Work Text:
At first, Firey’s morning had been refreshingly delightful. Upon cracking open his eyes and letting his consciousness fade back into existence, he had noticed rather quickly that he was not plagued with the usual fatigue and dread that typically struck him during his slumbering hours. Such a relief! Although those sleepless nights that he was used to experiencing had become increasingly less common over the years, Firey still couldn’t help worrying about if he was going to be in a miserable mood when he woke up. Some days, the agony that clouded his mind was so paralyzing that it took him ages out of bed because of his racing heart and trembling hands. It was complete and utter agony, sweat dripping down his face and stinging him in the process at the mere thought of being shaken awake from such a wretched state. On this particular day, however, Firey was pleased to announce that he didn’t have to worry about that. Rather, his slumber had been most wonderful, and as he rose from the many cozy layers of fireproof blankets that he slept under, he couldn’t hold back his excitement at the mere prospect. It was as exciting as being handed a dollar bill as a young adolescent, the temptation simply alluring. The chances of this happening were much less rare than they used to be, but it still felt as if it were a one in a million chance, a gracious lottery ticket miraculously drawn from a raffle of misfortune. This was surely something wonderful to celebrate!
Even his dearest partner took note of it, for Firey had woken up before her for once and had decided to stay in bed so that she could wake up to the surprise of a boyfriend that wasn’t horrifically sleep deprived and on the verge of having a severe mental breakdown from recalling painful past traumas. Gelatin didn’t really suffer from nightmares or sleep paralysis herself, but she tried her best to nevertheless be supportive towards Firey and provide him support when things got rough for him, which is what led to her recently spending a few nights at the other’s home. Her actions weren’t always effective, but it was something that Firey appreciated nevertheless, and as he watched her slowly wake up from whatever she had been dreaming of, he had expected more of the same, but instead, after Gelatin gave a brief nod of acknowledgement towards Firey’s achievement, she seemed to stare off into space, a mildly puzzled and troubled expression on her face as she glanced away from her boyfriend with such a deliberate motion behind it that it certainly felt as if she was intentionally trying to ignore him. What was the reason for this? Had he unintentionally committed something nefarious?
Not sure about the answer, the flame humanoid decided that he wouldn’t let this abrupt change in attitude bother him. “Mornin’, sleepyhead.” He teased, before switching to a softer tone. “What’s up? Did you have a bad dream or something?”
…
“It wasn’t exactly ”bad.” Gelatin reluctantly provided a response after a few seconds of silence, a bit of sleepiness still coating her voice like honey. “Just.. weird. Unusual. I don’t know why my brain decided to act out in such a manner.”
“Do you.. wanna talk about it?” Firey asked, even though he fully expected to receive a blunt ”No” as a response.
Surprisingly, however, Gelatin showed less stiffness and hesitation towards emotional exposure than usual. “..Yes, but not right now. I need some time to think about it.”
“Well, if that’s what you want, then I can go ahead and make breakfast for the two of us while you reflect. Is that alright? I won’t even touch the fancy stuff, I swear.”
“As long as you uphold that promise, I don’t see why not.”
Satisfied with that, Firey briefly squeezed Gelatin’s hand as some means of comfort to her. After that, he practically tossed seemingly endless amounts of blankets away from his body and scrambled to his feet, hopping off of the mattress and tip-toeing his way over to the kitchen. Since he didn’t actually need to eat, the kitchen was severely lacking in terms of what it could offer in the culinary field. However, he did still have some ingredients and equipment, and so, he found himself placing an old pan on the stovetop and cracking a few eggs over it. While those were being cooked, he then turned his attention over to the toaster, which needed to be plugged in so that he could slip some pieces of bread into it. Firey wasn’t very good at cooking, which usually led him to leave that whole ordeal to Gelatin, but there were a few exceptions to his inadequate skill. Desserts, for instance, were Firey’s strong suit, and there wasn’t a person on the beach who didn’t enjoy his delicious chocolate cake. Soups were also something that he didn’t usually have trouble with, which was odd, considering how he couldn’t even taste them. Maybe it was his warmth that provided him with a connection with the soup. Who knows? Breakfast food, however, was not a category of success for him. He hadn’t even eaten it until after his stay on reality television, let alone cooking it! There was one thing that he was capable of making with no difficulties, though, and it was the delicious meal of toast with scrambled eggs. At the very least, Gelatin never seemed to complain about it whenever her trusty boyfriend created it, but.. maybe that wasn’t as good of a sign as it should be. She would probably say anything that Firey cooked was fantastic even if she was on the verge of food poisoning because of it, which was a mix of flattering and quite concerning. Oh well. If for some reason Gelatin had actually been the worst cook to ever exist instead of being a millionaire because of her culinary skill, then Firey would have done everything in turn to cheer her up and distract her from the fact as well. Maybe that makes him a hypocrite for doing the same thing, but.. who really cares about that?
If anything, that admiration and care towards Gelatin should be a good thing, because after a few minutes of food preparation, she emerges at last from the bedroom and sits down at the kitchen table, which consequently causes Firey to light up with glee and place a now finished plate of scrambled eggs and buttered toast in front of her to taste. “I hope you like it, Gelatin! I worked extra hard on making it today, just for you!”
Gelatin plops a bite of egg into her mouth and swallows it as Firey sits down across from her with his own filled plate of breakfast. “It’s good. You have a talent for scrambled eggs.” She says, although with her blunt tone of voice it’s a little hard to tell if she’s being sincere or lying.
The other decides to feast on the compliment anyways. “Aww, thank you! I only wish I could become as great of a chef as you are someday.”
“I’m not quite a “chef” in title when all I make is the same few dishes over and over again.” “Well, they’re good, aren’t they? If they weren’t, then nobody would show up at your restaurant in the first place for some of that steak. Have more faith in yourself!”
Gelatin’s mouth twitches a bit at that, and after swallowing down a chunk of toast, she seems to be visibly put off by that statement. “I already have the right amount of faith in myself.”
“Normally, I’d agree with you, but you seem a little frazzled today. What happened? Was it that dream of yours that you didn’t want to talk about?” The other squeezes her fork a little slightly at that, causing the eating utensil to bend in the process. Looks like Firey’s assumption about Gelatin was spot on. “..Admittedly, yes. I know that it’s no excuse, but.. it’s been plaguing my mind in a bunch of strange ways. Ones that are a little too much for even you to tolerate.”
“Pfft, I doubt it. I’ve always been willing to lend an ear to hear out whatever it is that you have to say. Why would this dream of yours be any different?”
“I-It’s stranger than anything I’ve ever said before, as far as I can recall. You might discover your limits with me upon listening to me talk about it. Not the dream itself, but.. how I feel about it.”
“I’ve been with you through thick and thin, Gelatin! Haven’t I already told you all of this before? Nothing you say is ever going to make me go away, no matter how much you try! I can take it!”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Like.. absolutely, positively certain?”
“Definitely!”
“Ok. I want to dissect you.”
…
“..Huh?!”
Gelatin continued with what she was saying in spite of Firey’s vocal outburst. “Dissection. Methodically cutting something up in order to take a look at the inner workings of what is hidden inside of it. I want to perform that on you because I had a dream about it.”
“Were you.. enjoying it in the dream?” The flame humanoid asked her, nervously laughing after placing his inquiry.
“..Yes. I understand if you want to shoot my idea down because of that, but if it helps. I did wake up feeling rather horrified. I would never want to harm you in the slightest.”
“I know that, but.. how would that even work on me? I’m not.. human in the way that other people are. I don’t even think I can be cut open like that.”
“That’s true. You can’t really get hurt by weapons or tools. If I were to try anything like that, I’m not even sure if it would work, but.. that train of thought helped me feel better after waking up, because if I were to somehow succeed, then it’d be a scientific achievement.”
“Can’t you do it with some kind of bug instead?”
“I already have. Every species of insect on this island has already been captured, inspected, and then cut up by me. It made for a great research paper about whether bugs can survive with all of their eyes and limbs ripped away from their body.”
“..I see.” Firey replied as he suddenly felt himself losing his appetite for his breakfast. “So, now that you’ve taken care of that, you want to.. move onto doing it with humans?”
“That would make sense, yes, but we have no means of recovery since Four and X left, remember? If I were to accidentally kill one of our friends because I got a little too careless with dissection.. I would never forgive myself for that.”
“Well, you didn’t feel bad after permanently killing all of your previous steakhouse employees and grinding their corpses into sunglasses for our friends to buy. You even gave me a pair once as a gift.” Firey pointed out to her after one more reluctant intake of toast.
…
“Anyways, I sure wouldn’t want to hurt anyone we care about!” Gelatin went on, intentionally choosing to not acknowledge that fact in the slightest. “Which is why I think you would be the best choice out of anyone here. Think about it. Even if you somehow did get hurt by my actions, I could just toss a couple of sticks in you and you’d go right back to normal. That’s certainly a lot more safe than if I were to try and tear organs out of my sister.”
Anyone else probably would’ve freaked out and left by now, but for some odd reason, Firey found himself genuinely considering what Gelatin had said. “..You have a point. I’d be the kind of subject that wouldn’t get seriously hurt because of dissection. It’d also make for- You guessed it!- a pretty good research paper. There’s not a lot of people out there in the world who are like me, so the odds of someone having dissected someone whose body is like mine must be really uncommon.”
“Exactly! Think of all of the brand new experiments I could try that nobody has before! The amount of recognition attached to my fake alias would significantly increase as well. I see no reason why I shouldn’t partake in such an activity.” Gelatin had lapsed into silence for a few moments after saying that until she added on with: “Only if you’re okay with it, though.”
“Really?”
“Of course. I don’t want you to do something that you’re uncomfortable with just because you might think it will help me. Besides, I only got the idea from that dream of mine. I’m perfectly fine with you not agreeing with the dissection because of that.”
Firey didn’t really know what the right choice in this situation was. On one hand, he would trust Gelatin with life under almost any circumstances. If she personally believed that dissecting him was a splendid proposition, then he really had no strong reason to shoot that idea down. In addition to this, the other had also already provided some sound reasoning on how Firey couldn’t even truly get hurt from being torn apart in the first place. But.. Firey also really didn’t wanna be dissected! That’s gross! He may not have all of those gross organs stuffed inside of him like other human beings do, but that doesn’t suddenly make him want to see the internal sections of his body on full display. The flame humanoid also finds himself worrying about this whole experiment on the grounds of.. being a bit worried about Gelatin. Did she really want to rip out parts of his body or whatever because of a dream she had? Would doing that even resolve her troubles about it? If anything, it’d be more likely that the exact opposite would happen and that she would just act all weird and guilty about the whole thing afterwards. Still, if he never says yes, then maybe those feelings of hers will end up festering into remorse anyway.
“..I promise that I’m fine with it. If you want, you can totally.. uhm.. dissect me.” Firey finally responded with. “But give me a warning in advance! I don’t want to be dragged off in the middle of an activity to be torn to shreds with no surprise.”
“I was thinking about doing it today.” Gelatin suggested. “It is my day off from the steakhouse, after all. If I don’t do it now, something tells me that I wouldn’t be able to throughout the week because I’d be-” She sarcastically said the next part with her fingers curling up to form mock quotations. ”-overworking myself to death.”
“You’re right about that, which is something I’d absolutely not want to happen at all! I’m fine with today, although.. I kind of had a thing with Loser planned, and there’s no way I’d ever flake out on him! Can you give me a few hours to take care of that?”
“Sure thing. I would’ve needed time to set everything up anyway, so you can go figure that out. When you’re done with that, then you can head to my place for it.”
And so, after they finished eating breakfast and changed into non-sleepwear attire, Firey embraced Gelatin in a tender hug to communicate his departure. After this, he took off from his house, presumably to go spend some time with Loser. This left Gelatin alone to her own whims, free to concoct some absolutely diabolical ideas on how to make dissecting Firey as painful as possible. However, rather than doing that, Gelatin worked on cleaning the dishes. Since, again, Firey didn’t ever really need to eat, he didn’t usually need to worry about doing that. However, since Gelatin had been a bit of a greedy house guest by using up the few glass plates and pans that were present, she decided that she’d take care of them now instead of forcing Firey to handle the matter later. At her own steakhouse, Gelatin had a dishwasher that spared her from having to manually do it, but at Firey’s place, all that was present was an unused sink, a bottle of dish soap, and a sponge. Eugh. Soggy crumbs are the most disgusting thing on the planet. Is it really worth tackling them in order to try and make someone happy?
To Gelatin, the answer was yes. After braving through the absolute agony of feeling wet chunks of egg brush against her skin, she washed all of the dishes and then left them to dry in the dinky little strainer that sat beside the sink. Once that was settled, she too finally left the house and went over to her familiar home. Living underneath the steakhouse probably wasn’t the best idea, but she had a shocking amount of room present in the basement floor. There were three rooms that occupied the space: her bedroom, the freezer where she stored all of her frozen meat, and most importantly of them all, her laboratory. Calling it that always felt a bit dramatic and unnecessary, but it was where she conducted all of her scientific studies, so it wasn’t necessarily wrong to classify the room as such. Most of the equipment required for the act of dissection was already present inside of the room. The coat, the goggles, several pairs of both latex and fireproof gloves, as well as the quirky little tools that one would use for such an act. A medical scalpel blade- which was one of Gelatin’s favorite tools to use- sat perfectly still atop a sterile tray that was free of germs and debris. Even the lights were able to be adjusted for any situation, switching between dim and blindingly bright at the twist of a knob. The only problem, really, was that Gelatin was missing an operating table. Something like that would’ve been perfect for the job, but alas, she had failed to take that into account, and she would have to find some way to account for lacking such a fundamental piece of the puzzle.
In the end, she decided that since her laboratory counters were already built to withstand flames, Firey could lay on top of one of those for the dissection. It may not be the most practical sounding solution, but where was the harm in this improvisation? Firey wasn’t like most normal patients, after all. Someone with his unique circumstances catching a disease and dying because the environment wasn’t clean and proper enough.. that simply wasn’t possible. The flame humanoid literally could not get sick from coming into contact with germs in relation to the fact that he would simply burn through them. That had been another reason why Gelatin wanted to do this with him and nobody else. He was already the kind of patient with the lowest risk possible, but that little morsel of knowledge helped. Comforted by this information, Gelatin worked on installing the finishing touches to her experiment. After slipping on her lab attire and pinning her hair up with the green ribbon she always had on hand, she moved her tray of tools on top of one of the empty lab benches and then walked her way over to a mini desk that she had positioned in one of the corners of the room. There was a computer on top of its smooth surface, but what the steakhouse owner reached for instead was a neat little notepad with a pencil jabbed through its spiral binding. Once this complete set was acquired, she began writing both an overview and her additional first thoughts on how the project would turn out.
”Research and personal accounts of mine conclude that there is a curious phenomenon present in the Goiky region where there are types of humanoids that do not fall under all of the same traits and habits as ordinary human beings. There is the occasional story about this happening elsewhere across the ocean, but it is safe to say that Goiky is where most of these curiosities are. Consider this to be the epicenter of biological mutation. Other scientists have already shown this through their reports on the wildlife located here, and I myself have delivered some evidence in my papers, but one thing that we have all failed to cover in the scientific community is the difference between humans here. Today, I am using a voluntary test subject to observe the unique traits of these biological mutations. His identity will remain anonymous for this test. In it, I plan to physically dissect him so that I may inspect the inner workings of his body and compare that to what is present inside of normal humanoids. Normally, this would be a great cause for concern, but given that he is quite literally fire, any major risks with tearing into a living and breathing person vanish under scrutiny. My belief is that if I do this correctly, I will be able to prove that there is something unique about these “biological mutations” that could potentially improve our knowledge of human biology in Goiky.”
What a doozy! And it’s so boring as well! Gelatin had always felt annoyed with having to waste her time on opening statements and conclusions about how her experiments “should” turn out. Wasn’t the whole point of science to challenge expectations and soar past them rather than staying confined inside of a shell? And the wording was always so mind melting as well. ”If this thing happens, then this result should happen, because of this thing I made up.” Repeat that at least 3 times and you have yourself a pretty decent science fair project. Pressing her mouth into a thin line, Gelatin set her notepad down on the table and reached for her laptop instead, opening it up with a quick swing of the hinges. Although it had taken her some time to finish cleaning the dishes at Firey’s place as well as setting up her laboratory for the experiment, she still had an hour or so to kill before her “helpful subject” got back from spending time with his friend. A little review on dissection wouldn’t hurt her. This internet rabbit hole did provide some helpful refreshers as she scrolled through links and videos that probably shouldn’t have been so easily accessible, but in the process, she also discovered some odd information that was totally unrelated to the subject at hand. Who knew there was an actual band named after that? Certainly not Gelatin, who ended up reading about it. By the time that she had finished scrolling through an article about a murder that the leader of the band was apparently involved in, she was snapped out of her thoughts by Firey knocking three times on the door to the laboratory.
Partially closing her computer with as little force required as possible, all Gelatin piped up with was: “Come in.”
Stepping inside of the room, Firey tried to wave to Gelatin, but since he was strangely holding a bunch of sticks and twigs between both of his arms, it came out awkward and disjointed. “Hi Gelatin! Sorry for the wait. I was busy snagging all of these for you.”
“No worries, but.. why would I need all of those?” Gelatin asked. “I don’t "eat them" like you do.”
“That’s exactly my point! If you’re going to rip up my body or whatever, then you kinda need these to reverse that so that I don’t trip out of here afterwards and spill everything out of my chest. I don’t just magically heal by sucking up oxygen or whatever, y’know.”
That.. actually made a lot of sense. “..I see.” Gelatin replied with, admittedly a bit embarrassed due to how she had completely forgotten about how Firey would still need a bit of assistance to recover from his dissection. “Well, in that case, set them down anywhere you find to be suitable. I will use them later when the experiment is over.”
“If you say so!” Firey haphazardly tossed the pieces of wood next to the door so that he didn’t dirty any of the counters with any dirt or leaves that could’ve stuck to the branches. “Now that that’s settled, what exactly.. do you want me to do now? I’m ready for whatever.”
“That’s easy. I need you to take off your clothes.”
…
The other’s eyes widened at that, a bit of blue rising across his cheeks. “E-Excuse me?!”
Huh?.. Ah, no, he was getting the wrong idea about this! Gelatin immediately started waving her hands in a frenzy, shaking her head back and forth as well to communicate her complete disapproval of such a motion. “Not like that! I-I just need you to take off your sweater and your shirt s-so that I can actually dissect you without tearing your clothes apart! A-And maybe your sneakers as well, but only because I don’t want you to dirty any surfaces, th-that’s all.”
The dismay faded away from Firey’s face upon hearing what his partner had truly meant. “Ohhhh, that makes a lot more sense! Yeah, sure, I can do that for you.” Already tugging his unzipped sweater off of his shoulders, he patiently grinned at Gelatin. “Anything else?”
“Yes. When you’re done with that, I need you to tie your hair up as well so that it isn’t in the way. Do you have a hair tie with you already? If not, then I can provide you with a spare one.”
“Hmm.. let me check- Yeah, actually. Give me a second to take care of it.”
Once Firey set most of his clothes aside and trapped his long, flame colored hair into a black loop that wouldn’t immediately disintegrate, he saw that Gelatin had moved away from her desk and was standing beside one of the counters, lightly tapping her finger on top of it. That’s probably where she wanted him to move, huh? No biggie. Strolling over to the lab bench and hopping on top of it, the flame humanoid then laid down and stared up at Gelatin, who was staring at him a little too intently for it to be deemed acceptable by most. There was the usual admiration, awe, and warmth that was always present in her gaze whenever she laid her eyes upon Firey, but.. there was also something else hidden there. Something cold. It was more than looking past someone as if they weren’t even there. Rather, it was more appropriate to say that she was looking at him if he were nothing more than a lowly frog or insect that needed to be sliced into pieces. Now, Firey knew that it was completely illogical and ridiculous to assume that Gelatin would ever want to harm him or view him as if he were insignificant, but as his mind hurried to dismiss such a nonsensical thought, there was a part of him that couldn’t help but wonder about something now that he noticed that curious look in Gelatin’s eyes..
“Are you going to tie me up?”
…
Gelatin blinked at that, a bit befuddled by Firey’s question. He could even see how the confusion had overtaken that odd gaze she had just moments ago. “Huh?”
“I mean.. aren’t you usually meant to do something like that for this? Apprehending the limbs so that the person doesn’t flail around a bunch. I’m sure that you don’t want me to kick you.”
“..I would prefer that you didn’t, but I don’t see that as a good reason to do that to you. Taking away your right to move.. that doesn’t sound right to me. I’m sure you know why.”
Firey grimaced at that, unable to hide the usual distress he felt whenever he was reminded of certain memories regarding a city where a tall tower resided. “It’s not the same and you know that.” He replied with, voice a little hushed. “I’m not gonna freak out over this.”
“Not a good enough answer for me. I’m not doing that to you and it’s final. Your happiness and wellbeing matter far more than getting the most perfect results from this experiment, Firey. If you ever feel uncomfortable in the middle of this, then tell me right away. I’ll stop whatever I’m doing immediately. Is that okay with you?”
“Yep. I don’t.. think I’ll have any problems, though. Not unless you get really carried away.”
The other laughed a little at that. “I’ll try not to. Is there anything you want me to do before I get started? I could get you a snack if you’re hungry. Or we could talk for a bit until you feel ready.”
“This is.. probably a bit silly, but would it be alright if you had some music playing in the background? You don’t have to if it’s only gonna be distracting to you, but.. I don’t really wanna hear myself getting dissected. The sound of my flesh being torn apart.. eugh.”
“I can do that for you. Any preferences? I personally would rather not have a country song playing while I am in the middle of dissecting my lover during a serious experiment.”
An audible snort of amusement could be heard at that. “Trust me, I wouldn’t put either of us through that kind of torment. Something calm might be a better idea, but personally? That kind of thing doesn’t really.. work for me. It totally stresses me out instead because of how hard I have to then focus on calming down.”
“That makes sense. Nothing too calm, but nothing too intense or boring either.. would rock music work? Most of the older tracks are relatively tame.”
Firey gave a thumbs up as a sign of his approval, which prompted Gelatin to return once more to her laptop in order to open up one of the many websites available to listen to tunes. The steakhouse owner didn’t personally possess a playlist that contained the type of music that the two of them were looking for, but a quick search of the website provided several handy collections that various other users had made when they too were looking for a quick fix of that delicious and old sound of rock. After selecting one that seemed to be appropriate for the situation, Gelatin then selected the “shuffle” button for the chosen playlist and then let it work its magic, turning the volume down a bit as music began to play from it. Satisfied with the results and then pleased that Firey had not piped up with any complaints, Gelatin then turned around and paced her way back over to the other. But she didn’t just immediately grab one of her tools and start ripping a hole open in him. What kind of partner would she be if she was instantly so violent and nasty? No, she first had to start with a simple.. examination. Nothing too crazy! She was just.. inspecting the upper half of his body, that’s all. Leaning down so close to Firey’s face that Gelatin could feel the familiar intense heat of him radiate against her, she started by gliding one of her palms up and down against the side of one of his cheeks. Firey’s previous flusteredness from earlier regarding the clothes miscommunication had faded ages ago, but as soon as Gelatin performed this motion, he was already back to being off-kilter again, face once more radiating with blue shades and a more harsh temperature that permeated his ordinarily dark and freckled skin. Unable to control her amusement at that, Gelatin softly chuckled a little, which caused Firey to almost rise up with what seemed to be agitation.
“Wh-What’s so funny?!” He asked, frustrated. “Because if it’s this, then can you blame me?! I thought you were meant to be dissecting me right now, not.. being so close to me!”
“I’m checking to see if anything’s wrong with you before you start.” Gelatin replied with. “Your flames tend to give away your physical or emotional state. If for some reason you were feeling unwell or upset.. then this would give me the whole picture even if you refused to tell me. I’m glad that you don’t feel that way around me, though.”
“Why would I? It’s you, after all. I may get a little blushy or nervous around you sometimes, but you’re my partner. There’s nobody else in this world that I’d rather be with.”
…
Gelatin’s face grew a few shades darker from such a declarative statement, but rather than admitting how flushed she was with embarrassment, she simply averted her gaze and moved her hand down to his neck instead. “Right. I’m glad to hear it.” She could feel that although Firey’s pulse was a little frantic, it was otherwise steady. “I’m not really sure what the inside of your body holds, but one thing I know for certain is that you certainly have a heart with how ridiculously sappy and emotional you can be sometimes.”
“Don’t be mean! If I knew what was happening inside of me, I’d tell you, but I really don’t. Besides, it’d kind of defeat the point of your whole experiment here.”
A hum of acknowledgement was vocalized in response to that. “You are once again correct. I’ve made a few guesses at what you may lack that a normal human has, but.. I don’t want to immediately find all of the answers I’m looking for right away. It’d spoil the point if you could provide me with everything that I want to seek in my findings right off the bat.”
“Always mysteries with you, huh?”
“Mhm.” After tracing a few circles around Firey’s pulse, Gelatin’s fireproof glove then landed on top of the other’s chest. She poked the side of his torso a few times, which caused him to giggle and let out some kind of squeak at the same time. “You’re oddly ticklish.” She commented.
“Again, is that really my fault? Nobody’s ever done this kind of thing to me before, so I’m not exactly- Ack!-” Another poke. “Pr-Prepared for this sort of thing. We both already know I have bones, if that’s what you’re doing that for.”
“Of course, but it doesn’t satisfy my curiosity. The question isn’t whether you have them, but more so why you do. It provides structure to your human form, sure, but.. it is only an illusion. When it all fades away, the only thing left behind is your fire. Why does your body therefore have such a useless feature, then? And where do the bones go when such a transformation happens? Things don’t completely vanish and reappear at the press of a button.”
“They can, if there’s some sort of trick behind it. Like how magicians do all sorts of cool tricks with their pet bunnies! I wonder what kind of names they give them.”
“Could be anything, really. Puns. Things related to food. Maybe some of them don’t even have names because their owners don’t truly love them.”
“That’s a little cynical, isn’t it?”
“Magic and science don’t exactly mix, Firey. I can’t help being skeptical of those types of people and their little parlor tricks. It’s simply impossible for me not to do.”
“Well, if I ever go to one of those magic shows, I’ll be sure to invite Ruby instead of you. At least she wouldn’t ruin the fun by pointing out how every trick operated! You always do the same thing with movies as well when you point out how effects operate.”
Gelatin rolled her eyes while fondly smiling at that as she seized the activity of jabbing at Firey’s bones. “What can I say? Maybe in another life, I have a knack for directing, and I’m in charge of running the production for a film or a play that dozens will crowd around to watch.”
“Ooh, that’d be fun. I’d come and see all of your shows no matter how much they cost. No need to provide me with a discount or a free ticket! That’d be a waste.”
“I wouldn’t need the money. We’re all basically millionaires from our celebrity status, no matter how doomed the economy is. A performance with that budget would be a night to remember.” The steakhouse owner paused for a second, then gazed at something that stood out on Firey’s chest. Two faded but nevertheless visible scars that were certainly too neat to be from some kind of freak accident or self inflicted frenzy. “Y’know, I never asked, but if you’re okay with answering this.. who did this, anyway? Golf Ball? Or was it Tennis Ball?”
“I was.. still a little mad at TB for how he tried to use me in order to get the Yoylite from Ruby, so GB did it instead. I know that it was a little risky, but I’m glad it all worked out in the end. These make me look way cooler, don’t you think?”
“Of course, but.. I’m just saying, I bet I could have done an even better job than her.” Gelatin bragged, unable to resist the urge to be arrogant. Throughout all of the years that she had spent living on this planet, the one thing about her that she had never been able to alter was the (sometimes unreasonable) belief that she had the solution to any problem. It was often a mindset that was more harmful rather than beneficial.
Firey, however, saw no problem with humoring it from time to time rather than yelling at Gelatin for it. “Yes, because your chemical skills really would’ve lended themselves to surgery more than actual inventions and welding would have. Especially since it was during a time where we were just so close. That definitely makes perfect sense.”
“You are trusting me with it now.” The other pointed out.
“Times have changed! You’re more of a scientist than before. If it makes you feel better, than if for some reason I had waited until now.. I would’ve trusted you with it instead.”
“..I see. I won’t dawdle about it anymore, then.” And with that, Gelatin at last finally moved her attention over to her nearby tray of tools. Instead of grabbing the scalpel first, however, she brought a syringe filled with a painkiller serum close to one of Firey’s arms. “I’m not sure how much agony you can really experience from all of this, but to be safe.. I want to inject you with this so that you don’t feel the pain. Is that okay with you?”
“Mhm. Let me just close my eyes first. I don’t wanna actually see the needle inside of me.”
“Okay. I assume you therefore don’t want to actually see yourself being dissected, then?” Gelatin questioned as she took off the cap of the syringe and raised it up above Firey’s left shoulder, trying to distract him through the audible usage of her voice.
“Why would I? It’s super gross and- Gah!” Firey yelped as Gelatin injected the painkiller into him. “You tricked me, Gelatin! You’re totally rotten!”
Gelatin moved away from Firey, setting the now empty syringe down on her tray (What are you thinking?! You should’ve thrown it into the trash immediately!) and then picking up the medical scalpel next to it, bringing herself close to the flame humanoid once more with the accompaniment in hand. “I am, but.. my previous offer from before we started still stands. If you at any point feel disturbed by all of this, let me know, and-”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it. You care about me lots and lots. Just start dissecting me already!”
It was chucklesome to see Firey almost want to get this over with already as soon as possible, but Gelatin pushed her thoughts to the side as she finally made the first incision on the other’s body, right in the center of the abdomen section of the other’s body. Normally, jabbing a tool into Firey would just cause his body to burst into flames, but like nearly everything else that Gelatin had owned, the tool itself was also fireproof, which canceled out the possibility of Firey’s human form disappearing with physical contact. One would therefore logically assume that this puncture would thus hurt Firey- especially since he didn’t usually experience physical pain- but nope. He certainly felt something based on the way his eyes physically scrunched up a bit, but he didn’t cry out in pain or scream at Gelatin. Good. The painkiller was already working. That would normally be a bit unrealistic, but considering how Gelatin had previously made serums such as the freeze juice and anti-poison that had noticeably instantaneous effects, it wasn’t too strange to assume that the same thus applied to another creation of hers. It was nice to see that she hadn’t miscalculated and accidentally caused torment to Firey in the process. Deepening the cut with a few slow and precise stabs of her scalpel, she immediately noticed that there was no form of blood coming out of the wound. On one hand, this was fantastic news, because Gelatin had a feeling that she’d probably start panicking at the sight of that, but on the other..
“You aren’t bleeding like you were in my dream.” She commented on, eyes half lidded. “Even as I expand the cut, there’s still not a single drop of it.”
“Uhm.. isn’t that a good thing?” Firey asked.
“Of course, but.. isn’t the whole purpose of a heart that it circulates blood to the rest of your body? It does that for mine, at least. Where is the blood going if not towards your injury?”
“I mean, I kind of bleed. It isn’t.. really the same thing, though? It’s red and sticky like any other blood, but whenever it lands on something, it kind of.. turns into lava?”
“..Would it be alright if I tested that for myself? I believe you, but.. I want to see it for myself. Seeing it isn’t the same as hearing about it.”
“Sure, but.. I don’t know exactly where you’re meant to cut for that to happen?”
“I have a guess.” Gelatin concurred as she lifted the scalpel from Firey’s cut.
Using her free hand to carefully hold up Firey’s wrist, she placed the tool close to it and made a quick slash. Not against the veins themselves, but close enough that it’d do the job. It took a few seconds, but eventually, blood did emerge from the injury, spilling out of the cut like juice would from a misplaced cup. As Firey had claimed it to be, the blood was in fact red. Pressing one of her protected fingers against the streaming fluid confirmed that it also stuck to the blood. Not a single lie to be found here. Still.. she wanted to discover if the part about it turning into lava was really true. Flipping Firey’s hand so that it faced downward, she pointed Firey’s injured wrist at the ground. Specifically, she raised it right above her shoes: a green pair of crocs with no holes dotted across them. Or, at least, there were none, until the blood spilled right on top of one of them and formed one in the process. It was a small one, but still visibly noticeable, and even if the gaping gap in Gelatin’s shoe wasn’t noticeable, the pain from an injury that she just got was. She had avoided making a disturbing injury in the middle of her foot, but she must’ve not been careful enough with aiming it away from her toes, because as the drop grazed against one of them, she couldn’t help flinching and letting out a mildly pained “Ouch” from her mouth.
Although Firey didn’t see what happened, he could infer rather easily that Gelatin had tested it on herself in some way. “GELATIN! Why would you do that?!”
“I wasn’t trying to injure myself, for what it’s worth. Your blood isn’t nearly hot enough to be like lava, anyway, so don’t worry about me losing a toe. All I’ll have is a mild burn, no sweat. I’ll take care of treating it later when I’m finished with this.”
“..Fine, but.. please don’t do that again. Playing with my blood is super gross! And besides, I.. don’t want you to get burnt so much because of me. Can you try to avoid doing that?”
…
“I’ll try, for your sake. I’ve already gotten what I wanted to find from testing your blood, so I won’t attempt it again. Would you like me to heal your arm wound before continuing?”
“You don’t have to as long as you don’t mess with it again.”
Gelatin silently draped Firey’s arm back onto the counter in response to that, figuring that Firey would just try and cauterize it if he was really uncomfortable with the injury. “Got it. In that case.. I’m going to return to what I was working on before. Thank you for letting me fact check that.”
So, it was settled. Firey did not experience bleeding in most of his body, but there did seem to be certain exceptions, such as near the veins on his arms. It was likely safe to conclude that the main points of bleeding for Firey were stationed in his limbs and neck, which made perfect sense. Even someone made entirely out of fire would probably still bleed if they got completely decapitated with the sharp swipe of a blade. With that in mind.. it was okay to be a little careless, right? And so, Gelatin arguably was, with the way she began to deepen and expand the cut in Firey’s abdomen with far more force and speed than before. What had started as a quick jab into him had now transformed into a full incision, allowing Gelatin to fully look inside of the gaping flesh and take a look. Hm. That was strange. The steakhouse owner could see some glimpses of bones present, but where there should be things such as a liver or spleen.. There was absolutely nothing to be found. Not a trace of these organs were detectable whatsoever. It was as if someone had taken a giant spoon and carved all of them out of Firey, just like you would in order to remove the prickly peel of a pineapple before consuming it. How strange. Disregarding the various health code violations this would normally cause, Gelatin dove one of her hands into the cut, feeling around to see if maybe there was something she could feel but wasn’t able to see, but alas, this was not the case. Firey’s eyebrows furrowed at the tingly sensation that he was now feeling due to this, the motion a little disgusting to him.
“Something tells me that I should still keep my eyes closed for this part.” He commented.
Gelatin, who did not know how to explain the disturbing imagery to Firey, could only respond with a brief “Mhm” as she continued. Even with a pair of some of the most fire resistant gloves in the world on, she could still feel the overwhelming scorch of heat pressing against her hand from inside of the other’s body.
“..Feels weird. Are you looking for something?”
“I was, but I can’t find anything that isn’t your bones. Where that space would be filled in an ordinary human being.. it’s missing from you. I suspected this to be the case, but now that I actually get to see it.. I’m simply fascinated by how bizarre it is.” Gelatin pulled her hand out, once again diverting her attention back to the scalpel. “You’re a treasure, you know that?”
“That’s an odd thing to call me.”
“My apologies. I know that I’m not really the type of person to say affectionate stuff like that, but.. you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Meeting you is a probability so small that if I were to try and solve it mathematically, the calculator would blow up. And you letting me do all of this as well? An even smaller chance, nothing but zeroes stretching on and on behind a decimal. Seeing all of this before me.. not only is it a scientific marvel that I can’t wait to put down into words, but it’s also a reminder of how special you are to me. You could’ve let me continue being upset over my dream and I wouldn’t have blamed you, but you didn’t.”
“I’d never do that.” Firey refuted. “And before you start rambling on and on about how impossible that should be, it’s the bare minimum. You do it for me as well.” He had a feeling that Gelatin was going to keep talking, so before she could open her mouth, he already continued to jabber on once more. “And don’t say “It’s not the same,” ’cuz it totally is. If I had a dream about someone drowning you, then I’m sure you’d come up with some plan to work past that.”
“I can imagine it now, me floundering around in the ocean to reassure you that it wouldn’t happen before a wave then knocks me all the way back onto the sand.”
“Exactly! So you can run all your tests and talk about how strange that is, but.. don’t act like I’m something out of reach, Gelatin. It’s a little hard to believe what I’m laying on a counter in front of you mere inches away from your face.”
“..Gotcha.”
Even with the rock music still distantly playing, the sound of flesh being cut was unmistakably hearable to both of them. It was a bit muffled, though, and rather than sounding like a disgusting squelch, it sounded more like a flame sizzling after a bit of water was accidentally dropped onto it. Not enough to actually extinguish it, but quantifiable enough that there was at least some chemical reaction produced. A better person would have been nauseated by it, but Gelatin was so used to working on dissecting animals at this point that it did not bother her as she continued piercing through Firey’s skin. By that point, the cut down the center of his body was so long in length that it was about the size of the average shoe for a fully matured adult. Gelatin observed from this broadening of the horizon that Firey also did not possess an actual stomach. Although Firey had basically given her permission to speak about it, she chose not to, for she saw no point in stating the obvious. What is the point in having a stomach if you don’t actually need to digest anything? When the flame humanoid ate something, he could easily carry out the motions of chewing and swallowing and letting a part of the body that probably vaguely resembles a pharynx or esophagus do its job or transferring it along, but whether he actually consumed something or simply chucked it into his flames, it didn’t actually make a difference. Both options resulted in the end result of it merely being added onto the fire, stoking the flames and churning energy through them in one of the most disposable ways possible. There’s nothing to “get rid of” besides the smoke that one can bat away with the flutter of their hand.
No blood. No stomach. Gelatin doesn’t even need to look and see if there’s two kidneys propped up for operation, because there would be no point. What is there to filter when Firey almost never drinks any liquids? Predictably, the intestine is also nonexistent, and if Gelatin were to list every single trait that Firey didn’t have, she’d be here all day. Not that she minded. She instead preferred to focus on what the other did have, and as Gelatin finally began to tilt her blade upwards rather than downwards, she finally found herself closer to his chest rather than the stomach area. She didn’t really need to cut lengthwise to see what she was looking for, but feeling a pinch of self indulgence coursing through her, she sifted through layers of skin once more and found something most fascinating on the right side of Firey’s body: a lung. Another part of a pair, just like a desk and a chair, or the hands of a clock. It’s pink, almost fleshy, and for a second Gelatin is a little baffled by how much it would look just like one of her, but why wouldn’t it? Firey inhales air, releases out carbon dioxide when he’s finished. He’s certainly not invincible, after all. The brush of life still grazes him no matter how much he isn’t “truly human.” Fire needs oxygen as well, for that sweet, savory chemical reaction that it gulps up without a care. It’s the third part of the triangle after all, next to the fuel and heat required. Without it, there’s no way for a fire to be able to sustain itself. Can Firey survive without a lung?
…
Of course not, that’s ridiculous. But this time, Gelatin can’t quite dismiss the thought. The inexplicable urge to rip something out of Firey and inspect it with the touch of a scientist. A bone, maybe, from the hull of the rib cage. Or maybe a little chunk of flesh, neatly cut off and divided from the husk. Either would fit inside of a jar- stacked on top of some fireproof material to avoid burning through the glass- and then she could take all sorts of different pictures of it to add to her study, the angles resembling the ones a photographer would take of a model. She would also get to touch these pieces a little more thoroughly, testing them in the same way that she had with Firey’s blood. Would something plucked from the skeleton and stored separately from the body for hours on end still heat up in response to physical contact? If yes, then would that change if she then plopped the jar into a freezer? She wouldn’t even need any more of Firey’s permission after the experiment, for how much would he really care about a singular missing piece of his body? If someone randomly ripped off one of Gelatin’s fingernails, she hypothetically may be upset for a bit, but would it really be something that she’d miss? Likely not. Firey would therefore probably not care if she took something from him, yes? An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind, and Firey already wears glasses with the most atrocious prescription possible, so he likely wouldn’t want to harm his vision any further. That’s settled then, but.. a simple sample or even a lung wouldn’t be good enough to take from Firey. Gelatin needed to aim for something better, but what?
…
At once, a sudden realization struck her. How had Gelatin not seen it sooner? She had even commented on it earlier when she was testing the other’s blood. Firey had some kind of heart. She had already tested it and figured it out ages before this whole experiment started. Not only was it the best trait of his character, but it was likely the most precious aspect of his existence. It must be doing something at the very least, given how it's in charge of transferring his blood, but.. is that really all there is to it? No way. Firey’s lungs give him one of the main components required to keep him alive in the first place. If the heart was nothing but a feeble pump in comparison.. that would just be pathetic. Certainly unfitting for someone like him. It was settled, then. Spinning her medical scalpel to face the left side of Firey’s chest, Gelatin once again began to slice through the skin there, but this time, it was missing both the medical precision and the unsafe aggression before. No, there was a little too much passion from the owner of the tool as she just kept cutting and shredding and slicing through the flame humanoid’s flesh until she was finally able to see the apple of her eye: Firey’s heart. Or, at least, that’s what Gelatin thought it was. It didn’t resemble the gross pictures of them that the steakhouse owner had seen in her research of body diagrams and unsavory descriptions of dissection, the veins and valves usually depicted in them completely missing from here. Instead, what Gelatin saw was a spherical, almost smooth orb that rested close to the center of Firey’s chest, glowing and palpitating with the familiar sound of a heart beating. Gelatin had seen plenty of unusual and abnormal sights throughout the course of her life. She had braved through multiple episodes of a reality show, owned a whole steakhouse chain, and even worked with various species of bugs. This, though? Something about it.. it completely caught her off guard.
“Wow..” Gelatin voiced, a bit breathless and in awe.
That caught Firey’s attention fast. “What is it?” He asked, the lids of his eyes still sealed shut.
…
“Nothing important. There’s merely something in you that I want to take a closer look at.” With that, Gelatin once again plunged one of her gloves into his body, hand trying to squeeze through the gaps in Firey’s rib cage so that she didn’t completely shatter it.
“If it’s not that big of a deal, then why are you- Ggh!” It was impossible for Firey to not grit his teeth from discomfort as he felt something suddenly tug at him with an intensity he had never felt before. “What are you doing?! That feels really weird!”
“I’m extracting something, that’s all.” Gelatin calmly answered, but her eyes gave away an entirely different answer, ecstasy glinting in every inch of them. “It’ll be over soon.”
“M-Maybe you should cut it out. It’s.. a little much.”
“In a second.” Fingers ensnared around the target as much as physically possible, they were pulling with so much force that it resembled someone tugging a rope during a game of tug of war. “I’m almost done.. taking this out..!”
“Taking what out?” When Firey heard no response, he finally had enough. Fed up with this vague crypticness from Gelatin, he finally opened one of his eyes by a peep. “Eugh, that’s it! I’m sick of you trying to hide things from me. Let me see what you- HUH?!”
“Hm?” Gelatin looked up and saw that Firey was now exchanging eye contact with her. Right in the middle of her trying to snatch something vital away from him. “Oh. Oops.”
“Yeah, oops. You’re sticking your hand right into my CHEST! Are you..” Firey hesitated for a second, his eyes widening as he realized what Gelatin was doing. “YOU’RE TRYING TO RIP MY HEART RIGHT OUT OF ME! ARE YOU INSANE?!”
“I don’t think so. I’m only trying to take it out so that I can run a few tests on it. I promise you that when I’m done, I’ll return it to your body as carefully as possible.”
“Pretty sure that a heart isn’t something that I can slip in and out of me like a shoe for a foot! Think about it for a second, Gelatin. If I took away yours, then wouldn’t you just die?”
“Yes, but I’m.. nothing more than an ordinary human.” Another tug. This one seemed to cause a bit more of a reaction from Firey than all of the other ones combined, but Gelatin didn’t seem to notice as she continued attempting to carry out her insane plan. “You are not. Haven’t I already proven that your blood still works its magic even when removed from the body? I bet that even if I were to rip this right out of you without a care-”
“Gelatin.”
“-I could store it for days on end, do tests, see what exactly your core does-”
”Gelatin.”
“And once, I do, I bet I’d have everything about you solved in a flash! Think about the scientific advancements I’d be making with such a discovery. I’d never get the chance again, and-”
“GELATIN, CUT IT OUT!”
…
The steakhouse owner immediately paused, as stiff as a piece of cardboard. Although her hand was still literally inside of Firey’s body, she made no efforts towards trying to tear out the organ that she had been hoping to obtain. It was like when someone blew a whistle at a dog or a ragtag team of kids playing a little too roughly during a game of soccer. She couldn’t help it- The sound of Firey yelling at her was almost unfamiliar to her. Neither of them ever raised their voice at each other. The two of them argued from time to time, as all couples do at some point in their relationship, but screaming at each other? Absolutely not. Loud sounds and Gelatin were not a particularly good combination. Plus, yelling at Firey was a huge ”no-no” that everyone on the beach had sort of silently agreed not to do. It would be like poking fun at Spongy for his weight or making fun of Woody for his anxiety: plain wrong. Gelatin would probably rather die than ever do that, anyway. She would never have a good reason to even if for some horrific reason she felt the terrible urge to. Maybe if she flipped through a collection of her memories, she might’ve been able to find something that could resemble it- such as lecturing him for something childish- but it wouldn’t be the same thing. Firey had a higher number when it came to the “Yelling at your partner” competition, but it had never been for something undeserved. Even now, nearly a decade after it had happened, Gelatin could still remember some of the cold and venomous words that had spit out of Firey’s mouth in response to some of the worst actions she had ever committed. Decisions so terrible and rotten that the shouting was completely deserved.
(“I SAID GET OUT! CAN’T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE? I HATE YOU!”)
…
Would he say something like that again?
Firey gave his answer to that before Gelatin could spiral herself into an endless cycle of self loathing. ”..Look.” He uttered, trying to be patient with her. “I understand that you’re.. really into this whole dissection thing, and I’ve been trying to be accepting of that because I know it makes you feel better, especially after that nightmare of yours from earlier. But this? Trying to literally rip my heart out of my body without even thinking about how it could hurt me? I can’t take that. You told me earlier that if this whole thing is too much for me to handle, I could ask for you to stop and you’d do so immediately. I know that I wouldn’t be able to really get up and beat you up if you suddenly decided otherwise, but.. can you.. please not do this?”
“..Of course.” Gelatin finally pulled her hand out of Firey’s chest, but there was a solemn sadness present in both of her expression and her posture that was absolutely unmistakeable. However, as she yanked herself away from the other, it seemed to be less because of the dissection and more due to her being upset with her own actions. “I’m sorry. I crossed way too many lines today. Doing all of this to you.. it’s completely unacceptable.”
“I mean.. most people would probably prefer to not be dissected by their partners, but.. uhm.. it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. I probably wouldn’t have been as tolerant of it if my eyes were open the whole time, but.. even though there’s literally a giant gaping hole in most of my body right now, it.. doesn't feel entirely bad? You were being pretty careful.”
“No, I wasn’t. I let my ridiculous obsessions get in the way of what should’ve been a pretty quick and simple dissection. Even if I were to publish my findings.. who would ever wanna read about something so gross and personal? I’m a jerk for betraying your feelings like this.”
Firey was having a hard time trying to defend Gelatin dissecting him and trying to murder him, but he strived to do so regardless. “No, you’re not. Everybody makes mistakes from time to time. Maybe some of them are a little harsher than others, but still. I’m not gonna get up and walk away just because you got a bit too eager with a blade. There’s nothing you could do now that would ever drive you away from me and that’s final.” He paused for a moment, hands slightly twitching as he looked away from his own ridiculously mutilated body. “I.. kind of can’t, anyway. If I stood up now, I’m pretty sure that all of my organs and bones would spill right out of me and make some kind of disgusting puddle on the floor. Yuck!”
Gelatin perked up at that, immediately pulling off her gloves and setting them on her tray of tools as she darted over to the pile of wood that Firey had left by the door to the laboratory. “I completely forgot about taking care of your health as well! Of all of the things for me to misplace- Uhm, I think I’ll carry over only some of this.” So ridiculously scrawny that it was almost laughable, Gelatin could only pick up about half of the wood that Firey had brought in, her feet shuffling across the floor as she unceremoniously returned to the other’s side and tossed the wood right where the now massive injury was located.
Plop. Probably wasn’t the smartest idea to just dump a bunch of sticks and twigs on top of an injured man, but it didn’t matter, as the second that one of them even slightly grazed Firey’s body, it immediately burst into flames and began to swallow it whole, the fire licking at and consuming every piece of wood that it could find. Gelatin had seen Firey consume woodwork like this before so many times that it was nigh impossible to count, but seeing it actually heal his wounds.. it nearly made Gelatin’s eyes sparkle. As the smallest injury, the cut on the flame humanoid’s hand was the first to slowly mend itself, but after a few seconds, the gap of air that had been carved into Firey during the dissection was slowly being repaired with the usual flames that filled that slot. Crackling filled the air, overpowering the music that had been playing once more and enchanting the room with the familiar, almost comforting smell of smoke. While this happened, Gelatin took the time to finally clean up her station a bit. First, she moved the tray of tools and equipment over to the sink so that she could clean them and ensure that they were sterile. She didn’t actually end up using most of them, but.. it didn’t hurt to practice a little precaution. After that, she tugged her lab uniform off and hung it up in its usual spot, pulling her green ribbon away from her hair right afterwards. Satisfied with the brief bit of tidying she had done, the steakhouse owner turned her attention back over to Firey, picking up his shirt, hoodie, and sneakers so that she could return them to him. By now, his flames had finished absorbing all of the wood and had crept back under the strange illusion of skin. Firey looked completely healed now, but.. he was still laying on the bed, his expression seemingly a little weary.
Placing the clothes on top of the counter, Gelatin couldn’t stop her concern from slipping out of her. “Firey, are you alright? I know that you wouldn’t want me to apologize once more, but.. if there’s something else I’ve done to make you uncomfortable-”
“That’s not it. I.. feel a little woozy, that’s all. Losing a massive part of my body followed by suddenly getting a massive intake of energy.. it’s tiring. I’m totally drained.”
“No worries. Are you able to put your clothes on? Or are you too exhausted to accomplish that?” From anyone else, that question might have sounded a little condescending, but Gelatin was genuinely uncertain about whether or not that would pose a problem.
“..I can do it, but help me up first, won’t you?”
Without even having to think twice about it, Gelatin outstretched her hand in front of Firey, allowing him to reach out and grasp theirs. Even when neither of them were trying to extend the physical contact, they still found their fingers intertwined with each other as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world, as if the thought of being apart for longer than a few minutes was completely impossible. Two magnets drawn towards each other no matter how many times they weren’t supposed to meet. Gelatin didn’t inexplicably get stronger in the span of a few moments, but oddly, helping Firey get up from the counter and find his footing wasn’t very hard. Part of it was probably because the other naturally had a very light body, but.. it also felt as if Gelatin’s heart was lighter as well, a weight lifted off of her chest the very millisecond that she was next to Firey. Still, she had other things to do. As soon as she saw that Firey was well enough to stand by himself, Gelatin made her final stop at her laptop, where the computer was still spitting out randomly shuffled songs from the playlist that she had selected earlier. Pausing the music and closing her laptop, she picked up the notepad where she had written her hypothesis from earlier. As expected, her assumptions had lined up pretty spectacularly with how the experiment had turned out, but as Gelatin began to think about picking up the pencil so that she could finish writing the rough draft of her research paper.. she found that she didn’t want to. Not now. Not in a day. Probably.. not ever. The results didn’t really matter anymore- They never had to begin with. She was foolish for thinking that some horrific dream of hers could actually provide her some sense of closure for an odd topic that she had always felt a kindred relationship with.
But that was alright. Experiments are meant to go wrong or be scrapped from time to time. That’s what science is all about. Besides, there was someone only a few meters away from her that was far more important to her than dissection could ever be in a million years. So, as Gelatin set the notepad down on the table and advanced towards Firey once more, she began to bring up ideas for relaxing ideas that the two of them could do together while the latter rested and recovered from the odd sensations of being ripped apart. Maybe the two of them could watch a movie together at Firey’s house? The flame humanoid adored watching sappy and emotional films that tried as hard as possible to tug at people’s heartstrings. Or perhaps they could go to the beach together? Sitting down and listening to the waves would be fun. Obviously, the two of them would be sure to keep their distance away from the ocean, but there was still certainly fun to be had there. They could build a sandcastle together! Watch Ruby commit horrific acts of treachery against the seagulls of the beach! Or even better, Gelatin could help Firey with a project of his own in order to make things even. He could show her some of his new favorite architectural displays of might across the world through a quick internet search, pointing out every little detail that went into it. Or sit down and draw for a bit, sketching something so unexpectedly detailed that Gelatin would be baffled. The possibilities were endless, and the list could just keep on going, but.. Gelatin knew that anything would be a good option, however, as long as she always had Firey sticking by her side.