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]

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.

[butterfly_kiss]

"Knowing people is something we must set out to do," she pointed out as she straightened and returned to her seat. "I am glad to see you both trying."

[faceguy]

"Well. It's not like I hate people or something," Leo responds, shrugging his shoulders. He really doesn't. It's just been weird, here.

[butterfly_kiss]

"You don't have to hate people to have difficulty with them," she said with a shrug in her own response.

[faceguy]

“I’m not supposed to have difficulty with them,” he grouses. “That was supposed to be my thing. Like Donnie’s thing is being smart.”

[butterfly_kiss]

Really? She tilts her head as if to say 'are you sure about that'?

"No one is flawless at their 'thing' all of the time. Roadbumps are what life is made of."

[faceguy]

Augh, this again. Leo can’t help but wonder if Tae can say anything that doesn’t sound like it came out of a fortune cookie.

He waves a hand. “I’ll remember that next time I need your medical help, Doc.”

[butterfly_kiss]

What a pessimistic young man. But she shrugs.

"Good luck with the rest of your day, Leo."

[faceguy]

He has three brothers to be optimistic for him.

"Yeah, sure. Enjoy the stars."

[butterfly_kiss]

She offers a brief wave and turns her eyes back up. Well, relatively up. Hard to have an up and down when space is all around them.