Noctis glances up when the door swings open and Leland comes in. The prince is on his feet immediately, and Leland surges forward to pin his arms despite knowing that Noctis will not fight him. “Let’s go, prince,” he says, voice businesslike and clipped as he twists Noctis’ arms behind his back.
The difference between how Kidman handles him and how Leland handles him is vast, and Notis isn’t sure which man he finds more unsettling. Where the bulkier man is professional and brusque, the pink-haired man is unbalanced and sultry and looks like he’s about ready to eat Noctis at any given moment that they’re together.
They’re each their own special hell, Noct decides as he’s forced out of the room.
He wants to struggle as he’s dragged down the hall to another door, but he stills when the door is pushed open and he sees Kidman standing behind Prompto, Ignis, and Gladio. There are other people around the room, each holding a weapon in the general direction of his friends, who are kneeling in a horizontal line. Prompto’s biting his lip and gripping his knees so hard that Noct can see the wrinkles in the fabric of his pants even from his spot in the doorway and he barely stifles an angry sound. He meets Ignis’ eyes and the adviser’s gaze narrows slightly.
Stay calm, Noct. Ignis knows this is likely their only chance, but so much can go wrong in these next few minutes that his heart is pounding.
“Finally,” Kidman groans, rubbing his neck. “Taking care of the four of you is like herding cats.” He sounds genuinely put out by the process of holding four people hostage and Noct’s shoulders creep up to his ears as he tenses.
But Noctis finds his voice and speaks lowly, trying to sound as deferential as possible. “What do you want from us?”
“Huh?” Kidman seems genuinely confused for a moment. “Oh. From you lot? Teeechnically, nothing.” He checks his phone again. “My buyers, though? Who knows. They’ve been after you for a while, so they’re probably pretty eager to finally get their hands on you.”
It’s thrown out so casually that Noctis is sure he misunderstands. “Wait – the Empire?” They're the only ones who have been pursuing them thus far. His blood chills and the fight leaves his body as he goes completely still against Leland’s grip. “You’re handing us over to Niflheim?”
The thinner man seems almost insulted by the suggestion. “Handing over says I get nothing out of it,” he protests. “They’re cutting me quite the deal.” He tucks his phone away and smiles dangerously at Noctis. “You know, they weren’t too happy to find out that we lived on such a nice deposit of ore and didn’t share. But they weren’t the ones who built this place from the ground up.” He takes a step closer to Noctis. “They weren’t the ones risking their lives to fight the monsters for even the chance at getting the ore.” Another step. “They weren’t the ones bleeding, sweating, and crying to refine the shit.” The distance is closed now and he takes Noctis’ chin in his hand. “But they wanted to take it away from us. That hardly seems fair, does it?”
Noctis instinctively tries to jerk away, biting his lip. Gods, this guy is just exuding danger, and he has no choice but to sit here and take it. Kidman’s grip tightens for only a second before he steps back and opens his arm to gesture at the others in the room. His hands sweep over each of them and he smiles almost fondly. “They were gonna take away our livelihood, prince. They were gonna break up the family if we fought for it.” Something in his gaze softens as he looks at each of the people in the room. It’s there for only a second before hardening again. “And I couldn’t let them do that to my family.” He steps back, his fingers hovering between Gladio and Prompto as if he isn’t sure which one of them to lay hands on first. “You get it, don’t you, prince?” The softness from before creeps back into his voice. “You’d do anything for yours, too.”
The worst part is that Kidman’s right. That’s why they’re in this situation now – because Noctis would do anything to save the lives of his friends if he has any say in it at all.
“You’d just gotten big enough to attract their attention, then,” Ignis says. He’s beginning to unravel the final threads of their fate. “And after Dino Ghiranze's article ran you knew they’d come for you unless you could offer them something better.”
Gladio snorts and a wry smirk crosses his lips. “You panicked,” he realizes. “You didn’t have a choice until we wandered by. Must’ve thought you’d died and gone to heaven once you realized who we were.” He knows they’re poking the bear in the eye with a stick, but it’s almost worth it to watch Kidman frown for the first time.
The man begins to pace now. No, he’s come too far to fall apart here. He’s barely restrained himself from giving in to his instinct to mow down anyone who steps foot on his land unbidden, and if he folds now then he has nothing to give to the Empire. “Clever, nosy little boys, aren’t you,” he says, and his voice is tight. He scowls and stands behind Ignis and Gladio. His breath is heavy and his fingers clench and unclench, as if he’s struggling with an instinct that he can no longer suppress. “I suggest you stop,” he says, and his voice is back to the lilting song – but this time there’s the dangerous venom, and both façades bleed together.
“Ignis. Gladio.” Noctis cuts in, his voice hard as he draws Kidman’s attention to him. “Don’t. Stop badgering him, alright?” He knows that given half a chance, Kidman would very willingly choke the life out of one or the both of them for pushing his buttons. He can see it in the tension of his fingers. “I’ll go with them.”
Their captor relaxes exponentially now that their words are gone as he steps back over to Noctis, and the danger seems to ebb away. “Great, that makes it so much easier.” Kidman raises his hand and gestures with his first two fingers. “Weapons on him, guys. Our ride will be here soon.” The family members all step forward, surrounding the prince.
Suddenly every weapon in the room is pointed at Noctis. The woman’s hunting knife, Leland’s pistol Kidman’s little knife, somebody has a fucking uzi –
Prompto gets his feet under him, but Gladio presses a firm hand against his shoulder to force him to stay down. “NOCT!” Prompto shouts. He tries to shrug Gladio off, but the shield holds him tightly.
Despite it all, Noctis is smiling.
After all, for the first time, every single weapon in the room is focused on him rather than the others.
Re: Fill: The Wrong Kind of Family (5/?)
The difference between how Kidman handles him and how Leland handles him is vast, and Notis isn’t sure which man he finds more unsettling. Where the bulkier man is professional and brusque, the pink-haired man is unbalanced and sultry and looks like he’s about ready to eat Noctis at any given moment that they’re together.
They’re each their own special hell, Noct decides as he’s forced out of the room.
He wants to struggle as he’s dragged down the hall to another door, but he stills when the door is pushed open and he sees Kidman standing behind Prompto, Ignis, and Gladio. There are other people around the room, each holding a weapon in the general direction of his friends, who are kneeling in a horizontal line. Prompto’s biting his lip and gripping his knees so hard that Noct can see the wrinkles in the fabric of his pants even from his spot in the doorway and he barely stifles an angry sound. He meets Ignis’ eyes and the adviser’s gaze narrows slightly.
Stay calm, Noct. Ignis knows this is likely their only chance, but so much can go wrong in these next few minutes that his heart is pounding.
“Finally,” Kidman groans, rubbing his neck. “Taking care of the four of you is like herding cats.” He sounds genuinely put out by the process of holding four people hostage and Noct’s shoulders creep up to his ears as he tenses.
But Noctis finds his voice and speaks lowly, trying to sound as deferential as possible. “What do you want from us?”
“Huh?” Kidman seems genuinely confused for a moment. “Oh. From you lot? Teeechnically, nothing.” He checks his phone again. “My buyers, though? Who knows. They’ve been after you for a while, so they’re probably pretty eager to finally get their hands on you.”
It’s thrown out so casually that Noctis is sure he misunderstands. “Wait – the Empire?” They're the only ones who have been pursuing them thus far. His blood chills and the fight leaves his body as he goes completely still against Leland’s grip. “You’re handing us over to Niflheim?”
The thinner man seems almost insulted by the suggestion. “Handing over says I get nothing out of it,” he protests. “They’re cutting me quite the deal.” He tucks his phone away and smiles dangerously at Noctis. “You know, they weren’t too happy to find out that we lived on such a nice deposit of ore and didn’t share. But they weren’t the ones who built this place from the ground up.” He takes a step closer to Noctis. “They weren’t the ones risking their lives to fight the monsters for even the chance at getting the ore.” Another step. “They weren’t the ones bleeding, sweating, and crying to refine the shit.” The distance is closed now and he takes Noctis’ chin in his hand. “But they wanted to take it away from us. That hardly seems fair, does it?”
Noctis instinctively tries to jerk away, biting his lip. Gods, this guy is just exuding danger, and he has no choice but to sit here and take it. Kidman’s grip tightens for only a second before he steps back and opens his arm to gesture at the others in the room. His hands sweep over each of them and he smiles almost fondly. “They were gonna take away our livelihood, prince. They were gonna break up the family if we fought for it.” Something in his gaze softens as he looks at each of the people in the room. It’s there for only a second before hardening again. “And I couldn’t let them do that to my family.” He steps back, his fingers hovering between Gladio and Prompto as if he isn’t sure which one of them to lay hands on first. “You get it, don’t you, prince?” The softness from before creeps back into his voice. “You’d do anything for yours, too.”
The worst part is that Kidman’s right. That’s why they’re in this situation now – because Noctis would do anything to save the lives of his friends if he has any say in it at all.
“You’d just gotten big enough to attract their attention, then,” Ignis says. He’s beginning to unravel the final threads of their fate. “And after Dino Ghiranze's article ran you knew they’d come for you unless you could offer them something better.”
Gladio snorts and a wry smirk crosses his lips. “You panicked,” he realizes. “You didn’t have a choice until we wandered by. Must’ve thought you’d died and gone to heaven once you realized who we were.” He knows they’re poking the bear in the eye with a stick, but it’s almost worth it to watch Kidman frown for the first time.
The man begins to pace now. No, he’s come too far to fall apart here. He’s barely restrained himself from giving in to his instinct to mow down anyone who steps foot on his land unbidden, and if he folds now then he has nothing to give to the Empire. “Clever, nosy little boys, aren’t you,” he says, and his voice is tight. He scowls and stands behind Ignis and Gladio. His breath is heavy and his fingers clench and unclench, as if he’s struggling with an instinct that he can no longer suppress. “I suggest you stop,” he says, and his voice is back to the lilting song – but this time there’s the dangerous venom, and both façades bleed together.
“Ignis. Gladio.” Noctis cuts in, his voice hard as he draws Kidman’s attention to him. “Don’t. Stop badgering him, alright?” He knows that given half a chance, Kidman would very willingly choke the life out of one or the both of them for pushing his buttons. He can see it in the tension of his fingers. “I’ll go with them.”
Their captor relaxes exponentially now that their words are gone as he steps back over to Noctis, and the danger seems to ebb away. “Great, that makes it so much easier.” Kidman raises his hand and gestures with his first two fingers. “Weapons on him, guys. Our ride will be here soon.” The family members all step forward, surrounding the prince.
Suddenly every weapon in the room is pointed at Noctis. The woman’s hunting knife, Leland’s pistol Kidman’s little knife, somebody has a fucking uzi –
Prompto gets his feet under him, but Gladio presses a firm hand against his shoulder to force him to stay down. “NOCT!” Prompto shouts. He tries to shrug Gladio off, but the shield holds him tightly.
Despite it all, Noctis is smiling.
After all, for the first time, every single weapon in the room is focused on him rather than the others.