A/N: This is the cutest I have ever made Prompto, but it's because he's only five when we started this. SO CUTE! Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story. Many thanks to MilayaMilenZeal for her help!

King & Companion

Chapter 1

'A-ah! Momma, wait up!' a little blonde pup yelped as he tried to keep up with his pack. They were running from hunters, the humans having been following them for days now.

'Come on, Prompto! They're going to catch us!' his mother warned, hurrying back to him and nudging him along before dashing ahead to the rest of the pack. As Prompto tried desperately to catch up, he suddenly tripped, hitting the forest floor with a pained yip, but when he scrabbled to his paws to try and run after them, he could only watch helplessly as his pack ran off without him.

The little pup whimpered, but as soon as he heard the hunters approaching, he dashed into the underbrush, where he hid as they got closer. Prompto suppressed his terrified whimpers as best as he could, waiting until the hunters had gotten out of earshot to start crying. He whined and cried, terrified that he was alone, with none of his pack to help or care for him. The blonde was still too young to be on his own, and he didn't even want to be alone, for that matter.

As the small pup briefly paused his crying to sniffle, his ears picked up a sound he vaguely recognized; that of human boots crunching against the leaves that littered the forest floor. A terrified whimper escaped Prompto unbidden, and he hunkered down against the roots of the bush he was hiding in, whining uncontrollably. When the sound stopped, Prompto was able to breathe…

That is until the sound started again, and this time getting closer to him. Not wanting to be captured, the blonde figured it would be best to run at this point, and with a fearful noise, he bolted from the bush. However, before he could get far, he found himself grabbed by the scruff of his neck and pulled backward. Prompto squealed in terror, his ears going flat against his head and his tail tucking between his legs as he struggled to escape the grasp on his scruff.

"Easy, there, easy, little one…" a slightly gruff voice murmured, which was followed by gentle fingers sliding along his head and scratching behind his ears. Against his will, the pup slowly stopped struggling, but he still whimpered and whined fearfully.

"It's okay… Sssh… I'm not going to hurt you…" the same voice murmured as the touch moved from his head to move along his back all the way to his tail. And this gentle motion repeated over and over. Prompto's body began to relax, much to the blonde's dismay, and he tried to look at his captor, squirming in the grasp on his scruff.

The person holding him down didn't look like a hunter; dressed in pitch black clothes, matching his ebony hair. He watched the small pup with dark, steely blue eyes that regarded him gently. "There we go…" he murmured softly, gently running his fingers along the pup's head. "Where's your mom, little one?"

'…W…with my pack… Hunters were after us, a-and—' the blonde whimpered hesitantly, but was cut off when he heard agonized and terrified howls and cries in the direction his pack had gone. Tears began to form in his eyes, and he whimpered miserably, knowing the hunters had caught up to them.

The man looked in the direction of the howls and frowned. "…"

Instead of saying anything, though, he moved his arm and scooped the pup up along, resting him along his clothed arm as he slowly stood up, still scratching him behind his ear. Prompto trembled against the man, beginning to sob. He knew he was alone for sure now, as his whole pack had been killed, based off the silence that soon followed after as the man headed towards the source of the noise. As he walked, the man continued to gently rub along his head. It took only a few minutes for him to reach the area, but he swiftly placed his hand over the pup's eyes.

The blonde pawed briefly at the hand over his eyes with a small whine, but soon stopped, realizing he didn't want to see his dead pack members, let alone his mother. A set of cold laughs resounded through the air, as the hunters laughed and joked about how easy this hunt had been. And all the while, the man holding Prompto in his arms remained silent as he used his thumb to rub along the pup's cheek.

"…"

But after listening to the hunters' taunts for a little longer, the man turned around and crouched down, setting the pup down on the ground, under a small bush to the side. "Stay here… okay?" he whispered softly. "I'll be right back… I promise…"

'O…okay…' Prompto stuttered, nodding quietly as he hunkered down in the bush. The man gently ran his fingers along the pup's head, before he stood up and walked in the direction of the hunters. And then, without warning, he hopped down into the clearing. The blonde gaped at the sight, wondering just what this man was thinking. Didn't he realize how dangerous hunters are?!

No sooner had he thought that, there was a loud bang from the discharge of a gun—followed shortly by a scream of fear. And as more gunshots and screams followed the first discharge, a third sound joined it; a sort of furious hissing growl.

Within only a few minutes, though, everything fell silent, once more. Prompto whimpered quietly, wondering if the man was okay. Just then, the man suddenly jumped back up from the clearing, quietly wiping something from his mouth as he walked back to the small pup. The blonde watched him worriedly, his bright blue eyes curious.

When he spotted the look, the man smiled softly and crouched down by his side. "It's okay…" he murmured, reaching out and scratching the pup's ear. "They won't hurt you, or anyone else ever again…"

Prompto leaned into the touch now, already finding himself beginning to trust this man. His mother had taught him to never trust humans, but this man couldn't be human. Not with how he had obviously killed those hunters on his own. He finally had to ask, though.

'Who…who are you…?' he asked softly.

The man smiled in return and said, "My name is Noctis. What's yours?"

'Prompto…' the pup whispered shyly. 'Y…you're not human, are you?'

The man's expression sobered for a brief moment before he gave another, small smile as he shook his head. "No… At least…not anymore…" he admitted. He waited for a moment, before asking, "Does that bother you?"

Prompto shook his head, now comforted by the news that Noctis wasn't human. Humans were the most dangerous to him. Now pressing into the raven's touch, the blonde smiled a little. 'What are you, then?' he asked, looking up at Noctis with his bright blue eyes.

The innocent question made Noctis hum softly, before answering. "I'm a Nightwalker. Not sure if you've ever heard of those, though…"

'Uh-uh,' the blonde replied.

"Haha… I figured. Probably for the better…" Noctis said with a chuckle as he lowered his other hand. "C'mon…let's get you somewhere safe, okay?"

'…Can I stay with you, Noctis…?' Prompto asked nervously when he was picked up. He didn't want to be alone, and this Nightwalker had been so nice to him already.

This question earned him a curious look from the Nightwalker before the man chuckled. "Much as I'd want to…fairly sure Iggy will get on my case about keeping pets…particularly Shifters."

'But…I dun wanna be alone…' the pup whimpered, sniffling.

"Hey now… don't start the waterworks now…" Noctis warned gently. "You're only making this harder for me…" Prompto whimpered pitifully, pouting miserably as he looked at Noctis. In turn, Noctis bit down on his lip, before he groaned. "Okay, okay! I'll talk to Specs… Just…stop looking at me like that, will ya?"

'You mean it?!' the blonde yipped, wagging his tail excitedly.

"Yeah, I mean it…so settle down, kay?" Noctis chuckled.

'Thank you!' Prompto squeaked, nuzzling himself against Noctis.

The gesture made the Nightwalker chuckle warmly, even as he pushed away a few branches overhead, ducking under the next batch and steadily leaving the forest for the less populated areas. However, as he looked off to the horizon, he frowned.

"…daybreak's coming…" he murmured softly.

'What's wrong with that?' the pup questioned, confused. But Noctis didn't reply; instead, he adjusted his hold on Prompto and began to jog, taking care not to jostle the small pup too much. Prompto went quiet at the lack of response, but he stayed still in the Nightwalker's hold regardless.

After almost five minutes of nonstop running, Noctis finally cleared the forest. And just beyond the tree line, down the small hill, was a dark black object that Prompto vaguely recognized as a "car" (or "moving death machines", as his father had called them), with a man leaning up against. As they approached, however, Prompto realized the man was human, based upon his scent, and he squealed, trembling in Noctis's hold.

"Easy…that's just Iggy…" Noctis whispered softly as he approached the vehicle.

And as he did, the sandy blonde human frowned from behind his glasses. "Noct, just what did you bring back this time?"

"Not now, Ignis, the Nightwalker almost hissed out. "Daybreak."

"Right…apologies," the man—Ignis—said as he opened the door to the back of the car.

And once he had, Noctis stepped inside, not even looking up as the door was shut behind him, plunging the small area into pitch-blackness.

'Why's it so dark?' Prompto whimpered.

"Ah, sorry…" came the quick apology, before Noctis flicked on some soft lights that provided just enough light to be able to see. "I like to nap in the back… Works easier when it's dark."

'That makes sense,' the blonde nodded, wagging his tail a little, but then he stopped, tucking his tail slightly. 'Who's the human from earlier? I'm scared of humans…'

"Don't worry…Iggy's okay. Little grumpy, but he's okay."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," the human's voice called out from the front of the vehicle, which made Noctis chuckle.

'He sounds grumpy,' Prompto giggled. Noctis smiled at the quip, reaching out to gently scratch Prompto behind his ear.

"Well?" Ignis's voice called out, and Noctis sighed.

"He's got no one else, Ignis…hunters," he stated solemnly. "So I'm taking him with us."

"Noct, need I remind you that you are still speaking about a wild animal?"

"No, and I don't care."

'I'm not bad!' the blonde protested, pouting. This outburst was met with a soft pat on the head from Noctis.

"Noct, you know what the council thinks of creatures… Shifters in particular," Ignis continued.

"Again, I don't care. He's staying and that's that."

Silence followed the resolute statement before there was a heavy sigh. "Very well. But he's your responsibility, Noct."

"Yes, mother," the Nightwalker said sarcastically.

"Mum's the word," came the casual chuckle, before the car roared briefly and began to drive off.

'…Ignis is weird,' Prompto snickered. Noctis chuckled in response, rubbing Prompto's head softly even as he toed off his shoes. Once they were gone, he turned around, and laid himself down on the backseat, holding Prompto in his lap gently.

'I'm glad you found me, Noctis,' the pup mumbled tiredly as he yawned. The night's events had caught up with him, and he was exhausted.

Smiling, the Nightwalker rested his hand on the small wolf's back. "Get some rest, Prom…we'll be home before you know it…"

Prompto gave a pleased sound at the thought of having a home again, as well as from hearing the nickname. 'Kay…' he whispered, before curling up in Noctis's lap, falling asleep soon after.

Noctis smiled as the small shifter fell asleep on his lap. After watching him for a little longer, gently rubbing his back, he put his hand behind his head after flicking off the light. He figured he could get some sleep of his own in before they arrived.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

"Noctis."

Groaning, the Nightwalker blinked open his eye slowly. "…hm?"

Ignis merely chuckled from where he stood by the entrance of the car. "We've arrived."

"Hmm…already?" Noctis murmured, yawning, before he moved over and clambered out of the car. As he stood up, he adjusted his hold on Prompto, holding him close against his chest.

The blonde whined a bit at the motion, before waking up with a whiny yawn. 'Where are we…?' he asked sleepily.

"We're home," Noctis said simply, smiling warmly as he moved his finger along the wolf's head. Prompto raised his head, blinking the sleep out of his eyes, before looking around curiously.

The surrounding area was dimly lit; the lamps providing only just enough light to let one see where one was going. There were other vehicles in the room, too, so Prompto figured this was just a place where humans kept their cars, since there didn't appear to be anything else.

"You wanna walk yourself, or you fine where you are?" Noctis asked with a chuckle.

'I don't wanna fall behind again…' the pup whimpered, remembering that that was how he lost his pack.

"Sssh…it's okay…" Noctis assured him, gently rubbing his back to soothe him. Prompto calmed quickly from the soothing touch, pressing himself against Noctis's chest, enjoying his warmth as Ignis began to lead them somewhere.

The hallways they walked through were properly lit, even though the walls were painted in black with only the occasional sliver of silver in between. Despite how Ignis seemed to be leading the way, Noctis didn't seem to need it.

Finally, they arrived at a doorway. "Need I prepare some food for your new… 'pet'?"

"He's not a 'pet', Ignis," Noctis pointed out firmly.

"Right… Apologies."

'What's a 'pet'?' the blonde asked, confused. He'd never heard the word before.

Noctis sighed softly. "I'll explain later…do you want some food, Prom?" Before Prompto could reply, though, his stomach growled, answering the question.

Noctis laughed at that, and even Ignis couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped him. "Point taken. I'll be back later."

"Right, thanks, Iggy."

Nodding briefly, Noctis then turned to the door and pushed it open, walking into the room as Ignis walked off.

The room was just as dark as the rest of the building, but Noctis flicked on the light to let Prompto see. There was a lot in the room that Prompto had no idea of what they were, but what drew his attention the most was the giant object in the middle, which appeared to be very soft.

Which, turns out, it was, as Noctis put Prompto down on it…and he almost sank down into the object.

'So soft!' the pup squealed, curling up into a ball on it with a giggle. 'What is this?'

Noctis laughed as he climbed on after kicking off his shoes. "It's called a 'bed'. This is where we sleep," he explained.

'You sleep in a lot of places, huh?' Prompto guessed with a toothy grin as he scrabbled into Noctis's lap again.

"What can I say?" the Nightwalker chuckled, petting the pup as he settled. "Naps are nice."

The blonde relaxed at the comforting touch, his tail slowly wagging. 'They are,' he agreed. As he lay in Noctis's lap, though, he remembered how Ignis had tried to argue his staying with the raven. '…Noctis?'

"Hm?"

'Can I stay forever? I don't ever wanna leave…'

Noctis blinked, twice, before he smiled. "Sure."

'Really?! Thank you thank you thank you!' Prompto cheered, jumping up and licking the Nightwalker's cheek gratefully.

"Hahaha! Okay, okay! I get it! Easy!" Noctis laughed, ruffling the pup's head. The blonde squeaked in surprise at the ruffling, before settling against his savior.

'I like you a lot, Noctis. You make me feel safe, and you didn't hurt me when you found me,' Prompto smiled happily.

"Glad to know I've made a good enough impression," Noctis said with a smile, before he lifted Prompto up and set him down on one of the bed's pillows—which the pup literally sank into. Prompto gave a startled squeal, somehow managing to squirm his way out, before he pouted at Noctis.

'I liked your lap better…'

This made the Nightwalker laugh. "Well, give me a little bit, okay? Unlike Shifters, we actually need to do one more thing before going to sleep," he said as he climbed off the bed. The pup watched from the bed's pillow as Noctis walked over to a large wooden part of the wall, before parting the wood in two parts.

'Whoa…!' he gasped. 'What is that?'

A soft hum escaped the Nightwalker as he looked over, before he seemed to realize what the pup was so excited about. With a smile, he said, "It's a closet. We keep our clothes in here."

Before Prompto could ask about that, Noctis reached for the bottom of his shirt and lifted the cloth over his head, tossing it to the side without really looking where it went. Prompto wasn't bothered by this, but he was surprised by how pale the raven was. Instead of asking about it, though, he had another question.

'I'll have to start wearing clothes when I shift to my human form, right?' he questioned.

"I would assume so," Noctis said as he slipped out of his pants, before he reached into the closet and pulled out some easy clothes. "People can be pretty picky about too much skin being shown…"

'Oh…' the blonde uttered, wrinkling his nose a little, before he blinked. 'I don't have any clothes, though…'

"Don't worry. Pretty sure Iggy will have some for you by nightfall," Noctis assured him with a chuckle as he tugged the loose shirt on. Before Prompto could reply, though, there was a knock on the door they had come in from, making his ears twitch.

"It's open," Noctis said without even looking up.

And shortly after, Ignis entered, carrying a tray with him. Prompto's nose twitched at the new but tasty smells coming from the tray, and his bright blue eyes lit up.

'That smells really good!' he barked excitedly, bouncing on the pillow a little.

Though Ignis' expression didn't show anything, the twitch on his mouth belied his amusement as he moved to the bed and put the tray down calmly. "Seems you really were hungry, hm?"

'Even Momma's fresh catches didn't smell this good!' the blonde replied, looking to see the food on the tray. He saw meat on there, but it smelled hot, like it had been in a fire.

"Careful, Prom," Noctis chuckled. "It's hot."

'What'd he do to it? It smells better than a fresh catch!' Prompto asked, tilting his head cutely.

Ignis chuckled at the innocent question, pushing up his glasses a little. "Nothing spectacular," he said with a small half-smirk. "I merely cooked it. Go ahead and try. See how you like it." The pup carefully picked up a piece of the meat in his teeth, remembering Noctis's warning that it was hot, before beginning to chew it.

'So gooood!' he squealed happily.

This caused both Noctis and Ignis to chuckle. However, the sandy blonde caught the pointed, bemused look from Noctis, and he hummed briefly. "Very well… I'll see you both later, then," he said simply, nodding once before he left again.

Noctis smirked, walking over to the wolf as he munched on his food, before he plopped down on the bed again. As he ate, though, Prompto soon noticed the Nightwalker wasn't eating.

'Aren't you gonna eat, too, Noctis?' he asked after swallowing a mouthful.

"Ah…no, it's okay; I already ate," Noctis assured him with a smile.

'Oh. Okay!' the blonde chirped, before eating his fill. Once he was full, he yawned widely, his full stomach making him sleepy.

With a soft chuckle, Noctis picked up the tray and set it aside. Once it was out of the way, he moved to lay down on the bed. "Alright… let's get some sleep, okay?"

'Kay…' Prompto nodded slowly, clambering over to Noctis's side and curling up against him. 'Goodnight, Noctis…'

"Goodnight, Prom," Noctis murmured, even as he reached out and shut the light off. It didn't take long after that before the young shifter was fast asleep.