He's a Mess of a Man

Book Two ~ Chapter Two

Back on land, Leviathan fumbled for his key to the shop. He hadn't been home since he returned to the palace for research. It felt like a lifetime ago. "You have keys?" asked Lucio, "I thought you'd wiggle your fingers and magic the door open."

"Why would I use magic when keys work just fine?"

"Because it'd look cool?" Leviathan rolled his eyes and gently nudged the door open. "Look at all this magic stuff!" Lucio reached for a basket of dried inkvine spines.

Leviathan hastily smacked his hand away, "Don't touch those. It'll feel like you grabbed an orange fire poker."

"Oh, okay... What's that used for?" Lucio pointed to a jar of bright orange preserves.

"That's marmalade. It's for breakfast..?"

"And what about this weird-looking thing?" Leviathan steered Lucio into a chair, away from the very fragile and very expensive floating astrolabe.

"Maybe it's best if you don't touch anything. And, well..." Leviathan hesitated, wondering how he should phrase his thoughts that were still swirling in his head. "We need to talk. About the ghosts and what they said to you."

"Oh, yeah. That." Lucio looked off sheepishly. Leviathan sat next to him. Lucio heaved a dramatic sigh, "It all started a long time ago. Before I even came to Vesuvia. You remember those beetles we saw."

"The red beetles?"

"Yeah, those little bastards. Well, the thing is, they were real. They followed me everywhere I went. At first, I thought they were just annoying pests. But wherever they showed up, the plague came with them."

Leviathan was unsurprised to say the least. "So you brought them and their plague to Vesuvia."

"Er- I mean- They followed me, so-"

"Did you know what was happening?"

"No! Maybe? Sort of- It was a guess. I just never..."

"Thought about it?"

"I tried not to. Until I got sick too..."

The pieces slowly clicked together in Leviathan's head, leading to one inexorable conclusion, "So when those ghosts were hounding you, and Finn's ghost said you were the one to kill him..."

"I... He died of the plague. Three years ago. He and everyone else quarantined at the Lazaret." Leviathan remembered that most of Finn's time was spent wandering around the city. People in the neighborhood would whisper behind their hands and look at Finn strangely, though he didn't seem to care. "Ugh... why do I feel so awful?" Lucio asked no one in particular as he wrung his hands. "I... I don't know what else to say. Fuck... why are words so hard," he groaned.

Leviathan managed a small smile, "At least he's genuinely regretting what he's done." - "I arrived in Vesuvia after the plague, so I certainly have no say either," he paused a moment, "When you told Finn's ghost that you promised to be a better person than you used to, you meant it. Right?"

Lucio nodded, "Yeah! I might have been scared enough to say what was really going on in my head... W-we're still in this together, right? Like you said before," he asked as he tentatively rested his hand on Leviathan's shoulder.

Leviathan felt a flicker of warmth spread through his chest. He nodded, "Yes. Together."

Just then, Lucio's stomach gurgled loudly. He shot upright in his seat, "Oh! That's right! I can eat now! I have to eat, like- right now! Got anything tasty around here, Levi?"

"The kitchen is upstairs, but-" Leviathan was interrupted by Lucio bolting from his seat and racing up the stairs two at a time. "But I don't know if anyone's brought home more food recently!" By the time Leviathan had caught up to Lucio, he already had his head in the pantry as he poked through various boxes.