Note: Edited from an earlier version where Prompto was overly dramatic and unrealistic :') Thanks to CrossedQuills for your helpful feedback!

Chapter 1

'Kweh!' the shrill cry woke Prompto up with a start. It was the middle of the night by the Astor Slough, and the other guys were still asleep in the tent. He rubbed his eyes. Had he imagined that sound? 'kweh kweh!' came another cry. That time the noise was unmistakable. Prompto rushed to unzip the tent, being careful not to wake the others. At his feet, was a fat yellow fluffball. Shaking uncontrollably, the little creature chirped at him again.

'Hey there little guy, what's got your feathers all ruffled?' Prompto asked the chocobo chick. The response was further chirping. Had it lost it's mother? The gunner crawled out of the tent, rezipping it behind him. There was an urgency in those 'kweh's that concerned him. 'Okay lil' dude, we're gonna go find your mama.' He scooped up the ruffled bird into his arms, and started walking away from the tent. 'All you gotta do is keep chirping okay? That way your mama will hear ya.' He reassured the creature, stroking its feather. The poor thing was warm but terrified.

A little way from camp the forest grew thicker, and the chocobo chick became more frantic with it's chirping. Were they getting closer? Prompto summoned his gun, knowing there were Sabertusks in the area. He would protect the little chick until he found his family. He was not prepared for what he saw next however, as they reached a small clearing. The gunner's eyes widened as he nearly dropped the chick.

Before him was absolute chaos. There were feathers, everywhere, caught between twigs and rocks. In amongst the disorder was a chocobo, facing off with a fully grown behemoth.

'Shit'. Prompto took a step back. 'Okay little guy, you hide over there. I'll come find you when this is over.' he set the trembling chick on the ground, before raising his gun. His hand was shaking. He probably only had one shot at this, with the others back in the tent, but he had to save that chocobo. Carefully, he took aim for the behemoth's head. If he could just get it between the eyes…

Bang! The sound of the gunshot woke Gladiolus. He looked around, instinctively checking on each of his companions. 'Crap...' Prompto was missing. Had the kid already managed to get himself in danger? They had only spent one day in the area and he'd already gone wandering off. Seeing no point in waking up the others just yet, he climbed out of the tent, and looked around. There was no sign of the blonde gunner anywhere. He walked in a circle round the haven, keeping his eyes peeled for signs of movement. Moments later, a small yellow fluffball bumped into him. The tiny creature reminded him of Prompto's daft haircut.

'Hey there.' Gladio looked down at the chocobo chick, 'You haven't seen a shortish blonde guy with freckles, have you?' The chick chirped up at him, and he finally realised just how frightened the chick looked. 'Okay lead the way'. He wondered briefly if he should wake the others after all, but if it was a Sabertusk pack on the prowl, he and Prompto should suffice to handle it. The chick it ruffled up its feathers even more, before scurrying away into the forest, Gladio following behind it.

Prompto's first shot had hit the behemoth square between the eyes. It even made a 'bink' sound as it bounced off the creature. Unfortunately however, the creature clearly had felt the bullet hit, as it reared on it's hind legs and let out an almighty roar. Prompto was shaking all over. No wonder the little chick had been so scared. What should he do? If he left the chocobo now, she would surely become that thing's midnight snack. Forcing his body to cooperate with him, he reached into the air,

'Hey big guy! Over here!' He called, waving his arms above his head. 'Tasty human right here!' Already angered, the beast growled low in it's throat, before prowling toward him. Prompto gulped. He had not thought ahead this far. He fired another shot, this time aiming for it's eyes. If he could just land one good shot, maybe he could get it distracted enough for the chocobo to get away. The poor bird was barely moving though. He needed to get over to it to give it a potion. How could he get the behemoth away without leaving the chocobo behind? He thought of his friends for a moment, sleeping soundly back at the campsite. He didn't want to die, but he had to do something. Fighting all of his instincts, he ran toward the beast at full speed, crouching down at the last moment and sliding under it's huge roaring chest. He quickly started running again, straight toward the chocobo, pulling off the potion's bottle cap as he ran. He grabbed the poor bird by the beak, and forced the potion down it's throat, before taking off again. This time he ran deeper into the forest, goading the behemoth to follow him, 'This way dogbreath!' He yelled at the beast. He could feel the creature's hot breath on his neck as he ran. What had he gotten himself into?

Gladio followed the little chirping fluffball into the forest, until he heard a loud roar. Crap, that wasn't a Sabertusk. He broke into a sprint, picking up the chick as he ran. He hoped that kid was okay. Prompto was capable, but he had a habit of either being a wuss, or rushing into things gung-ho and guns blazing, literally. It wasn't long before he reached the clearing, where he had to take a moment for his eyes to absorb what was going on in front of him. Amongst hundreds of yellow feathers, was a chocobo. The little chick hopped out of his arms, and hurried over to it's mother. The bird seemed completely unharmed, but then why were there feathers everywhere? He had a sinking feeling in his gut.

'You, stay here!' He called to the chocobos, before looking around for tracks. It didn't take long with his survival skills, before he found the large claw prints in the ground. 'Crap, definitely not a Sabertusk.' He broke into a sprint again, following the trail of giant prints. He felt his heart beat faster, as he thought of his companion facing off a behemoth on his own. Was he even still alive? He snatched up his mobile from his pocket, dialing as he ran.

Shit. Gladio really cared about that kid. He remembered coming with him to get his foster parents' permission for him to go with the prince on their journey, and their lack of interest. They had brushed it off, as if their son being in danger was no big deal, and they didn't care if he was happy or not. Their indifferent expressions had made him so angry, but Prompto had begged him to stay calm in case they changed their minds. He remembered training Prompto to use a gun, how to fight. The kid had been a fast learner. He was rough round the edges, but he was a good shot, and despite his regular cases of the heebie-jeebies, he was brave when it mattered, and loyal to a fault.

'Nice doggy…' Prompto cooed to the Behemoth before him. He was backed up against the thick trunk of a tree. He had run out of energy to run, so he had resorted to talking to it. The beast's growling grew lower, its great eyes focusing in on him. 'Sit boy.' the gunner growled back.

Prompto had lived a short, strange sort of life. His childhood was a blur of fear and isolation, and after his escape from Niflheim, he had struggled to fit in. It was not until he had met his companions that he had finally felt like he had a 'home' to come back to. He swallowed hard, before pointing his gun yet again at the beast's head. It was only a matter of time before the behemoth ate him. He couldn't die like that. Instead he jumped.

Gladio stopped dead in his tracks, his heart in his throat. He had arrived just in time to see Prompto jump straight over the behemoth's snapping jaws, before landing on it's head. He just stood there for a moment, completely unable to process what he was seeing. Prompto ran along the creature's back, before sliding to the ground, and aiming his gun at the thing's eye.

Bang! One shot, and the behemoth howled in pain. It would never see from that eye again. It took a final swipe at Prompto, knocking him off his feet, before it darted off into the woods.

As Gladio ran over to him, he could see that Prompto was badly injured. How could he have let this happen? How could he have failed his friend when he needed him most? He fell to the ground beside the gunner, eyes darting over him, looking for signs of injury. His clothing was torn from the beast's claws, and he had three deep cuts in his chest.

Gladio snatched a potion from his pocket, and popped the cap off, before tipping the bottle against Prompto's lips. His hand was steady, even though his head was spinning. The gunner coughed up blood. 'Stay with me you idiot!' Gladio yelled at him, 'Don't you dare leave me here.' He fisted his hand into the younger man's hair, seeking comfort. He barely registered the arrival of Noct, Ignis and the chocobos. 'Kweh...' The mother chocobo sounded concerned. 'Kweh!' The little chick chirped. It wriggled its fat body over to Prompto, and pecked at him once. Gladio moved to swat it away, but he could not bring himself to hit the tiny creature. The chick looked confused, and wandered over to the young man's head. He looked all wrong, his face too pale. Gladio pulled him closer. If he had just got there sooner… the potion hadn't healed all the damage.

'Kweh!' The fat chocobo chick protested. Ignis had his arm around Noct, who was a little shocked. Gladio felt utterly helpless in that moment, until he spotted what the chocobo chick was doing. There was a tiny glow emanating from the little fluffball, slowly spreading out, and lighting up Prompto. Confused, Gladio blinked. What was this light?

The light was so strong that Prompto had to blink. He tried to turn his head to the side, but he couldn't move, and the light persisted. He tried scrunching his eyes up to block out the light, but instead it began to fade anyway. He found that he was aching all over. As the light receded, he cracked open an eye, and could just make out the outline of Gladio. He was close, but something was off. The man's hard features were filled with fear. Gladio was never afraid. Without thought, the gunner reached out one hand.

It took great effort just to move, but Prompto managed to brush his thumb over the bodyguard's cheek. The larger man's eyes widened, his gaze landing on Prompto's,

'Thank fuck!' To Prompto's surprise, Gladio pulled him against his chest, his strong arms wrapping around the gunner's aching body, 'Holy crap kid. Don't do that to me again.'

'W-What's going on?' Prompto huffed as his breath was knocked out of him by Noct joining in the huddle.

'You gave us quite the scare.' Ignis explained, 'You were severely injured.'

'S-Sorry.' He croaked. He tried to stand up, but to no avail. His legs were shaky. Instead he found himself being lifted in Gladio's strong arms. Had the bodyguard always been this gentle? Just then a 'kweh!' peeped up from below them. The little fat chocobo chick was looking up at him expectantly, its mother not far away. 'H-Hey lil' guy,'

'Kweh!' The chick chirped. It danced around in a little circle, I will remember your kindness yellow one! Prompto heard the voice in his head and gasped. Had that chocobo just…? He felt like the little bird's thoughts had projected into his mind. Good bye friend. The chocobo chick chirped a final time, before scurrying after it's mother, back into the forest.

'That chocobo chick healed you.' Ignis spoke up,

'It had some kinda magic.' Gladio remarked as he started walking back to the campsite.

'I guess he owed you one.' Noct smiled, his face now full of relief. Wow. Had Prompto really worried them all that much? Now he felt like a complete ass. He was happy the chocobos were okay though.

It was late when they got back to camp, so Noct and Ignis went to crash in the tent. Gladio was sitting with Prompto by the fire. Neither of them had felt much like sleeping after that ordeal, so they were just sitting in the warmth in silence. Prompto felt like utter crap. His body was a wreck, and he wanted to kick himself for making everyone worry. Gladio was sitting there like a statue. The gunner wanted to comfort him somehow, but he was useless at that kind of thing,

'Thanks for looking out for me.' Prompto nudged the bodyguard, trying to lighten the mood, 'I didn't fancy becoming dog food.' Gladio looked up at him at that moment, a mix of emotions swirling behind his eyes. He seemed to be wrestling with something,

'Do you value your own life?' he asked finally, 'Do you even realise your own worth?' Prompto felt his heart skip a beat. He had never once given thought to his own value. He was stunned speechless. 'Promise me that you won't do that again; that you'll rely on us more.'

'I… I don't know what I was thinking. To be honest, I'm not even sure at what point I realised it was too late to call for back-up. I lack experience, but I'll learn from this I swear.' He looked Gladio in the eye, so he would know he was serious.

They sat in silence for a while longer, and Prompto found himself gazing into the fire. His hand moved to his head, touching his hair. He glanced over at Gladio. He had woken up in the bodyguard's arms, and he'd been more upset than even Noct had seemed. Was he missing something?

'Gladio?'

'Hmn?'

'Um, about earlier… Did you by any chance…?'

'See you jump over a behemoth's mouth? Yeah. I did.' Gladio stared at him. Crap. No wonder he had been so upset.

'Ah… well you see-' Prompto was cut off, as Gladio's grabbed him by his torn shirt, his hands balling into fists. He leaned in close, and let out a low growl, 'G-Gladio?' the gunner gulped,

'You still don't get it.' The bodyguard said through gritted teeth, 'We care about you. I care about you. You scared the shit out'a me.' The rest of the world slipped away as Gladio said those words. Prompto could only stare at him, eyes wide. Nobody had told him they cared about him before, and he had certainly not expected it from Gladio. He could feel his heart pounding away in his chest as the words sank in. Slowly, he rested his gloved hands on Gladio's fists,

'I'm so sorry. I'm not used to having people care what happens to me at all, so depending on others doesn't come naturally to me. I promise I'll learn though.' Prompto said with all the sincerity he could muster. He truly didn't want to hurt his friends like that again. Gladio loosened his grip, before tugging him closer,

'Whatever happens, I'm here for you.' The bodyguard was looking at him with such intensity that Prompto felt his cheeks grow hot. He nodded, and Gladio finally let him go, before standing up. 'Can you walk?'

'Uh huh' Prompto tried moving his legs, and they were less shaky now. The two men climbed inside the tent being careful not to wake the others. They had left plenty of space for them on one side of the tent, so Prompto lay down beside Noct.

'Get some sleep,' Gladio whispered low, lying down on his other side, 'We'll get you back in shape tomorrow.' the gunner was not sure what that would entail, but it sounded like a chore. Maybe Gladio was back to his usual self?

Prompto slept fitfully that night, his head filled with images of the night's events: He was running through the forest, the behemoth hot on his tail, when a large, gentle hand reached for him. He was pulled out of harm's way, and then that hand was fisting through his hair, and he felt himself being pressed against a strong, warm body. 'Don't you dare leave me here.' the figure said. He sounded like he was in pain.

Gladio could not sleep at all. He had tried several positions, but in the end he was only content when he could see Prompto with both eyes. He needed to keep reassuring himself that the young blonde was okay. He could tell the kid wasn't sleeping well. He kept tossing and turning, and murmuring things. This was so unlike him. Normally Prompto would be sprawled out without a care in the world. Gladio leaned in to try and catch what the gunner was murmuring about. It was so quiet he had to press his ear right up to Prompto's lips,

'It's not your fault… Gladio.' the gunner insisted. He was asleep, and Gladio had not misheard him. The bodyguard felt a hot wetness around his eyes, and he could not help himself, as he reached around the smaller man, and pulled him into his arms. He held him like that for a long time, until the blonde finally drifted into a deeper sleep.