Gladio focuses on the book, now able to read in peace since the last person left, either to go to the back to star gaze or to their cabin. Understandable about wanting to go to sleep, depending where their destination is they will need their rest.
The others should get sleep too. They should be getting to the capital by afternoon tomorrow. It hasn't fully hit how long they have been traveling, they have been on the road for two weeks at least. Originally they were suppose be traveling from Insomnia to Fenestala in one week, stay a week then travel back in a week. That didn't go as plan at all. But it's fine, they made memories before the blonde got mad at them.
The shield glances over hearing the door open and close. A figure turns to sit down, he turns his head, taking a quick look. Gladio does a double take when he realizes it's Prompto. He turns to the door expecting the other two to come walking in all smiles but no. Just the blonde it seems. Gladio watches the blonde as she looks out the window, a drink in hand. Gladio closes his book and stands. Walking over to sit across from her. She looks over to see Gladio is the one who sat across from her. She brings the cup up to her lips.
"Where's Iggy?" He asks.
"In the cafe train, drinking his hot Ebony coffee. Says he's going to sit there then check on Noct." she tells him. Gladio watches her, she seems to be in a good mood.
Gladio nods, "sorry for budding into your love life. Noct just sends like he needs all the help he can get." Prompto laughs.
"It's okay. Iggy said the same thing. How he thought Noct needed help." she says looking down at her cup of not chocolate, now luke warm. Gladio figures Ignis already apologized.
"Out of all of us you should know he has no experience." Gladio says. Prom lets out a stiffled laugh. "We were just trying to help."
"That's nice of you both but why?" Prom asks. Gladio looks at her confused. "Why are you and Iggy trying to help Noct and me get together?" she clarifies.
"Noct loves you so as his friends we'll help him. We thought you felt the same and needed a push." Gladio shrugs. It makes sense to him, in his head. Noct and Prompto, his two friends like each other why wouldn't he try to get them together? "You make him happy. In a way he's not naturally." Gladio says slightly embarrassed, it sounded so cheesy.
"Noct really wants to be with me?" Prom asks, slumping in her seat. "It's hard to believe. I understand why we couldn't be together at first, it still sucks, and I didn't like it but you'd think I'd be important enough to want to break the rules for." Prom says.
So she doesn't feel the love.
Yeah, that makes sense. Any one would think two people in love would fight for each as well as aside each other, stand side by side, helping each other. Instead, after sex, Noct says they couldn't be together. Without a fight he let's go of Prompto, letting her deal with the emotional trauma by herself, cause they know her parents are never around and the one time she needed them they abandoned her.
From an outside and vignette perspective Noct can be seen as trash. What would he do if it were someone else... what if it were Iris? Oh man if it were Iris. "If this happened to Iris dad and I would have tracked the man down and force him to work it out with Iris or they came to a deal."
Prompto giggles around the cup. "I think Iris would have dealt with it herself." Prompto drinks her not chocolate before continuing. "And I don't think it would have been a prince. That makes it difficult." she says. Gladio nods. Yeah that makes it more difficult.
"You didn't care about things like that before." he points out.
"Yeah, but that's when we were friends, when we were aloud to be friends. We weren't aloud to be anything more than that."
"Now you can!"
"Because Luna is going to marry Sol! That's why! They were both allowed and accepted. Luna went ahead and talked her way into marrying who she wanted, now Noct is given that freedom to. It doesn't feel great, it doesn't make me happy, it doesn't feel like love." Prom argues.
"More like a second choice rather than first?" Gladio asks. The blonde nods her head, drinking her hot coco.
"Why couldn't I be thought of first?" Prom asks sadly. "But I'm use to that." she chugs the rest of her hot coco then stands up and stretches. "Time to hit the hay." she says with a grin at the brunette, like she didn't just put herself down a second ago.
Gladio sits there for a second. The prince has a lot of work ahead of him. Honestly, it sounds like the night they confessed and had sex was a goodbye. As if they both wanted to say goodbye and move on because they knew it was never to be. But it can be.
After what feels like forever he stands up with his book in hand and walks out the train. Going past their cabin in search for his lover and the prince. He finds Ignis talking to the prince, who looks absolutely miserable.
Ignis sees Gladio first, giving the man a curt nod. No smiles to be had here.
"I apologized." Gladio says, Ignis narrows his eyes as Noct looks up and glares at his shield. "Thought you would like to know." Gladio mutters back. "What happened with you?" Gladio wonders.
"It would seem Prompto has changed her target from us to Noct." Ignis answers.
"Sooo, sunshine is mad at you now?" Gladio asks to make sure.
"Yes, and I'm afraid it started because of what we did." Ignis says.
"Did it though?" Gladio asks back.
"Prompto wouldn't have thought about things if we didn't upset her."
"But she would have always been feeling that, we just helped her realize it." Gladio says. Ignis sighs, that is true.
"You're right." he agrees.
Gladio stares down at the prince. "You know blondie doesn't want to feel like an understudy in a play." Ignis and Noct raise a curious eyebrow to where this is going. "So why not make her the leading role?"
"What?" Noct asks confused with the analogy. Gladio rolls his eyes.
"She said she was upset that you didn't fight for her. She feels she's not worth fighting for, so fight for her."
"She said that?" Noct asks shocked.
"Noct, you had one night together, then left, trying to make it seems like nothing changed but it did. You rejected her for someone else." Ignis points out.
"You left blondie, who we know is always alone and has a complex about class for Luna, a literal princess. Of course she's upset. What if you were some random guy and became friends with the blondie who is a princess, you both fall in love but she rejects you and goes for a prince? You wouldn't be so forgiving." Gladio says knowing he right as the raven haired prince frowns deeper than usual.
"I wouldn't like that." Noct says.
"That's what you did, and you didn't even try to stop it." Gladio adds making Noct flinch. He did nothing to try and fight it. He convinced himself that he was letting her go but really he pushed her away and now he's trying to bring her back. Against her will might he add. "Luna stopped it for you. I think that's worse. You're choosing Prom now not because you truly wanted it but because you can." Gladio tells the prince.
"She wants you to fight, then fight." Ignis says.
"Okay but how? Dad already approves, Luna knows and approves, you both approve. Who do I fight?"
"The council?" Ignis suggest, they still have yet to approve.
"Yeah, but they still don't know." Noct point's out. And the council might not learn for quite some time. They might not even care once they learn about her connection to the crystal.
"Maybe not physically fight, what about emotionally fight? Her main focus right now is Astrum, school and work. How do you fit in?" Ignis says.
"And how do I do that?" Noct asks so confused. Love is complicated. Ignis and Gladio look at each other then back at the prince.
"Sorry princess that's all you. We tried helping and got our assess chewed for it."
"We made our mistake already we shouldn't repeat it. At least now it's hundred percent from your heart." Ignis says.
"Thanks." Noct says. The one time he asks for their help and they decline.
Looks like he's fighting this himself.
