Dead Dove (Do Not Eat) [ZhongChi]

Holy Hand

"Hide. Now. No matter what happens, don't come out," Dottore shoved Baizhu into the cabinet and closed it. He sat down in front of it and went back to work on the lab table. Scratching behind his ear, he pretended not to notice when Pantalone walked in. 

"Dottore." 

"Pantalone." 

"I need you to give me your spare remote for that collar," Pantalone smiled politely as usual. 

"Spare remote for what collar?" Dottore continued to fiddle with vials. 

"Don't play dumb, Dottore," Pantalone put his hand on the table, smile slowly turning more menacing. 

"Why are you so interested in our dear Tartaglia's new friend?" 

"If you don't have the remote, make a new one," Pantalone grabbed the scalpel Dottore was using and stabbed his hand, making sure the scalpel went all the way through. "Otherwise this body of yours might soon lose its usefulness." He twisted the scalpel around, making the hole bigger, as blood pooled out of Dottore's palm dripping off the side of the table. Dottore gritted his teeth, refusing to make a noise. 

"I owe you nothing," Dottore spat. 

Pantalone grabbed his lab coat and pulled him forward. He sneered into his face. "You owe me everything. Or, did you forget you're just a copy? If it weren't for me you would've burned with the real Dottore."

Dottore said nothing. 

"Do what I've asked or I'll turn things back to the way they were," he snapped, exiting. 

Dottore waited until he could no longer hear footsteps. He pulled the scalpel out of his hand and cursed, holding it with his other hand. "Fucking hell." He took a step back but slipped on the blood that had fallen to the ground. "Fucking shit. Goddamnit." Dottore fell on his ass and decided to lie down on the floor. He let his hand bleed and sighed. 

"May I come out now?" Baizhu asked. 

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Dottore adjusted his mask and rolled onto his side. He stared at his bleeding palm but closed his eyes, not wanting to do anything with it. Baizhu shuffled around, opening cabinets, closing cabinets, and then sat down next to Dottore. He picked up his hand by grabbing his wrist and tried his best to stitch the wound closed with the materials he had. He started with the veins and tendons, trying to put the bones back in their spot, and then stitched the skin. 

Partway through, Dottore opened his eyes. He looked up at Baizhu's focused face. "It's not worth all the trouble." 

"Don't be ridiculous. If you don't try to fix it now, you'll lose all ability to control this hand."  

"You're too kind."

"What's the real reason you're trying to hide me, Dottore? Does it have something to do with that man?" 

"Why can't the reason be simple? That I fell for you the moment I laid eyes on you?" Dottore placed his good hand over Baizhu's. 

"Aside from the obvious, it all comes down to you don't look like a romantic," Baizhu replied. 

"Why, cause I have scars and wear a weird half moon-shaped mask?" Dottore frowned. 

"Because you're a scientist, Dottore, and the only time I've seen your eyes light up with love is when you're looking into a vial." 

"Pardon me," Dottore stated and pinned Baizhu to the ground. He covered him with his body and pressed their faces close together as the door opened. The angle the person would see upon entering made it look as if they were kissing. But all the two were doing was staring into each other's eyes. Which may be more intimate. 

"Did I catch you at a bad time?" Childe asked. 

"Oh, it's just you," Dottore sat up and waved his hand dismissively. "What do you want?" 

"I figured I should lead this one back here before she got into too much trouble," Childe guided Qiqi inside. 

"Qiqi!" Baizhu rushed over and picked her up, hugging her tightly as he spun around in a circle. 

"Well, would you look at that," Dottore sighed, shrugging. "I've got nothing left to keep him here now." 

"What happened to your hand?" Childe pointed. 

"Bad science experiment." 

"Hm," Childe frowned, walking out. "If you say so."