Title: An Honourable Injury
Fandom: Robin Hood (BBC)
Rating: PG
Length: 454
Summary: Guy discovers Much has hurt his hand

The gang were returning to their camp, having just been successful in a fight with some mercenaries.  Guy had been left on the hill, guarding the horses, whilst the others had approached the group of armed men in order to relieve them of the goods they were transporting.  Although the gang were coming to accept Guy as part of their group, no-one, except Much, was prepared to trust him in a fight.

The mercenaries had not expected the gang to attack where they did, and so were fighting at a disadvantage.  Robin’s plan had worked well; he had presumed the mercenaries would predominantly seek to protect the heavy chest they were conveying, leaving little protection for the documents which were his primary goal.

The gang raced triumphantly back to Guy and the horses, and rode rapidly away, before the mercenaries could realise their loss and set off in pursuit.  Apart from the odd scratch and bruise no-one had sustained any injury.  Even Guy was included in their good humour and, for once, treated as one of them.

It was only later, after they had eaten, when Guy and Much were seated together at a short distance from the camp, that Guy had cause to look at Much’s hand.

“What have you done to yourself?” Guy asked.  Taking Much’s left hand and turning it over gently.  “Your knuckles look badly scraped and your hand is very bruised.”

Much tried to pull his hand away.  “It’s nothing, just a few scratches.”

“It needs to be washed to prevent infection.  There’s a stream over there.  Come on!”  Guy took Much’s other hand and forced him to his feet, then led him to the stream where he carefully washed his wounds.

“The others don’t seem to have been hurt, what happened to you?”

Much looked self-conscious.  “I hit one of the mercenaries and caught myself on his studded leather jerkin.”

“But you must have hit him very hard to have done this much damage to yourself.”

They sat down by the stream and Guy began manipulating each of Much’s fingers in turn to make sure nothing was broken.  When he was satisfied no major damage had been done he started to kiss each of the bruises individually.

“He said something about you I didn’t like,” Much admitted.

“And you took it out on his jerkin?”

“With my next punch I took it out on his nose!”

Guy had moved on from kissing Much’s hands and begun kissing his face.  “I’m glad you haven’t done yourself any permanent damage.  I’m sure we can find much better uses for your hands than punching someone in the nose.”

“Something like this?” Much murmured, as he ran his fingers under Guy’s waistband.