"What the fuck am I supposed to do with this?" Cor Leonis shoved a manila file across the desk to the doctor on the other side, sneering all the while. He hated the man who sat before him. He'd been one of the doctors to attend the rescued children Cor and his team brought in from the facility in Niflheim. They'd butted heads over what to do with them, the doctor having been quite adamant they stay within the medical wing of the citadel and be studied indefinitely. He was eventually royally outvoted.

The older man's face remained impassive. "You can do with it whatever you wish. Thanks to that Scientia boy, we will be unable to continue the observation."

Cor nearly exploded out of the wooden chair in which he sat, sending it skittering into the wall behind him as he slammed his hands down on the desk. "Observation my ass! Experimentation is more like it!" He thumped his fist down upon the folder, leaning in further, forcing the older man back a few inches. "You let that boy's fever rage on for days, and for what?! Huh? Fucking explain that to me."

Dr. Lues merely leaned back in his chair, regarding the marshal quietly. "The fever seemed to be bringing out something interesting in his system. But it's gone now, as you can see by this morning's charts. Considering his origin—"

"Don't you talk to me about his origin, I was godsdamn there." Cor growled, straightening up to his full height and glowering down at the man, who at least had the decency to look slightly intimidated. "And you can take your 'something interesting' and go fuck yourself with it."

"Did you even read the charts, Leonis?" Dr. Lues sneered up at him before flipping the folder open and rummaging through the pages. He slid one back to the marshal who snatched it back up off the desk.

"Am I supposed to know what any of that means?"

"Well," the doctor had the nerve to sound as if he was chiding a small child. "For someone who was 'godsdamn there', you do seem to have trouble recalling the more minute details. SC50917A5 is the strain of the Star Scourge the boy has. Though generally imperceptible in his other tests, its cells outnumbered his white cell count when you brought him in. Then, as the fever worsened, the anomaly-you should see it on the paper as SNF13EG1—increases the stronger SC5917A5 gets. And, his regular blood cells take almost no notice of the goings on within their ranks. It's fascinating to say the least."

Cor, indignant, narrowed his eyes at the older man. "It's human experimentation, and if I catch you near the boy again, I'll kill you."

Dr. Lues smiled wickedly up at him. "Don't make threats you cannot fulfill, marshal. In fact, you should be thanking me. It's only my upstanding integrity as a doctor that I don't go public and tell the citizens exactly what they have walking their streets and attending their schools. Well, that, and the royal orders you obtained from your good friend the king."

For a moment, Cor had nothing to say. This, of course, made the doctor's face break in a wide, self satisfied grin. "But, like I said, it's gone now. As of this morning, there are only red and white cells in his work up, with just a few mild traces of the mutated cells. It's as if they simply…vanished."

Cor crossed his arms, his countenance clearly reading anger and disgust. "I should have you fired."

Dr. Lues chuckled deep in his throat. "I've made my report to the king as well. He's aware of the 'experiment', as you like to keep calling it."

Cor's face did not change, however his entire being shifted, exuding a quiet rage. "He what?"

Dr. Lues raised his eyebrows. "Who do you think ordered me to keep the fever high?"

When Prompto woke; really finally woke, he felt better. Not good, but better.

Light gently seeped in from the window to his right, casting the room in a warm glow. Around him various machines beeped and hissed and drip drip dripped, and for a brief moment he was blissfully confused.

But then everything came slamming back to him; his abduction, his torture, the various violations visited upon him. There were gaps and hazy bits and points in which he was sure he was floating somewhere above himself; then there was the coppery taste of blood—

and other fluids

—and the ever present scent of rain. His chest heaved three quick times and the beeping on the monitor increased significantly, but he shoved the panic down; locked it in his mind because he knew he was safe, he knew he was safe, there was no one there to hurt him, no one touching him, no one—

A gentle snore startled him from his panic, grounding him in its familiarity. He would have laughed had he thought he still had the capacity.

Noctis.

He scanned the room for his friend, smiling softly to himself when he spotted the raven haired prince curled on the armchair. It was still pushed flush up next to the bed, and if he reached just a little, he could run his fingers through the shaggy locks. His hand twitched, but settled quickly; the very thought of moving made him want to sleep once more.

So he did. Because he was safe.

Later, voices woke him from his deep slumber; angry whispered words about incompetent doctors and ice water and something that had broken.

Oh.

Fever.

He forced his eyes open to slits, slowly turning his head to the side towards the loudest voice.

There stood Cor, in all his Immortal glory, looking haggard and angry. But he gave a pinched smile to the blond, and it made him feel slightly more at ease.

Prompto tried to say something, but all that came out was a dull squeak of a breath. Ignis, bespectacled angel of mercy he is, must have heard him, as he appeared at Prompto's side almost immediately. He pressed a button on a controller attached to the bed, and once the freckled youth was more or less upright, he held out a Styrofoam cup. Prompto's hand shook as he tried to take it, and Ignis smiled fondly at him, pushing past his grasping fingers and bringing the straw closer to his face.

Flashes of Crepitus, standing all smug and condescending and holding out his watered down soda to him overlaid that of Ignis, and Prompto's eyes immediately filled with tears. He tried blinking away the image, but it took a few moments for his mind to let it go. He felt more than a little sick.

"No, I can do it." He croaked, and the corners of Ignis lips turned down ever so slightly.

"It's no bother—" the adviser began, but was quickly cut off.

"I said I can do it myself." Prompto's eyes, now clear of fever, glittered with something else. Something that made a lump of sorrow form in Ignis' throat. They softened after a moment, however, and he added a 'please' almost too quiet for the adviser to hear.

"Yes, of course." Ignis nodded, doing his best to exude a calm he did not feel. He held onto the rim of the cup until he was sure the boy had it firmly grasped between his two shaking hands and did his best not to frown when some spilled onto the white blanket.

Prompto forwent the straw and slowly sipped at the cold water, relishing the relief as it slid down his throat. It felt like it had been years since he'd last had something to drink. He didn't argue with Ignis when the older teen reached to take the cup from him once he'd had his fill.

"I'm so glad to see you looking lucid. You gave us quite a few scares." Ignis reached half way between them and hovered a moment, before withdrawing his hand without touching the blond.

"Sssorry." Prompto breathed out and leaned back into his pillows, already exhausted. He eyed Cor warily as the older man circled Ignis to come stand by his bedside. He stared up at the man for several long moments before giving his attention back to Ignis.

"H..how long have I been out?...am I…" Prompto worried his bottom lip with his teeth, casting his eyes down at where his hands twisted in the blanket. "Am I ok?"

Ignis and Cor exchanged undecipherable glances, with the older man almost imperceptibly shaking his head. But, Prompto caught the movement, and his heart sunk down to somewhere near his belly button.

"I'm not ok, am I?" The boy's face screwed up in fear and sadness, his brow furrowing deeply.

Ignis cleared this throat softly. "Well, to answer your first question, you were fully out for about six days, and then in and out of it for the last two. You're still pretty heavily medicated, so you'll likely sleep a lot more in the next few days.

"As for your other question; in a manner of speaking, you are well on your way to recovery. Physically, the doctors expect you to heal up nicely. You're mostly mended, now, but they've decided to let you do the last of it on your own; too much magical healing can weaken you to its effects, and keep you from being able to reap the benefits of emergency healing in the future.

"You will likely be stiff for several weeks, however it's expected that you should be up and around within a few days. You have a physical therapy appointment for later today, in fact."

"Woah, wait, what for?" Prompto tried to sit up, but immediately regretted it as his arms trembled beneath him, and settled against his pillows once more.

Ignis held up a calming hand. "Just to gauge your abilities, estimate when you'll be ready to be released." He adviser paused, here, and smoothed an invisible wrinkle from his dark gray shirt. "Your, ah, your STD test results came back negative, which is good."

The room fell silent for a few moments, nothing but the soft hisses and beeps of the machinery to accompany their thoughts.

Beside him, Noctis finally stirred. He groaned softly as he stretched, rubbing the kinks from his neck. When he saw Prompto was one of the voices that had ruined his slumber, his face split into a wide grin. For a moment he looked as if he'd like nothing more than to crawl into bed with the blond, but a few glances to Ignis and Cor had him sitting back in his chair. He settled for a sweetly whispered: "You're awake."

Prompto squeezed his hand back when Noctis took his in his own; the prince's flesh cool beneath his warm fingers. He quickly withdrew, however, and settled his hands in his lap. The raven haired boy frowned, but said nothing.

Cor, looking uncomfortable, cleared his throat. "We need to discuss arrangements for you, kid. For after—"

"What do you mean? Aren't I just going home?" Prompto could not help the note of panic in his voice. It seemed his emotions were running high, which was probably due to the medication…oh gods, the medication, was he going to be able to afford this by the time all was said and done? His parents were going to be furious; maybe he—

"Well, that's the thing, kid." Cor rubbed the back of his head and puffed out his cheeks in a gusty exhale. Like we talked about the other day…do you, ah, do you remember that?"

Here Prompto cast a shy glance at Noctis, then quickly looked back at his hands. "Uh, yeah, I remember. I guess. Mostly, anyway."

Cor's usually gruff demeanor took on an even more agitated air. "Well, your parents, they won't be home for a while. We can't just let you stay there alone."

"Why not?" Prompto shrugged one thin shoulder, not looking at anyone. "I mean, it's not like they're ever home."

"Yeah, I'm starting to see that, kid, and it isn't right. You need someone to look after you—"

Prompto stiffened, hands clenching the blanket. "I do fine on my own."

"Yeah, kid. Of course—"

"I—I get myself to school and make decent grades. And I mow the neighbors' lawns for extra money and stuff. I'm fine. I, uh, yeah, I…I'm fine."

Cor exchanged looks with Ignis. "I don't mean to upset you, I just—"

Prom's shoulders slumped, and he audibly sniffed. "Uhm, can I…can I just be alone for a while? Please?"

Cor and Ignis muttered their ascent, and started for the door. When it was obvious that Noctis planned on staying, Ignis cleared his throat loudly. Prompto glanced up at him and gave him a wobbly smile. "Alone alone, Noct. Please?"

The prince was taken aback, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise. "Oh. Uh, yeah, of course. I, uhh, I need a shower anyway."

Prompto dropped his head back down, hair obscuring his face. "Smells like a good idea, bro." His half hearted joke fell flat and the two exchanged quiet goodbyes.

When Prompto was alone, really finally alone, he broke down and he cried.

"What if he's mad at me? I shouldn't have done it, Iggy. Fuck. I mean, what if he thinks I took advantage of him? Like, what if he thought if he didn't kiss me back, he'd be like, punished or something? What if he thinks I'm just like…just like…"

Ignis stopped the prince with a hand on the shoulder. Noctis ceased his ramblings and turned to his adviser, midnight eyes wide and watery. They stood in the hall outside the medical wing, and Ignis nodded to some passing medical staff before he continued their conversation.

"Noctis, I assure you that Prompto thinks none of those things. However, I do agree that perhaps kissing him when he was barely ten minutes out of a coma, after the trauma he'd been through probably wasn't the smartest move. But," he smiled comfortingly, "I'm sure a conversation or two will clear up any odd feelings between you two. Which can be had later. After a shower and a bit of food, perhaps?"

Noctis nodded and they continued on, the younger boy leaning into the older, who wrapped his arm around his charge. "Everything will turn out alright, Noct. You'll see."

"Yeah," Noctis huffed out a dramatic sigh. "I hope you're right."

::Author's Note: he could not have been more wrong::

Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading! Please do note that I enjoy and appreciate your lovely comments. I wish FFN made it easier to reply to you guys, but maaan after like the fifteenth 'this person's inbox is full, blah blah' a girl gets discouraged. I'm very honored that folks seem to enjoy my work.