Not a moment after getting through the door, Harper kicked off the tight heels that had already blistered her feet, despite having only put them on before going through the city's gate. From there, she walked straight to the kitchen, her eyes on the coffee pot. Even if she was never home, she set it up like she did it every day.
The apartment—from what she could see of the joined living room, dining room, and kitchen—was spotless, as if no one lived there. Harper took it to mean that Phil hadn't been in in awhile, either. From what she had seen of him, it looked as though he was content to live at his office. His job of crunching numbers and compiling data seemed to be just as time-consuming as her own.
As the coffee pot filled, Harper scratched at the nylon stockings on her legs. She hated office clothes, but that's the act she put on while in Insomnia: a busy office worker, just like her husband. It was one of the most demanding jobs in the city, making her frequent absence believable.
Running a hand through her short yet shaggy brown hair, she tried to think of the last time she had seen Phil. She saw more of Hank, her real partner, out in the field. Yet these days, she saw less and less of him as well. That was a personal choice. Harper didn't mind not seeing Phil either; neither of them felt anything for each other, but a familiar face would have been nice to come home to.
"Mom?"
The title jerked her from her thoughts, causing a brief moment of confusion and panic that dissipated as she spun around on her heels to see a boy—always thinner and taller every time she saw him—rubbing his freckled face. Harper smiled and relaxed her shoulders as he put his glasses back on.
"Good morning, Prompto. Coffee?"
He remained where he was at the end of the hallway that led to the bedrooms and bathroom. He looked skittish, and she had to admit that she felt the same way. After a moment of hesitation, Prompto gave a nod and a yawn, taking a seat at the table. She reached into the cupboard to pull out another mug.
Though Harper hated to admit it, she often forgot about Prompto when she came home. It wasn't often they ran into each other when she stopped by the apartment. He was the reason she lived in an apartment in Insomnia, and why she had married Phil despite having only met him a day before their wedding at the court house. It was all so she could take the infant Hank had found and give him a normal life. Neither of the men could be bothered with child-rearing; they expected her to give up on her adventures to do so.
Harper poured coffee into the two mugs, then took them to the table to join Prompto. He seemed just as surprised that she sat across from him as well. She smiled, trying to remember exactly how old he was now. Some mother she was.
"How long are you back for?" He asked timidly after a long sip of coffee. Prompto had tried to hide his disgust, but he was rather obvious. She noted that he was too young to appreciate the bitterness of such a necessary drink.
She gave a sigh. "Oh, I don't know. A few hours, at least. It's been slow at the office this week."
For all Prompto knew, Harper worked at an office just like Phil did. Thankfully, he never asked where these offices were, or tried to make an appearance at them. None of them would know who Harper was, and Prompto's appearance at Phil's office would humiliate his adopted father. The boy was never one to pry, and she appreciated it. It was surprisingly difficult to lie to a child.
"Oh," Prompto looked down at his coffee. "What about Dad?"
"I haven't heard from him in awhile. He turns his phone off when he's at work." As did Harper; if Prompto ever needed anything, he had to talk to the neighbors, who came home every night. They seemed friendly enough to her.
"Right," He acknowledged glumly. He was such a quiet child.
What she thought was his nature, she was beginning to realize might just be an effect of being left alone for long periods of time. Harper's smile faded as she watched Prompto take another reluctant sip of his coffee. He was too young for coffee; his parents treated him like a small adult.
"Why don't we do something together today?" She announced. "Let's go to the zoo."
Her suggestion caught Prompto by surprise, but he managed to not spit out his coffee. Harper had imagined he would have reacted more positively.
"I have school today." He said.
She forgot about school, the place where he probably had many friends and supportive teachers, so leaving him alone often was okay. It wasn't the responsible thing to do, to pull him out of school for a day, but how often did either of them have time together? Maybe it was exactly what they both needed.
"It's just one day. It won't be the end of the world. Your grades have always been good." Harper insisted. She had never seen a bad report card left for her to read. The only comment that she should have paid more attention to was that teachers thought Prompto should speak up more in class. Again, she thought he was just a quiet kid. "And you've kept up with your chores. Let's go have some fun today."
What should have been an easy decision for a kid his age was proving to be a challenge for Prompto. Harper finished her coffee as she waited patiently for a reply. She wanted to spend the day with him—it felt like she didn't know him, but she wanted to. She didn't know what she would do with her free time if he decided to go to school.
"Okay." He finally agreed.
"Great! Let's go." Harper grinned, standing up from her seat. She had left her purse on the counter, already ready to go.
Prompto was content to leave his coffee unfinished. "Lemme get my camera."
He scurried back down the hall. Harper recalled that he had requested a camera for Christmas last year. Or was it the year before that? Shouldn't he have been playing wit toys at his age instead? A camera was a gift for an adult.
She looked through her purse in the meantime, finding typical things for a working mom. She did not have her own camera, though. If need be, her phone worked well enough. The animals didn't matter so much to Harper; this was only to spend time with Prompto.
He returned with a small red camera, checking the battery life before placing it in his pocket. She threw the purse over her shoulder. "Ready?" With a nod from him, she led the way out of the apartment.
The walk to the subway station was quiet, as was the ride. Harper and Prompto both avoided eye contact. When they did glance at each other at the same time, she offered a smile, but he only looked down. His anxiousness was palpable.
"So how is school?" She finally asked as the subway neared their stop, having observed a mother and her pre-schooler interacting amicably a few seats away. There was a time when she and Prompto had interacted like that.
"It's fine." He quickly assured while looking at his feet.
"Any new friends?"
"... No."
Perhaps if Prompto had friends, he would be more open. Harper worried that he was becoming a loner, like his parents. It wasn't the right life to lead.
"Well, you'll be starting high school soon. They'll be the best years of your life." She nodded. "I'm sure you'll do well on the exams. But for now, let's have some fun."
The subway came to their stop at that. Harper again led the way, especially as there were now signs leading to the zoo. She was thankful for those; she hadn't actually known where Insomnia's zoo was. There wasn't anything notable about it; it seemed like the right thing to do as mother and son.
They fell to silence again as they walked up to the surface level. It wasn't until the zoo's entrance was in sight that Prompto spoke up. "What was high school like for you?"
His question surprised Harper. Just as she didn't know much about him, he didn't know much about her either. She hadn't thought that he would want to get to know her.
"Well, okay, they weren't my best years. Those came in college. I was a terrible test taker in high school. But I studied hard and got through it." Harper stuck to the truth as much as she could. High school in Lestallum was different from how they did it in Insomnia, due to the vast difference in population. She was certain she would never be able to pass the entrance exams in Insomnia—for high school nor college. Regardless of what was truth or not, Harper hoped Prompto would decide to go to college when he graduated high school.
He mulled over her answer, although it didn't really answer his question. Yet he was content with it. They soon joined the small line to get into the zoo. Harper paid for both of them to get in, and picked up a map from the kiosk.
"Let's see..." She opened the pamphlet up. Prompto looked at the colorful display over her shoulder. She couldn't believe how high he had grown in such a short amount of time. But it looked like his clothes still fit, so he must have been using his allowance wisely. "Oh! Let's go see the bird exhibit first! It's right over there."
Prompto readied his camera as she led the way into a hall. Through the middle was a path for visitors, flanked on either side by cage walls. The colorful birds flew freely from tree to tree within the long, well-foliaged cage, making all sorts of noises.
"Chestnut-breasted malkoha..." Prompto read a plaque aloud. Harper looked at the illustration of the bird joining the name, then searched the hall for a similar-looking bird. He seemed to be doing the same thing.
"There!" She pointed to a large bird perched in a tree. Prompto aimed his camera and clicked the shutter button. He lowered the camera to get a look of the new picture on the screen, and smiled to himself. Harper realized that not only did he seem fond of that camera, but he liked taking pictures with it as well.
"Let's try to find some more." She encouraged, feeling a giddiness coming over her as Prompto continued to smile. He gave a nod.
They became engrossed in their game, reading a plaque, then searching high and low for the bird mentioned. Prompto also took pictures of birds that he thought were interesting. The awkwardness between them dissipated.
Soon they reached the end of the hall, going out to the main square of the zoo. Harper opened the map again. When was the last time she had enjoyed herself this much? "Where to next?"
"Flamingos!" Prompto pointed to the nearby artificial waterfall, where many long-legged, pink birds stood, cocking their heads this way and that as they observed visitors. He moved closer to get good pictures. Harper followed along. "Hey Mom, do you want to get in the picture?"
Surprised by the question, she stood in front of the fence barricading the waterfall. "Only if you want. Should I stand like a flamingo?"
Curling one leg up, Harper stood on one leg. She and Prompto both laughed at her ridiculousness. The camera gave a small digital chirp as the picture was taken. Then Harper stood on both feet for the second shot.
They continued their game, finding plaques about animals, and then searching for said animal for Prompto to take their picture. Harper even convinced him to have his picture taken with some of them. However, he did have a habit of looking awkward. He felt more comfortable behind the camera, rather than in front of it.
When they stopped for lunch in the cafe, they looked over their pictures so far. Harper knew she looked foolish on the camera's screen, but for once, that didn't matter. Only Prompto would see these photos. They were for him.
When they ran out of photographs of their zoo adventure so far, Prompto continued to show her pictures he had taken of some neighborhood dogs that he saw on the way to school. A dog would be a good companion for him. Sadly, their landlord did not allow pets.
After those came pictures of himself, becoming shorter and rounder as they went back. Harper felt that as his mother, she should have taken those pictures. He looked as though he raised himself.
"Who's that?" She asked as an older picture came on the screen. It showed the back of the head of a dark-haired boy, presumably at the school Prompto attended.
He quickly pressed the button to show the next picture, but it was already too late. He sat back to play with his salad a bit. "He's Prince Noctis. He's in my class."
"Are you two friends?"
"No." Prompto sighed, gloomily taking a bite of lettuce.
It was surprising to think royalty was attending public school. Surely King Regis could afford the best tutors in the world for his son. For how Noctis had almost been killed a few years ago, Harper would have thought he would be kept safe in the Citadel. But it would be a pretty lonely existence for a kid.
"Don't give up yet. Maybe you'll go to the same high school as him as well." She smiled. She wasn't against Prompto becoming friends with the prince, but it might make her visits to home a little stranger, if she had to worry about any officers of the Crown looking into his family life.
"Do you think he'll do really well on his exams?" Prompto perked up a little.
"I can't tell much from the back of his head, but I'm sure he'll do well. But you shouldn't sabotage your own scores just so you can go to the same school as him. Do your best, no matter what." Harper chided.
He nodded. "I will."
They finished lunch faster after they were finished looking at pictures. Then their game resumed through the few remaining exhibits there were to see. It made the day seem to fly by. Before she knew it, they were back on the subway, heading home to watch a movie upon Prompto's request.
Yet no sooner did they return to the apartment did Harper receive a message on her phone. She was expected back out in the field. Noticing the timestamp on the message, she realized that she was already running late.
Prompto noted her expression as she read the phone screen. His own face fell. "You have to get back to work?"
"Looks like it." She sighed and tucked the phone away in her pocket. Even if she was going to be late, they both stood awkwardly in the front room for a long moment.
"So... I guess I'll see you when I see you?" Prompto shrugged.
Harper nodded. "Hopefully soon. We should spend more time together like today. You and I could both use it."
He gave her a curious look. She further surprised him by hugging him suddenly. It was what mothers and sons did. After a day together, she liked the person he was turning out to be.
"Good luck on your exams." She said as she let go and went for the door. Prompto mumbled his goodbye as the door closed behind her.
Harper quickly returned to the subway station, taking the route towards one of the city's gates. It wasn't often that she would rather stay in the city, but she didn't look forward to going back out into the field, where tragedy was commonplace. Considering how long she had been at it, though, she had no choice.
She recalled bringing Prompto home for the first time, alongside a man she had only just met. Insomnia was Prompto's home, but Harper never stayed long enough to make it her own as well. She would never know what caused her to want to raise that baby that Hank presented to her.
It was ironic: all along, she hadn't wanted to be a mother at all. Now she felt as though she was missing out on the best years of her life.