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Cold air held strange associations for Prompto. Too often it still reminded him of falling off a train with the image of Noct's hate-filled face frozen in the forefront of his mind.
But it hadn't always been that way. The snow used to be for snowball fights and teasing Gladio about having to wear a shirt, and Iggy about his scarf collection. It used to mean cold noses and warm cocoa and Noct pulling him back to his place when Prompto's parents were gone (as usual). Cold meant snow falling outside a frosted window and sitting with Noctis in front of a fireplace, knees touching. Winter used to remind him of the first time it was more than knees that touched, that first clumsy press of chapped lips against his and Noct's warm breath on his cheek. Prompto wanted that back. He wanted those memories to be what his mind called up when the air went frigid.
Snow didn't have to mean something grim and dark anymore. Noctis was home, and he'd brought the sun back with him. Maybe it was Prom's turn to remind everyone what they should bring back, too. It wasn't as if they'd forgotten Festivus - there were scattered decorations put up by the city, in places that had been repaired or hadn't been ruined. But it wasn't exactly a shopping depot, and Noctis was busy trying to set the world right now that he'd saved it, Ignis helping and Gladio standing watch. Prompto flitted around on the edges of them, like he had in the beginning. He'd forgotten how to be part of a unit a little, in the years he'd spent going off on his own.
Prompto had missed the others every day while they were apart. But he'd gotten used to independence, too. He had his own duties, (such as they were) but he could be spared, for a couple of days. If he asked, he knew Noctis wouldn't say no. That was one thing that had never changed. Noctis still rarely ever told Prompto no, and Prompto still couldn't bring himself to ask for too much.
It wasn't the Regalia he took when he left. It'd been rescued and Cindy was in the process of putting her back together with painstaking care. It was a sturdy old truck he'd kept running on wire and effort for years. He had a little more means now with supply lines that weren't constantly stalked by daemons, but it was still a worn thing. He was attached to it though, and he wanted something that wouldn't stand out too much for this trip anyway. He set out the next morning, leaving the others behind again. Maybe this time he wouldn't have to keep doing it anymore.
***
Ignis listened as Prompto's battered truck vanished down the road and out of the city, the rattle of rickety suspension audible past when it should be. There was no need to fear for him anymore, and Prompto had proven himself more than capable anyway. His worries were of a less tangible sort than safety. But he still wished that Prom had taken something a little less decrepit.
The last ten years had been hard on them all. They had done their best, but Ignis regretted that their best had ended up being scattered, instead of together. Without Noctis there to tie them, Prompto had fallen away, un-tethered, and Ignis and Gladio had settled into a rut of surviving instead of taking any time to live. Without Prompto or Noctis, their hearts had been missing, perhaps. It was a sentimental notion, but Ignis was more prone to those these days.
He had failed to try to keep them together, and hadn't let Prompto know that he was needed for more than his guns, or Gladio for more than his shield and sword. But the world was no longer made up of everlasting, deadly night, even if Ignis' was forever dark. They were all safe, and together. In that time before Altissa, they'd been drawing toward something rare and real, the four of them. It had been temporary and forbidden, Noct's betrothal looming on the horizon. But even then, Ignis had hope. Luna had been a beautiful, loving woman. He thought perhaps she could have had room in her heart for more than Noctis too.
With that possibility gone, there was still the four of them. And they could mend what Ignis had let get threadbare and rent asunder for far too long. It was the season for it, after all. The longest of natural nights passing, turning to shorter nights and longer days, the end of winter looming and the start of something new.
The city was still a battlefield in the process of being reminded it had been more than that. There were few things of luxury or frivolity to be found. But the one thing Ignis always knew how to find was food. And food could always make an occasion. It was something Ignis could still give to the men he cared for, even if he hadn't managed it enough in those lost years.
He saw to it that Noctis had his schedule for the next day, and that he was well looked after by Ignis' new assistant - a wry-voiced young veteran of the war with a remarkably organized mind - and then took his leave. It was always best to get to the markets early, before the best stock had sold.
***
Ignis had taken his cane with him. He only did that these days when he was planning to be in a crowd of people, where the cane made it simpler to cut through the milling throngs. Gladio didn't ask, since if Iggy wanted him to know he'd have said something. But he did watch as Ignis strode away, admiring the determined line of his shoulders, the rhythmic tap-tap-tap of the cane. Ignis had never stopped being a wonder to watch, even if Gladio had fallen out of the habit too often. It was easy to forget to really look at things when everything was nothing but gloom.
It'd been easy to forget a lot of things. There had only been scattered handful of nights he and Ignis had spent together, even fewer when Prom was in town. It seemed like time wasted now, to Gladio, but he didn't know how to broach it when everyone still tiptoed around Noct, aware of how close they'd come to losing him. That would have busted something in all of them that they couldn't have put back together, he knew.
"Is something wrong?" Noctis' voice - deeper and rougher now, and Gladio still wasn't used to it - broke into his thoughts.
When Gladio looked at him, Noctis' clear eyes were watching where Ignis had gone, too. He looked confused, maybe hurt. It had to be hard, to come back to people who'd changed ten years on you. "He's just got something to do."
"Yeah." Noct slumped back at his father's desk - his desk now, Gladio supposed. Sometimes it still felt like they were playacting at being their dads. "I just thought … you know. Since it's Festivus … maybe … but Prom took off and now Ignis." He blew out a breath. "It was probably stupid anyway right? Like we don't have enough to do."
Noctis had become someone self assured and eloquent. In public. But around them, he was still the guy who second guessed his own choices and didn't know what he was doing. He still pouted when he was unhappy, too. Even with the new gray in his hair, the stubble on his cheeks, it gave him a baby face. Gladio couldn't help but smile seeing it, and Noctis just looked more annoyed. "Never mind," he muttered.
"Hey, no. You're right. We should do something, when they get back. The four of us, right?" Noct looked up, hopeful. "I've got an idea. I was going to save it, but I think I can get it done. You think you can not die for the rest of the day, let me go get it together?" Gladio asked, eyebrow lifting.
Noctis snorted. "I think I can manage," he said, sour-voiced, but with a hint of a smile curling up his mouth.
Gladio leaned in impulsively and kissed that wry smile. Noctis' eyes met his, startled, and he kissed back. Gladio could taste relief and longing there. It was the first time since Noctis had come back that Gladio had kissed him when it wasn't with the rush of battle still in their veins. He'd missed it. He missed all of them. He'd forgotten how much Noct must miss them too. The magic in his blood made him too alone already. "See you soon, my King," he said softly. He winked and Noct rolled his eyes, giving a lazy wave of dismissal, just to be an asshole. Gladio pulled out his phone, preparing to do a whole lot of groveling for a rush job Cindy wasn't going to want to rush at all.
*****
The car was one of the crown's, and it'd been locked up in storage, so it was in relatively good shape. Gladio drove it to Hammerhead with the windows down and for once left the radio channels off, not scanning for news or trouble out of habit. Cindy was waiting for him, a splash of yellow with a sunny smile. She gave him shit straight off for rushing her about it, but she'd come through, just like he'd known she would.
The Regalia was gleaming and in one piece, rich black coat and every little bit and bob they'd had welded and added on to her that made her uniquely theirs firmly in place. Gladio stroked her hood like a favored pet, and thanked Cindy, promising to send someone to drive the other car back tomorrow. Before he left, Cid pushed a wrapped package into his hand and ordered him to deliver it to the King. At Cindy's repeated nudging, he muttered something about a Happy Festivus before disappearing back into the garage. Gladio hugged Cindy and climbed behind the wheel, the Regalia purring to life and swinging out onto the road, familiar as his own skin.
He called Prompto and Ignis, leaving messages to make sure to be back by morning, and then set back out for home.
***
Prompto looked from Ignis to Gladio, disbelief in his expression. Late morning was creeping up and Noctis had just finished his last meeting of the day. He'd headed downstairs to meet with Gladio after getting a text telling him to when he heard voices and lingered on the landing, watching and eavesdropping. "We all had the same idea?" Prompto asked, disbelieving.
"It's not so surprising. We spent a great deal of time together, after all. It's only natural we'd think along similar lines," Ignis said.
"We haven't spent that much time together the last few years, Iggy," Gladio said quietly.
All three of them looked down, uncomfortable. But it was Ignis who cleared his throat and answered, equally soft-voiced. "I know. And I regret that. I've missed you. All of you. We lost Noct for so long. It seems … pointless now that we allowed ourselves to lose one another too."
"Yeah," Gladio said, abrupt in the way he always was when he felt awkward.
Prom spoke too fast, trying to fill in the momentary silence. "But it's over now. And we have Noct back, so we don't have to - we could - if you want."
"We all want. Noct too, I think. Right?" Gladio raised his voice and looked over his shoulder to where Noct lurked.
Noctis flushed at being caught, but raised his chin, unapologetic. "Yeah. I don't … I don't want to do this alone. I want to do it with you three. Always."
Prompto rushed at him, wiry-strong arms wrapping around him as he kissed Noctis, fierce and loving. "Noct …"
There was a wealth of emotion in his voice and Noctis tipped his head against Prompto's. "Yeah," he said. He felt the same way. In a moment Gladio's arm slipped around his waist, Ignis' across his shoulders, the four of them huddled together, grasping at one another like lifelines. Noctis felt at home for the first time since he'd miraculously survived that sword's press of power through him. This was where he belonged - with the three of them. Together, they could do anything.
Minutes passed before Noctis finally asked slowly. "So … what did you all do?"
Gladio chuckled. "Roadtrip," he said.
"I've cleared your schedule. And made enough food to take us the whole way," Ignis said, pointing toward an impressive hamper full of wrapped food sitting on the table nearby.
"I got Cindy to step up her repairs. The Regalia's back in action. The four of us, driving down open roads - at night, even. Stopping to fish …" Gladio said, trailing off.
"At Galdin Quay," Prompto finished. "I tracked down Dino. He owed me a favor and found me a boat that still floats. So we can go fishing out on the water. Where no one will bother us."
Noctis' felt his face burning and his eyes stinging. "That … sounds like a lot of stuff for me."
"It is for all of us," Ignis said, leaning in to kiss him swiftly too, then tipping his lean frame against Gladio, who propped him up gladly.
"The fishing is maybe more for you," Prompto admitted cheerfully. "But we all loved it out on the water, so I thought it'd be good for us all. Then we can, you know, make out while you're absorbed with fish."
Noctis and Ignis laughed as Gladio rolled his eyes, smirking. "Don't worry about not getting anything, Noct. You got us the world, that's a pretty big gift," Gladio said.
Noctis swallowed. "Who said I didn't?" He pulled out the wrapped package Cid had sent with Gladio, and then drew a knife from his Arminger, cutting it neatly open.
Inside were four metalwork pendants on ]chains. The bore the royal seal, layered over with a new design - guns, a shield, and daggers. It was the whole of Noctis' royal family, in one pendant. Noctis took one and hung it around Gladio's neck. All four of them were quiet as he put the other three on the rest of them. They were weighty things, and Noctis liked that about them. When he put his own on, it felt like an anchor - a tie that linked him to the others. As real a sign of who he wanted to give his life to as any ring would be, even if he didn't know how to say it the right way, not to them. Noctis and words had never been great friends with stuff like this.
Ignis finally spoke up, voice a bit strangled with emotion. "Thank you, Noctis. Shall we go?" he asked. His hand found Noct's. On the other side, Prom's fingers wound with his. Gladio's fingers touched the back of his neck.
Noctis smiled wider than he had since before the crystal. "Yeah. Yeah, let's go."
Prompto whooped, kissing Ignis and then yelping "shotgun!" as he raced ahead. Noct laughed again, following after, feeling lighter - like the boy he hadn't been in years.
~~