Fifteen

When Noctis is fifteen, he's not sure if he's kidnapped or if was asking for it.

He thinks back and... yeah.

This is kinda his fault.

It's ten o'clock at night and he's supposed to be back at the Citadel but there's no way he wants to go back there when everyone's being a jerk and he has absolutely no desire whatsoever to see his dad. Prompto's gone home already and so Noctis just enjoys the blissful silence of the arcade. He's waiting for the Glaive to come pick him up; it's not his day to babysit Noctis but he'd rather deal with Nyx than that pain in the ass Luche. Six, he'd rather pull out his own teeth with pliers than deal with Luche.

What a tight-wad.

Either way, Noctis doesn't want to go home but it's not like he has a choice.

Then he does.

Kinda.

They're older than him and he's seen them around before. He knows that Prompto doesn't like the look of them and Noctis really doesn't like the look of them either. But they're exactly the kind of people his dad would hate for him to spend time with, maybe even more than his dad complains about Prompto. It's all weird because Prompto's just a big chocobo-butt and these guys look more seedy than bird feed, but…

Well, he goes with them because he's fifteen and bored. There are three of them and he knows that in a fight he could probably win from sheer force of will and innate temper alone. Well, that's what he tells himself. They say they want to go smoke some pot and maybe get some beer. Noctis thinks that it's better than waiting for Luche, and if disappearing gets Luche fired then it's even better.

But really, he doesn't care. He's thinking about pissing off his dad because his dad skipped out on their third dinner that month. School's stressful. Ignis with his extra assignments is stressful. Gladio constantly kicking his ass is stressful. The fact the one day he'll be forced to be king is super stressful. Even if he didn't need to worry about anything that a normal teenager didn't think about, just being fifteen is super fucking stressful. The zits, the smells, the weird body hair, the hard-on at the worst of times.

Still…

He only realizes it's a kidnapping when they've got him tied down to a chair. He isn't really that surprised. At least it gives him something to do. Maybe dad will pay attention for a bit.

Noctis blinks balefully at his captors. "Oh. I'm so scared."

The older one with a rugged scar across his forehead glares at him. Noctis can't even bring himself to be flustered.

"You should be. We're gunna make a nice gil off you."

Noctis yawns. He's had a long day. "You and the last three groups that tried to kidnap me." He looks down at the ropes which are tied far too tightly around his wrists. They were starting to go a bit numb. "They're too tight."

"Shut up, Princess."

Noctis can't help but to growl at the name. No one except Gladio is allowed to call him "Princess." Even then Noctis loathes being called it. The only reason Gladio gets away with it is because Gladio can make mince meat out of him.

"Then when my hand falls off the King's going to cut yours off and attach it to mine."

Noctis knows some of the rumors that go on about the royal family. He knows some of them involve the Caelum family eating the flesh of newborn babies and something about sucking out the souls of its employees. While his dad wasn't always the best boss of the best father, Noctis is pretty confident that the only thing getting sucked out was his dad… either by his Shield or the Crystal. It really depended on the day.

Gross.

When Noctis says this, the red-haired one slaps him across the face. Noctis hisses and then looks up, licking his lips. He can tell they're straight and not interested in him as anything but a bargaining piece, so he knows they're not going to do too much damage. He's worth more alive than dead.

"Ooooh, kinky aren't you?"

Scar-face has to grab Red-head from smacking the shit out of him again. Instead, the quiet guy with an oil-slick for hair kicks the foot of his chair.

It takes a bit of energy to make sure that he doesn't end up flying backwards, but Noctis manages. He blows the quiet one a kiss.

"No need to be shy."

Noctis notices the looks the three shoot each other and though he knows he should shut his damn mouth, he can't help but to be a little shit.

"Aw, you three a couple? It's good you're all into each other. Eos doesn't need any more butt-ugly babies."

Red-head tries punching him again, but Scar-face doesn't let him.

Noctis cocks an eyebrow. "Hit a nerve?"

The twitch in Red-head's cheek speaks louder than words.

Noctis rolls his eyes and tries to show how completely relaxed and bored he is, letting his body slump back into the chair. It's something he picked up from his father when he's really angry but doesn't want anyone to know it. It's a kingly pose. Or, well, Noctis likes to pretend so.

"Little shit, what did you think we wanted you for?"

"Video games, pot, and some hot man on man action?" Noctis remarks monotonously.

"We aren't gay!"

"Oh. Uh huh. Yeah, sure. That's why you have me tied up here. Well, usually I'm all for the ropes and chains, but like I said—it's too tight." Noctis wiggles his hands.

"We only want your dad to pay up," Scar-face insists.

Noctis laughs. "You think he'll pay for me? You've got another thing coming." Noctis curls his spine like a cat and kicks out both legs, leaning back to make himself seem bigger than he really is. "My old man isn't going to pay anything for me. He doesn't even like me."

"You're the crown prince," Red-head starts, but Noctis clicks his tongue.

"Until my dad makes another one." He laughs humorlessly and hopes that his voice doesn't break. "He says it every time I fuck up."

Oil-slick looks to Noctis with something that Noctis knows, or at least he thinks he does. Empathy.

Bingo.

Oil-slick blinks. "He's fucking with us."

"You think I'd still be here if he cared?" He smiles, all teeth and blood. He hopes he looks at least a little intimidating. Or, at least, batshit crazy. "You got yourself the wrong prince if you wanted money. But… well," Noctis tries to shrug against the ropes as nonchalantly as possible. "I can get you into the Citadel."

It's a risky move; if they call his bluff he knows that he's going to get the shit kicked out of him. Noctis knows that he's worth anything and everything to his dad, even if his dad is too busy for him.

Noctis knows his dad loves him, loves him enough to sleep with that fucking ring on his finger to keep the Wall going strong. Yet he's missed three dinners and he won't talk to Noctis.

And Noctis is annoying and bratty, but he's smart enough to know that he got himself into a bad situation because he was bored and angry. He's got to fix it, now.

"Nope. I can get you in. I know how. In exchange… you let me stay with you."

They don't untie him, and that's not all of a shock. But, Noctis does know that they need him to walk them into the CItadel and show them where they could steal some expensive shit to sell off.

"You're saying we're going to walk into the most highly protected place in all of Insomnia and everything's going to be fine?"

Noctis rolls his eyes. "No. We're not going into the Citadel. We're going into the basement. It's where we keep all of the money and the jewelry." Noctis hopes that the men don't know anything about history, because if they do they know that Insomnia's Bank of Spira has held all the riches of the Caelum family since the 300s.

They don't seem to realize, and so Noctis wonders just how far he can push it.

"There's five billion gil hidden down there, even more in jewelry and cars. One of my ancestors had a thing for collecting old weapons," Noctis said as he walked through the lining of the trees toward the sewer area that would lead into the basement. "We've also got a cerebus chained up down there… it's best to avoid Fluffy."

"Fluffy?" Red-head's voice quivers.

Noctis nods. "Yeah. It protects the Pit."

"The Pit?"

"Yeah. It's where we… well…" Noctis lets his voice trail off.

"Well what?" Someone pushes him and Noctis barely manages to keep on his feet.

"It's where they throw the babies," Noctis tries to add in just the hint of horror to his own voice. "The Crystal is hungry… so they have to feed it."

Oil-slick gulps. Even Scar-face looks a bit uncomfortable.

"I thought those were just stories," Red-head exclaims.

"Some of it is… but the baby thing is true. I got lucky, I was the strongest." Noctis doesn't let his voice change. "Why do you think I want out? We can take the money and just… we can get out."

The three men look at each other and Noctis realizes that they are scared, so scared.

"Dude… it's not worth it," Red-head says, and Oil-slick agrees with him.

"You don't want the money? But I can get it for you… we don't even need to go near Fluffy… or the daemon nest."

"D—daemon nest?"

Noctis quickly nods his head. He can see one of the hidden entrance that wasn't so hidden. The minute he stepped through he knew for a fact that it would trigger every member of the Glaive and the Crownsguard to him in a matter of moments. He just needs to get close enough to set it off.

"Yeah but it's not that bad. I mean, it's not like they're Psychomancers or anything. Just some Iron Giants. You're not scared, are you? They're really not that bad."

Noctis has to fight the smile from spreading across his mouth. "We do have that one Chandravarma…. My dad told me not to go near that one, because it can smash you to a puddle of goo with a swat." Noctis wishes that his hands were free so that he could make them smack together. Maybe that would have been going overboard.

Noctis frowns when he realizes that his kidnappers are slowly backing away. "There's also the…" he hopes his voice shows the appropriate amount of terror and he gulps to emphasize this, "Tonberry."

That does it.

He's close enough to throw himself inside the entrance and he can all but feel the magic enveloping him. There's a moment of chaos and it's less than thirty seconds until he sees the warping blue criss-crossing the sky.

His three would-be kidnappers get tackled to the ground. They never had a chance.

Nyx is the one who gets to him first and helps undo the bindings on his wrists. He doesn't look amused, but he doesn't look too pissed. That's a good sign.

"Luche said you went missing?"

Noctis sighs. "I got kidnapped."

"Is this one of those cries for help and your dad's attention?"

Noctis can't help but purse his lips as he watches Nyx's face. There's a hint of a smirk there now and he wants to punch him.

"Well, good news is that dad can't be angry at you for this one." Noctis turns when he hears the three men screaming in panic. He waves his hands to get their attention. "Enjoy the Pit! Say hi to Fluffy for me!"

Nyx blinks.

"Don't ask."

"Whatever you say, Prince."

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