At first Carlos was confused about what Hancock might be talking about. But then he remembered – Hancock had told him once a while ago. Just once, though – he didn’t actively talk about it of course.
Carlos put the clean clothes on a counter and walked up to take Hancock’s hands. “I know, Han… you told me. Honestly I’m not sure how I’ll react, but I promise I’m still with you.” He leaned in to press a kiss to the corner of the ghoul’s mouth and lingered, waiting a moment for Hancock to react.
Carlos had tried to imagine it, of course: what Hancocks’ pelvis might look like without certain… bits. But ultimately, he was sure he had been imagining wrong and would just have to wait and actually see what they were working without. He’d try his damnest to be respectful and supportive – the absolute last thing he wanted was to make Hancock feel self-conscious or inadequate in any way.
At first, Carlos wasn’t sure of what he was looking at – his
brain just didn’t recognize it. But when he took a moment to actually think
about it, he did get a sort of lurch in the pit of his stomach and, for a
horrifying second, he thought something was going to come up.
But nothing did. He swallowed thickly to reassure himself
and looked, reminding himself that the scarring looked very old and it happened
a long time ago.
“Does… I’m sorry, but… does it still hurt?” he asked meekly.
The Perfect Scientist 