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Keep it together. That’s all you have to do. Fake it till you make it. Unfortunately, Prompto repeating those phrases over and over in his head did nothing to make him feel any better. Every dip, jump, and dodge he’d execute as they took down their latest bounty shook up his stomach and made his head pound. Everyone else kept up just fine. Like they always did. But the four men knew each other well enough to be able to tell when something wasn’t right. And tell, they did.
“You okay, Prom?” Noctis asked, putting a hand on his back after they’d taken down the last enemy.
Prompto was leaning forward, hands braced against his knees and shoulders heaving. “Ah… Y-yeah. Yeah, all good,” he managed between breaths. “Kinda hot out today.”
Noctis gave him a look. The weather, as a matter of fact, was wonderful that day. They’d finally been given a reprieve from the scorching heat and they all noted it that very morning. “What? It’s way better than it has been.”
“Right, yeah. I’m good.”
Understandably, Noctis wasn’t convinced. If anyone could tell when something was wrong with Prompto, it was him. Gladiolus approached behind the two and smacked Prompto on the back.
“You’re fine, kid,” he chuckled.
Prompto jumped slightly at the sudden attack and forced out a breathy laugh. “Ha, yeah. I said I was.”
“Let’s head back and get our gil. I’m starvin’.”
Ignis nodded. “We’ll refuel and call it a day.”
Prompto was beyond relieved to hear that. He’d woken up that morning with a slight headache and a bit of nausea. He felt better after having breakfast, but slowly throughout the day, those discomforting feelings crept back to him. Even after they’d had lunch, it wasn’t letting up. If anything, it was getting worse.
As the group headed back to the car, Prompto frowned when a slight cramp twisted up in his gut before releasing with a long, deep growl. His cheeks flushed and he put a hand over his stomach.
“That’s what you get for barely eating any lunch,” Noctis chastised. “No wonder you’re so worn out.”
“Right, that’s probably it.” He had to believe that was the case anyways. There was no way he was coming down with something. He’d been handling everything great and keeping up with the others. That was all he needed. Now though, his sudden decline in stamina had everyone’s eyes on him.
Ignis sighed. “You really should have eaten more. I know you said you weren’t hungry, but it’s important to maintain a healthy diet. Especially while we’re traveling and doing hunts like we are.”
“Don’t worry, I'll be sure to have a big dinner.”
Gods, now why the hell did he say that? His throat tightened in fear knowing he’d just promised something he absolutely couldn’t do. Just the thought of any food alone had his stomach turning, but a big meal?
Ignis’ response only sparked more panic. “I’ll cook then to be sure it’s enough.”
“O-oh. Sure,” Prompto squeaked nervously, giving a weak thumbs up.
How was he going to get through this?
—
“Why are you sweaty?” Noctis asked suddenly.
He and Prompto had been peacefully playing King’s Knight in their chairs outside the tent when Noctis glanced over at him and did not hesitate to call him out. Prompto bristled at the question. He knew he was sweating, but was it really that noticeable to everyone else?
“Sitting too close to the fire I guess,” he chuckled in response, realising how stupid that sounded.
Just as expected, Noctis frowned and furrowed his brow. “Dude… I’m sitting closer to it than you are and I’m still a little cold.”
Prompto didn’t know what to say. He was not planning on getting called out to begin with, but his fever was making it even more difficult to focus on a meaningful response. So he pounced on the only thing he could use to change the subject. “Oh, you want me to grab you a blanket?”
Noctis glared at him, entirely unamused before he rose to his feet. “I do, but I’m gonna go grab it myself. When I get back you can tell me what’s going on with you.”
Prompto gulped. He didn’t have a defence. His stomach pain had worsened to the degree that he didn’t feel like he could move without worsening the discomfort. He sighed and put a hand over it, noting how tight and bloated it was. It had been gurgling angrily for hours now, but it was quickly taking a turn for the worse.
Noctis returned and moved his chair a bit closer to Prompto’s before sitting down, a blanket draped over his shoulders. “Okay. What’s going on?”
Prompto looked back at his friend with a nervous expression. He had to keep it together. The last thing he ever wanted was to be a burden—especially to Noctis. “Just a little tired from today.”
Noctis leaned forward, taking on a more serious look. “Today wasn’t nearly as busy as an average day. Not to mention the weather is so much better and not as oppressively hot. What’s really going on?”
Feeling like he were being interrogated, Prompto tensed and struggled to meet his friend’s eye.
“You know you can’t lie to me, Prom.”
Dammit, he was right. At least not about something like this. He could play off any injury or illness without drawing too much attention to himself normally, but as his condition worsened, he knew it was only a matter of time until someone found him out. And if it were going to be anyone, it was Noctis.
Prompto kept his fists tightly clenched in his lap as he lowered his head. “Just tired. That’s all.”
“Uh-uh. Tell me the truth.”
“It’s true! I’m exhausted.”
“Okay, and what else?”
“A-and…” He was suddenly interrupted by a deep groaning sound bellowing from his gut. Despite how uncomfortable it was, he now had another chance to divert the conversation. “Hungry!”
“Prom… first of all, you already ate and you looked like you were having a horrible time doing it. Second, that did not sound good.” He motioned to Prompto’s stomach.
“Right, yeah… Uhm…”
“Dude, stop. Seriously. Just talk to me. We’re not fighting any monsters or anything strenuous that we usually do. If you don’t feel good, just tell me.”
Prompto was quiet, his brow furrowed in discomfort as his sore stomach rejected the food he’d eaten. He’d already been feeling unwell before, and he knew forcing himself to eat was a bad idea. And yet, he was so used to hiding how he felt that this was… not easy. “I… I guess I… Don’t feel so good.”
Noctis gave him a worried look, but was grateful for his friend finally relenting. “What do you need? Water? Blanket? Do you need to lay down?”
Overwhelmed by his friend’s kindness, he raised his hands in defence and shook his head. “N-no, no, wait. Nothing like that. I’m… I’m okay right now. I just wanna sit here. I don’t really think I can move much anyways.”
“What’s bothering you?”
“I’ve had sort of a headache on and off today, but my stomach feels really gross. I’ve been kinda nauseous, but… I think I just need to rest.”
Noctis crossed his arms and frowned sympathetically. “I wish you’d said something.”
“Hey, we got stuff done today. Wouldn’t have had that if I’d said anything.”
There was a serious expression across Noctis’ features. He looked disappointed all while seeming a bit sad. “Prompto. You matter to me. A lot, okay? You need to look after yourself just like you do for everyone else. I know it’s not easy, but… You can’t take care of anyone else if you don’t give yourself the same grace.”
Prompto lowered his head, feeling too nervous to meet his friend’s eye. He wasn’t even sure what to say. His whole life, he had been putting others first. Twenty years of doing things the same way isn’t just going to change overnight. Besides, it felt good to put others first. He didn’t go out of his way to be self-sacrificial, but it just seemed right when he did. Being told to put himself first when he truly found happiness through doing just the opposite was frustrating. He knew not many people echoed that sentiment, but it was what made him him, and he never wanted anyone to believe he thought he was better than them.
Closing his eyes and wincing at another painful rumbling in his gut, he sighed. “Yeah… I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologise to me,” Noctis said with a light chuckle. “Apologise to yourself.”
Prompto gave a weak smile but the pain in his middle was intensifying. He hissed before blowing out a shaky breath, his arms tightly wrapped around his gurgling abdomen.
Noctis frowned. “Jeez, dude… That really doesn’t sound good.”
“Mgh… Maybe I should’ve taken it easier at dinner.”
“You most definitely should have…”
There was a silence between the two afterwards. Prompto could feel Noctis’ worried gaze on him and with no words being exchanged, the only sounds besides the crackling fire and chirping crickets were Prompto’s soft whimpers and growling stomach. He wanted to fill the silence, but gods, he was in a lot of pain.
Noticing the way his friend’s condition worsened, Noctis got up from his chair and knelt down beside Prompto. “I really think you should lay down. Come on.”
Noctis held out his hand for Prompto to take, but the blonde’s mind was currently a mess of confusion and distress. He eventually ended up on his feet (he had no memory of how), and the two began heading for the tent.
Prompto didn’t even have time to dread the fact that now the other two men were going to find him out. His stomach made a sickening groaning sound and he hiccuped, holding a hand to his mouth. Oh no… He couldn’t stop it now.
“Prom?” Noctis asked when his friend stopped walking.
“N-Noct, I’m…” He only managed to run a short distance away before he collapsed to his hands and knees, retching into the dirt.
“Prompto!”
He couldn’t believe how much pain he was in. Why did he let himself get to this point? He already knew the answer, but that didn’t make this any less frustrating. He felt a comforting hand on his back as he expelled more of his stomach contents.
Although things were fuzzy, Prompto was lucid enough to register two other voices heading towards them.
”Angh…!” Prompto cried. The cramping was just not letting up, and he could barely breath with how much he was gagging.
“—really sick—“
“Why— anything?”
“—back to the tent.”
Everyone else was speaking in urgent tones, but Prompto could only make out a few of their words. He was light-headed by now. The cramps were like knives jabbing into him as he dug his nails into the dirt. His stomach groaned in pain and he soon was feeling less and less in touch with reality. He still retched, but everything was feeling more distant now. From the sounds around him to even the emotions and sensations he was feeling. Everything was slowly slipping away. And soon, he was falling to the dirt below, out before his head even hit the ground.
—
When he awoke next, it was bright outside. He scrunched his face up as he got his bearings and blinked against the harsh light of day. He groaned in exhaustion, still quite confused and sore. His stomach was still gurgling lightly every so often, but it had calmed down considerably.
He could hear the others talking outside but didn’t have the strength to move or even speak. He was still exhausted as well, but he could tell he slept hard. The last thing he recalled was vomiting all over the ground outside the tent before his body gave out.
He wanted to grab his phone and check what time it was. He was going to be so distressed if it was already well into the day. If it was, he wound up wasting everyone’s time anyway. Gods, he couldn’t win.
It wasn’t much longer before he felt himself drifting off again. He was prepared to let it happen in hopes that when he woke next, he’d be up and ready to get back out there. Just as he was almost completely out, he heard the tent’s zipper and his eyes snapped back open.
Noctis entered the tent and looked at Prompto with a pleasantly surprised expression. “Oh, you’re awake. How are you feeling?”
“Mmgh…” Oh, his voice was not ready to speak. It was strained and parched, still feeling raw from throwing up so violently.
“Here.” Noctis quickly grabbed him some water. “Slow sips.”
Prompto winced slightly as he pushed himself into a sitting position. His muscles were sore from trembling, his stomach especially. He still felt a bit of a gurgling feeling in his gut that threatened to worsen should he make any sudden movements. He sipped the water, wishing he didn’t have to drink it slowly. He was so thirsty and likely dehydrated. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat. “Thanks. How long was I out?”
“All night and a few hours after we all got up.”
Prompto’s eyebrows raised. “I was out for that long?”
“Seems like you needed it. Are you feeling any better?”
Significantly. Now versus the absolute agony of the night prior was no competition. “Not great, but way better than before.”
Noctis smiled with a small relieved sigh. “Good. I’m glad to hear that.”
“When are we heading out again?”
Noctis looked at him like he had three heads. “…What do you mean?”
Now it was Prompto’s turn to be confused. “Uh… back out? On our mission?”
“We already discussed that and decided we’re going to take it easy the rest of the day.”
There was that pang of guilt again. They were going to be down a whole day of travel because of him. That couldn’t happen—it just couldn’t. “What? But I’m actually feeling way better so we shouldn’t waste any time.”
He was already starting to climb out from his bedroll when Noctis put a hand on his shoulder. He glanced down at the hand on him before his eyes drifted to the owner. “Prom. We’re all gonna rest today. It’s okay to have rest days.”
“But… it’s because of me, isn’t it?”
“We just want you to rest so you’ll be comfortable to keep moving.”
Prompto lowered his head and frowned. There really wasn’t much argument he could give. He was sore and still felt unwell. At this point, he’d be a liability in battle more than anything else. So no matter what he did now… “I… I’m an inconvenience.”
Noctis blinked, a look of shock and confusion on his face. “W-what? What? No. Not at all. Where did you get that idea from?”
“We… We have to keep moving. The fate of the world is kind of in your hands so… Stopping everything just because I’m a little under the weather is not a good choice. And even if we did move on, I’d be such a screwup in any battle we find ourselves in. It’s like… damned if I do, damned if I don’t.”
“Prompto.” Noctis’ tone was a lot more serious now. He had initially tried to keep things light-hearted specifically so Prompto wouldn’t feel this way. But he knew his best friend. And unfortunately, this was a very possible outcome. “You are not an inconvenience. I told you yesterday—I care a lot about you. You’re my best friend. Having you here with me has been… such a relief. Whenever things get too heavy, I know I can always count on you to cheer me up. You’re an important part of this team. If one of us is down, like hell we’d just carry on without them. I’m happy enough to have a day off, but I’m even more grateful because I know you’ll get to properly rest and recover. So just… relax. Everything is okay.”
Prompto honestly hadn’t expected all that. He was used to being upset at himself for something or other and never being talked out of that feeling, but he really felt this time like the words got through to him. It was strange but… such a weight off his shoulders. “Okay…” He nodded slightly, his eyes still cast downward.
“Hey.”
The softness in the prince’s voice had Prompto feeling safe enough to meet his eye again.
“You feelin’ okay enough to play King’s Knight?”
Prompto hesitated momentarily before a smile settled on his face. “Yeah. Let’s do it.”