#soft lucanis

"Because-...", Rook had started strong but immediately faltered in her words. Cursing her self doubt, she forced the words from her coward lips. "Because, you deserve something nice. And you're always doing wonderful things for everyone else, so you deserve gifts too." She glanced off to the side and picked at her nails for a moment. "Plus, I... You've seemed sad. And more exhausted than normal. And I, I don't want you to be sad or be hurting. I'm not deluded so much that I think I can fix it for you, but if I could help even a little... I wanted to." She met his eyes now, and he felt vulnerable for a moment under the weight of that gaze. "Everyone needs someone in their corner, and I refuse to leave you to your isolation."

Lucanis was at a loss for words as he stared at her with his mouth partially agape. Spite however, had plenty of words. 

Rook cares! For us! Got us a present. Wants to. Make. Us. Feel good. I want Rook. To be around. Always.

Well that commentary wasn't helping his poor brain. If anything, he was even more lost now. Lucanis could feel some of his emotions beginning to leak from the cracks she and Spite were creating in his perfectly crafted fortress of control. Who am I kidding, he thought darkly. Those cracks started forming less than a month into being held in the Ossuary.

Rook however took his silence as an opportunity to retrieve his gift (living weapon) from her bag. When she reached in though, she immediately pulled her hand back and a sharp hiss came through her teeth. 

"Fuck! That was the hand you hadn't already destroyed you jerk!" Rook scolded into the bag. Lucanis couldn't help but laugh at that. Lucanis had no idea what was going on, but seeing Rook so frustrated and lacking her normal composure was such an endearing surprise. He found the laugh escaping his throat before he could stop it.

Rook looked up at him shocked, I've never heard him laugh before, she thought in wonder. She didn't count the dark chuckles or snorts he gave when bantering with other members of the team. She smiled at him and just handed over the bag holding his present. "You can open it yourself, you're the one that's good with them anyway."

Lucanis was beyond confused at this point, but he opened the bag and looked inside to see-

He sucked in a breath before letting out a soft "Oh!". He looked up at Rook in shock.

"Is this... a kitten? For... me?" He said unsure now that this was reality and not some crazy dream.

"Yes. I'm sorry, it's kind of mean. I was trying to get a cat to come with me to give to you, but I couldn't catch any, and then..." Rook explained the weird situation with the mother cat and the rest of the litter. Lucanis stared at her intently as she talked, and couldn't help but allow a small smile to grace his mouth as she recounted her adventures on the streets of Treviso. 

After she finished her tale, he looked back into the bag and reached a slow, cautious hand towards the tiny kitten. It's eyes narrowed and it let out the tiniest hiss at him. Lucanis paused his movements and began murmuring softly to the little cat in Antivan. He assured it that it was safe, that nothing would harm it, and that he would protect it. Lucanis finally was able to touch the kitten after a few minutes of this, and as he started petting the kitten's head with his thumb, he began humming a song he hadn't thought of in years. The kitten seemed to like it though, and slowly it's posture relaxed and it's eyes closed.

Lucanis hesitantly removed the kitten from the bag and held it, (her he could see now), to his chest, making sure she was still comfortable and at ease, before looking up. His cheeks burned when he realized Rook had been watching the whole interaction silently and intently. 

The look in her eyes at that moment was indescribable. It was soft, amazed and full of... something powerful. He really didn't understand what that look meant, but it made his entire body warm and his heart pound harder in his chest. Spite said nothing, but he could feel him watching Rook with an intensity he'd never experienced in his year being tied to the demon. 

Rook finally spoke, "That's- you're incredible Lucanis." She looked like she wanted to say more but also couldn't find the words. 

"What do you mean?" Lucanis questioned. "I just got her to relax a little. That's it." He smiled gently at the kitten and then at Rook.

* * *

Rook was going to explode at this rate. Her heart was going to give out if he kept looking at her and the kitten with those eyes. The Demon of Vyrantium was a kitten whisperer. Unbelievable. She shook her head in disbelief as he murmured quietly to the kitten, a little girl, apparently, once more. Lucanis had brushed off her compliment as if he truly believed that it was nothing. Oh no. She wasn't going to let him get away with that. 

"Lucanis." Rook spoke again, regaining his attention. He still had that soft look on his face when he looked back up at her, and she nearly forgot what she was going to say.

"Lucanis it's not nothing. Being able to win her trust so quickly, getting her to trust you in only a few minutes, those things mean she can tell you have a compassionate heart. She knows you will protect her, and it only took you 5 minutes to prove your intentions." Rook whispered fiercely. "I mean, look at what she did to my hands, my arms, and my neck." She showed him each body part as she listed them, giving him full view of the dozens of scratches that covered her exposed skin. "I know animals Lucanis, I'm actually good with them most of the time thanks to my grandmother, but this little one HATES me and has not given me the opportunity to convince her otherwise so far." Rook spoke earnestly, she needed him to understand how incredible he was for this feat.

Mierda.

Rook hurts! Help her. Fix her. 

His eyes widened and he looked from the kitten to Rook. He slowly and gently set the kitten back into her bag on the table. He then grabbed the bag and turned quickly back to Rook. 

"Come with me. We need to clean those scratches."

Part 5 Coming 11/19/24!

Part 1 here

Part 2 here