The Sole Star (Final Fantasy XV Fanfic)

Chapter XL

Prompto gently laid Lorelai on one of the beds. Her breathing had evened out, but she was still unconscious and extremely weak. Ignis had driven them to the Cauthess Rest Area where they rented the caravan to rest. The gunman stared down at the girl with worry. Ignis approached the blond.

"We should give her an elixir," he said, holding a vial in his hand. "It may restore her magic energy." Prompto nodded, reaching out to take the elixir from him. "Though in this state, someone may have to give it to her in a more direct manner."

The blond froze, his blue eyes widening with confusion. "Huh?"

"He means mouth to mouth," Gladio explained, causing Prompto's face to heat up.

Noctis smirked slightly. "In that case, Prompto should do it."

"W-Wha-?" the gunman stuttered out, his face burning. "M-Me?"

The shield smirked as well. "I'd be happy to do it, but if I did you'd be pissed."

Prompto nervously averted his gaze, pursing his lips together. Gladio was right. He wouldn't be able to stand seeing anyone else with their lips on Lorelai's, even if it meant saving her life. The very idea of it seemed to shatter his heart. But he'd never kissed her before, which would make the whole thing really awkward. Ignis cleared his throat, forcing the blond out of his thoughts.

"Prompto, Lorelai's life hangs in the balance." He held out the elixir. "This may very well be all she needs to recover."

After a moment, Prompto nodded. "Alright. I'll do it, for Lora."

He took the curative from Ignis and stood over the girl. With a permanent blush on his freckled cheeks, he opened the vial and poured the liquid into his mouth. He held it there and slowly bent down toward Lorelai. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he got closer to her face. He finally paused and lightly took her chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing her mouth open slightly. He then leaned down, his eyes instinctively shutting partway as his lips pressed against hers. It was pure bliss to feel her soft lips against his lightly chapped ones. But as soon as he finished transferring the elixir to her, he forced himself to pull away.

"Good," Ignis said. "Now we merely wait."

The advisor immediately went to the stove to prepare a late supper. Noctis and Gladio smirked and nudged the blond before heading outside to the table. Prompto took one more glance back at Lorelai before following them. The gunman quietly took a seat.

"So, how'd it feel to finally kiss her?" Noctis asked, a smirk still on his lips.

"I-It wasn't a kiss," Prompto argued, flustered by his friend's question.

"Not technically," Gladio stated. "But you looked like you enjoyed it anyway."

Prompto began blushing madly again. Leave it to Gladio to notice every little detail. The two only snickered at their oddly quiet companion. Prompto tried his best to tuck the thought away for the time being, more concerned for Lorelai's well-being than anything. Despite loving the fact that he got the chance to place his lips against hers, he knew that wasn't the time to dwell on it. Ignis soon finished supper and joined the three. While they ate, they continued to talk about the situation.

"Ignis, did you figure out how all that happened in Costlemark?" the prince asked.

"Nothing solid, but I have a theory," he answered. "I believe that the ancient technology was lying dormant, waiting for a source of power to reactivate. Lorelai said she felt a sense of longing. It was as if the machinery was trying to draw her in so it could feed off her magic. Seems that's exactly what it did, and it nearly killed her in the process."

"I guess Ardyn was actually right this time," the shield commented. "Lorelai should never have gone there."

Prompto stared down at his food, quietly saying, "Now we know, ancient technology is bad."

The majority of the time was spent in silence. As soon as Prompto finished eating, he went straight back inside to check on the girl. She was still unconscious. He took a seat on the edge of the bed, slipping his hand into hers. He leaned down a little, brushing her bangs out of her face.

"Please, please be okay, Lora."

His friends came back inside, cleaning up and getting ready for bed. Noctis approached his best friend, giving him a light pat on the shoulder.

"Get some sleep, Prompto. We all need a rest after today."

Prompto only nodded. After a few more moments, he finally left Lorelai and went to his own bed. He laid awake half the night, just staring over at the girl. He kept hoping that if he waited long enough, he'd see her eyes open or hear her soft voice calling for him. But unfortunately, neither of those happened. Prompto eventually drifted off, unable to keep his eyes open. The following morning, he ate a bit of breakfast and returned to sitting by Lorelai's side. He kept waiting, wanting her to wake up so he'd know she was okay. Despite what his friends said or did, he stayed there, unwilling to leave her side.

The first thing Lorelai felt was warmth enveloping her hand. The hazy darkness around her faded and she slowly opened her eyes partway. She immediately saw Prompto sitting on the bed beside her. His hand rested over hers and his head hung down, staring sadly at the floor. Lorelai was unable to move her weakened body, but she tried her best to take the boy's hand.

"Prom...pto..." she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

But Prompto heard her and felt her hand twitch under his. He lifted his head and turned to look at her. His blue eyes widened with surprise and relief.

"Lora, I'm here. How do you feel?"

She struggled to answer, her voice not wanting to work for her. "...It hurts all over..."

Prompto stood up. "I'll go get the others."

Before he could move, Lorelai abruptly said, "No..." Prompto paused and looked at her. She weakly reached her hand out toward him. "Please, don't leave me... I'm scared... I don't want to drift into darkness again..."

Prompto gave in, took her outstretched hand, and sat back down. "Alright. I won't go anywhere unless you want me to." He smiled lightly.

The girl managed a tired smile. "Thank you... I was surrounded in a dark haze... devoid of life and light... I don't want to go back to that..."

Lorelai struggled to try and sit up, but her arms kept giving out under her weight. Prompto finally clutched her hand and placed an arm around her shoulders, pulling her up to a sitting position. She fell forward against him, her head resting on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her.

"Prompto... Am I going to die?"

His eyes widened and he tightened his hold on her. "No, not if I can help it. I won't let you go."

A smile tugged at her lips. "Good... I didn't want to leave you yet."

He was about to ask what she meant when he heard the caravan door. He turned his head, seeing his friends. Their eyes immediately landed on Lorelai as they approached.

Prompto smiled. "Look who's awake, guys."

"Lora, are you feeling better?" the prince asked.

She frowned a bit, her eyes looking up at them. "Not really... my whole body hurts... and I can barely move."

Ignis leaned down toward her. "Well, at least the elixir seems to have helped. But I don't think it's enough. We need something much stronger that can restore her light magic."

Gladio gasped lightly. "Purnima. Maybe she can help."

Prompto quickly nodded. "That sounds like a great idea. She should know more about it than us."

"Then let's go," Noctis said.

Prompto carefully picked up Lorelai and carried her out to the Regalia. He got in the back with her again, letting Noctis take his usual seat. The blond kept his arms around the girl, soothingly rubbing her back while her head laid tiredly against him. He hoped that the dragon would know what to do. All he wanted was for Lorelai to completely recover.