Stand by me

3 –Long live the King

So far away, I wish you were here
Before it's too late
This could all disappear
Before the doors close and it comes to an end
With you by my side, I will fight and defend
I'll fight and defend.


Things were a lot busier now.

Noctis had gone to check on the newcomers the morning after their arrival and he had been as pleased with them as they'd been with him. Amongst the volunteers to make the first journey, the leaders had picked the most capable hands. Men who could fight, but also men with strong arms because they wouldn't have gone far if the first heap of rocks blocking a path had stopped them. Noctis also suspected that Lestallum, lacking space and resources as it was after years of sheltering thousands, had been more than glad to part with some of the bigger builds and appetites.

The result as he'd seen it the first time he'd set foot in the second floor hall converted into a dormitory, was one hundred and thirty bulky, sturdy men. They were all tall and large, not necessarily as much as Gladio but they had the same style for sure. It was a sight to see.

Insomnia had lots of space and there was food and the means to get more. Those men were a blessing, exactly what Noctis needed right now. He had let his joy show and he had stepped in to meet them. Prompto had been with him and he had remained very close, looking really nervous while they were both drowned in the mass. Noctis hadn't been worried. He had been shaking hands and hearing names and stories and he had been thanked and he had been saying thank you and welcome. Many of the men had heard him make the same promise: this was just a start. Together, king and people, they would fix Insomnia and rebuild the Kingdom of Lucis. Everyone had been very enthusiastic and, as it seemed, they all wanted to touch him. Hands were constantly reaching out, shyly at first then with more boldness when the king hadn't seem bothered by it. Prompto had looked as if he'd been on the verge of taking his gun out and go on a killing rant and when he'd finally, almost physically dragged Noctis out, they'd spent two hours there.

" Please... my king. " He'd said, breathing hard. " Don't do that again. "

Even that hadn't erased the smile on Noctis's face. He'd just turned it to Prompto, not answering, and Prompto had looked away.

Things were moving very quickly now that there was an actual workforce to put to use. At first there were only hunting teams, because being jumped on by random creatures every five minutes was making it hard to focus on what would require fixing or what could be of use. But as soon as there were cleared zones, Ignis started going inside buildings. He and his men were still on the lookout for there weren't a lot of closed doors and some rooms could still hold surprises in the form of smaller monsters.

They were exploring buildings in search of more salvageable food and confirming the safety of every place they checked. Ignis was also keeping track of the material damages caused by the invasion. Most of it was located outside though, and had been caused by the largest creatures carelessly walking around or fighting amongst themselves. Pillage wasn't a thing monsters did, and neither was on-purpose destruction. The worst damage had been done when Insomnia had tried defending herself against the invaders. The streets were a disaster but, on the inside, most of the buildings looked fine enough. People would be able to start moving in there as soon as the streets were safe again and someone skilled in the making of keys could be found.

In the late afternoon Ignis would bring his teams back to the castle and put them to another kind of work, in the kitchen. The hunt hugely contributed to keep everyone fed and there were birds roasting by the dozen or gigantic pots of stew brewing on six stoves at a time. Noctis had taken to going there in the evening. He would enter the large room full of the fragrant cooking smokes and steams, Prompto in toll, and go looming over the food just like he had when Ignis used to cook by the campfire. Ignis was so obviously happy to be there he didn't even think of reminding Noctis how un-kingly his behavior was. Maybe he was nostalgic of those days too, Noctis wondered. Anyway, he wanted to be amongst his people so why not here? He was staying inside the castle. Maybe that was the reason why no one was trying to stop him from going there.

Two days after the arrival of the first refugees from Lestallum, Noctis had taken the elevator to the basement of the castle, where all the military stuff was kept. The fall of Insomnia had happened so swiftly that there had been a good stock of useful equipment left. Thanks to that, the hunting teams were thoroughly armored and on top of it, each team leader was equipped with a communicator. Prompto was working on organizing the communications system, which was still very messy but at least it had everyone connected. People were sending info and reports by the hour and Prompto, in turn, was keeping Noctis updated three times a day.

Noctis had taken possession of his father's office. He had actual work to do now, what with all the reports and inventories and the coming refugees to deal with. It was far from enough to keep him busy but he'd abandoned Prompto's com room. Listening to him acting so naturally with everyone but him had changed from being bittersweet to downright bitter. It was just too painful and since the kitchen remained empty until late afternoon, they were the two only souls in the castle. Noctis wished he didn't have that much leisure to get bored because in spite of himself, he was spending most of his free time thinking about Prompto.

He could spend afternoons just remembering the way it used to be, easy, without ceremony. Their time together at school and the casual way Prompto used to act around him, the glares of the other students. First there had been shock, outrage even - how dared he, a mere commoner, talk like that to a royal? But then, everyone had noticed that the prince wasn't just letting it be. For the first time in his scholarship he wasn't alone, and it was because Prompto had - precisely - dared and he liked it a lot. So after the shock had come the realization that being a royal and having to cope with all the protocol stuff didn't necessarily mean being into it. There had been jealousy then, from all those who had dreamed to be the prince's friend (or something else) but hadn't had to audacity to come and talk to him. Now it was too late. Some had tried but it hadn't worked out for any of them. Noctis enjoyed Prompto's company but he wasn't what you'd call a people person. He was quite satisfied with the three friends he had, and having more seemed like a hassle. Then there was the fact that all the students who'd tried their luck had been friendly and casual towards the prince, but they had also more or less ignored Prompto. Noctis had been polite, period. He didn't need more people around and especially not the kind of people who would be rude towards his best friend.

When Prompto still wanted to be that.

It hurt so bad to think it was all behind them now but Noctis knew he had to get used to it. There didn't seem to be a turning back from what had happened during these ten years.

It wasn't the same with Gladio and Ignis, who were still having difficulties treating him differently. They'd let his name slip every now and then and sometimes he'd catch a sparkle in their eyes that let him know that even if they were indeed putting distance between them, they weren't having an easy time doing so. They still loved him, they were still his friends, Noctis knew it. It showed, if only a bit, and he as time went by he'd managed to see through their behavior that it was really a facade.

Prompto's didn't look like one.

He'd never called him by his name, not even once, and Noctis had a feeling that he didn't even want to be around him. As the only member of his guard permanently staying in the castle, he got to escort Noctis wherever he went but even then, he wouldn't actually look at him. He wouldn't talk to him or do anything else than follow him around and stand there, his hands in his back. He would do that in addition of the three reports a day that looked just as mechanical. There didn't seem to be more than met the eyes, even though the Gods knew if Noctis had tried to see something there, how he'd wanted to.

To look into his eyes and find, if not a trace of a budding love that Noctis was starting to believe he'd imagined, something left from the past joy there'd been there. Some remains of a friendship that had once been so important to Prompto it had had him begging on his knees for the king to allow him to stay and stand by Noctis. But those eyes wouldn't let themselves be crossed now. They wouldn't give anything away.

When it wasn't reminiscences about school or the day Prompto had knelt and pledged his life to the crown for a chance to be with him, Noctis was thinking about what had come afterwards. The months of accelerated training.

Prompto wasn't a big guy. For all his will and energy (and determination and enthusiasm and so on), he took more after a chicobo than anything else. Every day after school, he'd climb into the car with Noctis and Ignis would drive them both to the castle. The boys would do their homework together and after that, the real work would begin. Seeing Prompto walking up to Gladio, ready to take whatever the guy would throw his way, it'd always made the prince shudder. Even though he knew Gladio wouldn't hurt him, Prompto, with his small frame and pretty face, just looked like a pile of delicate bones wrapped in a soft white skin that bruised too easily.

And that's what he was. Gladio was relentless and had spent months making the best he could do out of him. Prompto wasn't built for fighting, he had no dominant physical skill except for the quick reflexes he'd acquired by taking pictures of things that wouldn't stop and pose. This had also instilled some amount of dexterity in his fingers. That's what had made him a gunslinger. He would have been worth nothing in close combat, you could knock him out in two good punches and he wasn't excessively agile either. Sure, he was better at dodging than Gladio was but that wasn't really impressive, partly because the big guy rarely tried to. You could hit him with all you'd got, he wouldn't budge anyway.

But Prompto was there every day, even that one time when he'd been sick and Noctis had told him not to come. Ignis had said so too but he hadn't listened. By the time Ignis had parked the car, he'd been as green as seaweed. The ride clearly hadn't helped. Gladio hadn't said anything but five minutes after entering the training lot, Prompto had started throwing up everywhere, including on his weapons master's shoes. Cue end of the training and no school for a few days but it had been too late. Noctis and Gladio had both been sick too. Prompto had been so ashamed he'd been acting as if the king himself had disgraced him.

(The king hadn't disgraced anyone. He'd laughed a lot and stated that he definitely liked the boy.)

The training was harder on Prompto than on anyone else because he was so unfit for the work and because he had to take everything in in a short amount of time. He had to be ready by the time he and Noctis graduated so Gladio hadn't gone easy on him. Prompto had taken it all without a complaint, looking happy if anything. Sometimes he'd been so exhausted he'd stayed and slept in Noctis's room instead of going home. This had happened more and more often as time went by until the day when suddenly, he'd had his own room, not far from the prince's. He'd worn every bruise like a medal of honor.

Then school days had been over. There'd been a bit of ceremony to make Prompto an official addition to the prince's guard followed by a summer of vacations and after that, talk of the wedding had quickly started. Nobody had thought of asking Noctis's opinion on the matter, not even himself. Besides a bit of surprise that it would happen so early in his life and a vague feeling that he was lucky to be betrothed to Lunafreya and not to some random stranger who could be ten years older (or younger) than he was, he hadn't thought a lot about it. It was bound to happen no matter what he wanted so what good would it do to him? He'd been glad to see his childhood friend again and that's what he'd held on to.

Then the journey. It had been so new to him, going wherever he wanted and doing whatever he wanted and all those people around him not knowing who he was. He'd almost forgotten himself, everything was easy, he'd had fun. Camping anywhere, eating food cooked by Ignis every time he'd felt like it, Prompto running around to take pictures of everything and joking all the time, hunting, fishing...

Until suddenly, Luna was dead. Because of him, for him. A beautiful city destroyed, so many victims, Ignis gone missing, all for the sake of taking his throne back. The return to reality had been so violent he'd been like sleepwalking for days. He wanted to mourn for Luna, beautiful, serene Luna he'd met again only to see her die, but also for himself. He wasn't supposed to and Gladio had been mad at him. They didn't have time for him to wallow in self-pity but he'd felt it so sharply, the thing that had died in him. The child was now completely gone, he would never know a carefree day in his life, he had no insouciance left and he wanted Ignis back so badly he wanted to bite something. To lose so much in such a short amount of lime had left him in a state of shock.

Then the ragged psycho had taken Prompto and the sheer pain of it had brought Noctis back to full consciousness. He'd almost gone mad. Not after everything else, he couldn't bear the thought of another loss. Especially not this one. That had been the moment when he'd started feeling it.

It wasn't the same as Ignis missing. It was driving him crazy with worry and a feeling of dread squeezing his heart, crushing his insides and taking his breath away. He'd been on the verge of panic for every minute it'd lasted until they finally found Prompto and he'd known he was alive. Those few days had revealed something to Noctis, something that was already there the day Prompto had begged the king for an opportunity to stay with him and Noctis had felt his heart swell with happiness when his father had said yes. It had been there for a very, very long time and Noctis had carefully looked the other way because it was no use. He couldn't love him, even when he wasn't betrothed yet he'd always known that one day he would be king and that it implied a queen and children.

But then, in a world on the verge of complete destruction where nothing mattered anymore? Fuck yeah. He would love Prompto if Prompto was okay with it. He would love the living lights out of him if Prompto didn't mind. And Noctis had the feeling that he wouldn't.

It was so hard to admit he'd been wrong. It hurt so bad.

But at least there were other things to focus on now. Good things. Three weeks after the first refugees had settled in the castle, new groups started to arrive. Unlike the first ones, there weren't only strong workers and hunters but families and friends, young and old people.

Noctis welcomed the larger groups at the castle doors while the smaller ones came up to the throne room to pay their respects and to have a look at their king. It was part of the little fun Noctis managed to have and it made his kingship a bit more bearable. It told him why he was doing this.

The newcomers always had the same look on their faces, behind various levels of concealing it. From children gaping at him in awe to elders eyeing him with a mix of hope and defiance, he saw the same curiosity, the same hunger to finally lay eyes on him - the king who had made the sun rise again.

Noctis loved it. Being king felt right then, because everything they heard about him was true. He was the legitimate king of Lucis, he had defeated the Empire (even if it had been a single man in the end, Ardyn had been worse on his own than his armies of robots and daemons) and he had indeed freed the world from evil and from the Long Night. Noctis felt like he deserved the attention and made sure to always make a show of it because the people wanted their king and decorum could help reassure them.

The king wouldn't show himself without Prompto standing one step behind him and as his escort, Prompto would always wear the King's Guard uniform and it had to be absolutely pristine. Noctis was constantly all dressed up, save for the cape and crown, even when he was going to the kitchen and even if entire days could pass without his seeing anyone besides Prompto. The people liked to see him like that, the perfect picture king, and Noctis loved to give them what they needed. Especially when it was as simple as being properly groomed and dressed.

Newcomers were now trickling through the city's doors on a weekly basis. Besides the men and women joining the hunting and exploration teams, the need of an actual staff was growing with the number of people living in the castle. With Ignis's help, Noctis quickly saw to it that things were dealt with before the situation went out of hand.

The first thing he did was to permanently staff the kitchen. Feeding one hundred and fifty people had been complicated in the state of things but doing the same for one hundred more (including thirty children) was impossible. Twenty volunteers were picked and put to work there from early morning until dinner time. The cooking of meals was their first task and the time left was used to smoking and drying meat. Ignis suggested to fill the castle's aviary with Epoynis instead of just roasting them, which provided the kitchen with fresh eggs. The birds weren't too pleased with their new home, but as soon as the captured ones would be replaced with specimens born in captivity, it would become much easier.

More volunteers were put to work as laundresses and cleaners. The reopening of schools wasn't on the menu for now and the lack of proper teacher made it all the more difficult, but the children had to be educated, it was not an option. In the end, Noctis settled for an elementary system and three small classes were created. Then he had everyone gather in front of the castle and gave a speech.

" As it is now, the best we can do is teach them how to read, write and count and grant them access to the library. " He declared after explaining how this makeshift school would work.

Then he called for volunteers who would take care of the library, because books couldn't come and go freely. Some were precious, others were not to be read by innocent eyes. As always when the king needed people to take on a task, almost every person who didn't already have a job raised their hand. It always made his heat swell with pride.

" Thank you, all of you. As many of you has already heard me say, we will rebuild this kingdom. We can do it, but only if we all work together. You make everything possible. "

Silence fell and weighed heavy on him for a few seconds. Noctis started worrying and trying to remember if he'd ever heard his father publicly thanking his subjects. Had he gone too far? Was this too un-kingly? Had he disappointed them? He didn't want to! Gods, they were getting shit done, not him! He'd only wanted them to know that he was aware of this, he'd only –

It had been a few seconds but he was on the verge of sheer panic when the crowd exploded in cheers. They were screaming 'Long live the king' and 'The Gods watch king Noctis!' and relief overwhelmed him. And right after that he realized that his throat was literally clamping his voice and that he couldn't speak. Amongst the things he hadn't expected, being strangled by emotion clearly was on top of this list. Panic started rising in his chest again.

Then he felt a hand resting on his back. He startled. How could it be? Ignis and Gladio were standing on the steps below him. They couldn't –

" It's okay. " came Prompto's voice from behind him.

Oh my Gods he's touching me! The thought pierced the haze filling his brain.

'' Just wave and smile before they're done cheering and then go back inside. Just do it, it's going to be fine. "

The voice was warm and reassuring and Noctis somehow managed to move his right hand. He lifted it and waved like his father used to in the royal processions. There was a renewal of whooping and Noctis forced a smile. He was starting to feel slightly better.

" Do you want to go back now? " Prompto asked.

Noctis still couldn't speak so he nodded and slowly turned back. His feet were glued to the floor and it felt like an hour before he was finally back in the castle hall. Walking became easier and Prompto followed him into the elevator. There, he sank against the wall.

" Better now? '' Prompto asked.

Noctis swallowed hard and cleared his throat.

" Yeah." he said.

His voice sounded like it had been squeezed all the way out and he cleared his throat again. At least his breathe and heart were falling back into a regular rhythm.

'' What happened? I thought you were going to faint out there. Your face was all blank, you scared me."

Noctis turned to Prompto. Could it be that he actually cared after all? There was a warmth in his eyes and a genuine look of worry that sent the king's heart on another kind of race. The more pleasant kind.

" I'm not sure, he answered honestly. I just ... for a second I thought that I'd messed up. That I'd gone and done something wrong. I know it was stupid but the few seconds of silence before they started cheering have been enough for me to convince myself that one way or the other, I'd managed to ruin everything. It was the shortest moment, but I was terrified. If you hadn't helped me, I'd be freaking out in front of everyone. "

" I'm glad I could be of use, my king." Prompto answered.

It hurt a bit, but the warmth wasn't gone and this felt good.

" I don't think it was stupid. You're being put under a lot of pressure and you should have a whole government to support you. Maybe you've been expecting too much of yourself. ''

" I can't do anything less. "

" Of course. But do you realize that you don't need to domore? You've been proving yourself a good king and they love you. You need to keep it up, sure, but there's only so much you can do. You've just taken care of their children's education, they're happy. If I may, why don't you call it a day and get some rest? "

As if on cue, the elevator came to a stop and the door opened on the corridor leading to his room. Noctis stepped out and when Prompto followed, he turned to him, hesitated for a second and finally spoke.

" You know you may. I wish you did more often. "

He regretted it instantly as Prompto looked away and said nothing.

I miss you! Why don't you say something?

" I couldn't do less than that, Noctis said in an attempt to save the conversation. There are no schools, no actual teachers... "

To his relief, it worked. Prompto answered as if he hadn't been awkwardly silent two seconds before.

" l don't think you realize... For the last ten years, there hasn't been any schools or teachers either. People have been focused on survival and there were hundreds of children in Lestallum, too many to put even the most basic system in place. Parents have been teaching what they could to their own kids when they had time and light. You can't learn how to read in the dark and there was no energy to spare for that kind of purpose. "

And indeed, Noctis hadn't thought about that. Ten years of night, he kept reminding himself. He should probably have considered himself lucky not to have gone through it, but he couldn't. He still regretted every minute he'd lost, asleep in the dimension inside the crystal. He wished he'd lived it.

" Yes, this is small." Prompto kept on. "But it's so much more than before! You're providing them with a place where they can leave their children and go to work knowing they'll be safe and learning things! And even if it's just reading and counting, it's a whole lot more than nothing. No, I don't think you realize what you've done so far. "

They'd reached the king's chambers doors and stopped there.

" More like I don't realize what the world had come to look like while I was gone." Noctis said, wishing he could find a way to hold Prompto back. " I don't think I ever will."

" Well, thanks to you it's all behind us now. Will you take my advice and get some rest now? "

Taking your leave already? Noctis thought bitterly. Still, everything was back to normal but he suddenly felt exhausted. He kind of liked the idea of lying down to sleep for an hour or two so he went into the room and turned to Prompto.

" I will. Thank you, you really saved my ass out there. "

He could have sworn he'd seen the ghost of a smile playing on Prompto's lips before he bowed to him.

" At your service, my king. "

Noctis managed not to roll his eyes and to put a door between him and his damn too hot bodyguard before he lost it and kissed him.

Small victories.


When you walk away I count the steps that you take
Do you see how much I need you right now?
When you're gone
The pieces of my heart are missing you
When you're gone
The face I came to know is missing too
When you're gone
The words I need to hear to always get me through the day
And make it OK. I miss you.

Avril Lavigne