Work Text:
Edgar sat at the dining table, staring down at his plate as he tried to impale a pea onto his fork. He was surrounded on both sides by lively conversation, but it all faded into background noise when he glanced over to the empty chair across from him. Luca was missing from the table again, and as much as he hated to admit it, Edgar was a little bit concerned about the inventor.
Would it be too forward of himself to check on the man? He couldn’t imagine that Luca would protest if Edgar checked on him, but he was more worried about the things left unsaid, the thoughts that he’d keep to himself. He didn’t want Luca getting the wrong idea - or in this case, the right one. Edgar didn’t want Luca to know that he was concerned.
He frowned down at his food as he picked at it, trying to come up with some kind of plan to help Luca in a nonchalant manner, but nothing came to mind. He wondered how long it had been since the man had eaten, given the number of meals he’d been missing lately. At that moment his thoughts were interrupted by Emily, who was standing at the head of the table and holding a platter.
“Does anyone want seconds? We have a few more pieces of chicken left.”
“Me,” grunted Servais, who held his plate out towards the doctor. He had some kind of sauce at the corner of his mouth, and it irritated Edgar enough for him to speak out.
“Wait a minute,” he huffed. “Not everyone has eaten yet.”
Emily paused, holding a piece of the chicken up with tongs that hovered between the platter and Servais’ plate. “What? Are we missing someone?”
Edgar clamped his mouth shut and looked away. He hadn’t meant to draw attention to himself, but he’d blurted out on impulse. Thankfully, Tracy came to his rescue.
“Luca isn’t here,” she pointed out. A few heads turned in sync, verifying this to be true.
“I see,” Emily said after a moment, “Then should I prepare a plate for him? I suppose I could take it down to him on my way to-”
“I’ll take it,” Edgar interrupted. He blushed as several eyes turned towards him once again, and he scrambled to come up with an excuse. “I had some important matters to discuss with him regarding our strategy during matches, so I was headed down there anyway.” This was a lie, but at least it would make it less apparent that he would be going out of his way to do this. He tried to tell himself he would only be helping Luca to calm his own nerves, but of course deep down he felt that he had ulterior motives.
Emily paused, staring at the painter in surprise. “Very well, then I will prepare a plate and you can bring it to him.”
Minutes later, Edgar stood outside of Luca’s room, foil-wrapped plate of leftovers in hand. For a moment he considered turning back as he questioned himself, but then he regained his resolve and knocked on the door. There was a beat of silence, and nothing happened. He knocked again, but there was still no answer. After a moment of contemplation, he decided to just go on in, and slowly he pushed the door open.
The room was dim except for Luca’s desk in the corner warmed by lamplight, at which Luca sat, his back towards the door. Edgar was surprised to find him here, having expected to find the room empty despite there really not being any other place that would house the inventor.
“I brought dinner for you. Some of the women were worried about you, so I…” Edgar trailed off when the inventor gave no indication that he had heard. “Luca? Are you listening?” He approached and saw that the man was squinting at some kind of machine part in his hand, while others were spread sloppily across the desk in front of him. His face was flushed; even in the dim light Edgar could see that he looked pale.
He set the plate down on the desk beside the metal bits and bobs, and only then did Luca seem to notice him. “Edgar?” he questioned, head turning sharply to face the painter, “What are you doing here? And when did you come in?”
“I- I told you,” Edgar stammered, taken aback by the inventor’s lack of awareness of his surroundings. “The girls- they were worried. You haven’t eaten, have you?”
“Ah,” Luca muttered, his eyes sliding over to the tin foiled plate on his desk as if he had only just realized it were there. “I haven’t, but I’m not hungry. I’m a bit busy at the moment.” With that, he refocused his attention on the contraption he was currently holding and fell silent.
In a demonstration of ironic timing, Luca’s stomach betrayed him at that moment, and Edgar could hear it rumble. “I… see,” uttered the painter, not sure what to make of the obvious lie coupled with the fact that Luca did not seem all that receptive to his efforts.
The inventor sighed, and at last he set down the part he was working on.
“Have you been… eating… lately?” Edgar asked as he watched Luca reach for his plate and slowly begin to peel back the wrapping, taking responsibility for his stomach’s little slip-up. Nervousness made the question come out stilted; he didn’t feel completely confident in showing his concern for the other man. Luca still looked pale, and the circles underneath his eyes (though not altogether uncommon for residents of the manor) somehow seemed darker than usual.
“I’m on the verge of a breakthrough with my work,” Luca evaded, setting his food back to the side as he turned his attention to the scraps of metal laid out in front of him. He withdrew a small notebook from a stack next to him and turned to a bookmarked page. Edgar stepped closer to investigate but Luca’s scratches on the paper were illegible; even if they weren’t the painter wouldn’t have been able to understand the words.
“I… understand what it’s like to be absorbed by your work, but you need to take care of yourself as well. Have you even left your room at all these past few days?”
Luca, who’d been running his finger across the scrawled lines of his journal with a focused expression, stopped moving suddenly. Edgar thought that perhaps he hadn’t heard the question and was about to ask again when Luca straightened up in his seat. “I believe so,” he said slowly, pausing to clutch at his hair as a scowl painted his features, “but it’s hard to remember, so maybe…”
“Why don’t you take a little break for now?” Edgar suggested. “Eat your dinner, take a shower, and rest for a few hours.” Luca’s expression soured as he glanced between Edgar and his work, not seeming too keen on the idea. “And don’t- don’t argue!”
The corners of Luca’s mouth twitched up in amusement into that familiar half-fanged smile that Edgar had come to… appreciate during his time in the manor. He hadn’t seen it in a while, but then again he had a feeling Luca hadn’t made it in a while.
“Why so concerned, hmm?” he teased, as if he were in any place to be teasing when he looked on the brink of collapse. Edgar was about to scramble for some kind of argument - that he wasn’t concerned, that it was others who cared, that he was only doing this for his own sake of mind - when Luca stood up from his seat. He took a slow step towards the center of his room, and almost immediately Edgar could see just how bad off the inventor really was.
Paled skin and dark circles aside, sweat had accumulated on his forehead and he seemed unsteady on his feet. No sooner had Edgar made this observation that the inventor stumbled, and the painter had to use all of his strength to keep from getting knocked down as he caught him. “Luca!” he cried, “You really must be unwell. What have you been doing all this time?”
“Sorry,” the taller man mumbled, and he rested his forehead on Edgar’s thin shoulder. He wanted to take flight, to push Luca away and run out of the room to soothe the pounding of his heartbeat in his own ears, but instead he slowly, tentatively wrapped his arms around the man. He didn’t say anything - what could he say, really? He wasn’t used to physical touch like this, not at all, but he held him there for a moment. When at last the silence began to feel stifling, Luca raised his head and looked him in the eyes. He smiled, but Edgar could see just how tired he was.
“You really had better get some rest,” Edgar murmured. He guided Luca over to his bed to sit down and watched him bend to remove his boots. He was practically nodding to sleep already, judging by his sluggish movements and the way his eyelids drooped quite comically. “Alright,” Edgar said, now satisfied, “Take care, and make sure you eat.”
He took a step towards the door, but Luca stopped him. “Wait,” he called, and Edgar turned to see him getting settled into bed under his blanket. “Stay here with me.”
“You’re- you’re delirious from exhaustion,” Edgar answered quickly, feeling the stutter of his heartbeat as he turned away from him.
“And so what if I am? I’m just telling you what I want.” Edgar tucked a stray piece of hair behind his ear and swallowed thickly, feeling the heat that was creeping into his face at his words. Luca surely didn’t know what he was saying - perhaps he was worse than Edgar had thought. He opened his mouth to argue, to sabotage himself as he always did, but when he looked back at Luca the words died in his throat. He was smiling, a sleepy half-lidded smile that tied knots in Edgar’s stomach, and he held the covers back, making a perfect spot for Edgar beside him. The painter could feel his mouth running dry. “Please?”
Edgar felt like he was on autopilot as he stepped over to the bed. He paused before he got there, ducking down to remove his shoes. His hands were shaking as he unlaced them, but slowly he stood and sat on the bed in the spot Luca had prepared for him. The inventor waited for him to slide his legs under the blanket and then dropped it over him. He’d been propped up on one elbow as he waited for Edgar, but now he relaxed into his pillow.
This was fine. Luca probably was just sleep-deprived and craving some kind of human contact after being cooped up in his room for the better part of three days. Edgar wouldn’t mind sitting here for a moment longer.
Or so he thought. Almost as soon as he laid his head down, he felt the warmth of Luca as he edged closer, his arm coming to wrap around Edgar’s waist and pull him closer. He opened his mouth, once again to protest, but forced himself to swallow his words. He rather liked the way that Luca’s head nestled against his shoulder and the warm feeling that was spreading through his body. There was a flutter in his stomach when he felt Luca sigh against him, his breath tickling his neck.
He couldn’t imagine he’d be able to fall asleep like this, but it didn’t take long before he followed Luca to sleep.
Some time later, Edgar woke up to an empty bed, but it didn’t take long to locate the inventor, seated at his desk once again. Edgar sat up slowly, blinking the sleep out of his eyes as he tried to make sense of what had happened. Luca’s hair was damp and a towel was wrapped around his neck, and his desk was clean now too, the only thing on it being the book Luca was currently flipping through. Edgar shuffled to the edge of the bed and reached down to slip his shoes on, his heart thudding in his chest. Daylight streamed in from the window, the bright sunlight of morning. How long had he been asleep? How had he slept longer than Luca?
“You’re awake,” Luca observed, turning in his seat to face the painter. Edgar scowled, feeling himself blush as he scrambled to lace up his boots. How could he have let this happen? “Sorry I didn’t wake you. You just looked so comfortable.”
“Whatever,” Edgar dismissed hurriedly as he stood up, “I need to go.”
He passed by Luca on the way to the door, and the inventor caught him by the wrist to stop him.
“What?” Edgar questioned, seeing Luca’s teasing smirk, his sharp canine poking out just so. There was a glint in his eyes that the painter couldn’t quite read, and he averted his gaze, looking to the floor as Luca held him there.
“Come back later, Edgar. Tonight, after dinner.”
“I- What for? I couldn’t possibly.”
Luca squeezed his wrist, his fingers warm against the sensitive skin that was there. Edgar shuddered at the touch and tried to pull away, but Luca didn’t let go.
“Come back, okay?”
“I…” Edgar bit his lip, “I’ll think about it.”
Luca released him then, apparently satisfied, and Edgar gave him a quick nod before fleeing from the room. If he came back later to sleep beside Luca once again, no one would have to know.