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Chapter Text

Pantalone had been on a mission for two weeks and three days and had returned in the worst possible condition. A deep wound in his stomach, significant blood loss, high fever, broken bones, cuts all over his body, ruptured blood vessels, causing external bleeding, first-degree burns on his back and hands, a sprained left wrist, several pairs of small but open wounds around his thighs, medium-sized animal bites and a bruise over his right eye. Pierro himself had brought him in person with two medical officers, though the Fatui trusted only themselves, the first of whom had decided that the Regrator's condition was too bad to wait to reach Snezhnaya. He opened the doors to Dottore's lab and laid him on the stretcher, unconscious.

“Don't let him die.” He said, looking at him seriously, Zandik smiled and looked down at his face, he was pale. First-degree burns, external haemorrhage and possible poisoning, not yet confirmed. iI'll check on him in a week, if he's not awake you'll be the one to bury his body.” The doctor's clones rushed to remove his clothes so they could get a better look at his body. Pierro left the room with the other two officers, he hadn't explained what had happened.

“His pulse is normal, there is no sign of a heart attack, no sign of a stroke. We must hurry.” Said one of his clones, Prime decided to go and disinfect his hands and get to work, time was against him. After putting on some latex gloves, he walked over to one of his clones.

“Go get some clothes.” He said, handing him the key to the room of the ninth. The clone looked at him in confusion. “I don't have the whole day, go on." He shouted, upsetting the rest. He walked over to the stretcher and prepared to disinfect the open wounds with alcohol, he could see small wounds on his lips. “Put a heart rate monitor on him, we can't risk anything.”

Between four people, well, one man and three clones, they were able to stitch up some of the wounds, but there was still the one on his stomach and it was likely to need surgery. It had to be stitched up, several times as the skin had opened up too much and in several layers. Dottore clicked his tongue, how the hell had that happened? He was annoyed with Pierro for not giving him explanations, he wanted to send someone to ask for them.

“You, go find Pierro and ask him what the fuck happened.” He tried not to raise his voice too much and calm down a bit. The surgery was going well, until Pantalone started to wake up. “Shit, no, no, no, no. Local anaesthetic, thirty millilitres.”

“D-Doctor...?" He bit his lower lip when he felt the anesthesia needle. “The... the trave... ller…” The traveller? The fucking traveller had done this? How was it possible? As much as he wanted to hear what had happened, Pantalone needed to fall asleep so that Dottore and his clones could finish the surgery and tend to his wounds.

“Sh... shut up and go to sleep.” He continued his work when the banker fell asleep again. Between Dottore and his clones they managed to close all the wounds, he no longer required such intensive care so Prime could work on his own. He had several things to think about, he had to take care of him, Pierro would be back and if he saw him malnourished and dirty he would kill Zandik, he had to keep an eye on him every day so he could stay with him. He also needed to know what he meant by the traveller, he seemed to have been subjected to torture with no sign of poison, as the number one of the Fatui Harbingers said.

After taking care of the rest of his burns, fractures, sprains and any other pain he had in his body. He put him in a hospital gown (which he used for his test subjects) and laid him in his own bed. He had to get him something to eat and drink, he didn't know how long he had gone without a bite to eat. He would wake up in about five minutes, Dottore had everything ready, a damp cloth on his forehead and a glass with various medicines beside it, some for fever and some for pain. He needed to calm him down, he would most likely wake up in a daze after feeling so much pain.

“Mnhg..." He heard him groan in pain from across the room. “W-Where am I?" He looked around. Dottore pointed a torch at his eyes, thus making him close them quickly. “Too much light." He turned the light away from him and asked him to follow his finger with his eyes.

“How many fingers do I have?”

“Three." He answered confidently. “Now two.” He continued. “Five.”

“Okay, swallow this.” He handed him the glass and helped him lie down. The damp cloth slid down his forehead and ended up on his neck. “Come on, for today.” He tilted the glass again, he had to drink that quickly if he didn't want to suffer too much. “Well done. Now, I am obliged to ask you a few questions and offer you food, you must not get up. If you need to go to the toilet, you ask me, if you need anything, you ask me. No work for another week, now you eat four times a day because of the diet I just put you on. Two pills in the morning in case of pain, three at night for good rest and pain relief. I will take care of your personal grooming, if you are uncomfortable with me doing it, I can get one of your subordinates to do it for me. None of your clothes, you are too injured to wear anything.” He almost ran out of breath at the mention of it all. Pantalone looked at him puzzled and nodded. “Now, my dear Regrator, what happened to you, and would you rather tell me about it after lunch?”

Zandik was being too kind, obviously he would take advantage of this.

“I'd rather eat first. I'm cold..." He complained with red cheeks. The doctor got up and spread another blanket over him. “I don't think I can eat by myself, I hurt all over and... I don't feel well... I want to be with you.” He lied trying to sound as weak as possible, he knew that the second of the Fatui Harbingers was most likely threatened by Pierro and now he had to follow all his orders. “Stay with me...”

“Don't play like that, I know it doesn't hurt that much, you idiot.” He took off his mask and put his hands in his hair, he had dark circles under his eyes and a big scar. “Well, I'll feed you if that's what you want so badly. Deep down, I know you're in love with my wonderful self.” He waved his hands and Regrator couldn't help but laugh, the man was fabulously ridiculous.

He sat him on his lap and took the opportunity to hug his neck, he couldn't hit him in that state and he loved to get on his nerves. A little acting wouldn't hurt.

“What's supposed to be the matter with you? Do you want to eat or not?” He grabbed him around the waist, in an area where he had no wounds. “Hey, are you all right mentally? Or I'll have to call a psychiatrist to examine you.”

“I'm not as crazy as you, Prime.” He whispered in his ear, making the other's skin crawl. Laughing after this, he stepped back a little carefully, grunting in pain from time to time and looked down at the bowl of hot soup that was presented in front of him. After nearly an hour of eating due to sore throats so sudden they made him cry, he finished the whole bowl and lay down completely exhausted. “I feel like sleeping...”

“You're unbearable, let me ask you one thing and then I'll let you sleep, okay?”

“I'll only let you ask me that question if you do something I ask for afterwards....”

“Okay. Tell me what happened, how did you get into this situation?” He took out a briefcase and started to write down everything.

“The traveller caught me, tortured me along with some guys called Al-Haitham and Cyno... I think that's what they were called. They burned me, cut me, wounded me... all sorts of things in order to get me to reveal information about you and her Majesty. I didn't say anything, that's why I was away for so long and now I'm a fucking mess, ha, ha.” Dottore wrote it all down on the paper and then left it on his desk. “One had an electro vision and the other a dendro.”

“Fine, I'll deal with them personally. Now, what do you want me to do, my dear banker?”

“I want you to hug me while I sleep.”

“What?”

Chapter Text

“You heard me perfectly, doctor.”

“Are you delirious?” He got up to start taking off his boots. “I don't understand what's wrong with you, you're acting like a little kid.” He sat down on the bed after taking off all the unnecessary clothes.

“Ah... doctor... you have to take care of your patients..." He complained playfully, of course he was pretending and all he really wanted was someone's attention and care. “Please...”

“Okay, only if you let me ask you a few questions about what happened to you afterwards.” Pantalone sighed and nodded. “Don't make any sudden movements or put yourself in weird positions, I don't want you to hurt yourself even more, let alone having to take care of yourself.” He lay down next to him and hugged him around the waist, in an uncomfortable way.

“Don’t be so shy.” He hid his head under the doctor's neck and hugged him, he felt how the other one turned red and decided to leave a kiss on his collarbone to make him even more uncomfortable. “Just stay until... I fall asleep.” He yawned, now it almost sounded like a plea. He let himself melt into the embrace, if he put aside his role as a cheap actor, he was in love with Zandik and that was something they both knew. He never thought these feelings were reciprocated as he always saw Dottore as serious, eccentric and annoying, incapable of love. With this thought in mind, he let a few tears fall on the older man's shirt, for the pain and for the thoughts he was having.

“Are you crying?”

“No!”

The doctor laughed and stroked his hair. Little by little, sleep began to haunt him and added with the tiredness he felt, it would be best to sleep. He moaned softly and fell completely asleep in the company of his beloved doctor....

Dottore could hardly close his eyes, did he care? Of course he cared! He was hurt and weak, his emotional state reflected it. Never before had he asked him for this kind of moment, never before had he asked him to hold him until he fell asleep and never before had he had to heal such horrible wounds on the banker's body. He knew who Cyno and Alhaitham were, he knew who the traveler was and if he found them, he was going to kill all three of them slowly. He had clear signs of malnutrition and lack of grooming, marks on his hands and feet from restraints, probably chains or thick ropes. How the hell had they caught him, and what the hell was Pantalone doing in Sumeru? It was weird enough, but it was even weirder that it was Pierro who had found him. It was no lie that The Regrator was someone very handsome, anyone would pay to fuck him and Zandik knew perfectly well that the number one of the Fatui Harbingers was one of them. He often tried to get him alone in his office or invite him on dates. That made him quite angry, he clenched his fist tightly as he tried to calm down.

"You've got him in your arms, calm down." He thought and looked at the man hiding in his arms. So weak... that was quite a sight. He would have to give him a bath later, he already seemed to have fallen asleep so he got up careful not to wake him and went to run him a bath.

Just before he could get the towels, one of his clones entered the room almost exhausted.

“I have information about what happened..." He groaned tiredly, Prime immediately went to him and offered to sit in front of him at his desk. “Yes, he was poisoned, it's not lethal, but..." He took a breath. “It’ll leave him on bed for a few days.” Zandik grunted and looked down at the body sleeping peacefully in its place. He handed him a few papers. “This is info about Cyno and Alhaitham.”

“Thank you." He stood up and put the papers in a drawer in his desk. “Anything else you want to tell me?” He looked at him out of the corner of his eye, the clone nodded and looked down at the floor. “Go ahead.”

“There are pictures.”

“Pictures? Of what? Of the torture?”

“Yes. They were sent one at a time for each day he was there to Pierro. They were asking for information in exchange for Regrator... Pierro found out where he was just the day before he got here.” He held out a small folder and Prime took it, why would they do that? He opened it and took three pictures.

The first one could not be seen clearly, there was a small pool of blood on the floor and Pantalone bleeding against the wall. He was handcuffed and without glasses. The surroundings looked like a house in Aaru Village. He had minor wounds on his face and a large bruise was beginning to form on his eye. He had a bandage over his lips, thus preventing him from speaking. It had a note on the back: "Send us information or you will be left without a banker."

The second was even worse, there were fluids, probably vomit, on the floor and he was now tied to a chair. It seemed to have been a while since the previous one. The bruise on his eye was now three times bigger and was bleeding quite a lot, he had a pained expression and was crying. Dottore had a big stomach and could stand to see people crushed in front of him, but that made him feel... distressed. There was another note with a location written on it, but it didn't read very well.

Zandik decided not to look at the third one for the sake of his mental health, or whatever was left.

“I want you to burn all of these, Pantalone can't find out I've seen them.” The clone nodded and hurried off with the photos in the folder. Dottore sat down on the chair again and put his hands to his hair, completely angry, if he hadn't been alone, he would have shouted or broken something, but he remembered that there was a wounded man resting on his bed. He sighed and watched him sleep quietly, he slept wrapped up in himself, like a kitten. Zandik found himself smiling after making that mental comparison. He should put a cloth on his forehead to cool his fever. He decided to let him rest a little longer, he would have enough time to give him a bath tomorrow morning. It was almost half past four and he should rest too, it had been a long night.

It had been Pantalone who had asked him to hold him, so he had every right to do so. He lay down beside him and took him by the waist, pulling him close to his chest. The ninth dragged his hand to the doctor's shoulder and rested it there. Zandik was sure that tonight he would have no nightmares.

...

Dottore woke up feeling a pinch on his cheek, furrowed his eyebrows and rolled over to turn his back to his bedmate. He heard a small groan in the form of a complaint and sighed, opened his eyes and rolled over again to look him in the eyes.

“You're finally waking up.”

“What do you want at this hour of the morning, Regrator?” He looked at his watch on the nightstand, six forty-seven. “Are you in pain? Are you bleeding?” The concern was clear on his face.

“Relax." He tapped his cheek gently. “It all hurts…” He cried softly from the pain, the doctor looked at him silently, he had to bathe him and change his bandages, after that he could give him breakfast and medicines. “Don't ignore me...” He hit him weakly.

“I’mma run you a bath.” He got out of bed with just a few hours of sleep, it was usual for him to sleep little, but today he felt more tired than usual. Today would be the first day Pantalone would spend with him and he was a little nervous. “Don't look at me like that, I'll help you.”

“I didn't know you had such inclinations, doctor.”

Ha, he was playing dirty.

“Oh? It doesn't seem to bother you.~” He took him by the chin carefully, looking down at him from above. Their gazes went to each other's lips. “Are you waiting for me to kiss you?” He teased him. “I'd love to play with you, Regrator, but we have more important matters to attend to, don't we?”

“You're right, but I suppose a kiss might appease my pain a little..." He closed his eyes, he wanted to kiss him. They both wanted to kiss, Dottore was about to launch himself until someone knocked on the door of the room and they separated as soon as possible.

“Come in.”

Pierro entered and looked at the guy lying down. He sighed in relief and knelt beside him on the bed, stroked his cheek slowly. Jealousy burned in the doctor's veins, but he still looked at him smiling. If he could, he would kill him.

“Thank you for taking care of him.” He thanked him softly, got up from the floor and left the room. They both looked at each other, the banker with a smile on his face.

With nothing more to say, he carefully picked him up in his arms and carried him to the bathroom. He filled the bathtub and began to clean him in a rather awkward silence for both of them. Sure, Zandik knew perfectly well that the two Harbingers had a rather... close relationship, but he had never seen his superior act that way, not even with Rosalyne. Was he in love with the banker? How pathetic. Although, he would have to hurry, because with the looks they were giving each other, they seemed to be quite trusting. The ninth looked at the second cautiously, seemed somewhat confused by his attitude and sighed constantly.

“There's nothing between us, Zandik, I...” He turned around, thus preventing Dottore from washing his hair, they stared into each other's eyes and both sighed. “I love you.”

Love me?

Chapter Text

“I love you.”

He laughed aloud, he would have to pretend he hadn't been jealous.

“And what does that have to do with Pierro, my dear Regrator?" He tried to ignore the warm feelings forming in his stomach. “If you have feelings for him, go ahead, don't get your hopes up. Our life is short and no matter what you feel, the Tsaritsa always comes first.” Pantalone nodded and sighed softly. “I can't take your feelings, I can't feel anything for you, it's not part of my job.”

Something clicked inside the banker. He tried to hold back the tears that made his eyes sting, he decided to keep quiet, if he started talking his voice would break and he would end up crying. His jaw began to tremble, he wanted to be alone, he just needed the doctor to hurry. Zandik was right though, there was no time for something as stupid as romanticism in the life of a Fatui Harbinger. Still, he couldn't help but feel weak and sick in the situation. After being almost tortured to death, he was incredibly rejected by the man he had been in love with for years. Dottore didn't even seem to flinch! He felt anxiety crawl down his spine and into his stomach, looking for a place to stay. Tears sprang involuntarily from his eyes, followed by what seemed like millions and millions of drops of salt water. If he didn't love him, why had he decided to treat him so well? If he didn't love him, why had he embraced him? If he didn't love him, he wouldn't have done all those things.

“Hey.” A voice brought him out of his thoughts, he wiped his face with some water and turned around, so that he was face to face with the doctor. “I'm done, I'm going to dry you off.” He said, carefully pulling him out of the water.

After dressing him and drying him in silence, he laid him back on the bed. It was already dark and he had to have dinner, although he was not hungry at all. His wounds had stopped hurting and now moved to another kind of pain, a mental one. One that made him feel like his heart was taking a bullet, one that made him feel like he was drowning in his own glass of water, he could have avoided this situation years ago and yet he chose not to and took the risk. At the end of the day, it's his own fault. He should have walked away from him and not kept falling more and more in love every day.

“I'll bring dinner, wait for me here, don't try to get up." Dottore left without waiting for an answer and the ninth took the liberty of crying. Damned Zandik, damned, damned....

He was left alone, sobbing almost uncontrollably. He began to claw at his arms rapidly, thus making his existing wounds worse and adding new ones. He was getting on his nerves, he was very upset, his chest was aching and shaking and he couldn't calm down. He let out a groan as an awkward position made him arch his back in pain. He screamed, hit the pillow on his side and choked his sobs into it. This was not good for his physical health, but neither was Zandik, and he would still be with him after this. He took off his glasses (which were already completely wet) and closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep to avoid the reality that seemed to want to kill him. It didn't matter anymore, it didn't matter anymore... he still had to take his pills and heal his old and new wounds, but it didn't matter anymore. What did it matter? After all, his life was destined for Zandik, but Dottore didn't want it for himself.

“I'm back." He heard a voice as he "relaxed" on the bed (he was in a completely uncomfortable position, snot and tears running down his face and his whole body was burning with pain). “What's wrong with you? Hey, what's wrong with you?” And now he was worried? Come on, Zandik, don't be so hypocritical.

“Leave me alone...” He mumbled in a small moan, he felt a liquid running down his legs, blood, probably. “I hate you, go away, I hate you..." Was he really making him a show now?

“For the love of Tsaritsa, what could have happened to you in the last five minutes?” He sat down next to him in a chair, leaving his dinner on the small bedside table next to the bed. He was greeted by a punch in the face with a pillow. “You're acting like a child, my God.” He returned the pillow to its place and threw it back at his. Which now made him rage, but he had to calm down as he was dealing with an anxious Regrator.

“I hate you! Die! I hate you!" He received small punctuated scratches as he tried to get closer to him to stop the bleeding that emerged from his stomach, now dripping down his legs. “Don't touch me." He began to scream as he tried to run away from the doctor, who had grabbed one of his thighs by force. He clutched at the sheets, as if he was about to die.

“Shut the fuck up already! I've had enough of you!" He shouted at him, they both fell silent after that. Pantalone, still crying, even more after the scream he had just submitted to, fell into submission, he would stop fighting, it wasn't worth it. “Fuck, finally you calm down. You look fucking crazy.” He lifted him into the air to carry him to an operating table, which he would now use to stop the bleeding. “If you scream again, I'll sedate you and leave you sleeping for the rest of the month.”

“I'm sorry." He apologised with tears running down his cheeks. He sobbed again and let himself go, feeling Zandik's aggressive gaze on him. He hardly felt physical pain anymore, his wounds didn't hurt, the knot in his stomach and throat hurt. This did it, this confirmed that Dottore had not the slightest interest in him romantically. “I'm sorry." He repeated.

“Shut up.”

He cried silently while his wounds were still being medically treated by the second. Once he finished, he left him lying there.

“Where are you going...?”

“To work, you go to sleep.”

“But I can't walk.”

“Then crawl." He raised his voice again, The Regrator sighed and carefully lowered himself to the floor, to start towards the bed. “You're lucky I didn't put you to sleep on the floor.” He muttered under his breath. He left the room after closing the door. Why was he treating him so badly all of a sudden? Why? It didn't make sense.

He didn't want to have another panic attack, he should find another way to deal with the problem. Whenever this kind of thing happened to him, he always got drunk and forgot about the world around him for a few seconds, but... would the doctor have some alcohol in his room? He started to visualise it until he saw two bottles of wine, it was too easy, he just had to crawl to the shelf and get them. Although that was a more arduous task than The Regrator thought. After at least fifteen minutes of trying to get both bottles, he went back to bed and began to drink desperately.

Alcohol wouldn't fix his problems, but it would take his mind off them for a while.

Pantalone woke up with a severe headache, it was still dark but the lights were on. His whole body was burning, but not in a bad way, in a good one. There was someone with him in the room, and that someone was talking to him.

“Can you explain to me what you were doing with this?" He pointed to the now empty wine on the bedside table.

“Ahg... doctor... don't be so mean to me..." He laughed out loud, he was drunk, it hadn't been long since before. “I missed you and... and I wanted to forget you...”

“What are you supposed to be saying?”

“I love you very much, Zandik.” He spoke, sitting down on the bed, he took the doctor's shoulders carefully and joined their lips in a kiss. “I love you... good night....”

He lay back down to sleep. What the hell had just happened? What? Why was Regrator acting like this? Hadn't this morning's confession been a game? But how could the banker love him after the fight they had dyed-in-the-wool moments before? It had hurt him, both physically and emotionally, and had made him cry, have a panic attack and get drunk. This strange feeling Dottore felt... guilt? Is that what it's called? It didn't matter now, the warmth of his face was even more important than that. It didn't matter, it didn't matter. The two of them would have to talk tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Dottore was the first one to wake up.

He looked at the man resting next to him and memories of the night before flashed in his mind, how could he have been so foolish? If he had simply trusted him, this could have been avoided right now.

Pantalone was injured, feverish and in constant pain. A panic attack and getting drunk was the worst thing that could happen to him right now, he would most likely vomit up today's medication and feel especially bad. He didn't want to give him any more stress than he was already under, he shouldn't have to. Despite what had happened, Dottore was still in charge of the ninth, and those were orders he could not disobey. Well, Regrator was a mere mortal and he... well, it's a long story, but if the ravenette died, he could never forget it.

He seemed calmer now, he had never seen him beg like that, let alone cry like that. Dottore believed that this was the first time someone had openly cried in front of him, after all, you can't trust the first man you see. A sceptical look in his eyes, seeing is believing, who would have thought that his beloved co-worker would end up being a little boy when his sweets are taken away?

That was not a very good example, the doctor thought.

But last night was different, why had he shouted like that? Pantalone knew he didn't have a very good temper and was easily annoyed by everything, but how would the banker regain his confidence in the latter after this? He had practically laughed at him to his face! It wouldn't have been so bad if they hadn't kissed afterwards. Still, Regrator couldn't forget his feelings for the mint-haired man overnight. After going through several abandonments throughout his life, this would be the one that would undoubtedly hurt the most.

Otherwise, what he didn't know was that deep inside Dottore's selfish heart - if you could even call it a heart - there were still positive feelings, feelings far removed from selfishness and power, did he still have a human side? Did he ever even have one?

Honestly, it didn't matter. Regrator knew the doctor didn't want him and he would have to get over it, stop being a child and grow up, banker.

"Should I wake him up?" It flashed through the doctor's mind, for once in his life, his mind acted before his impulsiveness. "He hates me."

Don't be a hypocrite, Zandik. You know perfectly well what you've done.

The voice in his head was right, it was all his fault, he knew it, but there was no going back now. He wasn't going to beg for forgiveness - not yet - he had to think of a strategy, maybe act as if nothing had happened? Make him believe it was all a dream? I could just erase his memory...

Forget about it, face your actions.

And before he could realise it, those violet eyes were staring at him.

“I..." He started to speak, but was quickly ignored. He noticed the tears building up in the ninth's eyes, but decided not to say anything for the sake of his partner's mental health. “I'm sorry.”

“Liar.” Of course, he wasn't sorry. To Regrator he would never be sorry. “Liar.”

“I'm serious, Regrator.” He tried not to raise his voice, sat up in bed and looked at him, his arms resting on the sheets. “I've already told you I'm sorry, it's up to you to decide whether to believe me or not.”

“I'm serious too, doctor." The blood rushed to his face, he tried to ignore that fact and stand his ground. “I'm as serious as you were last night, or am I wrong?”

“You are, banker.” He crossed his arms. Calm down and don't shout, calm down and don't shout... “As I said, I apologise to you, I regret what I said.”

Pantalone tried to hold back the laughter that emerged from his lips.

“Don't make me laugh," he sat down carefully, trying not to break another two bones in the process. “I know perfectly well that you don’t regret it and that you don’t care about me, I've already assumed that," he shed a couple of tears, which he quickly tried to hide, which didn't go well.

“You're crying, let me convince you and forgive me.”

“I'm not crying!”

“Whatever, I've already said I'm sorry." He repeated for what he thought would be the last time. He sighed loudly, he was about to get up until the ravenette looked him straight in the eyes again.

“You're not sorry! You really don't care! I swear you don't care! Have you ever cared about anyone in your fucking life, Zandik?! Don't lie to me! If you don't love me, just say so! Or are you afraid of losing money? Is that it, is that it?!" He raised his voice, now crying louder than before.

“How can I apologise for just money? If I wanted to, I could have killed you a couple of days ago! But here I am! I got jealous because some asshole talked to you and because I like you! Are you blind or what?!” Well, technically he was half blind. “How could I fall in love with an idiot?” He sighed aloud.

“Why didn't you tell me?”

“Why didn't you?!”

“Because I was afraid," he answered, agitated. “Because I always saw you as superior and I never thought you could reciprocate in some way or another! You have to understand that I could die at any moment and that I'm afraid to spend what little life I'll have knowing that you don't love me! I didn't even think you liked men.

“I noticed it.”

“It's not the place for that now!” He spoke in annoyance and laughed. “How was it so obvious that you could tell?”

“Well, you never seemed to look at any woman the way you looked at pretty boys in the streets. If it wasn't for the fact that you look down your nose at anyone who has less money than you, I would have known you liked men from the start," he explained, laughing.

“I don't look down on everyone!”

“You do, dear, you do.”

They exchanged a glance, Regrator was the first to look away and laughed, remembering something.

“You were noticeable too," he muttered under his breath, laughing.

“Why is that?”

“Do you think I didn't notice you staring at my ass in meetings?” He was speechless, knowing full well that he was right, and laughed aloud. “If you liked it so much, you could have told me.”

“I had to do my best yesterday while I was bathing you," he joked, making them both laugh. “You have to take your medication.”

“Of course, dear. I'd be lying to you if I told you I wasn't dying from the pain right now," he lay down again and Dottore looked at him a bit saddened, it looked really painful. “I thought you'd never love me back.”

A comfortable silence floated in the room, the latter smiled and stroked his forehead gently. Then he kissed his lips softly, barely brushing them, avoiding any possible harm. The blood rushed up to the banker's face, leaving him as red as a cherry blossom.

“This is real, I love you.”

Chapter Text

Everything had seemed to be improving, Pantalone was recovering too quickly, which was strange from a medical point of view. Still, Dottore decided not to worry too much.

Until an emergency signal alerted him.

“My stomach hurts," Pantalone said a few hours ago.

Dottore had left him alone so he could get some work done, but he couldn't get it out of his mind. While it was true that he was improving dramatically, he still felt sick, and that might be normal.

But no, his intuition told him there was more to it than that.

He decided to discuss it with his clones, no one agreed with his stupid theory that the Harbingers' banker was dying without anyone noticing. He discussed it with Pierro, who gave him advice that would serve him well later on.

Call him crazy, but the doctor was absolutely sure there was something wrong. He deluded himself, he deluded himself that Pantalone would be fully recovered in a few weeks, that there was absolutely nothing wrong with him and that he was perfectly fine physically.

I repeat, he deluded himself.

In a few hours he started to walk and to have an appetite, which was too strange. He was eating his head off, why, why out of the blue? A few hours ago he was dying from the pain, why was he suddenly fine? It didn't make sense, it didn't make sense.

But he kept telling himself that he was fine, that it was a good thing and that he shouldn't worry.

Until he started coughing while eating.

“For God's sakes,I thought you had improved a bit," Dottore wiped the saliva from around his mouth after provoking himself with a plate of salad. “Are you all right?”

There was no answer, his eyes began to dilate and, luckily, Zandik managed to pick him up in his arms before he passed out. The alarm siren went off in his head, he knew this would happen, why didn't he stop it before? It was even worse when he saw the blood gushing from a seemingly new wound. It was as if something was pushing its way through his skin, what the fuck was that? What had they done to the banker?

Desperate, he called his clones in the hope that they could save him. They returned to the operating room, all confused and somewhat agitated.

Why? Why? Why? Why?

“I've found something," said Omega, bringing a pair of tweezers close to the open wound, grabbing what looked like...

What the hell was that?

The blood began to drip even more, they would have to hurry or he would bleed out. What was he to do? He didn't know what was tormenting the banker, what if there was something that would lead to a cold, tragic death on an operating table? They all looked at each other, searching for something to do, searching for an answer.

They didn't understand.

Panic began to creep up Zandik's spine, worried, he looked into Pantalone's closed eyes.

“Don't die, please," he whispered to himself. “Don't fucking die.”

Chapter Text

well, it’s been 7 months and i haven’t update anything here… i must say i’ve been going through a lot recently, everything i write only looks like trash to me, and i don’t want to post something that i don’t like.

so this is a temporal hiatus, i don’t know if it’ll end tomorrow or next year, i’m sorry for the people telling me to continue, i get it’s annoying when authors suddenly stop.

i didn’t lose interest on this ship, but every time i try to write something about them, my mind just goes blank, i’ll try to update regularly other ships, don’t expect too much though, as i’m busy with classes again.

i’ll try to finish it asap, in reward, i’ll let it be a happy ending instead of the one i was thinking about, sorry for the spoiler lol, had to say it

love, yuno