Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Chapter 1

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"How's progress going with the MTs?" Ardyn asked as he lingered in Verstael's lab, looking through a microscope at a slide of cells the man had left there for some reason or another. It had been a slow couple weeks in Ardyn's own life, so he decided to pay his old friend a visit, curious to his progress with his sick, demented science experiment.

The man had gone full mad-scientist by this point, having produced countless clones of himself with the plan to use them as an army. The clones were growing, still children as they were developing in real time, at the rate any human would… They were maybe twelve by now, but Ardyn wasn't keeping count. Still small, not quite adult-sized yet, but realistically could still be used for what Verstael wanted them for given the proper brain-rewiring and armor and weapon combination… If they were mindless soldiers anyway, the fact that they weren't yet adults didn't seem so harsh.

"I've been making great strides as a matter of fact." Verstael answered with a slight nod, fiddling with something in front of him as he kept his back turned to Ardyn. "They're still small, quite young, but getting close to a workable size. I may have a group ready to send on a practice mission as early as next month."

"Is that so?" Ardyn's eyebrows rose. The man was honestly going to send out a child-clone army so soon? Sure, it was practice… but practice to Verstael probably didn't mean much… If the clones died in the process, he'd leave them where they lay out in the world or incinerate them back here. Ardyn had seen it done. The guy tossed any malfunctions into a literal incinerator. Most of the time they were already dead… but not always.

Verstael wasn't exactly good company to keep to anyone with any sort of moral compass… but he was interesting and Ardyn's own moral compass was skewed, so Ardyn found himself always wanting to check back in… if only out of sick, morbid curiosity. He couldn't honestly say he wasn't a little bothered the first time he saw one of the clones who was still alive being shoved into the furnace. He didn't care about them. He didn't really care about anyone… but seeing what looked like a ten year old child being pushed into the flames while fear and dread filled the boy's eyes and a panicked, hoarse scream tore from the small being's throat had been rough. It was hard to keep seeing them as mindless after that.

Most of the clones didn't know how to speak… didn't know much of anything. They were practically robots… but Ardyn could see discomfort and fear in their eyes at times. They reacted to pain... They were able to feel, able to be hurt, frightened... They had the capacity to be regular humans… just not the social interaction needed to understand the world. They didn't know what human children were supposed to be treated like. They didn't know anything was wrong until they were being hurt in some way, until their biological instincts kicked in and told them to be frightened, to run, to fight back...

"Had another small batch that failed me though." Verstael frowned, not looking up from the work he was doing at a lab table across the room. "A couple weeks back, several died while I was working on programming a certain action sequence - and reaction. I think the reaction is what did it. It seems certain ones for some reason can't handle the training. They go rouge, get scared, run… I've even had a few attack themselves - each other… Lowers my stock. I suppose it's for the best though. Weed out the weak early instead of having them fail and sabotage themselves during a crucial moment in battle." He shrugged.

Ardyn nodded carefully, looking around the lab, noticing a particular absence. "What happened to the one you were keeping around?" He frowned. "Your little assistant... Prompto, was it?" Verstael had for some reason kept one of the clones by his side for the past several years, sort of treating him as a mixture of a lab assistant, servant, son, and pet… It was odd that the boy was nowhere to be seen today. Usually he was right by Verstael's side - at least until he noticed Ardyn and tried to hide - either behind the scientist or in another room.

Prompto didn't lead a normal life - wasn't afforded the option to go to school, to make friends, to go out into the world. He didn't appear to have hobbies, opinions, goals, fears or much of a personality that Ardyn could see - he just followed his master around and did what he was told. The poor little boy had no idea other children his age were playing outside, eating ice cream with their friends, seeing movies, playing sports, going to school. He only knew the lab. He only knew Verstael and all the other little child clones locked in vats of liquid, lying there like corpses. Even the other clones couldn't be companions for him when they were dormant, waiting to be programmed to kill...

The child's life was tragic for sure, but he was quite clearly treated different than the others. Compared to them, he did seem to have it made, to be considered special, privileged... Ardyn couldn't decide if that meant he was more lucky than the others or entirely less lucky. Perhaps he'd have been better off blissfully unaware in a vat like the others. Allowing him this degree of awareness - just a mere taste of freedom without any actual freedom was perhaps more cruel than offering him nothing at all.

Ardyn had never seen any other clone in this lab allowed to freely walk around. The others were treated entirely like anonymous pawns... but at least they were perhaps unaware. At least they didn't understand what was happening... Did Prompto understand? Was being out and about enough to give him the awareness that the others were fortunate enough to miss out on?

And Verstael wasn't just making the little creature work. He wasn't a mindless lab assistant - wasn't functioning in a robotic way - not completely. Verstael was treating him almost like a person, like a protege or a son, talking to him, patting him reassuringly on the back, allowing him to wear clothing and help out in the lab like a little assistant. Of course, the boy was still not treated right - not treated how a twelve year old child should be... but compared to the others, he seemed lucky, in a way.

If Ardyn didn't know any better, he'd have wondered if Verstael was maybe even growing to care about that one in particular, to consider him family… Verstael clearly had strict rules for the young man to follow - Prompto followed him around like a puppy, never spoke, was always lingering near the man, ready to take orders, to help out however he could... but the cold-hearted scientist also showed signs that he might actually care about the child. Ardyn had witnessed the man speaking softly to him, reaching out and cupping the boy's cheek in his hand and staring into his eyes as he spoke. In fact he was always gentle with the boy - so far as Ardyn could see at least.

But the relationship was still bizarre - not what a father-son relationship should be. Verstael was gentle, yes, but the physical aspect of his relationship with the clone bordered on inappropriate. Prompto was so unaware of the cultural norms that he had not even a twinge of the knowledge he needed to keep himself safe, to know if his master crossed any lines - not that he could do anything about it even if he did know right from wrong.

It was genuinely creepy considering the clones were physically about eleven or twelve years old and Verstael had that particular one following him around like an obedient puppy, doing lab work for him, not even flinching when the man put his hands on him in some way or another, ordering him to sit on his lap a few times even with Ardyn there to witness it. Prompto obeyed without question, sitting on the man's leg and staring blankly at Ardyn while Verstael creepily rubbed the side of the boy's thigh and continued his conversation with Ardyn as though the child was more of a pet than a person. Ardyn seemed to be the only one in the room who felt awkward about it.

Prompto didn't know the gesture was creepy. He didn't know anything. He was bred in the lab and had never left it. No one ever taught him that his body was his, that no one was supposed to touch him without his consent. Quite the opposite really… He knew full well that he belonged to Verstael, that if Verstael asked him to do something, he was meant to do it. He didn't have the choice to think about it, to express an opinion, to suggest alternatives.

Verstael was basically the only human being the boy had ever met or interacted with. Prompto probably didn't know people other than the clones and Verstael even existed until Ardyn visited one day. The child had stared at him like he was a ghost upon their first meeting, and subsequent meetings were even more awkward. Prompto seemed terrified of him, refusing to speak, often refusing to even look at him. The boy flat-out hid from him most of the time.

And Ardyn had given up on trying to talk with him the first day he met him a couple years ago. He recalled seeing the boy's eyes grow huge as he hid behind Verstael, as if his creator wasn't an even bigger monster than Ardyn. When Ardyn spoke to him, joked about his demeanor, Prompto remained silent, staring back as though expecting Ardyn would swallow him whole if he got too close. It wasn't even clear if he knew how to speak - though he did take orders from Verstael pretty well, so he comprehended language at the very least…

It was unsettling to witness even the small bits that he did. Ardyn could see that the clone would do whatever Verstael asked - no questions, no complaints. If the man told Prompto to go throw himself into the incinerator, he probably would have. Ardyn couldn't tell if it was due to some rewiring of the boy's brain or if it was simply because the young man had never known anything else. No one had ever taught him to question authority, to build his own boundaries and opinions, to protect himself, to say no when the occasion called for it.

Ardyn didn't even want to know what the man did with the little clone behind closed doors… He was certain Prompto wouldn't object no matter what the man asked of him, even if it was something entirely inappropriate. Prompto didn't know any better. He didn't know he was being mistreated. If Verstael would have the clone sit on his lap in front of Ardyn, what would he do with him when they were alone? Ardyn didn't want to think about it.

"Prompto?" Verstael frowned, for the first time actually looking at Ardyn as he answered. "That's a disappointing topic, actually... After all the work I put into him... I taught him so much, got him to the point where he was capable of being useful... Things didn't work out with him, unfortunately."

His eyebrows raising, Ardyn stared back. "Is that so?" What the hell did that mean? Prompto had been right at the man's side for at least two years at this point. Verstael specifically chose to keep that one individual clone alongside him for that long and now it was over?

"Indeed." Verstael shrugged. "It was nice while it lasted."

"What happened to him?" Ardyn frowned. Not that it mattered to him. Verstael was the one attached to him. Ardyn wasn't.

Verstael exhaled, shaking his head. "It just didn't work out in the end. It was always a possibility. I knew that. Giving him the freedom I did, allowing him to witness certain things, to understand certain things... It's my own fault, really... But it was still disappointing. However, I've got plenty of others. Prompto ended up being a bit defective in the end. He's no longer going to be working with me, but realistically, I could replace him."

Ardyn nodded slightly, wondering if Verstael was going to elaborate. He supposed it didn't really matter. If that clone had to go back into the vats, then so be it. It wasn't Ardyn's problem. Verstael was the one who had bonded with him. Ardyn hadn't. It wouldn't make any difference to him if Verstael chose a different clone to follow him around. The way Ardyn saw it, they were all the same - and they were all doomed.

"He's turned very defiant since you last saw him." Verstael went on. "I know you've seen how well-behaved he typically is, but he's got a bit of a rebellious streak. Somehow the boy learned the word 'no,' thought he had a choice in the matters that go on in my lab. He's turned into quite the little rebel. I guess maybe he saw his reflection somewhere, realized the others looked just like him, started to worry about them…" He laughed.

Ardyn swallowed. "How terrifying that must have been to the naive little fellow." He frowned. It hadn't occurred to him before that Prompto didn't realize that the clones were identical to him. If the young boy didn't know his own appearance, how could he have known?

Verstael laughed again and shook his head. "He tried to free some of them." He noted. "Without asking - without knowing even the slightest bit how any of this works... The ignorant little vermin unplugged their oxygen supply and drowned them. Thirteen of them. Little brat was trying to save them and killed them instead."

Ardyn grimaced. He wondered if Prompto knew that he'd killed them instead of saving them, if he understood that his actions caused the exact opposite outcome as intended. Something told him Verstael probably went ahead and let him know, if only to ensure the boy felt as horrible as possible. Ardyn wondered if Prompto had that emotion in his repertoire. Did he feel guilt, remorse? Could he understand something like that?

"Anyway, there went another batch I'll have to burn." Verstael shook his head. "I'll have to be more careful the access I grant to them. I didn't know he had it in him."

"I wonder what made him start thinking so many free thoughts." Ardyn mused. It was strange that Prompto was so unlike the others… but maybe Verstael giving him the freedom to follow him around and see and hear what went on in the lab was enough to open his eyes. Perhaps any of the clones given that opportunity would start to develop a mind of their own.

"I've learned my lesson. More training before I choose another lab assistant." Verstael noted. "A lot more. Prompto did so well, but I made a mistake not training him first. I assumed he'd be a blank slate merely due to never having left the lab, but his little brain started developing further than I intended. He started to question things, even almost argued with me a few times. One night he ran from me and hid!"

Ardyn frowned. He wondered if Verstael was doing something cruel that night. Prompto always seemed entirely obedient. Why would he feel the need to run and hide from this man? Maybe Verstael was doing some sort of medical procedure - something that hurt. That would make sense. Even the most simple of creatures had an instinct to retreat from anything painful if they could.

"I should have known… He's my clone after all." Verstael smirked.

"Doomed to be an evil little shit like yourself, hm?" Ardyn raised his eyebrow.

"Well, no… Doomed to get burnt with all the ones he fucking killed. He knows how angry I am. I made sure he knows... And he's going to die for this." Verstael stared back. "I'll bet he's regretting everything right about now."

Ardyn grimaced. "You're going to euthanize him?" He surmised.

"Yes." Verstael laughed softly. "But not right away. This all happened a few days ago. He's been waiting for the end ever since. Probably wishes I'd just kill him to get it over with at this point... but I'm not ready to do that quite yet. He needs to suffer for his misdeeds."

Ardyn swallowed. "Is that really necessary?" He frowned. Prompto didn't know what he was doing. Obviously he didn't mean to kill the other clones. He was trying to do the opposite. Did he deserve to suffer and eventually die for that?

"It has to be done. He broke every rule I laid out for him... He does in fact need to feel pain, humiliation, terror... He deserves these consequences." Verstael frowned. "You know that, Ardyn. Don't try to claim he deserves any less."

"Well... He's a child... An ignorant little child..." Ardyn raised his eyebrows.

"And defiant, and rather destructive in his ignorance." Verstael added. "So I've dosed him up so he couldn't escape the medical waste room… I'm letting him lay among the corpses of his brothers for a bit to think about what he did. Then I'll dispose of him along with them." Verstael informed him, turning back toward his work on the lab table as though what he'd just said wasn't the most horrifying admission Ardyn had ever heard.

The boy - for all intents and purposes - was an innocent child… Painfully and tragically innocent. Verstael was punishing him in the harshest way for something he didn't mean to do - a desperate attempt to save his kin - by making him lie helplessly among their corpses for who knew how long… and then would seemingly burn him alive along with them. Even for Verstael that was disturbing, way over the line.

Prompto was a clone, a science experiment, a soldier in the making… but he was still a child, and a child who was even more naive and confused than a regular child would be. Did he deserve such a harsh response to meddling with Verstael's work? The boy had been trying to do something helpful, something heroic. He'd done his best to save his siblings from a cruel fate and only ended up ending their lives instead. Wasn't it already punishment enough just having him know he'd accidentally killed them?

"Verstael…" Ardyn stared. He kind of wanted to just leave at this point. He expected to have his sick curiosity quenched through this visit, but Verstael had outdone himself. Just when Ardyn didn't think the man could do worse, Verstael always proved otherwise.

It never ceased to amaze him that Verstael had the power to make him sick like this. Perhaps it was the man's apathy - the fact that he'd seemingly taken this one clone under his wing, bonded with him more than the others - only to toss him away like trash without a second thought. Ardyn didn't give a shit about anyone on the planet besides himself. He'd killed and hurt countless people… But Verstael's level of depravity was unmatched.

"Hm?" Verstael glanced over his shoulder again with a raised eyebrow.

"Weren't you attached to that one?" Ardyn frowned.

Verstael shrugged and laughed. "I've got countless others just like him. They're clones; they're all the same. That's the point. I'll replace him with a more obedient one. Serves me right thinking one that was more mentally present was a good idea to keep around. Should have euthanized him the second he seemed to comprehend the words I was speaking to him."

Ardyn shook his head. He'd heard enough. Perhaps this part of Verstael's work was better left behind the scenes. "I'll take my leave of you now." He stared. "I wish you good luck with your work."

Verstael smiled slightly and nodded. "Farewell. Until next time." He turned back toward whatever his current project was.

Ardyn exhaled a soft breath before turning toward the room's exit. He shouldn't have felt disturbed by Versatel at this point… but the man was so twisted. That was what kept Ardyn coming back though - the morbid curiosity, the urge to see just how far the man would go, just how horrific his crimes against humanity could be. Ardyn himself was capable of creating great pain and despair, but Verstael was a different sort of disturbing. Ardyn personally tried to keep children out of the pain and destruction he caused - or at least keep his distance so he wouldn't see children suffering as a result of his actions. Verstael seemed to almost enjoy the opposite. He not only was planning to throw Prompto away, but was making sure he suffered first. At this point it was flat out torture. He was torturing a child... and he seemed almost proud of it.

As Ardyn walked down the halls of the lab, Verstael's confessions lingered in his mind. The little clone Ardyn had met a few times - but with whom he'd never really talked, as Prompto seemed scared of him - was doomed to die. That was okay… Ardyn wasn't attached to the little fellow, and so many others just like him were being abused and killed within the walls of the lab too…

But Prompto was suffering right now. He was more aware of the others, and according to Verstael, he was currently drugged and lying in a pile of corpses… a pile of corpses who looked just like him… his brothers who he tried to rescue and killed instead. Ardyn wondered if the little boy was awake and aware enough to know what was happening. Was he lying drugged in the room full of bodies, fully present? Did he know what was happening? Did he know what was going to happen next? Was he forced to lay immobile and entirely vulnerable, thinking and worrying about his demise?

Swallowing, Ardyn looked up toward the door he'd just walked himself up to. It was the medical waste room, the room right next to the incinerator. Why had he come here? Morbid curiosity again? Did he need to see the tormented little creature before Verstael finally gave him the sweet release of death?

For a few moments, Ardyn simply stared at the closed door. He could smell the lingering odor of ash, of burnt flesh... But there was something more - a faint scent of decay. The medical waste room was sealed fairly tight - to prevent the sick smell from lingering in the halls, but it was still there - if only just barely. Prompto was in there... Still alive according to Verstael... Laying among the dead, waiting to die himself.

Ardyn ran his fingers over the plaque labeling the room. "MEDICAL WASTE" it read. Was that what Prompto was to Verstael now? The child he became almost a mentor to - the one he treated differently than the others, who followed him around and helped him in the lab for the past couple years... And now he was just going to be thrown away like garbage. A part of Ardyn needed to open the door, to see the child, to further satisfy his morbid curiosity... Another part of him almost wanted to just turn around and leave. This wasn't his business. He wasn't the one attached to Prompto. He didn't need to worry about the child's suffering and impending death. It had nothing to do with Ardyn.

But would he be able to get the thoughts out of his head? Would he feel some sort of misplaced guilt for allowing this? For knowing the child was in there suffering and just walking away? What else could he do? Save the boy somehow? What could he even do? If he released him from the room, Versael would just find him again, probably be even more angry and hurt him worse... Ardyn could speed up the process at least, kill the child himself - do it quickly... Put a swift, blunt end to his suffering once and for all.

Seeing the boy wouldn't bother him, right? Not much… not for long. Ardyn didn't care about the pain and struggles of other people, and he'd seen lots of these little clones being hurt or killed… Most of them didn't walk around and stare at Ardyn like he was a monster. Most didn't act like little people…

Licking his lips, Ardyn reached out for the door, pushing it open and bracing himself for what he'd encounter once inside...

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Chapter 2

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Frowning and fighting the urge to gag when the smell of death immediately assaulted his nostrils, Ardyn turned back toward the door he'd just stepped through. He was immediately regretting his decision to come in here...

Why had he decided to do this? Did he really need to get involved? Nothing good would come of this. He couldn't save this child from the circumstances he was created into. He didn't want to and didn't have the time or patience... So what was he doing?

This boy was no different than all the others. Sure, Ardyn had seen him up and walking around. He seemed a little bit more like a person... but he was just another clone. On of hundreds if not thousands who was deemed defective and thrown away for it... Ardyn knew this young man wasn't the first to be unfairly euthanized, and wouldn't be the last... What did he hope to accomplish by seeing the poor, abused child for himself? Was it really just curiosity? Morbid, sick, twisted curiosity? Was he so disgusted and appalled by Verstael's actions that he needed to see it himself? For what purpose? To feel better about his own immorality? Knowing the fact that he at least hadn't stooped as low as his friend? But in coming here, seeing this and doing nothing... that made him compliant with it all. Was Ardyn any better than Verstael then?

Grimacing, Ardyn held his hand over his nose in a vain attempt to mask the smell. Was the boy really in here? Lying among the decaying bodies of his brothers? Drugged, unable to move, awaiting his own demise? This was so much more cruel than everything else Verstael had done. This particular clone was more mentally present. The poor little boy had to know at least partially what was happening. The tormented child had to be positively terrified right now.

Ardyn blinked a few times, swallowing back bile. For someone who typically saw other human beings as worth less than vermin, Ardyn was disturbed. Even knowing he wouldn't have given a shit if this boy lived or died, having him lie among the dead, rotting bodies of other boys who looked just like him was cruel. If Verstael had drugged him as he said, Prompto would be able to do nothing but lay there, smelling the death, seeing it, knowing he would die too.

Maybe he could do the merciful thing here and kill the little creature himself… Perhaps Verstael didn't need him anymore. Perhaps keeping him alive was pointless. Ardyn didn't care… but a slow, painful, terrifying death wasn't necessary. Verstael wasn't just being indifferent and clinical here. He was being needlessly sadistic. More disturbing than his usual apathy was this - blatant abuse, torture...

Ardyn wasn't necessarily opposed to cruelty, but the things he'd seen in this lab were a little overboard, especially considering the little victims were children. Maybe mindless clone children… but still children. Prompto wasn't quite as mindless as the others either. Maybe he wasn't all there. He didn't act like a normal person… but his mind wasn't blank. He did have the capacity to feel fear, confusion, probably even joy - though Ardyn hadn't ever seen that one.

Letting the child die a slow, overly traumatic death wasn't needed here. If Verstael didn't want him anymore, then so be it, but it didn't have to be like this. Ardyn could kill him quickly, as painlessly as possible, and put an end to his needless suffering. Then he wouldn't have to feel the guilt he'd feel if he just walked away and left the boy here, but he wouldn't have to make this into his problem either. Quickly ending his suffering then never looking back would suffice. He wouldn't have felt too bad if Verstael told him he euthanized a defective clone... so Ardyn could do the same.

If Prompto was drugged to the point that he couldn't escape the room, it would be easy. Ardyn could pinch his nose, hold a hand over his mouth and suffocate him. He'd be dead within a few minutes and Verstael would never know Ardyn intervened. Then Prompto wouldn't have to lie among the dead, worrying about his own fate… Any pain he was in would be over. Ardyn could grant the poor tormented little soul that degree of mercy.

So he made his way into the room, walking around the nude bodies of the clones. Most looked very fresh, but he realized as he made his way around the space that there were more than just the thirteen Prompto accidentally killed. There had to be at least thirty little bodies in this room, a few more decayed than the others even with the room being refrigerated. Verstael had let them build up, likely glad he did once Prompto made his grave error… Now he could make sure the last hours or days of the boy's life were as excruciating as possible.

After a moment, Ardyn was starting to wonder if the boy was even here after all, or if maybe he was one of the fresher-looking corpses. Perhaps he had succumbed to death on his own… But it wasn't long before he heard a little noise, a tiny, pained, frightened noise, not much more than a shaky whimper.

As he turned toward the sound, he finally saw the boy, slumped down in a corner. Maybe he was drugged enough not to be able to escape, but he had clearly at some point mustered the strength to drag himself as far from the bodies as he could.

Like the others, Prompto was nude. The little t-shirt and legging-type pants Verstael always had him dressed in when he was walking around the lab were gone. Perhaps that was another small punishment - though Ardyn wasn't sure the boy even cared about the modesty clothing provided. Prompto likely didn't have the cultural understanding to know being undressed was meant to be embarrassing. But it did mean he would be colder now. And he was if his trembling was any indication… though perhaps that was only fear.

Ardyn frowned as he approached the boy. He wondered how much Prompto understood. Did he know what death was? Did he know his own was coming shortly? Did he understand that he'd accidentally killed his brethren while trying to rescue them?

The boy's eyelids looked heavy as he finally seemed to realize Ardyn was there. He looked up and shrunk down in the same moment, his lip forming a pathetic pout as he curled weakly in on himself.

But the boy didn't say anything. He didn't beg Ardyn to help him, didn't express that he was afraid, in pain, didn't ask why Ardyn he was here or what he was going to do. Instead, he simply stared up through his tears, trembling and whimpering.

Ardyn noticed bruises lined his arms, like he'd been dragged around rather roughly. He had clearly been hit too, maybe kicked - likely a lot of times, judging by the numerous bruises decorating his frail body. Ardyn would have been shocked if the poor child's ribs weren't fractured in at least one or two places. The bruises there were dark and plentiful. He had a dried trail of blood coming from one nostril as well, and another small crusted stream of it from a cut on his forehead. His shaking breaths were shallow, accompanied by the occasional pained moan. The poor child had clearly been mercilessly beaten.

It seemed likely Prompto was adding to the horrid smell in the room too. He looked thin, weak, and dirty enough that Ardyn would guess he may have been in this room for a few days, and likely hadn't been granted a bathroom break. The closer Ardyn got to him, the more it smelled like urine. The poor kid probably pissed himself at least two or three times - assuming he'd been given enough water to do so more than just once.

Prompto curled further in on himself, moaning and shaking as he seemed to try to hide his face. He always seemed scared of Ardyn before, and likely still was… but Ardyn wasn't the one who tossed him into this nightmarish pit like a bag of dismembered limbs. Ardyn wasn't the one he should have been scared of.

"You've really pissed off Verstael now, haven't you?" Ardyn noted as he squatted down next to the child. "It's a shame… He seemed to enjoy your company so much… You shouldn't have looked so hard into what you were doing in this place. You'd have been happier if you remained ignorant. I suppose that's easier said than done though..."

Prompto merely choked out a pathetic sob and looked away, making himself small as he cowered further into the corner. Ardyn wondered how much he understood. Did he comprehend what Ardyn was saying to him? He always seemed to understand Verstael, but they were left alone so long… it could have been similar to a dog following his master - knowing what the man wanted without necessarily understanding his words. Ardyn hadn't ever personally witnessed the boy speak before. Rather than responding to anything Ardyn ever said to him, the young man always just hid behind Verstael.

"He means to execute you, dear boy… as you've unintentionally executed these other poor souls…" Ardyn went on, choosing to be blunt in an effort to judge the boy's level of understanding. "Do you comprehend that?" He frowned. "You've killed these boys… These little people who look just like you… You've accidentally killed them."

Prompto shrunk down further, biting his trembling lower lip as tears streamed down his cheeks.

"Though one could argue painlessly euthanizing them was the more merciful approach. Now they will no longer suffer at the cruel hands of your master." Ardyn explained. "You can take solace in that knowledge. You saved them from further abuse at the very least. Sometimes it's better to die than to go on suffering. You should know that better than anyone. I know that better than anyone..." Ardyn trailed off. He couldn't count the number of times he wished he could just die to end his own lengthy life. Death really could be preferable, and in this circumstance, with this boy, that seemed to be the case.

Prompto shook his head slightly, then flinched and whimpered as Ardyn put his hand against the boy's hair. The strands that usually looked so soft and clean were at the moment a bit matted with sweat, dust, and perhaps various grime from the nearby incinerator.

Ardyn narrowed his eyes and cocked his head as he looked down at the boy, who stared back with fear in his eyes, but didn't pull away from the man's hand. Ardyn hadn't ever touched Prompto before. The boy was always so scared of him. He always hid behind Verstael. He often wouldn't even look at Ardyn after the initial wide-eyed stare before he darted off to conceal himself from the man.

"Nowhere to hide this time, hm?" Ardyn smirked, moving his hand down to cover Prompto's cheek, running his thumb carefully over skin that was somehow still soft and smooth despite the layer of blood, sweat, and grime that covered his entire being..

It didn't seem like the child been bathed in a while, and Ardyn knew from previous encounters with the young boy that Verstael usually kept him clean. Yes, as he'd guessed before, the boy must have been lying down here for days. No food, likely no water, nothing but the dead to keep him company. The poor thing...

Ardyn closed his eyes for a moment. He supposed it was fitting that he end this little clone's suffering here and now. Prompto - meaning to or not - granted his fellow clones the mercy of death. He was owed the same.

Blinking his eyes back open, Ardyn gripped at the boy's arm, pulling him out of the little ball he'd formed himself into as Prompto's uncomfortable moans mixed with frantic breaths, turning quickly into breathless sobs. The boy reached weakly with a tired arm, gripping at Ardyn's wrist and trying without success to pull the man's grip off of him.

The boy let out a strange, frantic, shaky sound as he pushed a frail hand weakly against Ardyn's chest, no doubt trying to create distance between them. Ardyn noticed the young man's thin arm shook with exhaustion as he did so. Nevertheless, he continued fighting.

"Don't panic, little one." Ardyn advised in as calm a voice as he could manage. He felt pity for this creature. Nothing but pity and disgust. The poor little child was as innocent as a human could be, terrified, filthy… He didn't understand the world. He didn't understand what he was or why he was here, why he was suffering… Killing him quickly and painlessly seemed the best possible end for him.

Prompto moaned again as he let his eyelids fall closed, but shrunk back what little he could as though hoping it would be enough to keep Ardyn away. He looked utterly exhausted as quick, but weak breaths shook in his thin chest. Killing him would probably be quicker than Ardyn originally thought. Perhaps the boy was already halfway there, starved, dehydrated, chilled, beaten...

"Shhh…" Ardyn whispered, placing a hand over the boy's mouth, pushing him securely back against the wall he had cornered himself against.

Prompto's eyes shot back open as he reached up toward Ardyn's arm, letting out a muffled noise. He was clearly scared. He knew Ardyn wasn't doing anything pleasant here. He either knew he was about to be killed, or at the very least knew he might get hurt.

"Don't be frightened, child." Ardyn breathed. "You've suffered long enough. I'm releasing you from it. This will all be over in a matter of minutes. Close your eyes." He suggested, reaching with his second hand toward the boy's nose and pinching it closed.

Prompto let out a shaky, fearful whimper as he reached toward Ardyn's hands, grabbing pathetically toward his wrists and pulling. His eyes grew huge as he unfortunately seemed to completely comprehend what was happening.

Ardyn inhaled a breath, wondering if what he was feeling now was guilt as he pushed his hand harder against the boy's mouth and continued pinching his nose as tears started streaming down the child's cheeks.

Ardyn felt his own breaths increasing as Prompto struggled to inhale any of his own. His tiny body thrashed weakly under Ardyn's grip as he clawed and kicked.

As Ardyn continued restricting the boy's breaths, using his knee to hold down one of the child's legs, he stared down into his eyes. Prompto stared back, his eyes telling Ardyn exactly how he felt… Prompto was terrified, perhaps feeling even betrayed that his master had ordered this fate for him. Maybe he thought Verstael told Ardyn to do this…

Ardyn swallowed as he stared down at the little clone. He remembered the others - the ones Verstael had thrown into the incinerator while they were still alive. Their eyes told a similar story. They were terrified, in pain, confused… Verstael did that to them and Ardyn watched, seeing their anguish and doing nothing… and now he was the one causing the pain, ending this little one's life.

With a grimace and a small growl in his throat, Ardyn eased up, letting the boy fall back against the floor with pained, shaky, gasping breaths. He couldn't do it. He couldn't manually suffocate a twelve year old child… Whether he was a laboratory clone or not. Prompto was clearly not a blank slate, an empty mind. He was an innocent child, brought into this world by a mad scientist. He was confused, but mentally present enough to understand pain, fear, terror... The poor little thing was so frightened, so weak, clearly in pain... He didn't deserve death…

But what other possibility was there? If Ardyn didn't kill him kindly now, he'd die in the fire later, after having to remain cold and terrified in this room full of his dead siblings for hours, maybe days… Would Verstael make him stay here until he'd nearly died of dehydration? Would the cruel man return only to force Prompto to drink, further drug him, prolong his tormented life? Leaving him with Verstael wasn't a viable option. Not if Ardyn didn't want the child to suffer more...

The sound of Prompto's desperate, shaking sobs and pained breaths filled Ardyn's ears, bringing him back to the problem in front of him here and now as he stared down at the boy. The young man was crawling further into the corner, pressing his back against the wall as he struggled to remain on his shaking limbs. It was clear he was exhausted, using every bit of energy he possessed to try to distance himself from Ardyn - the man who was two minutes away from killing him himself.

Ardyn glared down at him. What choices did he have here? Kill the boy quickly, end his suffering… Walk away and leave him to an unknown fate - do what he should have done in the first place, just leave… Prompto wasn't his problem...

Either choice didn't seem preferable… but what else could he do? Take the boy with him? Then what? Just dump him somewhere out in the world? The poor child didn't even know what the world was. He'd grown up in a fucking lab, functioning as his sick creator's little pet. He didn't even know how to exist, how to defend himself from the various monsters out in the world. He likely wouldn't even know how to approach someone to ask for help.

So if Ardyn took him, Prompto would become his problem - at least long enough until the man could train him to fend for himself. How long would that take? A couple weeks, a few months? Several years? Prompto was eleven or twelve, Ardyn thought… Maybe he could just get him to a town, explain to him that he'd need to ask an adult for help… The world wouldn't allow him to remain a homeless little orphan… right? If they saw a little twelve year old boy all alone, clearly lost, confused… someone would help him. He'd be better off than he was here.

Yes… Ardyn supposed that was true. Even if he took the boy and abandoned him in the woods immediately, he'd be better off than the cruel fate that awaited him here… So getting him as far as a couple towns over would suffice. He'd just tell Prompto to ask for help. Someone would feel sorry for him and help. Hell, even Ardyn was helping him now out of pity.

So he reached back toward the boy's arms, grabbing him and ignoring the increasingly loud, frantic, breathless sobs coming from him. He ignored the boy's thrashing and pulled him up to his feet.

"Shhh. Stop crying." Ardyn demanded, pushing the child back against the wall and holding him there with an arm across his chest and a hand over his mouth. "Stop it. Shut up." He glared. If he wanted to get this boy out of the lab, Prompto couldn't be screaming and crying. Versteal would hear him and this would all be for nothing.

The boy continued sobbing, maybe even louder than before. He probably thought Ardyn was going to kill him. Why wouldn't he think that? Ardyn was going to kill him until about a two minutes ago...

"I'm not going to hurt you." Ardyn promised, pressing his hand harder over Prompto's mouth in an effort to stop his increasingly frantic sobs. "You have to stop crying..." Ardyn persisted, feeling more impatient by the second. "Stop crying or I'll hit you!" He threatened. "You can't cry if you're unconscious."

That threat seemed to work... As best as any would at least. Prompto continued whimpering breathlessly, his entire little body trembling as he stared back through his tears. He seemed to be trying to calm himself down - to listen to Ardyn's demands… but it was clearly easier said than done. The boy was reasonably terrified. The whole situation he was already in was dreadful, and Ardyn had just legitimately tried to kill him.

"Be quiet." Ardyn urged in a harsh voice, pressing the boy more firmly against the wall. "I don't want to hurt you, but you need to be quiet. My patience is thin."

Reaching a trembling little hand up toward Ardyn's wrist, Prompto tried to pull the man's hand off of his face. If he was using his full-strength, he certainly had hardly any. The poor child was so weak it was pathetic.

When Prompto couldn't get free that way, he started to squirm and kick out with his feet, moaning shakily with each gesture, as though each and every tiny movement was positively exhausting and painful to him.

This only made Ardyn tighten his grip, pressing his body against Prompto's, pinning him in place while the hand over his mouth grew more firm, more harsh. He was definitely going to leave bruises to add to all the ones already there… but at this point he hardly cared. Rescuing the boy was starting to look like it was going to be a lot more annoying than it was worth, and the pity he felt for the child was quickly melting away. The more difficult he made this, the more Ardyn kind of wanted to see him suffer instead of take him away from this nightmare.

"Stop fucking fighting me or I'll rethink the level of pity I have for you. You're right on the edge, boy… My pity will turn into annoyance soon." Ardyn glared. "And when that happens, I'm either breaking your neck or leaving you here to die however Verstael chooses. Perhaps I'll even advise him to hurt you more than he already would have."

Ardyn could feel Prompto's lip trembling under his hand as tears welled up in the boy's eyes again, but his movements stopped. Instead, he simply stared back at Ardyn, appearing suspicious, but also exhausted and defeated. Obviously the young man had no reason to believe Ardyn wouldn't hurt him.

Ardyn inhaled a steadying breath. He understood why Prompto was scared, but that didn't make this any less frustrating. "Calm down, child… You'll be safe from this soon. I'm taking you away from here… but you need to cease all this noise. We won't escape the lab if you're crying and screaming the entire way."

The boy's body was still visibly trembling. Ardyn could even feel him shaking against him, but he stared up as he cowered down, perhaps willing to give Ardyn a chance to prove he wasn't lying, but still obviously frightened. He didn't have much of a choice but to follow Ardyn's lead. Trust Ardyn, or fight back and get killed by whoever was more annoyed by him.

"I won't hurt you." Ardyn frowned, once again feeling the heavy weight of pity in his heart. This boy hadn't ever done anything to deserve such a painful life, nor such a cruel end. "Just cooperate with me, and you won't be hurt."

Prompto closed his eyes and swallowed, shaking slightly, but no longer trying to pull away from Ardyn. Certainly he'd learned by now that he wasn't strong enough for any defensive gesture to be useful.

Ardyn cocked his head to the side as he stared down at the child. He was so bruised and scuffed, so dirty, so thin. He was in horrible shape and didn't even realize it. Prompto didn't seem to feel embarrassed that he was unclothed and filthy. He wasn't trying to cover himself. He seemed to be scared of being grabbed, of having a hand over his mouth... But that was it. He flinched away from Ardyn's hands, but wasn't nervous about being undressed.

"You realize you're naked…?" Ardyn stared. "In front of a strange man you don't know..."

Prompto stared back, still not covering himself. He didn't know the cultural significance. He didn't know normal people would feel embarrassed, even frightened to be nude in front of a stranger.

"You feel no shame…" Ardyn noted, narrowing his eyes. "No fear. Not regarding that aspect… You're so fearful of everything else, but have no regard for your own modesty... You don't know some would be tempted to hurt you by seeing that… He's not taught you to cover yourself up..."

Perhaps Verstael never bothered to instill in the boy that social norm. It was actually rather nauseating to think about. Verstael always had the child sitting on his lap in Ardyn's presence. Prompto didn't know that parts of his body were private because Verstael likely didn't treat them as such. Prompto's body belonged fully to Verstael up until now.

"Well… No matter…" Ardyn shook his head. "Let's get out of this horrid place while we can. Just go along with what I say so we'll make it out of here quietly… Okay?"

Prompto sniffed back tears, shrinking down slightly, making no indication that he agreed. He still looked terrified, likely because Ardyn was a stranger. Verstael was the only person he knew, the only person he'd given his trust to… and obviously that hadn't worked out.

"You've got to trust me, child. I'm trying to help you…" Ardyn frowned. "I'm the only option you have besides staying here and waiting to die. You have to trust me. You've no other choice."

Prompto's huge eyes blinked a few times as he stared back, clearly hopeful, yet still unsure of Ardyn's motives. His body was still trembling, but his crying was calming down into sniffly, broken breaths.

"The louder you are, the more likely your master will hear you, will come and reclaim you." Ardyn warned. "And whatever the worst thing he's done to you is, what would follow would likely be ten times more painful. We need to be as quiet as we can once we exit this room."

The boy's lip trembled as he stared back. Tears were still dripping down, rolling over Ardyn's fingers as he held the boy securely against the wall. The child was listening. He seemed to understand. Even if he wasn't going to say anything back, he comprehended the language.

Ardyn frowned as he looked down at the child, fully taking in his pathetic appearance once again. Finger-shaped bruises lined his arms - indicating he'd likely been dragged into this room or another rather roughly, maybe struggling along the way. Perhaps he was even held down for a time while he was otherwise being hurt and abused. His ribs were covered in rather nasty darkening marks as well and his cheek was bruised under his eye - as though he'd been hit pretty hard in the face.

Something dark had dripped down the inside of one of his thighs - Ardyn didn't even want to begin to think about what that might be… Likely blood, he thought, but thinking that meant he needed to consider how or why it would have been there, and Ardyn really didn't want that thought to enter his mind further than it already had. The boy had dried blood under his nose too. He must have been hit pretty hard more than just the once.

The young man was still completely nude, though seemingly not too concerned about that particular detail. He'd been considered a science project long enough that he didn't care about that degree of modesty apparently… but Ardyn did. He couldn't let that continue. If Prompto was with him even just for a day or two, he'd have to be clothed.

So the man shrugged out of his coat, ignoring Prompto's flinch away from him as he placed the garment around the boy's shoulders and pulled it closed in the front. He reached down toward Prompto's hand, rolling his eyes when the boy whimpered and attempted to pull the limb away.

"Hold this closed." Ardyn demanded, shoving Prompto's hand up against the boy's chest, forcing him to grip the garment. "Come on." He ordered, grabbing Prompto's other wrist and dragging him along.

Prompto immediately stumbled and tripped as soon as Ardyn started to walk, reminding the man just how disoriented and weak the boy was from whatever drugs Verstael had given him.

Ardyn frowned when he turned toward the boy in time to see his coat falling down off of his shoulders and Prompto's heavy eyelids nearly completely closed. The boy was slumping forward, clearly exhausted, grabbing toward Ardyn's sleeve as he fell toward him.

For a moment, Ardyn closed his own eyes in frustration. He was already regretting the decision he'd made. It wasn't too late to turn back, to pull his coat away from the child, put it back on, shove him back onto the pile of corpses, and walk away.

With a pained little groan as his knees hit the ground, Prompto knelt forward, disregarding the coat falling down around him, leaving him entirely exposed again. Instead, he slumped forward, trembling and whimpering softly.

"You're entirely pathetic." Ardyn grumbled, reaching toward the boy's upper arm and grabbing it somewhat harshly. "If you don't want to suffer a prolonged, cruel death, you've got to use what energy you have to help me help you. Don't just give up."

Ardyn blinked and leaned down closer when he swore he heard the boy say something. He'd never heard the child actually speak before, but it sounded like he just said something.

"What's that?" Ardyn wondered, his eyebrow raising as he leaned in closer.

"I can't." Prompto breathed, his eyes closing as his posture grew more limp.

"Yes you can. Let's go." Ardyn growled, gripping his arm tighter, pulling him up. "And you've got to keep yourself covered, child. I know it's biology. It's science… It's just a human body and you've not been conditioned to feel ashamed by it… but you're a damn child and you're making me feel uncomfortable. The rest of the world doesn't follow the sick fucked up culture of this place. The second you start acting as more than a lab experiment is the second you need to be clothed." Ardyn frowned, grabbing the coat off the ground and wrapping it around Prompto's thin body again. "I will not walk around with a naked child by my side acting like it's normal. Cover yourself up."

Prompto swallowed and leaned heavily on Ardyn, clearly unwilling or perhaps unable to help him out much. Though Ardyn was still holding him up by his arm, Ardyn could feel the boy's body sliding back toward the ground. It was practically like Ardyn was transporting a corpse rather than a living person. Prompto wasn't helping much at all.

He was obviously utterly exhausted, weakened by the drug, and perhaps by even more. It was possible Verstael had had him down in the medical waste room for days. His sweaty, dirty appearance certainly backed up that theory. As did the fact that he was so thin, so weak - likely hadn't eaten for a few days. Maybe he hadn't had anything to drink either. Ardyn would have to find him some water soon if he didn't want his body to start shutting down.

Ardyn rolled his eyes again and shook his head. The boy couldn't have even weighed more than seventy pounds. Ardyn could just carry him. It would be infinitely faster anyway.

So he wrapped the coat around him hastily, but securely, being sure to cover any bit of him Ardyn didn't think he should be seeing, then lifted him up in his arms bridal style and headed out of the room.

Prompto trembled in his arms as Ardyn carried him, sniffing and choking out pathetic, whimpering noises. He was clearly frightened. Obviously he had just been through hell and would have no reason to believe Ardyn wouldn't hurt him too. Prompto had no control here whatsoever and he knew it. He was at Ardyn's mercy and had no idea what exactly that might entail.

Ardyn hugged Prompto tighter, trying to close his ears off to the sounds of the shaky sobs rising from the boy's chest. Prompto seemed to be trying to stay quiet, but didn't have the control to do so completely. His choked whimpers were subdued - he was trying to hold back - but he couldn't contain it… and Ardyn didn't think any number of demands or threats would help the boy hold back, to quiet him down.

He wondered what exactly the emotion was Prompto was feeling. The boy was so sheltered in a way. He didn't ever learn about emotions, what they were, how to express them. He didn't know what to expect from others. Did he feel betrayed by Verstael? What was Verstael to him? A father-figure? A boss? A master? Did Prompto have the expectation that Verstael would be kind to him? That he'd keep him safe, warm and comfortable? Did he feel betrayed that the man didn't follow through?

Or was the emotion he was expressing now simply fear? Maybe he didn't expect that Verstael wouldn't hurt him, but he was still scared of dying, scared of pain, scared of the uncertainty that Ardyn represented. Maybe he was crying because he finally understood death - because he saw the other clones' bodies lying dead and decaying all around him. He knew that he was to be next…

No matter what the reason for the sobs, Ardyn supposed he didn't want to dwell on it. He didn't need to get invested in this child's feelings or well-being. He just wanted to rescue him from this cruel fate, then pass him off on someone else.

That's what he would do. Get him to a town, buy him some clothing, explain to him that he needed to express to an adult that he needed help… He'd also have to explain that what Verstael was doing was fucked up - that Prompto needed to appear unaware of where he came from so no one would seek Versteal out... or worse - seek Ardyn out. Prompto probably knew his name...

He supposed he could think further about what all to communicate to the boy later. He had a long drive ahead of him before they'd ever reach a town far enough from the lab anyway. Then he could leave Prompto there and never look back. He wouldn't have the guilt leaving him to die would have created and could forget any of this ever happened.

xxxxxx

Chapter Text

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Chapter 3

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Ardyn frowned as he finished filling up the gas tank in his car and replaced the nozzle of the gas pump. He then knelt down far enough to see inside the car's window, observing his passenger who was still sound asleep. There was probably no need to worry about him waking up and escaping. The child was clearly exhausted, weak, hurt. He wouldn't get far even if he tried... and he probably wouldn't try. Where would he go? Prompto didn't know what the world was... He didn't know how anything worked. He'd probably be scared to run off - to approach any people he might see or to go into the dark forest nearby.

There was also the fact that Ardyn wouldn't really mind that much if the boy managed to run away. Seeing him suffering in that room, thinking he was going to suffer even longer and ultimately die had made Ardyn feel guilty. He got him out of that, and really he didn't owe him anything more. Ardyn wasn't in this for the control. He didn't need to keep the child with him. If Prompto wanted to run off and be on his own from here on out, that wasn't really any of Ardyn's concern.

So he simply left the boy asleep in the car and headed into the convenience store. If Prompto was gone when he got back, it might even be a relief... but he probably wouldn't be. He could barely even stand before - he wasn't going to have the strength or courage to make it far.

Picking up a shopping basket as he entered the store, Ardyn nodded and forced a smile for the clerk at the front and headed down the aisles.

His companion needed clothes more than anything at the moment. Ardyn simply had to get him something to wear. Being wrapped up in Ardyn's coat worked while he was passed out in the car, but he had to have actual clothing for when Ardyn eventually left him in a town somewhere to fend for himself...

The selection of wearable items in the store was pretty bare. There were a few packages of underwear of various sizes, some socks, and some very cheap-looking athletic garments - mainly shorts and t-shirts. It would have to do for the time being... There wasn't any other choice, and Ardyn certainly wasn't interested in going town to town clothes shopping. It didn't have to look nice. It just had to cover the child up.

Ardyn looked the shelf up and down. He wondered what size Prompto was... The child was pretty small, under five feet, fairly skinny... Ardyn didn't know how child sizes worked... He wasn't as large as even a small adult, but wasn't tiny like a toddler either... He was clearly still in need of some kind of child size... but which one?

Shaking his head and closing his eyes, Ardyn exhaled, then just grabbed some garments that looked close to what he'd guess would fit the child. If they were too big, they were too big. It didn't matter that much. How the hell was he supposed to know which size to get? Even Prompto himself likely wouldn't have been able to tell him.

Next Ardyn headed toward the food aisles. Prompto definitely needed something to eat. He likely wasn't picky, and would be grateful for anything after being starved in that horrible room for so long. Even so, Ardyn wanted to choose things that would be filling, nutritious... and things a child would like... But what did children like? And what was nutritious in this little shop? Most of it was packaged things - cookies, crackers, canned goods... Ardyn wasn't going to actually cook; he wasn't going to open cans and purchase pots and pans, so the canned food was out of the question... Any kinds of pasta, things with sauce, anything that required more than opening the damn package was too much...

So he selected some little fruit cups, a box of crackers, some chocolate chip cookies. He continued on, relieved to find a small selection of fresh produce and bread in the corner. That's what Prompto needed - real food, healthy, fresh food. Who knew what Verstael was feeding the poor child back in the lab. Probably some kind of fucked up paste pumped directly down his throat while he slept in a pod of liquid. Hopefully the little boy knew how to eat... Had he ever actually eaten real food before? Did he know how to use a fork? How to chew and swallow? Surely he did. Verstael had him up and walking around quite often. He seemed almost like a regular person the few times Ardyn saw him. It seemed like Verstael gave him quite a bit of freedom actually - more than the other clones at least.

Ardyn put a few bananas, a package of cherry tomatoes, two apples, and a pear into his basket, then headed toward the bread. Children liked sandwiches... right? But what would Ardyn put on it? He didn't see any meats or cheese for sale... Maybe peanut butter and jam? Kids liked nonsense like that...

On his way to the aisle with various jams and peanut butter, Ardyn snagged a medical kit, some plastic cutlery, paper plates, a tooth-brush and toothpaste, and some bottled water. Then he selected some peanut butter and blueberry jam. That would do. For now at least. The child didn't need an entire pantry... Just a few days worth of meals to get them through until Ardyn passed him off on someone else.

"You live around here or are you just passing through?" The cashier started immediately with the small talk as soon as Ardyn approached the counter.

"Passing through." Ardyn forced a slight smile.

"Ah." The cashier nodded. "Going anywhere exciting? There's not much out here, but I guess if you're passing through..."

Ardyn shook his head. "Just visiting family. Nothing special."

"Well..." The cashier shrugged as he rang up the items. "Family's special though, isn't it?"

Ardyn stared, then forced another smile. There was no need to let his true feelings shine through to this random man. "Of course." Ardyn nodded, handing some money to the man as he finished tallying up the total and bagged the items. "Keep the change. Have a good night." Ardyn nodded, taking his bags and walking back out into the car park.

Exhaling as he reached the car, Ardyn placed the bags in the back seat. He took one of the bottles of water out of the package and headed back up to the front, climbing into the driver's seat and choosing to make a little bit of distance from the fuel station and store before waking Prompto up - just in case the child did anything to draw attention. Ardyn didn't need any people who might be out and about to see Prompto panicking, crying, acting like Ardyn had kidnapped him... If Prompto caused any sort of scene, Ardyn wanted to make sure no one was around to see it.

So he drove a few miles, then carefully pulled over to the side of the road.

Ardyn frowned as he put the car back into park and glanced across the seat at his passenger. The pathetic little creature was curled up in the seat, shivering slightly, but seemingly unaware that the coat he was wrapped up in was falling down off of him, exposing most of his chest and one of his arms.

Ardyn couldn't help but to grimace as he noticed for a second time the dark, angry bruises decorating the child's ribs. Verstael must have punched him in the stomach, or kicked him... Perhaps several times. Whatever had happened, it looked rough - very needlessly rough. Prompto was so small, so young... He was painfully innocent and obedient. Kicking or hitting him with such power and anger just wasn't necessary.

Closing his eyes and breathing out a stressed breath, Ardyn shook his head. Why was he feeling so strongly about this? He didn't care about this boy. He took him from the lab because leaving him there would have been cruel... but he didn't care about him. Prompto being hit or kicked wasn't that sad. He was just some kid Ardyn didn't really know, some worthless little boy whose life and death really would mean nothing to Ardyn, or to the world.

Ardyn just needed to keep him alive long enough to get him somewhere else - to someone else. To adoptive parents... Or even to a fucking orphanage. It didn't matter. Anywhere was better than the lab. Even if Prompto had to live on the streets, finding food in dumpsters and sleeping on park benches, it would be better than being some mad scientist's experiment/assistant/plaything.

"Boy-" Ardyn spoke, reaching out toward the child's arm and gripping it. "Wake up long enough to drink at the very least." He demanded. "I didn't rescue you from that horrid lab so you could die of dehydration in my car."

Ardyn regretted not approaching in a much more gentle and calm manner immediately. As soon as he had grabbed the boy's arm and began lightly shaking him, Prompto flinched and pulled away, choking out a shaky sob as he pressed his back against the car door.

Blinking and frowning, Ardyn drew his hand back. He should have known... And he did know. That's why he drove further away from the fuel station. Even so, he should have anticipated this enough - and cared about it enough - to be more gentle waking the child up. It was cruel of him to know he might upset the young man, to know he'd scare him, and yet make no change to his methods. He needed to be more careful - more thoughtful.

Prompto stared across the seat, his eyes wide, terrified, brimming with tears. The young boy grimaced as he seemingly tried to press himself even closer toward the door his back was already firmly planted against. Ardyn wondered what he was thinking, what he was expecting. He really didn't know Ardyn at all. He only knew the man associated with Verstael, and he knew Verstael hurt him. Why wouldn't he be afraid of Verstael's friend?

"You're alright..." Ardyn spoke, unsure what exactly he should say or do here. How was he supposed to convince this poor little child to trust him? How would he turn this trembling, broken young boy into a normal, functioning person? "I won't hurt you. I'm trying to help. Remember?" Ardyn nodded with a raised brow and a forced smile.

Of course, he could have just been blunt. He could have grabbed the boy by his arm, pulled him forward, forced the bottle between his lips and demand that he drink now or be hit... Part of him wanted to do just that... He was doing Prompto a favor here - a fucking big favor. The boy had no right to be difficult. He needed to appreciate that Ardyn saved him and help the man by helping himself...

But more than frustration, Ardyn felt pity. Prompto wasn't trying to be difficult. Not grabbing the water right away and happily drinking it wasn't a sign of purposeful defiance or lack of gratitude. He was simply terrified. He didn't know Ardyn. He only knew Verstael, and Verstael was awful. The child likely expected every human being on the planet to be like the man who raised him.

"I've got water..." Ardyn explained, holding the bottle up and twisting the lid off. "You must be thirsty." He noted.

Prompto swallowed, staring from Ardyn's face, down toward the bottle. Ardyn could tell the offer was tempting to the boy, but he could also tell Prompto was conflicted. He didn't know whether to trust Ardyn.

Furrowing his brows and letting his shoulders slump, Ardyn exhaled a tired breath. "You remember what's happening, don't you?" He frowned. "You remember me?"

Prompto stared back, blinking silently.

"I've taken you away from Verstael. He's the one who beat the shit out of you. He's the one who starved and abused you... I'm not him. I haven't hurt you. I won't do so. You're safe with me... But you need to start functioning before I get impatient with you. I'm offering you water." Ardyn stared, holding the bottle closer to the boy. "Please take it before I change my mind."

The child's eyes moved back to the water and he swallowed again, reaching out with a shaky, timid hand, taking the bottle, then tilting it up toward his lips. He stared back at Ardyn as he drank, his eyes wide, fearful, uncertain.

Ardyn grimaced as he watched Prompto. The poor little thing's arm and hand were shaking so much he could barely manage to keep from spilling the water down his chin. In fact, some of it was dribbling down, drenching the boy's chest as well as Ardyn's coat. If the coat weren't already going to smell like death, ashes, and piss, Ardyn would have been annoyed, but he supposed the garment already desperately needed washed anyway.

As the boy drank, his arm shook further, either due to exhaustion or fear - likely a bit of both. Finally, he could manage no longer and let the bottle drop out of his hand and tumble down into his lap. The boy squeezed his eyes shut, flinched, and squeaked a somewhat frantic-sounding noise as the bottle fell, splashing water all over his lap as well as the seat of the car as he fumbled toward it with uncoordinated hands.

"Fucking hell." Ardyn grumbled, grabbing quickly toward the bottle.

Prompto choked out another shaking wince, raising his hands up to cover his face as he shrunk down. "Please don't-" He choked, his voice weak, breathless.

Ardyn exhaled, picking the bottle up and replacing its lid. He put the water into the cup holder between the front seats and then reached toward Prompto's arms, prying them down so he could see the boy's face.

Prompto trembled and whimpered as Ardyn forced his arms down. The boy's lip shook as tears welled up in his eyes and started to spill over. Prompto blinked his eyes closed, shrinking down and sobbing as Ardyn held his arms firmly in his grip.

Shaking his head, Ardyn loosened his grip. "Stop it..." He breathed, sliding his hands up Prompto's arms, adjusting the coat that had fallen half off of him. "You dropped a bottle. It's not the end of the world."

Prompto continued crying, but shrunk down and seemed to be trying to hold his tears in. "I d-didn't m-mean to..." He whispered.

Ardyn narrowed his eyes. "I know that." He glared. "It's water. It's not a big deal..."

Shaking his head again, Prompto choked out another breathless sob. He could barely articulate words... assuming he knew more words than what Ardyn had already heard from him. Maybe he didn't even know enough to say anything more. At this point, Prompto's crying was starting to pick back up again.

"Stop crying." Ardyn demanded, feeling impatience rising in his chest. He wasn't made for this - for consoling a needlessly frantic, sobbing child. He didn't know how to handle this, how to make this boy stop being upset... Did he think Ardyn was going to hurt him? Was that what Verstael would have done if the child dropped something back in the lab? Was that why he had such an emotional reaction to such a small mistake?

"Prompto..." Ardyn spoke, doing his best to keep his voice calm, kind... It wasn't something that came naturally to him - not anymore... Even so, he wanted to expend the effort here. He didn't want Prompto to be terrified of him. He wasn't sure why it bothered him that the boy was so frightened, but it did. "Child, look at me..." He ordered.

Prompto sniffed, still shaking as he looked tiredly up at Ardyn. He was still shrinking down. He looked like he was bracing himself to be punched across the face.

Ardyn shook his head. "You're an innocent little boy..." He noted, perhaps more to himself than to Prompto. The child was frustrating, confusing... but it wasn't his fault. He had lived his life as a victim, an abused, weak little creature. He needed patience and understanding.

The boy breathed in another shaky breath and blinked back tears. "I didn't mean to..." He whispered again. "M-my arms are so tired... I c- I couldn't hold it up... I was so thirsty, b-but I couldn't hold it up... I kn-knew I'd probably drop it..." He whimpered, choking out another shaky cry as he closed his eyes and shrunk down again.

Ardyn shook his head. "Listen to me, child... Look at me... Listen to what I'm saying. Hear what I'm telling you... I won't hurt you." He promised. "I'm not upset about the bottle... That was an accident. It's water. It's not even much of a mess, and you didn't mean to drop it... It's okay."

Prompto blinked, furrowing his brows and sniffing back more tears.

"It's alright." Ardyn assured him again. "I told you before, I took you from that place so I could help you. I won't claim to be the most patient man, but I surely won't beat you over some spilt water."

Prompto shook his head, bringing his hands up to cover his eyes again as his lip trembled. "I'm scared-" The child choked, starting to sob all over again.

Ardyn exhaled, placing his hand under Prompto's chin and tilting his face up. "I know, child..." He frowned. Prompto had every right to be scared. He didn't know a damn thing about Ardyn. For all the boy knew, Ardyn had stolen him away so he could take him somewhere and torture and kill him. Prompto didn't know what Ardyn's intentions were... and he was so used to being treated like a piece of property, like a science experiment. He had no basic rights, wasn't treated with kindness or respect... Why would he expect Ardyn to be any different than Verstael?

The boy's lip shook as he gasped through increasingly pathetic sobs. "I wanna go home..." He whimpered, shrinking down again, burying his face in his hands. "I'm scared... I have to go back... I'm not supposed to go anywhere without him... He'll be so angry with me... I have to go back..."

"You're not going back." Ardyn glared. He'd really inconvenienced himself here... and this kid wanted to go back?

"Please!" Prompto sobbed.

Ardyn scoffed as he shook his head and rolled his eyes. "You want to go back?" He asked, raising his eyebrows. "With all that death lingering around you? Do you want to be starved, beaten? Denied water, lying in filth in that freezing room until he finally chooses to kill you? You know the death he'd offer would be painful too. Likely slow..."

Prompto looked up toward Ardyn, shrinking down as he continued to cry. He shook his head, his eyes wide, terrified. "He's gonna hurt me when he finds out I left! He'll be so angry... Please... I'm scared. Please take me back!"

Ardyn exhaled and shook his head, placing his hands on Prompto's arms and pulling him forward into an embrace. Surprisingly, the boy didn't pull away. He didn't start panicking and screaming. Instead he let Ardyn hug him. He even leaned into the hug, seemingly appreciating the physical comfort.

"Shhh..." Ardyn whispered, rubbing one hand carefully up and down over the child's back as he rested the other on the back of his head. "You don't want to go back there... I know you're frightened... You don't know what the future holds. You don't know me... But you don't want to go back to him. You don't know this yet, but you're better off out here."

"He'll be angry..." Prompto whispered, choking out another shaky noise. "I wasn't supposed to leave... I'm not allowed to leave... Please take me back..."

Ardyn shook his head. "You're not going back there, ever. I took you because he was preparing to euthanize you. Remember? That means he was going to kill you... He told me himself. If you didn't figure it out by yourself, trust that I did. He told me he was leaving you in that room to suffer and would eventually toss you into the incinerator with the dead. You don't want to go back. You'll die if you go back."

Prompto whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Don't be scared." Ardyn spoke. "He won't find you. He doesn't know I've taken you, and I surely won't be informing him. You're safe. You don't ever have to see him again, and that's for the best, whether you understand that or not. You're with me now. I'll keep you from harm."

Prompto's little body trembled as he leaned closer against Ardyn's chest, seemingly starting to calm down a bit. He didn't have much of a choice here. Ardyn wasn't fucking taking him back. The most he'd do would be to kick him out of the car and let him fend for himself out in the dark. If the child annoyed him enough, fought back too hard, cried too much... Then Ardyn would let him go... but it sure as hell wouldn't be back to Verstael's lab.

As he held the trembling little child in his arms, rubbing a reassuring hand over his back, Ardyn frowned. Obviously from Prompto's perspective, this entire situation was terrifying. There didn't seem to be any option for him that wasn't horrible. He could go home and be killed (likely further abused first - but ultimately killed,) or stay with Ardyn - which was a mystery entirely. Prompto didn't know what Ardyn would do... He didn't have an option really - not beyond going along with Ardyn easily or being defiant and getting himself thrown out of the car.

Ardyn blinked, allowing the seriousness of the situation he'd put himself in to sink further in as he hugged the boy he'd rescued against his chest. Why had he willingly gotten himself involved with this? Why did he have to go check the medical waste room? Why couldn't he have just squashed his morbid curiosity down and left without stealing this little child? What the hell was he going to do from here? It wasn't like he could just drop the kid off at an orphanage and be done with this within a day. Prompto was so damaged, so terrified... Most potential adoptive parents probably wouldn't want to take him in. He was going to be so much work...

Even the thought of leaving along the side of the road or in some town was feeling increasingly cruel. Prompto was so weak he couldn't stand right now. What would the boy do if Ardyn just left him somewhere? Run in fear out into the woods or plains? He'd collapse before making it even a kilometre... He'd be too weak to make it far... He'd get killed by a monster within an hour... That's what he'd do. The child probably didn't even know there were monsters out here. He knew nothing.

Prompto silently remained still in Ardyn's arms, sniffing as his sobs died down, closing his eyes and leaning tiredly against Ardyn's chest.

"You don't need to be scared. Not of me." Ardyn promised as he stared past the boy's hair, out the window into the darkness. "I promised you I wouldn't hurt you and I meant it. My patience isn't that thin. You don't need to fear me. You don't need to cry every time something doesn't go as planned."

Prompto blinked a few times, sniffing back tears and wiping his cheeks with the backs of his hands as Ardyn pulled back out of the hug.

"You alright now?" Ardyn frowned.

Prompto nodded. "Yes, sir... I'm sorry for crying..." He whispered. "I'm sorry for arguing with you." He added, shrinking down and looking up with a slight grimace, like he fully expected Ardyn to slap him across the face for his misdeeds.

Ardyn narrowed his eyes. This boy was so on-edge. That tiny moment where he frantically requested to be taken back... That wasn't arguing. That was panic. He thought Ardyn was angry with him for that.

Prompto tiredly dragged his feet up into the car seat, curling himself into a small ball as he stared nervously up at Ardyn. He seemed like he was waiting for instructions, or waiting for permission... but permission to do what, Ardyn wasn't sure.

"What?" Ardyn frowned.

Prompto swallowed, looking down and closing his eyes, then looking back up. "Will it... Would it be okay if... Can I-" He cut himself off, grimacing and looking down again.

"Can you what? Are you still thirsty?" Ardyn frowned, gesturing toward the bottle of water. "Feel free... Or I could help you if your arms are too tired. If you ever need help with something like that, just tell me... I understand you're exhausted, you're hurt..."

Prompto shook his head no. "C-can I go back to sleep?" He whispered, not looking back up. "I'm very tired."

Ardyn stared back. "Yes... Of course you can." He answered, watching as Prompto immediately closed his eyes and leaned his head against the side of the seat.

"You must be positively exhausted..." Ardyn noted with a frown as he put the car back into drive. "You can sleep for now, but once we get settled for the night, I'm going to have to insist that you eat something. You'll never gain enough energy to stay awake if you forgo food in favor of sleep."

Prompto didn't say anything back as he huddled down in the seat, shivering slightly as he slumped down. He looked so tiny buried in Ardyn's coat, curled up.

"Are you cold?" Ardyn frowned. He had the top of the car up. It didn't feel cold in here to him... But Prompto was shivering. He hugged his arms around himself like he was freezing.

Prompto inhaled a shaky breath and nodded silently.

"Alright... You should say so. If you get cold, tell me." Ardyn informed him. "The car has heat. We'll turn it up." He noted, twisting the dial up further.

Prompto was silent for a few moments, for long enough that Ardyn assumed he'd fallen asleep again.

With a somewhat stressed exhale, Ardyn shook his head and reached for the gear shift, putting the car back into drive as he furrowed his brows. Where would he even go with this boy? They could take the ferry over to the Lucian continent... Then what? Just the nearest large town? The nearest town where someone might be willing to adopt him? Why did Ardyn get himself wrapped up in this child's problems? He could have so easily just left the lab, let this one die a cruel death like so many others had before him.

"Thank you." The boy finally whispered.

Ardyn glanced toward him, then looked back out at the road ahead as he started to drive.

xxxxxx

Chapter Text

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Chapter 4

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Several hours later, after stopping only at the gas station and otherwise putting as much distance between them and Verstael's lab as possible, Ardyn found himself sitting in front of the most secluded, cheap motel he could find. He'd purchased the room already, and was now contemplating how he was going to get Prompto into it without looking extremely suspicious.

He didn't need any attention drawn toward them at this point. Whether Ardyn was functioning as the hero here or not, he couldn't deny the situation didn't look good. He had a drugged, nude child in the car with him. A child covered in bruises, dirt, grime, ash, and likely piss. No one was going to see the pair of them and not have questions... Prompto also seemed to have the habit of waking up in a terrified panic. Ardyn wasn't sure he was capable of waking the boy without it creating a scene.

Fortunately, it was late and the motel was in a small town. There weren't going to be mobs of spectators, so if Ardyn had to carry Prompto inside himself, he'd likely be able to without it causing concern... Unless Prompto panicked again and started screaming or crying... But Ardyn supposed it wouldn't be the end of the world if the boy tried and succeeded in escaping. Ardyn could always just let him run if that was what he chose to do. He'd not have to feel guilty for leaving the boy to suffer in the lab, with the added bonus of Prompto not being his problem anymore.

Besides practically forcing Prompto to drink half a bottle of water shortly after purchasing it at the gas station, Ardyn had let the boy sleep during the drive here. He knew Prompto needed to eat too, needed to get cleaned up, needed to get dressed… but the most pressing concern besides for distancing themselves from Verstael was hydration. The child was obviously quite weak, and the drugs were likely only half of it. Dehydration, undernourishment, and physical abuse explained the other half. With the child half-passed out, forcing him to drink was about all Ardyn could manage at the moment - though he did buy some food and a few articles of clothing for the boy at the same gas station as the water, so as soon as the boy was awake enough, and as soon as he'd been bathed, Ardyn could get him to get dressed and eat.

"Prompto." Ardyn spoke in a low, even tone, reaching out with a careful hand and touching the boy's arm. He knew from the last time he'd woken the young man that he was easily excitable, that his nightmares were likely plagued by whatever Verstael had done to him, that he interpreted any unknown touch as a threat.

As Ardyn expected, the boy flinched away with a whimper, his eyes tiredly blinking open as a shaky cry exited his lips.

"It's me." Ardyn reminded him, raising his hands up defensively in front of himself. "Just me... Remember?"

The child wore a fearful expression on his face as he cowered back against the car door, his eyes shining with tears. His breaths were quick and uncertain as well as a shaky whimper escaped his lips.

"You remember me, right?" Ardyn frowned, reaching over to adjust the coat that was falling down around Prompto's shoulders once again, revealing his entire front. "It's still me..." Ardyn shrugged. When was the child going to stop being scared of him?

Prompto whimpered and squeezed his eyes shut as his body stiffened. He seemed fearful of what Ardyn might do, but not fearful enough to swat his hand away or beg him to stop… Or maybe he was so scared he couldn't manage a response like that.

Ardyn frowned, pulling the coat closed, then backing off. "I'm only covering you up… I haven't hurt you… I won't do so…" He promised.

Prompto stared back with a frown. His body was shaking slightly, but he seemed to be calming down quickly - much more quickly than the last time Ardyn woke him up. The boy swallowed, glancing ahead of them at the rows of doors leading to the rooms, then looking skeptically back at Ardyn. The boy's large eyes had dark circles under them and he was sticking his lower lip out in a pout. He looked positively miserable, confused, and defeated. Ardyn wasn't even sure he saw fear in the boy's eyes anymore. Just exhaustion.

"You'll be okay." Ardyn spoke before thinking better of it. Since when did he care if this kid felt safe or comfortable? Why was he being so reassuring? How had this turned from Ardyn wanting to quickly euthanize the boy to him caring about his fucking feelings?

Blinking, Prompto continued staring silently back. He looked nervous, like he was waiting for Ardyn to tell him what to do, like he was scared making any move on his own might end in pain. Perhaps that's how things went back at the lab. Maybe Verstael lashed out - hit him if Prompto did something wrong, did anything without asking.

Ardyn narrowed his eyes as he considered the young man sitting in his car next to him. Maybe just talking without a response would do for now. Prompto knew how to talk. Ardyn had heard a lot more from him than he knew the child was capable... But it did seem like getting a verbal response from the boy might take some coaxing at times. He'd answer eventually if Ardyn was just patient.

So Ardyn kept talking, explaining what was happening and trusting that Prompto was listening and understanding. "We've arrived at the motel..." He hesitated, realizing Prompto probably didn't even know what a motel was. All he knew was the lab. Did he even know what a car was? Did he even understand that the world was bigger than the lab? Did he know where he was or what was happening?

"A motel's like a house… a bed room and a bathroom… a place to get cleaned up and sleep." Ardyn explained as Prompto stared silently back at him. "Can you walk?" He asked, starting to feel annoyed with himself for being so calm, patient and reassuring. This child didn't warrant that. Ardyn didn't need to explain shit to this boy. He really should have just dumped him here and drove off without even so much as waking him up. Why was he allowing this to become his project? His problem…

Prompto exhaled a small breath, shifting in the seat and looking around like he was unsure how to exit the car. He probably hadn't ever ridden in one before today.

"I'll come around." Ardyn offered, climbing out of the driver's seat and walking around to the other side, grabbing the sack of food and clothing he'd purchased at the gas station along the way. He reached down and opened Prompto's door for him, then stared down, waiting. "Come on then." Ardyn ordered. "I don't need to carry you everywhere. You can walk. I've seen you walk."

Prompto swallowed, but nodded, using his shaking arms to pull himself up out of the seat, ignoring the fact that the coat fell off of him as he stood.

"Fucking hell, child." Ardyn breathed, quickly placing his grocery bag on the ground and grabbing at the coat, pulling it back around the boy's shoulders. "You can't do that out here. We're not in a fucking lab. You're not a lab specimen anymore. You're a fucking person. People wear clothes in public."

Prompto breathed in a small breath and shrunk down as Ardyn adjusted the coat. "I'm sorry…" He whispered, his words shaking with unshed tears as he cowered down.

Ardyn paused, staring down at the boy whose lip trembled as though he was seconds from breaking down into sobs. If he had to guess, he'd assume Prompto's master wasn't patient with him, wasn't kind or understanding when he made mistakes. Verstael's impatience was likely accompanied by pain. The boy probably heard the disapproval in Ardyn's tone and feared what the man might do. Ardyn was going to have to try to be mindful of that if he didn't want the flinching and unwarranted apologies to continue.

"Just hold this closed until we get inside. Then we can get you cleaned up and dressed." Ardyn tried with a softer voice. "Things are different out here. Verstael is a depraved pervert. Rules in his house were fucked up. In the rest of the world, you keep your body covered… certain parts at least."

Prompto nodded, though was still visibly shaking as he held the coat closed with one hand and grabbed out at Ardyn's sleeve with the other. His eyelids still looked heavy as he stumbled forward, leaning heavily on Ardyn to keep himself upright.

"I'm gonna fall…" Prompto whispered, leaning even more against Ardyn as he exhaled a shaky, heavy breath. "I can't walk... I'm sorry... I c- I can't... I'm so tired…" He whimpered, his eyelids lowering again.

Ardyn exhaled again, reaching down and grabbing the bag from the fuel station and then picking Prompto up with an arm behind his back and the other under his knees. "What did he drug you with?" Ardyn wondered aloud, not really expecting an answer from the clueless young boy. Prompto was so eager to please. He wanted to do what he was told. He wasn't just being lazy here. It probably terrified him that he couldn't do what Ardyn asked him to do... His refusal to walk wasn't due to anything but complete and utter exhaustion. He literally couldn't do it.

Prompto simply shook his head, leaning against Ardyn's body and looking up at the night sky. He stared in silence for a few moments, blinking a couple times before closing his eyes and turning his face toward Ardyn's chest.

"We've got to get you cleaned up before we do much else." Ardyn noted as he unlocked the room's door and placed his bag on the bed. "No offense, but you smell like piss, sweat, smoke, and I don't even want to know what else... and this room has only one bed. I don't sleep, but I'd like to relax and the bed's going to be shared between us. We'll clean you up, get you into some appropriate clothes, maybe have a bit to eat - even if you're tired, you do need to eat eventually, or you'll stay tired forever until you die. So you'll eat first, and then you can sleep for a while longer. I'm hoping you'll feel more energized in the morning. A little food and rest should help you tremendously."

Ardyn carried Prompto into the bathroom, placing him on the floor next to the bath tub and putting in the plug. "I'll get it started for you, but you've got to help me out here, child. You're not a doll. And you're certainly not an infant. You can bathe yourself."

As the water slowly started filling the tub, Ardyn turned back toward Prompto who stared back from under heavy eyelids. He looked like he was ready to fall asleep again, even while standing up in the bathroom. If Ardyn left him alone for a few minutes, the child probably would nod off.

"I wasn't sure you knew how to speak until today." Ardyn noted as he carefully reached out toward the boy, shrugging the coat off of him and lifting him up under his arm pits. "Help me out here. Step into the tub, please." He demanded.

Prompto did as ordered, holding securely onto Ardyn's sleeve with a weak, shaky grip as he stumbled into the tub on uncoordinated legs, letting Ardyn help him lower himself into the warm water.

"You were Verstael's little assistant for several years. He must have talked to you a lot, taught you language… Maybe informed you a bit about the world outside his lab?" Ardyn wondered as he rolled up his shirt sleeves and knelt down in front of the bath tub.

Prompto didn't say anything else for the moment. Instead he moved his arms up toward the side of the bath tub and laid his head on them, closing his eyes like he was fully prepared to go to sleep right here and now.

"No." Ardyn frowned, placing his hands on the boy's shoulders and dragging him back up. "You need to start functioning. I won't make you do all of the work, but I'm not doing all of it either. Here-" Ardyn handed Prompto one of the mini bottles of shampoo that came complementary with the room. "You wash your face, your chest, and everything below your waist. I'll get the rest."

Ardyn proceeded to grab a cup off the sink and started slowly pouring water from the bath up over Prompto's body, ignoring the small flinch and cowering down from the boy. He seemed so scared of everything, any little movement, any gesture. Ardyn didn't blame him… Prompto couldn't have forgotten that Ardyn was thirty seconds away from suffocating him to death with his hands four or five hours ago. Why the hell would he trust the man not to hurt him now?

"Just use the soap to clean yourself off. This isn't difficult." Ardyn stared, nodding toward the bottle in Prompto's hand. "I'm not going to treat you like an infant. You're capable of more than you think."

Prompto nodded, pouring some of the liquid soap into a shaking hand and staring nervously up at Ardyn. His eyes were so huge, so uncertain.

Ardyn frowned. "Have you not bathed yourself before?"

Prompto looked down.

"I'll walk you through it." Ardyn shrugged, pouring some shampoo onto a wash cloth and starting to lather it up in his hands. "I'm putting this on your back." He noted, spreading the soapy suds onto the boy's body, scrubbing away the thin layer of oily ash that had collected there. He couldn't help but to notice every single bruise that darkened the boy's otherwise pale, smooth skin. His body felt so bony too, so thin. Verstael hadn't fed him in a while.

Ardyn fought the urge to tell Prompto what to do once again when the boy still hadn't started to wash himself. He didn't want to get him used to requiring step-by-step instructions for obvious tasks. Surely if he just led by example, that would be enough. Prompto was always clean when Ardyn saw him before. Someone had been keeping him clean - maybe Verstael always did it and demanded Prompto hold still… but the boy was more than capable of doing it himself. Ardyn couldn't baby him. He needed to become independent so Ardyn could leave him somewhere without feeling like he was abandoning a helpless toddler.

Just as Ardyn had guessed, after a moment of the man soaping up the boy's back and hair, Prompto began following his lead, lathering up soap in his own hands and scrubbing carefully over his cheeks. As he did so, he periodically glanced toward Ardyn, likely worried he might set the man off by doing it wrong. Maybe that's all it was. Maybe Verstael demanded total control and hurt him if he tried to do things like this on his own…

"See? Easy." Ardyn noted, taking the cup and filling it with water out of the bath a few times, draining it carefully over the boy's hair and shoulders, then scrubbing the same places again. The poor child was so dirty it seemed he needed both an initial scrubbing as well as a final spot-clean.

Prompto continued moving his fingers very carefully over his face, rubbing soap there while cowering down and shaking slightly. Ardyn could tell he was still nervous, still scared of what Ardyn might do if he made one wrong move.

"You're over halfway to adulthood already." Ardyn noted as he took the shower head down and began spraying the second batch of soap away from the boy's hair and back. "You can be much more independent than Verstael allowed. Just as soon as the drugs wear off and you've had something to eat, once you're more awake, stronger… You'll be able to do basically anything on your own. This is the first, last, and only time I'll be helping you bathe."

"Father didn't want me to wash myself." Prompto whispered, his voice cracked and weak.

Ardyn blinked, surprised for the moment that Prompto was offering that bit of conversation, something personal, likely traumatic. The child was so much more aware than he seemed at first glance.

"Father…" Ardyn frowned, repeating the word as a sick feeling filled his chest. Versteal had the boy call him 'father?'

"He hit me when I did." Prompto noted, pausing for a few moments before adding in a small voice. "It hurts me. I don't like being hit."

Ardyn stared. Prompto was so strange, so straightforward, in a way. His only reference for how a human should behave was Verstael. He likely didn't even consider his words to be disturbing. His father hit him and it hurt. He wasn't hoping for someone to save him, to get Verstael in trouble. He was just stating a fact. He probably didn't even know Verstael was wrong to hit him. He just knew he didn't like it when it happened.

"No one likes being hit." Ardyn noted, feeling a strange pain in his heart. Prompto didn't know being hit wasn't normal, that people weren't supposed to hurt each other, that he was owed comfort and safety.

"He hit me a lot." Prompto continued with a slight shrug, just like he was describing what he had for dinner last night and not chronic physical abuse.

"Did he?" Ardyn frowned, rinsing more soap away from the boy's skin.

"Yes." Prompto nodded, scrubbing more soap over his chest. "Usually when I do something wrong, something he doesn't like, or something he warned me not to do, that's what happens next. He hits me."

"I see..." Ardyn blinked, watching the boy carefully. Prompto didn't seem upset to be talking about this. The way he was describing it was so casual, so matter of fact. His voice didn't shake, he had no tears in his eyes. He was just telling Ardyn something about his life, likely in the same tone he'd use if he was explaining what the weather was like.

Prompto continued scrubbing the layer of grime covering his skin. "He didn't want me to bathe myself... so I thought you wouldn't either. I try to do what he wants, but sometimes I don't know what he wants. I do my best to guess, but he gets mad when I don't know what to do... When I do the wrong thing... I really don't like it when he hits me."

"Of course you don't." Ardyn stared. He could barely believe the way the boy was talking about this. Prompto mentioned not liking being hit like someone would admit to not liking it when it rained. He had no idea that what Verstael did wasn't normal, wasn't okay.

"So I try to do what he wants." Prompto repeated, looking down at the bath and waving his hands gently through the water. "I'll try to do what you want… This water is warm. It feels nice. Thank you for letting me use warm water."

Ardyn blinked, still feeling uneasy over the fact that Prompto clearly didn't notice the difference between the two topics of conversation. He didn't know Verstael hitting him was a much bigger story than the temperature of the water. The fact that he was thanking Ardyn for the water's warmth also implied that perhaps his baths didn't always include warm water. Maybe Verstael made the child bathe in the cold - perhaps as some sort of punishment, or to show the boy that baths were meant to clean - not to be enjoyed. Ardyn wouldn't be surprised if that were the case.

"He shouldn't have hit you." Ardyn noted.

Prompto blinked and looked up, furrowing his brows as though entirely confused.

"Verstael was wrong to hit you." Ardyn rephrased. "He was wrong to do most of the things he did to you."

Prompto looked down again and swirled his hand in the water slowly before closing his eyes and leaning against the part of the wall rising up from one side of the tub.

"No." Ardyn exhaled tiredly. "None of that. Stay awake until we're done." He demanded, reaching for Prompto's arm and pulling him away from the wall.

Prompto let out a sort of groaning sound as he looked up at Ardyn through heavy eyelids. "I'm really tired." He noted again, his voice weak.

"I know." Ardyn frowned, reaching out toward Prompto's face with the wash cloth he'd been using on his back. The boy hadn't managed to scrub away all of the dried blood under his nose and on his forehead.

Prompto bit his lip, tensed, and held his breath, but didn't try to move away as Ardyn began cleaning the blood under his nose. He was shaking though. He was clearly scared. "D-did I do it wrong?" He whispered, tears collecting in his eyes.

Ardyn stared back, for a moment unsure what to say to this broken little person in front of him. Verstael must have really treated him horribly for him to be so frightened right now. He looked like he was fully expecting to be beaten for failing to wash his face well enough.

"I'm sorry..." Prompto whimpered, tears shining in his eyes. "Y-you said I should do it myself... I don't normally do it myself... Th-this is why Father never let me do it... D-do you want me to try again? Sh-should I just stop talking? Wh- I don't- What do I do? I'm sorry..."

Ardyn shook his head. "You didn't do it wrong... You've just got some blood under your nose." He explained. "I'm not upset. You did fine. I'm just cleaning up what you missed."

Prompto stuck his lip out in a pout as he stared silently back up at Ardyn, holding perfectly still besides slight trembling while the man finished up under his nose and moved on to his forehead. He hissed and flinched when Ardyn touched the injury there, but didn't otherwise object.

"Does that hurt?" Ardyn asked with a raised eyebrow.

'Yes..." Prompto breathed, shrinking down.

Ardyn frowned. "I apologize."

"You do?" Prompto stared, his eyes wide, confused.

"Yes. I didn't mean to hurt you." Ardyn noted, drawing his hand back and looking the boy's face over. "All done." He noted with a small smile. "You're looking a lot less dreadful already."

Prompto frowned, staring back at Ardyn as though the man had just grown two heads.

"We're almost finished. Drain the water for me, dear, and we'll clean up your legs and be done." Ardyn suggested.

Prompto breathed out a tired breath and reached for the plug, staring at Ardyn as though expecting him to do all the work once again.

"Go on." Ardyn stared back. "Stand up and wash yourself. I'll make sure you don't fall. Remember when I told you certain parts of your body should be covered when you're around other people?"

Prompto frowned back at him.

"Down there. That's what should be covered. What your underwear covers up when you're wearing it. Verstael dressed you in underwear under your clothing, right?" Ardyn wondered.

Prompto nodded.

"Your body belongs to you - no one else. Those parts are private. So you wash them. I'm not meant to touch you there. No one is." Ardyn frowned.

"My penis?" Prompto frowned.

Ardyn blinked a few times. "Yes." He stared. It was no wonder Prompto ended up with such a clinical way of speaking. Verstael likely taught him in a way only a mad scientist could. His body was a science project. No part of it was private or shameful. Nothing was shameful other than not doing exactly as Verstael ordered.

"No one's supposed to touch me there?" The boy frowned.

"No." Ardyn shook his head. "Nor your backside. Anything covered when you wear underwear. No one should touch you there. So you've got to wash yourself."

Prompto's eyes widened as he looked down. "Father always washed all of me and…" He trailed off, blinking a few times as though utterly confused. "Nobody can touch there? Not even father?"

"Especially not father." Ardyn stared, feeling like he might legitimately throw up.

"Why not?" Prompto looked up, his brows furrowed.

"It's just…" Ardyn hesitated. He supposed it was hard to explain to someone who was up until now basically a specimen in a jar mixed with a mindless servant. Prompto was more Verstael's plaything than his own person… At least, that's how Verstael treated him. How the hell was Ardyn supposed to explain consent and sex to someone who hadn't ever been given basic human rights in the first place? Explaining these things to even a normal child would have been awkward. Prompto had no fucking clue.

"Why's those parts different?" Prompto frowned. "You washed my back and my hair and my face… Why's down there different?"

Ardyn shook his head. "Your body is yours… and those parts of you can easily be interpreted as sexual, and sex is… an adult thing. A sacred thing… A thing you must be able to consent to. A man who created you in a lab and never taught you anything about boundaries doesn't have consent to touch you - especially not there."

Prompto stared down again, still obviously confused.

"Just clean those parts of yourself on your own. That's all you need to focus on for now." Ardyn compromised. Consent was a big topic for someone who'd never been introduced to it, someone who grew up thinking he belonged to someone else and had no right to ownership of his own body.

"Okay." Prompto swallowed, struggling to climb up a bit out of the water. His arms shook and his legs were wobbly. "I think I can do it…" He guessed, exhaling a labored breath and blinking for a moment. "Though I'm still so tired…" He added. "M-my legs are shaky."

"I've got you." Ardyn exhaled, holding onto Prompto's arm to help him stand, averting his eyes while Prompto cleaned up the rest of his body, but keeping a hold on his arm. He seemed quite likely to fall still, as his legs were wobbly and his arms trembling with exhaustion. "Be sure to clean every part we haven't gotten to yet. Clear away any dirt, blood, grime... anything else on you that shouldn't be. You want to be clean before you get dressed." Ardyn reminded him.

"Yes, Sir." Prompto nodded as he leaned down and scrubbed at his legs.

"Don't call me 'sir.'" Ardyn scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"I'm sorry..." Prompto shrunk down slightly.

"I'm not upset by it... It's just odd." Ardyn frowned. "Call me Ardyn. That's my name, so it'll do. No need to be so formal"

"Okay." Prompto nodded.

Once Prompto was finished lathering up his lower body, Ardyn helped him rinse off, then handed him a towel. "Dry yourself off, and we'll get you dressed. I could only manage some shorts, a t-shirt, socks, and underwear, but it'll do for now - until we can find something more appropriate. We'll need to get you some shoes too."

Prompto took the towel and held it against his chest, staring back at Ardyn with wide eyes.

"My gods, child. You're all but useless to yourself." Ardyn growled, reaching out and grabbing the towel, ready to roughly dry the kid off himself to speed this process up.

Prompto squeezed his eyes shut and shrunk back with a tiny whimper, letting go of the towel and raising his hands up to cover his face. Ardyn realized in that moment that Prompto thought Ardyn was going to hit him.

With a calming inhale and exhale, Ardyn blinked a long blink, then reached slowly and carefully out with the towel, very gently starting to dry Prompto's hair, then placing a hand lightly on the boy's cheek. "Don't be scared." Ardyn suggested. "I won't hit you. I'm not used to being around someone who demands this degree of explanation for such simple tasks. I understand your situation is unique… My frustration and impatience got the better of me. Just dry yourself off."

Prompto blinked his eyes open and stared back, cautiously reaching up with a trembling hand and grabbing at the towel.

"Just clear away the water droplets so your clothes won't be wet. Surely your father helped you with this before. Just do what he did. Easy." Ardyn stared, taking a step back. "I'll go get your clothing."

With that, Ardyn walked out of the room, heading toward the bag of clothing and food he'd bought. He pulled out all the garments Prompto would need, then headed back.

"Hold onto my shoulders." Ardyn suggested while kneeling down in front of the boy.

Ardyn felt another twinge of pity in his chest as Prompto grabbed onto his shoulders with small, thin, trembling hands. He still looked so uncertain. He didn't trust Ardyn… which was quite reasonable. Prompto didn't have any reason to trust him. Ardyn had been fully ready to euthanize the boy himself back in the lab. He started to suffocate him. Prompto realized what Ardyn was doing back then, right?

"Glad to see you're able to stand on your own a little better than before." Ardyn noted as he held the underwear down low so Prompto could step into them, then pulled them up his thighs. He then did the same with the shorts, then helped the boy into the socks and t-shirt. "You look better now too. Your injuries are many and rather harsh, but just clearing away the dirt, grime, and blood did a lot for your appearance."

"These pants don't go down very far." Prompto noted, running his fingertips over the bottom of the shorts once he was fully dressed.

"They're called shorts. It's all the fuel station had." Ardyn frowned. "They'll do for now. Let's go get some sleep. You're exhausted, right? Or should you eat first? Are you hungry? We should have you eat first."

"Yes." Prompto answered. "I'm very hungry."

"Good. I've bought some things I hope you'll like." Ardyn smiled, glad to see Prompto was starting to seem more like an actual human child and not a dying robot. "We're going to fix you, child. You'll be alright." He promised, hoping he was right, hoping Prompto could somehow move on to leading a normal life one day.

xxxxxx

Chapter Text

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Chapter 5

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Ardyn stared silently from his place on the bed as he watched Prompto from across the room. The boy had finished eating and had elected to curl himself up on a chair sitting next to the desk in the motel room. He seemed content to sleep there, but it didn't exactly look comfortable.

Ardyn could tell Prompto was minutes if not seconds from allowing exhaustion to claim him again. Even so, he was clearly trying to fight it, struggling to keep his heavy eyelids open as he hugged his arms around himself and stared toward the room's window.

"You're safe in here." Ardyn noted, wondering if the boy was looking toward the glass in fear. Did he think Verstael might find him? Was that why he wouldn't let himself sleep even though he was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open? "We can close the curtains if you'd like, but he doesn't know where we've gone. He doesn't know I took you. He likely doesn't even miss you yet."

Prompto remained silent, periodically flinching slightly and blinking as though nearly falling asleep and catching himself. He exhaled a tired breath and shifted in the seat, perhaps trying to prevent himself from getting comfortable enough to fall asleep again. Maybe he feared Ardyn too - that would make sense. Though Ardyn was being much more gentle and patient than he was used to being, Prompto had no reason to fully trust him.

"You can sleep, child." Ardyn persisted with a frown. "You're exhausted and we have the room for the night. Your father can't find you. It's just you and me here, and I won't do anything to you. You might not believe me, but I'm not interested in hurting you. I took you away from that horrid place so you wouldn't suffer anymore. It would be counterproductive for me to hurt you now. You're safe. Much safer than you've ever been in your life in fact. Go ahead and sleep."

"Was that stars out there?" Prompto finally wondered in a tiny voice, staring toward the window and cocking his head slightly to the side as he fully ignored Ardyn's words.

"Was that-" Ardyn began repeating the question, but stopped himself before fully doing so. "In the sky?" He frowned. Did Prompto not know for sure what stars looked like?

"Up in the sky, yes. I think it was the sky. I can't see them now." Prompto blinked, still staring at the window. "I saw them when we arrived, when you carried me from the car. There were so many. They were so beautiful. I may have never seen something so beautiful... not even in books. They're so bright in real life... Now they're gone." The boy stuck his lower lip out in a pout.

"Because you're looking at shadows of trees and buildings. The stars are further up. You can see if you go toward the window and look up and out." Ardyn explained. "You can't look straight out due to the horizon being blocked. We're not in the middle of a flat field. There are obstructions."

"May I go look?" Prompto asked, turning toward Ardyn with wide, hopeful eyes.

"Yes." Ardyn nodded with a smile. "You don't need to ask me before doing something so simple as looking out a window."

Prompto carefully climbed out of the chair. Ardyn noticed his legs still seemed unsteady as he paced over toward the window. "Father talked of the stars. Some of them are planets." He whispered.

Ardyn laughed softly. "That's true." He agreed. For all Verstael's faults, he was a knowledgeable man at least. If Prompto gained nothing else from being raised by the psychopath, he was at least given a bit of education. Ardyn wondered how much though. Did Prompto know how to read? Did he know basic math? Was that something else Ardyn would have to try to catch him up on before passing him off? At a certain point, it would become too much. Ardyn couldn't personally fix everything broken with this boy.

"I didn't know there were so many." The child whispered as he stared up at the sky. "They must be very far away."

"Yes, they are." Ardyn agreed. "The closest one is the sun."

"I haven't seen that." Prompto noted with a slight frown. "But I know of it. Father talked about it, and I saw it in a book. I do know it warms the planet, lights everything up in the daytime."

"Well... Don't look directly at the sun when you do finally see it. When it comes up in the morning... It can damage your eyes." Ardyn noted. "Because it's so bright, so close. The other stars are fine to look at directly though."

Prompto nodded. "They're very beautiful." He whispered.

"Yes." Ardyn agreed, feeling something close to sadness in his chest, perhaps it was pity again. Ardyn didn't give a damn about stars at this point. He was tired of everything, never excited to see anything in nature... He got to see the stars every single night, and he didn't give a damn about them. And here Prompto was completely mesmerized by them... after being locked in a lab his entire life.

Prompto yawned, leaning his forehead against the window and closing his eyes. "I couldn't see them in the lab. The windows weren't clear there."

"Well, there were no windows where you were kept. Those were walls." Ardyn explained.

Prompto seemed to slump a little further against the window, clearly having a hard time keeping himself awake. Ardyn wondered if he planned to just let himself pass out wherever he stood rather than lying down. Maybe Verstael didn't allow him to sleep on furniture. Maybe he slept in one of the vats full of fluid. Maybe he never actually had to go to sleep on his own without being put under first. Perhaps Ardyn needed to tell him, to teach him what a bed was - to invite him to use it. That's why Ardyn rented the room after all, so Prompto could sleep in a more comfortable location than the front seat of the car.

"Why don't you come sleep in the bed?" Ardyn wondered.

Prompto looked over to him with wide eyes. He looked exactly like Ardyn would have expected someone to look if he'd just asked them to light their own arm on fire.

"D-do I have to?" Prompto whispered. "Are... Are you asking me if I want to? Or do... Do I have to do it?"

Ardyn narrowed his eyes. "No. You don't 'have' to… but it would only make sense." He frowned. "I really bought this room for your sake, not mine. I don't even have a need to sleep. You do. The bed is for you."

Prompto swallowed as he stared silently back, his breaths seeming to be growing quicker, more anxious. He clearly had a problem with Ardyn's suggestion, but also seemed unable to bring himself to refuse the offer.

"You're clearly exhausted. Come lie down." Ardyn frowned, patting the bed next to him. "It's much more comfortable than being bent up in that chair… Or sleeping against the cold window. You can't stay standing all night."

Prompto frowned and looked down. Maybe he was nervous about Ardyn being so close. He'd have to get over that. Ardyn was going to remain close until he didn't fear this little idiot would get himself killed if left on his own.

"There's room for us both." Ardyn persisted, patting the bed next to him once again. "I won't be sleeping anyway. I'm just relaxing. So I'll be vigilant. If you're worried Verstael will be looking for you, don't be. I'll protect you from him in the event that he finds us… but I doubt he will. Go ahead. You need some sleep."

Prompto looked down again, swallowing nervously. He looked like he felt sick, like he might throw up.

"You alright?" Ardyn frowned. He hoped the boy didn't vomit. They'd just gone through quite a bit of trouble getting him cleaned up, and he really needed to keep down the food and water he'd had if he wanted to start growing stronger again.

When Prompto looked back up, his lip was stuck out in a slight pout and his eyes looked tired, but he headed toward the bed, climbing up onto the mattress, then crawling toward Ardyn on his hands and knees. When he was close enough, he pulled himself back up to just his knees and reached toward the waistband of his shorts, pulling them and his underwear halfway down his thighs without hesitation.

Ardyn felt his heart sink as he was shocked into silence and immobility for a moment. This wasn't what he expected Prompto to do. Not much surprised Ardyn these days, but this was unexpected enough that he was practically frozen in place, unable to react for a long few seconds.

Prompto climbed clumsily onto Ardyn's lap, looking rather unenthused, but mostly just tired and defeated as he pulled his shorts down a little further, then reached down toward the man's waist as though he'd done this a thousand times. It didn't take long for Ardyn's confusion and shock to morph into a startled realization. He knew exactly what Prompto was doing, and he had a very likely completely accurate guess as to why the child was doing it.

Quickly blinking and shaking his head, Ardyn reached out toward Prompto's arms, grabbing them and pulling the boy back before he could reach toward Ardyn's belt buckle. "What are you doing?" Ardyn breathed. He knew the answer already - a pretty good guess at the very least - but he didn't know what else to say in the moment. He wasn't prepared for this.

Prompto immediately flinched, blinked several times as though waking up from a nightmare, and inhaled a sharp breath. He froze as he stared back at Ardyn like the man was a ghost. Tears welled up in his eyes and he began to shake as his breaths increased in speed and became more shallow. The poor child looked fully ready to break down into a complete panic. In fact, Ardyn wouldn't have been surprised at this point of the boy jumped up off the bed and bolted toward the door.

Nevertheless, the young man remained where he was, breathing harder as his body shook. He didn't move, didn't say a word... He simply stared back, like he wasn't willing to act until Ardyn said or did something first.

Ardyn shook his head again. "No…" He said simply, not having expected to have to explain this in greater detail. He figured if Verstael did make the boy do anything sickening like this, putting an end to it would be as easy as Ardyn NOT asking him to do it. He had no idea Prompto would initiate it on his own.

Prompto's lower lip trembled as his breaths sped up even further. Tears shined in his eyes, gathering along his bottom eyelids, threatening to fall. He seemed completely unsure of himself, confused. Perhaps this was some sort of nightly ritual for the boy and his previous caretaker. As sick as it was to consider, maybe he didn't know how else someone might prepare to go to sleep. Perhaps Ardyn would need to make his expectations more clear - to set limits and boundaries that Verstael never taught the poor child to expect.

Ardyn stared back, feeling practically speechless himself. He genuinely hadn't anticipated this, but now that it was happening, he realized it wasn't that surprising. He'd suspected Verstael was up to something nasty and entirely immoral like this. Just seeing how the boy sat on the man's lap without protest or discomfort was a big clue.

"Do you…" Prompto hesitated. "Sh-should I-" His lip shook as he leaned forward, as though trying to plant a kiss on Ardyn's lips.

"Stop." Ardyn stared, placing a hand on Prompto's collar and pushing him back.

Prompto stared silently for a moment, tears welling up even further, starting to fall as he blinked. He shook his head and shrunk down, sort of sitting on Ardyn's thighs, but with his shorts still halfway down his legs.

"Prompto… My gods… Get dressed…" Ardyn grumbled. "What the hell…"

Prompto looked back up, making eye contact through his tears as he shook his head. His breaths were horribly shaky, almost frantic. "I don't know what you want me to do…" Prompto whispered. "Don't hit me…" He whimpered, shrinking down under Ardyn's hands and starting to sob loudly. "Please... I don't know what you want!"

"Oh my gods…" Ardyn exhaled, exasperated. "Well, I certainly don't want this." He grumbled, grabbing toward Prompto's arm in an effort to pull the boy off of him.

Prompto's crying only increased in volume as he pulled away, hiding his face in his hands as he cowered down. "I'll do what you want… b-but y-you have to tell me…" The boy choked. "I tr-tried to guess... I don't know... M-Mr. Ardyn, I don't know what you want... Please don't hit me..."

"Prompto, stop…" Ardyn stared, reaching toward the boy's arms and trying to pull him up off of himself enough to put his shorts back in place. "Pull your shorts back up." He demanded, reaching down and adjusting the garment himself when Prompto didn't move to do it.

"Should I-" Prompto breathed uncertainly, reaching toward Ardyn's belt again. "I can do it with my hand... or I can use my mouth instead- I'm not very good at it. I only did it one other time, and I was really bad at it, b-but I can try- J-just please let me up if I start to choke."

"No!" Ardyn shook his head, swatting at Prompto's hand. "Dear gods, child... No... Why would you think-" He cut himself off when he realized the answer to his question before ever finishing asking it. Of course it was sickeningly obvious why Prompto thought this was what Ardyn wanted. Verstael must have sexually abused the boy enough times that Prompto expected it from anyone who asked him to share a bed. To Prompto, this was normal.

Prompto drew his hand up toward his chest, hugging it with his other arm as though Ardyn's gesture had genuinely hurt him. "What do you want me to do?" The boy whispered, tears streaming softly down his cheeks.

"Nothing." Ardyn stared. "Just go to sleep..."

The child sniffed back tears and looked up at Ardyn. He looked so uncertain, so scared.

Ardryn frowned, placing his hand gently against the boy's shoulder. "I don't know what Verstael was demanding of you at night, but I won't require it. Remember what I told you - your body is yours. No one should touch those parts of you… You shouldn't touch those parts of anyone else. That was something he did which he shouldn't have. Something wrong. So, so wrong... Don't expect that sort of treatment. Just lay down and sleep. I won't touch you. I don't want that. You don't want that."

Prompto blinked a few times. He was shaking.

"Prompto…" Ardyn swallowed, leaning closer, staring into the boy's wide, tear-filled eyes. "You don't want this. What you want does matter, believe it or not. You and I both know you would never choose this... You're upset. You're confused... You don't have to do things like this. I won't make you. No one should make you."

"I thought-" Prompto started.

"It's inappropriate. Your body belongs to you and you alone." Ardyn repeated. "No one should touch you there. Whatever you were initiating… whatever he made you do back in the lab… It's not going to continue. When you're with me, beds are for sleeping and your body is yours. Neither I nor anyone else has any right to touch you there. What he did to you was unacceptable. It's not going to happen again. I don't expect or want that. No one should expect that of you. Lie down and go to sleep."

Prompto looked down and nodded, lying on top of the blankets and curling himself into a little ball, facing away from Ardyn.

For a moment, Ardyn stared at the back of the boy's head, at his trembling shoulders. He had shrunk himself down into such a tiny little form, cowering away as though he believed Ardyn might still hit him, or like he was upset that Ardyn declined the opportunity to abuse him. Did the poor child feel rejected? Could it be that the boy was so used to being mistreated that anything other than pain or degradation felt foreign and frightening?

A part of Ardyn wanted to ask Prompto just exactly what he was going to do just now, what exactly had Verstael made him do to lead him toward assuming that's what Ardyn meant when he asked him to lie down in the bed… How bad was it? How many times had he been hurt like that? ...but he kind of didn't want to know - didn't need it bluntly and clinically described as he was certain Prompto would do if asked. Ardyn wasn't naive. He knew what it was Prompto was initiating. He didn't need it spelled out.

So he exhaled and closed his eyes for the moment. He felt legitimately sick, a nauseated feeling he wasn't used to. He needed to just ignore this. To move on. It wouldn't do anyone any good to have to speak or hear the gritty details. What Prompto initiated a moment ago was a sickly clear indicator of what he'd gone through with Verstael. Neither of them needed to elaborate.

Ardyn just needed to make it clear to Prompto that that sort of thing wasn't normal. It wasn't something he should expect someone to do to him. Ardyn was going to have to fully re-train this child to not accept and enable his own abuse.

"I'm not upset with you." Ardyn spoke as he picked up the remote control for the television and turned it on, going out of his way now to try to occupy his mind with something else to the best of his ability. The current channel displayed the weather forecast. That was good enough. Knowing the weather for the following day would actually be useful - unlike most things played on television screens.

Prompto remained facing away, but Ardyn could tell by his rigid posture that he was still awake, still listening to what Ardyn was saying to him. Perhaps this was a good opportunity for a lecture of sorts. Prompto hadn't really knowingly done anything wrong. He was raised in a nightmare. That wasn't his fault. Even so, he needed to know not to expect or accept things like that. If Ardyn was going to go through with his plan and pass the child off to someone else, Prompto needed to know not to offer up his body to anyone who he might be afraid of. He needed to know if someone did try to do something like that to him, he had every right to say no, to fight back, to leave...

"There are certain things which a majority of humans all agree are generally acceptable. And certain things that aren't..." Ardyn explained. "The world is very large, and I suppose many would say most people are good. Most people follow a set of cultural rules where they focus on not hurting each other, helping each other instead. Being kind, being decent. Your father wasn't decent. He did things that weren't acceptable... You didn't know the man was wrong, because you never left the lab. But he knew."

Prompto still didn't respond. He was clearly still taking in what Ardyn was saying. Perhaps that was best for right now. The child needed to understand that his life back in the lab wasn't what he should expect out here.

"Verstael isn't a normal person. The man at the lab, your father… He did things he shouldn't have. He made you do things you shouldn't have had to do." Ardyn went on. "I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at him for making you so confused, for doing things to you he shouldn't have done - things you didn't know were wrong, but he did… None of it's your fault. He was the person in a position of power. He was the one in charge and he shouldn't have abused that authority. It's his fault - not yours."

Prompto sniffed, still facing away. "When we went to the bed in the lab, that's what he wanted. He didn't always do it... But a little while ago, he did it for the first time, and after that, it's what he always wanted." He whispered. "I didn't like it. It hurt and I didn't want to do it, but I had to do it or he'd hit me."

"I won't hit you. And I certainly don't want or expect that from you." Ardyn promised. "No one should ever ask you to do anything like that. No one should expect sexual favors from a child - or from anyone who isn't willing."

"I'm sorry." Prompto whispered. "I didn't know..."

Ardyn blinked. "Don't be sorry. Just don't try anything like that again. You didn't know it was inappropriate. Now you know... You poor thing..." Ardyn stared at the back of the child's head, at his trembling shoulders as he hugged his arms around himself. "That may have been the norm back there, but in the rest of the world, it's very wrong... He should have never made you believe that was something you had to do... It's not normal. It's not okay..."

Prompto sniffed softly. "He didn't always do it. I didn't think it was normal at first. It became normal, but at first it was very strange. I felt like it was something we weren't supposed to be doing..."

"You were right." Ardyn nodded. "He was wrong."

"He told me it was fine, and I always do what he says..." The boy continued. "S-so I didn't try to make him stop... I never had a choice, so I did what he told me to do. But it was strange, and... I don't know... I just felt like it wasn't right, wasn't the same as other things that happened. And the way he did it - like, he started off so slow, eased into it, like he had to convince me, even though he didn't have to. He could always do whatever he wanted. I remember I thought it was strange he worked so hard trying to convince me to enjoy it... b-because he never tried to make me enjoy other things that hurt. I thought it was different than normal things he did... Like a medical test that would hurt? He never tried to convince me that it would feel good. He told me it would hurt and it did. This was different. It hurt, but he kept insisting that it would feel good if I relaxed. It never did. I tried to relax and it never felt good. It always hurt."

"Your instincts were right." Ardyn rephrased. "He shouldn't have ever made you participate in something like that. It's even worse than everything else about him... Child, his whole existence is plagued with wrongdoings, with immoral, unethical experimentation on human beings... He always manages to cross more lines than most people would even think existed... What he did to you - that in particular - was very wrong... But know that it's not your fault he chose to do something abusive to you. No matter what - it's on him. You're just a child... and he terrified you, threatened you, trapped you. You didn't have a choice..."

Prompto remained silent for a moment before continuing. "It was very scary when he started making me do it... It's still scary... just - I guess I'm used to it now. I didn't think it was normal at first, b-because he didn't used to do it... It's... It's kind of a newer thing. I used to never get to sleep in his bed, then a while ago, it was night time and he asked me to lay down with him..."

Ardyn swallowed. Didn't he very purposefully decide not to ask for details on this nightmare? He didn't want to hear this… Even so, he couldn't get himself to speak up in this moment. He couldn't bring himself to demand that Prompto not share these horrors out loud.

"At first we just laid together. For the first several nights that we slept in the bed together, he didn't hurt me." Prompto whispered. "At first we only slept. Then a few nights in, we snuggled and cuddled more. He took his clothes off, and mine… We were under the blankets together and it was warm. Nicer than sleeping on the floor in the cold. He told me to rub his body with my hands and he did the same to me. He showed me what he wanted and I did it. He was gentle. It was warm, comforting. I felt safe."

Feeling bile rising in his throat, Ardyn frowned as he stared down at the boy next to him. Of course Prompto wouldn't have known that even the beginning was inappropriate. How could he? It was apparent just by the fact that he didn't seem to care about being unclothed in front of Ardyn that Prompto didn't understand that cultural concept. That he didn't consider any part of his body more private than another. His father touching him in a sexual way meant nothing more to him than the man touching his shoulder or hand - not until it became invasive. Not until it hurt.

"I had read once about emotions, feelings." Prompto continued. "There was one - love - that I always wondered about. I could identify most other feelings in myself or him, but I wasn't sure I'd ever seen love... I never felt like Father loved me... but those few blissful nights, when he held me, when I felt warm and comfortable, I wondered if that's what it was. If he cared about me more than just keeping me around to help him do lab work, if he was letting me be warm and comfortable in the bed because he loved me."

Ardyn swallowed. That's definitely not what it was. It wasn't care or love. Prompto may have mistaken it as such, but that wasn't even close. It was predatory. It wasn't for Prompto's comfort at all. It was fully to ease the child into accepting something worse.

"I really liked sharing the bed with him those few times." Prompto went on. "It was okay. It didn't hurt."

Ardyn shook his head. It most certainly was not okay.

"When it was just touching, cuddling... it didn't hurt…" Prompto explained, shaking his head. "When he held me and it was warm, I liked it... I liked it a lot. It wasn't scary and it didn't hurt... There was nothing wrong with it. I kind of like being held, being hugged, snuggling in a bed with another person. It's warm and it doesn't hurt... The other thing hurt. The thing he grew to expect when we went to bed together… He said he was trying to do it slowly and carefully so it wouldn't hurt, but it did hurt. Every time he did it, even when he tried to be careful or when he let me guide it... It always hurt. I didn't like it."

Ardyn felt like he was going to be sick as he listened to Prompto's confession. "Of course you didn't like it, Prompto…" He grimaced, feeling what was perhaps the greatest degree of pity he'd ever felt in his life. "He shouldn't have done that to you… Even before the part that hurt... He shouldn't have touched you. A hug is one thing, cuddling for warmth is fine... But once he's got your clothes off - or his - and he's touching you..." Ardyn shook his head.

"I didn't know the first time that it was going to hurt so much." Prompto noted, still facing away from Ardyn. "Up until then, everything we did in bed was nice. And he went slow enough the first time that it didn't hurt at first. He put something slippery on his fingers and went so slow, trying so hard to make sure it didn't hurt. I wasn't scared, because he'd done other medical tests that felt kind of uncomfortable like that and it wasn't pain in the beginning. I tried to relax like he said - closed my eyes and laid still... At first it just felt strange, but not painful. Sort of uncomfortable, but nothing I couldn't handle. It was slow. The pain. It came on slowly, but when I told him it hurt, he didn't stop. He kept going slow, but he wouldn't stop... and it hurt more and more, because he went deeper, added more fingers, then finally used his penis - which was bigger than all of the fingers put together. That was when he stopped going as slow, and it hurt a lot more."

Inhaling a calming breath, Ardyn continued staring down at the boy. He didn't really know what to say to any of this. He really wanted to just tuck this conversation away and never speak of it again. As long as Prompto knew not to try to initiate any of this, as long as he knew not to accept this treatment from anyone else, they really didn't need to talk about it. Ardyn didn't need to hear the details...

Even so, he couldn't bring himself to demand that the young man stop talking. Prompto probably needed to get this out in order to process everything that had happened to him. He had no idea up until now that what his father had done was wrong. He needed to talk about it - to discuss it - to hear from another authority figure that it was unacceptable.

"I didn't… like struggle or anything." Prompto shrugged slightly. "I didn't want to make him mad, so I just held still and closed my eyes and tried not to think about how much it hurt. I sort of thought it would be over and if I could just get to the end it would be done… I had been in a similar position before - with certain medical tests - where I just tried to take my mind away and think about something else until it was over... but he wanted to do it again the next night. I managed to make it through and get to the end... but it wasn't really over, because he wanted to do it again... It wasn't a medical or scientific thing that would ever be complete. It was going to be all the time. It would never end... The second time he did it, I tried to get away and he hurt me more. I knew it would hurt because it did the other time, so I ran from him. I tried to hide..."

Inhaling a steadying breath, Ardyn stared back at Prompto, quietly listening to this horrible story. He truly did not know what to say to this boy. Even with the moments he witnessed in Verstael's lab, the small creepy gestures... He just couldn't imagine it was this bad. Perhaps that was only because he refused to think about it. When he noticed Verstael doing something creepy, he chose to look the other way. He shouldn't have been so naive.

"I just didn't want him to do it..." Prompto whispered. "I never ran from him or hid or told him no. I didn't argue. I just always did whatever he said, but it hurt so much and I didn't want to have to feel that pain again. It still hurt from the night before, and I knew it would be so much worse to have to do it again while I was already in pain... I know I wasn't supposed to run from him, but it hurt so much. I didn't ever want to feel that again after the first night. I couldn't stand it..."

Ardyn swallowed. This poor child had been hurt so horribly, in so many ways, so many times. Considering the abuse he'd suffered, he was remarkably well-spoken. He hadn't lashed out in any way that was over-the-top... Besides for freezing up and sobbing... The boy was actually fairly calm and collected considering everything.

Prompto stuck his lip out in a pout and looked down. "He hit me a lot and did it anyway." The boy whispered. "He held down my arms and pinned my legs to the bed and did it anyway. He didn't go slow like the first time. Didn't use his fingers first... Didn't use the slippery stuff to make it go in easier. He didn't do anything to make it hurt less... I think he hurt me on purpose that time. Trying to get out of doing it just made it worse. He was so rough that I was bleeding by the end, and he didn't like that. He's the one who made me bleed, but he was disgusted by it. He didn't let me sleep in the bed after. He locked me in the shower room with the cold water turned on. I don't know how long I was in there... I passed out and I was sick for five or so days after. But at least he didn't make me do it again when I was sick."

Ardyn blinked. He hadn't asked for an explanation. He didn't want to hear this. He couldn't help Prompto. He couldn't take this way. He couldn't take back what Verstael had done.

"I wasn't trying to make him mad. I didn't mean to disobey, to be defiant… I always listened to him. I always did what he wanted me to do... It just hurt and I was…" Prompto paused, maybe searching for the proper words. "I was scared… I didn't like it and I knew it would hurt, so I was scared the second time."

Ardyn nodded. "I'm sure… but that's done. You're not with him now. He won't do that again. I'll never take you back there. And I don't want you to have the expectation that people will hurt you. Most people wouldn't even try... but if someone did, it's not something you have to quietly accept. Out in the rest of the world, if someone tries that, I want you to fight back."

"Fight back?" Prompto whispered.

"Yes. Try to get away. Don't let someone hurt you if you can avoid it. I realize you had no choice with Verstael. I don't want you blaming yourself for that... but I also don't want you accepting that type of behavior. You don't have to stay still and quiet if someone tries to hurt you." Ardyn explained. "I know it's not something you should have to do... but you should always try to defend yourself from things like that when you can."

"How?" Prompto frowned, turning over and staring up at Ardyn. "When I tried to get away from Father, he got so mad... It made everything worse. Afterward, I wished I had just let him do it... because he did it anyway and it hurt a lot."

Ardyn shook his head. "Generally speaking, out here, you'll have more advantageous surroundings. If you're in a town, in a city... if someone tries to hurt you, you scream for help. Other people will hear you. They'll wonder why a child is calling out and will go toward the noise. Or you kick, hit, try to run... Your father had an advantage in that you were in his lab. You had nowhere to go... There was no one else around to hear you and help you. It's not like that anymore."

Prompto blinked a few times.

"You may never have to worry about someone trying to do that to you again, child." Ardyn explained. "If it does happen, fight back, scream, run... but it's quite likely that problem was solved when you left the lab. You're with me now. I won't make you do it. I don't want you to. I know it would hurt you, and I don't want that."

"You don't?" Prompto whispered. "You don't want to hurt me?"

"Of course not. I've no reason to want to see you hurt. Neither did he." Ardyn frowned. Verstael was a twisted fuck. He probably got off on Prompto being in pain.

"You accidentally hurt me in the bath when you touched the injury on my head." Prompto noted.

"Yes. I didn't mean to." Ardyn reminded him. "I was cleaning the blood and I'm sure the wound is still tender. I didn't intend to cause you pain."

"I know. You said that. You said you were sorry it happened. That you didn't want to hurt me. You didn't mean to." Prompto repeated.

"Precisely." Ardyn agreed. "I wouldn't hurt you on purpose. No one should."

Prompto shrunk down even further, hugging his arms around himself. "Hurting someone is wrong?" He wondered. "It's something that shouldn't happen. It's one of the things most people agreed is unacceptable? People shouldn't hurt each other?"

"No. You don't like being hurt. No one does." Ardyn explained. "Decent people try to avoid hurting each other. And you're so young, so innocent. No one should deliberately hurt you. And most people agree that children should be protected from pain even more than adults. Your father should have protected you, taken care of you, sheltered you in such a way that you'd have rarely felt pain... But he did the opposite."

Prompto shrunk down even further, hesitating for a moment before continuing. "Did father know it was hurting me?" He whispered. "I was in the lab my whole life. I didn't know it was different outside... He was in the lab too... Did he know?"

Swallowing, Ardyn stared back. "Yes." He answered simply. "He knew... He wasn't always wrapped up in that lab. He's been out in the world... and I've no doubt you made your feelings clear to him… and he knows better than to force himself on someone else - especially someone like you. He knows what you are, what your circumstance is. He knows you're an innocent child."

Verstael wasn't ignorant. He may have raised his clones in a fucked up lab where they didn't know what abuse was or why it wasn't okay, but Verstael himself knew right from wrong. Creating the clones in the first place was wrong… Needlessly abusing them was even more wrong. He could have at least just used them how he had intended and not let this one become so self aware. He didn't have to hurt Prompto, to sexually abuse him, to treat him like a piece of property.

Prompto reacted very honestly to everything. He made it clear how he felt, when he was uncomfortable, when he was scared. It was obvious. Even if it wasn't already wrong for Verstael to do things like that to a naive clone child, just Prompto's response alone would have told him the boy was scared, in pain.

"That's why you're not with him anymore. He's a horrible person. You don't deserve everything he put you through." Ardyn explained.

Prompto turned over and looked toward the television, which currently featured a reporter staring back discussing the current weather.

"Who's that?" Prompto stared at the screen.

Ardyn shrugged, almost wanting to laugh at how quickly Prompto changed subjects of conversation. He had no idea how serious some topics were compared to others. The things he'd just confessed were so big, so traumatic… and now he was distracted by a lady reporting on the incoming rain.

"Some woman." Ardyn answered with a shrug. He was unfamiliar with the local reporters. It wasn't like they were celebrities... and it wasn't like celebrity was something Ardyn gave a damn about anyway.

Prompto stared in awe at the screen for a few more moments, watching the images change, looking positively stunned when the picture switched to a map showing incoming rain. He'd probably never watched television before.

"That's a weather forecast." Ardyn explained. "It might rain tomorrow. Good chance of it actually. Much more likely than not."

"Rain…" Prompto breathed. Perhaps he was familiar with the word, though he couldn't have possibly experienced it first hand. He'd never gone outside before. The part of the lab he was confined to didn't even have windows.

"Yes, rain. It's harmless." Ardyn frowned.

"Water from the sky?" Prompto stared up at Ardyn with big eyes. "And rainbows?" He smiled.

Ardyn laughed softly. "There could be. Did Verstael read to you?" He wondered. Prompto sure seemed to know a lot of strange little details about the world… But then, Versatel had kept the boy at his side for several years, likely telling him all sorts of things.

"He showed me how to read so I could help him in the lab. I read his books when I'm lonely. Sometimes he leaves me by myself for a long time." Prompto answered.

Ardyn nodded. He honestly hadn't expected that Prompto would know how to read. Perhaps the boy's quiet nature had given him the wrong impression entirely… Prompto knew a lot more than it seemed. He was just socially ignorant. He didn't know that he needed to wear clothes in front of people, that being hit for taking a shower on his own wasn't normal, that his father molesting him wasn't okay.

"The world is very big, Prompto. There's so much out here you don't know, which you haven't seen or experienced… So much for you to learn." Ardyn frowned.

Prompto looked away from the screen and yawned, scooting closer to Ardyn's side and snuggling down against him. "I feel cold." He whispered, closing his eyes and leaning in close.

"That's what the blanket's for, child." Ardyn frowned, maneuvering himself so that he could lift the blanket and drape it over the boy's shoulders.

Prompto breathed out a small breath as he scooted toward Ardyn again, seemingly appreciating the warmth of the blanket, but still wanting to be close to the man all the same. It was strange how clingy he was considering the only other person he was ever around hurt him all the time. Ardyn would have expected the child to shrink away from physical touch, but Prompto wasn't doing that.

"I really like the stars." Prompto whispered softly as he put his hand on Ardyn's arm, gripping his sleeve lightly, perhaps needing reassurance that he wasn't going to be left alone.

"You'll love the blue sky and the clouds too, I'll guess." Ardyn noted.

Prompto cuddled closer, his breaths evening out as he edged closer to sleep.

"I'm sure there's so much about the world you'll love…" Ardyn frowned, realizing in this moment how beautiful and precious the world might look to someone like Prompto - someone coming from a place of pain and abuse, breaking free into a wide, open place he was never meant to be a part of.

Ardyn himself was so sick of this world, so unenthused by things he considered small and insignificant - which was basically anything and everything other than complete power and control… But to Prompto the world - stars, mountains, fresh air… it meant a better future, exciting new things to see and experience. To Prompto it was all new.

xxxxxx

Chapter Text

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Chapter 6

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Trying as much as he could, sleeping through the night was not coming easily to Prompto.

He appreciated greatly that Ardyn was letting him snuggle against his side, that the man hadn't seemed interested in doing anything painful, but it all seemed too good to be true. Prompto was so painfully accustomed to there being strings attached to something like this. He was allowed to sleep comfortably under the blanket and didn't have to do anything painful first? Ardyn was willing to let him cozy up next to him and wasn't going to hit him for his continuous mistakes and misdeeds? Prompto had screwed up a lot tonight. He made Ardyn frustrated and angry over and over again...

The man's large, secure, warm hand on his arm was comforting. The blanket draped over his body felt safe... but he was still scared. All the warm, comfortable feelings that came with sharing the bed and snuggling against his new guardian were all but drowned out by dark, painful memories and fears of retaliation.

He couldn't stop worrying about the fact that Ardyn had seemed angry with him before. When Prompto tried to do what Verstael had him do at night, Ardyn seemed shocked, angry, disgusted. He didn't like what Prompto did… And that was just the most recent thing Prompto had done wrong. All night - ever since Ardyn had taken him out of the room his father had left him in - Prompto had been doing things wrong, making Ardyn annoyed with him... He spilled water, didn't know how to bathe himself, hesitated when Ardyn told him to dry off... Ardyn seemed angry with him quite a bit during the time they'd spent together thus far.

So why then did he not hit Prompto? Why didn't he grab his arm and twist? Take off his belt and beat him with it? Why didn't he teach Prompto a lesson?

Just telling him no without any sort of punishment didn't make sense. Ardyn corrected him, then moved on like it hadn't happened. He acted like he wasn't even angry or annoyed anymore. His anger just seemed to go away on its own without the man exacting any sort of punishment or revenge. Prompto just couldn't make sense of it. He was just going to let it go? Prompto could make him mad without consequence? Over and over again?

Prompto did something Ardyn didn't like… and the man was just going to move on without doing anything in retaliation? Prompto did something wrong and that was it? He wasn't going to be hurt for it? It went against everything he knew, everything he'd ever learned to be true about life. In his experience, his guardian - the adult, the man in charge of him - called the shots... and if Prompto disobeyed, made a mistake, did something wrong - even on accident - there were consequences...

Prompto knew what he'd think about the whole situation if it had been Verstael in Ardyn's place. The only times the man ever didn't hurt him when Prompto made him mad were times when he was waiting - putting it off so he could think about it… And that always meant the pain would be worse in the end. Any time the punishment wasn't right away, it was harsher, because Verstael put more thought and anger into it.

Maybe that was what Ardyn was doing. He was thinking about how to teach Prompto a lesson he wouldn't forget. He was disgusted that Prompto tried to do something wrong and he was thinking about the most painful punishment possible.

But then, Ardyn said both sexual things and hitting were wrong - that people shouldn't do those things to each other. What then would he do to punish Prompto? He definitely disapproved of Prompto's actions, but if he couldn't hit him and didn't want to do anything sexual, what would he do?

Maybe he'd lock Prompto up in the shower and turn on the cold water. Or perhaps he'd hold him under the water so he couldn't breathe - just long enough that he'd be in pain, that it would be scary and uncomfortable.

It could be that he was thinking about something very harsh - breaking bones, dislocating joints, burning. That was something his father threatened him with once, but didn't ultimately follow through on - burning. He told Prompto he'd burn his skin if Prompto didn't obey his commands. Prompto had burnt himself on accident once with a bunsen burner. He knew it hurt… so he did what his father said.

But perhaps Ardyn wasn't thinking about blunt, harsh punishments like that. Maybe he'd just withhold food and water… That wouldn't be too bad. It wouldn't be comfortable - it wouldn't feel good… but it wouldn't compare to the most painful things the boy had experienced.

Prompto didn't know what might be coming, but he was very suspicious that it simply had to be something. He'd annoyed and angered Ardyn so many times in just one night. How could the man not be planning some sort of retaliation?

Prompto still remembered the very first time he'd ever met Ardyn. The memory of their first encounter was what had Prompto on-edge ever since Ardyn showed up in the medical waste room. His memory of meeting the man had him doubly on-edge now. He associated this man with a lot of pain, and he knew that Ardyn was his father's friend… If his father would hurt him for doing things wrong, wouldn't Ardyn do the same? Ardyn said it was wrong... but he said Verstael knew it was wrong too and did it anyway... If he made Ardyn mad enough, would the man do the same things? Similar things? Just because Ardyn told him it was wrong to hurt people didn't mean he might not do it anyway - especially if Prompto did things that were wrong too...

The day Prompto first met Ardyn was a bad day… Not because of Ardyn himself - the man hadn't done anything bad or frightening really - but his presence set off a sort of chain reaction that ended in Prompto having a very negative experience. An experience he never forgot every excruciating detail of.

The day started off fine, but wasn't a good one by the end. Neither was the following day. It was all Prompto's fault, and the incident was still burnt into his mind, a constant reminder that the lack of an immediate reaction didn't mean something bad wasn't still coming. Just because Ardyn hadn't hit him right away when he disagreed with what Prompto was trying to do didn't mean he wasn't thinking about doing something worse.

The day Ardyn first arrived, Verstael had warned Prompto in advance. For some reason, he didn't want Ardyn to know Prompto was there. He had told his son that his friend Ardyn was coming over and that Prompto needed to remain hidden until Ardyn left. He warned him to stay out of sight and stay quiet.

That hadn't seemed so hard. Prompto fully intended on complying… He didn't know Ardyn and was reasonably scared of new people... but he also was curious. He hadn't ever met anyone else other than his father and couldn't help but to want to at least catch a glimpse of this other person… He had wondered what the man would look like, if he'd be taller like Verstael or small like Prompto… He wondered if he'd have light skin, dark skin, long hair, short… Prompto had only ever seen other people in books. Seeing another human being other than himself and his father was a big moment...

So after his father left him in his bed room, Prompto had sneaked out into the hall, tip-toeing down until he could peek in on the two men's conversation.

Ardyn had seen him pretty much right away, and he tried to talk to him. Prompto had been so panicked he couldn't find words to say back. He remembered just staring, unable to move or speak. He knew he screwed up. He knew Verstael didn't want him to be seen, and he knew his father would be angry. He expected to be violently beaten right then and there… but he wasn't…

Instead, his father acted like he wasn't angry. He explained to Ardyn who Prompto was. He laughed, made jokes, urged Prompto to greet Ardyn. Prompto hid behind his father instead, feeling awkward and nervous. Was his father really okay with Prompto disobeying like that?

No. He wasn't.

Prompto didn't find out for sure until just after Ardyn left. Verstael's tone changed immediately. He grabbed Prompto by the arm so hard his fingers left bruises… But those weren't the only marks he made on the boy's body that night. Verstael dragged him into a closet, made him take off his shirt and beat him with his belt across his back so hard that Prompto couldn't continue standing. He was in so much pain he could hardly breathe.

He could still remember the white hot stinging pain of the belt connecting with his skin, slashing, bruising… His father beat him so many times Prompto lost count as he doubled over onto the floor and sobbed in excruciating pain.

Just when Prompto was beginning to think it was all over, that he'd be allowed to go about the rest of his day as usual with the punishment being concluded, his father wrestled his pants off of him too and hit him against his thighs and backside.

Verstael yelled and swore as he hit his son over and over, harder and harder, creating angry welts, cutting into his skin… At the time, Prompto had never seen his father so angry before. His father had never screamed so much, never hurt him so much… Prompto begged for mercy, cried, choked out shaky, pained breaths, but his father wouldn't stop. If anything, perhaps the boy's pleading made the man hit him harder.

Prompto remembered curling himself into a tiny ball, trying to cover as much of his body as he could as the pain continued and worsened. He hid his face and head with his arms, shielded most of the front of himself by curling inward… But his father continued hitting him. The belt slashed across his back, his legs, his shoulders… Prompto had never been in more pain than he was that night.

It wasn't until Prompto was close to losing consciousness that his father finally stopped. He put his belt back on with a grumbling scoff, kicked Prompto lightly against his shoulder, then closed the door, and walked away, locking his son in the tiny, dark space.

Prompto was in and out of consciousness for the next while, trying to focus on just breathing through the pain until he was finally able to drag himself up onto shaky legs. He found then that he was locked in the closet with no light, no clothes to keep him warm, no water to soothe his throat that ached from screaming in pain. He was alone with his heartbroken thoughts and nothing else.

Verstael left him there for Prompto knew not how long. Hours ticked by into a day or more. Prompto was so thirsty he could barely swallow. He was hungry, tired, cold… No matter how much he banged on the door and screamed to please be let out, Verstael didn't listen. In fact the man eventually came back just to open the door, hit Prompto across the face, and warn him to shut up and stop making noise for face much worse pain.

Prompto quietly endured the rest of his punishment after that, trying to sleep through his confinement so it wouldn't feel like it lasted so long. But he was so uncomfortable, in pain, hungry and thirsty. He'd resorted to peeing in the corner of the closet since he couldn't get out. The room started to smell…

Eventually Verstael let him out, only to drag him into the shower and rinse him in the coldest of water. Though he was hurt and cold, Prompto stayed put, scared to flinch away, scared to tell his father that the shower was uncomfortable, even painful. Dried blood from the belt beating mixed with water and swirled red down the drain as Prompto shivered and cried... He could still remember the sound of his own teeth chattering and his short breaths gasping while he wondered if someone could die just from being too cold.

The man then chained him up in the shower room once he was satisfied that the boy had been thoroughly rinsed off, and left him there even longer, still wet, still naked and cold. Prompto couldn't get up to pee anymore, but didn't have to pee anyway, since he was so dehydrated.

He probably could have reached the shower to turn it on for a drink if he had been strong enough, but by that point he was so drained, in so much pain… He couldn't manage to drag himself off of the floor. He was so weak in fact that Verstael really hadn't even needed to chain him to anything. He wouldn't have been able to go anywhere even if he scrounged up the bravery to try. The chains only succeeded in bruising his wrists.

He didn't know how long the whole ordeal lasted or how and when Verstael decided he'd had enough. He didn't remember because at some point he passed out, and when he woke up he was on some sort of table, with a somewhat warm sheet covering the lower half of his body and IVs in his arms, dripping much needed medicine and hydration into his body.

He didn't feel as horrible, but didn't feel great either. The important thing though was that Verstael was in a better mood. He talked to Prompto like he cared about him again, like he wasn't quite so mad anymore, told him he'd given him something in his IV to dull the pain, to hydrate him. He had rubbed some sort of healing cream on the welts that were bleeding and wrapped them in bandages. As the day progressed and Prompto started feeling better, his father let him up, made him food, gently patted his head… and they went about the rest of the day as usual, like none of the rest of it had ever happened.

Prompto didn't forget though. He never forgot that delayed reaction, the anger, the pain… He never forgot that Verstael acted like he wasn't mad at all, even laughed and joked while Ardyn was still there... then lashed out so horribly afterward... and that was why he was worried about Ardyn still, even as he lay in the bed next to the man, cuddled warmly and comfortably against the guy's side.

Ardyn claimed to not be angry, said he wouldn't hurt Prompto. He acted like he wasn't going to do anything… but Verstael had acted like he wasn't going to do anything either. He waited until Ardyn left and hurt Prompto quite significantly.

What was Ardyn waiting for?

Blinking and frowning as he looked up at the man, Prompto noticed Ardyn looking back. The boy gasped softly and shrunk down, looking away. Maybe he should have just pretended to be asleep... Maybe he shouldn't have looked directly at him.

"What?" Ardyn stared. "Why do you keep looking up at me like a nervous kitten?"

Prompto bit his lower lip, swallowing and trying to keep himself from shaking. He couldn't help it. Ardyn was several inches taller than his father. He had more muscle… He could really hurt someone if he wanted to, and Prompto was already a lot smaller, weaker, more exhausted and hurt… He wouldn't be able to fight back if he wanted to… but he didn't want to, as he knew that always made things worse. If Ardyn wanted to hurt him, he would. Prompto wasn't strong enough to stop it... But did Ardyn want to hurt him? What would he do? When would he do it? Prompto wanted to get it over with. If it was going to happen, he'd rather just take his punishment now, so he could stop worrying and start doing a better job of not making his new guardian angry.

"Go to sleep." Ardyn's voice sounded like he was frowning, but Prompto wasn't courageous enough to make eye-contact right now.

Prompto forced himself to close his eyes, but he felt tears welling up. He felt himself shaking. He was scared. How could he sleep with Ardyn right here, being so mysterious. Was the man going to hurt him or not? If he was going to, what was he waiting on? Maybe he was waiting on Prompto to fall asleep, so he could hit him really hard to wake him up... Or maybe he was going to choke him and didn't want Prompto to know what was happening until it was too late.

Blinking and looking back up at Ardyn, Prompto grimaced. He just wanted to feel safe for once, to not feel like he was constantly on-edge. He wanted Ardyn to mean it when he said he wasn't mad, when he said he wouldn't hurt him. Prompto wanted to believe him… but he had no reason to feel sure.

"Aren't you still tired?" Ardyn stared down at him. "You were practically falling asleep as you stood near the window. Why aren't you sleeping now?"

Prompto swallowed, then inhaled and exhaled a few shaky breaths. He wondered if he should just ask, if he should beg Ardyn to tell him the truth - to be honest, to just tell him if he was mad, to just tell him so he'd at least know he was going to be hit or kicked or choked... He deserved to at least know it was coming, right?

"Still worried about your father?" Ardyn guessed. "He won't take you. He doesn't know where we've gone, and even if he did, even if he walked in that door right now, I wouldn't let him have you. He may be intimidating to you, but he isn't to me. I'm far stronger than he is. At this point, if he walked in here, I'd physically fight him to keep him from taking you back... And I'd win."

Prompto blinked a long blink. He could feel his breaths were short in his chest. He was really anxious, really scared. Maybe the punishment was something that would take a lot of time to think out... What if Ardyn was waiting just so he could think about what he'd do, plotting in his head how he might hurt Prompto for what the boy had done? Ardyn really didn't like what Prompto did...

"Just go to sleep, child. I won't do anything to you. Your father isn't here. He's no longer a threat to you. I've already told you this. You're safe with me. You've nothing to be concerned about. But now you need to rest. You've been through a lot." Ardyn reminded him. "Tomorrow we'll travel more, and you need to be well-rested for that."

Prompto squeezed his eyes shut and curled in on himself, but he couldn't possibly remain relaxed. The more he thought about that day, about Verstael being angry and not showing it until much later… the more worried he got. Ardyn didn't seem angry, but that didn't mean he wasn't.

Prompto didn't know a lot about the world. He wasn't sure how a normal person was supposed to act, if his and his father's relationship was like every other father and son or if his father was doing something wrong. Maybe Prompto was wrong too. Maybe they both were... Maybe that's why his father hurt him so much - because Prompto was doing things that were wrong, because he wasn't doing what he was told. There were lots of times more recently that Prompto just didn't listen to his father. When he tried to run away from him and hide, when he argued with him, told him to please not do certain things when it wasn't his place to request it... when he didn't stay hidden when Ardyn first visited, when he tried to free the others and killed them instead...

Was part of this whole mess his own fault? Would his father have hurt him if he just did as he was told? He couldn't even remember the first time he was hurt - if he did anything to deserve it. The first time his father did the painful part of the things they did at night in bed. Did he do something wrong that day? Would that have never started at all if he just obeyed like he was supposed to? What did he do wrong? Whatever it was, he wished he hadn't ever done it...

He didn't know... There were a lot of things he didn't know… but he knew Ardyn was a dangerous mystery. He didn't know him, but he knew the man tried to kill him when he found him in that horrible room. Maybe he was trying to end Prompto's suffering - it was a mercy thing… but he did try to kill him. Ardyn obviously wasn't opposed to ending Prompto's life. He changed his mind, but it had been less than a day since he was ready to do it. Maybe the boy's actions changed his mind back. Maybe he was planning to kill him for what he'd done. Prompto didn't want to die.

He hadn't forgotten how quickly Ardyn got frustrated with him either. The man hadn't hit him yet, hadn't really done much of anything to hurt him… but Prompto saw the anger in the stranger's eyes. When Prompto spilled the water, when he took too long to dry off with the towel, when he didn't help wash himself at first, when he was unsure about going with Ardyn in the first place… Even before when Prompto started trying to do what he thought Ardyn wanted in the bed tonight… Ardyn's eyes showed he was annoyed, angry, disgusted...

Ardyn was capable of being rough. He was capable of being impatient, of getting angry. He was holding back… but for how long? When was he going to snap? And would the reaction include all of the pent up rage getting out at once? When Ardyn did finally hurt him, how bad was it going to be?

"Mr. Ardyn…" Prompto whispered, feeling his breaths growing shorter as he curled further in on himself. He hadn't much of a line of defense here. He was at this man's mercy.

"Yes?" Ardyn answered.

"Are you sure you're not mad at me?" Prompto whispered, feeling himself start to shake even more as tears welled up in his eyes.

Ardyn paused for a moment. "Why would I be?" he finally answered.

"W-what I did before… The thing you didn't want me to do…" Prompto grimaced, still staring ahead of himself, away from Ardyn. "I thought you wanted that... I didn't mean to do something you didn't want... I thought if I didn't do it on my own, you'd get frustrated and do it roughly... I didn't know it wasn't what you wanted. Are you mad about that?" He whispered.

Ardyn paused for a moment. "No... I was..." He hesitated. "I didn't expect you'd do something like that... I didn't mean to imply that I wanted that sort of thing from you. I only wanted you to lay down and sleep... Prompto, I wouldn't ever ask you to do that with me - or with anyone. You're a child... You shouldn't even know how to do that..."

Prompto grimaced, looking up at Ardyn. "I didn't know…" He whispered, his eyes wide. "Father wants me to do those things sometimes. I thought you did too… I was just trying to do what you wanted..."

"I definitely don't want that, sweet boy..." Ardyn frowned. "And if I did, I'd be a fucking monster... Don't expect people to hurt you like that. Don't accept that sort of treatment. I will never ask you to do something like that, child. Absolutely never. No one should."

Prompto swallowed nervously. "I thought maybe if I didn't do it, you'd be mad. Sometimes if I take too long to do what father wants, he hits me..." He breathed, trying his best to show Ardyn that he didn't mean to upset him, that there was a good reason he did what he did. He just wanted Ardyn to stay content. He didn't want the man mad at him. Ardyn was in control now. Prompto needed him to stay happy.

Ardyn stared back at him. The expression on his face was strange. Prompto was having trouble placing the man's emotions. Ever since Ardyn found him in the medical waste room, Prompto picked up on small moments here and there where he was terrifyingly unsure what the man was thinking, what he was feeling, what he wanted. Verstael's emotions were usually fairly easy to read. Prompto was heart-stoppingly frightened of the man, but he at least understood him. Verstael wanted Prompto to do what he said - to do what he previously established was expected. Simple as that. Usually keeping the man happy by following orders spared Prompto a lot of pain.

Ardyn's wants were so much less clear... And his response when things didn't go his way wasn't as cut and dry either. He'd get angry, but only for a moment. He'd move fast like he was going to hit Prompto, but then he'd draw his hand back and seemingly try to be reassuring instead. When Prompto messed up - when he didn't do what he was told, Ardyn's expression started off annoyed or angry and quickly melted into something else, something Prompto wasn't sure what to make of.

His father never had an expression like that - like he was uncertain, almost sad. Prompto saw something similar in his own features - that time he looked in the mirror - the day he realized he looked just like the others. He looked lost then, worried, scared... Ardyn didn't look scared, but he looked something other than the common emotions Prompto was familiar with, like he didn't know what to do, like the things Prompto was saying didn't make sense - like he could hardly even understand what the boy was telling him.

"He used to do it without much of a response from me, but eventually he started just sitting there like you were, waiting on me to start doing it... and if I didn't, he'd get really mad." Prompto explained. "It was better to just do it so he wouldn't hit me and hold me down really hard and do it anyway... I just... I didn't mean to make you mad." He breathed, looking down and exhaling a shaky breath. "I was trying to do what I thought you wanted... I was trying to do what he would want me to do - what I'd have to do so he wouldn't hit me. I didn't mean to make you angry with me."

Ardyn closed his eyes and shook his head. "No. I'm not angry with you. I'm angry at your sick fuck father for doing whatever he did to you that had you believing me asking you to lay down and go to sleep meant I wanted to have sex with you. I won't hurt you... but if I saw him right now, I'd hurt him. I'd beat him to fucking unconsciousness. I'd punch him in the fucking gut so hard he'd be unable to breathe."

Prompto's eyes widened. Ardyn wasn't talking about doing those things to him, but it was still kind of scary to hear.

"I'm not angry with you, Prompto." Ardyn repeated. "I didn't know how much Verstael was hurting you... Not like that... I knew he was a twisted fuck, but..." He trailed off, then looked down at Prompto with a frown. He looked almost sad. "Sweetheart, I had no idea how bad it was, how mentally-present you are... This went so far beyond the clone-experimentation-unethical plot I thought it was... You're more than blank slate... You're so fucking aware... and he treated you like this... I'm sorry... I should have intervened sooner."

Prompto blinked a few times, looking away. Ardyn said he wasn't mad, but his tone and body language indicated otherwise. He seemed very emotionally affected by everything that had happened. Maybe Prompto should have just quietly stood by and awaited orders. Maybe that's the way Ardyn wanted this to go. Prompto was meant to do what he said, but only if he outright said it. No more guessing what the man wanted - he guessed wrong and upset him... so he'd just wait for orders instead.

But if he thought about it - the short time he'd spent with Ardyn had been so much different than the time he'd spent with his father. If it was Verstael with him now, Prompto would have been hit numerous times already. He wouldn't have been allowed to use warm water in the bath. It would have been cold, and Verstael wouldn't have let him bathe himself. He might not have been given clothes... he'd have probably been left in the bathroom, cold and wet... If he weren't - if Versteal did let him come out into the bed room, he'd have had to do the painful thing... and if Verstael had been sitting on the bed like Ardyn had and Prompto didn't initiate it pretty quick, Verstael would have gotten mad and would have likely beaten him.

Swallowing, Prompto stuck his lip out in a pout and stared up at Ardyn. If the man was putting off getting violently angry, he was really letting it build up. His father would have hurt him so much by now... Maybe he really did mean it when he said he wasn't going to hurt Prompto. Maybe he truly meant it when he claimed he didn't think Verstael was right to do the things he did.

"I'm not angry with you, child. Not even a little. I'm sickened that Verstael hurt you in that way, that he made you think it was normal, that he led you to assume an adult man would require that from you merely because you're sharing a bed." Ardyn elaborated. "If my response scared you, I apologize."

Prompto frowned. Ardyn was apologizing to him? Could it be that not everyone was like his father? That when Ardyn said he wouldn't hurt him he actually meant it? Did that mean the way Verstael taught him was wrong - that the man had no right to do the things he'd done?

"There's lots of people in the world..." Prompto whispered, blinking a few times, then swallowing as he thought about what he was going to say, what he was going to ask.

"Yes. Very many." Ardyn nodded.

Prompto narrowed his eyes and looked up at the man. "And most of them aren't like Father? Most of them don't do the things he does?"

Ardyn shook his head. "No. Most people wouldn't act like him. He's far from the norm. I know that became your normal, because it's all you knew. It's how you were raised... But he was wrong. What he did to you was unacceptable. You need to know that, no matter how hard that might be to realize. You've been hurt and abused in ways that you never should have. You shouldn't have the expectation that others out in the world will hurt you."

Prompto blinked a few times. "Why did he do that?" He whispered. Why would his father hurt him when he knew he shouldn't? Prompto wouldn't ever do that to someone... If he ever did anything to someone and that person started crying, told him they were in pain, asked him to please stop... Prompto would stop right away. He didn't want to hurt people because he knew how awful it felt to be hurt himself. Why didn't his father feel the same way? Prompto knew it was wrong... Ardyn knew it was wrong... Why didn't Versteal know? And if he did know it was wrong, why would he do it anyway?

Ardyn shook his head lightly as he stared back. He looked almost confused, like he didn't know the answer.

"Was it because I did things wrong?" Prompto pouted. "I didn't always listen to him..."

"No." Ardyn spoke up. "Prompto, no... It wasn't anything you did. Children never listen... Children are chaotic - they always are. And you're actually remarkably well-behaved... You did nothing to cause him to do the things he did. None of it is on you. I promise you that."

"Why did he want to hurt me then, Mr. Ardyn?" Prompto whimpered, feeling tears brimming in his eyes.

Ardyn hesitated for a moment, then finally exhaled and closed his eyes. "I can't answer that, Prompto. Some people just do things that are cruel. Some people see someone smaller and weaker than them and want to control them, to abuse them, to use them for some purpose or another. He knew the things he's been doing were wrong and he chose to do them anyway."

Prompto felt his lip forming into a pout. "You're not like father... You're like other people. People who agree not to hurt each other. So what do you do when you get mad then? When someone does something you don't want them to do... when someone makes you mad... You never hurt people?"

Ardyn laughed breathlessly. "Not like that... And never children... If an adult made me angry, I might hurt them. I can be quite destructive... I won't claim I'm a good person, Prompto. You might feel I'm your savior here, but I'm as wicked as they come. I'm no hero. But I wouldn't sexually abuse someone, and wouldn't beat a child."

Prompto swallowed. So maybe Ardyn did hurt people sometimes, but not children. Not people like Prompto. He wondered why that was the case.

"Just sleep." Ardyn suggested again. "I know you're coming from a rather disturbing place… but you won't be hurt. Not while in my care. Anything sexual, like what you started to initiate before? We're not doing that. You don't ever have to do that with anyone again. That's something for consenting adults, and you're far from grown. I'm the antithesis of a hero. I'm not a good person, but I won't hurt you."

Prompto felt tears welling up in his eyes, but he wasn't sure they were scared or sad tears anymore. He felt something akin to relief, hope. Was Ardyn being truthful? Would Prompto really never have to do anything sexual again if he didn't want to? Was Ardyn honestly not going to hurt him? Did he care about keeping him safe and comfortable?

"Don't cry…" Ardyn frowned, reaching a hand down and wiping his fingertips over Prompto's cheek. "I'm honestly not angry. I was surprised… I didn't know he'd taught you to do that… I had suspected something odd was going on, but nothing so extreme… You caught me off-guard is all. I was disgusted by him, not you. You've done nothing wrong. In fact you're the very definition of innocence."

Prompto sniffed back his tears and cuddled closer to Ardyn, closing his eyes as the man rested his hand on Prompto's shoulder, hugging him to his side.

"Go to sleep." Ardyn ordered again, rubbing a large, warm, comforting hand up and down Prompto's upper arm.

As a more peaceful feeling stared edging at Prompto's mind, he let himself relax. He hoped Ardyn was telling the truth, that he wasn't going to get angry and hurt him later… He supposed he didn't have much of a choice other than to trust the man. Worrying wouldn't change anything. It would just rob him of sleep.

So he hugged himself closer to his current guardian. Ardyn might not have considered himself a hero, but right now, to Prompto, that's exactly what he was.

xxxxxx

Chapter Text

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Chapter 7

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The following day, as Ardyn drove onward toward a ferry that would take them across to the Lucian continent, he found his companion to be quite silent again.

It seemed Prompto was the sort who had a lot to say when he felt like it, but could also go hours on end completely quiet too. Even when Ardyn asked him questions directly, he tended not to answer if he didn't want to. Ardyn couldn't tell if the child was hearing what he was saying and choosing not to respond or if he was dissociating to the point of not even being aware he was doing it.

At the moment, the boy wouldn't even look over toward Ardyn as the man attempted to talk to him, but he didn't seem upset or scared. He didn't seem to be intentionally ignoring the man out of anger or defiance. Rather he looked like his mind was far away, like he was physically here, but that was it... He looked vaguely haunted, hugging his arms around himself and staring blankly out the window of the car, but didn't appear overly distressed.

He was likely deep in thought. Perhaps that would explain his refusal to speak, to answer Ardyn's questions. Maybe he wasn't even hearing Ardyn ask. It was indeed possible he was so far lost in his own thoughts that he couldn't bother to notice anything else. He wasn't even commenting on the rain, something he'd seemed pretty excited about the night before.

"Prompto…" Ardyn spoke again, once more trying to get the boy's attention.

The young man still didn't make any indication that he'd heard. Instead, he kept staring at the droplets of water running down the glass. His face looked blank aside from a bit of furrow at his brows, like he was worried, but distantly so - not scared in this moment, but perhaps thinking back to something that troubled him.

Still refusing to look over or verbally respond, Prompto shivered, wrapping his arms tighter around himself and sinking further down in the seat.

"Are you cold, child?" Ardyn wondered with a frown.

Prompto still didn't answer, but he was indeed shaking, and looking more and more disturbed with each silent moment that passed. He was clearly thinking about something that was upsetting him. Ardyn couldn't tell if the shaking was from that or the temperature, but he supposed he could turn up the heat either way.

"Let's get you a little warmer, shall we?" Ardyn suggested, reaching down and twisting the heat dial to turn it up. "There's no reason for you to be cold if you don't have to be."

Even now, the boy still ignored Ardyn's presence. It was almost like Prompto's mind was hundreds of miles away. Ardyn wished he could easily snap him out of it, take away whatever thought was plaguing him. Obviously the child had been through a whole hell of a lot in his short life, but Ardyn took him out of the situation and things would be better from here. If only he could just completely forget everything that had happened and start over.

"What's going on in your head, little one?" Ardyn asked, looking back toward Prompto for a moment before focusing back on the road. "I hope you're hearing me… You're going to be difficult to pass off on someone out in this world if you're determined to be so difficult socially. Not everyone is as patient as I've been with you thus far."

Prompto finally blinked his eyes a few times and looked toward Ardyn. "What?" He frowned.

"You're back." Ardyn forced a small smile. "Where were you?"

Prompto looked toward the window again, sticking his lip out in a pout and then looking back toward Ardyn. "What?" He asked again. "I'm right here…" He frowned.

Ardyn laughed softly. "I mean in your head. What were you thinking about? Physically you were here, but mentally... You've been gone for a while. You ignored me for quite some time while I was trying to speak to you."

"Oh…" Prompto looked down at his lap. "I'm sorry… I didn't..." He breathed out another small breath and looked up with a pout. "I didn't know you were trying to talk to me... I'm sorry..." He shrunk down, looking up with big eyes.

Ardyn shook his head. "It's okay..." He frowned. "I'm not angry. Just wondering where your mind was..."

"I was thinking about before." Prompto whispered after a moment.

Ardyn looked toward the child again. "Before?" He questioned.

"Yes." Prompto's voice was tiny, almost a whisper.

"What's troubling you?" Ardyn frowned, almost begging himself to just let it go and not even ask. Prompto's past was extremely disturbing. Ardyn already knew that, and he honestly didn't like hearing about it. He wasn't sure he could take hearing any more gritty details about how Verstael treated this child. The small bits he already knew were horrifying.

Prompto shook his head, then looked over at Ardyn with wide eyes and a pout on his lips. "When someone dies, they stop moving. They won't talk or blink…" He noted. "It's like they're gone... Not their body, but their mind."

"Is that where you were?" Ardyn forced a small laugh. "You wouldn't talk or move because you're dead?" He smirked.

Prompto shook his head, apparently taking the joke very literally. "No. I'm still alive... But some people aren't. I've been thinking about it. Death means they can't do anything anymore. They can't move or anything… They sleep forever, and start to smell. It's like they're gone, but also not… They're still there, but it's just their shell... They don't feel anything anymore. They're not scared or happy or hungry or sad... They don't like feeling warm water or being held anymore. They don't like or dislike anything. They're just there... Everything that makes them who they are - who they were, who they could have been... it just goes away."

"This is true." Ardyn frowned, realizing now that Prompto was wrestling with the concept of death and his relationship to it. He was referencing the bodies left in the room with him. The clones he accidentally killed. "Once someone dies, their consciousness goes with them. They can't go about the world anymore. They won't feel emotions, pain... nothing. It's basically like they're gone." Ardyn shrugged. "Their bodies remain for a time, but that's it. Everything about them - their personalities, the things they like, what they don't like... Their voice, their skills... It's all gone, and it can't come back."

Prompto swallowed, then breathed in a shaky breath, staring out the window with a trembling lip.

"It's a natural part of life for almost anyone... Everyone who lives will one day die..." Ardyn explained. "It can be difficult to accept, but it'll happen to nearly everyone one day. Everyone dies."

Prompto glanced toward Ardyn for a moment, breathing in a shaky breath, then shaking his head and looking away. "I didn't mean to make them die." He whispered, his voice shaking as a sorrowful look contorted his facial features and tears welled up in his eyes.

"Of course you didn't." Ardyn stared. "You were trying to help them. I know that. Your father was the one at fault for making them in the first place, for treating you and them like his tools, his playthings... It's his fault you sought to save them, that you didn't know how... You didn't know what you were doing."

Prompto choked out another shaky sob. "They would have lived longer - like me... B-but I made them die..."

Ardyn exhaled. The child wasn't wrong. He was at fault for killing the clones. He didn't mean to, but it was his fault... The alternative wasn't much better of course. The clones were doomed the second they first breathed life. They weren't ever going to get to live anything that resembled a normal, happy life. Did Prompto realize that? That the remaining clones he didn't accidentally kill would probably wish they were dead if they happened to have enough awareness to understand themselves?

"I didn't mean to..." Prompto whimpered. "I was trying to help them. They looked so sad. I was so sad... I wanted us to get to live like the people in books. Father had a book about child development. He told me once that I was a child... that all people are until they grow taller and older... The children in the book weren't like us. They didn't live in labs. They went to school and played together. They got to go outside. The book said I should be able to do a lot by myself that father didn't let me do... The children in the book were social - with each other - they had friendships and played sports. I wanted me and the others to be like that. I wanted to live a life like the children in the book."

Ardyn swallowed. "You'll get to..." He noted, grimacing when he considered Prompto may never feel the peace he hoped for. All the other clones were still there... And Ardyn sure as hell couldn't save them all. Even just getting this one out into the world was proving to be quite the hassle. Prompto would always know he'd left the others behind, even if his own life turned out okay, he wouldn't forget his brothers.

"I tried to save them, and I killed them instead..." Prompto whispered, breathing in a shaky, tear-filled breath. "That's not what I wanted to happen. I tried so hard..."

Ardyn nodded, glancing toward Prompto, then back out in front of the car. This almost would have been easier if Prompto were more of a blank slate, if he didn't understand so much. The child was in some ways so naive, so innocent and ignorant to how the world worked... But he understood a great deal more than it initially seemed. He knew exactly what he'd accidentally done. He understood death. And he understood his actions caused death. That was a heavy burden.

"Father was very angry when I did that." Prompto's voice grew even lower, but he turned to stare right at Ardyn as he continued. "I unplugged cords and tubes, to try to release them, to get them free, so they could walk around and be with me. So we could live together…" He explained. "They looked like me, so I wanted them to be out in the lab like me. I couldn't get them out of the water... I unplugged all the cords and tried to open the pods, but I couldn't... I killed them."

"You were trying to save them. I understand that." Ardyn frowned, slowing the car to a stop, pulling over to the side of the road. "What your father was doing to them was wrong. You tried to save them because he wouldn't. You made a mistake, but the alternative for them would have been worse than death. You did for them what no one else ever has - you tried... You tried to help them. You went against someone frightening to try to do the right thing. You should feel proud of yourself for being so brave."

Prompto shook his head and looked down. "Father was so mad." He whispered. "I shouldn't have done it. I didn't save them. I didn't help... And he was so mad at me. He hit me so much. He kicked me. He grabbed around my neck and squeezed. I couldn't breathe. It hurt and I was so scared."

"I'm sure you were..." Ardyn frowned. Prompto was so small still, so young, so weak. To have Verstael attack him like that had to have been terrifying for the poor little child.

"I told him I couldn't breathe..." Prompto whimpered, raising his hand up toward his throat, brushing his fingertips over finger-shaped bruises that still lined his neck. "I told him... when he was squeezing my neck... I told him I couldn't breathe. I begged him to stop. And he got even more mad."

Ardyn inhaled a measured breath. Every time Prompto talked about his time with Verstael, the story got progressively worse. Ardyn really hadn't ever wanted all of these details... but he couldn't bring himself to tell Prompto to stop talking either. The boy was traumatized and he needed to talk about it. Ardyn couldn't shut that down.

"He told me the others couldn't breathe either - and that it was my fault." Prompto sniffed. "He showed me the pods, how to open one... He took one of them out - showed me that he was dead... And then pushed my head down into the water... I swallowed some of it when I panicked and it felt like he held me under for so long."

Ardyn exhaled. He wondered how close Verstael was to killing the boy right then and there. That's probably what his plan was - to just drown him... But something changed his mind. Perhaps in the minutes it took to wait for the child to stop moving, Verstael thought better of it - realized he'd rather make the poor little creature suffer first.

"He finally let me up... My lungs hurt, and I was choking. I could barely breathe... I was scared, in pain... He told me that's how they felt when... When I killed them..." Prompto choked, shaking his head and grimacing. "I didn't mean to... I didn't know they couldn't breathe... They were always in the water... I know I breathe air, but they're never not in the water. How could they be breathing down there in the first place? How could I have known?"

Ardyn shook his head. "That's precisely right, Prompto. You didn't know. You didn't do it on purpose. It wasn't your fault."

"He thought it was..." Prompto stuck his lower lip out in a pout as tears flowed down his cheeks. "He was very angry... He took my clothes so I would be cold. Then he injected me with something that made me very tired. I couldn't move. I couldn't focus… It was like I was half-asleep, in and out… But I wasn't asleep enough. I could still feel pain. I was still awake enough to be scared."

Ardyn stared silently across the seat at the boy. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear more of this. He already knew the gist of it. He knew what Verstael did was fucking awful. Prompto was bloodied and bruised when Ardyn found him. He'd been clearly denied food and water. He was dirty, hurt, terrified... Ardyn could guess some or all of what led up to that moment.

"He hurt me on purpose. I know he was mad. I understand that I made a big mistake, but I didn't mean to, and I said I was sorry. I cried after I did it, when I realized what I had done. I didn't want them to die. I didn't want Father to be mad." Prompto whimpered, sniffing back tears. "I was trying to do something good."

"I know that. He knew that too. He knew what he did to you and the others was wrong. He's a fucking monster, Prompto. I cannot stress that enough... If 'fucking monster' was in the dictionary, his name would be the definition; his photo would be next to it. It's all his fault, not yours." Ardyn explained. "He was wrong. You weren't. He knew what he was doing. You didn't."

"Did he know about what you said?" Prompto wondered, looking up with a pout on his lips.

"About what?" Ardyn furrowed his brow. "What did I say?"

"About the private parts of your body, that no one's supposed to touch. You said I shouldn't do what I tried to do last night… You said it was sexual and that he was wrong to do it. That he wasn't supposed to make me do those things. Did he know that too? Because I didn't…" Prompto frowned. "I hate doing that." He whispered. "It's uncomfortable. It hurts. I hate it... I didn't know he wasn't supposed to make me do it."

Ardyn swallowed. How many times was he going to have to tell Prompto this before the boy understood? Maybe he did understand, but was having a difficult time coming to terms with the fact that none of this actually had to happen. Up until now, Prompto thought pain was just a part of life. He didn't know he'd gotten screwed over. Ardyn supposed it would be easier to accept being hurt if everyone got hurt, if it was normal and no one could avoid it...

"I always did what he said. I always did what he wanted. I didn't think I had a choice. I never questioned it... He hurt me if I didn't listen to him, if I didn't do what he told me... so I just... I just always did whatever he wanted me to do." Prompto frowned. "I didn't know he was wrong. I didn't know there were things he wasn't supposed to do... Did he know that part?"

Ardyn blinked a few times. It was hard to see this realization dawning on the poor child's face. He was finally understanding how fucked up Verstael was, how fucking wrong the man was for doing almost every single thing he'd ever done.

"He knew." Ardyn admitted. "He took advantage of the fact that he'd raised you in solitude and never exposed you to the world. He never allowed you to put up your own boundaries, to learn about social norms - the boundaries anyone and everyone should have been respecting... He knew what was doing was wrong. That it was hurting you. He knew he wasn't supposed to do that to you."

"He did it anyway." Prompto noted, looking down and shaking his head. "And he knew it hurt me. I told him I didn't like it. I begged him so many times to do something else instead because it hurt. It seemed like any time I complained though, he'd do it more roughly. He'd hurt me on purpose... So I stopped complaining and just tried to get through it. When he asked me to join him in bed, I just did what he wanted. It didn't hurt as bad if I didn't complain, if I didn't fight it."

Ardyn stared speechlessly back at the boy. What the hell was he supposed to say to all this?

"But he didn't have to do it." Prompto whispered, looking away. "It was wrong, and if he knew... he shouldn't have done it."

Ardyn shook his head. "No. He shouldn't have." He agreed. It was clear Prompto was having a very rough time with this concept. Not only had he been horribly abused, but he had no idea his father was wrong by society's standards. Perhaps worse than suffering through the abuse was the fact that Prompto was now coming to terms with the fact that it shouldn't have happened. It wasn't just something he had to endure, a part of life... it was something is father did wrong. He shouldn't have had to go through it at all.

Prompto closed his eyes as he went on. "He knew how much pain I was in when he hurt me with his hands, his penis, when he kicked me in the ribs… When he squeezed my throat, held me down and… Mr. Ardyn… He knew, and he did it on purpose. All because I made a mistake, because I tried to save them and messed up."

Ardyn exhaled a small breath, feeling an unexpected surge of nausea, a heavy weight of pity towards this young boy before him, this child sharing in excruciating detail all of these traumas he'd endured. And he didn't even know how far from the norm it was until Ardyn told him. He had no idea just how unacceptable his 'father' was.

"He always knew, even back before he was really mad at me, before I accidentally killed them… He's always been mean to me…" Prompto choked, his voice shaking as his breaths became heavier. "Even when I didn't do anything wrong, he still made me do it. It hurt every time. I understand that he might have had to hurt me if I did something wrong, but sometimes I didn't even do anything wrong! Maybe I deserved it sometimes-"

"No, Prompto." Ardyn interrupted, shaking his head. "No... Even if you did something wrong, he shouldn't have hurt you. Not like that. Sexual acts against a child are always wrong - not matter what. Even kicking you, choking you... No... He shouldn't have done any of that - even if you did something wrong. Nobody should ever kick you or choke you - not unless you're attacking them, trying to kill them... That's not an appropriate punishment toward a child, Prompto..." Ardyn exhaled again. "He knew that. It's a reflection of his character - not yours. You did nothing to deserve what he did to you. You're an innocent child."

"I killed them." Prompto repeated, closing his eyes.

"On accident." Ardyn reminded him. "Because he put you in a horrible position. You didn't have a choice but to do nothing or try. Trying didn't work out how you wanted it to, but at least you made the effort. At least you made an attempt to right a wrong."

"And after I did it, he hurt me even more. He hurt me on purpose, so much. He was so mad." Prompto frowned.

Ardyn exhaled. "It was an accident. He shouldn't have cloned himself in the first place, shouldn't have had you working alongside him in the lab. You didn't know what you were doing. Nothing that happened is your fault." He persisted. "Do not blame yourself for any of this..."

Prompto blinked, still not looking up. "What I did was an accident... I understand why he was mad, but I said I was sorry... I would have understood being punished, because I did something wrong. Something really wrong... But I didn't do it on purpose. It was wrong... but he hurt me so much... I didn't mean to do anything wrong, but he hurt me so, so much... Nothing I said made him stop. I apologized... I cried, I begged... I honestly didn't mean to do it. I didn't mean for them to die. I tried to tell him, but he was so mad."

Ardyn stared back at the child. "Prompto - he shouldn't have punished you at all. Not even a slap on the wrist... You did nothing wrong."

Looking down, Prompto shook his head. "Yes I did..." He disagreed.

"No, you didn't." Ardyn persisted. "You were in a nightmare. Your brothers were too. You did what you could to save them. You didn't know how to save them, but damn it, you tried... The end result wasn't what you hoped, but you were trying to do the right thing."

"Father didn't think so... He was very angry, and he felt like he had to hurt me. And he did hurt me. Very much." Prompto sniffed.

Blinking, Ardyn silently watched his companion, listening to him tell the rest of his story. As much as Ardyn didn't want to hear it, he knew Prompto needed to say it, needed to get it all out to help him process everything.

"He did the things he always did when he was mad at me." Prompto frowned. "Things he knew I didn't like, things he knew hurt… The things you said he shouldn't do. The things he and I did in bed at night sometimes. He did it right in the lab. He pushed me against one of the tables and held me down - even after he injected me with the drugs. I couldn't even move, but he still held me down so hard. Then he did what we always did in bed, but really hard, really painfully... He did it really rough… He didn't try to make sure it didn't hurt. It always hurt even when he tried to be careful... but he didn't try to be careful this time. He wouldn't stop." Prompto whispered, tears starting to drip down his cheeks.

Ardyn felt like his chest was frozen as he stared speechlessly at the child as the boy confessed to all of this. He still wasn't used to Prompto being so casual about the blatant sexual assault he'd suffered through. To Prompto, it seemed equivalent to all the other abuse. Being raped was just as traumatic to him as being hit. He didn't realize what a big admission it was, what a huge sin it was for Verstael to have hurt him in that way in particular.

"I was bleeding when he was done." Prompto sniffed. "I felt like I could hardly breathe and it hurt so bad, like fire, like being burned... He left me on the table and started moving the bodies into the medical waste room." Prompto explained. "I kept crying while I watched him take them away one by one. I killed thirteen of them." He whispered. "I was in pain, I was scared, and I was sad... I was sad that I accidentally did that to them... and I was sad that Father was so mad, so disappointed... I was sad that I was in so much pain, that it was my fault... I wished I hadn't ever tried to save them, because everything went wrong. I killed them, and I got hurt."

"None of it would have happened if he weren't a vile, toxic person, Prompto. All of these things are his fault." Ardyn promised. "You found out on your own, in a way, how wrong he was to do the things he did. You had no concept of what was right and wrong in the world - he never taught you... but you figured it out on your own. You knew what he was doing wasn't fair and you challenged him. That was brave. Heroic... And no matter what - even if you killed the clones on purpose - he shouldn't have done what he did to you. It was far over the line."

Prompto closed his eyes and nodded. "I just wish I could have saved them instead. I tried. He hurt me so much for that... and I didn't even save any of them. I got hurt for no reason. I didn't even do anything good. It wouldn't have been so bad if I rescued them and then got hurt. I could have felt better knowing the pain was a trade for doing something good... But I didn't even do anything good. I tried to, but I failed. I did a bad thing and got hurt. Nothing about it was worth it..."

"I know. I'm sorry it worked out that way." Ardyn frowned. "Nothing that happened is your fault. Don't feel guilty that he put you in this awful position. It was out of your control entirely from the second you were created."

Prompto shook his head then continued his retelling of the events that led up to Ardyn finally rescuing him from the nightmare he was describing. "He took all the bodies away, then picked me up and took me to the same room. He shoved me in, and I was so tired from the drugs, so I fell down onto the pile of bodies... Then he left me in there for a long time." Prompto whispered, looking up at Ardyn with large eyes, brimming with unshed tears. "I could hardly move, and after a while I couldn't hold in my urine anymore and I peed on myself... I couldn't help it… I was so tired... He came back and he was still really mad… It might have been a whole day later. It felt like so long. I was so thirsty by then... The room smelled bad from the specimens, because I killed them… They were dead and they were decomposing… Even though the room was refrigerated, they were still decomposing a bit. They were disgusting… And I was disgusting. Father told me I was too disgusting for him to even want to touch. I didn't mind that. I didn't want him to touch me..."

Ardyn grimaced. He had a feeling this story wasn't going to get brighter any time soon. The more Prompto talked, the worse it got.

"I guess he just meant that he didn't want to use his penis, but he knew it hurt me when he did it. He knew I hated how it felt, and he wanted to hurt me. I think that's why he did it sometimes, and I know that's why he did it that day. Because he knew it would hurt and he was mad at me." Prompto continued, staring up at Ardyn with large, dark eyes.

Ardyn swallowed. He hadn't asked for any of these details. He didn't want to tell Prompto to stop, to keep this to himself... That would be cruel. But he really didn't like hearing it either. It was entirely disturbing. He couldn't do anything to erase what had already happened... He couldn't help. All this did was make him feel terrible that he didn't do something sooner.

Several months ago he watched Verstael wave Prompto over and the child sat down on his lap. Verstael rubbed his hand over the boy's thigh, up over his waist... He did it right in front of Ardyn, and Ardyn knew it was fucking creepy. He had a feeling something like this was going on, but since he didn't see it blatantly happening, he looked the other way. He shouldn't have. To assume it couldn't be as bad as it looked was foolishly naive. He should have saved Prompto sooner.

It was hard to say how bad this even was, how long it had been happening. Prompto didn't even consider all of it to be traumatizing - just the painful parts. He had no reason to feel bad about someone touching him where they shouldn't. He didn't know it was sexual - that it was abusive. He said before that at first Versteal just laid in bed with him. They didn't wear clothes and they rubbed each other's bodies... Prompto said that he didn't mind that, that it was warm and felt safe... He didn't know that was abuse too... And Prompto didn't seem aware of the concept of time - at least not in terms of months and years... Could he even say how long he'd been being sexually abused? If Ardyn had the courage to come out and ask, would Prompto even be able to give an accurate answer?

How long had this been going on, with Ardyn occasionally dropping in, seeing red flags, and leaving the boy to be raped after he left? How many times did it happen after the first time the possibility popped into Ardyn's head? It was several months ago when Ardyn first witnessed the boy sitting on the man's lap without protest, when he first saw Verstael's hands wandering further than it seemed they should. If he'd acted then, how much pain would he have saved this innocent child from?

"So he bent me over some of the specimens. The dead specimens… The ones I tried to save, but that I killed… He bent me over them. I felt dizzy, and scared..." Prompto whispered, unshed tears shaking his voice.

Ardyn found he was holding his breath as he stared silently at his companion. He felt like he might cry. Ardyn never cried. He didn't have much compassion left in his heart, but in this moment, he legitimately felt like crying. He hadn't ever expected to be told such vivid details about what led up to Ardyn finding him in that horrible room. He didn't want to hear this… Yet he couldn't bring himself to demand that Prompto keep quiet about it. A part of him did want to know, to understand what all the boy had suffered through. It was that sick, morbid curiosity getting the better of him again. An inability to look away from something utterly dreadful no matter how painful and nauseating it might be to witness.

"They were cold and they smelled bad, but I couldn't move. My clothing was gone so I was cold, and they were cold. I could feel my skin touching theirs… It was so cold… And they smelled. The smell made me feel sick." The boy went on. "I think I threw up... I remember feeling like I might. I think I did..." He whispered.

Ardyn remained silent as he listened. He knew this story wasn't leading anywhere pleasant. This poor child had been practically tortured in that lab, horribly abused… for his entire life.

"He held me down against them and squeezed the back of my neck. I thought he was just holding me down - making sure I had to stay right there against the bodies. I thought that's all it was. That the punishment for the time being was to just make me lay against them... until he moved his hand around toward the front and started to squeeze my neck so that I couldn't breathe. Then he forced his fingers…" Prompto paused with a trembling lip as tears started spilling over. "He was choking me, and his fingers-"

"You don't have to relive this…" Ardyn whispered, feeling his throat going tight. "I understand what you're trying to tell me. You need not say any more if you don't want to…"

Prompto shook his head. "No… I want to tell you. I've never told anyone, because I never met anyone else… but I didn't know he wasn't allowed to do these things. I didn't know there were things people weren't supposed to do to each other. He's always hurt me if I didn't listen… And he always did the thing in bed - even when I did listen. He didn't even have to be mad at me to hurt me that way. But he did lots of things that hurt when he wasn't even angry… Like medical procedures… Things that just had to be done, even if they were painful."

Ardyn shook his head. "Those things didn't 'have' to be done. A normal father doesn't do medical procedures on a perfectly healthy child… And he shouldn't have hurt you for disobeying - definitely not to the extent that he did. And I won't even start again on the sexual things. He fucking knew better. That fucking bastard knew what he was doing to you was wrong."

"I thought he was allowed to hurt me because he's my father. I thought he could do whatever he wanted with me because I belong to him... He was the only one I was ever around and that's just the way things were. I just thought that's how life was. That father was in charge. I wasn't. I did what he said, or he hit me. I didn't want to be hit, or beaten, or left alone in the dark or cold with no food or water... I just tried to do what he wanted so I wouldn't have to suffer through that. I didn't know he wasn't supposed to, and that he knew he wasn't supposed to. Why did he do it if he knew?" Prompto whispered, staring up at Ardyn with a frown and wide eyes.

Shaking his head, Ardyn licked his lips and shrugged. "He's… Some people are just cruel… I can't explain why he'd do such awful things to you. I don't know, Prompto…"

Prompt closed his eyes and exhaled. "I've never seen him more angry than in that moment… When he came into that room. He was yelling at me, telling me it was my fault they were dead, that I deserved the worst punishment imaginable." Prompto whispered. "I never did anything else in my whole life to make him that mad. It was the worst thing I ever did..."

"What you did was an accident... You're an innocent child and you were trying to help the others. You were scared, confused... You didn't mean to kill them. I know that. He knew that. You didn't deserve any of what he did to you." Ardyn repeated. "He shouldn't have done any of that to you. Not then. Not ever."

"He was really rough…" Prompto looked down. "With his fingers... It wasn't even for pleasure that time. He always said before it was for pleasure... When he wasn't mad at me and just wanted to do it anyway - even though I didn't like it, he told me to try to enjoy it. That I would like it too if I relaxed. He even sometimes tried to go extra slowly and carefully - he said specifically so I'd enjoy it too. He pointed things out - how he could tell I was enjoying it... But I didn't think I did enjoy it. I think it hurt. Even when my penis was hard, even when-"

"Okay... Prompto..." Ardyn grimaced as he interrupted before thinking better of it. He didn't want to discourage Prompto from venting about this, Prompto deserved to let it all out, but dear gods... He did not need this graphic explanation. "No matter how your body responded, he was still wrong." He noted. "You know better than he did if you enjoyed it... and even if a part of your body did feel good... or confused, it was never his place to force it on you. Don't feel conflicted about that..."

Prompto shook his head. "It wasn't like that back in that room. It was to hurt me. Instead of using his penis, he used his fingers, because I was covered in urine and dirt and the smell of the dead bodies. He didn't want his body close to mine, so he held me down from an arm's length and used his fingers, and it really hurt. He didn't use lubrication like he usually would. He didn't start off slow or advise me to relax. It was like the one time when I fought back, when I made him mad… but I wasn't even fighting back this time." Prompto sniffed back tears. "I didn't even fight. I just tried to get through it, because I knew I messed up and that I had to be punished and that fighting back wouldn't have made it stop… But even when I didn't fight, he did it harder."

Ardyn felt like his breath was frozen in his throat. The story Prompto was telling him was so horrible, so detailed, painful… The poor child had been through such hell. It wasn't enough for Verstael to euthanize the boy when he didn't want him anymore - he had to make sure it was painful, traumatizing, degrading… Ardyn had seen a lot of twisted, horrible things in his long life, but this was just way too far. Verstael didn't have to be so cruel. Prompto didn't deserve any of this.

"I begged him to stop and he did it harder and harder." Prompto told him. "Both things. He squeezed my neck, wouldn't let me breathe… and pushed his fingers in faster and harder. I was already bleeding from before. When he did it with his penis... I was bleeding from that already, and he made me bleed more. He wanted it to hurt. He knew that was one of the things I really didn't like, that made me feel pain… And that's why he was doing it, I think. To hurt me. It wasn't for his pleasure. It wasn't for anything but to make me feel pain…"

Ardyn exhaled tiredly. "You're probably right." He agreed. Verstael probably wasn't getting anything sexually pleasurable out of digitally raping him. It was about control, punishment. He knew Prompto would be in pain, that he would be uncomfortable and scared. That's all it was. A punishment, a show of who was in charge and who wasn't.

"I think he was happy when I cried, when I flinched and pleaded... when I showed him how much it hurt." Prompto noted, blinking a few times and looking up with a pout on his lips. "He did it for so long, and I kept crying and begging him to stop... I thought he was finally done when he took his fingers out, but I was still crying and I think it made him mad... Or maybe he liked that I was crying and wanted me to keep crying."

Ardyn grimaced. How much worse could this story get?

"He left for a few minutes... I thought it was finally over, that maybe I could pass out and just be gone for a while... Or that maybe I would die. I didn't want to die... but in a way, maybe it would have been a relief. I think a part of me was hoping I'd go to sleep and never wake back up - that it would all finally be over." Prompto explained.

Staring silently at the child, Ardyn held his breath. What could he say in response to this? How on earth could he make this easier, make it better? This poor child had suffered so much. He'd been through things most adults wouldn't be capable of dealing with... and he had suffered all alone. He had no one to go to for help, no one to ever talk to up until now... He was twelve years old and contemplating if death would be a relief...

"But then he came back. I guess he wasn't done..." The boy shook his head as he stared past Ardyn, looking blankly through the window behind the man. Prompto was seeming less and less bothered by this story as he told it, as the tale grew more and more graphic and painful. His tone was sounding increasingly numb and indifferent. "He came back with a glass test tube from the lab. I wouldn't have probably even known what it was, but he showed me before he did it... It went in easier because I was bleeding. I think the blood made it go in easy. Made it slippery." Prompto explained.

Swallowing, Ardyn stared silently at the child. This was the worst thing he'd ever fucking heard. Ardyn had lived a long time and had seen, experienced, and even done horrible things... But this was just too much. What the hell was wrong with Verstael? Ardyn knew the man was sick, twisted... but this was simply awful. Prompto was so fucking innocent it hurt... How could Verstael do this to anyone? Let alone someone like this sweet, naive, innocent little child?

"He wouldn't stop... He pushed the tube in really far." Prompto explained, still staring past Ardyn like he wasn't even speaking to him in particular anymore. "It was hard. And it was cold. It wasn't like a penis or fingers... It was hard, really solid - not flexible at all... and he didn't care when it went in wrong, when the angle wasn't right... It hurt more... But after everything else, I started to hardly care either. I was already bleeding, already in so much pain... What difference did it make?"

Ardyn held his breath as he continued to listen. This story clearly indicated that Verstael's only goal here was to cause Prompto pain - to make sure he suffered. Though it would have been just as wrong no matter his reasoning, Verstael was clearly getting nothing physically out of this encounter. It was all about hurting the child and nothing else.

"It hurt so much at first, and he did it faster and harder the more I cried... Eventually I could barely feel anything anymore. I felt kinda numb... Like I was going to faint. I wanted to faint. I wondered if would be better to die... I wondered if I was going to die from how much he was hurting me... He never hurt me so much before, for such a long time... I thought I might die, and a big part of me was okay with that... So I stopped begging. I tried to let myself faint. I stopped trying to stay awake. I tried to stop crying so he'd stop hurting me... I don't think he enjoyed it as much when I took my mind away and pretended I wasn't there… Then he finally stopped, but he wasn't done hurting me."

Ardyn still didn't know what to say. Prompto didn't seem to mind that this was more of a monologue than a conversation. He needed to tell his story and seemed grateful that someone was willing to listen.

"Since I didn't react anymore to the other thing, I think he wanted to do something worse - to get me to cry again, to make sure I felt it... He grabbed me and shoved me so that I was on the ground. Then kicked me in the ribs." Prompto's voice shook as he recounted the experience. "He kicked me so hard. I wanted to try not to think about it, to take my mind away like before... but I couldn't. It hurt so much... He kept kicking me until I wasn't awake anymore." Prompto went on. "That part hurt the most. I could stop thinking about the test tube... It was a dull pain that went kind of numb after a while. But when he kicked me, it hurt worse each time. I couldn't just stop thinking about that. It hurt so bad."

Ardyn exhaled a small breath. He felt like he might legitimately be sick. "What you've described is rape, Prompto. One of the worst things one person can do to another."

Prompto looked up with raised eyebrows and a small frown. He clearly didn't understand.

"When he penetrated you, with his fingers, with his penis, the test tube… That's called rape, and it's wrong. Neither he nor anyone else has any right to do that to you - or to anyone. Gestures like that should be between consenting adults... and you're neither consenting nor an adult. He knew not to do that. He knew that was fucking wrong." Ardyn stared, feeling real anger bubbling up in his chest. Every time he thought he knew just how twisted Verstael was, the man outdid himself.

"Why would adults want to do that?" Prompto whispered, shrinking down and frowning up at Ardyn. "It hurts..."

Ardyn breathed a small breath and closed his eyes. "When adults do it, they don't do it like that." He explained, blinking his eyes back open and staring down at the boy.

Prompto stared back, confusion evident in his expression. "How do they do it?" He wondered with a frown.

Ardyn stared back silently for a moment. How the fuck had he ended up in a position where he was teaching a twelve year old about sex? He really hadn't expected this would ever come up in his life. "Two consenting adults would discuss limits. They would stop if one of them was in pain..." He explained. "Your father was right about one thing - it can feel good if done right... but it's complicated and it's definitely something children shouldn't be a part of. The most important thing is consent - that means both people have to be okay with what's happening - no pain unless that's what someone's into..."

"Why would someone want to be in pain?" Prompto stuck his lower lip out in a pout.

Ardyn blinked, shaking his head. Maybe that was too far. He didn't need to explain it that much... Prompto really didn't need to know much about sex. He just needed to know it shouldn't involve him. This was something his eventual teachers and whatever family he ended up with could go into in more detail later. For now, he just needed to know anyone trying to touch him like that needed to be kicked in the crotch and run from.

"No..." Ardyn shook his head, trying to find the words to keep this as simple as possible. "Not even most adults would consent to what he did to you... Sex is something people are very careful with - to make sure both parties are okay with everything that happens - and it should never involve children. Any sexual act that both people aren't fully agreeing to - or to which someone can't consent - like for instance they're a child - like you - that would be classified as rape. It's one of the worst types of abuse, and he was very wrong for stooping so low..."

"It hurt more when he kicked me though." Prompto noted. "The glass tube hurt a lot... but when he kicked me in the ribs, I really thought I might die... I'd rather him do anything but kick me... And I guess choking, and when he held me under water... I really don't like not being able to breathe. More than any pain, not being able to breathe makes me feel scared... I feel like I might die when I can't breathe. Mr. Ardyn... I'm scared of dying..." He whispered. "A couple times back in the lab, when he was hurting me, I wondered if death would be a relief... but it feels different when I can't breathe. If death is like that, it's more frantic than calming. That's why I was so scared when you put your hand over my mouth and nose. I couldn't breathe. I was really scared."

Ardyn closed his eyes and shook his head. This poor child had no idea what a horrible thing his father had done to him. Even the worse things, drugging him and leaving him with decaying corpses, raping him, beating him, planning on letting him slowly, painfully die… Prompto had no idea what a big fucking deal it all was. He had no reference to normal.

"I woke up a few times between then and you arriving, for a minute or two… tried to move myself away from the specimens…" Prompto frowned. "I can't remember much. I know the specimens were like me, and they died. They stopped moving and they stopped breathing. I could barely breathe anymore when you came in. I could barely move."

"You weren't in very good shape." Ardyn agreed.

Prompto blinked a few times, cocking his head to the side and furrowing his brows. "Was I dying?"

"Likely not… You were drugged, and you were hurt, but I don't think you were dying… but you were going to be left there for a while, and killed eventually according to your father." Ardyn explained. "He was making sure your death would take a while, that you'd suffer first. It was cruel of him to prolong it…"

"You think he should have killed me quickly." Prompto noted with a nod.

"Well…" Ardyn hesitated.

"Like you were going to." The boy added.

Ardyn stared back, grimacing. "So you do recall that…" He noted. "You understand what I was doing..."

"Yes." Prompto answered, with surprisingly less emotion in his voice than Ardyn would have expected.

"I realized during that perhaps ending your suffering wasn't as much of a show of mercy as I was capable. I could do more for you than that. Your life didn't need to be thrown away entirely." Ardyn explained. "I'm sorry I thought of that first. You must have been terrified... Suffering through all that, then having a strange man you really didn't know at all come in and try to suffocate you..."

"Yes... I was very scared... I think I understand though." Prompto noted with a shrug, looking back toward the window and pointing a finger at a raindrop, tracing its path down the glass. "Dying hurts. You didn't want it to take a long time. You were being nice to me. It was scary at the moment, but it was nice. You didn't want me to feel pain. I was in a lot of pain, and you were going to make it stop."

Ardyn frowned. It sounded fucked up hearing it from Prompto. That was his exact line of logic at the time, but for Prompto himself to explain out loud why being killed would have been reasonable to him felt wrong.

"You have a whole life to live, Prompto." Ardyn disagreed. "I was wrong for deciding in that moment that a quick death was the best solution for you. It should have never crossed my mind. Taking you out of there was easy. I should have chosen that from the start."

"You did choose it eventually. You helped me get away. I'm glad you didn't leave me to die." Prompto noted. "Maybe Father would have come back in and hurt me more… and it was uncomfortable being there with the specimens… and the smell… and I smelled too. I was dirty and cold."

Ardyn nodded. "You were absolutely filthy."

"Thank you for helping me in the bath. I know you wanted me to do it myself, but I was very tired, and I was scared." Prompto explained.

"I know. You don't need to be scared. Most people aren't like your father. Most people won't hit you out of anger. Most people know not to sexually assault someone - especially not a child. What he did to you was wrong, so wrong. We're going to find you a new home, with good people who will treat you fairly." Ardyn promised.

"Do you have a home?" Prompto blinked as he stared at Ardyn.

Ardyn shook his head, turning back toward the wheel and starting back onto the road. "Not one you'd be interested in. I'm not the family-type."

"What's that?" Prompto wondered.

"What's what? A family?" Ardyn glanced toward him.

"Yeah." Prompto nodded.

"Mother, father, children… people who live together and care about one another." Ardyn shrugged. "They love each other, take care of each other, keep each other safe, secure, and happy. Ideally at least."

"Like Father?" Prompto's eyebrows rose as a skeptical frown spread across his lips.

"No. Not like your father. That wasn't family." Ardyn shook his head. "A true father would have loved you, would have protected you, would have made sure you were safe and comfortable."

"Like you." Prompto suggested, his mouth inching toward a smile.

Ardyn blinked a long blink, then stared back at the road. Not like him. Not at all. Ardyn had almost murdered this child himself less than a day ago. He was not the affectionate father-figure Prompto was looking for.

xxxxxx

Chapter Text

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Chapter 8

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"Last ferry for this evening left about an hour ago." The man standing outside Ardyn's window informed him as they pulled the car up and Ardyn rolled the window down and looked up at the guy.

Prompto blinked nervously, looking between the man and Ardyn. All day Ardyn had been mentioning that they were going to take the ferry to continue their travels. He wasn't sure what a ferry was, but it seemed to be a problem that it was gone. What would it mean? That they'd have to turn back? That Prompto would go back home to the lab? To Verstael...?

He didn't want that. He thought he wanted it at first. At first he was terrified because Ardyn was unknown. He knew what to expect more with his father. He didn't know this man... He was also scared his father would be angry, that he'd be hurt horribly for trying leave... But now that he'd been with Ardyn for about a day and he realized perhaps he didn't have to ever answer to his father about this whole thing, he didn't think he ever wanted to see the man again. He wanted to stay with Ardyn instead. If Prompto had the option to go with Ardyn and never have to explain to his father why he ran away, he figured it was a pretty good deal.

"When does the first one depart tomorrow morning?" Ardyn asked with a frown.

"About 8:00am." The man answered, leaning down further and glancing toward Prompto.

Prompto instinctively shrunk down, maintaining eye contact with the man and furrowing his brows. He was already on edge because of the harsh weather this evening had brought, and wasn't sure about this strange guy looking at him.

"You and your son can park up there in the lot." The guy nodded toward a parking lot with a line of trees at the back. "There's some campsites back there, but it's raining awfully hard tonight and thunderstorms are rolling in. You might wanna stick to your car until morning if you choose to wait back there... But that's up to you. If you've got a tent you could set it up, but the rain's really coming down and it's only supposed to get worse over the next couple hours."

Ardyn exhaled tiredly, glancing over toward the lot.

"Or there's a motel about a thirty or forty minute drive back the way you came." The man suggested. "Pretty small and basic - not five star by any means, but cheap. It's got a bed at least and'll get you out of the rain. Think they do a free breakfast in the morning too. Cheap stuff like cereal, but not bad if you're traveling and short on time."

Shaking his head, Ardyn forced a smile. "No use backtracking. We'll just wait over in the lot." He decided.

Prompto remained silent until Ardyn rolled his window back up and started driving over toward a parking space near the trees. It didn't seem like anyone else was parked in the lot. He saw no other cars besides one on the far end that the man they'd just talked to was heading towards.

"He was kind of scary." Prompto noted with a frown.

"You think so?" Ardyn frowned, looking toward Prompto as he put the car in park and turned it off.

Prompto nodded. He had met so few people in his life, and so far, meeting someone new had always been kind of terrifying. When he first met Ardyn, his father got mad at him and punished him. Prompto hadn't really ever met anyone else other than his father and Ardyn.

"Well... I suppose it's good you've got the natural instinct not to trust strangers." Ardyn shrugged. "It's not a bad idea to be weary of people you don't know. As I said before, most people accept certain rules of decency, but most isn't all. There are still people out in the world who do things they shouldn't. So you shouldn't ever blindly trust someone new."

"Was that man like Father?" Prompto whispered. "Would he hurt people?"

Ardyn shook his head. "Probably not. But you never know. It's safer to be cautious. I mean... I suppose now's as good a time as any to inform you about the dangers of trusting the wrong person - anyone you don't know is a stranger. They could be good, they could be bad. Most are good... but you can't tell just by looking... So your being suspicious, uneasy around a stranger... It's a good thing."

"Who is he?" Prompto whispered, watching the man carefully. It looked like he was getting in his car and was going to drive away. Prompto wondered where he was going.

Ardyn shrugged. "Works with the ferry company I suppose. I don't know him."

"You don't know who he is?" Prompto frowned. "You talked with him like you knew him."

Ardyn laughed softly. "I talked to him because I needed to know about the ferry and he's here... I figured he'd have the information I was looking for. Do you think I know every person in the world? You asked me who the woman on television was too... I may have gotten out of the lab a bit more than you, but I don't know everyone, Prompto."

"Oh." Prompto frowned, looking down. "Sorry..."

"It's alright." Ardyn smiled. "I don't know most people. There are so many and the world is so large. Nobody knows every person. Most people you see out in the world - for your whole life - will be strangers."

"That's scary." Prompto pouted. "And they could be bad..."

Ardyn laughed softly. "You don't need to be afraid - just cautious. It's okay to talk to people - just don't put your full trust into someone you don't know. You'll see strangers everywhere, and most are harmless. If you need to ask a question like I did - that's okay. If you're buying something at a store and the cashier chats with you - that's fine... Even small talk with strangers on the street or on public transport is okay if you don't find it annoying... It's when a stranger tries to take you somewhere secluded that you should be worried. A stranger touching you - grabbing your arm, putting their hand on your back for no reason. Harmless talk is fine. Don't let a stranger lure you into their car, into their house... anything like that."

Prompto swallowed and nodded. It all sounded so scary. He never thought about all the other people in the world, about some of them maybe being dangerous. What would he do if a strange person he didn't know tried to take him away somewhere? He supposed he might be too scared to do anything. Ardyn himself was a stranger until recently. The day Ardyn took him away from the lab - that's exactly what it was - a strange man he didn't know taking him away. He was scared. In fact he was terrified... but there was nothing he could do. Ardyn was stronger than him. If a stranger tried to take him again - if he was stronger than Prompto... there wouldn't be anything he could do.

"Strangers are a constant part of every day life." Ardyn continued. "Unless you're going someplace as a routine - like school, a job... If you go somewhere every day you'll start to know and recognize people. Random man at the ferry far away from where either of us live? Of course he'd be a stranger."

"School?" Prompto felt his ears perk up. He'd read about school. Normally children went to school. It was a place where they could learn and socialize. He wondered if he could go to something like that - meet other kids like him. He hadn't ever met other kids before. Only the ones in the lab, and they weren't up and awake like him. He couldn't talk to them, couldn't play with them.

"Yes." Ardyn nodded. "If you attended school every day, you'd meet up with the same kids every day and you'd get to know those kids. They wouldn't be strangers to you after a few weeks. You could make friends."

"Friends?" Prompto felt a slight smile pulling at the corner of his lips.

"Yes." Ardyn laughed. "I suppose school would realistically be in your near future." He shrugged. "We'll see where you end up, but you're a young boy - several years still before adulthood. You should definitely go to school."

"Some of the books father had mentioned school. I think I'd like to go... But it may be scary to be around so many people." Prompto noted. "I do want to make friends with other children... but... I don't know them yet, and it makes me feel nervous thinking about it..."

"We'll explore the world and some towns first." Ardyn informed him. "School won't be for a while. Let's get you acting more like a regular human being first."

Prompto nodded. Yes, that would be good. He didn't want to say or do anything that would have everyone staring at him how Ardyn did sometimes. Sometimes when he said or did something Ardyn didn't seem to expect or asked certain questions, the man stared at him in such a way that Prompto worried for a moment that he might be angry. He didn't want to make other people angry or uncomfortable... but Prompto didn't know how the rest of the world lived. He knew how he lived, and apparently, according to Ardyn, how Prompto lived was largely strange and inappropriate.

"Well... We've got all night to wait now. It's past eleven... And we'll take the first ferry, so about nine hours." Ardyn informed him. "Are you hungry?"

Prompto shook his head no. He'd been snacking on crackers during the car ride and ate most of the box. Ardyn also made him a sandwich earlier.

"You tired?" Ardyn frowned.

Prompto blinked. "A little..." He answered. He wasn't sure he could fall asleep right now though. He was kind of nervous. A lot of big things had happened in such a short amount of time. The only home he'd ever known was far behind him. His father - the man who raised him, the only person he ever really talked to was gone... He was in a new place with a new person... The weather was scary too. It was raining so much, and occasionally scary flashes of light lit up the sky, following by rumbling booms so loud he could feel them. He didn't remember that ever happening at the lab.

"Feel free to sleep if you're tired." Ardyn suggested, reaching down below his seat and pulling something that made the seat slide backwards, giving him a lot more room to lean back and stretch his legs. "There's not much else to do."

Prompto frowned, looking out the window and flinching when another bright light flashed through the sky. He held his breath and braced himself for the loud sound he knew was coming next, but couldn't help the tiny whimper that escaped his lips once the sound finally struck. He felt like the booms were getting louder - maybe getting closer. They were becoming more frequent too.

"Hey..." Ardyn spoke, his voice calm, gentle as he reached across the seat, placing a hand lightly on Prompto's arm. "It's alright. You're safe."

"W-what is that?" Prompto pouted, feeling himself shaking slightly. "It's so loud... It's getting louder... Can it reach us? What is it?"

Ardyn narrowed his eyes. "Just thunder... Are you unfamiliar with thunder? Could you not hear that from down in the lab? When it storms sometimes, thunder accompanies the rain." He answered. "It's harmless. It's loud, but it can't hurt you."

"What about the light?" Prompto wondered, staring out the window as another burst flashed through the sky. He closed his eyes and shrunk down, whimpering again as the thunder boomed next, shaking the car slightly.

"Lightning." Ardyn answered, and Prompto felt fingertips under his chin, tilting his face up. "Prompto... Open your eyes." He instructed.

Prompto did as he was told, blinking his eyes open and staring toward Ardyn with a pout on his lips. "It's scary..." He whispered.

"What is it about it that scares you so much?" Ardyn wondered with narrowed eyes.

Prompto felt his lip stick out slightly as he shrugged. He wasn't sure really. Fear wasn't something he often analyzed in himself. He just knew he got scared sometimes. He didn't mean to do it. It just happened... But he supposed there were certain events and scenarios that did seem to trigger fear... He knew he was scared of pain. He was scared of things that led to pain. If his father seemed angry, he'd get scared, because he knew sometimes his father hurt him when he was angry. If Prompto accidentally broke something he knew he might be hit... He was kind of scared of night time, because that's when his father would likely made him do the painful things in bed.

Why was he scared of rumbling noises and flashes of light in the sky? He hadn't ever encountered it before, so it was new... but everything was new to him. Other new things weren't scary... Just certain things. Maybe it was just because the thunder was so loud, and that a lot of loud things ended up being painful - like his father raising his voice, something in the lab falling and breaking and Prompto being punished for being the culprit. Usually when something loud happened, he felt pain too. The light, perhaps reminded him of fire, and he knew fire could hurt.

"It's just..." Prompto whispered, flinching and whimpering again when another boom rumbled across the planet. He put his hands over his eyes and shrunk down. He wished they could go someplace where he couldn't hear the thunder, where he couldn't see the lightning.

"Shh... You're safe with me... No need to be frightened." Ardyn persisted, reaching up and taking one of Prompto's hands in his, pulling it away from his face so he could see him. "Don't panic. It's only sound. It's far away. It only seems close because it's so loud. Thunder has never hurt anyone."

Prompto looked up through the start of tears. He knew Ardyn said the thunder and lightning couldn't hurt him, but he just wasn't so sure the man was right. "It's loud..." Prompto repeated breathlessly. "Loud is scary... And the light is so big... Is it hot, like fire? Can it burn us?" He whispered, feeling his heart pounding in his chest.

Ardyn smiled slightly, staring down at Prompto and shaking his head. "It won't. Perhaps if you were running around outside, but it can't strike you when you're in here."

Prompto blinked. "So it is dangerous if you're outside in it?" He frowned.

"It can be." Ardyn shrugged. "That's why it's a good idea to go indoors - or into a car - if it starts storming. Rain is quite often accompanied by thunder and lighting. That's when it becomes a storm. Rain is just water... but there's not usually lightning or thunder without a bit of rain along with it. So sometimes rain alone is a good reason to head inside."

"Maybe I don't like the rain then." Prompto pouted, feeling almost betrayed that something so magical came along with frightening flashes of hot light and loud, threatening, deafening booms of thunder. "I thought it was pretty at first, but now I know... Rain isn't good. Rain is scary."

Ardyn shook his head and laughed softly. "You don't need to be afraid of rain, child. In fact it would be a shame if you were... Rain keeps the planet alive. There would be no plants without rain. No water - so no animals. No life at all... It's a good thing. As for the lightning... It's kind of like the stars." The man noted. "You liked seeing the stars, right?"

"Yes." Prompto nodded. "But they weren't scary... They're beautiful..."

"Lightning can be beautiful too." Ardyn explained. "Like the stars. If you look at it the right way... Keep your eyes open and look next time. Don't worry that it's hot, that it could burn - because it can't get you when you're inside the car. It's only something to see - not something that can hurt you. Don't think about the thunder that will follow. Don't worry about any of that. It's only a noise."

Nodding, Prompto reaching up and grasped Ardyn's fingers in his hand, squeezing them slightly and staring up into the man's eyes. "It's just a noise?" He whispered.

"Yes." Ardyn spoke, looking at his hand as though confused, then looking back toward Prompto's eyes. "You don't need to be afraid. Thunder is loud, but harmless. It's noise. That's it. It isn't angry. It isn't lashing out. It's nature shifting and clashing with itself. It won't hurt you."

Prompto swallowed, nodding and inhaling a shaky breath. It was hard not to be scared just because someone told him not to be. Fear didn't work that way. The loud noise made him feel nervous. It made his heart beat fast. It made his body shake. Even if Ardyn claimed it was harmless, that it couldn't hurt him, Prompto still felt it. He still worried that maybe Ardyn was wrong.

He couldn't help but to whimper and choke out a tiny, almost sobbing noise when another flash of lightning lit up the sky. He grabbed toward Ardyn's hand again and hid his face against the man's chest, bracing himself once again for the sound of the thunder. There wasn't this much thunder and lightning earlier in the evening. It was getting worse. Louder, brighter, scarier. What if it got even bigger from here? What if the thunder broke the ground beneath them and they fell in? What if the lighting hit them and burned them?

"Mr. Ardyn!" Prompto whimpered when the thunder struck once more. He grabbed at the man's shirt and pulled himself closer. "I'm scared..." He whimpered.

Ardyn exhaled a breath, but wrapped his arms around Prompto's back, holding him against his chest.

Prompto breathed in and out shaky, frantic breaths, squeezing his eyes shut as he cowered down against Ardyn's body, pretty much climbing into his lap. Surprisingly, Ardyn allowed it, hugging him close, letting the boy curl up against him.

"Shhh... I've got you." Ardyn promised, rubbing gentle hands over Prompto's arm and the back of his head. "You're alright. It's only light, only sound... It won't hurt you."

Shaking his head, Prompto sniffed back tears. "Is it gonna stop soon?" He whispered.

Ardyn shrugged slightly. "Perhaps. It'll definitely stop by morning. You could try to sleep through it. Tomorrow will be brighter, calmer..."

"I can't go to sleep." Prompto whispered, feeling his body trembling under Ardyn's embrace. "I'm too scared..." He added in a tiny voice.

Prompto could feel Ardyn's hand moving gently up and down over his back. "You can stay like this..." He offered. "Right next to me... Just give it a chance. Watch the lighting through the windows. I'll keep you safe. You can watch the light, knowing that I won't let anything happen to you."

"Do you promise?" Prompto whispered, blinking and staring out the window as he leaned his head against Ardyn's chest. Could Ardyn really keep him safe from this? It was so loud, so big...

"Yes. I promise, Prompto." Ardyn answered.

"Okay." Prompto swallowed, grimacing and holding his breath when another flash of light blinked through the sky. He flinched slightly, but clung closer to Ardyn, trying to keep his fear from taking over. He watched the light this time, ignoring the fear in his heart and choosing to trust that Ardyn really could protect him.

He inhaled a small breath as he stared at the sky this time, not closing his eyes or hiding his face. When the lightning flashed, it wasn't just one big bright light. It was a strange jagged line of light, illuminating all of the clouds near it - dark, grey, billowing storm clouds. Prompto could even see the rain better outside of the car as the light lit up the area. It truly was beautiful, just like Ardyn said. He could even see the outlines of trees that he couldn't make out before the light flashed.

"The whole world lights back up..." Prompto gasped.

Ardyn laughed softly. "It's beautiful, isn't it? Like the stars."

Prompto nodded, increasing his grip around Ardyn's sleeve when the thunder rumbled next. It was harmless. It was loud, but it was harmless. He didn't need to be afraid. He was safe in here. It was just a sound. A harmless sound.

"See?" Ardyn rubbed his hand gently up and down Prompto's back. "It's only a noise."

Prompto nodded again, silently watching out the window, both nervous and excited for the next time the lighting would strike. He flinched slightly and shrunk down against Ardyn, narrowing his eyes as another flash of lighting followed and the entire world outside lit up again as though for a split second it was the middle of the day again.

It took a few more times before the thunder didn't make Prompto flinch anymore, but watching the lightning while safely wrapped in Ardyn's arms ended up being a lot more calming than he could have ever guessed it would be. Eventually, when the lightning struck, Prompto could enjoy the beauty of it without dreading the following thunder. Ardyn was right. It was just a noise and it didn't hurt. Once he realized the thunder wasn't going to cause him pain, once he got a good grip on when to expect it and knew that it wasn't going to hurt him, it wasn't so bad.

It was strange how quickly Prompto's opinion on the lightning changed. It went from terrifying to awe-inspiring in a matter of minutes. Ardyn was right. It was beautiful. It wasn't scary... Not when he was safely inside the car, watching from a distance, wrapped up in Ardyn's arms.

"All this rain seems dreary now." Ardyn spoke in a calm voice as he held Prompto close against his chest. "But in the morning, you'll see all the plants have perked up. The rain is great for them. Keeps the world alive. Even the animals get more lively. I'll bet we'll hear birds chattering away, see turtles and frogs coming out of hiding... The rain brings out a lot in nature."

"Really?" Prompto blinked, keeping his head against Ardyn's chest and appreciating how warm the man's embrace was. This kind of reminded him of how his father used to hold him. But back before he started doing sexual things to him at night - back when it was still comforting, warm, safe... Feeling those positive feelings wasn't usual for Prompto, so he appreciated it a great deal when it happened. In fact, probably one of the few good memories he had with his father was when they would sit together like this, when his hands were gentle, when no one felt any pain.

Verstael used to just hold him in bed. He did that maybe ten or fifteen nights straight before anything painful ever happened. Prompto liked it. It made him feel protected. The warmth that came with physical contact with another human being was like nothing else. But it didn't last long enough. Verstael was only content to hold him and pet him for so long before he wanted more. Then it wasn't comforting anymore. Even the parts that didn't hurt became scary, because Prompto knew what was coming. Even on days when his father didn't ultimately hurt him, when he only held him as he did for those blissful ten or fifteen days... Prompto couldn't enjoy it anymore. Because he never knew if the man would choose to take it further. Being held was so often the start of something more, so Prompto started to fear that too...

But thus far, Ardyn didn't seem to be the same as Verstael. Ardyn wasn't like that... At least, he claimed he wasn't. Prompto hoped he wasn't. He hoped that this moment wasn't going to lead to something painful. If Ardyn was like Verstael, he'd hold Prompto like this a few more times before letting his hands wander too far. But Ardyn wasn't like Verstael. Prompto felt very hopeful that it would be different with this man.

Prompto had unintentionally given Ardyn a wide-open opportunity to hurt him... If Ardyn was interested in doing that, Prompto had made it painfully easy... The man could have just let Prompto continue what he initiated back at the motel... He could have just let Prompto do it... and Prompto would have. He'd have taken Ardyn's pants down, slowly, cautiously guessed what the man might like... He would have done anything and everything his father made him do... Prompto was entirely prepared to lead the way, to use his own fingers to prepare himself if Ardyn let him, then climb onto his lap and do it... pretend like it wasn't hurting him horribly, just quietly withstand the pain, try to go slowly and carefully, but still deep enough to satisfy the man - anything to keep Ardyn happy, to keep him from hurting Prompto worse...

Prompto wouldn't have fought him or tried to run once Ardyn took over control. Even if it hurt, even if Ardyn was rough, even if he held him down with bruising hands and pushed his face against the mattress... Prompto would have held still, would have closed his eyes and tried to bear it... He'd have tried not to cry... and if tears did come, he would have been as quiet as possible. He didn't know if crying would make Ardyn want to hurt him more - if he'd like it and try to make it worse for the boy so he could hear more choking gasps... or if he'd be annoyed by it and hit him to try to make him stop. Either way, Prompto would have tried to keep his tears inside.

But Ardyn didn't want anything like that. Prompto gave him the opportunity and he didn't take it. So chances seemed good that Ardyn wasn't going to take their relationship in that direction. Prompto was hopeful that being held was just what it seemed and nothing more. Maybe with Ardyn, Prompto could continue enjoying the warm feeling of arms around him, of safety and security without the fear of something horrible following.

"Yes. Just wait until morning. It'll almost be like an entirely different world." Ardyn nodded, rubbing a hand gently over Prompto's back. "Everything seems more alive the morning after a good rain." He noted.

Prompto felt a smile pulling at the corners of his lips as he laid his head against Ardyn's chest. Why was this man so much nicer than his father? Why was he so comforting? Why was he so good? And why was it that any time Prompto pointed out the fact that Ardyn was a good person, that Prompto appreciated the care and comfort he provided, that Ardyn disagreed, claimed to be a bad person? Ardyn wasn't a bad person...

"For someone who hasn't seen a lot of nature, you'll likely be quite amazed." Ardyn went on. "You've not seen a lot outside of books. The real world isn't even comparable to what you'd have read or seen in pictures. All sorts of different plants and animals are out in the world. Most of them are harmless."

"Are frogs harmless?" Prompto wondered, blinking as he watched another flash of lightning illuminate the sky outside.

"Most of them." Ardyn nodded.

"If we see a frog..." Prompto started, furrowing his brows. "Could I hold it?" He wondered.

Ardyn laughed. "And here I was thinking you weren't anything like a regular child... Yes, if we see a frog, we can stop and pick it up. Play with it for a bit. But be gentle... It's a living creature, just like you."

Prompto nodded. He understood that. Living things should be treated with care... Frogs could feel pain just like Prompto felt pain. If he did find one, if he did get the chance to pick one up, to touch it... He'd be gentle - like Ardyn was being with him. He didn't want to cause the frog pain, to scare it. He just wanted to see it, to feel its skin, to look into its eyes and wonder what it was thinking.

"Are they cold?" Prompto wondered. "They looked cold in the book I read with a frog... But they were dead. Maybe I'm thinking they looked cold because they were dead - and because I know the other boys - the ones like me that I accidentally killed - were cold too." He added with a frown and a grimace. "The frogs in the book were used in a science experiment. They looked sad."

Ardyn leaned back a bit, cocking his head as he looked down at Prompto. "They're usually somewhat cold, yes..." He finally answered.

"Is it uncomfortable for them?" Prompto frowned as he watched another bright flash of lightning out the window.

"What? Being cold?" Ardyn wondered.

Prompto nodded. "I don't like being cold. It's a feeling close to pain, but different. Not pain, but I don't like it... Do frogs feel that?"

Ardyn laughed softly. "I don't think they mind."

Prompto closed his eyes for a moment. It was interesting to think about all the different creatures in the world. He hadn't seen many of them in real life, but they were all out here somewhere - just like he was now.

"Are you cold?" Ardyn wondered.

Prompto shook his head. "No." He answered. "Not now. Not when you hold me."

Ardyn exhaled, but said nothing more. The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes, both quietly watching the occasional lights flashing across the sky outside.

"What's the ferry?" Prompto finally asked. All day Ardyn spoke of it like Prompto was supposed to know what it meant, but he didn't understand what it even was.

Ardyn smiled slightly. "It's a large boat that people drive their cars onto. They can go without a car too of course, but we do have a car, and we want to keep it with us. So the ferry can help with that. It takes the whole car across the water. We're taking it to the Lucian continent. I think you'll have a better chance at a normal life there."

"Oh..." Prompto nodded, closing his eyes and breathing in a calming breath. He felt so warm and protected right now. It was a feeling he had almost forgotten. The last time his father made him feel safe and comfortable was so long ago. Prompto spent so long fearing the man. Even when things were fairly calm, there was always dread in the back of his mind, knowing his father might get angry about something Prompto accidentally did, knowing he was going to make him do things that were uncomfortable, painful - things Prompto couldn't avoid even by doing everything right, meeting every expectation perfectly... He didn't think Ardyn would do things like that. Prompto actually felt genuinely safe for the moment - even with the scary thunder and lightning. Ardyn said he'd protect him, and Prompto believed him.

"Once we get there, we'll drive a bit - probably to the city. Lestallum would be a good choice... Maybe Insomnia... Or we could head somewhere smaller. I think trying larger cities first would be smarter... We just need to find a good place for you to settle. Bigger cities means more people. More chances for something to work out positively for you." Ardyn explained.

"What's it like there?" Prompto wondered, keeping his eyes closed as he relaxed in Ardyn's warm embrace. He felt like he was close to sleep and realized now that the only thing keeping him from falling asleep before was fear. He'd been exhausted pretty much since the sun went down, but the thunder and lightning was scary enough that he couldn't relax. He wasn't afraid anymore. Ardyn made sure of that.

"Where? The cities?" Ardyn asked.

"Yeah." Prompto spoke, his voice small, tired. "And the continent... The whole place."

"The cities are larger - bigger buildings, more people... Shops, restaurants, markets, parks, places to walk around. Schools of course. That would interest you." Ardyn answered. "Insomnia has a school - it's the largest city - the Crown City. Very exciting stuff..." He laughed, almost like he didn't really mean what he was saying. Maybe he didn't like that city. "People from Insomnia sometimes get a certain pretentiousness to them, but... they do have a school, a community of sorts. You might fit in there."

"What about the rest of it?" Prompto wondered. "The stuff that's not the cities..."

"The continent itself is so much larger. It's not too different from here, but you don't really know here either..." Ardyn explained. "The Lucian continent is very diverse. There are amazing landmarks, large arches stretching across the land, a volcano, ponds, likes, rivers, desert, plains, rocky terrain... Lots of various plant and animal life... Any sort of terrain you'd prefer, almost even any sort of weather - you'll find it somewhere within the continent."

"Are there other people?" Prompto wondered, feeling his eyelids growing heavier. He didn't want to fall asleep just yet. He wanted to keep talking to Ardyn, but he wasn't sure he could keep his eyes open much longer. "Like outside of the cities?"

"Sure. There are many towns full of people, and smaller more secluded areas where individuals live." Ardyn answered. "Lestallum and Insomnia are full of people. Not sure how you'll do around crowds... I suppose you'll just have to wait and see. There's definitely a lot to experience and explore."

Prompto nodded and smiled, feeling sleep edging into his mind. He was really looking forward to seeing everything, and was happy he'd be with Ardyn as he explored this new world. Jumping into something so big as an entire world he was never allowed into before was a lot. It made him nervous... But somehow, he wasn't so scared anymore. He still didn't know Ardyn all that well, but in this moment, he was pretty sure the man was going to keep him safe. Prompto was going to be okay. His life was maybe going to turn around completely, and it was all thanks to his hero, Ardyn.

xxxxxx

Chapter Text

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Chapter 9

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"Then spread the jam onto the other slice..." Ardyn explained, fighting the urge to take the plastic knife and ingredients away and just make Prompto's sandwich for him. This process wasn't as difficult as Prompto was making it look, but the child needed to learn how to do things for himself, and whether Ardyn liked it or not, allowing him to make sloppy attempts and do things poorly was the first step.

Most children Prompto's age would have been allowed to do so much for themselves already, but with Verstael's controlling nature, Prompto hadn't been allowed to - was even scared to attempt to do most things on his own. Even simple tasks like bathing, getting dressed, making quick meals... When Ardyn offered up the components and backed up to leave the boy to do things himself, Prompto always hesitated, stared at Ardyn like the man just asked him to jump out of an airship with no parachute. But he was more than capable of doing these simple tasks, and Ardyn needed to give him a chance, to encourage him to use his skills and sharpen them so he could live a semi-normal life from here on out.

After driving for quite a while after the ferry early this morning, they'd stopped for the evening at a secluded rest area next to a pond and Ardyn had decided to walk Prompto through making his own dinner. Ardyn didn't plan on being with the child forever, and wanted him acting closer to an average twelve year old before he passed him off on an adoptive family. He couldn't give Prompto away how he was. People would ask so many questions, make his adoptive parents uncomfortable, confused, worried... What would any normal parent who didn't understand where Prompto came from do if the child acted clueless when asked to do something as simple as washing his own body? How would they respond if Prompto heard a startling noise - something everyone else was used to like a car horn - and the boy shrunk down into a corner and started crying? The helpless little thing would be entirely lost.

The boy spread the jam rather unevenly across the bread, pressing down a bit too hard so that he was nearly tearing the slice toward its middle. It still looked better than the piece he'd spread the peanut butter onto at least. "Like this?" Prompto stared up with wide eyes.

Ardyn felt a small smirk spread across his lips as he stared down at the monstrosity on the table between them. The sandwich was a complete and utter mess. In fact it was comical that Prompto was seeking validation considering the disaster he'd created on the plate in front of him. Did he not realize how much messier it looked than the one Ardyn made for him the day before? He realized each slice of bread was meant to remain intact, right?

"Is it okay?" Prompto asked again, his eyebrows raised hopefully. There was a hint of worry in his features as well. Maybe he did realize it wasn't quite as perfect as it could be... But it didn't have to be. As long as it resembled a sandwich and ended up quenching the child's hunger, it would be a job well done. "Did I do it right?" Prompto asked once again, grimacing slightly and shrinking down.

Ardyn narrowed his eyes. "More or less." He shrugged. "Then when you're satisfied that it's spread how you want it, put it jam-side-down on the slice with peanut butter. You saw how it was constructed when I made you one yesterday. Just replicate that. You can cut it in half diagonally if you want it to be how I made it, but that part really doesn't matter."

"It does matter." Prompto spoke, his tone much more serious than the occasion called for. "I want to do it how you did it." He nodded, focusing back on the recipe before him. "The one you made was really good. I never tasted something so delicious before."

Ardyn frowned. That was kind of pathetic. A hastily constructed peanut butter and jam sandwich made from ingredients he found at a fuel station convenience store was the best thing Prompto had ever eaten?

"Would you like fruit to go with it? We still have a pear and bananas." Ardyn offered as he looked through the bag of food he'd bought. "Or some tomatoes."

"Could I try a pear this time?" Prompto asked. "I've never had one before. Are they like apples?"

Ardyn shrugged, taking the pear out of the bag and placing it on the picnic table next to the paper plate Prompto was using to make his sandwich. "They're similar." He answered. "Perhaps a tad grainier, but really, fruit is fruit, and apples and pears are just about as close to identical as you can get."

"The apples were really good." Prompto noted. "I didn't ever have anything like this with father. He did cook for me, but it wasn't ever anything so sweet. He was always focused on the nutrition aspect - not the taste."

Ardyn nodded, sitting down across the table from the boy and watching as he cut the sandwich into two triangles and looked up with a huge smile and big eyes.

"Look! I did it!" Prompto beamed as he held the plate up proudly in his hands. "Just like you."

Ardyn laughed softly. "Great." He fought the urge to roll his eyes as a big glob of jam dripped out of the side of the sandwich. He swore he heard an audible plop as it hit the paper plate. What a mess... "Proud of you." He noted sarcastically.

Prompto breathed in a small breath, staring back at Ardyn as though completely shocked. "You are?" He blinked. "You're proud of me?"

Ardyn frowned. When he said that, he was being sarcastic. Making a sandwich and cutting it in half was nothing to be proud of... Especially when the end result was as messy as what this child was holding up in front of him right now. It was such a small thing... Was Prompto serious right now? Did he really think this was something to be proud of?
"I-" Prompto hesitated, looking down and lowering the plate back onto the table. "I don't think... I don't think anyone's ever been proud of me..." He noted.

Ardyn felt his heart twist in his chest. Maybe it was a bigger accomplishment than it would initially seem, considering everything Prompto had been through. This child making a meal for himself when he never had before, going along with Ardyn even though he was terrified, fighting every second to remain brave and strong, to keep his composure most of the time... Perhaps it was something Ardyn could honestly claim he felt proud of.

All of this had to have been so big for this little boy, who lived his life following orders without question, never being allowed to do things for himself or show he had an opinion. Prompto had lived his entire short life in one single building, following a very simple routine, obediently doing as asked and nothing more... This whole experience had to be so overwhelming for him. It was perhaps impressive he was doing so well with Ardyn.

Finally, Ardyn nodded. "Yes, Prompto. I am proud of you." He admitted. "You've grown a lot in even just the few days I've known you." He noted.

Prompto smiled, looking down as though embarrassed. The boy breathed in a small breath and blinked a few times. He didn't seem to know what to say from here.

"I mean it." Ardyn frowned. "When I found you in that room, I considered you entirely weak, pathetic even... but you've got a certain strength I didn't notice right away. The way you strive to remain positive, to continue trying new things even when it's frightening for you. You've been very brave through this."

"Thanks. I'm trying really hard." Prompto breathed nervously, blinking a few more times, shaking his head, then quickly changing the subject. "Let's see if it tastes as good as the one you made." He laughed, taking a bite, then smiling and nodding. He chewed and swallowed. "It does! It's so good, Mr. Ardyn! I did it!" He laughed. "Do you want the second half?"

Ardyn grimaced as he stared nervously down at the plate, at the crumbling bits of bread where the child had spread peanut butter too hard with the knife, the almost-triangle shape with peanut butter and jam oozing out of one side.

"It's really good. I promise!" Prompto nodded excitedly. "Please try it. I think I did a good job. I want you to try it..."

Ardyn blinked, feeling hesitant to take Prompto up on the rather un-tempting offer. But it would probably mean a lot to the boy if he accepted. It was only half of a sandwich. It wouldn't be horrible... just not good either.

"Wow. I can't believe I made it all by myself. Father would probably be mad... I don't think he'd be proud. I think he'd be angry, annoyed... He wouldn't have ever let me make my own food. But it doesn't matter what he thinks. I'm with you now, and you're proud of me." Prompto giggled as he took another bite. "And it's so good! Do you want this half?" Prompto pushed the plate toward Ardyn and stared with ridiculously pleading eyes. "I'll let you have it if you want it. I think you'll like it."

Ardyn exhaled tiredly, but took the sandwich, raising it up to his lips and trying not to make a disgusted face as he took a small bite.

"Isn't it wonderful!?" Prompto smiled.

Ardyn swallowed and nodded. Peanut butter and jam wasn't really his cup of tea. It was sticky, too sweet... But he wasn't going to tell Prompto that. Ardyn had saved the boy from a life-time of anguish and pain. He took him away, bathed him, fed him, clothed him... He talked with him, assured him he had done nothing wrong and that he was valuable enough that he shouldn't put up with abuse - that no one had a right to hurt or degrade him.

This was what Prompto had to give back, to show his gratitude and to make himself feel useful. Prompto couldn't pay Ardyn, couldn't provide a useful service. He had nothing to give. When Ardyn took him from the lab, the boy had literally nothing. Not even clothes. Not even the strength to stand on his own. Making this disgusting little sandwich and offering Ardyn half of it was all he had right now. The only thing he could offer up as a thank you. Ardyn couldn't take that away.

"I'll have to teach you to make other things later." Ardyn noted as he watched Prompto finish his half of the sandwich and start on the pear. "There are lots of things a young boy like yourself should be able to handle cooking. We've no access to a stove, but even a hotel room with a kettle could help you get a good grasp on cooking a few simple dishes. Tea, coffee, instant noodles... Toast is simple enough too, and I'm sure you'd like that."

Prompto nodded, watching and listening intently as he ate the pear. He likely didn't even know what the foods Ardyn listed were.

"I think you're far more capable than I first assumed, far more intelligent and mentally present. You were so quiet and timid the first we met. I didn't think you even knew how to speak. The very first day I ever saw you, when you hid behind your father, staring at me like an anak in headlights... I assumed your head was all but empty, but that's clearly not the case." Ardyn explained.

"I was scared of you." Prompto noted with a shrug, taking another bite of the pear. "And I was scared of Father. The first time you visited..." He started, frowning and shaking his head. "He told me to stay hidden the first time you visited. And I didn't, and you saw me... and he got really angry and punished me. I was just going to sneak around, try to just get a glimpse of you - because I'd never seen anyone from outside the lab. I was kind of excited to see a new person... but I didn't sneak well enough, and you saw me, and you said something... and then he saw me... He pretended he wasn't mad, but he was. After you left he hurt me a lot."

"Oh." Ardyn frowned. He wondered what Verstael did to the poor child. Probably something pretty harsh. Something Prompto didn't deserve... That explained a lot why Prompto always seemed terrified when Ardyn came around. The boy associated Ardyn with the pain his father caused him that day. Prompto likely feared the same punishment might follow every time he saw Ardyn. Hopefully that wasn't the case. Hopefully Verstael didn't hurt him every time Ardyn visited.

"It was my fault. He said that I should stay hidden and I didn't listen. I didn't mean for you to see me. I hadn't ever seen another person before - not besides the others like me, but they weren't awake. They didn't walk around or talk. I only knew Father and them. I was curious to see you... I never meant for you to see me too. I only wanted to see you from a distance, to watch you and father talk, to listen to what you two said to each other..." Prompto frowned. "But he was so angry when you noticed me. He pretended like he wasn't mad, but once you left, he was really angry with me. That was maybe the second or third most angry he's ever been with me..."

Ardyn exhaled a tired breath. "I'm sorry my presence contributed to that..." He frowned.

Prompto looked down. "He hurt me a lot, and it made me nervous forever any time you visited after... I didn't know if he'd get mad again. If he'd hurt me again if I tried to talk to you. And I didn't know if you were like him. I was scared to talk to you because he might get mad, but I was also scared that you'd be mean. I guess I thought you'd do the same things he did, because you're friends. You two seemed like equals, and I was below that. I was like the others - I didn't have a choice but to follow orders and stay quiet. I wondered if you'd want the same things he did... if I'd have to do the painful things with both of you... if you'd get mad at me and hit me too. Or if you had entirely different rules I didn't know yet - if you'd have expectations of me that I didn't understand and you'd do something painful if I didn't know what you wanted... I didn't want two different people hurting me all the time, so I just stuck by father... so it would only be him, and so it would be things I was used to. Things I knew how to handle."

"I'm not like him." Ardyn frowned. "I'm a monster in my own right, but I'd never do the things he did to you."

"I know that now." Prompto nodded. "But I didn't know it then. I was scared you'd hurt me - like Father did... or maybe worse. I didn't know... I just knew you were scary. You were an unknown... a mystery. That's why I was so scared when you first took me from the lab. I panicked and I tried to get away from you, even though I was too tired and couldn't really move much... but I was just so scared... and then I got more and more scared because I'd tried to get away already and I thought you'd be angry about that... Then when I spilled the water and couldn't walk and didn't know what to do in the bath... I thought you'd punish me... So when you asked me to lie down in the bed, I just wanted to do what you wanted, before you got even more angry... But I was wrong and you looked even more mad... Mr. Ardyn I was so scared of you..." He breathed, his eyes wide as he thought back to how he'd felt back then.

"I wouldn't have done anything like that to you, Prompto... I understand why you thought that, but I hope you don't fear that of me anymore. I'd never sexually abuse a child." Ardyn frowned.

Prompto nodded. "I know. I trust you now. I just was scared because of Father. Because you're his friend and I thought you might be the same as him."

"Well... We're hardly friends - Verstael and I..." Ardyn noted. "He's a sick fascination... and I'm pretty sure he feels the same toward me. We're curious of each other, but don't exactly like each other. I don't think either of us has the capacity to make real friendships at this point. Neither of us has much humanity left."

Prompto blinked, staring at Ardyn and cocking his head to the side. "What do you mean? Humanity?"

Ardyn shrugged. "Humanity... It's basically just the concept of being a decent person. Doing the right thing. The ability to feel empathy, care, compassion, love... Humanity would mean being compassionate toward others, helping people, caring when you see someone hurt or upset. Wanting to do whatever you can to help them feel better."

Frowning and looking down, Prompto bit his lower lip. "You don't think you have that?" He wondered as he looked back up.

Ardyn shook his head. "My humanity died a long time ago."

Prompto frowned, looking up toward Ardyn with furrowed brows. "I don't think it did..." He disagreed. "You think you don't care about people? That you don't care when you see someone hurt or sad? You don't think you'd help someone if they needed you?"

"No." Ardyn stared. "I don't." He didn't give a shit about people. He hated people. He caused pain much more often than he ever alleviated it these days. "I'm not compassionate. I don't help people. I hurt people. I've done very horrible things to people who didn't deserve it. I have no humanity left." He answered rather bluntly. Maybe it would sound harsh, even frightening to this boy, but Prompto deserved to know his travel companion wasn't the wonderful hero the child saw him as.

"But you cared that I was hurt." Prompto noted. "You cared that I was sad, that I was afraid... You helped me. When I needed a bath and didn't know for sure what to do, you helped me do it... When I was thirsty and hungry you bought me food and water. You turned up the heat in your car when I was cold. You held me when I was afraid of the lightning and thunder. You say you don't have the ability to feel care toward someone else, but I've seen it... You do nice things for me... You saved me and you're still saving me..."

Ardyn exhaled, looking out over the pond behind his companion. Was that true? Did he care about Prompto on some level? He pitied him. He didn't want the child to suffer or be hurt more than he already had been... He supposed it might fit the definition of care... But not the kind of care Prompto was talking about. Ardyn still planned to pass him off on someone else and entirely cease what little relationship they'd formed.

He was helping the young man, yes... but wasn't going to allow this to become a long-term commitment. He didn't care about Prompto enough to want to make sure he stayed safe and protected for the rest of his life. He just didn't want to leave the boy to a cruel fate that was guaranteed if Ardyn didn't act in certain specific moments. After he got him somewhere safer, Ardyn would drop him and never look back.

"Can I sit on that side with you?" Prompto asked after a moment when Ardyn didn't offer an answer.

The man blinked a few times, staring at Prompto. Did this child think Ardyn cared about him? That Ardyn was his new father-figure? Was that why he was being so clingy now? Ardyn wasn't the type who appreciated close contact with other humans. He wasn't into cuddling or even letting other people touch him. Maybe Prompto enjoyed human contact, but Ardyn didn't. He'd get nothing out of letting this boy sit right next to him... Prompto would probably be quick to lean on him, to snuggle up against his side... because the kid turned a full 180 degrees and not only didn't fear Ardyn at all, but trusted him more than he should.

"It's getting kind of cold." Prompto spoke in a small voice, hugging his arms around himself and shrinking down slightly.

Ardyn frowned. What Prompto said wasn't wrong. The air was growing a bit chilly as the sun went down, and the clothing Ardyn had bought for the boy was thin and cheap. Ardyn didn't necessarily like the idea of allowing the young man to start to feel any more attached than he already did. Ardyn wasn't a hero. He wasn't a soft, cuddly father figure. He didn't want to be seen as such... but Prompto did look cold.

Prompto swallowed and looked down, shivering slightly as he hugged his arms tighter around himself. "Why does it get colder when it gets darker?" He wondered with a pout on his lips.

"The sun's what makes the planet warm." Ardyn answered, feeling guilt twisting in his chest. He didn't want Prompto feeling like Ardyn was a paternal figure. He didn't want to child growing too attached and expecting Ardyn to let him snuggle against his side any time he felt like it. Kids did that with their parents. Ardyn wasn't his parent.

"I wish it would stay light out... b-but I do look forward to seeing the stars again..." The boy noted, his voice a little shaky as he hugged his arms tighter around himself. Prompto was clearly cold. He wasn't just trying to manipulate Ardyn here. He wasn't being sneaky, trying to weasel in a cuddle just because he felt like he needed a hug... He was actually shivering. He looked so tiny, so vulnerable. It would be cruel of Ardyn to make him stay on the other side by himself, shivering in the chill air.

Exhaling and shaking his head, Ardyn raised his arm up. "Come sit on this side with me." He reluctantly agreed.

A smile immediately spread across Prompto's lips as he jumped up and jogged happily around the table to Ardyn's side. He sat down next to the man, laying his head against Ardyn shoulder and allowing him to wrap an arm around his back.

"We need to get you a jacket in the next town we pass through." Ardyn noted. "I understand why you're cold. That store didn't have a good clothing selection."

"I'm warm enough when I sit next to you though." Prompto noted, staring out over the horizon.

Ardyn frowned as he looked down at the boy. He supposed there was nothing wrong with that for now, since he didn't have the proper clothing... but it was still odd this child who was terrified of him a couple days ago wanted to snuggle against him now. If Prompto was this quick to put his full trust in Ardyn, would he be like this with anyone and everyone else in the world? Was he going to forever be more vulnerable to abuse than an average person would? He was such an easy target... and the wrong sorts of people would notice that about him right away...

It would have been so easy for Ardyn to abuse this little child if that's what he wanted to do. It would be easy for anyone to do so. Before Ardyn told him, Prompto didn't even know that what his father did to him was wrong. Not only could Ardyn have hurt him if he wanted to - just merely because the boy was so small and weak... but Prompto wouldn't have even known it wasn't okay. Ardyn was going to have to be very careful when finding the child an adoptive family. Prompto was extremely vulnerable right now.

Prompto exhaled a small, content breath. "Is that the sun set?" He asked as he looked out over the pond.

Ardyn glanced in the direction the boy was looking. "Yes..." He answered simply. Of course it was the fucking sun set. Was Prompto really unsure enough that he had to ask? It was evening... The sun was going down. What else would it be?

"I read about the sun set." Prompto went on. "I read a lot about space, planets, stars... It's very interesting. I saw images in a book back home - images of a sun set. I always thought it was so pretty, kind of wondered if it was even real... It's amazing to see it right in front of me. I didn't dream I'd ever see it outside of books... It is real... and it's so much better than the books described. It looks so much bigger out here."

Ardyn nodded. "Indeed it's real... The sun sets every single night... So... You'll get to see it a lot out here."

Prompto smiled, blinking as he stared out over the horizon. "The whole sky changes colors... It's so beautiful."

Ardyn narrowed his eyes as he looked out over the little pond. As far as places he'd seen around the world went, this place was not the least bit impressive. They were at an old wooden picnic table in front of a little shabby pond... And the sunset wasn't one of the more vibrant ones he'd seen. It was nothing special. He glanced back down toward Prompto, whose wide eyes stared out at the sky like it was the most magical thing that had ever happened. The child had never seen the sky before a few days ago. He'd never seen the sun, never felt a breeze or smelled flowers...

"Why didn't Father want to go out and see beautiful things like the stars, the rain, and the sun set?" Prompto frowned, shifting under Ardyn's arm to look up at him. "It was all out here this whole time, but he hardly ever left the lab. He could have left. I couldn't... but he stayed anyway, even though nothing was stopping him from coming outside and seeing the world."

Ardyn shrugged. "He's... I suppose not really the sort to appreciate beauty. Not in nature... He's so into his work that he lets everything else pass him by." Ardyn guessed, starting to wonder if perhaps he had become the same way. He himself didn't appreciate beautiful things anymore either. The night sky, clouds, cliffs, mountains, oceans... None of it impressed him... but it was indeed still impressive, still so much bigger than himself.

Prompto let out a small, relaxed breath as he leaned down closer against Ardyn's side and closed his eyes, placing his hand lightly against Ardyn's chest, almost hugging him like he was a giant teddy bear.

Ardyn froze, wondering if he should discourage this. He allowed the child to lean against him so he wouldn't be cold... Now Prompto was clinging to him like they were father and son - like the boy had known Ardyn his whole life, like he trusted him.

"I'm glad we get to see things like this." Prompto whispered, his voice betraying how close to sleep he was.

"Well..." Ardyn frowned. "It's... It's just the sun going down. It happens quite often. Comes back up in the morning too. You'll get bored of it."

Prompto smiled slightly, but didn't open his eyes. "It'll always be beautiful." He disagreed.

Ardyn looked over the pond at where the sun had just gone down. The sky still glowed a bit where the star had been. He supposed it fit the definition of beauty... but that didn't mean it was infinitely impressive. Ardyn didn't care if he ever watched the sun set or rise again. It meant nothing to him.

"It was never like this back in the lab." The child went on, his voice still small, exhausted. "I never saw anything so magical. Father didn't care if I was cold. He even made me cold on purpose when he got mad at me. I never felt safe - not for a very long time. Thank you for taking me away from there. I like it out here a lot more. I like being with you."

Ardyn nodded. He wasn't surprised Prompto didn't feel safe with Verstael... but why did he feel safe with Ardyn? Ardyn tried to suffocate him to death back in that room. Did Prompto forget that? Ardyn was ready to kill him, changed his mind and forced him to go with him instead, grabbing onto him, holding him in hard hands when he squirmed, threatening to hit him if he cried too loudly... It was kind of sad that Prompto thought all of that was acceptable, that it was so easily forgiven... Ardyn was better than Verstael, but he still wasn't a good person - wasn't a suitable guardian for a traumatized little boy. Prompto deserved so much better than him.

It didn't take long for Prompto's breaths to even out as his body slumped slightly against Ardyn's side. He was asleep.

Ardyn frowned as he looked down at the boy's face. Some hair hung down over one of his eyes - the same eye that still had a healing bruise under it. He looked rather content though. He didn't look as worried as he did the first few times Ardyn watched him as he slept. Maybe he really did feel safe with Ardyn.

It hadn't ever been his intent to show this boy the world, to introduce him to so many things, to be a symbol of comfort and safety... When he took Prompto, he didn't have plans to teach him about the world, to make him feel protected and secure, to teach him about cooking, consent, keeping himself clean. These were all things a parent should have done for the boy. This wasn't Ardyn's place. Prompto wasn't his child... But somehow what he was doing right now looked suspiciously like parenting...

Exhaling an annoyed breath, Ardyn stared out over the water. He couldn't keep up with this. He needed to get Prompto to wherever they were going... More importantly, Ardyn needed to figure out where the hell they were going and start heading in that direction.

He couldn't allow Prompto to feel like he was bonding with Ardyn... There were far better people out there - far more qualified, caring people. Prompto deserved an actual family. He needed to live in a little house, with a bedroom. He needed to go to school, make friends. Ardyn wasn't willing to provide him with that, so he needed to find someone who could. It would be a disservice to him to allow him to continue thinking Ardyn was a hero when the man simply wasn't.

Allowing Prompto to feel more attached to him than he already did would be cruel. Even more than that, Ardyn needed to make sure he didn't accidentally get attached to the child. Prompto was not his problem. In ten, twenty, thirty years... Ardyn probably wouldn't even remember him. This little problem wasn't his. This boy was one of many clones of a man he didn't even really like. Ardyn had no reason to care about him. Ardyn didn't care about him. He just needed to get the child somewhere safe before he started feeling too invested.

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Chapter Text

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Chapter 10

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About a day and a half later, after quite a bit of rather aimless driving and camping one more night under the stars, Ardyn and his strange little passenger arrived in the city of Lestallum.

Ardyn wasn't even sure what he was doing anymore, what his plan was… He didn't want to keep Prompto with him forever, but he also didn't want to ditch him too soon or send him off with the wrong person or people and leave him helpless. The child was so naive and innocent that he wouldn't be safe if he didn't have a really good guardian watching his back. His naivety would get him killed for sure if Ardyn just left him on his own, and an improper parental figure might take advantage of him, or not watch him well enough. At the very least, he'd end up in some horrible position, being abused or otherwise taken advantage of. He'd trust the first person he met… Sure, that had the potential to work out for him… but there was equal potential that he'd end up with another abusive piece of shit, obeying their every command, selling his body in the streets for the monetary gain of someone else. Ardyn could picture it easily - The world was full of sick, twisted freaks who would prey upon Prompto's innocence and tendency to follow any and every order out of pure habit and fear.

So Ardyn needed to make sure the child would be alright before he made his exit… but to what extent could he really be sure? How sure did he need to be before he'd feel okay leaving the boy and moving on? They made it to the city. They were now on a fully different continent than Verstael. Now what?

He needed to get this boy somewhere safe, with someone safe, somewhere he could leave him and turn away, never to look back. Ardyn honestly didn't want to stick around to see how the child's story would end. All he knew was that he couldn't leave the little boy in that room back in the lab. He didn't need to know what happened from here… he just couldn't have left him there. Not after walking in and seeing him cold, nude, bruised, shivering… hearing him whimper and cry, smelling the decay, knowing the boy hadn't done a damn thing wrong in his short little life. He couldn't walk away then, but he could walk away now. He just needed to get the boy settled somewhere, make sure he was safe enough that Ardyn wouldn't feel any degree of guilt, and then leave. It would be a tremendous relief to finally be able to walk away, to put this sad little detour behind him.

Surely there were agencies in the city that would help him set up some sort of adoption or foster home for the boy. The world being as dangerous as it was, there were countless orphans out and about. Someone in the city would be able to steer him in the right direction. He'd just need to discuss with Prompto what their story was, because the truth wasn't going to fly. Ardyn could not tell an adoption agency that this child was a fucking clone rescued from a laboratory... Prompto couldn't tell people that he got the shit beat out of him for accidentally killing thirteen clones that his father created to be soldiers. Dear gods, Ardyn couldn't allow Prompto to be as honest as he tended to be with him. He couldn't tell other people all this...

So they needed an alternative story. Something simple that Prompto could remember without hesitation but that would still explain his odd behavior. Part of the truth seemed necessary as well. Ardyn didn't want Prompto's new guardians to think his life had been perfect before all this. They needed to know he'd been abused. They needed to understand that they'd have to be patient and understanding with him.

But what should the story be to encompass all that? Perhaps the boy's parents were hunters and died while fighting a dangerous monster… Maybe he doesn't remember his mother - they could keep as much of the story true as possible to make it easier for Prompto to stick to it... He could claim to have lived out in the wild in a small cabin with his father, living off the land, never going out in the world enough to understand social norms. His father was abusive - just like his actual father was - and was a hunter who never came home one day. Prompto ventured out into the world looking for his father Ardyn found him along the road and brought him here... That was simple enough - believable, not too over the top. Would be easy to remember and keep the story straight... Someone would take him in. He was a sweet boy, polite, careful, very adorable. Someone would want him…

But for now, Ardyn could work on getting him some better clothing, making sure he wasn't hungry, renting a hotel so he could get better rest than sleeping in the car or outside on a hard wooden bench had afforded… He could give Prompto one more day's worth of his time before they parted ways.

"All set?" Ardyn couldn't help but to smile as he greeted Prompto, who was walking out of a dressing room in a shop they'd just spent the last hour in. He had allowed the boy to choose several shirts, a few pairs of pants, and a jacket, as well as some shoes and undergarments and a back pack to store it in when they inevitably split up. He felt a bit uneasy with himself at this point - he was showing this young man way too much kindness. He had gone so far out of his way to overcompensate for every horror and trauma the poor child had suffered through.

Against his better judgement, Ardyn was indeed making this broken little person into his personal project... He took him to a restaurant for breakfast, showed him how to order off of a menu, talked to him about where the various foods he'd ordered came from. On the way here he talked while they drove, explained how a car worked, told the boy stories about different places Ardyn had visited during his life. He had even bought the child pajamas.

Ardyn hadn't objected to letting the young man wear whatever he liked within reason, and the results were somewhat comical. Prompto was presently wearing purple striped sweatpants and a teal-colored t-shirt with a cartoon chocobo printed on it. His back pack was bright pink with about forty tiny cactuars dotted across its surface.

Prompto nodded with a small smile as he looked down at his chest, running his fingers over the image of a yellow chocobo. "Thank you for buying me some better clothing. I really appreciate it." He spoke, his voice sounding increasingly stronger with each new conversation - less timid, more sure of himself.

He was slowly becoming a seemingly normal person. Perhaps it wouldn't be long before he wouldn't flinch anymore when Ardyn moved too quickly or raised his voice. He wouldn't hide behind Ardyn when someone on the street looked at him or walked too close. He was capable of being a regular twelve year old boy… He just needed practice.

"We'll put the rest in the car and perhaps I'll get your other clothes and my coat cleaned tomorrow morning while you're catching up on sleep." Ardyn suggested. He chose not to mention the fact that he'd probably be seeking out potential foster care for the child while he was out. He knew Prompto wasn't going to want to hear that...

The boy seemed to unfortunately be growing strangely comfortable around Ardyn and might not like the idea of being placed elsewhere. Though he'd most surely be better off with someone else in the long run. He was only attached to Ardyn because Ardyn was the only person other than his father he had ever met. Ardyn was the first person in his life not to treat him like a piece of property. But Ardyn was a dangerous villain. Prompto didn't see it, but it was true. Ardyn had done horrible things - not to Prompto - but he'd killed people, twisted things around to make others suffer… He wasn't equipped to turn himself into a paternal figure for this boy.

"Do you know what the creature on your shirt is?" Ardyn asked as he led the way back toward the car.

"Yes." Prompto nodded as he jogged up next to Ardyn. "Father had a lot of books on science. There was one with chocobos in it, though they used them for science experiments and they looked so sad." The boy frowned.

Ardyn glanced toward Prompto for a moment. He wished the child could put the past behind him more. Thus far, any topic they discussed somehow turned so fucking sad so fast. He supposed that was all Prompto knew though. Verstael's lab was his whole world. His education was limited to Verstael's science books and whatever the man chose to teach the child verbally.

"We need to buy you some books too, it seems." Ardyn noted. "Some that aren't about torturing animals in lab."

Prompto nodded. "I'd like that. But the chocobos in the books weren't all in a lab. I read they live in the wild too, and on farms. They're not all sad." Prompto added with a shrug. "This one looks happy." He noted, running his fingers over the picture on his shirt.

Ardyn nodded. "There are plenty of happy, healthy chocobos out in the world. Using them for science is actually illegal. Anyone doing that isn't meant to be."

Prompto nodded. "Is using humans for science illegal too?" He wondered. "Because when I saw that chocobo in that book, and his eyes looked so sad…" He trailed off, shaking his head. "The day I finally saw my own reflection for the first time, when I realized it was my own face looking back at me, my eyes looked like that too. That's the first thing I noticed. Second thing I noticed was that I looked just like all the others. Then I realized they and I were just like the chocobos in the book. I wondered if there were other humans like us out in the world, in the wild, on farms... I knew there were other people because the books had scientists and children... The books had people who didn't live in labs. At least, I don't think they did..."

Ardyn stared back at the boy. There was no way the man could even begin to understand this child's experience. Ardyn had lived for so long. He'd suffered quite a bit… but what Prompto had gone through was so unique, so depressing.

"Chocobos are a lot happier when they aren't in the lab. When they get to run around outside and be free. I'm the same way." Prompto went on with a slight shrug. "Father did a lot of experiments on us - mostly the others, but sometimes me too, and I didn't like it. Sometimes it hurt, but it wasn't up to me, and I couldn't do anything to make it stop. I think that's how the chocobos felt in the book I read."

Ardyn blinked a few times, then nodded again. "It's illegal." He finally answered Prompto's question. "Experimenting on humans is very illegal."

Prompto nodded. "I agree that it should be. I'm glad I'm not at the lab anymore, and that you don't do things that hurt me."

Ardyn exhaled and turned back toward the parking lot. He wondered if Prompto chose the chocobo shirt because he was thinking about the terrible story he'd read in Verstael's science texts. He had figured it was just something he thought was cute. He didn't even consider it might be something so tragic.

"I think I'd like to see a chocobo." Prompto went on as they reached the car, his tone actually quite upbeat considering what he'd just said.

"I'm sure you'll see one in time." Ardyn shrugged, opening the car's door and placing the bags in the back seat. He held out his hand for the back pack. "I can put that in here too so you don't have to carry it."

Prompto hesitated, reaching for one of the back pack's straps on his shoulder, then stopping and looking up at Ardyn with wide, almost worried eyes. "Can... Can I choose? Can I carry it?"

Ardyn blinked. Prompto was so unused to being allowed to make any choices for himself. He still seemed unsure whenever he didn't want to do exactly as Ardyn said. But there was nothing wrong with letting the boy keep the backpack on his shoulders. It was empty and carrying it was pointless, but it was harmless too.

This was kind of what he wanted this whole time - for Prompto to start feeling more sure of himself, for him to act like a normal boy. Normal children did pointless things like that. It was good that Prompto was wanting to make choices for himself, to carry around pointless bullshit because he thought it looked cute... or whatever the reason was in his mind. This was a good opportunity for Ardyn to show Prompto that what he wanted mattered, that he could make a decision for himself and it should be honored.

"Alright." Ardyn shrugged as he turned and closed the car's door.

"Thanks, Mr. Ardyn." Prompto smiled, gripping both back pack straps in his hands and pulling it more securely onto his back. "I think the back pack would be good for if we ever went exploring where the car wouldn't reach. Like if we climbed a tall hill, or visited chocobos at a farm. We could make sandwiches and take them with us. Maybe the chocobos would like peanut butter and jam too."

Ardyn let out a small laugh. "Perhaps they would. You'll have to try it someday."

"There could be other animals out in the world too. We could explore everywhere and find all kinds of different animals." Prompto noted.

"Yes." Ardyn nodded. "There are. Lots of other animals. And many other interesting things too - arches, mountains, volcanoes, rivers, a variety of plant life. The world is quite big, so just keep exploring and you'll see everything you've read about and more."

Prompto smiled and nodded. "I can't wait to see it all. It's so exciting." He beamed.

Ardyn let out a soft laugh. Maybe when he was looking for a prospective adoptive home for Prompto he'd keep that in mind. Surely there were people out there who were both open to adoption and interested in travel. He wondered how honest he could be with an adoption/foster agency. He couldn't flat-out tell them Prompto was an abused lab clone... but it would perhaps be a disservice to Prompto to try to pass him off as a child who'd lived a completely normal life.

Maybe his new parents would need to know a bit more than Ardyn originally intended to let on - not about the lab, not about the countless clones Verstael still had, but about how sheltered Prompto was, how he was hurt in the past. Any adult charged with taking care of him almost had to know - so they'd understand him, so they'd know to watch out and be mindful of certain things... Ardyn didn't want the boy going to parents who would raise their voices and scare him, or who would get frustrated when he didn't understand something basic... Perhaps leaving out the lab but being honest about the rest would be a better approach. There was no reason his new parents shouldn't know he had been physically and sexually abused, that he was controlled to the degree that he was afraid to bathe himself. They kind of needed to know.

"Can we walk around some more?" Prompto suggested. "Could we look at the other shops? You don't have to buy me anything else. You've already given me so much... I just wanna look. I'd like to see the whole city if we could. I've never seen so many people, or stores… I just like looking."

Ardyn cocked his head to the side. This whole experience must have been so bizarre to Prompto. It was like he'd just finally started living, even though he had several years being aware under Verstael's thumb. But that was hardly living.

Nodding, Ardyn put his hand on Prompto's shoulder and started leading the way back toward the shops.

"Have you ever been here before today?" Prompto asked as they walked.

"Yes." Ardyn nodded. "I've been just about everywhere. There's not much left to be new and exciting from my perspective. The world is far more dull to me than it is to you."

Prompto frowned, looking up at Ardyn. "It's dull to you?" He furrowed his brows.

"Quite. At this point, nothing's new." Ardyn explained. "The world becomes monotonous after a while. Cities, people, trees, cars, streets… over and over… Humans are the worst part. It's quite easy to get tired of people."

"Do you know other people?" Prompto raised his eyebrows. "Besides Father? And besides me?"

"Of course." Ardyn laughed softly, then shook his head. "When you live life as intended, you end up knowing dozens, even hundreds of people. Your world has been so small up until now…" He noted. "It's finally opening up for you…"

"There's so much. Each place we've gone has been different. Even the sky looks different from day to day and at night… There's different plants in different places… And the chocobos! I can't wait to see one. I don't think the world will ever be dull to me." The boy disagreed with Ardyn's sentiments.

"Maybe not. I've been around way too long." Ardyn noted. Prompto would never have that problem. He wasn't doomed to exist forever like Ardyn was.

"It's nice to see other children in the city." Prompto noted as they walked. "And everyone gets to walk around… There's so much to see and do, and I don't think anyone is doing mean things to each other. No one looks sad or hurt… Do they go back to their homes at night?" He turned toward Ardyn with a confused look.

"Yes." Ardyn couldn't help but to laugh. "What's the alternative? Staying out all night?"

Prompto shrugged. "I don't know… It's just strange to see everyone out walking around… My whole life I was in the lab, and I did what Father said. He hit me if I didn't. I could have never went outside and walked around. These children are on their own, with each other… No one's nearby making sure they do what they should. It looks like they're free to choose what to do, where to go..."

"Your father was much more controlling of you than a normal father would be." Ardyn explained. "You should have never set foot in that horrid lab. He should have never subjected you to what he did."

Unfortunately, most of what Prompto experienced in his short life was abnormal. He'd have to relearn almost everything in order to fit in with regular society. Fortunately though, he seemed to be rather open to learning and adjusting the way he saw the world. Already he was speaking more, bathing himself, getting dressed in the bathroom at the hotel rooms they'd rented rather than walking out naked and looking confused when Ardyn was uncomfortable. He was learning how to be normal rather quickly, really.

"Look at this!" Prompto suddenly exclaimed, jogging over toward a window displaying numerous colorful photographs. "What's this place!?" He pointed toward one of Galdin Quay. "And here!" He gestured toward a vivid photograph of the sun setting over the Disc of Cauthess, then another of smoke billowing out of the Rock of Ravatogh. "Are these all real places?"

Ardyn laughed softly. "Yes. They're all real."

"These are like the books I read! The ones with images…" Prompto continued staring. "But I haven't seen images like these… They're so beautiful!"

"They're photographs. Taken with a camera. Like that one." Ardyn pointed out the camera being advertised next to the photos. "Anyone can take photographs if they have a camera. Just point the camera, snap the photo… It's a sort of way to preserve a moment in time, to have a visual memory of a place, a time, a person, an object... Then it can be printed, so it's a physical copy of what's on the camera. Like in your books."

Prompto inhaled a small breath, looking back toward Ardyn with wide eyes and his mouth hanging open. "Do you have one?" He asked.

Ardyn shook his head and scoffed. "A camera? Heavens no… I hardly indulge in pointless hobbies." He fought the urge to roll his eyes. Why on earth would he waste time taking photographs? Seeing various places and people in the world in person was enough to make him annoyed. Why would he want to look back at photos?

"Oh." Prompto frowned.

"But you could." Ardyn back pedaled. Just because he hated the world didn't mean Prompto had to. "I could purchase that camera for you." He nodded toward it. If it would make Prompto happy, Ardyn could grant him that. Ardyn had so much money and not much to do with it. Perhaps it could be like a parting gift, something to keep him occupied, something he could care about while starting his new life wherever he ended up.

"Really?" Prompto grinned the widest smile Ardyn had seen on the boy. "You'll buy it for me? I can keep it?"

"Yes." Ardyn laughed softly, nodding toward the shop keeper at the counter and indicating the camera as he took some money out of his pocket. "With the neck strap, please." He added.

Prompto was absolutely beaming as he looked up at Ardyn, allowing the man to place the strap around his neck so that the camera hung down toward his belly button. Ardyn adjusted the strap a bit, as it was long on the small young man's frame.

"Thank you." Ardyn nodded toward the shop keeper as he took the box that contained the charger for the camera and led Prompto over toward a nearby bench. "Shall I show you how it works?"

Prompto eagerly nodded. "I can take photographs of anything I see?" He wondered.

"Yes." Ardyn laughed, genuinely amused at just how in awe the boy seemed to be at this process. It was strange to think there was so much in the world that Prompto had not encountered yet. He was nearly a teenager and he hadn't ever heard of a camera. There was so much he didn't know. So many little things Ardyn wouldn't have ever thought of.

"Then I can go back and look at them later. I can look at them as many times as I want… To remember fun things forever." Prompto looked down at the screen as Ardyn turned it on.

Ardyn looked the little machine over for a moment, figuring this particular model out himself first before showing Prompto. "Zoom in and out." Ardyn showed him as he performed the action with a small button on the camera, showing Prompto as he zoomed in on a potted plant, then back out. "There are settings for videos as well. Filters…" He changed them a few times, making the image more vibrant, less vibrant, black and white. "And this is the one you press to focus, then to capture the image." Ardyn did it as he said it, snapping a photo of the flowers.

"Wow." Prompto pulled the camera closer to himself and looked down at the picture Ardyn had taken, then looked over at the actual flowers across the sidewalk. "This is amazing, Mr. Ardyn. We can remember those flowers for the rest of our lives… Just by looking at this…"

Ardyn laughed. "If you feel so inclined." He wasn't sure why Prompto would feel the need to reminisce about particular flowers, but if it made him happy, then he certainly could look back at the photo every day until he died of old age.

Prompto cocked his head to the side and leaned away from Ardyn, pointing the camera toward him as Ardyn stared with his eyebrows raised. Just as he was about to ask Prompto what he was doing, the boy snapped a picture of him.

Ardyn grimaced as he watched Prompto smile down at the screen. "It's a really good one!" He beamed, bouncing slightly from where he was seated as though he'd just captured the most magical image anyone ever had.

Exhaling a somewhat annoyed breath, Ardyn rolled his eyes. "Somehow I doubt that." He breathed. He never gave Prompto permission to take photos of him. That wasn't what the camera was for. Why the hell would he want a photo of Ardyn?

"Look!" Prompto grinned, turning the screen so Ardyn could see it. "It's you."

Ardyn exhaled tiredly as he looked at the picture. He looked odd… Almost confused. Ardyn hadn't seen himself look so lost in a long time, but something more was in his eyes as well, something like affection, care… Did he actually care about this boy? Is that how he always appeared when he was looking at Prompto?

"We can always remember how much fun we had today." Prompto smiled, still looking down at the photo he'd taken of Ardyn.

"I look terrible." Ardyn frowned, staring down at the photo as well.

"You look nice." Prompto disagreed. "Like someone who would help someone else where you could. You look like someone caring. Someone safe." He smiled. "Someone with a whole lot of humanity." Prompto grinned up toward Ardyn.

Ardyn closed his eyes and shook his head. He wondered if Prompto really thought that. Just a few days ago, when Ardyn first walked into that horrible room, he was going to kill Prompto. It was a sort of pity/mercy kill… but he was going to do it. It was his first instinct when he looked down at the pitiful young boy. To end his life quickly. He was legitimately going to suffocate him to death without much of a second thought. He started to do it. Prompto knew that. He was there. He even referenced it later. Prompto knew exactly what was happening in that moment… and yet he seemed to fully trust Ardyn now? Why?

"Will you take me to see chocobos?" Prompto looked up wide large, hopeful eyes. "Maybe not today… but someday?"

Ardyn frowned. Would he be with Prompto that much longer? He really needed to sever ties sooner rather than later, before their relationship turned into something even more than it already was. He wasn't this child's father. He didn't want to be. He didn't want Prompto to feel like Ardyn was someone important in his life. Ardyn's role in the child's story was meant to be brief. Very brief...

"I think we could take some really cute photos with chocobos." Prompto went on, seeming not to care that Ardyn had fully ignored his question. "I'll bet their feathers are soft, like hair. Could I pet them? Are they friendly?"

Ardyn blinked, supposing he shouldn't ignore the child completely. Just a few days ago, he was struggling to get the boy to talk at all. He certainly didn't want to discourage conversation now. "I think they're mostly friendly." He answered. "But they're still animals, and they're not always fully predictable. Many people ride them though, so they're fairly tame a lot of the time."

"Ride them?" Prompto frowned, his eyebrows raising.

"Yes. People can sit on the chocobo's back while the bird runs. Many people equip them with reins so they can steer them left or right or slow them down. Faster than walking on your own, and if you're good at controlling them, it's a reasonable way to travel." Ardyn explained.

Prompto let out a snorting laugh. He shook his head. "Are you making a joke?" He blinked. "That's not true…"

"It is." Ardyn smiled. "Perhaps sometime I can show you. There's a ranch to the east… If you and I remain traveling together for a while, we might head down that way. On the way to the next big city - Insomnia."

Prompto frowned. "If?" He furrowed his brows. "W-what do you mean? We... We're not going to stay together?" He whispered, his eyes wide, his lower lip trembling slightly along with his voice. "A-are you going to leave me here? All by myself? Mr. Ardyn... Please don't leave me alone..."

Ardyn stared back. "I'm not your guardian… I never intended to keep you forever. I told you that... More than once... I couldn't leave you to suffer in that room, but that doesn't mean I'm prepared to adopt you and raise you myself. I'm not meant to keep you forever."

"Why not?" Prompto's little voice shook as his breathing started getting heavier.

It took a mere two seconds for the poor child's demeanor to change from cheerful to devastated. All because Ardyn - a villainous monster - told him he meant to find him a real family. That's what Prompto needed - a mother and father, people who were good parents... Not Ardyn. Ardyn was vulgar, violent, impatient... He was just about the last person who should have custody of a child.

Ardyn felt himself frowning as he focused on the boy before him. Prompto's lip trembled and his eyes shined with tears. His breaths were becoming uneven, like he was about to burst into tears. Why did he feel guilty about this? He didn't ever promise Prompto this would be forever. Didn't he tell him several times already that he didn't plan to keep him long-term? Ardyn wasn't a good parental figure. Maybe Prompto didn't understand that, but he needed to be with someone more responsible. Ardyn wouldn't be good for him in the long run.

"Please..." Prompto breathed, looking increasingly panicked. "I wanna stay with you... I'm scared to be alone... Mr. Ardyn, please!"

"Don't get upset." Ardyn frowned. "You think you want to stay with me because I'm all you know... There are far better people out-"

"No!" Prompto interrupted. "I don't know them! I know you! Mr. Ardyn, please!" He all but screamed. If Ardyn didn't know any better, if he walked up seeing the boy panicking like this, he'd think Prompto was being threatened with death.

"You'll be fine." Ardyn grumbled, looking to the left, then the right, wondering if Prompto's little emotional breakdown might soon draw in unwanted attention. The last thing either of them needed right now was some well-meaning person getting concerned by this scene and stepping in. "It'll be something new, but you can handle it. You've been very brave thus far. Keep being brave. You'll be alright-"

"No..." Prompto sobbed. "I won't... I'll be lost! I won't know what to do... I don't want to be alone!"

Ardyn felt a growl in his throat as he reached over and grabbed Prompto's arm, squeezing gently, but firmly. He didn't want to hurt the boy, but needed him to know Ardyn didn't like this, that he needed to fucking stop.

"Stop panicking... And don't interrupt me when I'm talking." Ardyn stared. "Calm. Down." He demanded.

Prompto shrunk down slightly, sticking his lip out in a pout. "I'm sorry..." He whispered, drawing his hands up toward his mouth as though trying to stifle his shaky whimpers. "I'm scared..." He choked. "I don't want you to leave... I don't want to be alone... I feel safe with you, and I won't feel safe anywhere else... I'm scared..."

Ardyn exhaled, feeling annoyance winning out over guilt for the moment. He didn't owe this child his never-ending loyalty. He didn't owe the boy a thing. He decided for some reason to do a good deed, and the good deed was done. He rescued the child from Verstael. That's all he ever intended to do. Nothing more. Prompto could move on and Ardyn could go in the other direction. That was always his plan. They would both be better off in the long term, even if the actual separation was a little stressful in the moment.

"Where will I go?" Prompto choked, curling in on himself as his breathing became more uneven again. "Did I do something wrong? Is this because all the mistakes I made? Oh no..." He whimpered, shaking his head and shrinking back, looking at Ardyn with huge, wide eyes. "You never punished me because this is the punishment... You were angry... You said you weren't, but you were! I'm sorry... I tried my best to do what you wanted me to do... I didn't know... Please give me another chance! I'll listen to you! I'll do anything you say!"

"It's not a punishment..." Ardyn furrowed his brow. How the hell had he let this child get so attached to him? "If anything it'd be a punishment if you were made to stay with me long-term. I'm fucking terrible."

Prompto shook his head. "No... You're not... I am... That's why you don't want me!" He drew his legs up onto the bench and wrapped his arms around them as he started to cry even louder. "I'm sorry! I tried to do what you said!"

"Stop getting upset." Ardyn stared, reaching out and grabbing Prompto's arm, pulling him out of his defensive little ball. "Look at me. Stop being a brat..." He paused until Prompto finally looked up with a pathetic sniffling noise. "I'm not who you belong with." Ardyn explained. "You don't realize this because you've not met anybody else... I'm not the ideal guardian for you. That's apparent by looking at this exact moment we're in. You're throwing a tantrum, as children do... and I'm getting frustrated. I don't know how how to be a parent. I don't want to deal with this kind of thing. I'm not naturally patient... You're pissing me off. A good guardian wouldn't feel how I do right now. I'm not even remotely equipped to be your caretaker."

"Yes you are! I feel safe with you..." Prompto whimpered. "You're the only person I know... I want to stay with you. Please don't leave me here... I- I like it here, but n-not all by myself..." He choked. "I'm scared..."

Ardyn shook his head. "I'm not going to leave you by yourself, child..." He frowned. "You're misunderstanding. I'll make sure you're not left on your own."

Prompto blinked a few times. "Where will I go then? N-not back to Father…" He whispered, swallowing and shrinking down as he breathed in a tiny breath that was almost a sob. "I don't want to go back. I know I said I did that first night, but I don't want to... I'm so scared of him. Please don't take me back to him. He'll hurt me. He was so mad-"

"No…" Ardyn shook his head. "Not back there. Never… But if I can find a suitable home for you, a family who can take you in, take care of you…"

"You've been taking care of me." Prompto noted, his large eyes worried. "I don't know anybody else..." He whimpered, shrinking down slightly, drawing his hand up toward his lips as further tears welled up in his eyes.

"But I'm not equipped to do it forever." Ardyn frowned. "Don't get upset... You haven't met other people so you think I'm the best there is, but I'm not. I'm not a good role model for you, dear... You don't want to grow up to be like me. You need someone kind to look after you."

"You're kind." Prompto choked, tears shining in his eyes.

"You've no idea, child... I'm far from kind. If you'd met me in a different time and place, you'd have seen that." Ardyn frowned. "Don't forget the first minutes between us in that horrible room... I meant to end your life. You know that... The pity I've felt toward you stayed my hand, but I've done horrible things to innocent people. You don't want to stay with me."

"Yes I do!" Prompto disagreed. "I want to stay with you. You've kept me safe and taught me things... I know you wouldn't do anything horrible to me. I trust you. You're a good person. When I was cold or scared, you held me... You could have hurt me and you didn't. I would have let you do it without fighting or running. You could have, and you didn't. You're kind... I don't want you to leave..." He shook his head as tears welled up in his eyes, threatening to spill over.

Ardyn stared back. Prompto's standards were so low. Ardyn was considered a hero in his mind purely because he didn't take advantage of him and abuse him. Prompto didn't realize Ardyn refusing the offer to molest him wasn't heroic. It was just basic decency. Ardyn didn't deserve praise just because he didn't rape a child. Almost anyone else would have done the same.

"Why can't I stay with you?" Prompto whispered.

"For now, you can." Ardyn chose to shut the conversation off here. He really hadn't intended on getting into this until he'd found some potential parents for the boy. It wasn't a debate. It wasn't up to Prompto, so they didn't really need to discuss it. "I won't leave you anywhere, with anyone who isn't safe… When you and I do part ways, it'll be in such a way that you'll feel more at ease. I will find someone decent to take you. I won't leave you without warning. But just keep it out of your worries for the time being. For now, you're with me. Don't worry about later. For now, I'm here. I'll look after you until I find someone else even better to take my place. Let's stop arguing about this."

"Okay." Prompto nodded, his voice small. Ardyn could tell he was still worried. "I didn't mean to argue." He whispered, looking down.

"It's fine. I know this whole process is frightening to you." Ardyn noted. "I understand why you're reluctant to risk going with someone new... You're content with me, you trust me... but I'm not the right match to be your long-term guardian."

Prompto stuck his lower lip out in a pout, blinking back unshed tears. "I do trust you... I trust you and I don't trust anyone else..." He whispered.

Ardyn felt like his heart was breaking. Prompto had no idea what a vile monster Ardyn was. The poor child had been so hurt, so abused and mistreated, that Ardyn offering what little kindness he had seemed like the world. "If you trust me, trust that I'll do a decent job with this next step." Ardyn spoke up, trying to keep his tone gentle, reassuring. "I'm not suited to be a long term guardian, but I can find you someone who is."

Prompto nodded, but remained staring down.

"I won't let someone like Verstael have you, Prompto." Ardyn promised, wrapping his arm around the boy's shoulders and letting Prompto lean against him.

"How do you know?" Prompto spoke in a small voice as he continued staring out ahead of them. "You don't know what someone's like for sure until after you first meet. I thought you were scary at first. I was afraid of you, but my first impression of you was wrong."

Ardyn let out a soft laugh. Prompto's first impression of him wasn't that wrong. Ardyn had hurt other people - just not this boy.

"I'll be careful..." Ardyn promised. "I'll get to know whomever you go with next before leaving you. I'll make sure they're decent. Perhaps you could even have a father and a mother. Siblings... You've far better options than me..."

Prompto forced a half-smile and shrugged. "A brother would be nice... My brothers at the lab couldn't ever come out and talk or play with me. I always wanted them to be able to be like me, so having a brother doesn't sound so bad... J-just as long as he's nice... and as long as my new father won't hurt me..." He added as he looked down again. "I know I got used to being hurt, but I know now that I don't have to be. I don't want to ever do that kind of stuff ever again. I want to be with someone like you - not someone like him."

"Of course." Ardyn frowned. "I'll be very careful. I don't want you in a situation like you were in before. Never again, child. You deserve far better than that."

"I do?" Prompto frowned, looking up at Ardyn with furrowed brows.

"Of course." Ardyn agreed. "I'll see to it that the rest of your life isn't a continuation of the nightmare you originated from."

"Thank you, Mr. Ardyn." Prompto whispered, his voice slightly shaky with unshed tears. "I wish I could stay with you... but if I can't..." He paused. "Thank you for being careful choosing who you leave me with."

Ardyn swallowed as he rubbed his hand gently up and down over Prompto's arm. His throat felt tight - almost like he might cry. How the hell had this child brought out these strong of emotions in someone who considered himself just about emotionally dead? Ardyn could hardly even remember the last time he felt this degree of care toward another human being. It was so long ago...

"Maybe we should go find the sunset." Prompto spoke up, seemingly ready to leave this serious subject of conversation behind for a while. "I'd like to take a photo of it."

Ardyn felt himself smile as he nodded. "It'll be another few hours before the sun sets..." He noted. "But I did notice a book store earlier. Perhaps we could buy you a few? We can find some more light-hearted ones than what you're used to. Nothing about experimenting on poor helpless animals. Do you know of fiction?"

Prompto blinked, then shook his head and shrugged. "What's a fiction?" He asked.

"It's a book that tells a story, but it's not real." Ardyn explained. "A lot of children like them."

Prompto narrowed his eyes as he sat up more fully and stared back at Ardyn. He looked suspicious. "Why would someone write something that isn't real? Is it lies? It's information that isn't true?" He frowned.

Ardyn let out a slight laugh. "No. Just make-believe. Like a story about someone going on an adventure into the stars, meeting aliens and visiting planets that don't really exist. There aren't limits to fiction because it doesn't have to be true. The author can create people who don't exist, creatures and places, types of magic that no one actually practices... In a fiction book, anything's possible, because the world in it is make-believe."

"Hmmm..." Prompto looked out into the crowd of people walking around the city, then back up at Ardyn. "Seems to me anything's possible already - even in the real world."

Ardyn cocked his head to the side. That was true. Perhaps Prompto didn't know enough about the real world yet to benefit from fiction. Maybe it would even confuse him.

"Why don't we go see what the book store has. Then we'll decide." Ardyn offered, standing and offering his hand down to Prompto to help him up.

"Okay." Prompto smiled, letting Ardyn pull him to his feet, but not letting go of his hand afterward. Instead he held on and leaned himself against the man's arm. "You're my favorite person, Mr. Ardyn." He whispered as they walked.

Ardyn swallowed and led the way. Maybe he shouldn't have ever been so kind to this child. It was hard not to be... but he really should have rescued him from the lab and left him at the motel that first night... He'd already gotten way more invested than he should have - He'd allowed Prompto to see him as a hero. The longer this little trip lasted, the harder it would be for both of them when they inevitably parted ways.

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Chapter Text

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Chapter 11

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Flipping through one of the books he had bought for Prompto, Ardyn narrowed his eyes. He gave the child the freedom to choose a few on his own, and he stuck to nonfiction. Most children likely would have gone for adventures and fairy tales, but Prompto didn't seem to quite understand the point of such stories. Ardyn would have thought maybe someone who grew up in a cold, clinical lab would love the escape that fiction could offer, but since he'd never been introduced to it, Prompto didn't seem to grasp the concept. To this child, the real world was fantastical enough, and it made sense that fantasy might go over his head considering he was still utterly amazed by mundane things like peanut butter and jam sandwiches, the sky, and potted plants.

Ardyn flipped through the pages as he heard the shower water stop in the other room. He was grateful Prompto hadn't taken long to grow some independence. In a lot of ways he was functioning like a normal human being already. Not every way... but a lot more than before.

The book Ardyn held now was all about various animals native to the continent. The other one the boy chose was about the physical geography of the region. It included maps and pages dedicated to things to see and do in the various towns and cities around the continent. It was basically a travel guide.

Prompto seemed very interested in nature and geography, probably because the entire world was so new and exciting to him. Even seeing something as simple as trees, flowers, a pond… it was all amazing to the sheltered young man. He'd never experienced anything other than the lab before this. His real life at the moment had to feel almost like a fantasy novel.

It was unclear how many books Prompto had been exposed to back with Verstael. The man clearly had quite a few about science. Ardyn doubted Verstael had purchased any with Prompto specifically in mind. He didn't care to build upon Prompto's interests or to entertain him. He simply allowed the child to read the books he already had. Perhaps he taught him only whatever was necessary so that he could help in the lab. A basic understanding of language and math would have been useful. That was likely all Prompto had been taught. Why would Verstael bother teaching the young man about art, music, geography, history... It wouldn't serve Verstael, and Prompto's existence was purely for that.

Prompto mentioned having read about stars, sunsets, a few different animals - focusing on cruel experimentation, but he'd heard of the animals at least. There was still obviously so much the boy didn't know yet - so much he had never encountered. Hopefully these few books would help, and if he stuck around with Ardyn long enough, they could get more later. Ardyn could let the adoption or foster care service know that the boy had been quite sheltered too - to emphasize that his new family should try to catch him up in areas he'd never been exposed to.

Ardyn could let them know that Prompto might ask really obvious questions. He could warn them to be patient and to try not to give the child strange looks when he said something odd... He'd of course have to inform them about the abuse the boy had suffered. Ardyn almost had to tell them... Otherwise things could be misunderstood. Prompto might make the same mistake he did with Ardyn... and Ardyn knew from experience how hard it was to know what to say or do in a situation like that. His adoptive/foster parents would have to be told that he had been sexually abused. They'd have to know how to handle it if Prompto got scared or confused and tried to initiate something like that again. Ardyn didn't want Prompto to feel guilty or afraid if something like that happened again. He didn't want the boy's new caretaker to react the wrong way. Ardyn probably reacted the wrong way... He still remembered how terrified Prompto seemed in that moment. The poor child didn't know what to do... He was offering himself up to be hurt, was refused, and had no fucking idea what to do next...

It was going to take a very patient, very understanding person to properly sort through all of this...

They'd need to know that Prompto was easily startled - that they couldn't make sudden movements near him - that he'd instinctively cower away or flinch... They'd need to know that the young boy was prone to nightmares, that he'd wake up screaming and crying if he was sleeping anywhere but in someone's arms... It would be hard for Prompto to have to start over with a new guardian... He'd have to learn to trust a whole new person... Prompto would probably be afraid at first - especially if the family included a father - or even maybe older male children... Anyone bigger than him, anyone imposing. Prompto was very afraid of Ardyn at first. It took a few days before the boy seemed to trust Ardyn wouldn't hurt him. Maybe Prompto would be afraid of women too... Maybe he'd be afraid of everyone until they proved they weren't abusive...

It would be so much easier if Ardyn just kept him.

Inhaling a small breath, closing his eyes, and shaking his head, Ardyn frowned. Why the hell had he just thought that? It wouldn't be easier... Maybe for Prompto - for a while... but Ardyn keeping the child was a fucking horrible idea. He knew the boy's needs best right now - purely because he was one of two people on the planet who knew Prompto and the first of the two was a vicious, abusive sociopath... but Ardyn wasn't much better. Some part of his heart was somehow unlocked by this poor little child, but the rest of his heart was still closed. Ardyn still had moments where he was entirely annoyed by Prompto, where he thought if he didn't pity him as much as he did, he might reach over and smack him. Ardyn absolutely was not the ideal guardian...

A new family could get to know Prompto exactly how Ardyn had - but with more patience... Without contemplating suffocating him, without getting frustrated and raising their voices or threatening to hit Prompto when he cried... Ardyn had been pretty fucking harsh that first day... Prompto's new guardians wouldn't even consider acting how Ardyn did.

Ardyn glanced up when he heard the bathroom door opening. Prompto walked out dressed in the little pajama set Ardyn had bought for him - polka-dotted pants with a moogle printed t-shirt. His hair was only a bit damp and he appeared to be clean. It seemed he was indeed more than capable of showering and drying off on his own.

"Here." Ardyn held the book up so Prompto could take it back. He'd rented a room with two beds since one was available and was hoping Prompto could start being a little less clingy toward him. They weren't outside in the wind or rain. Prompto wasn't cold - and he had a blanket if that did happen, there was nothing outright traumatic going on… so there was no need for him to snuggle up against Ardyn.

Prompto frowned as he took the book. "Can we look at this together?" He asked, looking back up with a slight pout.

"Aren't you tired?" Ardyn looked back with a raised eyebrow. "We've done a lot today... You should get some sleep. You've got your own bed tonight. You can take the book over there and look at it until you fall asleep. Lots of people read to help them fall asleep."

Prompto looked over toward the vacant bed, then back at Ardyn. "I've never had my own bed before." He noted.

"Then it should be exciting for you. You've got your own space. Just like other children your age." Ardyn commented, definitely trying his best to make sleeping by himself look appealing. "It's nice to be able to stretch out. You'll enjoy it."

"Sometimes I have bad dreams." Prompto noted, looking down at the floor. "Well, all the time I do." He added.

Ardyn frowned. What was he supposed to do about that?

"If I'm all by myself…" Prompto trailed off, furrowing his brows as he looked over toward the other bed. "I feel safer next to you… I might dream something nice if you hold me."

Ardyn shook his head. "You've got to learn more independence." He frowned. "Most children your age do not sleep with their parents - not that I'm your parent…" He added with a grimace. "The point being - children your age usually have their own beds and we've got to try to get you used to doing things the way others out in the world do. You can handle this, Prompto."

Prompto blinked, but then nodded. "Okay." He breathed. "Dreams can't hurt me." He added, shaking his head. "Even if I dream something bad, it's not real."

"That's right…" Ardyn frowned. He didn't want Prompto to have nightmares. Considering everything he knew the child had been through, he could guess what horrible events might plague his dreams. Real or not, it would still be unpleasant. He couldn't let the boy come to expect to always be held as he fell asleep, but Ardyn truly did want to try to get the nightmares to stop tormenting the poor child."Think of something nice as you fall asleep. Flowers, chocobos, the sunset… Something you like. That might help." He suggested.

Prompto stared back, his lips in a little pout. He looked almost like he might start crying. "That's hard to do... I don't mean to think about other things, but it's hard... My whole life was at the lab. It's hard to not remember... A-and I'm nervous about you giving me away to someone else... I'm scared..."

"Don't worry about that. Think about now." Ardyn frowned. "Think about all the fun things you did today, about taking pictures, seeing the city. You had a lot of fun today, didn't you?"

"Yeah..." The boy nodded, smiling slightly. "I did have a lot fun today... Maybe if we look at the book before bed I'll be thinking of the animals in it when I fall asleep." Prompto suggested. "I can go to the other bed after… Just… Can we sit together for a little while?" He shrunk down slightly as he looked nervously back at Ardyn.

Ardyn exhaled and shook his head. "For a little while - but I want you sleeping in your own bed tonight… Children your age usually have their own beds, and even their own bed rooms. We've got to get you functioning a bit more like the rest of the world."

"Okay." Prompto looked down. "I understand, Mr. Ardyn. I can do it… After we look at the book..."

"You can hug the chocobo if you feel scared or too alone." Ardyn suggested, nodding toward a stuffed animal on Prompto's bed. The book store had a bin full of little plush animals near the cashier and Prompto had silently stared at that one like he wanted it more than anything in the world, so Ardyn caved and bought it for him.

"I can bring the chocobo over here with us while we look at the book." Prompto smiled, jogging toward his bed, grabbing the toy up, and coming back, climbing happily onto Ardyn's bed and settling down with the stuffed animal in his lap. "I might name him, but I'm not sure what... Do chocobos have names?" He wondered, looking up at Ardyn.

"I suppose they can. If their owners name them." Ardyn frowned.

"Oh… Like Father named me… It would be nice if they could choose their own names, but I guess if they can't speak, that would be hard." Prompto noted. "I'm not sure what name I'd choose for myself if I had the choice. I don't know a lot of names."

"Do you not like your name?" Ardyn wondered.

Prompto shrugged. "It's okay. At least I have one. Father didn't name the others. I would have named them, but I couldn't tell them apart, and they didn't do anything. I never got to know them... I guess if I had named them and if I got to know them, it might have been even harder for me when I accidentally killed those thirteen..."

Ardyn blinked. He still found it somewhat odd to talk to a child who was so blunt and honest about these things - but he supposed kids did tend to be more that way than adults, and Prompto didn't know anything about other humans' tendency to keep trauma to themselves. It was probably actually healthy for him that he was so open to talking, that he didn't keep any of his negative feelings inside.

It was certainly going to catch other people off-guard if he continued on like this though. Ardyn needed to talk with him about keeping certain things a secret once he was placed with a new family. If the rest of the world caught wind of what Verstael was doing, there would be problems… Ardyn supposed they wouldn't be his problems so much as Verstael's though…

"I could name my chocobo after the flowers you took a picture of." Prompto went on.

Ardyn let out a short laugh, almost a scoff. The boy was so hung up on those fucking flowers.

"What kind were they?" Prompto wondered, looking up at Ardyn with a slight frown. "Don't flowers get their own names too?"

"Yes. There are different kinds. I think those were petunias." He answered.

Prompto nodded, then looked down at his chocobo toy. "Petunias." He repeated.

"Well... one flower would just be a petunia. Petunias is all of them." Ardyn explained. "So you might name him Petunia instead." He suggested.

"I want to name him after all of them." The boy insisted. "Petunias is a good name. Especially for this chocobo, who reminds me of you... Just like the petunias remind me of you." He looked over with a smile.

Ardyn shook his head. "Whatever you say."

Prompto was silent for a moment, hugging the chocobo against his body and leaning his head against Ardyn's side as he looked down at the page the book was open to. It seemed like he was reading. If not that, he was examining the photos.

"How do you say that word?" Prompto wondered, pointing toward the book. "You know, there's lots of words I probably say wrong. I read a lot when Father left me by myself - so I've read more things inside my mind than heard them said aloud. I noticed several times now that you say things differently than I did in my head."

"Really?" Ardyn felt his eyebrow raise. He hadn't noticed Prompto mispronouncing anything, but perhaps that was because the child tended to listen first and speak later. Maybe he heard Ardyn say a lot of things first before he spoke up.

"Mm hm. I have no idea how to say that one." He pointed toward the word again. "I've never read about those."

Ardyn looked down at the page. "Catolopas." He read. "They live near Alstor Slough. That's somewhat far away from here - but not unrealistic that you might end up seeing one during our travels."

Prompto inhaled a small breath and looked up at Ardyn. "They're very big. That's how big a person is next to one?" He pointed down at the pages, to a size comparison with a drawing of a catolopas next to a human figure.

Ardyn nodded. "Yes. They're quite large."

Prompto swallowed as he stared down at the page. "Are they dangerous?" He whispered.

Ardyn shrugged. "They actually aren't of great concern. They're fairly calm and will leave you alone if you leave them alone. Don't run up to one and attack it and it'll likely just keep eating and ignoring everything else around it."

"Says they like to eat plants out of the water." Prompto noted as he read the words below the photos. "And you're right. It does say they aren't aggressive. I don't think I'd try to pet one though."

Ardyn laughed. "No, I wouldn't advise you to pet one…" He agreed.

Prompto nodded, flipping backward a few pages. "I read about these and I don't understand them… Aren't cactuses a plant too?" He pointed toward a close-up image of a cactuar.

Ardyn laughed. "No one understands cactuars. Best to keep away from them. They're small, but much more painful than a catolopas. People underestimate them because they're quite comical, but they can do some serious damage. And they're different than the plant. They look like cacti, but they're fully separate entities."

Prompto stared down, his eyes wide as he ran his fingertips over the image.

"There should be a page on chocobos nearby. It seems they're in alphabetical order." Ardyn suggested, flipping several pages forward until he found the entry on the birds Prompto seemed so fond of.

The boy breathed in a small breath as he grinned down at the images and words before him. "Are those baby chocobos?" He whispered, touching the picture, then pausing to read the words next to it. "They look just like my chocobo." He noted, looking down at his stuffed toy then smiling back at Ardyn. "Petunias is a baby." He giggled slightly.

Ardyn exhaled, watching Prompto with a slight frown as the boy looked back down at the book, either reading the text or staring at the images. He likely hadn't seen many photos of chocobos who weren't being tortured in a medical research facility.

Prompto ran his fingers over the page, brushing them atop the photo of the baby birds. "They're that small when they're hatched…" He noted.

"Animals that come from eggs tend to be quite a bit smaller than their parents until they've time to grow up." Ardyn explained.

"Do we come from eggs?" Prompto looked up at Ardyn.

Ardyn stared back, noticing Prompto was entirely serious as he hugged his little stuffed chocobo against his chest. He'd been through so much in his short life. He had an understanding of cruel, horrible things… but he was still every bit an innocent little child - even more innocent than normal twelve year olds… He was so intelligent in some ways, but so entirely ignorant in others.

"I don't remember being hatched. Was I that small?" Prompto went on, looking back down at the chocobo entry.

Ardyn felt a smirk tugging at his lips. "No… I mean, you were small when you were a baby, yes… But you didn't come from an egg. Humans are mammals - more like a coeurl. They're born from their mothers."

"Who's my mother?" Prompto asked immediately.

Ardyn grimaced. How had he not seen these questions coming? "Well… You're different. Your father created you in his lab…" He answered simply. "Scientists have ways of creating life that kind of goes around the way nature intended… He used his own cells to create offspring. You and the others are all clones of him. That's why you all look basically the same."

Prompto blinked, frowning and looking down at his hands. "So we don't have a mother?" Prompto shrugged.

Ardyn shook his head. "No. But we can perhaps find you someone to fill that role. Wouldn't that be nice? For you to have a mother and father to take care of you, to teach you things?"

Prompto shook his head no. "I'd rather have you." He whispered.

Ardyn exhaled. He didn't want to get on this subject again. Prompto didn't realize he'd be better off with a normal family. He'd understand eventually.

Prompto yawned and laid back a bit against the pillows, hugging his plush toy against his chest and closing his eyes. "Will you read to me until I fall asleep?" He asked.

Ardyn stared back at him, silent for a moment. It was nice that Prompto was no longer terrified of him, but it was starting to look a bit like earning the boy's trust would come at the expense of losing his respect. Ardyn told him to sleep in his own bed and Prompto was just going to flat out ignore that instruction.

"Go to your bed and I will." Ardyn compromised.

Prompto opened his eyes and frowned. "I'll have nightmares…" He whispered, shrinking down as he stared up at Ardyn with the start of tears shining in his eyes.

Ardyn blinked. "Sleeping next to me won't change that." He noted.

"Yes it will." Prompto disagreed. "I have nightmares all the time, but that night we slept in the car, when you held me… I slept even with the loud thunder, and I didn't have a nightmare, because I knew you were there. I knew you'd keep me safe. And the next night, when we watched the sunset and I fell asleep, I didn't have any bad dreams. Even the very first night we were together - even when I wasn't sure if you'd hurt me… Sleeping next to you helped. I didn't dream anything bad that night. I don't think so at least."

Ardyn frowned. What the child was saying wasn't untrue. It seemed every time he woke the boy up when Prompto wasn't lying right up against him, Prompto was frightened, likely in the middle of a scary dream. Even when he woke up on his own in the passenger seat of the car, he'd wake up screaming or crying. But those few instances Prompto mentioned were different. That first night, Ardyn kept his hand on the boy's shoulder while he slept and when Prompto awoke in the morning, he didn't seem afraid. Then when Prompto fell asleep the night before the ferry, curled up in Ardyn's lap and when he slept against his side at the rest area... he didn't wake up upset then either.

Ardyn exhaled. Prompto was twelve years old. He was old enough to sleep in his own bed... That, and Ardyn wouldn't be with him forever. He couldn't rely on Ardyn allowing this. He had to learn how to sleep through the night without being dependent on someone cuddling him like he was a toddler.

"I'll be right here." Ardyn promised. "I can keep you safe without holding you. I'm in the same room. We're in a hotel with a lock on its door, inside a rather safe city. Nothing will hurt you."

"I don't want to go to sleep yet then. I'm not tired enough." Prompto changed his mind. "Can we look at my photos?"

Ardyn stared back at the child, realizing exactly what he was doing. He was stalling. He was afraid to sleep in the bed alone. He was probably right - that he'd have nightmares if he was by himself. Ardyn didn't feel good knowing that getting Prompto to go to sleep in his own bed would mean he'd wake up screaming or crying the next morning. He'd probably even wake up during the night. It wasn't ideal... But the boy couldn't sleep next to Ardyn forever. He had to learn to sleep by himself... The nightmares likely wouldn't last forever if he only got used to being on his own at night.

"I'll go to the other bed after." Prompto frowned, shrinking down slightly. He looked so fucking vulnerable.

Shaking his head and exhaling, Ardyn closed his eyes. Ardyn wasn't going to sleep anyway… Perhaps it wasn't too much to ask to let the boy stay next to him to spare him his traumatizing dreams. He'd have to be careful though not to get Prompto dependent on him - he wasn't going to stay with Ardyn forever. His new parents might not allow him to sleep next to them every night.

"Let's see your photos." Ardyn agreed. Perhaps he could allow the boy to fall asleep next to him, then move him to the other bed after the fact. Prompto wouldn't be under the impression that he'd been allowed to choose not to listen to Ardyn's orders, but he wouldn't have nightmares either. Maybe getting him to sleep in his own bed was going to be a process that would take time. Letting him fall asleep next to Ardyn and Ardyn physically moving him to his own space could be a start.

Prompto nodded and smiled, jumping off the bed and running over to where he'd been charging the camera. "I actually took quite a few while we were walking, and at the outlook. I didn't show you all of them yet." He excitedly commented.

Ardyn remained still as Prompto trotted back, climbing onto the bed next to him and snuggling against his side.

"I'll hold it." Ardyn suggested, hoping looking slowly through the photos would be enough to lull Prompto to sleep. "You just look. I'll ask you if I have any questions." He suggested.

Prompto nodded, laying his head against Ardyn's arm. He smiled and cuddled closer when Ardyn put his arm around the boy's shoulders.

"Thank you for letting me sit with you for a while." Prompto whispered, blinking and watching as the man turned the camera on and began looking through the images.

"Just for a bit. Then you're going to your own bed." Ardyn reminded him as he started going through the photos slowly.

"Yes, sir." Prompto nodded, looking down, grimacing, and hesitating. "I mean… Not sir… Mr. Ardyn." He corrected. "I'll go to my own bed after this…" He agreed.

Besides the ones Ardyn had already seen - which he cycled through slowly anyway - Prompto had taken photos of various things he saw along the way to the book shop - more flowers, a child with a balloon, a small bird perched on a windowsill.

There were also photos inside the book shop - one of Ardyn looking through a shelf of children's fiction - Prompto hadn't taken any of his suggestions. Looking through the childish nonsense had been a waste of his time. Prompto took a photo of the bins of stuffed animals and another on the outside of the shop after they'd finished. He took a photo of himself holding the stuffed chocobo. Ardyn noticed his own shirt sleeve on the side of that photo. The child had taken it while leaning against him. Ardyn hadn't even noticed Prompto taking a lot of these.

The rest of the photos were from the outlook, where they'd spent about an hour or two just sitting and looking. Prompto took a lot of photos of the scenery out over the outlook and a few of the city, seemingly trying to focus mostly on the sky and the sunset.

Ardyn smiled as he reached the last photo and the series started back from the beginning. Prompto sure found a lot of photo-worthy moments in just one afternoon. There had to have been at least thirty or forty photos overall...

Prompto must have been exhausted, because by the time they reached the end of the roll, he was sound asleep.

Ardyn turned the camera off and set it down on the mattress next to him, then cocked his head to the side and looked at his companion. He never would have guessed that he'd grow to care about someone like Prompto. He blinked a few times, surprised by his own line of thinking. Was that what this was? Care?

Surely it had to be. It would have been easy for Ardyn to walk away from the lab without checking in the medical waste room. That day, he didn't have much of a connection with this child. He'd never even heard the boy speak…

The tiny bit of empathy he had inside him demanded that he not let this child suffer more than he already had, but even after that, Ardyn kept him with him. He didn't have to. Leaving him at the motel the first night was an option. Leaving him anywhere between there and here was an option. Even leaving him right here in this bed and going on with his life was still an option.

Ardyn was annoyed with himself for getting emotionally invested here. Not only had he made Prompto into his problem, but he'd gotten to the point where if Prompto was upset, Ardyn could almost feel it in his own chest. Prompto being scared to sleep in his own bed made Ardyn's heart hurt. Why? What did he care if this boy had nightmares? Why did he want to strongly to avoid that? Because he knew the nightmares were based on fact? Because he knew the trauma was very real, and very harsh? He wanted to protect Prompto from those memories...

Prompto made a small groaning noise and cuddled closer against Ardyn's side, gripping the man's shirt in a small fist as he hugged his stuffed chocobo against his chest with his other arm.

Ardyn continued staring down at him. He never would have seen himself as a symbol of comfort and safety. It was flat out bizarre that Prompto clung to him for protection like this. Prompto still didn't know what a monster Ardyn was. Even when Ardyn told him, Prompto didn't seem to believe it. He didn't understand that under different circumstances, Ardyn would have just let him die, let him be hurt, even killed him himself.

Ardyn had actually let Prompto be hurt for a very long time. The clones weren't new information to him. He knew a lot of what was going on in the lab the whole time. He didn't know the extent of what Verstael was doing all along, but Ardyn couldn't claim he thought Prompto's life in the lab was okay, that the man wasn't doing anything cruel. He knew at the very least that Verstael was subjecting the child to unnecessary medical procedures.

This was all the more reason to get Prompto into a different setting sooner rather than later. It would be a tough transition for the boy, but ultimately, he'd be better off. He deserved better than Ardyn. He deserved a mother and father who would never even consider euthanizing him out of pity, who would be patient and kind, who wouldn't be annoyed when they had to teach him basic things he should have already known.

He deserved someone who hadn't ever killed anyone, someone who wasn't a vile villain like Ardyn. Someone who wouldn't likely ultimately get him wrapped up in some convoluted revenge plot. Ardyn had more important things to worry about than raising a child, than caring about someone's feelings, preventing nightmares, teaching life skills. He had more destructive things to do…

This child saw Ardyn as a hero. As his knight in shining armor… That's not who Ardyn was though. Prompto's view of the man was entirely wrong. Ardyn was a hero once, but that part of him had died. That part of him had been taken advantage of, had been suffocated out of him. He was a villain now. He didn't take care of people. He didn't heal or protect… He hurt people now, he destroyed people and towns. That's who he was now.

Once Prompto was gone, Ardyn could go back to being cruel again. He could exact revenge and manipulate people to his benefit. This whole nurturing, caring side of his personality felt bizarre, felt wrong… Felt like a lost part of himself he wasn't sure he wanted back…

It was strange to see in himself these characteristics that he had thought were long gone. For someone who had long ago turned impatient, destructive, violent, and selfish to all of a sudden find himself being caring and gentle with a tiny, frightened, vulnerable little child… It wasn't the person he was anymore...

Exhaling, Ardyn closed his eyes, hugging Prompto a little closer to his side. This wasn't going to last much longer. Prompto would be out of his hair soon enough… Perhaps letting the boy sleep next to him for what may be only one last night wasn't too much to ask.

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Chapter Text

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Chapter 12

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Yawning as he walked through the city, Prompto stretched his arms out in front of himself. Presently, he wore the clothing Ardyn bought for him as well as his new back pack. He knew he didn't have to wear the back pack. He had no need to take things along with him on his walk... But he really liked the bag and wanted to use it.

Up until yesterday, Prompto didn't have any items that were his. Back at the lab, he had clothing his father let him wear. He was allowed to look at Verstael's books... but he didn't have his own clothing that he chose, his own books, his own little stuffed chocobo, a camera... He felt so rich, so lucky. He had things now, things that belonged to him, things he personally picked out at a store, and he absolutely loved it. He didn't need a reason to take his things along with him other than just enjoying having them close, knowing they were his. So he put his belongings inside his back pack and headed out shortly after Ardyn left.

Inside the cactuar-printed bag were the few books they'd gotten the previous evening - one focusing on animals native to the area, and another about the various cities and small towns on the Lucian continent. There were even maps included in it! Ardyn had also gotten Prompto a pretend chocobo at the book store. It was up near the counter where they paid and the man insisted that they buy it after noticing Prompto quietly staring at it - Ardyn called it a "stuffed animal." It was very soft and cute and was pleasant to cuddle with while he slept. Prompto supposed if Ardyn really did leave him with someone else, he could at least hug the chocobo to make himself feel safer, to make him feel less alone. He'd named it after Ardyn's flowers - Petunias. The photo the man took, the first one on his camera roll.

It was strange to have this degree of freedom, to be permitted to walk around on his own - talk to people if he wanted to (but he didn't really want to,) look at things, go wherever he wanted, really... It was almost scary though. He felt like he was going to get himself lost or hurt, like he couldn't possibly be capable of surviving by himself even for one morning.

But he was doing it. He was walking through the city and no one was next to him, watching his every move, telling him where to go, slapping his hand if he touched something he wasn't supposed to. His father wasn't here to hit him if he made a wrong step, to tell him where to walk, to demand that he do things that were uncomfortable or scary. He was on his own right now and he was in charge of himself. It was like he was his own father. He called the shots today.

It was kind of nice. Strange, but nice. It was liberating, really, to walk around without anyone even knowing for sure where he was. He could turn down whichever street he wanted. He could go inside the stores - he had no money, but he could still go in and look. He could do whatever he chose. He could go wherever he wanted. He could run away from the city fully if he wanted to. No one would stop him... Prompto didn't want to run away, of course, but it was kind of freeing to know that he could if he chose to. No one was paying attention to him. He could do it if that's what he wanted... For the first time in his entire life, what he wanted mattered. He was free to choose what to do.

Ardyn had gone off to get some of their clothing washed, leaving Prompto alone for the morning, so he had chosen to walk around the city again, to take some photos and see the various sights the place had to offer.

Ardyn had actually advised him to stay at the hotel, but Prompto was beginning to notice Ardyn didn't do anything mean when Prompto made his own choices instead. So far, the man hadn't hit him, hadn't kicked him or even shoved him. He didn't do anything painful. Not since that first moment back in the medical waste room. In that first moment, Prompto was pretty terrified of the man. Ardyn was a little more rough and he tried to smother him... but he didn't go through with it... His hands were a little harsh when he grabbed Prompto, when he pinned him against the wall and stifled his voice... but even then, the man didn't deliberately hurt him. There was no choking, no hitting, kicking... just a little bit of frustrated roughness on Ardyn's part. After that, the man had been very gentle. So gentle in fact that Prompto hadn't known what to make of it.

Traveling with him was scary at first, when Ardyn raised his voice or made a sudden movement, but after days of being together, Prompto was realizing Ardyn didn't seem like the sort of person who would lash out and hurt him. Even when Ardyn got mad, he held back. There were lots of times he could have hit Prompto and Prompto would have hardly blamed him for it, but he didn't do it.

The boy could hardly believe it considering Prompto made a lot of mistakes and even made Ardyn visibly angry more than a few times… but the man had never hit him, never reached out and choked him, never shoved him to the ground and kicked him. He didn't want to do painful things in bed at night. He didn't even want control in how Prompto dressed or bathed... He even let the boy prepare his own food. He was the polar opposite of Verstael. The hero to Verstael's villain.

Prompto knew by now that Ardyn wasn't going to hurt him. Not even if he got angry. So he decided not to take Ardyn's advice. Instead, he wanted to walk around, enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells of the city, food cooking, people laughing, music being played. Prompto found he rather enjoyed watching people living their own carefree lives.

Prompto looked down at his camera, turning it on and flipping through some photos he'd taken around town this morning.

He'd taken one of the big power plant at the back of the city, the place where a nice woman had smiled and waved at him as she headed inside. He had guessed maybe she lived there, until a different person started talking to him about the place and revealed it was a workplace. Apparently most people weren't like his father. Most people didn't have a lab where they worked and lived. They had a workplace and a home place.

Prompto had also taken more photos of flowers and plants. There were so many strange plants near the outlook. Plants Prompto had never seen before - not even in his father's books. If Prompto had to guess, he'd theorize that perhaps there were more different types of plants in the world than types of animals.

He took some photos off the outlook, at the large crystal-looking object and arches in the distance, of anything he could see from up so high and far from the rest of the world. Then he headed back into the busier part of the city and took some of the big market where people were selling food and other items. He'd never seen such a lively, crowded place in his life. The market specifically was a lot more crowded in the morning than it was last evening.

As he continued walking, Prompto turned the camera off and looked ahead, trying to spot something else interesting to look at, to photograph. He could show Ardyn all of his photos when they reunited.

He wondered if Ardyn would enjoy that… The man said he was bored of the world, that it was dull to him… Maybe seeing the photos would be boring to Ardyn. Prompto supposed he could always take the pictures and ask Ardyn if he wanted to see them. If he didn't, Prompto could keep them to himself.

They were mostly for himself anyway - so he could remember the things he saw and did here. He always wanted to remember Lestallum, the friendly people, the exciting market, the view from the outlook, the beautiful flowers… he wanted to remember yesterday, walking around with Ardyn, sitting and talking. Even the camera itself and the photo Ardyn took of the flowers were good memories. The flower picture was a memory of Ardyn teaching him something new, something nice, taking a small bit of interest in something Prompto was excited about, even if Ardyn himself didn't care so much about it.

No matter where he ended up in the end, with Ardyn, with someone else… all alone… Prompto wanted to remember this place. He wanted to remember his and Ardyn's visit here.

He hoped Ardyn hadn't decided to leave him already. Surely he wouldn't have, not without someone to take his place, someone to take care of Prompto and keep him safe...

Prompto was a little nervous when Ardyn left, but he didn't think it was forever, and it was day time. The city didn't seem scary and Ardyn said he was only leaving for a while... Hopefully he planned to come back. What he said yesterday before they headed back to the hotel had Prompto quite worried. Ardyn didn't want to keep him long-term. He wanted Prompto to go live with someone else… And of course that was terrifying.

So far, Prompto had lived with two people in his life - his father, who regularly hurt him, who did things to him he knew Prompto didn't like, who drugged him, hit him, choked him, and starved him… who raped him on top of a pile of corpses… and Ardyn, who was nice to him, who made sure he wasn't hungry, who helped him bathe even when he didn't want to help him, because he could see Prompto was too weak to do it on his own, who made sure he was warm and comfortable.

Ardyn bought him clothes and a camera. He taught Prompto new things - things there were fun instead of scary or painful. Ardyn was caring, careful, kind… He was nothing like Prompto's father.. He never hurt Prompto, didn't scare him much, let him have freedom, allowed him to do things on his own.

It was only two people… Verstael and Ardyn. Two out of everyone in the world... but it was the two people he knew, the two people who had given themselves the task of being his guardian… And one of those two was terrifying. A full half of the adults he'd been in the care of were cruel. What if the next one was too? What were the chances the next person would be like Ardyn instead of like Verstael? Was Ardyn right when he said most people weren't like his father? Did he really know?

Prompto frowned as he thought about it. It was a big risk, going with someone new. Ardyn was terrifying at first. Prompto thought the man would kill him at first… and even when Ardyn changed his mind and didn't end up doing so, Prompto was still heart-stoppingly scared of him for about a day.

At first, Prompto feared Ardyn would hit him when he got mad, but Ardyn didn't… He thought Ardyn would make him do the sexual things his father made him do… But Ardyn didn't do that either. The man even went out of his way to explain several times that his father was wrong to do that to him, that that wasn't something Prompto should have had to do…

So maybe Prompto could trust that Ardyn would find someone genuinely caring for him to live with. Maybe Ardyn feeling so strongly that Verstael's way of taking care of Prompto was abusive was proof he'd be careful to find an acceptable replacement, that he wouldn't leave Prompto with just anyone.

Prompto blinked as he noticed some flowers in front of a nearby shop. They were a vibrant purple color, with orange ones in the pot next to them. Those would make pretty photos…

So he walked over to them, kneeling down and working on the purple ones first. He zoomed in, as Ardyn had showed him, focused on one flower in particular, and snapped the picture, then paused and looked at the image. It looked good, he thought.

Then he stood back up and walked over to the orange ones. The orange flowers weren't as tall as the purple ones. If he angled the photo right, he could maybe get the purple ones in the back ground. He knelt down closer to the ground, pointing the camera somewhat upwards to get his shot just right, then focused the image and snapped the picture.

Prompto let out a small breath and instinctively flinched when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, but he realized just as soon as the stab of fear pierced through him that it probably wasn't needed. He didn't need to be scared out here. He hadn't met anyone mean since his father and so far people around the city either politely greeted him or left him alone. No one he didn't know would have just come up and grabbed him... It was probably Ardyn. No one else around town would just grab onto him like that. No one else in the city knew him.

Prompto smiled as he began to stand and turned himself around. He'd been waiting all morning for Ardyn to meet back up with him, so it was really a relief that he didn't have to go back to the hotel and wait even longer. Maybe he and Ardyn could do like they did last evening - walk around town together, get food, take more pictures, talk about life and the world.

"Look! I got some really good ones of-" Prompto started as he turned and looked up. He cut himself off with a small gasp as he saw who had grabbed him. It wasn't Ardyn at all. It was his father.

Shrinking down, Prompto snapped his mouth shut and held his breath as he stared fearfully up at the man. What was he going to do? Verstael had left him to die in that room... After viciously beating him, kicking, choking and raping him. Verstael had deprived him of food and water and had planned on killing him. That's what Ardyn said... that his father was planning to kill him. What was he going to do now?

Prompto felt tears in his eyes as he stared up at his father. He couldn't believe he was looking at the man right now. Ardyn took him so far away from the lab. They'd driven, taken the ferry, driven some more... How the hell had Verstael found him? And what was he going to do? He had to be so angry by now, so disappointed that Prompto left without asking... Was this it? His whole life was going to end here? There was no way Verstael wouldn't hurt him. Prompto completely left the lab. He was not allowed to do that. He wasn't even allowed to go into different rooms without asking... Would Verstael kill him now? Would it be quick or long and painful? He had wanted Prompto dead and the boy escaped instead... He was going to kill him - or at the very least hurt him so badly he'd wish he had died instead.

"My, aren't you a difficult little person to track down." Verstael scowled down at him, his grip squeezing harder around Prompto's shoulder.

Prompto felt himself shaking as his chest grew cold. His heart felt like it stopped, then all of a sudden felt like it was beating so fast and hard he could almost hear it. He felt like he couldn't breathe, like he wanted to run. Ardyn told him if anyone ever tried to hurt him that he should fight back - hit, kick, scream. That he should run... He couldn't find the courage to run though. If he tried and failed everything would be worse. Verstael would be angry and whatever he had planned to do would be that much worse. Prompto couldn't bring himself to do what Ardyn told him to do. He was too scared. He couldn't do anything but silently stand and stare, waiting and dreading what his father might do.

"Come with me, son." Verstael ordered.

With his lip trembling, Prompto blinked through the tears welling up in his eyes. What was he supposed to do? Should he try to run away? Should he call out for Ardyn? Should he scream for help from anyone who might be close enough to hear? What if he did that and no one helped him. He didn't know anyone in the city. What if they all just ignored him and calling out only served to anger Verstael?

Perhaps his best bet was to just do whatever his father said... to avoid being hurt even worse than whatever was already bound to be done to him. The only times he had ever refused to do something his father told him to do, he was hurt for it. Trying to push the man away, attempting to hide from him, begging him to stop... None of it had ever worked. All it did was make his father angry. Then the thing he feared happened anyway - only worse...

And his father had to be really, really angry already. Prompto left the lab when he wasn't supposed to. He completely left. Didn't ask, didn't say where he was going... went so, so far... He was never supposed to do that. And he'd talked to Ardyn quite a bit too. Verstael warned him not to do that too! Prompto had done pretty much everything his father always told him not to. Verstael would already be mad because of that - and probably still mad about what happened before Prompto left. Maybe the punishment for accidentally killing the others hadn't ever ended. Prompto kind of left in the middle of it...

He couldn't just try to run… Verstael might actually kill him if Prompto did one more thing wrong.

"Come along quietly so I won't have to hurt you. Don't make me more upset, dear." His father continued, starting to walk back down the street, then looking over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow, checking to see that his son was following.

Prompto fought the urge to start crying out in the street and began to follow. He didn't know what else to do. As he walked, he glanced around himself, trying to find Ardyn. What would he do if he found him though? Ardyn was friends with his father. Taking Prompto in secret while Verstael was ready to throw him away anyway was one thing... Would the man stand up to Verstael right to his face? Try to take Prompto away from him?

Ardyn even kept saying that Prompto wouldn't be with him forever. Ardyn didn't want him... He was trying to find somewhere else for Prompto to go. Maybe the boy complaining and crying about the thought of Ardyn leaving him made him mad. Maybe Ardyn wasn't even around anymore. Prompto hadn't seen him all morning - and he'd walked around the city quite a bit. Was he still in town? Maybe he really did leave… Maybe he called Verstael and told him to come get Prompto…

Could that be the case? Did Ardyn get tired of dealing with him and call his father? Last evening when Prompto expressed that he wanted to stay with Ardyn, the man didn't seem to want him... Did he get angry and leave? Prompto did so much wrong.
He did so much Ardyn told him not to, because he trusted he'd be safe... but he wasn't now. Ardyn told Prompto to sleep in his own bed and Prompto didn't. He told Prompto to stay in the hotel and Prompto didn't... Prompto took advantage of the fact that Ardyn didn't hit him when he didn't listen, and now it was all coming back to him. Ardyn didn't hurt him for doing things wrong, but it built up and now Ardyn left him here...

Did he tell Verstael to come get him? Was he angry with Prompto all along? Annoyed by him wanting to be held while he slept, annoyed that he'd do things against Ardyn's suggestions... Did he get so annoyed that he just decided to give him back to his father? Surely not… Ardyn expressed over and over just how disgusted he was by Versatel's actions. He wouldn't give Prompto back to him… Right? He said he wouldn't. He said it just the day before, that he'd never send Prompto back...

"Good boy." Verstael cooed, placing a hand on Prompto's back as he led him toward the hotel. It was the same hotel Prompto was already staying in with Ardyn. His father must have rented a room as well.

Prompto couldn't bring himself to do anything other than quietly follow as his father led him up the front steps, through the lobby, up the stairs, and down the hall. He knew nothing good was waiting for him by going along with Verstael, but he couldn't get himself to act.

Perhaps it was out of habit - most of his life was spent unquestioningly doing whatever this man told him to do… Perhaps it was out of fear… He knew how much Verstael could hurt him if he made the man angry. Trying to run away without anywhere to go didn't seem like a solid plan. Verstael would just run after him and be extra angry once he caught him.

"What are you going to do to me?" Prompto whispered once they'd reached Verstael's room.

"Nothing bad, child. Don't be afraid." Verstael answered, walking across the room and sitting down on the edge of the bed. "I'm not angry with you. Not anymore."

"You're not?" Prompto breathed, looking up at the man. He was very angry the last time Prompto saw him, when the man was kicking him in the ribs so hard Prompto passed out from the pain. When he left him in that room full of the dead bodies of the other boys - the ones he tried to save.

"Come sit." His father ordered, patting his own thigh.

Prompto felt his lip trembling as he looked down at the floor, but made his way over to the man, sitting nervously down on his lap. He stared at the door, wondering if he should have just not come in here in the first place. He probably should have run… He should have called for help and run - like Ardyn told him to do if someone tried to hurt him.

But where would he have gone? He didn't even know where Ardyn was, and everyone else in the city was a stranger. Verstael would have caught him if he ran. He would have been very angry if Prompto had run. Running wouldn't have helped him. It would have made things worse.

"It hasn't been long, really. Feels like it has been, but what's it been really, under a week?" Verstael breathed, leaning close to Prompto's ear as he ran a hand up and down over his son's side, letting it come to rest on his waist. "Even so, you've changed, haven't you? You aren't living by my rules anymore... You look so much more childish - so immature. It's almost like he's done everything he could to make you look younger..."

Prompto stared down at the floor, trying to focus on continuing to breathe. He was so scared. His body shook, he felt lightheaded and nauseated. He couldn't barely even remember to intake breaths right now.

"Is this wardrobe of your own choosing?" Verstael laughed as he ran his fingertips over Prompto's shirt. It was one of the ones Ardyn let him buy. One of two he chose with chocobos on them. This one was yellow, and the chocobo was pink. "It really showcases your youth..." Verstael frowned as he looked the garment over. "I never saw you as a child, but you are, hm? Put aside everything in the lab, and you're just a naive, sheltered little boy, aren't you?"

Prompto swallowed, feeling frozen in place as he stared at the door. He couldn't bring himself to speak. He couldn't bring himself to move.

"Are you frightened of me?" Verstael wondered.

Prompto shrunk down and nodded. "Yes." He whispered, his lip trembling as tears welled up in his eyes.

Verstael shook his head, smirking and laughing softly. "You don't need to be afraid. I've been nothing but gentle with you today. Have you felt any pain since we've been reunited?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

Prompto swallowed, then shook his head. "No." He whispered. Verstael hadn't hurt him today. Not yet.

"See?" The man smiled, petting Prompto's side and back with his hand. "I've forgiven you, so you've no need to fear me now. Everything that happened before was a response to your own misdeeds. It was your fault that happened. You were the one doing things you weren't supposed to. You were the one who killed all those innocent little clones... your poor brothers. You can't be upset with me for something you did wrong. What was I supposed to do? How was I supposed to react, child? You destroyed years and years of work in one moment... You killed them. Was I supposed to give you a hug and tell you it was fine? It was quite a big mistake on your part. You deserved to be punished for that."

Sticking his lip out in a pout, Prompto closed his eyes. He didn't deserve what his father did. Ardyn told him that more than once, and by now, Prompto believed it. His mistakes were accidents. He was a child. He didn't know better. He did things wrong without meaning to, without understanding... Then his father hurt him very deliberately, very harshly. Verstael's response wasn't proportionate to what Prompto had done. Maybe if he did it on purpose he'd have deserved to be hit... but he didn't. He was trying to do something good...

"As I told you, I've forgiven you." Versteal went on. "I know you were confused about the clones. I know you weren't aware of what you were doing. I understand all that. I should have been more transparent with you. I should have told you from the very beginning. My keeping secrets from you only made you vulnerable to pesky emotions like empathy, fear, guilt... I should have made sure you remained apathetic. I needed you to be my assistant, my companion, my protege... Nothing more."

Prompto sniffed, trying to keep his tears inside. He had believed Ardyn when the man said he'd never have to go back with Verstael again. He didn't want this. He didn't want to go back. He knew what life was like outside the lab now, and he liked it out here. Even if Verstael never did the worst, most painful things again, Prompto still didn't want to go back. He liked the freedom of being with Ardyn. He liked being allowed to bathe himself and make sandwiches, to choose his own clothing, to be held in a warm embrace at night without feeling tense and frightened of what it would lead to. He didn't want to go back to the lab. He never wanted to see it or be near his father ever again.

"You don't need to feel guilty for working with the clones, for treating them as less than human. They're not like you. They're not aware." Verstael explained, rubbing one hand lightly over Prompto's side and running the second down his arm, intertwining his fingers with Prompto's.

"You treat me as less than human." Prompto whispered, feeling his heart pounding faster in his chest. Maybe he shouldn't have said that out loud. He wasn't supposed to argue with his father.

Verstael simply laughed, shaking his head as though what his son said was ridiculous. "Do I not cook meals for you? Provide you with clothing and a place to sleep? I bathe you, teach you, offer you books to read... You've seen how the others are treated. You see they don't get the privileges you do... and it's still not enough for you? I give you far more than you deserve... All the special treatment you receive, and you'll still complain?"

Prompto swallowed. He had a whole lot more to say, but what point was there in arguing with his father? He wasn't going to open the man's eyes, change his mind... He would just make him angry. The only thing more frightening than Verstael on a normal day was Verstael when he was angry.

"What's this, child?" Verstael asked, taking the camera off of Prompto's neck and turning it on. "You've become a photographer, have you?" He asked, clicking backwards through the photos Prompto had taken thus far. "Not half-bad." He chuckled, frowning when he landed on one of Ardyn. "Not so fond of this one though… So Ardyn did take you… As I thought…"

Prompto looked down at the floor. He could feel his heart pounding wildly in his chest. He had a familiar feeling inside him, pure dread, fear, anxiety… a feeling he was starting to forget these past couple days traveling with Ardyn.

This wasn't how he was supposed to feel. It wasn't normal to feel this way. Just like what Ardyn said - about how the things Verstael did to him weren't okay, that he wasn't supposed to be scared and hurt all the time. Now that Prompto had experienced traveling with Ardyn, not being hit, not being raped, being allowed to bathe himself, to walk around on his own… He realized just how unusual his life with Verstael was.

"He's cleaned you up, bought you clothes, food…" He paused, indicating the camera. "Toys… He's really spoiled you, hm? Is that why you feel I've treated you poorly? Because I haven't spoiled you rotten as he has? Is Ardyn your father now? Not me?" Verstael sounded like he was frowning.

"No." Prompto whispered, still shrinking down as he felt his father's hands running up and down his arms. "Y-you are."

Verstael frowned, gripping one of the straps of Prompto's back pack and pulling it off his arms. Prompto didn't protest as he did so. He wanted to. He wanted to hold onto his beloved bag. He didn't want to lose it, nor the books inside, nor Petunias the plush chocobo. Those and his camera were the first items he'd ever owned - the first things on the planet that actually belonged to him.

Unzipping the bag and looking inside, Verstael let out a soft laugh. "Who knew you were capable of functioning as a real child?" He scoffed. "Little books, stuffed toys..." He shook his head as though disappointed.

Prompto felt his tears welling up more as he stuck his lip out in a pout. "I am a real child..." He whispered. "Father, I'm a person. J-just like you..."

Verstael shook his head, disapproving as he zipped the bag back up and tossed it onto the bed, then gripped around Prompto's arms, almost picking him up completely as he turned him so he was half-facing toward the man. He placed his hand on Prompto's face, rubbing gently, but in a way that still scared the boy. Even if his father wasn't hurting him now, that didn't mean he wasn't thinking about doing it. It didn't mean pain wasn't coming very soon.

"You're not like other children. You're not like other people." Verstael explained with a frown. "I could say you're technically human - in the biological sense... but to say you're a person? That's a stretch, child, and you know it."

Prompto stuck his lower lip out slightly. That wasn't true. He was a person just as much as anyone else... Right? Although Ardyn had to correct him so often... So many times he said or did things that had Ardyn staring at him like Prompto was the most confusing thing in the world... Like he wasn't normal. Maybe his father was right... Maybe Prompto wasn't as much a person as the rest of humanity. Maybe Ardyn was trying to teach him to be, but he just wasn't naturally a person...

"I created you because I needed soldiers. I needed human bodies to go out and carry out orders. You weren't made by a mother and father who wanted a child to love and nurture. You weren't created to live a fulfilling life. You were made to do someone else's work. I made you to serve my will." Verstael continued. "You were never meant to live a normal life, to play with toys, wear cute little shirts with animals printed on them..." He shook his head. "Ardyn's trying hard to make you into something you're not. You aren't a person. You're hardly human... Those words imply personality, individuality, humanity, thoughts, feelings, aspirations... You're just a copy of me... A copy I made to do as I ordered and nothing else. You're hardly more than a robot... You've no future ahead of you other than serving me."

Breathing out a shaky breath, Prompto closed his eyes and shook his head. He did have his own thoughts, his own personality and individuality. He was different from his father, he was different from Ardyn... He was an individual with his own thoughts, fears, tastes... Wasn't he? Or was he just doing what he thought a human being should do? Was he interested in chocobos because he saw it in a book, because he saw other humans interacting with them? Was he interested in photography because he thought he should be? Because Ardyn brought it up and Prompto wanted to seem normal? Was everything he did in an effort to mimic other humans?

Just because Verstael created him and he didn't have a mother... just because his life hadn't been the same as everyone else's and he hadn't been out in the world, didn't know what things were normal... Did that mean he wasn't as human as the other people? When his father made him, did he leave something out? Was that why his father didn't treat him how Ardyn said people should? Because he wasn't as human? Because he wasn't a person? Was that why it was okay for Verstael to hurt him? Prompto didn't like being hurt, but did he have any right to feel so strongly about it? If he wasn't even human... if his purpose was to serve his father... Why did he feel so much fear and dread and pain? Weren't those emotions human? Weren't all emotions human?

"If you want to pretend you're human, then we can..." Verstael laughed. "That's what I was trying to do back home... That's why I allowed you to help in the lab, why I let you read my books, why I was teaching you things about humanity, showing you how to feel pleasure as only a human can..."

Prompto choked out a shaky whimper and shrunk down as he felt Verstael's hand on his cheek and the other on his waist, sliding slightly up under his shirt. He knew exactly what his father was implying - the same thing he was always talking about when he mentioned pleasure. It might have felt good to Verstael, but to Prompto it was nothing but pain, fear, sadness.

"Don't cry. Don't be afraid of me." Verstael whispered, leaning in and planting his lips against Prompto's.

Prompto closed his eyes and held his breath, but didn't flinch away, didn't turn his head. He knew what this was - a kiss. It was something his father chose to do sometimes in the beginning or middle of everything else, something Prompto learned he could initiate on his own to keep something worse from happening - or to put such things off for a while at least. Kisses didn't hurt. He was pretty sure this fell under the umbrella of what Ardyn described as abusive, but it was better than something that would cause him pain. If he had to choose to sit through this, to participate and make it last longer, or skip straight to the painful things, he'd rather do this.

Prompto let his jaw relax, opening his mouth further and letting Verstael push his tongue inside. He couldn't help but to physically shake as he forced himself to hold still, to kiss back to the best of his ability, to try to do what he knew his father wanted. He knew this part didn't hurt. This part wasn't too scary... but he also knew what often happened after a kiss. Verstael wasn't just going to finish the kiss and then let him go. Something painful would follow.

He could feel Verstael's hands roaming as the kiss continued. Prompto kept his eyes firmly shut, but felt a hand on his back, pulling him closer. Verstael's second hand pushed its way down the front of Prompto's pants, squeezing and rubbing, being gentle at least, but still doing things Prompto was pretty sure Ardyn told him no one was supposed to do to him. Ardyn said no one should touch him there.

Whimpering a muffled noise, Prompto tried to hold in his tears. This wasn't just going to be a kiss. It would spiral into the other thing - the worst thing... The thing that always hurt him. He didn't want to do it. He wanted to run away. He wanted to find Ardyn, to throw himself into the man's arms. He wanted to cry into Ardyn's chest and beg the man to protect him, to take him away from here...

Verstael continued rubbing his hand between Prompto's legs as Prompto squeezed his eyes closed tighter, trying to remember to breathe as he moved his tongue around, almost feeling like he was battling Verstael's tongue, trying to reclaim his own mouth. Even as his heart pounded wildly in his chest, as his breaths grew short, he knew he had to keep this up as long as possible, to occupy his father with something harmless so the painful thing would never come.

When the man finally pulled back, Prompto let out a shaky breath, almost a sob. He shrunk down, fighting the urge to grab at his father's wrist, to pull his hand up out of the front of his pants, to try to push him away. He even thought about grabbing the man's face and pulling him in for another kiss, to keep him from initiating the other thing. Prompto didn't enjoy kissing. It was awkward and uncomfortable. It was scary... but it at least didn't hurt.

"I thought I could replace you... That I could just choose one of the others to take your place and that I'd hardly notice a difference..." Verstael noted, his voice slightly breathless as he looked intensely into Prompto's tear-filled eyes.

Prompto stared silently back, holding a breath in his throat. He felt himself shaking as he was unable to take his mind off of Verstael's hand still down the front of his pants, moving slowly, gently, touching where he wasn't supposed to - where most people agreed it was wrong to touch someone without their permission. Ardyn told him that.

"I was wrong." Verstael went on. "You're different than the others. You've got something more to you. It's frustrating at times. You have the capacity to be defiant, to be defective... But when I tried choosing a more docile clone to fill in for you... It just wasn't the same. They've got no personality. They really are like robots. You're so much more than that... I missed you." He said, looking at Prompto with a slight pout, with pleading eyes, like he expected Prompto to feel the same way right back.

Tears welled up in Prompto's eyes as he remained quiet. He had nothing to say. Nothing that wouldn't make the man mad. He didn't miss Verstael. He didn't miss a single thing about him. Even the softer things, like being held... Ardyn did better. Ardyn did it without making Prompto fearful that it would lead into something painful. Anything Prompto enjoyed in the lab - reading, being talked to... Ardyn replicated and improved upon. Ardyn bought him his own books. Ardyn let Prompto talk about anything he wanted to talk about. He even let him sleep in bed with him without strings attached. There was nothing about Verstael that Prompto wanted back. Not a single thing.

Verstael finally moved his hand, in favor of putting it against the back of Prompto's neck and pulling him in for another kiss.

Prompto squeezed his eyes closed again, trying to keep himself calm as he forced his tongue back into action, kissed back as passionately as he knew how. He felt and heard Verstael moan against his lips, felt the man's second hand sliding down his back.

It wasn't until Prompto felt Verstael's fingers sliding under the waistband of his pants, down into the back of his underwear, that he finally flinched and choked out a shaky sob.

"Oh, shush..." Verstael laughed softly as he pulled back, looking at Prompto with a smirk.

Prompto shook his head, blinking back tears as he reached back behind himself, toward his father's wrist, hesitating. If he tried to forcefully pull the man's hand away from him, Verstael might get angry. He might hurt him worse in retaliation. So for now he settled on just holding onto his arm, feeling lucky at least that he kept his fingers up high, just an inch or so down the back of Prompto's pants. He wasn't trying to do anything. For now, he was only touching skin. Just Prompto's lower back. It wasn't invasive. It didn't hurt.

Verstael narrowed his eyes as he stared into Prompto's, running his fingers lightly back and forth over the skin under the waistband of Prompto's pants. He didn't push his hand any further down just yet. "This used to annoy me..." He noted with a slight nod. "I didn't like when you fought me, when you argued... but it's what makes you special. It makes you more human - just like you wanted."

Breathing in shaky, uncertain breaths, Prompto stared silently back. He felt like he was frozen in place. He couldn't bring himself to move, to make a noise. He wished he would have stayed in the hotel room like Ardyn asked. Maybe his father would have never found him then...

"The others aren't frightened of anything. They don't even remotely resemble humans in their behavior." Verstael noted with a frown. "I don't know if it's everything I've taught you or if your mind truly is more advanced than theirs... Even if it is all thanks to my own conditioning, that's still several years before I could get one of them to be like you. They don't kiss back, they don't tense and whimper. They're mindless. They flee if they're in pain, but that's it. They have no opinion on what happens to them otherwise. You're so much more human than they are. You're special. I can't replace you..."

Prompto swallowed. He didn't know what to say or do. He didn't know if he should just stay still and hope cooperating would spare him some degree of pain... or if he should shove his father away and make a run for it. If he did run though, then what? Where would he go? Out into the street? Then where? His father found him here - after they made it so far... Prompto didn't know how he found him, but he did. He'd find him again if he ran. Prompto would never be able to be free of the man. Even if he escaped, Verstael would find him once more. He'd be even more angry. He'd hurt him worse, or maybe even kill him...

What Prompto really wanted to do now was curl up on the floor and cry. He felt defeated. There was no way out of this, no happy, safe, comfortable version of his life that was attainable to him. Just when he thought his life was finally going to be better, that he'd be with Ardyn, that he'd get to travel, see the world, pet chocobos, take pictures, read about animals - see those animals... it was all pulled out from under him. Ardyn didn't want him. Verstael was back. Nothing would change from the miserable life he'd suffered through for twelve years. He'd go back to the lab and his life would continue on as it had before... Only things were worse now. Now, Prompto knew he was being abused. He knew what things were like outside. It was perhaps even more cruel knowing now that it didn't have to be this way.

"He had no right to take you from me…" Verstael frowned. "I wonder how long he wanted you... All of my hard work, every second I spent teaching you how to behave, allowing your personality to grow just enough... Perhaps a bit too far even..." He added with a laugh. "And he stole you from me..."

Prompto swallowed. He wondered if Verstael was angry with Ardyn. If he'd hurt Ardyn if the two of them came across each other. The man didn't seem to blame Prompto for running - which was good, since in that moment, the boy hadn't much of a choice. Even if Prompto wanted to stay in the lab, Ardyn was in control then...

"What have the two of you been doing? You made it this far… You had time to make it further, but you haven't. You've been dawdling. Wasting time… So what have you been up to?" Verstael wondered, his eyes narrowing. "Do you do the things you and I do? Is he gentle? Do you cry? Has he taken my place?"

Prompto shook his head. "No." He whispered. "He doesn't want that... He never makes me do it..." Ardyn never made him do the horrible things his father made him do. Prompto even tried it and Ardyn rejected the offer. He didn't even want so much as a kiss. He wouldn't even let Prompto use his hand or mouth.

"So why has he taken you all the way here?" Verstael stared. "What's he hiding? What does he want with you? I would have likely let him have you if he only asked... In that moment, I didn't want you anymore. I'd have let him have you, but I don't appreciate being stolen from..."

Looking down, Prompto shrugged one shoulder. He wasn't sure he wanted to offer answers. He and Ardyn didn't do anything bad. He didn't think so anyway… but Verstael might not have agreed. He wouldn't have liked to know that Prompto took showers by himself now, that he didn't do the things his father made him do at night anymore. That Ardyn didn't make him and just let him sleep instead. He wouldn't like knowing Prompto chose his own clothing and food, that he didn't always do what Ardyn said, even though Ardyn was in charge of him... and Ardyn never beat him for it.

"H-how did you find me?" Prompto whispered, trying to fight back his tears. He was really scared. He knew his father had to be angry that Prompto ran away with Ardyn. His father was going to hurt him. He just knew it.

"I'll always find you, dear boy… When you were small I put a microchip under your skin." Verstael answered, running his hand from Prompto's neck over toward the collar of his shirt, sliding his fingers under the material and indicating a small scar near Prompto's shoulder. "Here."

Prompto stuck his lip out in a pout as he looked down at the mark, bringing his hand up to feel it. Sure enough, he could feel a small raised spot under the scar, sort of on the back of his shoulder, a few inches away from his arm pit.

"Just under the skin." Verstael noted. "All of you have one. It's a way to keep track of you, to reclaim you if you're lost… I never meant to lose you to the world so soon, but I'm glad I implanted the chips early on now. I'd not want to lose you, my precious child. I'll never lose you."

Prompto blinked a few times, choking out a small whimper as he felt Verstael's hand running through his hair. He shrunk down slightly, but presently didn't have the courage to distance himself much.

He couldn't help the fact though that his breaths were growing short, that tears were blurring his vision. After those first few days he spent away from Verstael, once he got used to Ardyn and started to feel safe with him... Prompto thought everything with his father was truly over. He thought he was free from that never-ending fear and pain... But it wasn't over. It would never be over. He would never be free.

"Shhh… Don't cry. I'm not angry anymore." His father promised, his voice low, threatening. He kept one hand on Prompto's hair, petting gently as he placed his other hand on the boy's jaw, running his thumb over Prompto's lower lip. "We both did things we shouldn't have… I'll forgive you if you forgive me." Verstael offered.

Prompto's breaths were growing quicker and quicker as he tried to shrink down smaller. He wanted to push his father away and run. The longer Prompto spent away from Verstael, the more he didn't think he'd done anything wrong when he tried to free his siblings. He didn't know… Like Ardyn said - he didn't know any better. Verstael did. Prompto hadn't done anything he needed to be forgiven for, and he wasn't sure he was willing to forgive Verstael either. Not if he had any sort of choice.

"Things won't be how they were those last few days." Verstael promised. "I trust you've learned from your mistakes... Any punishment you've ever been dealt was in an effort to teach you to do better. From here on out, do better, and I'll rarely have need to punish you. I won't ever hurt you if you don't make me. Keep learning when you do require punishment. Learn from your mistakes. Then in the end, you'll not do anything you need to be punished for. Understand?"

Prompto bit his lower lip to keep himself from crying as he stared back at his father.

"Do you understand?" Verstael asked again, his expression growing more serious, more annoyed.

"Yes." Prompto whispered, his voice shaking. Obviously he didn't want to go back to how things were. He didn't want to go back to the lab... But arguing with his father wouldn't solve that. He'd just end up being hit.

"I'm so happy we've been reunited." Verstael smiled. "Nothing has to change. We'll go back to how things were before your little mistake." He suggested.

Prompto closed his eyes and swallowed, trying to brace himself for whatever would happen next.

He didn't want to be with his father anymore. It would only mean a lifetime of pain. Verstael always hurt him. He always did cruel, painful things to him, and he always would. Now that Prompto had spent time with someone else, someone to treated him kindly, he realized just how horrible his father had been. Prompto didn't want to go back to that. He wanted to be with Ardyn - or even by himself or with a stranger… Anywhere but here, anywhere but with his father...

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Chapter Text

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Chapter 13

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"I don't know that we'll want to stay the entire night." Verstael spoke as he rubbed his hand over Prompto's back, using his other to press a thumb over the boy's lower lip as Prompto stared silently back. "But we have the room, and I suppose we could get an hour or so out of it before we head back."

Prompto breathed in a tiny breath, feeling panic raising in his chest. He really didn't want to go back. He didn't want to live in the lab. He never wanted to see the horrid place ever again. He'd seen and experienced so much of the world just being with Ardyn for a few days... He couldn't go back to how things were. He hated how things were with his father.

"I'll do my best to control my temper, so long as you do your best to obey and not cause trouble." Verstael went on. "I don't derive pleasure from hurting you. You know that, right? Rarely do I do things with the intent to hurt you, dear child... You only get hurt when you don't behave appropriately. When you're defiant."

Prompto felt his lower lip trembling. So many times he'd been hurt when he legitimately couldn't think of anything he'd done wrong. Verstael was lying. The man hurt him all the time - with and without reason. And he could think of more than a few times that it definitely seemed like his father was doing everything he could to hurt him on purpose. He certainly derived pleasure from seeing Prompto in pain. There was no way that wasn't true...

"You don't need to be frightened of me." Verstael repeated as he petted his hand up and down near Prompto's waist. "I'm not upset with you for running away. You shouldn't have run away... That was wrong... But I understand that you didn't have a choice. You wouldn't have run away on your own. You know better. I understand Ardyn made you go with him. There was nothing you could do. I forgive everything that happened in the past. Let's start fresh." He noted, picking Prompto up by his arms and laying him down on the bed, then climbing on top of him.

Prompto squeezed his eyes shut and shrunk down as he felt Verstael's hands run down over his ribs, over his stomach and toward the waist of his pants as he leaned his face down and started kissing up the side of the boy's neck.

"Don't be afraid." Verstael panted between kisses, running one hand through Prompto's hair while his other gripped at the waistband of the pants Ardyn had bought for him. "I'll be gentle. It won't hurt." He lied. "We'll go as slow as you need, just like the very first time."

"No-" Prompto whimpered, reaching down with his hands and grabbing toward his father's, keeping him from pulling his pants down. "Stop- Don't do that… Please! I'll..." He hesitated, feeling tears choking up in his throat. He wasn't supposed to tell his father no... He wasn't supposed to argue... He was scared of what he was doing right now - trying to defend himself - but he was more scared of lying back and letting all of this happen like he usually did. Letting it happen meant pain... but then, so did arguing... There wasn't an easy way out here. He was probably going to end up hurt either way.

"You haven't learned a thing, have you?" Verstael frowned. "Defiant already..."

Shaking his head, Prompto whimpered a shaky sob, squeezing his eyes closed tight. "It hurts..." He choked. "I just don't wanna do things that hurt... Please... I don't mean to argue or be defiant..." He breathed, his voice trembling. "I'll... I'll do what you say, b-but... That hurts... It always hurts when we do that... W-we... I can do something different... I'll kiss you again. We can... I'll... I can do something different. I can touch you... Y-you can touch me too... Just... Please not that..." He begged breathlessly.

Versatel laughed softly, but let go, allowing Prompto to grip at the waistband of his pants, holding them desperately in place. "This is strange... You know what happens when you're defiant... and yet you're refusing to cooperate anyway... You know you'll end up in pain if you don't listen to me..." Verstael cocked his head to the side, staring at Prompto in a way that made him quite scared. The man looked to be thinking - maybe thinking of a punishment - Prompto was arguing with him after all, making this more difficult than it needed to be... His father was probably going to hurt him for this...

Prompto swallowed. "I'm not trying to not listen..." He whispered. "I wanna do what you say... I just - I don't want- I'm... I'm scared of that..."

Verstael shook his head. "We've done this enough times that it shouldn't be a big deal to you... You've participated plenty of times by now without even crying..." He noted. "Do it like you did before. Relax, let your body enjoy it... Don't panic. Just relax and let me take it slow. It'll feel good for us both... If you keep arguing, however, if you tense up and try to stop it from happening... It'll end up hurting you... Because I'm not in the mood to negotiate... If you make it difficult, I'll get impatient, a lot more forceful... Don't make this more difficult than it needs to be." His father warned.

Prompto inhaled and exhaled a couple shaking breaths. He didn't know what to do. Ardyn told him this shouldn't happen, that he should fight back... but fighting back was a terrifying thought. If he tried to get away, if he slipped away from his father's grip and made for the door... Verstael would catch him, would likely beat him until he could barely move... then he'd rape him anyway. It would be all the same as if he'd never protested at all - only a lot more painful.

"Just relax. Take some calming breaths. You can close your eyes if it helps..." Versteal suggested as he reached toward Prompto's pants again.

Prompto found himself shaking his head before he could even think about what he was doing. "Please... You're not supposed to..." Prompto whispered, breathing in a shaky breath and squeezing his eyes shut as he held his pants firmly in place. He knew he wasn't allowed to tell his father no. Begging was a mistake he'd made only a few times before. It never worked out in the past... but Ardyn said his father was wrong to do these things, that he shouldn't have to put up with it. Ardyn said it more than once. He made it pretty clear that the things Verstael did were very wrong, that it wasn't a typical thing a father would make his son do. Prompto didn't want to have to suffer through it again. It was one of his least favorite things in the entire world.

Verstael didn't say anything else for the moment, and Prompto was too scared to open his eyes. Instead, he gripped the top of his pants desperately and tried to remember to breathe. He was so scared Verstael would hit him for refusing, for begging. He was scared he'd be hit, violently pinned down, and hurt anyway, that Versteal would take back his offer to be gentle.

He braced himself for that, trying to be ready for it if it happened. He could survive this. It had happened so many other times before and he lived through it. He'd just have to lay still, try not to cry... If Verstael started hitting him, if he threw him to the ground and kicked, Prompto could curl in on himself and endure it. He'd done it before. Then when the man picked him back up and slammed him face-down against the bed, Prompto could keep his eyes closed, squeeze his hands into fists, let his fingernails bite into his palms so he could think about that instead, and just take his mind away until it was over.

It might even be easier to endure now. He had more things he could think about - more places he could take his mind away to. If what his father was doing to him hurt too much, Prompto could take his mind away to the time he watched the lightning with Ardyn. He could remember how safe he felt in the man's car, being held as he watched the lights. He could remember taking photos, the petunias. He could think about the petunias. Petunias were pretty, safe... They were Ardyn's flowers, and Ardyn was kind, gentle... He would never do something like this. Prompto could think of the petunias and Ardyn if this got worse. That would help.

After a moment, when nothing more happened, Prompto knew he needed to bring himself back to the present, to find out what was happening, to try to get a good idea of what exactly his father would do next. Maybe Verstael would actually listen to him. Prompto had begged him not to do this quite a few times, but he'd never expressed that he knew it was wrong. Maybe that mattered. Maybe Prompto knowing the gesture was abusive made a difference to the man.

"Please…" Prompto begged, finally blinking his eyes open in time to see his father aiming his own camera down at him. "What-" Prompto started, flinching and letting out a shaky sob as Verstael snapped a photograph.

"I'm not supposed to?" Verstael laughed, but he didn't sound amused. "I'm supposed to do whatever the hell I please." He glared, snapping another photo so that Prompto flinched. "I'm not supposed to…" He mocked. "Who told you that? Ardyn?"

Prompto sniffed back tears as he stared up at his father. "H-he said you're not supposed to… That those parts of my body belong to me. All of my body does. Y-you're not supposed to touch me there. You're not supposed to do things that hurt me. Other people don't do that... M-most people all agree that sexual things are supposed be consented to... and it's for adults. I d- I don't consent. I'm not an adult..."

Verstael shook his head. "Sure, most people agree to that hm?" He laughed. "You're forgetting something very important, dear boy... You're not a person." He shook his head. "You're an experiment, and a failed one... You don't even do as you're told. You can't even follow orders... Child, you're lucky I ever even let you walk around and live a life! Your body belongs to me. I can do whatever I want with you because I own you. I made you. You're my property." He explained.

"I'm not." Prompto whispered. "I'm a person. People can't own each other. I own myself… It should be up to me if I do things like that, and I don't want to... I don't like when you hurt me… When you touch me down there, it hurts."

"It won't hurt." Verstael shook his head. "I'm not sure why I'm letting you argue with me... I shouldn't even waste my breath on this... I should take what I want - be as forceful as I have to until you listen. We've tried it that way before... Remember? Shall we do it like that again? Should I force it the whole way while you struggle and scream? Won't make as much difference to me... Is that how you prefer it?"

Prompto breathed in a small breath, shrinking down as his lip trembled. The image of his father looming over him blurred as tears welled up in his eyes. He wished he would have stayed in the hotel room like Ardyn suggested. But then... Verstael found him by following the chip in his shoulder. The man could have found him in the room too. If Verstael found Ardyn's hotel room and knocked on the door when Prompto was inside alone, Prompto would have probably assumed it was Ardyn. He'd have opened the door and his father would have had access to him anyway. Maybe this all was inevitable. Maybe Prompto was being naive to ever think Ardyn had rescued him and that things would be better.

Verstael stared down at him, narrowing his eyes. "I told you I wasn't angry, so I'll do it carefully this time. I'll be gentle. I don't want it to hurt you this time. Stop arguing with me before I change my mind..." He threatened.

"No." Prompto shook his head, blinking through his tears as he gripped the waistband of his pants even tighter. "Father, please... Please..." He choked. "I'm not trying to be defiant... I just... It hurts so much. I don't want to..."

"Stop arguing." Verstael stared down at him. "It won't hurt."

"It always hurts..." Prompto choked, sucking in a shaky, frightened breath. He knew arguing with his father didn't ever end well... But not arguing and allowing this to happen wouldn't end well either. When his father made him do these things, it was painful...

"I shouldn't have to convince you, son. You're meant to do as I say, no matter what it is." Verstael continued. "But I mean it when I tell you it won't hurt. I'll stretch you gently with my fingers and ease into it. And it's not like you've never done this before. I'll go as slow as when it was the first time, but it's not the first time, so you're better prepared. You know what to expect. It won't be a shock to your body. It won't be painful. Not if you relax."

Prompto shook his head. "I don't want to do it at all. Even if it doesn't hurt… I don't like it. It feels weird… and it always hurts in the end, even when you start off being careful, it always ends up hurting… I don't want you to touch me there… Those parts of my body are private. Sex is for adults who want to do it… I'm not an adult… I don't wanna do it… That's rape and it's wrong…" He whispered. "Ardyn said-"

"Ardyn said…" Verstael interrupted with a scoff, gripping Prompto's wrists in one of his hands and pinning him back against the mattress as he leaned in closer.

Prompto squeezed his eyes closed and whimpered a shaky cry. His father was holding his wrists so hard. He could feel the bones in each wrist being crushed painfully against each other, definitely creating bruises.

"Are you joking? You're going to listen to some man you hardly know? Over your own father?" Verstael growled, squeezing his hand even tighter around Prompto's arms.

"Ow-" Prompto choked, feeling the bruises being created around his wrists as he shook his head. "Please! You're hurting me! Please stop!" He whimpered.

"Am I?" Verstael laughed, squeezing his hand even tighter. "You'd rather spend your time with your new father, would you? With your precious Ardyn? Oh, he's so much better than I am, isn't he? Do you even know the man? You think I'm the bad guy here, and you want to go with fucking Ardyn instead?" He let out another strange laugh. He clearly didn't really think any of this was funny. "Ardyn is far worse than I am. Do you not know that? Has he not hurt you? His patience is so thin... He's legitimately fucking evil!"

"He's not!" Prompto whimpered. "He's never hurt me... He wouldn't..."

Verstael laughed again. "Oh, wouldn't he? I'm actually surprised to find you're still alive... When he took you, I figured he'd give up on whatever he was trying to do and kill you... You're so much work. You're so needy... Why hasn't he gotten frustrated and strangled you, left your little body on the side of the road...? What would he possibly want with you...?" The man mused, perhaps more to himself than anything.

Prompto stared back, trying to control is frightened breaths. He wondered if Ardyn truly did have a bad side to him. Both Ardyn himself and Verstael were claiming he was a bad person... but Prompto didn't see it... Either way, the boy knew he'd rather take his chances with Ardyn than stay here with Verstael. He knew Verstael would hurt him. Ardyn never had...

"You may think he's your savior, but he's not. There's no way he's not up to something sinister... I don't know why he wants you... but it can't possibly be for your benefit. He's up to something." Verstael narrowed his eyes.

Prompto shook his head, biting his lower lip. "He's not... He's trying to help me-" He cut himself off with a pained whimper when his father squeezed his arms tighter.

"You ungrateful little rat..." Verstael growled. "After everything I've given you, all the special treatment... And you prefer that man over me? Did Ardyn raise you for twelve years? Did he cook you meals? Did he keep you clean, warm, and healthy? Did he let you sleep in his bed? Did he teach you to read, show you books, talk to you about the world? I've taught you so much... I've made you almost human - isn't that what you wanted?"

Prompto sniffed, shrinking down what little he could. Ardyn did do those things. Not for as long, but he did make sure Prompto was clean and warm. He made sure the boy had food and water and clothing. He let him sleep without making him do things he didn't like. Ardyn never hurt him. Not even when Prompto did things wrong. Even when Ardyn was obviously angry or annoyed, he never hit him, never locked him away in a closet and refused him food or water. He hadn't been with Ardyn for as long, but so far the man had taken very good care of him.

"What you and I do is none of his business. You're my son, so you'll listen to me." Verstael demanded, gripping Prompto's arms in a tighter squeeze.

Prompto whimpered a pained noise and shook his head. "It's wrong… Those parts of me shouldn't be touched by anyone…" He choked. "I'm supposed to keep covered up in front of other people... Those parts of my body are private..."

"He's told you to be ashamed by that then…" Verstael noted, his eyebrows raised. "Ashamed of your own body. Something that's natural… You never cared before… You never felt shame at least. You cared about the pain, but nothing else. You never objected to touching - to the parts that weren't painful... He taught you to be ashamed of your own body, ashamed of pleasure... There was a good reason I didn't want you talking to him..."

"Ardyn says-" Prompto started.

"He's your father now?" Verstael glared, his voice growing louder, more angry. "Is he who you're taking all these pictures for? You going to show your new father all these lovely images of flowers and scenery? So he can pat you on the head and tell you he's proud? Let's capture some more of you then, since he loves you so much. You can show them all to him if you ever see him again. Oh, he'll just love them. I'll bet you let him see any and every part of you without a fuss." Verstael accused, letting go of Prompto's wrists in favor of using his hands to grip the camera instead.

Prompto raised his hands up to cover his face as Verstael snapped another photograph of him. "Please stop!" He choked. He didn't want pictures of himself… Not like this. His photos were meant to be memories - good memories, images to look back on to remember fun things, pretty things… Not this.

"That's it, hm? He told you to keep your body to yourself so he could have you!" Verstael growled. "I didn't create you for him!"

Prompto sobbed breathlessly as he felt Verstael grab his pants again, yanking them and his underwear down his thighs in such a quick, rough motion that his whole body slid down across the mattress thanks to the gesture.

"No! Please!" Prompto choked, cowering down as he heard his camera make another clicking sound. He didn't want to see pictures of this… This wasn't a memory he wanted to look back on.

"But why?" Verstael laughed, pulling Prompto by his arm so that he couldn't curl in on himself. "Don't you want to show Ardyn? He's treating you so nicely… You've got to give him something back, right?" He smirked, snapping another photo as Prompto looked up through his tears. "He'll love these. Oh, he's so protective of your body. He wants to make sure it's all pristine and untouched, just for him. Let's show him every inch of you!"

Prompto shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut and covering his face with his arms. "I don't want pictures of this. Please!" He sobbed.

"Well, that's rude…" Verstael spoke. "You've got plenty of what you've been up to with Ardyn, but won't document yours and my time together? I feel rejected…" He laughed.

Prompto whimpered out a shaky sob as he felt his father's hand around his neck, starting to squeeze as the sound of the camera snapping another photo rang out in his ears.

"Stop!" Prompto choked, his eyes shooting open as he grabbed at his father's hand around his neck. "Please don't!"

Verstael narrowed his eyes and smirked as he squeezed his hand tighter, snapping another photo.

Prompto felt panic quickly settling in as the grip around his throat tightened. He tried to shake his head and reached up toward his father's hand in the same moment, desperately trying to pry it off his his neck. "Father, please!" He sobbed, noting he could barely get any oxygen into his lungs at this point. "Please... Stop! I can't breathe…"

"Hmmm..." Verstael mused, squeezing his hand tighter, then snapping another photo. "Breathing is a privilege... According to you..." He laughed. "Since you so callously deprived the others of it without good reason... You didn't think they deserved to breathe? Then why should you?"

Prompto whimpered a shaky sob. "Please! It hurts! I'm sorry!" Prompto grimaced and squeezed his eyes shut tight when his father's grip around his neck tightened.

He knew he shouldn't have ever gone against what Verstael said. Years of pain had taught him that. He knew better. He should have never argued. He should have just done what he said like he always used to. Verstael wouldn't have been choking him now if he just did what the man said. Not being able to breathe was pretty much Prompto's worst fear.

"I'm sorry!" Prompto choked between breathless sobs. "I c-" He whimpered, choking painfully. He couldn't even breathe enough to beg.

"You're sorry?" Verstael mocked, squeezing his grip even more securely around Prompto's throat. "If you're really sorry, you'll stop arguing. You'll stop being defiant. You'll do as you're told without causing a scene."

Prompto tried to nod, squeezing his eyes shut again and choking in and out what little breath he was able. It wasn't enough. He felt so panicked. He didn't want to die... Especially not like this. Not being able to breathe was pretty much his worst fear.

"Are you ready to be a good boy and do as your father asks?" Verstael wondered.

"Yes..." Prompto choked. "I won't argue..." He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to breathe in enough air to say what his father wanted to hear. "W-we'll do whatever you want... Please..." He begged.

"Very well." His father finally loosened his grip, choosing instead to rub his thumb gently over Prompto's throat. "As I said before, I have no desire to hurt you… So long as you cooperate. We can go back to how things were before. You know what I expect of you, and you weren't always so combative... I shouldn't have to even verbalize what it is I want. You know already... Will you cooperate now? No more screaming and crying?"

Prompto blinked his eyes open, cowering down as he stared up at Verstael. The man's hand was still around his throat, not squeezing, but lingering as a threat.

"I'll be gentle as long as you don't struggle against me." Verstael compromised. "Any more arguing from you, and I'll be sure it hurts."

Prompto's breaths were quick as he stared back. Was that really something he was willing to do at this point? Cooperate even during something he hated, something he didn't want to do, that was uncomfortable, painful… Even after everything Ardyn told him about it being wrong, about it being something he should never have to do…

Prompto didn't know that it was something is father wasn't supposed to be doing to him. He didn't know before that out in the rest of the world people didn't hurt each other. He knew now. He trusted that Ardyn was telling the truth.

Was not cooperating even a viable option? Shoving his father away, trying to run… Would it do him any good? Or would he just end up being hit and kicked? Then Verstael would rape him anyway… Probably a lot harder, a lot more painfully... If Prompto made it difficult and didn't succeed in escaping, everything would be a whole lot worse for him. Was he willing to take that risk?

"You're right... Enough with the photos. You won't be seeing Ardyn again to show him anyway… Though we can keep the camera for ourselves. I'll always cherish the ones we've taken just now. These lovely memories you and I will make today... I'll be deleting the ones with Ardyn, of course." His father noted with a raised eyebrow and a stern stare. "We'll delete a lot of the nonsense - the flowers, the birds... I appreciate that Ardyn bought you this little gift, but we'll fill it with our own memories."

Prompto sniffed and shook his head. Ardyn was the nicest, most caring person he ever met. He didn't want the photos he'd taken of the man to be gone. He didn't want the photo Ardyn took of the petunias to be taken away from him. He wanted to remember that wonderful day he'd had with Ardyn forever. In contrast, he didn't want to remember what was happening now. He wanted the pictures he took. The one Ardyn took of the flowers. He didn't want the ones of himself, the ones where he was crying, the ones where he was cowered down, shaking in fear while his father squeezed his neck or pulled down his pants. Ones that would forever remind him of what was about to happen. He never wanted to think about this again.

"I'll try not to let my jealousy get the better of me. I can forgive your antics with Ardyn so long as you and I can pick up where we left off." He suggested. "Just like old times."

Prompto blinked through his tears as he looked up at his father, who loomed threateningly over him. He knew whatever was to come next wouldn't be pleasant. Even if his father tried to be gentle, it was going to hurt. It always did.

"Let's finally feel some pleasure then." Verstael smirked, tossing the camera down onto the bed and focusing on further undressing Prompto instead. "It's been way too long. I've missed this. Haven't you? You can't deny that you've enjoyed it from time to time." He accused.

Prompto felt his heart pounding wildly in his chest as his breaths grew more and more rapid. He couldn't just sit back and allow this. Going along with his father had only led to pain in the past. Fighting back led to more pain too, but this time was different. Prompto wasn't stuck in the lab in the middle of nowhere. He was in a town, full of other people. If he only made it outside, someone might see him, might hear him if he cried out for help... He might have a real chance at escape this time.

Ardyn taught him he didn't have to allow this kind of thing… That he shouldn't allow it. That it was wrong. Prompto knew now that what his father subjected him to on a daily basis wasn't the norm. Other children weren't raised how he was.

"You haven't done this in a while." Verstael noted as he slid Prompto's pants and underwear down further, bending his legs at the knee and pushing them up toward his chest. "I hope you've healed from before… I'm sorry I was so rough. You destroyed so many years of my work in such a short moment... I know you didn't understand what you were doing, but in that moment, I was so angry... What you did hurt me so much. I had to hurt you back... Or at least, in the moment that's what I felt I had to do... I shouldn't have deliberately hurt you. I'm apologizing."

Prompto swallowed. That wasn't good enough. He couldn't apologize for hurting him right before deliberately hurting him again. He knew this was going to hurt Prompto. Anything beyond touching always ended up hurting.

"It's been about a week, hasn't it? I'll bet any injury and pain has gone away by now. Perhaps if we're lucky you'll even feel tight as new - so this'll be amazing for both of us. I'll take it slow as long as you stop whining." Verstael offered, reaching down with two of his fingers and running them over Prompto's thigh, down between his legs. "Relax for me so I don't have to force it." He ordered.

"No…" Prompto choked, squeezing his eyes shut as he clenched his hands into fists and flinched away. Ardyn said he never had to do something like this again if he didn't want to… and he really didn't want to do this. "Please don't…" He whimpered, shaking his head. "I don't like it, and it always hurts… Even when you're gentle, it still hurts me… Please…"

"Shhh… Just relax. Let me in easily so I don't have to get forceful." Verstael advised again. "This is far from your first time. You know how to relax, so do it. That's why it hurts… Because you resist. Because you make me so frustrated that I don't even want to bother with this part. If it hurts you it's because you're not doing what you're told."

Prompto shook his head, closing his eyes tighter and tensing under his father's touch. "I'm scared..." He choked. "It's gonna hurt... I don't like pain... Please..."

"You're right…" Verstael noted, pressing in his fingers gently. "This is going to hurt you if you tense up and don't let it happen easily. Just calm down. Take a breath and relax… You'll enjoy this too if you relax. I don't want you to be in pain, child. I want you to enjoy it too. You can enjoy this. Don't let Ardyn make you feel guilt for that."

Prompto squeezed his eyes shut, trying to relax, but only tensing up further when he felt Verstael's fingers rubbing down below, pushing gently inward, threatening to penetrate him. He couldn't relax… Not now. Not after everything he had learned - everything Ardyn had told him. His father wasn't supposed to do this. He had no right. Suffering through this silently and without protest wasn't normal. Prompto shouldn't have had to do it. He never should have had to, and he didn't have to continue letting it go on unchallenged now.

Whimpering a shaky gasp, Prompto shook his head and flinched away again, trying to move his legs down, trying to keep Verstael from reaching him. He couldn't let this happen. He had to stand up for himself, no matter how terrifying it would be.

"Have you learned nothing?" Verstael glared. "Do you remember how this went the last time you argued with me and resisted? Do you like it when I'm rough with you? Is that it? You need more attention?"

Prompto swallowed, feeling his lip trembling as tears stung at his eyes. He didn't want to make Verstael mad... If he had no way out of here, angering his father was a horrible idea. He could only afford to do that if there was a reasonable chance he could escape the situation entirely... but presently Verstael was right on top of him. Prompto wasn't getting out here any time soon... Maybe trying to relax, closing his eyes and thinking about something else was his best option here. It was a horrible option... but perhaps the least painful option he had at his disposal.

"Is that what you want?" Verstael accused. "If you want me to be rough, just say so." He smirked. "I'm only ever gentle for your sake. Doing it roughly is fine by me..."

"Please don't..." Prompto sobbed, shrinking down what little he could. His father knew for a fact that wasn't what he meant. Why did the man have to be so needlessly cruel? "You're not supposed to do this... I don't mean to be defiant. I don't mean to argue with you. I'm- I'm just scared... Please! I don't like it... It hurts..."

Verstael cleared his throat, staring down at Prompto with a threatening glare as he grabbed his thigh in a rough hand, pushing his leg back up where he wanted it. "Relax." He demanded again, his tone growing more annoyed as he shoved one finger roughly past Prompto's resisting muscles.

"Ow!" Prompto winced at the sharp pain, squeezing his eyes shut, gripping the sheet below him in tight fists, but freezing up in place where he was. He felt his breaths growing quicker as his panic grew. It hurt already... and he knew it would get worse. He wanted to flinch away, to move his legs back down, to shove his father back, but he was scared. The finger hurt... but he knew his father was capable of a lot worse.

"Stop being dramatic. You're acting like we've never done this before. It's one finger." Versteal laughed. "Relax... I love how tight you are, but if you keep this up, it's going to be painful for you. Let yourself relax. Let yourself loosen up so it'll be less painful later..."

Prompto gritted his teeth together, as he felt Verstael's finger pushing roughly past resistance down below. It wasn't the worst pain he'd ever felt, but it didn't feel good either... and he knew it was merely a preview to something far worse.

"Don't try to cower away from me if you don't want to be hit." Verstael growled, pushing his finger in deeper. "You do that again, and I'm flipping you over and doing this without any preparation whatsoever. You think this hurts? You think my little finger is painful? Dear boy... You know exactly how much more painful I could make it."

Prompto shook his head, hiding his face in his hands as his crying started to increase. He didn't have a choice here... Just like always. He couldn't say no. He couldn't get away. He was doomed to suffer through this whenever his father wanted for the rest of eternity. He knew it would be smart to just relax as best as he could, to try not to resist, to just let it happen to prevent it from being worse... but it was so hard to remain calm when he was scared, when he was in pain.

He knew he shouldn't let himself cry. He knew his father either got angry about that, or got excited and tried to hurt him worse to make the tears more plentiful... but he was so heartbroken right now. He was so sad, so scared. Ardyn told him this was over - that he'd never have to do it again... He had it in his mind that this part of his life was done.

"Open your legs more." Verstael ordered as he ran a second finger between Prompto's cheeks, threatening to push it inside next to the first. "And focus on breathing... Relax. I promise it won't hurt if you just relax. That's why I'm using my fingers first... I'm being merciful here and you should appreciate that. If I wanted to hurt you, you know I could do so much more effectively. This isn't torture. This isn't something dreadful. It's passion. It's bliss... People do this for fun all the time. Let yourself enjoy it."

Prompto moved his legs slightly, opening them as much as he could with his pants and underwear near his knees. He bit his lower lip as he stared up at Verstael, silently begging him not to continue - or at the very least to use some kind of lubrication, to do it as gently as he possibly could, to not get too into the moment and forget to be gentle - like he often did halfway through.

Prompto felt his lip trembling as tears welled up in his eyes and his heart pounded wildly in his chest. He hated this... There were many things that hurt worse, that were scarier - like being kicked in the ribs, or held underwater or choked... but he maybe hated this most of all - perhaps due to how often it happened, perhaps due to the fact that Verstael did it when Prompto hadn't even done anything wrong. At least when he was hit or kicked it was usually in response to him making a mistake - to doing something wrong. He could try his best to be careful and follow his father's orders to prevent that a lot of the time. But not this. Verstael made him do this even when Prompto did everything right. There was nothing he could do to prevent it. Even doing everything his father asked wasn't enough.

"Shhh…" Verstael's voice was low as he leaned down closer, rubbing one hand up and down over Prompto's thigh as he started to push the two fingers of his other hand against Prompto's resisting muscles. "Relax…" He whispered, circling his hand around Prompto's penis and rubbing lightly.

Prompto inhaled a small breath, trying to get his body to relax. It was easier said than done. It was hard to willfully do anything to make this easier for Verstael. It hurt already. Even just one finger was painful. Not excruciatingly so... but it certainly didn't feel good.

"There you go..." Verstael cooed, pushing his first finger in deeper, trying to force the second in next to it. "Relax... You'll enjoy it if you relax. I know you've enjoyed it in the past. When you weren't being a little brat and let yourself relax. You know you enjoyed it. Even if you didn't want to, you liked it."

"No..." Prompto whispered, squeezing his eyes shut again and balling his hands into fists as he shook his head. He didn't enjoy it. He'd never enjoyed it. Right when Verstael started initiating things like this, when it was only gentle touches under the blankets, it was comforting. It was warm and soft... Prompto couldn't deny that he wasn't opposed to it at first. He did enjoy it, because it felt like love... But it wasn't love. It was his father taking advantage of Prompto not knowing he wasn't supposed to touch him like that. Prompto was okay with it because it didn't hurt, because it was a touch that felt comfortable, because sharing body heat kept him warm in the cold lab... but Verstael was still wrong to do it. Even if Prompto didn't know better, Verstael did.

"Yes, you did." Verstael countered, pushing his fingertips in very slowly, very carefully, pausing when there was resistance and pushing even more gently to try to get past it without too much force. "You loved it. You even initiated it at night. You led the way, dear boy..." The man laughed. "I didn't force you. Remember? I sat up in bed and waved you over and you did all of the work... You did that all on your own. Because you loved how it felt. You can't fool me. You loved every second of it. You could have just laid there and let me take charge, but you didn't. You did more than the minimum, more than just what you'd need to do to satisfy me alone. You used your own fingers. I didn't make you do that. You wanted it."

"I didn't." Prompto whimpered. "I didn't want it... I knew it would hurt more if I didn't use my fingers first... You weren't going to do it, and I knew it would hurt. I j- I just didn't want it to hurt as much..."

Verstael smirked. "I could tell you enjoyed it. You wanted it to happen. You climbed on top of me. You disrobed and guided me inside of you... I saw and felt you, heard your breaths... Humans don't breathe like that if they aren't having fun... Dear son... You were breathing so hard. Your body was shaking with pleasure... I think that might have been the best night you've ever had... That was pleasure you were feeling."

Prompto shook his head, choking back tears. "It wasn't... I didn't like it... It hurt. I breathed like that because I was in pain... I was shaking because I was scared. I didn't want to. I only did it because I knew you'd get mad if I didn't... When I just laid there, you hit me... When I tried to get away from you, you got mad and did it really roughly. I led the way because you made me. I didn't like it. I didn't... I've never liked it..." He choked. "I just tried to endure it because I didn't have a choice. I have a choice now... I don't want this..."

"You don't have a choice, actually." Verstael laughed, forcing his fingers in a little further. He wasn't using anything to make them go in easier. Normally he put something on them so they'd slide in without much trouble, but for some reason he skipped that step today. The only other times he did that was when he was really angry, when he wanted it to hurt. In fact, it was already painful, even with the two fingers only just barely inside.

Prompto whimpered and flinched. "Please stop... It hurts... They're not going in easy... Please..." He hissed. "We can do anything else but this.. Please... I'll use my mouth instead..."

Verstael scoffed and shook his head. "You threw up when we tried that." He laughed.

Prompto felt his lips forming a pout. "Then I'll use my hand... It'll still feel good for you, and it won't hurt me... I can kiss you again while I do it... Please... Please don't do it like this..."

"Relax." Verstael growled. "And stop trying to negotiate with me. You're not your own person. You belong to me, and this is what I've decided we're going to do. We're going to do this almost every day until I get tired of you. You don't want to know what will happen to you then... But I'm sure you could easily guess. You might want to start working on being more obedient if you don't want things to turn hostile between us again."

Gritting his teeth and whimpering a shaky, pained, frightened breath, Prompto blinked back his tears. He couldn't do this anymore. He couldn't just lay back and wait for it to be over... Because it would never truly be over. Verstael was going to make him do this again the next night, and again the next. There wasn't an end he could try to wait for. He didn't have to do this. Ardyn told him he never had to do this again if he didn't want to, and he sure as hell didn't want to.

Squeezing his hands into fists and clenching his teeth, Prompto opened his eyes, staring up at Verstael who smirked evilly back as his fingers prodded uncomfortably down below. "No- I don't have to do this..." Prompto breathed, his heart pounding so loud he could hear it in his ears. "G-get off of me!" The boy finally screamed, kicking his legs out so that his knee slammed into Verstael's nose. "Let go you fucking monster!"

Prompto felt a breathless gasp escape his mouth as his eyes widened. He felt like he was frozen in place as he stared back at his father, who he'd knocked back away from him a bit. Blood was running from his nose now and he looked angry. For a split second, Prompto contemplated apologizing. He wondered if he should curl himself into a defensive position - prepare to be hit and kicked...

But that was what he would have done before - before Ardyn took him under his wing. Prompto didn't do things like that anymore. He had a right to defend himself, to fight back... Ardyn told him to hit, kick, scream, and run if someone ever tried to hurt him. Verstael was trying to hurt him now. Prompto knew what he had to do. He needed to listen to Ardyn...

"You wicked little vermin!" Verstael growled as he raised his hand up to his bleeding nose. He shook his head angrily as he breathed out a frustrated huff. "You'll regret that…" He threatened. "I'm through being gentle. It will hurt you horribly now. I'll make sure of it!"

Prompto shook his head, crawling backward on the mattress as he felt fear seizing his heart, practically freezing him in place. For the moment, he forgot what his plan even was. He could do nothing but stare wide-eyed back at his father, at the blood dripping down the man's chin. He couldn't help but think he'd just made the biggest mistake of his life. Killing the clones was big... but Prompto had never - ever - hit his father back... He'd never made the man bleed...

"You ungrateful, defiant little rat!" Verstael screamed, grabbing Prompto's arm in a tight, bruising grip and pulling him across the bed, spinning him around and slamming him face-down onto the mattress.

Prompto screamed out a shaky, panicked noise, tensing, freezing up, and trying to cower down, forgetting in that moment that the whole point of lashing out was to attempt an escape. He was so scared. So terrified he couldn't move.

"Hope you've enjoyed walking around the city." His father hissed as he pressed one arm across Prompto's back, holding him painfully in place. "Because you won't be able to walk anymore when I'm through with you." He warned, grabbing one of Prompto's buttocks and squeezing, spreading it from the other. "Probably should have let me prepare you for this." He chuckled. "Especially with you so out of practice. Poor little brat... You thought the two little fingers would be rough..." He trailed off with a scoffing laugh.

Prompto choked out a shaky breath, closing his eyes and shrinking down as he grabbed fist-fulls of the hotel bed's sheets in his hands. His father's arm planted firmly over his back was painful, crushing him down against the mattress. His other hand on Prompto's butt squeezed harshly, and Prompto could feel what he assumed to be his father's thumb pushing into him, not too deep, but still roughly, without care that Prompto's body needed him to go slowly.

Shaking his head and gritting his teeth, Prompto held his breath. He couldn't let this happen. Two times in his life his father did this in such a way that Prompto could tell the main goal was to hurt him. The other times, Verstael seemed to at least make some degree of attempt to be careful, to go slow, to ease into it. The other times, Verstael was doing it for pleasure, and the fact that it was uncomfortable and painful for Prompto didn't matter - but they weren't his main goals either. Those other two times though were different. They were the two times Verstael was more angry with him than he ever had been before - when he ran and hid, refused to take off his pants, begged his father not to do it... and when he killed the others on accident. Those two times hurt so much he couldn't even bear it... He couldn't let it happen again. Those were the worst two moments of his life. He didn't want a third one plaguing his memories, and certainly didn't want to stick around to maybe have it happen again. He had to get away.

"Oooh... this is going to hurt you so bad..." Verstael growled, placing one hand on the back of Prompto's head and pushing him down against the mattress. "And it'll feel like heaven for me..." He added, finally letting go of Prompto with his other hand, perhaps moving to undress himself enough to do what he wanted.

"Please!" Prompto sobbed, blinking his eyes a few times and breathing out a couple gasps. He had to fight. He had to get away. This wasn't over yet. He could still get away. Begging was worthless. He didn't need to beg for his father's forgiveness, to cower down and try to take his mind away while he was hurt mercilessly... He needed to get away.

"You think last time was rough?" Verstael growled. Prompto felt one of the man's hands on his back, holding him down while he most definitely used the other to pull down the front of his own pants. "You think that little test tube hurt? I'm going to tear you to fucking shreds." Verstael threatened. "And you won't get a break after... I don't care if you piss all over yourself. That won't keep me away this time. I won't go easy on you... I'll take you back with me and do it again in the car... several times a day. As much as I like. Even if you're raw and bleeding. I won't care. We'll stop on the ride back home. Every hour, on the hour, and I'll do it again. And if I don't feel like doing it, I'll find something else - like the test tube... but something bigger... I won't stop until blood runs down your legs. I'll never stop until then..."

Prompto breathed out a shaky whimper as he blinked away his tears and tried to bring himself to fucking move. He knew exactly how this would go if he didn't act soon. He couldn't let it happen again... He just couldn't.

He had to give fighting back another shot. Now was the time to do it, when Verstael's hand was occupied disrobing himself. Prompto had two hands free... He hadn't been beaten - he wasn't hurt, he wasn't drugged... He had hit wits about him, wasn't exhausted. He had an advantage for once. And Verstael hadn't even remembered to pin down his legs. The only thing holding Prompto down was one of his father's hands... Now was his chance. So he spun himself around, kicking out in any direction he could, hitting his father's legs and chest as he swung out a fist, hitting Verstael across the face.

"Get the fuck off of me!" Prompto sobbed, kicking out again, knocking his father back enough to give himself space to perhaps make his escape.

Prompto whimpered a shaky breath, twisting and rolling himself to the side, scrambling up off of the bed, grabbing his camera and back pack by their straps, and pulling his pants up as he ran toward the door.

"Get back here!" Verstael screamed, climbing off the bed himself, allowing the blood to run freely from his nose as he ran after his son, grabbing out in an attempt to snatch him by his arm.

"No!" Prompto sobbed swinging his back pack out like a weapon. It wasn't very heavy with only two books and a stuffed animal inside, but it was better than nothing. He managed to strike his father against the side of his head, to throw him off long enough to give him a window of opportunity to escape.

Versteal continued after him though, grabbing toward him again.

"Don't!" Prompto screamed, ducking away from the man's grip as he dashed toward the door. "Leave me alone!" He sobbed.

He'd already made it this far. He'd already fought back enough that not going all the way would be foolish. Verstael was already going to hurt him if he caught him, so Prompto figured he might as well be loud.

"Don't fucking touch me!" Prompto screamed as he stumbled against the door. If the man followed him out into the city, he'd just keep screaming. Prompto would scream as loud as he could, cause a scene like he should have the second Verstael found him. He wasn't going to let the man hurt him anymore. Not without a hell of a fight.

Prompto staggered to his feet, swinging the room's door open and sprinting down the hall, down the stairs, and through the lobby. He didn't stop to ask anyone for help. He didn't turn to look over his shoulder to see if he was being followed… He simply ran toward the only safe place he could think of.

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Chapter Text

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Chapter 14

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Ardyn felt a growl in his throat as he headed out toward his car. When he returned to the hotel after inquiring around town about adoption or foster care for Prompto, he found that the boy was gone. So were his camera, his backpack and his shoes… Pretty much anything Ardyn had bought specifically for him was nowhere to be seen. He seemed to have run away, though he hadn't the sense to take the camera's charger, nor any of Ardyn's money. Perhaps he hadn't caught on that Ardyn was using money to pay for everything - that he'd starve to death without money to buy food... He wasn't going to get far with just the clothes on his back and a camera… The little idiot.

Perhaps the young man was afraid Ardyn wouldn't find him a suitable guardian. Even after Ardyn promised to not leave him with anyone abusive, the boy still fled… He must not have trusted Ardyn as much as it seemed.

Shaking his head as he walked, Ardyn clenched his hand into a fist. He should have never gotten invested in this child's well being. What the hell was he thinking back in the lab? Even the moment he chose to go look into the medical waste room… Why did he have to do that? Why not just leave the little clone in there to die like so many others before him? He'd have never noticed a difference if Verstael just chose another clone to take the boy's place. They all looked the same. They probably all acted the same. Why did Ardyn let himself start feeling like this one was different, that this one was too small, meek, and innocent to be hurt and abused? Why did he ever start to give a damn? Now he'd sunk all of this time and effort into him and the ungrateful little fool had run off. He'd probably get himself killed within a day if he left the city. Hell, he may have already gotten himself killed. He was far too inexperienced and naive to survive on his own.

He supposed it was just as well though that the child was no longer his problem. Ardyn had for some damn reason grown attached to the young boy and probably wasn't going to be able to let him go on his own. The idea of sending him off with an adoptive or foster family made Ardyn feel nauseated. He didn't want to have to do it... Even though he knew he wasn't what Prompto needed, he felt guilt and dread at the thought of parting ways. Now he didn't have to make that tough choice. The ignorant little brat made the decision for him.

He hadn't found any suitable home for him anyway. The foster care system in Lestallum seemed too uncertain for Ardyn to feel good giving Prompto up to them and they didn't have any sort of adoption agency in place, not without fostering first… While that wasn't a bad idea - to prevent someone who wasn't suitable from adopting the boy before realizing all the aspects of him that might be challenging - Ardyn didn't like the uncertainty of it. He wouldn't know who he was ultimately leaving the child with.

Prompto would have had to live in a group home until someone wanted him. He'd have had to live with as many foster families as it took - people who wouldn't understand him, people he'd start to bond with only to feel the crushing rejection all over again when they couldn't handle different aspects of his behavior. How many foster fathers would properly handle Prompto getting scared and starting to undress himself, quietly offering himself up to be raped because he misunderstood a direction or a tone of voice? How many foster mothers would appropriately handle the boy spilling something and immediately starting to sob and cower down as though expecting to be hit? What if he ended up with a family who met those expectations? What if his foster parents did hit him? What if they felt they hit the jackpot when they realized Prompto was going to quietly allow them to molest him for fear of being hurt if he didn't?

It just didn't feel right. He had no idea what types of families might take their turn fostering the boy. What they'd do if they realized how vulnerable he was, what they'd do if the child frustrated and confused them. Ardyn didn't have enough control. He'd have never been able to go through with giving him up - not here.

In a way, Prompto's stupid decision was a relief… This was what Ardyn wanted from the beginning, right? He wasn't cruel enough to leave the boy in the lab, but he never wanted to be responsible for him long-term. Way back that first night Ardyn considered that it might be a good thing if the boy ran off while he wasn't looking. The boy was a lot of work. He was a lot of stress... This was a good thing. A tough decision he didn't want to make was made for him. Prompto wasn't his fucking problem anymore. Good riddance...

But Ardyn couldn't help but to feel something close to loss as well. He didn't know when he casually advised Prompto to stay put this morning and noted that he'd see him later that he wouldn't actually see him later. He didn't know that would be the last time he saw the boy. If he'd known, perhaps he would have said something different. Maybe he'd have given him some money, made sure he had food, taken him to the car and got the jacket he'd bought for him so he wouldn't be cold at night. He would have given him more advice, reminded him dangerous monsters lurked around at night out in the wild - that he couldn't go out there after the sun set... He'd have reminded the boy that dangerous monsters lurked the cities too - in the form of people like his father. All types of creeps would take advantage of a young boy like him - looking clearly lost and confused, all by himself...

He supposed it was good he didn't have to go through that moment knowing it would be his last with the boy though. That would have been hard - saying goodbye, knowing it was all over, knowing he'd never know for sure after that moment if Prompto was okay, if he was safe, happy, warm. Saying goodbye would have been tough...

Ardyn blinked. Did he want to keep the child? Was that what he was feeling? Did he miss him? Was he sad to see him go? Ardyn never planned to keep him forever. He didn't want this burden... Why then did he feel more than anger and disappointment? Why did his heart hurt? Why did he feel worry? Why did he feel sad?

Ardyn closed his eyes and shook his head, then continued on toward his car. That was an absurd thought. He wasn't sad. He was relieved. Angry, annoyed, but relieved.

As soon as he reached the car, however, all those mixed feelings were immediately replaced. He could see the thin little form of someone curled up in the floor of the back seat of the car, the unmistakable blonde hair, the stupid chocobo shirt… The child hadn't run away after all. Prompto was in the fucking car… But why?

Exhaling a frustrated breath, Ardyn shook his head and opened the car door, reaching down toward the child's shoulder. "Now's not the time for hide and seek." He grumbled.

Perhaps the boy had fallen asleep. Perhaps he was dissociating and forgot where he was... At any rate, rather than turning toward Ardyn and greeting him cheerfully as he usually would, the child began screaming and thrashing in a panic instead.

"No!" Prompto cried out immediately, cowering further down. "Please! Please don't!" He sobbed, shrinking away, but spinning himself around as he crawled away, sort of falling backward against the car's floor as he kicked out without much if any aim. "No! Let go of me! Help me!"

Ardyn drew his hand back, blinking in confusion as he stared down at the child. "What's happened to you?" He asked as Prompto blinked up at him, a look of realization and relief washing over the child's face.

"M-Mr. Ardyn!?" Prompto whimpered, climbing up off of the floor and throwing his arms around the man. He seemed relieved, but it wasn't doing a thing to calm him down. In fact his sobbing only seemed to be getting louder, more breathless. "Mr. Ardyn..." He choked again, burying his face in the man's chest.

Hugging the boy back, Ardyn looked around the parking lot, trying to guess what may have caused Prompto this degree of distress. Was it just a nightmare? He often woke up quite upset if he slept without Ardyn right next to him... Was that all this was? He fell asleep in the car and was awoken too abruptly? But why was he hiding in the car? Why didn't he stay in the hotel? Lestalum was typically a pretty safe city... Even so, the creeps of the world always turned up somewhere. It was possible someone in the city tried to do something to him.

"What's wrong?" Ardyn frowned as Prompto clung to him desperately.

The boy couldn't manage a response just yet. Instead he sobbed dramatically and wrapped his arms tighter around Ardyn's back, hiding his face against Ardyn's shirt.

"You're okay…" Ardyn spoke, rubbing his hand gently over the boy's back. He hoped his reassurance was true… What could have happened? He wondered if it was really anything at all or something he misinterpreted. Prompto did seem prone to being fearful or anxious when he didn't really have to be. Perhaps someone tried to talk to him, tried to sell him something, asked for directions... Prompto wasn't used to people approaching him and starting up conversation of any kind. Maybe that's all it was. Someone said something and scared him.

"Don't leave me…" Prompto choked, tears still streaming down his cheeks as he continued clinging to Ardyn. "Please don't leave me by myself."

Ardyn frowned. "Is that it? I told you I was going out this morning and that I'd be back… I told you to stay put... Were you frightened that I'd abandoned you?" Perhaps that was all this was. Prompto hadn't ever been left on his own before. Even back in the lab, Verstael was always nearby. Now that Ardyn considered that, this response made a bit more sense... Prompto had never been left alone in his life. Maybe not having any sort of authority figure nearby left the boy feeling unsure what to do with himself.

"Can we get out of this town?" Prompto whimpered. "Please, can we leave?"

"I'm back now." Ardyn frowned. "You're not alone. I never went far..." He assured, furrowing his brows. Was the poor child panicked the entire time Ardyn was gone? It was stupid - to be fearful of being left alone for two hours... Ardyn told him he'd be away only for the morning. Prompto seemed fine before Ardyn left... Perhaps the child thought he could handle it and then got scared once he was actually alone. Clearly Prompto was afraid. Clearly he thought Ardyn might not come back.

Prompto shook his head. "I don't want to stay here... I wanna leave..." He whimpered.

Ardyn blinked, feeling Prompto's little body shaking under his embrace. "Why?" He frowned. That didn't make sense with his theory. There would be no reason to flee the city if the issue was what Ardyn guessed. Something must have scared the hell out of him. Something in the town... He wasn't just upset that Ardyn had left him by himself or else the man returning now would have solved it.

"I wanna go somewhere else. I don't wanna be here..." Prompto choked, his breaths still uneven, panicked.

Ardyn scanned their surroundings again. Nothing seemed amiss. A few people were looking their way now, likely because of Prompto's theatrics, but they were just regular people, curious about the commotion. None of them looked hostile. If anything they were probably the ones worried.

"Child…" Ardyn frowned, placing his hands on the boy's arms to draw him back enough to better see him. "What happened? Why are you frightened?"

Prompto shook his head. Tears were streaming down his cheeks. "Please let's leave. Please!" He sobbed, shrinking down.

"Why?" Ardyn growled, grabbing Prompto's arm and dragging him back up so he could better see him. He didn't look hurt. "What happened?" He asked again, his tone more serious. Someone or something scared the hell out of the boy. Could Verstael have possibly followed them here? How could he have? Ardyn never saw anyone following… He was pretty good at noticing things like that.

Maybe it had nothing to do with the mad scientist. Maybe someone else in the city had done something. There were plenty of creeps out in the world. Perhaps Prompto went off walking around on his own and someone tried to do something to him. Prompto was an easy target. He was naive, small, alone... If someone did something, Ardyn would need to know who so he could fucking kill them.

"Did someone hurt you?" Ardyn glared.

Prompto shook his head, choking out another sob as he hid his eyes with his hands. "No..." He whimpered. "I just wanna leave..."

"Did someone try to do something to you? Did they say something that scared you? Who was it?" Ardyn frowned. "It doesn't matter if they threatened you - if you're scared... I won't let them carry out any threat they may have made. Point them out."

"No one in the city did anything..." Prompto whispered, looking down. His body language indicated that he was lying. "I just - I wanna go somewhere else..." He added in a breathless whisper.

"Are you covering up for someone? You can't just have a full meltdown out here, sobbing and screaming and then tell me nothing's wrong." Ardyn glared. "Don't worry if they've threatened you. I'm here now. I'm more powerful than anyone in this city. Than everyone combined. Just tell me."

"I just wanna go…" Prompto whimpered, shrinking down and starting to sob loudly. "Please, let's drive away… Please… I don't wanna be here anymore."

Ardyn exhaled a tired breath, looking around the parking lot again. People were going to start noticing this little scene soon - in a way that might cause him problems. If he didn't get himself and Prompto out of here pretty quickly, they were going to start drawing in spectators who probably wouldn't let him leave easily, people who would fear for Prompto's safety and assume Ardyn was trying to hurt him.

"Calm yourself down." Ardyn spoke in a low, even voice, rubbing his hand reassuringly over the boy's shoulder. "Prompto, stop." He advised. "You're causing a scene."

Prompto sniffed back tears and shook his head. "I want to leave… Please…" He whispered again. "We can't stay here…"

"Why not?" Ardyn growled, leaning in closer. "You realize people in this town will start wondering what's happening soon if you don't stop… You'll have them suspicious of me… If you want to stay with me, you can't arouse such worry from bystanders. Stop crying. Tell me why you're frightened."

"I can't…" Prompto choked, shaking his head again and hiding his face in his hands as he started to cry even harder.

Ardyn shook his head and exhaled a frustrated breath, glancing around the lot and making eye contact with a woman standing near the outlook. She was looking at him and Prompto with a frown and furrowed brows.

"Prompto…" Ardyn hissed, grabbing the boy's arm and trying to pull his hands away from his face. "Stop it."

"No…" Prompto whimpered, pulling himself away from Ardyn's grip and continuing to audibly cry. "I wanna leave. I'm scared. Please, let's leave. Please!"

Ardyn looked around the outlook some more, spotting a father and son further out. The son was gesturing toward Ardyn's car, trying to gain his father's attention.

Shaking his head, Ardyn exhaled an annoyed breath. The last thing he needed was an angry mob of concerned citizens ambushing him because they thought he was trying to kidnap this child.

"Fine. Let's go." Ardyn grumbled, fighting the urge to smack the kid in the back of the head and demand that he fucking shut up. "Get in the front seat… But you've got about a half an hour to start giving me answers before I turn the car around, come back here, and leave you. They can't accuse me of trying to do something to you if I fucking leave you here by yourself."

Prompto's eyes widened, but he didn't say anything in protest as he climbed into the front, picking up his stupid stuffed chocobo out of the floor boards and taking it with him.

Ardyn shook his head as he watched with the boy with further annoyance bubbling up in his chest. Prompto sniffed back tears and hugged the plush toy against his chest as he stuck his lip out in a pout and stared up at Ardyn like he was both relieved and afraid of the man. How had Ardyn allowed himself to turn this child into such a brat?

If Ardyn didn't know the boy - if he saw this behavior in a random child in town, it would have been yet another example in his head cementing the fact that he wouldn't feel bad if he plunged the entirety of humanity into apocalypse. Prompto's behavior right now was nauseating, annoying... If he didn't already pity the boy for the trauma he'd endured in his past, he'd consider smacking him across the face, dragging him out of the car by his arm even if he dislocated it in the process. Prompto was lucky Ardyn felt pity toward his situation, or else he'd be in a world of pain right now.

"I'm not fibbing." Ardyn explained, settling into the driver's seat. "I respect that you're having a difficult time articulating your fears, so I'll give you time, but I won't give you much time. I'm not a patient man, as I'm afraid you're going to have to find out the hard way. I don't like my questions remaining unanswered. So start thinking about your explanation before my anger boils over."

Prompto sunk down into the seat as Ardyn began to drive. He looked positively anxious, but he was still silent for the moment. He'd yet to see Ardyn at his worst… He had no idea that Ardyn wasn't above slapping some sense into him if it came to it.

As they drove, Ardyn started feeling nothing but further frustration growing inside him. He hadn't intended to let Prompto control that moment to such a degree, but he had unintentionally caved to the boy's meltdown. Now he felt angry about it. He wanted answers from the child. Prompto refused and demanded something without offering anything back… Ardyn didn't want to cause a spectacle and allowed Prompto to control the narrative. He shouldn't have allowed that.

He was also just about sick of the fact that he kept letting the child get away with this nonsense. Prompto was learning disrespect here. He was learning Ardyn's orders and questions were optional. That simply wouldn't do. Prompto had suffered a lot. He'd been hurt, abused, treated absolutely horribly... But that didn't mean he had a free pass to disrespect Ardyn. Prompto wasn't in charge here... but if sure as hell felt like he was.

"Couldn't find a suitable home for you just yet, so you're stuck with me." Ardyn grumbled as he drove out of the city. "Or rather, I'm stuck with you."

"T-that's okay…" Prompto whispered after a moment. "I like being with you."

"You won't for long. The honeymoon's about over, child. I won't be putting up with your tantrums for much longer." Ardyn threatened. "My pity for your situation granted you unlimited levels of my patience. I've been spoiling you rotten and look what it's become. I suppose it's because you've never been shown kindness or patience before that you think anyone who gives you an inch, you're free to take a mile."

Prompto swallowed and stuck his lip out in a pout. "I'm sorry... I just-" He hesitated.

"Unless you're answering my questions, I don't need you talking. You listen now." Ardyn interrupted. "I don't need you to obey me like a robot, but I would still appreciate some damn respect." He continued his lecture. "I may not order you around and abuse you, but when I do ask for something, it shouldn't be too much for you. I guess we need to set up some limits so you'll know not to walk all over me. You may not like it, but being with me doesn't mean you're in charge. I fucking am."

Prompto stared silently back for a moment, then shook his head. "I still want to stay with you." He whispered.

"Why?" Ardyn glared across the seat. "I'm a piece of shit. I'm a villainous dickhead. I'm growing more frustrated by your bullshit with each passing minute. Why the fuck would you want to stay with me?"

"You're not a villain…" Prompto whispered, shrinking down and staring back with huge eyes as he hugged his chocobo toy tightly against his chest. He looked worried. He was right to be worried.

"You don't think so?" Ardyn laughed. "Perhaps you just haven't seen it yet. Because you haven't pissed me off enough. You're pressing your luck now. If you want to see what I'm like when I'm at my worst, keep acting how you're acting now. Keep ignoring my questions and crying like a brat."

Prompto stuck his lip out in a pout and shrunk down in the seat, staring back at Ardyn with the start of tears shining in his eyes. Perhaps he could tell that he'd fucked up, that Ardyn wasn't the sort who was going to let the boy do whatever he wanted.

"I'm about through with your little meltdowns." Ardyn growled as he drove. "At first I tolerated it because I knew you were coming from a horrible place, because I knew you'd been hurt... But there's nothing in that city that warrants a reaction like this... and if there is, then you needed to fucking tell me when I asked... When I ask a question, it isn't just to hear my own voice. I expect an answer. I'm not fond of hitting children, but you almost change my mind on the matter."

Prompto inhaled a small breath, but stared silently back. His breaths were getting quicker and his eyes were huge. Maybe Ardyn shouldn't have threatened to hit him... He knew that was one of Prompto's worst fears... He just couldn't stand the boy refusing to tell him what happened.

"You need to answer me when I ask you something!" Ardyn went on, moving his hand and arm to gesture toward Prompto.

The boy squeezed his eyes shut and cowered back against the seat as Ardyn gestured toward him. He moved his arms and hands up to cover his face and let out a tiny whimpering sound, both breaking the man's heart and further frustrating him in the same moment. He didn't want Prompto to think Ardyn was going to hit him... He didn't mean to threaten him with something he'd already been so traumatized by... But why wouldn't the child just answer him? He was so frantic, so persistent that they needed to leave the city... But why? Why wouldn't he just say? Was it something real? A legitimate threat? Or was he just having a little meltdown? Was he scared of Ardyn giving him to someone else? What was the problem? Why wouldn't he just tell Ardyn what was scaring him?

In this moment, Ardyn chose to remain frustrated rather than letting sympathy take over. He'd been too soft thus far, and look where it had led. Prompto didn't respect him anymore. Ardyn asked him a question and the boy was flat-out refusing to answer... That wouldn't do.

"Stop it." Ardyn growled, reaching over and grabbing at Prompto's arm as he continued driving with increasing speed. "I won't hit you. Stop acting like you're afraid I'll hit you."

Prompto let Ardyn pull his arm down away from his face, but he still didn't speak. He still looked terrified. Maybe that was a good thing.

"I'm not the person you want to be with. I'm just the second person you ever fucking met. The first person you met was such a depraved piece of fucking garbage that I look like a saint by comparison." Ardyn explained. "I'm no saint. Look at me. You're terrified, crying like a brat and I'm still angry... You and I are not a good match. I've had thoughts of hurting you. You know I have. That first day... I was fully prepared to restrict your breathing until you died. That wasn't a hollow threat. I was ready to do it. I started doing it. I was going to kill you. You're well aware of my original intentions."

Prompto still said nothing back as Ardyn continued his rant, speeding up the car as his frustration only grew.

"I tried to kill you when I found you. I saw you in pain and fear and rather than my first thought being to help you, to save you, to take you with me... I decided to fucking kill you. I was two minutes away from doing it. You know this. You were there..." Ardyn went on. "I was so fucking close to suffocating you with my damn hands while you cried and struggled... I was serious about that... Then the first day and a half I spent with you, it took everything in me not to to fucking hit you out of frustration, to kick your smelly ass out of my car and leave you in ditch."

Prompto blinked, his breaths increasing as he looked around the car, almost like he was searching for a way out. But he wasn't going to find one. They were moving too fast. Jumping out of the car now would likely kill him.

Ardyn stepped on the gas, speeding up even more. "At first, when you wouldn't talk, when I wondered if you were too dumb to understand me? I second-guessed myself, felt regret for having taken you with me, wondered if I should have just killed you after all, or just left you there to not be my problem. I was beyond frustrated… And it's all coming back. You're refusing to answer my questions yet again… acting like a trapped animal... I wasn't sure if I could let someone else have you… because I forgot how frustrating it is when you clam up like this…"

Prompto shrunk down in the seat and drew his knees up to his chest, letting the chocobo fall down onto the seat next to him and hugging his arms around himself. "I'm sorry-" He choked, shaking his head and crying as Ardyn finally pulled the car over with a growl in his throat.

"Start answering my questions. Now." Ardyn demanded, grabbing out toward the boy's arm. "Or you'll find out what a villain I can be."

"No!" Prompto sobbed, yanking his arm away.

"It's not a yes or no question." Ardyn glared, grabbing toward the child again. "What happened? Why did you demand that we leave? What's gotten you so fearful? I'm your protector here, so I can't be ignorant to whatever danger you perceived. What was it? Just bullshit? Just you being a cowardly little brat? Answer me!" He growled, shaking Prompto slightly as he all but screamed at the boy.

"Stop!" Prompto choked, shrinking back against the door.

"Then we'll go back." Ardyn shrugged, reaching toward the gear shift. "Pity stayed my hand before, but that's all gone. We'll do things my way from here. I wasn't finished in the city just yet anyway. If there's nothing to fear, we'll go back. Once we get there, you can stay with me or wander off on your own. I couldn't possibly care less. In fact, I may prefer it if you go your own way. I'm going back to the city. You do what you want."

"NO!" Prompto screamed, grabbing toward Ardyn's arm and pulling his hand back away from the gear shift. "No!" He screamed again, his voice more frantic than Ardyn had ever heard him as his screams were broken up by shaky breaths and choked sobs. "No... No no no..." He sobbed, his chest shaking with breaths that were quite close to being considered hyperventilation.

Ardyn stared back, narrowing his eyes. He couldn't give in again. There was no reason Prompto couldn't just tell him what he was so fearful of. "Tell me what happened, or I'm taking you back to Lestallum..." He spoke in a calm voice, feeling even as he said it that perhaps he was being a bit harsh. Prompto was clearly terrified of something in the city... but all he had to do to avoid going back was just answer Ardyn's questions. "Just tell me what's wrong, so I can help you..." He added with a more sympathetic tone.

Prompto's breaths were quick, frantic. His eyes were huge as he shrunk back against the car's door. He looked like a trapped animal. "Don't take me back!" He gasped, shaking his head as he looked around the small space inside the car, almost like he was planning to try to run. It almost seemed like he wasn't even hearing Ardyn at this point - or at least only hearing half of what he said, key-words. He'd latched on to the threat of being taken back and wasn't comprehending that he only needed to start talking to avoid it.

"I won't..." Ardyn frowned. "Just tell me-"

"No!" Prompto interrupted. "I won't go! I don't wanna go back... Please, Mr. Ardyn... I can't!" He sobbed.

"Then start talking." Ardyn leaned closer. "I won't take you back as long as you tell me what's going on... That's it. Easy."

Prompto shook his head. His eyes were still huge, but he seemed to look past Ardyn. His breaths were quick, frantic. He almost seemed to be only half-present. The other half of his mind was filled with sheer panic, fear... Turning slightly in his seat, then suddenly grabbing toward the car's door handle and pulling it open, Prompto let out a shaky, fearful noise, almost a sob.

Ardyn felt a growl in his throat. He wouldn't have minded Prompto escaping from him at first... but he wouldn't stand for it now. Where the hell did the child plan to go? He was just having a tantrum... but it was going to end here and now.

"You're not going anywhere." Ardyn growled, grabbing toward Prompto's arm and gripping him in a firm hold.

Prompto curled himself toward the door and whimpered shaky, tearful breaths, hiding his face with his hands until Ardyn let go of him.

Breathing out a frustrated sigh, Ardyn remained leaning in fairly close, ready to grab the child again if he had to. "Just answer my question so I can help... What happened? Why are you afraid?" He asked again, trying to sound more calm than he felt. He was extremely annoyed with Prompto's behavior, and while he knew already that the boy had a tendency to dissociate, to sometimes shut down and refuse to answer questions, now wasn't the time for it. If something happened in the city, Ardyn needed to know.

The boy continued cowering down for a moment before suddenly grabbing out toward the door again as he continued to sob and even let out a shaky, frantic scream. He managed to get one leg out before Ardyn pulled him rather roughly back.

"Get back in the fucking car!" Ardyn hissed, pulling Prompto back inside and shutting the door behind him. He didn't let go this time. Prompto was given a second chance and he took it. Third chances weren't on the table. "You don't fucking run from me." Ardyn growled, shaking the boy slightly. "Got it? I asked you a question and you're going to fucking answer!"

"Let go of me!" Prompto sobbed, shoving against Ardyn's chest and grabbing toward the door handle again. "Please let me go!" He gasped, shrinking down and sobbing even harder, hiding his face behind his hands.

"Stop it." Ardyn growled, grabbing the boy's wrists and pulling them down so he could see his face. "We're past this. This is how you were acting when I first found you..." He noted with narrowed eyes. It was like every bit of progress he'd made with the boy was gone. "I don't like this, Prompto..." He frowned.

Prompto stared back up at him with a trembling lower lip as tears welled up in his eyes. His body was shaking slightly under Ardyn's grip as he choked out a shaky whimper and shrunk down, hiding his face in his hands again. "I'm sorry!" He cried. "Please don't be mad at me! I'm sorry, Mr. Ardyn... Please don't hurt me!" He shook his head as he continued sobbing. "I won't run... I won't try to run... I d- I didn't mean to make you mad... Don't hurt me... Please!"

Ardyn paused for a moment, breathing in a shocked breath of his own as he stared wide-eyed back at Prompto. Surely the child had a reason for acting this way. He hadn't behaved like this since the first night Ardyn had him in his care. When he acted this way before, it was because he was terrified. He thought Ardyn would hurt him. He thought his father would come and find him. Why was he acting like this now?

Exhaling a calming breath, Ardyn loosened his grip around Prompto's arms, realizing he may have been squeezing a little too hard. He and Prompto both needed to calm down. They needed to talk about this like rational people. Prompto was behaving like a feral animal and Ardyn's reaction wasn't much better.

So he grabbed at the boy's collar, pushing him back against the seat and leaning in close, trying to be more gentle, but still needing to be taken seriously. Prompto couldn't just shrug him off. "We're going to talk about this. It's not up for debate, so take a breath, calm yourself down, and start talking. Tell me what happened. If you want me to keep you safe, I have to know what threat you noticed that I didn't. What happened?"

Prompto's breaths remained quick and shaky as he stared back, blinking a few times. "Please don't be mad..." Prompto whimpered again. "Don't hit me..." He choked.

"Prompto...." Ardyn frowned. Had he just unintentionally erased all of the trust the boy had in him? Did Prompto honestly fear him again? He wouldn't blame the kid. Ardyn was pretty rough just now... But Prompto was being defiant, difficult. All he had to do was explain why he was acting afraid. That was it... If he trusted Ardyn, why couldn't he just tell him what the issue was?

The boy inhaled and exhaled a few more shaky breaths. He seemed to be calming down, but he still looked terrified as he stared at Ardyn with huge eyes.

"I won't hurt you." Ardyn assured him. "You're frustrating me... But I won't hurt you. I need you to tell me what happened... What did you see? Who or what scared you? I want to keep you safe, but you have to do your part... Your part is keeping me informed. Understand?"

Swallowing, Prompto nodded.

"Okay..." Ardyn exhaled. "I'm sorry I scared you... Just tell me what happened in the city. Tell me why you wanted to leave." He tried again. "I'll help you. Haven't I done nothing but protect you thus far? You claim you trust me, that you feel safe with me... Tell me what's got you so fearful and I'll see what I can do... Alright?"

Prompto squeezed his eyes shut and began to sob again as he raised his hands up to cover his face. "H-he found me…" He choked.

Ardyn felt his shoulders slump as his heart just about stopped. "Who did? Verstael? Are you sure?" He breathed.

Prompto nodded, but seemingly couldn't bring himself to give a verbal answer as his crying overtook him.

"You're sure it was him? How did he find you?" Ardyn stared.

Prompto shook his head and continued sobbing. Perhaps he didn't hear Ardyn's followup questions over his own crying. "H-he found me…" He repeated, his voice shaky and breathless. "I d-don't wanna go back with him. Please! Don't take me back to the city. Don't take me back to him! He'll hurt me... He's so mad at me!"

"You won't go back with him." Ardyn stared. "Did he see you? Or did you spot him and hide? Did he know we were there?"

Prompto shook his head. "He saw me. He knows you took me." He choked. "He made me go with him. He was going to make me go back to the lab… He was gonna hurt me, and make me go back, and hurt me again. He wasn't ever gonna stop. I didn't wanna go back. I didn't want him to hurt me. I want to stay with you. I don't want to go with him..."

"He made you go with him?" Ardyn felt his heart sinking in his chest as he latched onto that one sentence. So Verstael didn't just see Prompto across the way. He approached him, took him somewhere.

"Y-yeah..." Prompto whimpered. "I was too scared to do anything at first. I wanted to run... I wanted to scream and kick and run like you told me, but I was too scared, so I followed him quietly. I should'a run away. I should have screamed for help and run... B-but I was scared, so I followed him."

"Followed him... What do you mean? Where did he take you? Did he hurt you?" Ardyn stared, looking the young man up and down, trying to see if there were any visible injuries he'd missed before. He'd only left the boy alone for a few hours. Prompto was safely in the hotel when he left.

"H-he tried to…" Prompto whimpered. "He tried to hurt me, Mr. Ardyn... He had a room in the hotel. He took me back there."

Ardyn felt his heart sink even further as he stared down at the boy, suddenly feeling really fucking guilty about being so harsh with him. He was so frustrated by the lack of answers and was so needlessly harsh. Poor Prompto was traumatized, and rightfully so. Ardyn had been gone away from the child all morning. How long was he in Verstael's grasp? How much had he suffered in that time? Prompto wasn't lashing out because he was a brat. He was lashing out because he was terrified, possibly hurt...

"What did he do, Prompto? Are you alright?" Ardyn frowned. "Are you injured?"

Prompto shook his head. "He didn't do anything." He sniffed.

"He took you to the room and you just looked at each other for a bit before you left?" Ardyn stared with a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean he didn't do anything? He didn't make you go back to his room for nothing. You and I both know that... You've never had shame discussing all the details before... Just tell me the truth. What did he do to you?"

Prompto blinked a few times, his lower lip trembling. "He didn't do anything..." Prompto whispered again, shaking his head before elaborating. "N-not very much anyway... He talked to me, asked me questions… I didn't tell him much... I- I don't think I did... I was scared. I think I could barely talk... I don't remember what I said."

Ardyn frowned. It didn't matter much what Prompto told Verstael. Ardyn wasn't afraid of the man. Verstael would leave him alone about this, or Ardyn would fucking kill him. Verstael knew not to mess with him - not even about this.

"He saw my camera and my back pack and my clothes... and he was mad... He was mad that you were nice to me, I think." Prompto stuck his lower lip out in a pout as tears welled up further in his eyes. "He made me kiss him... Then he pulled down my pants - I told him not to… I told him he wasn't supposed to. That I didn't like it and it hurt and I didn't want to do it… He didn't care. I was scared... but you told me I shouldn't have to do those things, so I fought back and ran."

Ardyn frowned, looking Prompto up and down again. He didn't seem to have any new injuries, just old bruises. Could it really be that Prompto fought the man off so easily, sustaining no injuries himself?

Prompto picked his stuffed chocobo back up and stared at it as he shrunk down in the seat. "He wanted to take away everything I have." He whispered. "He didn't like that you bought me things, that you told me what he did was wrong. He wanted to take away everything, bring me home, make things back how they used to be. Maybe worse because I made him mad when I fought back. Mr. Ardyn... If he finds me again, he'll hurt me so bad..."

Ardyn blinked, inhaling a steadying breath. "He can't have you. I won't allow it."

"He said I wasn't..." Prompto choked, cutting himself off in mid-sentence as he hugged his chocobo against his chest with one arm and reached his other hand toward Ardyn.

Ardyn shook his head, wrapping an arm around Prompto's back and hugging him against his chest. "It doesn't matter what he said." He frowned.

Prompto's breaths were shaky, but he was keeping his tears down for the moment. He was still sniffing, still crying slightly, but at least it wasn't breathless sobs. At least he could still communicate.

"You're safe." Ardyn frowned, rubbing his hand up and down over Prompto's back. "I won't leave you alone again. He can't have you back."

"Am I a person?" Prompto whispered.

Ardyn blinked back confusion. Did he hear the question right. "Are you a person?" He repeated.

"Yeah..." Prompto breathed. "Am I a real person? I don't have a mother like everyone else. Father created me in the lab. He made me like a science experiment. Like someone would cook a meal, or make art... He made me specifically so I'd do whatever he said... Am I-" He hesitated. "Do I get to be like everyone else? Even though I wasn't born how they were? I wasn't raised how they were... Am I a real person?"

"Yes." Ardyn frowned. "Yes. You're a real person, Prompto. You're entitled to all the same rights as everyone else. He doesn't own you."

"He'll find me again." Prompto pulled back out of the hug and shrunk down in the seat, staring out the window with a frown.

"No." Ardyn shook his head. "If he does, I'll be with you next time. I won't let him do anything to you. If it comes to it, I'll kill him myself. In fact, I'll make you this promise right now - the next time I see him, I'll end his life. He won't ever hurt you again.
You stick by me, and if he ever finds you again, I'll end his life right then and there."

Prompto's lower lip trembled, but he continued staring out the window. He said nothing back.

"Prompto, I made a mistake leaving you by yourself. I'm sorry." Ardyn persisted. "I won't make the same mistake again. If he finds you again, I'll be there. I don't think he'd dare approach you with me by your side, but if he does, so be it. He'll regret it."

"D-do you have a knife?" Prompto whispered, staring up through his tears.

Ardyn blinked. "Do I have a knife? Yes… Why, are you wanting to carry it for protection?"

Prompto shrugged one shoulder, but didn't offer a verbal answer.

"I'll have to train you. Knives are weapons, not toys. I keep one here." Ardyn indicated the car's glove box, opening it and showing Prompto. "I don't have use for it now, so I suppose we could train you with it. Perhaps when we stop for the night, I can give you some tips on how to use a knife safely - for defense… but you shouldn't need it. I'm going to keep a better watch."

Prompto exhaled a shaky breath, blinking back tears as he stared at the glove box which Ardyn had just closed. The boy's lip trembled.

"You won't need it, Prompto. I won't leave you alone again. I'll watch our surroundings better. It never occurred to be that he may have followed." Ardyn frowned. He still wasn't sure how the man even found Prompto so easily. Ardyn didn't expect him to follow, wasn't keeping a close eye on every single aspect of their surroundings... but he wasn't that naive... He knew to at least be somewhat aware and he hadn't seen any sign of Verstael anywhere.

Prompto nervously looked behind them, down the empty road leading back toward the city. "Can we go?" He whimpered. "I'm sorry I was scared to say what happened. I'm sorry I made you mad..." His lip and voice shook as tears welled up in his eyes. "I just wanna go..."

Ardyn exhaled and shook his head, wondering if it would be beneficial to go back into the city and try to find Verstael, to confront him… but then, he'd have to bring Prompto with him, and the child would likely freak out and try to run. It could easily not work out well for anyone involved. Maybe just creating distance would be better for now. Ardyn had all the time in the world to track Verstael down and get his revenge. For now, he needed to focus on Prompto - to make sure he was safe, to make sure he felt safe...

So he nodded and put the car back into drive.

xxxxxx

Chapter Text

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Chapter 15

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As they moved on, Prompto remained curled up defensively in his seat, staring out the car's window at the passing scenery. He'd gone silent again - perhaps taking his mind away as well. He hadn't responded to much of anything sense he confessed to Ardyn what actually happened back in the city. It was clear he was quite bothered by it all and was probably thinking about all the ways he could have and should have avoided it. It was likely he blamed himself - since he'd been so passive his entire life. He didn't know how to defend himself, how to stand up for himself.

But he was learning. He'd fought back against his father, and that took a degree of bravery Ardyn didn't know the boy possessed. Whether it used to be his normal or not, he'd already moved on from it. At this point the way Verstael behaved was unacceptable even to the naive little clone. He knew he shouldn't have to tolerate it. He knew it was wrong. That was good - he knew he deserved better... but it was still heartbreaking to observe. The poor child had suffered so much, finally escaped, and was dragged back into it... Prompto had believed he was safe - Ardyn told him he was... He thought he wouldn't ever be abused by Verstael again, and thanks to Ardyn's carelessness, the man found him again - nearly reclaimed him...

Ardyn wanted to think if Verstael took Prompto back, he'd have gone and saved him again. He wanted to believe he'd have correctly guessed what had happened and wouldn't have let the poor child get abused any further... but when he went back to the hotel and found the boy to be missing, Ardyn honestly thought he'd run away... He was angry - he wasn't worried... He may have never even known to look back at the lab. If Verstael had successfully stolen the child back, Ardyn may not have ever known. It made him sick to think about it. Prompto needed him in that moment. He needed help... and Ardyn wasn't there...

But that was done... It wouldn't happen again. Ardyn knew now that Verstael hadn't forgotten about the boy, so he knew to watch out better from here. This was a small hiccup. It wouldn't happen again. In fact, if Verstael had any sense at all, he'd stay far away for the time being. If Ardyn saw him now... he'd likely kill him.

"I'm sorry I left you alone." Ardyn spoke after quite a long stretch of silence. "I wouldn't have if I had any reason to believe he'd followed us. I didn't know. I feel sick knowing I left you by yourself when he was in the city..."

Prompto still didn't respond. He only shrunk down further in his seat, a pout on his shaky lip as he stared out the window and blinked away unfallen tears. Ardyn wondered if he was at least listening. It was hard to say if he just didn't want to talk or if he was dissociating completely.

"And I'm sorry I was so harsh just now…" Ardyn went on. "Patience isn't a strong quality of mine. Not if it doesn't serve me directly. But you deserve patience... You need it. You're a child. You've been through hell... I understand that everything that's happened to you isn't just gone out of your mind. I understand you've got trauma and you're dealing with it in the best way you know how... I should have been more patient. I shouldn't have threatened to hit you... That was a very frustrating moment and I didn't deal with it correctly. I was wrong. I'll try to do better."

Prompto blinked. His lip was trembling as he avoided looking back at Ardyn.

"We can move on from this." Ardyn noted. "I'll keep a good watch, make sure he's not following us. I thought I was already doing that, but I'll watch more closely." He suggested. "Neither of us knew he was even interested in stealing you back. We know now. We'll be ready. I'll be ready."

The boy still said nothing as he continued staring out the window. He occasionally sniffed slightly, perhaps trying to hold in tears.

The poor boy was quite clearly still upset. Ardyn's response to the child's understandable panic surely did nothing to help with that. How awful for the vulnerable little boy to have one of his worst fears come back and confront him the one time he happened to be all alone, only to then have Ardyn react so harshly, threaten to hit him, grab him and refuse to let him leave, yell at him... If Ardyn had realized why Prompto was acting how he had been, he'd have never reacted like that.

"I'll try to be more patient with you. My response to your behavior was perhaps a bit over the top..." Ardyn noted. "But you've got to do your part to keep this kind of misunderstanding from happening again as well. You've got to tell me if you see anything I should know. Don't keep secrets. I can't help if I don't know what's going on. So please, if you see any indication that we've been followed, tell me. If you see him - or anyone else acting inappropriate or threatening, just tell me. I'll protect you."

"He's gonna find me again." Prompto whispered, as he reached with one hand toward his opposite shoulder, feeling around as though the limb was hurting him.

"He won't. If he does, I'll deal with him." Ardyn promised, taking note of the fact that the boy was rubbing his shoulder. "Did he hurt your arm?" Ardyn wondered. "Shall I have a look at it? I can mend things like dislocated joints - easily."

Prompto shook his head no.

"Very well." Ardyn shrugged, looking back toward the road.

"I can't hide from him. He'll always find me." Prompto whimpered. "I don't want to go back. I didn't know what life was supposed to be like. I know now... It's supposed to be like it is with you. He's not supposed to hurt me, to make me do things that are uncomfortable and scary... I can't go back... I can't live like that."

"You don't have to." Ardyn frowned. "I'll never let him have you back."

Prompto shook his head. "It won't be up to you. You don't want to keep me... You're going to leave me with someone else."

Ardyn frowned, then forced a laugh. "Well... Wouldn't you prefer that at this point?" He breathed, feeling guilty once again.

Prompto shook his head no.

"Not even after the little power trip I just had?" Ardyn frowned. "Prompto, you refused to answer me and I threatened to hit you... You were clearly frightened, upset... and rather than responding with patience, I responded with anger." He reminded the boy. "You should be with someone who knows how to deal with behavior like that. You're a child - and a traumatized one. I knew being hit was something you feared... I said it anyway. I was so angry, so frustrated with you. I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't have reacted that way... My anger isn't compatible with taking care of children. For me to threaten to hit you when I knew what you'd been through? You didn't deserve that."

"I know you wouldn't have hit me." Prompto whispered.

Ardyn shook his head. "You don't know that..." He noted. Ardyn didn't even know for sure if he would have hit Prompto. He probably would have if the boy annoyed him much more than he had. Ardyn knew for a fact he'd never reach the level of abuse Verstael inflicted upon the child, but he'd be lying if he claimed he wasn't capable of violence... Even toward a child. If Prompto had tested his patience too much further, Ardyn may have legitimately reached out and hit him. It wouldn't have compared to what Verstael did. Ardyn wouldn't have knocked him to the ground and kept going... but he wasn't going to claim there wasn't a chance he'd have taken a swing at the boy.

In that moment, when Prompto was refusing to answer him, when he was trying to get out of the car... Ardyn was pretty frustrated. Prompto was on very thin ice and was lucky Ardyn managed to control himself.

"Whoever I end up with..." Prompto whispered. "They won't know how scary he is. They'll leave me by myself someday... He'll be waiting, watching. He'll take me as soon as he gets a chance and he'll hurt me. He's angry with me now. I fought back. I yelled at him. I called him a fucking monster and hit him in the face... He's got to be so angry... Everything he's ever done to hurt me - he'll do again... and worse. You can't protect me if you're not with me."

Ardyn glanced over at the boy, then looked back out the windshield. That was true... If Ardyn wasn't with the child, he couldn't personally ensure his safety. He couldn't promise to protect him and then give him away. If he wanted to follow through on that promise, he'd have to keep the boy himself. At the very least, he'd need to keep him until he was sure Verstael wouldn't be a threat any longer. He'd need to kill Verstael before Prompto ever left Ardyn's sight.

"I'm not giving you away anytime soon." Ardyn promised. "I can't say you'll be with me forever, but I won't be leaving you on the side of the road or with strangers. If I hand you off to someone else, I'll do my research. I'll place you somewhere safe."

The boy didn't say anything back. He didn't nod or shrug or anything. He just stared ahead. Maybe he was angry that Ardyn wasn't agreeing right here and now to keep him forever. Ardyn hadn't seen Prompto angry yet. He only saw fear, panic... Maybe this was what anger looked like on him.

"Trust me to keep you safe for now, and I'll do so. I can't claim I didn't take a mis-step leaving you on your own in the city. I didn't realize the danger, but I do now. I'll keep you safe. No need to pout." Ardyn went on.

Prompto remained silent as he stared ahead at the car's dashboard. Perhaps he was dissociating again, stuck in his own head, thinking about every horrible thing that had ever happened to him. Ardyn wondered if the boy was even mentally present enough to hear him, but chose to keep speaking anyway, trying to be reassuring.

"I'm sorry he tried to hurt you. I can't help but blame myself for leaving you on your own." Ardyn frowned. "But I certainly wouldn't have if I'd suspected he followed… I can't take back what's already done, but I will promise to stay close to you from here on out. I suppose when I took you from that room I was in a way agreeing to be responsible for your well being. I'll do better."

The car filled with silence again, aside from an occasional shaky sniff from the passenger seat.

"I can't even piece it together in my mind though." Ardyn furrowed his brows. "He wasn't on the ferry… He couldn't have followed knowingly the entire time. We'd have seen him… Perhaps it was a lucky guess… Lestallum is the largest city that's somewhat close... Even so, he found us so quickly... Perhaps he was watching from a distance for a while, waiting for me to leave you on your own."

Prompto drew his feet up into the seat, but still didn't say anything or look back. He was perhaps deep in thought, worried about being found again. Ardyn didn't blame the boy for being upset and concerned… The poor child's abuser had found him again after he thought he'd escaped. The man tried to rape him. Of course Prompto was scared.

Ardyn exhaled tiredly. "No matter the case, I'll watch out for you. If he does happen to find you again, I'll keep you safe. I won't let him hurt you, Prompto. I won't let him take you back. Just stick close to me, and I'll ensure your safety."

Prompto made no indication that he was listening to Ardyn anymore. He still just stared blankly ahead, absentmindedly rubbing his arm near his shoulder.

"Did he grab you there?" Ardyn asked again. The boy sure seemed to be fixated on his shoulder. He kept holding onto it as though it was injured. "Did he hurt your arm, child? It's no problem if you'd like me to have a look."

Prompto shook his head no very slightly, but continued staring quietly ahead. So he was listening, at least enough to hear Ardyn's question. He just didn't want to talk, it seemed. That was alright. He needed a moment to calm down. If he wanted to discuss any additional trauma, Ardyn would be here for him later.

For the next twenty minutes or so, the two sat in relative silence. Prompto's mind seemed far away - a habit Ardyn was growing accustomed to, regardless of how frustrating it could be. It seemed when the boy was upset or traumatized, he withdrew into himself, didn't even seem to notice what was going on around him.

Ardyn wondered if Versatel had hurt him after all. Prompto hadn't seemed shy about sharing details of his chronic physical and sexual abuse, but that was before - before Ardyn explained to him what a big deal it was, how wrong his father was to hurt him. Maybe Ardyn telling him that made him feel ashamed of it. Maybe getting him to share things like that would be more difficult now. Ardyn hoped he hadn't approached the subject wrong. He didn't want Prompto to feel shame for what someone else did wrong.

"If he hurt you, it's not your fault." Ardyn spoke up. "Just like it wasn't your fault before."

Prompto still didn't say anything back. He continued staring ahead. Ardyn wondered if the boy was even hearing him.

"I know I told you the things he did were very wrong, but please remember he's the one who should be ashamed. Not you. You do not ever need to feel guilt or at fault for the misdeeds of others. If he did more than what you let on, don't be afraid to tell me. I won't think less of you. I won't blame you." Ardyn persisted.

"I should have run away from him the second he came up to me." Prompto whispered.

Ardyn blinked, surprised the boy was speaking again. "You were frightened." Ardyn reminded him.

"Yeah." Prompto whimpered, his voice shaky. He stared ahead again, his eyes almost glazing over.

"It's okay that you didn't know what to do. In moments like that, it's hard to always do the most logical thing." Ardyn frowned. "Lots of people panic while under stress, while afraid. Don't blame yourself for not acting as quickly as you wish you did. You got away in the end. You did your best. And even if you didn't escape, even if he hurt you as much as he wanted - that's still not your fault. He's stronger than you. He's an intimidating presence. You were afraid..."

The child continued pouting as he shrunk down, but stared ahead.

Ardyn wondered what he was thinking. He wished the young man would just speak it out loud. Now that he had bonded with the boy more, Ardyn found he felt quite the opposite of how he did before. Back when Prompto first started confessing to all the abuse he'd endured, describing it in excruciating detail, Ardyn didn't really want to hear it... At the time, he'd really wanted Prompto to keep it to himself, feeling it wasn't helpful and it only served to make him feel sick... But he did want to know now. He almost needed to know Verstael hadn't done the worst things he could have done.

Perhaps it was because this time, Ardyn had screwed up. Ardyn left the boy alone and he shouldn't have. He should have been more cautious. Although he continuously persisted that Prompto need not feel guilt or blame for any of this, he did in a way blame himself for what happened today... He needed to know what exactly did happen - so he could know how fucking guilty to feel. If Ardyn had been more careful, nothing that happened between Verstael and Prompto this morning would have had the opportunity to occur. Whatever happened was partially Ardyn's fault.

But what did happen? Prompto said the man forced him to kiss him and pulled down his pants. Was that it? Did Prompto run away as soon as the man started undressing him? Was he quick about it? Did he get free without a struggle? Or did it take longer than the boy's explanation made it seem? Prompto hardly knew that anything that wasn't outright painful even classified as abuse. Verstael could have done all sorts of wicked, disgusting things without Prompto even being all that upset by it. When the boy said he wasn't hurt, what did it even mean? Just that he had no broken bones? That he wasn't bleeding? What all could have happened that Prompto was hiding from him, that he chose not to speak of?

"If you wish to talk about what happened, I'll listen." Ardyn cleared his throat, feeling like he could have worded that better. The way he said it, it seemed he was willing to do the boy a favor but didn't really want to - like hearing his story would be an extra chore, but that he was still willing.

Still staring silently toward the front of the car, Prompto remained motionless and unspeaking. Maybe he wasn't even listening to what Ardyn was saying. Or maybe he was hearing every word, logging it away for later.

"Prompto..." Ardyn tried again. "I want to hear anything you have to say. If he hurt you, it's not your fault. If he did anything to you that's hurting inside - hurting your mind... Even if it wasn't painful - even if all you felt was fear, sadness... I want you to tell me."

Prompto didn't say anything else as he stared in front of himself. He looked a mixture of worried, haunted, and angry.

"It's okay if you're angry with him." Ardyn spoke up. "You should be. He's mistreated you for so long... You should be angry. If you've never been angry at anyone else, let him be the first. Being angry is to be human. And you are human... Just as much as anyone else."

The boy said nothing more. He simply stared ahead, retreating into his own head again.

The last time Prompto had acted how he was acting now, once he snapped out of it, he confessed a lot of very horrible truths to Ardyn. Maybe he was thinking about something similar now. Maybe Versatel hurt him a lot more than it seemed. He wasn't obviously injured… but if Verstael assaulted him sexually, the injuries might not be obvious. He could have even escaped injury entirely while still being assaulted. Just because he wasn't physically hurt didn't mean nothing horrible had happened.

Shaking his head as he remained focused on the road, Ardyn tried to let it go. Prompto had led a very disturbing life and Ardyn needed to remain mindful of that. He had to be forgiving. He had to be patient. Prompto would probably tell him eventually... and if he didn't, that would have to be okay too.

Ardyn never wanted to get into the graphic details of the abuse the boy had suffered through anyway. That's how he'd felt up until now at least. This time wasn't any different. Ardyn thought it was because he felt like he could have prevented it more - but he could have prevented all of it if he just rescued the boy from the start... He had fault then too... Not directly, but similar to now. Ardyn really didn't need to know any more details. If Prompto wanted to keep it to himself, that was up to him.

The past couldn't be changed. If Verstael did succeed in raping him today, Ardyn couldn't do anything to change it. He wouldn't even be able to mend any internal injuries the child may have sustained. How could he?

Knowing exactly what happened wouldn't help. Ardyn couldn't go back in time and be there in that moment. He was here now. He could keep Prompto safe from here on out. Perhaps the boy was content to be silently disturbed for a little while, and would then move on. He'd moved on from so much other abuse already. Considering how hard a life he'd had thus far, the child was doing well overall...

But when Ardyn glanced over toward the boy again a moment later, after hearing a small whimpering noise, his heart just about stopped.

"What in the world are you-" Ardyn cut himself off as he practically slammed on the brakes to pull the car over. Prompto had at some point claimed the knife out of the car's glove box and had twisted his body awkwardly to the side, cutting into his own arm.

The boy let out another shaky, hissing cry as he dug further into his skin, just under his shoulder on the back of his arm. He groaned in pain as Ardyn slammed the car into park and lunged across the seat toward him.

"Prompto! No!" Ardyn gasped, grabbing toward the knife. He had no idea the boy might be prone to self-harm. He didn't realize this was something he'd need to watch out for.

"I almost have it!" Prompto whimpered, letting Ardyn take the knife, then focusing down at the bleeding wound, grabbing toward it like he was removing a thorn or splinter.

"Almost have what?" Ardyn breathed. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Prompto pinched something out of his arm with his fingers and brought it up in front of himself, blinking down as he stared at it. Ardyn looked down at it too. It looked like a tiny metal circle with grooves carved into its flat surface - like a computer part… A tiny computer part… A microchip... Covered in blood. More blood ran down Prompto's fingers, over his hand, down his arm.

"That's how he found me." Prompto whispered, his voice shaky, breathless. "That was in my arm all the time… I didn't know. He tracked me with it. We can throw it out and he won't be able to find me… Right?" The boy stared up with wide, worried eyes.

"My gods…" Ardyn shook his head, reaching over and taking the microchip. It wasn't any larger than the end of a thumb tack.

"He said that's how he found me." Prompto breathed, blinking nervously as he stared at Ardyn. "I'm sorry I took your knife without asking… I just… I didn't know if you'd let me cut it out…"

Ardyn shook his head, looking back toward Prompto. "Did that not hurt?" He stared. For someone so frightened of being hurt, performing a minor surgery on himself seemed rather brash.

"Well, yes… B-but I don't want him to find me again." Prompto whispered.

Ardyn shook his head. "You're stronger than you look…" He noted, cocking his head to the side as he considered Prompto. "We'll leave this here." He tossed the microchip out the window. "With any luck that was his only means of tracking you and we'll be rid of him along with it."

Prompto nodded.

"Take off your shirt." Ardyn shook his head and exhaled in exasperation. "We've got to address your injury now."

Prompto complied without question, turning himself around so Ardyn could reach the injury. He seemed a lot less nervous now. He wasn't acting like the type of unhinged, frantic lunatic who'd carve into his own arm without a second thought.

"Why didn't you just tell me that from the start?" Ardyn stared as he found his medical kit from the glove box and began dressing the injury. "I could have removed that in a much less messy manner." He explained. "Likely just a small, centimetre long incision would have done the trick. May have even been able to numb the skin around it first."

Prompto shrugged, but didn't answer.

Ardyn shook his head. Prompto was such a strange boy. He was so fucking scared of everything, and yet he just carved into his own body, solved a problem on his own when it was painful doing so. Maybe he really would have been fine if Ardyn left him on his own from the start - not that he wanted to now... but he had been so worried the boy would be helpless. He wasn't as weak as he appeared.

"I feel a lot better now." Prompto noted as Ardyn worked on cleaning the cut on his arm.

"I'll bet..." Ardyn frowned. Prompto was finally mentally present again. Maybe now would be a good time to seek out more answers, a more honest explanation of what happened.

"I just couldn't stop thinking about it. He told me he'd always find me again... and with that, I guess he could have... But it's gone now, so I'm safe. Right?" Prompto glanced over his shoulder.

Ardyn nodded. "I hope so..."

"I hope so too." Prompto agreed. "I feel safer." He nodded.

With an exhale, Ardyn forced himself to ask again. "Tell me the truth now. If you're going to be my dependent, I need no secrets kept. I've charged myself with taking care of you, so I need to know certain things. When he took you to the hotel room, did he hurt you? Did he rape you? Did he hurt you like he did before?" Ardyn asked. "Are you hurt down there? Do you need medical care?"

Prompto shook his head. "No. He didn't." He answered simply, his voice small.

"How did you get away unharmed?" Ardyn wondered as he worked on cleaning the blood away from the cut on Prompto's arm. Verstael managed to hurt him so much before. Prompto was small, weak, timid. How did he get away without a fight?

"I ran…" Prompto answered, sticking his lower lip out in a pout.

"And he just let you go? He didn't follow? Why not?" Ardyn stared. "How did you manage to escape so easily?"

Prompto shrugged and shook his head. "It wasn't easy... I was really scared, and I didn't get away right away... I held still and didn't try anything for a while, but then I got so scared... So scared things were going to be like they used to be, that he'd hurt me and take me back and it wouldn't be like it is with you... That he'd make me do the things you said I shouldn't have to do..."

"So how did you escape?" Ardyn frowned.

Prompto blinked. "I kicked him in the face with my knee." He whispered. "I panicked and hit him as hard as I could and his nose started to bleed... I was so scared, but I couldn't do nothing, so I kicked him."

"You did?" Ardyn could hardly believe it. Prompto was so fucking scared of everything. Back the first night Prompto spent with Ardyn, he was going to force himself to perform sexual acts he didn't want to do because he was scared Ardyn was going to hit him... He was frightened to bathe himself because he thought Ardyn wouldn't want him to. He sobbed because spilt water had him fearing he was going to be beaten... But he kicked his own father in the face to get away? It was rather brave compared to his response to similar things recently.

Prompto nodded.

"And he didn't hurt you before that?" Ardyn frowned.

"Not much." Prompto shrugged. "He did things he wasn't supposed to, but it didn't hurt a lot."

Ardyn felt his heart sink. "Things he wasn't supposed to... What did he do?" He grimaced.

"He made me sit on his lap, and he kissed me... He put his hand in my pants and I didn't do anything to try to stop him... I let him keep touching me, and I kissed him back." Prompto looked down and stuck his lip out in a pout. "I didn't want to, but I was scared... Mr. Ardyn, I never wanted to do any of those things." He whispered as he looked back up with tears in his eyes. "Even when I didn't try to get away, when I let it happen, when I kissed back..." He paused for a moment, inhaling a small breath and grimacing.

Ardyn stared back, unsure what to say. It almost seemed he was afraid Ardyn wasn't going to believe him, that he thought he had to convince the man that he hadn't done any of this willingly. Ardyn didn't have to try for long to think of a response, because the child had more to tell him.

"Even back in the lab, when I went along with it... When I initiated it... When I used my own fingers to prepare myself. I didn't want to..." Prompto whimpered. "I learned that if I used my fingers first, it wouldn't hurt as bad. I learned that if I did it - if I used my fingers instead of him using his, I had more control. I could stop or go slower if it hurt... I learned that if I laid there and tried to relax, if I didn't struggle or cry... it didn't last as long. He didn't hold me down and bruise me if I didn't try to get back up. Maybe I made it easier for him, but I was trying to make it easier for me too... There was no part of me that wanted to do it. I just didn't want him to hurt me. I wanted to do whatever I had to so that it didn't hurt as much. I was scared..." He paused for a moment, swallowing as his voice grew shakier with tears. "I didn't want to... Mr. Ardyn, I was scared..." He whispered.

"I know that..." Ardyn breathed. He wondered if Verstael had tried to convince the boy that he had invited this in some way. That perhaps because he went along with it out of fear, he must have been okay with it on some level.

Prompto sniffed back tears, closing his eyes and frowning. "I did so much trying to keep him from hurting me worse... I followed him back to the hotel... I could have screamed when I was out in the open. I could have run right from the start... but I was so scared. I just didn't want him to be mad, but I should have just run. I could have gotten away sooner, but I was too scared."

Ardyn felt like his heart was breaking. "It's not your fault, child. None of it is your fault. No matter what happened in that room, it isn't your fault. He scared you... You were terrified. You didn't have much of a choice..."

Prompto nodded, closing his eyes before continuing. "He put his hand in my pants while he kissed me. I didn't like it, but it didn't hurt, so I tried to stay calm." He explained. "B-but I got scared when he moved his hand toward the back... I've been around him enough to know what things are gonna hurt, to know what he's thinking about doing next..."

Ardyn swallowed back bile. When he saw Verstael again - if he ever even did - he was going to beat the shit out of him... He was going to kill him... How the hell could he not?

"Then he put me on the bed and pulled my pants down. He was going to use his fingers… Fingers first, then his penis. That's what he normally did when he wasn't mad at me. He was trying not to hurt me. That's what he said, but it would have hurt anyway. I know it would have. It's never felt good." Prompto furrowed his brows. "He always says it'll feel good if I relax, but it never does."

Ardyn grimaced. He wondered how many times Prompto had had to suffer through that in his life. How many times had Verstael raped him? For all Ardyn could tell, it was a nightly occurrence. The man may have sexually abused him hundreds of times by now... The poor child had no idea how wrong it was until Ardyn told him... And Ardyn had had to tell him more than once. He practically had to drill it into his head. Poor Prompto even expected that Ardyn would hurt him like that - merely because the man asked him to sleep on the bed rather than on a chair or standing up against the window. Prompto not only suffered through it, but he expected it. He considered it normal... For so long he didn't even wonder if he had a choice. He just did it because his father said so, hating every second of it but knowing he had no say in the matter...

"He didn't do it?" Ardyn asked again as he continued wrapping gauze around Prompto's arm, securely bandaging the cut the boy had created on himself. "Not even with his fingers? With something else? You're certain you're not hurt?"

Prompto shook his head. "He didn't hurt me. He started to do it with his fingers, but not very much. Not for long... It didn't hurt too bad. He went really slow until I flinched away, but even then he was uncharacteristically patient. He forced in one finger when he got mad, but still tried to go slow from there. He would have done it more if I didn't make him stop. His fingers were down there. He started trying to push them in, but I couldn't stop being scared and it wasn't easy for him to get in more than one... I know eventually he would have gotten mad and forced them in... but didn't get to that yet. He was very close to doing it." He answered. "If I didn't kick him and run, he would have done all of it. He'd have forgotten to be careful halfway through. I'd have probably been bleeding at the end. I'm very sure he was going to, but I hurt him first and ran away."

Ardyn blinked. It was unbelievable that Prompto was able to run fast enough for Verstael to be unable to easily find him and reclaim him, but maybe the man didn't want to cause a scene out in the street. If Prompto didn't quietly go with him, people would have noticed the struggle. Someone would have likely stepped in to help if they saw a twelve year old boy screaming and fighting against a grown man.

"I ran fast and hid in the car. I don't think he saw where I went…" Prompto elaborated. "Or maybe he didn't want to try to catch me in front of all of the people. Maybe he thought someone would stop him if I couldn't."

Ardyn nodded. "I think someone would have." He agreed. "You remember that, okay? I'll try to be here more consistently, to properly protect you… but if anyone tries to hurt you, whether it be your father or anyone else, don't be afraid to make a commotion. Scream, thrash, run, knock things over… Do whatever you can to get someone's attention. Most people would help if they saw someone in trouble. Especially a little child like yourself."

He was proud of Prompto for fighting back, for defending himself. He wouldn't have been surprised at all if Verstael took him to the room to rape him and Prompto just laid there and let it happen. That's what he would have done before.

The fact that he defended himself meant he listened when Ardyn told him that what Verstael did was unacceptable. He'd learned something, and applied it to his life. He wasn't a lost cause after all. He could get his life in order, he could grow stronger, more independent. Perhaps he'd be okay eventually.

"Can I stay with you?" Prompto whispered as Ardyn finished wrapping his injury.

Ardyn hesitated, handing Prompto his shirt and staring silently as the boy re-dressed himself. Did he want Prompto to stay with him? Was he equipped to deal with him? More importantly, was anyone else? Prompto was so bizarre sometimes. Would a potential foster-parent take advantage of that?

Ardyn could picture a worst-case scenario… If he gave Prompto to some stranger, and Prompto one day thought that person might be angry with him, started undressing himself, trying to do what he'd have done if it was Verstael angry with him, like he did that night in the motel room… What if the new guardian just let him keep going? What if he took advantage? Some would... Prompto was lucky Ardyn was the one who took him and not someone who would have felt lucky in that moment, who would have let Prompto continue and enjoyed every moment of it.

"You're not a villain." Prompto whispered. "You're nice, and I want to stay with you. You say you're a villain, but you saved me. Maybe you've done bad things too. Maybe you're not sure if you're a good person or not, but to me, you are. To me, you're my hero. Father was doing bad things to me, and you made him stop. You took me away from him. You're the nicest person I've ever met."

Ardyn blinked, settling back in his seat as Prompto straightened his shirt. He supposed from Prompto's perspective, with his limited knowledge of the world and the people in it, Ardyn did look pretty great. He didn't know of the cruel things Ardyn had done to other people. He only knew the man took him out of that horrible room, bathed him, fed and clothed him… It made sense that Prompto saw that as heroic.

"Your standards are so low..." Ardyn frowned. Anyone who had been around the world more, who had met more than a handful of people in their lives, would have known Ardyn was not a good candidate to be the guardian of a twelve year old boy. He didn't know a thing about children, would be a terrible influence, a bad role model... He was horribly impatient, easily annoyed...

Prompto bit his lower lip, trembling slightly as he shrunk down in his seat. He continued staring back at Ardyn with large, hopeful eyes as he hugged his arms around himself and exhaled a shaky breath.

"Are you cold?" Ardyn furrowed his brows, glancing toward the back seat and reaching toward the bag of clothes he'd bought the previous day. He bought the kid a jacket for a reason. Why didn't he have the sense to put it on without being reminded? "You're shivering." Ardyn glared, tossing the jacket toward the boy. "Put that on."

Prompto nodded silently, sliding his arms into the sleeves and staring down at the zipper, holding one side of it in his hand, turning it over slightly. He looked confused, almost nervous. Perhaps he'd never seen a zipper before. Verstael always had him dressed in t-shirts and pants that resembled leggings. They had no zippers, buttons, or other fasteners. The pants Ardyn had bought for him were more like sweat pants... The boy seriously had never encountered a zipper before?

Ardyn exhaled an annoyed breath as he reached over and zipped the jacket, ignoring the small flinch and gasp from Prompto when he got too close too fast.

"Sorry..." Prompto whispered, still shaking slightly as he looked up at Ardyn with a slight pout and furrowed brows.

"Don't be." Ardyn stared, clapping his hand gently over Prompto's arm, then leaning back. "That's how a zipper works." He stated simply, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Wow..." Prompto breathed, smiling slightly, then reaching toward the zipper and unzipping it half-way, then re-zipping it. "That's really useful." He noted with a smile.

Leaning back in his seat, Ardyn narrowed his eyes as he looked the child up and down. Prompto was still so ignorant to the world. He didn't even know what a zipper was... He didn't know what thunder was until a couple days ago, had to be taught how to bathe on his own, how to make a simple sandwich... The painfully innocent young boy asked him last night if humans hatched from fucking eggs... What else did he never encounter that should have been obvious to him by now at his age?

How the hell was Ardyn going to feel okay leaving the boy with someone else? No one would understand... Ardyn couldn't exactly tell prospective adoptive parents that Prompto was a clone made in a lab... A clone who hadn't ever seen the sun or sky until a few days ago, who just now learned how to bathe himself, who was relentlessly physically and sexually abused for as long as he could remember and who lived his life suspended in a vat of liquid before that, hooked up to tubes...

His new family would have to get used to the boy asking the dumbest fucking questions imaginable. Would they be cruel to him when he asked something stupid? Would they make him feel like he shouldn't ask questions anymore? Would they grind his progress to a halt the first time he asked a question with an answer obvious to the rest of the world and made him feel guilty for it? No one would understand why he was the way he was... Not without being given information Ardyn wasn't prepared to share.

What would an adoptive parent do when Prompto was asked to do a simple task and he froze up? When he dropped something on accident and started sobbing hysterically... What would they do if Prompto initiated something sexual out of fear and confusion? What if they let him? What if they took advantage of him?

"Can I stay with you?" Prompto asked again, his eyes wide, pleading. "Please? I'm scared to go with someone else. I've been with you, and I like you. I trust you. I'll do whatever you say. I won't ever argue or disobey you… I'll do anything you want..." Prompto's lip began trembling again as tears welled up once more. "I'll sleep in my own bed. I won't cry when I have nightmares... I won't ever keep anything from you. If you ask me a question, I'll answer right away... I'll do anything you say..."

Ardyn stared, feeling his shoulders slump as a sense of dread filled his chest. Prompto probably really would do whatever he said, and that was terrifying. That meant he'd do whatever a different guardian told him to do as well. Even if it was inappropriate, degrading… Prompto had been raised in such a sick, twisted environment. He needed someone like Ardyn who would be able to re-train him in so many ways.

"I'll think about it." Ardyn finally answered, putting the car back into drive.

"Really?" Prompto smiled.

"Really." Ardyn answered. "You can stay for now at the very least. We'll travel further away from Lestallum, away from your past, and see what happens from here."

xxxxxx

Chapter Text

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Chapter 16

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After driving through the night and finally arriving at the chocobo post, Ardyn parked his car and glanced over toward his sleeping companion. Prompto looked very peaceful now curled up in the passenger seat with his eyes closed.

It was strange how quickly the boy could go from terrified to content, but perhaps that was a side effect of his upbringing. He had to learn to do that. Since he was so often tormented by his previous guardian, if he didn't learn the ability to bounce back quickly, he'd have been miserable constantly.

At both Prompto's insistence and his own discretion, Ardyn had decided to make as much distance between them and Lestallum as he could manage. It wasn't until early morning that he started seeing signs for the Wiz Chocobo Post. He knew it would be a pleasant surprise for the boy when he woke up, and Prompto deserved some carefree happiness - something to take his mind away from what had been a very stressful, traumatic event the previous day.

Perhaps they'd spend the day at the chocobo ranch, drive on to a motel, and then decide tonight where to head from here. Ardyn literally had all the time in the world, and could reasonably continue traveling around Lucis with the boy with no real reason behind the travel beyond entertainment. Prompto seemed to love seeing the world, and it was something Ardyn could grant to him. Ardyn actually found he was enjoying it too.

Ordinarily Ardyn wouldn't have cared to see all these sights and locations - he'd seen everything there was to see already and the world was dull to him. Nothing was new. Nothing was exciting or amazing to the man... But somehow Prompto's awe and excitement were contagious - Ardyn wanted to take the boy to locations he hadn't seen purely to watch his reaction, to feel a warm, glowing happiness inside his own chest when Prompto smiled or laughed. Seeing the young man happy made Ardyn happy. He could hardly make sense of it, but it was true. It mattered to him that Prompto felt content. He wanted the child to have a good life from here. He wanted him to have fun, to see new things, to enjoy life.

Perhaps Insomnia could be their final destination. The city was very far from Lestallum. Without the tracking device in Prompto's arm anymore, Verstael likely wouldn't ever find him there. Then the boy could go to school. Ardyn could stay with him long enough to get him settled, then find a foster family for him... Or maybe Ardyn could stay himself - even if only for long enough to ensure that the boy reached adulthood alright. That wouldn't be that big of a commitment. What was six more years when Ardyn had already lived numerous lifetimes?

Cocking his head to the side, Ardyn watched the child's steadily rising and falling chest. He hoped Prompto could grow out of all of his fears and doubts. He hoped the boy's nightmares would go away with time, that he'd stop feeling afraid and uncertain. Ardyn had had him with him for less than a week. It wasn't going to be something that went away immediately. He'd have to recover a lot. But already, even after just a few days, Prompto was doing better. He was becoming more sure of himself, more independent, less fearful.

Blinking, Ardyn leaned to the side when he noticed the camera he'd bought for the boy on the floor in the back seat. He'd wondered where it had gotten to and for a while he assumed it had been left behind in the city. He was glad Prompto had brought it with him afterall. It meant so much to the young man.

He reached back and picked it up, turning it on so he could see what Prompto had taken pictures of. Starting at the beginning, he sifted through from the very first photo - the one he had taken of the flowers. Simple pink petunias in a little clay pot. It was a poor quality image, off-center, angled in such a way that a bag of garbage was lying half in the frame. He took the photo just to show Prompto how the camera worked - not so the boy would keep the image forever like it was worth something. The photo certainly wasn't prize-worthy, but Prompto had kept it anyway.

The next photo was of Ardyn, staring with confusion back at his photographer. Shaking his head and rolling his eyes, Ardyn started through the rest of the photos, skipping quickly through the ones he'd already seen. Then came the new images, pictures the boy had taken around the city yesterday morning apparently. Ardyn had told him to stay in the hotel, but he obviously hadn't.

He took pictures of the power plant, the market, a selfie in front of an advertisement for jellybeans. Ardyn narrowed his eyes. Maybe he should buy the boy some candy. He'd probably never tired any before. Ardyn also noticed the boy went back to the same pink petunias Ardyn photographed and took another picture of them. Prompto's version had his stuffed chocobo sitting in the middle of the flowers. Then there were more flowers... Prompto probably took a photo of every fucking flower in the whole city.

Just as Ardyn was growing a little tired of looking through the images, he landed on one that made his heart just about stop in his chest. It wasn't like the others... It was a picture of Prompto, but it clearly wasn't one he took of himself. Someone else had taken it.

In the image, Prompto had tears in his eyes. He looked scared, uncertain… The backdrop was a familiar pattern - the comforters used on the beds at the hotel in Lestallum. He was lying back on a bed... Ardyn frowned as he clicked on to the next image, a photo where the boy had drawn his arms up to cover his face. His body language was stiff, fearful. Prompto mentioned that the man took him back to a hotel room. Verstael must have taken these.

Ardyn had to look away with a disgusted breath when he saw the next one. Prompto's pants and underwear had been pulled down. He was still hiding his face, looking like he was attempting to curl in on himself. The poor child must have been so fucking scared. Was it not enough for Verstael to hurt him? He had to humiliate him too? Why were the photos necessary? What was the point? Just to take something Prompto felt happy about and trash it? To make photography scary and painful purely because the boy had found joy in it?

Ardyn was almost too nervous to keep looking through the photos. He could see in the total number of photos on the roll versus the number stamp on one he was currently looking at that there were more. There were several more... How graphic would it get? How far did Verstael take this sick little game? What all had he done to the poor boy? What all had he documented with the camera? Ardyn didn't want to see pictures of Prompto in pain, degraded, terrified... Part of him wanted to just turn the camera off and pretend he hadn't seen a thing... to pretend he didn't notice there were more photos behind what he'd already found... but at the same time, he had to know what was on the camera. He needed to know that it wasn't as bad as he was fearing. He hoped it wasn't. Prompto claimed it wasn't.

Ardyn looked over at the boy, still curled up soundly asleep in the passenger seat. He wasn't obviously injured. His breaths were even, calm and no new bruises were obvious. When he had climbed out of the back seat of the car and made his way up front, when he moved in the seat to look out the window he didn't seem to be in pain... He couldn't have been hurt too badly...

And he'd been through so much before ever leaving the lab... The horrors the small boy faced before were so extreme - He'd told Ardyn in so much painful detail... There was no way whatever Verstael did to him the previous morning could compare to what he'd already told Ardyn about - the times he was held down and raped or when he was beaten so badly he was left bleeding, unable to walk... The times he was locked in a closet without clothes to keep him warm, or left in a shower with cold water beating down on his bruises, washing his blood down the drain. Even when Ardyn first found him in the medical waste room, he was so hurt he couldn't stand up on his own. He could barely stay awake... The differences between then and now were huge. He was much better off now. Whatever was on the camera couldn't compare to what Ardyn already knew... Right?

Frowning as he cocked his head to the side and stared at his passenger, Ardyn felt anxiety and dread in his chest. He supposed it was possible Prompto was hurt worse than he admitted... If the injuries came from a sexual assault, Ardyn wouldn't see them now... But Prompto did say Verstael didn't mange to get as far as he wanted - he claimed the man raped him with his fingers - and not for long... What happened certainly wasn't okay. It was horrible... but perhaps not as violent as other things the child had been through. If what Prompto told him was true, the images on the camera couldn't be as horrible as everything that had happened to the child before Ardyn took him.

No matter what was on the camera, Prompto was okay now. Ardyn already knew he'd suffered much worse in the past - Prompto told him... Even when Ardyn first found the boy in that cold room full of decay, he could see the child had been viciously beaten. Prompto had been covered in bruises, had blood running down the insides of his legs - he'd been recently violently raped, choked, beaten, starved, drugged... He'd been far worse off in the past week than he was right now... Whatever was on the camera couldn't possibly be worse than what Prompto had already been through. Ardyn had already witnessed the results of worse treatment toward the boy. He'd already been told worse stories. This couldn't compare...

So he continued to go through the photos, holding his breath each time he clicked onto the next one, terrified that it would be worse than the last. A few similar ones followed, images of Prompto with his arms covering his face, with his lower half undressed. There was even one with Verstael's hand in the shot, wrapped around Prompto's neck. Prompto's eyes were closed in that one. His expression was pained, scared...

There weren't any specifically focused on the private parts of Prompto's body. There weren't any of Verstael penetrating him - not even with his fingers. The photos seemed to have been taken more to upset Prompto in the moment than anything else. Some of them Ardyn wouldn't have even known it was Prompto if they weren't on this camera, as his face was hidden with his arms, he was curled protectively in on himself. It seemed like Verstael took the photos only to upset the boy - not for the sake of preserving the memory for himself or anyone else. It wasn't even obvious what was happening in some of them. They were just blurry photos of someone's arms covering their face.

"Verstael, you sick fuck…" Ardyn exhaled, but found himself feeling a bit relieved upon reaching the end of the photo roll. The lack of photographic evidence didn't mean nothing worse happened of course, but it was a relief to not see anything too horrible within the images. Perhaps what was on the camera really was just about all that happened before Prompto managed to escape. Prompto tended to be pretty honest about these things... He probably wasn't keeping anything to himself.

Shaking his head in disgust, Ardyn immediately went back through and deleted the series of photos. Prompto didn't ever need to see those. If he hadn't seen them already, he didn't need to. That wasn't a memory he needed to relive.

Turning the camera back off, Ardyn frowned as he looked over at Prompto, who was twitching slightly in his sleep, shrinking back toward the car's door and making a whimpering noise. He must have been dreaming - likely not a good dream.

Ardyn continued silently watching the boy. Reaching out in an attempt to comfort him would likely backfire, so for now, he waited, hoping the child would awaken on his own before too much longer.

As Ardyn had hoped, Prompto's eyes started to blink open after a few moments. Unfortunately, he didn't seem to be waking up peacefully, as he drew his hands up toward his eyes, covering them as he shrunk back and let out a choked whimper.

"You're okay..." Ardyn spoke up, not wanting to physically touch Prompto just yet, afraid it would scare him if he wasn't quite out of his nightmare. "Open your eyes... Take a breath. Look around. You're safe..."

Prompto shrunk down further, still covering his face with his eyes, but not saying anything. He wasn't sobbing or screaming at least, but was clearly tense, clearly out of breath, frightened, confused.

"Prompto…" Ardyn tried again, keeping his voice low and calm as he reached with a careful hand toward the boy's arm. "You awake?"

Letting out a shaky breath and moving his hands down, Prompto blinked a few more times. "No-" He choked, grabbing clumsily toward Ardy's arm with a shaking hand. "No… Don't…" He shook his head and drew his hands up to cover his eyes again.

"You're safe. Prompto, you're dreaming. Wake up." Ardyn urged.

"...Hurts-" Prompto choked. "Stop... No- Stop!" He breathed, blinking a few more times before finally seeming to realize whatever he'd been dreaming wasn't real - or at least wasn't happening in this moment.

"Prompto…" Ardyn leaned down slightly so he could see the boy's face better. "It's me here with you. Just me. Just Ardyn. That's it. You and I are the only ones here, and I'm very confident I'll keep you safe. You're okay. You're not hurt. You're not going to be hurt."

"Mr. Ardyn…" Prompto whispered, relief washing over his features even as his breaths remained quick and somewhat frantic. Ardyn felt the child's hand grip securely around three of his fingers, holding onto him as though fearful letting go would make Ardyn disappear.

"I believe you may have been having a bad dream." Ardyn noted, bringing his other hand up toward Prompto's arm, patting gently.

Prompto nodded slightly, still cowering down a bit. He was shaking.

"You alright?" Ardyn frowned.

Prompto glanced around the car, then down at himself, patting his hands over his clothes as though needing to be sure they were still there. Or maybe he was checking himself for injuries.

"Take a breath, child." Ardyn advised, placing his hand lightly against Prompto's back. "You're awake now… Whatever was in your head just then isn't happening. You're safe. You're with me and you're safe."

Closing his eyes and inhaling and exhaling a few breaths, Prompto slowly started to relax. "I'm sorry…" He whispered. "I think I dreamed something bad…"

Ardyn nodded. "I think you did too… But dreams aren't real. Once you wake up, it's over, and anything that happened to you in the dream didn't really happen. It's all in your head. Nothing's going to hurt you as long as you're with me."

"Are you sure?" Prompto blinked up at him.

Ardyn frowned as he looked back. "Yes. I'm sure." He promised. "I slacked before. I was foolishly naive... I'll be watching out for you much better now. Verstael will never be afforded the chance to touch you again."

Prompto nodded and looked down. "I think I'll have bad dreams forever." He whispered. "Even if he never finds me again... He's still in my head. I'm still scared of him. I'll never stop having bad dreams that he's with me, that he's hurting me..." Prompto's lip trembled. "He's always gonna be in my dreams..."

"I don't think so." Ardyn disagreed. "Dreams tend to center around what you do in your waking hours. People you know, things you've done, places you've seen... Versatel and his lab were your whole world up until now. You've got a lot of bad memories… but we're going to make good ones. Before long you'll be having dreams about flowers and oceans, driving on the open road, looking at the stars, hanging out with me." He smirked.

Prompto smiled. "That would be good." He agreed. "I really like being with you."

Ardyn laughed and shook his head. He could hardly believe he'd been so kind and caring toward this boy. He'd have never guessed before the day he took him that he'd end up caring about him so much.

Even that day he didn't think he actually cared about him. He didn't rescue Prompto because Prompto meant anything to him. He was trying to not be a depraved piece of shit like Verstael. He didn't want the poor child to suffer and die a slow, painful, terrifying death - but he didn't think back then that he'd want to keep him long-term.

Prompto looked around, peering out the front windshield. "We're not driving… Where are we?" He wondered.

"I've actually got a bit of a surprise for you." Ardyn noted.

"What is it?" Prompto blinked, his gaze slowly fixing on Ardyn's hands, which held his camera. Prompto's lower lip trembled as he stared at the device. His breaths started to get quicker and more shallow again as he glanced toward the door, like he might seriously be contemplating making a run for it.

"Prompto…" Ardyn spoke in a serious tone. "Don't panic so fast…"

Prompto shook his head. "I don't want to see…" He frowned, tears shining in his eyes. "I wanted good memories… I don't want to see the bad ones… I wanna forget. Please don't make me look... I don't want to look..."

"We're going to have a good day today." Ardyn went on with a reassuring nod. "I've cleaned up your camera a bit. Have a look." He turned it back on and turned the screen toward the boy.

"No." Prompto squeezed his eyes closed and looked away. "I want that to have been a dream. I don't want for it to have been real… I woke up and it's gone. It didn't really happen. I can't look… Please don't make me look…"

"Prompto. Look." Ardyn insisted, reaching toward the boy's chin and turning his face back. "I promise it's not what you fear. Trust me. Look."

Prompto blinked his eyes open, shrinking down as he looked toward the screen, taking the camera in his own badly trembling hands. "The bad ones are gone…" He whispered as he sifted through the images.

"Your camera is for good memories." Ardyn reminded him, gesturing toward a sign outside of the car. "And I've driven us somewhere I think you'll like. Somewhere you can take more photos, and see something new."

Prompto blinked, looking out the window. "Wiz Chocobo Post…" He read, turning back toward Ardyn with a smile and bright eyes. "Are there chocobos here!?" He breathed.

"I imagine there should be." Ardyn laughed. "Shall we go look?"

Prompto nodded, quickly pulling open his door and stepping out into the early morning.

Ardyn allowed Prompto to eagerly lead the way, following behind him as he ran up to a series of chocobos lined up and ready to be rented. He didn't figure Prompto would want to actually rent one just yet. Riding a chocobo could be challenging and even just existing in the world was hard enough for the child thus far… but he could look at them, pet them, take photos…

"They're so big." Prompto whispered, looking up at one of the birds and reaching toward its face. "I didn't know how big they were!"

Ardyn watched with an amused smirk as the bird shook its head and Prompto let out a mixture between a shrill scream and the most happy-sounding laugh he'd ever heard come from anyone in his life.

"Are they friendly?" Prompto breathed, turning toward Ardyn with big eyes.

"Yes. Of course they are." Ardyn laughed. "These are ones they're willing to rent out to the public, so I imagine they've been well-trained."

Prompto looked back up at the bird. "Can I take your photo, Buddy?" He asked the animal as though it might answer before turning his camera on and carefully angling the perfect shot. He looked down at the screen for a moment after, then turned it as if to show the chocobo its own image. "You look adorable." He grinned.

Ardyn stared silently, watching the boy interact with the creature.

"Let's take one with you and me." Prompto said next, holding the camera out to take a selfie with the large bird. It shook its head again after the boy snapped the picture, eliciting another scream-laugh from him, as he stumbled to the side.

Prompto looked down at the camera, running his fingertips over the screen, then turning back toward the bird. "You and I are the same." He spoke in a small voice, petting the side of the chocobo's neck, then looking down the line of birds. "There are so many of you…"

"Shall I take one of the two of you?" Ardyn offered, reaching his hand out palm-up.

Prompto nodded, handing the camera over and standing next to the chocobo, posing somewhat awkwardly. He probably hadn't ever really posed for pictures before.

Ardyn took the photo, then waited for the boy to stop posing, taking another as Prompto reached up to pet the chocobo on its face. The photos taken when he wasn't posing were perhaps the sweetest thing he'd ever seen. Prompto looked so genuinely happy, so young and innocent.

"Let's take one with you too, Mr. Ardyn." Prompto suggested.

Ardyn reluctantly agreed, allowing Prompto to take a selfie with both of them standing in front of the bird. He didn't know how this child had convinced him to act like such a fool, but somehow he had. Denying the request to be photographed was tempting, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. Not knowing that Prompto would have been disappointed.

"Wow…" Prompto breathed, turning the camera back off and letting it hang around his neck. He stared up at the chocobo, petting it gently again. "Do they get to run around though?" Prompto frowned as he looked back toward Ardyn. "They're not always locked up, right?"

Ardyn shrugged. "I imagine they have lots of free time when they're not working. I think the breeders typically give them down time between rentals. And you'll notice if you've ridden them that they actually seem to enjoy interacting with humans. If they didn't enjoy their jobs, they're strong enough and smart enough that they'd run off."

"Are those the babies!?" Prompto breathed, darting away toward some smaller chocobos freely roaming around the area.

Ardyn smiled as he leaned against a post and watched the boy. He could hardly remember ever feeling as excited about life as Prompto clearly did right now.

"Ardyn, they're so fluffy!" Prompto giggled, sitting down on the ground and letting one of the chocobo chicks jump up into his lap. "They're like my chocobo! They're just like Petunias if Petunias was a real chocobo! They're the best things I've ever seen in my whole life!"

Ardyn laughed softly.

"I love them so much." Prompto hugged the bird and closed his eyes.

Cocking his head to the side, Ardyn quietly watched his companion. He was happy that Prompto was happy. Somehow Prompto's emotions mattered to him. His feelings rubbed off on him.

"I could stay here forever." The boy breathed, laying down on the ground, giggling and squirming as a few more baby chocobos came over to investigate him, pecking gently at individual strands of his hair and at the pattern of freckles on his nose and cheeks. "That tickles!" He squealed.

Shaking his head slightly, Ardyn continued staring. He could hardly believe how full of life this little clone was. This was the same boy he'd met in Verstael's lab, the boy who would stare silently, blankly at him as though he was practically not human, like his mind was empty. Just a week ago, Ardyn wasn't sure the child even knew how to speak… and yet here he was, having the time of his life, full of energy, wonder, excitement.

In this moment, Ardyn made up his mind. He'd let the boy stay with him. At this point he had to. He couldn't see himself not caring what happened from here. He did care. He cared very much. He wanted to personally make sure Prompto remained safe, happy, and healthy, and he would.

This was only one of the first of many wonderful days the boy would have going forward. Surely there would he hard times too, dark memories from a painful past, confusion and frustration with the present, uncertainty about the future, times Ardyn would have to tell the boy no, teach him hard lessons… but at the moment, it was easier to be hopeful than anything else.

Perhaps Prompto could give Ardyn's life a bit more meaning… if only for a few years. Give him a reason to start being a better person, to put his desire for revenge and control somewhere in the back of his mind instead of the forefront. For now, his focus could be giving Prompto a better life… the life he deserved.

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THE END
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