Ship: Lucanis/Emmrich/Spite
Word Count: 734
Tags: academic curiosity
Summary: Emmrich has been getting a lot of questions about his relationship with Lucanis since bringing him back with him to the Necropolis. He has an unconventional idea of how to solve it without being too invasive of their privacy.
Notes: Brought to you by insomnia, a 5-year-old who will not go to sleep, and a stupid idea that wouldn't leave my brain until I put it out into the world.
ao3 link here or under read more
“You want to write what?”
“A book, darling.” Emmrich said plainly, eyes looking to Lucanis with uncertain curiosity. He knew the subject would likely be one that made the Crow pause, perhaps bristle, and he had guessed he would entirely disagree with it, but academic curiosity got the better of him. He had to ask.
“A book.”
“Yes.”
“About us.”
“Yes. About us.”
“About our sex life. ”
“ Well ,” Emmrich said with a little bit of a scoff and a pursed lipped smirk with his arms crossing over his chest. Lucanis mirrored much the same position, though the look on his face was far less amused than the one of Emmrich’s, a frown drawing down the corners of the Crow’s mouth. Emmrich did his best to straighten his expression and cleared his throat before continuing. “It would be from an academic angle, my dear, there wouldn’t be any of the steamier details. ”
“An academic angle?”
“Yes! There is a great deal of curiosity among a number of professors and other senior Mourn Watch in the Necropolis on the metaphysical mechanics behind engaging in intimacy with a person possessed in a copacetic relationship with their maligned spirit–”
“Ah-ha.” Lucanis said skeptically, raising a brow. “And how exactly would they even begin to be curious about said intimacy?” The rogue asked, then a sudden thought hit him and he looked at Emmrich with a mild bit of concern, his sharp brows relaxing more in worry than frustration.
“Have you been talking about us?”
“Heavens no!” Emmrich said, rather quickly and with a huff, but then his own expression relaxed and he let his hands drop down as he approached Lucanis and put a hand on either one of the assassin’s arms, rubbing up and down from his forearm to his shoulders in a reassuring touch. “I have the utmost and deepest respect for your– our –privacy in such delicate matters. But your possession is widely known, as is our relationship. There has been… talk.”
“Talk?”
“Questions.”
“ Mierda , who is asking such questions?”
“A few of my colleagues. It is… a unique situation, it piques the curiosity of many an academic mind. I assure you, I have not given anyone a single detail. But soon, they are going to be coming up with their own theories and conclusions, and–”
“And you want to make sure they don’t get it wrong.” Lucanis said with a little bit of a smirk, and Emmrich sighed with a little bit of a smile, shaking his head.
“No, well, yes. That is part of it… but it is more so that I’d rather put the information out there in as formal and as technical a way as possible so that they stop asking those questions to begin with.” Emmrich said, lips pursed again, but he felt foolish now for even bringing it up. “I am sorry, my darling, it was an inappropriate thing of me to ask–”
Lucanis brought a hand up to stop the mage from talking, then scrubbed over his face, settling to scratch in his beard just under his chin. He gave Emmrich a look with a skeptically raised brow before bringing his hands down to ball into fists and rest them on his hips.
“Formal and technical?”
“Yes.”
“And you would not use our names?”
“Absolutely. I would publish it quietly and entirely anonymously.”
Lucanis considered a moment. He realized that Emmrich was doing it more as a way to protect their privacy from the prying curiosity of Emmrich’s fellow Watchers. And it wasn’t as if the book was going to be detailed in the way his favorite romance novels were. It was technical, formal, only the metaphysical mechanics that would be discussed.
“All right. Fine. You can write your book.”
“Wha– are you positive, my dear?”
“On one condition.”
“Anything, darling, you only need ask.”
“Spite and I get to read it before you publish, and if there is anything in there we don’t like, you take it out or don’t publish at all .”
“That is perfectly reasonable, dearest.”
“Good.” Lucanis said, then moved to grab one of Emmrich’s hands and lead him to the room they shared in their apartment in the Necropolis, a smirk on his lips.
“What are you–”
“Research for your book, mi tesoro… ”
With a chuckle and a smirk, Emmrich followed. He had a feeling it was going to be a long night.
