Work Text:
Luca crossed his arms and stroked his chin as he stared at his boyfriend. They had been dating for some time now but… He couldn’t actually recall a time when Edgar burst into laughter. Like, a real fit of laughter. One of those laughs that would make anyone clutch their gut and wonder if they would be able to breathe deeply again.
Edgar was currently staring outside of the window at the raindrops rolling down the window pane. His head tilted to the side as he observed some of the droplets merge together into one large one before disappearing into a puddle below.
No matter how much he tried to find even an ounce of inspiration… It would melt away like the rain. Absolutely nothing ever came to him on rainy days. The gloomy outside world always made him feel so…
Empty .
It was a bit difficult to focus on art when the rain hit the roof as well. He needed absolute silence to focus and do his best. It was a shame. His painting would have to remain unfinished.
That solemn expression Edgar was wearing made Luca feel like he should do something to cheer him up. When he was in prison, sometimes the other nice inmates would crack jokes with him to raise his spirits.
What would they do at a time like this… Hm. Hm, hm hm-
The “prisoner” popped up out of his desk chair and strolled over to Edgar. He leaned against the side of the wall and casually extended his hand out to stroke Edgar’s cheek.
“Hey,”
“Hello.” Edgar mumbled.
“So… What do you get when you take the sun and divide its circumference by its diameter?” Oh, this was a good one. He was holding back a few chuckles as he waited for Edgar to ask.
Instead of responding, Edgar stared at him with a blank expression. He looked a little tired and quite unamused.
Luca stood there with his hand still resting on Edgar’s face.
Edgar sat there in dead silence.
A few more seconds passed.
“You’re supposed to say, “what,” you know…” He explained.
“I would say “what” if I cared enough.”
“Wow.” Luca set his hand down and sighed. “The answer is “pi in the sky” It’s a funny joke ‘cause-”
The artist squinted at Luca with a disgusted expression. “What in the hell does that even mean?”
“Well, y’see- It’s very interestin’! A really funny joke. I almost started laughing before I even said it.”
“Is it? Neither of us are laughing.”
“I- Oh.”
The two of them went quiet as they stared at one another. Edgar did have a point. It was a little disappointing that his joke fell flat though. Luca’s lips pursed together awkwardly as he glanced to the side.
“Sorry… I just wanted to cheer ya up.” Luca rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly before staring at his feet. Awkward.
Letting out an exasperated sigh, Edgar stood up from his spot and wrapped his arms around Luca’s waist to pull him close. He looked up at the slightly taller man with a half hearted smile.
“Thank you for trying. I’m afraid nothing will make me feel better right now. My muse is being blocked by this rain.” Giving him a small peck to his lips, Edgar hugged his boyfriend and quickly let him go.
“Come on…” Frowning at the kiss that seemed to dismiss him, Luca wrapped his arms around Edgar’s neck to stop him from going. “Let me cheer you up. Okay? It’s supposed to rain all day. Spend time with me instead.”
Unable to say no- That was a lie. Edgar could easily say no to Luca and return to his work, but he wouldn’t. He hated to admit it, but he actually did care about him.
“Fine.”
This kind of behavior kind of reminded him of the days when Mable would beg for him to come out of his room. He really couldn’t say no to him now…
“Woo! I promise you I’ll make you laugh by the end of the day.”
“I doubt it. Go ahead and try, if you think you can.” Edgar rolled his eyes at the thought of Luca possibly pestering him the entire day. It was only noon…
“Will do.”
As expected, Edgar was a hard nut to crack. Luca tried everything he could think of to get him to laugh. Hell- He even pulled out his algebra jokes. Those were the best! How could Edgar not break down into a million pieces from laughing? He didn’t get it. No one understood Luca. It was rough…
They were currently sitting on the couch. Luca was in Edgar’s lap and sprawled across him as the other male tried to sketch something. Every now and again, Edgar would grumble and scribble out his sketch before flipping to a new page.
He was getting into a really bad mood…
“Hey, Edgar-”
“What.” His voice was flat.
“What did the art thieves say at the art gallery?” Luca nervously laughed a little.
“What.” It was even flatter.
“Grab the Monet and let's Gogh!!! H-haha! Get it- The-”
“I don’t believe art theft is very funny.” Edgar put down his pencil and stroked Luca’s hair as he looked down at his boyfriend. “It’s a crime that many artists are accused of. Similar thinking, I believe. Not to even mention those people who steal art to claim as their own…” He shuddered. “Disgusting.”
“Awh…” Sounding extremely disappointed, Luca rested his chin against the armrest of the couch and kicked his legs just a little. His brows furrowed together as he tried to think of something to make Edgar laugh.
If dad jokes and puns didn’t work… Would anti jokes? He remembered a few…
“Uhh… What do you call a fish with no eyes?” He tried again, this time flipping so he could wiggle back to rest his head on Edgar’s lap. He looked up at him from under his sketchbook with a goofy grin.
The artist set down his sketchbook to the side to give Luca his full attention. His pretty blue eyes were beautiful. Luca couldn’t help but get lost in them.
He let out a sigh and cupped Luca’s face with both of his hands. His callouses from holding a paintbrush brushed across the “prisoner”’s cheeks as he held him there.
“I don’t know, Luca. What do you call them?” His long lashes fluttered as he faked interest in the joke.
“I uh-” Suddenly all his thoughts vanished from looking at his pretty boyfriend. His cheeks flushed a light shade of red as he watched a piece of Edgar’s hair fall forward. “It’s… “Fsh…” Ha-” He sighed. “Ah.”
Edgar didn’t laugh at all. He only nodded his head and looked back up. “Right. Fsh. No “i”’s. Good one. Ha ha.” His voice was so monotone it was clear as day he was pretending to laugh.
“Mmm…” It felt a little bad to not know how to make his own lover laugh. He wanted to see and hear what Edgar was like when he was busting a gut. This was so hard!!
Luca reached his arms up to get Edgar’s attention. “I’m tryin’ my best, but it’s so hard! It’s difficult… Can I get a kiss as a reward?” He whined with frustration in his voice.
“I suppose so.” Edgar shifted to help Luca up and gently kissed him. He held Luca in his lap and set both hands on his hips. “Why do you want to hear me laugh so badly anyway?”
“Because I love you a lot. I really wanna make you laugh and bring joy to you on shitty days like this.” Luca pressed his forehead against Edgar’s shoulder and sighed. The scent of expensive perfume and paint filled his senses. His favorite scent.
Edgar’s cheeks warmed at the answer. He nodded his head quietly and avoided eye contact. “That makes sense. Whatever. You’ll make me laugh some day.”
Luca shut his eyes. “I wanted to do it today…”
“It’s fine.” Edgar would wait as long as he needed to give Luca his actual laugh.
In all honesty, Edgar wasn’t sure what tickled him. After spending his entire life mostly alone with only art as his friend… He wasn’t sure what was considered humorous.
When he was a child, adults would make “jokes” just to conform to society. Those who were considered “funny” were socially accepted. It was something about a person who could make others smile, real or not, that made the other people of society happy.
None of the jokes those people made were funny. They were strange and horribly stupid. Edgar always turned his nose the other way when someone tried to play with him as if he were a child. Those kinds of jokes were so poor.
What was the point in being liked? Trying for such a curious social standard made absolutely no sense. Someone could gain the same amount of popularity through wealth or talent. Humor was completely optional.
At times like these though… He kind of wished he was dimwitted enough to understand these jokes. It didn’t make sense. Luca was a genius. He was an inventor before he was imprisoned too. So… Why even bother with these poor attempts at humor? He couldn’t understand it even for a second.
“You don’t have to make me laugh.” Edgar spoke up as he ran his fingers through Luca’s ponytail. “Being with you is enough to make me happy. Ah- But… Don’t get used to hearing it. You should just know that I’m happy being with you like this.”
“Eh?” Luca looked surprised. “But you don’t seem that happy with me. Your face is always kinda… The same?”
“It’s just because…” The artist tensed a little whilst closing his eyes. He exhaled slowly. “Father told me that humor was something only an untalented buffoon needed to learn. I also never had any true friends except for one who was in and out of my life. I don’t see a reason to laugh or smile unless something worth laughing or smiling occurs. It’s useless to fake those things to others.” His moderately toned voice seemed to soften. “It’s what I’m used to.”
“Yeah… Okay- But isn’t it fun to laugh and smile with friends? It makes me feel all good inside.” Luca squeezed Edgar a little tighter.
“I wouldn’t know.”
“I see… Then- I’ll stop tryin’ to push it. Okay? I’ll make you really happy one day. I promise!”
Edgar was used to this kind of determination. In a lot of ways, Luca was just like Natsusa. They both did everything in their power to make Edgar come out of his iron shell that was made by his family.
Would Luca end up sneaking into his room to encourage him outside? Or pull on his arm with eagerness? Or annoy him to the point of giving into his every whim?
Looking at Luca now, Edgar tilted his head to the side and grinned again.
He hoped so.
“I’ll hold you to it.”
The next day, Edgar waited around anxiously to see what kind of pranks Luca would pull. He was wondering if he would drag him down to the library and read a bunch of comedy books to him or make up stories.
It would be fun to see what he had up his sleeve this time.
Poking his head around the corner and looking both ways, Edgar tried to search for his boyfriend.
Luca was nowhere to be seen… That was disappointing. Maybe he was with Mike and Robbie? They could be planning something… It was a little scary to consider getting pranked. He had heard of Mike taking things a bit too far before. Damned acrobat.
He hid behind the door to the main lobby and looked in. There, he saw Luca, Eli, William, and Norton. It looked like they were arguing with one another. Yikes. The match must have gone pretty awful…
“If Luca kited longer, we could have won…” Norton mumbled under his breath. He rubbed one of his magnets against his pants to clean it off. “I’m going to go see Andrew. I’d say good game if it was one…”
“Yeah, I know.” William huffed as he ran his fingers through his hair. “If ya don’t wanna kite, babe… Maybe you should hide or something. I’d rather have you hide through a cipher or two compared to an early 2 second kite rescue.”
Yeah. It must have been pretty bad.
“Eli!” Luca pulled on his bangs as he shook his head. “How am I supposed to hide at the start of the match when your- Your… Your-!”
Eli sat there with Brooke Rose in his lap. He was frowning deeply compared to his usual gentle smile. “...”
“Your- What the hell is it called-! That- The! Your chicken! The popipopipo! Popo!!!! Po pi pi!!! Po pi!!” Luca shouted. “The bird-! It gave away my position!!! That chicken nugget made me get trapped in a bad area! I couldn’t move!!!”
Edgar clasped his hand over his mouth and crouched beside the door. He pressed his forehead against the wall and swallowed hard.
“She needs to see you to help you later.” Eli explained as calmly as he could.
“Yeah? How is she helping me when Jack is right there! Po pi po pi po pi pi pi pi pi pi!!!” He flailed his arms around. “Is screaming and pooping on my shoulder helpful? I dunno! Tell her to fly higher or something!! This sucks!”
The artist smacked his head against the wall lightly. Oh God.
From down the hall, Andrew was wandering to the main lobby to greet Norton from his match. On his way there, he spotted Edgar curled up in a ball on the ground. He was shaking and holding his mouth.
“E-Edgar? Are you sick?” He rushed over as soon as he could with panic in his throat.
Edgar shook his head and tried to shoo Andrew away. The entire time, he was still holding his mouth shut. He was turning red too.
“Oh no- Um- Damn it-” The grave keeper stood up and opened the door wider to get everyone’s attention. “P-please-! Someone help!”
“Andrew?” Norton came over to his boyfriend and placed a hand on his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Edgar… He’s- He’s really sick.”
Luca stopped flapping his arms like an owl and suddenly looked concerned. All of them rushed over to Edgar’s side.
The artist was still on the floor with his hand over his mouth. To them, it looked like he was either choking or convulsing.
“Edgar-!” Luca came running over and knelt down beside him. He pulled his boyfriend out of his curled up state and flat onto his back. “Are you okay? Edgar- Take your hand away from your mouth.”
Edgar’s eyes filled with tears as he shook his head. He couldn’t. Absolutely not.
“Dude- You’re turning red. Help me out, Norton.” William took one of Edgar’s arms and pulled them away from his mouth whilst Norton did the same with the other.
The second they pulled away Edgar’s hands, they saw something completely unexpected.
“P-P-P….” He stuttered out.
“Ppp?” Luca repeated.
“Popipo- Pffffft-”
Edgar smacked his fist into the wall a couple of times as the fit of laughter burst out from his chest. He couldn’t hold it back anymore. It was too funny! He laughed loudly with a strained breath between it whenever he could. The tears in his eyes were trickling out of his eyes as he smiled wide.
“H-hey- That isn’t funny! I could have died if this wasn’t some hell manor!” Luca whined at him. He grabbed Edgar by his shoulders and shook him lightly. “Come onnnn-”
William and Eli looked at one another with less annoyance than before. It was nice to see the artist smile like that. It was a bit contagious as well. They started to laugh along with him.
Andrew was leaning against Norton’s side a little and staring at them blankly. He had no idea what was going on. Luckily, Norton patted his head and guided them away.
“Well… Y-you did it. Are you proud of yourself? You kept your promise.” Edgar wiped a tear away from his eye as he looked at Luca with a large smile.
“Huh?” Luca blinked.
“You made me laugh.”
The “prisoner” stared at him owlishly. “What promise-”
Oh. He forgot.
“Come with me.” Edgar sighed as he tried to catch his breath. He took hold of Luca’s hand and pulled him away.
“Okay-”
Luca felt like a princess being taken away by a prince. God, he was dreamy.
Returning to Edgar’s room, he sat down on his bed with his face in his hands. Luca sat down beside him and thought about the sound of his laughter. It was crisp, clear, and honest… It was so joyful that he almost couldn’t believe it had actually happened.
“You promised me you would make me laugh. And you did. Indirectly… Seeing you wave your arms and squawk like a bird was hilarious.” Edgar laid down and stared at the ceiling. “You are too much, Balsa.”
Pursing his lips together in a pout, Luca furrowed his brows. He wasn’t trying to be funny though. He was genuinely upset at Eli for his bird. Whatever her name was… He got blamed for something he had no control over. Man.
“I don’t think it’s very funny… And if it’s indirect, then it doesn’t count.”
“Oh? Are there rules to your little promise?” Edgar mused in return. He seemed to be in a good mood.
Luca grumbled something to himself before noticing that Edgar’s shirt was untucked. It showed off a bit of his skin on his stomach.
“I’ll make you laugh.”
“You are? With another foolish joke? Don’t waste your breath. You’ve already made me laugh t-t-t-” Edgar couldn’t finish sneering at him.
Luca’s fingers came down rapidly to tickle Edgar’s stomach. They shot up his shirt just enough to wiggle against his skin. Then, he moved them to the artist’s sides.
Edgar was almost squealing as he laughed. His body twitched and jerked around until he was back into a ball like before. He shielded himself with his arms and wheezed with laughter.
The unknown sensation of being tickled was driving Edgar mad. He squeezed his eyes shut as he begged for mercy.
The “prisoner” stopped tickling his boyfriend when he asked. He grinned a shit-eating smile. It was clear he was about to say something snarky in response to what had just transpired, but Edgar didn’t give him a chance.
He grabbed Luca by his arms and flipped him so he was on the bed whilst Edgar hovered on top of him.
Luca watched his beautiful boyfriend pin him down. His eyes were wide, his cheeks were flushed, and he looked a bit messy compared to normal. Even his ponytail was starting to fall out… Cute.
His body trembled just a little from the ghost sensations of Luca’s fingers on his body. “Y-You…” His voice whispered.
“ Now I’ve properly made ya laugh. Score one for Balsa and score zero for Va-”
Edgar cut him off by kissing him softly. Luca kissed back and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend’s neck happily. He smiled in the kiss and pulled back when Edgar hugged him.
They were both laying on their sides in each other’s arms. Luca kissed Edgar’s cheek and laughed.
“I love you so much, Edgar. Your laugh… Man. I want to hear it forever. I-if I can remember it… ” He knew he would forget… Hopefully he could hear it more often.
“I love you too. Oh, shut up. You’ll always make me laugh if you mimic that bird.” He couldn’t help but giggle a little again at the thought.
“It’s not that funny!”
“It was.”
“No! Y’see- The bird really messed me up! I couldn’t hide and-”
Edgar shushed him with another kiss. “You’re funny.”
“Man… Whatever.”
“Maybe you’ll take that acrobat’s throne.”
“Do you really think so?”
Mike sneezed in another room. He rubbed his nose and squinted at the ceiling.
"Bless you... What's wrong?" Margaretha paused her music box when Mike began to walk back and forth.
"My position of being the funniest person ever is being threatened..." He mumbled.