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“What about my personality makes you think I would ever want my feet to be anything other than planted firmly on the ground?”
You snort and pout, draping your arms around his waist as he continues to walk through the kitchen, putting last night’s cups in the cupboard while you hang from him. You had woken up to find Zayne still dressed in his pajamas, tidying up the dishes you two had left in the kitchen from dinner last night. You desperately want to try something you’d seen in a viral video before falling asleep last night, and he’s adamantly against it, like usual.
“Think of it from a scientific angle.”
He frowns, “You want me to experiment on you?”
“As if you don’t already have a bunch of hypotheses about me and my ‘bizarre habits’,” you mumble, trying to become even more dead weight around his waist, attempting to slow him down. But he continues moving around the kitchen like no big deal, causing you to slip off of him and scramble after him, reattaching yourself to his hip.
“Hm…” he murmurs, then finally stops, reaching down and gently grabbing your arm, unwrapping it from around him, and pulling you up to look him in the eye, “Tell me truthfully, why do you want to do this?”
Biting your lip, you consider brushing it off as nothing for a second, only to give in the moment you look back up at him.
You sigh heavily, feeling your throat tighten a little, “The other night, when I took some overtime, I read a report from a past incident. There were two Hunters, partners, a man and a woman. At one point during the battle the man went down from an injury. It wasn’t life-threatening, but… she wasn’t able to get him somewhere safely on time and he ended up…”
Tears fill your eyes and you blink them away, only to find Zayne looking down at you with a faint smile.
“It’s not funny, Zayne! You often accept jobs in dangerous locations. Locations I’m sent out to as well! I need to know that if something were to happen to you that I would be able to get you out.”
“And so you want to attempt to do some version of a carry or lift to take me from one room into the other?” he asks, still smiling faintly, though there is a slight edge to his voice now that hadn’t been there before.
“I’m being serious. This is very important to me,” you pout up at him.
His smile fades and he tenses up a little. Still looking down at you, he takes your face between his hands, “And what if you can’t do it? Are you going to force yourself to train even harder, despite your doctor’s orders?”
Biting down on your lip, you take a resolute stance, looking up at him with a new determination.
“I am not going to fail.”
He peers down at you for a few long seconds before releasing your face, standing up straight, and pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers. Sighing deeply, he murmurs, “If we do this, please try to avoid passing by any mirrors. I’d like to keep some of my dignity intact.”
You squeal in excitement at his reluctant acceptance.
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In the living room, you wiggle in anticipation, “Alright, Zaynie, think light thoughts!”
“Is this technique scientifically supported or just more of your nonsense?”
“... Just lie down.”
He does as you order, trying his hardest to maintain that dignity he’d been speaking about by avoiding eye contact with you.
“Remember, it’s perfectly fine if you’re unable to do this. It doesn’t mean you’re a bad girlfriend, and it definitely doesn’t mean you’re a bad Hunter.”
“I appreciate what you’re saying. But I’m not gonna fail.”
He chuckles faintly and you take a deep breath, prepping yourself mentally for the task at hand. You create a fake scenario in your mind as motivation. You and Zayne had been trapped fighting Wanderers and he’d been hit by a massive blow that had knocked him unconscious. You got rid of the largest Wanderer and the biggest threat, but smaller Wanderers are spawning at an alarming rate. You have to get him out quick.
Once you’ve made up your scenario, you look down to see Zayne peering up at you with that familiar, faintly amused expression. Ignoring him, you steel your nerves.
“I’m gonna try a couple of different techniques to get a feel for which is better for me.”
“Do as you must.”
“Remember, you can’t assist me. I have to do this on my own.”
“You’ve been very clear about that point. Though I still think it is somewhat unnecessary. There is always the possibility that I’d be lucid enough to assist you somewhat.”
“There’s also the possibility that you wouldn’t be. We have to prepare for the worst-case scenario.”
“Very well. You may proceed.”
“Alright. Here we go,” you murmur, looking at him from all angles. You already know one technique might be much more difficult than the other, less so about the weight you’d be carrying, and more so due to the height differences. Though it might still be possible, you’d be putting in much more work than if you attempted to go another way.
You squat down a couple times, lifting his arms to get a feel of the weight of them, propping his knees up, and then setting them back down. He does his very best to stay still for you, though he appears to be fighting the urge to take over and do it himself.
When you finally get a feel of what you want to do, you squat down, arranging his limbs to reduce too much movement, and try to make him as compact as possible. You ignore the soft huff that comes from your boyfriend, as if he’s preparing himself to take a bump.
One second, he’s flat on his back. In the next, you’ve pulled him up and off the floor, your arm holding onto one of his arms and legs, his weight nearly completely supported across your shoulders.
You grunt triumphantly, taking one step, two steps… ten whole steps before you feel your legs start to wobble.
“I can’t make it into the next room.”
His voice is slightly strained when he instructs, “Set me on the couch.”
When you manage to do as he asked, his hair is ruffled, his face is flushed, his eyes are slightly wider than usual, and he completely avoids eye contact, clearing his throat into his fist as he nods, “Well…”
“I did it!” you celebrate, flopping down on the floor and rubbing your shaky legs, “I mean, I would have liked to get you to the other room, but this wasn’t bad for a first time. With a little more practice, I should be able to get it done in no time!”
“You are… always full of surprises,” he says, his ears turning even pinker as you move to sit beside him. Then his head rises slightly as he glances at you, “Wait, did you say ‘more practice’?”