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A mirror fogged from the moisture of a long, hot shower is haphazardly wiped off by his palm to get a better view of himself, listless gaze watching Medkit's deft fingers work into his scalp from behind.
The healers chest presses to his damp back, parting the long, matted mess known as Subspace's hair how he wants it to sit, before reaching around him to grab the scissors off the counter.
The gentle scent of chamomile and honey fills the scientist's nostrils, a warm air that constantly lingered around Meddy, it's familiarity comforting. Soothing. Which is why he doesn't fight him when he begins trimming the split, frayed ends, melting into his touch until he practically becomes putty in his hands.
Medkit focuses on the hair framing his face first, precision clear in ever snip of his bangs, gradually revealing the scarred, aged face that lay beneath. He stands on his tippy-toes to reach the top of Subspace's head due to their slight height difference, getting the neglected and overgrown bits tangled around his horns, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth in disapproval whenever he finds a particular bad patch.
"There's that handsome face I remember," He croons once he's finished up with getting his side burns, running his knuckles across Subspace's cheek affectionately.
He only scoffs in response, self-deprecation curling a smile on his thin lips.
"Don't give me that look," He tuts, pressing a kiss to the skin just below his ear, "You are. Just as cute as you were back then." A pause, then adding, "Looks wise, at least."
"What's that supposed to mean?" He huffs, narrowing his functioning eye at his reflection.
"Mm. Well, you become significantly less cute the minute your personality shines through. Hard to admire your appearance when you're rambling on about controlling the world's energy supplies and gutting your coworkers, no?"
"Really? Figured you were into that." He shrugs, pretending to check his nails.
Exasperation is written all over his face, when he sighs, "And what gave you that idea?"
"Well, you're still with me." He giggles, head lolling to the side, "Obviously, there's a reason for that! You probably like that I'm — as you would put it — unstable, don't you? I've seen the books you read, you like a guy that's not afraid to kill for you."
Cheeks warming from being called out, he doesn't dignify him with a response, simply grabbing one of horns to make him look straight ahead once more and chiding, "Stop moving."
Subspace pouts dramatically, but he listens, crossing his arms and allowing him to start on the back.
Medkit cant even run his fingers through the strands without them snagging on the appendages, causing Subspace to suck air through his teeth in pain, and the healer’s brows to furrow with concern. He spends a good minute feeling up the knots, gaging where abouts his hair was still salvageable, and what needed to be removed.
"I apologize, but I'll have to cut it a bit shorter than we initially discussed." He mutters hesitantly, leaning over his shoulder to get a glimpse of his expression, "Is that alright?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure, whatever." He dismisses, waving him off, "Do whatever you want, I don't care. Doesn't matter, anyway, I'm still gonna be ugly. No haircut can fix that."
Surprised at such a negative response, Medkit only blinks slowly at him for a moment, a pang ringing through his heart at how little he thought of himself.
Subspace honestly had quite the ego when they were young, confident, boisterous and flaunting about his looks. Now, mainly due in part to his ailment, he could hardly stand to look at himself, every aspect about his body repulsing him.
He hated his face. How marred his skin was on the left, rough and course, framing his blind eye permanently fixed in its neutral position. He hated how much weight he had gained in the last few years, mainly from a mixture of all the medication he'd been put on, his less than steller life style of hunching over his desk tinkering away on inventions, and just all around eating more out of boredom to fill the void Meddy left behind.
Though now that Medkit was back in his life, it only made his insecurities worse, because he was afraid of disappointing him for just how much he had let himself go.
It takes him a minute for Subspace to register the fluttering sensation on his shoulder, soon recognizing it as Meddy pressing his lips to his skin while he worked, carefully snipping off the chunks and being sure to avoid the areas he deemed could be saved.
"I wish you could see yourself the way I do," He whispers, planting another kiss to his jaw, "Then maybe you'd understand."
"Maybe." Is all he mumbles in response, adjusting the towel wrapped around his waist.
After what feels like forever, Medkit sets the scissors back down on the edge of the counter, then tilting his head to the side to be sure everything was even.
"What do you think?" He asks expectantly, secretly — scratch that, obviously hoping for some praise.
Subspace squints at the mirror, reaching up to tussle his hair, pinching the strands and running his fingers through it to be pleasantly surprised with how much softer the texture felt. Light, airy, and tidy.
"Huh. It... It actually looks really good?" He laughs out, having clearly expected disastrous results, "Guess you picked the wrong career, cutting hair was your calling all along!"
"I wouldn't go that far," He breathes out, though the corners of his lips curl upwards, then stepping around him to fetch a container of some sort of cream off the shelf adjacent to the sink.
"What's that?" He asks when Medkit begins unscrewing the lid, lips pursing.
"Just some moisturizer, it should help to ease the itching you've been having trouble with." He explains, gathering a genourous dallop on his fingertips, "Turn around for me?"
Subspace obliges, albeit with slight trepidation, spinning around on his heels to face him and resting his arms at his sides to allow easier access, throat bobbing with a hard swallow.
Medkit's warm palms engulf either side of his face, gingerly working the lotion into his skin, taking extra caution when approaching some of the more sensitive patches of flesh, "As for the pain, I have an ointment I've been working that should hopefully give you some relief. Won't make it go away completely, but it'll lessen your discomfort."
Gods, what did he do to deserve him?
Medkit is sure to be thorough, applying the moisturizer to every single bit that required his attention, massaging it into his neck and shoulders. His arms are next, extra time being put into his right due to how severe the damage to it was, treating the appendage as though it were as fragile as glass.
"I think we'd better wait until tonight to apply the other one," He advises, eye half-lidded, "I don't want to risk irritating the skin more than it already has been."
Subspace, having far less knowledge on these kinds of things, simply nods in agreement.
When Meddy's hands make their way down to his torso, Subspace's face flushes, the tempo of his heartbeat skyrocketing. It only worsens when his love-handles are given a squeeze, curious fingers kneading the pudge that lined his sides, trailing across his stomach and pressing into the pliant flesh.
"I'm starting to think you're just using this as an excuse to grope me." Subspace teases with a nervous chuckle, long tail wagging lazily behind him.
Those fingers stop, with Medkit having the audacity to glance away sheepishly, his cheeks warming with a light blush when he hurries out, "Apologies."
It sends a twinge of disappointment through him when Meddy resumes applying the cream rather than continuing getting his kicks out of squishing him, but Subspace certainly wouldn't admit that.
"I set some clothes out on the bed for you while you were in the shower," He murmurs, head craning up to look at him, "I thought perhaps, if you were interested, we could lay with each other for a bit afterwards."
"Like... Cuddling?"
"Yes." He confirms, bringing a hand up to cup his face, thumb sweeping across his cheekbone, "We could put on a show, eat some snacks..."
"Your idea of snacks is wayyy different than mine. I mean, when most people sit down to watch a movie, they wanna eat popcorn or — or a bag chips or something! Not a bowl of strawberries."
"What is so wrong with that? They taste wonderful." He defends, brows knitting together, "Is it that you prefer more of a crunch? I believe I have some salted peanuts in the cupboard."
"Ugh, that's even worse. Hardly any flavor!" He scoffs playfully, crows feet deepening.
"Oh, like you have any right to judge. You could eat a chicken breast seasoned only with salt and pepper, and you would still consider it spicy."
"I — Well thats — ..." He sputters for a moment, unable to think of a rebuttal, until he groans, "Shut up."
That gets a snort out of Medkit, fond exasperation clear in his expression, and he's sure to press a short peck to his lips.
Subspace's hands come to rest on the small of Meddy's back, a beat of silence passing, before he awkwardly starts, "Thank you, by the way, uh. For — just, for I dunno, everything? Putting up with me?"
"Theres no need for that," He sighs, voice tired, "I don't mind assisting, I just... I wish you would take better care of yourself."
"Like you have any room to be lecturing me on self-care." He grumbles under his breath, earning a scolding flick on the nose from Medkit.
"I am well aware I am in no position to, but I am still allowed to worry." He huffs, gaze swiveling away from his, quietly admiting, "I don't want to lose you. Not again."
His smile falters a tad at that, a chest squeezing at the realization of how much he had likely been stressing the healer out, the cause of how frequently his fretting had been as of late.
"I know." Is all he can think to sigh out, running his thumbs over the soft fabric lining the plane of Medkit's back, "And... And I'm sorry."
He doesn't respond, though his shoulders tense, a frown making its way onto his face.
And it's one Subspace knows all too well. A mask of frustration and annoyance to disguise what's really going on inside his head, how choked up about their situation he truly was.
So, the scientist presses another kiss to the healers lips to cheer him up, relishing in the surprise that spreads across Medkit's features, soon turning into delight at having his affections reciprocated, stubby tail wagging eagerly.
"Meddyyyyyy," He drawls in a sing-songy tone when they part, a toothy, mischievous grin stretching across his expression.
"What?"
"I love you! Duh." He rolls his eye, nuzzling into his palm.
"Ah." He say in realization, blinking owlishly at him for a moment, before letting out a long exhale, "I love you too."