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Finn would not say he was the luckiest person he knew. Well, he would say he was fortunate enough to become friends with a group of odd, but wonderful people that kept him company during times where he felt alone. He would also say he was quite fortunate to have been able to live the life he lived, being blessed with a brother as cool and kind to him as he is (although they’d been through quite a rocky path together).
He could certainly count his blessings, but this was, in fact, not one of those times. No, this was, blatantly put, a bad time. Not bad as in “something had happened to him”, but bad as in “something bad probably would happen to him if he didn't traverse this situation carefully”. He’d been through quite a few of those types of scenarios as of late.
But long story short, Finn somehow found the Carpaccio Luo-Yang passed out in the middle of House Adler’s hall.
Putting aside how or why he was there, or what could possibly make someone like that pass out without even so much as a scratch, surely Finn couldn’t just leave him there could he? Or maybe he could–honestly, he was hesitant to even get near the guy considering their…history.
But morally, it felt wrong to just leave him there, and against Finn’s better judgment, he cautiously approached the unconscious figure on the floor. Making sure that Carpaccio was completely knocked out, he carefully lifted the boy’s arm, before swinging it over his shoulder to drag him along.
It was a struggle, if he were being honest. Carrying Carpaccio was no easy task–although he knew that surely it would be easy for a select few students, him not included. By the time Finn had made it to his dorm room, he could feel beads of sweat rolling down his forehead and he mentally made a note to perhaps work out some more after this.
He was so focused on carrying Carpaccio, he’d almost forgotten to freak out over the fact that he was carrying Carpaccio, but he supposed it worked in his favor…to a degree. Carefully laying Carpaccio down on his bed, he took a step back, heaving a sigh. He wondered how this would go.
Of course, it was morally wrong to just leave Carpaccio on the ground, but doing all of this meant they’d have to converse, and Finn honestly could not tell you who else he could possibly want to talk to less besides from the very guy in front of him.
He had to admit though, Carpaccio did look rather peaceful when he was asleep. Innocent, even (only when he was asleep). Finn had never been able to properly look at Carpaccio. This was a given, of course. The last time they fought, the last thing on Finn’s mind was his appearance, and any time after, he was too preoccupied with anything else to look in Carpaccio’s direction.
Now that he got a good look at him, he did admit, he could see why Dot claimed Carpaccio was popular with women, despite his stiff attitude. Carpaccio had long lashes and bangs that seemed to fall over his eyes just right, even in his sleep. His lips were also quite pretty, but Finn was going to avoid thinking about that for too long because this was getting kind of gay.
It was then that Finn heard a groan, and he swiftly jumped back, preparing for the worst.
Instead, he was met with complete silence as Carpaccio slowly opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling. The silence lasted for an uncomfortably long amount of time, before Finn gulped, deciding to break the ice. “Um…hey…”
Finn let out a squeak as Carpaccio made no notion of getting out of bed, although he did roll over onto his side to look at him. Carpaccio’s expression remained blank as he simply stated, “Finn.”
God, this was so awkward.
“I found you, uh, passed out on the ground…a-and I thought it would be pretty bad to just leave you there so I brought you to my room. I hope you don’t mind…?” Finn cursed himself as he stumbled over his words. But also, he really couldn’t be blamed for this. Few souls could speak coherently if they were to be faced with such an unnerving stare, after all. Just as a safety precaution, he added, “Sorry.”
More silence.
“..Is it a habit of yours?” Carpaccio blinked, “To apologize over things that don’t matter?”
“I was just worried that you’d be angry with me for touching you without permission.” Finn blurted out. He added under his breath, “Like, what if you decided to stab me or something because you were pissed…”
Unfortunately, it seemed like Carpaccio had caught onto his words. Cool as ever, he merely said, “I wouldn’t do that to you.”
Uh, yes you would.
Fighting back the urge to reply snarkily, Finn just shrugged, “Oh…I see. Great to know, yeah. Really appreciate that.” He wondered if he was coming off as sarcastic (he hadn’t meant to be), but if he did, Carpaccio didn’t seem to care.
“But anyways, why were you passed out in Adler…? Did you get attacked or something?” The moment the question left Finn’s lips, he realized how absolutely stupid it sounded. Sure Mash had beaten Carpaccio, but the average person would probably think twice–no, 1000 times– before they even considered ambushing him.
“If I got attacked, I’d just beat them up.” Carpaccio’s confidence knew no bounds, Finn guessed. “But I guess I forgot to eat. And sleep…or something.”
“I…excuse me?”
“I was busy doing research and I ended up forgetting to eat or sleep. When I came to House Adler to observe someone, I guess it kicked in.” On cue, Carpaccio’s stomach rumbled loudly, so loudly Finn swore there was an earthquake for a moment.
But really, what was wrong with this guy? Staring in disbelief, he shook his head before heading over to his table. This situation was honestly a little insane, but he supposed his priority was getting Carpaccio fed and out of here as soon as possible. Grabbing a bowl of fruit (he swore he saw some cream puffs lying around this morning…Mash must’ve taken the whole batch with him before he went out today) and a fruit knife, he began to slice some apples.
“You should probably get something more filling in later, but for now, I think this should help you power through for long enough to get back to your dorm.” Finn said, arranging the apple bunnies he’d cut up neatly onto a plate. He’d yet to finish cutting up all the fruit though, moving onto the next apple. “I’m not trying to, uh…nag you or anything, but please take care of yourself.”
“Hmm.” Carpaccio closed his eyes, rolling onto his back again as he quietly hugged Finn’s pillow. It smelled like Finn–a bookish smell, with a hint of sweetness. Somehow, it was a little relaxing, and Carpaccio found himself dozing off a little once more.
He wasn’t sure how many minutes he’d napped for, but he was stirred awake as he heard someone clearing their throat. Opening an eye, he could see Finn standing above him with a plate of nicely cut fruits, all arranged into small animals.
Propping himself up against the headboard of Finn’s bed, he accepted the plate, taking a moment to peer at the little fruit animals Finn had arranged. It was rather childish, but also quite cute. Carpaccio found that it did amuse him, if a bit.
“Do you always cut your fruits this way?” He asked, taking a healthy bite from an apple bunny. Carpaccio did always enjoy fruits. Apples weren’t his favorite, but he did enjoy the crunch and the sweetness. Also, he did suppose he enjoyed eating it more when it was cut up this nicely.
“Occasionally.” Finn admitted, “But this time, I wanted to put in a little more effort.”
“Why?”
“Because…I wanted to…?”
Carpaccio let out a hum, taking a bite from another apple. Finn was a weird one. Maybe it was a little hypocritical of him to say that, but Finn really was odd. Despite having been tortured so mercilessly by Carpaccio, here he was, sheltering him and giving him food–not to mention, actually putting effort into preparing it, even if it was just fruit.
Finn was just that type of person, he guessed. A stupidly kind person.
Carpaccio paused, an apple bunny pressed against his lips as he turned to look up at Finn. The boy was awkwardly rooted in place, fidgeting with his hands as his eyes darted around the room, desperately avoiding looking at Carpaccio.
It was only then did Carpaccio notice a cut upon Finn’s fingers, still fresh. He wondered if it hurt. As far as Carpaccio knew from his observations, small cuts did tend to hurt an unnatural amount. Reaching out, he grabbed Finn’s hand, eliciting a shocked yelp.
“When did you get that cut?” Carpaccio asked, his eyes fixed on the cut. He could feel Finn’s palms sweating as the boy stammered incomprehensibly, still processing his hand being grabbed abruptly.
“J-just earlier. While I was cutting the fruit. But it’s not really a big deal or anything, I mean I accidentally nick myself a lot doing small stuff–I’m kinda clumsy so it can’t be helped–wait wha?” Finn paused mid ramble as Carpaccio set his plate of fruit down upon his lap, using his now free hand to rummage around through his pocket.
Finally, he pulled out a pink, bunny printed band-aid, “Someone gave it to me. Didn’t think it’d be of use, ‘cause I can’t really get cuts or anything, but it should work for you.” Before Finn could process anything, Carpaccio had already clumsily placed the band-aid around his finger. It was messily put together, as if Carpaccio had never used a band-aid in his life (and somehow, Finn doubted this was too far off from the truth), but there was a certain endearing quality to it.
“Thanks…?”
Finn was certain that his confusion showed on his face. Carpaccio merely stared at him, gauging his reaction before he resumed eating. For some reason, he’d yet to fully let go of Finn’s hand, clinging to his pinkie. “You don’t have to look so unsure, I’m not going to hurt you or anything.”
Carpaccio continued, “When I told you earlier that I wouldn’t stab you, I meant it. Recently, I’ve come to learn that pain is a really scary thing, after all.” Just the thought of the pain he’d felt back then at Mash’s hands was enough to send a chill down his spine. He wondered how much pain Finn had been in back then–surely it was more than he could comprehend. Pain was scary, dying was probably also really scary.
“Huh…” Finn couldn’t say he necessarily trusted a single thing coming out of Carpaccio’s mouth, but he also knew the guy wasn’t half bad as a person, so maybe he could be trusted this once. “Well, if it’s like that, then I guess…I’ll believe you.”
“Yeah.”
Carpaccio nodded silently, and despite how inherently awkward the situation was, Finn found that…it wasn’t too bad. Maybe he could stand being around Carpaccio. Just a little.
Soon, the plate was emptied, and Carpaccio dragged himself out of bed, setting the plate onto the table. It was only then did he finally let go of Finn’s hand, and strangely enough, Finn had gotten used to his touch–so much so that he felt quite empty without a hand to hold. It was truly scary how quickly humans adapted to these types of situations, Finn mused.
“I’ll be on my way then.” Carpaccio said, opening the door. He stood by the doorframe, already halfway out the door, before he turned to look back at Finn once more. This whole situation, as unexpected as it was, was not a bad experience. It was not time wasted, he would say.
Carpaccio briefly recalled the apple bunnies Finn had cut up for him, and for a brief moment, he could see the semblance. Finn was rather bunny-like, wasn’t he? His lips curved to form a small smile, the softest of laughs escaping his lips as he looked at Finn, with his rounded eyes and his fidgety demeanor. “Thanks.”
With that, Carpaccio was off, and Finn stared in disbelief as the boy exited from his view. Did Carpaccio just smile at him? Did he just thank him? He hadn’t once thanked him today, just the thought of it was unbelievable.
What was more unbelievable was that for a second–just a brief second–Finn’s heart had skipped a beat.
“What just…happened…?”