Work Text:
When Accardi opened the door to figure out who was knocking so late at night, he was not expecting to see the little priest standing there, soaking wet and shivering from the rain. They looked up at him with an expression that he couldn’t help but compare to that of an abandoned puppy in a cardboard box. They opened their mouth to say something, but closed it again upon making eye contact with Accardi, turning bashful.
“I don’t… I didn’t have any more money for the motel.” They looked down, fidgeting with the strap of their bag. “No- I shouldn’t have come here, I’m sorry. I can just camp out in the park-“
“Ryker.” They stopped rambling, eyes snapping up to meet his. “Come inside.”
He moved to the side to make room, tugging their sleeve gently to encourage them. They shuffled inside, and he shut the door behind them, noting the way they hunched over and gripped their own arms.
“Are you cold? Wait, of course you are. Stay here.”
Accardi rushed off, not waiting for Ryker to respond. They watched him disappear into an unfamiliar room as another water droplet fell from the rim of their hat onto the welcome mat below.
He shut the door to his bedroom, yanking open a drawer and digging through the neatly folded clothes to find a pair of sweatpants that he barely touched. They would definitely be too big for someone Ryker’s size, but hopefully the drawstring would at least keep it above their waist. Then, he grabbed a simple white t-shirt and a towel, exiting the room again to meet his friend back at the door. They looked up at him expectantly, shivering. He gave a sympathetic smile, dropping the retrieved items into their hands once they held them out.
“You need a shower. Quick, before you catch a cold, come on.” They sneezed in time with his words, concerning him more. He placed a hand on their back and directed them into the bathroom.
“I’m sorry.” They mumbled while Accardi plucked the hat off their head, brushing through their greasy short hair. They closed their eyes and briefly leaned into his hand.
“None of that. No apologies.” He pulled his hand away, much to the others disappointment, and walked over to the shower, turning it on and running his hand under it to check the temperature. Then, turning around, “Get in the shower and meet me outside when you’re done. Then we can figure this all out.”
Ryker didn’t respond, just standing and chewing on their lip for a moment before they placed the clean clothes on the counter and hung the towel on a nearby rack. They reached for the hem of their shirt, but stopped and looked at Accardi.
“Oh-“ His eyes widened, evidently distracted in watching Ryker, “Sorry, sorry! I’ll give you your privacy, I suppose.”
At that, Ryker gave a small, amused smile that instantly relieved Accardi of a bit of his concern. He placed their hat down on the counter and left the bathroom, allowing them to have what felt like a fancy spa day compared to their usual washing up conditions.
When the door clicked shut, Ryker breathed in deeply before letting out a long sigh. They already had regrets in showing up here, bothering what looked like a nearly-asleep Accardi in the middle of the night. It was too late to go back on it now, though, considering the man had essentially trapped them here from the second they entered the door without room for argument. They accepted their fate, pulling off their clothes and avoiding the mirror’s gaze to step under the warm water. Nearly instantly, they relaxed and slumped their shoulders. Honestly, the feeling of it almost made them moan.
After basking in the warmth of the running water for a few minutes, they opened the eyes that they didn’t even realize had closed to look around the amenities of the bathroom. There was… a lot of hair and skin care supplies that they could only assume came from Juliek, considering the unfamiliar lettering on some bottles. They reached for the simplest looking bottle of what they could only hope was shampoo, pouring a small amount into their hand and rubbing it into their scalp. The massaging movements on their itchy head felt near heavenly, and they got lost in the action for the next 5 or 20 minutes, thoughts drifting into mostly uncharted territory.
How would it feel if Accardi’s hands were doing this instead? If he was there with them, massaging his fingers gently into their scalp. Or taking a washcloth and cleaning up the dirt and blood caked onto just about every part of their body. Or his hands, larger than Ryker’s own, situating around their waist and pulling them closer-
Ryker suddenly became very aware of where they were, and just how long they had been standing there living the life of luxury.
“Shit.”
The next parts were rushed through. After a small amount of conditioner and a lot of aggressive scrubbing to get the grime off, they turned the water off and tumbled out of the shower. Drying themself off relatively quickly with the towel, they threw on the oversized loaners and, without much choice considering their lack of knowledge on the rooms of this place, tucked their dirty clothes in a pile in the corner of the room. Now clean and much warmer than before, they opened the door and turned down the hallway to meet Accardi in the kitchen. His chin rested in his hand, evidently exhausted with the way his eyes were threatening to close before he snapped them back open to look towards Ryker.
“There you are. So much better.” He pushed himself up from the table, making his way over to Ryker and smiling. “Hm. Hold on.”
His hands reached down and hiked Ryker’s (well, Accardi’s) shirt up a bit, catching them by surprise and causing a few of those fantasized thoughts from earlier to slip into their brain again. He pulled up the sagging hem of their sweats, taking the draw string and pulling it into a tight bow to prevent them from falling and pantsing his holy little friend. Their tan face turned an adorable shade of red.
“ Now you’re fixed up.” He pulled a chair out, motioning for them to sit. They interlocked their own hands on the table, twiddling their thumbs as Accardi walked away for a moment, coming back with 2 bottles. “So, does my little priest prefer a glass of merlot or chardonnay?”
Ryker stared at him, dumbfounded.
“Okay, merlot it is.” He poured them a glass with an amount of grace that would likely be much higher were he not so tired. Then, pouring his own, he sat right across from them at the table. He circled a finger around the rim of the glass.
“So… you… want to know how my little murder plot went?” They tried to say it lightheartedly, but the chuckle paired with the words was so dead that they knew Accardi could see right through them.
“Mm… do you want to tell me?” He inquired, raising an eyebrow (or both, the other wasn’t exactly visible) at them. They sucked on their tongue, eyes averting his gaze.
“No. Not really.”
“Then don’t. It’s your business.”
“Yeah, but it’s your house…”
“Ryker.” His stern tone immediately caught their attention, and they looked up. “I wasn’t just going to leave you there in the rain. You’re clean, warm, and… almost entirely uninjured. That’s what I care about. Not whatever crazy shit went down at the goddamn basilica that nearly got you killed for the 80th time in the, what, 5 days you’ve been here?”
“4, I think.” To be honest, they were already losing track of time. It’s a hard thing to remember when you’re lost for hours on end multiple times a day.
“Case in point. I don’t have the reasoning or the heart to throw you out to the curb like you’re next week’s garbage, so you can stay as long as you need and I’ll provide what I can. I have more than enough.” He punctuated the mini lecture by downing the rest of his wine, gently placing down the empty glass and crossing his arms over his chest.
“Christ. Okay.” They did the same, pushing their glass an inch towards him on the table. He dropped his hard stare and smiled, standing to take both glasses and place them in the sink to be washed later.
“Good. Let’s get to bed, I’m exhausted.” Much to their surprise, they were being pulled directly to what they could only assume was Accardi’s bedroom door, glancing around questioningly as he opened it up to possibly the nicest bedroom Ryker had ever been in, even before they ran away.
“You don’t want me to sleep on the couch..?” They questioned when Accardi pressed on their shoulder, sitting them on the bed. The sheets were soft underneath their hands, unlike anything they’d ever slept on.
“Too far away. What if I get cold?” He flirted. Ryker wanted to point out that there were more than enough blankets to fix that problem, but opted out when they realized what exactly he was trying to apply. Accardi chuckled at the blush that dusted their cheeks, calling them something Ryker didn’t know the translation of. If they had to guess, it was something Italian.
They simply hummed, hoping he didn’t notice the way their voice cracked towards the end of it, and laid down. Accardi walked to the other side of the bed, the mattress dipping when he climbed on. They listened to him breathe for a short while, waiting for it to steady out before they let loose another shaky sigh. The built up anxiety and adrenaline could finally escape and they worked through many deep breaths in order to calm their rising heart rate, to no avail. They couldn’t stop themself from fidgeting, fingers rapidly drumming on their own hips. What definitely didn’t help their nerves, though, was the revelation that Accardi was very much not asleep behind them. Or was, briefly, and woke up from the vibrations emitting from their trembling body.
“Ryker…” He groaned, slurred. They froze.
“You’re shivering.”
“Guess you’re… not the only one getting cold here.” It didn’t turn out as witty as they wanted, their nervous tone of voice blaring through their words. He was quiet, but they could feel him turning over to face their back.
“Can I hold you?” Accardi asked, a little clearer now, and Ryker felt their heartbeat reaching an all time high for entirely different reasons. They scooched back wordlessly until they could feel the body heat that was radiating off of Accardi, and soon after an arm swung around their waist and pulled them flush into his body. Ryker tensed up all over for a moment, entirely foreign to the intimacy.
It was a safe feeling. Something warm and unfamiliar to Ryker, considering the whole situation they’ve been in since the very year they even reached adulthood, lacking in just about any close relationship that wasn’t their own mentor. They allowed their body to relax under the weight of Accardi’s, choosing to not think too hard about the affectionate action. His body curled in on theirs from behind, forehead pressed into the messy short hair just above their neck. A thumb rubbed gentle circles on their stomach, hand underneath their shirt but not reaching for their chest. It was more than enough for them to simply melt right into, washing away all worries from the past few days.
No weird dreams. No crazy blonde priests. No bug-masked “guides.” No Basilio Dante. No Leon . Just two men embraced in the safety of the night and an extremely comfortable bedroom.
“…Goodnight, Accardi.” They whispered, unsure if he was even still awake. They got their answer in the form of an amused hot breath on the back of their neck.
“Goodnight, Ryker.”