S C H M I C O || A collection of short stories

Bad Day

Bad days were always bound to happen.

Bad days were inevitable and unavoidable, no matter how much people tried to avoid them. When they happened, they happened hard. Most of the time, they would completely happen out of the blue. Sometimes, you just knew that the day would end badly. That something would happen which would just tip the scale over to the bad side.

Maybe that was why Nico hated days like this so much. Growing up, he had learned to just... bottle everything up, when it came to expressing negative emotions. He knew it wasn't healthy. He knew that sooner or later, something would happen that would just push him too far. It was like he was a soda can, constantly being shaken up and soon enough, he would burst.

It had been ages since he last lost a patient. The last patient he'd lost was Nisha. That was months ago and it was difficult. It was frustrating. Now he'd lost another, a young girl, only a teenager. She had such a future ahead of her; she was a very talented football player.

Unfortunately, a player from the opposing team tackled her a little too rough. A blood clot was what killed her. It had somehow gone undetected and it killed her. Nico blamed himself, as he was her doctor. A young girl, with a bright future, had died because he wasn't able to detect a damn blood clot.

Others had tried to tell him that it wasn't his fault but he was just too stubborn to listen to them. He knew the mistake he made. Now, a girl was dead, because of that mistake.

He'd been distant with Levi ever since he'd arrived home. His mind was too occupied. He didn't want to be touched, talked to or looked at. Levi understood. Levi let him have the room he needed to take some time for himself. He knew better than to get under Nico's skin when he was in such a mood.

It was late. Very late. As in midnight had passed and Nico still had not come to bed. Levi was really starting to worry, as usually, Nico would come to bed at his usual time. That was the moment realized that Nico was definitely not okay. That was the moment he realized he needed to step in and say something.

Levi had on one of Nico's oversized hoodies as he dragged himself from the bedroom, unable to sleep knowing that Nico was alone. His hair was already a mess from the constant tossing and turning he'd been doing. As he walked out of the bedroom, he spotted Nico on the couch, curled up into the corner. It was obvious that his mind was elsewhere.

Levi made sure to be quiet as he made his way over to the couch, his footsteps soft as he walked. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he let out a shallow sigh.

"Hey," Levi muttered, just loud enough to catch Nico's attention. "Why don't you come to bed?"

"Can't." His reply was blunt and cold. Levi frowned, a worried line etched between his brow as he made his way around the couch. He sat, making sure to give Nico enough space.

"Look," Levi sighed. "I know it's difficult losing a patient, but there was nothing you could have done."

"I missed it."

"You're human, you make mistakes, same as everybody else does." Levi wasn't going to let Nico mope over this. Yes, it was tragic. Yes, he missed it, but Levi had made plenty of mistakes before, too.

"A girl died because of me today!" Nico snapped, finally turning his head to look at Levi. The sudden outburst caught Levi by surprise; he hated it when Nico got like that. Absolutely hated it. Unshed tears glistened at the edges of Nico's eyes. Levi pursed his lips together, a heavy sigh sounding from him as he realized. "A young girl died because of a mistake I made today, Levi! A young girl is dead, all because I was too-"

"Stop!" Levi interrupted, begging Nico to stop talking. Hearing Nico say such harsh things about himself hurt Levi so much, as Nico was wonderful and Levi was going to make sure he knew that. "Nico, I can't stand it when you say those things about yourself."

"Levi-"

"No, you're going to listen to me!" Levi fully turned to face Nico, crossing his legs in front of him, his hands rested in his lap. Nico let out a sharp sigh as he tried to subtly wipe under his eyes, feeling the dampness of the unshed tears. "Nico Kim, you are an incredible, talented surgeon, who saves lives and fixes people on a daily basis. You are so smart, so amazing at what you do. Mistakes are a part of life and they are a part of learning,"

Levi paused and inhaled sharply, fighting back the sudden surge of emotions coursing through him. "People will die, Nico. People will die and sometimes, we can't stop that. It's fate. We can't stop, or change, the fate of other people. Yes, you lost a patient today. Yes, you made a mistake. But you are going to learn, and you are going to grow from that. Please, do not hate yourself for this. Grow from it. You are Nico Kim, an Orthopaedic God, who has helped fix so many people. You are incredible, regardless of what you think."

Nico didn't say anything in return. He simply looked at Levi, with that same look he always gave him when he wasn't able to say anything. The look simply said how thankful he was that Levi was there for him and that he was so thankful he was so willing to help.

Nico let out a shaky breath as he pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut to try and stop the tears from falling. Even though he'd tried his hardest, teh tears still fell. However, he finally felt that it was okay to cry. He knew he needed to let it out. He knew Levi would understand.

A harsh sob sounded from Nico as he buried his face in his hands, leaning forward, elbows rested on his knees. Levi shuffled closer to his and placed a hand on Nico's back, rubbing soothing circles into his skin.

"Hey," Levi spoke soft and gentle. "Come cuddle. You need some rest, it's late. Come on."

Levi stood from the couch, Nico standing up just seconds later. Levi took him by the hand, giving it a comforting squeeze as he guided him to the bedroom. It would be a tough night, Levi was sure of it, but he wouldn't be leaving Nico's side until Nico told him to.