Somebody Stop My Mouth

…

Being on sick leave in the Skyriders did not necessitate the same thing as shore leave, especially if the need for sick leave only involved being injured. Thanks to Link's dislocated shoulder, he was temporarily assigned to the home office as an assistant supply clerk. It was a pretty simple job, and it allowed Link to return to the dormitories at the end of the day. His job was to take supply requisitions from ships as they returned to Skyrider Port and check them against the depot's supply records. If they had the supplies the ship needed, he handed it off to another supply clerk who would take the airmen back to find what they needed. If they did not, one of two things happened. If the supplies were parts for a ship, Link would put them on a list to receive parts the next time the ship returned. If the supplies were for crew needs, he would pass the requisition off to the supply clerk so that he could fill out another requisition form that the ship could use at another port to obtain the supplies they needed. Unlike the environment on the Grand Sails, Link found that he could relax a bit at the Skyriders' supply depot. That was the doctor's orders anyway. His one irritation was that he had to use his right hand to fill out the supply log since his left arm was in a sling. The doctor had told him not to move it for a month. Although he was actually quite adept with his right hand as well, he found that something as delicate as writing was a little tricky. Occasionally, at the end of the day, Link had to interpret his awkward scribbling for the supply clerk.

The Grand Sails returned to Skyrider Port two weeks after Link was assigned to the depot. It was bringing in supplies from Castle and Forge Islands, and a score of airmen showed up at the depot to drop off the supplies.

Line was with them.

Line froze when he saw that Link was sitting at the supply clerk's desk, wearing an open, leather waistcoat instead of an airman's tunic.

Link glanced up at him. "Hey, Line."

Line gulped and put on a smile. "Hey, Link," he said as he stepped up to the front of the desk. He held out the supply manifest. "We got stuff for you."

"Explains why you're here."

Line winced. He could not be sure if Link was still angry at him or if that was just an offhand remark. "Yeah, uh… yeah." He pointed a thumb over his shoulder. "Uh, the guys are ready to unload."

"One minute," Link replied as he scooted his chair back and pulled open a desk drawer. He sifted through a folder with the depot's supply requests until he found a copy of the form that was sent out with the Grand Sails. After he double-checked the request form with the manifest Line had handed him, he nodded. "Yeah, looks good."

"Have at it, guys," Line called, holding a thumbs-up to them. But instead of leaving with them, Line continued to stand in front of the desk while Link busied himself with updating the supply record. "So."

"So," Link replied, not looking up.

Line gave a pause before finding a topic. "How's the shoulder?" Then he grimaced at his stupid selection.

"It's fine," Link said. "Hurts occasionally. The painkillers the doctor gave me make it easier to get through the day."

Line nodded, relieved that Link was not holding much of a grudge. "Okay. Um… I know I told you before. You… you know I'm sorry, right?"

"Yeah, you told me." Link frowned at the horrible number he had written and picked up a rubber tablet to erase it.

"Okay." Line scratched the back of his head. "So… the supply depot, huh."

"Yeah."

"I-I thought you… you know… you were supposed to get some sick leave."

Link had to pause to wipe out another horrible number. "I'm not sick, technically. The company assigned me to the depot while I'm recovering."

"Oh. So-so, are you here all day?"

"I get out in the evening after we close up."

"Home?"

"Dorms."

"Oh." He paused to think of another topic. "Get to visit anyone?"

"I tried visiting Leeta's once. It turns out that she still hugs you even when you have a visible injury."

Line grimaced. "I guess I won't be visiting her if I get injured."

"Yeah, it's a bad idea."

"It's a…"

"Bad idea."

"Bad idea."

"My shoulder was inflamed for a couple days. I went to the doctor, and he gave me more painkillers."

"Right. So… how much longer are you here?"

"Another two weeks as long as I don't hurt myself."

Line nodded. "Miss me?"

Link paused and looked up at Line's cheesy grin. "Line… you dislocated my shoulder."

Line held up his hands. "And I said I was sorry. But come on! Look at you! You're getting… kind of a shore leave. Hell, if I knew having a dislocated shoulder would get me the same job, I'd do it!"

Link raised his eyebrows. "Will you let me dislocate your shoulder?"

"Ah…" Line stammered for a moment. "Wha-I-uh, well, uh… I, uh…"

"No."

"No. No, probably not. Uh, no, not on purpose." He paused again. "But… you know… if you ever felt like it… or… if-if it happens to cross your mind. If you can make it look like an accident."

"I'm not going to make it look like an accident."

Line nodded. "Good to know… wait, does that mean you'll dislocate my shoulder?"

"It means it won't be an accident."

Line's nod was slower. "Maybe Kruz can show me how he sleeps with one eye open."

Link pointed at the office door. "They're waiting for you."

"What?" Line looked over his shoulder, where a pair of airmen stood waiting for him. "Oh, right. They need the manifest."

Link handed it to him. "See you when you get back."

"Yeah," Line nodded as he turned to the door.