#ithaluca

Resting - Night Watch x Prisoner (IthaLuca)

A/N: My belief that Luca can be shipped with anyone (within reason) remains strong. Thank you for requesting! Apologies that this took a bit to write, life stuff kept me busy. ^^;

Despite what many believed, Ithaqua did not hate people. It was true that he was unsociable and…off-putting, to say the least. But it couldn’t be helped. He had barely interacted with a single person besides his mother for years. His victims didn’t count.

Ithaqua just preferred to observe everyone’s interactions. It was a form of amusement for him. But no one amused him more than a certain electrically-charged survivor.

Luca was a bit of a strange case in terms of personality. He liked talking to people, often carrying conversations, but spent a lot of time holed up in his room. He was well-mannered because of his noble upbringing, but could be as loud and impulsive as the lightning that coursed through his body. Ithaqua found him to be charming.

“You know, chasing you around is like a game of cat and mouse,” Ithaqua once said to Luca post-match. He had tried to keep his feelings of annoyance down—it wasn’t a secret that Luca was an easy target, but the prisoner’s evasiveness had been exceptionally high today.

“Cat and mouse, huh? Interesting comparison,” Luca mused, his fanged smirk growing. “A lot of people here are like cats in a bad way—always throwing hissy fits. It can be such a bother…but you, well, you’re like a giggly cat. If cats could giggle.”

Ithaqua, of course, giggled at that. And Luca’s smile upon hearing it made the slight embarrassment. “You are more like a rat,” the masked man quipped. “And I’m not sure why. You just are.”

Luca pretended to be offended. “Why, Mister Ithaqua, that was rude of you,” he laughed. But it turned into a wince of pain as he was suddenly struck with a small headache. “Ow, ow…!”

The lighthearted mood immediately dissipated. “Are you okay?” Ithaqua asked, a bit of concern in his voice. He knew it must be something related to Luca’s brain damage.

“Yes, yes. I’m fine,” the shorter man muttered. He ran a hand through his messy brown hair, a bit of static making it raise up a little. “Ah, what were we talking about?”

“Cats and rats,” Ithaqua deadpanned. He grabbed Luca by his collar and started dragging him away. “But not anymore. You better get some rest right now.”

Luca protested the whole way back to his room (wait, how did Ithaqua know where it was?) but wasn’t really struggling like one normally would in a match. Anyone they passed by didn’t move in to help at all, either out of fear or confusion.

Ithaqua practically kicked down the door and dropped Luca onto his bed covered in paper. “The state of your room is something to behold,” he said sarcastically. He couldn’t help but look around at the various notes and bits of machinery strewn everywhere. “So this is what you’re always up to…”

“Of course!” There was pride in Luca’s voice. “I told myself that no matter how spotty my memories get, I will be able to finish this machine.” He grabbed a fistful of his hair again with a hiss—the headache. He forgot about that.

“Well, you’re certainly not going to work on it now,” Ithaqua said firmly. He released that the sharp ends of his stilts could potentially stab through the papers, so he sat down and quickly took them off. Then he went to close the curtains so the sun wasn’t streaming in Luca’s face. “You better sleep right this instant.”

Luca looked at him suspiciously. “Since when did you care about people? And me, to an extent?” he asked.

Ithaqua narrowed his eyes. “You’re saying that as if I’m a cold, heartless monster,” he growled. He sat on the edge of the bed with a sigh. “Maybe I am heartless in a way. Emotions have become intolerable for me. But still, don’t just assume that I’d hurt you without reason.”

“That’s not what I was implying at all,” Luca said. He sat up and put a hand on Ithaqua’s shoulder, static electricity crackling faintly. “I just don’t ever remember you acting like this towards anyone.”

Ithaqua felt even more ashamed because he was right. How annoying. Wasn’t he supposed to be helping Luca feel better and not the other way around?

“There’s no shame in having emotions,” the prisoner continued.

“Ugh, shut your mouth already!” Ithaqua finally snapped, glaring at him. “You should be resting right now!”

Luca didn’t seem that fazed by the outburst. “If that’s what you want,” he said. He laid back down and turned to lay on his side, back facing Ithaqua. “Feel free to let me rest in peace.”

A few moments of silence. The tone in the prisoner’s voice…it was so infuriating! Yet, Ithaqua couldn’t help but wonder if that was a subtle invitation for him to stay. “I’ll stay, just to make sure you actually fall asleep,” he huffed.

A sly and content smile appeared on Luca’s face as he heard Ithaqua drag the desk chair next to the bed and sit in it. Oddly enough, despite the taller man being a hunter, he felt safe knowing that he wasn’t alone. And he felt grateful that he wasn’t sleeping on a hard surface like in his prison cell. Luca finally shut his eyes and fell asleep.

And when he woke up about an hour later, he was surprised that Ithaqua had fallen asleep as well. The mask muffled his slight snoring, but he was definitely sleeping.

Luca’s heart warmed at the sight. It was kinda cute seeing him looking like a napping cat. And it was, well…sweet of Ithaqua to have been serious about staying, not to mention surprising that he had fell asleep. Maybe he was truly the one that needed to rest.

“Sleep tight,” Luca whispered. He didn’t dare to try and move Ithaqua to his bed. But he was bold enough to kiss the forehead of his mask very, very gently.