"Kaiya, are you okay?" Twist ran over to her.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She lied, popping her shoulder back into place with a grunt. She wasn't exactly sure what happened; all she remembered was Eli shooting some stupid slug that shorted out her mecha when she was at top speed, hurtling her forward shoulder first into a huge rock.
"That bruise doesn't look good." He frowned, his hand ghosting over the huge bruise that had already formed on her arm.
"I'll be fine!" She growled. Didn't the idiot remember she used to be a healer? "Let's just finish the mission and maybe give the Shane Gang some pay-back for what they just did."
"No, we can worry about the mission later. We need to get you back to the citadel."
"Damn it Twist! I'll be fine." Kaiya yelled at her friend and comrade as she struggled to get up. She felt like she had beaten up the entire side of her body. There were probably bruises all the way down to her ankle. But she refused to show any weakness. Suddenly she fell forward, only to be caught by Twist's strong arms.
"I've already called for transport back, you need to rest."
"No, we're doing the mission!" Kaiya continued to argue.
"How?!" Twist finally yelled back, "Our mechas are still out of power!"
"We'll walk." Kaiya growled, trying to struggle out of Twist's arms, cursing when she hit the bruised side of her body against his arm.
"No, we won't," Twist stated, the tone in his voice signifying the finality of the argument. He pulled her into her lap and stroked her hair. Kaiya didn't try to fight it, but let him as the throbbing of her head faded into blackness.
"It's good to see you're awake."
Kaiya blinked groggily, her throat oddly dry. She looked around, finding herself lying in her bedroom with Twist standing above her. She tried to think back to how she got here, squeezing her eyes shut when her head began to pound unbearably.
"You've been out for a few hours; you're still going to feel pretty badly for a while according to the nurses. They want you to take the next week off."
"Can't afford to; besides I can take care of myself." Kaiya gritted out.
"Blakk understands your condition. He sent someone else to take care of the mission; you don't need to worry about anything."
"I need to-"
"You need to rest." Twist cut her off, placing a finger to her lips.
Kaiya opened her eyes to glare at Twist. He looked pretty beat up himself, he had small cuts all over his face and arms.
"You should get those looked at." She tried to turn the situation on to him.
"I already did." He retorted. Kaiya just glared at him again.
"Here, the nurse said you should take these." Twist handed her two white pills. "They're some sort of pain killer."
Kaiya continued to glower, but accepted the pills and a bottle of water.
"They'll make you drowsy, but you could use the sleep."
"I'm fine." Kaiya continued to argue, trying to sit up. Twist pushed her back down, his form hovering over her.
"Kaiya, if I have to watch you twenty four-seven until you get better, I will. Your health means a lot to me, and I want you to get better."
Kaiya gulped, his face was barely inches away from hers, she could see the determined look in his eyes, and she could feel his breath tickle her face. She tried to glare at him, but her resolve was quickly diminishing, so she averted her eyes to the corner of her room where her happy dog was sleeping soundly.
"Kaiya, don't ignore me."
"I never said I was." Kaiya muttered.
"I mean what I said though; your health and safety mean a lot to me." He had moved so he was lying next to her, facing her and stroking a strand of hair out of her face.
Kaiya gulped again. He was not making this easy on her. She hadn't fully figured out her feelings for this guy but he was so close, and being so gentle- a side of him she rarely saw- she couldn't do anything but give in.
"Okay." She relented, closing her eyes again.
"Thank you." She could hear the smile in his voice and felt him gingerly lift her up so she was resting on his chest. Her heart was fluttering wildly and did nothing to help her headache. She grimaced and Twist soothed her, stroking his hand through her hair again. It apparently had a hypnotic effect and suddenly she felt herself drifting off. The last thing she remembered was a feather light kiss on her forehead and the whispered words of: "I love you Kaiya…"