always with you - damien & freelancer

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His knock echoes in the empty hallway, and Damien shifts uncomfortably. He can't just stand outside their apartment all day. At some point, he's going to have to accept that they're not answering the door. Still, he can't help himself from raising his fist to the door and rapping his knuckles against the wood once more.

The knock is a bit harder than he means for it to be, a sign of his desperation. He needs to see them, needs to know that they're  okay. Until he can see freelancer with his own eyes, every minute that he's left standing out in the hallway is torture.

Finally, as Damien is reaching for his phone to call Huxley or Lasko and ask for their help, the door slowly swings open. He lets out a sigh of relief when he sees freelancer standing in the doorway.

"Damien?" Freelancer's voice is raspy, and they wraps their arms around themselves, shivering despite the oversized clothing they're wearing. Besides the sweatshirt, all they have on are a ridiculous pair of over-the-knee pink wool socks. As outrageous as the socks may be, Damien's mouth goes just a little bit dry at the sight of their bare thighs. "What are you doing here?" Freelancer asks, their confused tone wrenching Damien's attention away from their legs.

"Erm...I just thought I'd deliver these to you." Damien says, brusquely thrusting a thick stack of exam timetables into their arms. The excuse sounds flimsy even as it leaves his mouth. "Hux mentioned that you weren't feeling the best so I thought I should maybe—

So you left the academy to come give me my exam timetable?" Freelancer interrupts, bemused. "You know we have digital copies of these, right?" They could see through his bullshit and Damien prayed the ground would open up and swallow him whole.

"Oh...right, yeah." The silence between them stretches out for just long enough to almost become awkward. Damien knows them well enough to know they're waiting for a proper explanation."I was...concerned. When Hux told me you wouldn't be in, all I could think about was if you'd been hurt...or..." He swallows hard. "Why didn't you call me?"

"Damien," Freelancer reaches out and takes his hand. He notes the heat emanating from their skin, despite their shivering form. "It's just a virus. And we still haven't had a chance to talk over everything yet. The last thing I wanted to do was drag you away from studying just to take care of me." Selfless as always, he thought.

It's true. They still haven't spoken about the kiss outside of Damien's apartment a couple nights ago, after he took them to play mini golf - or the kiss in the park, for that matter. He's so buried in his thoughts that he almost doesn't notice Freelancer swaying slightly, letting go of his hand to grip the door frame for balance.

He immediately steps closer, steadying them with a hand on their waist. The back of his other hand, he uses to press delicately against their forehead. He had been expecting fever, but he's mildly alarmed by the heat radiating from their skin, despite being a fire elemental and mostly running hot.

"Shit, sorry." Freelancer mumbles, leaning into him gratefully. "I've just been having some vertigo. I think I could have a cold or maybe a—

"Don't apologise for being sick, it's fine and it's probably just the flu, you know?"

"I know what the flu is." The freelancer says indignantly, the congestion in their voice bolstering their self pitying tone. They pout and Damien's lips twitch into a smile.

"You're delirious." He grins, still holding onto their waist, intent on not letting them fall. "Now can I take you to bed?" He instantly regrets his choice of words when the freelancer lets out a loud rumble of laughter which quickly transitions into a coughing fit and whimpering. "I meant, you need to lie down." Damien glares at them and they shyly smile back.

The freelancer dazily smiles as Damien reaches out and twists a lock of their hair around his fingers. "I know what you meant, Dames. You're just cute when you're flustered."

Cute? Now they were really trying to wind him up. Except...that soft look in their eyes said otherwise. He didn't know what to do with soft. He wasn't used to the care and softness they brought into his life. He hadn't felt it before.

"Fine, I guess you're right, I'll try and sleep." Freelancer turns, starting to pull away from him and take an unsteady step in the direction of their bedroom. They doesn't get very far before Damien tugs them back to him, cradling their face in his large hands.

"Let me take care of you." He says, gently stroking their cheekbone, caressing the jagged mark that stretched across their cheek, almost touching their nose. Damien felt his heart sore - they were beautiful. "Please." He's certain his feelings are written all over his face when soften even more, filled with adoration and care.

Before the freelancer can say anything, Damien leans down and scoops them up with ease. He carries them bridal-style into their bedroom and lays them down in their bed. They looked adorable as they snuggled into the fluffy sheets and teddy bears alongside them.

Once the freelancer is safely tucked under the mountain of sheets, Damien moves for the door, bracing himself to take stock of their kitchen. He knew the freelancer and Gavin weren't particularly domestic and didn't cook often, but hopefully they'll have enough ingredients for soup.

Freelancer's hand reaches out and wraps around his wrist before he can reach the door.

"Stay." Their eyes are slitted, droopy and slightly blood shot, their hand hot on his arm, but he can't say no to them. "Pretty please."

He kicks off his shoes, sitting on the bed beside them. He hesitates for only a moment before drawing them towards him and wrapping an arm snugly around their waist. He runs one hand over the locks of their hair, and freelancer lets out a little sigh, resting their head on his chest and closing their eyes.

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