Author's Notes: This was written years before "Dissonance," but they belong to the same universe. It's part of a larger story, but I felt it was complete enough to stand on its own and thought better to share it than leave it lingering in my computer forever.
Cut
He watched his hand jerk back before he realized the cause; the saw had slipped and slashed across his fingers.
Saphir examined his hand; the index and middle fingers were badly cut. Already the blood was beginning to stream from the split skin; abruptly, Saphir realized the sting of the cut and went to clean the wound.
"Saphir," Jade turned from the table where he was half-hidden by stacks of books. "What happened?"
"I got hurt," Saphir explained, searching for the proper medical term for the injury. Jade liked precision. "Just some minor lacerations on my hand."
Laceration: such a cold, clinical term. Saphir bit his lip as he felt blood running onto his palm; the last time he'd cut himself this badly, the professor had…
"Saphir, you're getting blood on the floor." Jade was standing in front of him.
Saphir blinked and pulled out a handkerchief to staunch the bleeding, but the sight of his bloody hand caused a flood of memories. Jade vivisecting the cat; the spurt of blood where a monster's head had been, Jade's curiosity plain on his face; scraping his knee and Professor Nebilim's hands soothing and healing him; the last time he'd cut himself and not noticed and bled all over the notes…
He swayed, and Jade grabbed his wrist to steady him.
"Sit down," Jade sighed. He pulled the handkerchief out of Saphir's clenched fist and wrapped it tightly around the injured fingers. Saphir shakily inhaled; he didn't usually feel faint at the sight of blood, but Jade's hand on his wrist was only exacerbating the situation.
"You needn't worry," Jade said, attempting comfort. "People rarely die from wounds this minor." He lifted up the handkerchief to check the bleeding. "It's already slowed down quite a bit."
Saphir didn't trust his legs to carry him to the sink, so Jade cleaned and dressed the wound for him. He didn't dare ask for an apple gel, afraid that Jade would stop touching him. A memory of someone (he couldn't remember who) kissing a bruise flitted through his head, and for a dizzy moment, Saphir thought Jade was going to kiss his hand.
Instead, Jade put Saphir's hand down and stood up.
"Are you going to faint?"
Saphir shook his head.
"You can clean and sanitize the floor then."
For a moment, Saphir remained on the floor, his hand and wrist cold; without a word, he got up and went to get the cleaning supplies.
The rest of the night passed without incident. Saphir eventually got back to work on the frame for the fon machine Jade was planning, but he was more careful with the saw and careful to keep his mind focused.
Close to midnight, Jade presented Saphir with a thick stack of papers.
"Take these home with you, and have them read by tomorrow; I'm going home." Saphir nodded, wincing as the papers put pressure on his injured fingers.
"You should go home too, Saphir," Jade said with a touch of sympathy. "I would be at a loss if that wound got infected. I need you able to work."
After Jade left, Saphir clutched his bandaged hand to his chest, repeatedly tracing the lines of the bandages.
"He needs me…Jade needs me," he murmured, and for a moment, he was almost happy.