Home At Last, a Final Fantasy XV fanfic by Raberba girl

Part 1 (rough draft)

Summary: The Argentums' parental rights are terminated when their criminal neglect lands Prompto in the hospital. Ignis attempts to gain custody but is thwarted by the high council, so now the only thing standing between Prompto and foster care is a certain Immortal.

A/N: The draft of this fic is complete. It could either have been a long one-shot or a short multi-chapter, and I chose the multi-chapter route.

o.o.o

Ignis stared a little blankly. "Pardon me, Your Majesty?"

Regis smiled and said again, "Talk to Cor about this. I think he'll be able to help you out." He turned to one of his attendants. "Next appointment, please."

Ignis gathered his papers and felt a little dazed as he was escorted out of the room. He knew how much the king cared about Noctis. Regis wanted Noctis to be happy, and he knew how much Prompto Argentum made his son happy. He had even shown some interest in Prompto himself at times, unrelated to the young man's effect on the prince.

So why, in such an important meeting concerning Prompto, had Regis been so dismissive? He'd all but kicked Ignis out of his office. If it hadn't been for the gentle, almost enthusiastic smile on the king's face, Ignis would have been shocked at the uncharacteristic cruelty.

There had been a smile, though. Regis was very interested in this matter, and though his reasoning might be unfathomable for refusing to discuss it and for sending Ignis to the marshal of the Crownsguard about a custody case, of all things, the reasoning was clearly there. Hopefully Cor could shed some light on the matter.

Ignis had his orders, so he checked the schedule for Cor's office hours. He went to the cafeteria for coffee and worked on his laptop for a while, then packed up and headed to Cor's office once he was reasonably sure the marshal could be found there.

"Scientia," Cor greeted.

"Marshal." Ignis nodded. "Do you have a little time to discuss something with me?"

"What's it about?"

Ignis suppressed a wince. "A custody case. I went to the king about it, but once I had explained the situation, he sent me to you. I haven't the faintest idea why, so if you'll permit me to explain the important details, please let me know if there was...a misunderstanding of some kind."

Cor nodded at the chairs in front of his desk, and Ignis took a seat. He rested his briefcase in his lap and sat very straight. "The matter concerns the prince's friend, Prompto Argentum."

At the name, Cor blinked. Though his body didn't shift much and his expression didn't change at all, his eyes somehow seemed more intense. Ignis wondered if the king hadn't been so far off the mark after all, though it was no clearer than before why the marshal would have an interest in a teenage commoner.

"He's been friends with Noctis for about a year and a half now, and some troubling matters have recently come to light. His parents have fallen short on their responsibilities to him, and I decided to assume guardianship of Prompto myself. However, the council objects, claiming falsely that I would be unable to balance my duties with caring for a young man who is nearly an adult." He knew that Cor did not have a high opinion of the council, either, so he allowed a bit of his disgust with all those traditionalist old men creep into his tone.

Cor leaned forward and folded his arms on his desk, his eyes still strangely intent. "The council forbid you from assuming guardianship of Prompto Argentum because they claimed a single man in service to royalty couldn't possibly raise a child that's not biologically his."

Ignis was surprised. It was as if Cor knew exactly how he felt. "Correct."

Cor made a disgusted noise. "Kid's almost seventeen years old now and they're still pulling that shit..."

"Indeed," Ignis concurred, wondering why Cor sounded like Prompto had been on his radar for a while. "Prompto is a remarkably independent young man already-" far more than Noct was, honestly... "-I simply wish to provide him with reliable shelter, more comfortable financial support, and easy access to any guardian consent needed before he reaches adulthood. He..." Ignis paused. "He was recently hospitalized. He-"

"Hospitalized?" Cor demanded.

"For exhaustion and stress," Ignis clarified. "He doesn't suffer from any medical affliction that I know of. He collapsed at work, and I was listed as his primary emergency contact since apparently the crown prince's Hand is easier to get hold of than the boy's own parents. Repeated attempts to contact them were not successful; by the time they finally returned my calls, Prompto had already been discharged for three days. If I were his guardian, it would be far easier and quicker to take care of similar matters."

"The parents couldn't be reached when their son was in the hospital?" Cor said in a low, dark voice.

The man was clearly invested. Ignis still had no idea why, but he was now hopeful as he began withdrawing files from his briefcase. "I've been investigating the family and have compiled a timeline." He set the whole file on Cor's desk and moved the timeline to the top. He and Cor were both leaning intently over the paper.

"He was adopted at age one; his records from before that time are sealed." A thought suddenly occurred to him, and he looked up at Cor. Perhaps the man's interest in young Argentum was not as random as it seemed. "There isn't much that is barred to me with my clearance level, but only three people can access Prompto's pre-adoption records, and I am not one of them. You, however, are."

Cor grunted. Ignis waited, but no information was forthcoming. "Are the circumstances of Prompto's birth...relevant to the crown?" Judging by his physical characteristics alone, Prompto was likely a full-blooded Nifler, but an ordinary refugee, even from an enemy country, still wouldn't warrant such an extreme level of security. If he was not an ordinary refugee, why had he simply been adopted by a civilian couple? Why would a baby be considered such a high-level security issue in the first place? Regis himself had signed off on the forms clearing Prompto for companionship proximity to Noctis; why had he permitted a person with alleged sensitive security issues to associate closely with the prince?

"Says his parents started leaving the city when he was a kid," Cor read off the timeline, blatantly ignoring the inquiry.

Ignis exhaled softly and returned his attention to the paper. "Yes. After his adoption, there's nothing noteworthy until he was seven years old, when records show his parents occasionally leaving Insomnia overnight. Though they theoretically could have arranged alternative childcare for Prompto, he has made comments in the past that led me to believe they often did not. The longer absences started about a year later, first for a few days at a time and then getting longer and longer until now, where they only spend a few weeks in Insomnia per year."

Cor stared at the timeline, his eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched.

Ignis went on, explaining that the more independent Prompto had become, the less financial support he had received, driving him to become even more self-sufficient until the vicious cycle had grown too much for him. At one point, he had been struggling to hold down three part-time jobs and supplement his income by offering his photography services for small local events, all while still struggling to keep up in school. At sixteen years old, he was currently paying for food and utilities, the phone he'd independently acquired, and even a bit of rent to his parents. The Argentums' permanent address wasn't even in Insomnia anymore; according to their records, they were technically residents of Altissia who just happened to also own a house in the Crown City.

"Dammit," Cor whispered, staring at the files. He rubbed at his eyes.

"With the Argentums' parental rights terminated and my custody petition denied, Prompto is on the verge of being sent into foster care," Ignis said softly. "He'll be uprooted and suffer needlessly. I've little doubt Noct will try to illegally shelter him, and whether he succeeds or not, Prompto is sure to feel he is a burden and of low worth. I know for a fact that he's seriously considered dropping out of school and looking for unreported employment until he comes of age."

"Are you trying to persuade me?" Cor said wryly.

"You seem surprisingly unresistant to taking on such a responsibility."

Cor sighed and rubbed at his face. "I found a kid once," he said in a low voice. "An orphan. Council blocked my adoption petition, same as they did you."

Ignis stared. Cor's reactions to this affair had hinted as much, but it was still very strange to hear the marshal confirm it.

Cor raised his head, his eyes now icy. "That kid is not the helpless child he used to be, and I'm not the reckless young fool I used to be, either. They're not going to cross me this time." He stated it as fact. Ignis believed him whole-heartedly.

"I'll get you fresh copies of the forms," Ignis said.

The paperwork was signed and filed less than an hour later. The next council meeting was scheduled bright and early the next morning. Cor and Ignis attended alongside Noctis, Regis, and Clarus.

With the king, his Shield, the Immortal, the prince, and his Hand all using their considerable death glares to ultimate effect, the council didn't take long to cave.

The last of the signatures were performed. Ignis neatly filed away the paperwork. The meeting moved on, and after it was over, Ignis called Prompto with the intention of telling him that he now officially had a father.

o.o.o

Prompto hadn't been able to sleep last night and he'd been a clumsy mess at his early morning shift, but although work had been miserable, he almost wished he were still there so he'd have something to take his mind off his impending homelessness. His stomach churned so much he couldn't eat the sandwich he'd made.

His mind kept darting in trapped circles - this wasn't legally his home anymore, the only reason his parents hadn't kicked him out already was because they weren't physically here and he'd lied in a text, saying he'd already moved out. He was slated to be assigned to a foster family soon, but GOOD LUCK finding one who'd want a Niff failure like him, not to mention the fears stirred up by every horror story he'd heard in the news about abusive foster homes. Noct had offered to hide him in the spare room of his apartment, but the place was always crawling with guards and there was no way they'd be able to keep that up for over a year (a year of being even more of a freeloader than he already was, oh Six...). Iggy had been super-mega-nice and actually offered to take Prompto as a ward, except he'd been shut down, or maybe he hadn't even bothered to file the petition and had just been trying to find a way to back out without hurting Prompto's feelings. Maybe Prompto could run away, he still technically had one job that would be willing to pay him under the table, but he'd have to sleep on the literal streets and avoid the Crownsguard and probably not see Noct very often...for a year...

He was feeling nauseous again. He took out his phone and started level grinding in King's Knight, because that was the strongest distraction he had. He really couldn't afford the data to play phone games other than with Noct, but whatever; he was screwed anyway no matter what.

He'd been playing for about twenty minutes when he got a text from Noct: PROM! we found you a dad! :) :) :)

Prompto stared at his phone screen.

Prompto: what?

Noctis: paperwork's done, we're coming to pick you up RIGHT NOW get ready~

This was...weird. Even if Noct really had miraculously found someone willing and able to foster Prompto, why would he be so excited about Prompto being at the mercy of a random stranger?

The phone suddenly rang with a call from Ignis. "H-Hello?" Prom answered nervously.

"Hello, Prompto. I have some good news: we've been able to-"

"WAIT WAIT Ignis wait, don't tell him who it is!" Noct's voice interrupted. The phone was on speaker, then, or maybe they were driving and Ignis's phone had been connected to the car. "It'll be a surprise!"

"No!" Prompto yelped. "No surprise! This is my life we're talking about here, Noct!"

"It's a good surprise, I promise," Noctis soothed. "Like, a really good surprise. We found the best person to be your new dad, it's hilarious."

"Hilarious?!"

On the other end, a deeper in the background started to say something, but Noct immediately shouted, "NO, no talking! See you soon, Prom!"

"No, wait, don't hang up, Noctis Lucis Caelum don't you dare-" He pulled the phone away from his ear to look at the screen. "He hung up." His eyes widened. "Six." He leaped to his feet and bolted up the stairs.

Most of his stuff was already packed up, but he'd done research as soon as he found out he'd be going into the foster care system and discovered that life was often turbulent and unstable for foster kids. The boxed up stuff in his room were things he wouldn't mourn if he never saw them again. He had a single bag packed with essentials and the few valuable things, like his camera, that he'd want regular access to. He'd already taken his important documents and his favorite comics and such over to Noct's place for safekeeping.

He got the last of his things squared away and brought his main bag downstairs. Then he went around cleaning up and checking, making sure he hadn't forgotten anything and that there wasn't anything left out or running that might cause his parents trouble if they took a while to come home (or, more likely, arrange for the house to be sold without even bothering to return). Then he sat nervously on the couch and fidgeted until he heard a car pull into the driveway.

TBC