sun-kissed
Written for August Fic Challenge 2023, Prompt: Sunscreen/Sunburn. Established Relationship. Comments and kudos would be awesome. Enjoy!
David gets home late.
Denton had kept him at The Sun writing up an article for a major story until late, they'd only just barely gotten it in on time for the morning editions to run it. As such, it's nearly midnight by the time he gets back to the little apartment he shares with Jack these days.
He finds Jack flopped across the bed, face down and shirtless and immediately David knows something is wrong.
"What happened to you?" He wonders, moving across the room to sit on the edge of the bed. Jack's back is an angry red, the back of his neck and his shoulders and all down his arms, too. Burnt red by too long spent in the heat of the sun.
Jack hisses in pain as he sits up, and David finds his face equally red. "The boss had a crew of us up on the roof all day," he explains. His factory job is risky enough as is, but a problem with a few of the machines had meant some of the workers had been sent outside to do some neglected maintenance instead while they waited for the repairs. "Took my shirt off for a while on account of the heat and cooked myself a bit."
"A bit," David chides. He feels bad about his hours spent in the cooled newspaper offices. He hates that Jack insists on factory work when there are alternatives available. "I wish you'd come work with me," he says, not for the first time, not even for the hundredth time.
But, as usual, Jack shrugs the offer off.
David sighs in resignation and abandons Jack for a moment. He riffles through their sparse supplies and finds the tin of salve to help heal wounds. He has no idea what's in it, some concoction his mother swears by. He figures it will do well enough to help with the sunburn. It had helped with the burn he'd gotten as a child when he'd accidentally bumped an arm against the hot stove pipe.
He returns to Jack's side. "Lay still," he demands, before Jack has a chance to squirm away.
Jack winces on first contact, the red skin tender and sensitive as David smears on a layer of the thick paste. Slowly, as the relieving effects of the ointment kick in, Jack relaxes into his touch, letting out a pleased groan as David carefully works his way over the expanse of his back and shoulders.
"Come with me tomorrow, at least," David pleads, "The cool air will help you, and you shouldn't be in the factory like this."
Jack looks up at him, considers the risks of a day off to recover versus the idea of having to wear the thick work uniform the factory demands, and hours spent in the stifling heat of that building – or worse, hours on the roof again. "Okay," he relents.
He sits up, revealing that his chest is lightly burned as well and David slathers that with the medication, too, before setting the nearly empty tin aside. He'll have to get more from his mother. "Good," he answers, relieved to have gained that small victory, at least. "Thank you."
"Thank you, Davey," Jack counters, the pain something close to bearable for the first time all evening. He reaches out, and David shifts closer without question, lets Jack pull him into an easy, familiar kiss.
"Try to sleep," David says, when they break apart. "I'll join you soon."
And Jack does try, but does not succeed. He listens as David bustles around this space they've claimed as their own – getting something quick to eat, cleaning himself up, changing his clothes. Finally, David slips into bed beside him, and only then does sleep finally come.