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]

He almost couldn't believe what he was hearing. He hadn't known Cor that long, he was just a kid, the prince's friend, who tried really hard to keep up with his expectations. That wasn't something he would ever change.

"I..." Prompto began, but he wasn't sure where he was going with it.

"Yeah, I mean..." He blushed. "Noct and I hang out a lot, because otherwise I'm just..." He waved his hand. "Here. Alone."

Noctis hadn't known that, but he stayed with him as often as he asked.

[immortalmarshal]

Cor suspects that if Noctis really knew, he would've done something to try and remedy this situation sooner. Their prince cares too much to let something like this slide.

"Well, if you do stay with me, you wouldn't be alone as often. I'll be around - well, when I'm not busy with my duties. But I do expect you to keep your room clean, and to help with chores."

Cor doesn't realize it yet, but he sounded like a real dad in that moment.

[chocobosnap]

He looked rather surprised, because the offer was kind of huge. He pressed his lips together and nodded.

"I can clean the house. I'm pretty good at it. I just wasn't feeling well, I swear, I'll take care of it."

[immortalmarshal]

"It's alright," Cor quickly reassures him, gently squeezing the young man's shoulder. "I'm not worried about it right now. Right now, you just need to focus on taking care of yourself, and resting. We can handle the rest when your hand's on the mend."

Which reminds him...he's still needing to have a Talk with Mr. Argentum. Soon...very soon...

[chocobosnap]

"Okay." Prompto agreed readily. He would be fine under his own care for a few days even though there was the future promise of going off with Cor, to Cor's place. They needed time to coordinate that and contact his father.

He did notify Cor that if he happened to come by three days later, his dad would be there, back from his trip for two nights.

[immortalmarshal]

Arrangements are most certainly being made to help transfer Prompto over to Cor's care. Among them is wrangling certain mutual friends into providing a moving truck and muscle for putting things on and off said truck.

But that morning, on the day that Prompto's father returns, Cor shows up unannounced at the door. He asked Monika to meet him there, but he didn't wait for her as is standard protocol. No, he's already ringing the doorbell, a sterner-than-usual look on his face.

[chocobosnap]

It took a moment for someone to answer the door and it was his father.

"Can I help you?" He asked, brow furrowed at the appearance of a man at his door. He looked familiar didn't he?

There was the sound of a door closing, as Prompto hid away in his room.

[immortalmarshal]

Cor nods in solemn greetings to Prompto's father. "I'm Cor Leonis. I wish to speak to you regarding your son. May I come in?"

His ears do pick up on the slamming of the door, and he does wonder if Prompto's not already hurt any further by this man. The thought alone sets him on edge a little, but he forces it down. Not yet...not until he gets verbal proof...

[chocobosnap]

"What did he do?" He made no move to let Cor in, he knew the name. This man was important, but he frowned.

"Whatever he broke, I'll pay for it." He said, sounding more like he's angry by the prospect.

[immortalmarshal]

Cor frowns in response that question. "He has done nothing wrong," He stated slowly, emphasizing every word. "I'm just here to check up on him, and to have a talk with you regarding his future."

[chocobosnap]

"Kid's bothering you, isn't he?" He scoffed, still blocking the door.

"He's fine. Kid's always fine. Nothing to discuss. You know what teenagers are like, pure trouble. We do our best but his future is probably in the refugee district like the loser he is."

[immortalmarshal]

Oh, Cor is tempted. Cor is very tempted to punch the lights out of this guy. And if he wss ten years younger, he just might've already done that.

But he is keeping his anger in check, if barely. Instead, he growls as he rests one hand against the door. "Prompto is my *apprentice*. That's why I'm here to have a talk with you. And I strongly suggest that you let me inside if you don't want to cause a scene in front of your neighbors."

[chocobosnap]

The man looked like he wanted to keep Cor out, but he shrugged and relented, stepping back to let him in.

"Apprentice? In what? The kid's not worth it. You're better off finding a new one." He crossed his arms.

"He's just a brat."

[immortalmarshal]

Cor stalks inside after him, keeping clenched fists at his side. His eyes narrowed at the idea of Prompto being a brat. Noctis is the bratty pne of thr group, though he's getting better at it. Prompto is the exact opposite, as far as Cor can tell.

"Crownsguard," he answers firmly. "He shows great potential as a ranged fighter, and he's already shown himself to be dedicated to the purpose of the organization..."

He crossed his arms as he adds, "Incidentally, he's the third apprentice thsr I've ever taken under my wing. And I tend to be very picky when it comes to those I deem worthy of my personal training."

[chocobosnap]

At the mention of such a prestigious honour, he threw his head back and laughed.

"The kid can't fight or protect the king. Besides, there's no way our king wants a dirty Niff kid in his ranks."

He leaned in. "Truth be told, the kid is kind of a freak. The gods only know where he came from with that thing on his wrist. Forget about him."

[immortalmarshal]

Cor's eyes narrowed dangerously at those insulting remarks. He's about to point out how accepting Regis truly is when the father leans in to dare call him a freak.

All he saw was red as his fist went flying towards Mr. Argentum's face. "He is not a freak!" Cor roars. "He is your Gods-blessed son! It doesn't fuckin' matter where he came from, he's a Lucian now!"

[chocobosnap]

The man grunted and fell back into the wall with a small crack.

"He's no son of ours. We provided for him, that's it." He sneered.

Prompto came out of his room then. "Please. Don't fight." He said, his voice unsteady. Unlike the last time Cor saw him, he had a split lip, but it wasn't serious, at least Prompto wouldn't say so.

His father straightened, glaring at Cor and beckoned to Prompto. "Come here."

[immortalmarshal]

Cor's raising his fist again, taking a few steps towards Mr. Argentum when Prompto came out with his plea. He immediately turns towards the lad, and notices the split lip. Ignoring what the other man said - other than the 'He's no son of ours' bit - he immediately rushes over to the younger man's side.

"Are you alright?" He asks in a concerned tone, tilting Prom's chin up to look at the split lip this way and that. "He didn't hurt you much more than this, had he? Is your cast still whole?"

[chocobosnap]

He was bewildered a bit, by Cor's reaction. "I'm fine. Really." He assured him. "And it's fine, yeah, everything is, I'm just...sorry, I didn't mean to drag you into this."

Mr. Argentum scoffed and moved close. "You should listen when I speak to you Prompto." He grabbed his good forearm and lifted it up. "I'll show you what's wrong with him." He tore off the sweatband that covered up the barcode, denoting him as property of...someone.

Prompto let out a distressed cry at that. "Don't-!"

[immortalmarshal]

Cor wants to tell him that it'll be okay soon; that he won't have to endure it for very much longer. He can even feel his phone buzzing, either from Monika calling him or Gladio texting him that he's on the way with the moving truck.

But all that fades when this asshole dared to touch Prom, when he dared to cause such severe stress to the lad by ripping off the cover to his greatest secret...

And it chills Cor to the heart to realize that it looks a lot like a laboratory barcode, the one used for experiments...

But that's only for a brief moment before Cor realized this scene for what it really is. "Get your hands off of him!" he snarls as he grabs Prompto's arm and sweatband away from his 'father'. He helps work the band back over that barcode, even as he keeps glaring at the other 'man'. "Don't you dare touch him ever again."

[chocobosnap]

His whole life, he'd been fighting to keep that barcode a secret. His parents constantly checked to make sure he had it hidden, to make sure that no one else knew and his father betrayed him, by showing it to the person who had the most sway over him.

Prompto could feel himself losing control. His vision seemed to tunnel and he didn't notice Cor covering it up again, he was just taking short, fast, ragged breaths.

Not now, not now.

He felt his throat constrict with panic, and crouched over, curling up a little bit.

"See? He's defective." His dad continued. "And he's mine, I'll do what I want with him."

[immortalmarshal]

Cor catches him, holding him close with one arm wrapped around Prompto's shoulders. "Deep breaths, Prompto," he soothes him. "Deep, slow breaths..."

And then Mr. Argentum says that nasty claim, and Cor glares murderously up at him. "If you dare say that about him one more damn time, I'm going to put your sorry ass in the hospital. And you just said that he's no son of yours. By that statement, you're no longer responsible for him or his path, as of today."

Cor is too upset to focus on the fact that someone is quietly picking the lock on the front door, instead of bothering to knock or ring the bell. Guess who's fully aware of how her boss works in these situations...

[chocobosnap]

"You can't have him. We get a very nice stipend to deal with him and I will not have you taking that away from us. His mother and I are very accustomed to how we are living."

Prompto did as he was told, or tried to at least, taking slow, deep breaths. He wasn't terribly surprised to hear things coming out of his dad's mouth.

"You don't want him. He's needy and whiny."

[immortalmarshal]

"That's all you're keeping him around for? Money?" Cor growls louder as he stands in front of the lad. "He's a kid. Kids are going to need things. Food, clothing, medicine...all the love and care that they should get from their parents. That's not them being needy; that's part of being a parent!"

He's too upset to realize yet that the front door is not only unlocked now, but cracked open and has a certain cell phone poking in, with the camera option set to record.

No, instead, Cor takes a few steps towards Mr. Argentum, fists clenched tightly at his side. "Someone like you have no right to be keeping any kid if that's how you view them. Especially a good kid like Prompto here."

[chocobosnap]

"Why else would we take in a Niff kid? What would we gain from it?"

Prompto, meanwhile, was stuck on what Cor was saying, in one fell swoop, validating all of his feelings and not even knowing it. He dragged his wristband across his eyes, sniffling a little bit.

"Stop your sniveling, Astrals. What kind of lies have you been telling these upstanding people? We put a roof over your head, and we feed you and clothe you and ensure you remain alive. You should be grateful. He should be grateful!"