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

Get Down

Being short in a world where most things are placed far above reach is not a life one likes to live. 

That is why Levi never likes to be called short. He doesn't find it cute, nor does he find it funny, or whatever it's meant to be. He never refers to himself as short, either. Just... vertically challenged, or so he puts it. 

Nico, being quite a bit taller than Levi, has some sort of strange advantage in the world, and Levi finds it greatly unfair. Levi got sick of having to ask Nico to get things down for him, so he simply stopped. Help was no longer needed.

Or, that is what he tried to tell himself. 

Bumps, bruises, sprains; it all came in the package of no help. 

The mixture of wobbly, unstable chairs, a complete clutz, and a stubborn mind often results in injuries for Levi now. Nico has gotten used to hearing Levi mumble and grumble about how is butt is sore, or how his wrist hurts. Nico just finds it lucky that Levi hasn't even broken anything, or cracked his head open, or even killed himself. 

"You know," Nico starts, sitting Levi down on the couch and kneeling in front of him, holding Levi's left wrist in his hand. "The next time you fall off of something, I may not be there to help."

Levi pouts, letting out a sharp sigh as he watches Nico examine his wrist. It stings a little as Nico moves it about, and he winces. "I'm fine, it's not like I've done any lasting damage to myself."

"But you could. What if you fall and break your wrist so bad you can no longer operate?" Nico mentions, which puts Levi in his place. He doesn't like the truth, that's for sure. Levi doesn't reply and Nico knows he has finally gotten through to him; he just hopes Levi doesn't decide to do something like this again. 

"It's unlikely," Levi grumbles, tugging his hand from Nico's grip. Nico lets out a short sigh as he looks up at Levi, raising a brow at him. 

"There is still a possibility," Nico pushes himself up and sits next to Levi on the couch. Levi holds his wrist close to his body, his other hand rubbing over the sore area as he sulks. "Next time, you may not be so lucky. I'm only saying this in your best interest."

"I'm not a child."

"Stop putting words in my mouth," Nico says, tone sharp. He's beginning to get sick of Levi's constant shenanigans. All he wants to do is make sure that Levi stays safe; climbing up on unstable objects all the time to try and reach things isn't going to achieve that. 

Levi lets out a sigh as he sinks into the couch, still pouting away. Neither of them says anything for a moment or two, with Levi sulking and Nico not wanting to start an argument. After a couple of minutes, Levi finally sits up and turns his attention to Nico beside him. 

"I know you are just looking out for me, but I'm a grown man, Nico. You won't always be around to help me when I need to get something down out of the cupboard, or reach something on the top shelf of the wardrobe," Levi does make a point with what he is saying, but Nico still doesn't find reason in that to put himself at risk all the time. 

It was lucky this time around that Levi hadn't broken his wrist. It was a hefty fall and could have done some serious damage. Nico had just got back from work when it had happened. 

"I don't like seeing you hurt," Nico mentions, though his voice is barely a whisper. Nico has mentioned multiple times in the past to Levi about how worried he gets over him at times; Levi reassures him each and every time Nico brings it up. It helps for a while, but Nico will inevitably fall back into the worry spiral. 

Levi shuffles himself closer to Nico and nudges his shoulder, which Nico manages a smile at it. It makes them both feel a little better about it all, relieving some of the tension that had begun to build.