The Prince's Choice

Chapter 30: April Fools' Day Mishap

Natan's POV:

04/01/2023

(TW: Past trauma, bullying, panic attack)

Me and Samael have been planning this April Fools' Day prank forever.

It was going to be on my parents and I knew they would get a kick out of it.

We had precariously balanced a bucket of ice water on the top of a door and were currently waiting for my mom and dad to walk through the door.

What we didn't intend on was my parents walking behind our partners.

The second that Asher could be seen through the crack in the door Samael stood up from our hiding place and yelled for them not to open it.

But it was too late.

5 gallons of freezing cold ice water fell off the top of the door and covered Asher and Sepher, with only a tiny splash hitting my parents. With the large bucket falling on Sep's head.

The second the bucket covered Sep's head, he screamed.

Not like a short scream of surprise but he fully dropped to the ground like he was protecting himself and screamed like somebody was trying to kill him.

I immediately went to his side and pulled the bucket off his head. I pulled my jacket off and put it around him. I made sure that the jacket was the only thing that was touching him, figuring he would probably be pretty touch adverse right now.

I kept my voice low and gentle as I spoke to him.
"Sep? Baby? It's Natan. You're safe now."

He took deep breaths trying very hard to control his breathing. One of his hands let go from where he had both arms wrapped around his legs that he had pulled to his chest. He was sitting on the balls of his feet and curled into a tight ball. The hand that let go of his legs reached towards me.

I gently took it and squeezed it three times. A silent way to tell him that I love him.

He squeezed back weakly. His breathing was becoming deeper and more regular so I started the next steps to calm him down.

"Hey baby, can you pick your head up and look at me? Just wanna see your beautiful eyes." He responded by very slightly picking his head up. Just enough that I could see his eyes.

"Hi, beautiful. Good job." He replied with a tiny smile and a very quiet 'hi'.

"Can you tell me five things you can see, baby?"

His voice was shaky as he whispered, "Y-you, Ash, my p-pants, floor."

I gave him a minute to finish until he looked at me with scared eyes. I could tell he was scared that he had done something wrong. I decided the fact that he only named 4 things wasn't all that important.

"Good job, baby. You did so well. Can you tell me four things you can feel?"

"Y-you're hand, the floor, c-cold." He once again gave me one less than I asked but if I was as cold as he probably was that would have been the only thing on my mind as well. Samael walked away and came back with the blankets that we had collected to give to my parents after the prank. He gave Asher a couple and handed the rest to me.

Sep suddenly got up and moved to sit in my lap since I was sitting criss-cross on the floor. I wrapped him in blankets and held him close to me. He laid his head on my chest and closed his eyes.

"Good job, baby. You're doing amazingly. I'm so proud of you. Can you tell me three things you can hear?"

"Y-your voice, my breathing, my heartbeat, your heartbeat." He gave me an extra this time and pressed his head closer into my chest. No doubt in search of the very heartbeat he had just mentioned.

"That's good, baby. You're safe here. I've got you. Nobody is ever going to purposefully hurt you again. Can you tell me two things you can smell?"

He took a couple of deep breaths before replying, "Your cologne, my cologne."

"That's good, baby. I've got you. I love you, baby. You're safe." I held him as close as possible. I was pissed at myself for causing this. It was my fault. I should have told Sep about the prank so that he didn't accidentally become the victim.

Sep pressed himself closer to me. I realized that I didn't ask the last question. However, before I could ask, he spoke up.

"I can taste the aftertaste of the pancakes you made me for breakfast." His voice was stronger than it had been when he had started answering my questions.

We sat in silence for a minute as Sep's breath finally evened out.

Then my mother's gentle voice broke through the silence.

"How about both of you boys take Sepher and Asher to your respective rooms and let them get changed and warmed up? Then we can all recollect in the living room in a couple hours. We can play a board game or watch a movie. How does that sound?"

Everyone in the room nodded and so Samael took Asher to his room, my parents went off to go deal with some work they each had to do and I picked Sepher up and carried him up to my room.

I brought him in and set him on the bed. He immediately went to stand up.

"I can stand, Nay. I don't want to get your bed wet." He said when I looked at him curiously.

I handed him my hoodie and a pair of my sweats. "Then go change and we can cuddle to get you warmed up." He smiled at me and grabbed the clothes. Going to the bathroom and coming back a few minutes later in my clothes.

I was laying in my bed already under the covers when he came back. My jaw dropped seeing him in my clothes.

I opened the covers and held my arms open for him. He walked over and laid in my arms, cuddling into my chest.

I buried my face into his hair and tightened my grip on him.

"I'm so sorry, Sepher. I didn't mean for the prank to hit you. It was meant for my parents." I told him as tears leaked from my eyes.

He squeezed me tighter. "It's okay, Nay. You had no idea that it would affect me like that. How about next time you just tell me so that I can avoid the affected area. Or, you know, help."

I nodded. "Okay. I can do that. I love you, Sep."

"I love you too, Nay." He replied as he started to slowly drift off.

I held him close and we both slipped into a nap until it was game time.

1133 words. That means this is the longest chapter yet. See you in the next chapter!