RyRy: Healing Wounds

Ryan forced himself to sit up but he couldn't. His bandaged ribs were giving him more pain than usual. Ryan groaned. After years of getting injuries on missions, he was irritated that the pain worsened each time. The twenty-year-old wondered if he had gotten too old.

"What are you trying to do?" A nagging voice spoke up. Ryan noticed that a tiny silhouette had appeared at his doorway.

"What does it look like?" The brown-haired man replied crossly. He ignored the pain of knives jabbing into his rib cage and forced himself upwards. Before he knew it, Rylie was at his side. She systematically took two large cushions and placed them behind the injured man. Ryan resentfully leaned back into the soft support.

"There," Rylie said with a smile. The blonde then sat down on the bed next to her significant other. She softly took out her medical set under the lamp desk. Ryan made a disapproving sound as he knew what she was going to do.

"If I don't do this, you'll heal slower." The blonde understood his every mannerism, although she sometimes wished he was easier to handle.

"It would heal eventually. I don't need it." Ryan scoffed. Rylie ignored him as she swiftly unwrapped a bandage to reveal the jagged gash that punctured deep into his left arm. Rylie routinely began to clean the open wound.

"Ryle."

"Mm-hmm?"

"Is there a nurse that can do this?" Ryan questioned. He was taken aback when Rylie suddenly flashed him with her eyes in fury.

"Why are you asking me that, Ryan?" She asked, a bitterness began rising in her throat. She dabbed the ointment onto the deep laceration with more force than needed. Ryan flinched at each jab.

"Ryle." He said adamantly. He took one her hands and brought it down onto the bed. Rylie's hurtful eyes locked with his irked ones. Ryan tried explaining: "I don't like you seeing this."

Rylie looked confused. "I've seen worse, and I've done worse. Now don't be difficult."

Ryan held Rylie's hand down with more strength. She just gave him a look before commanding: "What's this about, Ryan?"

Ryan covered his wound with a clean area of his previous bandage. He sat silently, as if choosing his words carefully. His eyes stared thoughtfully into her long blond hair and he simply said, "You deserve someone who could take care of you, Ryle. Not the other way around."

"Well, no one's better at that than you." Rylie said jokingly, hoping that the slight humor would lift his spirits up.

Ryan didn't show any response. He sat stolidly, deep in his thoughts. Rylie understood that he needed more reassuring, but on his time too. She sighed at her incomplete work. Maybe she should just continue cleansing the wound tomorrow morning. "Hey, let me wrap this up." She said and Ryan removed his hand away. After making sure the new bandage was snug around his wound, Rylie turned to the stoic-looking Ryan.

"Sweetie, you're worrying too much again." She said gently, and touched his left palm. Almost by habit, Ryan wrapped his fingers around hers.

"I can't move without experiencing twice the pain." He spoke with a stern jaw, refusing to meet with her eyes.

"You sustained your injuries just last week. Of course you'll be in a lot of pain."

"My threshold used to be higher."

"That's normal. Kids grew their pain out as they grow."

Ryan did not look satisfied. His concerned green eyes looked into her blue-gray orbs, and he asked "If I get weaker, who is going to protect you?"

"I am." Rylie said, in a determined voice. "You might not notice this over the years while you're busy fighting on missions, but I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

Ryan listened as he gently cast his eyes over Rylie. He took in her long sweeping blond hair that framed her frail figure and her soft eyes that had seen him through and through again. He didn't want to admit it, but despite Rylie's fragile exterior, she was someone that could stand on her own. She could stand tall without him too. The last thought gutted him in the stomach.

"You should be with someone who could give you more." Ryan said seriously.

Rylie rolled her eyes. "I don't need more, idiot," Rylie said, exasperated. "I just need you."

To prove her point, Rylie shifted her body towards Ryan and pressed her lips against his. The initial sensations numb their minds, but their hands quickly took hold of each other. Ryan returned the kiss ardently and their lips continued to mold in frenzy. The brown-haired man began to forget his insecurities in their heat of intimacy, as his feelings were quickly replaced by a devoted longing he had long pushed aside. With each kiss, Ryan felt his heart grew whole as it mended each worry and concern he had for their future together.

Ryan was pleasantly surprised when Rylie moved carefully to sit on his lap. He immediately wrapped his long arms around the slim girl to feel the warmth of her body pressing against his. As the kisses grew fervent, Ryan let Rylie's weight bring him lower onto the bed.

Almost suddenly, Rylie let go and distanced herself from his grasp. Ryan was surprised but didn't show it. Instead, he looked up into the girl's face and noticed that she was blushing furiously.

"Are you okay?" he asked her gently, ignoring the throbbing desire inside of him.

Rylie nodded. She wouldn't meet his eyes. "We shouldn't go further."

"Why not?" Ryan didn't want to push her, but his insecurities were quickly returning.

"You're hurt. I don't want to hurt you more."

Ryan touched her chin, and sought her tender eyes. Giving her a good-humored smile, he spoke, "You can be gentle if you'd liked."

Rylie broke into a delightful laughter at his response. "Very funny, Ryan."

The bare-chested man smiled lovingly, and took one of her hands. Rylie shook her head embarrassingly as Ryan pulled her to be on top of him again, making her cheeks a raging color of red.

"I never… this position…" she stuttered. Ryan quickly understood her shyness, but urged her on by catching her lips. Absorbed in their moment of passion, Rylie slowly adjusted her pose as Ryan maneuvered her every movement. They soon treaded gently and tenderly into their private deeper connection. Each kiss they shared was a healing touch, each passionate cling was a sign of unwavering loyalty, and the unity of their bodies was the symbol of their true destiny to belong to one another.