Burning Ice & Freezing Fire

Warmth?!

"...Is this helping anything?..." Sportacus very gently presses the pleasantly warm, green stones onto Robbie's stomach and moves them in slow, circling motions, watching the other's still painful expression carefully to be able to react immediate on possible signs that he's only making things worse with this.

He didn't move his position with Robbie's head on the pillow on his lap. He called for his elven medical kit and it appeared out of the secret hiding place beneath the floor, next to his bed. He almost forgot about it...

Until now.

Until Robbie couldn't help anymore but writhe and cry out in worsening pain of his cramping abdomen... Then Sportacus finally remembered the stones and decided to try them, since it couldn't get that much worse with them anymore anyway...

Robbie nods weakly after a few minutes.

His breathing is still shallow and strained, but he opens his eyes to search the hero's gaze, his voice weak and barely above a whisper "...Are those...magic healing stones?..."

Sportacus smiles gently "...Not...really... They get warm very quickly when you hold and slide them along each other and they keep this temperature for hours. Warmth often helps against cramping muscles... I'm relieved it does in your case now!..." he kisses the villain's forehead and continues with the careful stone massage. Robbie nods weakly "...It does... Thank you... I... I really thought..." he trails off and carefully rests his shaking hands on Sportacus', following their motions.

It's calming...

Assuring him that his rescuer is still here...

That this is still real...

"...You're in no danger. I'm here for you, Robbie. I won't let anything bad happen to you. Ever!" repeats the hero lowly but firmly. The villain blinks in surprise about this promise "...But...Sportacus..."

"No. I mean it, Robbie," he looks down into the feverish eyes "I'd rather die than let anything happen to you!"

"That's..." Robbie searches for any words to describe his utter confusion "...It's not your fault that I'm sick, Sportacus... And...you can't...always save everybody..."

"The moment I can't do that anymore, I've failed. And I couldn't live with that. And losing you..." the hero shakes his head, on his face a very strange expression. But then he blinks and it is gone, his voice low but normal again "...Take deep, slow breaths. Stop worrying now. Everything will be all right again, soon..."

"...It's... I'm sorry, Sportacus... I know you're trying...so hard to encourage me, but... It's still...so hard to believe that..." a tear runs down his cheek and he tries to avert meeting the hero's gaze now "...I'm a felf... I'm...one of the fifteen percent that survive their birth and then...grow up with an unknown amount of magic inside them...until it could be too late... I could even be dangerous! For LazyTown. For the kids! For you!..." he starts to shiver violently at the mere thought of this "...And... And I was so stupid! I didn't know, myself, until today! But there were so many signs! Like my inventions and disguises and even my...way to change clothes most of the time! How could I possibly not notice during all these years?!?" He squeezes his eyes shut and grits his teeth when his stomachache becomes worse again.

"Shush. Don't fuss, Robbie..." Sportacus gently nuzzles his face into the black hair again in a calming manner, murmuring "...Relax... You are not dangerous, Robbie! ...And it's not your fault that you didn't notice..."

"But it was so obvious!"

"Not for any of us. Not even for me, and I'm an elf..."

"But when I was alone in my lair..."

"Robbie," interrupts Sportacus gently and kisses his hair "...Robbie, you couldn't notice... This mental barrier... It shut off every thought that might could've lead you to the conclusion what you are, even before you became aware of it. That's why it felt perfectly normal to you to do all that..."

"...You're just trying to comfort me... But the truth is...I'm just...ignorant...about everything..." his eyes move over his own abdomen and fix on the gentle, but strong hands of the elf who's doing everything in his power to help him somehow...

"No, I don't! Robbie, I'm serious! If you don't believe me take a look into the book! It's all written down there!" Sportacus can't stop his voice from sounding a little excited. Of course he wants the villain to feel better and less self-contemptuous, but... "...I would never lie to you..." his voice sounds slightly broken and desperate. Robbie moves his eyes up again to meet the other's gaze "...I know... I'm sorry... It's just..." he breaks up in a low sob.

"It's too much to progress right now. I know. And I understand... It would be too much for nearly everybody, I guess...including me..." seeing Robbie this hurt and broken truly tears Sportacus gentle heart apart and with this, the suppressed anger comes up again and his voice involuntarily turns into a hiss "...I swear, if I'm ever going to see Nine again..."

"N-No," still sobbing, Robbie tightens his grip on the hero's hands.

"But it's his fault that you are in this danger now, because of this stupid mind-barrier! He..."

"...No..." Robbie's sobs die down and his voice becomes even lower now.

"What 'No.'? Of course it is!" Sportacus can barely contain himself "If he..."

"He didn't..." the felf swallows hard, almost as if in even more pain now, and the next words are barely loud enough to be heard "...I did..."