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Paracelsus leaned forward in her chair and rubbed her thumb over Bigby’s stubbled cheek. He'd attempted to shave in the stagecoach with a rusty razor and a grimy hand mirror, but the hair was already back. She idly wondered if it was a side effect of his curse, of if he'd always just been hairy.
"What are you examining me for?" Bigby's pointed ears twitched in annoyance. "I don't have any injuries. Leave me be." He didn't lean away from her, though.
"Just taking notes on your physiology." Paracelsus gently lifted Bigby's lip to reveal his premolars. "Your teeth are in wonderful condition."
She bit her own lip as her fingers brushed against his sharp canine. The shape and texture of bone always spurred a warmth in her chest, though she'd never admit it.
"Have you ever thought of bequeathing your body to science? I think there's much we could learn from you." She trailed her fingertips down his jaw, then over the faint green veins on his neck.
Bigby huffed. "I can't control what you do to me after I'm dead."
"I was thinking something along the lines of vivisection."
Paracelsus expected Bigby to sigh at the statement and was fully prepared to pass it off as a joke.
Instead, he laughed. More of a short bark than a laugh, but it was a sound of amusement nonetheless. "Honestly, I'd let you vivisect me."
"You'd really let me cut you open?" she asked, trying to keep the excitement out of her voice. "While you're still breathing?"
"As long as it's you." He exhaled through his nose, a faint smile on his lips.
"I'm glad you trust me. Though I can't promise I'll be gentle," Paracelsus said.
She glanced up as the Provisioner approached with candles and a box of chocolates. "From your benefactor," she said.
The Provisioner set the items down on the low table in front of the chairs.
"...our benefactor has a sick sense of humor," Bigby grumbled.
"What? Are you worried by the implications?" Paracelsus undid the strap of her mask and pulled it off, dark glasses turned orange by the firelight. "Does our benefactor think we're about to have a romantic evening?"
"Romantic evenings are a thing of the past for me." Bigby eyed the heart-shaped box. "But I won't say no to candy."
Paracelsus pulled the lid off the box to reveal chocolates in little paper wrappers. "Indulge with me," she said, nudging Bigby's knee with her own. "The bed’s softer than these chairs, hm?"
She picked up her mask in her other hand, moving towards the inn's staircase.
Bigby stared after her, his left hand tightening its grip on his shroud. "You're not actually considering—"
"Why not? We've known each other for... however long it's been, through all these cycles." Paracelsus paused, turning to glance back at him. "Unless you're worried I'll vivisect you up there."
Bigby hesitated only a moment before pushing himself up from the chair, his feet scuffing against the wooden floorboards as he followed.
By the time he entered their rented room, Paracelsus had already lit one candle with a friction match and was trying to get the other to light.
Once both were burning, Paracelsus sat next to the box of chocolates on the bed.
The bed dipped under Bigby’s weight as he settled beside her. Paracelsus plucked a chocolate from the box, peeling the wrapper away before holding it up to Bigby. "Open."
Bigby opened his mouth just enough for Paracelsus to place it on his tongue. "This feels... strange. To be treated like an ordinary man," he mumbled around the sweet.
"I think you're an extraordinary man, personally. And I think you fear yourself more than other people fear you."
"Perhaps." Bigby had the faintest curve to his lips.
Paracelsus tugged her gloves off. Her fingers, long and delicate, flexed in the candlelight before reaching for another chocolate. This time, she held it between her thumb and forefinger, rolling it idly. "Tell me something," she said. "Do you really believe no one could love you?"
"Not in this form. Maybe before... but then again, I wasn't the most social man even then." Bigby shifted. "What are you getting at?"
Paracelsus let the chocolate linger between her fingers, watching the candlelight flicker against its dark surface. "I think you underestimate how little some people care about appearances." She popped the sweet into her mouth, letting the bitterness melt on her tongue before continuing. "Some people see beyond skin and find beauty in the way a heart beats, or how lungs expand. How alive something is, despite its shape."
"You're talking about yourself, aren't you?" He leaned towards her, fingers loosening their grip on his shroud. "You see me as... what? A specimen?"
Paracelsus laughed. "No. Though I won't deny I'd love to sketch your anatomy someday." She rested her bare hand on his cheek and slowly traced his lips with her thumb. "Speaking of anatomy, the lips are some of the most sensitive parts of the human body. Did you know that?"
Bigby exhaled sharply through his nose, his breath warm against her thumb. "Are you conducting another examination, doctor?"
"Perhaps." Paracelsus leaned closer, face tilted up towards his in the candlelight. "Would you object if I were?"
"I don't like being toyed with," Bigby murmured. "Either leave me be, or... or... commit to it."
Paracelsus hesitated before closing the distance. Her lips brushed against Bigby's before pulling back just enough to study his expression. His dark eyes were half-lidded, nostrils flaring slightly as if scenting the air.
"You're a bold woman."
"Ha. I suppose that's one way to describe me." Paracelsus kissed him again, lingering until she felt the tension ebb from Bigby’s body. "Now, if you'd be so kind as to let me study your teeth…"