Work Text:
Diego comes home exhausted yet fidgety from a night of fighting crime. You help him out of his harness and place a tentative kiss on his lips. He kisses you back, sighing deeply when your lips part ways.
After a silent dinner, you climb into bed with him. He's been quiet, which isn't unusual. Some nights are tough on him, and he ends up tossing and turning, internalising his anguish. He wants to protect you from the scoundrels he deals with, maintain the purity of your kindness.
He pulls you close and tucks you into his side. He plants soft kisses on your forehead but doesn't say anything. You try staying up with him, but your day takes its toll on you and slip into a deep slumber while he toys with your hair.
You wake up in the middle of the night, panicking at the sight of the tossed sheets and an empty bed. You walk into the living room and find him on the couch. Not surprisingly, he had a tiny knife in his hand. He moves it in his hands with his signature ease, the knife an extension of himself.
You offer him a snack and he graciously accepts. This isn't a regular occurrence, but it happens frequently enough that you keep the house stocked for these sort of emergencies.
Occasionally you look up while warming the milk and you catch him looking at you. He whispers an unnecessary apology and returns his gaze to his knife.
You place a platter of chocolate chip cookies and a warm glass of milk on the coffee table. You always push him to drink chamomile, but not on the nights when he wanted to forget the grave atrocities he encounters in the city. He wants something safe, something familiar. A tiny trip to his childhood kitchen with Grace would solve everything but you know all that you can offer right now is yourself and his favourite childhood snack.
You gently take the knife from his hand as he sits up and picks up the glass of milk.
You hate that he keeps apologising to you for keeping you up with him. His apologies are peppered with his requests that you go back to sleep but you just can't leave him in that state. You promise yourself to talk him tomorrow about this, you were together and he must know that you are going to be with him through thick and thin.
He finishes the whole plate of cookies, occasionally feeding you just the choco chips. It makes you tear up but you hide it well, the simple gesture of him remembering your preference even when he was at his lowest
You coax him into the bedroom and help him settle into bed, his head resting against a mountain of pillows. You slip in beside him and he rests his head on your stomach, holding on to you with both hands. A low thank you leaves his lips and you bring up his knuckles and place a kiss on them.
You spend a long time striking his short hair, massaging his scalp and stroking his cheek. You just wanted him to drift off to sleep so that he could successfully escape whatever was tormenting.
You spend a long time striking his short hair, massaging his scalp and stroking his cheek. You just wanted him to drift off to sleep so that he could successfully escape whatever was tormenting him.
After a night full of turmoil, Diego finally falls asleep with you, the last thing he remembers is your fingers gliding along his scar.