Work Text:
They set up a makeshift camp deep in the abandoned part of the space station, where the power had been cut off for years now. Ignis set up a heat lamp in the center of the small room as Gladio moved to gently place Prompto on a long crate. He was mostly intact, although his right wrist had been ripped open and the wiring was frayed and sticking out. For his part, Noctis just hovered and fretted.
"He isn't waking up." Noctis said, again, just as he'd said every few minutes since they'd escaped the base.
"Now that we're safe, I'll be able to have a look at him." Ignis moved next to Prompto, gently pushing Noctis aside so he could reach Prompto's wrist. He then pulled out a small bag of tools, and started to rifle through them. Gladio just stood back, arms crossed and brow creased with worry. Noctis clenched his fists and watched Ignis work, resisting the urge to reach out and rest his hand on Prompto's head.
Unfortunately, now that they weren't busy running and seeking safety, Noctis had no distraction from his thoughts. Saying he was shocked to learn that Prompto was an android would be the understatement of the year. He knew androids. How could he not when he was raised to inherit one of the largest android manufacturing companies? But nothing like this, never like this.
Even with his company's more advanced models, given a few hours of interview, he would always be able to tell if he was speaking to an android or a human. Noctis knew the right questions to ask, how to word them, and what answers to look for. But Prompto... Well, he'd never thought to find out. He believed, though, that Prompto would pass his tests. There was nothing about him that could give him away, aside from the panel on his wrist, which Noctis realized had always been hidden under his cuffs until now.
Noctis gave in and reached forward, running his fingers through Prompto's hair. "Wake up already, you jerk."
"Patience, Noct. I've never seen programming like this before, but I believe that once I repair the circuitry, he should be able to power on with no issue." Ignis said, and Noctis clicked his tongue.
"He should wake up, you mean." Noctis didn't want to think about Prompto doing things like powering on, or needing mechanical repairs.
Ignis just squeezed Noctis's shoulder, and softly corrected himself. "Yes, he should wake up. He'll be fine, Noct, I'll make sure of it."
"Come on, your Highness," Gladio interrupted Noctis's brooding by tossing a bedroll at the back of his head, "make yourself useful and help me set up camp." It was a stupid nickname that Gladio and Ignis had started calling him years ago, to tease him, and Noctis had given up trying to get them to stop.
"Alright, alright." Noctis sighed and ran his fingers through Prompto's hair once more, then moved to help Gladio. He grumbled and put up a front, but Noctis was glad to have the distraction of busy work.
Once they were done, Ignis called Noctis back to help with some of the finer tuning, so Gladio began to set up the cookware while Noctis obediently passed tools and held wires. Soon enough, Ignis was sitting back and rolling his shoulders, and then he pressed a few small buttons with the tips of his pliers. Just as Ignis closed the panel, Prompto's eyes were slowly opening. Noctis grabbed his shoulder and hovered over his face, waiting for recognition.
Prompto looked up at Noctis, and his brow furrowed as he frowned. "You shouldn't have come for me."
Noctis, having absolutely no patience for that kind of talk, just flicked Prompto in the forehead, then hauled him up to sitting. Crossing his arms and shifting his weight to one leg, Noctis just glared at Prompto.
"You wanna try that again? Cause that's a weird way to pronounce 'thank you'."
Prompto just blinked up at him, looking confused. "But... But you know what I am-"
"-I know who you are-"
"-you know I'm just an android! An artificial intelligence! I'm just a bunch of wires and circuits and programmed functions! I'm not human, I'm just an imitation, I'm not worth all this..."
Noctis flicked him in the forehead again.
"Ow!"
"That's a pretty human response."
Prompto just threw his arms up in exasperation. "You know what I mean! That was a programmed reaction to pain sensors on my epider-" Noctis flicked him again, "Okay! Okay just stop that!"
"I'll stop when you stop being an idiot."
"Noct," Ignis interrupted, placing a gentle hand on Prompto's shoulder. "I still would like to do some standard tests. You can continue your very productive conversation, but I'll ask you to stop hitting him for the time being." Ignis then turned to face Prompto and pulled out a pen light. "I just want to test your senses and reaction times."
Prompto eye'd Ignis hesitantly, looking like he wanted to say something, but one look at Noctis and he shut his mouth and just nodded."
"Very well, right hand out. Touch your thumb to each finger, then flex your hand, and make a fist." Ignis pulled up a crate to sit across from Prompto, and then focused his attention on Prompto's hands. Noctis took that as enough of an okay to continue.
Except he didn't actually know what else to say. Prompto was Prompto, and Prompto was important to him, so of course he'd come for him. He knew Gladio and Ignis would agree. Noctis liked to think that Prompto would do the same for any of them. So he didn't see the issue.
Well okay, he could see how maybe Prompto being an android might be seen by some as an issue. But Noctis, frankly, couldn't care less. He'd always treated all the androids around him like he did anyone else, he knew how they were built and knew how close artificial intelligence was to replicating human thought. When he was interviewing someone, trying to tell if they were an android, it was more just like puzzling out where they grew up.
Articulating these thoughts was an entirely different thing. He wanted to make sure Prompto knew for sure that Noctis felt this way. That even if they had fallen for some plan to embarrass and take over his dad's company, even if everything in his life had gone to hell in the past month, Prompto was someone he would never replace. Prompto was just as much a victim as Noctis was.
Ignis was now waving his penlight in front of Prompto's eyes, so Noctis took the opportunity to just watch him. His eyes were the brightest blue Noctis had ever seen. That hadn't changed. The little pout Prompto made with his lips when Ignis tapped him on the forehead with the penlight was the same pout Prompto always made. He made that same startled look when Ignis said something softly to him, and bit his lip and looked down. All those little subconscious reactions, that's what made Prompto who he was.
"-so please understand that we came for you because you are important to us. I'm checking your vitals because I want you to be well. Gladio carried you here because he wanted to remove you from harm. Noct is glaring at you right now because he feels the same but doesn't know how to use his words." Ignis was speaking to in his matter of fact tone that brokered no argument. Noctis just huffed and looked away.
"I'm not glaring..."
Prompto at least laughed at that. "Dude, you're always glaring. But you're doing it a bit harder right now."
Huffing again, Noctis moved to sit next to Prompto as Ignis stood up and moved to where Gladio was digging out some cup noodles from a bag. Noctis elbowed Prompto, probably sitting too close, but still feeling a bit overprotective. "I think I'm allowed to be glaring." Leaning forward, Noctis rested his elbows on his knees. "I-" He started, then paused. Giving himself a minute to collect his thoughts, he tried again. "I'm sorry, Prom. I'm sorry I didn't realize what they were doing to you till it was too late. It's not right. I can't stand it."
Prompto was quiet for a bit, then he just chuckled quietly. "You're something else, you know that? It was crazy, first coming to Insomnia. I can't believe you think you need to say sorry. I'd never seen 'droids treated the way everyone there treats us. It didn't feel like a factory, it felt like a city. I wanted to forget why I was sent to you. I should have just left. I ruined it for you, for everyone there- Hey!" Prompto caught Noctis's arms as he moved to flick Prompto in the forehead again.
Noctis halfheartedly struggled a bit against Prompto's grip, then gave up and leaned into Prompto's shoulder, squeezing his arm where he could reach. Looking up, Noctis fixed his eyes on Prompto's. He'd do anything for him. He already had. And he'd do it again. Noctis was suddenly overwhelmed with how scary almost losing Prompto had been.
Instead of saying any of that, Noctis just leaned forward and rested his forehead against Prompto's, closed his eyes, and sighed. "Don't go anywhere. We'll just drag you back again."
Noctis felt Prompto freeze, then slowly melt into him. Prompto's grip on Noctis's wrists tightened, and he sounded breathless when he spoke. "I guess I don't have a choice, do I?"