Not So Bad . . . I guess.

Scruple woke up after a particularly terrifying nightmare. He went into the kitchen quiet as a mouse his tiny hands were still shaking. His whole body was shaking.

He just wanted some hot chocolate. That was all he wanted and then he'd go back to bed.
Gargamel only had coco powder in the winter. He never used it only Scruple did when he was too terrified to think of anything else.

He wiped a few tears that lingered in his eyes. He was still reeling and frightened from the dream.

The house, his house, had been on fire. His mother curled in the corner burning. He was trying to get out smoke filling his lungs. He was screaming. He could see his old professor and the boys from the boarding school laughing at him.

He wished sometimes he'd been able to ignore them. He wished life would work for him once. He knew it would never happen. His father had left him and his mother was dead.
Everyone who had ever said anything about him was right, he was a failure.

He'd been lost in his thoughts and didn't realize he was shaking so badly he'd dropped the mug he was holding. It shattered loudly. He gasped and began to try and cover for his mistake. He felt pain in his hand but he didn't care. He kept picking up the pieces.

"Scruple?" Gargamel asked lighting a candle despite the full moon. "What on . . . you're bleeding," Gargamel stated.

"'S nothing. 'm sorry I woke you." Scruple said throwing the pieces of mug away.

"Why were you up in the first place?" Gargamel asked inspecting the cut. "Wash your hand."

Scruple rolled his eyes, but he did so. He winced when Gargamel forced soap into his hand.

"I did not say rinse your hand.  I told you to wash it. You still didn't tell me why you were up."

"I wasn't tired." Scruple muttered under his breath. That was untrue he was exhausted.

"Ah yes, and your slow sluggish body movements definitely prove that." Gargamel said.

"So, yes, I'm tired, but I just didn't want to fall asleep."

"So you decided to break mugs in my kitchen?"

"No, I . . . I was going to make myself hot chocolate since you never use the powder I figured I wasn't going to let it go to waste."

Gargamel sized him up. The only time he ever used that was when he was scared or nervous about something. He occasionally used it when he was upset.

Scruple's face was sort of flushed and in the moonlight he looked rather pale.

"Come here," Gargamel said gruffly.

Scruple obeyed. To the child's surprise, Gargamel's touch was gentle against his forehead.

"You're running a fever," Gargamel said more to himself than to Scruple who was already swaying violently on his feet. He steadied the child who seemed to collapse into him from exhaustion.

Gargamel grabbed the child a bit brusquely, but set him down carefully in the rocking chair with a pillow.

Scruple's eyes were closed gently as he rested. Gargamel dabbed the child's forehead with cool water.

"Stubborn," Gargamel smiled to himself. "Just like I was."

Azreal purred and climbed into Scruple's warm lap. Gargamel started the tea kettle and tended to Scruple with more tenderness than he would care to show if the child woke.

He kept one cup empty for Scruple if he woke. The other he used to make tea for himself.
Scruple smiled in his sleep. Gargamel replaced the rag every hour. He would fall asleep next to his apprentice for a few minutes and then wake and remove the cloth.

Scruple seemed fine until he woke thrashing around one in the morning.

"What is it my boy?" Gargamel asked lifting the boy carefully from the chair. He stroked back the boy's fever soaked hair.     

Scruple said nothing. He couldn't. Gargamel held the shaking child and set him back on the chair with a warm blanket around his shoulders. He rocked Scruple back into a fitful sleep.

"No . . . please . . . not again . . ." Scruple thrashed. "Gargamel! No . . . please . . . no, no, NO ! I'm not going back with you." He screamed.

"Shh  . .  . I'm right here my boy." Gargamel said with a small smile. He pushed back Scruple's bangs. "I'm right here I'm not going anywhere soon."

It was late in the day when Scruple realized he was on the rocking chair with Gargamel's arms wrapped around him. The wizard was awake and he was smiling. Scruple had never really seen Gargamel smile, at least not kindly before.

"Good morning," Gargamel said. He reheated the water from last night and poured Scruple a cup of coco. "Let's just sleep for today hm?" He asked.

Scruple smiled as he sipped his coco maybe . . . just maybe staying with Gargamel wouldn't be so bad after all.