A Prince's Friend is Hard Work

[chocobosnap]

 Prompto was nervous.

That was not the least bit unusual in itself, he had some terrible anxieties that made his life complicated and challenging all at once, all the time, but he'd had a handle on things, at least, he thought so. 

He received a letter and turned his world upside down.

All of that hard work had come to fruition and he was now a new friend to the prince, someone he got along with a lot better than he used to. He'd seen and met some of his retainers, some of the people around him. They all seemed nice, if wary, and huge. 

Prompto had never been tall, and he was slightly shorter than Noct who seemed short beside his bodyguard Gladio. He was kind of hoping he'd get bigger, but he doubted it. 

The longer he spent with Noctis, they'd begun asking him questions about his skills in self-defense, because there could be danger inadvertently. Ignis had been the one to deliver the message that he should learn, and asked him to report to the Citadel one Sunday morning to meet with Cor Leonis - The Marshal - who was going to test him, or teach him, or something. 

He was on time, had been escorted to the gym and, dressed in his gym clothes, he was waiting nervously, pressed against a wall to avoid any looks from any of the Glaives around. He couldn't have looked more out of place if he tried, with his black track pants and dark purple t-shirt with a frolicking cartoon chocobo on it. 

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[chocobosnap]

"Thanks for asking." Prompto said genuinely, but he didn't finish the thought. He curled up a little and pushed his phone back into the pocket of his sweater.

"They said I'll...be here a few days and I can go home."

He would be out of their hair, what was he even thinking coming here? Befriending Noct? Training? If his parents knew any of that they'd be angry.

[immortalmarshal]

Cor had the sudden urge to hug the poor blonde, and he's not sure why. Because he's dealt with racist parents? Because the kis looks like he needs one? He can't figure it out...

He does, however, pat Prompto on the shoulder. "We'll make sure there's someone around to help keep an eye on you once you're allowed to leave. In the meantime, relax. The folks here are among the best - evem if they can be mother hens at times," he adds as a tease as the doctor approaches them.

[chocobosnap]

"I'm okay." He smiled reassuringly at Cor. "I will be...just...'sokay, I'm used to it."

Prompto found himself beginning to doze, and that was the point, they had to take him and bring him to a sterile room.

Surgery took about two hours, before he was put back into the room, fast asleep. He was going to be just fine.

[immortalmarshal]

Cor waits until he's taken into surgery proper before he let himself sit down and breathe in relief. He knows that the kid will be okay, even before he gets the 'everything went well' verdict. If the staff could bring him back from being grievously wounded, they can handle something like this.

Once he feels calm enough, he starts making phone calls on his own cell. First to the king to apologize for missing the next meeting - and a brief summary of why did the trick. Regis' calming and sympathetic words helped ground Cor more than any meditation did.

Which was a good thing, because Cor then had to call the only other 'authority figure' in Prompto's life - the Crown Prince. Noctis' first reaction was to panic-worry, but Cor's reassurance helped calm him down. "He needs his friend to help support him thru the recovery, not just a mentor to fuss over him," Cor explained to him, and that seemed to help set Noct straight.

Once he got what he needed, Cor ended the phone call and spent the remaining time parked next to Prompto's bed, keeping vigil until either the lad wakes up, or Noctis and his retinue arrives.

[chocobosnap]

It took half an hour for his head to loll and his eyes to flicker and begin to open. He could hear Noctis' voice, in the hall.

He rubbed his eyes and raised his head a bit, looking around groggily.

Maybe they would let him go home before he got Noct worried.

[immortalmarshal]

Prompto will find Cor slipping back into the room to check on the young blonde. A rare smile graces his face upon seeing the younger man slowly waking up.

"Good, just in time. The others just got here a few minutes ago." After making sure the door's closed, he approaches the hospital bed. "How are you feeling?"

[chocobosnap]

"I'm okay." Prompto smiled back, he was groggy, his stomach hurt from the surgery, but he also didn't want to be a bother to anyone. He already caused enough trouble as it was, collapsing like that, being sick like that.

"You don't have to worry." For a young man with no poker face, this he could lie about.

[immortalmarshal]

"Not anymore, no." Cor sounds reassured, almost relieved as he gently pats the younger man's hand. It's almost as if Prompto's lie would work on him...

"Noctis agreed to let you stay at his place for the mandatory week of observation and bed rest. He and the others also agreed to help look after you until the doctor clears you for your return to training and school."

Or not.

[chocobosnap]

"Yeah, now that I had surgery, it's great." He smiled shyly. "I'll be totally fine." He knew that much at least.

"Oh, but I'm fine." He answered, blinking. "Really. I can look after myself."

[immortalmarshal]

Cor opens his mouth, and then shuts it as he thinks he recognizes the real problem here. Instead of a scowl, he just sighs and settles into a chair next to Prompto.

"Look...you're not imposing upon Noctis and the others. Friends - real friends - don't count that as imposing. Ever. He wants to help in any way possible. So does Ignis, and even Gladio a little. And besides...I personally know how badly it can be if you try and take care of yourself right after surgery. So, let them help you, just this once..."

[chocobosnap]

Cor wasn't wrong in his assessment, but it wasn't just that.

Prompto rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"I know. I mean...I guess, but they don't need this. I can handle it. Honest. I look after myself all the time." He waved his hand. "I don't want them to hate me too because I wanted too much."

He'd been hearing it for awhile, that he was too needy, he wanted too much, more than anyone could reasonably give him, or so his parents said. He had to keep his friends at a certain distance. Smile, be the guy they loved and that was it. He didn't want to burden them.

[immortalmarshal]

Cor's heard it from Prompto's mother too. And if she had been here in person, he might've actually punched her for it without an ounce of regret. The idea of someone treating their child like that still makes his blood go from cool to boiling within a few seconds.

But to hear it from Prompto, who seems to have been raised with that kind of thinking? It just makes something inside Cor just...break. Again. Because that kind of treatment is not correct, based on how Clarus and Regis raised their kids...and based on Cor's own childhood, even with poor working-class parents.

"...It's not." His voice is quiet at first, but it slowly grows as he continues. "What you want...it's what every child, every person wants from their loved ones. Unconditional love and support, a helping hand in hard times, event the occasional covering of expenses and caretaking during times of illness... That's not too much to ask for. That's normal. Whoever's been telling you that are a bunch of heartless assholes."

He takes a deep breath. "And there's no way Noctis would hate you for wanting him to help look after you while you're recovering. If he did, he wouldn't have bothered coming her in the first damn place, much less be anxiously waiting to see you." Cor can almost imagine Noctis pacing the floor in the waiting room, or sitting impatiently in the chair trying to focus on whatever mobile game he's currently obsessed with.

[chocobosnap]

He couldn't help it, he believed he was wrong. That might be true for other kids, but he wasn't like them. He didn't know what that marking on his wrist meant, but it meant he wasn't normal.

He shook his head. "I-I'm sure they tried to love me. At some point."

Prompto wasn't exactly sure when everything got turned upside down, but it did. It was his fault, he'd been told so.

"But there's something wrong with me." He said in a rush. "I don't really know what a-and I'm not normal!" He was tempted to prove it, but he didn't know what would happen.

"So that stuff is just...not for me. But it's okay! Really! I'm used to it." He was trying his best to convince Cor he was fine. "I know Noct likes me, likes hanging out with me but..."

[immortalmarshal]

"Prom...there's nothing wrong with you." Cor's really trying hard not to shake some sense into this poor lad. "Just because you're not 'normal' doesn't mean that you're 'broken'. It just means that you're unique, and there's nothing wrong with that."

He then sighs and thinks for a moment. "Take Noctis, for example. Even if you ignore his rank, there's the fact that he's partially made up of pure magic. It runs in his blood, one of only two lines in all of Eos, and it's very likely that his kids will be the same way. Ignis is one of the brightest youths I've ever known, but he had to give up most of his childhood to dedicate himself to Noctis and Lucis, to an extent. Gladio spent most of his life training to become a living Shield, a breathing war machine should he need to go into battle alongside his charge."

He pauses. "...and I started my career as a child soldier, just because I happen to be damn good with a blade and had a poor family to support. None of us are normal...and that's okay. Whatever makes you different from most folks, or even us...there's nothing wrong about it."

[chocobosnap]

Prompto wanted to protest, but Cor kept going and he shut his mouth again, listening to him. "I...it feels so wrong."

He covered his sweatband with his other hand, another layer of hiding what was there.

"And I'm..." He paused, and lowered his voice as though Cor didn't know. "A Niff."

[immortalmarshal]

And there is the core issue, isn't it? The poor lad's been subjected to his parents' racial hatred that he seems to have internalized it. Cor just looks at that sweatband for a moment, and then at Prom's face...

And then reaches over and one-arm hugs him. "Just because you were born outside of Insomnia, or had biological family that came from outside of Lucis... It doesn't make you any less of a Lucian to me. And I'm pretty sure that the others would feel that way too." Because if they do, Cor will rip them a new one.

[chocobosnap]

He flushed at the hug, surprised as he was pulled against the Marshal and he stiffened for a moment before sinking into it, almost as though he was afraid of a reprimand for falling for such a trick.

"I don't know...where I came from. I don't know anything." He confessed.

"Noct never asked. I wondered if he knew if they'd make me leave him alone but I don't want to. I like him."

[immortalmarshal]

"He didn't ask because he doesn't care," Cor mutters softly. "All he cares is that you're his friend - the first friend he had that isn't delegated to him originally. And if the others are stupid enough to make you two stop being friends just because you're not of the usual Lucian bloodlines? I'll kick their asses, because I helped taught them to be better than that."

Okay, so maybe Cor sounds more like a father than a mentor right now. But either he's unaware of that in the moment, or he simply doesn't care.

[chocobosnap]

He looked at Cor with surprise and tilted his head, nodding a little bit. "Y-Yeah. Well I really like him!" He said, almost defensively.

"I don't...I mean..." Prompto looked flustered. "Why? Everyone else seems to care."

It wasn't just his parents, after all.

[immortalmarshal]

"Good." Cor nods in satisfaction. He hopes that Prompto still remains friends with Noctis, years and years into the future.

"Because your heritage doesn't determine who you are. People could make all the fuss about it and claim that it does, but it doesn't. That's like rich people thinking that they're better than all the poor people, just because they got all the money; it's just a shitty point of view."

Cor then, finally, unwraps his arm from the lad. "There's also the fact that you're a good kid. You have a good heart, and you're dedicated and loyal. And I honestly don't care if you really were born in Niflheim; you're the kind of kid worth helping and looking out for."

[chocobosnap]

He was blushing, he was sure of it. It was so much praise, from Cor who didn't need to say things like that, he'd gotten a hug from him too.

He hid his face in his hands, nodding a little bit.

"Y-Yeah, I mean, Noct doesn't care but.."

Everyone else seemed to. He'd grown up hearing every slur in the book from ordinary people who thought it was okay. He was used to it.

"It's kind of amazing."

[immortalmarshal]

Everyone else used to think that a 14-year-old kid could never cut it long-term in the Crownsguard, that he could just get himself killed in his first battle. Cor, however, proved them all wrong by being that kid.

"It is, yeah. It's not every day that you get to be taken care of by a good friend, so I strongly recommend that you enjoy it." He rises to his feet as there's a nervous knock at the door...and a familiar young male voice calling for Cor.

"Ah, speaking of that friend...let's not keep him waiting any longer."

[chocobosnap]

With that, Prompto was released to Noctis' (which was really Ignis') care for the time being, at least until he was recovered. He didn't know what Noct had been told, but he didn't say much about his family, just that they were working.

The moment that he was cleared, he went home, so he wasn't a bother on Ignis and Noctis.

He was still going to have to avoid training for a few more weeks while he recovered, but he didn't need to be watched over anymore. His parents were kind of mad as it was, that he'd cost them that money.

Since he couldn't go to training he was just hanging out at home.

[immortalmarshal]

Cor used this time to get his head together. Yes, he's still pissed that Prompto appears to be a victim of child neglect. Yes, there might be racism involved. But he can't just keep losing his cool like this.

Even if Regis had pointed out over drinks that Cor acted more like a parent than a mentor. Which is ridiculous, because Cor doesn't see himself as great father material.

Still, he does need to check up on the lad - jist to make sure they're not giving the kid hell. So he digs up the address on Prompto's public files and drives himself over there. He even brings over some convenience store meals as a peace offering, in case the parents happen to be home a little early.

[immortalmarshal]

Cor just finished talking to Noctis and company regarding what has happened with Prompto. He hasn't mentioned the true issue with Prom's parents yet, but he did confirm that they're going to be out of town for a long while. Hence, Cor needing to discuss certain arrangements with Prom's royal friend and said friend's friends.

Prompto isn't going to get very far before the door opens to reveal Cor stepping into the room to check on him. Seeing the blonde waking up brings a relieved smile to his face. "Good; I was starting to wonder when you would wake up."