DEVIATION OF FATE

CHAPTER 3

~2.5 years~

Pulling his motorcycle into the Coernix Station to refuel, Prompto took the moment to restock up on supplies. The once bustling outpost was on it's last legs. It's batteries and gas-powered generator were failing and despite the addition of a wind turbines a few months back, it wasn't generating as much energy as they needed to keep the lights on.

Prompto gave it another month before everyone had to evacuate. Tops.

Grabbing the last potion off the shelf, a box of ammo, and a few bottles of water, he paid for the gas and went back outside. He checked his phone, not even seeing the disused app of Kings Knight anymore, he noticed that he had a few texts. Upon opening them up he was surprised to see who they were from.

Gladio Hey Chocobo.

Gladio Did you know your phone number is written on the bathroom wall at Longwythe? (picture included)

Gladio I tried wiping it off, but it was in permanent marker. Just wanted you aware of it.

Blue-violet eyes rolled. Gladio hadn't reached out to him in months and this was finally the reason to shoot out a text? Prompto sighed, at least the shield was looking out for him. Maybe he should extend an olive branch too.

Prompto People suck. Where are you at now?

The response came seconds later.

Gladio Heading north from Galdin Quay to Hammerhead. Bringing Takka some leftover stuff from the restaurant.

Gladio You?

Chewing his lip, the blonde debated what to respond. He had some business to take care of in Hammerhead. Having Gladio there might make things complicated. Still, he hadn't seen the guy in the better part of a year and Quay was still a few hours out.

Still, the world was a dangerous place and he would feel guilty if something happened to either of them and they'd missed this chance to say hello.

Prompto I'm actually heading toward Hammerhead too. I'll probably beet you there.

Gladio Good. I'll buy you a beer. We need to catch up. It's been too long.

No texts followed after that, so Prompto put his helmet back on, straddled his bike and continued on to finish his job.

Thankfully Hammerhead was moderately busy that evening. In his line of work it was always awkward when the place was close to empty. It was always more likely for someone to overhear what he said and watch where he went. Busy was confusing. Busy was good.

Parking his bike in the garage and putting a security chain around the back tire he grabbed his bag and made his way up to Cindy's office, located up a scaffolding on the upper level of the garage. He knocked and was glad to find her there, tinkering with a small engine. She lifted her goggles when she saw him. "Evening Sug. You in town for business or pleasure?"

"Maybe both. You mind if I use your bathroom for a few minutes?"

"G'head."

Safely inside the only clean bathroom around for miles, Prompto quickly slid out of his riding jacket and put on a blue plaid shirt, leaving it mostly open at the top. Then he slid into his tight (but thankfully flexible) gray jeans and sneakers. Using a little product he fluffed up the hair style that the helmet had destroyed, brushed his teeth, and for the finishing touch he put on his old, thick rimmed glasses from high school.

He didn't really need them anymore since he got his eyes fixed his senior year, but it completed the look.

Tucking his bag under the sink for safe keeping he exited. "How do I look?" He asked Cindy and struck a pose.

"Like a display in the window of a skater shop," she said with a chuckle. "All you need is a nose ring."

Prompto raised an eyebrow. "Thanks?"

She chuckled again and lowered her goggles. "Bring protection Sug, and don't go makin' a mess like last time."

"I can make no promises," he said before descending down toward Takka's restaurant. Grabbing an out of date auto magazine he ordered some cottage chips and posted up in the corner of the dinner/bar and waited as more patrons began to come in. He scanned the crowd, which was mostly hunters, an out of place family of four (clearly passing through), and a variety of other people brave or ignorant enough to come out this far east.

Lestallum was widely known as the safest area, but there were still a few stubborn people who insisted on staying in their homes until it was too late. Prompto hoped that family had a safe destination. He'd hate to see those kids sleeping in the Lestallum gutters, or worse.

Suddenly Takka appeared at his side with a small side of mustard he hadn't ordered. Looking up, Prompto met eyes with the owner who whispered, "Last two seats at the bar. Near the storage room," before returning behind the counter.

Trying not to be too obvious, Prompto glanced over the heads of the crowd to the far end of the dinner. Sure enough there were the two guys he was looking for. One was enormous, barrel chested, with a bushy beard and a garula embroidered on his jacket. The other was almost as big, but clean shaven. His nose was crooked from being busted years ago, and his gauged ears with the tips of garula tusks in them was the final identifier.

Popping the last of his chips in his mouth he stood up, fixed his glasses on his face, and made his way across the floor.

Pulling into Hammerhead ahead of schedule, Gladio gave Dave a hand moving the last cases of various liquors and canned foods they'd scavenged for Takka from Galdin Quay. It seemed like an easy job at first, but none of them had counted on tonberries being there. Thankfully they'd emerged when they were just about done loading the truck, so they'd all hopped in and sped off before the tiny daemons could close the distance.

Gladio was brave, not stupid.

He got the last case of vodka out of the truck and waved Dave off to do whatever he wanted. Hopefully the haven across the street was available, but if not, Cindy usually let him sleep in the back of one of the junker cars she'd yet to repair. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing and not a luxury she extended to many. Most weren't brave or stupid enough to ask.

Cindy was small, but she wasn't a pushover. The last thief who tried stealing her welding equipment got the business end of the sawed-off shotgun Cindy was known to carry nowadays. She called it 'Jezebel'. When Cid heard about it he'd just laughed and said, "That's my girl!"

Walking through the back door of the dinner Gladio put the case down with the other liquors and made his way toward the main room to get his pay from Takka. A familiar voice made his hand freeze on the doorknob. Was that Prompto?

He listened for a moment before slowly letting go of the doorknob. That couldn't be Prompto. The other two gruff voices with him made his shield instincts prickle. Something wasn't right.

The first of the gruff voices chuckled. "That's a lot of gil for one hour, Blondie. What will you do to make it worth my time?"

The other voice sounded more like gravel. "Yeah. I mean you're a hot twink and all, but you've got to sweeten the deal a bit. There's other whore's here who'll suck dick for half that price."

The younger voice that sounded like Prompto hummed. "Well, I don't know about you two, but I like to be roughed up a little." He whispered. "When was the last time you guys spit-roasted someone? Or maybe…" one of the guys gave a choking gasp as if he'd been groped. Gladio swallowed past the dry lump in his throat when he heard Prompto laugh. Yup, that was him alright. What was he doing? "Maybe if you stretch me out enough I might be able to get two of you in me. It's been a little while, but if you're willing to give it the old college try, so am I."

Gladio took a step back away from the door and rubbed his hands down his face. He didn't need to be hearing this. Was this what Prompto had been doing for the past two years to earn gil? If he was he wasn't really judging him but… Prompto was better than that.

There was a bang against the storage door that made Gladio jump. There was a moan and the sound of messy kissing coming from the other side.

Then again… maybe there was a reason the blondes phone number was written on a seedy bathroom wall.

"Where are you two staying?" Prompto purred.

One of them cleared their throat and whispered back. "We rented the caravan."

"You better be worth the gil, Blondie." There was the hard slap of a hand on denim.

Prompto gave a coy chuckle. "I'm sure I'll be able to surprise you. Lead the way."

By now Gladio was already slipping back out the back door to the dinner and making a wide arch around to the front of Takka's. Hiding behind a parked box truck he glanced around toward the caravan. Sure enough, it was Prompto. One of the two enormous men flanking him had his arm over the gunslinger's shoulder.

The whole situation smelled bad. Gladio had seen Prompto take out beasts, daemons, and Niff soldiers alike, but this… Humans were different. Humans were worse.

Once the three of them were in the caravan Gladio made his way closer and slipped behind it, away from the sight of the dinner crowd, and listened. There was the murmur of words within, but he couldn't make out what was being said.

There were a few light moans from all parties and briefly Gladio felt guilty for listening in. This really really wasn't any of his business. Maybe he could just go back to the dinner, pretend he never heard anything, order a beer and text Prompto in an hour or so saying he'd arrived.

Yeah, that would work. Prompto didn't need to know Gladio knew. They could catch up, have a few brews, and go their separate ways.

Good plan.

Suddenly the whole caravan banged and gave a violent lurch on its cinder blocks. One of the deep voices yelled a there were sounds of a struggle. By the time shots started ringing out Gladio was already sprinting toward the front of the caravan. The door was locked, but it was cheaply made enough that Gladio gave one good yank and the metal latch broke.

When he entered the space, he expected to see Prompto pinned down or someone with a gunshot wound, but instead he froze at the scene.

Prompto stood shirtless in the middle of the room, gun drawn and breathing hard. One of the two large men was naked except for his boxers with one hand cuffed to the frame of the foldable bed. The other was splayed on the ground, frozen in time, with his hands held up defensively.

The gunslinger turned toward Gladio, sharing an expression of surprise. After a few long seconds he wiped the blood dripping from his nose. Prompto had filled out over the last few years. He was paler (everyone was), but bare arms showed the beginnings of tattoo sleeves. Mostly cartoonish pictures of a chocobo, a cactuar, and the like along with a barcode and a few comic book accents*. Gladio wasn't sure what surprised him more, the scene or the ink.

"You gonna give me a hand or are you just gonna to stand there staring at me?"

This snapped Gladio out of his trance. "Oh. Yeah, sure. What do you need?"

With some extra help from Takka and Dave (who hadn't left the dinner yet) the four of them managed to get the two large men into the garage, where they were handcuffed to a support beam. Cindy sat nearby with Jezebel in her lap, keeping an eye on them until the Marshall got there.

Gladio stood by silently as Prompto used a minor cure spell to fix his bloodied nose and clean up before getting dressed again and reemerging from the bathroom. Without a word of explanation, he walked up to the shield and said, "I believe you mentioned a beer."

To say that the whole scene was tense was an understatement. Thanks to the word that there was a Marshall en route, a lot of the patrons of Takka's departed, leaving just a few legal hunters and the two of them at the bar. Prompto downed half his beer as soon as it hit the polished counter top before Gladio had even touched his. The shield was still trying to figure out what to ask…or rather how to ask what just happened.

Thankfully, Prompto started filling in some of the holes for him unprompted.

"They were chocobo poachers," he said flatly. "People called them the Tusk Brothers." He took another sip of beer and kept his eyes forward. "In case you were curious."

Gladio had seen their flyer back at HQ. He was surprised he hadn't recognized them. "So…you're a bounty hunter now? Is that what you've been up to these past two years?"

"Some of it. Yeah."

"I'm surprised we haven't crossed paths more then. I've been doing hunts and escorts almost constantly. You should have told me, we could have teamed up on a few of them."

Prompto turned toward him, his expression softer. "You'd want to work with me?"

Gladio frowned. "Of course. We've worked together with Noct for years. We know each other's strengths and weaknesses. Six, I might have been able to talk Ignis into coming on more hunts with you around."

"Huh… And here I thought it was because you guys missed me, not team dynamics."

Gladio took a sip of his beer, unsure how to answer that. He and the blonde had never really been friends, but he liked the kid. A lot. "Prompto, what's gotten into you? I've never heard you sound so bitter. Even back in Insomnia you were cracking bad jokes when everyone was miserable, and now I find you dirty talking strange hunters and giving me the cold shoulder. Talk to me."

Sighing heavily, Prompto ran a finger along the rim of the glass, pushing the foam around. "Sorry Gladio… I… It's been rough with Noct gone. Ya know?"

"Course I do."

"You probably don't remember the night at my parent's house after the Citadel. You were hammered. Ignis was pretty drunk too I think, but… Iggy told me some things that nobody should know. He kept rambling on about who I was and what I was and…" he traced a thumb over the barcode on his wrist. Gladio just not noticed that it looked a lot older than the others. "Long story short I haven't drank near enough to tell you everything I learned about where I came from, but I wasn't prepared for it. It…I was rough for a while."

"Is that why you disappeared on us for six months?"

Prompto nodded. "Yeah. Cor ended up finding me and smacking some sense into me. A few months later I outfitted my guns with stopshot and non-lethal bullets and I've been doing human bounties for almost two years now."

"You were always good at ranged hunts like the griffons and wasps. Why only do human hunts?"

He shrugged. "Guess I'm just made for it."

Gladio felt like there was some subtext in that statement, but he couldn't put a finger on it. Instead, he decided to shift the subject a little. "Well, at least you're a good actor. I confess that I overheard what you said to those two before going into the caravan. That's some A+ strategy to get them away from the crowd. Believable too. You almost had me going."

Prompto snorted and cracked a smile. "You heard everything?"

"Pretty much yeah. Where did you learn to act like that?"

The blonde smirked and finished his beer. "Who said it was an act?" He watched as the shields face shifted from humor, to confusion, to a faint blush. It wasn't often Prompto made the larger man flustered. He enjoyed it.

"Ha ha, very funny." Gladio stammered out and finished his beer. He ordered two shots from Takka, who nodded and poured them. Prompto remained silent, even as Gladio slid him the shot. They clinked them together before downing them, both making a grimace as the cheap liquor went down. "You are joking…Right?"

"It does work out well if you really think about it. Not all of us are big guys who can swing around a massive sword, but sometimes that's a good thing. Most of these guys I've been hunting are about as big as you are. Most are capable of murder or worse. If they see a guy like you walk in they get tense. But…" Prompto ran a knuckle up the side of Gladio's arm, lingering over the lines of the tattoo with his thumb.

"Prom?"

He scooted closer, so that their knees touched. His voice dropped in volume and got smoother. "But if they see me walk in wearing snug jeans and a swing in my hip, they do the opposite. They let their guard down. Maybe I'll let them buy me a drink. Sometimes I'll chat with them for a while, but more often than not they don't want to talk much unless its what they want to do with me." Running his hand down his own leg he slid it onto Gladio's light denim and gave a slight squeeze. Surprisingly, the shield didn't flinch away.

"Normally things go the way they did in the caravan. Especially if there's just one of them. I'd get them comfortable enough to get their weapons off along with their pants and by then it's just a matter of restraining them or getting them with a stopshot." He slid off the stool so he was practically standing between Gladio's legs. The shield just gazed at him half lidded, as if he wasn't entirely aware of who he was looking at. His hands gripping the underside of the stool like it was a lifeline. "But some are too smart for that. Sometimes I need to have a dick half way down my throat before they let their guard down enough." His hands slid up both thighs to Gladio's hips and further back. Prompto's leg just barely brushed the bulge forming in Gladio's pants as he leaned in close to the shields lips. "With most though, I don't even have to leave the bar to get them."

The rasping sound of a handcuff closing brought Gladio back out of his trance. Lifting his hand up he found it firmly latched the back of the swivel barstool.

"Gotcha." Prompto smirked and sat back down, taking another shot.

Gladio pulled hard against the backing of the stool, but the professional grade cuffs held. "Okay, Chocobo. You proved your point. Now unlock these."

"No."

Gladio blinked at him. "What do you mean, 'no'?"

Prompto leaned in and spoke very clearly. "Apologize."

"What?"

"Apologize for judging me. You did. Don't deny it." Gladio closed his mouth from where he was about to protest. "And one other thing… but apologize first."

Taking a deep breath, Gladio's anger dissipated. The gunslinger was right after all. He had judged him. "I'm sorry."

"For?"

"I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions and being a judgmental asshole. You're a lot more skilled than I gave you credit for. Happy?"

He nodded his head. "It'll do." He waited for Gladio to continue, enjoying him squirm in the discomfort that he was bested.

Breathing through his nose to contain his temper, Gladio asked, "You said 'one other thing'. What is it?"

"The caravan's available now that the Tusk Brothers are in company. It's all paid for and everything. Crash with me there."

Gladio rose an eyebrow in suspicion. "Is this another part of your game? I'm not a fan of being played."

"No games. Promise." He fiddled with the keys to the cuffs to hide the tightness in his throat. "Don't laugh, but… It's been a long time... a really long time since I've been able to sleep in a room without a knife under my pillow. We may not see eye to eye on a lot of thing, Gladio, but I trust you. That's something I can't say about a lot of people these days."

The shields expression softened and he looked at Prompto with an expression more of understanding than vexation. "Okay. I'll stay."

Prompto undid the lock and tucked the cuffs back into his back pocket. "Well I don't know about you, but I'm ready to hit the hay."

Nodding, Gladio gave him a light smile. "Yeah. Not gonna lie. I'm pretty beat myself. A real bed, even a caravan one, sounds amazing."

Takka passed by and Prompto waved him over again. "In that case I'm gonna have one more shot. Normally I'm not in a secure enough location to get a buzz going, but tonight I'll try and relax. You want one too?"

Rubbing his wrist, Gladio relented. "Fine one more, but that's it."

Three sets of shots and some reminiscing later the two of them found their way to the caravan. Upon entering it for the second time of the evening Prompto took a moment to kick his boots off while Gladio used the small bathroom. He ran his fingers along the smooth surface of the dining table, picturing four plates full of Ignis' stir-fry on it. One plate always had less vegetables than the others. After dinner the four of them would usually play Kings Knight or cards outside if the weather was nice before retiring for the evening.

In the morning Ignis would rise first and make coffee while Gladio did quick morning run. Those moments were nice, when he could just hang out in the tent quietly with Noctis. Normally they wouldn't do more than play a stupid game on their phones or tuck a pillow over their eyes and try to sleep late until one of the others practically dragged them out of bed.

For a moment he could smell those mornings. The product in Noct's hair, Gladio's antiperspirant, and Ignis' aftershave beneath the aroma of breakfast and coffee as the sun rose to the east. It had a smell too somehow. A smell he'd all but forgotten.

He swallowed back the lump in his throat when Gladio stepped out of the bathroom and kicked off his boots too. The shield stretched and grabbed a bottle of water before heading back toward the tail end of the camper where the bed was, pausing only an instant before crawling into it. "Did you want the bed? I can take the fold-out."

Prompto couldn't help but smile. He rubbed his eyes as if he was tired to hide him wiping away the forming tears. "Nah, it's ok. The four of us used to fit in here somehow. I think the two of us can manage without elbowing each other in the ribs for one night."

Nodding, Gladio kicked off his jeans and draped them over the couch before killing the light and lounging across the mattress. Thankfully Cindy had started laying out a clean sheet in between caravan renters. It was out of mercy for the mattress more than hospitality, but Prompto was thankful for it none the less. Reaching into the cabinet over the doorway he found the old wool blanket he stashed there just in case he needed it. The desert nights were known to get chilly after all.

Kicking off his snug jeans he crawled on the bed too, draping the small blanket over himself and whispering a cursory, "G'night, Gladio," and closing his eyes.

"Night, Prom."

Oddly enough, that's what cracked Prompto's tough façade completely. Thankful that he was facing away from the shield, the tears started to flow down his face into the sheet below freely. It occurred to Prompto, in that moment, that nobody had said goodnight to him while lying in bed next to him. Not since before Altissia. Not since Noctis went to the crystal. Not since he'd run off to Zegnautus Keep and found out what he was. Every bed partner he'd had was a mark or fling who'd normally just passed out or gotten dressed and left before she sheets even cooled. With Noctis gone there was nobody left who gave a shit about him. Nobody left who-

A strong tattooed arm wrapped around him as the warm body attached to it joined shortly after. For a moment he suspected Gladio was getting frisky, but when the shield whispered, "It's alright. I miss it too," all tension fled the blondes body.

Tears still flowed, but they weren't accompanied by the tight throated sobs that had threatened seconds before.

What must have been about twenty minutes later, the tears on his cheek dried and his heartrate had returned to a calm pace. The only think that kept him from nodding off was a particularly lumpy spot in the mattress digging into his ribs. Shifting his weight so that he was still under Gladio's arm, Prompto ended up with his face inches from the tattooed birds face on Gladio's chest.

Gladio smelled good. Like leather, steel, and whisky.

The big guy had always been known to be a sprawling sleeper and the occasional cuddler, but Prompto had never been more thankful for the shields odd habit.

"Can't sleep?" Gladio hummed from above him.

Prompto lifted his head slightly so he was facing him. "Yeah. It's just… This place has a lot of memories. Ya know?"

Gladio nodded. "Keep thinking you're gonna reach out and Iggy'll be lying stiff as a board, or Noct tangled in his half-zipped sleeping bag?"

Prompto let out a bittersweet laugh. "Yeah."

Gladio mussed his hair. "You'd always end up sleeping like a capital 'H' at some point on hot nights. Your head would be on someone's leg and a foot would inevitably find a face."

"Yeah well, least I don't snore. Iggy ended up investing in some earplugs after a while. Maybe we should get him some noise canceling headphones next chance we get. Lestallum can't be easy to sleep in for him."

The hand that was mussing Prompto's hair slid down to the side of his face. A calloused thumb brushing his cheek and ghosting down to the edge of his lips. Prompto's heart rate increased again, wondering what was happening. He looked back up at Gladio, realizing that his gaze lingered on the larger man's lips longer than his eyes.

He wasn't completely sure when they'd kissed, but the next thing he knew they just were. It started fairly chaste and lazy, like floating down a river. It was Gladio who first darted a tongue out and requested permission that Prompto willingly gave. After that hands began to roam and shirts were pushed up to allow more skin to skin contact. The growing need between the two of them was apparent as they rubbed against each other through the cotton of their boxers.

It was Prompto who took the initiative and slid his hands down between them, pulling down the elastic far enough to free the flesh beneath and stroking Gladio's girth liberally while grinding into it with his own. Gladio growled into his mouth when he twisted his wrist toward the head, so he did it again, giving the shield's lip a light bite as he did.

Strong hands slid down the back of his boxers and grabbed pale orbs of flesh and squeezing just hard enough to send another bolt of pleasure to Prompto's own cock.

"Do you have any supplies?" Gladio whispered hoarsely into Prompto's ear as he thrust up into his hand.

"In my pack. It's in Cindy's office above the garage."

Gladio groaned.

"Don't worry about it," Prompto said, "Let me take care of you." He released Gladio's flesh and pushed his hip so that he was on his back and began to slide down the mattress so that he was between the shields legs.

"Prompto, you don't have to."

Hooking his fingers in the dark fabric he pulled them down as far as Gladio's thighs, freeing his flesh fully. It was as impressive as he'd imagined it would be as he weighed it in his palm. "But I want to," was all he said before dipping his head down and running the flat of his tongue from base to tip, earning a moan from the larger man. He repeated the process until he felt he'd tortured Gladio enough and wrapped his lips around the tip, looking up at the expression he earned as he did.

Fingers tangled in his hair and for a moment Prompto braced himself for the usual force that accompanied the motion, but only light encouragement came. Gladio was clearly restraining himself as Prompto worked slowly, going a little further down with every bob of his head. "Fuck. Prom, you're so good at that."

Prompto just hummed in response and continued.

When he managed to brush curled hair with the tip of his nose he could go no further. Gladio's thighs were trembling and he could feel the telltale twitch in his mouth of the coming orgasm. Normally this was where he would snag the mark's weapon and restrain them when they were most vulnerable, but instead he pulled away, leaving a sloppy string of saliva between them in his wake.

Taking an instant to be selfish he kicked off his own boxers and straddled the powerful thighs beneath him before using both hands to wrap around their members together. The ample saliva provided more than enough lubrication as he thrust up into his own hands, jerking them both together as he did.

Watching Gladio come undone was not a sight Prompto thought he would ever be graced with seeing, and the view of the shield trembling beneath him pushed him over the edge with only a few quick strokes of his hands. His orgasm adding to the lubrication as he increased speed.

Gladio grabbed his thighs hard enough to surely leave bruises and thrust up to meet him. "Prompto, I'm…" was all the warning he got before Gladio clenched in on himself and shot hot white ribbons all over his hands, a good portion of it landing on his own abs between them.

The two of them paused a moment to catch their breath before contemplating how to clean up the mess between them. Prompto scooted away and turned, disappearing to the other end of the caravan before reemerging with a t-shirt that belonged to neither of them. "I don't think one of the Tusk Brothers want this back anyway, right?" Prompto said, wiping his hands and tossing it to Gladio to clean himself.

Once they were both as clean as they were going to get they shed their shirts and socks (which somehow remained on during the whole event) and tossed them to the side, curling up with one another beneath the small wool blanket.

The fabric itched against bare skin, but for Prompto at least, it was as comfortable as he'd been in years.

~X~X~X

Okay I know that was a long chapter for just some oral and a hand job. But this is a slow-ish-burn fic. Remember? More to come I promise.

Thanks to Goldslactuar for the brainstorming session again. You're always fun to worth

*Yes that was a shout out to the art by Memoxcrom on Tumblr. It poked my muse just right :)

Please leave comments for what you liked/disliked/would like to see in coming chapters. These comments and kudos feed my dark little writers soul. Don't let me starve!