Work Text:
“No. But I do thank you for the offer, brother."
"...I do not understand..." Victor stares at the yellow-eyed clone in disbelief as Lemon clears their dishes from the table. Lemon shrugs, unfazed as if Victor had just simply offered him a cup of tea instead of a pain-free reset. "I could remove the scars quite easily. You would not have to be placed under anesthe-"
Victor stops mid-sentence as Lemon raises a hand to silence him. Lemon pauses in front of the sink, setting the dishes down in the shallow basin with his back still facing the elder clone.
The subtle twitch of Lemon's ears is the only sign that the offer has affected his mood while he completes the domestic task "...Yes, I am sure you could. But I wish to keep them."
"Er... Pardon my curiosity, but why?" Victor inquires, tilting his head in confusion "I witnessed firsthand how you suffered in your first five cycles, the pain you endured… Do you not want to be rid of those reminders?"
Lemon turns to face him. His expression is unreadable as he stares at the floor, brow ridges drawn together as he absently chews on a stray strand of hair that has fallen in his face- as if contemplating what to say. When he meets Victor's gaze, he casually shrugs.
"Even if you were to remove the scars, it would not change what happened to me.” Lemon begins in a low voice, his hand drifting to his shoulder where Victor knows huge fangs had once been buried in his flesh- deep punctures staunched of bleeding, wounds sealed shut by Victor’s own hands.
“The scars… I believe if you had offered to remove them years ago, I might have taken you up on that offer.”
“What changed?”
“...I think I did.” Lemon shrugs again, turning to begin washing the dishes as he speaks. “Taking away the scars would make me look ‘perfect’ again; yes, but it would be his broad definition of perfect... I am flawed compared to some of our brothers, and I do not think that is a bad thing.”
“If I were to let you remove them, it would reduce what happened to me. I suffered, but I survived. Despite everything, despite his attempts to erase me… I am still here.”
“The scars- they are a part of me, my history.” Lemon looks out through the window before him, ears tilting forward as he relaxes. “They came from violence, and as much as that pain might linger, I do not think I would be the same person I am if I tried to ignore the bad things that have happened in my past…”
“I cannot erase what I went through, but the events of my past have led to an unforeseeable amount of good in the present moment.”
Victor stands, and follows Lemon’s softened gaze down to tidepools where distantly, he is able to observe the familiar colorful shape of Anemone. Swimming with the odd little creature he had found while exploring, whooping happily as they wrestle in the surf- it is a peaceful moment to be able to observe. Victor notes the shift of Lemon’s hand to his chest- softly touching where he knows a smaller, shallower scar lies.
“I… believe I understand.” Victor states as Lemon sets aside a clean dish, moving on to the next.
“My wounds healed long ago, I do not believe you should burden yourself with continuing to try to fix something that was not your fault to begin with, Victor.” Lemon glances at the elder clone briefly before returning to his task, ears twitching.
“If you still want to help me in this visit of yours, I would appreciate the assistance in drying the plates once they are clean.” He gestures to the clean stack without pausing his work. “I wish to get them put away before Nem returns, he tends to fling seawater everywhere when he is excited.”
Victor softly smiles, and rolls up his sleeves to retrieve a towel. “As you wish, brother.”
Two sets of hands do tend to make chores go faster, and if this simple task will assist his brother…he is willing to contribute his efforts.
The chore is completed in comfortable silence that is eventually broken when Anemone throws the door open and rushes to greet his beloved with a wet hug. Victor observes the intimate moment with warmth in his chest. The young brother begins to gesture wildly with his hands and ears while enthusiastically reporting his findings in the tidepools to a patient and smiling Lemon.
Thankfully, the dishes are spared the resulting shower of droplets, and remain safe and dry in the cabinets.