Acid Rain - [Max Verstappen]

0.2 || merry christmas

     Tuuli felt him squeeze her shoulder softly when they were waiting in the waiting area of the hospital. Today was the day of the appointment with the specialist who would be able to tell her more about her sickness. Her sky blue eyes looked up at Max when he did so, a small smile curling her lips, however he noticed she didn't feel relaxed at all. She was tense and it was visible in her whole body. And Tuuli was never tense. Max looked at her while her eyes were focused on the ground, she had been as creative as ever with her makeup, creating a whole scheme of colours on her eyelids that made her hues pop out even more, long lashes added upon her own and a rosy colour added to her lips that had left stains on her water bottle before. Max fiddled with the few leather wristbands around his left arm, turning them aroud his wrist while it remained silent between them.

Finally, a doctor came up to them and she asked for Tuuli's name. The Estonian stood up and looked at Max from over her shoulder. He stood up as well, his hand brushing over her back to indicate he was right behind her when they followed the doctor towards the room for the appointment. The doctor was a woman and she was standing in the doorway to invited them in. Tuuli shook her hand, a gentle smile on her face and she stepped inside. "Ms. Kesküla, please, sit down". The doctor had introduced herself as Dr. Bisset and she sat down on the other side of her desk. "I understand you have gotten a letter from the hospital earlier this month". Dr. Bisset started. "You could say so, yeah". Tuuli muttered. "What is growing in your body, Tuuli... Is this". She grabbed some files and took out the result of her scan.

She placed her finger of the things that were highlighted by the scan. "It's a tumor with bad intentions, you can see the tissue around here growing. It hasn't spread somewhere else yet, so the surge-...". "Yet". Tuuli stated. "No, not yet". Dr. Bisset said with a friendly tone. "We're going to prevent the spreading by taking away your breast. It's quite a thing for a woman to let your breast being take-...". "Just cut it off. I don't want the cancer". Tuuli interupted her again and Max let a small chuckle fall over his lips when he saw the slightly annoyed look of the doctor. "Great you think to simply, Ms. Kesküla". She paused briefly. "This type of cancer needs almost immediate help. That's why we've scheduled you for a surgery on the 24th of December. You will receive a letter about this at home this week. If you can sign here that we are allowed to take away your breast". Dr. Bisset shoved some papers over her desk in Tuuli's way.

Tuuli briefly read them through and then took the pen in her hand to scribble her autograph on the end. "How long do I have?". Her blue eyes lifted upwards again and this time Max didn't see the confidence she always carried. For the first time he saw Tuuli being unsure of what was coming, for the first time he saw fear. "We can't tell that now, Ms. Kesküla. After the surgery we can estimate that, if you still want to know". There we something about her answer that made Max feel nauseous. As if Tuuli would have way shorter to live after the surgery than they'd think. Max shook the cold shiver off his shoulders and tried to swallow the nauseous feeling. Tuuli nodded and took a deep breath, straightening her figure. She looked over at Max when she felt his hand stroking her arm, a weak smile on her lips.

"Do you have any questions?". Dr. Bisset asked now and Tuuli shook her head. "Thank you". She mumbled and stood up when the doctor was about to let them out. Tuuli left the papers on the desk and took her shoulder bag with her. She was quiet when they walked through the hallway, but she spoke up again in the elevator. "I'll have to go through life like an Amazon". Tuuli sighed, taking her phone out of her bag to reply to a text message of her mom. "A what?". Max asked with a soft chuckle. "An Amazon. You know, the Greek, one breasted warriors". Tuuli looked up at him and he laughed, shaking his head when she could still make stupid jokes in these kind of situations. "You're a warrior for sure, Tuuls". Max swung his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side.