Locked to Real_life_rpg
Aug. 15th, 2023 07:02 amThings had been going well in Noct's life ever since he got a boyfriend. It wasn't what most people thought of when that word was used. He was still a virgin and while that was a bitter pill, it was better than being a virgin with no prospects. He had Prompto and they had a promise. Now they waited his father out. Eventually his dad would hand over the throne to him and retire, or worse, pass away. He didn't want to think about that but... it was how his family had worked since the beginning of the nation. Regis was a stubborn old alpha to boot.
Noct had been working more in the citadel, attending more meetings, talking to more people, doing his own Working Royal stuff which he had previously shrugged off with the excuse that he was in school. It got Ignis' attention as well as his father's which hopefully would work in his favor in the future.
He had to get the public, the advisors, and the counsel on his side, or at the very least he had to get to where they couldn't oppose him when he took the throne. That meant he was building alliances now so years in the future, whenever he took the throne, he will have built a place for Prompto by his side. A nest of sorts. If that isn't the most omega way to think about it... a nest.
It's what brought him to work most days. Today he was at a public garden maintained by the royal family. He was meeting with some of his citizens, many of them social workers and outreach professionals for the poor and underprivileged. A perfectly banal sort of day.
It wouldn't stay that way. He was trusted enough to handle this on his own so he was attending with his civilians with minimal security. He was within a stone's throw of the citadel after all. It's what the Nifs were counting on.
Some time later there was a great boom and then a siren sounded in the training yard. A voice pinged each glaive and crownsgaurd with earpieces, delivering several codes, each referring to a scenario. This event had several codes; Active shooters, fire, multiple casualties, and a note that Rosebud was not secure. Rosebud was among hostiles.
Rosebud was Noctis' security code the crownsguard and glaives used. Not that he knew that.
Things went to shit real quick and to help it along, there had been a small camera crew playing Noct's talk with the social workers he was with. One channel was broadcasting it from the nearby jumbotron and the chaos unfolded. Noct was talking, suddenly there was an explosion, screaming, fire, gunfire could be heard. Nif soldiers appeared on screen. In seconds it was happening. Other screens around Insomnia began showing the footage.
One could hear the explosions and guns in real time, not from the screen but from the park itself a block over.
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Date: 2023-08-22 10:26 pm (UTC)Also, his head was swimming with information. He was the clone of some mad scientist who should have been turned into a soulless killing machine but was spared his fate because Cor freaking Leonis kidnapped him from a lab? That meant... if Prom was understanding things correctly, that if circumstances had been different Cor Leonis. The Immortal. Marshal of the Crownsguard could have been his dad...
Woah. That was crazy to even think about. He could have grown up in and around the Citadel. Had playdates with a baby Noctis. Grown up loved and wanted. Never have to pick between paying the rent, the utilities or buying food. He could have had a home.
He tried to make sense of it all in his head, focus still very much on the photo. They looked good. Sure, Cor had been young, and Prom looked nothing like him, but they looked like a family.
Looking up when Clarus spoke, he gave a nod and saluted him once more. "Yes Sir." The thought of speaking to the King and his Shield was a terrifying one.
His focus was immediately back on the photo. Eventually, he lifted his head to look at Cor, those violet-blue eyes were slightly red and misted, and he couldn't help but sniffle a little. "You're the one who brought me to Insomnia?" His childhood may not have been the happiest, but it sure beat being turned into a daemonic robot thing. "I always wondered who my real parents were. Mad Scientist Besithia, huh? Not quite the John and Jane Doe I made up in my head..."
A pause. "... Thank you."
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Date: 2023-08-22 10:33 pm (UTC)Prompto would learn in time how big a gesture that was.
"Yeah... sorry you had to find that out. I don't think there is a good way to give that kind of information." Cor's eyes lingered on Prompto. On his red eyes. The kid had to be going through it, his whole world was turned upside down when the prince was kidnapped and then again when he learned this.
"I wish I had a better answer for you but you shouldn't thank me... I was the one who gave you up. I thoght it would be better for you. I thought I would make a poor father and you'd be neglected. I thought..." he rubbed the back of his head, unable to meet Prompto's eyes for a moment.
"... I thought wrong. For that I'm sorry." he smiled faintly. "But you came back..."
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Date: 2023-08-22 10:43 pm (UTC)"You saved me. Without you, I would've become one of those things. I wouldn't be me. I'd be a killing machine. I wouldn't love chocobos or photography. I wouldn't play music too loud and annoy the neighbours. I wouldn't pet all the stray kitties and doggies I see. I wouldn't love Noct. I'd just... I'd be a monster. You gave me a life. And for that... 'thank you' doesn't seem like nearly enough."
He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, before giving in and using the handkerchief Noct had scented for him. He dried his eyes before inhaling the lingering scent of his mate.
"And you believed in me when no one else did when I wanted to join the Crownsguard. Everyone thought I was too small, and too weak. But not you. Even when I fell flat on my face or my butt more times than I can count, you never gave up on me."
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Date: 2023-08-22 11:59 pm (UTC)"I wanted you to have a life. I'm glad you have one, I'm glad you're you..." he watched the kid get emotional, watched him take comfort in what he could only assume was a scented handkerchief. Cor never took a mate, never found someone he couldn't live without. It didn't help he was married to his work and his heart was hard to reach. Only a few people had ever managed to win his affection. Prompto was one. Ever since he was a baby, he just couldn't let him go.
"You're a survivor. You were even as a baby. Smiling through the pain isn't new, you did that when we were traveling through Niflheim. It was so cold, I only had my jacket to put you in, you had ice crystals on your eyelashes. I felt so bad when I saw them I stopped and made a fire. I guess you could tell I was upset, you started smiling at me." he has a wistful smile as he remembers.
"I knew you'd be alright, that you were the type who would get through anything."
That being said "You should be angry, I let you go to the wrong people. I regret it but it doesn't change what happened to you."
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Date: 2023-08-23 11:20 pm (UTC)"Hard to imagine a young, rash Cor Leonis looking after a baby. Kinda suits you though. Any kid would be lucky to have you as a dad." It wasn't too late. Cor could still find love, find his one, have a whole pack of babies.
He smiled sadly. "My folks tried their best." He had practically raised himself, but even now, he found it hard to say anything bad about the Argentums. "They were always just busy, working. But I was happy and loved." He was lonely and barely given the love a child needed to thrive. The fact Prom had grown into such a loving, kind person was some kind of miracle. "Mom would always try to make it special when she was home." His dad... not so much.
"Hey... lean in..." Ignoring the protests from his healing wounds, Prom surged forward, phone in hand so he could snap a selfie of the both of them.
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Date: 2023-08-24 12:50 am (UTC)"That's what Clarus and his majesty said too." he wasn't looking for love, he didn't exactly miss it. Didn't feel a great void in his life, in fact he would rather just continue as-is and try to get closer to Prompto. If it wasn't too late.
Prompto's eyes gave it all away. Cor learned years before that if he wanted the real story he needed to look beyond what Prompto told him. The kid was determined to be positive even in the face of great peril which was a hell of a skill but it made it hard sometimes to know just how bad it was in his life. His insecurities and his need to be close to his friends told the marshal he had a lack of love growing up. His self-sufficiency validated that yet his inability in some areas also validated it. He was clearly self-taught.
So while Prompto said his parents were good, Cor knew that everything Prompto said on the subject, he could take the opposite to be the truth. His parents barely tried, he was miserable and alone, his parents didn't make him feel valued. His regret felt heavier in his heart, like it might tear through him.
Prompto cut through his thoughts before he could get lost in them and he didn't see the obvious trap. He ended up looking at the camera with one eyebrow raised in defiant curiosity.
"Hmph, shoulda seen that coming." he wasn't one for photos other than those required for press releases.
"I can't say I would have done any better if you stayed with me. I was busy all the time but I would have made sure you knew I wanted you." he did the unthinkable and pet Prompto's hair. "You're still just like you were when you were a baby. You haven't changed a bit." he smirked. "I expect you to lay still and don't pull moves like that again. Rest and heal. Understand?"
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Date: 2023-08-24 01:18 am (UTC)Prompto looked down at the photo on his phone. A stark contrast to the picture of a baby Prompto and a young Cor. Both older, Prom currently bruised and scuffed up. Both carrying a world of pain in their hearts and their eyes. But there was a likeness to both photos. A sense that they just fit. Prom held the photo next to his phone, looking at the pictures side by side.
If circumstances had been different - just how many pictures of the two of them would they have? It almost hurt to think about.
Prom couldn't help but lean into that petting. He might be some kind of raging alpha who tore apart the Empire singlehandedly but he was also a touch-starved young adult. "Pft. I'm way cuter than I was as a baby," he joked, falling right back into using humour to deflect. Still, he clicked around on his phone a little and sent Cor a copy of their new selfie.
"I can't rest for too long. I gotta go see the King and Lord Amicitia - I know he said when I feel better, but I feel like I probably shouldn't be keeping the King and his Shield waiting, y'know? And maybe they'll let me look in on Noct too..."
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Date: 2023-08-24 01:30 am (UTC)The two photos together were kind of what he wanted all along, other than there should have been a litany of other photos of Prom and himself. Or at least just Prompto being a kid.
"Keep it, it doesn't need to be in the file."
He pet the kid's hair, he didn't seem to mind it so Cor just... kept it up, don't mind him and don't mention it. Really. Don't say a word.
"Dunno about that, you were preeetty cute." he smiled, the light in his eyes warmed. He didn't respond to the text chime in his pocket and in fact he wouldn't but Prompto may see it later as his wallpaper.
"They can wait on you, trust the king is busy with other matters, he expects you to rest. They both do." and if they have an an iota of a problem with Prompto sleeping longer Cor would deal with it personally.
"...You can at least nap once more, can't you?"
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Date: 2023-08-24 01:43 am (UTC)How many other people could say that Cor the Immortal was practically their dad? That was an even more elite group of people. In fact, Prompto was probably the only member of that group.
"I guess I probably created a world of paperwork and diplomatic issues for you all, huh? The Empire probably didn't take kindly to me killing their own. That Loqi jerk totally deserved it! And don't even get me started on Caligo. He deserved so much worse." Prom killed him too quickly. He should have made him suffer more. The way Caligo made Noct suffer.
He wanted to argue that it was bad form to keep the King of all people waiting, but the hair petting, the drugs, and the emotional rollercoaster of the day were all taking their toll. Prompto shuffled down the bed a little. The rest of his soup and the files forgotten as he leaned into that petting more.
"Do you need to leave or are you staying?" Please stay? Was the unspoken plea.
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Date: 2023-08-24 01:52 am (UTC)Cor chuckled at the paperwork upstairs. "Oh more paperwork than you want to think about. Good paperwork. You cleaned a lot of the king's problems up in Niflheim. A lot of them." like, basically all of them. "He'll wait..."
Ah, Caligo. "While I understand your heart, Prompto, you did well with them. Torture isn't a one-way interaction, it hurts you too, it corrupts the person who does it. You needed to dispatch them quickly and you did, that's what matters."
He continued the petting, remembering how this put Prompto to sleep without fail. "If you promise to nap, I'll be here." as if he had anything else to do. He'd cleared his schedule to be here, this was his post until Prompto was discharged. When Prompto woke, Cor would be in his same seat, arms crossed, half dozing.
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Date: 2023-08-24 10:53 pm (UTC)Eventually he stirred. Those blue-violet eyes blinked open slowly. He was a little surprised to see that Cor had actually stayed. He shouldn't be. The man was a man of his word, after all. Again, he found himself wondering how many people got to see Cor Leonis like this. Part of him wondered if he was living in some bizarro alternate universe where Cor was a lot more human. Made sense to Prom's drug-fogged mind.
He couldn't help but smile. "You stayed," he said, quietly. Not wanting to disturb Cor, but also not wanting the guy to be uncomfortable and suffer for it later - gotta take care of those old man bones!
Prom needn't have worried about disturbing him, because an overly loud knock at the door followed that would no doubt do the trick. Titus Drautos stepped in. "Leonis! Orders from the King - go get some rest. I'll watch the kid."
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Date: 2023-08-25 12:21 am (UTC)Later, he thought he was mostly awake. He blinked up at Prompto and raised am eyebrow.
"What did you expect?"
He blinked at the sudden rap on the door. He knew that knock anywhere. Titus Drautos knocked like a damn cop about to kick in a door.
"Hm? Since when- nevermind." he knew better than to question orders from Drautos. Even if they were bullshit it was easier to step around the guy than to get him to admit fault. He wouldn't show any of that in front of Prompto.
"Understood. Argentum. See you around." he was back to The Marshal and out the door he went. Drautos waited, faced the door and listened for silence before turning on one heel and approaching Prompto with his typical aggressive gait. Too fast and too hard for anyone not currently in a fight.
He didn't look at the kid, merely his IV. He didn't speak to him and he produced a vial from his uniform.
"I was asked to give you this." his voice was the typical gruff and dispassionate leader. This sort of thing was beneath him.
"It helps the glaives, it'll burn a bit but don't fight it." he drew the pearly white contents of the vial into a syringe and was ready to inject it into Prom's IV.
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Date: 2023-08-25 12:51 am (UTC)"Sir," he acknowledged as Cor left.
Left alone with Drautos, Prom immediately felt uneasy and on edge. Why was the King sending the Captain of the Kingsglaive to play babysitter? It didn't make any sense.
"Sir, no offence... but I think I'd rather get my medication from professional doctors... What even is that stuff? Really, I'm feeling much better. On the mend already. I'll be back on the field in no time..."
Prompto's words fell on deaf ears though. Drautos paid him little mind as he injected the contents of the syringe into the IV. The pain was instant, burning through Prom's veins like... like poison... Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Prom ripped the IV out in a blind panic, trying to halt the damage. "... Why?!"
"You've become quite the thorn in my side, Argentum. To think, such an insignificant runt like you could single-handedly jeopardise all the plans we've been working towards for years."
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Date: 2023-08-25 01:53 am (UTC)"You're just like that sniveling prince. He wouldn't die when he was supposed to either." referring both you the daemon attack in Noct's youth and the attack on him again in Tenebrae.
"Alpha Daddy keeps saving him and now you, you little runt." he gripped Prompto by the arm, holding it in a menacing grip.
"I prefer there be no questions when I get rid of people. Your IV was easier but it can go in anywhere." he stuck the needle into Prompto's skin directly.
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Date: 2023-08-25 08:28 pm (UTC)Although, people really needed to learn that talking shit about Noctis in front of Prompto was a really, really bad idea. He glanced at the IV needle he'd yanked out of his skin. Before he lunged at Drautos, the needle was dangerously close to his jugular vein. "You wanna run that bit about Noct by me one more time?"
Meanwhile, not too far down the corridor Nyx passed Cor, greeting him. "Hey Marshal. Thought you were on babysitting duty with the kid? I was just going to poke my head in and see how he's doing since the boss cancelled training. Apparently, he had some meeting or something to attend."
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Date: 2023-08-25 10:00 pm (UTC)Titus Drautos knew the kid was in love with the prince but he didn't take him seriously enough. He'd never met an alpha he couldn't subdue. Especially this little twerp. Even if he surprised him with the needle to his neck. Drautos wasn't afraid. He'd buried his emotions and his soul decades ago.
Cor slowed down, turned on his heel, thinking. A meeting...? "He's in with Argentum. I don't remember any missives about him coming down the line though." he reached for his phone and his pocket was empty. Forgotten on Prompto's nightstand. He casually turned around to walk with Nyx. "May as well pop my head in too."
Back in the room, Titus exhaled softly, almost smiling. He liked destroying his victims emotionally before they died.
"Your little omega doesn't know when to die. He'd have been eaten alive twelve years ago if Regis hadn't interfered. Then again at Tenebrae. I'd have finished the job and cut him in half... but the king is old and weak now. Your prince is asleep... once I'm done here I can finish it. So don't fret, kid, your beloved Prince Noctis will be with you in hell very soon."
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Date: 2023-08-25 11:12 pm (UTC)Nyx couldn't shift the uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, his pace increased just a little.
Back in the room, Prompto growled at Drautos. The poison was making him feel quite sick and collapsing on the floor seemed like a fine plan, but he pushed through the pain. "I will not let you lay a single hand on Noct. Not now. Not ever." His insides were burning, but he could do this. He could keep Noct safe one last time.
He twisted his wrist, plunging the needle into Titus' jugular as he leaned in closer, rumbling. "I'll see you in Hell."
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Date: 2023-08-25 11:21 pm (UTC)He made it through the doorway just in time to see the needle plunge into Drautos' neck.
Titus had his back to the door.
"You little shit. You think this is going to hurt me? Dig it in, you'll be dead before I finish my work." he grit his teeth as the needle bit into his neck. He was bleeding out of his neck but not enough to bleed out. Hopefully.
Cor took a moment, an instant to register just what was happening. Was Drautos... had he really been a turncoat? All this time?
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Date: 2023-08-26 12:25 am (UTC)Without thinking, he warped across the room to try and separate the pair. "Easy, kid. Easy..." He tried to calm Prompto, pulling him back from Drautos.
Prompto wasn't having it though. Drautos was still breathing which meant Noctis was still in danger. Protect Noct. Protect his best friend. Protect his omega. Those were the only thoughts going through Prompto's head. He broke free of Nyx's grasp and lunged at Drautos once more, this time sinking his teeth into the man's throat, hellbent on tearing it out just like he did to Loqi and Caligo.
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Date: 2023-08-26 12:44 am (UTC)'You fool' he thought as Prompto's fangs dug into his skin. There was a popping sound of sinew, the ripping of flesh and blood everywhere.
As a last ditch attempt to defend himself, at the moment of Prompto's lunge, Drautos activated his imperial armor. Donning the suit known as General Glauca. It wasn't complete. But it was enough to identify him.
Prompto was faster. The man's throat was gone before the transformation could finish. He gripped the kid too hard on his bad shoulder. His gloved hand the armor of an imperial.
The same imperial who killed Queen Sylva in Tenebrae. The same imperial who tried to slay Noctis in his wheelchair. His eyes were wild. Furious. He gurgled... And then he was gone.
"You deserved worse." Cor muttered, standing over him. His eyes moved to Prom.
"You ok?"
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Date: 2023-08-26 01:11 am (UTC)Prompto spat a mouthful of Drautos's blood and flesh out of his mouth, wiping it as best as he could with the back of his hand. Drautos had really done a number on his already injured shoulder, agitating the barely healed wounded, causing them to bleed anew and the bruising to worsen.
He didn't look in a good way. Not too shocking, considering he had just murdered a man in cold blood - and not just any man, but the Captain of the Kingsglaive. A man handpicked by the King himself. If being a clone of a mad Imperial scientist wasn't treason, then this definitely had to be.
He nodded in response to Cor's question. "Guess I just bought you even more paperwork... soz..." That was all he managed to get out before he dropped.
Luckily, Nyx was close enough to catch him before he hit the ground. He lowered Prom to the ground, cradling him. "Shit... He's poisoned. We need an antidote... Hopefully we're not too late..."
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Date: 2023-08-26 01:37 am (UTC)'Clarus you need to get down here. It's a code red. Drautos is dead. Cor Out.'
He returned the phone to his pocket as Prompto was trying to apologize. He was woozy, his eyes were unfocused, Cor suspected poison and Nyx confirmed it. His veins were getting dark at the injection site.
"Not today." Cor pulled an antidote out of his armiger and cracked it over Prompto. "Fucking hell kid." he sighed.
"Ulric, this place is about to get busy. If you don't want to be caught in it I suggest you leave now."
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Date: 2023-08-26 02:07 am (UTC)Nyx continued to cradle Prompto as Cor cracked the antidote over him. It took a couple of agonisingly long minutes before the kid woke up. "Back with us? Take it easy, kid."
He helped Prompto to his feet and got him back into the bed. "Keep this up and you'll be stealing my nickname."
Prom didn't reply, he just stared at Drautos' lifeless corpse.
"Kid? You okay in there?"
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Date: 2023-08-26 02:26 am (UTC)He looked at Drautos. He should have known. He should have seen it but he didn't even consider that had a double agent.
"Regis never did it on purpose. It's all his body could handle to hold a wall over Insomnia. He hated it but it would have killed him if he tried to hold it over the entire nation... Titus never understood that. He always thought the king could have if he really wanted to. Holding the wall over Insomnia aged him before his time, he can use the crystal but he isn't super human."
He sighed.
"Drautos was bitter. I thought he'd gotten over it but he just hid it."
Then Prompto was awake but unresponsive.
"Kid... Look at me." he moved in closer. "It's over. He's gone... Noctis is alright." maybe that would get him out of his head.
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Date: 2023-08-26 02:42 am (UTC)Besides, he was invested. He had looked up to Drautos. Respected him. Fought for him. Bled for him. He needed to know just how deep within the Kingsglaive this thing went. "You think he's been working alone or do you think they are others?" It was a disturbing thought. The Glaive were supposed to be his brothers and sisters. How could they lay down their lives for their King if they had to worry about being stabbed in the back by one of their own?
Prompto blinked at Cor. "Noct? Yeah... Safe. Noct's safe... He's safe..." He kept his omega safe just like a good alpha should.
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