"I want… to ride my… chocobo all day…" Noct half mumbled, half panted as he stomped through more endless desert, his off-key singing and the crunching of his boots in the sand the only sounds to keep him company. What he wouldn't give for a chocobo right now… maybe not his kingdom, but a lot.
He'd tried calling for Cloud, several hours and probably half his body weight in sweat ago, but his mount never showed up. He hoped nothing had happened to the poor animal, but judging from the complete absence of sound or movement in his location, well… he'd just keep hoping.
The road in the horizon was growing closer with each step, along with the indistinct shape of buildings that, if he had his bearings right, must be Hammerhead. He'd never paid attention to orienteering when younger, just another in the long line of skills he was regretting his childish resistance to learning.
The road was closer by far, even if it did take him a bit further to walk to get there first. At least if he collapsed by the side of the road before he got to the outpost, he'd have a chance of being spotted by a passing car. Determination in his step and thoughts of all the people who relied on him in his heart (especially Luna, but that was more centred around why did she dump me in the middle of the desert), he made his way to the road.
He was getting weaker with every step he took. A journey they had made many times before, but with no water or chocobos, it was proving to be deadly. The sun beat down on his back, what was once a welcoming heat turning into a relentless oppressor. His clothes, drenched with sweat and covered by a fine layer of sand, were no longer the striking black of Lucian royalty but a pale and dusty brown. He'd abandoned his jacket in the dirt an hour ago and opted to wrap his shirt around his face as flimsy protection against the ever present dust.
Shirtless, barely conscious and covered in dust. That's how he was found by the side of the road as the sun sank behind the mountains.
"Can you hear me, son?"
Noctis opened his eyes, the vast expanse of the sky and all its stars staring back down at him. They were moving slowly… no, he was moving, quickly. His world shook and knocked the breath out of him, laying him flat just as he struggled to sit up. A firm hand was on his back, helping to pull himself into a sitting position. He was in the back of a truck, an older man he didn't recognise sitting next to him, back against the cab and legs stretched out on the wooden bedding.
"What's you name, son?"
"Uh." He coughed, hash and rattling, his mind bringing up images of clumps of sand stuck in his lungs that he was trying to expel. "N-" he tried again, only to be struck with another coughing fit.
"Here," the man said, placing a bottle of water into his palm, which Noctis gratefully accepted, bringing it to his lips and downing the whole bottle in one long continuous gulp. "Dunno what you were thinkin', walkin' out there. On yer way to Hammerhead?"
He nodded, steadying himself against the coughing fit the water had triggered. He felt something come up, slimy and gritty at the same time in his mouth, and leaned over the side of the truck to spit it into the road.
"We're headed there now, should only be a few more minutes," the man said. "You got friends there?"
He nodded.
"Good, good. Someone'll need to take care of ya for a bit. We came out 'cause the sun came up. Beautiful sight after so damn long in the dark. That what catch ya out, not expecting the sun?"
Noctis softly shook his head, his eyes drifting back close. The weariness was catching back up with him.
"Huh. Well, hafta catch yer story some other time. We're here."
He tried to say something, but the words didn't come to his lips.
He opened his eyes to such a strikingly ugly fabric above him that he knew, even before his brain had engaged, that he was on the lower bunk in the caravan in Hammerhead.
Noctis stretched slowly, feeling each tense muscle scream in both pain and relief as they were moved. Well, he couldn't have had that much sleep, since his body was still only reluctantly obeying his commands. He swallowed despite his still dry mouth and swung his legs over the bed.
The door swung open and a ray of sunshine entered the caravan.
"Hey, you in here? They said they picked someone up on the road, I've got some water."
He'd know that voice, weary and ragged though it sounded, even if it'd been a thousand years since he heard it last.
"Prom-pto," he gasped, the syllabled barely making it out of his sand-scarred throat.
"Wha-! Noct! Noct! Noct!"
For a moment his vision was a blur of blond hair and tear-streaked freckles before he was slammed into the bunk by the full weight of his excitable friend. Wiry arms snaked around his back, a bony chin buried itself in his neck. He gave in and clung to the back of Prompto's shirt, an anchor to a reality he didn't want to escape.
He clung even tighter as Prompto's body shuddered against his. "Noct, Noct," Prompto sobbed into his neck. He could feel the drops of tears against his skin, falling on to his shoulder and streaking down his bare back. "You came— I was— I thought you—"
"Hey, hey, it's ok," Noctis croaked, rubbing Prompto's back over his shirt. "I'm here, it's ok."
The weight on his chest lifted and he felt a brief touch of lips on his temple. "Ha… Noct. Gods," Prompto said, sitting back on the bed and allowing Noctis enough room to sit next to him. "Y-you have no idea how good it is to see you."
"I have some idea," he said with a brief smile, letting one hand linger on his friend's back for a moment before letting it drop. "How long have I been gone?"
"A month, give or take? Since the sun came up," Prompto said, and then that face was buried in his shoulder again, sobbing against his skin. "You did it. You really did it."
"Yeah," Noctis said lamely, wrapping his arms around Prompto's chest and squeezing him into a tight hug. They weren't usually so affectionate with each other, but there was something about the sheer physicality of the touch that Noctis clung to, like holding on to Prompto would let him hold on to this new dream, where they could all be alive and together. "Where's Gladio and Ignis?"
"They're on their way, there's— oh yeah," Prompto said, breaking away from their embrace and standing up. "There's something I gotta show you. C'mon!"
"Hold up a sec," Noctis said, taking the proffered hand and letting himself be pulled to his feet, standing on the spot for a moment while trying to regain his shaky balance. "Still a bit out of it."
"Oh yeah, sorry," Prompto said, worrying his lower lip. He hadn't let go of his hand. "Will you be ok? Where's your shirt?"
"Dunno," Noctis said, shrugging. "I'll be fine, just gotta take it slow."
"You can borrow one of mine. Just like high school, right? 'Cept the other way 'round."
"Yeah, feels like high school all over again," he said, letting out a light, sardonic laugh. "Don't think we were holding hands in high school, though."
"R-right," Prompto said, dropping his hand and blushing a furious red. Noctis suppressed the lance of pain that crossed his heart at the breaking of that contact. "It's just… I'm here, ok? If you need to lean on me."
"Didn't say it was bad," Noctis mumbled, taking him up on the offer and holding on to his shoulder as they made their way down the caravan steps. "Kinda need it right now."
"Yeah."
As he looked around this new Hammerhead, he felt a hand snake around his back and rest on his hip. He leaned into the touch, letting out a sigh of relief as he allowed Prompto to take some of his body weight off his trembling legs.
Hammerhead had completely transformed in the month he had been away. Fences, containers and razor wire surrounded the perimeter and each corner had a makeshift set of floodlights beating down harsh fluorescent light out into the surrounding wilderness. Trucks full of weapons, their sides left open for all to see, held a lonely vigil near both entrances.
The area was devoid of all human life, save for Takka's diner, a beacon of warm light and happy noise in the bleak surroundings. "Everyone's gone in to celebrate," Prompto whispered in his ear. But what caught his eye was the Regalia, standing proudly in the parking lot and gleaming under all the artificial light. Exactly as he remembered.
"Starting to feel like it can all go back to normal," he whispered. He felt the arm around his waist tighten as his own legs failed him and he leaned his entire weight on Prompto.
"Not everything," Prompto whispered back. "But yeah… I think we're gonna make it."
'Not everything' made a lot more sense once Ignis and Gladio hiked through the entrance, as usual stubbornly determined not to show the toll the journey had taken on them. Noctis was lying in the back seat of the Regalia, his strength failing him in the first five minutes of waiting for the others. Prompto sat in the passenger seat, filling him in on everything that had happened while he was in the crystal as he drifted in and out of sleep.
"Hey kid," Gladio called from the gate. "This what you wanted us to see?"
"What is it?" Ignis asked softly.
"Looks like Cindy fixed up the Regalia for us."
"Well, it was," Prompto said, a nervous chuckle running through his words. He cast a glance to the back seat and Noctis took that as his cue to sit up.
"Prompto, you little shit," Gladio bellowed as he rushed to the car. "You said he hadn't turned up."
"He hadn't!" Prompto said defensively, raising his hands. "I only found him an hour ago!"
Gladio beamed, reaching over to ruffle Noctis's hair. "Good seeing you in one piece, Noct."
"Highness?" Ignis called quietly as he approached the car. Noctis tried to call out to him, but the lump in his throat turned it into a breathy whimper. "Is that you?"
"Yeah," he whispered finally, his eyes completely locked on his advisor's face even as he smoothed out his hair. It was hard to miss the shaded glasses… or the way he was facing him at just slightly the wrong angle, eyes pointing over his shoulder. "Yeah Ignis, it's me."
"It is a relief to hear your voice. We had feared the worst."
"I think that was the original plan," Noctis said.
Prompto turned to him, leaning over the back of the seat. "What do you mean?"
"Just something Luna said." A wistful smile formed on his lips. "I get the feeling she bullied the astrals into letting us going."
Prompto's face was an adorable mix of apprehension and hope. "Us? So she's…?"
"Yeah, but she said it'd be a while. Probably got more bullying to do."
"We all have a lot to do," Ignis said. "With the dawn back, we must consider how we will recover—"
"We've got a lot of celebrating to do," Gladio said, his heavy hand landing on Ignis' shoulder. "We'll drown if we don't come up for air, Iggy."
"Time really is of the essence, Gladiolus."
"The world can wait a day or two. Let's have some fun."