Past Lives || Dottore

34

Y/n's fingers brushed against the vial earring she wore. The coolness of the glass felt nice against her skin, providing a sense of comfort now the Dottore was gone, having been requested to meet with the Tsaritsa. She knew that it was all a part of the Tsaritsa's plan to have her meet the rest of the Harbingers, without his interference. Regardless of this fact, she had a sickening feeling that she didn't quite want to meet the rest of the harbingers.

She knew that the ones she met now would be more than enough to get her out of the house and out exploring the nearby city, but she also knew that Dottore wouldn't let her set a foot outside without him being glued to her side. Not that she minded, she liked that about him, but there were times when she thought it was too much.

Arlecchino and Tartaglia would be perfect candidates, with Tartaglia being able to teach her how to use the other weapons in her arsenal, and Arlecchino as someone she can use to simply get out of the house. Her fingers tapped on the glass of her earring. Y/n knew Tartaglia would love to see her and the Knave duel, just to see just how strong the doctor's assistant really was.

Apparently seeing her in action in the war wasn't enough for him. He wanted to know more. She could tell by reading his body language, how his eyes seemed to sparkle when he mentioned that he wanted to fight in the future.

A hand wrapped around her wrist, gently pulling her hand away from her earring. She looked at the hand, seeing the extravagant rings and perfect gloves. The hand pulled away, returning to its spot by the body's side.

"My apologies, but I was afraid you would harm yourself, judging on how you were pulling on the earring." His voice was smooth, recognizable. "I would hate to be seeing blood on a day such as this, my dear."

Ah. Now Y/n recognized that voice. She forced a smile on her face. "Regrator?"

The 9th Harbinger was taken aback. He didn't expect her to know who he was, though, now it seemed only natural. Him and the doctor work closely together. It would be second nature to know who he is by now. But he was sure he hasn't met this woman face to face before. "Yes, but I have to ask, how exactly did you know that?"

"I recognized your voice from the time you yelled at Dottore to get your breakthroughs at the end of the month or else his funds will be cut off." She shrugged. "Or something like that."

"They are completed by now, correct? If they are not, I will have to start the paperwork to cut off the funds now." The banker sighed. "I do hate my paperwork."

Y/n chuckled. "Don't worry, Regrator, the first subject has been made. There are some adjustments we will have to make before moving forward to the other ones."

"Please, call me Pantalone." The banker offered his hand to the woman. She took it, allowing him to place a soft kiss on her knuckles. She let her hand fall to her side, watching the movements of the man in front of her. "How is the subject? How is it acting?"

She tapped her chin. "Well, once Dottore was done with his tinkering in the subjects' brain, it took a few minutes for the subject to fully adjust. Its body is now made up of machine and tissue." She waited a few moments, watching his face as she told him this information. "It got off of the operating table and moved to the corner of the room."

"Oh?"

"Yes. Later, we found out it was mimicking human sleep." Y/n nodded, acting like she was still trying to remember everything.

"How fascinating." Pantalone let out a chuckle. "It's pleasant to know that my hard-earned money is having quite the effective assistant behind it. It's been years since I had asked him to make me something like this. I have only you to thank for this." He smiled at her. Not his typical fake business smile, but a genuine smile.

The woman's face began to feel hot. Quickly, she looked away. Her fingers began to knit and unknit themselves; a way for Y/n to try and forgetting this- situation. These actions didn't go unnoticed, no, Pantalone's eyes were set on her face, reading each and every emotion that went across her face.

It was something he picked up from his time as being dirt poor, and something he refined as he got richer. Reading people. It got easier the more you talked to the person, but there were some people who were just so easy to read. His fingers pulled off one of his many rings.

This particular ring didn't have much value on the market, but it was one that held sentimental value to the owner. He didn't know why he was doing this, but he simply felt compelled to. It would better than to knit ones fingers together. It wasn't good for image.

"Here." Pantalone took Y/n's hand gently, placing the ring on her palm. She looked at the ring confused. He watched as the gears began to turn and click in her brain, watched as her expressions became a mixture of many. How entertaining. He could watch her face all day, watching as her emotions took over her face, observing, calculating.

"Why, if I may ask?" She picked up the ring, slipping it onto the finger that it would fit the most. She looked up at him, her eyes connecting with his.

Ah, he understood why Dottore liked her so much. Pity that she was already marked quite aggressively, but it was nothing he couldn't fix in a single night. He simply put on a smile. "It's something for you to mess with. It's better than knitting your fingers together, hm?"

He watched as she looked at the ring on her finger, then looked at the many rings on his fingers. "Wait, I can't possibly take this-"

"Please do."

She went silent. The way his voice was hurt, crying even when he said those two simple words. She could only give him a stiff nod. Y/n adjusted the ring, now admiring the way it shined. It was clear he took good care of it.

"Thank you."

He nodded. "I have many more jewelry and riches. All you need to do is say the word, and it's yours." He gave her a slight bow.

"Why?"

"It is the least I could do for such a charming woman." He replied. There was nothing more for her to say. He watched as her face grew pink, watched as her fingers began to twist the new ring around her finger. "If there are certain pleasures Dottore cannot fill, I will be more than willing to help you in that department."

Pantalone didn't know why he said that, but the amused look on her face told him he was okay so far. Her eyes connected with his, her eyes holding a different look to them. They looked amused, playful.

"We'll see about that Pantalone." Y/n chuckled. "Someday, I will take you up on that offer."

"I will be waiting for the letter to arrive then."