It was five AM; the time of day Prompto would usually go for his morning run. Instead, he was lying in the surprisingly (well, maybe not surprisingly, considering it was in the Citadel) comfortable hospital bed, staring at the ceiling. Noctis snored lightly next to him in his ever-present armchair. He looked beautiful in the near-darkness.

Prompto intertwined their fingers and the prince murmured happily, squeezing back just a little in his slumber. He thought about what it would be like to kiss him again…but his evil daemonic mind decided to supply a memory of a different kiss instead; invading his imagination and stealing even that little bit of joy.

So he closed his eyes and thought of chocobos instead. Sweet sweet chocobos. With their bright yellow feathers and their big bright eyes. They were probably—

"…om…?"

—really soft. Yeah. And they were always so—

"Hey…"

—energetic! And they ran faster than most other creatures on Eos. Well—

"PROMPTO!"

The blond jerked upright, his head swimming a little with the sudden effort. Noctis was giving him a pained expression, glancing from his eyes down to where he had locked the other boy's fingers in a death grip, twisting them so hard within his own that his bones ached as he straightened them back out.

"Oh, shit! I'm so sorry, Noct!" He shook out his own hand while the prince rubbed his back to life.

Noctis shook his head, quick to deflect. "It's ok! Don't worry about it." He glanced away shyly, clearing his throat. "Uh, was that like…a nightmare?"

Prompto swallowed hard, settling himself back down on the bed. "My whole life's a nightmare. With, like, the exception of you. And cheeseburgers. Speaking of which, I hope—"

"Prom, don't do that. It's ok you were scared or whatever. I want you to talk to me." Noctis took his hand again, rubbing his thumb in soothing circles against his knuckle.

Prompto pulled in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I know. I…I just don't know what to say."

"You can say anything." Noctis squeezed his hand again before resuming his gentle motion.

Prompto nodded to himself. "Okay," he said, but then said nothing more.

Seven thirty AM found Prompto standing in his en suite bathroom, still unable to fully look at himself in the mirror. His hands shook as he clutched the sides of the sink and a cold sweat sprung out all over his body. He was already exhausted and worn thin before the actual start of his day.

He was disgusted with himself.

Absolutely disgusted.

So fucking disgusted.

He was godsdamned disgusting. He was a raw nerve singing its pain throughout a nervous system; a broken, used little thing. He was worthless. He was…

When Prompto finally met his own eye what he saw there scared him. The boy in the mirror was lost and afraid and oh so vulnerable. He was a target. A victim.

He'd never saw himself this way before and he hated it. He hated it.

Before he knew fully what he was doing, the blond threw a wild punch into the mirror, scoring a direct hit to the center of his own face. When he drew his fist back, his knuckles were bloody and a few glass fragments clung to bits of torn flesh.

He quickly washed out the small cuts and wrapped up his hand, glancing up at his shattered reflection now and again.

At least now it reflected him more properly.

Ignis bustled about Prompto's room after the nurse left with him. He'd sent Noctis off to shower and attend a meeting with his father over an hour ago. He scanned the room, making mental note of anything that the blond may need before he was discharged in a few days.

Photography magazine well dog-eared; pick up new reading material

Perhaps some nourishing snacks

Homework, of course

It's rather chilly in this room; purchase jacket/bring heavier blanket

Video games?

He headed towards the bathroom as he continued making his list.

Slip resistant slippers

When Ignis found the mirror in the bathroom a cold lump settled in the pit of his stomach.

Oh, Prompto

And he silently added a new bathroom mirror to his list.

Prompto stared at the woman who sat behind the big mahogany desk.

She stared back at him.

The clock ticked ticked ticked.

Outside the office door, a phone rang. It stopped midway on the third shrill repeat, and the soft voice of the woman's assistant murmured for a few moments.

Prompto stared at the woman.

She stared back.

The clock ticked.

Outside the window, the sky was falling. Ok, maybe that was a little bit dramatic; but rain was coming down in sheets and the tops of the trees visible from this seventh floor suite whipped about in a violent wind.

The woman stared at Prompto, her expression neither perturbed nor pleased. She'd introduced herself when he was deposited in her office by one of the nursing staff, but he'd quickly forgotten her name. She'd smiled benignly at him and asked him what he wanted to talk about, and so many things in his head began clamoring to get out that he'd simply shut their exit down, pursing his lips and affecting a blank look.

The clock ticked.

Prompto swallowed hard, looking down at his hands. When he opened his mouth, a high pitched squeak issued forth, and he quickly snapped his jaws shut once more.

"It's ok, Prompto. You're safe, here." She intimated; her voice warm and smooth like honey.

The blond darted his violet blue eyes up to hers for a moment, repeating the word safe in a near whisper. He then made a half-chuckle in the back of his throat and promptly burst into tears.

They didn't say another word again for the whole hour; the woman simply pushed a box of tissues in his direction and let him cry. When the nurse came to retrieve him, he quietly thanked her for her time and accepted an appointment card to come back in two days.

Noctis is waiting in the room when Prompto and the nurse arrive. He's lightly dozing in his armchair, but startles awake when the door shuts behind them. He quickly gets up and helps Prompto back into his bed. Though mostly healed, the blond still hasn't regained his full strength, and he tires quickly. He's huffing and puffing by the time he's laying back against the pillows.

Noctis rubs the back of his head and offers the other teen a shy smile. "So, uh, how was therapy?"

Prompto wouldn't meet his gaze; not directly. He stared at a tiny mole that lay on the skin where Noctis' cheek met his nose below his left eye. He didn't smile back. "It was ok, I guess." His voice grated over the words.

Noctis was quick to hand him the cup of ice water from the bedside table. He maneuvered the armchair he'd been using the last few weeks to where he would be directly facing Prompto when he sat. Which he then did. Nervously.

Prompto set the cup on the table and laid his head back. Not having to look at his—

boyfriend?

—friend, he found he breathed a little easier.

"We need to talk." The tone was almost light, but the words themselves weighed a ton. Prompto swallowed hard.

"Ok." He pressed the button on the remote that lifted the back of the bed up so he could more easily face the prince.

Noctis smiled at him, looking for all the world like a lost kitten. He tried to form a few sentences, but they all petered out of existence as quick as they came, until finally:

"So, uh, about the other day….?"

Prompto looked down at his hands. This is where Noctis was going to tell him it was all a mistake. That he shouldn't have kissed him. That he shouldn't have told him he loved him. That he should have just let him die—

he still kind of wants to

—in that old barn. Should have let Crepitus finish what he'd started.

But, the prince just smiles his warm secret smile that he only shows a small number of people. "I was wondering if we could do it again, sometime. The kiss, I mean. I mean, uh, not like right away or anything, but, you know like—"

"Noct, you're rambling." Prompto chuckled at the role reversal.

The prince's cheeks pinkened, and he looked away. "Yeah, sorry."

"No, it's ok! It…it's cute. And uhm, yes. We..we can do it again, sometime. Not now. But…sometime. If you want."

Noctis nodded, his midnight eyes shining. "Yeah. That's what I want."

Prompto gave him a genuine smile, then, and patted the bed next to him. "You wanna…you wanna come watch some shitty hospital TV with me? I think Melanie is getting amnesia today on Sunset Over Insomnia."

Noctis scoffed as he crawled in bed next to Prompto, careful not to crowd him. "Dude, no way, she had that like twice last season." He made sure to leave a few inches between them, but did intertwine his fingers with the blond's.

Prompto smiled over at him as he found the channel with the show. "I fucking knew you liked soap operas."

Noctis' face warmed again. "So do you. Shut up."

They laughed softly, each drifting a little closer to the other as the show started. Though they tried valiantly, they were both asleep within fifteen minutes, and missed where Melanie fell off her prize race chocobo and hit her head, forgetting everything she knew. Again.

When they wake, Cor is in the room. He is not smiling.

Prompto is getting really really tired of people just showing up.

"We need to talk."

He's also tired of hearing people say that. He somehow doubts this will turn out as well as earlier.

Cor helps him out of the bed and into his chair. He wheels Prompto out of the room, and a sleepy Noctis follows, glancing around to the nursing staff as they head to the elevator.

"Why can't we talk in my room?" Prompto asked, cringing a little as his stomach bottoms out when the elevator begins its descent.

"Because it's really you that needs to talk; to a lawyer. I made an appointment for you, and—"

"Wait, you what?!" Prompto's voice ratcheted up a few notches, becoming somehow both more shrill and more gravelly at once.

Cor began wheeling him out of the elevator and down a long hallway, despite the boy's protests. "Look, kid, I'm just trying to help you, here—"

"Is what Noct said true? Are you like, trying to adopt me or something? No offense, dude, but I don't know you, and I don't—"

Cor stopped in the middle of the hall and strode forward to face the two boys. "What are you talking about? Adopt….? Kid, I'm trying to get you emancipated."

Prompto nearly rose out of his seat; Noct's gentle hand on his shoulder the only thing keeping him down. "Emanca-what, now? What are you even talking about?"

Cor pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's a legal document that takes you out of you parent's custody and renders you liable for yourself. It basically makes you a legal adult for the most part."

"Wait…wh…why? What?" Prompto, utterly confused, leaned back heavily in his chair. The room around him dimmed as something painful flashed behind his eyes.

"Your parents…" Cor's expression darkened; became hard. "Your parents are rarely in town and unable to properly care for you. This is the best option of removing you from that situation without putting you back into the system where you would likely live out the rest of your school years in a group home."

Prompto blanched. He shook his head, eyes going first glassy, then bright as they filled with rage. "Excuse me, but who the actual fuck do you think you are? Where do you get off raking through my personal life?!" This time, he shook off Noctis' grip and rose up on shaky legs and got in Cor's space. "None of it is any of your fucking business!"

The prince stood beside and slightly behind the blond, showing his silent support for the blatantly crazy action he was taking.

No one yelled at The Immortal.

And here Prompto was, poking a trembling finger into the man's chest. "I'm fine. My family life is fine. So what if my parents are away a lot? They keep a roof over my head, don't they? They—they're important people in their jobs. It's not like…like they don't love me or something. And besides, I make decent grades and I stay outta…stay outta trouble…" out of steam, the blond slowly sat back down in his chair. "We're fine."

It was on the tip of Cor's tongue to say that no, Prompto's parents did not keep a roof over his head; that the marshal had been giving them a stipend for years to cover the boy's expenses.

Cor's shoulders slumped. "They're not here, now, are they? Have they even tried to call you, kid? Cause they know what happened. When I talked to your dad yesterday..."

Prompto perked back up, his expression timid but hopeful. "You talked to my dad? What did he say? Is he coming home?"

Cor frowned down at the blond. He looked so happy and relieved at the prospect of his father—who as far as the marshal could tell was neglectful at best—coming home that it actually hurt a little.

"Yeah. He said he'd be back in two weeks." Cor decided to spare the kid all the fortnight business.

Prompto nearly beamed. "See. There's no reason for all that—" he waved his hand dismissively at Cor, "—emancipation talk. He's coming home."

Cor stared at Prompto for a long time before sighing deeply. "Yeah, kid, ok. Whatever you want. Just…if you change your mind…"

But the blond just shook his head and murmured to Noctis to take him back to his room. The prince offered Cor a half hearted shrug as he took the chair and wheeled it back towards the elevator.

Good fucking job, Leonis. Cor rammed his fist into the rough stone of the wall, grimacing at the crack of bone. He savored the pain for a few moments before pulling out a potion and watched as his bones rotated themselves back into place.