[From here because Tumblr formatting continues to frustrate me.]
@starshcll:
Prompto wasn’t good with crowds. He had bad anxiety, undiagnosed thanks to his ‘sheltered’ life in Gralea. He was used to behaving as composed as possible; he had to in order to live up to what was expected of him as Niflheim’s prince. But now that he was wandering with these Lucians (he still couldn’t believe they hadn’t killed him yet), crowds were a common thing. Nothing had been as bad as this particular city though. On top of the heat that came from the Disc and the city’s power plant, anxiety made Prompto feel even worse. He felt like everyone’s eyes were on him, like they all knew exactly who he was and hated him for it. He lasted a surprising half hour of sweating and trembling and nausea before he finally broke and ran from Noct and his retainers. He had no idea where he was going, just that he wanted to get away before he had a full blown panic attack.
The second Prompto took off, Noctis understood what was happening. He saw the blur of motion, felt the horror of the situation–
But something seemed to catch in his throat, wound around his legs, preventing him from either calling out or running after immediately. Guilt. He’d seen that the blond hadn’t been comfortable, but he’d hoped maybe… maybe he could get used to the place while they were waiting to get into the Leville–
Idiot. Noctis admonished himself, finally spurred into a run by the thought that if he didn’t move right then, they might lose track permanently. Despite Gladio’s grunt and Ignis’ half-heard protest, he flung a hand back and signaled that they shouldn’t follow him, pointing; Go around, go around, we’ll find him faster that way.
Idiot. He was an idiot. Rounding the corner he’d seen Prompto disappear around, he slowed to a jog just long enough to look for any signs of the next correct turn. Fuck, the city really was a maze, and he had to find the blond. Had to. Soon. He was probably getting even more dangerously overheated in a strange city where he might need to lay low to stay safe to start, and Noctis didn’t even know if Prompto understood what heatstroke was, what it felt like, what to look out for. He wasn’t about to just let the guy die.
Yeah, he was going to get shit from it. A yelling lecture from Gladio at the very least. But he’d insisted the blond accompany them because he wanted Prompto to be safe. Political tensions be damned, he saw a good person underneath everything. A good person under shitty circumstances, and he… he wasn’t going to abandon the hope that maybe he could do something. It was all his responsibility.
Then where the hell was best to look? A secluded, shaded place, maybe. Noctis hurried along, glancing in dark corners and doorways, mumbling quietly to himself, “Come on, Prompto, where are you…”












