Zedd crinkled his nose, brain still longing to go back to sleep. The man blinked tiredly, noting the room was still dark. He moved his arm back from Nathaniel’s body only to rub the sleep away. “Mmph… wha…?” he asked, sitting up a bit. “Uh, you…? Oh yeah,” Zedd muttered, remembering what he had said. The adult turned to the side to read the time. “Holy sh-“ Zedd had to stop himself from swearing. Nope. Can’t encourage profanity anymore. “Nathaniel…? It’s uh… 2 in the morning, bud.”
"Oh! S-Sorry, sir…" Nathaniel replied weakly. "I didn't know… I can't see the clock from here…" He huddled closer to Zedd, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry for waking you…" His mouth was very dry from dehydration brought on by crying so much and not having drank anything in hours, but he didn't bring it up. He knew he probably wasn't going to be able to fall back asleep very well for a bit, so he just shifted uncomfortably in the bed.
Zedd blinked tiredly again. “I did tell you you could have some when you woke up… And you’re awake now,” he stated. The man sat up fully, stretching out as far as he could without accidentally hitting Nathaniel in any way. “Okay, let’s go, but then bed,” he said, scooting out of the blankets.
"R-Really?" Nathaniel carefully slipped out of bed, yawning a bit. "Thanks, dad!" He smiled brightly and headed over to Zedd to hold tight to his hand, clearly scared of getting separated from him in the dark. He wasn't familiar enough with this place yet to be willing to brave navigating in the dark. He felt considerably safer with Zedd by his side.
(Its choccy milk o clock here ahaha)
Zedd gave a small grunt, still very tired. He felt Nathaniel’s hand slip into his own and the man took it without question. Heading out into the living room, he turned on a small table-side lamp. It bathed the room in a pale yellow glow. Illuminating the room and the kitchen enough so they could both see. Zedd gave Nathaniel’s hand a small squeeze before letting go and padding into the kitchen. He took the milk and the syrup, doing his best to go a bit easier on the chocolate. He didn’t want Nathaniel to be hyper at 2 AM.
Nathaniel sleepily climbed up onto his usual stool when Zedd released his hand, resting his head on the counter to wait for his milk. He didn't like how the brightness of the lamp hurt his eyes, so he decided to keep them closed for now. When Zedd gave him his chocolate milk, he picked it up and started drinking it, his eyes still almost completely closed. He slipped off his stool once he'd finished and held his glass and then his hands up to Zedd, wanting to be carried.
Zedd took the empty cup, setting it inside the sink. He felt too tired to clean it now, figuring he’d do it in the morning. Well, at a decent hour in the morning. He stared down at Nathaniel, grasping at the air to signal he wanted to be picked up. Honestly, Zeddicus didn’t care much about anything, complying with what the small boy wanted. He took the boy carefully, wrapping his arms around him before walking back towards his bedroom. The man even forgot about turning off the lamp. It was fine. It wasn’t like he couldn’t afford a slightly higher bill later on.
Zedd yawned as he pushed the door open with his foot and then as he climbed back into bed. He made sure to cover himself up as well as Nathaniel before closing his eyes.
He never let the boy in his arms go. He wouldn’t be alone again.
Nathaniel was still out cold by the time Zedd woke up in the morning, huddled up close to the man's chest. His wings fluttered a bit in his sleep and he yawned, purring almost inaudibly with a weak smile plastered onto his face. He seemed to have slept well enough and was pretty comfortable in Zedd's arms. Looking at him, you could almost forget about the fiasco yesterday unless you noticed the bandages still on his arms.
Zeddicus frowned softly. Nathaniel was so torn up inside. He was so under prepared to comfort someone. Perhaps… it worked out because he wanted to hear a few of those things himself. That he’d be fine while caring for Nathaniel. At this point he had nearly forgotten about his initial plan of helping the angel get some decent money before letting him go. After everything that had happened, he didn’t know if he could.
Nathaniel had called him dad already. Stars, he’d be awful if he abandoned the poor boy or arranged him to go to some sort of foster care system. Nathaniel already didn’t think he was wanted. And… the boy hadn’t been too bad of a hassle. Zedd mostly felt concerned considering the other’s behavior. Nathaniel really needed someone to trust.
The man continued to lay where he was, keeping the angel close. He could wait to get up.
After about another hour, Nathaniel stirred and yawned, taking a couple minutes to build up the will to open his eyes and accept wakefulness. "Mmmmm… mornin', dad…" He mumbled sleepily with a gentle smile on his face, hugging Zedd tightly. Even though he hadn't been with Zedd for very long, he had clearly bonded with him and had formed a deep emotional attachment to him. He already saw him as a father figure, after all. "It's not too early in the morning, is it?" His stomach growled quietly and he flushed a bit. "Can we get breakfast?"
The sun shone through the window around the curtains. It was obviously later in the morning. Last time he had looked, it had been around 10. Zedd was fairly awake after waiting for so long. “It’s not. Anything you remember having that you like?” Zedd asked, hoping he actually had the ingredients for whatever Nathaniel might want. A lot of the time he either slept through breakfast, didn’t eat anything, or had something small. There was also the part where he had to cook said food. Damn, was he gonna have to start ordering cookbooks and all that?
"Mmm… I dunno. I'm really not all that picky…" Nathaniel stuck his tongue out a bit and flopped his head back onto the bed. "I didn't get to eat breakfast back at home, usually, but I was always hungry… they said that fighting through the hunger made you stronger." He hummed softly to himself. "But you said I should eat when I'm hungry, so…"
At that moment, Zedd wanted to punch the wall. Damn, Heaven sounded more like hell than anything. He tried to remain relaxed in front of Nathaniel despite how angry he felt. “Something sweet or something savory?” He asked, sitting up now. Sweet, he’d see if he could maybe make french toast? That wasn’t too hard. And savory, maybe just some simple bacon and eggs? That sounded fair enough. At least he could keep from burning anything and making it too complicated.
"Hmm…" Nathaniel considered for a few seconds, pulling his wings in front of himself so he could preen them. "Sweet!" He finally decided, smiling a bit as he kept toying with his feathers. "I usually like sweet things better, I think, and I wasn't allowed to have much back at home."
Somehow, Zedd wasn’t surprised at all. Of course he’d want something sweet after liking chocolate milk so much. “Well, we can change that. I’m gonna head into the kitchen,” he announced, knowing what Nathaniel was like if he didn’t. Even if he simply left the room for a moment, the poor boy might start panicking. Remembering what happened the last time Nathaniel was left alone, the man held out a hand for the boy to take. Yeah, he was not gonna sit in here alone with his thoughts again.
Nathaniel accepted Zedd's hand without much thought and happily followed him into the kitchen, humming softly to himself in content. "Are your friends coming by to buy potions from you again, dad?" He asked curiously, cocking his head to the side a bit as he did so. "They seem very nice."
“Nathaniel, not everyone that comes into the shop is my friend,” Zedd replied, already letting go of Nathaniel’s hand a moment to find what he needed to cook. “But no. Not until I’m sure you’ll be okay on your own. That and I’m normally closed today anyways,” he added, hoping the last part made the angel feel a bit better.
After getting the cinnamon, eggs, bread, and syrup out, he looked back down at Nathaniel.
“Do you… wanna help me cook…?” he offered, raising a brow and letting a small smile on his face. It would be good to let Nathaniel feel useful.
"Oh… I could always run the shop with you, couldn't I?" Nathaniel asked, humming softly to himself. "Or at least stand with you while you do it…" He looked up at Zedd's offer and brightened, grinning and nodding eagerly as he came up to his side. "Yeah! What can I do to help?" Grew asked.
(Your reply in the oneshot btw)
“Wouldn’t you get bored with just watching?” Zedd asked, already moving to pull up a stool for Nathaniel. The man easily lifted the boy up onto the seat so he could see what to do. Zedd took about four eggs and cracked one of them himself. He tapped it on the side of the bowl he had before breaking it apart. “You can crack the rest of these if you want. Just be careful hitting it and that you try not to get any shell in the bowl,” the man instructed. Somehow he felt this was a bit of a bad idea to let Nathaniel try breaking the eggs due to how he had to be very precise. He was worried about the angel stressing over it more than anything.
(Ee)
"Well, your job seems pretty exciting! I'd get to meet so many new people!" Nathaniel grinned and carefully accepted an egg from Zedd. After a minute or two of clearly being too nervous to break it on the edge of the bowl, he ended up just pulling out his dagger and tentatively cracking the egg with it. Then, he ever so gently pulled apart the egg shell to pour the egg in the bowl.
Zedd watched, nearly moving to take the blade away from Nathaniel. He noted how careful the boy was though. “Nathaniel… I also think… we should put a hold on the forge for a bit. I don’t want you harming yourself again. Specifically with your knives,” he said, staring at the dagger in the angel’s hand. “And for the eggs, I can do those so you can do the fun part if you want.”
"R-Right… we just got it, though. How am I supposed to make money if I can't make the knives?" He asked, putting his knife away once he was done with the one egg. He toddled over to the sink to try and wash the egg off of his hands, but he was too short to reach the faucets. He could touch them if he jumped, but he couldn't get far enough to pull on them.
“It’s not forever. I’m concerned you’ll harm yourself on purpose again is what I’m saying,” he replied, already raising Nathaniel up to the sink and turning it on. Seeing as he held the boy so close, he saw the outline of the knife. Carefully, he moved his hand to take it from the pocket it was inside of. “Which is why I want to hold onto this until you can think positively about yourself,” he hummed, blade now in hand.
"W-Wait! Dad, b-but I… I need that! What if we get attacked and I have no way to defend myself?" Nathaniel asked nervously, fidgeting a bit with his now-clean hands. "How am I supposed to start thinking positive about myself when I can't control my thoughts? I think my brain is just an asshole or something… whatever word that was…"
“If anyone dares to try and hurt you, they’ll have to go through me first,” Zedd said, sounding very protective. “You’ve not seen what I can do yet. I’m not about to sit there and let you fight on your own,” he continued. “Also, where in the hell did you hear that word? I never taught you that one?”
