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Leonard’s hands thread through your hair as you kiss passionately, your bodies pressed up against each other. His lips are soft and he tastes wonderful, and tingles of giddiness soar through your body, making you feel like you’re floating. The two of you have briefly hidden in an empty medical exam room, seeking an escape from the chaotically busy med bay. You’ve both been at it for over twelve hours, and you’re pretty sure at this point that each other’s presence is the only thing keeping you going. His kiss is like a charger, refilling your rapidly depleting batteries as your heart races in time to the kissing. It’s so tempting to rip each other’s clothes off right then and there, but you know this is only a brief respite and that you (very unfortunately) do not have time for such hedonistic pleasures. As such, the kissing only becomes more fervent as the seconds pass, as Leonard breaks the kiss from your lips and begins to kiss down your jawline, then over your neck. He kisses along the underside of your jaw, lingering over your pulse point, which you can feel bounding against his lips. You’re both a little breathless, and your hand creeps up into his hair now as he returns to your lips, kissing you with renewed enthusiasm. You know that you’re both getting hopelessly turned on by this point, but there isn’t much time left before someone will inevitably notice that you’ve both disappeared. Extremely reluctantly, you linger for another second and then break the kiss, looking up at him, breathing fast. “We have to go back,” you say regretfully, and he sighs, letting his hands rest on either side of your neck, stroking your skin absently. “I suppose,” he agrees, leaning in and planting another short kiss on your lips, making you giggle and swoon just a little. “I wish we didn’t have to. I want to take you back to my room and–” “Leonard, stop,” you interrupt, laughing breathlessly and putting your hand on his chest. “That’s really not helping.” “Sorry,” he says with a grin, though you know he’s not, not in the slightest. You smack his arm playfully and sigh in contentment as he continues to stroke your neck, tilting your head back a little so he has more room to touch. His fingers drift upwards and settle on the carotid pulse point in your neck, and you can feel your pulse thumping against them as he stills. You feel your heart rate respond in kind, speeding up a few beats, and you go slightly pink, wondering if he notices the increase. “Well, I’ve certainly gotten you worked up,” he teases, winking at you. You gently smack him again, smiling, though a small spike of anxiety has worked itself into your lustful bliss. Before you can say anything, or even internally confront your feelings about him taking your pulse without warning, you can hear someone calling both of your names. He sighs and removes his hands from your neck, running a hand through his hair to smooth where you’ve mussed it. You miss his touch despite your anxiety, your neck suddenly feeling a bit cold without his fingers there. “I guess it’s back to work. Hopefully in a few hours we can resume this in the comfort of my room,” he says with a suggestive tone, winking at you again. You grin at him and straighten your own hair, throwing it back up into the ponytail holder Leonard had removed in the midst of your passionate embrace, and you have the briefest of kisses before following him from the room, back into the fray.——– That evening, though you’d planned to have some sexy times, you both are so exhausted that you fall into bed, still dressed, and merely lie there, groaning slightly. Eighteen hours total had passed since you’d entered med bay far too early in the morning, and now you’re both completely drained. “Raincheck?” Leonard asks tiredly, turning onto his side to face you. “Absolutely,” you agree, your voice just as low and exhausted. You both reluctantly heave yourselves off the bed to change and brush your teeth, and within minutes you’ve crawled under the covers with him. You turn your back so he can spoon you, and shiver as he runs his hand slowly down your arm, eliciting tingles and goosebumps in its wake. You snuggle deeper under the covers and back against him as his hand reaches yours, and you’re already about to nod off when his fingers lightly wrap around your wrist, the tips finding your radial pulse point and pressing down slightly, alerting you that he’s actively feeling your heartbeat. A jolt of excitement, still laced with a bit of anxiety, shoots through you, and once again your heart rate increases by several beats. He doesn’t comment, though you’re sure he felt you stiffen a little when he began. He leaves his fingers there for more than a full minute, and you wonder if he’s actually counting the beats, or if he just likes the feeling of your gently thumping pulse against his fingertips. Eventually his grip lessens and his hand lies on top of yours, completely relaxed. You relax again too, and within moments he’s asleep, his arm pressing down against yours a little more heavily now that he’s gone limp. You exhale slowly, your breath a little shaky. You absolutely love the feeling of his fingers against either of your pulse points; it both soothes and excites you at the same time. It does give you a bit of anxiety, though; you’re used to being anxious around people taking your pulse unless you explicitly trust them. You do trust Leonard more than enough, but it is still a very potent, emotional moment when he slips his fingers against those points. You eventually drift off to sleep, still mulling over your thoughts, his arm still around you in a warm embrace.———– A few days later, you and Leonard are fortunate enough to have most of a day off together. You decide to spend the majority of the time enclosed in his room, relaxing and watching a movie, and perhaps getting up to some naughtier things. Sure enough, as soon as the movie ends, your hands begin to wander. You’re slipping them over his chest and he smiles at you and pulls you closer. You turn and move to sit on his lap, facing him, your legs straddling his. He pulls you even closer and begins to kiss your neck, eliciting gasps from you. Fairly quickly he finds his way up and over your jawline, and now you’re kissing furiously, your hands braced on his shoulders as his circle around your back, stroking. In the midst of an extraordinarily passionate kiss, his fingers slip up your side and settle on your carotid pulse point once more. You gasp into the kiss as you feel his touch, and whimper slightly as you feel your heart rate skyrocket. Nervousness mixes with arousal as you continue kissing him, hyper-aware of the placement of his fingers, noting immediately that he seems to be in no hurry to move his hand. Once the kiss is broken, he looks closely at you as you sit back a little on his lap, his fingers still at your neck. Finally, he smiles at you and your heart flip-flops; you know by the twinkle in his eye that he’s figured you out. “You like this, don’t you?” he asks, gently pressing a little harder on your neck for a moment, indicating what he’s talking about. “This is the third time in a week I’ve noticed your heart rate increase when I’m actively taking your pulse.” You can feel yourself blushing and wonder, panicking slightly, what you’re going to say. He seems to sense your anxiety because he lets his fingers slip from your pulse point, stroking your neck and collarbone as he removes them. “It’s alright,” he says softly. “Is it exciting for you, when I take you pulse?” You nod almost reluctantly, and he smiles again, looking pleased. You hurry to speak before he can, however, because you want to make it clear. “It’s not just exciting, though,” you say, your voice faltering slightly. “It’s kind of complicated… it feels exciting, scary, soothing and even… sexy to me, all at once or in stages. When we were kissing, like just now, and you felt it… that added excitement,” you tell him, speaking fast, your nervousness controlling the speed of your words. “But when I’m upset or need reassurance, having someone that I trust implicitly, like you, taking my pulse can make me feel soothed. Listening to your heart or feeling your pulse can also help,” you admit, flushing a little pinker. Leonard has listened attentively as you speak, absently stroking your arm. He nods slowly, and you bite your lip, waiting. You’re finding it hard to maintain eye contact and you look away, down at your shirt. You’re biting your lip slightly as you wait for him to react, your heart thumping distractedly in your chest. You hear him shift, and then his fingers are beneath your chin, cupping it, and he gently pushes upwards so your head is tilted towards him. You somewhat reluctantly meet his gaze, hoping beyond hope that he gets it. “Well, I think it’s great,” he says after a few moments, smiling at you warmly. “There’s something extremely personal about a heartbeat, and I understand what you mean about needing to trust the person you’re allowing to take your pulse.” You smile, relieved that he understands, and look around as he holds his wrist out. “Go ahead, you can feel mine any time you like,” he tells you, his voice soft and genuine. You smile and reach your hand out, settling two fingers on his radial pulse point and closing your eyes as a steady thumping begins to bounce off of them.——— You’re sitting on Leonard’s bed a week later, alone in his room. You’re curled up with your back against the wall, knees to your chest, arms wrapped around your legs in a defensive, hiding-from-the-world kind of position, your forehead resting on your arms. You had a panic attack while at work in the med bay today, after a particularly gruesome injury that someone in the engineering crew had suffered. It had reminded you unpleasantly of a very bad case you had dealt with years prior that had affected you deeply. Leonard had tried to calm you as best as he could, eventually telling you to go to his room and he would be there to check on you as soon as possible. You shiver, clutching your legs closer, trying to take your mind off of the scene ingrained in your head. About ten more minutes pass and finally you hear a beep outside the door before it slides open, and Leonard enters. He tosses his security badge on the bedside table and immediately moves to your side, climbing up onto the bed with you and reaching for your arm. You reluctantly lift your head to look at him as he takes one of your hands in both of his. “Are you okay?” he asks, his voice full of concern. You shrug, not trusting yourself to speak, and he seems to understand. “Do you need anything? Water, tea, food?” You shake your head and he nods, then leans back against the wall. “Come here,” he says, patting his side. You uncurl yourself enough to shuffle a little closer and lean against his side as he wraps an arm around your shoulders. His other hand slips to your wrist, and your eyes close as he begins to stroke gently over the pulse point there. You’re not sure why, but it is incredibly soothing and after a while you relax a little, pressing a bit harder into his chest. “Are you sure you don’t need anything?” he asks after a long time, breaking the silence and spooking you a little. “I’m sure,” you say, your voice barely audible. “I just need you to be with me right now.” He smiles and nods, resuming the stroking of your wrist. As you melt into his side a little more, he tightens his grip around you and carefully maneuvers himself into a lounging position, and gently pulls you closer so that you’re lying against him, your head on his chest. You’re sure he positioned you like this on purpose as he wraps the arm under you around your back, the other reaching across his own body to hold your hand. You can hear his heart beating steadily in his chest and try to block out everything but the sound and feeling. It’s a slower but very strong and steady rhythm, and you find yourself breathing more evenly and your own heart rate slowing to a more normal pace the longer you listen to his. You lie like this for a long time, his hand slowly and gently rubbing your back until you’re nearly asleep, cradled against him. “Thanks,” you whisper, your eyes fluttering closed. You adjust your head slightly, making sure you can still hear his heart beat as well as possible as you prepare yourself to sleep. “Anytime, Darlin’,” he replies softly, reaching out with his free hand and gently brushing your hair out of your face. “Rest now,” he says gently, and within a minute or two, you’ve slipped into a restful sleep, feeling soothed and protected by the very same thing that also calms, excites and intrigues you.