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Elijah woke up groggy, the sun peeking through a small slit in the curtain.
Being on sick leave always bothered them.
It was not like they hated lying in bed with no purpose, it was just so much more boring when Fionn wasn't next to them. Fionn kept them away from any work that they could take over, not even paperwork was something Fionn let them do. “Rest properly” he said, “We don't want you to hurt yourself more do we, dove?”
As sweet as it was, Elijah was so close to hitting Fionn in the face with a bat.
The wound tugged on their skin, reminding them of the pain they were forced to endure the past few weeks. Not only did they fall unluckily on their stomach on this mission, turning it blue and red, but they got stabbed by an enemy a second later. The enemy only managed a few shallow stabs before Elijah blew their brain onto the ground, but the pain didnt feel better just by killing that fucker.
They ran to exfil, information secured, hoping their blood wouldn't run out before they arrived. It didn't, thankfully, but it did force them into the pharmacy for a while. No major damage, and surprisingly enough, most of the organs were fine. They were still benched though, forced on medical leave till the medics freed them and that will take a while.
“You can't go back on the field hurt” they always say.
They get it, it's still annoying.
Their phone dings next to them. They take it and stare at the worried messages of their family and the messages about what Fionn is doing, too lazy to respond much more than a thumbs up. Reed texted them earlier, the kid texting through Fionn’s dad's phone to talk. He asked about what happened and when he would return to the field before rambling about school.
The kid was a sweetheart, it's almost surprising he's Fionn's son. Talks like a water stream but empathy is so big his heart is bursting.
After a while of just laying in bed and enjoying the leaving sun streams, they turned to their phone again. If they were stuck in bed, at least they could spend it enjoying something. The show started playing on their phone while they just stayed in bed, waiting for Fionn to return or for anyone to find interest in talking to them.
Only a few hours later, even after someone brought their breakfast, did the day seem to get better.
There was a knock on the door before Fionn walked in, towel on his head covering him like a silly kid hiding under a blanket. For once he didn't smell like smoke, rather smelling like the raspberry shower gel he stole from Cap once and never returned.
Oh, how their heart melted as they watched Fionn enter.
The shirt he wore wasn't his, they could tell by it being a size too big and built for them rather than Fionn. Not that it mattered, after all, it said the same name in big bold letters.
Still, something roared in their chest at the display of such open love.
Fionn continued to sing along to some song that was playing in his head while Eli just watched him jump around like a little goat. A little emo goat, but a little goat. Whatever pissed into Fionn's coffee today, seemed to be forgotten when he finally turned towards the bed and saw Elijah stare at him.
“Oh! You're awake!” From a moody teen telling his parents it's not a phase to a golden retriever seeing his favorite person, Fionn turned into a Ray of sunshine.
He ran a final time with the towel through his hair before dropping it into the dirty clothes pile they have that Cap has annoyed them more than once about getting rid of. With excited little jumps, he sat down next to Elijah, staring at them with a big grin and laugh lines forming at the corners of their eyes.
“Hey, sugar” Fionn leans down, kissing them softly and hitting their foreheads together.
“Hey, Doll” Elijah kissed back, holding Fionn's face in their hands as they enjoyed the rare moment of home that they had.
They just stay in that position, wrapping around each other as they keep kissing, enjoying the warmth the other emitted.
Their love was scary at first.
It was like falling in love for the very first time, even if it wasn't the first time for either of them. It was scary, this sudden pull to a person and unending need to see them and hold them. To be in their arms and know you were home. It frightened both of them, almost like paralysis.
But it also made them both vibrate in excitement. The electric feeling whenever one touched the other. The warmth when they sat next to each other on a debrief. The absolute love they were swallowed in when looking at each other's eyes. It was sickeningly sweet and both were addicted to it.
It was no real surprise they ended up dating each other, getting married was an even smaller surprise. They were stuck to each other like snowflakes in a strong storm in the middle of winter.
Fionn moved a bit, his hand moving up their shirt in ways that would usually make them feel warm, but now made them pull away from their kiss and hold Fionn's wrist instead, puffing out breaths of pain at the feeling of skin against the bandaged wound. Fionn pulled away further, pulling his hand away almost as if it was burning Eli’s skin.
“Can I take a look?” Fionn's eyes were full of worry. The wound hasn't been healing how they would like it to heal. It kept opening itself or got inflamed for no reason so they've been more on guard with it. Any moment he got, Fionn would want to take a look at it to make sure it was healing just fine, even if the medics told him it was.
“Go right ahead, I'm in your hands.” Fionn smiles in appreciation before slowly pulling up the shirt they wore, revealing the bandaged covered torso they have to suffer with for the next few weeks.
Fionn ran his hands over the bandages, frowning at the blood peeking through. “You should get that checked by the medics”
Their stomach was hurting and probably they should, but if they had to spend another night in medbay, they were going to murder. Medbay made them all nervous. He knew none of the medics and whenever he tried talking to them, they seemed rejective and he couldn't do anything against it, which didn't help the whole not liking medbay thing.
“Can I change the bandage?” they nodded, a relieved sigh coming from Fionn. After another kiss he moved back, steady hands feeling for the end of the bandage.
Fionn unwraps the bandages, gently tapping against the tender skin there. The wound itself was stapled shut, the skin around it wasn't inflamed but still angry at being opened so rudely by a knife. The slight bleeding came from one of the stitches, probably having started when they moved around too much in their sleep.
Nothing to worry about.
“Let me get the ointment. And new bandages.”
“Thank you, Nurse Snow.” Fionn stares back at them, rolling his eyes when they start laughing. He stood up, walking towards the table where they kept a few first aid kits for their own sanity. Both hate being stuck in the pharmacy, better be prepared in their room.
It's not like the medics didn't know that. They knew that most of their wounds go unnoticed and undocumented unless they were major, like Elijah's stabbing wound. They were adults, they could decide how severe their wounds were even if the medics wouldn't agree. And if it got worse they could just go later.
Fionn sat down next to them again, putting the packaged bandages And ointment on the bed before getting comfy enough to treat them without hurting his Back in the process.
With gentle hands and a glove, he starts putting the ointment on the wound, stopping any time they make a noise of discomfort. The wound did not hurt as bad as it did when the adrenaline wore down.
It was more the discomfort of being stuck in the room, and being forced to take all these medications and rest, that was making them antsy and hurt more. With Fionn distracting them, it was so much easier.
“You need to be more careful.”
Only the constant worrying annoyed them, which they made obvious with the loud groan they let out. They aren't five anymore. Fionn finished putting on the ointment and started wrapping their stomach again, lifting Eli’s back just enough for the wrap to go beneath it comfortably. The action was so warm.
Fionn let out a heavy sigh, rubbing his hands over their stomach again. “You know I don't like it when you're hurt, Sugar. I'm just worried.”
Elijah knows they're being unreasonable. They do the same whenever Fionn is injured as well, worried about the man whose name he took and formed into his own. But there is something so absurd about knowing that Fionn is running around, filling out reports and yelling at recruits while worrying his little head over Elijah's wound. It was absurd and they fucking loved it.
Gods, they fucking love that idiot who worried so much about them.
Fionn leans down, kissing softly over the wound. Butterflies would have been swarming in their stomach if there wasn't a knife wound there. He pulled down their shirt again before scooting up and laying his head onto their chest and hand onto their wound, rubbing softly against it.
It almost felt Like their first wedding night again, when they tied the knot, literally.
The white coarse cord was given down from generation to generation, a tradition Fionn gladly kept going when they stood in front of their family, the pagan tradition something Eli grew close to.
Fionn had taught them a lot about his belief in their time together. Not everything, but enough that Eli fell in love with them another thousand times. There wasn't nearly as much that Eli could've given in return, even if Fionn kept insisting that they look amazing in their cowboy attire. It was the range life, there wasn't much more to it, but Fionn still seemed to love it.
Fionn cuddled closer again, letting out a soft sigh in the comfort of their bed.
They hadn't had time to just enjoy the moment for a while. The last time they rested and didnt think about work or anything related to it, was back in Fionn's family home, on a soft summer night.
It was still cold enough from spring, the sun still rising slowly into the center of the day, only now warming up the floor and flowers hidden beneath it. It was warm enough to wear shorts but cold enough that if they wore a hoodie, they wouldn't die. They did exactly that, taking a picnic blanket to a little field a few acres away, the flower field and the few trees giving shade resembling peace they haven't experienced in a while.
The wind carried the smell of the flowers around them and let a soft breeze surround them. They laid down the blanket, knowing no one would find them for a while, and just started kissing. Kicking off their shoes like desperate teens and running their hands over each other's bodies. It didn't go further, they just wrapped each other in their arms, enjoying the feeling of just being human.
Not just a soldier, but a human with complex feelings and love that carries you on the field with desperate steps.
Humans with stories and families. With homes that fill them with life or drain them of it. With pets at home that wrap around them as if they were their only stone in their life. With tattoos and scars that paint their stories like no one else could.
They look down at Fionn's leg where the shorts revealed the work of different celtic knots and ties with meaning so important, Elijah would fawn over it anytime he could. Just like the Celtic knot ring around their finger that they got the day after their wedding to surprise Fionn.
A moment of care and acknowledgement both will carry to their graves.
Back then they stayed at the little picnic place for a few hours, watching bees and other insects fly by while kissing and rubbing over each other's aching muscles. They ate the little sandwiches Fionn's father made while Fionn told him about Reed's recent academic success. They were just there, resting, in love and in peace.
Just like right now, months later. There was still stress and pain lacing their bodies, not like on the picnic, but it is the closest they had to rest in a long time.
Fionn's head laid on their chest, just like back then in summer. He was staring up at Elijah with eyes full of emotions, hand still rubbing against the tender skin near the wound in hope of helping the tension.
“Is tú mo grá. " Fionn whispers, eyes filled with so many emotions it made their heart melt.
“I know, doll” they kiss on Fionn's back of their hand, lips pushing against the Claddagh tattooed on his ring finger “I love you too.”