Experiment

The child prodigies of Keterburg hurried out of the local library to their usual spot for study. The weather was no different from any other day, perhaps a bit warmer, the snow safely on the ground. Jade Balfour and Saphir Neis arrived at their claimed igloo, not far from their school. They preferred to stay in there rather than their homes for the peace and quiet, no callings from servants or parents barging in. They settled their stuff down inside and removed their excess winter wear. It was rather warm inside, surprisingly. The boys had been friends for only a couple of years, but had almost instantly created a bond. They were the only two that fully understood one another, speaking a language exclusive for geniuses. Saphir was the one excelling in fontech, whereas Jade's strength lay in fonology.

They sat quietly for a few minutes, indulging themselves in the freshly retrieved books, nowhere else available. The topics were rather boring to the general public, but oddly they were the ones peaking most interest from the two boys.

"Saphir," Jade said after a long while, "How do you think you did on today's test?"

"Um…well," Saphir stumbled, "My guesses are never guaranteed."

"That's not what I asked…" Jade sighed, "I think I did a good job."

"You always do great, Jade."

"Well, usually I study more…but I suppose this time around, I had faith in my abilities and past readings."

Although the two were the most intelligent students in town, their levels of genius were different. Jade was the kind of "gifted" genius – perhaps it was his confidence, but he could do extremely well on tests with merely studying the night before. Saphir, on the other hand, didn't have so much faith in himself. He always fumbled and ravaged books days in advance, cramming all he could and still anxious after completing the test. Jade was on top, but Saphir managed to be right behind. He owed all his achievements to the best teacher he'd ever had – Professor Nebilim. She was kind, smart, beautiful…everything a student could ask for from an instructor. She had been the one to keep Saphir going, helping push further and try in new areas. Despite Jade not feeling that kind of connection to the Professor, he had adored her just as much as Saphir, which came as a surprise to anyone who'd known Jade's attitude. But when it came down to it, it was not Saphir's family, townspeople or even the Professor who he worked so hard for. All the effort he put was to get Jade's acknowledgement. He'd always aspired to be like the smarter, taller and more handsome boy, evening suppressing his emotions to give off that cool and nonchalant appearance that Jade had exuded. If anyone had known all that Saphir had done, and was willing to do for Jade, they would call it abuse: but Saphir would call it "being a friend". Saphir's devotion to Jade was unconditional, perhaps borderline obsession even. He knew, but it had not mattered anymore.

Jade looked up from his reading to see his companion dozing off with his book still open over his arms.

'Idiot, he'll damage it.' he thought, reaching over to pick it up and put it with the dozen others.

Something about Saphir caught his attention and he couldn't help but stare at the smaller boy. He'd never seen him sleep before…His eyelashes were rather long and he'd grown out his hair in the past few years. The colour of it was odd too, greyish with some purple tint, coming down below his ears. Jade continued to observe small details of his acquaintance (or rather, his friend, though he'd not liked to admit). He noticed how soundly he slept, feeling the peace the sleeping boy finally felt, being tired from stressing over his test, waking up early and sleeping late. There were a bit of his bangs coming into his eyes and the upward positioning of the boy's arms bothered Jade, and the urge to fix was difficult to resist. Calmly leaning forward, he used his nail to move the hair away and reached over to the small boy's arms, placing them in a more comfortable position.

'Ah…' he felt some relief over the kind gesture but something still wasn't right. He was getting uncomfortable wondering what it was.

'He's asleep, it'll be alright…' he finally thought.

"Saphir," Jade said firmly.

"Mmngh…Jade," Saphir mumbled.

"Another experiment okay? You can keep on sleeping, it won't be long or painful."

Saphir gave him the okay from an inaudible mumble.

Jade moved faster this time, gently curling his fingers into Saphir's, the other boy flinching slightly. He felt around for a bit, but it didn't feel like enough. He then brought his hands to Saphir's face and felt the hair along it.

'He's so warm…' Jade thought, feeling very hazy himself. He began to see some redness come over Saphir's face.

"Jade," he said, opening his eyes lightly, "What are you doing?"

He was completely flushed now, a small smile on his face.

"Err…" Jade backed away for a second. "Actually, I've been thinking a lot about growth stages in people…lots of psychology, philosophy of the mind and heart and how people react with one another. I thought I'd test it out and try to get a better understanding hands-on and you were the only available candidate."

"Of course…you can always reject my request." He said this very slyly, and smirked slightly. Saphir had a hard time telling whether it was sadistic, seductive or neither (to his discontent).

"O-Okay Jade," Saphir gave the sweetest smile he could bring out and Jade blushed slightly himself.

Jade first began by simple touches on the arms and loving caresses. He could tell instantly that Saphir was feeling dazed and enjoyed the feelings. He still wasn't sure about himself. He wanted to try something more daring…

'Is it attraction?' he thought, 'Do I want to keep this going because I am physically attracted to him? Is it only because my mind hungers for more knowledge on this subject? Or is it because he's my closest friend and I'm most comfortable asking for his assistance?' More thoughts of the like went through him and Saphir continued to blush madly as Jade came over him, his legs on either side, leaning closer than before.

'Hmm neck…' Jade dived in and began giving gentles kisses below Saphir's jaw line. He did as his instincts told him, trying not to suppress anything so he could analyze it later on and research more. 'Would one have the same reactions and urges had this been a corpse of their loved one? What about if it had been a replica? What kind of attraction overrides, the physical being or the memories and mental knowledge?' He had so many questions and the biggest one being about himself in all this and WHY he was doing something so crazy. No…it wasn't that crazy, the stuff he'd done before had been worse, but this type of experimenting was completely new and intriguing to him. Besides, Saphir didn't seem to mind…nobody had to know.

Saphir squirmed under him and wrapped his arms around Jade's neck. Jade flopped down over him and lay there, the two of them gazing at each other.

"You're all red," Jade gave Saphir a taunting laugh and Saphir shut his eyes and covered his face with his hands. He mumbled something incoherent and Jade just continued to watch. When he observed people, he'd pick out good and bad on every impression they'd given or he'd witnessed of them. At this moment however, he couldn't think of any flaws that were present in his companion. Or not any that he'd want to acknowledge.

'Is that not infatuation? Or love perhaps? When one no longer sees the bad side of a person…or just accepts it and it no longer stands out? That's what I've read…but I don't love him. I don't feel anything for anyone and I'm not in denial either.'

"Jade…" Saphir said quietly, "What was all that about?" He flustered again.

"Don't think it's some sort of attraction or anything. I told you before, it was only an experiment."

But alas, he was a charming pet…Heck, since he started this, he may as well finish it.

"Saphir," Jade continued. He licked his lips, crimson eyes burning and moved in for a kiss.

"Another experiment. I just wanted to know how a person who isn't a corpse's mouth tastes like. You look like one, but I'm relieved there's some difference at least."

Saphir gave him a look of horror but the glee still in his eyes. "What next…?"

"I need to try this experiment on Peony now."