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Prompto was beyond excited for this afternoon. He had made plans to hang out with Noctis, which was genuinely huge considering how busy the prince regularly was. Hell, he missed school all the time for that same reason. Finally, though, Ignis had managed to move some stuff around which resulted in Prompto and Noctis finally getting to truly just hang out together like normal teenagers.
On the board at the front of the classroom, their teacher had been writing down symptoms for this bug that’s been going around. It affected quite a few students and teachers, always very suddenly. Thankfully, the school had come up with preventative measures to help ensure that it didn’t get any worse. Prompto was grateful he and Noctis had managed to avoid it. Pretty much everyone at the citadel had been taking precautions as well to keep Noctis from getting it.
Prompto frowned, reading the board. Wow… these symptoms sounded brutal. Severe headache, stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat, dry cough, weakness in the body, fever, dizziness, and fatigue. He couldn’t remember what they were calling it. He’d heard it on the news a few times, but he hadn’t paid enough attention to remember.
Continuing his streak of getting distracted by every little thing, he noticed a small yellow bird outside on a tree branch. Prompto smiled. This bird was awfully handsome. It preened itself and did a little shake before just sitting and observing. The windows were closed, so when its mouth moved, it truly could’ve been saying anything.
His eyes kept wandering. Oh, there was Noctis. He was sitting at his desk just… huh. That was odd. Noctis was sitting slightly hunched over, his eyes staring downward at the desk in front of him, seemingly completely zoned out. There was also a slight, barely perceptible furrow to his brow. Actually, his entire face seemed a bit uncomfortable, albeit subtly.
Prompto wondered if he’d received some distressing news from someone on his phone. He got texts from Ignis constantly, hopefully there wasn’t a bad one in there.
Then Noctis pursed his lips and furrowed his brow further, leaning his head onto one of his hands. Prompto watched him nervously. Was he okay?
Prompto glanced at the clock. Class would be ending in about three minutes. He’d go check on him then.
Those minutes went rather slowly as Prompto became antsier and antsier to confront his friend.
He watched curiously as Noctis looked increasingly distressed until finally, he took his phone out and began tapping away on it. Now the antsiness levels were off the charts.
Finally, the sound of the bell snapped him out of his focus. Everyone immediately stood up from their desks. Noctis did as well, but after a pretty long hesitation. Prompto weaved through his classmates, murmuring quick apologies as he headed for his friend.
Once he reached him, he noticed something else. Noctis looked a bit… damp? The room was fairly cold and Noctis never really had issues with temperature like this. How could he have been so sweaty?
“Noct, are you okay?”
Noctis exhaled shakily and glanced at his friend. “I’m… I think I need to go home.”
Prompto felt a dreadful sinking feeling inside. “O-oh? Why? Is everything okay?”
“I’m not really—” he paused when a sudden coughing fit took over. Some of the other kids were anxiously glancing at the prince, suddenly trying to keep their distance. The fit ended with a couple of sneezes.
“Oh, no… you’re sick, aren’t you?”
Noctis stopped walking and leaned against the wall, holding his hand to his temple. “Ugh, my head…”
“Headaches, coughing, sneezing. Those are all symptoms of that thing goin’ around…”
“Y-yeah… it’s… hngh— it’s happening all at once.”
It seemed to be true. Every passing second had Noctis looking more and more unwell. His face had no color in it and he was really sleepy. Well, that last time wasn’t too unusual, but the rest was.
Prompto wore a concerned expression. Noctis could be dramatic at times, for sure, but he enjoyed going to school. Mostly just to see Prompto and feel the slightest bit normal, but still. Enough that Ignis too found it strange that Noctis would actually willingly ask him to come pick him up.
And as for their planned hangout… Well… Prompto started mentally readying himself for the news. He likely would not be spending time with his friend after all. He was heartbroken, sure, but Noctis’ health was far more important to him.
Noctis was looking awfully faint at this point, so Prompto quickly led him to the school’s courtyard and onto a bench.
“Hey, buddy. You doin’ okay? You with me?”
Noctis groaned softly, plopping down on the bench and burying his face in his hands.
“Here, drink some water.” Prompto went to reach for his own water bottle, but realized very quickly that that would be an awful idea. He shook his head and reached into the side pocket of Noctis’ book bag that held his water bottle and offered it to him.
The prince sat up, looking entirely disoriented. He took the water from his friend and shakily brought it to his lips. Just as the liquid entered his mouth, another sudden coughing fit took hold. He sputtered, the water spraying out of his mouth as he fought through the fit.
This was so brutal. And so fast too. Noctis had genuinely felt completely fine this morning. It was only about three hours into the school day, and he started feeling out of sorts just in the last half hour or so. The teachers weren’t kidding about how quickly this sickness took hold.
Prompto placed a comforting hand on his friend’s back. “Six, dude… I’m sorry this is happening to you.”
Once Noctis could finally breathe again, he rubbed his eyes and sighed. “I’m sorry that our hangout tonight is probably a no-go.”
“Probably?” Prompto frowned, feeling the sting of reality. “Yeah, I… I think it’s for sure gonna be a no-go.”
Noctis stared down at the stone path that encircled the fountain at the center of the courtyard. He suddenly looked crestfallen. “Iggy worked so hard to clear my schedule too…”
“Hey, it’s okay, man! He’s definitely gonna understand. I think he’s gonna be grateful that you’re actually acknowledging that you’re sick and taking the responsibility of canceling tonight. I know it really sucks and… we were both definitely looking forward to it, but…” Prompto was falling into that bummed out disposition that his friend currently had, but he quickly snapped out of it and tried to perk up. “It’s gonna be alright. We’ll have tons of opportunities to hang out again in the future.”
“I hope so…”
Prompto maintained his smile, but he was admittedly unsure. Noctis could be right. With everything that’s always happening in his life, there’s no guarantee when he’ll get to hang out again. It was a scary thought, but despite the uncertainty, Prompto just tried to think positively. “Don’t worry. I’ll be here.”
Noctis lifted his head and smiled at the blonde, giving a slight nod. Just then, his phone buzzed. “Oh… it’s Iggy. He’s here already.”
“Hah… bet he blew like five red lights.”
Noctis snorted. “Right, he totally might have…”
“Let me walk you to the car.”
“I don’t want you to be late for class.”
Prompto waved his hand dismissively. “Come on.”
The pair stood and headed back to the front of the school. They seemed to be walking okay for the first thirty seconds or so, but a sudden wave of dizziness washed over Noctis, causing him to stumble.
Prompto quickly steadied him by holding his shoulders. “You okay, man?”
“Yeah, I… I— ah— ACHOO—!”
“Bless you.”
“Thanks…”
They continued on, Noctis noticeably a bit more uncoordinated than before. Prompto readied himself to catch his friend should the dizziness overtake him. And it wouldn’t take long for that to happen. Just as they entered the front lobby, Noctis finally was too overcome with fatigue. He barely even registered that he was falling. He felt like he was floating above his body as he began to go down.
“Shit, Noct!” Prompto wrapped his arms around his friend, only managing to slow his fall and get him into a seated position on the floor. He was ready to grab Noctis’ phone and call Ignis, but there was no need.
“Noctis!” the advisor’s voice called from the front doors. He was rushing over immediately as Prompto checked on Noctis’ condition.
He wasn’t quite unconscious, but he was definitely out of it and probably couldn’t walk on his own.
“What’s going on with him?” Ignis questioned quickly.
Ignis had a way about him that always made Prompto feel like he was under a microscope. “Ah, uh— he’s… he is… sick. Coughing. Sick.”
“Coughing?”
“Yes. Sneezing. Also.”
“Hm…” He furrowed his brow as he slung one of Noctis’ arms over his shoulder. “Help me, would you?”
“Yeah, I gotcha.” Prompto mirrored the action and watched Noctis’ face with worry.
They began heading for the car. Prompto glanced at Ignis. He looked stern and very serious, but there was a clear trace of worry.
Prompto was curious enough that he thought he’d ask more information. He only really knew what he observed from Noctis. “What did he tell you?”
“He said he wasn’t feeling well and needed me to come get him.”
“Oh…”
Well that was straightforward enough. Ignis already knew about the illness going around the school. He was part of the “keep the prince from getting sick” team. He was practically the team captain. There wasn’t much else Prompto could add. He just focused on being helpful, though part of him wishes he could get in the car with them.
When the reached his idling car, they carefully got him seated in the back seat and buckled. Ignis had been zeroed in on getting Noctis to the car safely, but now his expression changed slightly. He looked a bit… not quite guilty, but there was definitely something that made Prompto feel a bit more at ease.
“I trust you know it goes without saying…”
Prompto nodded. “Yeah. Just get him home and feeling better. That’s what matters.”
Ignis smiled and nodded.
“Thanks so much for even arranging the hangout to begin with. Must not’ve been very easy.”
“Hah…” Ignis adjusted his glasses. “You have no idea.”
“Well… it’s alright. I totally understand. Just… have him call me when he’s able. Or text, whatever. Just so I know he’s okay.”
“I will see to it.”
“Thanks, Ignis.”
“Certainly.”
He waved goodbye to Prompto as the car pulled away from the sidewalk. Prompto could only try to smile encouragingly and wave his hand back, but there was a visible deflation to his demeanor that he couldn’t quite shake.
He really was upset. But there was no helping it. He sighed and began heading back to the building.
“Oh… I should wash my hands.”