Me: I want to write as much as I can this weekend so I don't get stressed out too much :)
Also me: *plays The Witcher 3 all day*
It be like that sometimes.
Here's Noct, enjoy!
Prompts:
No. 14: "Feed me poison, fill me 'till I drown."
Flare| Water Inhalation | "Just hold on."
Warnings: None
Noct got lucky, all things considered. Lucky he was born as the Crown Prince, with immediate access to medical attention from the best doctors in the country. Lucky his father shied away from neither cost nor effort to ensure that in addition to the scientific approach, he also got treated by the Oracle, Queen Sylva of Tenebrae herself.
If he were anyone else, he would have never walked again.
This is what he's been told many times, by doctors, politicians, journalists, even his own father. Lucky, they call him, and he supposes he sees where they're coming from, but it's still kind of a stupid thing to say - it's not like he's had any control over any of it.
Right now, he doesn't feel very lucky at all.
Waking up is always a chore, his internal clock's factory settings are just running a few hours behind and he's used to that. He hates getting up in the morning, hates how tired he is all day, and hates that this is the case no matter how early he goes to bed.
Today, the moment he sluggishly blinks his eyes open, it's not tiredness that makes him want to curl up and die. No, it's the dull ache in his back that spikes into blinding agony the moment he tries to move, and in his half-awake state, he can't hold back a high-pitched whine.
Even if he wanted to get up, he's not sure he could. If he had to guess, he'd say probably not, and that's speaking from experience. It's far from the first time this has happened, but it's been months, nearly a year since the last time so he's almost forgotten how much it hurts.
It's a Wednesday, he's supposed to get up for school, and even though he woke up before his alarm this morning - which in itself should've made him suspicious - it's already light out so it's probably almost time.
He knows he should get his phone, check the time, turn off his alarm and maybe call Ignis, tell him he doesn't need to bother picking him up for school today - there's no way he can go like this, he can't even move - but he simply can't work up the willpower to twist enough to actually grab it.
So he just lies there for a while, simply existing, and when his alarm finally does go off he tries to turn it off, but moving sends sharp bolts of pain down his spine, and his phone's all the way on the nightstand and it hurts so much he can't manage to reach it.
The alarm blares for what feels like hours while Noct grits his teeth and resigns himself to the fact that he's going to find out how long it'll go on before turning off automatically.
He doesn't get to find out, because it's still blaring next to his ear when his door opens and Ignis steps inside, clearly intending to wake him up.
His eyebrows shoot up in surprise when Noct makes eye contact, which is fair, Noct usually doesn't even see as far as the door yet when Ignis comes to kick him out of bed.
"Your alarm is going off," Ignis points out helpfully, then frowns and comes to stand next to the bed when he realises Noct isn't making any move to turn it off. "Is everything alright?"
"Back hurts," Noct tells him curtly. Pain makes him crabby and he isn't in the mood for pleasantries. Ignis will understand, he always does.
"I see," Ignis says, bending down to turn off the alarm himself. "I'll call the school, let them know. Do you wish to sleep some more?"
He does, but he doesn't think he can with his current levels of pain. The dull ache he felt right after waking up has been slowly increasing to the point where it's impossible to ignore, even without moving.
"Painkillers first, I think."
"Of course." Ignis saunters out of the room and returns within a minute with a glass of water and the painkillers.
"No water," Noct quickly says, because he's not sitting up enough to not spill water all over himself and he's definitely not about to get into a position where he can comfortably drink.
He takes the pills from Ignis and swallows them dry, then closes his eyes and waits for them to kick in so he can go back to sleep.
When he wakes again, his curtains are drawn - Ignis' doing, Noct always leaves them open at night so he can see the moon and stars when it's clear out - and his back still hurts, but the painkillers haven't quite worn off yet so he's actually able to sit up somewhat and grab his phone.
It's late morning and he's got a bunch of texts from Prompto, concerned but not panicked, so apparently Ignis filled him in. He quickly answers them then puts his phone away and faces an uncomfortable truth: he really, really needs to pee.
Slowly, painstakingly, he turns in bed until his legs hang over the edge, and then he has to stop and take a few deep breaths in anticipation of the pain before he actually pushes himself to his feet.
Even when it's expected, the pain is enough to take his breath away for a moment, but when it subsides to a more bearable level, he thinks he might be able to make it to the bathroom that's attached to his bedroom, but when he goes to take the first step, his confidence falters.
If it were just the pain in his back, he thinks he could power through it long enough to shuffle to the bathroom, but his leg feels weak and unstable and he doesn't really want to risk falling, so after a moment of hesitation, he sucks it up and calls for Ignis.
Ignis, of course, shows up within seconds and is by his side even faster than that.
"Do you want to lean on me?" he asks without preamble, bless him. For all his fussiness, Noct is really glad Ignis knows him well enough to figure out what he needs right now without panicking over him or asking him loads of stupid questions.
"Yeah," he says and lets Ignis take most of his weight as he slowly, painstakingly limps to the bathroom.
While he's in there, he also uses the opportunity to quickly brush his teeth because he is not getting up again after this.
When he comes back out, Ignis is there to support him back to the bed, and by the time he's lying back down he kind of wants to cry with pain and exhaustion and just general misery.
"Do you need anything else?" Ignis asks, hovering by the door.
Noct is about to decline when he reconsiders. "My tablet?"
Might as well entertain himself if he's going to be stuck in bed all day.
The day passes in an uncomfortable blur of pain and sleep and boredom, with Noct alternating between dozing and watching mindless videos on his tablet, but by late afternoon, he can't stand it anymore.
It's been long enough for him to safely take another dose of painkillers, so he pops some pills into his mouth, and when Ignis comes to check on him the next time, he asks to be taken to the living room.
"Can we watch a movie?" he half-begs as Ignis helps him make his way out of his room and onto the couch.
Ignis hesitates for a moment, long enough for familiar guilt to well up in Noct's chest - Ignis is so busy all the time, of course he doesn't have time to watch a movie with Noct, it's bad enough he's been stuck babysitting him all day - but then smiles at him, soft and gentle, and says, "Of course, Noct."
His back is on fire by the time he's deposited on the couch, legs across Ignis' lap, but the change of scenery is worth it.
Ignis lets him pick the movie because of course he does, so he picks a childhood favourite of his. It's an animated movie that he remembers Specs liking too when they were kids, hoping that it'll make up for his now messed up schedule a little
At first, Ignis has his laptop on Noct's legs, working quietly while glancing at the TV screen and occasionally making a comment about the movie, but by the time the movie reaches its climax, he shuts the laptop and just watches.
It's nice, in a way. Noct's still hurting and he knows from experience that he'll be out of commission for the rest of the week, he's still in for a few days of agony, and after that, he'll have to take up physical therapy with Gladio again, but he also gets to spend some downtime with Ignis for the first time in forever, and that, at least, makes it all bearable.
Bit of a soft one, but not everything needs to be super dramatic injuries :) I think about Noct and chronic pain often and I just headcanon him to get flare ups every once in a while, so this prompt was perfect for him.
Tomorrow we get Iggy again (ft. a special guest and no chocobros).
Thank you for being here, that means the WORLD to me! :3