plot: just a little toxic hero x their tired and worried love interest.
he’s tired in the way that no twenty four year old should be. his bones ache and his body feels like it might snap in two and he’s tired. he wants to sleep, wants to curl up in their lap and muffle any tears on their thigh - the same tears he’ll deny when asked about it the next day. he’s complicated, he knows that. a broken mess trapped in a spandex suit that shows all the right parts of him and nothing of who he is.
who he is, is a boy who met them freshmen year of college, when he’d been coming home from a track meet and they’d been on their way past him. bump is how their story starts and now crash is how he’d describe it.
his head aches because of words today but his ribs hurt and his nose is bleeding and has been doing so on and off for about an hour. he thinks he might have to take a few days rest but that means admitting defeat, admitting that they were right after all.
“for fuck’s sake,” he mutters, heel of his hand scrubbing his eye. “you told me i could come here if i needed to and now that i’m here, you’re kicking me out?”
he’ll tell them he’s angry because he’s tired tomorrow morning, if they let him stay and if he lets himself stay. right now, he’s angry because he’s hurt and tired and he just wants to be in their arms.
“i’m sick of this shit,” he grumbles, turning his back to them. his arm cradles his rib cage but he feels like starting another fight, chasing down some robbers or a newly rising super villain. fuck it, if someone could punch him in the face, maybe he’d feel normal again. “you always do this to me.”
🌷 she’s tired in a way that no twenty two year old should be . he’s hurt , that hurts her . his wounds shine under the dim hallway light and hers are skin deep . sometimes that pain overcomes her and manifests in sobbing fits against cold pillows and sometimes she’s throwing herself into work , forgetting that it was once something she used to enjoy for the sake of keeping busy . nights when he’s showing up here looking pitiful .... that’s when unbridled anger rises , although it’s calm and collected and more dangerous that way . “ that’s not gonna work this time , ” interjection quick , pushing the pause on this familiar scene , worn out script something she’s longed to toss away and never hear again . “ always ?? i always do this ?? ya don’t know what i do ---- how could ya ?? ” gone for weeks at a time ---- is he laying in a gutter while he heals , unable to make it back to her that time or is he just across the world celebrating with other superhuman allies after a victorious fight ?? phone calls few and far between , and her story about spending eighteen hours beating an op game on live pales in comparison to his reality of overcoming a 1 v 10 . is that the problem ?? that this life , her life , will never be enough for him ?? enough to finally stay .... ??
small hands brush over burning eyes , having been woken up only adding to her frustration now . “ ya won’t let me go .... ya won’t stay with me ... so what do i do ?? ” mouth popping suddenly , sarcastic smile as if she’s just thought up an idea . “ i should wait , right ?? i should cook my meals alone , eat alone , clean alone , sleep alone ------ ” she tacks each off with shaky digits , hot tears demanding at waterline and the more she runs through the list , the heavier her tone becomes . this is her life ; what she’s endured for his sake and to say it aloud cuts deeply . “ and i’ll thank ya ... because ya find time to drop in --- NEARLY DEAD --- for a quick FUCK . ” profanity spat , which should feel foreign between flushed lips but doesn’t sway her in the midst of feeling so much with such little distance between them .
