@knowsmercy sent : 😬 trying to hide a wound - @ sam!
she’d suspected that something was up when she’d first seen him that morning , having only offered her a small smile and a wave before scurrying off to his first class . but sam had seen the way his hand moved to cradle his side , as if his ribs were hurting . she watched his retreating form , made a mental note to ask him about it later , and then turned to head to her own class as the first bell rang .
finding out if miguel was hurt was easier said than done , it turned out . every time she would try to ask him during lunch , they were interrupted -- either by demetri excitedly talking about the newest episode of doctor who , or by hawk talking about how excited he was about that day’s training . by the time she finally had a quiet moment , she’d already given up .
for the moment .
practice was another matter , however . when her dad and johnny told them to split into pairs and warm up and spar , she quickly grabbed miguel by the arm and pulled him to an open spot . they started off slowly , sam watching him intently as she tried to pinpoint exactly where he was hurt . finally , after a few minutes , she went in for a kick to the side before stopping mere inches away from him .
“ you shouldn’t even be at practice like this , ” she said , her voice soft as she gently lowered her foot . “ now sit down , take off the uwagi so i can see . ” she pointed to a large stone in the yard next to them and waited for him to follow her directions . she watched as he reluctantly did what she said , her breath catching in her throat as he removed the uwagi to reveal a large , dark purple bruise along his ribs on his right side .
“ you should’ve told me you were hurt , ” she said quietly as she crouched down in front of him , eyes flickering between his bruise and his face . “ i don’t even care how it happened . i just want you to be able to tell me that you’re hurting . ” she paused , eyes lingering on his bruise for another moment before she moved to gently take her hands in his , carefully pulling him up with her as she stood back up . “ come on . karate practice can wait . ” she waited for him to pull his uwagi back on before turning around , one hand still remaining linked with his .
“ sensei ! ” she called out , pulling the attention of both her father and johnny . “ miguel isn’t feeling great , so i’m gonna drive him home , okay ? ” she waited for an affirmation ( and some comment from johnny that she didn’t quite catch ) before turning back to miguel and started to lead him towards her car .
“ how about a movie night , instead ? ” she whispered , smiling softly up at him .
