“Bullshit,” he muttered. “Just pop it in, I’m going to my quarters.”
“You’re going to get checked out. Period.”
Scar smiled despite the pain. “I like this side of you. It’s turning me on.”
Gage didn’t smile.
Instead, he leaned in until his lips were against Scar’s ear.
“You scared me,” he whispered in a tone that sounded as if the words hurt to say.
Scar hummed low and rubbed his cheek against Gage’s, a rough, grounding touch he knew he liked. “You didn’t look scared.”
Gage stayed close.
“Why’d you leave?” he asked, quieter now. “We were supposed to be together tonight.”
Scar swallowed. “I’d planned to be back in time. Trust me. I had no intentions of missing that.”
Silence took them the rest of the way home.
When they reached headquarters, medical was already staged and waiting.
He protested the moment the doors opened, but with Gage’s express permission, gloved hands were on him anyway.
The doctor was still in the middle of taking his vitals when Jo and Meridian came in.
One look at their faces and he knew he was in deep shit.
White Ravens
Gage
After Gage’s team had gotten him out of his gear, he’d showered off the stench of battle, thrown on a jogging suit, and rushed back to the infirmary.
He sat on the edge of Scar’s bed, waiting for the results from his scans.
Scar was propped against the pillows with his shoulder freshly set and wrapped.
He had minor bruises and swelling on his face, the kind that would fade in a few hours because of their enhancements but still made something raw and protective coil in Gage’s stomach.
Scar also had defensive scrapes across his knuckles and the backs of his hands, marks that said he’d tried.
The room was quiet.
Jo stood near the door, radiating anger, and Meridian was a darker shape beside her.
Roz lingered well after their field support had cleared out.
Almost thirty minutes later, the doctor finished his exam.
“I know your pain receptors are elevated, but anti-inflammatories can still help,” Dr. Rossi said.
Scar didn’t even consider it before saying, “No.”
“You’re not proving anything.” Jo sighed.
“I’m not trying to. I just don’t like drugs.”
