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Kate was methodical in her study of many things - it was part of what made her so good at what she did. And Lucy’s body had been one of her favorite subjects to learn. She knew the skin almost like it was her own. A small mole under the neck and the one patch of coarseness on her back, right out of the reach of her lotion.
It was a caramel expanse stretched tight over muscle honed in the field or occasionally in the gym. It was peaceful and Kate had found herself many a time getting lost in the simple pleasures of fingertips skimming along a spine, mindlessly counting vertebrae, up and over each curve, down the other side. She’d measured the exact number of kisses she could press between the hip bone up to where the ribs started. It was a sensual massage of sorts - never with the intention to arouse, though it often did. It was these moments, just the two of them in the quiet of the Hawaiian morning, that Kate had come to cherish.
Today however, Lucy’s skin, that perfect expanse she’d come to memorize, was a war zone. A firework show of colors expanded up over Lucy’s right shoulder, down past the ribcage, settling across to the left hip. The bruise was fresh - all purples and blues, not yet faded to yellows. The pain was there too; Kate could see it written plainly across Lucy’s face in the way her eyes clenched shut the second the stream of the shower hit.
It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. When Kate had volunteered to drive Lucy home after she’d been medically cleared, it was meant to be just that. It was Lucy, tucked against the passenger seat, staring out the window, who’d suggested it. It was the first thing she’d said in several long, awkward minutes. Stopped at a light, it was Lucy’s left hand reaching across the center console to intertwine with hers.
“Take me home.”
The words left no doubt in either mind what she meant.
But the idea of a hot shower at Kate’s apartment vs. the bathtub in her own house was maybe better in theory than it was in reality; the pressure of the water was too much on Lucy’s battered back.
Lucy hadn’t asked for it - not specifically or in as many words, but Kate knew her company would be welcomed. She slipped into the shower a few minutes after Lucy had - the steam so heavy they could barely see to come together. Kate let her own back take the beating, holding Lucy close against her chest while her fingers traced meaningless feather light patterns over each bruise, lingering where the skin got rough and scabbed. There were the same vertebrae she’d come to know so well, only this time her study was inhibited by strangers - areas of swelling and extra sensitivity.
She tried not to notice when the shower rinsed the dried blood from Lucy’s hair right along her forehead and the water briefly turned red before disappearing down the drain.
“I’ve got you Luce, I’ve got you.” She murmured softly into black water-straightened hair, unsure who the words were meant to comfort more. She knew Lucy’s job required a certain element of risk but being reminded of that risk so vividly never got any easier.
To her credit, Lucy didn’t cry - not that Kat expected her to. The adrenaline of the day which was finally starting to wear off, the tense final confrontation, the pain of the fight, all released in a deep sigh. Kate felt the rush of warm air skim across the top of her breasts.
Maybe tomorrow, they’d talk about this moment. About why this felt so natural. How each of them seemed to mold to the other like one of those frustratingly complicated circular jigsaw puzzles - impossible to solve until you find just the one piece you were missing.
They stood in contented silence, broken up only by the rushing of water, until their skin was red , their fingers pruned, and the steam smelled of her mint body wash. The hot water began to cool and Kate’s soft touch against her lower back was no longer a whisper, now a stronger guiding force out into the refreshing cold air of the bathroom.
Lucy usually brought a bag if she planned on staying but Kate had gotten in the habit of stocking a few things she knew would get used just in case. Plus, she never got tired of seeing the much smaller woman completely enveloped in one of her old college t-shirts.
They dressed separately but curled into bed as one, Kate careful not to jostle around too much as she settled in behind Lucy and nestled her face against the back of her neck. Tomorrow, they could talk about this but for now, as Lucy’s breath deepened into sleep, Kate was happy to hold her here, safe and sound.