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It happened so suddenly, he didn’t even get to blink before the ceiling came crashing down around them and the floor gave way. Noctis groans and tries to push himself up but a sharp pain shooting through his back makes him drop back down with a pained grunt. Dammit, this was bad, he should have listened to Gladio when he said something was off and gone the way he suggested. But he was stubborn, having had a rather nasty argument before with his shield, and chose to go the other way just to be spiteful. Now he was trapped all alone.
“Shit.” a voice quietly grunts out, slightly pained.
Noct turns his head to look in the direction of the voice but can’t see anything, it being dark and his eyes haven’t adjusted yet. But he can hear strained breathing now that he’s more aware, it sounding as if someone had something heavy laid on their chest inhibiting their breathing.
“Who’s there?”
“It’s me.” Gladio grumbles out, breath hitching sharply as the sound of metal scraping against something hard is heard. “Noct, can you turn on your light, I can’t reach mine at the moment.”
“Uh, sure, hang on.” he says and fumbles around with his jacket until he can find the device. Noctis turns it on and winces at the bright light, but his eyes focus so he can see clearly now. But he kind of wish he couldn’t as he looks up at the other man, seeing just how bad of a situation it is and feeling bile rise in his throat. “Oh, oh gods.”
Large rocks and debris was all around them, there were no clear spots to try and escape from, and worst of all was the fact that the only thing keeping them from being crushed was Gladio’s shield which he had quickly summoned and lodged into place above them. The man himself acting as a barrier between the shield and Noct. Neither would hold for very long with how the metal bows under the weight of the rocks above and Gladio being injured, blood running down his arms and forehead. Noctis feels his stomach knot and his heart thump in his chest at seeing the older man in this state, briefly recalling an event that happened two years prior where Gladio did his duty as shield.
“You’re hurt.”
“I’m fine, are you injured?”
“No.”
“Good.” he says and shifts around. “Try using your phone to contact the others, hopefully they are okay and not trapped too.”
“I’ll try.” he says and takes out the device, but as soon as he attempts to make a call, it doesn’t connect. “No signal. Damnit. Should I try maybe yelling for help?”
“No, it’d just echo in here, possibly make the rocks shift around. We’d be better off holding out and hoping they can find us. I’m sure if they’re not trapped, Ignis is already tracking your phone.”
“Yeah, guess that feature actually might do me some good.”
“Heh, listening to us more will do you a lot of good.”
Noctis furrows his brows, more guilt creeping into him as he watches his shield wince and shift around as blood continues to drip down him. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
But it wasn’t fine, his whole body was trembling and he was losing the color in his face. Maybe Noct could use a potion or two on him an-oh wait, they ran out after the last fight. Shit. What else could he do? Maybe relieve some of the pressure on Gladio by adding more support?
Noct looks at how much space there is between them and the surrounding rocks, then pulls another shield from the armiger, wedging it up at an angle before summoning a second and doing the same.
“What the hell are you doing Noct? Don’t waste your energy.”
“I’m trying to help you too.” he says and then looks up sullenly at his bodyguard and extends his arms out. “Try to lay down.”
Gladio bites his lip and slowly begins to pull himself down, stopping when the metal shields creak but continues once he’s sure they won’t give way. He relaxes down on his elbows but keeps some space between them, that is until Noct loops his arms around the man’s neck and pulls him down flush against him, letting a little gasp out from the heaviness.
“Noct, I saved you from getting crushed by rocks not so you can just get crushed by me.”
“You bear so much for me, so just let me do this for you, okay?” he says and silently thanks the gods Gladio can’t see the pink tinting his cheeks as he begins to feel a fluttering in his belly.
Gladio goes to protest but just gives in and rests, even as Noct begins to stroke his hair tenderly he remains lax. It seems like an hour passes by, Gladio’s breathing growing ragged with the occasional pained gasp cutting in and Noctis begins to crack.
“I’m sorry.” he whimpers out.
“It’s fine.”
“No, I’ve been being a shit lately to you and the others. Prompto wasn’t feeling well and I dragged us here anyway. Ignis said we should’ve stopped and picked up more curatives, but I just wanted to come here as soon as possible and now we’re completely out.” Noct furrows his brows and holds the man tighter. “And you warned me that it was dangerous to go down that path, but I ignored you out of spite and went anyway. Now we’re trapped and you’re badly injured.”
“You made mistakes, so now, learn from them.” he says and then wretches slightly.
“But I-”
“Look, when we get outta here, yer ass will ge-get up at dawn fer week to go run with me. S-so stop ‘pologizing and keep energy.” Gladio tells him, voice becoming mumbly and incoherent as he speaks. “Feel, bad.”
“Gladio?” Noct says, voice quivering with terror. No answer. “Gladio!?”
“Energy, Noct.”
Noctis lifts his hand and rests it against his shield’s temple, feeling a blazing heat radiating from him. While Gladio was naturally like a furnace, this was way more than normal. Was there an infection spreading through his body or was it from the wound he sustained to his head?
The large man shifts about and sucks in a deep breath, especially after moving his left side. Noctis reaches his hand down and touches that area, finding to his horror Gladio’s side is ripped open with blood spilling out and his torn flesh is sweltering under his fingers. The prince lets out a choked cry, holding onto him tightly and nuzzling his head.
“I’m sorry, gods I’m sorry Gladio.”
“M’ fine.” he says and coughs painfully.
The man falls silent again, his breathing slowing down and his body beginning to become clammier. Noctis lets out a whimper and pulls Gladio tighter against him, even more when the shields begin to creak and pebbles tumble down. Fear and panic sets in, his breathing increases frantically from feeling as though his air is running out.
His air is probably running out and it doesn’t help that Gladio is starting to feel heavier against him. Like dead weight, like how his nanny felt after she landed onto him from being struck dead by the Marilith. Gladio, gods, he can’t lose him like this. A shield shouldn’t be lost due to their Liege’s inept stubborn stupidity.
“Gladio? Gladio? Please, say something. Please, Gladio. Tell me I’m stupid or a lazy brat. Call me a dork. Anything!” Noct weeps out and rests his face against the man’s head. “Please don’t leave me alone, I need you. Please. I can’t do this without you. I-I-”
He hears a soft grunt and feels fingers gently touch his arm, letting him know the older man is still with him. The rocks begin to shift about and Noct feels as though his heart is going to burst from his chest. He wraps his arms even tighter around Gladio, resting his head against his and softly weeps as more pebbles and dust drop around them. It can’t end like this, being crushed to death by rocks, and it was all his fault.
“Noct? Noctis!? Are you there!? Can you hear me!?
That voice, that was-
“Noct!? Answer if you can hear us!
It was Ignis and Prompto, they were going to be saved.
“We’re here!” he yells out and winces as the shields and rocks shift dangerously.
“Noct!? Are you sure it shows him here?
They couldn’t hear him, dammit, he had to get their attention, but how? Yelling wasn’t working, so what else could he do? He hears a pained grunt and feels the heaviness on his chest disappear as Gladio pushes himself up on shaky arms.
“Gladio what are you doing? Lay back down, you’re too injured.”
“Hit, reverberate.”
Noctis furrows his brows as he watches Gladio struggle to keep himself up, back pressed against the shield over them.
Wait, the shields!
Noctis looks from side to side, finding a dislodged rock and grabs it up. He looks into Gladio’s eyes, seeing the pain but a deep determination in them and gives the younger man a nod. Noctis hits the rock against a shield, it making a loud clanging that echoes all around that triggers the rubble to dangerously crumble more, pushing down on the shield over them and causing Gladio to gasp out in pain as it puts even more pressure on him. But he holds himself up, protecting his liege from impending death with what strength he has left.
“You hear that? He’s there! Hang on buddy!”
The sounds of rocks being tossed aside as well as grunts become louder and closer until a light peeks through some cracks.
“I see something, it looks like a shield.”
“We’re here!”
“We’re? Gladio’s with you? Thank the six.”
“Please hurry, he’s hurt badly!”
The two are finally freed from the cave in, but now they can see the true extent of their injuries. Gladio has gashes on his head, back, arms, and legs along with a deep puncture to his side that already shows signs of festering with an infection. Noctis fared better, thanks to Gladio pulling him against him as they fell and taking the brunt of the hits, sustaining minor scrapes and bruises but it jarred his back leaving him barely able to move.
So it was decided, as much as they hated the idea, that it would be for the best for the two men to stay underground until curatives could be acquired. Thankfully though Prompto and Ignis stumbled across an old bunkhouse nearby for the mine workers that used to be there, so the two were carefully moved there to rest while Ignis made a quick drive to the nearest outpost with Prompto remaining behind to keep vigilant of any creature that happens to catch a whiff of the injured men.
Noctis shifts around, wincing at the pain in his back and lets out a deep sigh. He turns his head to the side, looking at Gladio, the man pale and sweating but thankfully no longer bleeding since Ignis did a quick stitch job to tide him over. Slowly, Noct reaches his hand up and presses it to the side of his shield’s face, running his fingers over the scruff before tracing the long scar on his face. He then gets to the sewn up gash and his stomach turns once more. He almost lost him, might still if the infection gets worse.
“Gladio.” Noct says softly, tears forming in his eyes.
The man’s face contorts and he slowly flutters his eyes open briefly, letting Noctis know he’s still with him before they fall closed again. This brings some relief to the distraught prince, him shuffling himself closer to his shield and rolling to where he can lay an arm over his broad chest. This way, he can hear the man breathing and feel his heart beating, giving himself the comfort of knowing that he hasn’t left him alone. Gladio turns his head slightly, hazy eyes opening a bit and looking at the raven-haired younger man.
“You ‘kay?”
“Mmm hmm.” he replies and snuggles closer. “Thank you Gladio, for protecting me, as always.”
“M’ duty n’ care ‘bout you Noct.”
This causes a heat to form on Noctis’ cheeks and heart to beat quickly as he smiles tenderly. “I don’t know what I’d ever do without you Gladio.”
“Be lazy.”
Noctis snorts and chuckles a bit before his back begins to tense, so he relaxes closer to the larger man and goes to rest but instead leans his face closer to the other’s. He feels a strong pull and warmth wash over him along with little flutters that he felt sometimes before, then presses a gentle kiss to Gladio’s cheek. The two lock eyes momentarily, a questioning look being exchanged before both inch in closer and press their chapped lips together in a chaste kiss.