"I don't think so," Ilya said, softening his tone so he wouldn't upset Nathaniel. He reached forward to wipe away the tears. "I think you're angry and I think you're a little lost, but I don't think that means the world can do without you. I think it means that you need a little time to sort things out. Can you let me give that to you?"
"I-I… um…" Nathaniel looked down, biting his lip a bit. Don't cry. Don't you dare fucking cry. "…okay.." A couple of tears fell from his eyes and he quickly brushed them away with his free hand. Fuck.
Ilya gave him a soft smile, squeezing his hand comfortingly. "That's great. Thank you for trusting me." Ilya paused, checking the time and then gently pushing on Nathaniel's shoulders to make him lay down. "Let's go back to bed, okay? We can talk about this more in the morning."
Nathaniel nodded and closed his eyes. He hardly seemed to notice Ilya still holding his hand, but he figured they had to stay like this if he was supposed to be able to sleep. It took a little while, but he eventually managed to drift off again. He moved closer to Ilya in his sleep.
Ilya smiled at that, playing with Nathaniel's hair as he settled in for a long night. Faries didn't really need to sleep so Ilya rarely did, preferring to wander the forest or tend to his garden. When it was time to wake up, he shook Nathaniel gently. "It's time to get up. You need to eat."
Nathaniel groaned softly and lay his head on Ilya's chest, his wings quivering. He was still pretty much entirely asleep and wasn't aware of what he was doing.
Ilya laughed quietly, running a hand through Nathaniel's hair. "I know, I know. But I magicked up some breakfast, doesn't that sound nice?" He shook Nataniel a little harder.
Nathaniel wrapped his arms around Ilya, still asleep. He sighed softly and huddled close to the fairy for warmth.
(His subconscious wants to cuddle XD)
Ilya rolled his eyes, but he wrapped his arms carefully around Nathaniel's waist and let himself be cuddled. He'd just wait for Nathaniel to wake up, it wouldn't take that long. Hopefully.
After about ten minutes, Nathaniel opened his eyes. It took a few seconds for him to process what was happening and he immediately jumped back, his face flushing bright red. "Oh god, I-I'm so sorry! It was an accident, I swear!"
Ilya laughed, grabbing Nathaniel's hand to keep his pain from returning at full force. "It's fine, it's fine! No need to get all embarrassed about it, I was holding you too."
Nathaniel hid his red face with his free hand, his wings shaking. They seemed to move almost beyond his control in accordance with his emotions. "I'm still sorry…"
"You have nothing to apologize for," Ilya soothed, gently taking Nathaniel's other hand in his to make eye contact. He wanted Nathaniel to know he was serious. "You were sleeping and you were in pain, it's natural that you'd reach out for someone."
"But I basically forced myself on you in my sleep… why are you so okay with this?" Nathaniel made eye contact with Ilya, his face still very red as he cowered a bit.
Ilya shrugged, giving Nataniel a small smile. "You seemed like you could use the affection. Plus, I don't think there's any way for you to hurt me, so I'm not super worried about you wanting to hold me or be held or anything."
Nathaniel sighed quietly and closed his eyes, trying to force his blush down. "I… it's… w-whatever… weren't you saying something about food?"
"I was!" Ilya smiled brightly, starting to get up off the bed and tugging Nataniel along with him. "I wasn't really sure what you'd like, so I took a little bit of everything. Oh! What do you like, by the way? I'll keep it in stock for you."
Nathaniel stumbled a bit as Ilya dragged him. "Careful… I dunno how effectively I can walk yet. As for what food I like, I'm not generally very picky, but I have this strange habit of just eating plain bagels… like, not toasted, no cream cheese or butter, nothing."
Ilya scrunched up his nose playfully, slowing to a more relaxed pace to make things easier on Nathaniel. "You're a monster, you know that? Bagels weren't made to be eaten plain! You have to toast them and then salther them with cream cheese or it's not even breakfast."
"Why? They're good by themselves; why add extra stuff?" Nathaniel made his way to the kitchen unsteadily, unable to let go of Ilya's hand. "I've never had them with other things anyway."
Ilya let go of Nathaniel's hand and eased his arm under his shoulders to support him. "Lean on me. Also, you have to try it with cream cheese. You could put cream cheese on anything and it would automatically get 10 times better!"
"Okay… I guess I'll try it." Nathaniel sat down in a chair once they got to the kitchen, wincing when he lost contact with Ilya. His pain started to come back again.
Ilya frowned, summoning the painkillers and setting them down on the table beside Nathaniel. "The dosage for an adult is three," he said, moving into the kitchen to grab them some food. "Do you want anything else? Maybe some fruit or a muffin or something?"
"Surprise me." Nathaniel swallowed the pills and tapped his foot anxiously as he waited for them to kick in.
Ilya did as he was told, returning with a plate of bagels and fruit for Nathaniel and a plate of raw fish for himself. "The pills should kick in in about 15 minutes. Um… do you have any allergies?"
"Not as far as I know. Why?" Nathaniel picked up an apple slice and began eating it, swinging his legs a bit under the chair.
"I don't want to keep stuff that might hurt you in the house." Ilya swallowed a strip of fish with a happy sigh. "I did so much work to bandage you up, I don't want you to eat something bad and then collapse."
Nathaniel picked up a bagel and bit into it, seeming confused for a second. "…What's in the bagel?" He asked, examining it curiously.
"Hmm? Oh! It's cream cheese! You said you would try it." Ilya ate another strip of fish, pointing to his plate. "I left you a couple with nothing on them in case you didn't like it."
"It's strange… It's not awful, though." Nathaniel took another bite of the bagel, crossing his ankles. His wings shifted a bit as well.