Work Text:
The match organizer had to have such a rotten sense of humor, right? They just had to. Ever since December hit, all matches had been scheduled in Leo’s Memory as part of the “festivities.” Luchino knew that Leo wasn’t doing well because of it, and he sure as hell wasn’t either. For different reasons, of course.
The cold that came with the winter time weighed down on the reptile’s body, his leaps clumsy and his landings more tumbles than true landings at best. The mocking okay sign that the mercenary pointed at him when he had launched himself head first into a wall continued to burn in his mind, making him all the more irritable when he was in any matches against him. It wasn’t like he was intentionally being sloppy either, being cold blooded in the snow and ice just wasn’t a fun combination. He’s forgotten how it feels not to be constantly drowsy all the time, or when he didn’t return to his living quarters in sopping wet clothes, the shivers wracking his body and making his teeth clatter inside his skull.
Luchino heaved a weary sigh as he retreated to the study that the baron had given him to continue what little research he was able. It seemed like the mechanically or scientifically were given a small space to continue their studies. It was often he would hear the whirs and clangs of machinery in Burke’s area, along with the gruff curses that would soon follow a mildly alarming crash or bang. He used to jerk in surprise whenever a particularly loud mechanical failure made its presence known from down the hall, but now he’s grown used to such interruptions, them becoming akin to the bird song kind of background noise; not truly there until he found himself paying attention to it.
He had only just taken a seat and started scrawling notes on how to better approach the matches when he heard a familiar set of footsteps approaching from outside the study. They were slow, almost lazily so, accompanied by a melodic humming that the owner couldn’t seem to contain sometimes. Just hearing the approach seemed to warm Luchino up from the inside, better than any steaming cup of tea or hot meal. He couldn’t help the giddiness that rose up with him when it came to the ever smiling violinist, nor could he help the soft smile that crossed his own lips before he could compose himself again.
What a silly thing, a crush is. It seems so insignificant until one’s mind was overtaken by the object of their affection.
“Tough day? You usually say hi at least before you lock yourself in here,” Antonio said in lieu of a greeting, pulling up a chair and taking a seat in it backwards, his gangly legs wrapped around the legs of the chair. Luchino sighed and nodded, setting aside the notebook he had been scribbling in.
“More like a tough month. The survivors seem to have noticed I haven’t been my best, and they’re taking full advantage of it,” he grumbled, brows furrowed in frustration. “It wouldn’t be so bad if they just hurried and finish off the match, but usually they’ll just hang around the gate after it was opened and mess around until they see me coming. That coordinator even saved her flare gun once just to further rub it in.”
Antonio’s grin tightened at the edges, knowing full well how annoying the situation was from his own experiences. Some days, he could look upon the survivors with fondness and entertain the idea of them being normal housemates with each other, but those kinds of matches quickly chased away any thoughts of that happening. He sighed, ignoring the way that Luchino had barked a laugh at the sudden droop of his expression, before propping his arm up on the back of the chair, perching his chin in his open palm.
Luchino went back to his notes, a silent understanding between them. In these moments between them, idle chatter didn’t fill the air, only a comfortable silence and the scratching of a pen nib against creased paper. Antonio simply let him be, letting eyes hidden by unruly, evermoving hair wander around the room to take in any differences since the last time he visited. It was something like a game to him, seeking out any cracks in the more aloof persona that Luchino gave off to the other occupants in the manor. Usually, it was just small changes, a new insect pinned to a corkboard here, or some sort of newt inside a temporary habitat there. However, something a lot more interesting than that caught his eye, a lot more telling to the other man’s tastes than just another research subject.
“Say.. when did you get this gramophone?” Antonio asked, turning his attention back to Luchino, the scratching of his pen coming to a halt. Luchino smiled bashfully, rubbing the back of his neck as he got up from where he was sitting, crossing the few steps it took to get to the device.
“I just got it recently. I requested something to drown out Burke when he got too loud, and this is what the baron sent me,” he explained. “I’m used to it by now, but it does get on my nerves when I’m already frazzled after a few bad matches.”
He pulled out a thin box while he spoke, the records inside of it rattling gently as he set it down on the small table beside the gramophone. Antonio perked up in interest when he saw the sleeves, getting out of his chair and going to see what he recognized in the meager collection. There were standard records that belonged in any average collection, but there was one outlier. He pulled it out, his brows furrowing. It was simply a blank sleeve, no designs or even a composer’s name on the thick paper. There was only a note dedicating it to Luchino.
“That one I had custom made,” Luchino explained once he saw which record Antonio had pulled out. “I can’t quite remember where I got the piece from, but the baron was able to make something out of the sheet music I had given him.” It was a lie, however. He knew exactly where that piece had come from, but he was scared of admitting it. After all, how would Antonio react to finding out that his bed partner had turned into some monster? No, it was better to keep that secret hidden, even if it meant that the feelings he had towards the violinist would remain hidden.
That was the plan, at least, until Antonio slipped the record out of the sleeve before Luchino could stop him, placing the vinyl on the gramophone and setting the needle on the surface. There was a beat of scratchy silence before the sweet notes of a violin came drifting out of the mouth of the machine, their tone soft and alluring. To the ear of an amateur, it sounded like the music of any violinist; but to Antonio, his own playing was all too familiar. It may have not been from his own instrument, but he could recognize his own style.
“You said you couldn’t remember where you got this from, correct?” Antonio asked, his expression strained. Luchino only nodded, the guilt from lying gnawing at his conscience. Hurt flashed in Antonio’s eyes as he carefully lifted the needle from the vinyl, the music that had filled the room coming to a sudden halt and throwing them into a silence that was no longer comfortable.
“You’ll have to excuse me,” he said before brushing past Luchino, making a hasty retreat. Luchino made to follow him, but stopped at the last moment. No, it wouldn’t do to upset him even more. He sighed as he went back to his desk. He wanted to finish his notes, but he just couldn’t find it in himself to concentrate any longer.
Days passed since their last conversation, and Luchino could still only catch glimpses of Antonio in passing, whether it be the sound of his fading footsteps or the flash of long hair just around the corner. Time after time, Luchino tried to follow after the violinist, but he remained avoidant, and Luchino only grew more and more frustrated. After one last near miss, he had had enough and started devising a plan to get the violinist to speak with him once more. He could handle the disappointment he anticipated when he revealed his secret, but he couldn’t handle this oh so dreadful silence.
It was when the match ups for the duo hunter matches had been posted that Luchino decided to make his move. With a favor owed to Jack, phase one of his plan was complete. Now, it was the hard part.
“Luchino,” Antonio started when he saw the reptilian enter the waiting room instead of the Ripper like he had planned.
“Please, before you say anything else, just hear me out. Meet me at the roller coaster at the second stop, we can let the survivors do what they want as a gift, I just want you to hear me out,” Luchino practically begged. Antonio was silent for a moment, his expression unreadable behind his smile.
“Alright. I’ll see you at the second stop then,” Antonio sighed, making a motion towards Luchino but stopping himself at the last moment.
Before they could speak more, the starting bell started and they were met with a familiar sense of queasiness as some unknown force took them to their starting points. Once the starting bell rang and Luchino heard Helena use her ability, he did a few spins to indicate that he wasn’t going to go after the survivors, trusting that Antonio did the same. He smiled weakly at the ones who ran up to them, the coordinator and forward, before moving towards the roller coaster in the distance.
He clambered into the first seat and started it before any of the survivors could join him. After all, this was going to be a private conversation, and he really didn’t want any interruptions. Luchino clutched on to the side of the coaster as it sped him towards his destination, claws scratching against the already worn metal of the cart. He could never get used to the high speeds, every dip and turn making his stomach churn as well. But, finally, the ride came to a stop, and there Antonio was waiting to board it with him. After shooing away Naib, who had been rather insistent on following around the violinist, Antonio squeezed in beside Luchino. A few moments of silence passed between them before Luchino finally decided to cut through it, fiddling with his tail that he had laid over his lap nervously.
“I had lied when I said I forgot where I got that piece from,” he started, avoiding Antonio’s gaze when he had turned his head towards him. “It… it was you who had given it to me, after a night we had spent together.” Luchino chuckled weakly, rubbing the back of his neck. “You had known me only as Diruse, I wasn’t even sure you had remembered me from back then.”
Antonio sighed, using a lock of his hair to delicately turn Luchino’s head towards him.
“I have to admit, I didn’t recognize you as you are now, but… That night has never faded from my memory,” he said, his smile growing softer, more warm. Luchino could feel the blood rush to his face just to be bathed in that glow again. “I had gotten upset because I thought that piece had been sold off, I’m sorry for taking it out on you.”
Luchino laughed softly and shook his head.
“No, no, it’s my fault for hiding it from you. After you had disappeared from the public eye, I thought you had forgotten about me,” he confessed.
“Like I told you before, I had never forgotten about that night, and that includes the man I had spent it with.” Antonio took the hand that Luchino had been fiddling with his tail with, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I can’t forget, because I felt like we could have something special between us.”
Antonio made to backtrack once he realized what he said, but Luchino cut him off by leaning in and pressing a gentle peck to the corner of his lips.
“Who’s to say we can’t continue that? I don’t think we’ll be disappearing on each other any time soon at the moment.” Luchino grinned hopefully at the suggestion.
Antonio chuckled, pulling the reptilian even closer to him and feeling the way his scaled face tucked itself into the crook of his neck. A soft purr rumbled in Luchino’s throat at the close contact. They watched the survivors run around the map before slowly trickling out of the opened gates.
“I think I would really like that.”