AN: Translations are given at the bottom of the page.


The language belonged to one of the countries the kingdom fought with. The tongue was common enough for it to be impossible to pinpoint which one.

Anyone who fought with Noctis recongized the language, and the wise ones knew a few phrases. Nothing that would be useful in an everyday situation, but ones that would save your life if you got into trouble.

Gladiolus had so far only fought in one battle. A bullet had passed straight through his arm. The limb still bore a nasty scar. Later Noctis came to his father and demanded that his friends be forbidden from joining the war. He offered his complete devotion, with all the power he could harness from the Crystal, as compensation, despite his friends pleading with him not to.

"Je ne suis pas armé."

I am not armed.

Gladiolus put his hands behind his head to further show his point. His knowledge of the other language was very, very, limited. Don't shoot. I am not an enemy. The last one would have been great to use, but his memory refused want to produce the phrase.

The gun was removed from his head, and Gladiolus sighed with relief. Slowly, he turned to face his attacker, the blond. He looked overjoyed at hearing the man's voice.

"Tu comprends moi!?"

Gladiolus froze. The words' meaning was hidden from him. The man still had a gun, and thus, he still was a danger. It would be too much of a risk to answer and misinterpret the question. He decided to remain quiet.

"Parles-tu ma langue?" The fugitive spoke again.

You speak my language?

Gladiolus could decipher the meaning this time.

"Petit."

Little.

The stranger frowned. Nevertheless, he sat down next to him, his shoulders touching Gladiolus's.

"Yeah, of course not. Shouldn't have gotten my hopes up." For a foreigner, Gladiolus found he spoke the kingdom's language well. He was surprised. "Here I was, thinking I'd have someone from home. Hey, what's with that look?" The man smiled, amused.

Gladiolus did not share in the other's joy. He had been staring at the other, fearfully, and a bit like he was insane. "You pointed a gun at me."

The blond looked concerned for a moment, and then laughed. "You were the one watching me! Hey, come on! It was just a bit of fun. Gun doesn't even have ammo! Here, see for yourself." He tossed the gun to Gladiolus. The larger man instinctively flinched. He checked and found that the gun did indeed lack ammo.

"Why do you have this in the first place?" Gladiolus asked. He sat the gun down next to him.

Prompto outstretched his arms and moved them upwards, stretching. A yawn escaped his lips.

"'Cause."

A meaningless answer. Gladiolus wasn't satisfied. If this was the man who owned his friend's heart, he needed to know more. How strange, Noctis's lover seemed.

"Who are you?" The larger man inquired.

The stranger came with so many mysteries, but a name would be a start.

The foreigner offered his hand. "Prompto Argentum."

He didn't look away, and Gladiolus realized he was waiting for him to introduce himself in return. He reached out and shook his hand. "Gladiolus Amicitia."

The stranger called Prompto grinned like he figured something out he wasn't supposed to know. Gladiolus couldn't help but wonder if Noctis had talked about him. "Like the flower?" He chuckled."If you were more girly I'd call you a flower boy."

Prompto briefly stared at his chest. As Gladiolus only wore an open jacket over his torso, it was easy to identify his sex as male. It also showed off his muscular physique. Gladiolus sat up straighter.

"I prefer to focus on the sword part," Gladiolus teased back.

Prompto returned his gaze to the courtyard around them. The previous fear and tension he had felt around the other was gone. To Gladiolus, Prompto presented no threat of danger. The gun was useless, and if it came to it, he was confident he could beat the slender man in a fist fight. The question of his value of a person still remained, but Gladiolus was content. Noctis could have fallen in love with a worse man.

"Oui, I get you."

Prompto yawned and put his hands behind his head. A few minutes later, he was asleep. His breath was quick and shallow, and sleep appeared to do little for him. The sudden slumber surprised Gladiolus. Prompto had been full of life not long ago.

The blond's head rolled, coming to rest on Gladiolus's shoulder. He allowed it. Though not as much as Noctis, Gladiolus had a kind heart. He didn't want to wake the sleepy foreigner. He considered taking a short nap himself. He had been napping before Prompto woke him up, after all.

Gladiolus noticed the man was beautiful. He belonged to another country, and it showed in his face. The blond hair was rarely seen in Noctis's kingdom. He had soft freckles beneath his eyes. His hair was messy, uncombed. He wore clothes almost as extravagant as the prince's, and Gladiolus took it as another sign of Noctis's love. Gladiolus found it strange that for all Prompto's luxuries granted to him by Noctis, he seemed starved.

A short while later, a voice broke through the quiet of the courtyard.

"Prompto! J'ai ton déjeuner!"

Noctis had entered the courtyard carrying a tray of food. Gladiolus licked his lips. How long had it been since he had even seen such a delicious meal? He became jealous of the prince's love. He longed for such food.

The tray was dropped and stopped a few inches above the ground by magic. It lowered itself slowly, stopping gradually without disturbing any of the rare food. Noctis image faded and reappeared in front of Gladiolus, crouching to be at eye level.

Noctis was power itself; the crystal's might pulsed throughout his body.

"You should not be here. Leave."

Gladiolus held up his hands, careful not to move Prompto too much. He mumbled a word in his sleep.

"Calm down, Noct." He kept his voice low, careful not to waking the sleeping man. "I've done nothing to him."

He was not proud of it, but he feared Noctis at that moment, feared his treasured friend. He could crush an entire army without allowing any harm to himself, and if he was really this possessive, this controlling of Prompto, then Gladiolus figured he had reason to fear for his own life.

The prince looked from foreigner to native. His eyes narrowed; his face tensed. He grabbed Gladiolus by the shoulder and forced him away from Prompto. The large man got to his feet. The movement woke Prompto up, and his eyes fluttered opened.

"Leave!" Noctis ordered.

Gladiolus held up his hands. "Noct, calm down. I won't tell anyone, promise."

By now the man had grown worried for his friend. Was Noctis alright? Surely not, to become this emotional about his lover simply falling asleep on him. Prompto looked at Noctis, then at Gladiolus, then at Noctis again. His bangs partially covered his eyes.

"Huh? Noctis? Que fais-tu...?" Prompto asked.

His words were still dazed from sleep, but his eyes widened when he finally realized what was happening. He made to move towards Gladiolus. Noctis held his arm out in front of him.

"S'arrêter," Noctis firmly demanded

The words meant nothing to Gladiolus. His knowledge of the foreign tongue was so small it was once again rendered useless. Prompto froze where he was.

"I said go, Gladiolus."

Noctis's voice carried the power to order armies and make even the largest man feel puny. But then the prince's face softened, not enough to be considered kind, but enough to convince Gladious his friend wasn't about to spear him.

"I will explain later," Noctis promised.

So a jealous lover he was. Gladiolus was hurt his friend thought this Prompto, a man he could not have known more than months, was such a jewel that not even Gladiolus could touch him. He didn't bother to hide his hurt from the warrior prince. He crossed his arms.

"You better," Gladiolus said with a hint of a threatening tone to his voice.

Prompto looked hurt. "Sorry, man."

With an aggravated gait, Gladiolus left the courtyard. Before he got out of hearing range, he heard the sound of bark being punched.


He dreamed of Prompto.

He dreamed of that beautiful blond boy and those lips that looked like they came from a god, of those blue eyes that looked like jewels. He dreamed of the precious freckles beneath his eyes . He dreamed of the gun pressed against his head.

The similarities stopped there. Dream Prompto whispered in his ear instead of shouting. Lips pressed against the side of his head. A shiver sent down his spine and stopping at his groin. Then a command as issued. In a low tone, Prompto told Gladiolus to remove his clothes. The larger man eagerly obeyed.

The rest of the dream merged together in a senseless sexual passion. Gladiolus's skin bruised purple and bled red. His screams filled the courtyard.

He woke feeling guilty for dreaming about Noctis's lover. He changed his sheets before falling back to sleep.


"Tu comprends moi!? - You understand me?!

"J'ai ton déjeuner!" - I have your lunch!

"Que fais-tu...?" - What are you...?

"S'arrêter." - Stop.