Chapter Text
Noctis tries his best to ignore the disapproving looks Ignis gives him as the days pass.
He’s been more clingy than usual, desperate to keep Prompto within his line of sight ever since Luna was murdered in Altissia right under their very noses. He knows he’s being possessive and overprotective of their human packmate, but he can’t bear the thought of anything happening to Prompto if he gets distracted and turns his attention elsewhere.
If Prompto notices his strange behavior, he doesn’t comment on it. He doesn’t say a word when he kicks Ignis out of bed in the middle of the night when he gets anxious to be closer to Prompto. He unapologetically gets Ignis to trade places with him under the pretense that Gladio is moving too much for him to fall asleep just so he can climb into bed next to Prompto and listen to him breathe and know he’s safe.
He knows Ignis and Gladio are getting exasperated with his behavior, especially when he grows agitated when so many strange scents that don’t belong to his pack are on Prompto’s skin from their excursions into town, and he can’t do anything about it.
“Are you going to tell him?” Ignis asks quietly, pulling him from his thoughts. “Prompto, I mean?”
Noctis stiffens, warily glancing over his shoulder to make sure Prompto doesn’t overhear their conversation. He’s still playing King’s Knight with Gladio, hissing obscenities at his phone as they gang up on a boss. He should be playing with them, he wants to, but his nerves are shot. He feels like he’s crawling out of his skin. He’ll need to shift sooner rather than later and let his wolf have some free reign for a while to calm the restless energy roiling in his blood.
“I can’t.”
“Can’t or won’t?” Ignis challenges.
“Does it matter?” Noctis says stiffly.
“Of course, it matters,” Ignis says, disbelief coloring his voice. “He’s – “
“He’s important to me,” Noctis interrupts, voice strained. “He doesn’t feel that way for me, and I won’t ruin our friendship by burdening him with it.”
“Burdening him?” Ignis says incredulously, trying to keep his voice level. It’s a conversation they’ve had a thousand times, and it has always ended the same. “A mate isn’t – “
“He’s not a wolf, Ignis,” Noctis hisses quietly. “He won’t understand. It’s enough that he even puts up with all of my wolfy bullshit.”
“Noct,” Ignis says, voice pained. “You can’t keep this from him forever. Sooner or later, he’s going to learn the truth. How do you think he’s going to react when he learns you’ve kept this from him?”
Noctis growls, narrowing his eyes at Ignis warningly. “I’ll cross that bridge when it comes. Now’s not a good time.”
“It’s never going to be a good time,” Ignis says, ignoring Noctis’ warning tone. “Better to hear it from you than learning of it from someone else. You can’t protect him if –”
“I can!” Noctis shouts, slamming his hands onto the table and standing so abruptly that his chair topples over with a crash to the floor. “How dare you? I know how to protect what’s mine! Who are you to – “
“Noct.”
A heavy hand settles on Noctis’ shoulder and Noctis twists around to bare his teeth at Gladio. “Let go.”
Gladio’s hand falls from his shoulder so fast you’d think he had been burnt.
“Uh, guys?” Prompto says hesitantly, slowly walking up to their table with his hands held up placatingly. “I don’t know what this is about, but can we take it outside? You’re going to get us kicked out of the restaurant.”
Noctis’ chest heaves, anger boiling in his blood and making him see red. Everything is too loud, the harsh scents and stares of the people in the restaurant overwhelming his senses and making him angrier at the sensory overload. His vision shifts, everything becoming sharper, and the telltale ache in his jaw lets him know his mouth had filled with razor-sharp canines.
“Noct, you’re kinda making a scene, buddy,” Prompto says softly, worming past Gladio and covering Noctis’ trembling fist with his hand. “Come on. Let’s go get some fresh air, yeah?”
Noctis growls low in his throat, nostrils flaring, but Prompto doesn’t back down even when he turns golden eyes on him. Prompto looks him right in the eyes and tightens his hand on his. He can see how tense Gladio and Ignis are in his peripherals as they wait to see what he’ll do.
“Noct,” Prompto whispers, an uncertain look creeping into his eyes, and it’s that, that finally manages to get Noctis to relax and let go of the anger he feels coursing through him at Ignis’ comment. He would never hurt Prompto, would never want him to be scared of him. He’ll always protect him – even from himself.
Noctis exhales after a tension-filled moment, his posture relaxing as he closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths to calm himself. When he opens his eyes again, his vision and hearing are back to normal, no longer heightened with the senses of his wolf that had risen to the surface.
“Sorry,” Noctis murmurs, opening his fist to twine his fingers with Prompto’s and giving his hand a grateful squeeze. He can practically feel the relief in the air, Gladio letting out a loud exhale, Ignis slumping back in his seat.
Prompto gives him a small smile and squeezes his hand back before letting go, and Noctis mourns the loss of his touch.
“Let go take a walk, huh? Maybe you can shift before we have to sit on a train for hours on end,” Prompto suggests, jabbing his thumb towards the door.
“Good idea,” Noctis mumbles in agreement, grabbing his chair and righting it before making his way towards the door without looking back.
“I’ll get the bill,” Noctis hears Ignis say quietly, voice subdued, and Noctis feels a pang of guilt for the way he had lost his temper and shouted at his beta.
Noctis sighs, taking a deep breath of fresh air once he’s outside. He knows Ignis is right, because of course he is, he’s always right, but he can’t even begin to imagine how he would go about telling Prompto. How do you tell a human who has never grown up around wolves and knew next to nothing about them other than what they learned in school? It didn’t even begin to cover everything. Humans didn’t have mates, didn’t have the drive to search endlessly for the person that would fill the empty void in their soul that howled and raged for their missing half.
He found his in Prompto, and he wouldn’t dare risk their friendship and get rejected. He knows Prompto is hung up on Cindy, knows Prompto is straighter than an arrow. He had no chance, and he refuses to ruin Prompto’s life by dumping this on him. Prompto is too good, he would sacrifice his happiness to be with him, and he wasn’t about to let Prompto make that sacrifice.
He will tell him eventually. He knows he’ll have to; he can’t go his whole life without an anchor. He had made arrangements with Luna, was going to tell Prompto about everything after they had gotten married and the peace treaty was secured, but now that wasn’t an option. He didn’t know what to do, but it was safer if no one knows that Prompto is his mate. It would put a target on his back without the added protection the Fleuret pack would have provided.
“Hey, you okay?” Prompto asks, sidling up next to him and bumping his shoulder with his. “Things got pretty intense back there.”
“I’m fine,” Noctis sighs, running his hand through his hair and he circles to the back of the restaurant and down the beaten path that leads down into the woods.
“Uh-huh, sure, and I’m the King of Insomnia,” Prompto snorts, easily keeping pace with Noctis’ brisk footsteps. “What happened back there?”
“Can we not talk about it, please?” Noctis pleads, the throbbing in his temples warning of an incoming headache.
“Dude, you almost wolfed-out back there,” Prompto points out, stopping Noctis by grabbing his wrist. Noctis lets himself get pulled to a stop with a sigh.
“I lost my temper,” Noctis admits begrudgingly. “Ignis said something that… it riled up my wolf, okay? I’m sorry if I scared you.”
“You didn’t,” Prompto denies easily, huffing. “I’ve seen that alpha posturing shit a hundred times before. I think Ignis was more upset by it so you shouldn’t worry about me.”
Noctis grimaces, feeling chastised even though he knows that wasn’t Prompto’s intention.
“I’ll apologize to him,” Noctis promises, wanting to smack himself for the need for reassurance from Prompto. He’s an alpha, he knows it’s only instinct that wants him to seek his mate’s approval. Even if Prompto is only human and not a wolf or an omega, he still craves his mate’s praise to know that he’s taking good care of their pack. He knows Ignis and Gladio look to him too, even though he’s a human.
Prompto doesn’t even realize it, but there has always been a reason behind Ignis asking Prompto what he wants to eat before anyone else. Serving Noct, and then Prompto, before themselves. It’s wolf hierarchy; the alpha pair always eats first. Then there’s Gladio, who always makes sure Prompto is protected whenever Noct isn’t around. Gladio is his shield – his second – it’s his job to watch out for his pack alpha and his alpha’s mate.
“I know you will,” Prompto smiles, and Noctis feels warm in the face, his chest swelling with affection for the blond. He always has such faith in him, and he never wants to do anything to lose that faith.
“Now, come on,” Prompto says encouragingly, pulling Noctis along by the wrist and leading him deeper into the woods. Prompto drops his hand when they’re far enough that they can no longer see the buildings that they’ve left behind. Prompto turns around to give Noct some privacy. “Hurry up and get undressed and then we can play fetch or something.”
“I’m not a dog, you know,” Noctis chuckles, but acquiesces, shrugging off his jacket and throwing it at Prompto who flails to catch it as it soars above his head.
“You could have fooled me,” Prompto teases, keeping his back turned while Noct undresses, snatching the clothes from the air whenever Noct throws him another piece of clothing. Too bad his magic couldn’t make his clothes magically disappear and reappear whenever he shifts into wolf form. It would save him a lot of wardrobe changes, especially during battles when Noct needs to shift and it shreds his clothes.
“So, you’re telling me you wouldn’t chase after a stick if I were to throw one? Yeah, right,” Prompto scoffs, not believing Noctis for a second. He watches the discovery channel; he knows wolves play fetch too.
“Shut up and go grab a stick,” Noctis huffs, and Prompto laughs gleefully, folding Noctis’ clothes into a neat pile on the forest floor, and looking around for a sizable branch.
“Ah-ha! Found one!” Prompto exclaims when he finds a branch about the length of his arm and as thick as two of his fingers. Noct shouldn’t have any problems picking it up with his mouth, he’s seen dogs carry around much larger branches than this.
Prompto turns around, startling when he sees a large black wolf where Noctis had been moments before. Noct’s prowling towards him, eyes trained on the branch he’s holding aloft, his tail wagging slowly in the air.
Prompto grins, and waves the branch in the air, watching Noctis’ eyes track the movement. He laughs when Noct lunges forward only to come to an abrupt stop when Noct realizes he feigned a throw.
Noctis whines at him, bowing down with his hindquarters in the air with his forepaws stretched forward on the ground, his tail wagging excitedly.
“I thought you said you weren’t a dog?” Prompto giggles, watching Noct in amusement. He acts like an overgrown puppy, just much, much taller than any dog he has ever seen. He doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to how much larger Noctis is compared to the normal, run of the mill wolves. His head reaches his shoulder – and that’s without him standing on his hind legs. Noct towers over him when he does that, and it’s unsettling every single time.
Noct hasn’t done that in a long time, Prompto thinks idly, pulling his arm back and throwing the branch as far and as high as he can. Noctis takes off running, lunging into the air and snatching it up in his jaws before it even touches the ground. Prompto suspects Noctis knows how frightened he had been when he had first done that and hasn’t done it since. There’s just something terrifying about a creature with claws and sharp teeth towering over you that sends fear slithering down his spine – even from a creature he knows would never hurt him.
Noctis bounds back to him with the branch between his teeth, dropping it proudly at his feet.
“Good boy,” Prompto praises with a grin, laughing and shoving Noctis’ face away when he licks a broad stroke up his face. “No, no, stop that. Dude, you slobbered all over me!” Prompto whines, wiping the spit off his face with a grimace.
Noctis gives him a wolfish grin, tongue lolling happily, looking pleased as punch.
“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, buddy,” Prompto huffs, bending over to grab the branch, yelping when Noctis shoves him with his head and he topples over. “Hey! Not cool, man!”
Noctis bark-howls at him, and darts from side to side, lowering his body to the ground with his tail high in the air.
Prompto raises an eyebrow in amusement. “You want to play?”
Noctis whoofs at him, pawing at the ground and gesturing with his head to the woods.
“You want… to play chase? Seriously?” Prompto says incredulously, getting to his feet. Noctis makes that weird bark-howl sound again, and Prompto eyes the woods dubiously. “You know you’ll catch me in like, two seconds flat, right?”
Noctis chuffs and nudges him with his head again, careful to not make him fall over this time.
“Fine, fine. You want to chase the human, I get it,” Prompto huffs, starting towards the woods and glancing back at Noct. “At least give me a head start – an actual head start.”
Noctis sits on his haunches and that’s all the confirmation he needs before he turns and sprints into the woods without looking back. Prompto’s heart hammers, forcing his legs to move faster when he hears a howl split through the air, and he knows his time is up.
Noct gave him a good five-minute head start, and even though he knows he can’t possibly outrun him, that doesn’t mean he’s going to let himself get caught easily. He’s clever, he knows wolves track by scent, he’ll just have to be smart about it and throw Noct off his game.
Prompto pants, shrugging off his jacket and throwing it off the trail he was making for himself, swerving around trees as he ran aimlessly. Hopefully, Noct will stop and get confused by his scent going in two different directions and buy him some more time, Prompto thinks as he shrugs off his shirt too, and lobs it in the opposite direction as he keeps running.
Don’t run in a straight line, Prompto thinks to himself as he veers off course and heads west. A howl, much closer than before makes his heart lurch, a rush of adrenalin surging through his body. He’s being chased – hunted – and he fights back a rush of laughter, feeling wild and free as the trees rush past as he desperately tries to put more distance between him and Noct.
More than once he thinks he hears paws thundering behind him, but when he glances over his shoulder there’s no one there. It’s his heartbeat, Prompto realizes, thundering fast and loud as he runs and runs until he thinks his legs are going to give out. There’s something underneath all the adrenalin, some form of fight or flight instinct that recognizes the danger Noctis could pose to him if it was any other wolf, and it urges him to run faster, to evade the predator chasing after him like it was life or death.
A howl sounds again, and Prompto can’t stop the breathless laughter from escaping. He’s clearly fallen for his second trap just like he had hoped he would. Prompto didn’t know when he learned to tell Noctis’ howls apart, but he’s pretty sure Noct was having the time of his life trying to hunt him down. That howl was more high-pitched than it normally was when he was simply calling out to the others. It was a mix between excitement and approval that Prompto was smart enough to disperse his scent in different locations to prolong their game.
Eventually, Prompto has to admit he’s starting to grow tired. His lungs are burning, and his legs are just as exhausted. He hasn’t full-out sprinted like this since his last track and field course two years ago. Prompto veers to the left, hoping to circle around back to the restaurant. If he’s extra lucky, Noct won’t expect him to turn back.
His hope is short-lived.
He almost doesn’t see him, a blur of black speeding out from behind a large crop of trees that were densely packed together. Prompto’s eyes widen, lips parting in a startled scream as the large wolf barrels into him and knocks him flat on his back.
Prompto wheezes, gasping for breath as the wind is knocked out of him.
“Holy fuck,” Prompto pants, burying his hands in Noctis’ thick fur. Noctis straightens from his crouch on top of him and throws back his head in a triumphant howl, announcing his victory for the whole world to hear before he settles on top of him, tongue lolling and tail whacking Prompto’s legs.
“Urg, dude, you’re heavy,” Prompto groans as Noctis settles his weight on top of him. Noctis’ large paws take up the width of his chest, his wolf form almost twice as long as his body. Noctis licks across his face in retaliation, and Prompto makes a face in disgust as he’s once again covered in slobber.
“We really need to have a conversation about all the licking,” Prompto complains, wiping his face. Noctis licks him again. “Dude!”
Prompto laughs, it’s impossible not to when Noct practically pouts at him and levels those large puppy dog eyes at him. “Yeah, yeah, I love you too you overgrown puppy.”
Noctis makes a low rumbling sound, his tail wagging wildly between Prompto’s legs.
Prompto rolls his eyes, digging his fingers into Noctis’ fur and scratching behind his ears until the large wolf melts against him and closes his eyes, shimmying his body lower so he can rest his head comfortably on his paws on Prompto’s chest.
Prompto smiles fondly at the wolf sprawled over him. A wolf Noct may be, but he is the most affectionate wolf he has ever seen. Noct is a pretty affectionate guy as a human, but as a wolf, it’s like all of his human tendencies to respect personal space fall away. He’s still Noct, just with less restraint and more instinct.
“Are you falling asleep?” Prompto asks quietly after a few minutes, continuing to scratch behind Noctis’ ears and run his fingers through his thick fur.
Noctis opens his eyes and squints at him, stretching out his body and making a soft sort of grunting sound as he resettles.
“Dude, you can’t fall asleep on me,” Prompto argues, his hand stilling. Noctis whines when he stops petting him, nudging Prompto’s hand with his snout. Prompto huffs, rolling his eyes. “Fine, fine. Five more minutes,” Prompto allows, going back to petting Noctis again.
Noctis makes a rumbling sound deep in his chest as his eyes fall closed once more, content to stay exactly where he is. Prompto can’t help but smile, tilting his head back onto the soft grass and looking up at the sky. Everything is calm and peaceful, a rare moment of tranquility that Prompto hadn’t known he needed until now. It’s beautiful here, the early morning sun filtering in from the tree tops, birds chirping happily from the tree branches.
He's warm and comfortable with Noctis’ weight on top of him, and exhausted from his mad dash through the woods, that he can feel his hand growing sluggish where he’s still petting Noct, his eyelids drooping. They woke up not too long ago, had enough time to eat breakfast before Noct’s little display in the restaurant for Prompto to still feel full from his meal. He’s warm, stuffed with good food, and comfortable. Before he knows it his hand stills to a stop and his eyelids are slipping closed.
Prompto doesn’t know how much time has passed before he feels fingers carding through his hair, and his eyes squint open to see Ignis kneeling beside him with a soft look in his eyes.
“Good afternoon,” Ignis greets, smiling down at him in amusement. “Did you two have a good nap?”
“Huh?” Prompto says groggily, blinking in confusion. There’s a heavy weight across his chest, pinning his body down, and Prompto looks down to see a large black wolf that is undoubtedly Noct still fast asleep on his chest. “Oh.”
Ignis chuckles, sitting back on his heels. “You two have been gone for hours. What were you two doing?”
“Uhh… playing?” Prompto says, phrasing it like a question. Prompto blinks when the sun is suddenly blotted out, Gladio’s large body blocking the sun from blinding his eyes.
“Playing?” Gladio cocks an eyebrow as he raises what looks suspiciously like his shirt. “What kind of playing were you two doing that required you to lose your shirt?”
Prompto looks down at his body and realizes that, yes, that is his shirt. He’s so warm he’d forgotten he wasn’t wearing it anymore.
“We were playing chase,” Prompto explains, shaking out his arm to get the blood flowing. “I ditched the shirts thinking it would throw Noct off my scent.”
Ignis’ eyebrows rise into his hairline as he regards him with something that looks like admiration while Gladio starts laughing, so loud it causes Noct to grumble and shift on top of him in his sleep.
“I got to give it to you, Blondie, that’s really clever,” Gladio praises.
“So, that’s why we heard Noct howling earlier,” Ignis muses.
“I’m pretty sure the whole damn town heard him,” Gladio chuckles. “He didn’t sound like he was calling for back up so we took our time getting to you two.”
“More like alerting me he was closing in on me,” Prompto laughs too, though Noctis’ weight made it difficult and it came out as more of a wheeze. “I really thought I was gonna win for a second, there.”
“If you can’t outrun a wolf, you have to outsmart it,” Ignis says, snatching the thought he had earlier right out of his head. “You were smart to try and throw him off your track. Now, I hate to break the two of you apart but really need to be going now or we will miss the train.”
“Good luck with that,” Prompto laughs, petting his hand over Noctis’ head. He doesn’t even budge. “He sleeps like the dead. I’m surprised he hasn’t woken up yet with all the commotion.”
“He’s familiar with our scents, that’s why,” Gladio explains. “If it had been someone he wasn’t familiar with, he would have seen them as a threat and would have woken up.”
“Even when he’s asleep?” Prompto asks, surprised. Just how good were those wolfy senses of his?
“It’s difficult to sneak up on a wolf,” Ignis elaborates. “Our sense of smell and hearing are far superior to that of humans. Fear not, you were perfectly safe in Noctis’ care, even when he’s asleep. Noct would never have let anything happen to you.”
“Oh! No, I wasn’t worried about that!” Prompto reassures. It’s laughable, really. Who would be sane enough to try to sneak up on a sleeping wolf as large as Noct? “I was just thinking how insane those wolfy senses of yours are. I’m a light sleeper, but smells wouldn’t be something I would register if I was asleep – unless it was particularly foul, that is.”
“Like that cavern we came across last month with the marlboro?” Gladio chuckles.
“Exactly,” Prompto says, shuddering in disgust at the memory of how horrid the stench had been. He can only imagine how it must have smelt for them. If he never has to see another Marlboro in his life it still won’t be long enough.
“Alright, enough chitchat,” Ignis says firmly. “We’ve tarried long enough, and we still have to make the trek back into town. Noct, I know you can hear us, it’s time to wake up.”
Noctis doesn’t deign to respond, pretending to still be asleep, but his ear twitching in the direction of Ignis’ voice gives him away.
Ignis heaves a sigh and reaches out to pry Noctis off of Prompto.
Noctis growls, baring his teeth in a frightening display of sharp teeth, but Ignis is unphased.
“Enough of that now, you have to let Prompto up. He must be uncomfortable pinned under all your weight,” Ignis admonishes.
“Not really,” Prompto says, giving Ignis a sheepish smile when he gives him an exasperated look.
“Thank you, Prompto. That’s very helpful of you,” Ignis deadpans.
“Sorry?”
Ignis sighs. “Noct, get up.”
Noctis groans, finally opening his eyes, looking annoyed.
“Come on, Princess, there’s plenty of time to cuddle with Prompto on the train,” Gladio teases.
Noct grumbles some more just for the sake of making his displeasure known before he reluctantly heaves himself up and moves off Prompto, shaking out his fur and yawning widely.
Prompto groans, stretching out his limbs. All things considered; he did have a really good nap. It could have been worse; he could have fallen asleep on a rock and woken up with a crick in his back. Prompto sits up with a groan. Now he knows how Noct feels, he doesn’t want to get up either. He’d been so warm and comfortable being blanketed by Noctis’ weight and body heat that now that he was no longer being covered by him, his skin was pebbling with goosebumps.
Prompto flops back down with another groan, sprawling out on the grass that is still warm from their combined body heat and making grabby hands towards Noct when he sees Noct watching him.
“Oh, no you don’t. Not you too. One Noct is enough,” Ignis says immediately, intercepting Noct when he tries to join Prompto. “Come on, up you get, Prompto.”
Prompto whines loudly in complaint, and Ignis is helpless to block Noctis’ larger body when he pushes past him. Prompto immediately winds his arms tightly around Noctis’ neck when he leans down to nuzzle into his chest. Prompto smiles, burying his face in Noctis’ neck and nuzzling against the soft fur, yelping and clinging to Noctis when he suddenly lifts his head and he’s pulled off the ground.
Prompto shoots Noct a glare once he’s back on his feet, crossing his arms as he steps away from the large wolf. “Traitor.”
There’s something in the wolf’s eyes that is burning and dark, his stance almost… predatory and wanting. Prompto doesn’t understand what that look means, doesn’t understand the sudden change in Noct’s demeanor or what could have provoked it. He had been happy a second ago – tired, sure, but happy. Prompto doesn’t understand the sudden hunger he can see making the wolf’s pupils expand until his eyes only have a thin ring of gold visible.
Prompto opens his mouth to ask what’s wrong when Gladio suddenly growls harshly at Noct and steps between them. Ignis gently grabs him by the elbow to tug him further away from the two alpha’s who are suddenly having a growling match, and shushes him when he tries to ask what’s going on.
Prompto watches helplessly, but after a few more incomprehensible rumbling and snarls, Noct backs down with a loud snarl and starts pacing back and forth angrily.
“What’s going on?” Prompto demands, looking to Ignis for answers.
Ignis hesitates, looking uncertain whether or not to answer. An uncomfortable feeling settles in Prompto’s stomach.
“Was it something I did?” Prompto asks uncertainly, going through the last few minutes in his head. He doesn’t remember anything he could have done to upset Noct.
“Don’t worry about it.”
Prompto frowns. “So, it was something I did.”
Ignis closes his eyes with a sigh. “It’s nothing you could have known, but next time, please think twice before you shove your face anywhere near a wolf’s neck. We’re very… sensitive about that.”
“What?” Prompto says dumbfounded. Noct got upset because he pressed his face against his neck? Prompto’s frown deepened, a sliver of hurt worming its way into his chest and taking root there. He can see where Noct may have taken it the wrong way. He’s seen Noct and the others scent mark each other tons of times in the past, and to Noct it must have looked like he was doing the same thing. Was that so terrible? Maybe humans weren’t supposed to be a part of that, it’s not like they have ever done that to him.
“Right…” Prompto mumbles, swallowing the lump in his throat and looking away, good mood officially ruined. “Sorry.”
Prompto doesn’t know if it’s just his imagination, but the sudden tension he can feel in the air makes him feel like there’s static electricity, his skin prickling. When he turns to glance at the others, there are three pairs of eyes trained on him.
“What?” Prompto asks self-consciously, eyes darting between them.
Ignis’ expression is bordering on devastation, and Gladio kind of looks like he’s constipated, while Noct’s ears are tilted back, shoulders slumped and tail low.
“What?” Prompto repeats nervously. What did he do now?
“You’re upset,” Gladio comments, making it sound almost like an accusation. Prompto winces. That’s one thing he hates about wolves. They always seem to know exactly what he’s feeling. Unable to hide what he’s feeling from them at any given time is a huge inconvenience – like now, for instance. Prompto knows he has no right to be upset, not when he’s the one that did something that offended his best friend.
“Sorry,” Prompto apologizes, giving a little shrug of his shoulders. Prompto turns his attention to Noct, their eyes locking before saying quieter, “I’m sorry.”
Noctis’ forehead scrunches in confusion, a small whine escaping before his posture straightens and he makes his way over to him, butting his head against his chest, going up on his hindlegs slightly so he can lick his cheek.
“Urg, Noct!” Prompto laughs burying one hand in the fur at the nape of his neck as he wipes his face with the other. “I thought we talked about this.”
Noctis sits back on his haunches and gives him the wolf version of a grin, tail wagging, and just like that everything is okay again. He’s clearly been forgiven, and knowing that Noct’s no longer upset is good enough for him. He’ll sort through his feelings in private later when there weren’t three wolves who can sniff it out like the bloodhounds they were.
Prompto smiles tentatively when Gladio approaches, gratefully taking his shirt when Gladio passes it to him and pulls it over his head.
Noctis huffs, drawing their attention to him as he lets out a series of growls intermixed with barking that Prompto once again cannot understand, but the guys seem to know what Noct is saying because Gladio nods and steps closer to him.
“Alright, Blondie, up you get,” Gladio says, giving him zero warning before he’s grabbing him by the waist and hoisting him up, his feet leaving the ground.
“What the – “ Prompto yelps, eyes wide as Gladio parks him unceremoniously on Noctis’ back. “Uhh…”
“Hold onto him tightly,” Ignis instructs once Prompto is seated. “Grab onto his fur with your hands and don’t let go. You can squeeze his sides with your legs to stay in place if you think you’re going to fall.”
“Um… are you sure this is okay?” Prompto asks, directing the question to Noct. He knows just as much as the next human that riding on a wolf’s back was a big no-no. Even suggesting it was enough to cause great offense.
“It’s fine, he suggested it – or rather, he demanded it,” Gladio chuckles, casually brushing his hand along his back before his hand falls back to his side like he had done nothing out of the ordinary.
Prompto’s eyebrows furrow in sudden contemplation at Gladio’s touch. He’s been noticing a lot of that lately, accidental brushing of their hands along his arms and shoulders. Gladio was more carefree about showing affection, slinging his arm around his shoulders, while Ignis was more reserved. The fact that he was noticing them touch him more frequently raised a lot of questions.
It must be a wolf thing, Prompto figures.
“I thought wolves never let people ride on their back,” Prompto says in confusion, breath catching when Noct suddenly starts walking, and he remembers what Ignis said and grabs a fistful of Noct’s fur.
“We don’t,” Gladio says easily, remaining at his side as they walk. “It’s usually reserved only for pups or to carry the sick and injured, or for the wolf’s m – “
Noctis suddenly lets out a furious snarl, cutting off Gladio’s words. Prompto startles, feeling Noctis’ fur bristling under his hands.
“ – main human,” Gladio finishes, shooting Noctis a glare. “We’re protective of the humans in our pack, and since you’re our only human it makes sense that Noct would want to keep you close.”
“Huh, I didn’t know that,” Prompto says thoughtfully, combing his fingers through Noctis’ fur to get him to calm down from whatever set him off.
Wolves are such temperamental creatures.
“It can be for bonding purposes too,” Ignis mentions. “It builds trust between the human and the pack alpha. Noct letting you ride on his back means you’re placed higher than he is, in a position to observe our surroundings while he focuses on leading the pack. It would be your job to alert us of potential dangers that we might otherwise miss while on the road.”
Prompto tightens his hands in Noctis’ fur, the importance of the act not lost on him now that he knows the significance behind it, but it reminds him of something… something he had heard or read about a long time ago when he had first joined Noct’s retinue and had to learn more about wolves.
“I thought that was the alpha’s mate’s job though, isn’t it?” Prompto wonders aloud. It’s a topic he has heard scarcely of. It seems to be one of those things wolves just don’t want humans to know about, but he knows the basics of what a mate is and their responsibilities to their pack.
Prompto gasps loudly, heart pounding when Noctis lurches forward, stumbling over a tree root and almost throwing him from his back.
“Shiva’s tits!” Prompto curses loudly, clinging to Noctis for dear life. “Can you please watch where you’re going, Noct?”
Noctis snorts, shaking his head as he rights himself and starts forward again.
“You’d figure you would have more balance on four legs,” Prompto grumbles, much to Gladio’s amusement if his laugh at their expense tells him anything.
Prompto never does get to hear the answer to his question as the buildings come into view, and he’s being eased off Noct’s back and ushered into their hotel to grab their things as Noct shifts back.