Almost forgot my authors note. Don't own, don't sue. For those who enjoyed my STATUS feature, I do have two more in the works which should be uploaded in the coming weeks. This story is part one of three, and will hopefully be updated to completion within the next week. I super appreciate all the reviews and favorites from my first story; sorry I am still figuring this thing out and just realized I can't reply to the emails directly, I don't want you guys to think I'm ignoring you or don't appreciate the time you take out to let me know what you think. Please, feel free to offer constructive criticism, it's the best way to grow as a writer.

Ignis smiled to himself as he pulled the pan from the oven. The apartment was filled with the scent of the flaky pastry and the adviser's gentle humming.

He loved times like this, when he was alone in the apartment. He had already cleaned it from the general messy state it's teen occupant tended to keep it, and a load of wash was swooshing away in the laundry nook. Any minute, now, the prince and his young friend should be walking in the door to ruin all of his hard work, but he couldn't bring himself to feel perturbed. Ever since the prince had started hanging out with the enthusiastic blond, he'd been less moody.

Even Ignis had to admit he enjoyed having the amateur photographer around. He's even grown used to the nickname "Iggy" that was bestowed upon him the second time he'd ever even met the boy.

The front door slammed, jolting Ignis from his thoughts. He removed his oven mitts and began preparing two plates of the confection for the boys.

However, only Noctis' brooding figure stalked its way to the kitchen, a dark cloud of annoyance following behind him.

"Hello, Highness. Where are Gladio and Prompto—"

"Fuck Prompto." The prince grumbled as he stomped past Ignis, rattling the glass condiment bottles in the refrigerator as he ripped the door open.

"Language Majesty."

Noctis shot him a look that clearly said 'fuck you, too', but he refrained from uttering the actual words.

Ignis sighed to himself. He counted backwards from ten, a habit that he had been using more of lately, due to his close quarters with the Prince of Messiness and Brooding.

Noctis poured himself a glass of milk and sat across from his adviser, mumbling a 'thanks' when Ignis slid one of the plates towards him.

"Are you going to tell me when your friend has done to incur your ire, or are you simply going to glare at your milk until it has curdled?"

Noctis glared at him again from beneath the curtain of blue-black hair. Ignis kept his gaze steady, gentle but unrelenting.

"He wouldn't let me come in his house."

Of all the things that he could have been expecting, this was not one of them. Sensing the prince was going to continue, he pursed his lips and waited.

"I mean, we've been friends for like, three years now. And he has not once invited me over to his house. I haven't even met his parents! I mean, I know it sounds stupid, but I'm the prince for Etro's sake! Any crown citizen would be thrilled to have me in their home." He took an angry bite of the pastry, gnashing it between his teeth.

Ignis raised his eyebrows in question.

Noctis chewed more thoughtfully, then shook his head and swallowed, quickly following it with a swig of milk. "Too heavy."

Ignis made a mental note of the criticism and moved on. "Perhaps young Prompto is somewhat less than proud of his dwelling, and does not wish to have his friend—his prince—see his more…humble surroundings?"

"He knows I don't care about that stuff."

"Yes, but does he care about that 'stuff'?"

Noctis thought hard about it for a few moments as he tore off small bits of pastry and slid them in his mouth, chewing slowly.

"I don't think so," he said finally, "at least, I never thought he would. You see how he is; he has no regard for my position in private, and is only a little better about it in public."

Ignis bristled a little at that, remembering the first time he had been out with the two teens in public. Gladio had quite the laugh over his red face and flustered demeanor every time Prompto would hoot loudly and grab hold of the prince in sudden undignified embraces to take 'selfies'. "This is true."

"I mean, I get that we were just swinging by to grab something, and then be right on our way again, but dammit Iggy, I had to pee."

Ignis poured his own glass of milk and at across from the prince, starting in on his own pastry. It was too heavy. "Perhaps you had better start from the beginning."

Abandoning his treat, Noctis leaned back precariously far on his stool, letting out an exasperated sigh. "He's been acting weird for like, a week, right?"

Ignis nodded; the prince had been grumbling about his friend's odd behavior for a few days, now, citing avoidance and a lowered interest in his usual activities. That was actually what tonight was about. Ignis had suggested a "boy's night in" for the four of them, so they could discern what was changing the usually enthusiastic boy's demeanor.

"Well, today, he was being really quiet at lunch, and I couldn't take it anymore, so I confronted him. He just slunk away, didn't even say anything when I asked him what his problem was. Then, when Gladio picked us up, he asked to swing by his house, and I had to pee and he wouldn't let me come in. So, I told him to go and sulk or whatever by himself, and Gladio had to take me to a corner store to relieve myself. A corner store."

Ignis had to keep his composure at the look on Noctis' face for having been forced to use a gas station restroom. "Well, I certainly do apologize for your misfortunes today, but let's not let it sully our evening. I may not be quite as good as Prompto, but I will be happy to play video games with you until Gladio arrives with the pizzas."

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Gladio frowned up at Noctis' back as he climbed the stairs to his apartment door. He'd thought that his words to Prompto had been especially harsh, and told him as much as he drove away, leaving the crestfallen freckled boy on the curb. He had also noticed Prompto's odd behavior the last few days since Ignis had requested he pick them up after school, as the prince's car was in for maintenance. He'd been uncharacteristically quiet, taking to staring out at the passing scenery from the back seat instead of actively taking part in conversation or singing along to the radio. Though it had been a blessing to his ears at first, after the first few days he had begun to miss Prompto's usual exuberant attitude.

Before pulling off to go pick up the pizzas, he decided to send Prompto a text.

::Hey, I'll come back around and get you if you still want to come::

The response was almost immediate.

::Nah, I decided to take Nocts advice and sulk alone. Thx tho::

Gladio tossed his phone down into the seat next to him. If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was people who spent too much time feeling sorry for themselves. He liked the kid, sure, but he also got annoyed now and again at all the insecurities he tried to hide; especially considering he really didn't have anything to be insecure about.

He grumbled to himself a bit as he pulled away from the curb, determined to not let his young friends' sour moods destroy his good one.

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Prompto watched the taillights of the town car disappear around the bend before turning to trudge up to the door. He paused as a dark chuckle sounded from behind the fence.

"Aww, did the poor puppy's prince get mad at him?"

Prompto sighed, trying to decide if he was going to ignore the taunt or engage with his new neighbor.

Van Adium had moved in next door about two weeks ago. The brunette boy was a schoolmate, another scholarship student from the poorer areas of Insomnia, and he and Prompto had never really gotten along. He was a larger boy, and could perhaps give Gladio a run for his money. He used that advantage to become one of the more prominent bullies in the school, but until now he had more or less left the blond youth alone. But, ever since he moved in, it seemed it was his personal mission to undermine everything Prompto did.

He and his friends often made snide remarks, and have on more than one occasion physically intimidated the smaller boy, shoving him roughly into the lockers as they passed him in the hall. There were only a few classes that Prompto did not have with Noctis, but it seemed like Van or one of his friends was in each of those classes, and used that time to torment the freckled youth.

Prompto usually ignored him, but he was starting to lose his patience. "Man, you know, Van, I have literally never done anything to you. Why don't you give me a break?"

Van smiled viciously at him, his dark violet eyes flashing in the late afternoon sun. "Because you're weak, Prompto, and it's fun."

Prompto stared at him for a few moments, but eventually looked back towards the ground and continued up the stairs to his door, Van's soft laughter making his ears burn in shame.

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Ignis cleaned up as quietly as possible. After a few hours of gaming and joviality, they had finally succeeded in cheering up the prince a bit, and he now lay sleeping on the couch. Gladio had left over an hour before, citing early training sessions from the Glaives.

He retrieved a blanket and pillow from Noctis' room, and did his best to rearrange the prince in a more comfortable looking position. Resetting the alarm on his phone to a more reasonable hour than the prince had set it. He plugged it up on the side table and turned off the lights, leaving Noctis snoring gently on the couch.

He retired to his room, closing the door and turning on the radio to a classical music station. He sat on his bed for a few moments, staring down at his phone. He was torn; he did not want to interfere in the prince's affairs, but he also felt a friendship with the young blond that drove him to want to send him a text and check in on him. These sudden changes did not sit well with the studious man.

Ignis liked things a certain way. Though outwardly he was good at tolerating change and unexpected happenings—humans were fickle creatures after all—he liked routine. This tension between the two younger members of their small group made him uneasy.

In the end, duty won out over familiarity and he put the phone away.

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Noctis woke on the couch, startled out of slumber by the insistent ringing and vibrating of his phone. He stared blearily at the display for a moment, yesterday's anger reigniting at the bold PROMPTO that showed on his screen.

Not attempting to hide is irritation, he grumbled a half hearted greeting into the phone. The other end was silent for a few moments before his friend's nervous voice crackled over the line.

"Uh, hey, Noct, I'm sorry about yesterday. I..I dunno why I was so adamant about you—"

"It's whatever, Prompto. You don't want me in your house. You made things very clear. Let me do the same." He cut off any chance for reply by pressing the END button on his phone, extra hard. He glared at the screen for a few more minutes, and, satisfied that it wasn't going to ring again, he tossed it away from himself and rolled over to bury his face further into the couch cushions.

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Prompto stared down at his phone in dismay. He'd barely gotten any sleep last night, worry over his friend's anger wearing on him. But what was he supposed to do? Complain to the Crown Prince that his neighbor had been picking on him? Yeah, cause that wasn't pathetic.

Sighing dramatically, he shoved himself up off his bed and got dressed in his sweat pants and grey hoodie, ready to jog off some of his stress.

He left his house at a slow pace, heading up to the dog park by his house. He was hoping the combination of cute animals and exercise would burn off his sour mood. One hour and nine laps of the park later, it had not.

Around lap three, he noticed Van and two of his school friends had taken up residence on one of the more secluded benches along the path. He pointedly ignored them each time he passed, focusing on the heavy music in his ears and the feel of his feet as they pounded the pavement. But, though he could not hear them, he knew that they were yelling at him as he passed, taunting him. He considered leaving at first, but he dug in, deciding he wasn't going to let them ruin his run.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he rounded the bend on lap ten, and the other three boys were nowhere to be seen. He guessed they decided it wasn't any fun if they weren't getting a reaction—

Suddenly, Prompto's thoughts twisted along with his body, as his foot caught and he went flying face first into the concrete. This section of the path was on a medium decline, and he slid a few feet when he landed, his forearms, and left knee took the brunt of the force of the fall. He wheezed, sparkles dancing in his vision as he tried to take stock of himself.

He rolled onto his back, and reached up to touch his stinging cheek, frowning at the blood on his fingers. He slowly tested his jaw, and ran his tongue along the backs of his teeth. Luckily, nothing seemed loose. His jaw hurt, but wasn'tbroken. Prompto slowly sat up, inspecting the underside of his forearms, grimacing as he tried to dig out one of the pieces of gravel that had embedded itself into his skin. His ear buds had been ripped from his ears in the fall, and dangled from the mp3 player clipped to his sweats.

He stilled as three long shadows surrounded him, each boy positioning themselves around him, cutting off any means of escape.

"Amazing what a well placed piece of tripwire can do." Van dangled the offending object in front of Prompto's face, smiling wickedly down at him.

"It's a useful tool when hunting especially stupid game. Do you like to hunt, Prompto?" Van's flunkies snickered behind the downed youth, crowding closer to him.

Before he could answer, an older man ambled his way up the path with a large sleepy looking dog, and called out to them. "Hey, is everything ok over there?" He frowned, seeing the three larger boys surrounding a third on the ground, and made low hissing sound through his teeth, setting his dog on alert. The dog growled low in response, staring up at Van menacingly.

Van glared at him a moment before yelling back, "Yeah, everything's fine, old man, just our clumsy friend here took a tumble. We were just helping him up." At his nod, each of the other boys reached down and grasped Prompto by his upper arms, pulling him roughly to his feet. He yanked himself out of their grasp, and took the opportunity to move away from them.

"That true, there, son?" The older man asked Prompto, disbelief obvious in his voice.

"Yeah…uhh, yeah," he nodded to the old man.

No one moved for a moment, and then Prompto shifted closer to newcomer. Van and his two friends burst out laughing at his obvious discomfort, and turned to leave.

"See you soon, Prompto." Van threw casually over his shoulder as he walked by, winking at him.

"You sure you're ok?"

Prompto stared at the boys' retreating backs for a moment, and then smiled nervously at the man. "Yeah, thanks. I'm ok." He gave the dog an absent minded pat on the head and ambled away, deciding to take the long way home.

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Ignis drove through the streets slowly. He'd just had the car washed and detailed, and was enjoying the cleanness of it before he subjected the poor machine to Noctis and Gladio's disgusting habits. Were he not the Prince, and had it not been technically his car, Ignis would forbid all drinks and food, and possibly Noctis himself, from the vehicle.

Unconsciously, or perhaps a little consciously, he found himself driving through Prompto's neighborhood. He wasn't going to call him, but if he happened to be out, there was no harm in speaking to him.

As luck—and the ability to tap into government surveillance equipment—would have it, he found the boy walking slowly down a side street, a slight limp to his step. He had his hood pulled up over his head, and the sleeves rolled up to the elbows.

Ignis slowed the car down next to him, giving a short honk to gain the boy's attention. Prompto jumped a little, a pained expression on his face when he whirled towards the car. He quickly pulled down his sleeves and removed his ear buds as Ignis rolled down the window, smiling out at the boy. "May I offer you a ride?"

"Uhhh, no thanks, Iggy, I'm good." He went to walk away, but Ignis followed, insistent. Prompto sighed and stopped again. He scowled into the open window. "You know, Iggy, I just really don't want to deal with you or anything else at the moment. Please, just leave me alone."

Ignis stared at him a moment, then wordlessly rolled the window up and pulled away. However, he simply drove up a half a block so that he could more easily park the car. He met the boy on the sidewalk, falling into step next to him. They continued in silence a few minutes, heading steadily towards Prompto's house a few streets away.

"So are you going to tell me what has been going on between you and Noct, or are you going to childishly ignore me?"

"Gonna have to go with 'childishly ignore you' on that one, there, Iggy."

Ignis found himself counting down from ten. When he reached one, he took one large step forward and whirled around in front of the young blond, blocking his path. Prompto stepped back a little, ducking his head down and deeper into his hoodie.

"No, you will not ignore me. You and Noct have got to figure out whatever it is that is going on between you two. He's been sulking on the couch all day."

"Hey, I tried to call and apologize. He hung up on me. Ball's in his court now." Prompto went to step around Ignis but the adviser grasped his forearm, eliciting an unexpected hiss of pain from the teen. When Prompto yanked his arm back, he lost balance and flailed a bit, his hoodie falling off in the process.

Ignis moved faster than Prompto could process, and he suddenly had the blonde's head in his firmly gentle grip, turning his face up towards the light. He quickly assessed the split skin under his eye and the bruising on his chin and cheek—it would darken quite a bit in the next few hours—and frowned down at him. "What happened here?"

Prompto bristled jerking away again, and pulled his hoodie back up. "None of your business, Iggy. I already asked you to leave me alone. "Please, just…please. Let me go home."

Suddenly a few puzzle pieces clicked in Ignis' head, and he found himself broaching an uncomfortable, yet unavoidable subject. "Prompto, did your…did your parents do this?" He gestured to his face and arm vaguely, knowing that there was more under his running clothes that he was hiding.

A look of pure confusion shot across the teens pale features, his brows furrowing as he glowered at the taller man. "What? This? No, my…how could you …they aren't even…" he was flustered, angry, and making little sense.

Ignis held up his hands in a calming gesture. "I only asked out of concern. Noctis has mentioned that you've been acting strangely all week; withdrawn and disinterested. These are signs of depression. Couple that with the fact that you wouldn't let Noct in your home yesterday; have in fact have never asked him to your home or introduced your parents…"

He knew he took the wrong path when Prompto let out a frustrated yell, shaking his gripped fists up at his bespectacled friend. "You know what, Iggy? I just can't do this with you right now. I fell, ok? I fell in the park and I busted my face and I'm hurt and I just want to go home and take a shower and go to sleep and forget this day ever even happened. Can I go, now? Please?"

Ignis nodded once, resolute, and stood aside to let the youth pass. Prompto pulled out his ear buds, shoving them in and stalked by Ignis, not looking back as he limped the rest of the way home.

Ignis watched him for a minute, frowning. There was definitely more that met the eye going on, here. He didn't like it one bit.