Cold Coffee (Xephmadia)

Come Home to Me

Come Home to Me

When she was younger, her mother always warned her of the hero types, but back then, she would simply giggle and nod in agreement to any silly statements the older woman preached. After all, what were the odds she'd fall in love with a hero who in turn, would fall for her?

Turns out the universe has a strange sense of humor and she was determined not to become the woman waiting at the window for her hero to come home from adventures.

But that can be awfully hard on late nights where worry sticks to her like glue. It was on nights like these that she would curl into herself and let her calm exterior chip away with each shudder of breath. However, she always managed to pull herself back together by the morning and set about her daily activities with her usual vigor.

Today she decided she deserved a break, and set out to visit some of her friends around the area, and it's when she returns to see her house already has a light on that her heart seems to shudder in her chest. She forces her steps to stay calm, though her muscles itched to run, she couldn't get her hopes up, it might not be him. When Lomadia reaches the door, she hesitates for a moment before pushing open the sturdy wood to see a dark haired man she hadn't seen in months.

She freezes and looks him up and down while he chuckles softly and says to her

“Hey Lom, how ya been?”

She drops the backpack she had taken on her trip and runs into him, wrapping her arms around his midsection and burying her face into the crook of his neck.

Dear god... were these tears?!

She hears his air leave his lungs as she tightly hugs him and warmth spread from her chest when she feels his arms wrap around her as well.

“I missed you.” Lomadia mumbles into his chest

Xephos responds gently, rubbing her back and asking

“Sorry, what was that?”

Lomadia pulls away and quickly wipes at her eyes, slightly embarrassed, and punches his shoulder lightly.

“You heard me, Spaceman!”

Xephos chuckles “I know, maybe I just like hearing you say it.”

He pulls her in closer, kissing her forehead first, then the tip of her nose, before capturing her lips with his own.

“I missed you too, Lom.”

She presses her lips to his one more time before asking

“How are you Xeph? Are you alright?”

He looks away from her and shrugs, “I'm alive.”

Her eyebrows furrow and asks “How bad?”

He avoids her gaze again and doesn't say anything, instead he goes to sit on the couch nearby. Lomadia follows him, and takes a seat on the couch. The lamp in the corner casts a light that catches the inflamed skin on his shoulder that he had been hiding before, seeing this, Lomadia pulls at the neck of his shirt and questions, voice full of concern,

“Where'd you get this?”

He sighs “A few monsters...”

She tugs at his shirt some more, only to discover that the angry red marks travel further down than what she had previously expected. She lets out a heavy sigh and rests her hands in her lap, before saying quietly,

“What else?”

Xephos sighs again and pulls off his shirt completely, letting her see the damage dealt to him. She takes in a shuddering breath at the sight, the left side of his body was pretty badly bruised, and various cuts and wounds peppered his torso. The scratch from earlier travels all the way down his chest from his left shoulder, to the same side's hip and it's red and aggravated, but not enough to say it was an infection.

“Have they been cleaned?” She asks after surveying the damage.

“Somewhat, as best as we could manage at the time.”

Lomadia gets up wordlessly and retrieves the first aid kit that she used too frequently for situations like this, and she motions for Xephos to sit up straighter so she can clean his wounds. After she's done that (Xephos hissing and groaning all the while), she takes out a role of clean bandages and start to wrap his chest in it. Once she's secured the last part or the wrap, she kisses his shoulder lightly murmuring

“Do try to keep yourself in good condition, alright?”

He chuckles “Key word there is 'try'”

She huffs and swats at his arm and he mock flinches and says “Alright, alright! Sheesh, demanding are we?”

Lomadia just places her hands on her hips and playfully glares “Do you want to sleep on the couch tonight?”

He sobers up pretty quickly after that threat “It's been ages since I've slept in a proper bed! You wouldn't be so cruel!”

She simply raises and eyebrow and smirks “Is that so?

Xephos roles his eyes at her playful teasing and stands “Right, well, I'm heading to bed. You can join me if you want, but I am definitely stealing your bed for a while.”

She snickers, “I'll be in a bit, go ahead and get yourself ready.”

Xephos nods in agreement and heads to the back of the house, leaving Lomadia to her thoughts. She was so incredibly happy to have him home, and although he was slightly injured, he was still in one piece and that's what matters in the end.

She fell in love with a hero, if her mother were still around, she'd never hear the end of it. But she was happy, they were happy, and he always came back to her.

She smiles to herself one last time before joining Xephos for a well deserved rest.