Chapter Text
He saw it before he even registered what it was he was seeing exactly. One minute he was joking with Prompto about the not too inconspicuous Kingsglaive tailing them and the next his attention was taken by a small animal wandering to the edge of the street. He watched the puppy roll off the curb and under a car.
Prompto had finally noticed Noct’s silence in what usually their favorite walk to the Citadel game and looked for what had stolen his attention. He saw the puppy as well but unlike his friend he then focused on the red light and the stopping cars at the crosswalk they were at.
“It'll be fine, Noct. Everyone is stopped at the light.” He knew how Noct got around animals and was going to try and stop it before it got started.
His friend gave no sign he'd even heard him. He was focused on the small puppy wobbling along. Then his attention was taken by the sound of an engine. A large truck was speeding down the road, followed by the blaring horns of other cars cut off as it ran previous red lights.
Prompto started to try and get Noctis’ attention, tried to turn him away from the road and what was likely about to happen. Instead he saw Noct pulling off his school pack and had a moment to process what was about to happen before he had to watch his friend and Crown Prince throw the pack in the way of a speeding truck.
Noctis hurled the pack over one of the parked cars on the side of the road and where he hoped that small puppy was. He had an idea that Prompto was warning him not to do what he was about to do but warped after his pack instead. He rolled with the landing and quickly grabbed the dog.
A blaring horn bright his attention back to the truck and he fumbled for his bag and tossed is against the side of another car on the side of the street before following it into a warp with his furry passenger.
He felt himself flow back into existence and slam against the side of the car next to his school bag, and he quickly curled up around the puppy in his arms. The truck that almost hit them slammed on the breaks and came to a stop in the middle of the intersection. The driver slammed his door open and was cursing before he even left the vehicle.
People were starting to stare and while Noctis usually tried to avoid the spotlight, this time he stood up to the man coming towards him. He quickly got to his feet, keeping a firm grasp on the puppy. There were few things he was willing to brave public interaction for but people endangering animals was one of them.
“What do you think you're doing, brat? Jumping in the middle of the road? Do you have a death wish, because I could help you with that without you needing to jump into the road.”
“You were speeding, had run several red lights before this one, and were about to hit an animal,” Noctis said coldly.
“It's just a stupid dog, there's plenty inside the wall. One less isn't a crime.”
By this point the Kingsglaive that had been shadowing him had warped over and heard the conversation. Prompto was by his side as well, nervously shuffling at the eyes on them as well as the multiple camera phones he could see.
“You don't even know who you almost hit do you? I could care less about traffic violations, that's for the police. I could have even made a case to the Kingsglaive here that you didn't really mean to threaten the Crown Prince, but blatantly disregarding an innocent life is just deplorable and I honestly feel no regret in letting them do their jobs.”
The man had gone significantly paler throughout his little speech and he felt some satisfaction when the Glavies with him took the man into custody. It might have been petty but he did threaten his life and the Crown took all threats seriously. So instead he enjoyed the moment, smiled at the wiggling puppy in his arms and turned to take his bag from Prompto.
“Oh my gods, Noct, don't you ever do that again. I'm like ninety percent sure my heart stopped. Gods, you warped into traffic. Iggy and Gladio are gonna kill me.”
The puppy had started chewing on his finger with his small teeth so Noctis was only half listening to his friends rambling bit had the sense of mind to correct him. “They won't. Tell them why and they'll know right away that there was nothing you could have done. Even the Kingsglaive wouldn't stop me.”
Prompto started walking back towards the Citadel, trying to ignore the sirens and phones still pointed their way. He pulled Noct alone with him and quickly decided his home was closer. “Mind going to my place? We can call you a ride from there.”
When Noct was silent on the decision he glanced back at his friend and saw him still smiling down at the puppy as it tried to lick every finger offered to it. It was stupidly adorable.
“Man, offer you an unmarked van with baby animals inside and Lucis would need a new Prince.”
“Hey,” Noct finally looked up front the dog in his arms and agreed to head to Prompto house. He called Ignis and let him know the situation as well as telling him where to find him.
“You didn't mention the dog,” Prompto said as he unlocked his door and ushered the pair inside. “You know he's not gonna let you keep it.”
“That's okay,” and he tried to pretend it was but both Prompto and himself knew it wasn't. “I'll just be okay knowing that she's okay. It might not be a big thing in the grand scheme of it all but for now I'm just happy to know that she's alright.”