Kiss it better [Paula/Hikaru]

[lt_paula]

There was a buzz of excitement in all of the public areas of the ship. Paula had been in the lab all day and hadn’t checked her messages, so it wasn’t until the end of her shift that she noticed the activity, people chattering in twos and threes. She caught the words ‘shore leave’ and perked up, realizing they were overdue. A decision must have

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[flying_katana]

Hikaru took a deep breath, stepping carefully down the hall toward Paula's quarters. He was running late, and he hated to be late, but it had taken longer than normal to change into shirt after sparring that afternoon. The simple act of getting dressed...

Even now, his right arm refused to budge any higher than his waist. But this was their first night together in more than a few days, and he wasn't going to waste those hours in sickbay, getting yelled at.

He touched the panel, and heard the door chirp and open.

[lt_paula]

She looked up when the door opened, her face lighting up. "Hi," she told Hikaru, getting up to meet him. Paula crossed to his side and slid her arms around his waist, raising up on her toes to kiss him soundly. She didn't miss the way he flinched and then stood rigid, though, his left arm coming up to circle her waist, nudging her gently to that side.

"Hikaru?" She broke off the kiss and pulled back, puzzled, getting a good look at his face this time. Reaching up to smooth a hand over the lines of tension she saw there, Paula frowned. "What's the matter?"

[flying_katana]

"Arm's a little sore," he shook his head, trying to deflect the attention off of his injury. How are you doing? he asked, walking further into her room. "Did you have dinner yet?"

It was still early, but she'd been off-shift for a while, and might be hungry. Then his right arm brushed against the table and he made an audible pained noise.

[lt_paula]

"I'm fine," Paula replied slowly, watching him walk inside. "I was tied up in the lab most of the day, so I had a late lunch." She followed him, her hand going to rest on his back, and wondered what was going on. Paula wasn't convinced by his attempt to play things down, and when she heard that hiss of pain and felt him tense beneath her hand she made a worried sound. "Hikaru, you're hurt. Let me see that arm."

Paula moved around to his other side, her hands gentle as she pushed the sleeve of his t-shirt up. His skin was warm, still damp with sweat from his workout, but she made a worried sound when she saw the bruise already spreading over his shoulder. "This is pretty swollen," she told him, her eyes raising to meet his. "What happened?"