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“Are you sure he’s going to be okay?” Prompto asked for what was probably the fiftieth time, spinning around in the seat and pushing himself to his knees so he could see better. It was so dark though, he couldn’t see much of anything anyway, even if he leaned over the seat and squinted. Last time he had leaned too far and almost fallen over the back of the seat and onto Gladio before Noct swatted him away.
“He’ll be fine,” Noct told him again from where he was pressed up against the far side of the car, Gladio’s prone bulk taking up most of the backseat even with his head on Noct’s lap. “We’ll get somewhere safe where he can rest up for a few days and he’ll be as good as ever.”
“Yeah, but what if he’s not?” Prompto asked, eyes raking over Gladio’s far too still form. The first three times Prompto had inquired after him, Gladio had grunted something vague at him in response. The last forty-seven times, however, he had been quiet. Too quiet. Maybe Noct should check to make sure he wasn’t dead. “Maybe we should take him to an actual doctor somewhere.”
“We barely go him to the car. How do you propose we get him past an Imperial Blockade?”
Okay, but Lestallum had to have a doctor or something. And being in the bumpy car probably wasn’t doing Gladio any good. He’d probably feel a lot better once they got Gladio somewhere safe and stationary. “Can’t you drive any faster?” he asked, looking towards Ignis.
“If you wish us all to perish in a fiery crash, certainly.”
He groaned and turned his attention to the backseat, arms hanging over the back of the headrest. “Hang in there, Big Guy,” he said, patting Gladio’s knee lightly, which should have gotten him some type of reaction, but Gladio didn’t have as much as flinch.
“What’s the big deal, anyway?” Noct asked him. “Last week I had my throat nearly ripped out by a Voretooth, and you took a picture.”
The big deal was it was his fault. And not in a tiny, I made a small mistake kind of way, but composedly his fault. That hit that had nearly taken Gladio out had been intended for him, but Gladio just had to go and intercept it. And he couldn’t dodge out of the way himself because he had been too busy taking a picture. And they didn’t have a potion to give to Gladio because Ignis had insisted that Prompto take the last one less than five minutes before that. And they had gotten down to their last potion because Prompto had volunteered to restock their supplies of curatives at the last outpost and then he… hadn’t. So it was irrevocably his fault that Gladio was potentially dying in their backseat. He couldn’t tell Noct any of that though, because Noct would just placate him and tell him that it wasn’t his fault, and he had nothing to worry about because Gladio was going to be just fine.
“Just… don’t let him die on us, buddy,” he said, awkwardly patting the head rest. It just wasn’t right. Technically, that should have been him back there, not Gladio. He felt worse than useless. Ignis was driving them somewhere they could be safe. Noct was doing his best to make sure that Gladio was comfortable and doing what he could to ease some of the pain. Which at the moment seemed to consist solely of letting Gladio use his lap as a pillow. Then there was him, kneeling in the passenger seat and doing nothing except wring his hands and chastise himself for letting Gladio get in this predicament in the first place.
“Why don’t you help Ignis watch for daemons?” Noct suggested. “With two sets of eyes watching for danger, we might be able to get there faster.”
That wasn’t true. Even if the roads were clear, the car could only get there so fast. With the headlights Cindy had installed for them, no daemons would come anywhere near the Regalia. Still, he turned around and put his butt firmly in the seat. Noct had only suggested it so he would feel like he had something important to do. Like he was contributing to keeping Gladio alive instead of nearly killing him. He’d play along any way, if only because staring at Gladio’s prone form was doing nothing for any of them. He chanced a glance in the sideview mirror, and felt a stab of pain when he didn’t see Gladio behind him. This wasn’t like the last time. This was way worse. The last time had been hard enough when he didn’t know if Gladio was going to come back. This time Gladio could actually die.
“We’re here,” Ignis announced as the car slowed, and they pulled under the bright lights of a rest station.
“What are you talking about?” Prompto asked as he looked around the station. The lights weren’t even that bright, and they only covered an area barely big enough for a shop and a caravan. “There’s no hotel here.” Gladio deserved the best comfort in the world to rest up in, especially if they wanted him to survive.
“It’s the only safe place for miles,” Ignis told him as he pulled into a parking spot and turned the car off.
“But...” he started to protest, but Ignis was already getting out of the car and walking away. Noct was trying to pry himself out from underneath Gladio to get out the door.
“I’ll go make the arrangements,” Ignis called over his shoulder. “Prompto, Noct, get Gladio into the caravan.”
“But...” he tried to protest again, but no one was listening to him. It was like no one else cared about Gladio’s comfort except for him. He wasn’t even sure how Noct was supposed to get Gladio out of the car. Were they just going to let Gladio die in the backseat?
“Prompto,” Gladio said quietly from behind him, and he almost fell into the drivers seat in his haste to turn around. He would do anything if Gladio were to ask it of him. “This is fine.”
It wasn’t fine though. He could see how much effort it took for him to get out of the car, even with Noct’s support. They would be lucky enough if Gladio stayed conscious long enough to make it to the caravan steps, let alone into the bed. And once again, he could do nothing to help. All he could do was sit there uselessly and stare.
“Prompto, can you open the door?” Noct asked from underneath Gladio’s arm. He had one arm wrapped around Gladio’s waist as Gladio half-stumbled, half let Noct drag him towards the caravan.
“Right,” he said, hopping out of the car without bothering with the door. He dashed over to the caravan and pushed the door open. Maybe he shouldn’t have hurried over there quite so fast, because Gladio and Noct were no where’s near the door, and now he had to watch them make their way slowly towards him. Gladio didn’t seem able to stand upright, and Noct seemed to be struggling with his weight. But Noct had asked him to get the door, not help with Gladio, and he couldn’t very well hold the door and Gladio at the same time. Gladio lifted his head, his gaze fixating on Prompto, and his heart froze in his chest. He knew Gladio was going to blame him for this, and he had every right to. But to see it in the intensity of his gaze as they took the last few steps towards the caravan was disheartening. He lowered his eyes as the two of them passed him by, and Noct navigated Gladio into the bedroom and onto the bed. There would be no coming back from this one. He had always hoped that Gladio had only been teasing him about being completely useless, but now he was probably going to think if for real. Noct gave up on trying to get the blanket out from underneath Gladio and came back out into the main area with Prompto.
“Why don’t you go talk to him?” Noct suggested, gesturing over his shoulder.
“Do you think he wants to talk to me?” he asked, peering behind Noct to look at Gladio stretched out on the bed. He could almost force himself to pretend that Gladio had simply collapsed at the end of a long day.
“I think he’s pretty unconscious. But I think it can’t hurt for him to hear your voice.”
“I don’t see how that’s going to help,” he said, turning away and rubbing his hands up and down his arms. He would go in there eventually, but he would only go in to sleep. And he would make sure to stay as far away from Gladio as the bed would allow, which was going to be difficult since Gladio was right in the middle. Noct looked like he was going to question him on that, but he was saved by Ignis’ arrival with his and Noct’s bags.
“How is Gladio faring?” he asked.
“I’m just going to go get my stuff,” Prompto said, darting out the door before he could hear Noct’s response. He had no doubt Noct was putting on a brave face for his sake, but he was much more likely to be brutally honest with Ignis. He would have to be, if Ignis was going to treat Gladio. Ignis knew what he was doing. He spent years studying in case something like that should happen to Noct. He made his way over to the car and put his palms on it, leaning against it just for a moment. He needed a minute before he went back inside. He needed to get his emotions in check, because he didn’t want to send any negative vibes Gladio’s way. Ignis would get Gladio well again in no time. Gladio was going to survive, and then he was going to hate him forever and probably never talk to him again. Well, he was going to have to deal with it sometime. He grabbed his bag from the car and after a moment’s hesitation, grabbed Gladio’s as well. He might not need it right now, but he might want it later. Better to have it available then to make Gladio walk for it later. The more he did for Gladio now, the more likely he would be to talk to him again later.
He made his way back into the caravan, hoping Noct once Ignis wouldn’t ask why he had been gone for so long. They had made their way to the table, talking in low tones, probably to keep from disturbing Gladio too much.
“Why don’t you put Gladio’s bag in the bedroom then come join us?” Noct suggested as Prompto hovered in the doorway, unsure of which way to turn.
“Right,” he said, hurrying into the bedroom, trying to be quiet which of course meant that his bag caught on the door frame and sent him stumbling into the foot of the bed. He cursed himself, then flinched for making even more noise. Gladio didn’t seem to have noticed any of it thought, or if he did he was too far gone to care. He dropped Gladio’s bag off beside the bed and made his way back to the kitchen area. Where he stood at the edge of the table, gaze darting back and forth between the two of them who had decided to sit on opposite sides of the table.
“Have a seat, Prompto,” Ignis said, and for lack of anything else, he dropped his bag and plopped down on the bench next to Noct. “I’ve secured accommodations here for us for the next three days-”
“Three days? Are you sure Gladio will be ready to travel by then?” They shouldn’t move Gladio until he was one hundred percent ready. They didn’t want to reinjure him and have him be killed later down the line. Trying to protect him again.
“As I was saying. We’ll stay here for three nights. This station doesn’t have much in the way of curatives, so tomorrow I’ll go to the next and get us some more.”
He wanted to protest that Gladio might not make it that long, but he kept quiet since Noct and Ignis didn’t seem to want to hear it.
“Noct will take the bed with Gladio for the night.”
Prompto glanced back and forth between them at this change of events. Why did Noct get the bed all of a sudden? Did they think he wouldn’t be capable of taking care of Gladio?
“Shouldn’t I share the bed with Gladio?” he asked, trying not to sound too eager. “I mean, that’s what’s he used to. Shouldn’t we try to keep things familiar for him? To make him more comfortable?”
“No offense, Prompto, but I’ve been on the receiving end of one of your nighttime death grips,” Noct said from beside him, placing his hand on his arm. “I doubt that’s going to make him more comfortable.”
“You never know,” he mumbled, but he didn’t have any good reasons to offer them. Maybe he was thinking more of his own comfort than Gladio’s. Gladio did have a tendency to shove him out of the bed when he woke up on top of him. There were the few exceptions, but he wouldn’t count on them. And he supposed Gladio could injure himself further if he tried to throw him out of the bed.
“Don’t worry, Prompto,” Ignis said from across the table. “I’ll let you have the couch.”
“Yeah, thanks.” He got up from the table and made his way over to the couch, sinking down on it slowly. At least from that position he couldn’t see into the bedroom. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Except Gladio was never out of mind, no matter how far away he might be.
“I’m beat,” Noct said, stretching his arms over his head. “I think I’m going to call it a night.” It had been a long day for all of them, and going to sleep might just help him forget about Gladio. By morning, Gladio might be well on his way to recovery. Noct stopped by Prompto’s bag on his way through, and he couldn’t even bring himself to care. Not that they had any secrets from each other, at least none that Noct would be able to suss out by rummaging through his stuff. Noct pulled out Promptos’ chocobo plush and tossed it at him. He caught it, pulling the plush close to his chest. “There you go. It’s cuddlier than Gladio and won’t toss you off the couch in the morning.”
“Yeah, whatever,” he said. He shouldn’t be so dismissive of Noct. He was only trying to be helpful and make him feel better. He could make it up to him tomorrow. Noct seemed to understand anyway, since he walked by without further comment and into the bedroom. His attuned ears heard the springs creak in the bed as Noct sat down, the soft twin thuds as his boots hit the ground, and then his quiet sigh as he stretched out beside Gladio.
Ignis left the table and was laying his sleeping roll down on the ground. “Try not to fret too much, Prompto,” Ignis said as he sat down on the sleeping roll. “You’ll be much more useful to Gladio if you’re well-rested.”
“Alright,” he said, squirming down on the couch, turning his back towards the caravan. He held his chocobo plush tight to his chest as he tried to curl in on himself. He had forgotten to grab a blanket but it wasn’t so cold in there that it shouldn’t make much of a difference. He tried to ignore the sounds of the others, Ignis behind him, Gladio’s soft breathing from the bedroom, and Noct subtly shifting around in the bed next to Gladio. He didn’t think he would be able to sleep, but he was out before he knew it.
~*~*~
When he woke the next morning, he could tell from the near silence in the caravan that he was the first one to stir. He loosened the death grip he had on his plush, and stretched his legs out. When his boots ran into the wall on the far end of the sofa, everything that happened the day before came back to him in a rush. He hadn’t even bothered to get changed, none of them had. He tried to be quiet as he slipped off the couch and made his way to the bedroom divider. He was just going to check on Gladio, to make sure he was still doing okay. It wasn’t like he was worried about him or anything. Or worried that Noct wasn’t taking the absolute best care of him. He padded softly past Ignis, being careful not to wake him.
He crept to the barrier that Noct had left partially open and peered inside. Gladio had not tossed Noct to the floor, but he did seem to still be asleep. Gladio had rolled over to his side at some point and had one arm slung around Noct’s middle, pulling him close. Noct could sleep through anything, but he didn’t seem to be protesting or be uncomfortable or anything. It didn’t mean anything. Gladio was a well known sleep cuddler. He was too. That was why Ignis and Noct both preferred for him and Gladio to share a bed, because they might as well cling to each other instead of making the other two suffer. So it shouldn’t matter that Gladio was practically curled around Noct, his face mere inches from the prince’s hair. They were both sleeping. It didn’t mean anything. And there was absolutely no reason why looking at them should cause a hollow ache in his chest.
He needed a run. That was exactly what he needed, a nice morning jog for the fresh air to clear his mind. It was so stuffy in that caravan with all four of them in there, even with Gladio out of commission. He side stepped around Ignis again and grabbed his camera and a go-to breakfast from his bag. A morning jog was just what the doctor ordered.
He stepped outside and took a deep breath. Which way to go? It didn’t really matter, so long as he stuck to the pathways and roads and remembered which way he was going. He would have to come back eventually.
He started out and once his feet got moving, instinct took over. This was familiar. This was just like every other morning, where he could forget about everything else. Just him, the pavement under his feet, the breeze in his hair. He did like the feeling of jogging through the country side, with all those fresh naturey smells. It was the kind of thing Gladio would have eaten up if he would have been out there jogging with him. He shook his head to clear it of such treacherous thoughts and forced himself to focus on his run instead. The sound his boots made as they struck the pavement, the steadiness of his breathing. Anything other than Gladio laid up back in the caravan.
He wasn’t sure how far he had gone, maybe a couple of miles, but he decided he had gone far enough and turned around. Ignis at least would be waking and would wonder where he had gone. He should have left a note. Noct would be worried about him. Thinking about Noct only though only reminded him of the image of Noct curled up in Gladio’s arms, and all of a sudden he lost his motivation to return. He was only about two thirds of the way back when he stopped. There was a bench at the parking spot, and he flopped down on it, pulling out the to-go breakfast he had grabbed. It wasn’t as good as anything Ignis would make, but he doubted anything would taste good at the moment.
So he choked down the dry breakfast bar and chastised himself for not bringing any water with him. He would just take a few minutes to let that lousy excuse for breakfast to digest and then he would go back. He pulled his camera out and started looking through the pictures from the day before. He had been so preoccupied with Gladio that he hadn’t the chance to look at them. Man, he took a lot of pictures of Gladio. Nearly three fourths of his pictures from the day before had Gladio featured in them in some way. Except for the last one. That last, ill-fated photo that had nearly cast Gladio his life. He quickly deleted it. He didn’t want a permanent reminder of that incident. He went back to an older picture of Gladio with Iris, one where he was happy and not wounded. He didn’t know how long he was sitting there staring until Noct sat down on the bench next to him. He quickly put the camera away.
“Hey,” Noct said, “we’ve been looking for you.”
“Yeah, sorry,” he said, placing a hand on the back of his head. “I thought I’d go for a jog.”
“Ignis and I are going to go get some stronger curatives. We’re going to need you to keep an eye on Gladio while we’re gone.”
“Wouldn’t you rather do it yourself?” he said rather tartly. He had to keep himself in check. It wasn’t Noct’s fault.
“As appealing as it sounds to stay in bed all day, Gladio was lucid for a little bit this morning and was asking for you.”
“Really?” Noct wouldn’t lie to him about something like that would he?
“Yeah, I had to give him that stupid plush of yours just to shut him up.”
“And he wants to see me?”
“Actually, he went back to sleep, but I’m sure when he wakes again, he’ll want to see you.”
That was good enough for him, and he and Noct walked at a brisk pace back to the outpost. Ignis was waiting for them outside the car.
“Good, you’ve returned. Prompto, do take good care of Gladio while we’re gone.” The two of them got in the car, with every intention of leaving him there with Gladio.
“What am I supposed to do?”
“Get him anything he might need if he wakes,” Ignis told him.
“Just keep him company,” Noct said at the same time and with that the two of them were driving away, leaving him standing alone outside the caravan. He should go inside, check on Gladio. He made his way softly, not wanting to disturb Gladio if he was resting. Everything was quiet inside the caravan, and when he peered into the bedroom, he saw Gladio sprawled out on the bed, the chocobo plush curled possessively in one of his arms. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do now. They told him to take care of Gladio and to give him anything he might need, but Gladio couldn’t really ask for anything while he was asleep. He sat down on the edge of the bed, his hands clasped between his knees. What to do, what to do?
“Hey, thanks for saving me back there, Big Guy,” he said, trying to keep his gaze fixated on the wall in front of him. “I know I don’t always show it, but I appreciate it.” No response, but he didn’t know how he would have reacted if Gladio would have responded. “We need you, Big Guy.” He chanced a glance over his shoulder, but Gladio was still asleep. “I need you,” he said more softly, hoping that Gladio wouldn’t hear him.
He saw Gladio’s bag in the corner, and he made his way over to it and pulled the most recent book out. If nothing else, he could read to Gladio for a little while. He crawled back up the bed, sitting down with his back against the pillows.
“I’ll keep your place, don’t worry.” Since he hadn’t read the book, he might as well start at the beginning for his own sake. He started reading aloud, making himself comfortable on the bed. He risked a glance down at Gladio, but he was still sleeping peacefully. There was no one else around, and Gladio wasn’t likely to remember any of this. He might never get a chance like this again. He leaned down to give Gladio a quick kiss right below his hairline. “Thanks again, Big Guy.”