Beta read by: SinikkavonWolperting
Okie doke, next one-shot. This was second on the list when I did the poll for what people wanted, so here it is, as promised. :D Enjoy a confused Gladio.
His foot squelched into yet another puddle, one that was apparently a lot deeper than it had appeared to be. The blond groaned audibly, practically jumping out of the ess to shake his foot off, as if that would magically dry it off. "I hate this place, I despise it with ever fiber of my being. Hell, I hate it with every fiber of your beings too," he ranted out, bending over to wring some of the excess moisture from his pants.
"It's not that bad," Gladio sighed, starting to grow tired of the complaints; it had seemed to be non-stop since they entered this place. What did the kid expect? It was a cave, it wasn't going to be all sunshine and rainbows.
The blond only groaned again and went out of his way to avoid another deceptively shallow puddle. "Easy for you to say, you like this kind of stuff." The shield raised an eyebrow at that and scoffed under his breath.
"We shouldn't be down here too long," Ignis reminded them from the front, slowing down once he came close to another fork. He swore this place was like a maze...a dark and damp maze that smelled of dirt and mildew. And, if he didn't know any better, he'd say it would be fairly easy to get lost in a place such as this; everything looked the same and he couldn't spot anything that could be considered a landmark. "It's this way," he announced, choosing the right path.
Noctis hesitated before following, looking down each way to see if he could spot a difference, but seeing none. "How the hell do you know that's that right way?" he asked skeptically.
"This way has a slight breeze," he replied simply. He kept his pace up, never pausing as the raven continued to question his intuition. Forever the skeptic, that one. "Breeze means it's not a dead end," he added when Noctis asked a few more times how he was completely sure.
The prince held up his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright, I believe you. I just don't wanna end up getting lost down here," he sighed, putting his hands behind his head to stroll along. "It's wet and cold, and smells terrible, and I can name a few places I'd rather get stuck."
In the back of the line, Prompto was still going out of his way to step over any sketchy spots, and more than once had to grab onto Gladio's jacket to keep from tripping or slipping. "Is it just me...or is this place getting more difficult to walk through?" he asked, nearly sliding once more, only to have the shield grab a hold of his wrist and keep him upright. Glancing up ahead, he could tell that almost the entire floor was sheening with moisture.
"As long as you watch where you're stepping, you should be fine," Gladio grunted, released his hand and walking around a particularly treacherous area. "But, yeah, to answer your question, it does seem to be getting a bit worse." As the words left his mouth, they all picked up on a sound in the distance, muffled as the stone walls blocked it off.
Ahead of them, the adviser slowed down, gesturing for the others to remain quiet as he listened more closely. "It sounds like running water," he announced, a small smirk on his face. "Just as I thought, this is the right way." He shot a look to Noctis that was his version of a, 'I told you so,' and continued on.
The farther down they traveled, the more their feet splashed around in the building up water, and before too long, they were sure it'd be up to their ankles. There was no avoiding it any longer. But, there was no other way to go, none that they could see anyway, so this had to be it. The closer they drew, the louder and more clear it was, until they could easily tell that it was a waterfall they were hearing.
"We're close," the brunet informed, getting a few sighs of relief. It wouldn't have been that bad, but this water was freezing as it were, and their feet were starting to lose a bit of their feeling.
Prompto had his arms wrapped tightly around himself, the lack of sleeves making him the only one that was shivering from the low temperature. Keeping his eyes down, the sudden weight around his shoulders caught him off guard and caused him to jump with the sensation. "Wha-" he looked up, catching a glimpse of black as he looked past the material to see a now completely topless Gladio. "Aren't you cold?" he asked, unsure if he should really accept the offer.
"I'll be fine," he brushed off, his form totally steady, opposite of the blond's. "Unlike you, I'm not scrawny enough to be bothered by this." He folded his arms over his chest and stepped forward, getting in front of Prompto before he could protest any further.
Pulling the jacket tighter around himself, the gunner trudged on with a small, 'If you say so.' At least he wasn't shivering anymore, so that was a plus. Sometimes he forgot how much larger the guy was than him, and the way this hung off him was a stark reminder to that difference in size; the thing practically swallowed him whole. And, he was so thankful to be on his side.
"Aha!" Ignis' voice rang out, and even from the back, the way it bounced off walls could be heard. "Here we are, now it's just a matter of finding that tomb," he breathed out, scanning the area. But, before he looked too closely into things, he stepped up onto a higher area to finally get out of the water. The rest of them were eager to follow his example. They all took a moment to pace around a bit in an attempt to get blood flowing back to their feet, wiggling their toes and everything until pins and needles slowly began to form.
For the first time, the four of them got to take a real look around, and the place wasn't exactly huge, but compared to the tunnels, it was rather roomy. Which means, their goal wouldn't be hard to spot, the only thing making it tricky was the amount of mist and fog from all the water. It was already rather dark as it were, so the extra obscurity was only making this worse.
"Is that it?" Noctis asked, squinting his eyes to try and peer into the distance. "Dammit, it's so hard to make things out," he grounded, rubbing his eyes to see if that would help any, but no such luck.
Ignis looked around for a moment longer, not seeing anything else yet. So far, it was the only thing that appeared as though it could be it, but he still wasn't sure. "This place isn't too big," he started, "so, it'd be faster of we split up into groups. Two of us can cover one side, and the others can cover the other side. If anyone sees anything, and I do mean anything, then don't hesitate to call for the others.
"Fine by me, let's get going then," Noctis was already strutting forward, giving the adviser no other choice tan to hurry up in order not to lose track of him.
"Guess that leaves us," Gladio sighed, turning to head the other way. "Try not to get lost."
"Do be careful," Ignis called back one last time, wanting to make sure everyone understood he was being serious before heading back after the prince. "And you," he directed towards the raven, "it would do you good not to be so hasty." He sighed in annoyance, beckoning Noctis to pause and wait on him.
Tapping his foot as he waited for his adviser to catch up, he muttered under his breath, "Not like I'm going to get lost in here." His little snippy comment was heard, but not commented on. Once they were together, they set back up, at a much more reasonable pace this time. He kept a close eye on that one spot as they approached, but the closer they got, the more it appeared to just be a trick of the eyes. And, by the time they reached it, it was obviously just a boulder that had been filtered through all the fog.
"You have to be kidding me," the raven groaned, looking around for something else to catch his attention. Before he could choose another direction though, Ignis was waving from him to just walk around it. Rolling his eyes, he followed after the brunet, letting out a quiet 'oh' when he saw what the big deal was.
"Guess in a way, you were right," the strategist offered, trying to give him at least a little bit of something. He gave the younger man a sly grin as he strolled by, mumbling something incoherent to himself. "After you. I'll let the others know we found it." He let the prince go in alone, seeing as these places were generally safe enough. And, if there were anything inside, it most likely would have heard them by now. Pulling out his phone, he shot them a quick message just to fill them in. After he hit send, he went to put it back in his pocket, but paused midway. He heard something, it was muffled, but it sounded like a cry…
It took a moment for Noctis to come back out. "What was that?" he asked, the second he was back by Ignis' side. "You heard that didn't you?"
"Yeah… Did you finish in there?" he asked, nodding back to the tomb.
Noctis assured him that he did, and looked off towards where he assumed the yell to have come from. "I don't want to worry you, but that sounded a lot like Prompto," he admitted, already fearing the worst. He didn't wait for the other, he didn't need to, and Ignis didn't try to stop him, harboring the same worry himself.
Prompto stayed close to the Brute...not because he was scared or anything, but with visibility as low as it was, he didn't want to risk getting separated. Not when they weren't even sure if the coast was clear or not. Pulling the jacket higher up when he felt it slipping, he skipped forward a couple of feet until he was by the shield's side.
"See anything yet?" Gladio asked, not looking back. His own eyes were narrowed as he struggled to see a few yards in front of him.
Humming to let the other know he was heard, the blond glanced around, but there was nothing. Nothing but obscurity and a few rocky formations. "Nah, nothing that looks familiar anywa- Wait…" he stopped, the larger man right after him. "What was that?" he asked, knowing he was the only one that saw, but hoping nonetheless. "I think I saw someone," he clarified, pointing off to the side.
"Are you sure?" he raised an eyebrow, finding that to be more than a little unbelieveable. If someone else was down there, he was sure they would have known by now. With all the water on the ground and the way sound traveled, it would have been near impossible for anyone to sneak around in a place like this.
"I don't know what else it could have been," he whispered, as if talking normally would give them away, despite they've thrown caution to the wind until now. "Hello?" he called out, his timid voice barely loud enough to be heard by anyone other than the two of them.
Gladio gave him the benefit of the doubt, and gave it a couple of moments before he grew restless. "I'm gonna check it out," he said, already working his way over. Prompto didn't let him get far though, leaping forward to walk next to him again. "Let me know if you see anything else, alright?" The blond just nodded, summoning his gun in a flash to be prepared just in case. He gripped it close, keeping his eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary.
The both of them kept their noise to a minimum, listening for anything that stuck out, but so far, all that could be heard was their own cautious steps and a few drips here and there. "I-I thought I saw something," Prompto whispered after some time, feeling a little embarrassed if it really were just the four of them.
"Hmm," Gladio hummed, keeping his attention forward. He was about to relax, but something seemed to scurry out of the corner of his eye. "Wait here," he instructed, his own weapon summoned in an instant as he rushed forward, leaving the blond behind.
He reached out for the brute, but just narrowly missed. "Wait!" he called after him, chewing on his lip when he swiftly became distorted from the mist. "Gladio," he spoke in a hushed tone, ignoring his given instructions and following after the shield anyway. His pace slowed marginally when Gladio was becoming more clear, but he was just standing there, staring off after something.
"Gladio?" he questioned, a little worried now. Still, he didn't move, so Prompto inched closer. "Is everything alright?" Finally, he got some sort of response out of the man, though it wasn't one he was expecting. Turning slowly, his behemoth of a sword scraped against the rocks, sending a chill down the gunner's spine. "Gladdy?" he instinctively took a step back when he could finally see into those eyes, so void of life, like he wasn't seeing what was right in front of him.
Blue orbs wavered as the larger man took a long step towards him, then another, and a third, gradually picking up speed as he went. "What are you doing?" he asked when there was only a few feet between them. "Gladio, snap outta i-" he was interrupted as a gasp sounded out and he narrowly managed to jump to the side. The breeze created by the heavy swing ruffled his hair. He… He just attacked him, attacked with the intention to harm.
The blond took a deep and shuddering breath, a bead of sweat tickling the back of his neck. "W-What the hell was that for?!" he exclaimed, voice trembling with overactive nerves. Again, Gladio gave no verbal reply, only turned to face him again and raised his blade in preparation for another swing. Prompto took another step back, dismissing his own weapon to free up his hands and hold them up in surrender.
"Please, knock it off," he begged. "I don't want to hurt you…" This was Gladio he was talking about though, it wasn't likely he'd be able to take him on even if his life did depend on it. He let out a pained sigh, there was no recognition on the other's face, not a single reaction to anything he said. It was like it wasn't him anymore.
There was no time to dwell on the matter though, the larger man was charging forward again, his speed quite a bit higher than it was the first time, and his attack was also increased from the first. Again, Prompto barely dodged, but he felt the sting on his right arm from where it scraped against him and he felt the cold and hard surface of the ground as he went down. He gripped the small wound, the warmth of fresh blood serving as the slap in the face he needed. Gladio wasn't playing around, and this wasn't something he could take lightly.
Shakily pushing himself to his feet, the jacket slid off and fell to the ground. Stumbling back, he almost tripped over the material, temporarily losing his footing. That was all it took, just one minor mistake, and there was nothing he could do against the next charge.
All he felt was blinding agony for a second, a blazing heat that ripped through his shoulder and seemed to spread everywhere. Prompto could feel the scream that tore from his throat, but it was lost under the blaring ringing in his ears. He couldn't see… everything was so bright as his vision flickered between sight and blindness. Every breath burned, and still, he could make out the slow and precise steps that came after him; the bounced off the inside of his skull.
Slowly, and with much more effort than it should have taken, the gunner looked towards the man that towered over him. The glassy glare staring straight through him. "G-Gladdy," he whispered, saying no more than that. It wouldn't do any good, the man was gone, there was no talking him out of this. All he could do was watch as that blade was raised again, his heart thrumming in his ears as he waited for the next blow to come.
Prompto closed his eyes, the lids starting to feel unbearably heavy, and his head was spinning now. He could feel himself falling, but he never felt himself hit the ground, never felt the frigid surface of it. There was no telling how long this lasted, how long he awaited for this to be over, one way or another.
Each splash from his steps seemed to tease him, and Noctis wasn't sure if Ignis was still behind him anymore. He didn't care. His feet carried him without him needing to direct them, his entire being moved on its own as instincts washed away all logical thinking. 'Please be alright,' he thought to himself for the upteenth time since taking off.
In the middle of running, something caught his attention, it was fast, but it was there, and he stopped briefly to scan the area. "Something wrong?" his adviser asked from behind, catching him off guard.
"Did you see that?" he asked, staring off. The brunet was next to him, trying to see for himself. "I saw something, I don't know what though." He didn't ask, he just went after it, he had to check it out for himself; he didn't know if it was one of the others or not. But, if it was, why didn't they say anything? No, it wasn't either of them, it appeared to be too tall to be either of them. Drawing closer, he saw it again, this time it was only a few yards away, and he was one hundred percent positive this thing wasn't a human.
"Noct, stay back," his strategist grabbed onto his wrist and pulled him back, stopping him from wandering after it farther. "Keep your distance from it," he warned, nodding for the prince to take a closer look at the monstrosity. Taking his advice, Noctis stayed back and looked it over, first glancing over its flowing robes and slowly working his way up to the face. He had to stifle a gasp when he really paid attention to it; it was twisted and unnatural. What the hell was that thing?
There was something else that was off by it, he was certain the fog was thicker around it...no, the fog was coming from it. His eyes widened in realization, "Is all this mist…" he trailed off, but it was enough for Ignis to understand, and he nodded in confirmation.
"Ignore it for now, we need to find the others, and fast," the adviser urged, his own fears beginning to grip his heart, making his chest constrict uncomfortably. It took a few tugs to pull Noctis' focus off the thing, but in the end, he nodded along with that proposition. They were priority for the time being, and if they had to, they'd deal with this thing later.
For the first few feet, they remained as quiet as they could, and the moment it was no longer in sight, the took off as quickly as they could. The raven had almost forgotten just how small this area was, all the mist threw him off and made the place appear so much more spacious. Within a minute, he could see a couple forms through the fog; one was kneeling on the ground, and in a fraction of a second, was careening to the side. The other was stepping closer, the much larger figure raising their sword, ready to strike a moment later.
"Prompto!" he called out. He still couldn't make them out, but he just knew it was them, but...Gladio. What the hell was he doing? There was no time to think. In an instant, and on reflex, he summoned and tossed his blade, effectively warping between the two of them, and just in time.
He grit his teeth from the force of the much larger sword grating against his own, a few sparks flew from the collision and stuck his face with slight stings. "Gladio…" he hissed between teeth before thrusting the weapon to the side. "What do you think you're doing?!" he questioned, out of patience the moment he saw him about to attack Prompto… Speaking of. He glanced over his shoulder, his world freezing at the way his friend was just lying there, unmoving.
"Noct!" came Ignis' warning, and not a moment later, he saw the flash as the edge of the blade came flying towards him. Again, he was able to block it, more sparks shooting from the contact.
"Gladio, what's gotten into you, are you trying to kill us?!"
"It's no use," the brunet informed. "You can't talk him out of it." Both hands were digging through his pockets as he mumbled under his breath. "Dammit, keep him busy until I can find it." He got a small growl from the prince, and he took that as him acknowledging his request. The sounds of the two of them battling it out filled the air, and he was searching his pockets in a panic until he finally felt what it was he was looking for.
With the shield distracted, too focused on Noctis to see it coming, the adviser jumped forward, hand outstretched with something sitting in the palm of his hand. Holding it under the brute's nose, they watched as his eyes flickered with awareness for a moment, the tension slowly draining from his form as he wavered on his feet. If it weren't for Noctis, he most likely would have toppled forward, but he was there to hold him up until he was able to support himself again.
One large hand wandered up to his head as pounding battered against the inside of it. "Wh the 'ell?" he slurred, blinking heavily.
"I should be asking you that," the raven seethed. He knew it wasn't his fault, but he was still on edge, and it was just the best way he knew how to deal with it for the time being. "What was that all about?" he asked, releasing his hold and stepping back, dismissing his weapon.
Seeing the flash of blue, Gladio just now realized the heavy presence in his own hand, and his eyes drifted down to the blade, ambers running down the sharpened edge. His gaze widened at the crimson staining it, trails of red that trailed and dripped off its tip. "D-Did I attack you?" he asked, equally stunned and disgusted. "Did I hurt you?" his attention darted up to look the prince over for any wounds.
"No, not me," he almost growled, spinning on the spot to check on the blond, who was still lying on the ground, labored breaths becoming deafening. The shield looked past Noctis, his stomach turning at the gaping slash across the gunner's left shoulder, and the dripping from the blood became louder in his ears.
"Prom?" he uttered, dropping his sword just as it shattered into the aether. He stumbled forward and dropped to his knees next to the small form. "Hey, you with me?" he asked, hands shaking uncharacteristically.
Ignis was on the other side, peeling away the vest and tank top to get a better look at the injury, and it didn't look good. Prompto groaned and flinched at the touch, unconsciously trying to pull away from the pain. "I'll get this done as quickly as I can," the adviser promised, procuring a bottle of water to begin cleaning out the wound. "Either of you two have a potion?" he asked, just a slight uneasiness underneath his tone. There was some shuffling as the others searched their persons, and then one was thrust towards him, eagerly.
"That's all we have," Noctis whispered, afraid to speak any louder.
"It'll have to do," Ignis sighed, slipping the vial into the blond's paling and limp hand. He forced his fingers closed around it, and gave it a good squeeze. Shattering, the curative began to do it's thing, and they watched as the worst of it stitched itself closed, but it wasn't quite enough to make them relax. Prompto wriggled subtle with the burning sensation that branched out from his shoulder and a soft whimper sounded out. That was the only sound he actually made since they got to him.
When it was done doing all it was going to do, Ignis poured the rest of the water to wash away most of the blood. It still wasn't completely closed, but the bleeding had almost stopped altogether, so that was better than nothing. "We got what we came after, we should just leave," Ignis proposed, practically telling the others that there wasn't a choice in the matter.
"Yeah," Gladio breathed out, lacking his usual energy to say more than that. As he was getting to his feet, he paused. "Is it just me," he started, looking around, "or is the fog getting thicker.
"We need to go, now," the adviser declared, lifting the blond into his arms, not having the time to be gentle. Prompto gasped lightly in his hold, his features scrunching in clear discomfort. "I apologize, but we have to hurry," he muttered, hoping he could be heard.
He was already intent on getting out of here, not wasting any more time in heading towards where he remembered the exit being. He didn't get far before realizing the others weren't behind him. "What are you two waiting on? We can't deal with that thing right now." They weren't listening, they both had their weapons drawn, waiting for that thing to show it's warped face.
"You go on ahead," Gladio called over his shoulder, "I'll handle this thing." His hand tightened around his hilt, the object feeling unnaturally heavy in his grasp. The weight of it pulling down on him in a strange way. Gritting his teeth, he hefted it up to rest it on his shoulders. "You too Noct, go with them."
The raven scoffed at the offer. "Yeah, and leave you here to get taken over again, not a chance." Gladio rolled his eyes, but he didn't argue against it. It did happen once, but now he understood what they were up against, so he highly doubted it would become a problem a second time. "If you insist," he sighed. "Just try not to get in the way.
Ignis was at a loss. "What is wrong with you guys? For once, can't you just think of your own lives and not about revenge?" He didn't even know why he was bothering; their minds were made up, and there was no changing them. He let out a heavy breath and looked down to the gunner in his arms, his breathing still coming out in shallow pants. "Just be careful," he muttered, turning his back on them and trusting them with this.
"Yeah, we will," Gladio replied, smirking as he finally saw the blue hue of robes come closer. "You ready?" he asked the raven, who was preparing to warp forward at a moment's notice.
"I am as long as you promise not to attack me," he teased. The cavern seemed to ice over as it got closer, the being radiating the very essence of winter. Their breath came out in white puffs, almost lost in the already misty area. Noctis didn't wait for it to get closer before his weapon was thrown forward at full force. Gladio was charging right behind him...they had to make this quick. With a growl, he raised his tainted sword high above him, bringing it down with all the strength he had when he stood right before its tall frame.
Ignis didn't know how long he walked for, but there was no longer any signs of that place or the things it contained. He slowed down to catch his breath and make sure Prompto was still alright, or as alright as he could have been considering. There was this nagging need to get out of here as quickly as possible, but at the same time, he didn't want to leave the other two alone on the off chance that things go awry. Still, he wasn't about to put the gunner at risk when he couldn't put his two cents in.
Sighing, he eased the younger man to the ground, finding a place that was relatively dry and gently placed his head down. He let out a small noise, but not much more other than that. Sliding down to sit next to him, the brunet felt for his pulse. Well, it was still strong, but it was erratic and all over the place.
Taking his fingers away, he jolted slightly as the groan that sounded out, it was pained and barely audible. And, it was hard to tell from the poor lighting, but he was sure he could see his eyelids flutter for a moment.
"Prompto?" he urged, begging him to show some sort of sign of waking up. He got it alright, in the form of his eyes snapping open, panicked oceanic orbs darting from one side to the other. His breathing picked up as his chest heaved, it was clear that he was still in a state of alarm. "It's alright now," he promised, "you're safe now." He placed a hand on his good shoulder to keep him from trying to sit up.
Slowly, his breaths evened out, and he looked to the adviser in confusion. "Iggy?" he croaked, wincing with the turning of his head. "W-Where's G...Gladio?" he asked, eyes still searching for the brute, almost fearfully.
"He's not here, it's just the two of us," he whispered, keeping his voice calm. "Don't worry though, he's… back to normal," he chose his words carefully. "Noctis is with him, they're busy at the moment, but they should be back here shortly.
Prompto nodded along, still not quite understanding what was going on, but trying his best to keep up. He was still so tired, and his arm was killing him. Hissing, he reached for his shoulder cringing the second his fingers brushed over the jagged and rough surface. Even now, he could feel the slickness of his own blood. "Shit," he mumbled, pulling his hand away to hover it over the wound instead.
"All we had was a single potion, so, it's not healed yet," Ignis warned. "Try not to touch it, and try not to move too much. As soon as we get out of here, we should have more supplies in the trunk of the Regalia."
"Alright," the blond sighed, letting his hand fall back to his side. As his eyes were beginning to shield his sight again, the both of them jerked at the pair of footsteps they heard approaching. Ignis looked over his shoulder while the other craned his neck as much as he could to try to get a better view.
At the way Ignis relaxed, the blond knew it was them, and he felt himself settle down a little bit as well. "Took you long enough," the brunet muttered, in amusement. "Did you take care of things?"
"It's done," Gladio assured, eyes staring straight at the younger man, barely awake, on the ground. "How ya holdin' up?" he asked, feeling a pang of stabbing guilt.
The gunner shrugged with his good shoulder and tried for a casual smirk, but it came off as agonized and purely uncomfortable. "I'll live," he whispered, his hand instinctively trying to reach for the wound again, but this time Ignis prevented him from touching it. "It's...not as bad as it looks?" he tried, knowing that wasn't going to go over well in the slightest.
"We can get going now," Gladio changed the subject, feeling awkward on the spot like that. He stepped forward to kneel down next to Prompto. "Ready?" he asked, hoping the other wouldn't be too afraid of him after what he did. He knew he wasn't himself, but that didn't make what he did any less painful. "If you'd rather someone else, I'd unders-"
"It's fine," Prompto blurted out, honestly not wanting to talk about it himself. "It's over with, so let's just forget about it," he waved his hand and let it fall back to his side. "I just want to get out of here," he admitted, closing his eyes as another wave of pain washed over him.
"Right," the brute mumbled, sliding his arms underneath the blond and slowly picking him up. "Let's go then." As he held the lithe form against him, he sensed the warmth of the still wet blood against his bare chest, and his self-blaming was back at it again. "Is this alright?" he wondered when Prompto gasped lightly with the pressure. He nodded quickly, biting his lip to keep his discomfort to himself.
Tightening his mouth, Gladio hummed to himself and followed after the adviser. He didn't know what it was, but getting out of here seemed to go by a lot faster than getting in here, and the entire time, the man in his hold hadn't uttered a word. He would have assumed him to be asleep if it weren't for the occasional hitch in his breathing. His eyes clamped shut as light finally greeted them, the brightness of it coming across aggressive to their deprived senses.
"Finally," Noctis sighed, blocking the rays from his dark gaze. "I thought we'd never see the sun again.
Gladio wasn't paying attention to it though, all of his focus was drawn to the blond, now that he could get a real look at him. In there, he couldn't see just how pale the kid was, but with the amount of blood he lost, it was understandable. The darkness under his eyes was sticking out against the pallidness of his face. "You still with me?" he asked, giving a gentle squeeze.
"MmmHmm," he hummed, cracking his eyes open just enough to see the brute's blurred expression. He took a deep breath, a shudder racking him with the exhale. "It's freezing," he muttered, then looked Gladio up and down. "Oh, I...dropped your jacket," he mumbled, apologetically.
The shield couldn't help but chuckle at that, all that happened, and he was worried about a damn jacket. "It's fine, I can just get another one." His orbs of ember then trailed to the wound, which still appeared rather fresh and angry. Had he really done that? He blinked the thought of that away, and he was thankful he couldn't remember any of it, but it hurt knowing that Prompto would remember it all, and it was most likely something he could never forget.
"What?" Prompto asked, after realizing he was being stared at.
"Nothing, let's just get back to the car so we can get you some potions," he sighed, looking to the others who were also watching on in curiosity. Gladio glanced back down as they walked, and for some reason, he figured it was either now or never. "Look, about what happened. I don't remember any of it, but I want you to know, I didn't mean for any of that to happen...whatever happened. And, I'm so sorry." When no one stopped him, he kept going. "I could have killed you back there. I know I didn't, and I'm damn glad it didn't come to that, but it still could have happened…" he trailed off, letting that hang in the air for a moment more.
The blond let that sink in. He was kind of hoping they could have just pretended that none of that had ever happened, be he also knew he wouldn't have been that lucky. His shoulder seared at the recollection of the shield's face in those short few minutes, this minutes that felt like hours to him. Even though the memory of that terrified him, he would never let that be known.
"Like you said," he whispered, staring straight up at the sky, watching as a few clouds floated by, "it's not like you did it on purpose. So, no hard feelings," he smiled at the man, silently asking him to leave it at that. He wasn't angry, and he didn't blame him. These things happened, it was something they had come to expect by now.
Of course, of course he wouldn't have held anything against him. Sometimes the kid was just too forgiving for his own good. Not that that was a bad quality to have, but it sure would have hurt less if he were at least a little upset with him. "Tell ya what, to make it up to you, next time I'll go easy on you in training."
"Good enough for me," Prompto sighed, closing his eyes to try and enjoy the warmth from the sun while he could. "I...I think I'll take a nap. If you don't mind," he breathed out.
"Sure, sleep as long as you need," Gladio replied, leaving out the fact that they were only a couple minutes away from the Regalia now. Oh well, he probably wouldn't wake up through it all anyway, so no harm done. It only took a few seconds for the form to go limp in his arms and for the breathing to somewhat even out. Just like that, he was out.
Grinning at the pure innocence of it all, Gladio readjusted his hold, and walked just a little bit faster. Not too much longer, and he'd be good as new. Well, maybe a few days to rest up and get strength back, then everything would be good as new. "He'll be fine, you know," he heard the adviser assure him from behind. "He was right for once. It's not as bad as it looks. It was mostly just blood, most of the underlying bones and joints seemed to be intact. With a couple more potions and lots of rest, he'll be alright."
"I know," Gladio sighed, "that's not that thing that bothers me though. He trusted me, and I tried to kill him. It doesn't matter if it was on purpose or not, deep down, that's going to stick. I don't care if he says it's alright. He might accept that it was an accident, but his mind won't."
"Then, he'll just need time," the brunet continued on. "You can't change what happened, none of us can, but if you constantly worry about it, then it's not going to do anyone any good. All you can do is look forward and try to keep that from happening again."
Gladio knew he was right, but he still scoffed and rolled his eyes. Nothing else was said though, not until they reached the Regalia and he had him situated in the back seat, the blond head of hair resting on his lap while Ignis gathered what they needed. The adviser stepped back around with a couple vials in one hand, and a bottle of water in the other.
Using the visit potion, they waited until the glow subsided before using the second. Slowly, the wound closed itself more and more until it was nothing more than a pinkish scar, one that would likely never go away. "Here," Ignis handed the water over. "When he wakes up, get him to drink as much as he can."
Nodding, the shield took the offered liquid and sat it next to him. "So, where are we headed now?"
Biting his lip, Ignis looked to the gunner, he was still knocked out and had barely moved when they used the potions. "I guess we need to find a place to stay for a couple days, or at least until he's back on his feet." He didn't sound too thrilled about having to take it easy for a couple of days, but they could have all used the break.
"That works for me," Noctis said from the front, stretching his arms above his head. "I could used some time to relax," he sighed, sinking into his seat.
"This isn't a vacation, Your Highness," Ignis reminded as he climbed into the front seat and started the car up. "It's only until Prompto gets his strength back, so do try not to get too cozy."
The raven waved a hand in his direction. "Yeah, yeah, I got it, no need to nag me."
As they continued their playful bickering, or it seemed playful from one side anyway, the other getting more annoyed than anything, Gladio kept his eyes on the blond. He watched the steady rise and fall of his chest, just now realizing how small and fragile the kid really appeared to be. The idea of what could have happened kept playing in his mind, and should he have hit somewhere else… He shook his head. But, he didn't, and that's all that mattered. There was nothing that could be done about it now.
The shield leaned his head back and closed his eyes for a second. Ignis was right, worrying about what could have been would do nothing. All it would do was give him a headache. Prompto was safe, and he'd be fine, so he'd make sure he'd get better as soon as possible, and they could put all this behind them. It was a lot harder than it sounded, but it was doable. Leaning back and clearing his head of all his worries, he focused in on the even breathing of their youngest member. Yeah, everything would be fine.
Next real story I do will be another chapter one, and it will be a pairing. It will be my first time doing a pairing, so I really hope people will enjoy it. ;w;