Seeing Through the Trauma

Earnt, Given, or Taken (37)

Red's workshop was big. Plenty of tools and half-finished projects and materials littered most of the space easily, filling the room with chaos Red weaved through easily and MK stepped toward the table covered in half-finished blueprints and drawings, finding some of them familiar as he gently reached to touch his bangle looped around his wrist.

He smiled at the sight of Red's hard work, the sight of different broken gems shoved to the side and twisted metal that obviously hadn't been to up to snuff as he reached out and picked up one of the drawings carelessly shoved to the side. It was a sketch similar to the band he was wearing, with calculations and measurements scattered on the paper while the design was slightly different than his with more swirls.

"Sorry, ignore that, those were just drafts um, they're not very good-" Red mumbled, trying to tidy away some of the many papers on the desk but MK's heart fluttered, touched by how long this all must have taken him and how much effort he'd put into something just for MK.

No one had ever put that much thought into making something for MK before.

It could have easily brought him to happy tears but instead, he just moved and wrapped his arms around Red's neck, smiling softly as he pressed his cheek to the demon's skin in a loving hug.

Red froze but wrapped his arms around him in a way that felt instincive, his tail automatically coiling around MK's.

"Uh, what's this for?" He asked, his voice confused.

"Not that I'm complaining but-"

"You're amazing. I don't know how I got so lucky." MK told him sincerely, his tail happy to link onto Red's before leaning back so he could look his partner in the face which was worth it because the sight was beautiful. Red's face was a deep pink and his hair was a bright scorching red that flickered with flames as he spluttered at the compliment, taking a moment to compose himself.

"Well, I uh-" MK giggled a little at the flustered response, pressing a kiss to his warm cheek and stepping back to look at the rest of the sketches some more.

"How do you even make this stuff?" He asked, fingers delicate as he traced some of the other designs on the table and unused metals.

"It's uh- it's easy once you get the hang of it. I've been making things and doing metal work since I was young. I could show you if you like?" He asked and MK nodded enthusiastically, thrilled to get to watch Red in his element.

It also helped that the room got really hot once Red started showing him how he usually heated up the metal with his own flames. The heat chased away any of the usual chill that followed and lingered almost permanently now. MK got to watch from a safe distance with protective goggles on while Red rambled and explained the process and he got to watch as his boyfriend lit up as he got to talk about something he was passionate about, his whole face bright and open.

It was so distracting and he looked so pretty that MK was struggling to pay attention to what he was saying, especially when he started hammering down some of the metal to flatten it and MK got to see his toned arm muscles flex. With the sound of the metal MK couldn't hear anything outside the room at all. He didn't even know if his dads were still arguing, but for once it was nice to just focus on one thing and ignore that problem while he could.

Red showed him how to screw what he'd made onto the half-finished vehicle near the other side of the room, letting MK tighten some of the screws and help out. It was nice, and Red's encouragements and praise made his heart flutter like a bird.

When he was done he stretched his arms, wiping the sweat off his forehead with a wide grin and looking at the collaborative work. It wasn't much, but MK had enjoyed it.