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“Fuck!”
Vernias jerks the antiseptic away from Nick's hand, holding the bottle to his own chest. “Ah- sorry! I should've warned you that it’d hurt.”
“No- it- it's fine- just… caught me off guard,” Nick mumbled, moving his right hand back towards Vernias. “You can keep going.”
“Alright…” Vernias responded, hesitant. His eyes searched across the conservatory before settling on a white, rustic wooden table stood in the center of the room. “Ah- here we go!” He stood from the white-wood bench they were seated at and walked towards the table, setting the antiseptic bottle on top of it before he started to sift through its many drawers.
Nick fidgeted in place, glancing around the room as to not stare at his friend. The afternoon sun beamed through the many large, arched windows that covered the ivory walls of the conservatory. It bathes everything in a warm yellow- Vernias’ short pink hair looking more orange because of it. The dome-like ceiling was high above them, rich green vines littered with golden jasmines hanging from it. Actually- now that he’s looking, Nick notices that all kinds of yellow flowers have woven themselves into the entire room- peeking out of crevices in the walls and reaching out from the cracked marble floor beneath him.
Nick gazed back down to his hands. His left seemed basically untouched, having only two or three small, barely noticeable slices on his fingers. His right, however, was littered with angry red cuts criss-crossing over his tan skin. He and Vernias had been roaming the outskirts of Nick’s castle when Nick’s star pin fell from his shirt. Of course, since Mother Nature decided to be an asshole, a squirrel ran past and nabbed the pin just as Nick was reaching to grab it. The thief scurried into some bushes, and when Nick attempted to grab the critter from it, he got scratched up by some brambles. The event didn’t lead to any major injuries, just a bit of lost blood (and a bit more lost pride), yet Vernias still insisted he wrap Nick up.
So here they were, in the old conservatory, hidden in the depths of the castle grounds. Absent-mindedly, he wonders where they would’ve gone if they weren’t so close to it- perhaps lost somewhere else in the massive royal garden. He doesn’t get to think about it much before Vernias pops up from the table, a small box held between his fingers.
“Found it!” he exclaims, holding the box to the sky. He quickly grabs a roll of gauze from the same drawer he just came from, snags the antiseptic from the table, and struts back to Nick, settling down beside him as he shows off a box labelled ‘cotton rounds,’ “This should be better than pouring the antiseptic straight on.”
Vernias sets the gauze down onto the bench, picks a pad from the box and douses it in antiseptic, setting the bottle next to the gauze afterwards. Gently, he takes Nick’s right hand- the worse of the two- and begins applying the antiseptic to the cuts, Nick’s fingers twitching at the cool, slightly stinging sensation.
“So,” Vernias drawled, “what made you think stuffing your hands in a thorn bush was a good idea?”
“Wh- the rat stole my pin! As if I’m just gonna let the jerk take it,” Nick defended, narrowing his eyes.
“It was a squirrel, first of all-”
“Actually,” Nick interrupted, voice nasal and mocking, “it’s a squirrel.”
Vernias paused, glaring at Nick for a second before returning his attention to Nick’s hand, “...and you know I have tons of those pins! I can just, oh, I don’t know, give you another?”
“Yeah, but I wanted that one,” Nick pouted.
Vernias looked up to Nick once again, brows furrowed, yet his eyes held no anger. Nick refused to look up, instead choosing to stare at his hand- still held in Vernias’ own.
Vernias sighs, shaking his head as he looks back to Nick’s hand. “You’re so dumb,” he murmured, voice exasperatedly fond.
The two move into a comfortable silence, the sound of distant birds chirping and the flutter of plants in the breeze being the only audible sounds. Several moments pass in this quiet, and Vernias eventually finishes with the antiseptic on Nick’s hand. Vernias lets go, moving to grab the roll of gauze beside him. Nick curls his fingers a few times, noticing some heat leave his hand, “What’s the liquid stuff do, anyways?”
“It disinfects the cuts, makes ‘em clean ‘n stuff,” Vernias responds, taking Nick’s hand back into his own. The warmth returns.
Nick hums in acknowledgement, opting to watch Vernias work. He applies the bandages at professional speeds, rotating his hand around Nick’s with ease. He finishes off the wrap with a reef knot and checks his work, twisting and turning Nick’s hand to ensure the stability of the bandage. Once he’s confident, he lets go of Nick’s right hand and turns to the other. He briskly scans over it before deciding to leave it be, raising himself from the bench.
“You’re good to go!” Vernias declares with a smile, gathering the medical supplies in his arms. He hustled to the center table, placing the items back in their drawers.
“Wait- what?” Nick blinks. He rises from the bench and follows Vernias to the table, “What about my left? Aren’t you gonna bandage it or something?” he questions, presenting his palm to the other.
“No need!” Vernias assured, pushing the drawers shut. “There’s no real cuts on that one, so you’re good!” he turns to Nick, shining blue eyes meeting fiery brown. Nick gnaws at the inside of his cheek, brows furrowing.
Vernias tilts his head, “What’s wrong? Did you want something for it?”
“No- I was- I just…” Nick trails off, eyes flitting away from Vernias’. Vernias gazed at the other for a second before digging into his pockets.
Nick unwittingly stares into a window beside him, picking through words in his head. It should be easy to express what he’s thinking- he just wants to hang out with Vernias more. And yet, he can’t pull a sentence together without it sounding cheesy. Frustration bubbles in his chest, squishing his heart with its sheer mass.
Nick’s train of thought is interrupted by Vernias snatching his left hand, slapping something onto it.
“Wh-” he starts, until he notices a small, pink star sticker placed dead-center on the back of his hand. The star has a childish smile plastered across it. Nick gapes at his hand, trying and failing to respond.
Vernias snickers at Nick’s dumbfounded expression, settling his hands on his hips, “Now you have something for your hand! Look- it even replaces your pin!”
Nick flips between staring at his hand and Vernias, the latter barely stifling laughter. He does this for a few seconds before sighing, a grin spreading on his face, “You’re so dumb, bro.”
“Wha- hey!” Vernias exclaimed, placing a hand over his heart, “I give you a sticker and this is how you treat me?!”
“Come on,” Nick grabs Vernias’ hand, marching towards the conservatory exit, “I’m returning you to the Vern Nation before you do anything else cringe.”
“You’re so mean,” Vernias counters, walking out with him.
The two make their way out of the castle hand-in-hand, Nick deciding to escort Vernias to the train station. He waves Vernias off as the train leaves, and if Nick returns to his castle with a few more stickers plastered across his hands than before- well, that’s for him to know.