Chapter Text
For the most part, the apprentices had arrived at the House of Spiders just mere months after Yoshihide’s departure. With such a small group for company, one might think the five apprentices were quick to befriend each other. Between their differing personalities and demanding schedules, however, such was not the case. They tended to keep to themselves, and were too busy to purposefully carve time out of their already limited free time to get to know one another. Lucio especially did not have time for socializing; from the moment he woke up until he went to sleep, he spent his time training to keep up with Valencina’s demands. His only socialization aside from his mentor was prior to and during mealtimes; the apprentices were in charge of cooking and cleaning up after each meal as a way of paying their mentors back for housing and training them. Even here, though, Lucio didn’t do much in the way of making friends. He showed up and did whatever they asked him to do without going out of his way to chitchat, and the other apprentices responded in kind. Months passed this way; eventually, though, the loneliness started to get to some of the apprentices. Sora was the first to begin desperately grasping for connection, but after months of scant interaction and infrequent hangouts, she wasn’t having great luck.
After lunch one afternoon, the apprentices were all cleaning up in the kitchen. Kira washed dishes, Sora dried, Lucio put them away, and Ren and Albina put leftovers in the fridge and freezer. As they finished up, Kira dried her hands on Sora’s towel before turning towards the door to leave.
“Hey, Kira,” Sora began, getting Kira to pause and look back at her. “I was gonna go b-buy some ice-cream since I don’t have to train t-today. Do you wanna c-come with me?”
“Huh? Oh, but Sora, a new episode of Fantastic Fixers drops in, like, fifteen minutes, and I cannot miss it.”
“Oh,” Sora said. “Okay! Well, if you wanted, we c-could go — “
“Ooh, and you know what else comes out today? That movie they’re making on the Blade Lineage-Kurokumo Clan skirmish of 902! Apparently they’ve got some real Blade Lineage members starring in it!”
Kira soon excused herself without ever acknowledging Sora’s secondary offer. Still hopeful, Sora turned to Albina. “Um, Albina, do you wanna get ice-c-cream with me?”
“Ice-cream is difficult for me to eat due to its temperature,” Albina replied. “Sorry.”
“N-no worries!”
“I’ve got to train,” Ren said before Sora could ask. Sora just nodded, handing another dried plate to Lucio. He saw Sora glance at him; he knew she wouldn’t even bother asking. Any time the apprentices asked him to join them in even the smallest things, he always, always declined, and they all knew why: Valencina would never allow it. She’d beat him half to death if he skipped training for ice-cream or a movie, and nobody wanted it to be their fault.
But… Sora looked so heartbroken. Sometimes she could get Kira to go with her, but for the most part, nobody wanted to entertain her when she asked to do something. It pissed Lucio off, if he was honest; Sora was usually the one willing to watch a movie with Kira, try meditating with Ren, or go look at Albina’s newest artwork. Despite that, the other apprentices didn’t seem to feel any duty to return her kindness, shooting Sora’s offers down time and time again. She tried so very hard to reach out and build friendships, and yet every attempt was denied.
Sora handed him the final dish — a handful of silverware — and hung up the damp towel to dry. As she shuffled towards the door, Lucio called out to her.
“Sora?”
“Yyyyes?” She stopped to look at him, clearly nervous.
“If you want… I’ll get ice-cream with you.”
Sora stared at him for a few seconds, and Lucio wondered if he shouldn’t have offered. Valencina was going to make him pay for it; days of aches and pain wasn’t really worth five minutes of ice-cream, was it?
“Rrrreally?” Sora asked, her voice so earnest Lucio felt his heart crack. “You mean it?”
“Yeah.”
“Won’t Valenc-cina g-get mad?”
“It’s fine.” Sora tilted her head at him, so he continued. “What do you say?”
“Y-yeah! I’d love that!” She glanced around, as if unsure of what to do. “I’ll go g-get ready! Let’s meet in th-the foyer?”
“Sounds good. I’ll see you there in a few minutes.”
Sora nodded excitedly, and all but ran from the room. Lucio put away the silverware and headed directly for the foyer, knowing that if he went to the Thumb Corridor first Valencina would order him to pick up his sword, and he’d be stuck there until dinner. Thankfully, he didn’t meet anyone on his way, and stood against the wall while he waited. Before long, footsteps sounded on the stairs, and he looked up just in time to see Sora jump the last few steps. She rushed up to him, eyes bright.
“I’m ready!”
“Let’s go,” Lucio said. He watched Sora take a key from her pocket and insert it into the door, revealing a quiet city street.
“Th-the owner is so nice,” Sora told him as they started down the road. “He always tells me when th-there’s a new ice-cream flavor he thinks I’ll like.”
“Oh, that’s good.”
“What k-kind are you going to get?” Sora asked.
“I don’t know. I’ve… never had ice-cream.”
“What?!” Sora asked, turning to look up at him fully. “N-never?!”
“Never.”
“Oh my g-gosh! Well, um, let’s see… th-there’s chocolate, and st-strawberry, and…”
Sora listed off ice-cream flavors until they reached their destination. As they went inside, the man behind the counter waved.
“Sora, good to see you!” the man called. “How have you been?”
“Good!” Sora replied. “Th-this is my… friend! Lucio!”
Lucio couldn’t help but to smile; was he really already being considered a friend, just for agreeing to get ice-cream? It seemed like a low bar, but… he wasn’t opposed to it.
“Nice to meet you, Lucio,” the man said. “I’m Otso. So, what can I get you guys today?”
“Luc-cio hasn’t ever had ice-cream,” Sora told Otso. Otso looked over at Lucio as if to confirm, and Lucio nodded.
“Well, we’ve gotta fix that,” Otso said. “Say, Lucio, how about a few samples of whatever catches your eye? Just say a flavor and I’ll get you some.”
There were more than twenty buckets of ice-cream behind the glass; Lucio felt ever so slightly overwhelmed by the options. Thankfully, Sora seemed more than happy to guide him.
“Th-the mango is really good,” she suggested. “And my fffffavorite is the chocolate chip cookie dough.”
“I’ll try those,” Lucio said. “And… I’ll also try the vanilla.”
“What else? You can try ‘em all, if you want.” Otso grabbed a handful of tiny plastic spoons, dipping them into the buckets. He handed Lucio the samples, giving him a moment to try them. At Sora’s suggestion, he tried a couple of other flavors before making his decision.
“I’ll just have the vanilla, I think,” he said. The other flavors were either too overwhelming, too weird, or too sweet; he felt like he could appreciate the vanilla more easily. Otso nodded, and then looked at Sora.
“And what’ll it be this time? I don’t remember what you had last time…”
“I had the c-caramel and watermelon,” Sora said. “This t-time, I’ll have… umm… the raspberry, and ch-chocolate? I’ve never p-paired those.”
“Sounds good,” Otso said. “Can’t go wrong with fruit and chocolate. The usual toppings?”
“Yes, please!”
“Coming right up. Lucio, cup or cone?”
Lucio hesitated.
“C-cones are fun,” Sora said when Lucio didn’t make a quick decision. “But I get the cup so I can eat the two scoops together!”
“I’ll try a cone,” Lucio said. Otso grabbed one of the cones and started packing in a far too generous serving of vanilla ice-cream; he thought about saying that was plenty, but he didn’t want to be rude.
“Any toppings? Hot fudge, sprinkles, cookie crumbles?”
“No, thank you.”
“Alrighty. Here you are.” Otso handed over the massive cone of vanilla ice-cream and began making Sora’s, absolutely smothering the two scoops of ice-cream in hot fudge and rainbow sprinkles. Once she’d paid — Lucio felt bad he hadn’t even thought to bring any money — the two of them sat down by the window.
“I like all the flavors,” Sora explained, “and so every ti-time I c-come, I get two flavors I’ve nnnnnever had together. And I have a list, so I c-can make sure to not rep-peat any!” As if to demonstrate, she produced a piece of paper covered in ice-cream flavors. Even with her hands bound, she was able to write out a new combination: chocolate & raspberry. With that done, she grabbed the spoon and began to eat. Lucio started on his cone, alternating between taking bites of the ice-cream and licking it; he wasn’t sure what was necessarily better. Of course, once it started to melt, he silently panicked. Sora started laughing at the sight of him trying to keep the ice-cream from melting onto his fingers.
“Th-there’s a drop on the other side!” she warned him. “Hurry!”
Lucio rotated the cone, barely catching the drop before it got to his fingers.
“Other side!”
Before long, he was really fighting a losing battle; his hands were already sticky, and Sora was laughing so hard at his panicked movements she was nearly in tears. When he finished the cone off, he felt like he’d barely even tasted the final half of it, too worried about not making a mess on the table.
“You’ll have t-to work on your ice-c-cream eating skills,” she teased, looking at his messy hands. “Hold on, let me get some wa-water.”
Sora jumped up to get a cup of water and a handful of napkins, instructing Lucio to dip the napkin in the water and use it to wash his hands with. By the time his hands were clean, Sora was nearly done with her own ice-cream.
“Next t-time, I’m going to get the vanilla and coffee,” she said. “I don’t really like c-coffee, but… I want to try all the c-combinations.”
“That sounds fun,” Lucio said. “The vanilla was good.”
“I’m glad y-you liked it.” Sora paused, looking down at her cup. “Th-thanks for c-coming with me, Lucio.”
“Of course. Thank you for letting me accompany you.” Lucio felt his mood dampen at the thought of returning home; somehow, he’d managed to forget entirely about Valencina while trying to keep his ice-cream in check.
“Mmmmmaybe…” Sora began, but she seemed to change her mind about whatever she was going to say. She didn’t re-attempt whatever it was, and Lucio didn’t push.
Once Sora polished off the last spoonful of melted ice-cream, they threw their trash away and started back down the street. Sora opened the door with her key, creating a passage to the Spider House. Lucio stepped inside, and felt the tiny smile that had settled on his face instantly flee. Valencina stopped dead in her tracks, looking over as Lucio and Sora entered the room.
“Where have you been?” She asked, tone sharp and aggressive. “I’ve been looking all over for you!”
“Forgive me, ma’am. I was getting ice-cream with Sora,” Lucio began, but before Valencina could start berating him, Sora jumped in:
“Miss Va-Valencina, I got a p-pr-pr-prescript. It said t-to t-t-t-ta-take Lucio with me.”
“...a prescript? For fucking ice-cream?” Valencina asked, seemingly skeptical. When Sora nodded, though, she just rolled her eyes. “Well, don’t get any more fucking prescripts like that, or I’ll shatter that fucking pager. And quit stuttering.”
“Yes, Mi-miss,” Sora said quietly. Valencina sneered at her, and then jerked her head to the side when she looked at Lucio.
“Goodbye, Sora,” Lucio said before making to follow Valencina to the Thumb Corridor.
“B-bye!” Sora replied. “Th-thank you for c-c-co-coming with me! F-for the pr-prescript!”
A week later, Lucio heard quick footsteps behind him as he headed for the Thumb Corridor after dinner. He stopped and turned to see Sora right behind him.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi! Um, I was wondering… if y-you wa-wanted to c-c-come get ice-cr-cream with me again?”
Lucio hesitated; it was only seven. Normally, Valencina had him do a little extra training until about ten, after which he often just went straight to bed. “How late is the ice-cream shop open?”
“Um… until t-two in th-the morning.”
“Valencina will want me to train for a bit,” Lucio explained. “Could we go in a few hours?”
“I’ll ask Rien!” Sora said.
“Alright. When I’m free, should I come to the Index Corridor?”
“Yeah!” Sora smiled at him. “I th-think he’ll say yes, as long as it’s not too late!”
“I’ll likely finish around ten.”
“Th-that’s fine!” Sora nodded. “My c-curfew is usually midnight. Have fun tr-training!”
“Thank you,” Lucio replied. Sora scurried past him and presumably to go find Rien, leaving Lucio to hope Valencina didn’t work him until midnight.
She didn’t work him until midnight, but he didn’t reach the Index Corridor until eleven-thirty after tending to his weapons and showering; he’d speedwalked all the way there, feeling awful about having said he’d be done by ten. What if Sora wasn’t allowed to go out, and it was all his fault? He’d made a promise to her. He let himself into the Index Corridor at eleven thirty-three, and to his relief, Sora was seated in the main room, reading what must have been one of Kira’s comics. She practically leapt from the chair when she saw Lucio, eyes bright.
“You m-made it!” She said, rushing over. “I th-though that maybe… th-that you wouldn’t c-come!”
“I apologize for my tardiness,” he said.
“It’s okay! B-but let’s hurry!” Sora grabbed her things — all piled neatly on a small table by the door — and led Lucio back out into the main hallway. The two of them made their way down the hall, down the stairs, and out into that familiar little street in record time.
The atmosphere of whatever district they were in had changed significantly with the time; a group of kids walked by them as they stepped into the road, chatting and laughing. On the other side of the road, two people sat on the steps in front of a door, eating and talking quietly. Colorful lights bathed the sidewalk, and Lucio could even hear music from what must’ve been a couple blocks away.
“Wow…” Sora whispered. “I’ve never b-been out so late.”
“Me either,” Lucio whispered back. The two of them stood there, taking it in for a moment until Sora tugged on his sleeve. They fell in behind the group of noisy kids taking up the entire sidewalk, unable to get around them without being run over.
“I wonder why it’s so b-busy,” Sora said.
“Perhaps because people are no longer at school or work,” Lucio suggested. Sora nodded at that.
She held the door for him when they reached the ice-cream shop; there were more people here now than there had been in the past. Otso seemed surprised to see them at such a time, but waved all the same. Lucio privately wondered if this was a bad idea; while some people just glanced over, others were full-on staring at the two of them. They certainly hadn’t made any attempt to hide their Finger-affiliated attire, and he imagined it could make the other patrons nervous. Even so, Sora joined the line, clearly unconcerned about it. Maybe he was lucky to wield a sword instead of a gun; it might make people a bit less likely to realize where his loyalties lay.
“Good evening, Sora,” Otso said when the two of them reached the front of the line. Thankfully, he didn’t seem nearly as worried about having other patrons see them as Lucio was. “Fancy seeing you out and about so late! And Lucio, right?”
“Correct,” Lucio replied.
“Alright! Well, what’ll it be tonight?”
“Um… can I get th-the vanilla and coffee?”
“Sure thing. And you, Lucio?”
“I’ll have vanilla, please,” he said.
“Cone or cup?”
“Cone, please.”
“Right on.” Otso quickly made their orders and handed them over. This time, Lucio stepped up to pay; one advantage of not having his hands bound like Sora was that he could much more quickly do such a thing. When they sat down at their table, Sora looked up at him.
“You d-didn’t have to pay,” she said.
“It’s only fair,” Lucio told her. “You paid last time.”
They ate in relative silence this time, give for Sora offering some of her coffee-vanilla mixture to Lucio, carefully placing bites of each on the spoon for him. He didn’t love the taste of the coffee ice-cream, but neither did Sora, so he didn’t feel all that bad about it. When they returned and he had to sneak back into the Thumb Corridor at just minutes to midnight, he felt light in a way he hadn’t in years; maybe it wasn’t so ridiculous to think he and Sora were friends after a mere two outings. Either way, he had more ice-cream to look forward to next week.