"HE'S BLEEDING ON MY LIPS"
SYNOPSIS: After a long, hard, and brutal fight with the villain of the week, the teen team returns to HQ exhausted. As team leader, you must ensure everyone is okay, especially your team's powerhouse, Invincible.
You have never met a man more reckless than Mark Grayson. You thought you knew recklessness when you met Rex, but you never knew recklessness like his—not at all. He flew into fights without care for his health or well-being, putting himself in danger every step of the way, self-destructed and thrown around. As team leader, you were the only one there to help him after every battle. After each fight, he always came to the med bay for help with his cuts and bruises. You stayed there scolding him, but it always went in one ear and out the other. You can't with this boy; you really can't, but you really do need him. He’s fast, he's agile; for some reason, you always seem to be able to count on him. Even when he's acting like a total ass, you can always count on him to be by your side, ready for anything. So, what you have to do as team leader is to be by his side and help him.
After a brutal battle with the villain of the week, Mark came to the med bay. You were already there waiting, arms crossed and a scowl on your face, glaring at him. Your eyes peered through his mask; his goggles were shattered, and blood was bleeding from his nose, decorating his mask like bright red paint. At this point, it was part of his suit. If Spirit Halloween ever sold Invincible suits, they would have to make sure to add a bucket of paint on the side as well for accuracy, of course. “So, would you mind telling me why downtown has a crater in the sidewalk?” you said, your legs shaking with frustration, and the guy in front of you had nothing to say for himself.
“Well, I thought I could handle it.” You thought you could handle it? The whole room rumbled. “I gave you that comm for a reason—not as an accessory, but to call us when you need backup. You wouldn't have gotten beaten like that if you just called for help. You could have dismantled the villain quicker and ensured there was no damage in the area! Now, I have to file police reports on why there's an asteroid-sized crater in the middle of the street!” you shouted, and the tall boy sighed before running a hand through his jet-black hair. He walked over to where you were sitting, plopped himself down, and started to scratch his neck—a bad habit of his.
“I’m sorry I had you worried.”
Worried? You were more than worried; you were furious, scared, angry, upset—adjectives you could use to describe how you felt right now—a thousand at this moment. But you kept your mouth shut. “I just want to put so much weight on your shoulders already, team leader. I just wanted to give you a break,” he answered.
Now, you started to feel your heart warming, that cold, icy heart of yours melting into a sweet puddle. God, it was so easy for him to make you crumble like this. Hold yourself together, dude! You cannot allow him to think that you’re going to let him off the hook; there will be no lenience! You were going to tell him off, remind him that you are a strong team leader, and that you’re supposed to carry those burdens. “I’m glad that you’re trying to take things off my shoulders. Things are meant to be on my shoulders. I can handle almost anything, and I know you can too. But at the end of the day, we’re just human. We still bleed, and you’re bleeding on my tile floors!” you quipped, getting a chuckle out of him.
“I’m bleeding out of my nose, and I have a black eye. Are you worried about the tile floors, of course? I’m worried about the tile floor!”
“They’re white,” you answered. “Do you know how hard it is to get blood off of white tile floors?” All he could do was laugh, and he turned around to face you, lowering his head. “Alright, alright, I’ll clean them up, so come on. Take care of your doc, or else I'll start bleeding on your precious cape.” You grumbled, pulling his face closer to yours as you took care of the various wounds on his face. Blood still dripped from his nose, but you didn’t mind. You would deal with it later, you thought, every time you pressed the rubbing alcohol to his face. You had to grip his chin to ensure he didn’t pull away while you continued your work.
You started to feel his breath ghost over yours as he pulled himself closer. Your body began to shiver. What was happening to you? You were acting like a schoolgirl with a crush in front of the fifteen-year-old team leader. “Pull yourself together!” you screamed in your head, but when you looked up at him—his dirt-brown eyes staring into yours, his bloody lips, and his broken nose—you couldn't help but think he looked even cuter like this, so disheveled and vulnerable. He was putting all his trust and faith into you, into your hands, as you guided your fingers around those cuts and bruises on his face. You felt your hands begin to tremble as you quickly finished your job, bandaging his nose and eye, then trying to pull away.
“Doc, my head hurts," he whispered softly into your hand.
“I’ll get some Tylenol for that,” you answered softly.
“No,” his voice was firm. “Just stay.”
And you stayed. You were the one giving the orders, and he was the one following them. This was completely different; it was not in the instruction manual. “Just act professional,” you thought, and you rubbed his temple. “Does this feel better?”
He nods into your hands sweetly, making you sigh. "You're such a baby," you say with a playful grin. "I always have to take care of you. At this point, it feels like you’re just trying to get my attention," you ramble, and he pulls you closer. "Is it working? Do I have your attention, Captain?" you gasp. "Yeah, it’s your full attention, 'cause right now I'm feeling sick, and I think I need you to take care of me." He pulls you even closer, and you don't object.
"Be professional, be professional! Your team leader! Be professional!" your mind screams and yells at you, but you're not listening— not at all. I mean, almost any superhero looks strong next to a cute boy, especially when he’s bloodied and beat up. That must be your secret weakness.
He pulls you into a kiss, and you can taste the metallic flavor of his blood on your lips. You pull away because you're about to object, but he pulls you back in for a peck, then another, and another, until you're making out with him in the med bay, tasting the blood on his skin and on yours, feeling him grip you like a vice. His strong body presses against yours, shaking.
You’re the strong, capable leader. How can you be so weak at this moment? How can you allow him to see you in such a way— so vulnerable? But then again, you’d rather have him see you like this than anyone else. He runs a hand through your hair, tangling his fingers in your locks as he pulls you deeper.
His lips bite at yours, drawing just a bit of blood from them before licking it away. His breath is heavy, and he’s panting, but he doesn’t give himself any time to pull away; he's too busy making sure you’re out of breath. You are; you’re pushing and pulling away from him, trying to tell him to stop, but he’s not, and you’re not. Goodness gracious, what has he turned you into?
You finally pull away, and he’s looking at you with low eyes, the blood smeared on his lips and chin. You touch your face, noticing some of his blood on you now. You kissed a boy with bloody lips, and you liked it.