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Duke was just chilling nonchalantly in the living room watching some sports when he heard the familiar sound of the front door open, followed by it slamming hard against the wood.
Duke was of course used to that, so it didn't phase him as he stood, heading for the doorway. He hoped Dude had returned in one piece.
The man always got into some sort of issue whenever he went out anywhere. That's just how he rolled.
That thought unfortunately became true once he got a look at Dude.
The ginger was sporting a couple bruises, nothing too serious that Duke could see. What really set him off was how he was holding his side, and the blood seeping from it.
What in the hell had happened?
Duke quickly took his injured love to the kitchen, ignoring the grumbly denies from Dude that he was fine, because he wasn't, damnit. He knew he should've of came with him..even if Dude could handle himself just fine.
“It wasn't a big deal,” Dude huffed as Duke gingerly but firmly took his trenchcoat off, slipping it from his shoulders. He tried not to hiss at the movement but failed, clutching onto his side once again. “Ngh, fuck..”
“Let me see.” Duke placed his much larger hand on Dude's that was covering his wound, his voice stern yet still full of sympathy for the other.
“I'm alright-”
“Let me see it.”
Duke repeated, not taking no for an answer. Dude stared up at him, piercing green eyes barely peeking over his sunglasses. The sight made Duke's chest throb. He hated when the other hid himself this way.
“C'mon, I can't help you if I can't know how bad it is.” He gently rubbed his hand along Dude's, feeling him stiffen under his touch. He just wanted to help him…
Dude averted his gaze after a moment, finally removing his hand from his side, his palm stained red. Duke took a good look at the large cut. It luckily wasn't too deep but it would definitely need stitches. Whoever had slashed at Dude got him pretty good.
It wasn't often that his pain tolerance got to him, so of course this made the blonde worry.
After getting what he needed from the bathroom, Duke returned with a large medic kit. He kept a good stock of them since he himself got into tussles, not to mention keeping the earth safe. It was a tough job.
As he cleaned and stitched up Dude's wound, the man let him, still staying silent as ever. He sat hunched over on the kitchen counter, occasionally twitching and clenching onto the table at every needle thread.
“It'll be over with soon, baby. Hang in there.” Duke would reassure him gently. “Damn, they got ya good with this. You gonna tell me what happened?”
Dude seemed to hesitate on that, his eyebrow twitching slightly as he tried not to fidget. He hated looking so weak. “I just got jumped by some idiots. Sure they got some good hits in but I returned the favor.”
Duke smirked. “I'm sure ya did.”
It wasn't like he didn't have faith in Dude to fight back. The man had gone through plenty of scrabbles in his prime…but still, it was a little funny to think about. This scrawny guy fighting people. It was certainly courageous.
Dude gave him an annoyed look. “What, you don't believe me or something?” There was irritation and a hint of embarrassment in his tone that Duke took note of.
He decided to play it cool and not aggravate him further, he had gone through enough for one night.
“Of course I do.” Duke said, pulling out some gauze from the med kit. He had finished stitching him up. As he wrapped the gauze around his side he continued.
“I think you're very much capable of handling yourself…you're my tough little man after all, aren't you?”
Duke gazed at him from over the rim of his shades, letting the other see those blue eyes of his. Dude was silent, staring mutely before looking away, pouting with pink dusting his cheeks. The sight made Duke smile.
“That's the corniest shit you've said tonight.” The ginger muttered, though he couldn't ignore the warmth that had grown in his chest at the others words. Those damn charms of his..
A deep chuckle emanated around the dimly lit kitchen as Duke finished up wrapping his cut, before pulling his shirt down, his touch lingering a bit longer, his hands finding themselves resting on Dude's hips.
Dude could feel the warmth of those hands through the fabric of his shirt and he tried not to shiver, his own hands planting themselves on top of Duke's own as he stared up at him.
The blonde watched him for a moment, pulling his hands away as he closed up the kit. “Y'know, I think it's funny how we’re only really this close whenever one of us does something stupid.” He mused as he placed the medic kit on the counter.
It was definitely true, yet they both shared moments like these plenty of times, he just had to crack a joke to ease the tension. It was in his blood!
A beat passed before Dude started chuckling, catching Duke momentarily off guard as he looked over at him. He smiled once again at seeing the other look happy for the first time that evening.
Dude brought his hand up to remove his sunglasses, his shoulders shaking from his chuckling fit as he used his other to scrub at his eyes. “Ye-yeaah..heh, you're right..” he let out a sigh, feeling tension lift from his psych. Duke always knew when to lighten the mood..
Duke suddenly took sudden notice of something. Something he hadn't seen much earlier. He stepped closer, eyeing Dude intently. It must've of been because of his glasses hiding them, but there was a nick on his eyebrow.
It had bled a bit but dried, a faded smear left behind on the man's pale skin, indicating that he had tried to wipe it away.
His gloved hand reached up, taking hold of the gingers chin, lifting it a little higher to get a better look at it in the light. It didn't look too bad, it had missed the man's eye so any damage at all would be a little scar at the most. Nothing too serious..
His gaze then fell upon Dude, who had gone silent since the moment he had touched him. With those sunglasses off Duke saw how wide his eyes had become. He looked like he wanted to say something, but it seems that Duke had him still. He must've not been expecting this.
The ginger's Adam's Apple bobbed slightly, his green gaze wavering as he tried desperately to keep his cool despite how red his face had become. With how close they were, how their hot breaths mingled together, it was hard.
He always felt like he was going to go insane whenever Duke did this type of stuff. It was like he was doing it on purpose. Maybe he was.
Duke leaned in closer, his lips ghosting against the others, feeling Dude's breath stutter at the close proximity before the distance closed, their lips locking reflexively, with a sense of familiarity...like they've done it a million times before.
The kiss only lasted for only a moment before Dude pulled back first. A small gasp left him, his chest burning. He watched as Duke continued to stare at him with that smile of his, his tongue peeking out to lick his own lips, his hands still on his waist.
“So, did ya do that on purpose so I could kiss ya or…” Duke trailed off, snickering at the befuddled look on the ginger's face. He loved to tease him, even in moments like these.
Dude swallowed hard again, before a lazy grin split his rough features. “Oh shut up, you wish.” He playfully shoved him back. Maneuvering himself to get down from the counter, he hopped down, but not before feeling a warm hand rest on his uninjured side, stopping him in place.
“You should take it easy for a little while. Let me go out and get some things until ya heal up.” Duke rubbed his hand along his side, not meaning anything by it but just wanting to let him know he was there.
Dude felt like denying yet again, but the offer was tempting. “What about you? You're out there beating up aliens and shit. You need rest too.”
Really, he did alot harder stuff than him, and he still wanted to give Dude a break? Dude would have laughed if he weren't so touched.
Duke was quiet for a moment, before he shook his head, guiding Dude out of the kitchen and to the living room. “Don't you worry about that, babe. You just focus on restin’ up.”
“But I-”
The ginger was cut off as he was suddenly lifted up, making him let out a yelp of surprise. Duke was careful as he kept him cradled in his large grasp, not intent on harming him. He then placed Dude's sunglasses back on his face, pushing them up the bridge of his nose with an amused snicker.
“No buts, doll.” He said, heading for the stairs. “You trust me, don't ya?”
Dude huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. He couldn't deny that he liked being held and comforted like this. Maybe he had to get his ass kicked more often.
“...yeah, yeah.. I do.” A small smile tugged at his lips as he rolled his eyes. He recieved a peck on the cheeks in reply. “Dumbass.”
Duke just laughed as he carried him up the stairs.