Zedd gave the boy a comforting smile, watching Nathaniel take one of the crackers and eating it. "You're welcome. And… yeah. I know it doesn't, but I promise I'll help however I can. Okay?" he asked, already moving to straighten the sheets again. For a moment he considered tucking the top corners under the mattress, but that would feel even more constricting.
"Okay…" Nathaniel coughed a bit and stuck the rest of the cracker in his mouth, trembling with fever. "I'm sorry for running away, dad…" He said weakly, looking away with a guilty expression on his face. Locks of his copper curls clung to his clammy forehead, and his skin looked very pale. He coughed again and hesitated before eating another cracker. He was obviously hungry, even though he didn't feel good.
Instead of simply accepting the apology, the man moved to sit beside Nathaniel on the bed. "And I'm sorry for making you think I didn't want you," he offered, taking Nathaniel's free hand gently. With his other hand, Zedd pushed aside the stray strands of hair away from his forehead. "Want me to get you another cold rag for your head before I bring you some soup?" he asked after a moment of silence passed.
"Mm… sure… a-and it's okay, I was probably just overreacting anyway…" Nathaniel yawned and closed his eyes, huddling up against Zedd as he held onto his hand. He winced and whined softly after a moment or so, curling up tighter. "My head hurts… why does everything hurt, dad…?" He asked weakly. "I wasn't outside for long enough to get hurt or anything…"
(Beep)
(frick i'm sorry whenever i had time to reply we went out and did stuff or suddenly school got really bad. I'm gonna reply finally instead of english essay lol)
(Eee)
Zedd frowned softly. "You don't have to feel bad about that," he assured again, letting Nathaniel keep his arm and hand captive. He was still getting used to being clung to so often, but the small boy deserved to have some form of comfort after today.
His frown deepened at the flinch, the sound Nathaniel made tying his stomach in knots. "Things sometimes hurt when you're sick. We're gonna do what we can to help you feel better and make it go away, okay?" he attempted to comfort again.
Nathaniel clung tightly to Zedd, breathing heavily as his eyes stung with tears. He was obviously uncomfortable, and considering how infrequently he got sick, he didn't really have any idea how to make himself feel better. His stomach was churning and he wasn't sure he could keep much down other than the few crackers he had already eaten. He wished he could just fall asleep so he wouldn't have to feel so bad anymore, but he was too uncomfortable to sleep. "H-How do I make it feel better?" He asked softly, looking up at Zedd from where he was curled up on the bed.
“Well, no matter what it is you’re sick with, staying hydrated is one of the best things you can do,” he replied. What the man really wanted to do was to get the now warm rag on Nathaniel’s forehead cold again to help break the fever. Despite that, Zedd wasn’t about to simply push the boy’s panicked hold off of him. That would be just plain rude. Noticing that the angel seemed to be crying again, Zedd used his free hand to brush his thumb over his cheeks. “First, I want to get your temperature down so you can get some rest as that helps too.”
Nathaniel nodded weakly and reluctantly loosened his hold on Zedd so he could curl up more on the bed, although he still stayed huddled up against him for comfort. He curled his wings around himself, panting softly and fluttering the tips to create a breeze for himself, hoping it would cool him down a bit. "I'm sorry for getting sick…" He whispered shakily. "I-I don't wanna be problematic…"
Zedd let out a huff, trying not to sound irritated. All the apologizing was starting to get on his nerves because he knew they were far from necessary. He was frustrated at whoever Nathaniel's parents were for making him feel sorry over every little thing. But he wouldn't tell Nathaniel that. It would make him more upset to explain anything rather than just telling him things were okay.
"Nathaniel, you're not problematic, for the last time. You can't help getting sick. Everyone gets sick. Just rest up and let me help you," he responded bluntly. "Can I get you a cold rag now, or do you want me to stay here a bit longer?" he asked, hoping that the tiny boy making the choice would get his mind off of saying sorry and more about feeling better.
"Um…" Nathaniel tried to process what Zedd was saying, blinking and staring blankly up at the man for a few seconds. "I-I… I guess you can go…" He whispered, reluctantly moving away from Zedd and curling up into a tight ball on the bed, still giving himself a light breeze with his wings.
Honestly, he wasn't sick often, but he was frequently injured up in heaven. Due to his hollow bones and small stature, he often had fractures and other injuries he had to deal with. He often wasn't even allowed to request treatment for smaller fractures since they weren't as painful, and he was supposed to be able to handle it. He didn't want to cause Zedd any trouble with some stray illness that he thought he should be able to fight through and handle on his own, but Zedd seemed to want to help him anyway. He couldn't figure out exactly why, but he was slowly coming to the realization that he couldn't do this on his own.
Zedd stood slowly, but not before giving Nathaniel's hand a quick squeeze. "I'll be coming back, don't worry," he assured the angel with a faint smile. The man took the rag from Nathaniel's forehead and went into the bathroom. He set the washcloth in the sink and turned on the cold water. He let it flow a moment before picking it up and wringing it out.
He felt a bit odd doing this for someone else, but it was almost a good type of strange. There was also the fact that Zedd felt responsible for letting Nathaniel leave and get himself sick. But now wasn't the time to suddenly feel sorry for himself.
The man folded the tiny cloth into a longer rectangle and made his way back into his room. Well, it was kind of his and Nathaniel's now.
Nathaniel looked up weakly when Zedd came back into the room, still trembling where he had curled up. "W-What's wrong with me…?" He asked in a shaky whisper, clinging to the man as soon as he was within his reach again. "What am I… what am I sick with? Am I gonna die? I-I don't wanna die…" He rambled on, seeming genuinely afraid of what might happen to him as a result of this illness. It scared him equally as much that it was entirely his fault that he was sick in the first place, and so his death would both be preventable and his own fault.
Zedd set the cloth back over Nathaniel's forehead with what was probably the hundreth sigh. "Nathaniel, you're not going to die. I'm not one hundred percent sure, but it's probably just a cold from being outside so long," he reassured the boy. Using a free hand, he pushed back some of the boy's curls. He gave a soft hum. The man could tell the fever would take awhile to break. Zedd moved his arm from Nathaniel's hold some, to actually take his hand. "You'll be fine. Probably won't even need the doctor involved if it doesn't get any worse," he reassured the boy.
Nathaniel nodded weakly, seeming a little reassured, but still very tense and afraid. He clung tightly to Zedd's hand for comfort, his breathing heavy and strained as he tried to get himself to calm down. "I… I-I'm sorry if I'm being stupid, or… or unreasonable." He rubbed at his tears with his free hand. "I don't get sick much, s-so I really don't know what I'm supposed to do…"
Zedd shook his head again. "Nathaniel, I already told you. You're not being unreasonable or stupid. All you have to do is get some rest, make sure you eat and drink, and maybe take a bit of medicine if the pain gets bad or something," he explained. The man gave the boy's hand a light squeeze for comfort before moving to sit at the side of the bed again.
Nathaniel nodded again, looking remarkably small and helpless where he lay in Zedd's big bed. He was too tired to keep his wings wrapped so tightly around himself, instead letting them lie limply behind him. "Okay, okay… s-sorry, dad…" He replied softly, closing his eyes to give himself a bit of a break. "How long do you think I'm gonna be sick?"
Zedd seemed content with his response, giving a small hum as he thought of a good guess he could give Nathaniel. "Probably a week or so. It gradually gets better though," he replied eventually. The man gave a soft sigh as he watched the angel close his eyes. "If you're tired, you should try and sleep some," he suggested. He would wait until he did before leaving of course, knowing how the boy was.
"Mmmm… that's so looooong…" Nathaniel whined, yawning and curling up a bit more. "M'all achy and tired and… mmmm…" He held on a bit tighter to Zedd's hand, trembling lightly on the bed. "Y-You won't leave me, right dad?" He asked softly. "You'll stay with me?"
As much as Zedd felt compelled to say whatever Nathaniel wanted of him, he knew he had to be honest. "I still have to leave to get you things from the other rooms, and make sure we both have things to eat, but I'll still be here, yes," he decided to answer. That way, it was honest, and hopefully close to what Nathaniel was looking for in a reply.
Nathaniel hesitantly nodded, still seeming a bit nervous. He felt safer when Zedd was with him. "Okay… and… a-and you have to run the shop, right?" He asked weakly. "Because I've kept you from working the past few days…"
Zedd hadn't want to include that in his statement, but Nathaniel was entirely right. There was no way he could just keep closed due to the fact he needed to have money to afford the building, food, and everything else. Especially after all the extras he had spent on the boy in front of him. "Yeah… I do. Would you want someone to come stay up here with you during that time? I could try finding someone? Maybe Cal could just come check up on you every hour or something? I don't know," he confessed. He didn't want Nathaniel to be uncomfortable, alone, or have to be constantly pulled away from work. He needed to make up for everything he had spent recently.
"I-I dunno… maybe…" Nathaniel curled in on himself a bit, fluttering his wings. He was panting softly from the fever, his whole body clammy and achy. "C-Could they stay with me?" He asked weakly. "I don't… I don't wanna bother them or anything, I just… it scares me to be alone…" He admitted sheepishly, looking away as he flushed lightly in embarrassment.