You Know What They Say

[butterfly_kiss]

WHO: Tae Takemi
WHERE: Agrii Ship
WHAT: Health Care Work
WHEN: February
WARNINGS: N/A

A. Doctor My Eyes

Work may be consuming her life. Okay, no, it's not. But it's not like there are clubs or music venues to get to. Plus, of course, an important patient. So there Tae is, sitting in the Medical Bay. She finishes bandaging up a small burn on the side of one young Blue-Faction Agrii's hand and she nods as he goes.

Then her eyes turn back to the not-quite-glass window in to the area she had set up as the ICU. Where she watches her most important patient.

"You all just have to make things difficult," she sighs as she looks at it. "Wake up, Ny Ak. I think your people need you. And that kid too."

B. The Wonder of the Stars

At least there's a good way to unwind when she's not hovering over patients. When not eating, sleeping in a room provided for her near the Medical Bay, or hovering, Tae found herself winding up here time and time again. The Green Area. Sure, she can't go deep, the Blues wouldn't let even her do that, but she could get just close enough. She could get here. Could get to where she could sit on a bench and smile up at the stars.

They were the clearest she'd ever seen.

Hearing another person approach she spoke without looking toward them.

"They're beautiful from here. You can't see them in Tokyo of course. Too much light pollution. What a wonder."

Comments

[faceguy]

String lights and lanterns at first. Having a genius turtle kid who can work out how to divert power from NYC's grid later.

Leo looks up at it again. It really is pretty cool. He's always liked space, even though his experience of it has mostly been through TV - Jupiter Jim in particular.

"I guess I kinda saw stars when I went camping that one time... They didn't look like it does from here, though."

[butterfly_kiss]

Yeah, that would probably help.

"I imagine not. I seem to remember something from school about the atmosphere providing a filter that can reduce some light," she says with a sigh. "Less than whatever makes up this massive dome, clearly."

To the best of her knowledge (not that she had much cause to wander at night in Temba) even the planet didn't get this good of a view.

[faceguy]

Ugh, that sounds like science talk. At least it doesn’t go on too long, though.

“Well yeah, obviously if you’re closer to the stars you can see them better!”

That was not what Tae meant, but Leo seems convinced of it anyway.

“What are you doing here, anyway? I mean, instead of back on our ships.”

Leo’s here to watch the Blues, but it’s… kind of weird. Knowing the spawning is happening not far from here. It’s kind of gross, especially for a fifteen(?)-year-old for whom sexuality is more of a theoretical concept than something he’s engaged with.

[butterfly_kiss]

Oh. Well that's an easy one to answer. The doctor sighs and crosses her legs as she leans back on the bench.

"There is a lot of medical care that needs to happen up here. So I'm trying to take care of what I can. Therefore I've been staying on this ship and sleeping near the medical bay."

It's just been easier. Not to mention monitoring Ny Ak.

[faceguy]

“Oh, okay… So Ny Ak still isn’t better?”

That’s what he’s reading into this.

[butterfly_kiss]

"The internal bleeding was... bad," Tae sighs, shaking her head. "Wesker got it stabilized, and the blood infusions helped. But apparently Agrii biology generates blood cells at a different rate than we do, and their healing factor is not equivalent. He needs time to finish healing and wake up."

That's her best guess at least.

[faceguy]

"Oh."

It's never occurred to Leo that blood would be different in different species, but now that it's been pointed out to him it makes sense. Leo wonders if he and Donnie are different, too, since they aren't just turtles but mutant turtles.

He probably shouldn't wonder about it too hard or he'll just get even more stressed out.

"Well, hopefully he wakes up soon. I know Te Mi misses him." And that girl who likes him, too, though Leo has no idea what the situation is between them.

[butterfly_kiss]

Perhaps they would be different, but Tae doubted it. They were still closely enough related. Hopefully.

"Yes. The boy checks in," Tae sighs. "Unlike the An Nu girl. She rarely leaves. She's apparently enough of a blood match it's driving me mad. She needs more rest and food to better help him."

[faceguy]

Leo almost laughs at that.

"Find someone who can guilt her into a sleepover. It works on Donnie."

Or did work on Donnie, until he started holing up on the other ship to get away from the Agrii.

[butterfly_kiss]

Does it? Tae laughs in delight at that. She had no clue the boy could be manipulated so easily.

"Leverage always helps."

[faceguy]

It coaxes the smallest of smiles out of Leo. He hadn't been trying that hard to be funny, but he likes making people laugh.

"Yeah. It's pretty easy to get people to do things once you know what makes them tick."

[butterfly_kiss]

"Sometimes it doesn't even require knowing what makes them tick. Just what you can offer them that they want."

And he could stand to show her some about Donnie. But she didn't thunk she should press on that.

[faceguy]

“Ah, but see, that’s where you’re wrong.” Leo holds up a finger. “Because what Donnie wants is to work on his tech twenty-four seven. So you have to appeal to other stuff.”

He waves his hand. “Bribery might work at home, but there’s not much here to tempt him with he can’t get himself. So you send a friend to him, like Te Mi. Hit him in his soft, squishy insides. Or you use his middle child need for validation against him.” Leo sighs. “But that only works for parent-aged adults…”

Which Leo is not.

“But that’s what I mean. You have to know what makes him tick!”

[butterfly_kiss]

Well now that's a good point.

"Suppose you're going to need to get him a parental figure to leverage against him."

Which of course Tae was not going to do. She just didn't have as much in her for that.

[faceguy]

Leo’s face falls at that.

“Yeah, well, he’s got his heart set on one,” he says dryly. “But who knows if that guy’s up to it.”

From Leo’s tone, he doesn’t seem optimistic.

[butterfly_kiss]

How intriguing. She considers, tapping her chin. Yes, she thinks she knows who that would be.

"Allow me to guess. Mr. Stark."

They would be a good match in her opinion. But Tony was so... strained these days.

[faceguy]

"Auuugh," Leo groans immediately. "If you're going to try to sell me on him, trust me, I've already heard the pitch."

Why does everyone like that guy so much, anyway?

[butterfly_kiss]

Tae raised an eyebrow at that.

"And what, may I ask, is the pitch?"

[faceguy]

“That he’s super smart and super cool and that he tries hard for everyone here and that I can’t be mad at him because he blames himself for everything.”

Leo rolls his eyes.

“He’s like ninety years old and he acts less mature than my little brother. He doesn’t take anything seriously. You can’t even talk to him without him making a bunch of dumb jokes.”

Pots? Kettles? What are you even talking about?

[butterfly_kiss]

"He's nowhere near ninety," she says with a chuckle. "And some people make jokes as defense. You should know that from experience I think."

Yes, she's calling you out young man.

[faceguy]

Leo looks aghast at that. "Whaaat? No, I'm just naturally funny!"

And no one can prove otherwise!

"The point is, Dee's got a soft shell." Leo rubs a hand up and down his other arm anxiously. "And I don't know if Stark can handle that."

Not that Leo thinks his brother is fragile, but he knows that Donnie takes rejection hard.

[butterfly_kiss]

See, humor is in the eyes of the beholder. And she's not beholding anything here.

"You're saying that you think he's got thin skin and can't handle emotional rides? My dear, it is good of you to protect your brother, but we cannot grow and toughen up without some bumps along the way. Be careful that you don't protect him to the point where he is too soft to take anything."

Of course he has no reason to believe her, does he? Tae sighs.

"Did you know it's healthier for children in the long run to be thrown around and play in all sorts of tumbling and falling ways when they are little? It helps develop their sense of balance. If a parent prevents such things, the child has problems growing up. And there are a lot of arguments that preventing children from going outside or playing in the dirt when they are little means their immune systems are underdeveloped. There is science to show that sometimes we need to take a few blows to know how to stand our ground. Give him that chance."

[faceguy]

Leo doesn't seem convinced; if anything, he just looks agitated.

"What, so I'm a bad brother unless I let Donnie walk right into being hurt again? What kind of dumb logic is that?"

He scowls, his arms unwinding so they can gesticulate in times with his words. "I've tried that before, by the way. Letting my brothers walk right into a relationship I knew was gonna go south. Wanna know how that ended? I got thrown off a roof!"

There was quite a lot that happened between A and B, but Leo is on a roll now.

"You can tell me all about how I'm protecting him too much because this isn't your responsibility. But it is mine. And I can't just let whatever happens happen just in case there's some kid's show moral waiting for him at the end. Give me a break."

[butterfly_kiss]

She wanted to point out that she didn't want that, but the 'thrown off a roof' has her, the normally cool Dr. Takemi, gasping.

Then she rises from her seat and offers him a deep bow. A formal sort of thing.

"My apologies. The way my words came across and the meaning I intended for them did not match up. But you are right. It is not my place to judge."

[faceguy]

Leo isn’t expecting that, the sudden apology. It’s the way he apologizes to his dad sometimes, when he really screws up (which is rarely, of course, because he’s practically perfect!).

The abruptness of it takes the wind out of his sails, and he shrinks back a little, his hands fluttering at his sides anxiously. A habit from his original species.

Finally, he says, “I-it’s okay. I mean, my older brother caught me.”

Maybe obvious, because he isn’t a green and blue splatter on a New York sidewalk.

“I… It’s just… my older brother isn’t here. Or my dad. And I don’t really know any of you.”

It’s hard enough for Leo to put his own life in their hands. Putting Donnie’s there is an even higher order of magnitude.