Patch Me Up

By: Riley

Summary - Kendall's been getting into a lot of fights on his hockey team and the team medic is starting to get tried of it. Short excert from a hockey team AU I was writing ages ago. Kiley. Prompt from tumblr.

"What'd you do this time?"

Was it his imagination, or was that an exasperated tone Kendall heard in Riley's voice? He almost glared at the team medic, as he held his t-shirt up over his nose, blood continuing to stain it. "You're getting mad and I'm the one with the bloody nose!" He gestured wildly toward his face with his free hand, before yanking down the bottom of his shirt to tuck back into his jeans.

"It's the second time I've had to see you in practice already, yeah?" She placed her hands on her hips, blue eyes flashing behind the black bangs that fell into her face. "Weren't you wearing your helmet?"

"Maybe I missed you," Kendall replied to her first statement, hopping onto the examining table. Then, "No," to the second.

"Ha ha," the first then, "Are you serious?" to the second.

"It's not just a pickup game, Riles, it's always serious!"

"Tell that to your bloody nose." The corner of her mouth turned up at her choice of words. An exact statement and a reminder of her being from Australia. Didn't they play Rugby over there? Weren't they getting their ears torn off? She should've been used to violence. Crossing the room, she grabbed a wad of tissues from the table and swatted his hand away to replace his shirt. "It's a crook excuse, we both know anything with hockey is serious to you." She looked at him in warning. "One more fight in game and you're suspended."

"Thanks for reminding me." Kendall could still hear the referee's and coaches yelling ring in his ears.

"I wouldn't have to remind you if you'd stop fighting." She probed around his nose making him wine and turn his head away. Then she grabbed a bag of ice from the unused—or maybe waiting for him—ice bath and pressed it to his nose, forcing his hand on top of it.

Kendall shrugged. "It's part of the game."

Riley leaned backed, folding her arms. "And the game is life, right?"

"Right."

"Is it your entire life, Hockey-Head?" A teasing smile came to her face. "Are you going to marry it? Are you going to have a bunch of hockey babies that use the bloody puck as their teething rings?"

"You're not getting paid to make comments on my life," Kendall mumbled around the ice pack, lips pulling back into a smile.

"I'm not getting paid, boofhead. I was assigned to it to fulfill my requirement for–" she broke off, shaking her head. "Contrary to popular belief, I'm not your personal nurse."

"Then why do you spend the most time with me?" Kendall smirked, knowing it'd throw her off.

But it was also to satisfy his own curiosity. He'd wondered if there really was something to the point that she, definitely, took more time to help him out with his injuries from games and practices than anyone else on the team. And he really did like talking to her; she knew her stuff about hockey—which surprised him the first time he met her—and other sports, and she made him laugh, trying to take his attention away from the pain of his injury before and after she did something to ease his pain.

She sat with him every time he did an ice bath, bringing in her laptop so they could watch something while he waited for his time to end. Remembered everything he said about his family after the first time he mentioned them. Teased him for the pain he felt when she worked on a torn muscle or yanked on an arm to pop a socket back into place before asking with genuine concern if he was okay.

"Why do you think?" She replied sarcastically.

"No, I'm actually asking."

"I noticed."

"And?"

"Don't you have some more teeth to knock out of your head? Literally everyone on the team is missing something but you. Trying to keep your good looks up for stardom?"

"You didn't answer the question."

"Are you purposefully trying to annoy me?"

"Are you purposefully avoiding the question?"

"Is this fun to you?"

"Do you always answer a question with a question?"

"Do you?"

Kendall held up his hands, defensively. "I'm just saying—"

"Because I care about you, you fucking asshole!" Riley interrupted with a frustrated shout.

Kendall opened his mouth, paused. Shifted his gaze in thought. Went back through everything he'd just thought about with a clearer lens, realized that with each instance she always greeted him with a friendly, "Hey, Hockey-Head," when seeing him for the first time each day, even when being wheeled into the training room directly off the ice.

With a smile of satisfaction with understanding, Kendall stood and grabbed his stick. "I'll be more careful, then," he said then swept out of the room.

As he went back to the ice, he wondered if it'd be so bad if he was suspended from another game. He'd at least have a night off to go out on a date with her, if she said yes.

Not that he'd get suspended on purpose.

THE END