Pantalone had to wait a week before Dottore finally remembered his promise to show him the photos. It was the first time he honored a promise though, and the Liyuean was pleasantly surprised . When he came into his cold laboratory, he was astounded to see the mess .

While Zandik was in his appearance very messy, his laboratory was always very clean, very organized - it was borderline obsessive - , so seeing it in this state , with hundreds of books on the ground , liquids spilled on the floor, some limbs ( hopefully clones limbs , if not , ew ) , and even some dead animals remains , it came as a shock to the banker .

The blue haired was deep in his research , face burrowed in one of his book written in Sumerian, but when he heard Pantalone , he still yelled :

- Close the door ! Now ! » so much aggressiveness and for what ... thought the banker, still closing the door behind him . As soon as he did, the Sumerian stood up and turned around to face Pantalone .

His usual grin on his face , hands open in a friendly manner, the Doctor seemed in a good mood, contrasting with the tone of his voice .

- I didn't actually expect you to drop by, but apparently, I underestimated my charisma . Either way, before I show anything , I want us to make a deal of some sorts . If I show you those photos, you need to take into account the time I spent looking for them , and the energy it took me . It's a service , isn't it ? So, that means you have to trade it for something . I want all of my interests to disappear right here and now , and Al- »

- No . » cut short the Liyuean, his gentle smile on his face , arms crossed and head slightly bent to the right . That didn't deter the Doctor , who continued, his hands going a bit more faster :

- Are you so sure ? You seemed hellbent on seeing them a week from now ... And I am the only person having those, so, if you don't deal with m- »

- I don't have time and money to lose , Zandik. That is a no . »

- You're hard in business, damn. ... If I gift you, let's say , something akin to a vis- » Pantalone sighed , and responded , a bit annoyed :

- I do not plan on dying so soon, thank you. Delusions are only for fools , I thought you held me in higher regards . So, now, are you going to show me the photos or what ? I am a busy man . » the Doctor lost his smile, looking a bit bored now , and just took the photos from the ground , and showed them to Pantalone .

They were in a neat little leather notebook, with written on it SUMERU AKADEMIYA in Liyuean writing. Probably not Dottore's notebook then . When Pantalone opened it, he was surprised to see a very young Zandik. He must have been twelve at the time, and the difference was astounding.

He was much more tanned, and his skin wasn't as sickly as he looked now . His blue hair was curlier , and it was cut short. He had little rectangular glasses , and was wearing the Akademiya's garnement , a deep green robe . He was smiling , and the first thing Pantalone noticed were his eyes. They weren't of a deep red like nowadays. They were of a shiny green, much like the Dendro Archon's in Snezhnayan description . He had some beauty spots there and here on his face, and overall seemed like a nice and well behaved kid .

Next pages , he was much older, probably about 17 . His eyes had turned red, and his smile was gone . He was standing alone , in Sumeru's jungle, near a gigantic remain of a Ruin guard. Someone took this photo of him, as evidenced by the picnic visible in the right corner . A friend, perhaps ?

Next were some photos of the Akademiya, Zandik with his teachers, one in Port Ormos besides a restaurant stall with another student with green hair , and finally , one in the Desert, his back facing the Kamera, while he was looking at the Mausoleum. As Pantalone was about to turn the last page , Zandik put his finger on the page, stopping him from turning it .

- No. I think you shouldn't see past that point. These are photos of my experiments . » his voice was gentle for once, almost caring. He took back the notebook, and put it on the table, as he started cleaning up the mess he made . His mannerism was much softer, and perhaps was it out of melancholy, or just because of homesickness, but the Doctor was really calm . Too calm .

- Who was the student with you , in Port Ormos ? A fellow graduate ?

- Mh. His name was Baizhu. I don't know if he's still alive . Chronically ill, with an exceptional mind. He helped me construct my first clone , but he was very disappointed when I told him I couldn't do the same with him . He wasn't a psychic , so he'd just have a doll copy of himself . » explained the doctor, as Pantalone continued :

- What about your eyes ?

- Oh, that ? Uh ... I'm not sure . Maybe the Akasha Terminal's doing . It's the device we use in Sumeru to exchange knowledge . It tends to not work with psychics . Or to cause some dumb shit like that to happen . »

Pantalone noticed the fixation on the word, and carefully asked, helping the doctor to tidy up, hoping it would allow him to open his heart a bit more .

- What exactly is a psychic ?

- You don't even know that and you're Liyuean ... do they have schools in your countries ? Ugh. Psychism is the ability to connect to - ... wait how do you say it in Snezhnayan ? The tree of dreams , إرمينسول ( Irminsul ) . It allows to manipulate the perception of people basically, and to just fuck up anyone's brain. I used to kill people with brain hemorrhage when I was there. Easy, quick, and nobody knew it was me . I could also make people hallucinate and do some telekinesis .It's stronger in Sumeru since إرمينسول is just underneath it, and the farther you get from it, the weaker you get. I can't even close a damn door in Snezhnaya . » pestered Zandik, having finally finished tidying up. He smiled, admiring his work, and though Pantalone wanted to tell him that it was a mistake to tell him his weakness, he couldn't bring himself to . It was nice to bond with someone. To just have a chat about life . The Liyuean man smiled too, and asked, more gently :

- Would you like to get some tea now ? I've heard wonders about Sumerian tea. I've ordered a batch of it, in my office . » Dottore turned his head, brows furrowing , and he asked :

- Aren't you a busy man ? »

- I can let it slide once . It is nice talking to you like that Zandik. » the doctor didn't respond for a time, and just turned away to look at his lab once more . He smiled a bit sheepishly, and said, his tone a bit warmer .

- Okay . Let's do it . It's been a very long time since I've enjoyed a nice cup of tea . »

The walk to Pantalone's office was a nice moment for both of them. Nobody was there to observe them in the corridors, as it was nighttime . It felt a bit surreal for the both of them to just stroll lazily toward one's office, just talking about tea and Sumeru .

Zandik felt his heart flutter a bit , his melancholic side kicking in . It has been a really long time since he had a normal conversation, and even if he wasn't one to enjoy those, from times to times, it could be nice . Pantalone had wits, and he was eager to learn about his culture , so naturally , Zandik obliged .

He told him about Port Ormos and the incessant ships that came and go , and Pantalone continued on Liyue's buzzing streets , and its food stalls that sometimes sold Sumerian delicacies . It prompted the older man to talk about the time he saw a business man from Liyue, and read his thoughts , only to discover that the man was an adepti . Pantalone laughed , not believing him, but instead of getting angry, Dottore chuckled, and admitted he was 10 at the time, so he could have imagined it .

The walk was very nice , and once they got into Pantalone's warm office , the Doctor took off his coat and hanged it, asking gently :

- Do you want me to brew it , Sumerian style ? It's been a long time, but I think I might be able to pull it off . »

- Mh, why not ? It would be a change . » Pantalone took off his own coat, hanging it too, and came to sat on his luxurious leather sofa, showing with one hand where his cabinet was .

Zandik went to fetch two cups and a tray, as well as some instruments to brew the tea . He came back and put all of it on the small table , and started to brew the tea calmly, not uttering a word , under Pantalone's purple gaze . He seemed interested by the way the Sumerian brew the tea, as his eyes were following his hand movements . The Doctor noticed it, and turned around a bit to show him in a nicer angle how one brew tea .

- 's quite different from Liyue, uh ? Baizhu liked tea too. I can't stand Liyuean's way of brewing. It has zero texture, I always feel like I'm drinking watered down tea . In Sumeru, or , just in Port Ormos to be fair, we tend to leave some of the leaves and flowers in it. Brings a bit of consistency . »

- Isn't it also used to drug oneself ? » Zandik chuckled , and answered , playfully .

- Well, yes , but originally it wasn't . And I'd like to remind you that you do not "do drugs" in Sumeru. We communicate with إرمينسول. Totally different things . »

- Did you communicate with it often ? » continued Pantalone, having just found a possible explanation for the doctor's bizarre experiments .

- Sadly not, it doesn't work on psychics . Here. » the Sumerian gave to Pantalone a cup of tea, and sat on the sofa near him, already drinking in almost one gulp the entirety of the tea . He wasn't one to enjoy slow things . The Liyuean on the other side took his time, enjoying the strong flavor of the tea .

They continued to chat for another hour or so, until Pantalone saw the time on his clock . He sighed, and looked at Zandik .

He was once again in a ramble about how Sumeru was a far better nation than Snezhnaya on education and freedom of doctorates, and to be fair, it was nice to hear him talk about something normal . He was very relaxed too, slouching on the couch with one arm in the air to explain better his points . His blue hair made nice twirls on the couch, even if now it ought to be really messy.

- Zandik, we will have to leave the conversation for another time . Though it was very interesting, it is also very late . » the doctor stopped , looking at Pantalone, and shrugged .

- Sometimes I forget people actually need sleep. But yeah, I suppose you need to rest . I'll tidy up a bit . » he said, joining his words to his actions. After all, Dottore was a very organized person. Everything needed to be right where it ought to be , or he would have a meltdown .

The Liyuean man didn't stop him, and just stretched . The warmth of the room also made him very sleepy . Though, he didn't regret the time they spent together. It was nice to get to know il Dottore : behind the mad scientist was a real person. Zandik was very weird , sure , after all he was the Doctor, but he was intelligent and caring. Even though, he was caring to very few and select things, he was very dedicated to those , and it showed in the way he spoke about Sumerian food, and Sumerian culture in general. He also seemed to have a past with this man, Baizhu. Perhaps were they lovers ? That was an amusing thought to entertain, Il Dottore actually having a lover , and being all lovey dovey... mh. Funny but also a bit unnerving to Pantalone, even if he didn't knew properly why .

- Pant' ? Hello ? » grumbled the blue haired man , waving in front of the Liyuean, who woke up from his daydream .

- Sorry, I was lost in my thoughts . » he apologized, standing up and brushing off a bit his uniform . Zandik nodded , and as he was readying himself to leave, Pantalone asked, gently :

- I'd hate to sound just like an animal but ... would you be alright if we had sex more often ?

The Doctor turned, and looked at the Liyuean, seemingly confused :

- Why are you asking ?

- Ugh ... never mind. I'm tired . » Pantalone sighed .

- I wouldn't be against it. But , why me ? Haven't you seen the looks Natasha gives to you ? Or Petrov if you're only into guys ? » Zandik's mind was racing, Pantalone could see it even behind a mask . He approached him, and once again, took his chin between two of his fingers, forcing the doctor to look at him .

- Because I like you Zandik. Perhaps not in a romantic sense, but you're interesting. I want to be more than a colleague to you. More than an "annoyance" to use your own terms . We could become friends, or -

- Fuckbuddies , that's what you mean to say ? » the Doctor grinned . Out of tiredness , Pantalone shrugged and said with a little smile .

- Yes, but with buddies being a bit more important .

- Buddies who fuck it is then . I won't promise anything to you Pantalone. You know how volatile I am . I don't get as sappy as now very often. Like you said, I'm despicable, an animal, and irritating . I can't say when my emotions will make me that pathetic again . » he joked, with a certain uneasiness .

- Uh ... anyways ... good sex, see you tomorrow . G'night . » Zandik smiled once again strangely , being between an ecstatic smile and a creepy grin, and just left, letting the door open .

The Liyuean sighed, and went to close it, locking it after that .
How did he manage to make his life even weirder . Fuck him , if he ever was to become lover with Zandik, he'd shoot himself or just throw himself from Mt Hulao. Whichever was most dramatic .