[partially closed with one OTA prompt]

[kittycaterer]

WHO: Noctis Caelum, Ignis Scientia, Gladiolus Amicitia, Prompto Argentum, Rosalind Lutece, and anyone else who wants to chime in for the visits!
WHERE: Rosalind's home, then Recolle Hospital
WHEN: Feb 5th
WHAT: Noct's health has officially taken a very rapid, very poor nosedive.
WARNINGS: TBA but there might be gross stuff we'll see

Comments

[Closed to Gladio | Early Evening]

[kittycaterer]

[ It hasn't gotten any better. None of it. The pain has been persistent the last few days, and it's only started to get worse. Medicine has done nothing, he's lost sleep, has barely eaten. And it doesn't look like that will change anytime soon.

Noctis keeps it to himself. Has kept it to himself, because an apparently horrible storm is on the rise and nearly all of his friends are gone on a special mission. He has to keep it together, he can't just worry everyone, and these things pass. They always do.

Except his episodes don't usually last nearly a week.

It would be foolish to admit that there is a problem, especially since he's turned away his hired caregiver. It was a decision his father made, not him, and he wasn't about to admit that he's that poor in health. He's 21 years old, there's no way he's in need of non-stop professional care. Except his head is throbbing and everything feels weak and pained, and there is the tiniest shred of him that wants to call for help but he can't.

He should eat. He can eat, maybe smoke, try to get some sleep. That's right. Good idea. Rosalind isn't home right now, so he has the place to himself. He'll eat some food and turn in early.

Noctis orders from his favorite place, ordering his favorite bowl of noodles because maybe that'll get him to eat something and hold it down. He orders delivery, biding his time by flipping through channels on the television and running his fingers along Tiny's thick, white fur. She's clinging to him like she does shortly before an episode, and she hasn't left his side. Rufus is at his feet, the cats on the couch just near his head. He's shaking, and he hasn't realized.

But he has to get up when the doorbell rings. And that in itself is a challenge. Noctis gets up, warm and pained, dizzy and incapable of walking a straight line but it has to be because he hasn't eaten in over 24 hours. This will help.

Noctis answers the door, eyes glazed over and looking half-dead. Pale. He doesn't even pay attention to the fact that it's Gladio delivering the food. The guy he's kept a far distance from, because he's not sure if he wants to even socialize with the guy. His gaze is a thousand yards and not even putting two and two together. In fact, his vision is almost completely blurred. ]

Thanks...

[ He reaches for his pocket, fishing for the money. ]

[customcup]

[Gladio doesn't normally have to handle deliveries. It's just that the usual guy called out and now he's both cooking and delivering the meals.

He does not get paid enough for this shit. But he'll have to take that up with Kei, maybe. Probably not. Kei's already annoyed at the secret menu stuff Gladio's been doing, with the noodles. Gladio just doesn't get how a ramen shop can't have ramen.

Anyway, he does not expect to run into Noctis of all people when he shows up at the customer's house. The guy doesn't even acknowledge him, really, just thanks him in that distant way Noctis usually does.

Wait, this isn't usual. Sure, Noctis is a little out of it sometimes, but right now he doesn't look like he's focusing on anything and he looks even paler than usual. Is he shaking? Plus, it's not like him to just ignore Gladio like this without some kind of remark.

Maybe he's high?]

Don't... mention it-- You feeling alright?

[kittycaterer]

[ There's a ringing in his ear. Persistent and growing. It becomes loud enough that while Noctis can hear Gladio, he barely recognizes the voice. Fishing out his wallet is almost impossible because his muscles feel like they're protesting every little movement and his fingers won't stop twitching. Noctis doesn't realize he's left his wallet on the coffee table. ]

Damn it.

[ He mutters the words, turning his head, still not realizing that it's Gladio and not some random delivery guy. ]

I'm fine, just--

[ The second Noctis turns his head, he feels a pang of sharp, acute pain. A screech in his hearing. He shakes his head to turn around and walk over for his wallet. He grabs it, quickly grabbing the cash and coming over. Should probably make this quick.

He reaches for the bag, while handing over the money. And yes, he's shaking. ]

Here. Keep the change.

[Closed to Ignis and Gladio | Recolle Hospital hours later]

[kittycaterer]

[ From Noctis' perspective, most of his memory is hazy. He'd lost consciousness the second Gladio arrived to the house, regaining it for a brief period some time later. But he doesn't remember much, if anything at all. Somewhere along the way, paramedics are called and Noctis is quickly rushed off. Almost a year since he'd fallen into a coma.

It's not good.

It's like his brain attacks itself, then launches a secondary one to the rest of him. He seizes in the ambulance truck, he struggles to breathe. They attach him to a respirator and keep a close eye on his vitals which very quickly become abysmal in numbers. The paramedics work diligently, stressed, and there is only so much information that they can give Gladio. At the arrival to the hospital, they get ahold of Noct's records, and that's when they manage to locate Ignis' phone number. He'd been added as an emergency contact recently, listed as Noct's official caregiver. Not something Noctis had done, surely.

It's hours before anything regarding Noctis is brought to light. Ignis is made aware that Noctis has had another seizure, that he's unconscious and barely breathing. His lungs are incredibly strained, and multiple tests and procedures are being run.

While they wait, Nurse Clare asks Gladio and Ignis where "sunshine" is. Prompto, is the conclusion the can come to. He'd been there often the last time Noctis was here, but he's nowhere near the hospital as of now. It will be some time before he's available to be seen, leaving Gladio and Ignis to their own devices in the waiting room. ]

[amities]

[He doesn't know how long he's been here, how much time has passed. He could have grabbed himself a magazine at some point, gone into the hospital cafeteria for a coffee because god knows he needs it, but the most Ignis has done is stand from his seat, paced around for a few minutes then returned to his seat. He's been a fidgeting mess, crossing and uncrossing his legs, fiddling with his hands, messing with his glasses.

The only time Ignis pulled out his phone was to make a single phone call, off in a corner, hushed and brief before returning to the waiting room where he continued his routine. Not a single word since, not to anyone, not even the other man that has been waiting with him this entire time whose name he can't even think about right now. Ignis hasn't even approached him.

Because he can't let his attention wander, and he can't leave here. He can't go further than a few feet because he needs to stay here, he needs to know how Noctis is doing, he needs to be available to listen to every update on his condition.

Ignis needs to know he's going to be alright. He needs to know if he's going to be alive. The thought eats at him inside, slowly, painfully. The only thing that remains on his mind, the only thing he can think about.

And the fact that he may very well have played a part in the decline of Noct's condition.

His glasses have been deposited in the empty chair at his side, face in his hands.

He's going to be alright.

He's going to be alright.]

[customcup]

[Gladio feels extremely awkward. He hasn't been in Noctis' life in such a long time, and they weren't exactly on the greatest terms as kids. They were young and stupid, is Gladio's stance on that, and he wanted to make things better after he learned that Noct is both in Recolle and on Retrospec like he is now. He wanted some kind of familiar face to let him know he wasn't going insane with all this... magic stuff.

Now, he feels like a complete idiot. He didn't know how bad Noct was. He knew -- remembered -- that the guy was sick, but he seemed to have it handled. Well, maybe? It's not like Gladio was really paying that much attention, even as a teenager.

He regrets that even more now. He just wants to make sure the guy's not about to die, but from what he's been able to overhear from the nurses approaching the emergency contact, things don't exactly look good.

Gladio glances over at the guy, who looks stressed out of his fucking mind. Gladio can't blame him. He walks over and gently claps a hand down on his shoulder. He's gotta get the other man's mind off of this. It's out of their hands. But he doesn't know the guy well enough to know how to do that.]

Hey, you know... he made it this far, right?

[OTA | A few days later, open to anyone who wants to visit]

[kittycaterer]

[Closed to Ignis and Noctis]

[kittycaterer]

[ Around 3 in the morning, he's brought to a hospital bed. "He can be seen now," the nurse says, but she advises Ignis that Noctis is under a lot of medication to alleviate the pain he's in, and he needs the assistance of a machine to breathe. At the very least, he isn't in as bad of a situation as he had been nearly a year ago. All the details of what occurred to him are given to Ignis, as he is the legal caregiver.

Noctis is awake. Barely. He's there, but dazed, lying in a bed and his thoughts have hardly started to come back to him yet. Alone to the soft beeping of his heart monitor and breathing machine, staring off into space. ]

[amities]

[The sight that meets him once he passes into the room isn't as jarring as Ignis had anticipated it would be. Perhaps it's because he's become so startlingly used to it, from his times visiting his mother's hospital to his years of teaching and training. It's not unfamiliar or frightening in the least.

And yet something unpleasant still settles heavy in his chest. It isn't the atmosphere that bothers him. It's the individual in the bed, the one he recognizes, the one he is now associated with, the one he was meant to be responsible for.

The room is dark, the main light coming in from the hallway, the only sound the beeping of the machines Noctis is connected to followed by Ignis' slow, faint footsteps as he approaches. He stops about a foot away from Noctis then realizes the shimmer of his eyes is because they're open, he's awake, and in a second he's right at his side.]

Noct?

[It comes out of him without thought. Not "Noctis", but "Noct". What Noctis insisted he call him when they were children. What he always called him.]

Closed to Noctis and Rosalind

[kittycaterer]

[ By now, it’s morning. The day after the whole disaster. Short term memory slowly trickles back in. He was at Rosalind’s house, trying to gather his bearings. Desperately looking for relief from his pain. It’s hazy, but there. Gladio, by some cosmic fortune, had been the one to deliver his food. Catching the situation and calling the paramedics.

He was such an idiot. He should have just accepted help, but he doesn’t want to. He doesn’t want to believe he’s that bad off. That he’s that close to death.

Visitation is open, and Noctis is... Unsure if he wants it. He looks terrible. Pale, sickly, still doped up on morphine and hooked up to a dozen machines so he can breathe and unload. It’s uncomfortable. Embarrassing.

He lays in bed, and it’s just so uncomfortable to move with all these chords and IVs. There’s something playing on TV but he isn’t paying attention. He’s staring out the window. He wants to go home. ]

[originallutece]

[Which home, that's the question. His home in England, safe with his father? His apartment in Recolle? Or his temporary home in Rosalind's house, camping out in her living room, stretched out on her couch with the dogs all huddled around him and Kawaii-san imperiously watching over him?

He'll get a taste of that last one, at least, as the hospital door opens. Rosalind slips in without knocking, her bag held on one shoulder and her gaze exhausted. She straightens up as she sees Noct awake, and offers him a neutral expression.

He's going to expect scolding, perhaps, or lecturing. Rosalind stays silent, settling in a visitor's chair. There's a little pause, and then:]

Ignis certainly has grown, hasn't he?

Closed to Prompto | After Prompto gets the call about Noctis

[kittycaterer]

[ Boy oh boy. From the multiple visitations that involved Noctis realizing he’s completely at fault and only has himself to blame, to random surgery and tons of drugs, Noctis is just. Exhausted. And who knows how long he’ll be stuck in the hospital? All he knows is that he wants to go home, that he misses his cats and dogs, he misses Prompto.

Gods, Prompto...

He knows that Prompto has been made aware of the situation, and he’s sure he’s worrying the everloving hell out of the guy by being so far away. He should have said something. Noctis should have been more transparent about how he was feeling...

He’s such an idiot.

But Noctis is sound of mind Now. Exhausted, but that’s the medicine. At least his short term memory seems to have come back? He can’t be entirely sure. Some things are still foggy, but he’s not as bad as he had been the last time he was here. Prompto should get a sign of life. Even if Noctis is rather worried he’s upset Prompto by being silent again. He’d deserve an earful from him, too, honestly... ]

so uh
heres my sign of life
just got my phone back...

[ Ugh... ]

[mercurio]

[in all honesty, prompto doesn't know what to say. he had tried calling and texting noctis, but there had been no response. it all came back to the realization that he probably didn't have his phone with him (or the other option that he did but didn't want to talk to prompto, clearly).]

[he moves away from camp, crunching snow under his boots, to sit far from the rest, when he gets the text message. he reads it several times, but it takes him even longer to muster a reply, backspacing on more drafts than necessary.]

how are you feeling?

[prompto settles for worry.]

Closed to Gladio | A few days later...

[kittycaterer]

[ While the shame is still very much there, Noctis has at least crawled somewhat out of the depressive slump that has taken him. Tests are always tedious. Doctors spend days going through the same song and dance. They scan every little dip and curve of Noct's brain, they poke and prod at every part of his body. Blood draws, numerous observations; it's all the same crap that leads to the same brick wall. They never know what's wrong, they wait until he's "stable", they send him home. Lather, rinse, repeat.

He's so exhausted with it all. Noctis knows that this won't amount to anything, but part of him always says he might be proven wrong. It's not one of those cases yet, because today he's been told that the doctor is still stumped. Because the symptoms are still there, but tests come up with nothing. Higher white blood cell counts, his body is still panicking, he's still in pain and he's still having trouble breathing. But no one knows why.

At least he's not confined to a bed anymore. The doctors want to continue monitoring him for the time being, but he's free to roam the hospital. It's good to keep his legs going anyway, they tell him. Sure, he has to keep the damn IV and oxygen tank with him everywhere he goes, but it's better than nothing.

Noctis gets up, keen to tour the hospital and try to get some fresh air in the courtyard. He's been given his pajamas from home, so that's better than the hospital garb. Noctis slowly shuffles the hallway in his sweats and one of Prompto's shirts. It's a silly chocobo shirt. But he asked for it, because it's so obviously his. Whatever, he looks stupid in it, but that's not something he cares about right now.

It's on his way down the hall that he sees Gladio. Noctis stops, looking a touch surprised that he's here. But he's fully aware that Gladio's the one to have called the paramedics. He doesn't remember him being there, but...

The guilt comes back. Noctis looks a touch surprised, and his eyes shift down to his feet. ]

Ah... Hey.

[customcup]

[Gladio wanted to make it back to the hospital sooner. But after the stunt he pulled, calling out of his shift halfway through the night after they were already down one employee when he so obviously doesn't have the funds to do so, he's been working pretty much nonstop. When he finally gets a day off, he makes his way to the hospital. Noctis should still be there, from what he overheard before.

He's on his way to Noctis' room when, speak of the devil, Noct shows up in his jammies right in the hallway, apparently wandering.]

Oh, good. You're up.

[Gladio pauses, glancing down at his hands, realizing he doesn't exactly have a get well card or flowers to offer. But anything he'd write on a card he can just as well say to Noct's face.]

Nice shirt.

[Yeah, that one's card-worthy. He should quit his job and work for Hallmark.]

I'M HERE... sometime after objective 1 is complete IDEK

[daemonized]

[It's a few days after Noctis has been admitted to the hospital, when the news makes its rounds to Ardyn. What with everything happening this month, he's been pulled in so many directions at once, and he feels the tiredness in the core of his bones.

But this won't stop him from dropping by the hospital, finding Noctis' room, and knocking on the door before he decides to step in, quietly. If he's asleep, he'll not wake him. If he's awake, then they can afford a small amount of time to converse. He's tinged with more than just a little concern for the young man.

Seeing that he's awake, he smiles faintly in greeting.]

Surprise.

WoO

[kittycaterer]

[ In the few days that have passed, Noct's health has gradually improved. It's a slow burn, but he's getting there. Doctors have at least gained relief that he is no longer "in the red", so to speak. While Noctis has trouble breathing and still needs the assistance of a respirator, he's better than he had been previously. The unsightly raising of his veins that signal pain have gone down, now he's just sore.

It's a step forward, at least. The doctors continue to run tests, and it's exhausting. But for now, they've left him to relax in his room, where he's managed to get his gaming system brought to him and set up on the television. Noctis passes the time playing an RPG, hooked up to a dozen machines and easily ignoring the heart monitor because he's used to it.

But he hears a voice, and he turns his head. Noctis' brows raise. ]

Ardyn?

[ He pauses the game, smiling that lazy smile in an instant. He realizes things are awkward with Prompto, that there are a lot of unanswered questions, but for now? He sets that aside. Noctis puts the controller down and sits up, shifting to try and better regard him. It's tough with the chords tangled around him, but he manages. ]

Ah--

[ Whoops. Something moved. Noctis adjusts himself so nothing falls over due to his shuffling. ]

Hey. I thought you were out of town?

( closed to Rosalind )

[amities]

[He knows he's of no help here, standing right outside Noctis' assigned room, watching his sleeping form from the other side of the windowed wall, but what else can he do? Even with his exhaustion, Ignis can't bring himself to leave. Returning to his place is unthinkable, not when Noct's condition could change at any moment.

Ignis hears footsteps down the hall and immediately he turns, anticipating it to be a nurse or one of the doctors, but instead he finds himself watching a familiar face step toward him.]

Dr. Lutece.

[He says her name in a quiet sort of exhausted exhale.]

[originallutece]

Hallo, Ignis.

[God, look at him. It isn't that Rosalind is unconcerned about Noctis, but she's spent the past day fretting over him. She can take a moment to stare at Ignis.

It's just-- she remembers him when he was tiny, that's all. Keeping a careful eye on his mother's charge, his gaze fussy and loving both, looking up at her with such a solemn expression for a child. He'd always been so polite, so very dignified, even as he'd sometimes tripped over his own feet or mispronounced words; it was all she could do not to laugh sometimes.

He's grown, now. Gone are the faint traces of baby fat and gaps in his teeth; instead, a man looks at her, his gaze exhausted and his stance ramrod straight. He's taller than her by nearly half a foot, a fact that startles her as she comes to stand next to him.

He's changed. But to be perfectly fair, she has too. She'd been all but a girl at twenty-two, nervous and defensive in her first job, secretly resentful about being saddled with Noctis. With her hair tied back severely and her expression fiercely cold, she'd tried everything in her power to look far older and more experienced than she, in fact, was.

Ten years changes a lot of things. Rosalind is far more comfortable in herself now, and stands with a lazy confidence that speaks of utter self-assurance. Her hair is braided back, but gently so, and her clothing is still professional, but far more flattering than it used to be.

So here they are, ten years later, and yet some things never change. She thinks that just a touch bitterly as she glances in at Noct's sleeping form]

You still enjoy that slicked up hairstyle, I see.

[Literally the least thing that's changed about him, but it's what slips past her lips.]

I can't imagine this was the way you wanted to spend your first week here.

2/15;

[complementing]

Nooooct~ where are you right now?

I'm doing belated Valentine's Day deliveries and I have something for you!

[kittycaterer]

[ It's been a few days, and while Noctis absolutely hates being in the hospital and still feels extremely ashamed of himself? He's... Better. His spirits are slightly up at least. Not as much as they could be, but... Baby steps.

His phone buzzes, the text tone going off while he's in the middle of playing a game in his hospital bed. He looks down, seeing that it's Minako.

Crap. He hadn't told her either.

This is your bed that you made, Noctis Caelum, now you gotta lay in it. With a sigh, he picks up his phone. ]

hey mina
uh

the hospital

[ Little fanfare but... Uh, what else is he supposed to say? ]

2/15 - Closed to Prompto

[kittycaterer]

[ He has his good days and bad days, but isn’t that par the course for his life anyway? Noctis has been in the hospital for a week now, tended to by doctors who run dozens of tests a day. Minded by a caretaker who’s been frequently visiting. And at least the situation with Ignis has improved. He’s actially glad the guy is here; they were basically brothers in childhood but they just l... Broke apart naturally. Noctis assumed it was because he was too sick to deal with, and he hadn’t blamed him. Either way, he’s accepted Ignis’ place here, and his.

But gods, he wants to go home. He hates hospitals. He hates dealing with doctors all day. And he misses Prompto terribly. Going past Valentine’s Day without him was bad enough, and he’s been stuck indoors all day because of multiple tests he has to participate in today. It’s stressful.

But he’s back in bed, stuck for the rest of the day. So he texts Prompto. ]

hey
just thinking about you

[mercurio]

thinking in a good way or thinking in a bad way?
at least i know that whatever the case i'm unforgettable

[and here's prompto, back in the city, tending to himself and trying very hard not to have one of his usual anxiety attacks while in his apartment. at least cloud isn't asking questions pertaining retrospec now, but it makes prompto a bit sad, still. he's off to work, though, and prompto only managed to catch him briefly as he was heading out.]

[welcome home.]

[that's a nice sentiment to have]

2/15

[standalonehuman]

[Busy busy day because everyone's suddenly at home. But Togusa assumes this is just going to be a text conversation, so he doesn't realize he's intruding.]

Noctis. Do you have some time to talk? I need to ask you a few things about your father's tech. It's going to seem weird, but

[Not seem, what Togusa is going to ask is completely nuts, and he knows it.]

I can trust you with this.

[kittycaterer]

[ The timing isn't great, but Noctis doesn't mind it. Anything to take his mind off his illness is appreciated. So he doesn't even get into it. ]

oh
yeah sure
seems a bit serious whats up