daemonized | RECOLLE IC CONTACT.

[He'd ask what was wrong with Prompto's stomach, but he doesn't know him all that well. There's a line that can't be crossed quite yet when it comes to medical privacies. So instead, he offers his knowledge on home remedies, as limited as they might be.]

Mint often settles an upset stomach, and many people drink peppermint tea for indigestion, or stomach pain in general. There's also ginger root tea, and club soda and lime.

No substitute for an actual medical prescription, but it might do well in a pinch, depending on the severity.

aw man i don't have any of those things at my place
i can just get those in the store??

[his mum never taught him the wonders of club soda and lime in a pinch]

i've never seen club soda brand????

Of course. You can get all of that, and probably more than I can even hope to think of.

[Prompto, how can you not know about club soda]

It's just carbonated water with a bit of flavor added. It's nothing exceptionally complicated, and there's probably several brands to choose from.

are these things like super expensive?

[these miracle curatives]

Tea and club soda? Not at all.

Unless you're on a particularly extreme budget?

[are you??]

okay i got a bonus for vday 100 buckaroos should cover me

It won't cost anything even remotely close to 100 dollars, Prompto. You should be fine.

You're going to be heading to the clinic soon, I presume?

oh
yeah i'll head there after i get the teas and the soda

[There's a brief pause before the next text comes through. There's that eking of kindness again, the sort that Ardyn can't quite detach from himself even if he really tried. (Well. Perhaps not for awhile yet, at least.) He kind of feels sorry for him.]

I can pick these items up for you after my class is finished. Would you like for me to drop them off where you are?

[There was no harm on checking up on an ailing not!student, after all.]

[this catches prompto by surprised]

i couldn't possibly want to take up your time??? fhfh

I don't have anything better to do after my class. It's hardly an inconvenience to me.

Send me your location, and I'll be there as soon as I'm able.

[prompto will lament sharing his location with ardyn when certain regains happen. for now, he's none the wiser, even if he hesitates before forwarding his MAPS location with the professor in question.]

the lobby door never locks so.. uh 8th floor the last apartment in the hall 8-F
door's unlocked

[THESE SAFETY MEASURES...]

[it might be a little awkward. suddenly his stomach hurts more because he's dreading this ? ? ???]

[when ardyn arrives, whenever that may be, he'll find himself in a surprisingly well-kept apartment building (if not for the abysmal security), and the hallway of the 8th floor smells nice, is clean, and some of the doors have potted flowers or other cutesy decorations outside the doors. prompto's has an ironic and slightly unoriginal plaque on the middle of the door. it'll open easily, giving way to a small apartment. it's well-kept, by all imaginable standards. the balcony door in the kitchen is open, allowing a cold draft of air inside; the reason it's open is to allow clothes to hang to dry across the kitchen and onto the building blocking the view. clearly, the kitchen doesn't see much use, neat and empty as it is. instead, photography supplies and books from his lectures litter the counters.]

[just on the other side is prompto's bedroom, separated by no door at all. the wall is covered by a collage of photographs and a bookshelf shares its space with both books, comics, and an old television screen, and a closet at the very end. it is clear prompto spends most of his time here; if not on his bed on his computer, then at the desk in the corner. the floor in the bedroom area is a mess of books and clothes and shoes previously discarded there. the bathroom/storage room is, most likely, the door by the entrance.]

[where is prompto, though?]

[probably bathroom]

[Ardyn tells himself to refrain on making a remark about the very... lax security they have in this apartment building, but if Prompto had been visible when he entered, he wouldn't have been able to help himself.

As it stands, he's nowhere to currently be seen, and Ardyn takes a moment to gaze around at his surroundings. It's neater than he had expected from a college student, and he takes in the feeling of a cool draft blowing in nearby. The sight of photos collaged together in the distance (is that his bedroom with no door?) isn't terribly surprising, either.

While it's very tempting to just meander around such a place with so much personality, Ardyn's not dismissive of personal space to do such a thing, even if he was invited. And so, after closing the door behind him, he kind of hovers near the entryway and calls out:]

Mr. Argentum? I come bearing tea and club soda.

[Which is indicated by the plastic bag he's carrying, with the items within. It rustles lightly with each movement.]

[there's an audible shit coming from the closed door in the entryway, and a lot of hurried shuffling around. it's really not what it seems or sounds like!]

[a click and a door opening later, prompto walks out of the bathroom with a blank expression--face and hair damp (no usual chocobo-do...). he covers his face with the back of his hand, and greets the professor with lesser cheer than is usual]

Uh, hi, thank you.

[he makes his way towards the kitchen--a real journey, this one--and sheepishly starts cleaning up some space.]

Sorry... uh, [this is the first time an adult is in his dumb flat and he feels the judgement] sometimes I feel like, throwing up... when it hurts a lot.

[which is why he continues to cover his general mouth area]

[Ardyn lacks any sadism that he might have carried with him in spades in another lifetime; because of that, Prompto's obvious state of feeling like crap isn't met with churlish amusement, but rather a flicker of concern manifesting in his expression. He knits his brows together. This was quite a difference from the usual energetic Prompto that he's used to seeing.

His eyes follow him into the kitchen, and Ardyn takes a few steps further into the apartment.]

Is it that bad? [The tea, then, might provide little more than comfort in warmth, smell, and flavor, and he wonders how effective it might be in actually easing the pain. But every little bit helps, and so Ardyn follows up his question with an offer:]

Shall I make you a cup of-- well, whichever it is you'd prefer? I brought all three. You should lie down if you can.

[boy you're a wreck right now]

[prompto just shrugs at the question. he's good when he's got his medicine, something he foolishly forgot to stock up on. he should probably just ask lunafreya for a prescription under her name and be done with it.]

[stepping around the professor, prompto makes a feeble attempt to remove some of his... laundry... from being in the way... why didn't he think this was gonna be embarrassing as it was?]

Mixing all of them's no good, right? --just the ginger one, I guess.

[and, with one arm layered with damp clothes, he tries to find a kettle in one of the lower cupboards. it's like he never stops ahhh]

[Will his politeness never end? It's almost admirable, if not for the fact that his not!student looks rather pathetic with laundry slung over his arm, weakly going through cupboards for a kettle. It's like watching a kicked puppy, and it really presses all of the right sympathy buttons for the law professor.

Ardyn takes it upon himself to move further into the kitchen, close enough to put a hand on Prompto's shoulder.]

Prompto. Sit down. It's just tea, you realize. I could make it with my eyes closed, and you look like you can barely function as it is.

And don't worry about moving your laundry about for my sake. A little mess doesn't offend my delicate sensibilities.

Uh...

[having a dumb moment, because ardyn did just use his teacher voice--and prompto feels both foolish and embarrassed. don't recognise his clothes as an issue!!]

[this only means that he leaves the ones he had picked off to the side, stops searching for a kettle, and makes his way to get his desk chair to sit himself by the kitchen counter]

Thank you, sir.

[immediately he's shifting and keeping his hands over the side of his front.]

...did Noct show up at all?

[Now that Prompto is doing as he's told and taking it easy, Ardyn sets the plastic bag on the nearby kitchen counter and crouches down to continue searching in the cupboards for a kettle. There's the occasional sound of things clanging, but overall Ardyn is being careful not to move anything past where he found it, or make too much noise.]

He did. And he only almost fell asleep this time.

[Aha. The kettle. He takes it out and closes the cupboard door, straightening to his feet. He moves to the sink to fill it up with water.]

Imagine that.

[prompto's relaxing to the point where he's lounging a bit on the chair, bouncing his feet slightly against the floor]

Noct's pretty smart. He just... doesn't wanna do things.

[insert tragic au backstory]

[nah, let's not excuse the shitlord]

...glad he showed though. [nods to himself; he can't control what his friend does, but he wants noctis to excel, always.] Was that your only class of the day?

[sure is talkative still though]

[Kettle filled up with water, Ardyn turns off the faucet and moves over to the stove. He flips it on and places the kettle over one of the burners. Now it's just a matter of waiting.]

Yes. He's actually quite intelligent. He's just lazy.

[Which is basically what Prompto just said, just harsher. It perhaps might not be fair, given that Ardyn does not know of this tragic au backstory or whatever, but-- well. He's always been a little tougher on Noct, a little more critical. He wants to see the boy succeed, and if there's a nagging something there that makes Ardyn want to pick on him more than the rest of his class, he usually does keep it withheld. Usually.

When it does rear its ugly head, it's only out of frustration because he knows Noctis can do well if he only bloody applied himself.]

That's right, just the one lecture. [He moves to the plastic bag now, unearthing a box of the ginger tea.] I'm as free as a bird, at least until I return to my gilded cage of grading when I'm back home. Where do you keep your mugs, Prompto?

Cupboard over the sink.

[he has three cups! all from a matching set. college life, mothertrucker.]

[on the one hand, prompto is a bit sad he missed today's lecture. he learns quite a bit, even if he's basically sneaking in for free. the metaphor--or however ardyn tried to dramatise his life (lol)--makes prompto smile.]

Ah, so this is like a welcome rest for you! I was already thinking maybe I kinda forced you to come. Would've been awkward. --did you come by foot?

[He opens the cupboard above him, and... three cups. He's half expecting a tumbleweed to burst out at the same time.

Still, he grabs one, then readies one of the tea bags inside the mug. The kettle is still simmering for now. He laughs lightly.]

You didn't coerce me. [Definition time!] You didn't threaten me, or intimidate me, to act in an involuntary manner. No, I offered to bring you your tea, and so here I am. And I drove. It was easier that way, since I had to stop by the the store first.

[prompto slumps further on his chair... not only did the professor drive here, but also stopped by the store. this was clearly implied in their earlier exchange, but prompto had somehow not connected the dots on the amount of effort and going around that this would imply.]

[he feels like he owes ardyn big time]

Uh...

[he's quite obviously not used to adults pulling nice stunts on him]

I mean, thank you. I'm sure this'll help me out for a while.

[he peers over the counter, his eyes scanning over the surface, like he wants to not be overtly obvious of his self-inflicted embarrassment.]

[And Ardyn, only the other hand, feels as if the gesture was nothing, really. It's so evident in everything about the man -- his casual air, the way that he moves with ease around an apartment that isn't even his. It's almost as if the gesture of kindness isn't even worth mulling over.]

You're welcome. [And his response is plain.

The kettle begins to whistle, lightly at first. Then it crescendos, prompting Ardyn to remove it from its burner. He flips off the stove.]

Tell me if I'm prying, Prompto, but might I ask what's the issue with your stomach?

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