I woke to the sound of the waves. A gentle midnight breeze kissed the sweat off my knitted forehead.

"A dream. The same one as always." I thought to myself.

I could see the pale moonlight through the cracks of the storm shutters.

"Nightmares, again?"

Prompto, already sitting on the bed right beside mine, rubbed his sleepy Chocobo yellow head.

"You got 'em too?"

It was dark but I could sense Prompto just grinned in reply.

In an effort to change the subject, he asked "Hey, Noct. What was tonight's dream about?"

"I can't remember much of it. All I know was I was right here, in Galden Quay… only it was a bit different."

"Different, how?"

Scratching my bed hair, I tried to recall the nightmare: "I was… all alone. There was nothing here except for the dock. I couldn't tell if it was day or night but the sun definitely didn't shine."

"Is this dream different from the one you used to have back when we were in school?"

I suddenly recalled that one occasion when Prompto invited me to a sleepover at his family's home and the amount of effort I put into convincing my father and Gladio that I didn't need the security that night. Gladio still ended up sleeping in the car that was parked right outside Prompto's home.

Prompto's parents were never around. That was the first time I had packed dinner and the first time I slept on a spare bed on the floor. We played video games all night and before we knew it, we had dozed off. I woke up screaming that night. It surprised and woke the hell out of Prompto and got Gladio at the bedroom door, ready to attack whatever danger there was.

"It was just a dream." Like a daily routine, Gladio patted my head and waited for me to calm down. Prompto sat beside us, unsure of what to do. I eventually convinced Gladio that I would be fine for the rest of the night so he left.

Back in our beds, a few minutes of awkward silence followed.

Feeling the need to say something, Prompto finally decided to speak. His words came out more like a squeak: "You know, I get 'em too. Bad dreams, I mean."

Nothing more was said that night but I knew I already knew then that I had found a friend in Prompto.

"It's different but all of my dreams end the same way. I just can't see past the darkness and the fact that when all of this ends, I will be alone." I nearly choked at my words.

Thoughtful for a second, Prompto replied "I don't understand the burden that comes with being the true king or whatever but I do know that I'm not going to let you fight alone."

"I took you long enough."

"Huh?" Puzzled, Prompto looked at my direction.

I laid back on my bed, which signaled Prompto that the conversation was over. Still confused, he took the cue and also tried to get back to sleep.

It took you long enough to realize that I won't be able to do all of this without you. I sighed under my breath as sleep took hold of me once again.