Disclaimer: Not mine

I've had some comments asking if Prompto will become a third in the pairing, at the moment it could go that way or simply him being as close as a brother to them. Opinions?

Chapter 7

Noctis woke slowly, not wanting to get up, he felt nice and safe, more comfortable that since the night spent in the hotel at Galdin…there was an arm around his waist, the heat of a body against his back, but it felt wrong for Prompto. He opened his eyes and frowned as he saw a tent wall, a bed in a tent? And then he felt warm magic swirl against his own and his eyes widened even as he twisted in the hold to see Harry's sleeping face. It hadn't been a dream; Harry was alive and here. His shifting woke his boyfriend and sleepy green eyes opened.

"Morning," Harry mumbled, not letting go of him and Noctis grinned.

"Morning," he leant in and kissed him. Harry grinned and kissed him back and then released him, sitting up and stretching, shirt riding up to reveal tanned skin. With a groan Noctis forced himself to sit up, looking around the bedroom. The bed had either been enlarged or the two beds of the other room merged into one since it was different to how Harry had described. There was a wardrobe against a wall and the floor was covered in warm yet worn rugs. "It's hard to accept this is inside that tiny tent," he admitted, and Harry laughed.

"Yeah, felt the same the first time I came in one of these." He got up and pulled his bag out of storage to grab clean underwear and a towel. "You want first shower? Or even a bath?"

Noctis hesitated, calling his own gear from the Armiger, including a fresh version of his clothing. They each had several sets of their Crownsguard gear, all with protective magics laced into it. "We could…uh, together?" he offered, and Harry turned to stare at him. Was it too fast? Yeah, they'd kissed a bit, but it'd been three years since they'd been together.

Then Harry grinned and held his hand out and Noctis took it, letting him lead him to the bathroom. It was simple, functional, and far cleaner than the caravan ones. Harry turned the shower on as Noctis stripped off before stripping as well and stepping into the cubicle. Noctis followed him in, groaning as hot water hit sore muscles and then hands were on his shoulders, massaging tense muscles, working their way down his back. He turned and kissed Harry again, pulling him closer, pressing their bodies as close as he could.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Prompto left the tent to find breakfast waiting. "Thanks Iggy."

"Your welcome. Are they awake?"

"Yep, and hogging the bathroom," he grinned as they stared at him in confusion. "It's a magic tent guys, there's a lot in there."

Gladio got up and stuck his head in before pulling back and blinking before looking in again. "How…this isn't possible," he denied and Ignis moved to look as well, curious. One of the doors they could see opened in a rush of steam, Noctis and Harry emerging with wet hair, dressed except for shoes.

"Morning!" Noctis called with a grin as they continued to stare. "Harry, I think your tent broke them." It was easier, with Harry back, to not loose himself in 'what ifs' and grief.

"Ah, should I apologise?" the wizard asked with a grin as he sat to pull his boots on.

"How is this possible?" Ignis demanded and Harry shrugged.

"Magic."

"I see….breakfast is ready." They settled around the fire to eat and then packed up as Noctis received a call from Monica.

"What is it?"

"After the Tomb we are being asked to help handle the blockade on the road to Duscae, which is where we're going to need to head next," Noctis explained

"Let's get going then!" Prompto grinned and they headed out on foot for the second tomb in the area. They should have seen to it the day before but had chosen to get an early night instead, all needing the break. In the ruins outside of the mines, Prompto grinned as he found some machinery he could mess with. "Wicked," he grinned, storing it away.

They flicked on the lights attached to their shirts as they entered the old mine while Harry held his hand out, a ball of light forming and then rising into the air, bobbing along with him, giving off enough light to reveal the room they were in.

"Huh? Look!" Prompto pointed.

"There's a door," Noctis blinked in surprise.

"What is this place?" The blonde asked as he looked around.

"It appears to have been a shelter," Ignis offered after looking around himself.

"People lived here?"

"Seeking refuge from war or a disaster likely," Harry told him, he'd seen places like this in history books on the World Wars.

"Wars, what are they good for? Wonder if anyone's still living here?" Prompto muttered as they headed into the tunnel. 'Huh? What's this? A cable… Wonder where it leads?" Prompto pointed out the thin cable on the floor.

"We can follow it and see," Ignis told him and they did, finding an old generator which shocked them all by starting after a little encouragement from Prompto, the lights coming on.

"Well, that's a lot better," Prompto grinned nervously and Harry moved closer to him. They headed off again only to all flinch back as a shower of dust fell from above them, Harry ready to throw up a magical shield. "Don't like the look of that ceiling," Prompto offered nervously.

"Old mines can be very unstable; this one looks to have been abandoned for a while," Harry told him, keeping an eye on the stone above them as they continued. He also kept an eye on Prompto, he was not handling the dark and enclosed areas well, jumping at every noise and shadow. "Need a calming potion?" he offered quietly.

"A what?" Prompto asked, curious.

"A potion that will help you calm down and remain calm without affecting your ability to fight."

"I, uh…" he shuffled nervously. "Okay," he whispered and soon a vial was pressed into his hand.

"You need to drink it, best to toss it back, they don't taste nice," Harry warned and Prompto nodded, downing it quickly.

As soon as he'd swallowed the last he felt a wave of calm wash over him, dulling his fear of the dark and small space. "Whoa…"

"Better?" Harry took the vial and Prompto nodded. "Good."

"Thanks."

"No problem, I can give you one whenever we run into Tombs hidden in tunnels," he promised. He patted his back and moved over to Noctis who was watching them.

"Calming potion?" he asked softly, and Harry nodded even as Noctis briefly tangled their fingers. Thanks to Harry's floating light, any daemons in the tunnels were keeping their distance. The tunnels were a maze, doubling back in sections, and with rusty metal doors, some of which were locked tight. Harry easily took care of the locks and they moved ever deeper. The generator died, causing the lights to fail but they kept going. They entered a wide, open storage room and walked across but as soon as they reached the middle an Arachne daemon descended from above and attacked.

"No way we're taking that thing on!" Prompto gulped, the calming potion keeping him from all out panic.

"No turning back," Gladio smirked as he readied his sword.

"Nope," Noctis agreed, calling up fire as well as a sword. They fought as a group, Ignis getting hit by lightning cast by the daemon but other than that they made it through pretty much unscathed.

"And that's that," Gladio was almost disappointed in the fight.

"It's over…" Prompto was relieved.

"Alright, we're done here," Noctis called, getting them moving again.

They crouched, moving through the small passage into the next tunnel, and made their way to the next intersection, Gladio spotted something down the path to the left. "Huh? The hell?"

They followed him down the tunnel to find the doors to the next royal tomb which Noctis unlocked. They went inside and watched as Noctis held out his hand, accepting the Axe of the Conqueror into his arsenal, wavering on his feet as the spectral weapon slammed into him.

"So, Noct borrows the old kings' powers?" Prompto asked as the left the Tomb, looking out for more daemons.

"More or less. At this rate, he'll soon rival his father's legacy," Ignis answered.

"The Copycat King," Gladio grinned.

"Well? What's it like?" Prompto asked, if not for the potion he'd probably be bouncing.

"Hmm… Like I've got some tricks up my sleeve."

"No need to put on a magic show for us," Gladio snorted.

"But it never hurt to practice," Ignis pointed out.

Thankfully the trip back to the surface was quick and easy. They then went to get the Regalia, the three youngest in the back, driving closer to the blockade. They made their way into a side canyon where Monica sent Noctis on ahead to meet up with Cor again, the rest of them heading for the front doors to act as a distraction.

Ignis studied the defences and looked to Prompto. "Can you handle the snipers?"

"Sure thing!"

"Very good, we shall deal with the ground forces, remember, we are trying to draw them out," he said, and they all nodded. Prompto remained behind cover, taking aim, and as he fired the first shot the rest of them vaulted over the wall and rushed the MT's. Harry drew his second blade, choosing to fight with them rather than magic this time. He heard gunshots but forced himself to ignore them, trusting Prompto to be a good enough shot to avoid them. It was different, not having Noctis at his back and having to coordinate with the others was not something any of them were used to but they managed, handling wave after wave of MT's until the gates opened to reveal Cor and Noctis, none the worse for wear.

"Noct!" Prompto called, grinning in relief.

"Marshal. It's good to see you again," Ignis greeted Cor who nodded.

"Alright on your end?" Noctis looked them over for injuries but spotted none.

"Right as rain. The Niffs couldn't take their eyes off us," Gladio smirked in pride at a job well done.

"Thanks to you we were spared their attention," Cor praised the group, they had done better than he had expected.

They all looked up, hearing a noise and saw an imperial drop ship flying in; the imperial officer aboard calling out to them. "Stay right where you are. Well, well, if it isn't Cor the Immortal. So you survived the Citadel. But you won't survive what I have in store for you. It's past time your legend came to an end," the man yelled as he entered the cockpit of his MA-X Cuirass magitek armour, then deployed to the ground.

"Say, Marshal, how 'bout you show us how it's done?" Prompto offered nervously.

"No wimping out. Let's move," was the answer, and Prompto grimaced but quickly checked his gun, stealing a rifle off one of the downed snipers so he could get better distant shots in.

Harry looked at Noct who nodded, and they vanished, Harry apparating and Noct warping, hitting the armour from two sides before the pilot realised they were there. This time Harry kept a hand free to cast with. There was a lot of dodging, apparating and warping going on, Prompto having to warp to new vantage points any time the missiles locked on to his current one. The three unable to warp were left to attack the legs with weapons and fire until finally the armour collapsed, and they scattered as it self-destructed.

"Impressive. Seeing you in action puts my mind at ease. It's clear I don't need to worry any more. I'll return to watching the Niffs. 'Til next time, take care," Cor nodded to them and headed off to where they could see Monica waiting, the two leaving together.

Ignis left to retrieve the Regalia, soon returning with her. They didn't bother getting in, walking beside the car as Ignis drove slowly.

"Ain't so bad out here once you get used to it," Gladio offered, sword resting over his shoulder.

"Still a lot we haven't seen, though," Prompto bounced with excitement, the potion having worn off.

"And a lot for us to do," Ignis pointed out, arm resting on the side of the car as he drove.

"Yeah," the blonde sighed.

Gladiolus nudged him gently. "Buck up. We're just getting started."

Noctis paused, glancing back and Harry put a hand on his shoulder, getting a small, tired, smile in return.

"How're you holding up?" the wizard asked gently and Noct shrugged. Harry pulled him in, resting their foreheads together. "We're all here for you," he promised. "You don't have to try to hide what you're feeling."

Noctis nodded slowly. "I just can't…he's dead and he sent me away and I knew what he was doing but I thought he had a plan, that he'd make it out." Would he have left if he had known his Dad didn't have an escape planned? Probably not and he knew that was why his King had said nothing. His Dad had sent him off to marry a woman he had never met, all to keep him out of Imperial hands and he had agreed to that part. Could he have done the same as his Dad?

"He did what he had to, to keep you safe. It's what any parent would do, King or not," Harry told him, it was what his parents had done to keep him safe too, giving their lives to save him. He saw the moment Noctis realised that and nodded slowly. Harry wrapped an arm around his shoulders and started walking to catch up with the rest of the group. They eventually got in the car and settled in for the drive, Harry in the middle of Noctis and Prompto in the backseat, Gladio enjoying being in the front. It had been a busy day and Ignis was hoping to reach somewhere with a caravan for the night, not to mention somewhere they could refuel the Regalia.

TBC…