Chapter 21: Flirting?
At the hospital across town, Kira sat in the chair beside the bed, her legs folded beneath her, her chin propped on the heel of her hand.
The monitor at the head of the bed traced a steadier line than it had two hours ago. The blue pulse was even now, and natural colour had come back into her brother’s face over the course of the evening.
The grey under his skin had eased into a living tone.
She’d been watching the monitor without blinking for the last twenty minutes.
His fingers moved first. The hand she was holding in both of hers twitched, then closed, the grip light but present.
Kira’s breath caught in her throat. Her eyes snapped from the monitor to his face. His brow furrowed. His lips parted on a slow inhale. The lashes lifted off his cheeks in a flutter.
His eyes opened.
He blinked twice at the ceiling. The fluorescent light made him wince. He turned his head a fraction toward the side of the bed, found her sitting there, and his brow furrowed deeper.
"Kira? What, what happened. Where am I?"
Kira couldn’t answer.
Her throat closed. Her vision blurred at the edges. She squeezed his hand tighter in both of hers, and the first tear ran down her cheek before she’d realised it was coming.
The second one followed. By the third she’d given up on holding any of them back, and she leaned forward over the side of the bed and pulled her brother into her chest with both arms.
"Kira, hey. Hey." His voice was confused, weak. One of his hands came up slowly and rested against her back. "What’s wrong? Why are you crying."
Kira couldn’t speak, she could only hold him tighter.
Her shoulders shook against his thin chest.
She cried into the shoulder of his hospital gown for some time.
Her brother’s hand stayed on her back. He didn’t ask again. He waited.
When her breathing finally slowed enough to be called breathing, she pulled back. She wiped her face with the heel of her free hand, ran her sleeve across her cheeks, and didn’t quite manage to stop the small hitch in her shoulders.
"You’re awake."
"I noticed."
"You’re awake. You’re, you’re better."
His brow furrowed again. He looked down at his own hand in hers, flexed the fingers, and a small wonder passed across his face. "The last thing I remember was the gate and I-"
"Don’t." She squeezed his hand. "Don’t think about that. Not tonight."
Kira sat back in the chair. A face flashed in her mind.
A smile she hadn’t asked for. A re-assuring hand on the top of her head.
’You’re more beautiful when you smile.’ His last phrase echoed in her mind.
***
I woke the next morning, showered, and dressed in a fresh academy uniform.
I took the stairs two at a time on the way down. The kitchen was empty again. Cecilia had already left.
I grabbed a piece of toast from the counter and ate it on the way out.
I made it to the academy gates and cut through the main quad, took the side path toward the medical wing, and let myself into the infirmary through the front door.
I stopped in the doorway.
Hart was at her examination bed in the centre of the room. A student sat on the bed in front of her.
His right forearm wrapped in a bandage that was visibly soaked through with something pale and stained, and Hart had her tablet in one hand and her other hand pressed against his wrist as she worked.
Her white coat was open over a fitted cream blouse and a pencil skirt that had clearly not been chosen at random. Her peach buttocks was highlighted perfectly, making it difficult not to stare at it.
She looked up when the door opened.
"Ash...what are you looking at?"
’Shit...she caught me staring.’
Our eyes met across the room. Her eyes narrowed, before returning her gaze back to the student.
The student on the bed glanced at me and based on the way he was looking at me, I could tell that he recognised me.
[CHOICE A: Flirt with Hart inappropriately in front of the student. Reward: +10 Affection (Hart). D-Rank Gauntlet. ]
[CHOICE B: Act normal. Greet her professionally. Ask after her morning. Wait for the patient to clear, then return for your scan. Steady ground, no drama, no rumors. Reward: +1 Charisma.]
[CHOICE C: Say hi and leave. Don’t put her on the spot while she’s working. Come back when she’s free. Costs you the morning slot you’d planned for, but earns her quiet appreciation for reading the room. Reward: {Improved Sight} skill.]
I read the screen.
I’d already opened my mouth before I finished reading it.
"Actually, I was admiring the view." I leaned against the doorframe. "You know how it is. Some things are worth appreciating."
