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Well, that was stupid.
Regret seeped into Noctis as he carefully made his way toward his apartment, the dull ache in his leg becoming hotter and sharper with each step. Prompto walked beside him, chattering in a sing-song tone about how they totally showed those kids at the arcade. Noct could barely make sense of the words, though, as the pain radiated out into a dull roar in his ears. He just nodded along as seemed appropriate, focusing all his attention on not limping on his left side.
"Dude are you listening to me?" Prompto asked, bumping Noct's arm with his elbow.
"...huh?" Noct responded groggily, his tongue feeling like lead in his mouth.
They were in his apartment now, at the doorway, and Prompto plopped down to pull off his shoes.
"I asked if you heard they pushed the release of the new Justice Monsters back again." There was a laugh in Prompto's voice, but Noct thought it sounded forced.
"Oh... yeah I guess," Noct mumbled, slipping his own shoes off without sitting down, leaving them disheveled in the entryway.
"You alright, dude?" Prompto asked, an echo of a question that'd been asked too many times lately. Especially now.
"I'm fine," he replied, gritting his teeth as pain shot up his leg again, causing him to seek out the wall with his hand for support. "Just tired."
"You're always tired," Prompto laughed, though the laugh faded when he shuffled up the hallway. "Hey, Noct?"
"Yeah?"
"Is there a reason you're leaning against the wall?"
Noctis stared at him wide-eyed for a moment, then moved his gaze toward his left. Indeed, he'd braced his shoulder against the wall without realizing it, and he probably looked like an idiot for it, too. He let out a pained breath, meaning for it to sound like a chuckle, and waved Prompto off.
"Told you I was tired," he muttered, though the words had slurred. Something was wrong with his vision, too, like the room was turning into liquid and ebbing around him. "I think the dance game was a bit too much after training with Gladio..."
"Don't tell me you're too tired for a round of King's Knight!"
Prompto thumped his shoulder, not hard, but enough to send him stumbling a few steps. He tried to catch himself on the wall, but missed, and all his weight fell on his left knee. He let out a pained whine through his teeth as he bit into his lip, his head swimming. Dizziness overcame him, and, despite a distant cry of "Noct?!" from somewhere, his world went black.
It wouldn't be completely inaccurate to say that Noct awoke wanting to scream, because he did. A hand was on his shoulder, shaking him, his left cheek resting on the hardwood floor of his apartment, and he could hear someone yelling. Those sensations were far less intense than the agonizing stabbing pain that had enveloped his leg, to the point that he wasn't sure if it was still attached to his body. He blinked against the greyed edges of his vision, straining to see through the white hot pain at just who was assaulting his shoulder.
Sound returned first, with a door opening.
"Iggy!" Prompto's voice sounded rushed and strained over the flurry of sounds that followed, with shoes hitting the entryway and a shuffle of slippered feet rushing closer.
"What happened?" A hand pressed tentatively to his head, another finding the outside of his good leg.
"I don't know, he just fell, all I did was slap his shoulder, oh Six, what have I--"
"Breathe, Prompto. This wasn't your doing."
Ignis.
Noctis groaned as he felt himself roll onto his back, aided by hands. His bangs stuck to his face, evidence that he'd been sweating, but for how long? He winced as deft fingers dug into his bad hip, though he welcomed the distraction from his knee.
"Prompto, what, pray tell, were you two doing before this happened?" Ignis sounded angry, and Noctis could almost hear Prompto shrink back a bit.
"We just walked in the door and took our shoes off."
"Before that?"
"We walked home from the arcade."
"And what, exactly, were you doing at the arcade?"
"I dunno, the usual thing? Games?"
"Prompto--"
"Ignis, cut it out," Noctis half-growled, half-groaned. His head swam again, the pain whiting out his vision for a moment. "Prompto didn't do anything."
"...I know," Ignis replied quietly.
"What?"
"Prompto," Ignis turned his attention to a startled Prompto, his arms slipping under Noct's back to help him to a sitting position. "Prepare the sofa with pillows and blankets. I need to examine him."
"Yeah, sure," Prompto said hurriedly, his feet sliding for purchase on the floor as he rushed off.
"Noct," Ignis breathed, his arm slipping under Noctis's left arm. "I'm going to support you from the left, but I need you to stand with me. Are you able?"
Noctis merely nodded, managing to gain footing with his right leg while his left folded under him. He stood with Ignis, and he hissed through his teeth as his knee flexed on its own.
"Fuck..." he groaned, his hand shooting out and finding Ignis's other arm for balance.
"Forward, now," Ignis said, leading Noctis toward the couch, where Prompto waited anxiously beside it. Noctis stumbled again, met with Ignis's mouth in his hair as he said, "I've got you."
Noct grunted as he hit the couch, then whined as Ignis fiddled about him to adjust him onto his back. Another set of hands found their way into his hair, and he tilted his head back enough to see Prompto staring deadlocked on Ignis's movements. Prompto rubbed his fingers in small circles on Noctis's scalp, and Noctis found himself close his eyes, the soothing feeling making him forget the pain.
That is, until, Ignis dug his thumb into the soft tissue near his knee and pushed. Noct gasped and shot up slightly, lifting himself just enough to glare at Ignis. Ignis, however, met his daggered gaze fully, his green eyes piercing through him enough that he had to look away.
"Now, Noct..." Ignis said, loosening his grip on Noctis's leg slightly, choosing instead to rub gentle circles on the taut muscles and tissue. "What gave you the incredibly stupid idea to not only overwork yourself with Gladio, but to worsen that by playing dance games at the arcade?"
Noctis turned his face away, not bearing to look at Ignis or Prompto, even as the latter had placed one hand onto his dark hair again.
"Before you say anything," Ignis continued, "Gladio called me shortly after you left. He informed me that he had cut your training session short, and said I should check on you early today."
"Why's that?" Noctis asked uselessly, already knowing what was coming.
"You had been limping, Noct."
Noctis sighed. He glanced at Prompto, then at Ignis, then at Prompto again, who was staring at him with deep concern, his tawny eyebrows furrowed together, the expression muddying his freckles. It pained him more than his leg, and he cast his gaze to the floor.
"I thought I was fine," he muttered, wincing silently as Ignis shifted his massage to a much more tender area of his knee. "It was just a bad day."
"A bad day made much worse than it need be," Ignis scolded, taking care as he extended Noctis's knee against a pained groan of protest. "You needn't be so reckless."
"It wasn't Noct, though," Prompto said suddenly, and Ignis stopped his movements to stare at him.
"Prom--" Noctis started, but Prompto continued.
"I talked him into it. Some kids were saying we were too old to play the game, so I..."
"Prom, you didn't talk me into it."
"Which is it, then?" Ignis asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I just wanted to play the game, and I felt fine, so that's it."
Ignis stared at him for awhile, reading his true intentions almost as easily as if he'd said them outloud. He sighed in exasperation, then stepped back from the sofa and adjusted his glasses.
"There doesn't appear to be any permanent damage, but I do insist you ice it tonight to be safe. And I will suggest to Gladio that you not have any strenuous training sessions until I'm certain it has not been reinjured."
"Thanks, Specs."
"No need."
And with that, Ignis left the apartment, leaving Prompto and Noctis at the couch. As the latch closed, Prompto gathered himself, beginning to step away from the couch and follow suit. Noctis's arm shot out, as if on its own, and he caught Prompto by his wrist. Prompto looked back at him, surprised, but somehow hopeful.
"You can stay," Noctis muttered, sitting up enough that there was a space behind him.
"Sure, Noct," Prompto smiled, and he sat in the space that Noctis made for him. "...I'm sorry."
"It wasn't your fault," Noct replied, ending the statement with a yawn as he leaned against Prompto.
"How... how bad does it hurt?"
"A lot."
Prompto let out a breathy chuckle, then wrapped his arm around Noctis's shoulder. Noct leaned back into him more, and not long after, he dozed off, napping the rest of the afternoon and evening away as the pain subsided.
Turns out, he didn't need the ice after all.