hand drop. Noctis searched his friend's face because Prompto just stared back silently.

"I knew you'd come. That thought was the only thing keeping me alive."

Damn.

Noctis felt a bit heavy but also relieved. Gladiolus tensed.

"I'm glad we found you," Noctis replied.

After hurdling through the mildew-infested labyrinth and fighting hapless undead warriors, the four came across an empty dormitory. It had less than appealing bunkbeds but resting here was better than not resting at all. A break was needed. There wasn't any possibility of getting dirtier from the beds than they already were.

Ignis plopped down first. He rubbed at his temples and felt the bed around him before slowly leaning back to a comfortable position. Noctis sat on the bed directly parallel to Ignis as Prompto jumped on the bed above his. Gladiolus just rested against the wall by the door they entered from. The room was dimly lit. The beds had only one pillow each and a single sheet to compensate as a blanket. The room looked more like a prison the more they glanced around. The room's three end tables were accompanied by desk lamps but only two of them were on. One bookcase was the only other piece of furniture. As if on cue, the lamp next to Ignis flickered.

While the other three closed their eyes, Gladiolus walked across to the dilapidated bookcase. He made a quick scan of the few books that scattered the shelves and picked up the one that looked the least worn out. Cosmogony. These books are everywhere, apparently, he thought. He put it back in its place to rifle through the remaining books.

"Prompto, you okay?"

Noctis' voice broke Gladio's attention and in one swift movement he turned and picked himself off the floor. Noctis was resting on his hands looking up from underneath the bunk bed. Promto was lying flat on his stomach. It wasn't until this instant that Gladio realized Prompto had been grunting in pain. It was faint but audible. Noctis got up from the bed and placed a hand on Prompto's back. The blonde boy winced.

"I think the pain is starting to sink in, now that we're all resting," Prompto replied.

"You shouldn't have been fighting."

"Noct, what else was I supposed to do? Watch you guys have all the fun?"

"Shut up," Noctis said with a slight chuckle.

"Ignis is partially blind, the least I could do was shoot my gun."

"Don't remind me," Ignis butted in.

"Yeah, don't remind him," Gladio followed.

"Sorry, Ignis."

Noctis removed his hand and stretched his arms above his head, "Both of you should be getting as much rest as possible. I've lost two important people. That's already too many. I don't want to lose any more."

Noctis pulled out his flask of water and handed it to Prompto. It was taking Prompto more effort than he thought to sit up and grab the flask. Noctis gently pushed him back and raised the flask to his friend's mouth. Hesitantly, he gulped down as much water as possible.

Ignis was fully stretched out on the twin-sized bed by now. Without looking directly at them, he asked, "Prompto, if you need, just stay here until we finish whatever job we're doing at the moment. It's probably best if you do."

Noctis scanned his friend on the bed before placing tender pats on the unbruised parts of his arm. With each touch, Prompto trembled. Noctis stopped right before a loud clunk hit the door of the room. On impulse he grabbed his blade and made for the door. He yelled for the others to stay back and rest when he saw it was only one. He made his way back into the room as if nothing occurred.

"I'm going to check the halls one more time to make sure we're alone. We could all use a little catnap after what we've been through. Especially you, Prompto."

With that he left the room once more and closed the door lightly behind him.

Ignis looked fast asleep, but since he wasn't completely able to use both of his eyes properly, it was hard to tell. Prompto was breathing in and out lightly but wasn't asleep. He just wanted to rest his eyes.

Gladio was too fixated on his little whimpers when Noctis was touching him he didn't even hear the other man speak. He looked around the room and finally noticed that someone was missing. He had been staring at the wall next to Prompto's bed. He assumed Noctis when to look for supplies or just needed to grab some air. The room was beginning to feel a little thick.

He broke his thought and turned his attention back to the bookcase. He wasn't even reading the titles, his mind still glued itself to the small blonde across the room. He shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. There was only one way to ease his mind. He turned back around and softly walked to Prompto. He stole one glance Ignis' way to make sure he was indeed sleeping. He paused to hear the faint sound of light snoring. There was.

He opened his mouth to speak when he returned his eyes to Prompto but no sound came out. He mimicked Prompto's slightly open mouth. He closed his and just took a moment to wash his gaze over the frail body in front of him. Noctis would be back any minute, I should just go back to the bookcase, he thought.

The call was too close. Every day was got more dangerous. He didn't want to think about last chances, but he also didn't want to regret not doing something. The call was just close enough to wake him up. Now or never. Or never, the word rang in his ears. The room felt thick and hot.

"Gladio?"

Bright blue eyes caught his attention. They held onto each other's gaze.

"I look worse for wear, don't I?"

Prompto used all his energy to sit up into a crossed-legged position so he was face to face with the taller man.

Gladio changed his demeanor, "I wouldn't say that. I wouldn't wear you either way."

Lies.

Prompto laughed softly, just above a whisper.

It fell silent again. Prompto stared down at his hands. They were a little bloody, had a few marks that led up to his arms, bruises covered the rest. Gladio didn't like it. He's used to seeing them all scratched up and whatnot, but not to this extreme. Prompto broke the quiet.

"You can say it; I think Iggy's asleep. I'm a sight for sore eyes."

Quite the contrary, Gladio would have said. Would have.

Prompto met his eyes again. Did he say that out loud? Silence met him. Neither of them smiled, neither of them did anything for that matter.

Noctis walked in on them looking at each other. Both men broke away to see Noct walking closer.

"I think we should get a move on," he started, "sounds like something's happening above us."

He moved to Ignis and gently roused him from sleep. The other man didn't open his eyes but acknowledged that he was awake.

"Sorry, but the sooner we get a move on, the sooner we get out of this mess," Noct said with remorse.

Ignis grabbed his daggers from the table next to him while Noct went in between Gladio and Prompto for his things. He moved out of their way and headed straight for the door. Prompto gave one more look Gladio's way with a small smile. He checked his pockets and jumped off the bed immediately regretting the decision. He holstered his gun and made his way out of the room past Noctis. Prompto stretched as gracefully as he could as he waited for the others. Noctis looked around the room to make sure no one had forgotten anything and stepped outside.

Gladio made his way to his sword leaning by the doorway. He caught his reflection before lifting behind him. He sheathed it in its place on his back and straightened up.

Ignis stopped Gladio before he could exit and waited until the other man turned to face him. A moment passed between the two before Ignis spoke up, "You caught him quickly when he fell; you should see if he would do the same. We've faced bigger fears. With more to come. The sooner we get to them the better, right?"

He patted Gladio on the shoulder a couple of times before cutting in front of him and handing him a book. Cosmogony.

"You like reading, maybe you can pick up a few things."

Gladiolus grabbed the book and put one hand in his pocket. He shifted his gaze to the floor with a slight blush. As he picked his eyes back up, he smiled to himself before making his exit.

AN: I haven't finished the game yet, but I think I'm close. Maybe I'll continue this? And thanks for reading, if you do!