bones and blades

tongue-tied and oh so squeamish

What was under was not what he expected. He was thinking maybe there was a canon under there, or maybe a scar, but he was only greeted with a smile, which he now realized was even better than what he was imagining. 

“Wow…I’ve never seen ya smile before…its really nice…”

“Oh, t-thank you, Giroro…!” she blushed, which without the medical mask on was very apparent. 

The two sat in silence for a while. Giroro was noticeably admiring her, he’d never seen the markings on her face before…she looked so endearing with them visible. Was she hiding them for a reason? He decided against that after considering her mother’s profession. 

“…Should I p-put it back on now?” 

“If ya wanna, I guess. Ya look really nice without it…not to say that y-you don’t always look nice!” he sputtered. 

What’s gotten into ya, Giroro?! Why can’t you talk to girls like ya used to? he thought, mentally punching himself repeatedly. 

“Ah, thank you…” she smiled before tying the mask back behind her face and pulling it close to her mouth. 

Suddenly, a loud noise from downstairs was heard. Zeroro excitedly stood up and looked out the window. “Mama’s home!” she smiled.

Giroro smiled wide and peered down the stairs. He hadn’t talked to her outside of the medical office, and he was very excited to meet her. 

Zeroro eagerly rushed back down the stairs, Giroro trailing slightly behind her. “Hi, Mama! Giroro is here.” she said excitedly. 

“Oh, why hello, Giroro! What a charming young tadpole you’ve grown into! I remember seeing you as a little one…you were just as cute!” she gushed.

“Heh, thanks…” he laughed. What are you doing?! You’re supposed ta be tough, not a softie! 

“Well, thank you for coming over. Zeroro rarely has any friends over…would you like anything to eat or drink? You surely must be hungry!”

Giroro gently pulled out one of the large chairs at the dining table and sat down. “That’d be nice, could I please have some water?”

Zeroro’s mother quickly poured him a glass and set it ever so gently next to him. “Here you go.” she smiled.

“Ah, thank you.” he replied before chugging it down.

Zeroro took a seat next to him and kicked her feet nervously before looking over at Giroro. She cocked her head slightly, trying to signal to him that she was wondering if it was a good time to ask her mother. He picked up on this and gave her an enthusiastic thumbs up back.

“S-so, you’re a doctor, right?” he said, making sure to speak as proper as he could.

“Yes! Is there something you were wondering about, missy?” she replied in a motherly tone.

Missy.

Giroro felt the word strike him right in the heart. He knew it was expected of her, they’d never discussed the topic before…it still did hurt, though, especially after being called a kid and a child all his life by family instead of a little girl. 

“Mm, yeah. Y’see…well, I was talkin’ to Zeroro, and she said you do medical operations? As in the ones where you…um…y’know?” he nervously sputtered out, but Zeroro’s mother’s face brightened up as she deciphered his words. 

“Oh, dear, we do, but…I’m afraid you have to have a legal guardian to do so, and your father isn’t exactly…fit for that. That is so brave of you to make that decision at this young of an age, though! If you have any questions about them, I would be glad to answer.”

The two talked for what seemed like hours to Zeroro. Their conversation finally came to a halt at the sound of the door slamming open.

“Hey, Giroro! Sorry ta interrupt, but its time ta go back home.” Garuru boomed.

Zeroro’s mother looked quite shocked at this. Giroro had been using such nice manners…and his brother was quite rude. Nevertheless, she greater him kindly and welcomed him inside. 

“Won’t be able to stay for long, but thanks anyway.” he smirked. “Lil kid here’s been obsessed with Zeroro the day he met her- beginnin’ to think he might even have a thing for her!” Normally Giroro would have stopped him mid sentence with a remark like that, but he was too busy talking with Zeroro up in her room.

“E-ehe…” Zeroro’s mother laughed nervously. It’d be great to have you as a relative… she thought as she watched him rudely slam his glass down on the table. 

“Zeroro…you looked kinda nervous earlier, when I was talkin’ to your mom. Anythin’ wrong?”

She looked up suddenly, confused why Giroro would be asking this in the middle of a non serious conversation they had been having. There was something that had been bothering her…but how had he noticed? Was she really that transparent?

“Mm…w-well, nope!” Zeroro nervously stuttered, making it quite obvious she was lying. Instead of calling her out on this, though, Giroro nodded in understanding and carried on.

He obviously knew something was wrong- hell, she wore her heart on her sleeve, but he also knew it wasn’t his business due to how much she refused to tell him. 

“‘Kay. Better get goin’ then, Garuru’s gotta take me out to go get some legal crap done…seeya on Monday, Zeroro.”

She peered out of her bedroom window, watching the two walk down the path leading up to the doorway. Garuru gave Giroro what seemed to be like an agressive pat on the back, which triggered Giroro to lightly punch him in the arm. She laughed as she watched the two brothers before going back downstairs.