"It… If he shatters, I would be about to save him, but… He'd be fucked up to. And there's no way I could take him away from Cas's memories without shattering him." Halm funded with Zachary, leaving his power over the other god to keep him from waking up.
"Are you ready?"
Nix nodded tentatively. "Yeah, I think I'm ready… hopefully he doesn't freak out too much, but you never know…" He sighed.
Halm nodded. He pulled his power off of both Cas and Zachary. Zachary immediately opened his eyes, holding Cas tightly to himself.
"I've got you, I've got you. You're okay, Cas, he can't hurt you anymore." Halm sat with Nix, right next to Cas and offering him comfort as well as he slept, waiting for him to wake up.
Cas stirred, sobbing quietly and shaking as he woke up. He clung to Zachary for dear life, his face very pale. "Shh… it was only a dream, Cas. You're alright." Nix said softly, not getting too close just in case.
Zachary held Cas close, but… But something was off. Nix, he, he hadn't been in that position before, had he? And Halm, he hadn't been there… Zachary's eyes widened, then cracks started to form in them.
"Zachary!" Halm said. Shit, he was shattering!
Nix froze, his heart speeding up. "What are you supposed to do about that?!" He asked, his voice panicky. "Z-Zachary?" Cas asked shakily as he looked up at Zachary, fresh tears rolling down his cheeks.
Zachary's arms tightened around Cas, but he didn't say anything. He couldn't. Halm rushed forward, his hands going to either side of Zachary's head. He had to work quickly, or Zachary would die.
"Nix, you take care of Cas right now!"
Cas started crying harder as Nix carefully pulled him away from Zachary. "Shh, shh, he's gonna be okay… you're okay…" He sat down on the floor and held Cas in his lap. Cas was incoherent at this point as he sobbed uncontrollably.
Halm worked quickly, don't his best to patch Zachary together. Zachary had gone worryingly limp in his hands. Halm was silent as he worked, keeping that close. Eventually, he laid Zachary down with a very heavy sigh. He turned to Cas and Nix, moving down to wrap his arms around them.
"He's going to be okay. He's safe now, Cas…"
"W… W-What's wrong with… h… him…?" Cas asked shakily, choking on his sobs. "Shhh… shhhh…" Nix held Cas close, tucking his head on top of the other's. "He's gonna be just fine… everything's alright."
"He… I don't know what was wrong," Halm lied softly. Zachary would know better than to tell Cas the truth, he had made sure of it. He would know. Halm held Cas and Nix close to himself.
"But I know he's going to be fine. He's safe, Cas, he's not hurt anymore. He just… He needs to recover."
Cas nodded weakly and huddled close to Nix, still shaking violently. "I had a h-horrible nightmare…" He whispered. Nix rubbed his back to comfort him and sighed. "You're alright, Cas… do you wanna talk about it?" Cas shook his head fervently.
Halm held both boys close to himself. He had know idea what Cas's dream had been, letting his mind fill in something that would have caused him to be so affected. He rubbed Cas lightly.
"It's okay now, you're safe here."
"We'll protect you…" Nix gently ran his fingers through Cas's hair, purring softly to comfort him. "When will Zachary wake up?" He whispered to Halm.
"He needs to rest," Halm said gently. "He could wake up in a few hours, though. He… he's really hurt, Cas." He was being as gentle as he could be. He glanced at Zachary's sleeping form. At least he was resting well. It was a good sign.
Cas nodded weakly and buried his face in Nix's chest. "What hurt him…?" He asked nervously. Nix kept petting Cas's hair, wanting to calm him down.
"I don't know," Halm said gently. "He… it's very strange. But… I'll figure out what's going on." Aka, he'll come up with a believable lie. He pulled Nix and Cas a little closer.
"Okay…" Cas sighed softly, too spooked to be able to see through Halm's lies very well. He was also pretty gullible in general. "What are we supposed to do while we wait for him to wake up?"
"We can't disturb him," Halm said softly. "Are you doing okay? You were really shaken…" he looked down at Cas with concern, just wanting him to be safe.
"I-I dunno… I… I need a minute…" Cas sighed shakily, keeping his face hidden. "I just… I'm really stressed out right now…"
"Okay then, alright." Halm held Cas close, keeping his voice soft. He gently put his hand on Cas's head, keeping him so close. He just wanted to hello Cas feel better now.
Nix sighed and huddled up to Halm with Cas in his arms. "Is there anything we can do to help? He asked. Cas shook his head.
Halm had both arms around Nix and Cas, looking down at the smaller mortals in his arms. He just wanted to make everything better. He had just started to actually feel bad about how they had treated Zachary too, and not just because of his Cas felt about him.
Cas eventually passed out again in Nix's arms. Nix sighed softly and hugged him close to his chest. "This is a mess…"
Halm nodded slowly.
"I know," he said softly. "This was all a mistake." He kept Nix and Cas close, rubbing Cas's back.
"Everything we've done… It all seems to hurt Cas."