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With a lethargic sigh, Andrew slumped against his door, peeling his gloves off his sweaty hands like a second skin. The matches he'd been forced through were tough as always, however lately the hunters seemed to be growing more and more brutal.
"Long day?" came a voice from his bed. A soothing one, at that.
A smile tugged at Andrew's lips. Luca. The first person in the Manor who made him feel truly human. Truly loved.
He shrugged off his coat and kicked his boots off as he made his way over to join his boyfriend lounging on his bed.
"Something like that," he finally said. "I thought you'd be with Tracy this afternoon."
"Nah, she's busy with matches; Helena's sick so Tracy's standin' in for her. Which means," his voice strained as he sat up enough to pull Andrew down onto his chest, "we have the rest of the day to ourselves. How's that sound?"
Andrew hummed delightedly in response when he felt Luca's hands snake into his hair. Whenever Luca threaded his fingers through Andrew's mellow cornsilk, he felt as if he was weightless, floating. It was the best type of euphoria - ecstasy - something he had quickly become addicted to. His heart pounded against Luca's body. He reached up to intertwine his fingers with the "Prisoner"'s.
Luca held Andrew's hand closer to his face to place a chaste kiss on the back of it. "You've been biting ya nails again, Drew."
Defensive instincts sharp as lightning, Andrew yanked his hand back and clutched it to his chest. "Don't look! My hands are big and ugly like a monster's..."
"I love your hands," Luca beamed, wiping some stray hair out of his boyfriend's face. "Everything about you is beautiful."
When Andrew neglected an answer, Luca laid back in thoughtful silence. He had the awful tendency to speak his thoughts aloud entirely without meaning to.
"I can make ya hands look really pretty if you'd like,"
That seemed to perk him up. "How?"
Luca's lips curled into a mighty grin. "Have you ever had your nails painted? Like...a manicure?"
"...No," he said slowly.
"Would you like one?"
Andrew wasn't sure what he was getting himself into, but this was Luca. Luca would never do anything he didn't like. He took a deep breath before exhaling a "Sure,"
Luca's joy practically sent static through Andrew as he leaped off the bed and scrambled for the door. "Sweet! I'll be right back! Wash ya hands for me, 'kay?"
Andrew nodded along and as soon as Luca had sped down the hallway to, presumably, his own room, Andrew followed the instructions given to him and made his way to his en suite.
When Luca burst through the door a few moments later he was carrying a knife, a cloth, a square of...paper? and a small container of something Andrew could not recognize.
Andrew's bitten lips were sure to crack and bleed when he clamped his teeth down on them with worry. "Luca... Why do you have a knife? Are you going to kill me?"
He looked at the weapon in his hand, then back at his boyfriend. "No? I'd never! I couldn't find anything else suitable. It's just a paring knife, Drew." He couldn't help the snort that slipped out as he put everything down on the bed. He patted down beside him to beckon him over. "Come here,"
Andrew edged onto his bed and offered Luca a perplexed gaze. "How do you do a manicure? Will it really make my hands look less...disgusting?"
Too distracted with setting everything up, Luca nodded along. "Give me a hand, please. Like, literally," he held his hand open expectantly.
Andrew placed his hand in his boyfriend's awaiting one with delicate intent. Luca's hand was warm, a pleasant warm like being wrapped up in a fluffy blanket on a winter night - satisfaction. Heaven, even.
"I'm gonna need ya to hold still for me. Don't move a muscle!" Luca warned before bringing the edge of the knife to the side of Andrew's thumb nail.
The gravekeeper's whole body tensed as he braced himself for pain. Andrew winced as Luca sliced his nail into a smooth curve in one smooth motion, like peeling a potato. Oh. That didn't hurt as he expected. Luca gave him a reassuring smile to calm his nerves before making short work of the rest, gripping his hands a bit tighter to minimize the chances of injury. (He would know.)
"All done! You were so brave, Drew!" Luca chimed. He ruffled his hair with his free hand, then he smoothed it down and tucked a strand behind his ear. "You're so cute."
Andrew covered his reddening face. He'd never admit it, but butterflies were fluttering in the pit of his stomach. "Luca!"
Luca pecked him on the cheek, "Hands off ya face, mister. I'm not finished yet! Gotta sand the sharp edges down. It'll only take a minute," He picked up the sandpaper he brought with him, (So that's what the paper was!) and motioned to the container beside him, "Could ya open the tub for me, please?"
"Uh, yeah, sure," He unscrewed the lid to the cylindrical container Luca brought as he quickly filed his nails. Inside was a black-tinted powder, the color of pristine obsidian. He'd never seen anything like it before. "Is this soot?"
Luca snorted again. "Wh- No! It's nail powder, Vera lent it to me - she does the girls' nails all the time. Tracy showed me the basic process, so I wanted to surprise ya..."
"Luca Balsa," Andrew whispered, "I love you."
"Aw, I love ya too, Drew!" came an airy chuckle. Carefully, Luca got up to snatch something off his dresser before returning to the bed. "Now, let's do this quickly!"
It was then when it became apparent what Luca had picked up; a small bottle of almond oil Luca had given him to comfort him on lonely nights when he missed his mother. He remembered telling Luca she smelled like it. He held Andrew's hand steady as he massaged the oil into his fingernails. Any oil that got onto his skin was promptly wiped off.
He watched Luca's brows furrow in unadulterated concentration, trying his best to make sure Andrew's nails were decorated perfectly. His heart fluttered as his boyfriend dabbed at the edges of his nail with the corner of his shirt to remove the excess oil - he never could have imagined being treated with such care before his life at the Manor. It was the fleeting moments like this that made Andrew truly feel loved, that made him feel as beautiful as Luca told him.
When Luca was done with one hand, he swiftly dipped Andrew's fingertips into the powder tub and held it there. Andrew's fingers wriggled in response to the strange texture. It was a bit like flour? "What are you doing?"
"Had to oil ya nails up so the powder would stick," Luca beamed. When he deemed it ready, he gently tapped Andrew's bony fingers against the rim of the tub to shake off any leftover powder, and then he blew on them to make double sure. He repeated the process with his other hand. "Don't touch anything yet - gotta let it dry a bit before I buff it."
"Buff...it?" Andrew frowned. "Like make strong?"
The "Prisoner" shook his head, "Like polish!"
Andrew blew his nails to punctuate his point, "Won't that rub the powder off?"
Though the powder seemed to have set.
"Just trust me, Drew," was all Luca said to shut down the conversation. While he let the hand he just finished dry, he picked up the cloth he brought and had Andrew place his hand flat on his knee.
He began to rub the chamois cloth into the thumb nail, gently pressing into the ridges running through it - a telltale sign of Andrew's very obvious vitamin deficiency. He stroked the cloth across his nail in an X shape, careful not to generate any heat or press too hard. Scratching the powder off would be a pain; Luca truly did not want to have to start all over again.
"You're watchin' so intently, Andrew," Luca whispered. "Whaddya think of ya nails so far? You like 'em?"
The gravekeeper nodded. "You're concentrating so hard."
"That's because I want them to be as perfect as you. Takes a lotta hard work, ya know?" The X motions switched into polishing circles, "I'm not pressing too hard, am I? Don't wanna hurt ya."
"No...It's alright. This is nothing,"
"Good!" Luca continued the motions with the chamois cloth until he deemed the nail done. He showed it to Andrew with a proud beam. "See how shiny it is? Look!"
He was right; it definitely held a sheen that was not there before. Andrew held his hand up in the light to get a closer look. "Will you do the others?"
"Of course I will! Gimme ya hand back though, I still need it."
As Luca buffed the rest of his nails, Andrew could only smile inwardly to himself. How on Earth had such a handsome man fallen for someone like him? He was lanky and gross and weird. He was bony and he was covered in gruesome scars. The average person would've been revolted. But not Luca. Never Luca.
Luca had treated him so fairly since the beginning like he was no different from anyone else. He told him he adored his uniqueness, that nobody else was like him. Luca told him his skin was like gladiolus flowers and his eyes were mesmerizing like rubies. Little comparisons to beautiful things that made his heart soar. And the more Luca described what he loved about him, the clearer Andrew's clouded mind became.
He loved Luca, and in return, Luca loved him.
How could he not adore Luca Balsa?
"Hey...Are you crying?"
Andrew blinked through wet lashes. His cheeks were damp. "No,"
Luca clasped his boyfriend's hands tightly in his own. "What's wrong? Did I hurt ya?"
"No," he repeated, "I was just thinking about how much I love you. And how much you do for me, and care about me."
A heavy sigh escaped his nose as he used his thumb to wipe away stray tears. "Andrew Kreiss, I am literally head over heels in love with you. You mean the whole world to me and more."
Andrew leaned into his touch. Luca could probably feel the heat blossoming in his cheeks through the thick gloves, which was embarrassing, but at that moment he couldn't find it in himself to care. His stomach did backflips on itself at Luca's confession. "Can I do your nails now? We can match."
"Not today - let's save the rest of the fun for tomorrow," Luca suggested. He cleared the bed hastily, moving the clutter on the mattress to the floor. "Right now, I want to be with you."
Andrew yelped as Luca pulled him back down to lay with him, hands intertwined with his own.
Luca Balsa was the best thing that had ever happened to him. Every touch was liquid fire and every kiss was electric coursing through his veins. The day the gravekeeper had set eyes on him was the moment his entire life changed. All the darkness melted away; the ice-hold hatred burrowing into his skin thawed into nothingness, not even a dull ache left in its wake. Every day felt much brighter, the sun was forgiving and the moonlight no longer scoffed at the sight of such a monster. No, a miracle.
"Hey, Andrew,"
He gripped his hand tighter, "Yeah?"
The glint held in such enchanting emerald eyes set his heart aflame.
"When we get out of here, I'm gonna ask ya to marry me."