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"El, love, light of my life, could you maybe not try to give me a heart attack every time you leave your room?"
Dustin's voice was loud in El's ear, and she couldn't help the giggle she let out hearing his worry. She took a moment to find solid footing, and only answered after, looking down at the scene beneath the building — the robber she'd just caught being put into a police car, the civilians being checked over. Sure, she did get a nasty slash to the shoulder in the fight, but she couldn't leave until she made sure everyone was safe.
"Yeah, sure. If trouble stops following me around," she said, sitting down at the edge of the rooftop, just for a moment. "I'm fine, Dustin."
"I know." Dustin's voice was steady, a reassuring presence in El's earpiece. She had to admit, doing this job with him was easier than alone. Having the constant presence on her side was reassuring, a safety net in case things went south. And his inventions were amazing, just last month he'd made a few necessary adjustments to her suit. "Come home. I need to check you over."
"See you in five."
It was difficult to figure out swinging on the web with her shoulder hurt, but soon enough she got it done. Exactly five minutes later El landed somewhat gracefully on the fire escape outside of Dustin's window. She entered the room quietly, not wanting to disturb his mom, who was likely sleeping off a late-night hospital shift again. The house and the routine in it was familiar to El by now, she came around almost every day after all. She knew the smell of Claudia Henderson's famous meatloaf by heart, knew the quiet that enveloped the apartment in the afternoons when Dustin was engrossed in his inventions and Tews was napping in the sun on his bed.
Right now, that familiarity was something she could use.
She let Dustin wrap his arms around her tightly, and for a moment they just stood there, holding eachother close. Then, gently, Dustin pulled off the mask off her face. He held her chin still for a moment, eyes darting over her face to see if she had any new injuries to worry about; before pressing a kiss to her temple when he decided she looked relatively unharmed.
"Told you I'm fine," she mumbled, letting herself be held in his arms longer.
"Don't think I didn't notice the shoulder, El. Come on, let's get you sat down."
El didn't bother protesting as Dustin carefully helped her over to his desk chair, she didn't argue when he pulled the costume down her shoulders to expose the cut. It was something they'd been doing at least once a week for months now, she wasn't expecting any less. She just watched as he worked in focus, admiring the way his face scrunched up as he wiped the area around the wound and began bandaging it.
"You need to stop getting yourself hurt by acting dumb," he muttered, only realizing he'd said it after El tensed up at the words. Or possibly at the antiseptic, he didn't know. "Sorry, don't mean it like that. You're brilliant — I know that, you know that. I just don't like seeing you hurt."
El just nodded, because she knew. They'd had this same discussion countless times, especially right after he found out about her vigilantism. She knew he didn't approve of his methods, and that he worried. Obviously he'd worry, they'd been together for a while now. She knew by now that he didn't mean anything mean when expressing his concerns.
"I know."
"Wish you would be a bit more concerned with your own health every once in a while, instead of always focusing on others."
"I have you for that, remember?" El joked, before wincing just a tiny bit as Dustin purposefully pressed the bandages tighter to her skin. "Ow, ow, rude."
Dustin finished up with the bandages, gently patting her arm when he was done, before looking her over once more for any more visible wounds. He didn't find any, so he pressed another kiss to El's forehead, satisfied.
"Hop is so killing us both when he finds out about this, you know." Dustin chuckled, and El laughed a bit too, if only at the sound of him. "Like, full on murdering us. You for not telling him and me for enabling you."
El knew he was right. It's been almost a year now since that spider had bitten her, almost half since Dustin got involved. She knew well that her father wouldn't approve of it whatsoever — he was loud in his criticisms of vigilantism. She couldn't blame him, she did make his job harder at times. It did make their already complicated relationship even more strained though, the guilt had been driving her up a wall, but she had no clue how to come clean. It felt too late to even try.
"Yeah, he would."
"Good thing I am not telling him. It can be your secret forever if you want it to be, love."
The girl nodded, and did her best to not wriggle too much as Dustin helper her peel away the dirty costume and pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie, on her own this time, while Dustin threw her suit into the growing laundry pile near his door. It was safer to deal with it at his house, since he didn't have an overprotective father hovering around to possibly find it. Just Claudia and her soft presence. It was a big part of why El liked it at his so much.
"Come on, spidey-girl, you deserve a nap," Dustin said, already pulling El close to his side again once she was dressed, before sitting them both down on his bed.
He pushed her gently to lay down fully, careful of the injured shoulder. He brought a blanket up to her chin, and began peppering her face with soft kisses — on her forehead, cheeks, nose, chin. It drew giggles out of El, which were always a delight to hear. It only made him go further, travel down to her neck. In the meanwhile his hands found his place on her waist, content to just hold her close.
"I love you."
"I love you, too, even though you are a walking safety hazard."
"I liked it more when you were just kissing me," El complained at the teasing, and soon enough she got exactly that. Time didn't matter anymore, just the two of them in Dustin's room, together.