Dear Prompto

18. Changing

Five years later

I returned home from my latest mission, still angry it had caused me to be away for a week.

"Prompto? I'm home." I called.

"Welcome home, Mama!" Prompto called. I peered in to his room and saw him taking a picture of himself in the mirror.

"What's up, kiddo?" I asked. He looked down at his camera, fiddling with it shyly. I stepped in and knelt in front of my son.

"Is everything okay, Prompto?" I asked. He nodded. I frowned and tilted his chin up so he was looking at me.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I... I want to lose weight." He said. I stared at him.

"Are you being bullied at school?" I asked. He shook his head quickly.

"No! I just... I just want to lose weight... I've started running every day and I take a picture every morning. I'm eating more veggies, too." He said. I hummed.

"Well, that's a way to lose weight, but what about gaining some muscle?" I asked.

"Muscle?" He asked. I nodded.

"Losing weight is fine, honey, but I don't want you to be underweight. I don't want you getting sick for not having enough weight." I said. He stared down and said nothing.

"Sooooo..." I said. He looked back at me.

"How about I train you? You'll lose weight like you want, and I won't have to worry about your safety." I said. He stared at me for a second.

"Sound okay to you?" I asked. He thought for a moment, then nodded.

"Yeah! Let's do it!" He said and grinned brightly at me. I smiled.

"There's that smile I love to see. We'll start with a run today, okay? Just so I can see where your stamina is." I said. He nodded.

We took off for a run. Well, he ran, I jogged at his side. He seemed intent to keep going at every turn we took. I saw a burning fire of determination in his eyes.

I thought back to when I first met Cor when I saw that look in his eyes. Cor had that same look of determination when training me.

Finally, after about two and a half miles, Prompto had enough.

"Well, you're stamina is fairly high. But you also forgot a water bottle to stay hydrated, and that's a big factor with workouts." I said and handed him my water bottle. He took three big gulps and caught his breath.

That began a long training period. I designed a training schedule for him for when I would be out on missions. He stuck to it.

"Hey, Mom?" Prompto asked me one night as I worked on dinner and he worked on his homework.

"Yes, Chocoboy?" I asked.

"What... what was Dad like?" He asked. The ladle fell from my hand and my body froze.

"Why do you suddenly want to know about your dad?" I asked.

"Well... I keep hearing other boys at school talk about their dads. I just.. I was just curious..." he said, getting quieter.

"Your father was a wonderful man." I said. I sighed softly.

"He was nothing like any other man I'd ever met in my life. He was... challenging. It was hard to impress him or make him smile, but I guess he saved that for me." I said, remembering the gentle smiles Cor would give me.

"You have his eyes." I said.

"I do?" He asked. I nodded.

"Such beautiful eyes." I sighed.