childrenofbahamutlogs | Oh, the world is dark

He's not used to waking up early by any stretch of the imagination but the fact that he is now sleeping beside his boyfriend every night makes it both harder to will himself out of bed and also infinitely harder to sleep. Prompto always wants to get up and go for a run. Like a crazy man.

Which is what finds Noctis half draped against his boyfriend's back bare chest to smooth freckled skin, already whining that he should stay here where it's warm and cozy. It's as Noct is pushing himself up onto one hip so he can reach around enough to interrupt the hands reaching for clothes that he realizes the change. He hisses a sharp breath in Prompto's ear, jerking back and scowling down between them like he's been betrayed by his own body. There on his chest are fine red lines, not enough to be welts but the slowly fading remnants of something scratching him at least.

"The hells?" Muttered sleepily as he lifts a hand to touch the marks. Then he's blinking as much sleep from his eyes as he can manage as he leans in to examine the skin between his boyfriend's shoulder blades. He's still half asleep and there's no shortage of scratches across Prompto's shoulders so it takes a moment before he finally realizes a line of little dark pinpricks are not freckles or his fault. No, there's a distinctive line of small spines that have only just pierced the skin of Prompto's back.

"Uuuuuuh Prom?"

Look, Noct, it isn't Prompto's fault that mornings are the perfect time for running! He has to admit, every time Noctis whines for him to stay, it is a difficult fight to leave him behind in their shared bed. Especially after being re-united against all possible odds. He's reaching for his clothes when there's a painful hiss in his ear that snaps him to attention. A persistent itchiness runs up and down his back after Noctis gets up from attempting to drape across it.

That doesn't sound good to Prompto. Way off the mark from the usual whining and tugging at him that's become an early morning ritual for the both of them. "What?" he queries, turning to glance over his shoulder at his sleepy boyfriend. Indeed, there are two identical, closely set rows of the tiny spines, running from the boy's neck all the way to his tailbone. He can just see the form of a few along one shoulder blade, and his eyes flick from them back to Noctis, widening at the perfect red lines left behind along his body.

"...What the heck is that?! Oh, great. Great! This is not a dream is it? Pinch my cheek, real fast."

The initial shock and confusion sees Prompto forgetting the warning Charlie gave all of the new 'visitors' to this world. He brushed it off as ridiculous in the first place. People turning into monsters? Yeah, right.

Right? The blond squints. Something about Noctis looks a bit different too, but he spends the first moments of having the thought grappling with if it is just from the rising panic in his chest.

Oh gods it is way too early for this much anxiety.

Noct doesn't pinch his boyfriend but he does reach out and put a hand on him, urging him to sit back down and stay put. At least long enough for Noctis to yawn and scrub at his eyes with his other hand. After a few more blinks he squeezes Prompto's arm.

"If it were a dream I wouldn't still be this tired." But Noct drags himself up so he's sitting upright at least, leaning back against the headboard of the bed and patting the rough material of the "mattress" between his legs. "Ugh it's so early but... open the curtains then come here, let me actually take a look."

"O-okay, man..." Prompto stutters out, bouncing his way over to the window. "Get ready!" Is the only warning he gives before throwing the crude fabric curtains apart, allowing the morning light to filter into the room. Much better, the blond thinks, though he knows for certain his boyfriend will vehemently disagree.

Speaking of his boyfriend...Now, in the light, there absolutely is something off here. He closes the gap between window and bed, head tilting to one side. What the heck is it? The nagging thought will not cease to bother him, swirling about in his head as he takes a seat between Noct's legs to allow him a better look at his back. "Is it...Is it bad? Scary? Am I sick??? Dude, it is SO over-"

It certainly itches. Still. The feeling makes the hairs on the back of the anxious boy's neck stand on end.

Edited 2024-10-12 04:29 (UTC)

Prompto is absolutely spot on. Noct cringes away from the light, shielding his face with a hand for a moment. Though he is silently grateful for the warning, however chipper it is.

"Dude." Noct repeats as Prompto's babbling begins to escalate, cutting him off before he gets too far ahead of himself. Then he huffs a sigh and leans in to press a soothing kiss to one freckled shoulder, careful to keep it gentle lest he pull at the healing scratches there on his back. Though... damn Noct didn't think he'd clawed him up that bad.

He reaches up to touch the small spines, leaning in close to examine them carefully. "You're not sick... But you've definitely got something going on? Like... I dunno little pointy bits?" His fingers trace over the spines, circling around the point and tilting his head.

Prompto sighs at the soothing kiss, his shoulders visibly dropping a measure. Noct always knows just how to center him. He's grateful for it.

Clawed him up that good would be what Prompto would call the other back situation. Real good. He got some nice return marks on Noctis, too, though his boyfriend's ones along his freckled skin almost look like his nails were built to make them. Clearly the both of them were pent up, but Prompto had years to catch up on, and a broken heart to heal. It showed with his desperate movements and cries for Noct. He begged for those delicious scratches. Loudly enough he had to smother himself with a pillow to not alert the entire area including their housemates. No regrets.

The rows of little spines may be sharp, but they flex under touch. The sensation of them is completely alien to Prompto, and makes him shudder. "Feels weird. Ughhh, and itchy? Slightly sore?" He huffs, leaning forward and arching his back towards Noct. "This is like, super not normal. Maybe I caught some weird spike disease. Ye Olde Plague?"

He still doesn't fully remember he has the answer. Or perhaps it's denial.

Edited 2024-10-12 11:29 (UTC)

"Well... it looks like they only just broke the skin so yeah I'd think they'd be sore." He huffs, trailing his finger down the line and realizing that, actually, not all of them did the skin is still stretched thin over some of the smaller ones lower on his boyfriend's back.

"It'd be a really weird disease. It... almost looks like they're growing out of your spine dude." This is super fucking weird but freaking out over it isn't going to help anyone. "I dunno, we're in a weird old timey world, maybe you're turning into something like Barusa."

The gentle touches to Prompto's back are greatly soothing- that is, until Noct's fingers brush over the second set of spines still budding on Prompto's lower back. They're sensitive as a damn tooth growing in, and the blond jolts bodily with a whiny huff.

"I took such good care of my spine! It's betraying me, is what it is! I-"

Before he can wind up again, Prompto takes a breath. He swears he can sense something in a distant corner of his mind that radiates approval after he does. Great, so he's turning into some kind of lizard monster and going nuts.

The Barusa comment is what finally breaks the ice and gets him to laugh, just as an important memory clicks for him. It was obscured by his initial panic. "Next we find out we got sucked into King's Knight, right? No, dude, now that I'm chill...That Charlie guy mentioned that some of us might go through changes. Something about dragons? I was super excited about the food and, yknow, wigged out by Ardyn, so I didn't pay as much attention as I shoulda. But that means I'm...Turning into a dragon?"

That feels absolutely unhinged to say aloud to Prompto, but what else would be causing something like this?

"You had a dream about one too right? Mine was all spiky and looked like metal. Big wings. If you saw one too, then..." he glances over his shoulder to squint at his boyfriend. "I wonder if it's related."

Noctis frowns as Prompto keeps talking, finally just leaning in to pepper gentle kisses across his shoulders, down between the rows of spines as far as he can reach. His free arm curls lightly around the blond's waist and he hums a curious, sleepy sound against pale skin.

"Turning.... into a dragon." Mused quietly and then Noctis just leans his cheek against the top of Prompto's shoulder, glancing up at him sidelong. "That sounds insane, dude. You know that right?"

But it's not exactly disbelieving.

"It wasn't a dream exactly. I don't even know if it was a dragon. And I was more focused on the whole getting stabbed through the chest with the weapon of some great great great great grandfather's ghost. That hurts like a bitch y'know?"

"Dude, it's just as insane as you saying I was turning into Barusa!" Prompto retorts, huffing out a small laugh. The cuddles and kisses are just the medicine the anxious boy needs to keep up the relaxed demeanor in the face of possibly turning into a monster. He has Noct, and Iggy, and Gladio here with them. No one is going to leave him or let him suffer this alone. He leans back into the embrace around his waist with a pleased sigh.

Once more, a wave of alien approval flickers up in a back corner of Prompto's mind.

"Okay so you saw Something. Uh- and got stabbed? For me the dragon flew right into my chest. Uh...But you saw it. So...Does that mean you too?" If so, Prompto hasn't yet found a change. Yet. Another squint, and-

"Uh. Did you dye your hair before you got here?"

Stupid question with how there are just barely traces of white, wispy strands amidst Noct's soft dark hair. No dye job could do that.

Noctis is careful as Prompto leans back against him, making sure the blond settles in such a way that the spines are not stabbing him in the chest. They're small enough it's not difficult yet but it very well could become that way if they keep growing.

"I mean yeah it flew at my chest but so did the uh.... shit who was it- The Wise?'s sword." He hadn't been paying that much attention to the plaques on the walls until Cor directed his attention to them. The second question gets a startled bark of laughter out of him.

"Yeah, right! You remember when I tried to put blue streaks in my hair for Halloween freshman year?" The bleach kit they'd gotten barely touched his hair. It's just way too dark to bring the color up without a professional.

"You remember it better than me!" That is to say, Prompto remembers literally nothing about what he learned regarding the Line of Lucis in school. The Wise? Okay....? Maybe this is a little embarrassing, but he's never fussed himself too much on the fact the man he loves with all his soul is royalty from a long, prestigious line. That is a part of what has made their relationship so effortless.

"Well that's weird. But, buddy, you might need to get to a mirror. Guess the high school Halloween dream is real now. Kinda." He reaches a hand out to pet through Noctis' hair, pinching one of the little bits of white between his fingers (gently, as to not hurt his boyfriend's scalp). "Right here. You got bits of white in your hair."

Noctis hisses an irritated little noise, batting at Prompto's fingers and huffing.

"What? Maybe I'm just going grey early from all the shit you guys have been telling me." He shoves playfully at Prompto's shoulder but doesn't make any real effort to dislodge him. Sometimes he just has to play up the grumpiness for dramatic effect. In fact he even rolls his eyes and pointedly looks away.

Which makes it all the clearer to Prompto that the white strands go from a few strands here and there to something fuller at the back of Noctis' neck. Fluffy and soft, an almost velvety softness to the hairs like the fur of a bunny rabbit as it begins to creep down his neck from just below his hairline.

There's that familiar show of huffiness Prompto has come to love. He laughs wholeheartedly now, forgetting the remainder of his worries for the time being. No matter what goes down, Noct is back. For real. He gives the huffy Prince a gentle bop atop the head in response to the hand-batting and shoves, eyes brighter than they've been in a long time.

"I'm serious dude, it-Whoaaaa," Prompto gasps out right when he catches a good view of the...Fluff? Beginning to run down Noct's neck. He brushes along it with the tips of his fingers, wondering at how soft it is. "You're fluffy! Right here!"

Fluffy?!

He's about to turn back to face Prompto but then there's fingers running through his hair and down his neck and the sensation is different than it usually is, different enough to make him shudder and squirm and gasp softly. Then he's shaking his head sharply as if needing to shake off the feeling.

"What the heck?" His own fingers reach up to brush over it and he shivers again. "Well- huh. I guess that sorta makes sense? The thing I saw was.... very.... I dunno looked kinda like a bear. With wings. Sorta."

"Doesn't sound so crazy now, does it? Turning into dragons?" Prompto murmurs, watching and listening and feeling the way Noct's body responds. "Okay, fine, it still feels crazy. Still...If you saw a big fluffy bear-dragon-thing, and now you got fluff on you, and I saw a big metal spikey thing, and I got spikes...What else are we supposed to think? Guess the Charlie guy wasn't nuts?"

Prompto gets an idea. "Hey. Turn all the way around for me. My turn."

If, or whenever Noct does so, and Prompto settles in to being behind him, he will lean forward and plant a few oh-so-gentle kisses right atop the fuzzy spot, circling his arms around Noct's shoulders to twine their fingers on both hands together. He gives them a squeeze, and one last kiss to top things off.

The easiest way to maneuver into the opposite positioning is, in Noct's mind, to just use that arm around Prompto's waist to topple them both over sideways on the bed. Sure he has to tuck his legs up so they're not dangling off the bed but it's the simplest option. He turns so he's mostly on his belly, back tilted toward Prompto. Which means it's only one of the blond's arms around him but Noct threads their fingers together, lifting their hands so he can brush a kiss over his boyfriend's knuckles.

Only to gasp and clench his fingers tight around Prompto's with that first kiss. He's never been pet before and the fresh fur has left his skin very sensitive to any pressures or shifting of it. Now Prompto keeps kissing it and he can't help squirming a little with each kiss. "Prom!!!" Half squeaked with laughter and half breathless, the sensations confused between tickling and something far more pleasant.

"Stoooop!!!!"

Oh man, Noct is so cute. Especially like this. Prompto squeezes back with his hand and laughs against that fuzz-covered skin, giving him one more long, slow kiss before he shows mercy and ceases the onslaught. "Fiiiiiine, man! You're driving a hard bargain with how cute that was. Makes me wanna keep doin' it!"

Especially the little gasp there. What the heck? Prompto needs to step up his game more often, clearly.

"Ugh. How'm I supposed to get up now? You're so comfy." He mumbles, curling around Noct as best he can while partially over his back.

It's hard sometimes for Prompto to leave Noct alone, even for a few minutes. There is an adjustment curve to suddenly feeling like half of your very soul that was missing, one you accepted was gone forever, is back.

"This is a predicament, huh?"

Noctis whines even more dramatically when Prompto insistently presses his lips to that fresh new fur and, half-dressed as he is, it's easy to see the way gooseflesh prickles along his skin at the sensation. Once Prompto finally relents, though, he relaxes beneath the blond with a heavy sigh.

"Predicament? Only for you." Muttered under his breath as Noctis reaches his free hand out to find the blankets, intending to drag them back over the both of them. "If you wanna get dressed and go outside and be cold that's on you." It's not that cold yet but Noct will play up whatever he can if it means keeping his boyfriend curled up with him for a little longer.

Though, it does make him realize something. "Y'know... before long those spikes are going to start shredding your clothes." He chews on his lip a little, twisting beneath Prompto enough to meet those pretty cornflower eyes. "Iggy might be able to figure something out but-"

Noctis' gaze gets more serious for a moment, fingers curled tightly around Prompto's fingers. He knows how body shy Prompto is, he even understands a little bit of why. Maybe even some part of him suspects that his own careless words might have contributed to that. "He'd probably need to see what he's working with."

At least Prompto's less skittish about people seeing his back. Maybe he can just tug the back of his shirt up and then Ignis wouldn't need to see any of the parts that worry Prom so much.

"Fiiiiiiine, sheesh!"

Prompto lets out an extra-dramatic sigh, just for Noct, and finally concedes. He snuggles underneath the blanket with his boyfriend, happy to just bask in their shared warmth and closeness. It makes him wonder just how extra-cuddly Noct will be should all that fur keep coming in as it is...Well, as long as Prompto doesn't get too spiky. Cuddling might become a problem at the rate he is going, which is an awful thought.

Even more awful is the reality of the spikes already coming in, which Noct brings up. Not only do they itch and ache, but they'll probably only get larger, until he cannot wear clothes at all. Not normally, anyway. Prompto does not want to be seen like that, and absolutely refuses to go topless. He can't, really- and Noct of course knows that and is right there and ready to hold his hand talking through it. He really doesn't deserve such a wonderful boyfriend, he thinks.

Then Ignis specifically is brought into the picture, and the entire conversation, for Prompto, shifts. He knew this talk would happen eventually, but not exactly when. He takes a long, slow breath, and gathers his courage and the words from Gladio about making the best possible outcome happen. He has to try, and stop worrying about the what-ifs.

"So, that isn't going to be too much of a problem, Noct. Not with Ignis. Or with Gladdy. I've been trying to think of how to explain this to you, but...They- we- uh," he panics a little, and has to steady out, giving Noctis' hand a squeeze. "I'm dating both of them. Have been for a while. When you were taken away, I fought out alone in the dark for, heck, three years? We all drifted apart, doing our own part to try and keep the world running without the sun around. Insane, long story short, somehow we all got tossed into a computer sim of some kind, and lived there for a year. I know it probably sounds like a crappy scifi flick but...it's how we re connected. Even with Iggy being from another time. Heck, Gladdy is a year ahead of me too. But from what he says, we weren't really talking a lot back in Eos four years in of you being gone either. It's only because of the weird computer world."

The expression on Prompto's face twists into one of guilt. Despite his stifling loneliness and battered heart, he still feels like he let Noct down by admitting his feelings to Gladio and Ignis. Betrayed him in some way. "I never thought I'd see you again. Or that when I did, everything would change so suddenly. That you wouldn't remember as much as me, too. I got scared of telling you about this, thought wow, we all will be together again and then it will never, ever be like it was. I'm...I'm sorry, Noct. I just didn't want to hurt you. But waiting to say this would hurt more. I wanna be a part of making sure this is the best possible outcome. That we can all be happy. Even if it's weird at first."

Prompto has no doubts that Gladio and Ignis have their own feelings for Noct- but that is something he needs to feel out first, and mostly allow the others to discuss on their own. Maybe nudge it in the right direction, if he can.

Honestly, Noct begins to smile at first, glad to see his friend has come to trust Ignis and Gladio both enough to talk himself out of some of his anxieties. But the spike in Prompto's nerves is almost palpable as he begins to stammer a little.

I'm dating both of them. It's such a wild incongruous thought that Noctis almost laughs. It just seems so absurd. Not because Prompto isn't amazing but because the idea of Prompto ever getting the nerve to ask someone out is bizarre. Especially someone he thinks is so much cooler and badass like Ignis or Gladio. But that his soft sweet boyfriend could ever be the type to be a cheater? Not a chance in hell.

The more he goes on the more clear that becomes. He'd been alone for so long, he'd thought Noct wasn't coming back. Prompto's issues might be very different than Noct's own but he could definitely see how that would break him, send him spiralling into depression, maybe some kind of manic self-destruction. Noct can't really blame him for reaching out for others in that situation. Is glad he allowed himself that, really.

But there's still.... that isn't what happened. It was some weird computer sim thing? That is even more confusing. There's so much that doesn't make sense and that he needs to address here but there's a part of him that just wants to curl up and sulk, to stew in the stinging ache in his chest and the roiling jealousy beneath it.

Noctis relaxes, slumps back onto his stomach, reaches out to snatch one of those down pillows and bury his face in it for a long moment. Some of that sting is soothed by the fact that it wasn't immediate. It took years and something upending their existence. It wasn't like Prompto just jumped Gladio the moment Noct was out of the picture. (Could he really blame him if he had though?)

Just because he can't process all of this and look his boyfr -can he even really still say that?- Prompto in the eye doesn't mean he wants him to leave. Noctis knows the blond well enough to know that he will take this as some form of rejection the longer and more quiet he is so he threads their fingers together, squeezes his hand and keeps Propmto's arm around him. Gradually, though he lets out a long breath and finally speaks, words muffled in the pillow.

"You can't lie for shit so I'm.... assuming they both know?"

Edited 2024-10-22 17:42 (UTC)

And there it is. Prompto can feel his heart start to sink as Noct buries his face in the pillows, and the squeeze to his hand and the fact Noctis wants him to stay where he is speaks volumes and soothes so much of his anxiety. His expression becomes confused with his boyfriend(?)'s question, though, and he dials it back for a second. That was a whole lot he just said and with his emotions as they are, perhaps he didn't make a ton of sense.

"Know? We're...All dating one another," Prompto says, feeling shame at the thought of this coming off as some kind of betrayal. "As a group."

He gives Noct's hand a squeeze back, shifting in place as he finds his words again.

"It was three years of us being apart back in Eos for me, and four for Gladio. When you went away, the sun did too. It's a lot, I know. The world was dark and overrun by daemons. We all worked to keep people going and adapting, but separately. I guess just how we all coped." There's more to it on Gladio's end, but that isn't for Prompto to tell. "I think it was the end of year three when I woke up in the simulation. Last thing I remembered was...Going to sleep. The days all blended together with no sun around. I, um...Wasn't doing great by then. With you gone. With everyone gone."

"But...You know what?" Prompto can feel his heart guiding him where he feels he needs to be. "There's one thing that never changed during the time alone on Eos, or on the simulation, or now. How I always felt about you." Prompto murmurs, planting a kiss on Noct's shoulder. "In fact I realized just how deep it all ran being forced apart for so long. Wasn't a single night I didn't think of you, Noct. It was like a chunk of me was just gone. Finding you here, my world feels whole again. I still don't fully believe it. I-" his voice cracks a little. "I love you. More than I needed the sun in the sky, I needed you home. It's stupid and corny but I don't think there's words that really say enough about how much I- I love you."

As a group he says and Noct can't help the little voice that immediately supplies without me. But he shakes his head, presses his face into the pillow a little harder and tries to rein in the darker thoughts that come with this revelation. He's not even sure what exactly he's jealous of.

What right does he have to be upset, anyway? He's supposed to be marrying someone else and yeah sure they talked about it, it wasn't really a choice for anyone involved but this....

Noctis finally pulls himself out of his pillow, twisting around in Prompto's arms to fully face the blond this time. How could he do any less when Prompto sounds so much like he's going to cry. One hand moves to cradle his boyfriend's cheek and he tries to give him a smile, sad though it is. "Hey... I love you too." Soft and reassuring, or at least as best as he can manage. "I- don't know what to say exactly. I dunno... feel guilty for leaving you for so long, whatever happened there."

It's not fair but it is what it is and... the important thing is that Prompto has the support and love he needs, everything he deserves. Even if it means Noct can't give it to him.

"I-Noct, it was never your fault. So, please don't feel guilty. On any of our behalfs. I just knew one day, you'd come home. That was what I always held on to." Prompto leans into the hand Noctis puts on his cheek, trying not to squeeze his eyes shut and look away, guilt (which he knows, deep down is unfair to himself) roiling in his stomach.

What can he even say, either? He probably just broke his other half's heart. Prompto tries his best to keep his thoughts ahead. On what can possibly be, past this difficult patch. This is the hard part before things just might look up in ways none of them would have dreamt of before. This doesn't change how much he loves Noctis.

It doesn't make his heart ache any less to see Noct like this, however. To wonder if this was all a mistake. He leans forward, pressing his lips to Noctis' in a gentle, soulful kiss. Words don't need to be the only thing to tell feelings between them. They can't be, not at a time like this. So he stays there, lingering for a while, and looks almost a bit sad when he breaks it.

"I don't think I wanna go running right now. That ok?"

"Been tryin' to get you to stay here all morning." Noct murmurs softly against Prompto's lips, tipping his head after those words to press another soft, lingering kiss to his lips. Once they part Noctis curls even closer, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend. He's quiet for a long time, turning things over in his head, trying to fit the pieces together.

"They.... They've been dating for awhile haven't they?" Now, looking at things with that idea in mind... it makes a lot of things click into place that had never felt out of place at the time but make more sense in hindsight. Especially given what Ignis had asked about when Noct mentioned them sharing a room.

Sharing a room...

"Do you... want to stay in the other room with them?" Y'know. Instead of here with him.

Oh, the world is dark

Your sad blue eyes like mine (Prompto) (CW: very mildly spicy)

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