Where am I? It's cold. Everything hurts. Aranea said.. Grealea was this way.

Okay, recap. What is the last thing you remember?

...I felt the back of the snow bike lift up. Next thing I know, I am on my back in the snow yet again.

No, that's not the last thing I remember.

Prompto spluttered slightly, opening his eyes, feeling something warm drop down the side of his head, and roll off his cheek landing on the floor below him. He could see his feet restrained about 2 ft off the ground, he felt his arms pinned up. He moved slightly to test how restrained he was and let out a yelp of pain as he could feel something sharp digging into his wrists. Each small spike was touching nerves in his arms which prevented him from moving his fingers which had turned numb from the cold.

He coughed choking slightly on some blood in his mouth and spat it out on the floor below. Some of the splatters had already dried, which implied he had been there for a while. Him gaining consciousness must have changed his blood pressure and opened any wounds he had. He slowly cranked his stiff neck up to look around at the room he was in which looked like a cross between a storage room and a jail cell. He looked to his left and saw his camera was pointing at him. He looked before him and down the hall. It was so dark he couldn't see any further than about 4 cells or so in front of him. He could make out the outline of a door. His head flopped forward again and he cleared his throat as quietly as he could. He shuddered slightly as his body became aware of the room temperature. He then noticed what he was wearing.

The last thing he remembered wearing was a Tundra jacket, he knew underneath he had a couple of shirts, and had put thermal trousers over his jeans. He moved his hips slightly to try and get some feeling back into his knees and threw his head back into the frame of the contraption restraining him. It rattled and echoes along with the sharp intake of breath as Prompto felt pain shoot straight up his back.

I must'a done that falling from the train.

His eyes widened. No it wasn't that. The pain wasn't in his back or spine. He closed his eyes, his heart racing. He nibbled his lips furrowing his brow feeling distressed. He was trying to remember what had caused this pain but every time he tried to recall it he would just feel complete and utter dread and regret. He started to sweat and shake.

Recap. After you were in the snow, what do you remember then?

I remember...

He took a deep breath to try and calm himself and collate his thoughts. He tried to clench his fists but the restraints on his wrists prevented any movement in his fingers still.

Ardyn.

He took more long steady breaths which only got sharper and shorter as his heart rate sped up again. He started to sob and whimper. The fuzzy chunks of memory slowly creating shapes and figures. He glanced down again and noticed his belt and jeans were open.

Recap.

...

Prompto pushed himself up to his feet and glanced around. The temperature was dropping and winds began to pick up as light faded. Ignis was right, the days really were getting shorter and it was becoming increasingly difficult to estimate how much daylight he had left. He could see the shadow of an entrance to something. I can't be in Gralea yet, surely. He thought. He looked to his right and noticed that one of the runners had bent badly on the snowbike. He groaned loudly and slowly trudged through the snow and wind towards the facility ahead. He couldn't tell what this building might be, but as the daylight quickly faded, the building suddenly lit up like it was christmas.

He swallowed hard at the ominous building that towered the area. It's not like I have a choice. He sighed and went to the door and inspected the panel at its side. It had a number pad, a keycard slot and a glass panel that looked similar to that of the magitek facility he was in before. He rolled up his sleeve and held it up to the panel. Lo and behold the door opened to his glowing codeprint. He stepped inside cautiously looking around, one hand on his pistol.

Nothing was around at all, but he could hear a faint radio in the distance. Ensuring his footsteps were almost silent he proceeded towards the radio and listened to its announcement, demanding the people to evacuate. It's slowly overwhelming the young blond. The condition of the world and the people that live in it really is deteriorating by the second. This wasn't just a simple war of kingdoms. The world is sick, it is dying and the human race is panicking.

"Scary, isn't it?" A familiar soft booming voice sounded behind him, and in one swift movement Prompto spun on his heel and had both hands on his pistol aiming it towards Ardyn Izunia who stood without any fear before him.

"Fuck off!" Prompto growled.

"Good evening to you too, m'boy." He chuckled. "Your poor, poor father-" Before finishing his sentence he received a bullet between his eyes which knocked him back but, not to the floor. Prompto froze in place. This man just received metal at high speed into his forehead- why was he not on the floor? His hands started to shake as his and Ardyn's eyes slowly met again. "What a waste of ammo." Prompto didn't even have half a second to compute Ardyn's movements but became very aware that he was suddenly behind him.

Ardyn swung his elbow into Prompto's back to knock him down to his knees. He pulled off his hat tossing it aside then with his other hand grabbing his hair yanking it back pulling him up so he was standing on his knees. The blond dropped his pistol as his arms automatically reacted to try and prize Ardyn's hands off his hair.

"LET GO!" He yelped.

"Didn't anyone ever teach you any manners to let a man finish his sentence before you shoot him?" He whispered softly into his ear.

"I don't have to listen to anything you say!" He struggled pushing himself to stand attempting to twist himself round to loosen Ardyn's grip. Bad move on his part, he ended up facing him, and down towards the floor. He attempted to correct this error and turn himself away but received Ardyn's knee to the bottom of his jaw. Ardyn finally let go and Prompto hit the deck covering his mouth groaning. He writhed slightly but scurried up grabbing his gun pointing it at Ardyn again- but he was gone.

"COWARD!" He screeched. He scanned the room with the aim of his gun. After a few moments of no response he kicked a nearby chair across the room and slowed his breathing to calm. The room was a lot warmer than outside and after this confrontation he was feeling warm enough. He stripped the tundra clothing down to his leopard print jeans and black shirt and jacket, and chucked the winter clothes aside. He kept his pistol in hand and the sword round his waist.

Long hours passed by and he grew weary and tired of the troopers he was taking out. It was still sending shivers down his spine still, he was very aware of what he was killing. He had decided it was kinder this way. Who was he to decide what lives or dies? No, he's not deciding that. These... things were dead the moment they became troopers. He was grinding his teeth the entire time, a mix of stress and pain from being kneed in the jaw. He spat out some blood and inspected his teeth with his tongue to feel the blood was coming from his cheek, where his teeth must have caught.

He wiped his mouth. He was at the edge of his limit right now and decided that he must seek out Noctis and the others before he decides anything else. He had a lot of clouds over his head right now. No matter what happens, he wanted to see Noctis at least one last time before anything. Just to feel his touch again, even if only briefly, as it would heal his shattered nerves, just enough to prepare him for the worst.

"Prompto!" He spun on his heel. His mouth almost hit the floor. Finally after hours of searching he found who he had been so desperate to find.

"NOCT!" He beamed, the king stood at the end of the hall, uninjured- much to Prompto's relief. He ran to him into his open arms. "You're okay- you're here!"

"I'm here." Was all he said. That's a tad odd, Noctis didn't seem at all concerned about the train incident. The blond was too overwhelmed to register it properly. He discarded the thought as being ungrateful.

"I missed you..."

"I missed you too..." He smiled softly at the blond, his hand cupping his cheek. So warm... Prompto instinctively nuzzled into it, welling up slightly.

"Where are the others?"
"They're here, somewhere." Noct's gaze wasn't leaving Prompto's. His eyes glistened slightly, his voice was alluring.

"S-somewhere..."

"They're okay, they have each other."

"We have to find them.." Prompto's voice became a whisper as he was finding it hard to break away from Noct's gaze. He felt Noct's free hand snake under his jacket to the small of his back, pulling their bodies closer.

"They'll be fine, for a bit longer." He couldn't pinpoint exactly why he felt so weird, but something wasn't right here.

"There's a time and a place, Noct." The blond gently pushed the kings arm away, but his gaze didn't become any less seductive. Prompto's protests didn't even seem to disappoint him.

"I understand. It's been so long, and I'm just so relieved. Just a little...? We're pent up, Prompto. Let's relieve some stress." He stroked his cheek again. Prompto blushed and glanced away finally, and he saw Noct's arm snake back around him again and his hand slide down his back to his bum. He let out a timid whimper, and giggled slightly.

"Here? Now?" He asked, and Noctis nodded.

"Is that not... exciting?" Noctis grinned broadly. Prompto couldn't lie, he had become so frustrated over the last couple of weeks, trying to not think about how upset he was. But he did recall catching Noctis's face suddenly fill regret the moment his hand lost contact with him right after pushing him off the moving train.

Noctis's other hand traced down his cheek and shoulder, and down his arm slowly guiding the pistol out of his hand and placing it down. Their lips met softly, Prompto closed his eyes and kissed him back, but it still felt so strange to him. He knees twitched as he started to get excited. He wanted to be mad at Noctis for what had happened, and maybe that's why it felt strange that he was kissing him now. He let Noctis open his trousers and slide them down.

Noctis broke the kiss and turned Prompto round slowly, pushing his back so that he would lean forward against the wall in front. Prompto placed his hands on either side of the pipe that ran down it. He looked down to the shadow cast on the floor by them so he could watch Noct's movements. He saw him fumble with his own belt

"S-should we really be doing this... here?" He said quietly. He felt something around his wrists, and glanced up to see Noctis was cuffing him to the pipes. He raised his eyebrows "EH?" He looked over his shoulder to Noct "What are you doing?"

"Adding a bit of excitement, of course." Noctis lifted up Prompto's jacket and shirt to kiss his arched back.

"Don't you think there is enough excitement, right now, Noct?" He flustered and tugged at the cuffs. "We are in the middle of a random hallway, where we might get caught! Not just by Iggy and Gladio but maybe a trooper? Have you really thought this through, Noct?"

"It's fine, I'll just take them out." He pressed his hips against Prompto's behind,

"I'm having second thoughts." His voice trembled. Any bit of excitement he was feeling before drained from him quickly. "I want you, man, but not here... not now." He whimpered.

"Don't get cold feet on me now." Noct's voice had changed. Prompto's pupils shrank and he couldn't focus on anything suddenly as panic began to set in.

No preparation, no warning. He was invaded suddenly from behind and the pain ripped through him. he screamed tugging at the cuffs trying to twist his body away, but the hands gripped to his hips holding him still were too strong, not that he had a lot of control over his body which was currently at the mercy of excruciating pain. His whole body was pushed up against the wall with movements. He could feel someone kissing at the back of his shoulders. He refused to believe it was Noctis.

Noctis wouldn't do this.

"STOP!" He started to sob. The one man he had loved more than anything in this world, would he really do this? His head was forced to the side as his hair was pulled, to allow access to his neck. He tried to look at the corner of his eye, and through the tears he could just about make out deep purple hair. It wasn't Noctis... it was Ardyn. "PLEASE STOP!" He begged

"Keep screaming, wouldn't it be great if he could hear you?!" Ardyn chuckled.

"PLEASE STOP!" He cried, completely consumed by the pain surging up his back.

It felt like it was never going to end. What he was screaming now were no longer words, and they became cries to whimpers as he broke down. He was over the edge now. By this point it was becoming impossible to record anything into his mind. His body was in overdrive and had just shut down to all stimulants. His entire environment had become nothing but void as his mind shut the whole world out. Possibly to try and stop the pain. He slid down to his knees, still cuffed to the pipes. Ardyn sat somewhere in the room and finished himself off.

Prompto didn't register any of his surroundings at this point, he just sat there, the last of the tears drying to his cheeks. His eyes hurt, his skin hurt, everything hurt.

After another eternity of nothing, Ardyn un-clipped the cuffs letting his hands drop to the floor limply. He walked away tidying himself up. Prompto's eyes followed him.

Recap... don't stop now... recap.

It was so fuzzy. He didn't remember standing or pulling his trousers up. He was so swift, and quiet that even Ardyn didn't see it coming.

Recap... what did I do?

This point in his memory was quite vivid. He had somehow snatched Ardyn's dagger from its sheath on his hip and had it hilt deep in his gut- the exact point that Ardyn had stabbed Lunafreya some months earlier. He looked up at Ardyn meeting his surprised gaze. Prompto doesn't remember what he uttered under his breath at Ardyn, whatever it was, it must have burned Ardyn. His confused expression changed to a sight of rage that Prompto had never seen in anyone before. The blow to the side of his face was substantial enough to knock him out instantly.

So that's what happened.

Now he understood why his body started to be consumed in pure panic. He was violated, taken advantage of. Any concept of trust he had was currently shattered. He understood why he felt so off. Of course it wasn't fucking Noctis, since when does he say 'is that not, exciting?' anyway? He shook his head.

He felt humiliated, he felt tortured, but sadly after being left alone with these thoughts they mutated into regret and guilt. How could he have possibly mistaken Ardyn for Noctis. It was painfully obvious from the start it wasn't him. Noctis would have asked if he was okay, he would have still been concerned for Ignis and Gladio. He knew Noctis was in no mind for having sex. Prompto just hung there and wept.

"I want to.. hear your voice..." He whispered. He saw a light flash across his face. He slowly looked up, to see three torches coming towards him.

"...!" He could hear something too, his mind slowly adjusted to his surroundings again. "Prompto! GUYS I FOUND HIM!" That voice sounded familiar. He couldn't respond or react. He watched the cell doors open, Noctis pushing his way in before they had completely opened and going to Prompto inspecting the restraints on his hands. "Prompto, are you okay? say something!" There was a certain clarity to his voice. He still wasn't registering it all. Noct cupped his cheek to tilt his head up to look at him. "Prompto, hey..." He said softly, sadly. "Guys, he's barely conscious..." Gladio started tugging at the restraints to try and break them off. Prompto felt Noct's thumbs wipe away the tears rolling down his cheeks and he pressed his forehead to the blonds, both hands on both cheeks.

"It.. really is you..." His voice was broken. But he managed to crack a smile.

"Is he hurt?" Ignis said

"He's bleeding, but nothing serious... it's okay Prom, I got you." He hushed him. Prompto tugged at his restraints again, ignoring the pain as he had become accustomed to it now. He just wanted to swing his arms round Noctis right now.

It's him, it's really him.

He spluttered slightly again as he tried to take a substantial breath in so he could talk.

"Noct..." He whimpered. "Noct!" His trust started to reconstruct piece by piece. There was just something so soothing about the Kings voice.

"Prompto, I'm so sorry..."

"Save your sorrys for later, Noct and help find a way to get him out of this damn thing!" Gladio pushed Noct back slightly to divert his attention to the restraints. After some deliberation they managed to disable the power to the unit and all four locks on him released suddenly. Noct placed his hand to Prompto's chest as he fell forwards to stop his head from smacking the floor as he caught himself on his hands and knees, grunting slightly as his stiff body started to get feeling back in it again.

"Are you okay? Do you need help?" Ignis felt helpless, unable to survey the situation as all he could hear was Prompto's staggered breathing.

"I'm okay, thank you." He said, starting to come to terms with everything. "Noct... tell me... where you... worried about me?" He hesitated.

"What?" Noct tilted his head to the side kneeling with him "What sort of question is that? Of course I was worried about you!"

"Aha, right." He chuckled and nodded "I told myself I had to stay alive, so that I could see you.. hear you tell me that I'm not a fake."

"I'm sorry..."
"Don't be... It's alright now... you're here.. you came.. just like.. I believed you would." Prompto whimpered again and shook. Noctis pulled him into a tight hug. This was more like it. This hug was soft and warm, he could hear Noct's heart, it was racing. Noctis was relieved to find him, he didn't want to let go, he could feel every nerve in Prompto's body shaking. They both let out simultaneous sniffled and laughed straight after.

"...Let's find somewhere where he can rest, Noct. We need to see to all those cuts." Gladio said helping Prompto to his feet. Noct nodded and agreed, rubbing Prompto's back gently, worried about greater injuries he may have suffered, especially from his fall from the train.

Prompto grabbed his camera, inspecting it. He noticed the battery was dead. He wondered if Ardyn had been filming him hanging unconscious from the weird contraption that Ardyn had suspended him from.

They all slowly tailed back down the hall, keeping close to each other, acting as a visual aid for Ignis aswell as themselves and eventually came across one of the sleeping quarters in the building. they secured the door and all slumped onto a bed each, letting some weight of their anxiety leave them if only for a while.

"Where are you hurt, Prompto?" Noctis said sitting on a chair next to the bed Prompto had chosen.

"Oh just these cuts on my arms here, is there one on my face? AH- ow yeah there is." He winced from poking himself where Ardyn had struck him.

"What happened...?" Noctis opened up a first aid kid he'd found in a drawer and started to dab the cut on his cheek clean before treating it with an elixr or potion or anything. Prompto looked at Noct and their eyes met. He recognised them, and hated how he didn't see it before. Noctis smiled at him softly and Prompto smiled back.

"I don't really remember." He lied. He rest his head in the palm of Noct's hand as he cupped his cheek once again. "Probably best that way." He closed his eyes, everything felt right now. He felt Noct's face come near him and he flinched as their lips met. He tensed up a little. Noct quickly and gently broke off, still cupping his cheek.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to catch you off guard there." He said putting the cotton ball down. The shattered nerves began to heal a little. Afraid that he might never be able to cope with Noct's touch after being tricked to thinking Noctis had violated him, he felt reassured by Noctis pulling away without even questioning why. "You must be ti-"
"Kiss me again, Noct." Noct looked at him a little puzzled.

"Huh?" He'd never heard him say that before.

"Come on, you don't still think I'm Ardyn, do you?" The blond pouted. Noct chuckled slightly

"I don't." He leaned in again kissing him softly, gently taking his hands and squeezing them tightly.