With the nasty cliffhanger I made, I decided to update this story first. So here it is! I hope you'll enjoy!

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Stranded

Chapter 10 – We're alright

"It's okay, Noct, I'll take the pain away. I just need to…"

A howl of pain. His consciousness fading, his body overloaded with pain. His blood was on the sand, on her legs and stomach and she cursed against her own tears, trying to find a balance, a way to hold him in her lap as she sat and struggled to identify the worst wound out of the three.

"Not like this. Not like this Noct, please, please…"

Those scales were larger than dining plates, harder than steel and there were three of them…

I need help. I can't lose him. I'm the one supposed to suffer, not him.

"Prompto! Prompto can you…?"

His head was buzzing, his blood pulsing with a cold feeling as he shivered. It was a war against the trembling in his limps to lift himself on his forearms. He saw red and blue spots on the back of his hands. A rash that looked like scales on top of his skin. A growling rang through his head, a spasm making his back twist violently. He whimpered, shaking as a fear he knew far too well seized his heart. There was sand in his nose, in his mouth, in his lungs, his eyes too and the burning sensation in his veins grew stronger. Shiva had taken his energy, leaving him diminished, but this time, he had been the only source of energy for the covenant. He could tell, since the ringing in his ears wouldn't stop and when he blinked, he could see a different plane than the bank he was lying on. It was a dark blue, flowers drifting in an endless sea and his entire body spasmed in protest, pulling him back to reality.

I'm going to die. I'm going to die!

"Prompto, I need your help!" Luna called again.

The gunman blinked, coughing and hacking before finding his breath again.

"What is…"

"It's Noctis, Prom. I can't move him, I need potions and ethers, I…"

Prompto revised his last thought.

He might die. You won't, but your one real friend might just die.

"Coming," he promised, pushing on his arms to raise himself. His legs were numb, his muscles twitched, and he knew the magic of Leviathan was still at work. He wasn't sure what that sea goddess wanted from him, what she could need from him, why any god would care for a petty human's life force if that was what was leaving his body right now. It hurt like hell.

Scrambling to his feet was too hazardous so he simply looked up to find his bearing and crawled on all fours until he'd reached the first aid items that were now half buried in the sand. It was a good thing they'd used a weighted case to bring them, because he couldn't imagine what they'd do if they'd been sent flying all over the place. He stashed a dozen ethers and three elixirs in the bottom of his shirt to carry them over to Luna and Noctis. It was weird to walk on three limbs instead of four since he needed one hand to keep the bottles from falling.

He kneeled next to Noctis's head, his eyes widening as he realized how bad the situation was. Luna swallowed a full ether, the light at her fingertips growing stronger and steadier as she immediately imbued Noctis with her healing magic.

"You're leaving those things in him?" Prompto asked with disbelief.

"I can't close those wounds here and taking the scales out would mean letting him bleed out. I can't find my phone. Do you have yours?"

Camilla had vowed to send a ship after her once the goddess would be gone, but with the stormy seas, the first secretary might decide it was better to wait and Noctis needed medical attention as quickly as possible.

Prompto pulled his phone out with trembling hands, his eyes barely looking away from Noctis. His friend was slumped over Luna, his back raising and lowering throughout a very light shaking. His shoulder blade had been impaled by a scale, the second one breaking ribs on his left side while the third one dug in his lower back, plunged in an angle that made Prompto feel queasy.

He dialed Cindy's number first, since she was the closest to their boat and their easiest way off this island if said boat was still in one piece. The call couldn't even connect, which had him curse under his breath. She was supposed to hang tight and be safe, but who knew how the maelstrom of godly powers had impacted on her side of the island. Prompto thumbed the first secretary's number on his phone and put it on speaker, letting Luna surmise the situation and argue about the necessity of a boat heading to their location quickly.

"Didn't you use your own boat to reach the island?"

"We can't reach our pilot and I have one man in a critical situation."

"The covenant worked, didn't it? The waves are barely calming down in the harbor."

"It worked, and I've held my side of the bargain, we took all the suffering and risks on ourselves. Can you help me this time, lady Claustra?"

Luna was promised a boat in one hour in the worst-case scenario and half an hour if things went well. She didn't look pale but translucent by now and Prompto was shocked she didn't keel over under the pressure.

"What can I do to help?"

"I don't want to move him, and I don't see how we can stabilize those scales… Can you bring me more ethers? And maybe a shirt so his face is not lying directly on the sand?"

Prompto gulped down one elixir, his legs slowly returning to a more solid state. He dragged the whole pack of curatives next to Luna, helping her settle Noctis more comfortably while not moving him too much. Luna's right hand never left Noctis's side, her light pouring into him in a steady flow.

"I thought you needed to do that forehead to forehead thing…"

"With the blight, it really helps, but depending on how bad the wounds are I can…" her voice broke as her eyes studied Noctis, the way his face was contorted with pain even while unconscious. She missed a breath and even a full heartbeat, her panic threatened to turn to a pure bout of hysteria. She didn't want to deal with this. "Oh, Prompto, he's so pale. What's your blood type?"

"Uh… You don't want my blood type, believe me."

"It's not like we can do a transfusion here. I'm trying not to lose my mind…"

"Cindy never picked up," Prompto whispered, wondering if adding a different worry to Luna's plate was the best thing he could do. "If I can't help here, I could try and find her…"

Luna turned her head to him fully, her magic still coursing from her to Noctis. Her eyes were red from the salty water and her own tears which kept flowing despite her best efforts. She couldn't register the idea that Cindy could also be hurt. Prompto was pale and she realized his chest had been grazed by one of the scales, an angry tear of blood on his shirt and coat.

"Are you well enough for it? You could barely stand on your feet earlier."

Her free hand reached out and he took a step back, slowly shaking his head.

"Keep that magic for him. I'll come back as quickly as I can. Will you be okay on your own?"

Luna wanted to scream, but it wasn't like keeping him around and refusing her friend the help she most certainly needed would change Noctis's state. That was on her. If she had been strong enough to endure the pain of Leviathan's voice pressuring her mind… If Noctis hadn't felt the urge to protect her. If she hadn't made him her bodyguard to begin with...!

"Of course, I will," she said instead, wondering why the knot in her throat felt this tight.

Why did Prompto have to be attentive and gentle now, when Noctis was lying half dead in her lap because of her own mistakes?

"I'll be back before you know it. Make sure he keeps his pants on."

That made her smile weakly and her voice had almost no bite when she pretended to snap at him,"Jerk!"

Prompto let out a frail chuckle and started in one direction, before hesitating.

"The cabin Cindy is in was that way," Luna told him, unable to roll her eyes at him. She was already focusing her attention back on Noctis.

His dark hair, still saturated, sticking in places and slowly starting to point up as it dried. His breathing sounded good enough considering the hits he'd taken. She tried expanding her senses to determine how deep the damage ran.

"Torn muscles I can fix, Noct, I swear you don't have to worry…"

Except she couldn't fix him right now and the longer it took, the harder it was to fix damage. And if the nerves had been touched… Her eyes analyzed the scales embedded to his back. The angle. She tried calculated how deep they could be in him. The thought made her stomach roll with repulsion. Nothing should pierce his skin or reach him, not after everything he'd been through. How lucky had they been over the past few months, that he'd never gotten hurt too seriously, that he always got away with things she could fix in a heartbeat.

Now her magic was diminished, despite the second ether she swallowed and while she could renew part of his strength, and slow some of the bleeding, there was little she could do.

"I've kept people alive for hours before," she reminded herself.

That had been with medical material around, but it didn't mean she couldn't pull it off now. She wanted to lay his head in her lap and to stroke his hair until the hurt would leave his features, but it was getting harder to focus her magic through her fingers. It burned a little as the minutes stretched and he continued losing blood, growing paler as Luna's skin turned a little more translucent. The storm calmed down. But her heart couldn't, shifting into her own storm of emotions now. Her mind ablaze with the frenzy of potential loss. Just when she'd found him, just when she'd taken the risk to open herself to someone worthy of her heart, she was going to lose him?

"I won't. You hear me Noctis? I won't let you leave if I have any say in the matter!"

…

Prompto had to down another elixir after half a mile, his legs shaking and his head turning. He felt weak, weaker than after a torture session with his father. He squinted, desperately looking for their boat. All he saw was the ocean. The cabin was far, but a silhouette was limping forward. Or was it hopping?

The island being inhabited, Prompto hurried towards her, his eyes taking in the sight of Cindy holding her sides, missing one boot, her left foot bloody, the leather of her suit scratched open over her knees. She stumbled against him, the gunman barely holding her up, his voice a ghost of his usual cocky tone.

"The hell you do?"

"You guys won," Cindy stated, wrapping an arm around his waist as she leaned fully on him.

"We did, but what… Did your foot go through a shredder?"

"Nah, I just hit some corals when the ship keeled over. Like stepping on freaking knives."

"Why were you on the ship?!"

She shivered, her face digging into his chest, making him wince softly.

"I saw our anchor was about to snap, so I rushed onboard to make sure we would have a way out. Do you have any idea how it feels to be the taxi when all of your lives are at stake?!"

"I think I do," he sighed, wrapping his arms tighter around her.

Cindy's fingers found the tear in his clothes and they both gasped, Prompto in pain and herself in surprise. She instantly pulled back from him, although she needed his arms supporting her with her bad foot. Her eyes took in the long gash, which was thankfully superficial enough not to warrant immediate care. He swallowed, wondering why she'd recoiled from him. Was she disgusted by him? A voice in the back of his head reminded him that his blood had to be tainted. Everything under his skin, -skin included- was the heritage of his father, carefully put together to make the "perfect" soldier and surely that showed…

"What did you do to get such a cut?!"

"You should see the other guy," Prompto said.

The worry in her eyes didn't falter at all and he realized she had most certainly seen Leviathan even from this far. As for the other guy… His thoughts instantly went to Noctis.

He's not going to die, he tried to calm himself.

Needing to occupy his hands, he cupped her face, finding yet another source of worry.

"There's blood in your hair!"

"Oww… So that's why my head was smarting a little," Cindy tried to hide her own surprise.

"Did you hit something?"

"I nearly drowned with the stupid boat, I hit a lot of stuff!"

"Shit, Cin, let me check that."

His hands parted her hair as he took a step closer and the blonde gave herself up to his check-up when she realized he was shaking every few seconds.

"I'm not concussed," she insisted, grimacing as he pulled on the wound despite how delicate he was trying to be.

Her pale locks were tainted with red, but he huffed a relieved sigh. He'd seen enough head injuries going bad with his fellow clones.

"Yeah, it's a small cut. Just bleeding a lot. Not feeling dizzy?"

"No, simply… exhausted. How about you?"

"I'll topple over if you push me," he admitted, his hands drifting to her neck.

He needed to feel her. Sense the warmth beneath her wet skin, the pulse of life despite the blood on his fingers. She let out a moan of pain as he brushed a bruise, but hugged him softly instead of pulling away.

"Why did you come for me?"

"I was worried. And I can be a better help to you than Noctis."

"Was he hurt? And Luna?" Cindy asked, her hands clutching at his shirt.

"Luna has a few cuts, but Noctis is the worst off. We're waiting for Altissia's rescue boat and I… I'm not sure Noct's going to make it."

She blinked, trying to process the news and the seriousness to his voice. Her hand ruffled his hair almost instantly, her gesture almost too soft.

"Oh lords… He'll be fine, Prom, Luna's looking after him. Speaking of her, we should hurry back. Make sure neither of them needs our help."

He let her lean on his shoulder, but after a mere three steps, Prompto halted them, his eyes fixed to her wounded foot.

"You got sand and some weird… is it seaweed? We need to clean that up and wrap it in bandages. Getting more sand inside will only hurt more."

"There's no time for…"

Prompto cut her off by lifting her in his arms, walking up to the ocean. The storm was finally dying down and the waves were lower, although the wind still threatened to take their breath away.

"If we sit down, can you get back up?" Cindy asked, wondering if he should even make the effort of carrying her right now.

Her teeth were chattering together and he huffed, kneeling down.

"Clean that foot first. We'll get back to Noctis and Luna. Then we'll make a signal for the boat with something."

He cut off the lower half of his shirt in strips, muttering that he should have brought some bandages with him seeing as Luna had the first aid kits with her. He hated how messy her foot looked and every little yelp of pain she let out as he tried to be gentle but also fast. The sole of her foot was open raw and angry cuts run on top of it. Tears rolled down her face when he started tying up the strips of fabric, but she insisted she was fine.

They had to help each other up, slowly making the walk back to the bank where Luna continuously poured her magic into Noctis, downing an ether every four or five minutes. Every step was torture and Prompto sank to his knees, his dizziness taking over.

"Prom!" Cindy sank with him, her hand pressing on his back.

I don't need help, I'm just…

"Just give another potion and I should…" His stomach rolled, and he shivered so hard, it was almost painful. "Nope. I'll get sick."

Luna felt overwhelmed by the worry she sensed in Cindy's voice and how weak Prompto sounded. It wasn't only Noctis who needed her light, but he'd turned even paler in the time it had taken for the pair of blonds to come back. She didn't dare to release her healing for an instant and when the rescue team finally touched ground, she barely believed it. It had been 25 minutes of keeping Noctis's vitals somewhere around normal, but it had felt like hours.

Her panic shifted to pure hysteria when the paramedics put Noctis on a stretcher after stabilizing the scales stuck in him.

"We got him, you can…"

"I'm not leaving him!" she instantly protested, her eyes wild with fear.

…

Prompto was diagnosed with hypovolemia, a serious case of anemia upon their arrival to the hospital, where Luna was pried off Noctis and forced to sit in her own examination room while he underwent treatment. Cindy argued until her strength gave out, unable to hold off even though she wanted to support her friend in the aftermath of this covenant. Both women knew by then that the healing would be even more painful than the ordeal with Leviathan itself.

…

"We don't have his blood type," the doctor explained.

"How come you don't have his bloodtype?!" Luna exclaimed herself. "I was here last week, and no one told me there was a shortage for any bloodtype."

"You do know that 0-negative is quite rare," Camelia interfered. "Moreover, we're talking about a clone from the empire. By taking a stand for you and letting you do this covenant, Aldercapt considered we had broken our neutrality and he threatens my people. There has been two raids on our shores already!"

The empire was growing more and more desperate for supplies. Lunafreya staying in Altissia was close to drawing a target on the whole city and lady Camelia had made it clear she wanted her gone. Except Luna wouldn't leave until her team was back on its feet.

"So because of the barcode on his arms, you won't give him a transfusion?!"

"We never said that!" the doctor protested instantly. "We don't have his blood type or any donor at the moment. We're monitoring his status closely. As for the other man," he paused, testing the name on his tongue. "Noctis Caelum…"

Medical records could be falsified, but there was a limit to hiding an exiled prince when said prince was your bleeding out lover. There also wasn't a lot of Lucian men sporting scars from encounters with a daemon like the six-armed naga he'd met as a child. Noctis's past injuries worried his doctors, considering the size of his scars and the rehabilitation he had undergone.

"His body has been strained from early on, so while he will recover from this, you had better not plan to put him on the battlefield anytime soon. His right arm will never work again at full strength. And he's damn lucky his back held on."

Noctis's ulnar nerve had been damaged, his whole shoulder was a mess and his arm barely responded when they tested his reflexes. He hadn't been conscious for more than a few minutes here and there and had never been coherent. He was either too high on painkillers or in too much pain to align two words. And it could have been much worse. The scale causing the most bleeding could have cause so much more damage. Two inches lower, and he'd needed a new hip, a deeper cut and he would have died on that beach… Luna knew it was already something that he survived. It hadn't prevented her from freaking out when she could finally get a look at herself and realize just how much blood he'd lost. Her white dress was stained with it, the rain unable to take away the marks of his sacrifice. He'd received those wounds for her. When he'd woken up with her next to him, his eyes out of focus and his throat parched, Noctis's answer to her desperate "why" had left her heart colder than stone.

"That's… how it feels… if someone you care about…"

He'd passed out again then, but she could hear the word sacrifice ringing all over her head.

This is what you're always ready to do. How does it feel when someone else does it?

She'd never let anyone looking after her become this hurt before. It gnawed at her at every waking moment. Luna didn't know what was worse. How she worried about the sequelae he would keep and how much he'd push himself as soon as he regained consciousness? The fact she inspired him to sacrifice himself without a second thought when all she wanted was for him to stay safe. Or was it how she nearly forgot about Prompto and Cindy altogether as she entirely focused her magic, her prayers and her will on Noctis's recovery?

"Come back to me", she prayed by his bedside.

He looked too pale, wrapped up in bandages, sleeping through the raids and the news direct Luna kept on as she watched over him. The two first days were torture. Cindy had to remind her to eat and ask her if she had gotten any sleep.

"Luna, you're going to drive yourself into a wall."

"I'm fine, Cindy. I just need to hold up until he's better."

"Girl, you can fall apart too. You're human despite being the Oracle. Your eyes are all red and I hear you sniffling at night."

Cindy's wounds had been either stitched or lathered in potion and she could be seen hopping up and about, using her painkillers when things turned too unbearable. She had already started tinkering away with gadgets in the hospital, needing the occupation to keep herself sane. Waiting wasn't something she was good at. And Luna wasn't any better at it.

"How's Prompto?"

"He really wants to get out of here. Hospitals freak him out. I swear, they need to hold him down every time they walk into his room with a needle."

"I really should check on him more often."

"When will you rest if you do?"

"So what, because he's my man, I should only worry about him and myself? Prompto endured the full toll of the covenant while Noctis paid with his blood, quite literally. I'm not…!"

"You're upset Luna, I get it. But we just need to be a little more patient. Noctis should get back to his senses anytime now. He's pulled through. And so will Prompto."

Luna knew she was right. She still couldn't wait to hear Noctis's voice. She wanted to stroke his hair and feel him lean into her touch. To look into his eyes and feel found. More than everything, she wanted to thank him and ease his pain with her light and tell him he should never do anything like that again.

…

"Lady Lunafreya," a nurse called. "You have a visitor."

Luna stood from her chair, wondering if it showed that she had been on the verge of falling asleep. Noctis had yet to wake up from his painful daze and all she could do was listen to the news, go to the various hospitals in Altissia to offer her light to the persons hurt by the empire's last raid and pray for the empire to leave. She had half a mind to summon Leviathan herself to push Nifelheim back, but the raids were all really brief and Camelia didn't want the Oracle to expose herself to the military.

"You're under our protection for as long as you'll stay here."

It meant that Camelia couldn't wait until she left, but the first secretary had better accommodate Luna for the time it took Noctis to recover. His vitals were good, and the doctors were confident he could be discharged quickly. The rehab was going to be rough though.

"Luna!"

She jumped, recognizing Nyx's voice. Her heart lurched in her chest. Her eyes had difficulty focusing from how tired she felt, but she saw him in the hallway, holding a small girl's hand while balancing a basket of goods in his free hand. The girl had small braids and pointed her finger at her with a large smile.

"Owerall lady, daddy?"

Luna smiled through her exhaustion.

"Yes, princess, that's Lunafreya. Cure, wait, I said no… Hey!"

Cure had been rocking in place from sheer excitement, but now she took off running, refusing to hold still and Luna couldn't help being worried the girl would miss a step. Her small legs were impetuous in her barely coordinated race and she clearly hadn't learned to fear anything yet. She stopped two steps short of Luna, looking at her with wide eyes and a bright smile.

Her mouth opened to speak, but shyness took over, her small hand covering her lower face and Lunafreya noticed how Cure had inherited Nyx's eyes. Her heart was beating painfully despite her best efforts to keep it calm. Nyx walked up to them, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"We heard from a friend you were staying in the hospital after that covenant. I wanted to check on you," the man explained. "My wife insisted on bringing a gift for your whole team."

Luna took the basket with a wary smile, hoping her unease didn't show.

"That's really kind. You didn't have to…"

"Well, this bundle of shy nerves here wanted to see you badly and with all these attacks, I worried you would go back out when you should catch some rest."

"Luna's hurt," Cure observed, her eyes detailing the bandages on Luna's shoulder.

"Oh, that's a scratch, dearie. I'm made tough. And my friends protected me," she finished her explanation, her smile fading a bit.

"That's good fwends. We meet them too daddy?"

"I don't think you should, baby girl. If we're preventing you from catching rest, we can leave…"

"No, no, you came all this way," Luna hurriedly reassured him.

She was uncomfortable, but that little girl had nothing to do with it. It wasn't her fault if her father had once sort of dated the Oracle and left her for an easier, clearer and steadier life. If he had stayed, it could have been him lying in Noctis's room. She hated herself for thinking that. No one could take Noctis's place. There were no places. All her heart wanted was Noctis. Safe and sound. And awake.

"Sad owerall?"

Luna kneeled in front of the little girl.

"Yes, Cure, I am a bit sad. Do you know what helps at time like this?"

"Hugs?" Cure offered, parting her arms with just a little hesitation.

"Yes, hugs. Do you mind giving me one?"

The girl shook her head no and then yes before to giggle, appearing confused at the answer she should give, while her tiny arms wrapped around the Oracle. Luna pulled her close, soaking in the bright joy she exuded. At this moment, there was no envy in her heart, simply gratitude for the girl's smile and warm hug.

"Feeling better?"

"I already do. Your parents picked a good name for you, Cure."

She laughed again, and Luna held back on tears. Would she ever laugh like that again?

…

Noctis was disoriented to say the least when he finally came back to himself, half wondering why the light was so bright and why the sheets on his bed weren't black. He couldn't believe his dreams had reminded him of his baby brother and the fact they'd gotten along one day, but when the numbness in his right arm registered, he pushed any thought about family back.

"Wha…" His voice croaked out of his throat and his memory kicked into motion.

The scales in his flesh were gone and so was the sand under his skin, but Luna wasn't where she should be and his fingers ticked in a succession of shivers that made it look like he was shaking. His back was on fire and his neck tensed up as he tried to look around. He was lying on his side and could tell rolling around would be painful.

"Noct!" Luna exclaimed as she woke up from her light slumber, rushing to his side.

Her hair was a mess, her face too pale and dark bags sat under her eyes.

"Hey. I… I think I've missed a lot of things."

This was the first time he sounded like himself, despite the tremble to his voice. Luna gingerly sat on the edge of his tiny hospital bed, ruffling his hair to hold back against her urge to wrap her arms around him.

He was still on the mend, despite how many times she'd insisted on using her light on him. The wounds were closed and the worst pain had to be his shoulder and arm.

"You got me worried sick… How do you feel?"

"Sorry?" he sighed dejectedly. "I took those hits and then I couldn't even handle…"

"Please, Noct! When I asked you to be my bodyguard, I never said "die for me"."

He gasped in pain as he tried reaching out for her hand, his arm refusing to move.

"Easy, there's nerve damage to your shoulder and it might run up all over…"

He paled at the news, understanding that his right arm might never answer like it used to.

"Shit! A bad leg and a bad arm?"

"Don't fuss around. There's nothing bad about you, Noct…"

Her hands trailed down his face lovingly, making him wonder what she could see in him. He had to look awful, but her eyes shone just from the sight of him. He wanted to ask how long he'd been out, and about Prompto and Cindy, but Luna was saying something, except her words came out strangely garbled. There were tears in her eyes and while her shoulders shook, her hands were steady on him, in fear she might hurt him further if she moved too much.

"Luna…"

"I'm sorry I'm getting like this. I thought I was going to lose you back on that beach. I should give you a chance to rest, but I need to know you'll never pull something like this again. I was…"

"I thought I wouldn't catch you when we started falling," he cut her off, trying to push himself up to hold her eyes better with his, but she forced him back down, kneeling by the side of his bed so their faces would be leveled. She angrily dried her tears, holding his left hand in hers. "I have no idea how that landing even worked and you were like a broken doll in my arms…" Noctis went on. "I couldn't think about anything but keeping you safe."

"Noct…"

"It worked, didn't it? There was no second wave of scales or another trial to complete that covenant?"

Luna's eyes widened as she realized his brain hadn't registered their arrival to the hospital or all the treatments he'd undergone. Once he'd lost consciousness on that beach, he'd been out of the world, half gone. Ignoring if all their efforts had born fruition.

"It worked. I can't believe you took such a risk, but it worked."

"That's great," he sighed, extending his left arm from underneath him to cup her face. "Did you sleep at all since we got here?"

"It's not the same without you next to me," Luna confessed.

The blush on his cheeks comforted her as much as his smile, but it all receded as the pain caught up with him.

"Ow…"

Her light instantly shone at the tip of her fingers and his protests were denied.

"Did you give me any choice when you tackled me to play the human shield?"

"You usually love when I tackle you," he shot back.

"When I'm conscious and we're lying on a bed, not sand. You lost so much blood…"

He bit his lower lip, turning his head to take a quick look at himself. From the movement under the sheets, she could tell he was wriggling his toes to test them and felt her heart drop in her chest as he squeezed her hand, heaving a relieved sigh.

"That snake didn't break my back…"

"The doctors insisted you'll be walking again in a matter of days. Note my words, walking, Noctis, not running. Or jumping."

"I get it, Luna. I'm on light duty." He clicked his tongue, frowning a bit. "Why does your magic always make my breath taste like marshmallows?"

She laughed at that, taken by surprise.

"Does it?"

"I swear it does! And it's not funny."

"You don't like marshmallows?"

"Not when I'm on an empty stomach. It's like I have acid instead of saliva and the mallows are melting before even getting crunchy."

She shook her head at him, barely holding back her urge to kiss him. She didn't want to encourage him in moving when he was this hurt. But seeing his eyes lit up and how alive he looked now that he was more awake -Luna was certain this nonsense about marshmallows was due to his painkillers kicking in for the nth time-… Seeing him awake and talking to him only reminded her of how much she'd missed him.

"Noct, I really shouldn't, but I want to kiss you."

"How long have I been here?"

"Two days."

"Does that qualify me as a sleeping beauty? Cause then, I don't see how the doctors could prescribe no get-well kisses."

"You're starting to sound like Prompto," she teased him, but instead of smiling, he turned serious.

"How is he? I don't feel like after Shiva…"

Luna's shoulders lowered two notches.

"He's doing better than you, despite his anemia. Cindy is looking after him closely. She made sure he only had male nurses."

"He must be so sad," Noctis forced his laugh, too relieved to mock his friend whole-heartedly.

"I should tell your doctor you're up…" Luna started getting back to her feet, wondering if she could hasten the healing process now that he was back to his senses.

"Wait, don't I get one get-well kiss first?"

The princess crossed her arms over her chest, feigning the debate which was already won in her heart.

"You need rest. And to stay calm."

"Luna…"

She leaned over him, her lips brushing his forehead and he couldn't help a childish whine when she started pulling away. He couldn't raise himself or pull her down to him and he needed a distraction from the pain and the idea his right arm might stay out of commission.

"Are you asking for your reward for saving me, Noctis?"

"Maybe?"

Although, if he was honest, he hoped he'd get more than one kiss for it.

The mattress shifted from the added weight and Luna agreed not to make him beg longer, even though she doubted his breath tasted like marshmallow. The kiss was soft and gentle, a brush of lips and warmth that reassured him as much as it calmed her. Luna had held his fingers and kissed the palm of his hand and his forehead a couple of times during the last few hours, but she had needed this. Feeling him reacting at her touch, even if he could barely reach back to her. She licked her lips as she backed away from him, eyes tender.

"Now focus on healing, mister savior."

"That can't be all my reward…"

"You'll have the rest of it when you're better. And only if you promise me never to do something like this again!"

He opened his mouth to reply with something, but his nurse was walking in and Luna didn't want to argue with her prince just yet. She was going to spoil him rotten first, to make up for all the pain he'd put himself through in her name.

To be continued…

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No cliffhanger this time. More hurt comfort will come in next chapter 😊 And we'll finally see the guys in Lucis. :D Please, review, you know it makes me happy.