AN: This story has been discontinued. My apologies to those who have read and kept up with it- I'm afraid that the excitement and love I had for 15 in particular has been beaten into a slow death. I leave it up only for those of you who wish to read on despite the lack of a conclusion, and for those of you who read and encouraged me as I went. At this time I have no plans to return to it, but who knows what may happen in the future.
It was the chilled, empty space that woke him from a pleasant dream involving the ocean and golden sands. Normally, Gladiolus would twist and turn throughout the night as his mind conjured up a million different things he could never remember, but his sleep was never disturbed by his leaping imagination. Most of the time he would wake up sprawled over his prince, protectively cradling his dark hair with one large and calloused hand. It never woke Noctis though. In fact, hardly anything persuaded Noctis into wakefulness, unless they had already got him sitting up and had spent a good while pestering him.
So it was downright strange when he rolled over and his hand grasped at empty bedding.
"Hm…?", he opened one eye slowly, dragging himself out of the beckoning hands of sleep, then the other as he pushed an arm under him to look around. His brows drew down, and he sat up swiftly. Prompto was still asleep, but he could see the light of the camp stove and smell the rich scent of Ebony. Ignis was awake.
Gladiolus groaned softly as he rose, arms extending underneath him, and ducked out of the tent. Yup, there was Iggy, sitting next to a newly lit campfire with a mug in hand.
"Where's Noctis?", he asked. He pulled his boots on and laced them with practiced motions, glancing around. Noctis never woke up on his own, not this early. Not even to take a piss.
And how did he slip out without waking up Gladiolus?
"Went for a walk, I believe", Ignis didn't look up from his phone. A quick peek- King's Knight. Should have known, they were all playing the stupid game right now. Of course, Prompto was the responsible one. He'd downloaded it first, hadn't shut up about it, and was so often handing it off for someone to farm his tree or upgrade his items while he was busy that eventually they had all gotten hooked. Even Noctis, who Gladiolus never really saw on his phone. He was usually sleeping.
"And you thought that was a good idea?", the big man jogged to the edge of the haven, skidding a few small pebbles off the edge, and gazed out into the dark underbrush and the huge pipeline between the haven and the road. Anxiety crawled across his skin. How was he supposed to find him in this dark? Why the fuck did Ignis let him go alone?
"Even the prince needs some time to himself. I'd suggest leaving him alone." Finally, Ignis had looked up and could now see Gladiolus scowling at him.
"Are you kidding me? No way in hell. Which way did he go?", there was no way he was leaving the prince to prance around in the dark. Where daemon's could get ahold of his royal ass. What was Ignis thinking?
The advisor sighed and lowered his mug to his knee. Gladiolus didn't appreciate the look he was given— he was being judged. He knew that accusatory stare. What did I do? He was always after Noctis for something or other, but it was his job dammit. The guy couldn't live in his catered little world forever.
"Forget it. I'll find him", it was a promise and a threat, because he was going to throttle Noctis for straying like this. Damned royalty. He had no concern for their worry, always rushing off ahead into throngs of enemies or disappearing around corners and ducking into tiny passages before Gladiolus could grab his coat.
Slippery as a wet cat, and with a similar temper to boot.
No wonder he sleeps so much.
He set out in the direction of the Regalia, which was parked on the side of the road some 200 meters away. If Ignis wasn't worried, he was probably close by. And while unusual, the car was a prominent location in their little group. Noctis might even have moved to sleep in it if he actually had been woken by Gladiolus's tossing. The thought sparked a little guilt and dimmed his annoyance. It wasn't easy sleeping next to someone who moved so much, which was why Ignis now slept between him and Prompto. Poor Ignis. But it was better than Prompto being sacrificed to Gladiolus's ire.
Still, a little discomfort didn't mean the prince could run off like this. Again, Gladiolus had to wonder why Ignis hadn't hauled their charge back. It wasn't normal behavior for Noctis to go off in the middle of the night anyway, he couldn't have been itching for a stroll that bad.
Gladiolus shined his light into the car once he had reached it, and opened a door to peer in for good measure. No prince uncharming to be found.
"Damn brat…"
He turned around and looked over the relatively flat area. The haven was carved out of a stone outcropping, glowing faintly with a starry backdrop. There were several boulders surrounding it, though none of them easy to climb. The anxiety heightened as he started picking his way back to camp, eyes scanning uselessly in the dark. Insomnia never felt as pitch black as the countryside did, and while Gladiolus dug the whole camping thing, even he felt uneasy in this much darkness. How was he supposed to find the prince?
Movement had him summoning his sword in a split second, but thank the Gods he didn't swing. It was Noctis, looking startled off to his right, seated on a little rock with no god damn light.
"What the hell are you doing? Trying to get killed?", Gladiolus snapped, reaching down to grab Noctis and haul him up like he had done a million other times. But Noctis flinched, recoiled as if about to be struck, and it made Gladiolus's heart plummet. For a long moment there was silence, before Noctis looked away. The King's Shield slowly pulled his hand back. He'd seen Noctis move similarly a few times now, dodging a friendly touch or dancing away from them when they came too close, but it had always been after battle. Gladiolus had chalked it up to adrenaline.
Maybe it wasn't.
As brave in battle as he was, talking wasn't his strongest gift. He felt a moment of temptation to leave the matter alone— Ignis had said to leave Noctis be— but then… If something was hurting Noctis… It was his job to know. Some things he couldn't fix, tragedies such as his Majesty's death and the loss of Insomnia were beyond his power, but Noctis jerking back like that? It made Gladiolus worry. Who hurt the prince? When? Why flinch away from a friend?
"Ah…", shit, nice way to start. He was held up by silence again until he looked at the ground lit up by his light. "Sure you should be so far off?"
Dammit.
A soft laugh, and Noctis pulled his legs tighter. The action drew the tank's attention to the younger man's posture, which was defensively drawn tight. Not loose, carefree in their presence as was normal. Gladiolus couldn't see his face to know exactly what that laugh meant. The prince's tone was sometimes hard to read.
After a few seconds without a response, Gladiolus huffed and switched his light off to sit down in the dark with Noctis. Within moments the shadows felt like they were creeping along his skin, and he had to wonder how the prince was comfortable at all.
Perhaps sitting on a rock, rather than dusty earth, had something to do with it.
"So… Any particular reason you're up so early? Kinda unusual for you."
An understatement.
He could barely see the shrug Noctis gave him, and the action only irritated him. He wished the dark haired royal would speak up sometimes. He tried again. "Ya wanna tell me why?"
"Not really."
His tone slid through the shadows like oil rising above water, distinct but smooth. And quiet. Gladiolus tried to get a better look at Noctis's face as the prince looked towards the setting moon, but all he could see was the faint outline of his friend. He really needed to adjust to the faint lighting, and quickly. It was making him nervous, being unable to see.
"Alright… What about why you flinched like that?", he asked, and suddenly had the intense sensation of eyes on him. At least the look was coming from Noctis and not some wild animal. Was he prying? No. It was his job to pry, shake, and hunt down every detail of Noctis's life so he could protect the future king from his own mistakes as well as attacks.
More silence, and he couldn't take it. He reached out and grabbed hold of Noctis's arm, and didn't miss the way the prince leaned away from him for it. His hand was shaken off immediately, and Gladiolus scowled. "What the hell are you acting like this for?"
"Can you just leave me alone?", Noctis's voice brought about an discomfort that made Gladiolus swallow. He sounded… Tired. Beyond tired, exhausted. And sad, but in that achingly hollow way that didn't seek comfort. It disturbed the Shield, because the prince should never sound like that. As if all hope was lost. It just wasn't right.
"Can you just answer my questions?", Gladiolus snapped, and groaned subconsciously for getting sharp. He always did with Noctis, but the damned prince was so evasive. He never knew what the guy was thinking unless he riled him up enough to make his thoughts obvious. He knew immediately that he'd made a mistake in asking so roughly, because the reluctant silence from Noctis got a lot heavier. Gladiolus didn't know what to say to sway Noctis back into speaking, and the temptation to scold him rose again. But that wasn't going to help.
"Fuck, Noct. Just talk to me", he said, and shifted a bit closer. He could feel the air suddenly charge with electricity and Noctis stiffen. For a moment, the Shield thought he was going to get shocked by a Thunder, but the danger in the air slowly faded away. Noctis didn't move away again, but the silence persisted until Gladiolus felt the need to open his mouth again. Noctis's voice stopped him from speaking.
"It was just a nightmare", the prince said quietly.
"A nightmare?", the tall man scoffed in disbelief, and then was startled as Noctis shifted away.
"If you don't care then don't ask. Just leave me alone."
"Wait, wait-", he grabbed Noctis before he could get up, and this time got his hand zapped for it. He didn't know Noctis could really do a mini zap until now, was he really that mad at Gladiolus for finding a nightmare this ridiculous?
"Ouch- fuck Noct-." He should his hand to relieve some of the tingling, clenching and releasing a fist to get some feeling back. He could almost feel Noctis's ire, and remembered with sudden clarity the increasing annoyance in the prince's voice lately whenever they teased him. Noctis was growing entirely unamused with their habits lately. Maybe Gladiolus couldn't just go about grabbing him anymore… He would be the king one day.
The thought weighed his heart down, but he clung to the image of his father and King Regis striding down to halls or seated in the dining hall together. Noctis being king one day didn't mean that they couldn't be friends.
"Sorry." Gladiolus could hear how subdued Noctis had gotten again. Dammit. At least he wasn't going anywhere, and the tattooed man was finally starting to be able to see.
"It's fine. Probably shouldn't be grabbing you anyway. Just… Tell me about the nightmare." He couldn't believe he was really saying that. Since when were nightmares bad enough to wake Noctis up in the middle of the night? And Ignis for that matter too, the bespectacled man had to have been woken by Noctis. Which irritated him measurably, why hadn't he woken up?
Again, silence. Again, Gladiolus had just started to open his mouth to speak when Noctis beat him to it.
"We were on a train. And… Something was really wrong. We felt really wrong." The prince was quiet, as quiet as the night after he'd left his apartment without an escort and Gladiolus had caught up to him just in time to prevent a drunken mugging at gunpoint. That was a far cry from Fayemoore Haven, north of Hammerhead, in the dead of night and surrounded by stars rather than buildings.
"We as in you and me?", that was… Not very enlightening. But concerning. If Noctis had an issue with him, he didn't know what had caused it.
There was a sound of frustration.
"Yeah, but… Not just us. Everyone. Everyone was upset and…", the prince trailed off, and Gladiolus couldn't help but stiffen at the suffering that laced his tone a moment before.
"And?", he prompted, a little more into the talking thing now. That dream sounded pretty fucked up. He never had nightmares where the group wasn't getting along. The thought drew a shudder. His worst nightmares consisted of failing in his duty, in Noctis being torn away from them by their own carelessness.
He didn't try to touch Noctis again, instead waiting impatiently for that voice to sound again. Maybe if he went to speak—
"I've never felt so much… Grief", sure enough, Noctis was talking again, "It was like it was all I could feel. And it was so real. It felt like I was really there."
Gladiolus frowned, and tap his fingers nervously on his crossed knees. He didn't know how to respond to that. He couldn't really just tell Noctis to suck it up, could he? There had to be a reason it had continued to bother him.
"That it?"
Another pause, but he could see Noctis's expression this time. It twisted with worry and reluctance, and with fear. Fear that had Gladiolus's heart rate pick up in empathy. He didn't like the way his prince shifted again, didn't like seeing slim fingers pull at his pants legs in anxiety. The darkness around them seemed thicker for it.
"I think you hated me."
It was like a blow to the stomach, as if he were actually being assaulted by surprise. Gladiolus let out a breath and went wide eyed, jaw tightening as his lips thinned into a fine line.
"What the hell makes you say that?", he asked, resting his elbows on his knees to lean forward. He didn't like that one bit. Dream or not, he never wanted Noctis to think that he hated him. That was just stupid. They were best friends, and while they hadn't hit it off in the beginning they were as close as they could be now. Hell, Gladiolus would do anything for Noctis.
Noctis sighed uncomfortably and shifted, stretching his legs out. The Shield was glad to see that, it meant that the prince wasn't feeling as vulnerable. Maybe the talking thing really had a purpose beyond emotional shit, if it could make Noctis relax.
"It was your eyes. You looked so angry man. I don't know what I did to piss dream-you off, but you were gunna beat me any second for it." Noctis sounded frustrated. His ran his fingers through his hair, and for just a moment his eyes caught enough light for Gladiolus to see the wounded look in them. That wasn't right.
"Hey, don't beat yourself up over a dream. It's not real." He didn't enjoy seeing the prince stressing over something so unimportant. Everything was fine in the real world. Noctis hummed in agreement, and silence fell for a while, until his royalty yawned and Gladiolus chuckled.
"You should get your last few hours in. We're after those bounties tomorrow, you're going to need it", he said, "Can't have you sleeping on the job now."
Noctis laughed. "Yeah, you guys give me enough shit already…", he muttered, and Gladiolus didn't miss the hint of irritation in the statement. Maybe he needed to lay off a bit. In any case, the issue that had caused Noctis to seek alone time had been dealt with, and hopefully tomorrow night Gladiolus would wake up with the prince next to him like normal. He stood up, clicking his light back on, and held his hand out to Noctis.
He stilled when he saw how pale the prince was, but didn't get the chance to say anything when Noctis took his hand and hauled himself up. In a swift movement, the prince had moved past him and was already walking towards camp. How did he see in the dark enough to move around?
But it slipped his mind as he jogged to catch up, already thinking about the approaching day and what was in store for them.
So like the question about the darkness, the reason for Noctis's flinching went unanswered.
