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Narancia’s heart thumped in his chest as he glanced over at Bruno cleaning the small glass bottle with an alcohol wipe, band aid and fresh syringe at the ready. He fiddled with the packet Bruno gave him, hearing the material crinkling and feeling the alcohol wipe slide around inside.
He was nervous; he was finally getting his first shot of testosterone today, something he’s been waiting for years to finally get, but now, he was silently thinking he should’ve considered the gel instead. He was confident at the doctor’s, wanting the shots since that’s what Bruno used and it would show he was ‘a man’. Now he watched Bruno uncap the syringe, push the needle into the squishy part of the cap, and slowly pull back the plunger to let the clear thick liquid travel down the barrel, his stomach silently churning.
“Is it gonna hurt?” It was an obvious question.
Narancia watched Bruno’s eyes flicker over to him then back to the syringe with practiced attention; give him a white lab coat and he’d look like a doctor.
“It always will,” Bruno answered with some hesitation, pulling the syringe back a little more. “and usually, the first one hurts the most.”
Oh boy..That made Narancia shrink back on his chair.
“But, and I’m not just saying this, it does get easier. Especially once you learn to inject where it hurts the least.”
“Where does it hurt for you the least?”
Bruno took a quick look at Narancia, seeing a bit of fear and curiosity in those amethyst irises.
“For me, it’s the thigh. But remember, it’s different for everyone.”
With that, the older ravenette stopped, slowly pulling the needle out of the bottle, and flicking the barrel quickly with his fingers.
“What’s that?”
“Just getting out the air bubbles..”
After a few more flicks, Bruno recapped the needle and made his way to Narancia’s left side.
“Now you said left, right?”
“Uh, yeah..”
“Alright. Packet, please.”
Narancia held up the alcohol packet he’d been holding, feeling it slip away from his fingers. There was a hushed rip and the cool feeling of the pad drawing circles around the area where he was going to get poked.
“Alright, I’m going to do it on three, alright?”
Narancia stiffened and nodded.
“Okay. One,”
A thump in his chest.
“Two..”
A sharp inhale and his body going taught like a pulled bow. Then, nothing. No pain, no nothing.
“You know, you don’t have to take it by needle. There’s no shame in using the gel.”
Alright, what the hell?
“The hell’s that supposed ta mean? Of course I gotta take the stupid need-OW!!”
A quick motion and the needle was in. Narancia quickly turned his head to see his friend with a guilty look on his face and...he saw the silver. He started squirming.
“Hey, hey. Look at me.”
The firm voice caught his attention and his eyes were once again on the older ravenette.
“I’m sorry for that. It always helped me to distract myself from the pain.”
Narancia let his lip fall out in a pout.
“Tricky bastard..Ow.”
“Sorry. I need to make sure there’s no blood in the barrel. Then..,” a few seconds, a slow but fluid pull and some more pain. “all done!”
Narancia blinked.
“Das it?”
“Yup. That’s it. And here’s your battle scar, soldier.”
The older ravenette stepped back and Narancia looked to see a bandaid where the needle had been. He brought a finger and poked it, leaving with a soft “Ow”.
“Yeah, it’s going to be sore for a little bit, just like with another shot.”
“But..it’s in me now, right?”
“Yup. It is.”
“I-It’s in me...”
“Yes..?”
Narancia slowly looked up at Bruno, blinking quickly with watery eyes. The older ravenette couldn’t help but smile. He opened up his arms and the younger quickly launched himself into his arms.
“I-I’m a guy now...”
“You always have been, Narancia..”
His words were followed by a sniffle and another from the younger before quiet happy tears could be heard. Some even made down the older’s face, chased with a smile.