CHRISTOPHER ROBIN

Nico let out a breath of relief as the murmur left the other, gently squeezing the man’s hand and nodding. “Y-Yeah. It’s me. Hi.” He smiled weakly, just glad to see him at least open his eyes and be somewhat alert. “Don’t try to sit up or anything….you were ah….the doctors think you were probably attacked by a tiger? And you’re in a hospital. I…you we’re having a nightmare and moving and I didn’t want you to hurt yourself anymore.” Nico quickly wiped his tears away with a hand. “You’ve been unconscious for awhile.”

Originally posted by gyllenhells

“A-” He remembered some of it, bits and pieces, and sagged against the bed completely. “A tiger. Not a tigger.”

Christ on a stick, Christopher Robin.

He shut his eyes once more, but moved his hand, gripping onto Nico’s a bit tighter. “I heard you talking? I don’t-” He shook his head a little bit, wincing at the pain that went through him.

He couldn’t see himself, but he imagined he didn’t look good.

As soon as the man started to move Nico was on his feet, shifting close to the other man’s side.  “Christopher Robin?”  Reaching out, he brushed the others hair out of his face, watching him with concern.  “You’re gonna hurt yourself.  Please stop moving.  And I can’t hold you down or help or anything.”  As he spoke the room started to darken, Nico getting more upset at the other’s nightmares.  “Breathe..”  He reined in his powers, taking the other’s hand and looking at him seriously.  “Please relax. You’re hurting yourself.  I know you do that, but it..you can’t do that right now, alright?  Just lay still.  Even if you don’t wake up, just..breathe.  Rest.  I mean, I don’t know what I’ll do without you if you don’t wake up.  Or what your plants will do, because gods I’ll kill them Chris.  I know I will.  Really. And I don’t want to kill your plants.”  Nico paused, a weak laugh leaving him as he struggled not to cry.  “I don’t know why I’m rambling about your plants.  Just..please lay still.  Or even better, please wake up.  Please.”

Christopher Robin could vaguely hear someone talking to him, sort of, their words hazy and unclear.

He made a soft humming sound, something between a groan and a mumble, blinking his eyes open.

The room was sort of bright, the monitor displaying his vitals feeling blinding to the boy.

Nico was seated in a hospital room, doing his best not to be upset.  It was tough, not to affect the temperature, or have himself burst to flames as he sat curled up in a chair looking at Christopher Robin still on the bed.   He’d been attacked by a damn tiger. He’d been alone in that jungle, and he’d gotten attacked by a tiger.  And Nico hadn’t been able to find him.   No matter how long he’d searched, he hadn’t been able to find him in time.  And when he’d felt that wave of death, Nico’d nearly gone insane.  That sense that Christopher Robin was gone…He’d almost lost control in the middle of that jungle, but his powers had been on the fritz, and he couldn’t trust them.   

So he’d found his way here, and even though visiting hours were long over, and he technically wasn’t allowed inside, Nico had shadow-travelled in once he’d found out his boyfriend was here.  And here was where he would stay.  Waiting and hoping the other would be alright.

Christopher Robin himself was lucky. If the attack had been any worse, Nico would be visiting him in the morgue, as opposed to the hospital room. He’d been in and out of consciousness since he’d arrived, usually out of it thanks to pain killers when he did happen to be awake.

“Do I want tea?”

“Oh believe me, I know that one very well already. He comes by it naturally,” he nodded, his lips twitching with a smirk as he kept a steady gaze on the young man. 

Hades frightened people by default and had learned to enjoy it with time. When he actually put his mind to it, he could send people into outright terror. That wasn’t his intention here. Yet.

“Plant enthusiast, huh? Keeping Nico away from any you may get him around, just in case?” His lips twitched in amusement at the curtsy despite himself. At least the boy was proving slightly entertaining.

“After a certain point, does math even make sense? Really?” He shook his head and meandered around the shop without his attention ever really leaving Christopher Robin. “Impressive titles only go so far, anyway.”

“I know that.”

......

“I mean-” He cut himself off, turning a bit pink. “I’ve read stuff about you, before. Mostly in passing.”

He didn’t want to seem like an utter fanboy, given that his main focus in his reading hadn’t been Hades, anyway.

Bristling at the remark, Christopher Robin made a face, instantly on the defense.

“He’s not that bad with plants... He helped me plant some of my summer plants, even!”

Hades didn’t have to know that Nico had hefted the bag of dirt, too heavy for Christopher Robin, just close enough for the other to use before making some distance from the gardening, not wanting to kill the plants before they’d even grown.

“I trust him at my house as much as he wants to be there, and there’s plants all over the place there!”

Okay, perhaps he was the slightest bit overly defensive, but Hades reducing Nico to his abilities and the negative effect they might have was not something Christopher Robin would put up with.

He watched the God walk around, pulling out his phone to text Nico, leaning on the counter and pulling up their text thread. “It depends on the title. Some people care more than others.” 

“Oh.”

Turning red, Christopher Robin pulled Nico in, kissing him and mumbling, “Ti amo, ti amo, ti amo,” against the other’s mouth in between.