So, here it is again: NM.
I am late so sorry but I have two different updates that I am posting as a single thing so yay!
They have sharing titles again so another yay!
Fandom: Final Fantasy XV / Relationship: Noctis/Prompto
Tags: papa!Cor, Regis, Noctis, Prompto, Accidents, Close calls, Angst, Anger, Fights, Lessons, All the other things.
Chapters 12 & 13: In Understanding Weakness... There’s New Strength.
Prompto was almost positive Cor didn’t like him.
Not that the man was obviously screaming at him to leave or anything - no one had, surprisingly, tried to run Prompto out - but it was just more of the fact that Prompto always, always seemed to run into the man.
He remembered, when he was first becoming Noct’s friend, that one day he had gotten lost and unfortunately, run into the more boisterous people of the Citadel.
Boisterous in the fact that the prince shouldn’t be messing around with commoners who had little value to him - And yeah okay, he might have been a little right but Astrals forbid Prompto was going to give him that - and Prompto almost died when Cor appears and quickly shut the man up and sent him on his way, giving Prompto the advice not to stray to far from his friends.
Or a time, after he had figured out who the King was, he remembered Cor’s dry remark that Prompto probably didn’t even know what he getting into when he became friends with the prince - and okay, no he wasn’t too sure on the details of everything but the whole world didn’t have to know that right!? - and he felt himself blush with embarrassment.
Or, when the Cor’s voice drawled on and on as they trained, listening out every single one of Prompto’s flaws. And when he tried to get Cor to at least hint him on how to fix it, he remembered Cor’s face, completely blank, tell him:
‘If you can’t figure out the problem, how are suppose to understand the solution?’
It wasn’t a hate, Prompto would say - he didn’t know if he could hate Cor, the man still held a place of respect - but he was borderline almost done with everything coming out of his mouth.
Ignis looked at him, a smirk playing on his lips.
“Prompto, I do believe Cor is just trying to help.”
Prompto shook his head, his hair whipping around.
“How can that be helping? The man practically hints at my incompetence on a daily basis!”
Gladio snorted, giving him a pat on his back.
“Trust me kid, if Cor hated you - and he doesn’t - he wouldn’t give two cents about your performance. More just silently watch you fail again and again until someone mentions your lack of worth.”
Prompto frowned as Ignis sighed, “Gladio!”
Gladio shrugged, moving away and Prompto grumbled, going to sit next to Noct. He leaned into him, not giving much thought to Noct’s slight blush as he did.
“Noooct! Help me out here! Cor hates me right?!”
Noct sighed and simply ran fingers through Prompto’s hair, messing it up. Prompto didn’t even mind, until he started talking.
“Sorry Prom, gotta agree with everyone else. Especially since Cor used to train me, back whenever Gladio was busy with something. The man is a bi-” Ignis threw a spoon at Noct, the object clanking against his head and Noct rubbed the sore spot, glancing behind him. “A beast, but he isn’t heartless. He knows when to push people, knows how to look at someone and know what buttons to push. But he doesn’t do it without a reason.”
Prompto sighed, and Noct just smiled.
“Trust me Prom, if Cor didn’t like you, he wouldn’t beat around the bush. And, if what my dad says is true, Cor definitely has nothing against you. So don’t worry so much.”
Prompto was definitely sure everyone was wrong.
They were out in the training grounds, Noct going through more warping training, Gladio and Ignis helping him with Cor there as supervision.
The Kings Glaives were there as well, everyone doing different trainings but mostly just watching Noct try and fail.
Prompto was there taking photos, the King asking him to take some pictures so people knew what was going on within with the army and the prince, a total PR setup, but Prompto didn’t mind.
What he did mind were the stares he could feel Cor give him as he worked but the Six be damned if he was going to let him throw him off the one thing he was actually good at.
He was trying to get the Glaives to stay still for a picture of the whole group but gods, they were worse than children, one or all of them moving the instant the picture was taken, decidedly ruining Prompto’s efforts with blurry figures and stupid faces.
“Come on Nyx! Just stand still for a second!”
Everyone laughed as Nyx flinched, his face underneath the hood probably red.
Noct huffed, his body already screaming from the warping he was doing, even though he only had gone three times.
Cor’s voice broke through, slightly amused.
“Is that all that you’ve got prince? Should we call it a quits?”
Gods, he hated when the man pushed his buttons. He was starting to see where Prompto was coming from.
Ignis instantly charged him, his spear swinging around and Noct reached for his sword, swinging to meet him.
A loud clang rang out, Ignis giving an approved smile before jumping away.
Gladio was instantly there, on his right, his sword already fullswing and Noct instantly changed to his daggers and warped away, into the air.
He heard a laugh from the Glaives, Prompto’s whine reaching his ears without real words.
He spun and threw the dagger, adding two more for good measure.
Gladio just smiled and swung at them, the daggers hitting the metal and spinning off.
Noct was starting to fall when his eyes betrayed him, looking at where the knives were spinning to, wondering if he could warp down to them when he saw it.
All three were spinning wildly, heading straight for the group that was off to the side.
Heading straight for the blonde who was a ways off, his camera already positioned for a shot.
He felt his blood run cold.
They set up for another shot, Prompto giving up on getting them organized when it happened.
He half-turned, seeing Nyx instantly running to him but didn’t even get a chance to think when he felt himself being pulled down and squished. He dropped his camera somewhere and he was instantly thrown into a broad chest and arms curled around him as he felt something hit wood almost right next to his ear. There was a roar in his ears, and his body was numb and his eyes didn’t focus until a second later when he realized…
He was tucked into the man, basically sitting on his lap, legs underneath him and one arm thrown around him, squeezing him against his chest.
He blushed, feeling his embarrassment climb until he turned away, getting a full picture.
Cor was holding up one of a wooden shield, the ones that Gladio used when he was practicing with his dad, and two daggers were sunk into it, Prompto seeing the tips of the blades from where he was.
He felt horror hit him hard, his breath catching as his mind caught up to events.
Cor relaxed, letting the shield drop to the ground and instantly fixing Prompto so he was on his knees and not cradled into him. Prompto simply sat there, his eyes fixed on the shield.
That could have been him.
Would have, if Cor hadn’t been there.
He shuddered, his body slowly starting to shake.
Nyx instantly dropped down next to him, his hood off and his eyes wide with fear.
Prompto gave him a shaky smile, trying his hardest not to freak.
His voice broke and Nyx seemed to flinch from just that. Everyone else was slowly coming forward, their faces all ashamed.
Prompto swallowed, tried to stop shaking as Cor stood up.
Noct ran up, Gladio and Ignis right behind him and stopped in front of Cor.
Noct instantly flinched, as did everyone else as Cor spoke. Prompto couldn’t blame them. His voice was clear but short, his anger flowing out with that single word.
“I must say that this is the most horrendous job done your Highness. Had it been anyone else, had someone not been close enough, had your little stunt been just seconds quicker, you would be burying a body.”
Noct instantly paled, his eyes meeting Prompto’s for a second before going back to Cor. Ignis and Gladio were even shocked into silence, their faces slowly draining along with their prince.
Prompto felt a hand on his shoulder, flinched and turned to see Nyx. He gave him a tight smile and helped him up. Prompto had the realization that his legs didn’t seem to want to work, his hands gripping Nyx’s hard as he tried to balance on them.
“Please explain to me how this happened.”
It wasn’t an invitation, even Prompto knew that. But even so, Gladio stepped forward, his eyes scared.
“It was my fault. I wasn’t paying attention to my sur-”
Prompto saw Cor turn his head slightly, towards Gladio, and the man instantly closed his mouth. Cor turned back, Prompto knowing his eyes back on Noct.
“That was obvious, Shield. But don’t worry, you weren’t the only idiot in this incident. For the Prince to allow his weapons to hit anything but the target - much less an innocent bystander - is something that lies solely with him.”
Ignis and Gladio opened their mouths to protest - heck, even Prompto was ready to say something - but Noct gave his head one shake, silencing them all. His eyes met Prompto, filled with a guilt Prompto didn’t know the reason for, as he answered.
“You’re right sir. The fault is mine. I should never allow my weapons to become something other than tools to protect my people. I could have killed someone today.”
He bowed slightly, just the tiny drop of his head, towards Cor. Everyone tensed.
Prompto could stand it any longer, he pushed himself away from Nyx, and reached out a hand towards the men.
His legs betrayed them, the bastards, buckling almost instantly and he yelped as he fell.
Cor swung around and caught him, his hands, holding onto his outstretched one as he helped him to stand. Prompto licked his lips, noting the small cuts in his uniform. Right where the shield was.
He glanced up, ready to say ‘thank you’ - or something - when he met Cor’s eyes.
They were filled with something Prompto didn’t know. Something that made a lump form in Prompto’s throat. Something that made everything come crashing down on him.
He choked and Cor’s hands slightly tightened their grip around his arms.
He made sure he was steady before he slid his hands away. He turned back towards the group, his voice rough.
“Practice is over. I would see to your friend. And it seems you owe him a new camera.”
And with that Cor walked away, everyone staying silent as he left.
Cor was not easily shaken.
He had been watching the session, taking in the fact that Noct was getting used to the warps, though a bit slowly.
So he pushed, just gently, into the prince’s stubborn pride.
It seemed to work, the prince going on strong again.
His daggers were knocked away but it was no matter, they would easily disappear and he could continue.
Cor felt the realization hit him as his body moved, his hands grabbing a shield as he bolted to the boy, painfully oblivious as he readied to take a picture. He could hear the prince scream, could see the Glaives move, felt his body know that he wasn’t going to make it.
He made it just in time, pulling the boy back - seeing one dagger lodge itself into his camera as it fell - and throwing him into himself, bringing the shield up just in time to feel the hard thunks of the other two as they went too far into the wood, scratching his arm.
The thought of getting there just a fraction of a second too late was too painfully obvious to him.
He hadn't needed to say anything, the obvious remorse and understanding on the Prince’s face enough of a punishment.
But for the love of the Astrals.
The boy didn’t even seem to fully grasp the situation, trying to tell him it was fine when even his body knew the difference.
The boy shaking slightly, his face pale as the realization did hit him, the tiny choke as he tried, failed to talk.
The fear as he looked at Cor.
He instantly threw his hand into the wall, feeling the slight crack under his hit.
He took a deep breath, bringing his hand from the small indent he had made.
Noct felt like he was going to puke.
Prompto had instantly fallen back down as soon as Cor had left, his eyes staring right at his camera.
A dagger had managed to lodge itself into it.
Ignis and Nyx had instantly went to him but Noct couldn’t move, his eyes slowly moving to the shield.
That could have been Prompto.
The image flashed into his head, of Cor not making it, of the daggers digging themselves into Prompto’s body instead of the wood.
Noct had to cover his mouth, feeling bile run up his throat.
Gladio walked up, gave him a pat and then went to clean up their training.
Noct took a breath, tried to calm his nerves, and walked over to Prompto, who had calmed down and was trying to rid himself of Ignis’ and Nyx’s fussing.
“Guys, really. I am fine. Just a little sh-”
He stumbled again, his legs not ready to move yet.
Noct caught him, Nyx and Ignis giving him a look before backing off a bit. Prompto smiled, and it was shaky but there, as he gripped his arms for support.
Regis heard the knock on the door and instantly stopped writing, putting the pen down and taking a breath.
The door cracked open, a shock of black hair appearing before blue eyes peeked through, giving Regis a guilty look.
He just smiled and gestured for his son to come in.
“Come on then Noct. I think we have something to discuss.”
Prompto might be a little slow on the uptake, but he wasn’t an idiot.
When Noct explained to him that he should steer clear of the practice grounds for a bit - to let everyone cool off - he knew exactly what his friend was saying. And while he completely understood where his friend was coming from, he didn’t enjoy the rock that sat at the bottom of his stomach.
But when Noct pressed, with that smile that was all sorts of broken, with that tired body that told him Noct probably was stressing, with those eyes that still couldn’t completely look at him yet, he had just smiled back and whispered, “Okay.”
At least he had gotten a new camera.
Now he regretted it, as he took a few pictures of the murals, if only because of the fact that no training grounds meant he couldn’t even shoot to let off some steam.
He sighed, looking up at one the murals of the kings.
Something flashed in his peripheral vision and Prompto immediately flinched, head whipping around, body ducking and his hands almost dropping his camera.
Cor let his hand fall back to his side, giving Prompto a considering look.
“It seems even you have a sense to remember your earlier adventures.”
He had been doing it since the incident, some stupid, fright reaction his body had now every time he saw something out of the corner of his eyes.
He had done it a few times to Ignis, done it during a practice session with Gladio and even made the mistake of doing it front of Noct.
And now, here it was, his stupid fears coming out full force for the man in front of him.
Prompto turned away, moodily looking through his camera.
He heard Cor shift behind him, could just see the slight way the man would raise an eyebrow, could he hear when he spoke again.
“I am sure you are. Who wouldn’t be okay after almost dying?”
Gods, did he hate it when the man talked.
“It was fine. Just an acciden-”
“One that almost cost you your life.”
“-And no one even got hur-”
“Only because we were lucky enough to avoid it.”
“Your body would beg to differ.”
Prompto spun around, feeling the anger build.
“And it wasn’t even that bad! I am fine!”
“By fine, do you mean the fact that you have been avoiding practice? Fine meaning the way you flinch every time something comes close? Fine meaning that you haven’t actually talked to your precious prince about it?”
Prompto flushed, feeling the stinging mockery behind the words.
It wasn’t any better that he hit every nail on the head.
“I mean, fine as in, it’s not any of your business.”
It felt like a slap to the face.
From Cor’s slight expression to the way it made Prompt’s stomach twist with the knowledge that he had actually said something like that.
It felt like he had just slapped the man in the face.
Hell, it would have been better if he did.
But then the expressions melted away and Cor was back, his face unreadable.
“Is this how you’ve handled your problems? With anger and cowardice?”
Prompto turned, walking away.
“It’s worked fine until now.”
Cor grabbed his arm, spinning him around and looking straight into his eyes. Prompto was done, about to shout when he saw the look in the man’s eyes.
There was a raw desperation, something Prompto had never seen before.
But it still reminded him of something, a fuzzy memory keeping him there.
“That’s not how it works. You can’t just put it off and lock it away. It won’t settle itself that way. It will eat at you until there is nothing left. At least…” He looked away for a second, like he was trying to gather his thoughts. Prompto waited, noting how he sighed and let go, dropping Prompto’s hand. He stayed even then, looking at Cor as he clicked his tongue.
“At least, tell Prince Noctis about it.”
Prompto waited a beat, his anger smothered. He looked up, knew that Cor was done, and bowed slightly before walking away.
He was tired from the training, from the fact that he couldn’t even wield the stupid daggers anymore, his warps so off that Ignis had decidedly banned them from his armory.
He was tired from not sleeping, from the fact that every time he closed his eyes, his mind would play back the incident, only showing worse and worse outcomes every time.
He was tired from playing the delicate game of cat-n-mouse with Prompto, from the fact that his friend was still very much terrified but also very much determined to lie about it.
So much so that when he was told by Ignis that his dad wanted him, he wasn’t even fazed until he reached the door, his mind barely warning him about the reason for the summons as he walked in.
His dad smiled, giving him an encouraging nod as he motioned to the chair across from him.
“Have a seat, Noctis. You look exhausted.”
Noct did sit, letting himself show his true fatigue as he sunk into the seat.
Not use in hiding it if his dad already knew.
“Yeah, just a bit. You know, training and all.”
His father nodded in agreement, his hand dancing a pen across a page.
They sat in silence for a minute, Noctis almost asleep when his dad spoke again.
“Cor tells me that there was an accident the other day. Out on the training grounds.”
Noctis wanted to slap himself.
Of course, his dad had heard about it.
He sat up, running his hands along his thighs.
“Yeah, something like that.”
The pen didn’t stop but his dad frowned slightly, like he was thinking through something.
Noct felt a lump in his throat and coughed to clear it. He looked down, watching as he wrung out his hands.
“Well… it was an accident… And no one got hurt… And, uh…”
He looked up, saw that his dad had stopped writing, the pen still in his grip. He didn’t look up, didn’t even acknowledge him, as he started writing again.
Noct knew what it meant, his dad having used the same strategy since he was little.
It was a sign to just stop and breathe, a chance for Noct to get his thoughts together so, when he did speak, he wouldn’t sputter and stutter around the truth.
It reminded him of a bad end in his games, the last save giving him a chance to not kill it again.
It was more like a chance to tell him what happened, not the excuses that Noct had thought up before that moment.
Noct swallowed and looked down again, trying to gather his thoughts.
They sat in silence for a while, his dad just writing while Noct tried to calm his heart.
With more courage than he felt, he tried again.
“I… almost killed Prompto.”
He heard it. His dad had stopped writing, his mouth thinned into a line, his hand gripping the pen just a bit too tight. Noct saw the tear, a thin line right where he had been writing. Noct waited, expecting the fury and disappointment he knew his dad was capable of.
But his dad just sighed, smoothing out the page and starting to write again, careful with the imperfection in the page.
Silence overlapped again, Noct looked at his father as he wrote.
His dad glanced up at him, his pen not stopping.
Noct was instantly annoyed.
“I almost killed Prompto.”
Regis raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment on Noctis’ tone.
“Yes, so you have told me .”
“I almost killed my best friend! Why aren’t you mad!?”
Regis put down his pen, giving his son a look.
“What is there to do? As you have said, it was an unfortunate accident but no one was hurt.”
Noct sputtered, trying to get his father to understand.
“I almost killed him! He could have died! I did something that no king should even have considered a possibility! I, I, I-”
“I made him terrified of everything! Made Cor practically hate my guts! Made Ignis and Gladio tip-toe around us both! Made half the Glaive ashamed because they couldn’t stop it!”
“Noctis, it wasn’t your fault. It was a simple acci-”
Noct jumped up, heard his chair fall back, and slammed his hands against the desk. He felt the anger. Felt the tears burning his eyes. Felt the hitch in his voice.
“Dad, you weren’t there! You didn’t see it! Prompto could have died! Had Cor not been there, he would of! Or one of the Glaive trying to protect him! I messed up! Be mad! Get angry! Or disappointed! Something!”
His dad sat back, his hands folding gently in front of him but saying nothing through the whole thing. Now he sat forward, letting his head rest on his folded hands and considered Noct for a moment.
Noct blinked for a second, taking in his dad.
His dad smiled, that one that told Noct that he wasn’t even angry at him. One he hadn’t seen in awhile.
“Exactly, Noctis. You’re right. You did mess up. You didn’t take things seriously. You let yourself go in the spur of the moment. You set yourself up for failure and it almost ended in tragedy. You weren’t paying attention to the things that you ought to. You messed up.”
He stood and moved around his desk so he was standing next to Noct. He gently took Noct’s hands from where they were planted on the desk, catching his eye.
“But you know that you did. You understand the consequences for your failure. You realize what could have happened. You know.”
He gave Noct’s hands a shake, releasing them and grabbing his shoulders instead.
“That is a great lesson to learn. The lesson of owning up to your mistakes, no matter how grave they were. Now is the next one: learning from them. But I am afraid this one is a bit harder than the first.” He gave Noctis a knowing look. “Have you apologized to Mr. Argentum yet?”
Noct looked at him confused.
His dad shook his head, pinning him with a slight frown.
“I don’t mean a confession Noctis. I think we all know you made a mistake. I think even young Argentum can figure out that it wasn’t on purpose. That is was a simple accident. What I am asking is, did you apologize?”
Noct opened his mouth to answer, of course he did, when he got it. He blinked, his mouth clamping shut. His dad nodded, and let him go, turning back to his desk.
“I do believe you know what to do.”
They were both on the balcony, their legs swinging off the railing with their backs to the (now shared) apartment because Ignis had no chill and Gladio was definitely trying to snoop and Prompto had wanted to talk to Noct alone, too.
So there they were, sitting side-by-side, Noct noticing how Prompto looked more calm than he had in the last week.
Prompto glanced at him, catching his eye and nodding, a sign for him to go first.
Noct shook his head and waited.
Prompto always caved first.
“So… I wanted to tell you something.”
Noct could hear the slight nervousness in Prompto’s voice, could feel him wringing his hands.
He waited, hoping that he wasn’t too late.
Hoping Prompto wasn’t going to kill him.
“I… Uh… Well, I was kinda…”
He was instantly reminded of when his dad would say his name, hopefully understanding why he did now.
He knocked his shoulder against his friend, giving him a smile.
Prompto sighed, knocked back and just sat there for a bit, leaning against Noct.
It filled him with a guilty joy, having Prompto this close to him.
But soon he left his side, his friend slowly working up the courage to talk again.
“I… Well, I guess first off, I never thought it was your fault.”
He could hear it in the way Prompto was talking, could see how his friend was piecing things together to form his sentences.
“I never thought that it was something to worry about.”
He looked up and Noct did too, Prompto giving him a smile. He looked down for a minute, his lip being worked on before he nodded and met his gaze.
“I trust you Noct. Don’t think any differently buddy.”
There was a ‘but’ in there.
He could also feel how his stomach went icy.
“But… uh… I have to tell you something.”
Noct nodded, didn't say anything as Prompto waited a bit before continuing.
“I… was scared. Still am, to be honest.”
It hit him harder than he thought.
The ice hit him harder than he thought.
The voice, the one that told him Prompto was actually terrified, hit him harder than he thought.
He almost gasped, thankful that he hadn't, as Prompto continued.
“I… was trying really hard not to be. Cause I knew that you would blame yourself. So I kept it to myself. I thought it was fine…”
He rubbed the back of his head. “I guess I wasn't.”
Noct remembered how his dad had explained it; actually realized now what he had meant.
Noct shook his head, leaning against Prompto.
Noct swallowed the lump in his throat.
Prompto huffed out a sigh and just nodded. He leaned against Noct too, his hands snaking into his and his legs swinging against the railings.
