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Robert has known a life with sight.
He remembers how the grass, sun, and sky look, what colors plants and certain flowers have, the shapes of clouds, and how dark the night sky is. Robert remembers because those things never change.
But his boyfriend’s appearance can change from day to day. Sometimes Chad has his hair tied in a ponytail or a bun, the latter either high or low. What is he wearing? Does he still have his chest and facial hair? He can get that question answered by just feeling him, but still.
Though, despite wondering that every single day since he lost his sight, all Robert wants is to see his boyfriend again. His eyes, his smile, that stupid smirk whenever Chad knows he’s right about something. Sometimes Robert wonders if the other man glares at him whenever he has to ask him for help, or rolls his eyes when he is asked what something looks like for the umpteenth time. Robert wouldn’t blame him…
He has made Chad’s life so much more difficult than it ever needed to be, and there’s nothing Robert can do about it now but bear the consequences of his stupid reckless actions.
If he just didn’t go after Shroud, one of his goons wouldn’t have put that bomb on his suit and-
“Robert.” He hears Chad’s voice, cutting his train of thought off. Robert feels the right side of the bed dip, followed by a soft creek. The fallen hero doesn’t have to have his sight to know it’s his lover. “You’re overthinking again.”
Robert can’t argue with that. Since he awoke from his coma, he has a habit of getting lost in his thoughts and worries, mostly when he’s sitting on the bed. He’d lose track of time, sitting there for quite a while until Chad would snap him out of it.
“No, just…” Robert pauses, trying to find the right words to communicate what he wants. He has been struggling with that lately, no doubt thanks to his lower energy levels, so he just bluntly says it. “Can I touch you?”
“Depends on where, hm?” Chad remarks with a smirk, shifting on the bed to sit across from his boyfriend, turning all his attention to him.
“Not like that.” Robert chuckles, a smile finally spreading on his face, feeling his self-loathing fading away just a little. “But seriously, can I?”
“You know you can touch me anywhere, Bob-Bob.” Chad reassures him, giving him a soft smile despite Robert being unable to see it. As much as he wants to put a hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder to physically show his love and appreciation, Chad holds back on it. He knows the sudden touch will catch his boyfriend off guard, and Chad doesn’t want to make the other man flinch.
But his words are all Robert needs. Slowly, he reaches out his right hand, further and further until he feels his palm against Chad’s face. Robert hopes he doesn’t mind. Moving his hand to his boyfriend’s cheek, the former hero reaches out his left hand until he finds Chad’s neck, gently squeezing the soft skin. Robert can’t help but smile in bliss. God, he feels so addictively warm, so soft yet rough and-
“You feel nice…” Robert can only say, smiling, moving his right hand from his boyfriend’s collarbone to his hair. To his surprise, it feels surprisingly soft, unconsciously brushing his fingers through Chad’s locks. “Huh, you have your hair loose.”
“I figured it’d be softer for you to touch.” Chad says in response, letting his boyfriend brush through his hair with his fingers. He just so happened to have brushed it ten minutes ago, but if Chad knew beforehand that Robert wanted to feel him, he would’ve done so just for him.
“No doubt you’re handsome like that.” Robert says with a chuckle as the image enters his mind, sliding his hand out of his lover’s hair to his shoulder.
“You can touch me as long as you want, habibi.” Chad reassures the other man, slowly sliding his hand on top of Robert’s to not catch him off guard, the gesture intimate.
“Don’t think anything else is getting any attention.” Robert remarks smiling, gently placing his left hand on Chad’s cheek, thumb brushing over his soft skin. Knowing his boyfriend, Robert guesses that his mind is wondering again.
“At least I tried.” Chad playfully responds, playing along, not minding it at all. “I’m serious though. I’m staying right here.”
Robert smiles, the painful memories of how he ended up like this having faded away for now, and moves his left hand into his boyfriend’s hair to feel it again.