Summary: When Prompto is injured in battle, Noctis must find a new way to connect with him.
(Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Established Relationship)

"Whew, that should be the last of them up here," Noct panted, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his already grimy arm. Gladio was close behind him, his greatsword resting on his shoulder as they cleared the upper level of the imperial base. This grated floor ran all along the perimeter of the giant, stoney grey room, giving an ideal view of the room below.

"Iggy, status update," Gladio said into his phone.

"You coulda' just looked," Noct said, proceeding over to the railing and peering down onto the next floor. Below, he could see flashes of blue and purple magic as Prompto and Ignis used their arsenal to its fullest potential.

"Just finishing up," Ignis replied, stuffing his phone in his pocket, and launching himself at the giant machine he and Prompto had been wearing down for the past several minutes. He dug his lance into the space between its armoured torso and legs, hearing loud sizzles and crackles as he tore through wires.

"Well, hurry it up. His Highness wants to take the elevator up to the top," Gladio sighed into the phone, not realizing Ignis was no longer paying attention to him. He huffed as he hung up and headed for Noct's side.

"What do you say you and I locate this elevator? Will save us time in the long run," Gladio suggested, and Noct nodded, pushing himself off the railing and strolling towards his Shield.

"Sure."

"No, wait! Prompto, it's going to self-destr—-" came Ignis' frantic voice from below. A blinding explosion lit up the room in a bright orange light, the sound so loud it nearly made Noct jump out of his skin. The rest of Ignis' words were lost in the midst of its roar.

Wide-eyed, Noctis and Gladio rushed back to the railing and gazed down below, scanning desperately for their friends. As the embers fizzled out and the smoke cleared, Ignis appeared safe and sound as he emerged from behind a cement blockade—the kind imperials liked to plant on every road they could. He coughed and brushed himself off, then proceeded into the middle of the room where the machine had exploded. Only a black, charred circle remained on the floor where it had been, along with a few stray parts—a wire here, a scrap of metal there.

"Prompto!" he called out, but when there was no response—not even a sound of movement—panic set in for all three of the boy's companions. Noct was down on the first floor in a second, throwing his sword down and catapulting after it in a rapid warp. He took off running in the direction he'd last seen his friend, and found Prompto behind a rusted, tipped over barrel. Thankfully, it had had no oil in it, for it surely would have been the death of Prompto rather than the thing that saved his life.

Noct quickly shoved it out of the way with his foot, and coopied down to investigate the damages. Prompto was lying limply on his side, his face red on one side from the heat of the explosion, and though it didn't look like there were any actual burns, there were some nasty-looking scrapes from where he'd hit the concrete.

"Hey! Hey, Prompto!" he called, urgently. Prompto didn't stir until Noct reached for his face, then he began to come to.

He blinked slowly, and stared up into frantic blue eyes—blue eyes that were so sad and scared, they looked like they might be holding back tears. He blinked again, his gaze wandering to Noctis' frantically moving lips, which seemed to be saying things, but he couldn't make them out right away. He forced himself to focus in. '...okay?. Are you okay?'

"Noct, I... I can't hear you," he stuttered out, but was frightened to find he couldn't hear his own words, either. Noct's eyes only reflected even more panic after he admitted that, and he thrust a plethora of more soundless words in Prompto's direction. Prompto felt both fear and tension rising in his chest as Noctis pulled him to sit up. His friend patted his face, felt him all over for injuries, keeping eye contact all the while, his lips still moving a mile a minute.

"Talk to me, come on. Can you hear me now? Now? Does it hurt? Prompto, are you okay?" he asked, his voice coming out high-pitched and scared, much like Prompto's had a second ago. Neither sounded like themselves in that moment. Prompto shook his head tearfully, only catching that last sentence once again. Was he okay? He wasn't sure. There wasn't even a ringing in his ears from the loud explosion. In that moment, he was deaf, and he was scared.

"I can't hear... anything," he breathily admitted, and Noctis began to cry, his tearful eyes slitting before shutting tightly and painfully closed. Prompto was pulled in against his best friend, and he felt Noct's body shaking against his own. He saw Gladio and Ignis appear over Noct's shoulder now, each of them showering him in more questions from their rampaging lips. Overwhelmed, Prompto closed his eyes to block out the questions, and hoped that this was all just some terrible dream.

"They say it's hearing loss from the explosion," Ignis announced, softly closing the door to Prompto's hospital room behind him, and addressing his other two exhausted companions in the hall. Gladio was slumped back in his chair with his eyes closed, his massive hands folded across his chest as he tried to catch some shut-eye after the long day. Noct sat with one leg dangling over the armrest, swaying restlessly while his hand rested in his opposite palm. Both perked up at the sound of their approaching ally—Noct, especially.

"Is he okay? Did they say if he's going to be okay?" Noct asked, his words coming out shaky and breathless. He could tell Ignis was holding back when their eyes met; there was sadness there that he couldn't quite conceal.

"They're saying nothing for certain. The hope is that it's temporary, but... only time will tell, I'm afraid," he confessed. Noct stood up and felt the blood rush into his ears, feeling suddenly hard of hearing himself.

"I want to see him," he said, over his rushing pulse.

"Noct, you sure that's a good idea? If you're going to get hysterical in there, you're just going to upset him," Gladio interjected.

"He's probably upset already, and I..." Noctis paused, needing a minute before he could get the painful words out. "I don't want him to feel any more alone than he already does." He headed for the door, and heard Gladio get up behind him, probably to try and stop him, but Ignis settled him down with a hand on his shoulder. Letting Noct visit was for the best.

Noctis entered the room slowly and cautiously. Prompto lay in the bed, dressed in a white hospital gown, which was visible from the chest up, while white sheets covered the rest of him. A square, cotton bandage was taped to the side of his head, and his left wrist was wrapped in a beige stretch-cloth. Most likely, he had sprained it when the explosion had tossed him aside.

At first, Noct's spirits sank when Prompto didn't look up to greet him, and he feared that he might have been angry with him for letting this happen, but the reality of the situation quickly caught up with him; Prompto wasn't looking up because he hadn't heard him come in.

Noctis swallowed the lump in his throat—which felt like it might be the culprit behind the tears in his eyes—and proceeded into the room. Prompto caught sight of him in his peripheral, and turned his head immediately towards him. He appeared perkier now that he was aware of his friend's presence, and he gave Noct a smile as he sat down in the chair beside him.

Noct didn't have the strength to return that smile. Instead, he gave Prompto a sorrowful expression as he raised a fist to his chest and circled it slowly. Prompto recognized the sign immediately: I'm sorry.

Sign language was a class they had taken together in high school. They had thought it would be an easy elective, and never imagined they would actually have to use it. Now, it was breaking Noct's heart that he did have to use it—for Prompto, of all people. There was a twinge of sadness in Prompto's heart as well, seeing Noct sign to him so solemnly, for he, too, never thought they would ever need those skills, especially with each other.

Prompto pushed forth another smile—it wasn't forced, but it wasn't entirely a happy smile either. There was definite pain there, but it was only from seeing Noct looking so devastated, and so guilty. Prompto shook his head, silently promising Noct that he had nothing to feel sorry for. With his good hand, he swiped a thumb under his chin, raised his hand toward Noctis, and then slid a fist over his bandaged one, thumb up in the air. Not your fault.

Noct's brows twitched as he fought tears, but he blinked them back, and scooted forward in his chair as he prepared to sign some more, and Prompto looked at him eagerly. He was certainly out of practice, but he hoped he could remember enough to get them through the next little while; he wasn't ready to think about how long Prompto might need him to communicate this way.

Attacking the base was a bad idea, Noct signed.

No. I wasn't paying attention. My bad, Prompto signed back, his expressions meshing perfectly with his hand motions. Noct had always sworn Prompto was the better signer. All of his movements and facial cues were so fluid, as if he'd been doing this for more than just a few years of his life, but in all fairness, he did have more time to practice than did the busy prince.

Prompto. Noctis had his companion's full attention now, and he swore to himself he wouldn't falter under Prompto's curious, blue-eyed gaze. It had been a goofy thing they had done years ago, making up signs for each other's names. Normally, it was customary for a deaf person to give someone a name sign, but being the nerds they were, they decided they didn't want to wait for that opportunity to arise—assuming it ever even would. Besides, they needed something to call each other during practice.

Noct had come up with the clever idea for Prompto's to be the sign for camera, but with one hand signing the letter P. And while Prompto had first teased Noct about needing the sign for fish or sleepy in his name, they opted for the word night instead after signing an N first.

I really don't like seeing you hurt, came Noct's next confession, and Prompto smiled sympathetically, reaching for his hand. Noct held the bandaged limb ever so gently, his thumb grazing over the backs of Prompto's exposed fingers.

I know, but I swear, I'm okay, Prompto one-handedly signalled. He gave Noct another smile—this one far more encouraging, and Noct reached for the back of his neck, caressing gently. Prompto propped himself up a little better and leaned in. Foreheads touched, and then lips, lightly and tenderly. Noct felt Prompto's fingers curl into his palm as the young man tried his best to show his affection, even with that pesky bandage in the way.

Not only had highschool brought him closer to Prompto, it had also introduced him to ways to help him. Even without speech or hearing, there were still ways of communicating, and for the first time, Noct felt hopeful that they would get through this. They would just have to give Ignis and Gladio some lessons in signing.

A/N: Hey everybody! I've been wanting to get this chapter up for a while, but I wanted to make sure I was really happy with it first. I'm super fascinated with sign language, and would really love to learn it myself (I only know a few signs, so forgive me if my descriptions of them are lousy!). I know my aunt has touched many lives by knowing how to sign, so I thought this would kind of a cool thing to write about. I hope you enjoyed it! This chapter is definitely one of my favourites. Noctis is such a sweetie :)