overmore's fics

Luca had grown fond of the life he and Alva now had.

Tucked away from most, isolated if one would say, if it wasn’t for Ann being near them. A house in a forest, large enough to allow them to make experiments, continue their research and to also have enough space for Alva and his dedication to their God. Luca, no matter how used to it by now, still believed he was doing too much. While now they did hold the same belief, Luca’s way of fostering it had been casual, Alva would call it barely existent. Their view of the situation they found themselves in had always been different, so their way of practising it differed too.

Not that Luca had an issue with it. Sure, sometimes he’d think of it as too much and leave for a while, probably to walk around the forest or give Ann a quick visit, but at the end of the day, neither truly had an issue with the other over it. Luca wasn’t upset over Alva’s dedicated faith and Alva wasn’t upset over Luca’s more casual belief.

Though he did have to admit, after a while, things did start to get… boring.

Day after day, year after year, things did not change much. The most they had to do is provide research for the government which in exchange kept them safe. The world had evolved over time, but their existence would still be a terrifying experience for anyone. They might not be trying to kill everyone and everything that is of a cult or Eldritch nature, but Luca could imagine how scary meeting of someone like that could be.

There were certain individuals that were still around. Both Yidra and Hastur were present, this mostly known due to certain incidents and events that would appear in the newspapers every now and then. People like Eli and Fiona were still around due to their proximity to the said Gods, though Luca was positive Eli’s situation was different than FIona’s. He did not ask about it directly to not sound rude though. Luchino had also sent some letters, though they had yet to see him come over.

Joseph had shown up a couple of times too. The fact that he had not aged a day had made him somewhat uneasy, to a certain degree. It definitely had something to do with the photo world, it had been like that even during the manor days, but it terrified him to ask about it. Antonio had also visited and even lived not far away. Alva had been hesitant to leave anywhere further than Ann’s home, so it was usually Antonio coming over, more often than not to show them the music he had been composing. He was also in contact with Sangria.

But even with all of that, there was not much to do. They could research and do experiments, but Luca wanted more.

As of recently, Alva has given into exploring the newer technology, opening so many doors, not just for them to do things but also to help the research. Luca had a lot of fun figuring out how TV worked, he watched so many shows and movies. Some were even adaptations of the books he read back in the day! Video games also caught his eye, a very unique thing he had to admit. He was also able to play some of them online (much to Alva’s dislike of having to engage with other people, even if not in person) and it was quite fun! Luca hadn’t experienced so many new things like this in a long while, and seeing that the ideas that were once used by him and Alva were utilised in it made him happy.

But he wanted to go outside. To meet people.

Alva was much more reluctant about that.

“I will be busy for a little while, please do not disturb me.” He was once again going to use the room they had set up for religious purposes. Those could sometimes last for more than an hour, to which Luca would go out for a while until he was done.

“No problem, I’ll be out and about.”

“If you’re visiting Ann again, ask for some tea. We’re running out,” he responded. “And don’t wander off too far.”

He knew Alva meant well with those words, he really did. Even so, every time he’d even think about starting a conversation about not just sitting here and actually going out into the world, at least to the town nearby, Alva would get all uneasy about it and try to change the subject or to brush him off. He had changed over the years that have passed, but some amount of worry as a teacher that he was to Luca still stayed.

There was not much to do but sigh at that. Maybe he needed some advice on how to approach the topic in a way Alva wouldn’t try to avoid it.

---

“So, what do you think Ann?”

“I think you should just do what you want.”

Luca was not surprised with her answer, especially knowing how she felt about Alva. Even after so many years, Ann held a big distaste for the man. Even so, she was still oddly reluctant to leave fully. His theory was that Ann, even with all the hatred she held for him, viewed him in a much different light. Luca was not one to question that, but it was fairly clear Ann wanted to make sure he was alright with Alva. It’s why she chose to be this close to them in the end. The government didn’t pay much attention to her and she kept herself secluded most of the time too, so she had plenty of time on her hands.

“I think that too, but Alva will get upset if I do something stupid.”

“I don’t believe wanting to go to the outside world can be considered that.”

Luca sighed. “You’re just saying that to piss him off afterwards, aren’t you?”

Ann did not respond, but it was clearly that.

“He’s not going to lock me up or anything, but he will be disappointed, you know. I don’t want that to happen again. I don’t like being a disappointment. And especially with how we look now…”

It was no secret that after his death, Luca became much more similar to Alva and Ann. The cat-like yellow eyes that would stare into one's soul, long limbs, dead-like look. All three of them would be easily noticed outside if not wearing some sort of disguise. Having to worry too much was something Luca had to do if he wanted to go into the city.

“We’re too noticeable Ann. All three of us, they will be weirded out if they see how I look.”

There was only so much they could do to hide that. Ultimately, stares are something impossible to avoid if they find themselves outside in the world again.

“Just put on those sunglasses and get out. You obviously want to go out, do you not?”

Luca nodded. “Yea, but-”

“Then go. Who cares what Lorenz thinks.”

I do , he wanted to say.

“Go do that cafe thing, or whatever it’s called. Antonio said they sell solid coffee there. Well, depending on what you ask for apparently.”

He decided not to ask too much about it, because how the hell did Antonio even get to go around the city without getting weird looks? Wasn’t he a walking corpse in the end? Not even remotely similar to the way three of them worked too.

“You oddly want me to interact with the outside world, why is that? Want to piss off Alva?”

“Partially yes”, she admitted. “But I am interested to see how the world has changed. I have suffered a terrible fate, worse than the two of you. Do humans of the new age think the same as the ones of the time we were alive?”

All valid questions in Luca’s opinion. He and Alva had limited interaction with people, mostly the government, who kept their impressions of them to a minimum, probably not to alarm them or make them not want to cooperate. He didn’t know how truly the world had changed. TV shows and video games only told a part of the story, but not enough to show him everything modern society had become.

“Maybe I could try negotiating with him.”

Ann sighed. She really wanted him to just go for it without asking, didn’t she?

“Thanks for the advice though. I still need that tea by the way, he’ll be annoyed if he doesn’t have it soon.”

“Yes, yes, I know”, she got up from the chair she was sitting in, picking up the boxes where she kept all her tea.

“Also, what’s that thing you wanted me to do for you?” In exchange for advice, Luca promised to help her with something, though he was still not sure what with.

In the midst of all that, Luca finally noticed something odd: music. It was coming from a different room. Violin, perhaps? It sounded like one at least. Did she forget to turn something off before he came here?

“What’s that sound?”

“Antonio”, she replied. “He’s been practising for a while, but he’s better off with someone to play the piano with him. I want you to do that for me. It would be of great help.”

Eh?

“Why is he here again?”

“Because he can.” Her answer was oddly just like that. She looked at him as if this situation was a normal occurrence for her. As if he had been here for a while.

“Alright, if you say so. I’ll help.”

Not like it mattered too much. At least she wasn’t alone all the time if he was staying here.

---

Luca and Alva just sat down, looking at each other over the table. He had just proposed his idea, his plan to go outside and as he expected, Alva wasn't exactly happy with it.

"I truly don't understand why you try to push this so much."

"Come on Alva, it's good to at least try it!" He was not going to give up on it. "As long as I'm dressed in a way no one will notice anything unusual about me I'll be fine! I'll even wear sunglasses the whole time!"

The other man sighed, still a bit dismissive of the idea.

"You know I worry something bad will happen."

"And I'm telling you I'll be careful and nothing will happen."

Luca has learned a lot in the past few days. Alva being almost impossible to reason with for this was one of those things.

"I understand your worry, I really do, but I'm tired of just sitting here the whole time. Yea, I can visit Ann or some of our old friends might come from time to time, but that's not enough. I am tired of just being here, Alva. I get that you mean well, but I don't think I can continue living like this."

The older man did not seem pleased at all, but Luca had a feeling he was able to break through him this time.

"If something bad happens, I won't do it again for a long time, alright? That's a promise."

Nothing yet. Luca is starting to get nervous.

It's just then that Alva finally speaks. "One bad thing happens and you're not going to ask me this again for the next ten years alright? I don't want you to be in a bad situation."

A smirk appeared on Luca's face. "You won't regret this, I assure you. Everything will go smoothly!"

He did it. Now he has to just go outside and finally experience the way the world looks like. It had been so long since he had been with people like that.

And he's going to prove to Alva they can coexist with others.

---

For his first outing, Luca picked a rainy day. Autumn was already in the go, so covering himself up wasn't going to look odd to anyone. The sunglasses might look a bit out of place, but it's not like people were going to ask him why he was wearing them.

But even with that, it was impossible not to have them look, because Luca still did not look the part with his abnormally long neck and limbs. He had spent so much time researching and finding names for this, ending up settling for 'strange medical condition' as the final answer for his looks. Not that he could spend too much time researching it since he wanted to go out as soon as possible.

"Welcome, what would you like?"

His destination was the cafe Ann said Antonio visited, now along with a recommendation from Antonio himself (apparently he often went there in the evening, so the barista who worked at that point in time just wanted to get things over with and didn't bother wondering what was up with him). Now, it was different from the ones he'd often see in TV shows and movies, so the best way for him to see what they have was the website and their social media."

"Um… one latte please."

"Coming right up."

He'll have to start slowly, at least until he gets used to everything. A few visits here and there, and he’ll learn how to navigate this in no time!

“Here you go, thank you for coming!”

“Thanks.”

As he left the money for the girl on the counter, Luca did notice the stares. They were going to be unavoidable, that was sure, but not much he can do about that now. He decided to sit down on one of the free seats away from most people, a sigh escaping him. At least he got over the most troublesome part. Now, as long as he keeps the sunglasses on, he’ll be fine. And as long as no one disturbs him this time. He can try and interact with other people in some other opportunity-

“Hi there!”

He flinched, not expecting someone to come up to him. As he looked away from his coffee, a woman, probably in her early twenties, with her hair tied into two braids and bright blue eyes stood above him.

“I noticed you sitting alone so I wanted to say hi! I’ve never seen you here before and I’m a regular.”

Yes, as he should’ve expected, not everything was gonna go according to plan. He should’ve been aware of this. But again, who even comes up to strangers and says hi like that? He didn’t do that even back in the manor or even when he was still in the university a whole century ago!

“My name is Anna!”

“Luca.”

He purposely left out the last name, mainly because at this point he isn’t even sure what it should be. Both Balsa and Lonrez were “his” last names, but since he was dead he never really bothered properly figuring it out. Not like he had the use for them anyway.

The girl sat down across from him, putting her drink, which seemed to be some cold brew tea, down near the place he was about to put his own.

“Do you usually come up to strangers and talk to them like this?”

“Oh, no!” The girl giggled. “I usually keep to myself but I couldn't help but notice you. You do look a bit odd, especially with those sunglasses. It’s autumn already and there really shouldn’t be a need for them.”

“I have some eye issues, that’s why.” At this point, he might as well just say most of the things he did were for medical reasons.

“I also couldn’t help but notice your arms, they’re really long. Are you maybe a basketball player?”

Since when do basketball players have sling limbs specifically? “No, I just have a lot of strange medical conditions. I’ve never played basketball before either.”

The girl didn’t seem to be tired of her questions at all. In fact, she seemed interested in getting to know Luca more. Not an inherently bad thing, he did want to make friends. He just didn’t think it would be this quick.

“Do you live close?”

“No, I live with my partner in the forest nearby.”

“Oh.” She seemed very surprised by this. “The one on the west? I heard that was a bit dangerous. Apparently, people believe there’s some strange cult activity over there.”

Not too far from the truth. Alva did know how to get a bit… too into it, resulting in “strange paranormal activities” as people liked to call it. Even Luca could notice the energy shift on those days.

“Nah, there’s nothing too strange. It is a bit cold though, so that’s kinda annoying when winter comes.”

Moving the conversation away from that was the best decision for now. No need to reveal himself too early on in the end.

His talk with Anna was surprisingly well received. She was curious about him and considering Luca was in the mood to talk, it all turned out pretty well.

She was a toy maker, one specialising in handmade wooden toys. It turned out Luca had seen some of her stuff before, mostly due to all the ads he got on social media. For himself, He did have a bit of a save, as he and Alva did cooperate with the local university, so he just explained he’s an associate with them but works off campus. Because he had done some lab exercise preparing, he was even able to name a few professors he worked with (all done through online means, but still, he did do a good job at it). First time his association with the university came in handy.

In the end, he even got to exchange phone numbers with her. Anna officially became his first friend. Now they were gonna stay in contact, and if she wanted, they could meet here again. How delightful!

Alva isn’t going to be too glad that Luca’s decision to come here and the aftermath of it was successful, but at least he’ll stop being too worried about him getting in trouble.

---

Turned out Alva was fine in the end. No reactions that were going to look too dramatic to Luca and not many complaints.

The one that was there was him going alone all the time.

Even with his first outing being successful, Alva was too worried about him being all alone in the town. At first, Luca was a bit annoyed at that, but he did get the sentiment after a bit. Sending off the one you love to an environment that can potentially harm them if a wrong move was made.

Because of that, Luca was now forced to come to meet Anna with Joseph as his company.

He would’ve preferred Fiona or Eli, but neither of them was available that often. Antonio was also out of the question because he was almost always with Ann (though his appearance in the daytime would cause a commotion) so Joseph was the only other option. Alva didn’t yet want to go out himself, so this guy it was.

Sure, Joseph isn’t that bad, he is pleasant to be around. And his photo world can help them if something does go wrong, giving them a quick escape. Not to mention he looked and sounded very young still, so no one would question it.

That didn’t mean Luca didn’t get a bit creeped out by him. Years of playing the games, getting terror shocked by him and just falling down at the end of the photoworld was enough for him to be at least a little bit uncomfortable when the man was around, no matter how nice he was.

“Alva really just wants me to not be alone huh…”

“Think of it as a good thing”, Joseph said to him. “A lover that cares about you enough to make someone else look after you is one worthy of such love, is it not?”

“I hate how you always make sense of things.”

A smirk appeared on the other man's face. Sometimes Luca wondered why did those two had to befriend each other while they were still in the manor.

Luca did the same thing as last time, getting his coffee along with Joseph, then sitting down and waiting for Anna to come. This time she was coming with a few friends, the thing that probably alarmed Alva a bit, but Luca was happy to meet more people. It has been so long since the last time he interacted with more than a few people he knew. He still remembered the days of the manor, all the meals they had and the time he had spent with all of them. Luca started missing all of it a long time ago, unable to let go of the memories of all his friends. And while some were still here, like Eli and Fiona, he could not help but long for Tracy and her company, Ganji’s jokes and Andrew’s complaining about everything. He missed them.

Luca hoped these friendships were going to help him heal a bit.

Anna arrived soon, with two of her friends. One was a girl named Trish and the other was a guy named Andy. Both of them were thrilled to meet him, though even Anna was surprised he came with someone else.

“He’s a friend that wanted to tag along”, Luca said. “I hope it’s no issue that he came.”

“Oh, no, not at all!” Anna said. “I admit, I thought you’d come with your boyfriend rather than a friend.”

“He doesn’t really like going out much.” That was not far from the truth. Even back in the manor, Alva was one of the least social people Luca knew, even more than Ann was.

“Maybe sometime in the future though.”

“I’d love to meet him! He seems nice from what you’ve told me last time.”

Luca didn’t mention their “fun” cult shenanigans, and those should be kept a secret. But besides that, Alva was a pretty decent company, he wouldn’t lie about that.

This new meeting started off well. Just like last time, he learned a bit about the two new friends he now had. Andy was a gravekeeper, something that did surprise Luca. Was this still common? He wasn’t sure how much those things had changed and he didn’t really bother to check since he wasn’t dying the second time, but this felt like an odd coincidence.

“Is that a hard thing to do?”

“Sometimes yes,” Andy answered. “It does help that I’m not usually alone. The graveyard in a part of the church so there’s always someone helping me.”

If anything, religious people seemed to have toned down their hatred towards homosexual people. At least on the individual level.

Trish, while nice… seemed a bit odd, if Luca could put it like that. Her dad was a mechanic and right now she was still a student, so she didn’t work like the other two did. But the whole time, she was oddly observing him a little too much. Why , he wanted to ask her.

“Why do you wear sunglasses inside?”

The girl finally spoke directly to him, disregarding their conversations about photographs they were just having, much to Joseph’s dislike of that.

“Eye issues.”

“Ahah.” She was the first one not buying that. The other two only questioned it once and moved on.

“And what’s underneath them then?”

“Trish, please don’t bring up any of your conspiracy theories now”, Andy said, cringing at her behaviour.

“They’re not conspiracy theories if I know they’re a real deal!” She protested. “I just haven’t seen it in person.”

“So a conspiracy theory?”

“No!” She wasn’t having it, whatever they were talking about. “Just- can you please take them off? Please?”

Luca threw a look at Joseph, but the other didn’t really know what to tell him. He did motion towards his camera, meaning that whenever Luca feels like it’s not safe anymore, they can just escape.

“What sort of conspiracy theory are we talking about? I don’t follow that kind of stuff.”

Andy rolled his eyes. “She believes that that weird cat cult thing can bring people back from the dead, and that the government is working with resurrected old scientists or some shit like that.”

“It’s not a conspiracy theory if I know it’s true! I just haven’t seen it, but my grandfather has!”

Grandfather, huh?

“And how does your grandfather know about that? I mean, did he work with a government institution in the past?” This was becoming interesting to him. The first time he had heard of something like this. Maybe someone leaked information? That could be the case.

Joseph still quietly sat next to him, his facial expression still calm, but Luca could sense a bit of worry in him.

“My grandfather works in the local university”, she exclaimed. “Burke Reznik. Everyone knows of him!”

If Luca’s heart was still beating, it would’ve probably stopped for a moment.

He knew that man.

He’s the guy he worked with on experiments and exercises for the students.

This girl was his granddaughter.

Luca was stunned for a good moment, his thoughts filled with so much that he didn't even realise Trish reached to take off his sunglasses, taking them off, Luca noticing it a moment too late.

The other two were frozen in place, not expecting her to do that, but maybe even more now that they could see Luca's eyes.

Yellow, cat-like eyes stared back at them, even Luca freezing at the realisation of what had happened.

Trish, however, was more excited than anything else.

"I knew it! I told you so!" She aimed the second sentence at Anna and Andy, who still were not speaking.

"You are Luca Balsa!"

Uh-oh

He was about to pull Joseph's arm and make him get them out of there, but something made him stop for a second.

“See? I told you, you two!” She turned towards Andy and Anna. “My grandpa wasn’t lying about it!”

The other two were speechless, one moment looking at Trish, the other at Luca.

He was gonna do a lot of explaining for this one.

---

Neither Luca nor Alva had the need to eat really. It wasn’t something that would cause them harm or make things better than they already are, but it was a habit they fostered over time. Luca liked eating as it reminded him of being human, while Alva mostly just tagged along.

This meant the meal after he came back from his most recent outing with Joseph was going to be an awkward one.

It wasn’t a bad experience, Luca assured Alva of that, but the other didn’t buy it. The knowledge of them still being here was supposed to be a secret, but now there were three additional people who knew that. His partner was not happy about that no matter how one looked at that.

“So, how was your day?”

Alva didn’t respond.

“Look, nothing happened-”

“Really?” He was somewhat glad Alva dropped the habit of being loud when arguing with him once he was raised from the dead. “People knowing about us is nothing?”

“They’re not bad people! Come on Alva, I swear they're nice! And they promised to not talk about it!” They were extremely lucky no one was in the cafe at the time this all happened and the barista was busy with something else. Even with how loud Trish was no one outside stopped to wonder what was going on or to observe the situation. They got really lucky with that.

“And she’s the grandchild of one of the professors I work with! She seems really nice!”

“And what about the other two?”

He might look a bit crazy trying to explain this to Alva, but it would be stupid to keep it inside of him now. Not when he felt so much familiarity.

“Well… they really feel like people I used to know.”

Alva tilted his head a bit. “Tell again?”

“You know, the manor. Most people passed away after time passed and most died of natural causes. Those two really remind me of some of them. I… I don't really know how to explain it. They feel like my old friends.”

Alva took a sip of his drink. “You want to tell me you believe they are reincarnations of your former teammates?”

“Yea, maybe it’s that.” Andy felt so much like Andrew and while he didn’t know Annie the best, Anna felt just like her. Hell, he could go as far as to say Trish and Tracy were the same people with their behaviour so far!

“I know it sounds crazy but-”

“That I don’t think.”

Luca stopped, curiously observing Alva.

“Reincarnation is not a concept unknown to me”, Alva started. “Many religions, ours included, believe in it. Some people deserve to get a second chance or a chance to make up for something or someone they weren’t able to in their past lives. Many people pray for their loved ones to be reincarnated in their next life so they could be together, though I believe that’s not limited to lovers only.”

Luca would lie if he didn't pray to have his friends next to him again. In the first years of most of them being gone, Luca was having a hard time getting used to no letters, calls or even unannounced visits from people. Alva was aware of how hard he got hit by that, he was there in his worst moments when all of that started to unravel. The only reason he got over it was the passage of time and having things to work on constantly. Many years he spent just working with no breaks in between to not get sad or upset over it.

And he prayed, a lot. To see them again, to have them near him. His faith had become a part of his life once he was risen from the dead, yes, but he did not have the same way of thinking like Alva about it. Even so, Alva would see him pray on those days so much that one would think Luca had changed his way to be more like Alva’s. As he got over it, this stopped being an occurrence that happened so much, but it was something memorable to both of them with how intense it was.

Could this be the result of that?

“You know, maybe you could-”

“No.”

“I didn’t even finish!” Luca pouted.

“I have no interest in visiting the town. Not to my liking, not to mention my eyes do not like the strong sun.”

“Come on, at least once? Please?”

If all of what Luca now thought of was true, that meant Alva would somewhat get along with others. While most people weren’t truly that enthusiastic of their relationship back in the manor, some of them got over their uncomfortable feeling of it after enough time had passed. Some of those people ended up liking him in the end. Tracy did. Andrew did too. If those were really their reincarnations, they should get along right from the start, even if Alva was a bit more intimidating than Luca even with a disguise on.

Alva spoke nothing for a bit, Luca was about to lose interest in this and just continue with their meal. He should start planning his next outing soon, knowing Trish really wanted to get to know him more. There were so many things to worry about, so Luca had to get to planning pretty soon if he wanted not to mess something up. His identity was still a secret, so they had to be sneaky about it for a little while longer.

“I will think about it.”

Luca froze for a second but continued with his thoughts momentarily.

That day will come at some point.

---

Contrary to his belief, the word about him spread like wildfire.

To some degree, at least.

It was limited to the town itself, meaning outside of it people were still blissfully unaware that scientists that shaped the world they now live in were still alive thanks to some cat cult. At least something good.

But that meant people were now once again looking at him.

And to his surprise, they more so looked at him with admiration and curiosity rather than fear and disgust.

It was not something Luca had anticipated. He was sure that once people found out he and Alva would have to hide in their home until the government solved the situation, but that didn’t seem to happen at all. Everything was fine.

They even wanted to talk to him. While Luca was mostly aware of the impact his and Alva’s ideas had, he was never able to witness them first-hand. But now, he had people telling him how happy they were that they had the inventions the two of them had created. That their lives were much better with them. How easier it made their lives be.

Something like that was a lot for Luca to take in.

He didn’t remember the last time he was this happy.

“So, what’s this place you said you’ll take us to?” Anna asked as they waited to meet up with the other two. She also wanted to bring her boyfriend, but he was busy with his practice, so he couldn’t. Luca wasn’t actually surprised when he learned that the boyfriend’s name was Ganji. Maybe they were reincarnations of his old friends.

“It’s a friend's place. He’s kinda in a similar situation like me, but also not quite. You’ll understand when you see him.” He was also hoping Antonio at least cleaned up around, considering he hadn’t even been there that often with how much time he was spending with Ann.

“I wasn’t aware there were so many cultists around here.”

“Oh, he’s not really. It’s… complicated, I don’t understand it well either. Though I never asked.” That devil stuff was always confusing to him. He was sure Alva also didn’t understand it.

“Ah, alright, we’ll see it then!”

Anna was excited about this quite a lot. Luca couldn’t help but smile at how excited his friend was to be around him. He was starting to truly feel welcome here.

---

“Oi, just lock the door once all of ya are in!”

“Sure thing.”

Compared the the previous excitement Anna had, Trish and Andy were a bit more sceptical about their meeting place.

Antonio lived in a house on his own, though it was on the smaller side and cramped in between like the rest of them. What made him think living in a small place like this was a good idea, he wasn’t exactly sure but as long as it suited him, he was fine. Though it wasn’t amazing to meet with people like this.

“Are you sure this was a good idea?” Andy didn’t seem to enjoy it here much. Trish was a bit better, but considering she was visiting a stranger's house (one even Luca had been to once or twice only) she had the right to be.

“Don’t worry, we’ve known each other for very long. Like, really long.” Luca appreciated Antonio a bit more since his time in the manor was spent playing the violin, to which Luca would gladly join in with a piano from time to time. Even when it came to the games he was a lot more bearable than Joseph, so they were on much better terms.

“He’s just a little eccentric”, Luca siad, looking around to see the state of the house. “And he actually cleaned it. That’s good.”

“... This is not giving me a lot of faith in our situation.”

“I don’t mean it like that”, Luca said to Andy, who wasn’t buying it. “He just wants to spend a lot of time with Ann, that’s all. She’s barely a ten-minute walk away from where Alva and I are, it’s a waste of time to go back and forth so much so he just stays there.”

He got used to Antonio being there. He’s fun and even Alva seems to not mind him. Ann is very happy when he’s around, so at least they found each other. Now it was just a matter of time before they’ll just started living together permanently.

Luca took the ladder that was left on the side, not sure why Antonio even moved it or how, and put it against the wall that led upstairs to what he was sure was the attic. Most of his musical equipment was there and he just spent more time upstairs than the rest of the house. It was colder so easier for him to handle.

“I am starting to really not like this.”

“Come on Andy, it’s fine.” Trish seemed to have her hopes up again. “You heard Luca, they’ve known each other for a very long time! Antonio must be nice.”

The man didn’t seem to believe her, but Trish seemed unfazed by that too.

Luca was the first one to climb the ladder, effortlessly climbing to help the other three. The first was Trish, who enthusiastically climbed up, needing only a bit of help at the end as she slipped and could’ve fallen down. Anna came up next, no help was needed. Andy was the last one, reluctantly climbing, looking at Luca with a worried face.

“Don’t worry.” He assured him. Not that he could say much else.

“Oh. Um, hello.”

Now it was time for the introductions.

“Hello there little lady.”

“Antonio, we talked about this.”

The tall man laughed at Luca’s remark. “Please, as if I have any ulterior motives! You should know better by now.”

It was never bad to be a bit careful, especially now considering those three had no idea what Antonio really was, and to be frank, Luca didn’t either.

“Yea, yea”, he just brushed it off for now. “Just be nice alright?”

He then looked over at the other three, visibly tense by Antonio’s presence. Even Trish was now a bit more cautious.

“So this is Antonio”, Luca started. “We’ve known each other for a long while. Antonio, these are my friends.”

“Hi, I’m Anna.” She was the one furthest away from him, still a bit uptight even after Luca’s reassuring. “Nice to meet you.”

“Name’s Trish, a pleasure to meet you.”

Andy was the last one left.

“Andy.”

“Eh, just that? Someone’s short on words.” Antonio didn’t seem to mind it much thought.

“You did prepare something for us to drink and eat, right?”

“Yeah, I did, just over there on the table.”

Okay, he was prepared. This will go smoothly.

And by the end of the night, it did.

Antonio was pretty chill considering strangers were in his home and were not used to seeing someone undead like him. While Luca’s appearance of being undead was less noticeable and one would only realise it if they tried to check his pulse, Antonio’s stitches were visible, along with his skin tone being purple. In the end, it seemed to not be too much of an issue at least.

Anna was the one who relaxed the most, seeming comfortable enough around him. Trish was a bit cautious at first, but once she started asking questions about his violin and other things he had it was clear she was relaxed. Andy, on the other hand, was uptight even by the end. Luca probably should’ve understood why earlier, but only when they were leaving did he remember he was Christian. Yea, figured why he wasn’t that at ease with Antonio.

But another successful mission. Hooray.

---

It was a matter of time until he finally was able to do this. It took maybe four months since he started going out, but he did it. He finally did it.

“They’re gonna like you Alva.”

“I don’t think so.”

Hand in hand, Luca dragged Alva around the town, getting some looks from time to time. Now in winter people weren’t able to fully see the consequence of the accident he was in, especially since Alva insisted on wearing sunglasses, but inside people might get a little bit uneasy at least. But hey, Luca was there. They all knew him, and there was nothing to be worried about.

“It’s this place here”, he told Alva, dragging him into one of the cafes he’d come to when visiting the town. This one had better sweets, so he told the others to meet up here this time.

Anna was already there with the other two and they seemed to be talking about something, until Trish looked in their direction, waving slightly to tell them where she was.

Luca once again dragged Alva, this time towards them, sitting down on the empty chairs. This time they will be sitting on the same side. He already knew they’d be a little bit intimidated by Alva, so maybe sitting like this was going to make it easier.

“You can take that off now”, he said to Alva, who huffed now that he had to take the sunglasses off.

“This is all too much of a hassle, you know.”

“Oh come on, don’t be a downer”, Luca said. “You’re here to meet my friends!”

He looked back at them, seeing an expected reaction.

All quiet, not sure what to say, not moving. Even Trish seemed out of it. Just as he expected.

“Alva, these are my friends I’ve been talking about”, he started first, knowing he had to lead the situation. “This is Anna, the one I met first. That’s Andy, he’s a little bit shy. And that’s Trish, Burke’s grandkid. You remember the guy, I sometimes work with him.”

“Yes, you don’t stop mentioning him”, Alva replied.

Luca now looked over at them, seeing they didn’t relax much. More was needed then.

His eyes went back to Alva, hoping he’d get the memo and introduce himself.

Luca let out a sigh of relief as he did understand what to do.

“My name is Alva Lorenz, though only Alva is fine with me”, he started. “I’m guessing Luca had told all of you quite a bit about me by now.”

“Uh, yea he did.” As he expected, Trish was the one to speak first. “I never would’ve thought we’d be seeing two very influential scientists of our time in the same place like this, let alone together.”

“I’m guessing history has a funny way of recording itself. Never complete with all the details as much as you want it to be.”

It would be better to just leave it at that, considering none of them need to know the details about the manor and what happened there. Even if they were possibly reincarnations of his old friends.

“Did you guys order anything yet?”

“No, we were waiting”, Anna responded. “What would you guys like?”

“I’ll take a latte. How about you Alva?”

“Black coffee.”

Same as ever, Luca thought to himself.

Once they did place their order, the tension was slowly coming back. Luca should’ve thought about this in advance. Alva’s way of dressing was a bit old, in a way that he looked like a man from his time… but also looked like a cultist. He didn’t have much stuff that fitted the modern way of dressing, unlike Luca, so him looking odd to the rest of the people was expected.

He should’ve prepared better for this.

“So, how are you guys doing these days?”

Way to go Luca. Since when was he the one asking questions like these? Was that not Andy’s job? Why was he a bit worried now?

“I finished off everything from the first year of uni”, Trish started, oddly calmer than usual. “Pretty good if I say so myself.”

“That’s nice! How about you Andy? Anna?”

The other two were more reluctant to talk.

“It’s good,” Anna said, looking at Luca.

“Yeah, it’s fine.”

Were they truly that afraid of Alva?

There wasn’t much he could do about it, but light up the mood a bit. If no one else was going to, it was going to be him.

“Hey, you remember when I mentioned the cats?”

“The ones you guys have?” Trish questioned.

“Yea. Well, you won’t believe what happened.”

Luca went on to tell the story of Antonio’s last visit, where one of the cats had kittens, by then already grown old enough to do most of the things on their own. As the four of them were having lunch, Antonio excused himself to go do something, followed by him going to what they thought was the bathroom. Turned out that he went to where the kittens were, wanting to see them at least once and he ended up just not leaving.

When Luca noticed something was off, He went to check up on him, meeting the sight of a two-metre-tall man with a bunch of kittens all over him.

“That is so adorable! How many of them were there?” Anna was the one who spoke, breaking the silence and finally continuing the conversation.

“There were six of them if I’m not wrong. I was expecting Antonio to just pick up one of them and carry it home.”

To that, Alva chuckled. “Please, he would not be taking care of it well on his own. Why do you think Ann always says it would be good for him to move there?”

“Can’t a guy just like cats a bit? In the end, he never said he’d take one.”

“Tch”, Alva didn’t seem to understand him on this one. “Who knows what goes on in that violinist’s head.”

Luca rolled his eyes, elbowing him. “Come on, leave the guy alone!”

To that, Alva returned the gesture by doing the same thing, but followed by a light laugh. “All I’m saying is that I don’t think Antonio would be able to take care of a cat on his own. I am just stating what I’ve seen for the years I’ve been around him.”

Luca was going to prolong the conversation but realised that Trish now seemed to be smiling. Were they all paying so much attention to this silly conversation? Anna also seemed to light up a bit. Hell, even Andy who Luca thought would take the most time getting relaxed now looked more at ease.

“Anyways”, he said, wanting to change the subject. “Yea, there are six kittens. We didn’t actually know for a long while we were going to have them. Ann’s cat is always around her, so to see him come to ours was quite surprising. Guess now we’ll have to deal with those.”

“Ah, you weren’t thinking of giving them away?” Anna was surprised at the decision to keep them.

“Nah, they’ll be fine with us. We’ll just get them fixed so that we don’t get any more accidents. There’s a lot of space for them and they’ll enjoy their life here.”

“Sometimes I forget you guys live in the woods. Is it scary there?”

“No, not really. There aren’t many wild animals, and the ones that are there are small and can’t do any harm. It does get quite cold, but that’s usually easy to deal with.”

The conversations now seemed to flow with no effort, topics changing from time to time. While Alva was on the quiet side, sometimes he’d comment on a thing or two. He kept being like this until Andy brought up the topic of tea.

Yep, that was his time to shine.

With how involved he was in their religion, tea held a lot of importance, so knowing about different types of it and what properties they had, both related to spirituality and other effects, Alva spent almost half an hour explaining to Andy which tea he should be taking when he was having a headache and which when his stomach was hurting. This topic was listened to by both Anna and Trish, intrigued by his knowledge of tea.

In the end, they warmed up to him. There was still some amount of caution in them, Luca could sense it, but overall, they accepted Alva with not much of an issue.

A successful outing indeed.

---

“So?”

Alva looked at him. “So what?”

“How did you like it? I mean, we were there for hours talking. Did you like it outside?”

Alva thought for a moment before responding to him. “It was… refreshing if that’s how I could put it. The life here became quite monotonous after a while, especially on the days where there isn’t much to do.”

Luca smiled at that response. It was quite late, almost ten in the evening. They were at a stage where saying up too late was becoming annoying unless they were running on six cups of coffee.

“See, going outside was a good idea! Maybe some other time we can bring Ann too! I think she might like it, especially because she could visit Antonio whenever she wants instead of waiting for him to come.”

“Hm, maybe, yes.” While Alva wasn’t about to spend more time than necessary around Ann, considering this at least once was a good thing. In the end, the moment she felt safe going out like that, Ann would just do it on her own without the other two.

“I can ask her tomorrow”, Luca said. “I was planning to go do some shopping. She could use something more other than what she usually wears too. Wanna go too, or you’d prefer to skip?”

Alva was never one for fashion and dressing up. Luca’s enthusiasm about it was on a normal level, but the other couldn’t care less more often than not. That was one of the reasons why others were intimidated by him, as he just walked in his cult clothing all the time. Luca wears it sparingly, but Alva just embraces it.

“...Sure I’ll go.”

“...Eh?”

That was not expected for sure.

“I said I’ll go too. Are you surprised by that?”

“Yes, actually. Since when did you take interest in clothes?”

Alva huffed. “Well, since your friends seemed a bit intimidated today, maybe a change wouldn’t be so bad. My closet is not filled with that many different things, so I guessed looking at what people wear today would not be a bad idea.”

His clothes were outdated, yes. Alva made it all on his own and his sewing skills were incredible, but a person of this day and age would find it quite odd. Even so, Luca could not brush off the surprise of this idea.

“That is good, yeah.” While at the loss of words still, he managed to speak back. Things were changing a little.

“Are you going to stand there and look at me or will you take a shower? I don’t like waiting for you for too long.”

“Yea, yea, I’ll go shower.”

Once he’s done, he collapsed onto their shared bed, now his turn to wait. During that, he thought carefully about things that had been happening in the past few months. So much has happened, all because he wanted to go outside once and a girl decided to be nice to him. Who would’ve thought it would have gone this far?

He smiled to himself, stretching a bit.

Maybe his prayers paid off one way or another. His belief had always been there ever since his body became like this, but now he was even more convinced than before.

“What are you smiling about?”

“Nothing much”, he said, looking over at Alva with his wet hair in sight. Sometimes Luca would joke about how he looked like a wet cat after a shower. Today was no exception.

“If you say so.”

The bed shifted as additional weight was added, Luca leaning against him. The past couple of days he’d spent worrying and planning their outing, so he didn’t get to relax with him in bed like this as when he’d get to the bedroom, Alva was already asleep. Now was the time to make up for that missed affection.

“You call me a cat yet you behave like one more than I do,” Alva commented at Luca’s affectionate actions, practically glueing himself to Alva.

“You were asleep when I got to bed the last few days, what else do you expect me to do?”

“You only have yourself to blame for that”, he said.

“Okay, true. But because of that, we had the best outing! It was time well spent.”

Alva huffed at his explanation, finally returning the affection by wrapping his hands around him.

“Foolish boy. I would’ve enjoyed it even without the planning. Just the fact that the people around are not too scared of us was enough to convince me it was fine to go.”

Luca chuckled. “I’m glad something as simple as that made you feel a bit safer outside.”

It still was a bit odd, even after so many years, for Luca to be the same height as Alva. He was used to being the shorter one, the one who would cuddle up to Alva’s chest and sleep on it. Now when they were the same height that wasn’t as easy to do, so he just gave up trying to make himself comfortable with it.

“Mhm.”

Seeing that Alva was tired from today's events, he decided not to say anything else. Cuddling like this was enough for them for the time being. His eyes closed, allowing himself to rest in peace, followed by Alva falling asleep.

A peaceful night for them and their hearts, even with no pulse in them. Still warm.