Extraterrestrial Love

This Is New

After around a surprisingly nearly painless hour (Lee used a lot of topical and local anesthetic) they are finally finished. By some miracle there was enough tendon still intact, just hanging, to stitch it back together. The bullet that shot him in the stomach actually hadn't gone deep or even broken inside of Birch and at some point during their walk, Lee assumes, it must've fallen out on its own. The wound on his head was the least of it but still a bit nasty and needed some attention. All and all, everything turned out perfectly, to everyone's surprise.

At some point in the process, when Lee was getting needably handsy while cleaning around the wounds, Birch's tail had snaked its way around Lee's ankle. For comfort, need to touch, or curiosity, who knows?

"Alright!" Lee exclaims as he gets to his knees after making sure everything is perfect once more "Fixed!" He gives himself a proud little laugh for doing such a good job. Sure he's a livestock veterinarian but every success when it comes to stitches is like a breath of fresh air after nearly suffocating. It's relieving and brings joy to him every time. "How do you feel?" He calms his giddy nerves.

Birch nods "Fixed." he says with an unreadable expression •Since I am better, should I leave? I don't have my cloaking device...where am I supposed to go?• His tail squeezes around Lee's ankle, again having a mind of its own.

"Whoah," Lee says as the grip gets tighter "D-does it hurt? Birch? Need more medicine?"

Birch grumbles, frustrated, disappointed, scared, and dreading the loneliness he's expecting to return.

"Er, so it does hurt? I don't have any more spray here so I'll have to go-" He gets cut short when Birch speaks up.

"Stay?" He asks in a tone Lee can't quite place.

"Oh, y-yeah. Ok, I'll stay." He settles back down to the floor. "So-"

"I...stay?" Birch's ears drop just a bit, worried about the answer.

"Huh? Oh! You wanna stay! Okay!" Lee pauses "Well, I'll be honest I thought that was a givin' since y'ur still hurt." He closes his eyes and gives a comforting nod "Yes. You can stay."

Birch's ear perks up as does his face, though he quickly tries to mask his joy to avoid embarrassment.

"So," Lee gets to his feet and looks down at the mess of staining blood on both the sheet and his clothes. He huffs "I'm gonna change my," he pulls on his shirt, then pants "clothes." he scratches at a stain "gross." He chuckles then tries to move but he's still lassoed by Birch's tail. "Can I uh, can I have my foot back?" he chuckles awkwardly and wiggles his foot.

Birch furrows his eyebrows, putting together his words and gestures. •Ah. Your clothes are dirty!• he repeats, but in his own words. The clarity doesn't last long as he lacks understanding of why Lee has to go away to take them off. "Stay." He says, trying to make Lee feel like there's no reason to leave, but to Lee it just sounds like a command.

Lee freezes. His brows jut up "Look, I know you've seen me naked for-for who knows how long, but it's not exactly the most comfortable feeling. Starin' at me with those big beady eyes." He shakes his foot a little harder this time "C'mon Birch I-"

•Ah, right, I forget most other species are obsessed with covering themselves. Mother says it is unnecessary, and dumb.• He makes a pur/chuckle sound that Lee quickly takes to offense.

"Hey, what was that? Laughin' at me? Look, Birch, again, I know you've seen me-" Birch gets to his feet, holding a cocky grin. "Why're you lookin' at me like that?" he squints trying to figure out what Birch is up to. He soon finds out when Birch strips off the last of the navy blue suit that remained on his legs. Lee whips his head away so fast it about gives him whiplash. "WHOA- buddy, alright, this might be normal to you but-"