Disclaimer: not mine

Chapter 14

Ignis went through his own workout while keeping an eye on Prompto, amazed by how quickly he was taking to training. Noctis had run him through gun safety and maintenance several time over the first two weeks but Prom had memorised it all rather quickly, he was a natural. Was it possible…he had previous experience? But where could he have learnt? No, it was just natural skill and years of video games.

He finished up and stretched, wincing slightly at the pull. He'd pushed a bit too much today. He saw Prompto take off his ear protection and turn to him so he smiled. "Done?"

"Yeah, you okay?" he put the gun away and walked over, looking worried and Ignis smiled.

"Just did a little too much," he shrugged.

"Is there a big difference?" he asked hesitantly. "Sorry…."

"I would hope we are good enough friends now that you know you can ask me anything, Prompto. If I can answer, I will," he briefly clasped Prompto's shoulder, smiling at him.

"Is…it much different, being half human compared to a full vampire?"

"There are some major differences. As you've seen, my blood can give nourishment to full vampires," he chuckled at the slight blush on Prompto's face. "Yes, I do react like a full blooded vampire to such bites. While my vision is passable without my glasses it is nowhere near as good as Noctis and Gladio's, all of my senses are weaker, although for the most part stronger than a humans. Thankfully, I am as immune to illness as they are. I need less blood and more actual food as well. I am easily able to carry your weight but I would not be able to lift Gladio for any length of time while Gladio could carry his own weight for several hours."

"Yeah but he's huge, even if he was human he'd be crazy strong," Prompto pointed out and he chuckled.

"True." They got in the elevator and headed up. "Are you staying for dinner?"

"Not tonight, I need to do some stuff at home before school tomorrow."

"Of course," Ignis headed for the car and Prompto hesitated.

"I can take the bus…or not," he changed his tune at Ignis' look, getting in.

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Prompto finished the page and shoved the book in his bag, done. He grinned as he watched Noctis outmanoeuvring his opponent easily. Was it really fair to pit him against his classmates when he'd been receiving combat training practically from the cradle? Probably not. Was it amusing to watch? Definitely.

Sometimes he wondered how he'd do against Noct or any of the guys, not like he'd trained since running, not the kind needed for a real fight anyway. He'd always done what he could to keep as in practice as possible, usually in the basement so there was no chance of even his parents seeing. But without a training partner or instructor… he hid less since admitting the truth to them about where exactly he'd come from but he didn't want to worry them. He trained because he didn't know what the future held.

The ill excuse had worked well when he was younger but they had really given his life in the city a use by date by picking that particular disease. He had fifteen, maybe twenty years if he pushed it and then he would have to vanish. Because by that point, unless there was a medical breakthrough, even all of the vaunted medical advances would begin failing and he would have to be permanently hospitalised. There was no way to fake that. That was if he was never found out before then.

The thought of just disappearing and leaving the guys behind made him feel sick, he never wanted to leave them. At least he could see his parents, they left Insomnia all the time, they could visit him wherever he ended up or he could meet them somewhere. Noct hadn't left since the attack and as long as the war continued it was unlikely he'd ever leave the city again, where he went Gladio went. Ignis might but then what, if he saw Prompto he'd realise it had all been a lie and then he'd be hunted down.

He wanted so badly to believe they'd be able to accept him if they knew what he was but he knew it'd never happen; they would hate him.

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"Marshal," Ignis looked a little startled to see him, good, he still had the ability to be sneaky.

He wasn't exactly getting any younger after all, he had to keep in practice. Some of the Council had begun whispering that his replacement needed to be chosen soon, to be safe. He was only forty five not sixty five! Yes, as a human that made him middle aged, but he dared them to face him in combat, he had lost none of his skill, speed, or strength yet. Stuffy old troublemakers. "Ignis," he greeted with a slight smirk. "How goes young Argentum's training?"

"I suggest adding video games to the Guards training schedule," he answered. "Either they are a great help or Prompto is very naturally talented. He has had no trouble with the altered weapons, though he does not train when he is ill."

"I know the King suggested the Prince add him to his Armiger, what do you think?" he asked and he got to see something few did, the young man actually looking shocked.

"Prompto's loyalty to Noctis is beyond question, if not for his health we would all be nudging him towards the Guard with the goal of him becoming one of Noctis' Retainers one day," he admitted, pushing his glasses up. "To my knowledge, Noctis has made no mention of the magic, likely because he believes Prompto would say no. he asked about it once, curious when he saw us summoning our weapons the first time. He will say no for Noctis' sake because we told him how aware of us Noctis is. He would never burden Noctis with his illness and…and eventual death. And he is correct in that, it would distract Noctis to be able to feel when Prompto is that ill, it is bad enough seeing it."

Had Regis considered that before suggesting it to Noctis? He knew there had been comments about his place with Regis because of his shorter life span. The first time he'd fallen ill…Regis had rather 'freaked out' as they said. And he was very healthy, rarely ever catching anything.

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Gladio laughed as Prompto yelped, feeling his fists slam into his back as he carried him over his shoulder.

"Gladio!" the teen wriggled, trying to get free.

Ignis just shook his head while Noctis laughed. They all knew Prompto wasn't really trying at all to get free so it was a little unfair of him to manhandle him. He'd love to see what the kid could really do one day, to teach him how to use that strength and speed to fight, he had the right build to be a very quick opponent with being a werewolf giving him the necessary strength since he was rather scrawny. Though, he had been putting on a little extra weight finally thanks to Ignis forever plying him with food.

He dropped Prompto on the couch, gently and the blond rolled over, sticking his tongue out at him. The full moon was in three days and they knew he'd call in sick tomorrow so they were making the most of things. They would make sure to visit him, just not on the day of the full moon…how Prompto hadn't realised they never visited on that particular day he didn't know. The pre-moon days weren't as bad as the post-moon but they still liked being there to help when they could.

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Prompto watched everything with wide eyes. He'd never been to a Founder's Day festival before. Noctis had managed to get out of having to participate and the three of them were doing a good job of keeping the crowd from pressing in too close. He'd never seen so many people in the one place before! If they weren't with him he'd have bolted for home by now, overwhelmed. At least they had a good spot to watch from, Gladio using his larger frame to force a way through the crowds to reached the roped off area, Glaive posted around for safety.

He'd never seen the Kingsglaive up close before, not that much could be seen with their hoods up and faces mostly hidden. He could also tell they were all human, the majority of the Glaive was while the Guard had vampires as the majority. It apparently wasn't a rule or anything, but a lot of the Glaive were from Galahd and the islands were inhabited mostly by humans.

He glanced down when he felt fingers brush his hand, then Noct gently squeezed his hand in support and he smiled. It was just a parade, it was fine. No one would ever pick up his scent or anything in such a crowd. And with the guys surrounding him the odds of brushing up against something dangerous, like a Glaive's weapon, were very very low.

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Regis glanced towards where he knew his son was with his friends, finally getting his first in person look at Prompto. Mostly all he could see was a flash of bright blond hair when Ignis would shift. He hoped the boy would make it through the event without feeling to anxious or becoming ill. He'd ensured they would have seats just to be safe and the Glaive could warp him out if necessary, Noctis wasn't up to taking a passenger yet.

He'd felt something of an idiot when Cor had spoken of his discussion with Ignis. His friend was so infrequently ill that he had honestly not considered that when making the suggestion to Noctis. He'd been thinking of their safety, of Prompto being able to store his guns and summon curatives. If he was alone with Noctis and the Prince was injured, it could come down to giving his blood to heal him which would then likely endanger Prompto's own health.

Regis looked away from the boys and stood, unlike Noctis he had duties today.

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Noctis wrapped himself around Prompto, hearing him whimper in his sleep, lifting a hand to run through blond hair, relieved when he slowly relaxed. The full moon seemed to have been more brutal than normal for some reason, thankfully he knew where the emergency key was hidden and had used it when Prompto hadn't answered the door. He'd found him passed out in the hallway and had been terrified for an instance that he was dead. Thankfully he'd then realised he was hearing Prom's heart beating and had called Ignis and Gladio for help before carrying Prompto to bed, glad he was upstairs since he didn't think he could have managed him on the stairs.

They'd gotten a shake and some broth into him but that was it and all three were worried but what else could they do? Did they dare risk speaking with his Dad if Prompto didn't improve or got worse?

"You've got to be okay, please," he whispered, pressing his nose to Prompto's throat, breathing in the scent of Prompto and wolf, ignoring the tingle in his fangs. Prompto was his, he would never bite without permission. He felt Prompto shift slightly, trying to roll so he sat up and gently rolled him onto his back, seeing his eyelashes fluttering. "Prom? Come on, wake up, I've got you," he patted his check gently.

There was a low moan, Prompto trying to get away from his hand, but ever so slowly his eyes opened. He blinked dazedly at him and Noctis went from patting his cheek to just resting his hand against warm skin. "Nnnn," Prompto mumbled.

"Come on Prom, talk to me," he urged.

"Noooct?" it was slurred but definitely his name and he relaxed a bit at that.

"It's me, you scared me," he admitted. "Come on, let's get you sitting up, Iggy should have some more broth for you soon." He got an arm under Prompto and pulled him up, sitting back against the headboard to support him. "I need you to stay awake, please," he whispered, rubbing his arm and Prompto groaned.

"Wha…"

"It's Saturday, almost dinner time. I came by this morning and found you passed out in the hall," he explained. "You wouldn't wake up," he choked and then he felt a weak hand fumble at his and he took it in his. "You scared me."

"Sorry," Prompto whispered and Noctis was relieved to hear a full word. He looked down, seeing he looked more aware now.

He bent his head, pressing their foreheads together. "It's not your fault. We need a better way for you to call for help if needed." The door opened and he felt himself tense, ready to fight and defend, but it was just Ignis who saw them sitting up and relaxed.

He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, putting aside the mug of broth to check Prompto's temperature and heartrate. "About time you woke up," he smiled softly. "You've had us all very worried," he picked up the mug. "Let's see how much you can get down; you need to keep your strength up. How do you feel?"

"Ache….tired," he answered, swallowing when the mug was pressed to his lips.

"We brought everything needed to stay here," Ignis told him.

At least he wouldn't need to drink from Ignis in the morning, not that he minded doing that, it always made him feel closer to him when he got to feed from him. As soon as he'd called to tell them about Prompto they had packed and rushed over. Annoyingly, he had duties he couldn't get out of tomorrow, but Ignis would remain while Gladio went with him. they'd have to leave early enough to clean up at the apartment but it was a sacrifice he was willing to make.

"Don't…have to," Prompto mumbled, already drifting off again.

"We want to," Noctis promised.

"Just rest, let us worry about everything," Ignis agreed.

It took until Tuesday for him to recover enough that they felt safe enough leaving him alone. Ignis began attempting to research again, all of them worried about what could have caused such a bad reaction.

Prompto could have told them, one of the kids at school had some wolfsbane in his bag and some of it had gotten into the air, leaving him weak for the full moon.

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Prompto laughed, clapping as Noctis sent Gladio tumbling back. He loved the under building training room, it meant he got to watch them train when not practicing his shooting. They all needed the break of letting off some steam. Tensions in the city were rising and they were all worried. Anti-immigrant and refugee sentiments were increasing to crazy levels which didn't make sense to him when the Glaive had one two decisive victories recently.

He knew more about the situation than he probably should but Noctis never even hesitated talking about things in front of him and while the others had been more reserved, after a year and a half of knowing him they would talk as well. There was no way he was cleared to know and he had tried to bring that up but Noctis had just shrugged it off and said they trusted him which had made him feel really good. He would never tell anyone anything they shared with him.

He grinned at Ignis when the older male sat beside him, their arms brushing briefly. He didn't understand how they could be so close to him, even sharing sleeping space around the full moon, and not pick up on his scent but he was glad they didn't. He loved the contact, wolves were pack animals and needed to be around others, to touch. He'd been missing that a lot since his parents were away so often but now he had it with them.

With school on winter break he was spending as much time as possible at the apartment and one of the guys was normally free, though it wasn't often all four of them had time together. One of them usually had to accompany Noctis to the Citadel, either to advise him or to attend in official Shield position.

"Are you enjoying the break?" Ignis asked and Prompto grinned again.

"Yeah, it's nice just having time to relax. Are you looking forward to university?"

"I am," Ignis smiled.

"You'll do great."

"As will you," Ignis told him and Prompto blinked.

"Me?"

"Of course, if you wish to attend university there is no reason you can't. You don't even have to attend class in person, it is much more flexible. And there are scholarships if that is your concern."

Prompto blinked, he honestly hadn't considered that, he wasn't used to planning that far ahead. He was pretty sure his grades so far were good enough and he wasn't worried about a scholarship, that was how he'd gotten in to the same school as Noct after all.

"It's something to think about for the future," Ignis smiled and he nodded.

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Noctis grinned when he spotted Prompto sitting at 'their' table, waiting for him, they didn't have every class together but that was okay, they had most and breaks. The bullying had cut back as well so he wasn't too worried about him in the classes they didn't share.

His biggest worry were the protests, none had turned violent…yet. Security through the city had increased, the Glaive supplementing the Guard when not deployed. They couldn't find who or what had set it off either which was frustrating. His Dad was doing his best to address the problem but…

He stepped onto the grass and the world exploded.

TBC…