Imagine tending to Arthur after he was beaten down by some kids.
You: “Didn’t touch you yet, Arthur.”
Arthur: “Oh, okay... AH!”
You were only dabbing alcohol against the parts of his back that broke skin. Luckily, there were only scrapes but it skid in patches. Although he was hissing in pain, you both knew it was an exaggeration. Arthur is a rather sturdy man despite appearances and can take a hit. In this case, however, a beating. It wasn’t brutal, but thinking about it again returned the frown on your face.
You: “Can’t believe some deviants did this to you.”
Arthur: “Was just a bunch of kids. They didn’t know better.”
You: “And that makes it okay?”
You stopped tending to his cuts and bruises to give him a hard look. His back was to you but he didn’t need to look at you to see you were angry. His head tipped low, afraid to answer and incur your frustration further. From behind, you can see he was ashamed and disheartened at the thought that he disappointed you. With a sigh, you place the cotton and alcohol aside to lean into him gently, careful not to touch his scratches. With a soft touch, you tuck a lock of his thick, dark hair behind his ear and place a tender kiss to his cheek.
You: “You gotta value yourself more than that, Art.”
Arthur: “Are you mad at me?”
He sounded almost like a child asking this and your heart caved. You sigh.
Arthur: “You...you hesitated.”
You lay your chin upon his good shoulder. That simple physical contact, that intimate gesture of trust and adoration visibly eases his worries and he relaxes a bit.
You: “I just... When you visit, I want you to see me without me having to tend to your cuts and bruises. I want to open my door when you knock and see a happy, goofy smile on your face, not a busted lip. I want to see you and not feel bad anymore.”
A moment passes. Arthur nudged you to sit back up for him to slowly turn in his seat until he was facing you directly. The sight before nearly broke you. Tears were beginning to pool around his beautiful green eyes. You were going to wipe them away before they fell but see him take a deep, calming breath before he grabs both of your hands in his. He hunches over in his seat to lay soft kisses upon your knuckles, to the tips of your fingers, to each of your palms until he makes you hold his face in your hands. He nuzzles against your skin, blissfully relishing this contact. With him like this, he looked incredibly vulnerable and beautiful.
Arthur: “It’s okay. I’ll do better, I promise.”
His voice was so low, you almost didn’t catch his words. By his tone, you caught that he didn’t truly understand what you meant. Instead, it was clear he was blaming himself completely. And you didn’t want that. It wasn’t his fault. You just wanted him to be careful. You wanted him to put himself before others and give himself the confidence that you know he possesses. You wanted to tell him this.
He leans forward until his forehead touches yours. His eyes were closed now and although you couldn’t see his face without straining your vision, from the side of your eye you saw a single wet streak fall.
Arthur: “I want you to smile and put on a happy face. For me.”
His body begins to shake. At first, it looks like he was sobbing, choking back his tears. But knowing Arthur personally, you knew he was breaking into one of his fits. For him, he was trying to hard to rein it in. His face contorting in something similar to pain as he struggles to keep himself in check so that he could properly speak to you. Before he loses to his condition completely, he says one last thing to you.
Arthur: “I don’t... Ha... haha...I don’t want to feel...ha heh...so bad anymore either. Haha haha-!”
You wrenched your hands free from his to wrap your arms around him and pull him close. For the longest time, it was just like this. You two embracing each other tightly like you were all each other had while heart-shattering laughter echoed off your walls.
