Revised version as of March 2, 2019, with a newly added epilogue

I revised this fic to give more depth and nuance to the four bros and balance out the pacing of the climax and ending. Most revisions can be found in the latter half of chapter 2, but I overhauled the style and language of the entire fic, added some details here and there, and cut long-winded parts. Nothing of major importance has changed, however, so if you liked this fic as it was and don't feel the particular need to re-read it, feel free to jump straight to the newly added epilogue! (I would suggest to re-read at least the last scene of chapter 2, though, but it's up to you, of course!)

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Why had Noctis ever thought it was a good idea to take a nap in the Citadel gardens?

One moment he'd enjoyed the peace and quiet of the greenery around him, and the next moment…

"…and then I heard them. Right behind the door of the conference room—can you believe it? Who in their right mind would ever make out in such a place?"

"Sweet Shiva. Of all places!"

Yes, one moment he'd been content and relaxed, close to nodding off, the next moment two women intruded into his private little space. Not that they could see him where he was lying down on the grass behind a column of big bushes: his secret spot. They'd made themselves comfortable not far from himself—probably for a lunch break—and immediately started gossiping.

"Gross, isn't it?!" the first women shrieked. He'd dubbed her 'Shrieky' after a while of listening in, as this actually seemed to be her normal tone. The shrill pitch of her voice was a hundred times worse than Prompto's when he'd rave about cute girls. Or chocobos.

"And you're certain it was Amelia? It could've been someone else," the second woman said. Noctis didn't need to come up with a name for her. He knew her voice. She was Medea A-something—Ar…Arus? Right, Medea Arus. A senior accountant at the Citadel who'd been in charge of his finances for years. She was a gentle and kind soul, and had once before saved him from facing his dad's wrath by taking care of matters discreetly when he'd managed to lose his debit card.

Even someone like her could feel the need to gossip sometimes, he guessed.

"No, I'm absolutely certain! The way Amelia looked after she came in ten minutes after…yuck! So obvious!" Shrieky's conviction didn't leave any room for doubt.

"What a foolish girl. And with a Kingsglaive at that. It could cost her job. Or more," Medea said in an all-knowing tone.

"And even worse, do you know just who the glaive guy actually was—"

The two women blabbered on, and Noctis tried with all his power to tune out their voices. He wished he could just stand up and leave, but then they'd become aware that they'd been gossiping in the presence of the Crown Prince. To spare them and him of this embarrassment, he needed to stay hidden in his little secret spot and hope they'd leave soon.

He sighed. And the day had started on such a positive note.

Today had been one of those rare occasions. He hadn't overslept, hadn't ended up playing King's Knight and forgetting the time over it, and hadn't experienced his usual bout of mid-morning lethargy. No, instead, he'd been productive even, going as far as starting to pack up his boxes for the move out of his apartment. Their departure for Altissia was less than a week away, and Ignis had reminded him more than once not to put off packing for too long. So Noctis had spent a couple of hours packing in solitude until he ran out of boxes and motivation.

This was how he'd found himself more than half an hour early at the Citadel for his daily training session with his friends. Obviously, no one had been at the training hall yet, so he'd opted for a nap at his favorite spot in the gardens. After all, opportunities to relax like this would soon vanish from his life altogether. He would leave for Altissia, marry Luna, and then... that he didn't know yet, but he knew there was a busy time ahead of him, though it would be a time of peace—peace for Lucis.

Realizing just how precious this peaceful moment in the gardens was, Noctis had savored every second of it. Well, until these two ladies happened.

And what are you gossiping about now? he wondered, and turned his attention back to the women. Not that it was difficult to make out what they said, with how loud they were. They didn't seem to mind that they were gossiping right inside the Citadel, even if the gardens were a pretty secluded corner.

"Have you taken care of this month's salary transactions for the Crownsguard already?" Oh no. Were they talking about finances of all things now? It couldn't get any more boring. Maybe the gossip had been the lesser of the two evils.

"Yes, yesterday, actually! They should be fully transferred by now," Shrieky answered Medea. Then she lowered her voice and added, "But good heavens, this got me by surprise. Did you know that the Prince's Crownsguard got a hefty pay raise this month?"

Huh?

"Yes, the marshal mentioned something along these lines the other day. It has to do with the trip to Altissia. These poor young men need to protect and humor him around the clock. It's only right to raise the salary. So…" Medea's voice raised in curiosity. "How much is it?"

Noctis's heart made a strange flip. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to hear any of this.

"You won't believe it. Ten. Thousand. Freaking. Insomnian. Cronas!" The voice of Shrieky took on the shrillest squeak he'd heard from her until now. He would've cringed at that tone if his mind hadn't been so busy with processing this information. Why was this the first time he was hearing of this? "They'll be swimming in money in no time!" Shrieky continued raving. "I could buy one of these penthouses in Central District if I earned that much! I'm so envious."

Okay, so his friends got a pay raise and he didn't know about it. Whatever. What difference would it make knowing or not knowing, anyway? Much more importantly, he really needed to leave soon, or he'd end up late for the training session.

"Oh, I'll be damned." Medea sounded awestruck by what she heard. "And it's not like their salary was anything to be ashamed of before. But psst," Medea's voice softened to a whisper, making it hard for Noctis to understand her words. "This is how they make sure you stay loyal and pliant. Whoever thinks loyalty comes from the heart is even more foolish than our dearest Amelia."

An ugly emotion rose up in Noctis. Why was she talking like this?

"Well, I'd give them my loyalty for such an amount, too!" Shrieky said. "What do they even do during their working hours? Seems like an easy job to me."

"Ha. You're mistaken there. I tell you, when it comes to the Prince, such an amount is necessary. I heard the Scientia boy cooks and cleans for him. He even washes his dirty laundry—like a maid! I'd need all the money in the world to steep that low!"

Noctis would be lying if he claimed it didn't hurt to hear this from who he'd always believed to be a kind woman. But neither was he surprised. He was used to people talking trash about him behind his back. Most people only talked nicely to him because they had to. And that was fine; they could spread rumors about him all they wanted. But how dare they talk like this about Ignis? Ignis had been cleaning up after Noctis and helping him through a rough time a few years ago, though not because he was his Chamberlain or maid, but because he was his friend. It wasn't fair for people to judge Ignis—judge them—when they didn't know anything at all.

"But they are close, aren't they?" asked Shrieky, pulling him out of his thoughts. "You should know. You know them for much longer than I do."

"If you mean that the Scientia boy has been working for the Crown since he was a kid, yes, but did he have much choice in the matter? I doubt it," Medea said. "If you ask for my opinion, who could be friends with someone they have to clean up after?"

"Oh, I couldn't."

"Right."

This was stupid. He shouldn't listen to this. They didn't know anything.

But he couldn't stop listening.

"And then there's the young Amicitia. I heard he doesn't have much respect for the Crown Prince. But if he makes that much money, I guess it doesn't matter. Did you see that new shiny car of his?"

"Right. The Amicitias talk about honor and duty all day, but when it comes down to it, they are as much after the money as any other regular Crown Citizen."

Yes, this was plain stupid. What did they know about Ignis and Gladio? You know nothing, he wanted to scream. Shut up.

He tried not to let it get to him, but the mention of his friends hit home too close. There weren't many good things in his life, but his friends were one of the best things he had. People doubting their friendship made his blood boil in ice-cold anger.

"And that boy. Y'know, the new kid. Still so young."

"He's a smart boy. He knows how to get what he wants."

"Right! I'd volunteer myself to be friends with the Prince, too, and secure myself a bright future if I were him. He's so lucky to get a job like this offered to him!"

"If he doesn't die in his service."

They laughed.

Shut up. Shut the fuck up, was what he wanted to scream at them so bad. But he knew this wasn't worth it. This was how people talked behind his back. He should ignore it and move on. Don't listen. It's stupid. Don't fucking listen.

He gritted his teeth and waited for the conversation to be over.

Prompto burst through the door of the training hall.

"Sorry, 'm late," he gasped out between short breaths. "Couldn't…get off…earlier. My stupid...boss didn't let me go..." He felt like dying. His lungs were burning from the exertion of running all the way to the Citadel. Even a strong runner like him had his limits.

He let himself plop down on the floormats and took in big gulps of air.

"Heh, someone looks like he came runnin' all the way from the Rock of Ravatogh," came Gladio's voice from above him.

Prompto sat up, straightening his posture a bit, and looked up at the others. He was about to retort to Gladio's teasing when he noticed the absence of someone—his best friend. "Huh? Noct's not here yet?"

Ignis nodded. "Indeed. You're not the last one to arrive today." A small grin tugged on his lips. "For a change."

Prompto couldn't hold back his excitement at hearing this. "Woohoo! I'm not last!" He hated that it was always him to be late because it damn well wasn't his fault that his boss was so shitty. But for once, it seemed he didn't end up being the guy who had messed up something. This time, Noct would be the one. Feel my pain, buddy.

Was he being petty? Maybe a teeny tiny bit.

"No reason to sound so pleased with yourself. You're still late as hell," Gladio said.

"And let's not forget that you're the one who's most in need of these training units," Ignis added.

Riiight. Prompto gave an inward sigh. How could he forget? The four of them met on a daily basis now to prepare for whatever would expect them on the other side of the Wall. Prompto had only joined Noct's Crownsguard a couple of months ago, and he still felt as green as he'd ever been. Even worse, after this session was done, he had another one scheduled with Cor the Immortal of all people. This was his routine five times a week for these past months.

All this considered, Ignis was right. He was the new guy here and needed the training so he wouldn't screw up on a real battlefield. He'd screw up anyway. Prompto was sure of it.

"Oookay. I got it, guys." Prompto tried not to let his self-doubts show through. It was definitely time to change the subject. "So, you think Noct fell asleep somewhere or what?"

"Guess so," Gladio said. "Sleeping Beauty might need a while to make his way here, so let's get started without him."

Half an hour and buckets of sweat later, and still no sign of Noct. Prompto was dying of thirst and, gods, were his arms killing him. Since Noct wasn't there, everyone's focus was on him. 'Lousy defense' here, 'weak footwork' there—he heard all of it in merely thirty minutes. These two no doubt were out to kill him before the journey even started. It was torture and he started to feel slightly pissed off with his buddy for leaving him at the mercy of these two.

He wasn't the only one who noticed the passing of time and the continued absence of Noct, though. Gladio and Ignis were throwing more and more glances toward the clock at the wall.

Finally, Gladio snapped and said in a sarcastic tone, "Seems like His Highness won't grace us with his presence today."

Ignis sighed. "This is unusual. It's rare for him to be late these days. And I haven't been informed of any other obligations, either."

Seeing this as his opportunity, Prompto said, "How 'bout we try calling him and…" He looked up at them with the best puppy-eyes he could muster. "And take a lil' break, maybe?"

"Wuss. We've only just gotten started."

"Oh c'mon, big guy! I'm dyin' here!" He was just so damn exhausted.

Ignis was his saving grace. "Very well. Five minutes, but no more. I'll attempt to call Noct in the meantime."

"Woo, yes! At least one of you two has a heart," Prompto said, shooting a fake glare to Gladio.

He jogged over to his bag and pulled out his water bottle, chugging the water down in a few big swallows. He felt like a man in the desert dying of thirst, but now he'd found his oasis.

"Not answering?" he heard Gladio ask Ignis.

"Yes. I do wonder what could be the matter…"

"Damn this royal brat. Tryin' to skip on us or what?"

Prompto also checked his phone and sent Noct a quick message. "Please come save me asap buddy! Gladio and Ignis are drilling me to death here! =T"

Then he saw that he had a new mail. From the Citadel administration office. Payment notice? Huh.

He opened it, then almost dropped his phone.

"Oh em gee." A mixture of excitement and disbelief built up in him. "Guys! Did you know? Ten thousand bucks? This has gotta be a mistake, right? That's not how much I've gotten last month!"

Ignis gave him an incredulous look. "I'm surprised you've only heard of this now. You ought to have signed the new contract if you've received the amount."

Gladio let out a laugh. "Iggy's right. I was there, kid, right next to you when you signed it."

Oh. He did sign something the other day. But with all these data privacy statements he was asked to sign these days, he might have only skimmed over it. He didn't understand any of what was written on these forms, anyway, but knew the gist of it: keep your eyes peeled, and most importantly, mouth closed.

"Now that you say it." He felt a nervous laugh bubbling out of him. And then the excitement came full-blown. "But ten thousand cronas? This is insane! I mean—why such a huge amount?!"

He couldn't believe it. Ten thousand fucking cronas. And not just a one-time payment, but monthly from now on. He'd freaked out about his first salary, but this was more than double the amount and way too much for a normal guy like him to deal with.

"It's only natural. The pay rise was determined in relation to our upcoming duties outside of the Crown City," said Ignis.

"Yeah, gotta babysit His Highness full-time now, so we got to get somethin' in return, right? We've got a tough job ahead of us," Gladio said, then added as an afterthought, "And it seems like he wants to prove my point right now." He glared at the clock, throwing mental daggers at it.

Damn, that guy was creepy when he was annoyed.

But Prompto was still way too occupied with processing the new information. He kept glancing back at his phone screen, somehow expecting the mail to disappear from his inbox at any moment. "I can't believe it. I mean—all these things I could buy now!" He could buy anything now! He never once believed something like this could happen to him. "What will I do with all this money?!"

"You see how he's freaking out, Iggy?"

"Prompto's still new to all of this. And it is quite an astonishing amount."

"Dudes. Tell me: what should I buy first? A librabook? A new camera? A—" Prompto gasped out, "a chocobo?!" He felt close to fainting.

"Easy there, big spender," Gladio said in an amused tone. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

Tsk. What a hypocrite. "You're one to talk…with that new flashy car of yours."

Gladio's mouth twitched, suddenly a sheepish look on his face. "You got me there. Well, guess my job is tough enough. Gotta allow myself a treat once in a while."

Right. These two had been receiving Crownsguard salaries for a long time already, much longer than him. Were they millionaires yet? Growing more and more curious, Prompto turned to Ignis. "How 'bout you, Ignis? How do you make use of all that money?"

"Oh, I do know how to indulge in pleasant endeavors from time to time."

"Yeah, when this guy does decide to go on vacation every once in an Astral's lifetime, he's off to Altissia, staying at the fanciest room in the Leville, eats out at the fanciest restaurants with fancy dining and fancy wine, and comes back with the fanciest clothes." Gladio's grin was evil.

"Let's not forget the diplomatic duties I have to uphold there," Ignis retorted, as if trying to save face.

"Sure, Iggy," Gladio and Prompto said almost in unison.

Ignis let out a weary sigh. "It is nice to be free of my obligations once in a while," he admitted.

"I can imagine, dude. Must be real stressful for you. Do you ever have time for yourself with all those council meetings going on? I never see you relax or somethin'."

"It's not that bad," Ignis said dismissively.

So…" A question was roaming in his head. "The salary… it will increase more, you think?"

Ignis's reply was vague, but the message still couldn't be any clearer to Prompto. "If you continue the service to the Crown, money will never prove an issue."

"Wow." Prompto needed a moment to absorb the information. "I still can't believe it. I'm gonna be rollin' in so much cronas!"

"See it now? You lucked out, kid. Enjoy the nice boost in pay while it feels fresh." Gladio gave him a thumbs-up.

Prompto made plans. "When we're back from Altissia, I'll get myself a bigger place, and a car, and I gotta repay my parents for all they've done for me. I'll give lots of it to them, yeah. And…wow."

"Do that. I was planning to look for a place for myself, too. Iris won't like it, though."

Ignis cleared his throat, breaking their reveries. "Though your plans for the future are quite intriguing, I do suggest we keep money-related conversations to a minimum inside of the Citadel. You never know who might be listening. And besides…" He looked up, giving them a stern look. "There is more to it than just money. Let's not forget that."

Of course, he wouldn't. Noct was first. Always would be.

Gladio added his own thoughts on that. "Don't take it the wrong way. Duty always comes first, money only second. You know me. I take pride in my duty."

Duty. Prompto didn't like that word. Why was everything Gladio talked about always revolving around duty? What about being friends with Noct? he wanted to ask. But he knew Gladio good enough by now to get that, to him, duty was all that combined. His duty to his future king, brother, and friend. At least that was what Prompto wanted to believe.

Gladio then gave Prompto a clap on his shoulder, and said, "Don't mention the money stuff to Noct, though. The brat hates to be reminded that he's our job. And sometimes, a handful of a job at that." He rolled his eyes. "He won't get that this is still our duty, our obligation to the Crown. That we sacrifice our time, our safety, our everything for him. He's gotta grow up and—"

Prompto did try to listen, but for a second, he was distracted by a noise coming from the direction of the door. Huh? Nothing was there, though.

Did he only imagine it?

When he directed his attention back to their conversation, Gladio already seemed to be done with his speech, but...

"Gladio! Enough!" Ignis's voice was sharp and clear. What the—? Why was Ignis so mad? Gladio's words had been pretty harsh, but what else had he said that Prompto didn't hear to make Ignis react like that?

"What? I'm only stating facts."

"You don't mean it, do you?"

A moment of silence, then, "Sorry." Gladio's eyes softened, taking on an apologetic expression. "You know me, it's just my anger talkin'."

Wow. For Gladio to apologize, whatever he had said really must've been bad.

Gladio ran his fingers through his hair, sighing. "'m just pissed off that he makes this job so difficult sometimes. Couldn't he've sent a message saying he's not coming today at least?"

"I do understand, but don't ever say that again if you don't actually mean it," Ignis said. Then he turned to Prompto. "Though I disagree with some of what Gladio said, he's right about this: Noct might take it the wrong way, so let's keep the salary rise a secret from him, alright?"

Prompto was about to reply with a dutiful 'yessir!' when they were interrupted by loud voices coming from the corridors outside. The door opened, and a group of Crownsguard cadets came filing into the training hall. They were chatting in an animated manner, clearly not realizing they weren't alone, before they looked up and noticed Prompto and the others standing there.

Whatever conversation they had before, died immediately.

"Oh!" one of them managed to choke out. "W-we didn't know someone was here. We'll leave at once."

Gladio pinned them down with a glare that would put a behemoth to shame. "We're scheduled for this room this time of the day every day. You weren't briefed on that or what?"

Prompto never was as happy as then that he was friends with Gladio, and not on the receiving end of his anger. The poor cadets cowered under his fiery gaze.

"I…we're so sorry. We just thought…" another cadet said hesitantly, "we thought you weren't here anymore since we saw His Highness leaving."

"What?" Prompto heard the others echoing his question.

"You saw him? Where?" asked Ignis.

"Just a minute earlier, down the hallway, entering the elevator."

What? But why? It didn't make sense. Why would Noct…

"Thank you. You may use this room in a few minutes," Ignis said in his professional tone, as if he wasn't fazed by what they just heard. "But please leave us for a moment," he added.

The cadets left, clearly in a hurry to get as far away from Gladio as possible.

Prompto stood there, dumbfounded. Gladio didn't look better. Ignis was fumbling with his phone, probably trying to reach Noct again.

Just what the hell was going on? "You guys think everything's alright with Noct?" he asked. He started to get concerned. Why would his friend not come over to their training session when he'd been so close by?

A strangled noise left Ignis's throat. "He's still not answering his phone. I'm worried. This isn't like him at all. Something must've happened or else he would've notified us—"

"Let's cool down for a sec. At least we know he's safe because these dickheads of cadets just saw him earlier." Gladio's voice vibrated with frustration. Whether that frustration was directed at Noct or at the cadets, Prompto didn't know.

"But what do we do now? Should we look for him?" Prompto asked. Even if the others told him not to, he'd still go looking for Noct.

"It seems to be the most reasonable idea," Ignis replied, to Prompto's relief. Ignis was already packing up his bag, ready to leave. He'd probably decided to look for Noct the moment the cadets mentioned him. Always the loyal friend and Chamberlain.

Gladio sighed, but then nodded along. "If this is him just bein' a royal brat and makin' us worried without reason, I'm gonna be the first Shield to kill my liege, I swear."

Prompto couldn't help but let out a little laugh at that. He hoped it was just Noct being a brat. That was better than any kind of alternative he could come up with. His buddy never was one to share his pain with others, but it had to be something bad if he left without a word.

Just what was going on with Noct?

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A/N: Thanks for reading!

Shout out to Kitsune_138 for beta reading, and fayth and QuoteMyFoot for their help with the revision!