It doesn't hurt, not even a twinge. Rama is gentle with the touch but still a strong man, but there's nothing. No pain, not even a little tenderness in the areas that had been most affected. He'd been so thoroughly beat that it felt like he'd be forever broken and fragile, and he knows it must have seems like that for Rama more than anything else.
He nods softly, nose brushing against Rama's as he refuses to pull himself away or put any real distance between them. See? Just like he said, he's healthy and hale once more. The relief must be overwhelming for Ram, because it certainly feels that way for him too, but he wasn't the one who had to watch him nearly die. He wasn't the one who bore the burden of these injuries, who felt the weight of life and death almost constantly.
It doesn't do to imagine what life would have been like for Rama had he actually died that night, or never really recovered. What kind of choices he would have made, knowing Hickey had done what was promised, living with the fact that his friend had died in front of him like so many others in his life. They skirted that awful future; it's worth celebrating, or at least letting oneself feel that happiness, if only briefly.
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It doesn't hurt, not even a twinge. Rama is gentle with the touch but still a strong man, but there's nothing. No pain, not even a little tenderness in the areas that had been most affected. He'd been so thoroughly beat that it felt like he'd be forever broken and fragile, and he knows it must have seems like that for Rama more than anything else.
He nods softly, nose brushing against Rama's as he refuses to pull himself away or put any real distance between them. See? Just like he said, he's healthy and hale once more. The relief must be overwhelming for Ram, because it certainly feels that way for him too, but he wasn't the one who had to watch him nearly die. He wasn't the one who bore the burden of these injuries, who felt the weight of life and death almost constantly.
It doesn't do to imagine what life would have been like for Rama had he actually died that night, or never really recovered. What kind of choices he would have made, knowing Hickey had done what was promised, living with the fact that his friend had died in front of him like so many others in his life. They skirted that awful future; it's worth celebrating, or at least letting oneself feel that happiness, if only briefly.