Zedd watched him a moment, switching hands so he could rub small circles on the boy's back with the closer arm. "Of course. Whoever agrees to it wouldn't think of it as bothering them. If you volunteer, you can't be picky. Not that you're much trouble," he attempted to cheer Nathaniel up, adding a smile at the end. "I'm not gonna let you sit up here all miserable by yourself," he added softly.
Nathaniel nodded weakly and hugged Zedd's arm to comfort himself. "O-Okay… if you say so, dad…" He whispered. "Have I met them before? Do you think I'll like them okay?" He asked softly, looking up at Zedd with bleary, unfocused eyes. He was clearly pretty out of it, and he felt awful.
"Depends on who you'd like to come sit up here with you," he hummed. "I'm not going to let some stranger up here unless you like them either," Zedd huffed, mostly at himself. He wasn't mad at Nathaniel by any means, and the boy would see that as a soft smile returned. "Why don't you start on getting some of that rest, hm?" he suggested, though it was more like telling Nathaniel.
"Mmm… mmkay…" Nathaniel mumbled in reply, closing his eyes again and yawning as he huddled up on the bed. "M'sorry for being difficult, dad…" He murmured, tightening his grip on Zedd's hand for a moment. "G'night…" He said nothing else until he drifted off to sleep on the bed.
Zedd was about to once again argue with the boy about being a bother, when he felt his grip loosen. He had finally passed out. Suddenly, a smell hit his nose from the other room. Ah, crap, he had left the soup to heat on the stove. Much longer and it might boil over or burn. He stared down at Nathaniel a moment before gently moving his hands away. "I'll be back," the man whispered, despite the boy being out cold.
He managed to keep anything from getting too overdone. Despite the fact he had prepared the soup for Nathaniel to eat, he found himself already putting it into a container to put away. Ah well. He could eat when he woke up. After cleaning up some, he took his phone and went back into the bedroom. Time to find the angel a temporary babysitter.
Nathaniel was asleep for a few hours, thankfully able to get some rest. He was still drained when he woke up, however, and still didn't appear to feel very well. "Mmmm… dad…?" He called out weakly, holding tighter to his blankets. His vision was too blurry at the moment to really be able to figure out what was going on around him. "Dad?"
(Aaa)
(Eee)
(Bump)
(Beep 👉👈)
(and he never returnedddddddddddddddddd)
(aaaaaa am arrived and can't sleep)
Nathaniel was asleep for a few hours, thankfully able to get some rest. He was still drained when he woke up, however, and still didn't appear to feel very well. "Mmmm… dad…?" He called out weakly, holding tighter to his blankets. His vision was too blurry at the moment to really be able to figure out what was going on around him. "Dad?"
Zedd was still at the side of the bed, knowing Nathaniel would have freaked out were he not there. He hadn't been sitting in the floor the whole time, getting himself something to eat at one point, bringing in extra pillows, making plans in regards to the shop. Oh, the poor shop. He hadn't been able to open in almost a week now. Just because he had a kid to care for now. But it was fine! Everything was fine. Well, it would be. He had to figure something out eventually, what with taxes and rent, and the cost of Nathaniel's medical bill. Stars, it was really pilling up now, wasn't it.
Hearing the angel's voice behind him, Zedd pushed away those thoughts for now. If he wanted things to get better, he had to worry about the boy in his care. The man raised a brow to Nathaniel's cries, confused as to why he didn't see him. It should have appeared that he hadn't moved. Then again, he knew that the common cold could be quite awful in the moment.
"I'm still here," Zedd replied calmly.
(:00)
Nathaniel whined softly and reached out to Zedd, his hands trembling. He couldn't make out Zedd very clearly, to be honest; not when his vision was as blurry as it was. He was scared and he felt awful and he just needed to know that Zedd hadn't left him alone in the room. He was too tired to worry about how needy and annoying he might be being.
Nathaniel's body still wasn't entirely accustomed to earth. He was small and frail and he was especially susceptible to earth's diseases. He hadn't built up any immunity against them like other kids his age would have. So, whenever he caught something, or just seemed like it was worse than it ordinarily should have been. Even the common cold was taking quite a toll on his body. He'd been horribly sick for a while when he first got banished. "D-Dad…" He whimpered, closing his eyes again and exhaling shakily. Too hot… I can't breathe…
(Bump)