Chapter Text
The dark, endless halls of the Pinky Corridor surrounded Ren. The maze-like structure he now knew like the back of his hand seemed to stretch on forever today. His soft footsteps echoed through the empty space. His master was in the form of the Dihui Star, enclosing herself in the security of her quarters, leaving Ren wandering with nothing to do. He walked, letting his thoughts chase each other in a frenzied game of tag.
As he made his way throughout the labyrinth of a corridor, a sliver of his consciousness strayed to the Thumb Apprentice. He never really knew Lucio until three months ago, when he found the silver-haired man lying unconscious, covered in bruises and cuts and bandages that should have been changed ages ago. To this day, Ren had no idea what had possessed him to pick him up and take care of his wounds.
As he was wrapping his arm in gauze, Lucio began shifting restlessly, and his eyes fluttered open. The beautiful hue of violet in his eyes made Ren’s heart skip a beat.
Hold on, that makes it sound like he’s in love or something.
…
Anyways.
While his hand was frozen midair, Lucio seemed to have woken up fully, his eyes darting across Ren’s face before landing on him caring for his bleeding cuts. He instantly withdrew his arm and shuffled backwards like a small animal. His expression screamed alarm and suspicion, but Ren saw how it softened for a fraction of a second.
“Who are you? What are you doing? Where am I?” Questions and demands tumbled out of his mouth, and Ren wasn’t surprised.
Who are you? Well, that hurt. Although disorientation was expected.
He took his eyes off Lucio’s face and reached over to secure the bandage around his thin, yet muscular arm. Without looking up, he started speaking. “If you’ll calm down and let me finish with your wounds, I shall explain and answer your inquiries.”
After seeing him relax and fall silent, Ren began. “First, I am the Pinky Apprentice, Ren. As you can see, I am treating your wounds and changing your old bandages, which you should have done a very long time ago. You are in one of the rooms in the Pinky Corridor, I carried you here.” Lucio’s shoulders untensed as he spoke, and the look of protest on his face seemed to dwindle, yet still existing. “Why… Why are you doing this?” He asked, and the pale fingers moving swiftly froze for a moment, barely there, but just enough for Lucio to notice.
Silence hung heavy between them as Ren struggled to form his thoughts into words. “My humble self could not find a reason not to.”
Huh, what a lame answer that was.
He didn’t dare look up to the other man. Lucio’s skin was warm, reminding him of the fact that he was right there, watching him work. His own body felt like it was on fire. His heart was racing, hammering against his ribcage.
What the-
“There, I believe we are finished, unless you have more that need to be taken care of,” Ren said as he cut the excess gauze off. He was done, which meant he had to reciprocate Lucio’s gaze.
How awkward.
Lucio opened his mouth to say something, closed it again, and Ren saw about a million emotions swim through his eyes. Confusion. Hope. Denial. Disappointment. Doubt. Determination. He watched his lips part again and form words.
“I- I must thank you, for…” he trailed off, seemingly unsure of what to call this—mess? event? catastrophe?— situation. Ren merely nodded, standing up a little too quickly. “If you wish, you may stay here for a while longer, though I assume your Nursefather would not appreciate that.”
He was really bad at this.
“I am grateful for your offer, but I must decline. I have much to get back to, and I do not wish to burden you further,” Lucio replied. Burden? he thought. He decided it was wise to just leave at this point. There was really no point staying in this awkward atmosphere.
He slowly turned away, unsure. Suddenly, Lucio’s hand shot out, going to grab the hem of Ren’s sleeve. Then just as suddenly he froze, eyes wide, sweat trickling down his face. “I—…” Terrified, he pulled his hand back, which was visibly shaking. His lips were pursed, pressed into a thin line.
Ren suddenly felt a sharp pang in his heart. He felt the urge to reach out and hold Lucio’s quivering hand into his own.
But that was stupid.
Instead, he quietly sat back down, beside the other Apprentice. Sometimes silence was better than words, after all.
That was his first ever memorable encounter with Lucio.
That was the day he truly realised the complexity of another human being.