take care

About a week in and Yuri looks like he’s doing a lot better. He’s up and walking around without too much pain. Hans and Yuri do the recommended stretches and exercises together so the latter doesn’t feel dumb doing it alone. He still can’t lift anything, but he’s back to playing with his cat, Paisley, who Hans has grown very fond of.

Hans feels like they’ve been doing a lot better too, just as a person. Yuri teaches them how to fold laundry in a way that doesn’t suck and praises and thanks them whenever they get something done around the apartment. Aside from Takyaan visiting with dinner every day, they’re on food duty, which means they have to go out to pick up something to eat twice a day. At each restaurant they find themself scanning the menu not only looking for something tasty, but also looking for something that’d be helpful for Yuri’s healing. It's one of a few small, caring gestures they've never considered to do before.

They return to the apartment with some take out boxes of orange chicken and fried rice. They read on the internet that protein and vitamin C are good for surgery recovery so they’re pretty sure this counts as healthy. Once they set the boxes in the kitchen, they walk around the apartment looking for Yuri.

They find him in the bathroom with the door open. Yuri is standing there with his hands resting on the counter and propping himself up. His shirt is off, which surprises Hans because he seemed hesitant about changing it before. He’s sweating and his eyes are looking at the ground nervously, and a very worried Hans is by his side immediately.

Yuri perks up when he sees his friend. “Hey! Can you help me?”

They don't say a thing, they’re quickly standing behind him and pushing their shades to sit on top of their head so they can see better.

“It feels like something’s digging into my back. But I can’t fucking see or feel it!” Yuri tries to reach back to where the sensation is coming from, but it’s right in the middle of his back and just out of range of his hands.

“Just relax, boo.” Hans coos and Yuri takes a breath to try and calm himself. “Under the dressing?” He nods and they prod at the tape around the bandage. It was put on yesterday when he went back to the hospital to have the sensors and other instruments removed. Hans doesn’t even know why there were sensors in the first place…

They gently lift the edges of the adhesive until the bandage falls off into their hand. They quickly trash it then scan over his skin for anything out of the ordinary. There’s a few circle imprints from the nodes that were removed yesterday. Hans touches them lightly and asks if that’s it, but Yuri shakes his head.

The small incision itself seems to be healing perfectly. They trail their fingers from the wound and down the zig-zag scar until it hits the base of his spine. The gentle touch makes him shiver, but he doesn’t swat them away or anything.

Hans looks at the old scar sadly. A lot of different kinds of people pass through Kaguya V. It’s not uncommon for Hans to pass by a war-torn soldier or adventurer on the street. They’d like to think they’d seen a lot of scars… but they’d never seen one so big. It’s a twisted gash that tears through otherwise smooth, freckled skin, and they can’t even know what caused their friend so much pain.

After another moment of searching, they finally find the culprit of Yuri’s discomfort.
“Ah.” Hans pokes the skin next to a little red mark and Yuri stiffens up considerably. “It’s just a little cut. Like not bleeding or anything. Almost looks like a cat scratch?”

He takes a deep calming breath and Hans chuckles. Taking their time must’ve made Yuri nervous. He finally straightens back up and stretches his arms over his head, and Hans watches as the scar warp with the movement before they pick up a new bandage.

“Wait. I should probably let it air out, right?” Yuri turns to them and asks.

“Uh. Maybe?” Hans looks at him with wide eyes and shrugs. “It still looked like it’s still kinda open. Better safe than sorry?”

The two ultimately decide to put a bandage back on and finally go eat their takeout before it gets cold. They sit side by side on the bed while they enjoy their lunch, more mindless TV, and each other’s company.