Work Text:
Yumiko maneuvered through the dense hallway trying to find Mute's office. If anyone had to report on a partner's erratic and stupid behavior, it was going to be her. Jack was always getting into shit when she wasn't there, so she knew what it was like to get that news from someone unfavorable. So, when she had seen the fight between Vigil and Mozzie go down, she had to be the one to tell Mute. After gaining her direction from a techie, she stopped at the door with the nameplate "M. Chander" on wood. She knocked loudly and waited a few seconds.
The door opened a bit and two tired, honey-colored eyes looked back at her with bewilderment. "…yes?" He asked, his brows knitting in confusion.
"Your boyfriend is in Harry's office—got into trouble."
That was enough to make Mark open the door wide. "What? What happened?"
Yumiko made her way inside and closed the door behind her. She was acting so secretive—had it been that bad? What could Chul Kyung possibly do that had been so bad? "He got into with Mozzie. Ended up punching him so hard, that Vigil broke Mozzie's nose. Thought I'd be the one to tell you, you know?" She turned around and crossed her arms.
Mark had no idea what she was talking about, but that news was enough to send Mark running down the hall towards Harry's office. A small group had gathered around Max and Chul Kyung. Max's nose was pouring blood, drenching his mustache. He was shouting a very colorful sentence Chul Kyung's way as Gillies struggled to maintain the small Australian in his grasp. Chul Kyung was pale white, his hands clenched into fists at his side. His shoulders were tense, and he was breathing erratically. Harry was talking to him softly, trying to bring him down.
Mark watched Chul Kyung's body language and knew what had happened. He jogged over to Chul Kyung but was stopped by Olivier. "Stand back," he commanded. "Don't go near him, he looks ready to pounce."
"That's my partner," Mark spoke, his voice meeting to match the power in Olivier's. "I have the right to go check if he's okay!"
Olivier didn't budge, standing face to face with Mark. "Let Harry take care of it. We have a giant mess as it is, don't make it worse." Seeing that he wasn't going to budge, Mark sighed in defeat and then stood back. He watched helplessly as Harry had to coax Chul Kyung into his office. Max was still fighting Gillies but then broke from the tall Frenchman's grip.
"Shoulda let me go at him! Bloody bastard got me fucking good…" Max grumbled and held his nose. Lera showed up with her first aid kit and was rather annoyed to see that it was Max who needed her attention.
Mark held rubbed his arm and then looked to Olivier. "Can you at least tell me what happened, please?" He asked softly.
Olivier looked at Mark and sighed, uncrossing his arms and lowering the prideful Lion. "Mozzie was hanging off Vigil during training. Vigil got tense and when Mozzie kept pushing it, he snapped and punched him." Olivier scratched his nose and sighed. "I've never seen Vigil that feral before. Scared me a bit."
Mark frowned, glaring daggers at Max. This had been the third time Max had been touchy with Chul Kyung, even though he had told Max to stop. Max thought Chul Kyung was being a prude and continued to cross a boundary that was difficult for his boyfriend to process. Chul Kyung hated being touched by strangers. The whole mindset in combat was different because Chul Kyung always hit White Masks first before they laid a finger on him, however, Mark had seen it happen before in public places, but Chul Kyung never outright hit someone for it. He merely clammed up and separated himself from the crowd. Suddenly Mark didn't feel bad for Max anymore.
"Chul hates being touched by people he doesn't know. It sets him off, sure, but not like this. Max was told to stop, and he didn't." Mark said sourly, trying to contain his anger.
Olivier chuckled. "Good. I was beginning to think I was going to have to feel sorry for Goose." He shook his head and sighed, crossing his arms over his strong chest. "Nice to know he had it coming," Mark said nothing and just started towards Harry's office to wait for his boyfriend to come out. Harry would probably punish him for the physical assault, but it had been a reaction.
-
Harry watched Chul Kyung pace the room, trying to ground himself. His right hand was covered in Max's blood, but that didn't seem to bother the Korean. "I'm…sorry." Chul Kyung finally breathed out, his voice shaky. Harry nodded.
"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to, but I know." Harry sat down in his chair and let Chul Kyung continue to stand. "Can you tell me what happened?"
After a moment to collect himself, Chul Kyung let out a weak sigh. "I've been telling Mozzie to not touch me. I've told him time and time again that I hate it. He called me a prude when I told him today, and I just—had enough. I was angry and frustrated and my skin began to crawl. Then my heart started beating rapidly in my ears. I couldn't take it. Soon enough, my fist found his face."
Harry took notes and looked back up. "So you told Max to stop? And he didn't listen?"
Chul Kyung nodded. "Yes. I wouldn't have hit him if he just listened to me." That was a lie, he would have still socked Mozzie, but Chul Kyung didn't know he could get to that level of violence.
With a deep sigh, Harry set his notepad down. "You're still going to be punished for hitting Max, but, I'll be sure to have a good chat with him about respecting people's boundaries." He stood up and motioned to the door with a patient smile. "You're free to go. I'll talk to you later." Chul Kyung nodded his thanks and was out the door in seconds.
The crowd that had gathered to watch Chul Kyung punch Max was gone. Only Olivier, Gillies, and Max remained. Some light footsteps approached him, and immediately Chul Kyung tensed up. However, the familiar scent of coffee tipped him off.
Mark slowly approached Chul Kyung with worried honey eyes. It made him feel ashamed to cause Mark this trouble. Both men were silent, using their body language to speak. Chul Kyung rubbed his arm and looked away from his boyfriend, ashamed to meet his eye. He shut his eyes and frowned heavily.
Mark frowned, moving to face Chul Kyung. "Jaanu," he said softly, smiling at Chul Kyung and trying to show him it was okay. "Geaenchanha, geaenchanha."
Chul Kyung sighed shakily and hugged himself. "I'm sorry." He said softly. Mark only nodded, then held out his pinkie for Chul Kyung to take. After an attack, Chul Kyung normally doesn't like contact, so instead of holding hands, they held pinkies.
"It wasn't your fault." Mark eased. Chul Kyung slowly reached for Mark's hand, taking his pinkie and then starting the walk back to the common room. Everyone would stay clear of Chul Kyung after this, not wanting to be next. Mark usually was the buffer when it came to uncomfortable social situations for Chul Kyung—he didn't mind it—so he was willing to deflect anything the other operators had to say. "You want some milk?"
Chul Kyung nodded meekly and followed Mark into the common room. First thing's first: they washed Chul Kyung's hand of blood. Once that was gone, Mark let Chul Kyung sit at the table in the kitchen while he got the ingredients from the fridge.
Mark took some strawberries from the carton and washed them in cold water. After that, he chopped up the strawberries and threw them in a pot with sugar, and water. While that boiled, Mark grabbed a glass and poured some milk into it. Chul Kyung watched from the table, resting his face in his hand. After the contents of the pot came to a low boil, Mark used a strainer to get the pulp and seeds out of the now freshly made strawberry syrup. How many times had he done this for Chul Kyung after they started dating? The late, sleepless nights when they didn't know what to say to each other, and all Mark could do was make strawberry milk. Learning this one comforting fact about Chul Kyung made it easy for Mark to find common ground. Since then, it was used to cope and heal.
Mark carefully stirred the syrup into the milk, turning the ivory liquid into a soft pink. Mark even added the small bits of ice, for extra flare. He brought the glass over to Chul Kyung and sat with him as his boyfriend enjoyed the little labor of love. "Thank you," Chul Kyung said, taking the straw Mark set down and taking small sips.
"Of course."
They sat in silence for a while, Mark watching Chul Kyung drink his homemade milk. After a while, Mark leaned forward and waited for Chul Kyung to say something. Taking the hint, Chul Kyung sighed, cracking his knuckles. "I'm fine now."
"That's good." Mark tapped his fingers on the table, navigating through the after-care process. "I'm sorry." He said finally. This confused Chul Kyung.
"Sorry for what, sarang?" Chul Kyung tilted his head and blinked. Mark threaded his fingers together and looked upset.
"When Max was pushing it the other day, I should have said something. I shouldn't have let that go on for as long as you did."
Chul Kyung slowly reached over the table and took Mark's calloused hands. Small cuts and burn marks from working on gadgets all day were sprinkled on the back of Mark's caramel-colored hands, and Chul Kyung loved every inch of them. "No, it's not your fault. Mozzie is hardheaded and probably would have caused a fuss if someone else jumped in. He's always looking to fight, no matter who it is." The hard dislike in Chul Kyung's voice was enough to know that if Max and Chul Kyung ever wanted to mend their relationship, it would take a lot of intensive therapy. Chul Kyung held Mark's hands lovingly, easing back into a safe touch. "Besides, I can handle it myself."
"You broke someone's nose today. Is that your way of 'handling' it, jaanu?" The playfulness in Mark's voice filled Chul Kyung with happiness. He chuckled and merely shrugged in response to Mark's comment. "Thought so."
"You got me. Think this will be water under the bridge by tomorrow?"
Mark tilted his head and looked up, teasingly thinking about it. "Probably not, but I'll be right there beside you if you need me."
Chul Kyung brought Mark's hands to his lips and kissed them gently. "Thank you, sarang. I love you."
Mark leaned in and kissed Chul Kyung on the cheek, taking the now empty glass of milk. "I love you too."