Disclaimer: I do NOT own The Thief Lord. If I did Scipio/Prosper would be canon.
Main Pairing: Scipio/Prosper
Warnings: Slash
AN: There is WAY too little Scipio/Prosper stories out there. Here's my first work for this pairing. Hope you enjoy!
A Kind of Normal
Prosper had known normal. He'd lived it for the first years of his life.
This wasn't it.
An epic battle was currently taking place. Hornet and Riccio glared at each other over the greasy pizza box that held the last piece of pizza, neither blinking once. Prosper watched the pair in exasperated fondness, his head resting on his bent knees.
Riccio raised a challenging eyebrow and smirked. "I can already taste the victory."
Hornet's eyes narrowed. "You sure you just haven't brushed your teeth in a while?"
Riccio snorted and licked his lips just to irritate her. "Both, actually." Her mouth curled with disgust, but Riccio's smirk simply widened. "What," He taunted, "Bothered by a little - Bo!"
"Wha?" Bo mumbled around a mouthful of pizza. The last piece of pizza.
Prosper smacked a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing. Hornet rolled her eyes, while Riccio glared at the blonde six year old, who now had marinara sauce smeared over his face. Riccio groaned. "That was the prize! You already had two pieces!"
Bo shrugged and continued to eat, thoroughly unconcerned. "Sorry."
Riccio grumbled something Prosper couldn't understand and sulked over to his mattress. Hornet ruffled Bo's blonde curls before leaving for her own bed, where she picked up a novel and began to read. Didn't matter what Bo did, Hornet could never get mad at him.
"When's Scip gonna be back?" Bo shuffled to Prosper and plopped himself in his brother's lap. Sighing, Prosper used the hem of his shirt to wipe Bo's face and ignored his escape attempts until he was relatively clean.
"He'll be here soon." Prosper lifted Bo's shirt over his head and reached for a cleaner one for him to sleep in. He could do laundry while Bo slept.
"I wanna tell him 'bout the mark."
This is what Prosper considered a testament to how abnormal his life had become. His little brother referred to the people he stole from a 'mark', just like Scipio did. And the sad thing was Bo had developed a true talent for pickpocketing, especially when he used his cute face. Prosper himself could steal if it came down to it (and it frequently did), but he preferred selling any items they stole. He was better at it and seemed more...moral.
"I know you do, Bo, but you know Scip's being...Scip." Prosper bit his lip as he dressed Bo for bed. He knew what Scip was doing was necessary for their survival and he was thankful, really. Stealing, though...his mother had taught him it was wrong and he didn't want to do anything to disgrace her memory.
"Why are you sad?" Bo's small, sticky hands framed Prosper's face as he stared into his brother's blue eyes. "You said Scip would be here soon."
Prosper chuckled slightly at his brother's innocence. Bo believed Scipio could do anything, including make Prosper happy. The fact that he could was beside the point.
"He will, but you should sleep first. I'll wake you when he's here, okay?" He lifted his brother's hands and kissed the tiny fingers, smiling when he heard Bo giggle.
"But I wanna stay up!" Bo pouted, hoping his puppy eyes would get him what he wanted like they usually did. Granted, they normally only worked on Scipio rather than Prosper, but a boy could try.
The word "no" sprang to Prosper's mind, and then a flash of Scipio's mischievous dark eyes replaced it. He knew how to handle Bo (Prosper suspected this was because Scip was actually a six year old as well). So, Prosper grinned at the little boy and held him tighter. "Of course you can."
"Really?" Bo gasped, similar blue eyes wide with delight. "Thanks, Prop!"
Prosper pecked his forehead and went to lie down on their shared mattress. "But you gotta lit down too. If you stay still you can stay up as long as you want." He pulled a wool blanket over the both of them and felt Bo snuggle deeper into his body.
"I promise." Bo nodded into Prosper's chest and stifled a yawn. "I'll be good…"
Hornet and Prosper shared a grin over Bo. To make sure his plan worked, Prosper ran his hand through Bo's messy curls repeatedly. Bo practically melted into him, his eyes slipping closed and his fists curled into Prosper's shirt.
In only a few minutes Bo's breathing had evened with sleep. Riccio appeared to be sleeping too, Hornet was still reading, and Mosca had gone...somewhere. Prosper would be worried, except for the fact the guy could obviously handle himself. Unless he set something on fire again. But there'd be smoke so they'd know. Right?
He desperately hoped so.
Prosper settled more into their bed and held Bo tighter, hoping to get some sleep when it seemed relatively peaceful. He closed his eyes and sighed, the sound of Hornet turning pages and Bo's heartbeat soothing.
He soon fell into a deep sleep.
…
Prosper woke to the sound of whispers. He didn't open his eyes though, in hopes of reclaiming a vague dream.
"You don't need to be sad."
Prosper stiffened slightly; that was Scipio's voice. He'd come home. Prosper started to open his eyes to greet him, but stopped when he heard Bo speak.
"I'm scared."
Prosper fought the urge to reassure him, to kiss his head, hold him tighter. Something was happening between the two boys and he was curious as to what it was. Instead, he compromised by scooting closer to Bo.
"You don't need to be scared either," Scipio whispered gently.
"B-but I can't remember my mommy…"
Prosper nearly choked. Bo never told him this! How could he keep this from-
"I-I had a dream last night," Bo continued shakily. "It made me scared and I tried to think of Mommy, but...but Prop was there instead. I should've thought of Mommy, right? But I can't remember…" Bo buried his face in Prosper's neck, causing Prosper to notice the few tears on his brother's cheeks.
His heart ached. Bo...Bo had thought of him when he needed comfort? He'd thought of Prosper, rather than their mother? The fourteen year old couldn't identify all the emotions rising inside him.
"It's not wrong, Bo." Prosper slit his eyes enough to see a blurry outline of Scipio leaning over them. "It just means you love your brother very much and he loves you. We all do."
Prosper couldn't take any more. He squeezed Bo into a hug and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. "Scip's right. I love you so much, Bo, and I know Mom did too. Just like Riccio, Hornet, Mosca, and Scipio. We're a family."
"Would you guys keep it down?" Riccio groaned. He yanked his pillow over his head and turned away from them. "We're all one happy family, blah, blah, blah…"
"I love you, Ric," Bo called to the grumpy, spiky haired boy. Scipio and Prosper both snickered.
"Yeah, yeah, love you to, brat," Riccio grumbled, curling into a ball underneath his blanket.
"You see?" Scipio smiled and ran a quick hand through Bo's hair. "One big, happy family."
He winked at Prosper over Bo's head and Prosper felt an unexplainable heat rise to the tops of his ears. He glanced away, hoping Scipio didn't notice.
"You should go back to sleep." Scipio scooted closer to the brothers and took Bo's hand when he offered it. "We can talk more in the morning. I'll be here for the whole weekend."
Bo beamed and snuggled deeper into Prosper's hold. "Okay. I gotta tell you about my mark!"
Scipio chuckled. "Can't wait to hear it." he laid down next to Prosper and Bo on the stage floor and meet Prosper's eyes. He smiled again, this one a bit different than before.
As Bo lay between them, and three other orphaned children slept around them, Prosper had a fleeting thought.
His life was anything but normal. He lived in an abandoned theater with his thief friends, running from his cruel aunt and uncle, and maybe has kinda-sorta feelings for their leader.
He liked this normal.
AN: Sorry if characters are OOC, I haven't read the book in years. But I saw a picture of Scipio and Prosper and got inspired.
I'll probably write way more of these two, so be on the look out!
TELL ME IF YOU WANT ME TO WRITE A SCIPROP STORY! (As in a request...)