Tending To Your Wounds

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Demi walked into her apartment, having finished her patrol about twenty minutes prior. Charlie was in the kitchen getting himself something to drink. He turned to look at Demi and almost dropped his glass.

“Oh god, are you okay?!” he asked her, clearly worried. There were multiple cuts and bruises on her body, as well as blood trailing down the left side of her face.

She nodded in response to his question. “Yeah,” she said. “Just a little beaten up.” To be quite honest, her body felt like it had been hit by a truck.

Charlie had a genuine look of concern on his face. “A little? You look terrible,” he stated.

“Thanks.” Demi closed her eyes for a moment. On top of being wounded, she was quite tired as well.

He softly sighed, setting his glass down on the kitchen counter. Putting his hands together, he pointed them at Demi. “Okay...why don’t you change into something comfortable, then I’ll help fix you up?”

Nodding drowsily, she went into her room to change. Her room was dimly lit by the sunset outside. Demi picked out an oversized T-shirt and pajama shorts, then carefully removed her hero outfit and put them on. She sat down on her bed, her back leaning against the wall.

After a few minutes, Charlie came in with some medical supplies in his hands. He looked at Demi, giving her a small smile before sitting down next to Demi. She watched as he took out a gauze pad and dipped it in the water he’d also brought in. He looked at her for a moment, mentally questioning where to begin. There were two spots on Demi’s face that appeared to be bleeding, so he figured he’d start there. Using the gauze pad, he began cleaning up the blood on the left side of her face.

The water on the gauze pad was cold. At least it didn’t sting. “That’s…kinda cold,” Demi remarked.

“Cold is good.” Charlie took out another piece of gauze, continuing to wipe away the blood. “Helps with bleeding.”

“Yeah I know,” she responded. She had learned that in first aid training at UA.

Pushing her hair out of the way revealed a cut near her hairline. He turned on the nearby lamp so his quirk would work better. “So, what happened?” Charlie asked, putting some pressure on the cut to stop the bleeding.

“A gang of high-ranking villains attacked the private airport,” Demi stated, her eyes closed. “Took a group of us to get everything under control. Poor owner was terrified.”

“Oh geez.” He carefully removed the gauze from her forehead before softly resting two fingers on the cut. “I hope everyone’s okay.” His fingers glowed a pale blue as he activated his quirk. After a few moments, Charlie lifted his fingers, revealing a small blemish on Demi’s forehead where the cut used to be. “The mark should go away in a few days.”

She nodded in response. Charlie decided to move to the small laceration on her right cheek next. He started the same process over, wiping away the blood, then using his quirk to heal the wound.

The room was silent except for the soft noise of the floor fan. As Charlie directed his attention to a bruise on her arm, Demi opened her eyes and quietly watched him. A few moments went by until she finally spoke again.

“...Charlie.”

“Hm?” He looked at her, one of his hands glowing from his quirk.

“What do you see in me?” Demi questioned.

“What do you mean?”

“Like…why do you like me?”

Charlie thought for a bit before answering her question. “Well…” he began, “You’re funny and kind. You make me laugh. And you care a lot about people.”

She looked down at the bed, not knowing what to say.

“Oh. And also, I think you’re very talented, whether you realize it or not.”

Demi continued to look at the bed, ruminating on what Charlie had said. Did he really think that?

After a while, she smiled. “You know, it was kind of a bold move to ask me out during the talent show…” She playfully poked fun at him.

A blush formed on Charlie’s face as he focused on another bruise. With a small smile, he replied, “To be honest, I thought you were gonna say no…”

“...Honestly, you caught me off guard. I wasn’t expecting that at all.” She laughed softly. “Like, who sings a song about a chicken crossing the road, and then asks someone on a date?”

He chuckled. There was a moment of silence between the two before Charlie spoke again. “Well, I’m glad you said yes.”

She looked at him and smiled. “Me too.”

A few more seconds passed and the light coming from Charlie’s hand slowly dissipated. “Alright, all done.”

With a blush, Demi leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “Thank you, cutie.”

He blushed again, his glasses fogging up a bit. “You’re welcome.”

“So…” Demi spoke. “What now?”

Charlie thought for a moment. “Um…we could watch something if you want?”

She nodded. “Sounds good to me.” Demi turned on her TV before snuggling up next to Charlie, laying her head on his shoulder. He laid his head on top of hers as they browsed for something to watch, darkness finally falling outside.