Beta read by: SinikkavonWolperting and istoleyourcheesecake

Song for this one is "First Day of My Life" By:Bright Eyes. And as always, marked where to listen.

Welp, here it is, the last chapter. ;w; And I don't think I'll be doing another chapter story until August, since I plan on one of the prompts from FFXVWeek to turn into a multi-chapter, and don't wanna risk running into that one. So, there will be many more, but for the time being, gonna hold off. lol

Hopefully this was enjoyable, and let me no if this is the type people would want more of. C:

And, I just typed out all my responses, but internet and FF being the pieces of shit they are just decided that EVEN THOUGH IT WAS JUST SAVED, that it wanted to undo all my edits, and sorry, but I don't feel like typing it all again. ;w; I'll get back with replies later though.

He sat there, staring off mindlessly as he watched another inferno in the distance; another raging fire as it consumed another chunk of their world. Giants trailed out, leading the hungry hues. "Guess this is life now," Prompto sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. "This is the second fire I've seen this week that's been able to grow to that size."

"On the bright side, it has to run out of fuel at some point," Gladio offered, trying to lighten the mood at least a little. But, he should have known better than that.

He heard the hum that left the blond and caught the slight nod out of the corner of his eye. "Can't help but wonder," he turned his attention up towards the blackened sky, void of even the brightest of stars. "If- when all this is over, how long do you suppose it'll take for life to return? And I don't mean normal life for us, what I mean is, like plants and just the liveliness overall." He cut his eyes over to read the other's expression, "Wouldn't be surprised if it couldn't grow back. Five years without sun wouldn't be easy to recover from."

The older man chewed on the inside of his cheek in thought, how the hell was he supposed to know? He was pretty sure there wasn't a soul alive that could say for sure if things even could come close to what it was before. But, "You know, this isn't the first time this has happened, right?" Reaching out, he placed a heavy hand on the blond's shoulder. "The world bounced back then, so it wouldn't be surprising if it does again."

"I guess you have a point." Prompto lowered his head and gave a small smile, "Suppose it would take a bit of time though."

"Most things do." The brute leaned back, placing his hands behind him for support, "Just have to be patient."

The other nodded once again, this time letting out a small chuckle, "That's something I think we could both work on a bit more." His face faltered, taking on a more serious appearance, "Though, one can only wait but so long."

The man's eyebrows raised with curiosity, "You're not thinking of doing anything stupid, are you?"

"Me?" he asked sarcastically. "Do something stupid? Please, have bit more faith in me." Coughing lightly, he dropped his gaze back to his lap, "You know, I've been thinking. It has been a while, and I know you guys are probably sick of hearing about it. But, what if Noctis has already managed to get out. And, what if he's out there right now?"

Gladio didn't say it, but occasionally he couldn't help but think the same. But it wasn't like they had any way of knowing, they'd only know if something happened to him. Particularly if you were no longer alive, but no way of knowing whether he were still in the crystal or not. "Prompto, you just have to have faith and trust him," he mumbled, leaning back until his back was flat against the pavement.

He wasn't sure why he expected any other answer, "You're right."

For the majority of the night, the allowed silence to come between them, if you could call the subtle quakes and cries of the damned in the background silence, that is. The only other sounds occupying the space between them were each other's breathing and the occasional sniff or cough. "I think I'm about to head to bed," Gladio sat up with a light groan. Pushing himself up and climbing to his feet, he gave the blond a small wave, "Try not to stay out here too much longer, don't want Ignis lecturing you again, I'm sure."

"Don't worry, I won't be out here too much longer," he assured, not moving from his spot. He waited until the steps disappeared and then some; waited until he was certain they wouldn't be coming back. After about an hour of lying there, he finally decided to sit up and take a look around, satisfied to see the place mostly empty aside from a hunter roaming around here and there as they patrolled the area.

He stood up and brushed himself up, mostly to look more casual, he guessed, and headed towards Cindy's garage where he knew all the working vehicles were kept for their use. "So much for not doing anything stupid," he muttered to himself, stepping right inside and instantly began looking for anything that wouldn't draw much attention if it were to go missing. And that's when the slick black caught his attention, "This will do."

One of the only perks to living in this hell, was that people didn't often ask questions; it seemed to be somewhat of an unspoken rule: just don't meddle in the business of others. Everyone had their issues and everyone had their different priories, so it was almost a mutual understanding that things had to be done and not all wished to speak about it. With no eyes on him, he plugged in his headphones and turned on his playlist, turning the volume up loud enough to make sure most things went unheard; to isolate himself from the goings on around him.

There was no looking back, he'd go do what he had to do, and he'd come back. It may take some time, but he was coming back. "I'm coming, Noctis, I promise."

He didn't even come close to making it; not even an hour in and he already found a way to screw it up. And now look at him. Stuck in some run-down hotel as he marinated in his own self-pity. Not to mention, all that time keeping his problem under control, out the window. Prompto didn't see any way out of this mess; he was alone without the means to contact either of the others anymore. Flipping over to his back, he folded his arms over his chest to stare up at the ceiling, "The world bounced back before. So, who's to say it can't again?" As he said that out loud, he half expected to get the shield's approval, but it never came. "Then again, there's always a good chance it won't," he sighed, the sounds of the raging daemons reaching his ears from the distance.

Prompto flopped his arms out to either side, still watching the patterns above him as they wavered in and out of focus, either that or it was moving, and he highly doubted that were the case. Would it really even matter if he were to get up, was there a point? It seemed every time he got up and tried to do anything only resulted in him falling flat on his face and in need of being lifted back up. Something he could hardly do for himself. He blinked heavily and turned his head to the side, gazing down the length of his arm, eyes landing on his wrist band. Despite the others knowing, it was still a comforting accessory to have on.

And to think, that used to be the most of his worries, it seemed almost laughable now. Yet, Noctis had still accepted him knowing what he was and where he had come from. Then again, that was something he had no control over, but this; this was something that was born of his own poor decisions and lack of self control. It was hard to believe he'd feel the same if he knew about all this. It was shameful and he was thankful he didn't get to see this side of him, knowing how much it would disappoint him.

"Noct, I let ya down, didn't I?" he breathed out, closing his eyes to roll his head to face the ceiling once more. "And you had so much faith, didn't you?" he whispered There was no way he'd be able to face him like this, ever. That wasn't an option even if he were to give up right here on the spot. He couldn't face him if he were to carry on like this, and he couldn't face him if he were to call it quits. It almost seemed like an fantasy at this point. An unachievable dream in his eyes. But, he couldn't continue to let him down either, he'd done that enough as it were, and continuing to do so would be nothing but insulting to Noctis' choice to bring him into this. If he failed, it would have been the same as tell Noctis that he made the wrong decision.

There had to be a way out of this mess; there just had to be, but things weren't exactly looking to be in his favor. Using the foot of the bed, he hefted himself up with a wince, his body still not agreeing with all the moving around. He allowed himself only a second before pulling himself the rest of the way up and stood unsteadily on his feet. 'Not sure how this is gonna work,' he thought to himself, 'But, it kinda has to someway.'

As he went to take that first step, his foot tapped against the bottle that still sat there and he glanced down. For a moment he merely stared down, and eventually leaned over to pick it up. He held it in both hands, glancing over the label but not really focusing on it. Gripping it a tad tighter, he slowly shook his head. 'I either kick it, or I don't, This shouldn't be something that I have to think about.' he replayed in his head, remembering back to when he first decided that he wanted to come over this crippling dependency. With a scowl of disgust, he pulled it back with one hand. The next thing he knew, is there was a loud crash, shattering echoing off the walls as his back was turned to the room, and hopefully for the last time.

He wasn't sure what he was doing exactly, in fact, he had absolutely no idea where he was going from here. All he knew was that he needed something, some sort of way. He needed a better vantage point, getting a good look around might help him figure it out. Then he remembered, to get to the roof, he'd have to go outside. "Of course, I do," he breathed out, forcing himself forward, deciding not to dwell on any what-ifs for the time being.

Stepping over debris and other various obstacles, he tediously found his way back to the front entrance, there he hesitated; he took a moment to scan the area right outside, wanting to be absolutely sure he'd be safe enough long enough to make it where he needed to. Satisfied with the outcome, he took a calming breath and slowly pushed the door open. Since the effects of his moment of frailty were still clutching at him, this task was a bit more tricky than it should have been, but he managed.

The chill of the breeze hit him like a truck, and he instinctively wrapped his arms around himself to subdue the shiver that tried to creep up. He only gave a swift glance around before hauling it as quickly as his battered self would allow around to the back. There it was, the ladder up. Though, finding it was one thing, getting up there was something on a completely different level of functionality. He had this though, he's done much more difficult things under worse conditions. "You got this," he told himself, gripping the first rung and hefted himself up. One step and one pull at a time, and he was surprisingly making it up rather effortlessly. Despite the constant doubt in his heart that either his numbness or the deterioration of the ladder would cause his downfall.

A small chuckle of victory broke out as he climbed over the edge, falling over to his back the moment he was on solid ground again. "No problem," he uttered between breaths. Ok, the easy part was over, but there was still the hassle of figuring out a way out of this mess. And, even with the hope he had, there was still that large weight of doubt resting upon his shoulders. He gave his hands a quick shake, trying to get feeling back into them and got back to his feet with only one small stumble.

Stepping farther towards the center, he stopped to look at the view, not so much for the sake of looking for a way out, but for the familiarity of the view, minus a few changes. And, for nostalgic sake, he strolled over to the ledge and easily dropped himself in that same spot. He figured he could take his time, not like he was running the risk of running out of day...

"Hey, you can't just stop halfway," Noctis tried to urge on while still remaining casual at the same time.

The blond chuckled nervously, "Yeah, I know." He glanced over to the prince and instantly looked back away, feeling a bit awkward at holding that contact for too long. "I used to be super shy, couldn't talk to people," he finally started speaking what was on his mind. "No surprises, but I had no friends - at least not real ones." Noctis remained silent, taking it all in, afraid that interrupting him would cause him to retreat back into his fortified shell. "I was always alone. And there were times when I felt, well, worthless," he grew quiet again, unsure if he were spilling too much or not.

The other sat for a moment, considering his words, wanting to make sure nothing came out the wrong way. "That's what's been bugging you?" he decided on, still going for nonchalant.

The blond's mouth opened and closed a couple times before he could produce actual words, "I-I mean, when you look at me, you wouldn't think that I'm anything but a fun-loving, happy-go-lucky joker. But, that isn't the real me. Behind all the quips and laughs, I'm a mess at hang-ups." He kept his gaze forward, finding it easier to speak his mind when he wasn't staring the person in the face. "I've always felt inferior to you guys. I'm not royalty, and I'm not strong. I'm nothing, really. Unlike Gladio, I'm not good with people. The way he connects with them, he's operating on a different level. Unlike Ignis, I'm not smart and I can't cook to save myself." He finally built up the courage to glance back over, wanting this part to be spoken directly to the other, "But when we hang out, it's so much fun, I forget what I'm not. Then reality hits me like a splash of cold water, and I remember that I don't belong. But, I want to."

"Every moment, I'm desperate to earn my place - to prove that I'm good enough," and he was back to looking off in the distance once again.

Again, Noctis had to let those words simmer for a few seconds before he could formulate a welcomed response. "Think what you will, but I think you're good enough for me," he kept his voice low and precise, leaving no room for doubt.

"So, you really think I'm doing ok?"he asked more out of surprise than anything. It wasn't quite the reply he had been expected, but it was the one he had hoped to hear.

"Yeah, I do," he casually brushed off, but Prompto could see right through the act. "Anything else?"

Still slightly taken off guard, the blond stuttered with his words, "U-uh no, nothing at all. I'm sorry I got so real all of a sudden," a slight grin tugged at the corner of his mouth, but he tried his best to keep it under control.

"You should know better by now," Noctis went on, not done with his short, personalized lecture. "You think I make time for just any old loser?"

"Huh?" he jumped slightly at the playful insult, which transitioned fluidly into another light laugh, "Why, you mad, bro?" And, just like that, his more composed self was back, "Seriously though, thanks for making time for this loser."

Glancing at the raven for a second, he turned back towards the view, a sigh of relief leaving him, "Feels good to get that off my chest."

"Happy to hear."

"Alright," he chirped out, back to his usual animated and cheerful self, "I'm gonna keep on keepin' on, the only way I know how." With a small wave, he jumped up to his feet, nearly skipping by as he made his way back towards the ladder.

"Yeah, you do that."

"I'm gonna get out of this," he declared to himself, deciding that he would refuse to take anything else as an option. Noctis was coming back, and he was gonna be there for it, dammit. No matter what it took, he'd be there. Prompto got back to his feet and clapped his hands together, a small gasp coming out with the slight stumble that came with it. Seems he was still a bit on the unstable side when it came to balance, he'd have to be a lot more careful about that. Placing one hand against the 'T' of the motel sign, he leaned into and watched the scene before him. Not a tremendous amount of time had went by when something rather odd caught his attention... light. Two of them at that.

His eyes widened and breath caught when recognition struck him; those were headlights, a rare sight these days, but a much welcomed one. He had to get their attention, by any means necessary. And whatever he did, he had to act fast, they were approaching at a rather swift speed. There wasn't time for thinking, meaning there wasn't time for going back down the same way he had gone up. The idea of shooting to get attention was quickly dismissed when he remembered all the roaming enemies, and if they hadn't noticed him yet, there was no doubt they would after that.

He had to act, so taking a deep breath, and deciding it was best not to dwell on what he was about to do, he just went for it. As he leaped forward, easily falling into his short-lived sprint, he mainly prayed these were friendly people and not those out looking just for someone to loot or something. Those were slowly becoming a bigger and more dangerous threat that they had to keep an eye out for. The urge to close his eyes the moment his feet left solid ground was near impossible to fight, but he had to do it; he was positive he couldn't afford screwing up a landing right now, not when he was already sore and slightly intoxicated as it were. The ground approaching faster than he anticipated, he braced himself, and as soon his he felt something solid beneath him, he tried his best to roll into it.

Whatever pains and pangs he felt from that, he pushed them aside for now, he could still move and get back up on his feet, so that's all that really mattered; anything else could wait until later when he was out of here. He could hear it now, he could finally make it out over the various other sounds polluting the air. It was so close, and he sprinted the rest of the distance, ignoring the protests of his limbs. This was it, he was now skidding to a halt in the middle of the road, providing them with only a few options: hitting him, swerving around him, or stopping. And, of course, he silently prayed for the last of those choices.

Prompto closed his eyes as the lights nearly blinded him, only a few feet away now, the screeching of the breaks quickly followed. He held his breath, waiting for the collision, one that never greeted him. Before he had the chance to open his eyes, he heard one of the doors open. "What is it?" the question reached him, and he instantly knew the owner.

"Iggy?" he asked, slightly stunned and dared to crack one of his eyes open, relieved that the headlights were now dimmed enough for him to still make out a few things.

He heard footsteps come from the same side as the door. "Prompto... what," Gladio started, clearly just as confused about finding him here. "What the hell are you doing out here?" the younger could tell by his tone that he was a bit less than pleased about this encounter.

Prompto didn't know how to respond right away, but he stepped away when he heard the man step closer and could make out his silhouette now. "I-I had to take care of something," he finally answered vaguely.

"What could you possibly need to do that involves running off without a word to either of us?" the shield stepped closer, finally able to see the man properly. He glanced him over, looking over the scraps and scuffs covering him, and his eyebrows knit together, "What happened?"

The blond nervously wrapped a hand around his upper left arm. "Accident," he shrugged. "It's fine though," he lowered his gaze.

"Accident?" Gladio asked in an incredulous manner. His attention flicked over as he heard the other exiting the vehicle, "Ignis, there's no need to get out."

The adviser dipped his head, obviously paying the suggestion no mind as he carefully made his way to stand before the younger. "Prompto, I do hope you at least have a good reason for being out here, as well as an explanation for your phone being off."

His eyes shifted uncomfortable, "Sorry, but my phone kind of broke." Reaching into his pocket, he procured the remains of the device which looked to be shot to hell and back. He felt the focus bearing down on him, waiting for his answer to the other question, and he knew there wasn't a chance of him blowing it off. "I was, uh, I was going back," there was no need for clarification.

"How many times have we gone through this?" Gladio sighed, starting to lose his patience, his arms now folded in an annoyed stance.

"I know, but..." he trailed off, having no logical reasoning for his actions, but he still needed them to understand.

Ignis' face scrunched slightly as he stood there, his mouth forming a straight line as he turned his head slightly. "Prom," he started, voice precise and low, "What did you do?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, innocence shining through. "I told you."

"No, not that," he shifted his weight over to his other foot. "I can smell it."

The larger took those words and that tone as an invitation to close the gap between the gunner and himself. And, sure enough, as soon as he was close enough he sniffed the air and knew exactly what Ignis had meant. Taking a deep and calming breath before he completely lost his temper, he set the smaller with a heavy and severely unimpressed stare. "You have three seconds to explain," he left no room for argument, and a firm hand placed itself on the other's shoulder to prevent him from leaving the spot.

He held his breath, his throat seemingly to tighten around that request; the fact that there was none, none that warranted such a slip up, only made him fidget anxiously under the man's scrutiny. "There is none," he whispered, glancing away. "It was only supposed to be enough... to, you know, take the edge off," he gestured to his own form with his free hand. "But, I didn't mean for it... to carry on." He could practically feel the mood tilt. "I know I messed up, I know, but I stopped myself before it got worse," he nodded, looking the other in the eyes for the first time.

Prompto expected an outburst, and he half wanted it in hopes that it would make up for how much of an idiot he was; he almost craved it. "Just get in the car," he sighed, letting his hand slip away and turned on the spot, leaving the gunner to stand there with only Ignis there to stand next to him.

"Come on, we shouldn't stay here too long," the brunet offered, reaching to pat the other's arm, but missing by about an inch. Slightly embarrassed, he turned as well and made his way back to the passenger seat with way more caution than earlier.

"Yeah. Right," Prompto bowed his head back down, his adrenaline now fully wearing of and every ache from the last hours finally catching up. It was a tad painful to climb into the backseat, but he refused to utter a single complaint; this was all his fault, so he didn't have the right to whine about the outcome of it.

-SONG-

For most of the ride, they sat there in silence, the only sounds being the car and the occasional hiss from the youngest when they hit any particularly rough patches. Around about the fifth gasp, Ignis reached down into whatever baggage he had at his feet and withdrew a lightly glowing vial and wrapped his hand around the back of his seat. "Here," he muttered, "I'm sure you could really use one right about now."

"I say we leave it as is," Glaido mumbled under his breath. "He got himself into this mess, he can deal with the consequences of that."

"Gladi-"

"He's right," the blond cut in, really not wanting an argument to break out. "Don't waste it on me. They aren't that easy to come by anymore, so it's best to save it anyway."

There was a reluctant exhale and a small hum. "Very well, but you should at least have someone look at you when we get back," he basically asked.

"I will," he leaned his head back, the side of it throbbing and he raised a hand to attempt to rub out the stabs. Of course, it had little effect, it served more as a distraction that anything. "You know," he spoke back up, the silence driving him mad, "I actually considered it. I thought about downing the whole bottle," he chuckled darkly at that. "It would have been easy enough, but then I thought back to what you said earlier." He gazed into the mirror to meet those raging amber eyes which glanced back.

Gladio said nothing, switching his gaze back to the road, he turned down the next path and stayed silent. Prompto tore his own away now and leaned his head against the window to stare out. "Thanks," he breathed out. "I know I never actually said it before, but I really do appreciate everything you've done. And, I know it couldn't have been easy for either of you..." he stopped to breathe in with a shudder. "And I know you guys didn't have to give a damn. But, you still stayed." Closing his eyes, he allowed his face to press against the coolness of the glass, "I'm sorry, even though it's probably meaningless now, you still deserve an apology."

"Doesn't change the fact that you're a pain in the ass," the shield finally replied. "You can thank and apologize all you want, that won't change." He glanced back up in time to see the forced grin tug at the corner of the gunner's mouth, which disappeared just as quickly. "Am I pissed? Of course, I am, and I probably will be tomorrow as well."

"I would be concerned if you weren't," he replied lightly.

Gladio grunted at that, and without warning, snatched the potion that was still gripped in the brunet's hand before tossing it back. A startled yelp sounded out as the small container landed in his lap. "Just use it, before I change my mind."

For a few seconds, he could only stare down at it, his fingers barely mustering up the courage to glance over it, "B-but..." he stuttered, not feeling right about this."

"It's fine," the larger man assured. "We have quite a few stocked up that's been acquired from rescues and whatnot, there's enough to last for at least a year or so. So long as there's no more reckless behavior," he sharply punctuated that last bit.

Nodding, Prompto gave it a squeeze, and winced as the warm and tingling sensation enveloped him with small stings. "Thank you," he whispered, stretching out his legs to test the results of that.

"Don't mention it."

"And... thanks for coming after me. I'm not sure how you found me, but I'd most likely be dead if you hadn't," he felt a pressing burden against his heart at the truth of the matter.

At this, Ignis had to chuckle, "Pretty easy when one of the only vehicles is missing and so is the best friend of His Highness."

"We couldn't exactly leave you out there," Gladio sighed. "Besides, you're one of us, right?" Prompto jumped slightly at that and cracked open an eye to see the slight smirk.

"Unless you'd rather not be," Ignis followed up with a friendly smile of his own.

Prompto was left speechless, and he blamed it on his tired and overwhelmed brain for that. But, he still returned the expression and sighed out in content. No doubt he'd have to work on building some of that trust back up, but this was at least a good sign; at least they hadn't given up on him yet. Which meant he couldn't either, it wouldn't be fair to any of them if he were to. He relaxed his head back against the seat, finding that to be far more comfortable, and muttered just low enough for himself, "Keep on keepin' on."

Ok, I may have previously lied about the ending not being good...