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I.
Taeyong didn’t know if Yuta would make it back home tonight, he hoped he would but knowing his boyfriend, it was almost impossible to guess. So, sipping his favorite tea and settling comfortably into bed, Taeyong waited. The news flashed on his face and he heard word of the superhero Phoenix scattered here and there as the newscaster reported the events happening on screen cities away and all Taeyong could hope for was that Yuta and his teammates were okay.
He always hated how they televised these disasters like they were some big blockbuster franchise and not actual lives being put on the line, but then again, he’d hate it even more being left in the dark about what was going on out there. Taeyong tried to avoid any and all broadcasts at the beginning of their relationship once Yuta revealed his superhero identity to him but quickly realized it only led his mind to wander to the other side of the freaking out spectrum and gave up shortly after. Instead, Taeyong subjected himself to anxiously watch for his own sake while reminding himself Yuta’s powers exceeded farther than the average superhero and he was more than capable of handling these types of situations even when things appeared to be going south on screen.
The battle tonight concludes with Yuta and Johnny delivering the final blow with a combo attack of fiery golden ember blasts and lightning bolt projections that leaves the screen blind momentarily as the screeching sounds of the giant starfish tumbling to the ground are heard. Once the bright light fades and refocuses, Yuta and Johnny are hovering over what’s left of the kaiju-like creature’s scorched remains.
The broadcast ends in celebration of their victory and Taeyong switches the channel to a cooking network, waiting into the wee hours of the morning, typing away on his laptop with countless recipe ideas. Trying to stay awake until the last minute, it hadn’t really bothered him anymore that Yuta was a superhero, but it didn’t change the fact that sometimes (every time) Taeyong wished Yuta wasn’t the one constantly being called away and clung to him a little tighter than the last just before he left, memorizing the warmth of his body and steady heartbeat pressed against him.
Taeyong had finally lost his fight to stay awake at a quarter past four in the morning, promptly falling asleep. He didn’t really know how long he had been out for when an arm curled around his waist, a familiar heat following with the other’s movement. Taeyong smiled, turning over and seeing the battered and exhausted face of the one and only Nakamoto Yuta, waking him up immediately.
“Hey, just go back to sleep—” Yuta winced when Taeyong set his hand on his bicep and his boyfriend’s expression shifted from relief to concern.
“Yuta,” he only says and Yuta understands.
…
Taeyong stitched and bandaged every last wound, cleaning each gash despite Yuta’s whiney complaints to take it easy. Each time Yuta stiffened from pain, Taeyong would plant a kiss to his cheek, forehead, or neck as he sat across the bathroom floor from him.
“Taeyong, I’m fine!” he hissed at the stinging and clenched his jaw when Taeyong finished with the slash on his arm, the deepest one.
“I don’t know why you thought I would let you just sleep it away when you’re practically cut up all over,” Taeyong said, his expression a mix of stern and affection as he tried his best to hold back the scolding in his voice.
“You were already asleep; I didn’t want to wake you.” He leaned in for a kiss but Taeyong slinked back. Yuta made a face and tried again only to receive the same reaction. “What’s wrong?” he asked, raising a brow and earning a small head shake from his boyfriend.
“I get why you do this, really. I just wish you wouldn’t brush off how hurt you are. You’re lucky I’m getting better at this,” Taeyong replies, gaze trained on Yuta’s shoulder to check if blood soaked through his bandages. “I still think you should go to Doyoung first before coming here. It might not be so serious but you still bled a lot, Yuta,” he sighed, his eyes finally meeting Yuta’s golden brown.
“I get it,” Yuta says exasperatedly. “With great power comes greater lectures. Doyoung gave me that whole speech already.” At the unamused look he received from Taeyong, Yuta hurriedly goes on, “That being said, I’d much prefer hearing it from my wonderful boyfriend than Doyoung any day.” He then placed his hands on Taeyong’s shoulders and lowered them down to lay on the fuzzy carpet with a cheeky smile, knowing Taeyong couldn’t stay upset with him for long.
Yuta started to kiss his neck and Taeyong let out a soft laugh, rolling his eyes. “Like hell you’re popping those stitches, healing factor or not.” Understanding that Yuta wanted something more, Taeyong rolled out from under him and stood up from the floor, patting his pajama bottoms clean. “Come on, let me finish bandaging you up and then you’re taking the day off Nakamoto.” He smiled sweetly at him, seeing Yuta reluctantly hold his arm out to grasp.
“You’ve been spending too much time with Doyoung,” Yuta groaned as Taeyong secured the bandages, kissing him chastely after and directing him to their bed.
Yuta had dozed off for maybe ten minutes when Taeyong noticed him gripping onto him tightly in his sleep. He carefully ran his fingers through Yuta’s auburn hair as his head lay in Taeyong’s lap, curled up in the blankets. Each small scrape across his body illuminated in the early morning light streaming in behind the window blinds. Each breath inhaled and exhaled calming Taeyong because Yuta is alive and with him again.
Every time Taeyong shifted, Yuta made sure he was still wrapped around him, that Taeyong was still there. It was in Taeyong’s arms that Yuta felt the safest. After a little more shuffling between the two, Taeyong found a comfortable position for them with Yuta’s head on his chest, the top of his head cozily tucked into Taeyong’s neck.
“I love you,” Taeyong said softly, almost inaudible, but the surge of warmth he received in their hold told him Yuta heard and he cuddled his boyfriend closer as sleep consumes them both.
༄
II.
While Yuta does have a healing factor that comes in handy for recovering at a faster rate than other heroes, it doesn’t exactly mean he’s invulnerable either.
Most of Yuta’s scars have pretty good—interesting, maybe, is the more accurate word choice—have pretty interesting stories surrounding their origins. Most seem to involve power-crazed maniacs and glinting blades, or the occasional giant monster for variation. And most of the marred skin comes complete with compelling narrative structure:
“…and then he leapt, and then I bled, and then we left his sorry ass handcuffed to a streetlight.”
Most.
Yuta has his share of scars that are the vigilante’s version of Oh that? I missed a step down the stairs. You know how clumsy I can be sometimes.
The splintered skin over his ribcage that Doyoung had just finished stitching back together—that’s going to be a I missed a step down the stairs scar.
…
“Where’s this one from?” Taeyong murmured, tracing his finger along a few short nicks on Yuta’s side.
“Sparring sessions with Ten,” Yuta answered with a snort, thinking back to the memory of when he foolishly thought he could easily take on a weapon specialist—Ten and blades were a dangerous combination.
Taeyong moved to a longer one that was faint across his boyfriend’s stomach, looking up at Yuta questioningly.
“Fell through a building and landed on some pipes.” Taeyong winced, Yuta returning the look with a grimace of his own. “Yeah, not fun, I was still trying to get the whole flight thing down.”
There’s a circle on Yuta’s shoulder that probably used to be a bullet hole, Taeyong guessed. He continued tracing across Yuta’s entire body, touching every new or healed scar.
Yuta provides the story to each one asked, allowing Taeyong to fill his curiosity until he’s satisfied. When Taeyong moved back, he’s met with Yuta’s warm gaze on him.
Before he could ask what’s the look for, Yuta caught one of Taeyong’s hands that was hovering between them and brought it close to his chest while his other hand came up to Taeyong’s cheek and traced the scar near his right eye.
“Now’s your turn to tell me about this one.”
“It’s not as interesting,” Taeyong replied with a small pout.
“Doesn’t have to be,” Yuta said smiling, leaning in to capture those tempting pink lips.
༄
III.
“So are you feeling up for it?”
Taeyong crossed his arms and fixed Yuta with a glare even as his face burned with embarrassment. “Who told you about this? Was it Johnny? I bet it was Johnny.”
Yuta cocked his head to the side, his usual auburn hair now a burning vibrant red as he remained levitating upside down, eye-level with his flustered boyfriend. “Uh, no one. Actually, it’s probably one of the most iconic kisses in cinema. Now you may not know—”
“Who doesn’t know the Spider-Man kissing scene?!” Taeyong smacked Yuta’s shoulder, jostling him and almost causing Yuta to lose his balance but he readjusted himself. “Are… Are you serious about doing this?”
“You bet.” Yuta’s teeth flash in a flirtatious smile. “But I’m starting to get a little light-headed here babe, so the sooner the better.”
Taeyong hesitated for a moment, eyeing Yuta, who’s smiling encouragingly, then pushed away his lingering embarrassment of his boyfriend somehow finding out his desire to have a Spider-Man kiss moment, and stepped into Yuta’s awaiting embrace.
The angle was awkward at first until they managed to slot their mouths at the right angle. It’s still a little confusing and weird, but after a couple seconds of fumbling, the kiss deepened into something more familiar, enough so that Taeyong started to enjoy himself and eagerly leaned in. Yuta nipped at his lips, and Taeyong responded by allowing him in and sucking on his tongue—
Which turned out to be a bad decision as Yuta lost his concentration and plummeted downward, taking Taeyong with him to the floor. A tangle of limbs followed as the room filled with twin hisses of pain and a slew of swears.
“Talk about a head rush,” Yuta groaned, looking over at Taeyong to see if he’s alright. “You good? Sorry for losing focus there—”
Taeyong cracking up has Yuta halting, lips twitching before he too falls victim to Taeyong’s contagious laughing fit at the absurdity of what just happened.
“Oh god, that was so…you…!” Taeyong wiped at a few stray tears once they calmed down enough. He beckoned Yuta closer, his boyfriend doing so happily, and wrapped his arms around him. “I love you.” Taeyong kissed the tip of his nose. “I love you so much.” And proceeds to kiss him all over much to Yuta’s enjoyment.