ok so i'm actually REALLY proud of this one so it'd mean the world to me if you guys read it. thank you :-)
also please forgive any typos. i'll fix them once i wake up since i wrote this at like 4 in the morning omf
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"You'll be fine, babe, it's just one more day and then it's the weekend," Tony grinned.
Jaime sighed, but leaned into Tony's lips as they gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I guess you're right. I'll be home around seven, 'kay?"
"Got it. Now get!" Tony chuckled, pushing Jaime out the door with a hard slap on the ass. Jaime looked back at him, eyes wide, but Tony just winked.
Little shit. Jaime thought. He sighed and started walking down the sidewalk, slipping his headphones over his ears.
Jaime hated his job. Not that anyone ever liked their job or anything, but Jaime hated his job. It wasn't a bad job or anything. His boss wasn't a dick. His coworkers weren't assholes. He just hated everything about it. He worked at a local grocery store. It didn't pay the best, but it kept him busy while Tony was at work and it brought home a little extra cash. Tony worked at a recording studio downtown. He'd help local bands record or help out with things they were missing. Tony was off today, though.
Jaime switched his lunchbox over to his other hand and moved his headphones down so they were around his neck, and opened the door to a little coffee shop he liked to visit before work.
"Hey, Himes!" A voice called from the kitchen. Jaime looked up and saw one Vic Fuentes peeking his head through the little window behind the counter.
"Hey, Vic," he called, voice tired and bored.
"The usual?"
"You're too good to me," Jaime sighed, sitting down at his regular table near the back. He took his headphones off from around his neck and turned off his music. "Ugh," he groaned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes with his palms. He leaned on his elbows, legs bouncing under the table. Six thirty in the morning should be an illegal time to be awake.
A faint snicker pulled Jaime out of his sleepy daze. He looked over and saw a kid that looked like he spent way too much time at the mall and looked like he needed some Proactive or something. The kid was laughing his ass off. Okay then... Jaime thought, not seeing the joke anywhere since the kid didn't have anything in front of him. He couldn't be any older than at least twenty. The kid snorted, covering his mouth with his hand and was looking right at Jaime.
Okay, this kid is getting obnoxious. "Can I help you?" Jaime snapped, irritated. The kid only laughed harder.
"Nice hair, dude," he said, rolling his eyes and grabbed his coffee, leaving the little shop.
Jaime sighed. It was too early for this shit. And honestly, Jaime was used to getting dumb comments like that because of his hair. But for some reason, that really hit him hard today. Tony had helped him with it this morning. It looked better than it normally did. At least in Jaime's opinion. And he knew to trust Tony's judgement because Tony used to work at a hair salon years ago.
He rolled his eyes to himself and went to grab his coffee once Vic called his name. "Hey, you okay?" Vic asked, furrowing his eyebrows.
"Yeah. Just too early," Jaime grumbled, rubbing his eye with the hand that wasn't holding his coffee. He picked up his lunchbox and waved to Vic as he left, off to work.
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"Need any help out?" Jaime grinned to the little old woman as he bagged her items.
"Oh, no, I'm fine, dear," she smiled, grabbing the bag of eggs and bread. "Need to build some muscle for these old bones somehow!" she joked, leaving the store.
"Have a good day, Mrs. Robson!" he called, bagging more items for more customers. He sighed, looking at his watch once the last customer in this line left. "Hey, Lawrence? I'm gonna take my break. Can you take over for me?" he asked, looking over at the cashier to his right.
"Sure thing!" Lawrence smiled, taking Jaime's spot behind the register at checkout line number nine.
Jaime grinned and patted Lawrence's back as he took off his dark green apron and shoved it in his back pocket. He went to the breakroom and clocked out. He went to his locker and grabbed his phone, then made his way out back. There was a cement block that he'd claimed as his own that was by a forest in the back of the grocery store. He'd just sit there and chill for about fifteen minutes and listen to the birds and the wind. It took his mind off of the bullshit that was his job, even if for only a few minutes.
A lot of the customers were assholes, but that's probably because hardly anyone liked going to the grocery store. He didn't blame them. He worked there for Pete's sake.
His phone vibrated in his pocket, startling him out of his trance. He fished his phone out of his pocket and read the text from Tony.
'how do you feel about chinese tonight? i can just order takeout, we can cuddle on the couch, then maayybbbee... ;)'
Jaime laughed, cheeks turning a light shade of pink. He started typing away at his phone.
'sounds like a plan, handsome ;) see you later tonight xo love you!'
He sighed, a smile on his lips. Tony always knew how to make him happy, even if it was through text. He looked over, hearing tiny claws running across the pavement. He furrowed his eyebrows. What the hell is that? he thought, getting up from his spot and walking closer to it to inspect it further.
"Oh my god..." he said, horrified. He covered his mouth with his hand, then plugged his nose from the smell. It was a dog. The poor thing had probably starved. He frowned at the smaller animals eating parts of it and the flies around it. He sighed and turned away to go back to work. It'd only been ten minutes, but he just wanted today to be over.
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Standing behind his register, Jaime groaned, rubbing his eyes to wake himself up again. It's been an hour since his break and he only had another hour to go before he could go home and cuddle on the couch with Tony. That's all he wants at this point. Even if some cheesy TV show host were to come in and tell him he just won a million dollars, he wouldn't take it because he just wants Tony's arms around him and--
"HEY! You listenin'?!"
Jaime snapped his head up to the angry customer. Fuck.
"Yeah, I'm talkin' t' you! I said, here!" the man grumbled, handing his card over to Jaime. He didn't want to anger the man any further so he turned the card reader that was meant for the customers, and scanned the man's card. The main machine beeped an angry sound, making Jaime furrow his eyebrows.
"Um, I'm sorry sir, but there's something wrong with your card," Jaime said, voice soft.
"Excuse me?! I think it's your wimpy ass tryn'a make me late! Hurry the fuck up!"
Jaime sighed, willing away tears of embarrassment and tried again. It worked this time, making him feel like an even bigger idiot, and bagged the man's items. The man stormed away, grumbling to himself. Unfortunately, the card incident caused the rest of his line to be backed up, so he finished all of the other customers (even if he didn't have to), and left work twenty-five minutes late.
He sighed, pulling his coat over himself and grabbed his beanie that was in his locker and pulled that on, too. He carried his lunchbox in one hand while he typed out a short, 'got backed up. angry customer. coming home now. sorry, babe xo'.
He walked down the street, not bothering with his music this time. It was getting dark and not being able to hear anything at night in San Diego wasn't exactly the smartest thing, so he decided against it.
Drunken slurs and laughs behind him, made him snap his head around at the three guys stumbling down the sidewalk. They were wasted, obviously, and really, really annoying. They kept talking about this "hot babe" that was "totally asking for it" back at the bar they were probably returning from. Jaime rolled his eyes and put his lunchbox holder around his wrist, stuffing his hands in his hoodie pockets.
"H-Hey! You up there!"
Jaime just walked faster, ignoring them. He was in no mood to be dealing with drunken assholes. His day was terrible and he just wanted to get home to his boyfriend.
"Hey! I'm talkin' to you!"
"Deja vu..." Jaime grumbled to himself, turning the corner. It'd gotten progressively darker as he walked away from them, but he could see his house at the end of the street. He grinned to himself, but was suddenly slammed to the concrete.
"We were talkin' to you, asshole."
Whiskey flooded his nostrils, making him gag slightly. He struggled against the three men's holds on him, but they were noticeably larger than him, and Jaime was not small. They must've been body builders, Jesus Christ!
"Get the fuck off me," Jaime grumbled, pushing one of the guys' arms off his shoulers. They were pushing Jaime into the concrete, hurting his bones.
"Oooh, the pussy's got some big words," one of them laughed, throwing a punch to Jaime's eye. "We don't like back-talkers," he sneered.
Another punch to Jaime's jaw and the rest was a blur. Punches, kicks, it went on for what felt like hours. By the end of it, Jaime was out of breath and coughing up blood on the sidewalk. The three guys had walked away and were gone by this point. He groaned, trying to get up on wobbly arms. He staggered to his feet and stumbled a little, losing his balance. Once he was standing up straight, his legs felt like jelly, his ribs were aching, and he could barely feel his face.
He patted around his jeans, looking for his wallet and let out a frustrated noise. Of fucking course they took his wallet. At least he still had his phone. But he'd never get that picture in the back of his wallet back again. It was of Tony in the middle of a rare laughing fit. He sighed to himself and started staggering home.
He didn't know when the tears started, but they were coming in like a waterfall. He sniffled, wiping away at one of his eyes with his hoodie sleeve. He took out his keys, sniffling and whimpering like a baby. He shakily tried to get the key into the hole, grumbling to himself when it wouldn't go in.
Jaime groaned and covered his bruised and cut up face with his hands. "Breathe," he whimpered to himself. He took a deep breath and tried unlocking the door again. He let out a choked sob when it finally went in and he walked inside. The smell of takeout filled his nostrils which only made him cry a little harder. He just wanted to go to bed and he felt terrible because Tony was looking for some cuddles that he'd probably never get tonight.
"Babe! You're home!" Tony chipper voice came as he walked into the hallway. Jaime looked up at Tony and smiled sadly. He was wearing an old tshirt and boxers. He looked adorable. "Baby!" Tony said, startled. "What happened to you?!" he asked, worriedly running to Jaime's side. Tony held his face, kissing his forehead softly. "Baby, please, tell me what happened to you," he said, voice soft and far from accusing.
Jaime just sniffled and blubbered like a baby. He rested his head on Tony's chest, shoulders shaking pathetically.
"Shh, it's okay, baby, just breathe," Tony whispered, holding Jaime's head and kissing his dirty hair. "C'mon, let's get you cleaned up, okay?"
Jaime whimpered a little and nodded, following Tony to the stairs. He took a step and let out a pain-filled cry. "Fuck!"
"What happened?" Tony asked, holding Jaime's sides so he wouldn't fall over.
"M'legs," Jaime mumbled, kicking off his shoes. "Ow, fuck," he whined.
"C'mon," Tony said, picking Jaime up and carrying him up the stairs, Jaime's legs draped over one arm while his other arm held him up. Jaime just wrapped his arms around Tony's neck, crying softly into his neck. He sniffled loudly and whimpered. The pain was unbearable and he felt like such a baby because he couldn't even fight back against those guys.
"Here, shh," Tony cooed, sitting Jaime down on the counter next to the sink once they got into the bathroom. He kissed Jaime's bruised cheek, being careful of the cuts on his lips and nose.
He stepped away from the bruised boy and started a bath, letting the tub fill. Tony came back over and grabbed a washcloth, wet it, then started cleaning up the cuts on Jaime's face. Jaime's breath would hitch and his chest would stutter with heavy sobs. It reminded Tony of the way a child cries whenever they're scared or hurt. He was worried beyond belief because what if Jaime hadn't come home tonight? He could've been a lot worse, but apparently the experience was traumatizing enough. Otherwise Jaime would've just brushed it off or said something cheesy, yet totally charming like, "You should see the other guy," with a sly wink, or something.
But no. This was far from it.
Tony pecked little kisses along Jaime's face as a new area was cleaned, the dirt gone from his face. It looked a lot better, but the bruises and cuts were still pretty nasty.
"C'mon, let's get these off of you." Had it been another situation, Jaime would be all for Tony taking off his clothes, but they seemed to be stuck to his skin from the cuts and bruises on his ribs and legs. Jaime whimpered, having to lift his arms in order to get his hoodie and tshirt off. Once he was shirtless, he sniffled, letting out a shaky breath. Jaime's eyes reminded Tony of a sad puppy, which made him want to hug him until all the bad went away.
The cleaning process was the same with his chest and legs, and after, Tony turned the water off, putting some soap into the water to make the fluffiest of bubble baths. He rid himself of his tshirt and boxers, setting them into the hamper. Jaime tried getting down from the counter slowly, but Tony came running over, gripping his hips lovingly. He helped ease Jaime down and kissed his cheek when he whimpered again.
He took off Jaime's boxers for him and hissed at the large bruise on his thigh. He kissed it softly, and climbed into the tub, holding out a hand for Jaime.
"C'mon, babe," Tony grinned. Jaime sniffled, climbing into the tub slowly. His toes slammed against the edge of the tub on his way in, making him let out a groan of pain. "Shh, c'mere," Tony cooed, spreading his legs out and letting Jaime sit in between them so his back was pressed to Tony's chest. Tony wrapped his arms around Jaime's middle and rubbed his tummy affectionately. They were quiet for a long time, just breathing, before Tony broke the silence. "Gonna tell me what happened?"
He nuzzled into the crook of Jaime's neck, pressing soft kisses along the back of his neck and on his upper back. Jaime took a deep breath and began explaining just how awful today was in general. He mentioned the stupid kid making a comment about his hair, the dead dog, the angry customer, everything. By the end of it, he was starting to cry again because he never wanted to go anywhere today to begin with.
"Shh," Tony cooed, kissing up and down Jaime's neck affentionately. "It's okay. Today's over. We're cuddling, just like we planned, but this time in a tub. You've got me. It'll be okay."
Jaime let out a shaky breath. "Thank you, Tone. I love you so much," he said, turning slightly to press a soft, lingering kiss to Tony's lips. Tony grinned a little and kissed back, holding Jaime's face, rubbing his cheekbone with his thumb softly. His other hand was still rubbing at Jaime's hips and tummy, loving the little bit of extra skin Jaime had there.
They pulled away after a bit, their foreheads touching. They just listened to each other breathe for a bit before Tony chuckled, because they totally forgot the takeout sitting on the counter.
