Ch.9

Noctis sat down next to Prompto on the couch. He could see the nervous gaze in Prompto's eyes, staring at every corner of the room. It made sense he would be nervous in a situation such as this one, he wasn't trained and prepared for it. Noctis on the other hand had grown up like this. He knew what to expect and how to handle it.

All his life he had grown up as the prince, having to be trained how to evade enemies and get to safety. Then as he got older and started his training as Robin under his father's wing of Batman, he learned how to fight off the enemies while still learning how to evade. He had to be ready for any situation where he would need to fight or flee.

It was such a hard path to walk when Prompto was thrown into the mix. Under normal circumstances he would have ran off on his own to change into Nightwing and fight off the enemies. He could have done it easily and in no time flat. But this time Prompto was there, and Prompto couldn't fight. Prompto didn't know how to handle these types of situations and that made Noctis enter this state of mind where all he could think about was Prompto's safety.

He sighed to himself. "I just want him to be safe… I'd do anything I could if it meant he would be out of harm's way."

"Hey, Noct?"

"Hm. Yeah?" Noctis asked, being pulled from his deep thoughts.

"Shouldn't we like… do something?"

"What do you want to do?"

Prompto shrugged. "What do we even do in a safe room? I know there's food, but any games?"

"Yeah, we got plenty of that. Wanna play a card or board game?"

"Sure."

As Noctis went to the cabinet to get something out, he heard Prompto get up and start pacing the room. After he pulled out a deck of cards, he turned around to see that Prompto was searching the corners, looking curiously up at every little thing he saw.

"So this room is really secure?"

"Yup. It's one of the few rooms that are built hidden within the Citadel."

"And you are sure that they got it handled up there?" Prompto asked.

Noctis nodded. "Yeah, the Kingsglaive… well the ones that aren't traitors have it handled. They probably already arrested the traitors, but now are just checking the building for any more threats."

"Oh okay. Yeah that sounds good. Good they got it handled. Plus uh, you know, Spider-Man helping too."

"I thought you said Spider-Man went off to do other stuff?"

"U-Uh yeah! But you know, what he did before. He helped out before and probably is still in the area?"

"I guess so. It was good he was around anyway, he really helped out," Noctis said quietly.

He thought back to when Spider-Man swooped in and started headed down the hall while he carried him. Spider-Man didn't even wait to ask, he had just come and picked him and swung away. He knew Spider-Man was doing it because it was the hero's duty, saving a civilian from danger, and being the prince made him even more of a 'damsel in distress' in the public eye.

He could still remember how Spider-Man held him in one arm. It was so gentle and caring yet proactive and fierce. Noctis knew he could trust Spider-Man to save him and keep him safe if the need ever came, but he never expected to get that close to him.

He had never been saved before, aside from his father. But those were instances when both of them were fighting crime together and his father had grabbed him to run him to safety. It wasn't anything like this has been.

"Yeah," Prompto said. "Always good to know there's a superhero around or two."

"Hmm, yeah. It's nice to know," Noctis said, wishing he could have been out there helping.

"But does this mean you will be staying in lockdown at the Citadel for even longer?"

Noctis frowned. He had come so close to being released from the Citadel as Noctis. But now with this latest attack there would be no doubt he'd have to stay even longer. While he would be allowed to still go out as Nightwing, for the public image of the prince he would have to stay hidden.

"Probably… I'm sorry Prompto. I was looking forward to being free again and going to the arcade."

"Ah… it's no biggie. We couldn't predict this would happen. It's shitty, but what can you do, right?"

Noctis nodded. "Yeah… but I wanted to hangout more."

Prompto stared down at the floor for a moment, his eyes becoming unfocused. A moment later he looked up and stared right at Noctis. "What if I stayed with you?"

"What?" Noctis asked, his eyes widening.

"What if I just… stayed with you? That way we could hangout and not have to be separated."

Noctis wanted to say yes. He wanted to keep Prompto right by his side. He would have loved spending more time with him, spending every day with him. But he knew that he couldn't do that. Not when he had a duty as Nightwing he still had to uphold.

If he was sneaking out anytime he could as Nightwing, Prompto would definitely pick up on it. He would learn the secret, and Noctis wasn't ready to put him at risk with that knowledge. Not yet at least.

"No, I can't do that to you. I can't let you get locked up all the time like me."

"Nah, I'd be fine. Not like anyone would miss me, not really. You know, parents aren't ever home so they wouldn't care. But this way we can keep an eye on one another and stuff."

Noctis shook his head. "I still can't do that to you. It wouldn't be fair. Plus… what if another attack happens? I don't want you to get caught up in anything again."

"I'd be fine! I could help protect you!" Prompto persisted.

"I can't take that risk, I can't have you getting hurt."

Prompto frowned, closing his eyes as he breathed in deeply. "You wouldn't have to worry about me. I know I can handle it."

"You don't have the training, Prom. I couldn't ask you to do something like that."

"It's… it's okay. I say I could do it… because I-"

Suddenly the speaker on the nearby wall turned on, and Ignis's voice was heard coming through. "Your Highness? Are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here Ignis. Prompto's with me too."

"Good. Well, I am pleased to inform you too that the damage has been cleared and the three traitors have been taken away. You are allowed to exit the safe room now and rejoin us. We are up with your father in meeting room 3B. I will have Gladio meet you out in the hallway to escort you two."

"Right. We will head up there now." Noctis looked away from the speaker and faced Prompto. "Looks like we're home free from chilling in here. Let's go."

"Oh, really? We can go?"

Noctis nodded. "Yeah, come on."

Noctis guided Prompto back through the secret entrance and back out to the original room. As they walked towards the hallway he looked over at Prompto. "So, what was it you were saying?"

"Huh?"

"You were going to say something back there. Something about what you could do?"

Prompto blinked a few times before shaking his head. "N-Nothing! Just was trying to convince you to let me stay, you know? I mean, I still want to stay if I can. You could let me get training to protect you, right?"

"I guess…" Noctis said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "But I don't oversee the Kingsglaive training. That would be something you need to ask Cor about."

"Cor? You mean Cor Leonis?! That Cor?"

Noctis laughed as they exited the room. Gladio was there and soon was following right behind them, not wanting to interrupt the conversation.

"Is there any other?" Noctis asked.

"Dude! He is scary and intimidating!"

"But he can talk to Titus Drautos, you know the head of the Kingsglaive, and can make the connections happen," Noctis explained.

"Yeah I know, but man, Cor just has that glare to him that could ward off anyone, even a supervillain I bet!"

Notis chuckled. If he remembered his father's stories, Cor was a bit of a vigilante superhero back in his teenage years, but that was something long gone. Most information of that time seemed to be highly classified, even for Noctis. Though Cor did say once if there was ever a need, he would gladly take up the chance again.

"I'll help you if you want, if you… you know, if you really want to do that," Noctis said, still uncertain about putting Prompto into anything that could bring him harm.

"I think it would be cool," Prompto nodded. "Maybe for like a week or two. See if I can handle it?"

"If Blondie thinks he has the guts then he should give it a try," Gladio said from behind the two of them.

"As long as I got you guys supporting me I bet I could do it," Prompto replied.

Noctis reached over, patting Prompto on the back. "Alright, if you think you want to give it a try, then yeah, you can try."

"Thanks, Noct," Prompto said, smiling back.

When they got up to the third floor and got to the meeting room, Noctis saw that his father was already inside with Ignis and the other. He came in and walked right over to his father, leaning in for a hug from him. Even knowing that he could handle himself, and that his father could also handle some enemies, he still was glad he was safe.

"I'm glad you two are okay," Regis said once Noctis pulled away from the hug.

"Yeah, we're fine. So, now what are we doing?" Noctis asked.

"Just to go over what happened, making plans for the future. We will not let this happen again."

Noctis nodded solemnly. "Sounds good."

He glanced over to Prompto, staring at his pure and innocent face. Prompto didn't understand the stresses of being a prince, a royal who could be attacked and threatened at any given moment. Prompto never even considered him as a prince first, it was also just him as Noctis. That was just something that was so nice and wonderful about him. His honesty to treat him as a normal person was how their relationship started after all.

Prompto also was so naïve to the whole Nightwing thing, as it was meant to be. A secret he had been holding for years and would probably continue to do so unless he figured out a way to tell him. Until then, he would always protect Prompto. He would continue his goal of that, as long as he was able to. Noctis would always do his best to keep Prompto safe. He had to because he couldn't imagine a world without his best friend. A friend who he harbored secret feelings for, but still that would never deter his motives.

A man covered in the shadows cast in his room grinned. Only the faint moonlight from a singular open window streamed, falling upon his face. He started to chuckle softly as he leaned back in his chair, casting him further into darker shadows.

"Another development I see… but unfortunately our dear traitors couldn't make it out freely," the deep voiced man said.

"Ah, but they did collect the data! It was all transmitted back safe and sound before their capture," the other voice said.

"But there was only so much data collected… only one super showed up this time. We still require more on Nightwing."

"And we will, sir. All in due time."

The chair creaked as the deep voice man sat up straight. "I suppose we could move forward with our next step. Has our friend finally calmed down?"

There was a small chuckle. "He has some, but we still have yet to test how his memory fairs. But I would say he will be quite angry regardless upon waking. But… I know that is already going to work in our favor."

"Good. Begin the necessary preparations. This city has gone far too long without a proper opponent for our dear superheroes. It's time that we give them something of a challenge."