im returning to my roots by writing orangekip again cause its been months and i have so many thoughts and feelings and i miss oc and kip bleeding last night triggered things in my brain to a whole new gear so heeeeeeeeeeeey
this is just kinda fluffy on their end, maybe it focuses a bit more into kips headspace than anything else cause the writer is heavily projecting all their thoughts of this storyline into this man over here but NEVERTHELESS!! its orangekip!! enjoy!!
on ao3
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He wasn’t quite sure how he ended up with the wound, but at that very moment it barely mattered. The headache was starting to build, showing on the edge of his vision no matter how much Kip tried to shake it off. Or maybe it was the blood still pouring from the fresh cut right above the corner of his eye. Could have been that one too.
It was so bothersome. So irritating. Not only the blood, but everything that led up to it. Kip was fuming, feeling like he was slowly losing control. Not only of himself, but the situation as a whole. Yes, he had agreed to bring Killswitch on board. Yes, he had been okay with tagging with him when Nick got injured. Yes, all of this was going according to plan.
And yet it felt like nothing was going the way he wanted.
Kip had pushed Shayna away as soon as the cameras were off of them, despite being pleaded to listen, despite being told to go see a doctor to get himself cleaned and patched up. He didn’t care, he didn’t want to hear any of that. Did he trust her, as a team mate, as a mother? Yes. Did he care right now?
Not in particular.
He just wanted out of the situation before something in him got out of hand and he would snap at her – or worse – through the pain.
Kip clutched the detached pieces of his entrance gear against his chest, letting his legs direct him aimlessly around the thankfully mostly empty hallways of the O2. Maybe he should have heeded the advice of many and sought out medical help as urgently as possible, but that felt like an impossible task at the moment. Knowing they’d put heavy hands on him, make him follow orders and listen while treating him was the last thing Kip wanted at the moment.
It was better to tire himself out by endlessly walking and getting lost in the corridors than to be treated like he was in over his head and didn’t know what he was doing.
He stopped, groaning almost angrily at himself for letting his thoughts eat him up from the inside like this. It had been quite a while since Kip had gotten lost in himself in such a manner, where it almost hurt as bad in his thoughts as it currently did on the side of his face. Remembering the gash on the side of his face, his hand flew up to it before Kip could stop himself, wincing at the soft sting of pain and the feeling of the liquid pumping out of him staining his fingers.
Pulling his hand away from his face Kip looked at it, finally stopping on his tracks. The blood was still fresh, it didn’t seem to find a way to stop itself. He really needed to get it checked out, but what was that going to fix at this point, if he was being honest? Everyone was already gone. Nick wasn’t here, they trashed Cage, Killswitch was just a stupid dinosaur. Shayna was, well… She was Shayna. Not much that Kip could use there, if he was being honest.
He had gotten almost what he had wanted. Things had been so close. And now they were slowly being pulled away from him, being ripped apart, nothing left for him except empty promises that things would get better if he only listened. If he only listened. They were trying to make him listen. Something Kip wasn’t particularly happy about, that wasn’t the role he had set up for himself to fall into.
They were trying to put him into a box again, and Kip Sabian wasn’t going to stand for it.
He shuddered a little at the thought, the headache throbbing in stronger again being the only thing that reminded him of what reality he was currently standing in. Kip stumbled a little on his feet, finding the nearest wall, leaning his back against it. Eyes still staring down at his blood covered hand, the other clutching the pieces of white gear against his chest.
He was doing everything right. So why was he being punished for the actions of others?
Kip was suddenly shaken out of his thoughts as a pair of hands landed on his cheeks, making him jump a little as his head lifted up, eyes widening as he was staring at the reflection of his own image on the surface of the Ray-Ban sunglasses. He froze in place, feeling his cheeks heating up under the familiar palms that felt softer than they had any realistic right to be, allowing his head to be tilted slightly, letting the other man get a better look at the wound on his head.
“That looks pretty bad. You should get it checked out.”
Kip just stared back at him, his mind reeling as it was trying to come up with something to say. Anything that didn’t show off his surprise that was undoubtedly crystal clear on his face already. He didn’t need to embarrass himself any further, getting caught off guard like this, the care and clear worry on the nonchalant face of Cassidy.
“Wha-what are you doing here?”
Aaaaand he fumbled that one.
Cassidy just shrugged, nudging Kip’s head along with him a little as he still had a hold of his face. Kip was suddenly very aware how the blood must have been dripping on his hand at this point as well.
“I work here.”
Kip wanted to roll his eyes so badly at him, but he only deserved a loud inhale through his nose instead.
“Obviously, Clementine. I mean, here. Right now. In this hallway.”
“Holding your face?” Kip didn’t confirm or deny that part, but he could feel his face heating up a little more. “I didn’t find you in the medical. Shayna said you just wandered off. I just wanted to make sure you were fine.”
“Well, I am,” Kip huffed, finally gathering some control over his own body, pushing the hands away from his face. Almost on cue he stumbled a little bit on his feet, the headache becoming much more obvious to him again as his vision blurred slightly. Kips shook it off before being able to look back at Cassidy, who was just observing him quietly as he had stepped back a little, but despite everything the concern was clear on his face, even through the sunglasses Kip could barely see past.
It was just that face he knew very well, better than he’d like to admit, even after all this time they had been apart.
“Are you though?”
“I am.”
No, I’m not.
The words echoed in his head as Kip straightened himself from the wall, glancing down briefly to the mesh top in his hand, slowly allowing himself a moment of weakness as he lifted it up, pressing it against his temple. It wasn’t going to do much for the blood, but if it kept it inside him until he actually got to medical to get patched up, it was good enough.
“At least let me walk you to the doc. Then I’m gonna be out of your hair.”
Kip muttered something back at him, but ultimately he wasn’t against the idea. He was feeling worse by the minute, somewhat wobbly from the upcoming adrenaline crash and the blood loss, so maybe it was a good idea to be around someone while he found his way back. As he still didn’t have any idea where he actually was, Kip had been wandering the hallways for quite some time without any clear direction, barely seeing signage around either at the moment.
“Fine.” It was more of a spat than a statement, but it was good enough for Cassidy, as he nodded a little, hand finding its way almost effortlessly to Kip’s lower back as he was directed down the hallway. Kip wanted to shake him off, tell him he didn’t need a babysitter, but the fingertips ghosting over his bare skin felt much more comfortable than he wanted to admit.
“But only to medical.”
“I can also hold your hand while you get patched up. It’s probably gonna hurt.”
Kip let out a dry laugh, but he could swear for a split second he saw from the corner of his eye how Cassidy’s lips twitched into a soft smile.
“I’m not a child.”
“Mmhhmm.”
Kip rolled his eyes, but he could feel the life slowly returning to him with each step. The hand softly and carefully guiding him through the hallways, the comfortable silence between them as they fell into step with each other, for once Kip not minding the company tonight. Maybe he should have, all things of the past considered, but it surely didn’t feel like that to him in the moment. It probably was going to later, but that was a worry for that time.
As they stopped at the door of the doctor’s room, the hand finally slipped away from his back, Kip turning to Cassidy almost too fast, his brain wanting to chase that feeling and clearly his body not fighting against it.
“Clementine, I…”
Kip didn’t have the time to finish his thought as there was a soft smile on Cassidy’s lips before he leaned closer, pressing a quick kiss on Kip’s cheek, watching his eyes widen and face flushing in response.
“Go get yourself taken care of. We’ll talk after that.”
Kip just nodded, all the words disappearing from his head as he watched the man clad in denim turn on his heels, hands stuffing into the pockets of his jeans before he walked away. Only after he turned the corner and disappeared from his vision, Kip snapped out of his trance, face still burning as he spun around on his heels, pushing himself through the door into the doctor’s room.
511 words
orangekip (kip sabian/orange cassidy)
prompt list here
no warnings, just them being sappy and sweet. yay holidays 💜
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“Kip, we have to leave now or we’re going to be late!”
Cassidy checked his phone clock again, sighing a little at the footsteps coming from upstairs. He usually wasn’t this stressed out about having to be in places in time or anything, especially when it came to just going to a gathering with friends and co-workers, but something about today felt special. Maybe it was the special occasion of it being a work related holiday party, something Cassidy usually avoided at all costs, just saying he was busy or he just didn’t show up without an explanation because he just didn’t care that much.
So maybe it was because this year was the first time in a long time he was going to participate in something like this… Or more likely, it was because this was the first year he was doing something like this with Kip. Together. As a couple. In front of everyone else.
Their relationship wasn’t a secret or anything, but the holidays felt like it was putting a new kind of twist in it somehow. Getting festive, decorating the house, getting gifts, talking about visiting family and seeing relatives… It was slowly bleeding over to their work life as well, Kip regularly asking him if they were giving gifts to others this year or showing up to holiday parties together.
Like tonight.
Finally the steps approaching him down the stairs snapped Cassidy out of his thoughts, eyes shooting up the stairs towards the sound. A little smile tucked at the corner of his lips as he watched Kip brush his hands through his hair, tying up the high half bun he had gotten accustomed to in the recent weeks, as he made his way down the stairs.
Cassidy chuckled at him a little bit, Kip tilting his head curiously before leaning closer to peck a little kiss on his lips as he reached the bottom of the stairs.
“What?”
“I thought I told you we were supposed to wear ugly Christmas sweaters.”
Kip raised a brow, looking down at himself, clearly confused as he brushed his now free hands over the Star Wars themed sweater he was wearing. As he looked back up after a while, Cassidy was clearly smiling at him, leaning closer to wrap his arms around Kip’s neck, twirling a free coil of his silver hair around his finger.
“But it’s the right kind of sweater, right?”
Cassidy chuckled softly, leaning in for a quick, sweet kiss.
“It is,” he finally stated, watching a quick look of relief washing over Kip’s face. “It’s just a shame you make everything look so damn good I don’t know if that’s going to count exactly.”
Kip’s expression finally softened as he registered the words in his mind, a quiet chuckle leaving his lips as well before Cassidy leaned in for another kiss. He pulled away with a little smile, giving Kip one more glance over before he finally nodded his head.
“You looking so good is the perfect excuse to be a little late tonight though.”
