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The teens are watching a movie together at Link’s place, silent save for a few small jokes (everyone is exhausted), when Taylor doubles over with a whine, holding his head.
Link puts a hand on his back, rubbing small circles. Taylor’s been getting headaches a lot lately, growing pains from his horns coming in.
Right now they’re just tiny little bumps, barely perceptible, but easy to find by touch.
“Taylor, you okay?” Normal asks softly, though his expression betrays that he knows the answer.
“Mm-mm,” he groans.
Link remembers Taylor telling him that demon puberty supposedly happens when you’re nineteen, according to his dad. But Taylor’s barely seventeen, and from what Link can see, the growing pains have been consistently hellish.
Literally.
When Link shot up in height as a kid, his legs ached horribly . He remembers his dads massaging them until the pain subsided.
“Taylor, come here,” Link says, patting his lap.
Taylor takes his hands away from his head to crawl into his lap, with his back pressed against Link’s stomach.
“Is it okay if I massage your forehead? I think it might help.”
“Mhm.”
Link gently places his thumbs and index fingers at the bases of the little bumps on his head.
Taylor grabs a pillow from the arm of the couch and squeezes it, whimpering quietly.
Link starts to rub circles against the base of Taylor’s soon-to-be horns. He makes sure to he gentle, but to still apply enough pressure.
“Is that helping?”
“Think so.”
Taylor hums and leans further back against Link, letting out the tension in his shoulders.
The others have paused the movie. So now it’s quiet, save for a small conversation between Normal and Scary that Link can’t quite parse.
Taylor’s also been hotter lately. Like. Physically.
He becomes flushed rather easily nowadays, and his temperature to the touch is something inhuman.
He’s like a little space heater. Link likes it. As he tends to get cold easily, it’s nice and convenient to just scoop Taylor up for a rush of warmth. Taylor also gets flushed when Link does that, and it’s cute seeing his face all red and pouty.
Given the lack of whines and complaints, it feels safe to increase the pressure of the massage a little, so he does, pressing into Taylor’s warm skin with his thumb and index as he continues rubbing circles.
Taylor’s grip on the pillow loosens.
“Still okay?” Link asks.
No response.
“I think he’s asleep, dude,” Scary chimes in.
“‘M awake… ‘s good…” Taylor slurs softly, stretching his arms out before adjusting to press himself even further against Link.
Link can feel Taylor’s breathing slowing down, becoming heavier, and while he wasn’t planning on soothing Taylor to sleep, it’s not unwelcome at all.
Besides, Link doesn’t think he’s gotten much rest since these growing pains started up.
As the massaging continues, Link starts to feel a soft rumble coming from Taylor. At first, he thinks it might be snores, but it feels more like low, steady vibrations.
“Oh my god, is he purring?” Scary asks, a lilt of excited curiosity to her voice.
“Is that what that is?” Link asks, voice hushed so as not to disturb him.
“Aw, he’s like a little kitty!” Normal adds.
The purring gets louder as Link continues to massage Taylor’s forehead, and Link is sure he’s asleep when he suddenly turns around and nuzzles his face against Link’s chest. Taylor is a bit of a cuddlebug, but this is different.
It’s also really cute.
Link giggles, moving his hands from Taylor’s forehead to run them through his hair and cup his cheeks.
He’s so warm, and the weight against Link’s chest plus the purring is incredibly calming. It wouldn’t be the first time Taylor served Link as a weighted blanket either, but it’s just as nice every time. He looks so peaceful in his sleep, his eyes shut and a slight smile on his face, his breathing steady…
Link brushes hair out from the gap between his horns and plants a little kiss on his forehead.
Then he hears a giggle, and he glances up at Normal and Scary, Normal covering his mouth and Scary giving him some sort of knowing look.
“What?” Link whispers.
“Nothing,” Scary says.
“Your mutual pining can be silly sometimes,” Normal says.
“Wha—mutual pining?” Link asks, moving one hand to the back of Taylor’s head and one to the small of his back.
“Come on, man, you’re basically in love with him,” Scary says.
“I mean yeah, I love all you guys, not my fault Taylor is so cute,” he says, giving Taylor a squeeze.
“You’re cute too,” Taylor mumbles, his voice slightly altered from the rumbling in his chest. Ah, they must have woken him up. “‘S not mutual pining, ‘s marriage.”
“Yeah, we’re married, remember? You’re the ones making it weird.”
“Now everyone shut up,” Taylor says, squirming until his legs are stretched across the couch, with his feet in Normal’s lap and his head in Link’s, his face turned toward Link’s stomach.
“So much for movie night,” Scary teases.
“Fuck off, Scary! Bedtime now,” Taylor says, a little more aggressive than his usual light bickering with her.
“Jeez, sorry.”
“Sorry, Scary. Pain makes me sleepy. And cranky.”
“It’s okay,” Scary says, grabbing a pillow and standing up, bringing it over to where Taylor is lying in Link’s lap. She lifts his head and slides the pillow under.
Taylor mumbles a thanks to her before burying his face in it.
Right then, an alarm goes off, and Taylor whines, covering his ears before Scary grabs Taylor’s phone and shuts it off.
“Time for painkillers,” she says softly. “Since you two are compromised,” she shoots a look at Normal and Link, trapped under a sleepy Taylor, "I'll go get them.”
“Thanks wifey,” Taylor mumbles.
“Don’t call me that.”
“Got it.”
When she comes back, Link helps Taylor sit up, and he feeds him his meds and helps him drink some water.
“Is this what it was like when you got really tall?” Taylor asks Link.
“Yeah, pretty much. Except I didn’t have cute horns.”
Taylor giggles, but then he winces. “My back’s been hurting too… do you guys think I’m gonna get cool wings?”
“Nothing about you is cool.” Scary says, putting his glass of water back on the table.
“You don’t believe that for a second.”
“Fine, your red highlights are cool.”
“You did these for me!”
“Exactly.”
“One day you’re gonna accept that I’m cool. Link thinks I’m cool! Right, Link?”
“I think you’re cool,” Link says, poking Taylor’s cheek. “And cute.”
Taylor smiles, but then he winces again.
“You want me to massage your back?”
“Yes, please,” Taylor says, turning around to face his back toward Link.
“Alright.”
“Thank you, my angel,” Taylor says, caressing Link’s cheek and making him giggle.
“No problem,” Link says, turning to kiss the palm of his hand before getting to work.