A/N: Warning spoilers ahead for the entire game! If you haven't seen the ending turn away now because this story is all centered on one of the best endings to a video game ever.
Also, this is heavy on the Promptis!
The Dawn
He never thought he'd see this moment.
After years of fighting, struggling, and hoping for a miracle- he was shocked when this moment finally came. The dawn was everything he'd remembered. But with all the relief that filled him it was soon depleted in an instant. It meant it was over.
Sunlight burned through the dark shadow of clouded sky. A sky he never thought he'd glaze upon again. It was a shimmering golden color that faded into an ocean blue. The color compared to Galdin Quay's shore. It was a blue that only reminded him of bright blue eyes- he felt his heart clutch at the thought. His knees grew weak. His hands shook barely holding his grasp on the pistols he'd had since the beginning. They held an even heavier weight now knowing that he gave them to him.
He never thought he'd hate the light but now, in this moment, he wanted nothing but the haunting darkness to return if it would mean one more second beside him. The sky, the light, the silence, he hated it all with a burning passion and what it meant. He was gone. He finally truly lost him. Forever.
After ten years of waiting, one night could have never been enough. But if he was honest with himself, could any time really be enough time spent with him? He could change the fate of destiny he would never have let him go. Neither would his friends by his side now. He glanced over to see the faint drips streaming from under Ignis' glasses and then his pale eyes saw another tear gently slide and fall from Gladiolus' face. He never thought the day would come where he saw him weak and broken. Gladio was the steady hand that held him together, no, held them all together and even he was destroyed.
None of them would ever be able to celebrate in this warmth and light.
His grip gave out and his pistols fell from his grasp and instead of the weapon materializing into crystal dust and fading away, it clattered harshly to the stone pavement of Insomnia's streets. The sound echoed throughout the silence of the once crowded streets that he'd travelled along side of him.
That broke him. Everything Noctis was… had disappeared with him.
His heart shattered when his knees hit the concrete. His hands gripped tightly at the royal garments he wore for the special and last occasion. He wished he could grab his heart and rip it out to stop the pain. His fingers curled into the black jacket, tugging at it as if it would relieve all the agony and loss he felt in this moment.
He hadn't realized he was crying aloud- or at all, until Ignis placed a shaken hand on his shoulder and Gladiolus stood beside him. He was crying that loud, disgusting, and desperate cry. Tears were streaming down his freckled cheeks and falling to the same street that they once stood together as they departed Insomnia. A time when he believed the worse of their worries was going to be camping, spending hours in a car, and putting up with each other. Now he'd give anything to relive those perfect and precious moments.
He hated Arydan. He hated the light. And he hated himself the most; he couldn't protect the one thing he vowed to do. Not out of duty but out of something that meant so much more.
Love.
Scenes of Noct's rare smile, his laugh, and his words filled his mind. All of it was too much for him. For Ignis. For Gladio. He knew they were all reliving the same moments over and over and over again in their minds. But they had to accept it the same way Noctis had already accepted his fate.
The castle was quiet.
But footsteps broke through the dead silence followed by the haunting echo of a creaking metallic door. The sound of the throne room doors opening. They were finally here standing before it, side by side like they haven't been in years. No one could move, no one could breathe, but Prompto could hear his racing heart beat pick up the pace.
"Wait here," Gladiolus' words broke the silence. Prompto barely registered them. He tried to reach for Gladio because he knew he couldn't let him hold this on his shoulders too. It'd be too much even for the Kings Shield. But his voice caught in his throat and no sound left his chapped lips.
Gladiolus entered the throne room alone. Prompto watched him trying to find his own strength anything to hold on to so he wouldn't collapse again. He was lost without the prospect of Noctis returning. He didn't need to say it aloud, what he and Noct were, the same as how Ingis and Gladio never had to speak it. The four of them knew the situation, knew how each other felt and left it as that.
Now after ten long years of barely seeing Gladiolus and Ingis he questioned if he still really knew them anymore. But that didn't matter last night.
Last night when they were all together again around a warm camp fire and the dread of what was to come, it was like it had been all those years before. They were on an adventure of a lifetime battling beside each other unware of the plot that would ruin them. They laughed, reminisced, and lived up those last few precious moments with him. Prompto engraved every small expression into his mind forever to keep his memory alive because now that's all he'd ever have.
Prompto was numb but he felt the heavy dragging of his feet as they slowly moved across the granite tiles one in front of the other. He didn't hear his footsteps or the world around him just a loud bussing that rang through his head giving him no hope for relief from the terrible sound. He knew he was moving but to where? It didn't seem to matter he was so caught in the past, in the present, in a future that would never be, all at once that he simply didn't care.
"Prompto…" A distant voice tried to grab his attention. The voice was deep but soft, maybe concerned. For him? What a joke, he thought. He'd live, he'd be fine, but he would never move on. He'd been alone for this long could he really go longer?
Yes.
Maybe?
No.
"Prom!" The voice belonged to Gladiolus and he was certain this time. It was Gladiolus' 'smarten-up-and-get-yourself-together' tone the same tone he'd heard used on Noct countless times as he attempted to knock some sense into him. Prompto never grasped the full relationship that Gladio and Noct shared but he knew under all the teasing, arguing, and conversations that seemed to go nowhere between them they had this unspoken care and admiration.
Gladio and Ingis both acted in the place of parents, brothers, and friends for him.
They were a family.
And now that family was tore beyond repair.
He hadn't realized he'd stepped into the throne room, a place he'd been just moments before. Prepared to give Arydan everything he had. To stand by Noctis one last time to end this battle. Now the room was even cooler than he'd remembered. It sent chills down his spine through his very being.
He was shaking? Could it really be that cold?
It was like he was seeing the world through the lens of a camera, in black and white. Colors were all muted and dulled; they left no space for warmth and color in his world.
Gladio's hands were on his shoulders and he was standing between him and the throne, he always wanted to see Noct be crowned King. He hoped he'd see his best friend rise to be the greatest King Insomnia had ever seen, the strong, brave, and considerate King he knew Noctis would be. With Luna by his side leading as the majestic Queen with powerful words that could freeze a whole room or command an army to move.
Luna.
She was a tough pill to swallow. It was a complicated situation. He dearly cared for her even if there was mixed feelings of resentment. She had the only thing he truly wanted. Jealous wasn't the right word for it because he couldn't be jealous of something he could never have. He was only human- well, as close as someone like him could be. She would have been the Queen Insomnia needed and even more importantly she'd make Noctis happy and he'd be happy because they were.
Prompto and Noctis knew their relationship could never be. But during the short time they spent together on the open road with no worries of what the future held. They found each other and made the most of it. Prompto admired Noct from afar for years and when he finally got the guts to introduce himself he fell hard for the Prince, his best friend.
Prompto was in love.
Even with unspoken words he knew Noctis was too.
Noctis was closed off but open all at the same time. He was real, kind, he saw people as equal, he saw the world in a different light, even if it was negative, he knew his duty, he was funny, he wasn't quick to judge, he believed in you, he made you feel important, he cared for you, he was… everything Prompto dreamed of.
He pushed Gladiolus aside and finally saw what he'd been hiding from him. His ocean blue eyes fell upon the throne that even after years of wear and tear still held the same royal and grand beauty it had years prior.
And Noctis was there, sitting where he was always destined to be. After ten long and agonizing years finally The One True King had returned.
Prompto clattered to the floor weeping.
The light.
It would never mean anything at the cost of him.
A/N: Okay! I haven't written in years and I finally got around to completing this oneshot but I wouldn't have done it without all the amazing support from my friends from the SkitsoFanActs crew to push me into finishing at least this piece. Maybe I'll write some more in the future, who really knows! Writing this has kind of giving me inspiration to write some more.
Anyway, this was basically written to deal with all the feels I had after the game. I hope you enjoyed!
XOXO, Bridget