Chapter Text
They had just left Galdin Quay and were on their way to Lestallum to see Iris, when Noctis started getting sick. He looked flushed and feverish and his hand was clutched so hard around the car seat that his knuckles whitened.
“Are you feeling okay?” Gladio asked.
Noctis shook his head. “No, I’m… I’m feeling kinda dizzy.”
“Stop the car,” Gladio told Ignis.
Noctis stumbled out the second the car stopped. He fell to his knees outside. Ignis and Gladio hurried out to help him.
“Noct… Are you…?” Ignis hesitated.
Prompto stood a little uncertainly in the background. He didn’t know how he could help.
Ignis kneeled next to Noctis. He leant closer until his nose was touching Noctis’ neck. Prompto realized after a moment that he was trying to get a whiff of his scent. Ignis and Gladio were alphas, but it wasn’t often that Prompto saw them act out their more instinctive sides. For the years he’d known them they’d always acted completely normal, to the point where Prompto kinda forgot they weren’t betas.
“Noctis,” Ignis urged gently. He put his hand under Noctis’ chin. “Look at me.”
Noctis seemed a little confused. He focused on Ignis with a little difficulty.
Ignis stared into his eyes for a second before letting go of him. He looked up at Gladio and gave him a grim nod. Gladio groaned and rubbed his forehead.
Prompto looked from one to the other in confusion. He had no idea what was going on and neither of the others seemed inclined to explain anything to him.
“Where’s the nearest haven?” Gladio asked.
Prompto hurried to find a map. “It’s not far from here,” he said. “We could probably walk.”
Gladio took a look at the map too. “It’s not farther than that I could carry him.”
To Prompto’s surprise Gladio picked Noctis up into his arm without the prince uttering one single protest, and then they hurried towards the closest haven. They made camp as soon as they arrived, and then Noctis was placed in the tent. By then he wasn’t conscious anymore. His hair was matted with sweat and he was panting shallowly.
Prompto watched over his friend while the other two got the campfire going. He was starting to get really worried. Ignis stuck his head in through the tent opening after a while.
“I’ll take over here. Gladio will explain to you what’s going on.”
Prompto nodded and left the tent.
“What's wrong with Noct?” he asked nervously once he was outside together with Gladio. Gladio was sitting by the campfire and looked a little too relaxed for bad news, but Prompto still wasn’t entirely sure that something wasn’t very wrong.
Gladio shook his head. He gave Prompto a soothing smile.
“Don’t worry, he’s fine. He’s just going through his first heat.”
Prompto sat down into one of the chairs. “His… heat?”
His mind was reeling. He knew Noctis was an omega, of course. But he just… he’d always assumed that… he didn’t even know what he’d assumed. Not that heats could be this… violent.
Then his mind caught onto something else about what Gladio said that was strange.
“His first heat? But he’s twenty… shouldn’t he have had his heat already?”
“Male omega’s debut late. Usually after they’re eighteen.”
“But…” Prompto shook his head. He was confused.
“They hit puberty the same time as everyone else,” Gladio explained. “But their, uh… second set of reproductive organs develop slower. It isn’t unusual that they get their first heat even when they’re far into their twenties.”
“Oh…” Prompto sat back in his chair. He needed a moment to take in this. “So… What should we do?”
Gladio shrugged. “Nothing much to do except to wait it out. It usually lasts around a week.”
------
The next day Noctis was still in a fever haze. Prompto started getting worried again.
“Is it really supposed to be this way?”
“Well… This is one of the more violent heats I’ve seen,” Ignis said. “But it’s not unusual.”
Ignis went back into the tent to look after Noctis while Prompto and Gladio remained outside.
“Aren’t you guys affected?” Prompto asked Gladio.
Gladio shrugged. “Difficult not to become a little affected. His scent is really nice.”
Prompto had always wondered about the alpha and omega thing with scents. He was a beta so he couldn’t pick out anything different about Noctis scent.
“What does he smell like?” He asked. “Can you describe it?”
Gladio shrugged. He pondered. “It’s a warm scent, if you get me? Kinda… spicy? I dunno… A little like… cinnamon? No… Perhaps more like…”
“Cardamom?”
“Yes! Yes, that’s it! But there’s sweetness to it, too… Something a little fruity… Like… Like oranges or something…”
“Cardamom and oranges…” Prompto didn’t quite get it. He’d never imagine that his friend should be compared to cardamom and oranges.
“But you said you liked his scent,” Prompto says. “Does that mean…?”
“No, I’ve never been attracted to a man before, although I’ve liked their scents. I guess this is about our bond… I know him well, have known him for a long time… His… essence, if you will, is strongly imbedded in me. Now it’s just getting stronger and since I associate his scent with good things, I guess it gets to me more than it should.”
A while later Ignis came out of the tent with the medical kit under his arm.
“How is he doing?” Gladio asked.
“He’s still running a fever. I gave him some fluids.”
Prompto couldn’t help but notice the slight flush on Ignis’ cheeks.
“Is he awake?” he asked.
“No. Not yet.”
Prompto slumped back in his chair. “He’s been out for over a day. Are you sure he’s all right?”
“There’s not much else we can do except to keep a keen eye on him.”
Ignis was standing right next to him by the table, sorting through the med kit. Prompto couldn’t avoid noticing the well-hidden but still distinct bulge in his pants. He looked up and realized both Gladio and Ignis had caught him staring. He blushed.
“Uh… I… eh…”
“I think I’ll go for a walk,” Ignis muttered and stalked away.
Prompto gave Gladio a helpless look. “I… I didn’t know he got so affected…”
“It’s just the body’s natural reaction,” Gladio said. “It’s not… It doesn’t mean it’s directed towards Noctis.”
“But… the scent… Doesn’t it have to be something that attract you?”
“Well… as I said, it’s different with Noct.”
“Oh…” Prompto was starting to feel uncomfortable. “Does that mean… do you react this way too?”
Gladio shrugged in an almost apologetically manner.
“Oh god…” Prompto covered his eyes with his hand. Did this mean that he’d have to protect Noctis from them at some point? In that case he wouldn’t have a chance.
“But… You’re not gonna…” he waved vaguely towards the tent. “Right?”
“What?” Gladio frowned. Then his brow darkened as he realized what Prompto was hinting at. “No! What do you think we are, animals? God, no. Of course we wouldn’t.”
“Excuse me for thinking so… I just… I’ve heard a lot of weird things about alphas.”
“Yeah, well, I guess I can’t blame you for being misinformed. Some alphas are out of control, but those are few. Most of us learn to control our instincts early on. It’s not difficult if your mind is right. I mean, no one gets so lost in their own instincts that they’d willingly hurt another person. Not unless they’re part beast or something.”
“But still… I didn’t meant to assume… I just… I know little about this. I haven’t known many alphas or omegas.”
Gladio squeezed Prompto’s arm. “It’s fine.”
The flap to the tent opened and Noct stumbled out. He looked like he was on his deathbed. His skin was waxy and his eyes were sunken. He leant on the table like it was the only thing holding him up.
“Where’s Ignis?” he muttered.
Both Gladio and Prompto shot to their feet.
“He went for a walk,” Gladio said.
Noctis’ legs looked like they were about to buckle. Prompto rushed to him and loped an arm around his waist. Noctis flinched.
“Not so tight,” he muttered.
Gladio gently took Noctis’ other arm and helped Prompto steady him back into the tent.
“His skin is a little oversensitive,” Gladio explained.
“Oh… Right, sorry,” Prompto said.
As they were about to lower Noctis on the bedroll, Prompto noticed a huge wet spot on the sheets.
“Wait,” he said to Gladio. “Uh… I think he…”
Gladio noticed what he was looking at. “Don’t worry, it’s natural. It’s just his, um… I’ll explain after we’ve gotten him changed.”
Prompto was left holding up Noctis on his own while Gladio changed the sheets. They had used sheets instead of a sleeping bag on Noctis’ bedroll since he was sweating so much. Then Gladio left him with the not so funny task of getting Noct out of his soiled clothes.
“I guess I’m better suited for this than those two alphas,” Prompto muttered as he inched Noctis’ boxers down his thighs. “But that doesn’t make it better.”
Noctis was already passed out in another one of his restless sleeps and was blissfully unaware of what was happening around him.
After Prompto was done he went outside to where Gladio was sitting in one of the camping chairs.
“So… Um… What was that stuff on Noct’s bed?” he asked as he slumped down in the chair next to Gladio.
“It’s the… uh… the slick that comes out of them on their first heat. It shows that their… you know… breeding parts are functioning.”
“Oh god…” Now Prompto regretted asking. “How do you know so much about omega’s? I mean… I barely know anything about woman stuff… Except for, you know, the obvious.”
“My sister is an omega,” Gladio said. “I was unfortunate enough to be alone with her when her first heat came on, so I had to take care of her. Hers wasn’t as bad as Noct’s is, but back then it was horrible for both her and me. It was educational, though. And it actually brought us closer. But outside that time, I don't have much experience with omega's. I don’t normally choose to date them. Desire is one thing. Omega's can definitely be much more enticing than beta's.”
“Thanks a lot.”
Gladio gave him a lopsided grin. “But that doesn’t make up for the heats that makes you go crazy with desire and the other alpha’s you’ll have to fight off to prove that you’re worthy to be their mates.”
“You actually have to fight off other alpha’s?”
“Just wait till this one gets well enough to move around again.” Gladio nodded towards the tent. “We’re gonna have a lot of fun fighting off his suitors. He smells like a goddamned omega pleasure house.”
Prompto shivered. “But, like… We’re really gonna fight other alpha’s?”
“Hopefully it won’t come to blows, but we’re gonna attract a lot of attention.”
The sun was starting to set. In the distance they could see a man coming towards their haven. After a while Prompto recognized Ignis. He must have taken a long walk.
“Ready to go back on the frontline?” Gladio said when Ignis came up to them.
Ignis just rolled his eyes.
------
A day later Noctis was back on his feet. He still looked like as brittle as a dry leaf in a gust of wind, but his fever had gone down. He kept insisting that he was ready to travel, so they set out across the wilderness, away from the safety of their haven.
Prompto noticed how Gladio, and especially Ignis, stayed on the same side of Noctis as the direction of the wind to avoid getting his scent slammed in their faces. He was, not for the first time, very grateful that he was a beta.
They finished their hunt and arrived back at the nearest outpost just as the last light of the day turned into dusk. Ignis collected their bounty and did the shopping while the three others rented a caravan for the night. Noctis was placed in the farthermost room from the door and was ordered not to open any windows during the night. He looked unhappy about it but didn’t argue.
Prompto got the room closes to him and Ignis and Gladio took the rooms farthest away.
The next morning, Prompto was tasked with waking Noctis up.
“Wakey, wakey. I think Ignis is making us pancakes!”
Noctis’ messy hair poked up from the bundle of covers. “Really?”
“No… I doubt it… I just wanted to see if you were awake.”
Noct’s eyes became visible over the edge of the cover for just long enough to give Prompto a baleful look.
“Come on, get up, Noct. I don’t have all day.”
Noctis sighed. “Fine, I’m on it. You can stop sounding like Specs, now.”
Prompto took that as an insult.
-----
“Don’t tell me it’s gonna be this bad every month,” Prompto heard Noctis mutter. They were camping at a haven after having done some hunts that day to earn some sorely needed gil.
Prompto had just come back from a nearby hill where he'd been taking a few pictures of the setting sun. He hesitated about interrupting the muttered conversation between Ignis and Noct. They were sitting next to the fire where Prompto had left them.
“No, it won’t,” Ignis assured Noctis. “The first heat is always the worst.”
Prompto knew Ignis took great pride in being able to help his prince in every way possible, in all matters. He was the group’s expert on health and was the one who always took care of them when they were sick or injured. Because of that, it wasn’t surprising that he knew a lot about how omega’s worked, especially since he would have had to prepare for this day knowing Noctis was an omega long before he had his first heat.
Parents always got informed after the birth about whether their boy was an omega, the same way parents of female alpha’s were. There were small signs to indicate their role already then. Male alphas and female omegas usually didn’t discover their role until they hit puberty and they started to affect or get affected by others scents.
Noctis had told Prompto that he was an omega early on. Ignis and Gladio had already known. They’d been informed early on in order to ensure they could protect and guide Noctis in every aspect. Prompto had been a little shocked. He had heard a lot of strange things about omega’s, and alpha’s as well. But when Noctis explained to him how it was, that omega’s weren’t whimpering, lust-crazed beings, but normal people who just had a bit different physique and an stronger inclination towards their instincts, he felt it was easier to accept it.
Then Gladio and Ignis told him they were alpha’s and he went on another roller coaster ride of disbelief and doubt. The things he’d heard about alpha’s were worse than what he’d heard about omega’s. They were volatile and completely driven by instinct. They were also ruthless and dominating.
Growing up, Prompto had been in little contact with alpha’s and omega’s. Although they weren’t unusual, they weren’t exactly plentiful. One kid in his class had been an omega. It hadn’t been supposed to come out. Most omega’s liked to keep that a secret till their debut. He had been ruthlessly picked on for it. Prompto remembered thinking he was glad he wasn’t that kid. Now, though, after being around both alpha’s and an omega for so long, and forging a very strong bond with them, he tried to understand their dynamic a little better.
But he could see that it made sense to have two alpha’s protecting an omega. If it came down to it, the only ones who could sufficiently hold alpha’s at bay from an omega, was another alpha. The only problem was that the plan could backfire pretty bad if the alpha’s decided that instead of protecting the omega, they’d try to make him their own.
But Prompto trusted Gladio and Ignis. They cared very much for Noctis, and the talk he’d had with Gladio had made him see alpha’s in a different light.
“How’re you holding up?” he asked Noctis as he walked into the camp.
Ignis and Noct looked a bit startled. They hadn’t noticed him coming.
“I’m fine,” Noctis said, but he sounded tired.
Prompto decided it was best to distract him a bit from his predicament, and showed him his pictures for the day. Noctis face was a little drawn, and his smiles were small and pained, but for a little while he almost went back to his old self as he laughed at Prompto’s silly selfies.
Prompto was just happy he could make his friend smile.
-----
“Noct…”
“Hm?”
“I know we don’t speak about this a lot… and if you don’t want to tell me, it’s okay… But I was wondering… Are you more attracted to women or to men?”
Noctis turned on his bedroll so he was facing Prompto.
“I guess I don’t talk about that a lot,” he said.
“I’m sorry if it’s too personal… I’ve involuntarily become very tangled up in your personal life lately… I guess I don’t know where the boundary goes anymore.”
“I know your preference so I guess it’s only fair that you know mine. It’s men.”
Prompto nodded. He was, for some reason, not surprised. Maybe it was because in media and fiction you mostly heard about the male omega’s that were gay. The male omega’s that were straight were extremely seldom spoken of.
“Why did you get so quiet?” Noctis asked.
“Oh… I was just thinking. I guess I had a feeling you were.”
“And… Is that bad?”
“Bad? No! No way. I don’t care what your preference is. You’re you no matter what.”
They fell into a soothing silence. Prompto listened to Gladio’s snores from right behind him. Their tent was not exactly roomy so there was little space between their bedrolls. A silent agreement between them placed Noctis and Ignis on opposite sides of the tent, while Prompto acted as a buffer between Noct and the two others.
He wasn’t sure it this meant he should be worried, despite Gladio’s words, that something should happen.
“Are you still…? Your heat…?”
There was a short pause before Noctis answered. “Yeah. It’s not over yet.”
“Does it hurt?”
“No… It’s more like my whole body just… aches a bit. Like I’ve overstrained every muscle.”
Prompto nodded.
“But it’ll be over in a while, right?”
Noctis voice was soft from fatigue as he answered. “I hope so.”
-----
“Isn’t his heat lasting a bit long?” Prompto heard Gladio say to Ignis the next morning. Noctis was still asleep, but Prompto had just woken up and he heard them through the tent walls even thought they spoke very softly.
“It’s his first,” Ignis said. “They usually last longer.”
“I guess… It’s only been a week yet. I suppose it will blow over during the next week.”
“Lets hope so.”
Was it just Prompto’s imagination or did Ignis sound a bit tired?
Gladio’s next words confirmed his suspicions.
“Just hang in there. I feel the strain of having an omega around that I can’t touch just as much as you, but I don’t have the feelings for Noct as you have. I can only imagine how tough it is.”
“Don’t talk about it so loudly,” Ignis hissed.
Prompto held his breath for a second. Ignis had feelings for Noct? This was getting more and more complicated, but at some point he’d just stopped getting surprised.
“I’ve been thinking about going to a place I know of in Lestallum when we get there…” Gladio said. “To blow off some steam. You should consider going too.”
Ignis didn’t answer but his expression must have spoken volumes because when Gladio spoke again he sounded exasperated.
“I know you’ve been practically celibate since… Yeah, yeah, fine.” Gladio lowered his voice. “But you’re just making it worse for yourself, and for Noct. Do you think he doesn’t pick up on our scents too? That might even be why his heat is lingering.”
Ignis sighed.
“Fine.”