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Zedd groaned, not pleased that he was being woken up. His wings moved to block out any of the light that was flooding into the room. "Whaaat?" he asked, hoping it was at least past 7 in the morning. The man blinked tiredly before seeing how worried the angel was. "Mmm… whas wrong? Bad dream or somethin'?" he slurred, having no idea what was going on. He rubbed at his eyes, hoping that would help him clear some of the sleep from his eyes.
"Oh thank God, you're alive…" Nathaniel breathed a shaky sigh of relief and hugged Zedd tightly, starting to relax now that he knew for sure he wasn't dead. "You're always awake before I am and you weren't moving like, at all, and I thought you died… s-sorry for waking you…"
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Zedd blinked again, but slowly. Dead? Why would he be- oh.
"I never told you about what happens when I use my own magic," he realized, facepalming. "Okay, so… putting it simply, I get physically tired whenever I use it. Add that to what happened last night and I'll sleep for hooouuurrrrrs," he explained. He wasn't very detailed as he was still waking up. "Good thing I have you to worry about me," he said with a tired grin, already closing his eyes again. He should be waking up, but the bed felt so good…
"Y-Yeah… sorry, I was probably just being dumb, and you're really tired, and I shouldn't have woken you up…" He huddled closer to Zedd and sighed. "I was just playing with your hair and stuff for a while but then you weren't moving so I got worried…"
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Zedd opened his eyes again to raise a brow a moment. He was messing with his hair? Oh, he was not looking forward to seeing how much of a bed-head he had once he looked in the mirror. He then tugged Nathaniel close to his chest again. "Stop worrying about it. I would have slept all day and would have felt even worse if you hadn't," he argued. It felt nice to be cared about…
"Mm…" Nathaniel purred softly at the reassurance, seeming to relax a bit in Zedd's arms. "Okay, dad… if you say so." He tucked his head under the man's chin. "Should we make food? I dunno what time it is… I kinda just wanna stay here for a little while longer, to be honest…"
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"I'm down to do that," Zedd replied, in turn not moving from his spot in the bed. He hummed, feeling Nathaniel relax against him, calming down again. "Let me know when you feel hungry or something," he added tiredly, assuming the angel understood that he likely wouldn't get up unless it was an emergency or necessity.
"Mmkay…" Nathaniel huddled closer to Zedd and shuffled around a bit with a soft sigh. He was already kinda hungry, but he didn't want to bother Zedd anymore. Maybe he could just wait for Zedd to fall back asleep and then go make something for himself.
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"If you dooon't, I'm… gonna feeeel bad," he said, words slightly slurred from exhaustion. He gave a small hum again as he seemed to continue to curl up even closer to the small angel in his arms. He liked the fact that he wasn't alone anymore and that the contact seemed to help the both of them. It was also strange how clingy the man was acting as it was very out of character.
"But you're really tired, dad, and I already woke you up for something stupid…" Nathaniel sighed softly as he held tighter to Zedd. His stomach growled a bit and he curled in on himself to try and hide it.
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"Shhhh, it wasn't stupid. And like I said, I gotta get up eventually," he reassured Nathaniel. It was then that Zedd heard a light rumbling. And it wasn't from him. "Nathaniel, you weren't about to force yourself to go without eating were you?" the man asked, being genuinely serious. He took a stray curl from Nathaniel's hair and began to idly twirl it.
Nathaniel looked away, flushing a bit with guilt. He hugged his stomach tightly. "I-I'm really not that hungry… not hungry enough that it's worth bothering you when you're already so tired…" He sighed shakily and closed his eyes.
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"Nathanielllll," he hummed, pushing himself to sit up, still holding the boy close. "I can hear your stomach growling. We're getting up and getting you something to eat," the man stated, leaving no room for arguments. Zedd swung his legs over the side of the bed and carried the angel into the living room. Setting him down gently, the man strode into the kitchen and began getting things out from the refrigerator. "To make you feel better, I'll do something easy so you can't protest that I put in a lot of work to make you food," he said, getting about four eggs out of a carton. "Wait, that sounds bad… like I didn't put effort into making something. Ugh, you get what I mean," he rambled, already cracking the eggs.
Nathaniel curled up on the couch a bit, hugging his stomach and still looking like he felt horribly guilty. He kept quiet for now, feeling bad for waking Zedd up and for forcing him to make food for him. He drew his knees up to his chest and buried his face in them, wrapping his wings around himself to hide himself further.
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(Zedd: look i make simple food so you don't feel bad :D)
(Nathaniel: feels bad)
Zedd seemed to keep himself busy cooking the eggs. He had also gotten out the bread and popped a few pieces in the toaster. About the time the eggs had finished, so had the toast. He thought about whether to put some jam on the toast, but almost immediately agreed that he should. Nathaniel always liked the sweeter option if there was one. After putting the food on two separate plates, he called out asking what the angel wanted to drink. "You want choccy milk, orange juice or-"
The man cut himself off at seeing Nathaniel. Zedd's shoulders slumped as he headed to kneel by the couch. "Nathaniel, I'm not mad. Come on, bud… please? I don't mind making you food, okay? I'm gonna eat something too, okay?"
Nathaniel looked up at Zedd weakly, still curled in on himself. "B-But you were sleeping and I woke you up for something stupid and I don't wanna bother you, especially since it's not a mergency or anything a-and I just… I'm sorry…" He whispered shakily, starting to tremble a bit as he spoke. His stomach growled louder and he hit it with one fist, clearly angry with himself.
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Zedd quickly grabbed Nathaniel's wrist to keep the angel from hurting himself. "It's not stupid. I didn't tell you anything the night before and you were worried. That's a damn good reason," he argued, trying to help Nathaniel understand. He always felt so bad when the boy beat himself up emotionally, but now physically? Maybe they shouldn't wait much longer to get the angel some therapy…
"Nathaniel, you didn't bother me. If I sleep too long it's considered unhealthy anyways. It's okay. You don't gotta be sorry. Please, don't hurt yourself and come eat…?"
Nathaniel's hand trembled in Zedd's grasp and he whimpered for a couple of seconds before reluctantly slipping off of the couch. He stuck very close to Zedd's side and held tightly to him, still hanging his head and trembling and generally seeming frustrated and upset.
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Zedd hated himself even more in the moment. He hadn't explained anything to the boy and now Nathaniel was blaming himself over nothing. Great.
He really wished he knew what to do. The man walked carefully as Nathaniel was clinging to his leg at the moment. When by the stools at the counter, he gently lifted the boy up by the waist and set him on one of the seats before taking the one next to him. "Please. It's partially my fault. Even if it wasn't, it's okay. I promise."
Nathaniel quietly began eating his breakfast, trying to fight back the tears stinging his eyes. Don't cry… you'll make him feel worse and it's not his fault. It's yours. He was still quivering as he ate, mostly just eating to reassure Zedd. He wanted to apologize, but with his mouth full, he wasn't exactly able to do that.
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Zedd had been watching the boy the entire time. If he knew anything about Nathaniel at this point, he knew what it looked like when the boy was about to cry again. He was holding back those tears to the best of his ability to not make him feel bad. "Nathaniel. What if I hadn't woken up?" he tried. "What if you didn't check? That'd be much scarier than if I were mad. Which, again… I'm not," he finished, using his fork to poke at the food at his plate.
Nathaniel drew in a wavering breath and stuck a bite of his breakfast in his mouth. "I-I just… I still feel bad…" He whispered, shifting around uncomfortably. He set down his fork and crossed his arms, digging his fingernails into his forearms as he trembled. "Even if you say it's not my fault, I… I still feel like it is. It feels like you're just trying to lie to me to make me f-feel better…"
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Zedd once again reached over and gently moved Nathaniel's hands away from his arms. "All I can tell you is that I'm not," he sighed. He wasn't experienced enough to give reasoning that the angel might grasp better. Perhaps he should call the doctor soon about testing the angel for depression. Or at least get him recommended for therapy. Things were spiraling further down hill.
Nathaniel whimpered quietly and closed his eyes, still trembling. "I'm s-sorry, dad…" He whispered. "I'm being stupid, aren't I?" He bit down on his quavering lip to try and keep himself from crying, but it was getting increasingly difficult. "M'sorry… s-so sorry… you shouldn't have to deal with this, I… I'm just being dumb…"
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An old habit inside him made Zedd want to say something along the lines that Nathaniel wouldn't be here still if it was too much. But again, the man had to bite his tongue. He couldn't say that to an 8 year old on the verge of tears. "It's okay. You want a hug…?" he asked, not really knowing what else to do. Maybe he'd need to sit through some sort of parenting class too. He couldn't just bribe the poor boy with food and hugs all his life.
Nathaniel nodded weakly and tightly hugged Zedd as well as he could from where he was sitting, drawing in a few quick, wavering breaths. His wings were puffed up and fluttering, and his throat was tight with tears. He was quivering in Zedd's arms, mentally yelling at himself some more for being so stupid and bothering Zedd with his problems and getting so worked up about something that Zedd didn't even seem bothered by.
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(haha he thinks Zedd isn't bothered but deep inside he's doubting everything he's doing and has trained himself for years to try not to show emotion.)
(aka the opposite of Nathaniel haaaaa)
Zedd did his best to attempt to smooth down as many of the feathers as he could. He felt frustrated that Nathaniel always felt so guilty over the smallest things, but he also felt bad. He hummed lightly before moving the boy onto his lap. He knew Nathaniel likely wanted even closer contact when this upset. And he would let him. He would let him do whatever he needed to calm down. Because what else could he do?
(Lmao yeah)
It took him a while, but eventually, Nathaniel managed to relax in Zedd's arms. He was still sniffling and trembling a bit, but he'd mostly calmed down. Soft purrs rumbled up from his chest and he just made himself small in Zedd's embrace, content to be held. With Zedd's assistance, his wings smoothed down, and he stopped crying. His cheeks were pink and blotchy from his tears, and his nose was still red. "M'sorry, dad…"
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"You're okay," the man said, brushing a few strands of hair out of Nathaniel's face. He gave a soft sigh. Yeah, he'd be making that appointment today. Probably as soon as the angel in his lap was ready to finish his breakfast. The food was probably in need of being warmed up though…
Nathaniel tentatively sat up in Zedd's lap and started eating again. He didn't want to ask Zedd to heat it up considering how much of a bother he'd already been today. He curled his crumpled feathers around himself as he ate, still a tad shaky and sniffly.
