Francoise frowned slightly, tugging on a lock of her hair in frustration. She was doing her best to stay calm, but even her vaunted patience wore thin after awhile . She would've expected this kind of stubbornness from Jet... but Geronimo? It was inconceivable. Or it had been until now.
"005, I just want to run a routine check up on you now that the fight's over. Make sure you're okay. Nothing harmful, nothing evasive. It's all routine stuff."
"I'm fine. I don't want to bother you." Geronimo's tone was as taciturn as ever, but there seemed to be something in his eyes that hinted that there might be something to his refusal to submit to a checkup besides typical male hard-headedness.
But that didn't mean she was going to give up. Quite the opposite. Ever since their adventures began, Geronimo had always been very protective of her. And while she seriously doubted he needed (or wanted) it, she couldn't help but be protective of him. Geronimo had taken a heavier beating than usual in their recent battle, and she wasn't going to let anything stop her from making sure he was all right.
Not even an overly bashful Native American cyborg.
Francoise shrugged her shoulders, trying to emulate Jet's nonchalant style. "Look, I was raised by my brother, remember? It's nothing I haven't seen before."
Geronimo shook his head, but started to unknot his scarf. "Since you're obviously not going to give up…" he grumbled, not looking at her as he began to take off the bright red tunic.
… Francoise had never seen so many scars in her life. All over his back, his arms, even one on his neck that was frightfully close to his jugular.
"Oh… oh my word."
"That tends to be most people's reaction." He kept his face turned away from her, and his voice was grim.
Without thinking about it, Francoise traced the scar on his right shoulder with her finger. "So many scars," she murmured softly. "So much pain. It must've been horrible."
"You get used to it... with time." It sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than Francoise.
Francoise wasn't entirely certain if there was anything she could say to ease the pain, but she would try. "… That may be true, Geronimo. But now that we're here with you, you'll never have to again."
The next few minutes were as routine as Francoise said it would be. She ran her tests, he came out clean each time. But she couldn't shake the feeling that something still needed to be said. Unfortunately, she didn't know what.
"I'm sorry if I upset you." She was a little startled, since Geronimo tended to speak only if he absolutely had to. "It's just… I didn't think you'd want to see something like that."
"Oh, nonsense I like you just the way you are. " And while she wasn't the type of girl to just go and kiss someone on the cheek without so much as a warning, she felt it the right thing to do at that particular moment. However, she still possessed enough common sense to leave the room before Geronimo could react. "But thanks for the consideration!"
Geronimo stood there for a long moment after Francoise had left, his hand on the side of the face she'd kissed.
"You're welcome."