#house repairs

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You were genuinely surprised that the Dateviators hadn’t fallen off at some point in the night, nor had they run out of charge. But that surprise melted away into a feeling of peace and content at the soft snores that came from below you. Dorian was still asleep under you, his hand still resting on your back , face still soft with sleep. It was warming to see him like this. Too often he was awake when you woke, already prepared for the day. Prepared to keep the unwanted out and the desired in. Part of you wanted to get up, to get some Tylenol for the slow but steady blooming achiness that was crawling along your spine like a spider climbs its web. But he was so comfortable. So at peace. So…content. So you lay your head back down and listen to the steady thrum and beat of his heart, relax into the pure *solidness* he was. Solid and steadfast. Always there, no matter where you were. An unmoving and unwavering supporter from afar and close. A man who had been slow to open up but once he had he didn’t close the door again. He kept it wide open for you. You and only you. He held the others at arms length but for you? He held you so close to his chest you were convinced half the time he wanted to lock you inside his heart and soul, the safest possible place for you to ever be. 

It was roughly an hour before he finally began to wake below you, his steely grey eyes opening slowly as he looked down and gazed into your eyes, the harshness of his melting away as he brought a hand up to your head and lightly rubbed the back of it. “Did you sleep out ‘ere all night?” he asked, voice thick and gruff with sleep. “Yes, and my back will be telling me all about it later.” was your response as you brought a hand up and gently ran a thumb over his cheek. “How did you end up on the floor, Dorian? Don’t lie to me.” the playfulness that was in your voice before was gone and replaced with a no nonsense tone that made even Rainey falter when there was something wrong with her that she was trying to hide and deny. It was the same tone he had heard you use on Volt and Eddie after there was a power surge during a snow storm when you learned that they had redirected the power to Hector so he could focus more on keeping your room nice and warm during the storm. But the amount of power had been too much for the attic breaker to handle and only resulted in the entire upper level of the house to lose power. He could have sworn he heard you yelling at Volt and Eddie but none of you ever confirmed or denied it when it was brought up next. So needless to say, he knew that he had to at least tell a small semblance of the truth to save himself from that scolding tongue. 

“My hinges weren’t tightened right after you took me down to repaint my surface and update my hardware.” Dorian admitted as he slowly massaged the tense muscles at the base of your neck, fingers working skillfully to get rid of the knot that was much too large for his liking. You stare up at him blankly, he could practically see the gears turning in your head before you spoke again. “Dorian, I did that almost three months ago. Why didn’t you tell me sooner? Or Tony?” you ask, the arm you have on his chest bracing and tensing as you push yourself up, his hand falling from your neck and lightly holding your wrist. “Slipped my mind. You and ‘im have been running around like two headless chickens trying to repair everything as it breaks.” Dorian admitted, his chest tightening uncomfortably as he admitted that he had inadvertently failed at his job. His hinges were loose. What if someone had broken in and made it upstairs? All it would have taken was a solid kick and he’d be on the ground and you’d be hurt or worse. 

A deep and powerful sigh wooshed out of your lungs as you shook your head and rolled off of him, sitting on the ground next to him. “I’m going to get Tony and get you back on your hinges.” you said before taking off the Dateviators and setting them on the table, giving the surface a small pat before standing up and moving towards the hall closet where the breaker box and your tools were. The hum of electricity picked up slightly as you swung the closet door open, and the tools inside the metal box rattled with excitement as you grabbed the handle and lifted the box off the ground. “Alrigh’ Tone. We got quite the job today. Dorian fell off his hinges. You up for it or am I gunna go haft ta go out and get anotha Tony?” you ask, laying the horrible accent on thick, a wide grin forming on your face as the tool box rattled indignantly. You could practically hear his flustered and angry remarks to the teasing, the hum in the closet sounded almost like a laugh as the two of you left the closet. 

Setting the tool box on the table next to the pink shaded glasses you crouch down and grab the edge of the door and lift with your legs as you prop him up against the doorframe before slowly moving him upright, bottom lip firmly between your teeth as you focus on not dropping him down the stairs. It took a few minutes but soon he was leaning on the wall and his hinges were being removed from him and the doorframe. “I didn’t like these ones anyways.” you mutter as you set them on the table. “I’ll be right back.” you promise before going downstairs and into the office closet, a soft hello muttered to Winnifred as you grabbed a box and went back upstairs. Inside were new hinges, reinforced and sturdy. Meant for outer doors but still usable for indoor doors. It took another twenty minutes but soon the hinges were in place and then came the fun part…Putting Dorian back in place and making sure everything lined up and was tight enough. Brushing a light layer of oil over the various hinges and pins, you stand up and set the brush back on the open lid of the toolbox and look at the white door. “Alright. This is the fun part.” you chuckle before grabbing the door and lifting him up, clenching your jaw tightly as a small spark of pain shot up your spine before carefully putting him onto the hinges, making sure everything slid in the way it was supposed to before securing everything in place with the proper hardware.

“Alright. All done!” a victorious smile has your cheeks hurting as you reach for the Dateviators and slid them back onto your face and are greeted with a flustered looking Dorian and the loud laughter of Tony, the handyman doubled over and leaning on the wall next to the stairs as he struggled to catch his breath. “What? What happened?” you look between the two of them, Dorian clearing his throat as he made it a point to look everywhere but at you. “Ah shit, firecracker! You got ol’ Dorian all sorts of flustered with your manhandling!” Tony wheezed out, ignoring the glare he got from said door. “I was just trying to get him back onto his hinges!” You pointed out as you looked between the two of them. “I know, love. Ignore him. He has a dirty mind and an even dirtier mouth.” Dorian grumbled out as he wrapped an arm around your shoulders and guided you into the bedroom, the door closing softly behind the two of you. “Thank you for gettin’ me back up and proper.” he said while wrapping the other arm around your waist and pulling you into his chest. “It’s no biggie, Dorian. I just wanted to help. I’m still upset that you didn’t tell me right away though. That wasn’t cool.” You say as you wrap your arms around him, chin resting on his chest as you look up at him. “We’re partners. A team. And a team needs to communicate in order to be successful, yeah?” “Yeah.” he nodded in agreement. “I’ll get better with communicating. Promise.” he promised, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. “Now, go take some painkillers and get somethin’ to eat.” he instructed, gently pushing you away.