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The bright lights of the medical bay were almost as cold as the room itself. Even though it was meant to be a place of healing and hope, it always gave Smiley the creeps. This time, the circumstances made him hate the room even more.
His eyes scanned over the body that lay in the hospital bed. His sidekick, Scowl, curled up in a tiny ball, gripped tightly onto her blanket as she shivered.
Normally, Scowl had the strength and agility to take on any challenge; more so than Smiley (though he’d never admit it). This time though, she was trying to save a child from a burning building that collapsed on top of her. She pushed him out of the way just in time, but at the expense of being crushed herself. Smiley knew she was a quick healer, and she’d be okay faster than the average hero, but he couldn’t help but worry over her bruised and battered body. He’d been working with her for about a year now, and had never seen her take such a severe beating. It scared him more than he’d let on, and he felt his heart was going to explode with pent up worry.
Scowl had been out cold since the collapse. The doctors and Gerda had assured Smiley that Scowl would be fine, especially since her healing powers were so potent, but he felt his heart beating out of his chest the whole time. He’d noticed her starting to stir a few hours ago though, and hadn’t left her side since he saw that first twitch of life.
His eyes traced across the shape of Scowl’s body - her plump cheeks were paler than usual and covered with scratches. Her entire body was peppered with bruises, and the arm she’d used to protect the child from the rubble was wrapped in gauze, most likely covering a massive wound.
“Smiley?…” He snapped out of his thoughts as her soft voice broke his concentration.
“Scowl, oh my God,” Smiley said, blinking back the tears forming in the corners of his eyes, “You’re alive!” He went in to hug her but stopped himself, visually reminded of her fragile condition by her bruises. “You’re alive, I’m so happy, holy shit…,” his voice was nearly a whimper as he leaned as close as he could without touching her.
“Hiya, captain…,” her voice was weak and shaky, but still had the tone of her usual happy-go-lucky self. Smiley couldn’t help but grin, his body itching to embrace her as tightly as he could. He had to hold back; he didn’t want to hurt her any further. Scowl seemed to read his mind and nodded, “You can give me a hug! Just be careful, please.” She whimpered as she sat up to meet him, her limbs trembling from the slightest bit of exertion.
Smiley nodded and slowly leaned in, wrapping his large arms around her and pulling her in close. He felt his emotions overwhelm him and he started to pepper her face with kisses, quickly but gently. “I was so worried about you,” he said in a whisper.
Their relationship had been solidified recently, but they were the only two that truly knew. Even Star had been left out of the loop (even though he always assumed they were together anyway). Gerda didn’t know yet, and she wouldn’t until Smiley and Scowl figured out a plan of action - they had no idea if she’d be on board with their relationship, and she held Smiley’s fame and future in her hands. At this point though, none of that mattered to Smiley. He was just happy to have Scowl alive and in his arms.
Smiley couldn’t help but grin and laugh along as giggles poured from Scowl. “Captain, geez! It’s like you haven’t seen me for a month!” She gently cupped his face in her hands and looked deep into his eyes. “I’m okay, I promise.” She leaned in and planted a deep kiss against his lips, which he quickly and passionately reciprocated.
“You’re definitely not okay,” Smiley said once he pulled away, “I’ve never seen you this hurt.” He rubbed her back, his heart skipping a beat as he felt her lean into it with enjoyment, her expression pleasured. She arched her back as he massaged his fingertips softly into her shoulders. “I’m sure you’re in pain.”
“That’s an understatement,” Scowl sighed, a twinge of sadness inserting itself into her tone. Smiley knew she really meant it, she wasn’t even trying to hide it anymore. “I am okay, I know I’ll heal, but it definitely doesn’t feel good…” She gave Smiley another kiss on the cheek. “My hero,” she giggled, “Thank you for saving me. If you hadn’t pulled me out, I might have-“
“Don’t,” Smiley replied, pressing his lips against hers again. “I don’t even want to think about that.” He shuddered and ran his hands through her hair protectively.
“But really,” Scowl gave Smiley a more serious look, “I really appreciate what you did for me…I know we just got together, and it’s probably not that important, but it means a lot to me that you’d save me.”
Smiley raised an eyebrow. “Scowl, of course I’d save you. Why wouldn’t I?” He slowly got up and scooted himself onto the bed, his large body curling around hers and cradling her close against his chest.
“Well, I know you’d have saved me no matter what, it’s just…I don’t think any cameras caught it.” Scowl looked down forlornly, hinging on guiltily. “It sucks that that moment was wasted and you won’t even get any good press out of it.”
Smiley went silent for a long moment. Is…that what she really thinks of me? He pondered, resting his head atop hers. I guess I haven’t given her a reason to believe otherwise…, he continued to massage deeply into her back, feeling her curve against his hand and moan with delight.
“That feels great, it’s exactly what I needed, cap.” Scowl smiled contently as she cuddled up closer against Smiley’s chest. “I think you’re resetting my bones into the right place.”
“Scowl, I love you.”
“Wh…huh?” Scowl’s face turned a deep red that was so apparent it nearly glowed. “You what?”
“I hate that you think I only saved you as a photo op. It’s like you don’t believe I really like you,” Smiley murmured, kissing her forehead a few times as his hands explored down her back and around her hips. “I more than like you.”
“Well…to be honest, I wasn’t really sure…” Scowl looked up at Smiley timidly. “I…I’ve loved you for a long time, Smiley. But I know that you’re really, um, focused on your superhero career right now. I believe you like me, but I just assumed it was just because I was the one around.”
Smiley looked at her incredulously. “I guess I can’t blame you for thinking that; I've been self-centered. After you got hurt, I realized that. But you’re a hot babe! Why wouldn’t I really like you?” Smiley leaned in to kiss her again, but Scowl turned away from it.
“I’m not calling you a liar, but I just…have a hard time believing you’d ever fall for me.” She pressed her face against his chest. “It’s nothing personal, if it makes you feel any better. I have a hard time believing anybody would.”
Smiley tilted Scowl's head up by her chin, looking deep into her eyes. “Scowl, look at me, baby.” He waited until she hesitantly let her eyes meet his. “You are the cutest, nicest, smartest, hottest girl I’ve ever met. Don’t even get me started on your body…” His eyes drifted down to her chest before he quickly refocused. “There’s not a single reason for you to believe I wouldn’t be into you.” He kissed her lips deeply, holding it for what felt like hours. When he pulled away, he jumped, seeing tears in Scowl’s eyes.
“Oh no, what happened? Did I hurt you?” He examined the cuts on her face, trying to find any reopened wounds or bruises he might had pressed on.
Scowl shook her head and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks. “N-no, the opposite, captain.” She looked up beaming at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and cuddling close. “I’m just so happy you really love me.”
Smiley felt his cheeks burn hot, and his attraction was too much to bear. He went to lean in for a kiss when he heard the sound of heels stepping through the hallway.
“Shit, I’m sure that’s Gerda…I’m sorry baby, I can’t let them see us like this yet.” He scrambled back into his own seat in the hospital bed, fanning his face to try to reduce the red and sweatiness that permeated his cheeks.
Just as he thought, the futuristic door slid open and Gerda walked in, carrying Smiley’s suit in her arms.
“Hi Gerda,” Smiley said, trying to seem nonchalant. “Scowl woke up. Isn’t that great?”
“Yeah, I can see that. Awesome.” Gerda walked in and set the suit in a free chair, smoothing it out so Star was facing front and center.
“Hi guys,” Scowl said weakly. She was definitely trying to play it up, as she smoothed her hair out. Her cheeks were still rosy, but they could easily chalk that up to her being in pain.
“Dude, we thought you fucking died,” Star said, laughing a bit. “That shit was crazy. The kid’s mom wants to pay you like, millions for saving him.” Star grinned. “I say you take it and we share it three ways. I mean, Smiley and I were there for moral support, so….”
Smiley gave Star a look. “Star, stop it. She just woke up, she doesn’t need to hear about that.”
Star just rolled his eyes. “Geez, what’s got your panties in a bunch? Scowl’s fine, she’s way tougher than you’ll ever be.”
Smiley ignored Star and turned to Gerda. “So, what’s up?”
Gerda took a seat. “Just wanted to check in on Scowl. We were really worried, you got seriously crushed.”
Scowl mock-flexed her muscles. “No way some silly little apartment complex is gonna get me down.” She gave Smiley a teasing glance. “Plus, Cap saved me. Without his strength, I might not have made it.”
Smiley’s cheeks went pink and he bashfully rubbed his muscular arms. “Ah, it was nothing. Easy peasy, honestly, not even heavy.” He flexed, earning a tiny squeak of delight from Scowl.
“Yeah right,” Star guffawed, “You were sweating like a Christmas ham trying to pick up one of those pieces of rubble.”
Gerda sighed. “If you two would shut up for a second, that’d be great.” She looked at Smiley, her expression all business. “Now listen, Smiley. The mayor wants to interview you about this and how you saved Scowl. If you want to talk to him, this would be a great opportunity to save your image after you royally fucked it.”
Smiley nodded eagerly. “Yeah, of course! That sounds perfect!”
“Alright, I’ll tell him we’ll be in his office in fifteen.”
Smiley blinked. “Oh, you meant, like, right now?”
Gerda crossed her arms. “Yeah, duh. What else would it have meant? Do you wanna do the interview or not?”
Smiley looked at Gerda then back to Scowl, who gave him a weak thumbs up. Smiley paused for a few minutes then turned back to Gerda.
“Tell him I’m busy, I’ll pass.”
Everyone’s eyes widened. Star grumbled, “You damn idiot, now’s not the time to get stage fright! You could fix our whole image! I bet Brad would even be impressed…,” he said wistfully.
“I’m not scared, I just…Scowl needs me to be here right now.” He looked back to her as Scowl’s expression bloomed into a mix of shock and adoration. “She almost died, guys. Plus, she’s the one who saved the kid from the building, not me.”
Gerda rolled her eyes and shook her head as she stood up and grabbed the suit. “Now you want to have a heart? Alright then, your loss.” She looked at Scowl with a gentle smile. “Rest up, ‘kay? And let us know if he’s annoying you too much and we’ll kick him out.”
Scowl giggled. “Okay. I don’t think that will be a problem though…,” she murmured to herself.
Gerda left the room carrying Star, who was still going on about impressing Brad. “We could have had it all!” Smiley heard him cry from the hallway.
Once the door had closed, tears welled up in Scowl's eyes and she threw herself into Smiley’s arms. Her limbs trembled with ache, but she didn’t seem to mind as she buried her face into Smiley’s neck.
“You really do like me,” she whined between tiny sobs, “You’d miss out on talking to the mayor just to be with me.”
Smiley blushed down to his neck and returned her hug, trying to help her into a more comfortable position. “Of course I did, Scowl. I'm not gonna leave you, especially not like this.” He kissed the top of her head, rubbing her back. “Like I said, I…I love you.”
“I love you too, captain.” She looked up to him with stars in her eyes and deep admiration. “I’m so happy.”
“I’m glad. Now let’s get you back into bed before those guys come back in.” He scooped Scowl and gently laid her back down on the bed. He took the blanket and tucked it around her. “I know you wanna cuddle, but you have to rest.” He kissed her forehead carefully.
“Aw, just five more minutes, Smiley?…” Her arms wrapped around his neck and pulled him in close, making him sweat.
“F…Fine. You know I can’t resist you, sidekick.”
The door to the medical room was locked for the next five hours.