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Draven flinched, his teeth clenched and his eyes squeezed close trying to cope with the sting on his waist. His voice came out in an irritated, pained groan as his breath faultered, he's been throught worse injuries but it always feels like the first time. And it's awful
James sighed as he put the large sweater aside, observing his husband's scarred torso, now with a fresh stitch that crossed Draven's side to near the navel. He eyed the bandage covering the wound and, slowly, touched the surface of rough yet smooth gauze. His hand retreated as soon as Draven's stomach spasmed, hearing him breathe sharply
"Shit. I'm fucking miserable"
"You're not" Protested James as he reached for the small pot of vaseline "Your body is just reacting"
"Right, any other reason?"
"Your touch" James pointed out "Your senses are starting to drive focus over your touch. You flinched and I didn't even get to the bandage"
"Really? Thought you were unwrapping by now"
"I was about to, but you gotta let me get it first"
"I'm trying"
Draven's voice came out dry, staring at the ceiling as he held no emotion in his voice. Almost as he had been through the same struggle since the first scratch in his life. James pursed his lips, trying to think; zoning him out is inconsiderable, he analysed with himself, and a shut down is even worse. How to keep him calm for the procedure to go without any complications?
Distraction. Draven needs distraction so he doesn't think of the pain. James touched his hair, catching his attention, kissing his forehead and cheek
"Can you close your eyes for me?"
He asked gently. Draven stared at him for a couple seconds before opening a flat smile, letting his lids close
"I'll be right back"
Draven listened as James rushed out of the bedroom is swift footsteps. He then tried to control his senses by himself, paying attention to his own breathing and what moved with it. His stomach was immobile, stitches pulling his skin together left a distant burn in the cut; his chest expanded and relaxed evenly, yet limitated out of fear from causing damage to the wound. Draven felt lightheaded, lips breaking apart slowly as his jaw relaxed, the pillow felt like it was ceasing to exist bit by bit, leaving him floating on thin air
"...Draven"
His eyes opened, feeling his body gain it's weight back and closing together again as the lamp's light felt too bright. Draven hissed, feeling the stitches burn again, and opened his eyes under his arm, seeing James back with a closed hand, looking at him extremely concerned
"Draven?"
"...hi"
"Oh thank God" James placed held on his own chest, recomposing himself "Be careful with that, you may end up zoning yourself out"
"Guess I already did for a second back there hah- argh fuck, goddamit"
"Hey" James called for Draven again, cupping his cheek with the other hand "Look at me"
Their gazes met; Draven tried to control himself again, silently, now focusing on James's eyes, features and every small detail he could catch in the dim light. Slate eyes tainted deep red brought him synesthesia, he could smell blood in the cold, calm waters of the seaside. His pale, marked skin was like a map, a map of wonders he found with James along with the years they've shared love and shelter. And as James leaned down to kiss him again, Draven noticed how soft and humid his lips were, his breath ran cold and sweet at the same time; it tasted of mint. The mesmerizing smell of the candy was welcomed by his nostrils, making his chest shiver
With his eyes fluttered close once again, Draven found himself with a different way to describe feeling lighteaded. His head wasn't spinning, nor did he feel like his soul was disconnected from his body. No, his head felt empty, empty of all thoughts, he couldn't feel himself breathing but the freshness of mint felt like it was involving him like a light breeze, moving his lungs with no effort. He then heard a song, he could hear James singing, and Draven soon found himself sinking into the melody
James's voice was soothing, every hum felt like a caress to Draven's hearing despite casual cracks and detunings. It added the essence that there wasn't any kind of character there with him, it wasn't something perfect and constant; it was something human, flawed but giving it's best and, somehow, it all just made him more relaxed. Draven could just stay there and listen to James singing for hours, feel his gentle touches and his thin strands of hair brush softly against his skin
"There. All done"
"...Wait, huh?"
Draven looked up, watching James disposing of the old bandages, then down at himself, seeing the clean gauze wrapped onto his torso. He blinked a couple times, stunned
"Did I time travel? What was that?"
"Just made sure your senses weren't saturated. Like pouring the same liquid over cups evenly, nothing more, nothing less"
"Huh..."
Draven was still reasoning, it all just happened so fast. James helped him sit up, dressing his naked half again, and Draven stood quiet for a few moments before regaining words
"Your voice is great"
"Nah. I didn't even know the whole song, I improvised like eighty percent of it"
"Still, it's great"
Draven laid back down, body and head held carefully as he did. He locked his eyes with James's again, it was an intense yet eased glare, almost as if they were comunicating without words; a message that only they knew what it meant
"How did you do this again?" Draven broke the silence
"Hm?"
"It felt like you changed the bandage in ten seconds"
"Remember when I told you it'd be dangerous for you to try to calibrate your own senses like that? That's basically what I did"
There was a pause as James cleaned his hand, then closing the vaseline pot and putting the gauze back on it's pack. Draven's brows furrowed slightly, thinking better about it
"It's important to have someone else to do it, otherwise you might manage to tune down or up what you want but destabilize the rest"
"Damn... and why was it so quick?"
"Might be what people say, time flies when things are going great" He winked
"Who actually says that... oh" Draven's face flushed slightly, making James giggle
"C'mon now, rest. We'll be changing the bandage tomorrow morning"
James planted a kiss on Draven's collarbone, leaving the bedroom to take the stuff back. The song was stuck to his head, taking him further into his youthful days, when his mother was alive, holding him tenderly in her arms and singing him lullabies in the nights he'd wake frightened. Draven couldn't help a warm smile as he turned his attention to the bedroom's door where James left. His spirit felt a cozy peace, he felt whole
The stitches no longer burned, they were now just another scratch in the middle of many, many deeper scars