As much as Prompto wanted to get up and take care of Scarlet, Ignis was dead set on keeping him in bed. Ignis even went as far as to get Noctis to give a 'princely royal decree for bedrest' to make sure Prompto would stay put.

"Stupid royal orders," Prompto groaned weakly.

"You know that was just a joke, right?" Noctis asked.

He had just stepped into the room carrying a bowl of freshly made soup.

"I can't trust that," Prompto muttered. "How do I know you weren't serious?"

"Well, I am serious that you need to rest. I'm with Iggy on that one."

Prompto tried to look away as Noctis sat down next to the bed, but even that took so much energy out of him. "I just want to take care of Scarlet."

"Take care of yourself first, dork. And Ignis is doing a good job watching over Scarlet, you don't have to worry."

"But I-"

"No buts," Noctis replied. "You worked yourself sick, now you have to recover."

Prompto grumbled, finally reaching over for the bowl of soup. "Iggy's chicken noodle soup?"

Noctis grinned. "Nah, Iggy let me cook it this time."

Grimacing, Prompto put the bowl back. "I think I'll suffer with just having a cold."

Laughing, Noctis picked up the bowl and held it out to Prompto. "It's premade, dork. I only had to heat it up."

Rolling his eyes, he took the bowl back. He smelled the soup, giving a sigh of relief before finally taking a few sips. It was actually tasty, further proving that Noctis didn't actually cook any of it.

"Okay, at least I know I won't be food poisoned," he chuckled. "Thanks, Noct."

"Just seriously, take it easy, okay? Last thing you want is my dad to barge in here being all worried. Trust me, he is the most over dramatic when it comes to me being sick so you're pretty much in the same boat."

Prompto chuckled. "He still sees me as some kind of son?"

Noctis nodded. "Yeah."

"Gods, it's weird to think about."

"It's not too weird," Noctis shrugged. "Kind of fun thinking of you like a brother."

Prompto felt his heart warm from those words. Ever since befriended him, getting to know King Regis and everyone close to Noctis, Prompto had always been a little jealous. While Noctis's life was by no means easy, he had a father who clearly cared, as well as two brotherly figures who watched over him.

Those were things Prompto never had, but always wished he could've. But now, given the circumstances, he actually had it, and he couldn't have been more thankful for it.

"Yeah," he finally said. "It is kind of fun. Does that mean I get a big fancy painting of myself?"

Laughing, Noctis shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe. Bet if you asked my dad he'd commission one big family painting, Scarlet included."

It was a tempting offer, and maybe it was just the sickness talking, but Prompto was really liking the sound of that.

"Tell you what, ask me about it again once I'm up and moving."

"Sounds like a plan."

As much as Prompto wished his cold would be gone within the day, it only started getting worse. Ignis said that his fever had risen, and Prompto started to believe it. At some moments he felt too hot so he took off his covers, but then he would feel cold and have to wrap himself back up.

He tried his best to eat, but half of the time he didn't have the energy for it. Everything in his body felt like crap, and all he wanted to do was curl up, wishing for it to go away.

And the entire time he kept worrying about Scarlet, wanting to see her so badly. He knew Ignis kept coming by to give him status updates, but it wasn't the same to him. He needed to see her, to be with her.

"Ignis… Ignis please," he whined.

"Scarlet has just recovered from her cold. I'm sure you don't want her catching it again."

"But-"

"You will recover first. Then you can see her. Until then I will continue to watch over her."

Prompto groaned. "Fine."

Prompto tried to rest more, taking Ignis's advice. But as the days stretched out, Prompto's thoughts only became more worrisome. While awake he was able to keep them at bay, denying any negative thought that dared to taunt him, but when he slept, that was an entirely different story.

He found himself back in his old house. His old, cold, and lonely house. The house where he felt abandoned almost every day of his life.

"Hello?" he called out, looking around.

There was no reply.

There was almost never a reply.

"Anyone there?" he tried again, hoping for the smallest glimmer of something.

Then he heard it. A small sound of creaking floorboard coming from the kitchen.

"Who's there?"

Running to the kitchen, he came to see two faceless adults standing there. In their arms was none other than Scarlet.

"Hey! Let her go!" he demanded. He tried running forward, but his legs wouldn't obey him. He was stuck, unable to move an inch as these people held Scarlet from him.

"We have concluded you aren't fit to be a parent," one said.

Prompto gasped. "N-no."

"As a result, we are taking Scarlet away," the other added.

"You can't!"

Prompto yelled as he watched the figures move towards the door. Scarlet was wailing in their arms, reaching out for him.

"Please don't take her!"

"We will find actual parents who are suitable to raise her."

Despite not being able to move forward, Prompto dropped to his knees. "I need her! She needs me! You can't just do this!"

The two adults exited out the door, leaving nothing but dark and emptiness around Prompto.

He sobbed, feeling his heart starting to tear in two. He was alone again. No family to surround himself with. Left with no one to understand him.

"What a disappointment," a new voice said.

Only it wasn't a new voice. It was a voice Prompto knew very well, even if he hadn't heard it in years.

He closed his eyes, shaking his head, refusing to look around to see if she was in fact standing in the room.

"You couldn't even last for very long. How can you expect yourself to amount to anything?"

"M-Mom please…" he pleaded, tears streaking down his face.

He couldn't deal with this on top of having Scarlet taken away. That was just too much weight on his chest, so much so that he was afraid he was going to break.

"And you wonder why your father and I left for so long."

Prompto screamed until he felt a pair of hands shaking his shoulders. He opened his eyes to find himself not in his old apartment, but laying in his bedroom in the Citadel.

Ignis was standing over him, his hands still on his shoulders. "I-Ignis?"

"You were screaming in your sleep," he said as he let go. "I'm sorry if I grabbed you at all harshly."

Prompto immediately shook his head. "N-no you didn't. But, uh, thanks for waking me. It… was a nightmare."

Ignis adjusted his glasses. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Is… Scarlet's still here, right?"

Even if it was a nightmare, part of him feared it was true. It taunted him, poking the worst parts of his anxiety.

"Yes. She's down for her nap right now, but I can assure you that she hasn't gone anywhere."

Prompto sighed happily. "Good."

"And you'll be happy to know that your fever has broken. You'll be back on our feet in no time."

"Ah yeah, that does sound good."

Ignis nodded as he looked at Prompto for a moment, his expression almost hesitant. "Prompto. I know it is far from any of my business, but would you like to talk about it?"

"It..?"

"The nightmare you encountered."

Prompto looked away, almost pulling the covers up over his head like a child. "What's there to talk about?"

"When I came to your side, you were muttering things when you weren't screaming. I only asked out of concern for you, Prompto."

It did feel nice knowing Ignis cared. He cared for him more than his parents ever had, and he really did want to accept that help. He just had to fight against every urge to turn the cheek and pretend he was fine.

"Do I have to talk about it?"

"No, I can't pressure you to talk in the end, but it may help you get it off of your chest."

Prompto closed his eyes, breathing in slowly as he tried to make up his mind. He could feel the urge to talk, to let it all out in the open.

Maybe it was his sickness making him think like that, all of it messing with his cognitive thoughts.

However, after a moment of consideration, he decided to try and talk about it. "Well, you know my parents weren't there for me… and I told you how they used to send money when they were gone, but when they were around… they weren't always the nicest."

Ignis listened quietly, allowing Prompto to go on as he slowly opened up some of his most hidden secrets in his heart.

"They either ignored me once I was old enough to walk, or were just straight up cold to me. Always telling me I wasn't doing good enough. Made me feel pretty worthless at times. As much as I hated when they left me by myself, I came to realize years later how much I preferred it to them actually being home alone without them, even if I still hated being alone at the same time."

Kneeling down next to the bed, Ignis placed a hand on Prompto's arm. "I'm sorry that you grew up with that. I wish there was more that I could do about it."

Prompto smiled, giving a light head shake. "Don't have to do that, Iggy. I'm already living here, and I know that had something to do with you. So, I got you to thank for that. For helping get me out of that empty house."

"Hm, yes I know, but I suppose it is heartening to know that despite everything, you still ended up as a bright and wonderful person."

"Heh, I try my best. Gotta be a good role model anyways for Scarlet."

"And I know she will turn out just fine."

"Thanks Iggy. I do feel better after that."

"Good," Ignis said, standing back up. "Now, continue to recover and you'll be back on your feet."

"Sounds good to me!"