( prax doesn't really know what he's supposed to be doing. amos is moving with purpose and prax is still, in the middle of the room, watching. in the end, he sits down on the single chair this room came with. )
No.
( he tips his head to the side, voice firm. he trusts amos. )
[ Amos nods; good answer. He has no reason to be worried, even if it probably be unpleasant. He soaks the towel a little more before pressing it to Prax's staples, gentler than he looks able to be. ]
Okay, hold out your hand.
[ Once the area is ready, Amos puts the pliers to Prax's first staple, pulling it open as carefully as he can, and then pulls it out, dropping it in Prax's hand, a little bloody. ]
( prax doesn't flinch at the sting of alcohol, but he flinches a little when amos pulls the first staple out, even though his hand remains open where he's holding it out and his shoulders don't curl forward. he's trying, jaw clenched, to be tough. )
[ If Amos notices how still and tense Prax is holding himself, he doesn't say anything. There's no point, and Prax is doing just fine anyway. Amos moves on the the second staple after dropping the first in Prax's palm, a drop of blood splashing on to Prax's thumb. ]
( prax is trying. he isn't used to this kind of thing, but he knows if mei were here and their roles reversed, he'd be telling her to be brave and not to be scared. he's trying to take that advice.
he has nothing to be afraid of with amos, anyway, it's just that it hurts a bit. it's just that it's a reminder of loss and pain. )
Yeah? Good. ( he glances down at that drop of blood and away again. ) Thanks, Amos.
Wouldn't want you looking like Frankenstein when you get your little girl back.
[ Another staple pops out as Amos dismisses the gratefulness, shaking his head. Amos swabs the pliers with some more alcohol, going back to Prax's head with care, big hands steady and precise. ]
[ Names - they matter. Maybe the monster not having a name made it even worse. Amos stays like this for a moment, just considering. Prax is a doctor, one that circumstances have been slowly turning into something else. Someone else. Amos just wants to keep him safe, help him with his kid.
Amos's wondering if he's the doctor, here, turning Prax into a monster like he himself is. ]
Well. You'll have a scar, but you'll look like Prax.
( prax can't guess at what's going on in amos' mind. even if he could — he's admittedly still preoccupied with everything else. with mei, first and foremost. with how much being here will hurt his progress in that regard. they were so close to io before. now he's here. he's preoccupied with that, too. worried about the implications of it.
no, scared.
but amos' presence helps with that. )
That's something, right? ( it's a weak attempt at levity. maybe all of this will only leave scars, but he'll still be himself by the end of it. he can only hope so. )
[ Amos pauses again, but then moves again, pulling another staple and leaning around so that he can look at Prax straight in the eyes.
He's never really thought about it, at least not on any kind of deep level, but he'd have to be blind not to see how handsome Prax is. It's not just that, either, it's not just looks. It's the look in his eyes, the hope he clings to, the love he has for his kid. It makes him glow from the inside out, to Amos, almost blindingly so. ]
It's something, all right.
[ Amos is no good with words. But he tries to show that he means it through his eyes, moving over Prax's face, before he moves back, and gets back to work. ]
( that's not what prax had meant at all. he'd been thinking of staying himself, not of anything regarding his appearance. if he knew that's what's going through amos' mind, he'd — he doesn't know what he'd do. blush, maybe. smile and look down or ignore it out of guilt for, what, flirting while mei is still gone?
he has no idea. he does know that amos is looking at him in a way that makes something inside his stomach clench. amos carries an intensity in him that prax used to find scary. now, it isn't fear sitting inside his chest, though he can't, won't name what it is. )
Thanks. ( he says after a while, repeating himself, meaning both the words and amos helping him. )
[ Amos draws a breath through his nose, focusing on the work he's doing rather than the look on Prax's face, the slight twitch in his fingers whenever Amos pulls out another staple, the way his breath hitches.
He's never even thought about it before. Now it feels hard to ignore. He squashes it though, best he can, and smirks, more of a private smile for himself than anything else. ]
You're welcome. You know we got doctors here though, don't you?
[ If Amos is pleased that Prax came to him, he doesn't let it come through in his voice. ]
( he hadn't known, but he also hadn't bothered to find out. he'd just gone straight to amos. )
I didn't really think about it. ( he admits after a moment. is it strange that his world has narrowed down so much lately, that he's already unused to being able to go to someone other than the crew of the roci, other than amos in particular? )
[ Amos smiles to himself. He likes that Prax seeks him out, because Prax tends to be at the forefront of his thoughts, too. It's a give and take thing. He thinks about Prax all the time, and apparently, Prax thinks about him a lot, too. ]
You're lucky I've got experience with this. I could do a botched up job.
( prax tilts his head, catching the tail end of that grin. smiling back for a moment before amos' answer comes and the smile fades and he glances down at the ground instead. )
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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No.
( he tips his head to the side, voice firm. he trusts amos. )
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Okay, hold out your hand.
[ Once the area is ready, Amos puts the pliers to Prax's first staple, pulling it open as carefully as he can, and then pulls it out, dropping it in Prax's hand, a little bloody. ]
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Looks like it's healing well.
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he has nothing to be afraid of with amos, anyway, it's just that it hurts a bit. it's just that it's a reminder of loss and pain. )
Yeah? Good. ( he glances down at that drop of blood and away again. ) Thanks, Amos.
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[ Another staple pops out as Amos dismisses the gratefulness, shaking his head. Amos swabs the pliers with some more alcohol, going back to Prax's head with care, big hands steady and precise. ]
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( prax replies, a little absent-mindedly, distracted by what's going on up there. )
The monster didn't have a name.
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Damn, that's right.
[ Names - they matter. Maybe the monster not having a name made it even worse. Amos stays like this for a moment, just considering. Prax is a doctor, one that circumstances have been slowly turning into something else. Someone else. Amos just wants to keep him safe, help him with his kid.
Amos's wondering if he's the doctor, here, turning Prax into a monster like he himself is. ]
Well. You'll have a scar, but you'll look like Prax.
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no, scared.
but amos' presence helps with that. )
That's something, right? ( it's a weak attempt at levity. maybe all of this will only leave scars, but he'll still be himself by the end of it. he can only hope so. )
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He's never really thought about it, at least not on any kind of deep level, but he'd have to be blind not to see how handsome Prax is. It's not just that, either, it's not just looks. It's the look in his eyes, the hope he clings to, the love he has for his kid. It makes him glow from the inside out, to Amos, almost blindingly so. ]
It's something, all right.
[ Amos is no good with words. But he tries to show that he means it through his eyes, moving over Prax's face, before he moves back, and gets back to work. ]
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he has no idea. he does know that amos is looking at him in a way that makes something inside his stomach clench. amos carries an intensity in him that prax used to find scary. now, it isn't fear sitting inside his chest, though he can't, won't name what it is. )
Thanks. ( he says after a while, repeating himself, meaning both the words and amos helping him. )
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He's never even thought about it before. Now it feels hard to ignore. He squashes it though, best he can, and smirks, more of a private smile for himself than anything else. ]
You're welcome. You know we got doctors here though, don't you?
[ If Amos is pleased that Prax came to him, he doesn't let it come through in his voice. ]
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I didn't really think about it. ( he admits after a moment. is it strange that his world has narrowed down so much lately, that he's already unused to being able to go to someone other than the crew of the roci, other than amos in particular? )
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You're lucky I've got experience with this. I could do a botched up job.
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( prax tries for — not levity, exactly, but at least something akin to a joke. )
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You'd pull it off.
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( the words come easily, if a little absent-mindedly. he's busy trying not to read into amos' words. )
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You can't say that if you've got nothing to prove it. It's like me saying I used to be fat.
[ It's a lie. ]
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[ This is what he likes, hanging out with Prax. The conversation is inconsequential, flowing easily, even if it barely makes any sense.
Still, all things come to an end. The thought feels bittersweet when Amos pulls the last staple out of Prax's skin. ]
Here. You're done. [ He deposits the last staple into Prax's hand, before reaching for the towel again, to run it over the side of Prax's head. ]
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( and then amos drops the last staple into his hand and prax glances down. ) Ah. Thanks.
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Then he thinks about Mei. About the uncertainties in Prax's life. ]
No. Never had enough to eat to get fat.
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I'm sorry, Amos.
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About what?
[ He's fine. He is who he is, now. ]
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(no subject)
end scene?