(:0 babe)
"Yeah… I guess drawing would be fine, then…" Nathaniel shrugged a bit and huddled up in Zedd's arms, still trembling a bit from nervousness. He definitely wasn't lying about being scared of doctors. "The man seemed really surprised when he saw how much I weighed…" He murmured softly. "Is my weight bad? I-I mean, I know I'm smaller than the average angel, but I was still within a pretty normal range… although I did lose a pound or two from not eating much on the streets."
(AAAAA NB JUST GOT UNBLOCKED :D)
It was funny how he had never said anything about that previously. Nathaniel was abnormally light, even by avian standards. "Usually someone about your age would weigh about double what you do," Zedd explained. "It's concerning since… well, there's never been an angel to base anything off of," he shrugged. The man ran his fingers through the boy's hair quickly as they continued walking home. Well, as Zedd continued walking.
(Yeet)
"O-Oh… um… I guess that makes sense…" Nathaniel nibbled nervously on one of his knuckles, wrapping his wings around his frail form. "I just figured that avians would have hollow bones like angels do. It makes it so our wings don't have to be quite so big to allow us to fly." He explained. "Angels are like big birds, I guess. But obviously our bones being hollow makes them more fragile, so… I've broken a fair few bones…"
Zedd supposed it made sense. "Most of the ones in our wings are, but a lot of the others are just not as dense," he clarified. "The amount of casts I had as a kid…" he trailed off with a light chuckle. Most of the bones he had broken were usually from being reckless and when learning to control all four of his wings. Having four was rare in itself, so it wasn't surprising that learning to stay airborne and steady took several months.
"Yeah… I just broke a lot of bones in training. We trained with hand to hand combat as well as with weapons, so if you left an opening and got punched in the ribs, you'd probably break one." Nathaniel shrugged a bit as though this were a normal, not at all concerning experience. "And I think my dad might've cracked or broken a few, I dunno. I broke a lot of bones when I fell and hurt my wings."
That was the moment that Zedd felt very protective over the small child in his arms. That wasn't right. None of what he went through was right. Rather than say anything, he looked forward and focused on where he was going. He didn't want to think right now about what did or didn't happen in the past. Nathaniel deserved to be happy right now. He was still just a child. It was upsetting to know that the supposed afterlife wasn't fair either.
Nathaniel huddled close to Zedd's chest, seeming content to share the man's warmth. He closed his eyes and yawned, tired now that the adrenaline from his stress had worn off. "We're close to home, right…?" He asked softly. "What time is it?" He glanced around to see how light the sky was, not sure whether it was a reasonable time to sleep or not.
Zedd made a noise of agreement before estimating the time was late afternoon. "My guess is between 2:30 and 3?" he figured, seeing as he didn't ever wear a watch. And if he did, he had Nathaniel to hold so it would have been hard to look at anyways. They hadn't been gone all that long surprisingly.
Soon the small shop came into view and he noticed how desolate it seemed inside compared to neighboring businesses. How on earth did parents do this when they decided to have kids? Keep everything running smooth but also keeping track of their children? Zedd had never been fond of multitasking to far extents.
"Mmmm…" Nathaniel whined softly and buried his face in Zedd's shoulder. "But m'tired…" He mumbled. "And I shouldn't sleep in the middle of the day or I won't be able to sleep tonight…" He shifted a bit in Zedd's arms, letting his wings dangle so he would be more comfortable. "Why's time gotta go so slow, dad?"
The man shifted the boy in his grasp so he could quickly fish out the keys from his pocket to unlock the front door. "Naps are fine as long as they're short. And… I suppose it feels long because we went somewhere you weren't looking forward to," he replied before the click of the lock resounded. Pushing open the door, Zedd walked inside, a bit disappointed in the state of the room. It was getting a bit dusty. He sighed a moment before moving towards the stairs to the apartment above. He'd do the cleaning while Nathaniel took a nap.
"Mmmm…" Nathaniel yawned a bit, purring weakly as Zedd carried him along. "I guess so… what're you gonna do while I'm sleeping, though…?" He asked softly, looking up at Zedd for a moment with a drowsy gaze. The outing had definitely tired him out, especially considering how scared he'd been during it.
"Probably something boring," he replied jokingly, despite the statement not being entirely wrong. The two made their way inside the small home only for Zedd to take the angel straight to bed. He pulled back the dark colored sheets only to cover Nathaniel and tuck him in.
Nathaniel laughed softly, curling up tightly in the bed when Zedd set him down. He stretched his wings out behind himself, allowing them to curl a bit alongside himself. He essentially ended up in a circle on the bed, seeming pretty comfortable. "Mmm… g'night…"
Zedd smiled sadly down at the small boy for a moment before slipping out of the bedroom. He quickly made his way down the steps and into the shop. He would have to make a couple of calls soon and start cleaning up if he wanted anything done before Nathaniel woke up. He'd then want to help and then he would over stress about doing something wrong or something like that. The poor boy had been worked up enough for today.
Zedd stepped towards a closet nearby, pulling out a broom. Ah, yes. Cleaning. Something he totally loved doing.
Nathaniel managed to stay asleep for a while in Zedd's absence, occasionally tossing and turning and ending up very entangled in the sheets. He managed to get so tangled up that he could hardly move, which didn't really help him stay settled, so he just began whining softly in distress as he slept.
(Goddammit I didn't realize how much I missed this)
Zedd sighed, happy that his shop looked as neat and orderly as he liked it. Now was the time he would have to start the hard part. Walking over to the land line behind the counter, Zedd called the number that would reach one of his few friends. Though he never called him a friend. After a few rings, the call went through.
“Hello?”
“Hey.”
“Oh, you actually called me for once. Strange. You need something?”
The man began to idly twist the chord with his free hand.
“It’s about Nathaniel, Cal. I need to open shop again soon, but he needs near constant attention? I don’t really know what I’m supposed to do,” he explained.
Coming from anyone else, Cal probably would have seen it as complaining. Though… the avian man hardly ever asked for help.
“Let him help you or something. Was that not the original plan with him selling knives? Which I still think you shouldn’t do,” came his response. Zedd rolled his eyes with a huff. He couldn’t know that angels supposedly did things massively different compared to earth.
“Come on. I’m serious.”
“As am I. You think I know anything about kids? Zedd, I’m a gay man who wasn’t even born here.”
“Fair point.”
Nathaniel stirred after a while, unable to keep sleeping the way he was tangled up. He grew uneasy upon not seeing Zedd anywhere nearby, whimpering while he struggled to free himself from the mess of blankets. After several minutes of struggling, he managed to get free by essentially rolling off the bed with the blankets still wrapped around him, and he managed to loosen them from there. "Dad?" Nathaniel called out tentatively, opening the door and starting to walk down the stairs. "Daaaad?"
(wait are we gonna do the thing we talked about now?)
(I forgot what thing but s u r e)
(I PMed you the thing)
(A h y e s)
The conversation continued as to what could be done about the situation.
"I have to somehow get the documentation that he's under my care which is a whole other thing considering how strange the circumstances are. Then he's probably gotta go to school eventually, cause I sure as hell can't teach," he huffed, leaning forward to lean on the counter now. He hadn't heard Nathaniel due to the fact that he was focused on the conversation.
"I've never wanted a kid, and now I gotta figure out how I can prove I didn't… I dunno kidnap him?" There was silence on the other end for a moment before the other spoke.
"The papers. You like Nathaniel, yeah? Why don't you just… y'know adopt him? I don't think I've ever seen you close for so long, much less for someone else."
"I can't do that, it's been like… three days damn it. Stars, you have got to stop getting into all that mushy stuff," Zedd commented with a heavy sigh.
"Look I called you so you might be able to babysit or something? Doesn't Cameron like kids?"
The argument continued until the two reached an agreement that they should just wait until Nathaniel was awake to ask about it.
Unfortunately, that wouldn't come for awhile.
When Nathaniel quietly came downstairs, all he really heard of the conversation was 'I never wanted a kid', and the strike to his mind blocked out any other information. His eyes stung with tears and he froze up for a moment, not sure what to do. He… he doesn't want me…? He rubbed at his eyes a bit and silently made his way to the back door, staying out of Zedd's sight. He slipped out through the door and started running off, sobbing weakly. He must've just been pretending so he could drop me off somewhere… I should save him the extra trouble… He found himself in an alleyway he was quite familiar with; the one he'd been sleeping in before Zedd picked him up. He sat down on the ground, tucked his knees up to his chest, and buried his face in his arms to cry uncontrollably. Was it all… fake?
Once Zedd hung up, he began searching for the website to begin paperwork for custody of a child. He became frustrated as most of it was through the proper adoption system. Not wanting to deal with it anymore, he walked back up the stairs only to notice the door to the bedroom had been left open a touch. Did Nathaniel open it more because of the dark since he was alone this time? That didn't make sense. If he felt scared, he would have run downstairs before now. He poked his head inside and didn't see any sign of the small angel. Upon seeing the scattered sheets he sighed. Did he fall out of bed and get stuck? Gently lifting the sheets, there was nothing there. So they were just in the floor then. Nice. Pursing his lips he remade the bed somewhat before moving towards the bathroom. Knocking lightly on the door, he called out for the boy. Nothing.
"Nathaniel, I'm coming in if you're in there," he warned. The room was empty, as he had left it. Zedd's heart began to race, looking all over the house for the tiny angel. After searching everything twice, he took the steps down two at a time and picked the phone to call everyone he knew. But then he set it back down again. Maybe he snuck past him and was in the shop somewhere…?
The lower floor yielded the same results as the upper did. Nothing.
This time, he dialed every number he could think of, telling people to look for Nathaniel before running out the front door. He didn't even worry about re-locking the door as he always did.