#iris imicitia

[thesilencebeforeastorm]

A Fight For My Friends - FFXV fic

A/N: I am SO SORRY that I took forever to write this but it’s finally done!!! Omg I haven’t written for the ffxv boys since 2018, I hope I did this fic justice. This is for @sylleblossomstar and even though you requested a AU, the fic is HALF canon. It’s just a few things tweeked here and there. I hope you enjoy!! Request are NOT open btw!

~

It had been a few days since the battle with Leviathan and things went terribly wrong. I was knocked out after I had gotten the hydrean’s power so I barely remember much but what I know now is that Luna is dead… We didn’t even get a chance to speak before I had found out from Ignis that she was gone. The pain I felt in my chest was unbearable as I cried alone, looking through the book Luna and I used to talk through. I wish that I was strong enough, that I could have her with me. All I wanted to do was save her… yet I failed at that. I failed my friends also. Ignis is blind now. I don’t know how that happened since I didn’t ask and he didn’t tell me. “It’s just a flesh wound” was all that I was told though it looked like he put up one hell of a fight. Dammit… why can’t I protect the ones I love? First it was Dad… and now Luna is gone too? I must become stronger. Not only will I get the power from the other gods and the rest of the royal arms but I will train harder and work harder. I will make sure that my friends don’t even lift a finger. That’s not how we usually do things but I’m sick and tired of always being protected yet the ones I love keep dying. What kind of Prince can’t even protect his people? Pft…Some kind of King I’ll be someday.

We had to board the train in a few days to head to Cartanica, though we had no money. We were all still pretty worn out from Leviathan and even though Gladio wanted to keep moving forward, Ignis insisted that we have some cash first and at least some rest afterwards. Altissia was a wreck so there would be no way we could find hunts to take up there. With nowhere to stay either, we got on Dad’s boat and headed back to Cape Caem. We wouldn’t go too far into Lucis considering that we had to leave again after a few days. Iris was happy to see us again, though she said we looked a mess and that she should’ve been there to protect us. Of course Gladio didn’t even want to consider the thought of his sister being there and having the possibility of something happening to her but they are Amicitia’s after all. It was their job to protect the Royal family. 

We drove up to a nearby town and found a post about some hunts that needed to be taken care of. With the amount of gil being offered for one of them, we would be set to go. This was my chance to prove myself.. To prove that I can protect my friends. Ignis was in no shape to fight. He can’t even see! He’s using a stick to walk around but without the help of Gladio or Prompto, he keeps knocking into things. All I can keep thinking of is Luna and Dad… Part of me knew I had to get stronger but if I didn’t have to keep fighting anymore, I would just get in bed and sleep for a week. Apparently, Gladio noticed my moping and we got into a huge fight.

“The hell is your problem?” 

I was caught off guard.

“What?”

“All you do is sit around your ass moping. You need to deal with what happened and move on”.

The hell??

“Move on?? I’m here aren’t I? If I wasn’t moving on then I wouldn’t even be trying to do any of this!”

“Yet you wish you didn’t even have to deal with any of this. You carry that ring around with you yet you don’t wear it. Luna didn’t give her life for nothing. Ignis took one for you too and for what!?”

“Enough Gladio!” I heard Ignis yell out.

“You think you’re a king but you’re a coward.”

I couldn’t even believe what I was hearing right now. Me? A coward? After everything we've been through?? The hell with him.

“Shut up!” 

“Don’t do this!”

I saw out of the corner of my eye that Prompto tried to get involved but Gladio shoved him in the face. Part of me didn’t even care that he was my bodyguard, I was ready to fight him like he was some regular on the street. I decided against it though and just walked away. I didn’t want to deal with any of them right now.

It was night time now and the hunt we got were for the daemons at this time. It was raining too which was just my luck. Anyways, now was my chance to show Gladio that I wasn’t a coward. I didn’t believe in myself as King but I didn’t have any other choice. I was going to do this whether I liked it or not. I was so conflicted in my head, deciding on what I would do. I just had to go through with it. 

It was an Iron Giant for a start. We knew what we were up against but seeing it actually in front of you was a completely different thing. Whatever. I decided to charge head on into the thing. 

“Noct! The hell are you doing!?” I heard Gladio yell out. I didn’t care. As much as he deserved to get punched in the face, I wasn’t going to let anything happen to him. I hit the Iron Giant several times before I was almost hit.

“Hey buddy, you aren’t alone in this! Take it easy and let us help!”. Prompto yelled out as he shot his gun. I ignored him.

All I wanted to do was fight. If I had to take out my frustration in some way, it would be on this Iron Giant. I completely blocked everyone out, distracting the giant from them. 

“I won’t let you hurt my friends!” I yelled out before activating the royal arms that I had for more strength. I knew in the back of my mind that using the royal arms would take a toll on my health if I over did it but with the Giant almost down and so I had to give it the best I had. I slashed through it from every angle. The guys were trying their best to fight and I could hear the constant yelling. I was so lost in the moment that I didn’t realize I ran out of stamina already and felt light headed. The rain made me slip from the Iron Giant’s sword as I fell to the ground, though it wasn’t a high fall. Man, I really wasn’t feeling good at all. I was so out of breath and couldn’t even get to my feet before the thing smacked me out of the way with its sword. The pain was unbearable as I cried out.

“Was that Noct?? Is he alright??” Ignis yelled out in the distance.

“Nocttttt!” Prompto yelled out.

“This thing is on its last legs, just take it down already!” Gladio yelled out before him and Prompto gave the final blow... or so I thought. I was so dizzy and hurt that I passed out.

~

I awoke in the tent at camp, not knowing what the hell happened. I knew I was fighting the Iron Giant but did I kill it? I tried to sit up but the pain shot up though my body as I hissed at it. I then noticed that I didn’t have a shirt on. I had bandages around my waist covered in some blood and my head. Shit… did I really get hurt that bad? I looked around to see if I could find my shirt which I did and put it on. Knowing the guys were outside, I tried my best to get up. Wincing at the pain, I made it out before I had two eyes staring at me. Ignis heard me leave the tent.

“Noct is that you?” he asked me.

“Yeah” I said as I found a seat by the campfire. There wasn’t any food considering that Ignis couldn’t cook anymore. I would go for anything right now.

“Hey buddy, you’re awake!” Prompto said to me. “This is for you.” Cup noodles. Oh well, it was better than nothing. “Thanks” I told him.

“How are you feeling Noct?” Ignis asked me. I wish I could say I felt great but I was in a lot of pain still.

“Still in pain but I’ll live” I told him.

“The hell were you thinking fighting on your own like that?” Gladio snapped at me. “You could have been killed.”

I sighed as I looked down. That was a little dangerous for me to go all out on my own to the point that I got sick and hurt. But it was for them.

“I know that I acted I reckless like that but… I had to protect you guys. After all that we’ve been through and all that happened so far, I didn’t want to lose you guys too.”

“Yeah well we would have lost you instead for charging into that thing like that. What good would Lucis be without a King?” he said back to me.

King… was I even fit to be King after all of this? I didn’t want to let them in on my doubts and risk being in another fight with Gladio but I would never be the King my Dad was. I stood quiet. 

“We understand that you want to protect us, Noct but our duty is to protect you. True strength does not come from facing danger alone but working together to defeat our enemy” Ignis said. I looked at him as he looked down, holding his empty cup of noodles. I sighed again. He was fight. We were stronger together, we were meant to protect one another. 

“We care for you bud. Can’t have you not being in top shape for what’s to come” Prompto told me. You’re not alone in your fight. We all have people that we lost”.

Lost… I was so caught up in my own act that I didn’t even think of their losses. We all had a home back in Insomnia; a place that we couldn’t return to. I knew Gladio’s Dad was the shield of my father. Did he die too? What about Prompto’s family… or Ignis?

“I didn’t want to let you guys down” I finally said. It was the honest truth.

“Me calling you a coward didn’t mean you had to head on straight to your death. You may be a royal pain in my ass but you’re still my brother. 

I looked up at Gladio when he said that. Sure he was tough about things and the way he spoke sometimes can come off as harsh but he only meant the best for me. He always knew how to get me to pull my head out of my ass and keep fighting no matter what, no matter if I liked how he said it or not. 

“I’m sorry” I said.

Gladio sighed. “Don’t be sorry, just let us do our part next time. We have Ignis to take care of now. We work together as one.” 

I agreed. I don’t regret what I did because the intention of wanting to do better and get stronger was there but I do admit that I had to fight with them and not alone. These guys were my brothers and even though I never said it to them, I loved them. 

“I love you guys” I said. I was never pretty vocal about my emotions but it had to be said. 

“We love you too buddy” Prompto said. Gladio and Ignis agreed.

“When are we heading out to take the train?” I asked.

“Oh we won’t be leaving any time soon” Gladio said. “You aren’t in the shape for it”.

“Gladio is right”, Ignis said. “Judging by what Gladio said about your wounds, you must heal up first before we go.”

Right.. I had forgotten all about the pain, being wrapped up in conversation.

“Aww look at that. A royal prince being taken care of by us. All three of us. Who better yet to take care of you than us?” Prompto cooed out. 

I laughed and shoved his arm before wincing again. They were a pain in my ass as well but what could I do without them...

~

Tagging: @humanitys-hottestsoldier @paopufruittt @final-fantasy-xv-nut

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