[You know, this catches him off guard. He wasn't expecting any level of expertise from Alex, but there he goes rattling off a fairly comprehensive list of potential complications like he's seen it all before.
After a long moment, he sighs.]
You seem to be laboring under the impression that I'm unfamiliar with being injured or in pain.
During the war, they sent us to Manchuria in the dead of winter. We were stuck in the trenches between freezing winds and Russian howitzers. I can't count how many times I swore I wasn't going to be able to reload my rifle because my fingers were so numb.
After the war, during the incident in which I broke my jaw I also broke my arm and almost died of hypothermia. I believe I was in the hospital for three weeks, I don't remember all of it.
I'm not refusing your help because I don't understand the situation. I'm refusing it because I'm not so desperate that the only option I have is to rely on someone like you. [It's... mostly true. He should probably ask someone for help, at this point. But not Alex. It cannot be Alex. That's just too incorrect for him to bear.]
no subject
After a long moment, he sighs.]
You seem to be laboring under the impression that I'm unfamiliar with being injured or in pain.
During the war, they sent us to Manchuria in the dead of winter. We were stuck in the trenches between freezing winds and Russian howitzers. I can't count how many times I swore I wasn't going to be able to reload my rifle because my fingers were so numb.
After the war, during the incident in which I broke my jaw I also broke my arm and almost died of hypothermia. I believe I was in the hospital for three weeks, I don't remember all of it.
I'm not refusing your help because I don't understand the situation. I'm refusing it because I'm not so desperate that the only option I have is to rely on someone like you.
[It's... mostly true. He should probably ask someone for help, at this point. But not Alex. It cannot be Alex. That's just too incorrect for him to bear.]