She was entirely oblivious to the way he watched her as she studied his arm and the wound that demanded her attention. Much like she was unaware of the smear of blood across her face from his earlier touch. Even her lips had a hint of blood on them from the soft kiss she had pressed to his blood-stained skin. But all she could think about was the task before her. She knew he could have done it, probably almost as well if not better than she would be capable of. The one thing to offer was that she could be faster. At least in that way she could lessen his pain a little.

Essa watched as he took a few sips of the alcohol, wondering if it would truly be enough. Not that it mattered much. It was the best they had. She met his eyes, listening intently as he instructed her, nodding along with his words. It might be hard to know the pain she was causing him, but she would push through so as not to prolong his suffering anymore.

“Okay, I’m going to count down now. 3… 2…” She punctured his skin then, purposely doing it sooner than expected. She moved as quickly as she could, though she did her best to be gentle. Still, tears of sympathy threatened to fill her eyes. Yet this time, she didn’t apologize, pressing her lips into a firm line as she focused everything she had on her needlework.

“Halfway there, babe. Keep breathing through it. It’s almost over, just a little longer, Ky,” she murmured as she worked, trying desperately to soothe him, knowing that her words couldn’t compare to the pain of being stitched. Futile as it was, she had to try. She couldn’t just listen to him suffer like this and do nothing. It wasn’t in her nature. Finally, she pulled the thread free one final time. “Okay, that’s it. Just hold still while I tie this off and then it’s done.” She rapidly did just that, leaning forward to use her teeth to sever the thread.

Essa straightened immediately, her heart aching for him. Forgotten was her own injury as she shifted to perch on her knees, lifting herself closer to his seated height, turning to face him. She took his face between her hands, pressing her forehead to his. “We did it, baby. All done,” she whispered. She wanted to kiss him, ridiculous as the timing was. So she held herself back, trying to be content with just holding him close, her eyes shutting as she felt a warm flush spread over her face. Her thumbs absently stroked over his face. “How does that feel? Better?”