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“Aye, heard he’s your replacement, lad.”
“Go easy on him mate, he’s just a kid.”
“Is the doc gonna retire now? He finally gone mad?”
The rumours and teasing from his teammates had become grating, the man simply electing to ignore whenever it was mentioned. A new Medic joining their team? What was the point? He has proven time and time again he is more than capable in taking care of his team after all these years. Although since his incident that left him near mute, he never has quite been the same. More withdrawn, and temperamental sure, but it surely didn’t mean he was unable to care for his team while they fought. He had begun donning a mask most everywhere that translated his voice into something more robotic and cold, but none of the team dared to ask why or tell him to take it off.
Less than a week after the rumours had started, Emmerich walked into their mess hall to hear jovial laughter and excited conversation filling the room, clearing his throat which filtered strangely through his mask in an attempt to quieten his raucous colleagues before he spoke.. “And what is all this noise about? If there’s another fight I’m not patching anyone-” he paused as a short man in a coat far too similar to his own turned to face him, an almost childish grin on the man’s face.
Blythe quickly bounced over to the older man, putting out a hand for him to shake. “Oh, you must be Emmerich, right? I’ve heard so many wonderful things about you-”
“Herr Sitz, if you don’t mind, boy.” Came a synthesized voice that made the smaller man jump. Emmerich had a metal mask covering his mouth that seemed to distort his voice, or at least that’s what Blythe had figured out.
“Ah, of course- my- my apologies, Herr Sitz.” Blythe awkwardly let his hand fall away, a tense silence blanketing the room as the team watched on. Emmerich thought he looked ridiculous, a hat far too big for his head, and a coat trailing on the floor- his whole outfit seemed far too big for the shorter man- did the uniform even come in sizes that small? Evidently not, Emmerich scoffs.
He turned, gesturing for the shorter man to follow after him, which Blythe did but not before the little man picked up his coat not unlike a princess dress to reduce the chance of him tripping over- which had minimal success of working in the first place.
“I… I can’t wait to learn and train under you, Herr Sitz, I-”
“Hush, boy.” Came a murmured reply, stopping the younger man as Emmerich came close to him. “As long as you stay out of my way, we won’t have any issues. I have no intention of stepping down, and I hope you’re aware of this.” Blythe swallowed the lump in his throat, nodding quickly as he said this. Did the other really think he was there to replace him? He was about to counter this before Emmerich began speaking again. “Good. I’m sure the others can show you to your room, you may use the lab Wednesday through to Friday. Good day.” And with that, he turned on his heels and walked off to his office, leaving Blythe perplexed in the empty hallway.
From then on, there was always an unspoken tension between the two, making the days drag on far longer whenever they were together, with Emmerich almost observing him rather than actually talking to the man. Any time there was a fight and someone needed a stitch or two Emmerich was first on the scene, no matter how much the new Medic would try to help, he always refused it. He would show them. Needing another for what he could do perfectly fine, how foolish.
The tense silence between the two was only broken when the man was rushing around, tripping and tumbling to the ground with an almighty crash of tools he was transporting to help their Engineer, causing Emmerich to come out of his office to see what the racket was and staring down at the man.
“My… my apologies, Herr Sitz, I-”
“Your coat, boy.”
“S… sorry?”
“Your coats, bring them in here. You look ridiculous. I’ll fix them before you end up with a scalpel in your face from your clumsiness. I’ll expect you to knock in no later than 5 minutes” He closed his door again, looking around for a sewing kit he could have sworn he saw a few days ago. It worked in a pinch if there were no medical stitches available, unfortunately for the member of their team who caught him when he had low supplies. As well as patching up their uniforms of course, but it was much more threatening to keep it around for the miniscule chance of the former rather than solely the latter.
A prompt and slightly stressful 4 and a half minutes later there came a knock at his office. Emmerich had learnt how his crew chose to knock on his door to get his attention, so this unfamiliar 4 taps in quick succession had to be the newest member to their team.
“Come in. And take that hat off.” He sighs, clearing his throat. He wished he didn’t have to talk so much, the mask amplifying his voice but left little in the way of soothing his scarred vocal cords- but he highly doubted the other knew sign language enough to try and hold a conversation, just as it was with the rest of their team.
“I um… I hope it’s not too much trouble, Herr Sitz, I just picked up my uniform and it-”
“Hush, boy. Just put them on the table while I think.” The older man sighed, rubbing his eyes as Blythe set 3 folded up coats on the desk and stepped back. Emmerich looked back at him after a few quiet moments, standing up and walking around him to see how much his coat dragged and how much he would need to suitably alter it. After a minute or so he sat back down, turning up the end of one of the coats and beginning to sew it shorter.
The shorter man fidgeted in place, the air almost thick in the dim room. “Do you plan on watching me the whole time?” Emmerich murmurs, eyes flicking up towards him for a moment, making Blythe’s face go red in embarrassment.
“Should- Should I-”
“Make yourself useful, feed the birds.” He swatted at the other’s hand as he reached for one of the coats to which Blythe nodded quickly once again and left to the other side of the room to tend to the doves. He leant up to their cage, hesitantly reaching in to change their food and bedding to which the birds cooed, rubbing up against his hand curiously as he came close.
“What’s your name, boy?” Emmerich said simply, cutting away the extra fabric once he was finished sewing one coat before it had dawned on him in his upset he just… neglected to ask since they had met.
“Blythe, Herr Sitz. Blythe Kurzmann.” He patted gently at the birds’ head with his finger.
“They seem fond of you, Herr Kurzmann.” The older man mused, watching him for a moment before continuing to work. Blythe smiles at the other in reply, but it went unseen. He shifted a little in place before approaching the desk once again. He had to ask what was happening.
“...Herr Sitz? I… I’m sorry if I’ve done anything to… to make you believe that I was replacing you in any way, I was recommended to be the best fit for your team- to help and to train by your side. I’d be honoured to work with you, sir.” Blythe fell silent after this, awaiting the older man’s reaction for better or for worse. But the older man simply… sat back in his chair, considering this.
Emmerich sighed, finally looking at Blythe. “I… owe you an apology, Herr Kurzmann. I’ve been the only Medic on the team for so long, I suppose I was… threatened. That they might be letting me go if I slow down… because of…” he gestured vaguely to his scarred face. “That they might be scared of me and no longer wanted to deal with me.”
Blythe went to speak in return but Emmerich held up a hand to pause him. “If you’ll allow me, I’d like to start over. I can’t guarantee I’ll be the best mentor, but it warms my old heart that you think of me that way.” The shorter man smiled, trying on his altered coat as it was handed to him. It was a perfect length, and one less hazard to himself besides that oversized helmet he favoured so much.
“I appreciate you doing this, sir. Let me help you finish them.” He took up the final coat, a semblance of a smile creeping onto his face.
“Just this once.”