Lucio hadn't meant to interrupt Sandalphon. Truly, he hadn't! The Grandcypher didn't have many private places, aside from one's quarters, and even that tended to vary, so Lucio was always bumping into someone or other and often that meant literally.

"What do you want?" Sandalphon asked him, flatly, and Lucio quietly offered the short list of seasonings that Lowain had sent him to fetch.

"It was dinner or laundry," Lucio admitted. Laundry would be a simple snap of his fingers, but for others it seemed to be a social event that he didn't entirely understand but Shalem was attempting to. Dinner, on the other hand, was an interesting performance and could not be as easily be manipulated with his power. Well, it wouldn't be as tasty, at least.

Ladiva had explained that love is absolutely a seasoning and Lucio had no reason to doubt her, once he understood how much she, and Lowain and his companions, cared for the sprawling crew.

Love, however, was not on the seasoning list that Lucio had handed over, and after scanning it, Sandalphon just sighed.

"This way," he said.

Lucio could have said he knew, but he didn't. He could know the entire contents of the storage area they were in, but somehow, following along behind Sandalphon was preferable.

"Were you down here to get something as well?"

"Weekly inventory on a few things," Sandalphon replied, holding up one of the little notebooks he tended to carry. How many of those Sandalphon had crammed into his cabin, filled with notes on coffee and poems about Lucifer and everything else, Lucio didn't know.

There were things he politely did not do, and that sort of prying into the business of crewmates, at least without very good reason, was near the top of the list. Oh, he'd teased Sandy a bit over the summer, before he'd realized the depths of things, but-

But-

"Are there poems in there too?" Lucio questioned.

Instead of the notebook, Lucio had four cans of seasoning shoved into his hands and the notebook vanished out of sight.

"Thanks, Sandy," he said, after a beat. As much as he wanted to stay and see if Sandalphon needed anything, he did have somewhere to be, and had what he'd gone to get.

That was that, then.

"Just leave," Sandalphon replied. But before Lucio made it all the way out the door, he heard two more words-

"You're welcome."

The weather had turned without notice and even though he could have done something about it, Lucio knew that if he dabbled too much with things like weather, he'd get scolded from multiple sides.

So a storm it was, rolling the airship a bit. There were railings for a reason, on all levels, and most things were bolted down or could be quickly secured. Cabinets latched, and...

"Mmrrff!"

The ship lurched, just as Lucio was making the last turn before his own quarters, when suddenly he was knocked off-balance as another body crashed into him. He caught himself before hitting the floor, half with his full wings spread, which was a terrible idea for the hallway in general.

But the wings his fingertips were clutching weren't his own; brown feathers were in his face and the limp body against his was Sandalphon.

"Sandalphon? Sandy?" Lucio got them both upright just as the ship shuddered. He was not expecting Sandalphon to grab at him, nor the look on Sandalphon's face for the split second that it took for Sandalphon to snap out of his daze.

"You," Sandalphon said. And he looked a little green and Lucio quickly remembered that this sort of motion had to be absolutely miserable for Sandalphon.

"My cabin is only a couple of doors down," Lucio said quickly. He knew Sandalphon would protest but it didn't matter. "Come sit down until the ship stops shaking?"

He ruffled his wings to free them from the railings before folding them back, letting them shift to their usual smaller and lesser form as Sandalphon's fingers closed through where they'd been.

"Okay," Sandalphon said softly. He tried to stand but the best he did was get his wings folded back before another roll had him against Lucio against a wall and railing.

Anyone else would bruise, Lucio noted. He was fine. And he would have kept his wings unfurled so Sandalphon could keep clinging to them, but getting them and Sandalphon through the cabin door seemed like an unnecessary exercise in physics.

At least Sandalphon was on his own feet for the few steps to Lucio's cabin. He wasn't even up to a proper glower, instead mostly looking resigned and queasy. Wings and all, Lucio just nudged Sandalphon at his bed. It was bolted down, there was nothing above it that could fall, and there was plenty of room for him.

"This is only because..." Sandalphon sat and pulled off his high-heeled ankle boots. "Are you okay?"

Lucio beamed. "You're concerned? I'm flattered. But I'm fine, Sandy. I'm probably the best person you could have fallen on."

"Ugh." Boots off, Sandalphon flopped back on the bed. "This is better, though. Just... be quiet."

"I'll do my absolute best," Lucio replied. He did quietly gather up Sandalphon's boots to put over near the door on a small rug. They wouldn't necessarily stay put, but there wasn't far for them to go, either.

Sandalphon put an arm over his eyes and after a long moment, seemed to relax just a bit.

Quietly, Lucio continued on with securing the few things he'd returned to attend to. Three books, one of which was a play by a famous Verona playwright, one of which was on loan from an artist one floor down, and one an illustrated storybook recommended by multiple knights; and one coffee cup wrapped in layers of soft fabric were all where they should be.

He had little else, other than a couple of outfits. His cabin probably seemed sparse, to Sandalphon, or would once he was in any condition to notice. Lucio wondered if he should acquire more things; of course that would mean spending more time on the airship and while that wasn't a bad-sounding idea, it could get to be troublesome as well.

Perhaps a few more books? A cookbook, perhaps, and some poetry and...

Lucio nearly asked Sandalphon about his poetry before realizing that it certainly wasn't the time.

It was time for the spare blanket, instead, and more quiet.

"Are you open?"

The Grandcypher was docked, which meant that most of the crew had disembarked for any and all reasons.

"I suppose," Sandalphon replied. "But you get whatever I make for you."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Lucio smiled as he sat. "No errands for you?"

"Already taken care of." Sandalphon worked both quickly and precisely, obviously having decided what to make. "The last few days have been busy. I wanted a little quiet."

"I won't stay long." Lucio propped his chin on his hands, elbows on the counter, and settled to watch Sandalphon.

"You can stay," Sandalphon said without looking up from what he was doing.

For a moment Lucio fought to contain his joy at-

"As long as you don't bother me and don't do anything weird."

"I can do that."

Lucio knew the rest. Don't do anything weird while looking like Lucifer. But his face was his face, and his voice was his voice. And Sandalphon was... certainly special to him as well.

But it wasn't the time to say that, nor was it the time to peek at the little notebook that Sandalphon had left on the counter not terribly far from where he was sitting. The top page just looked like a shopping list, but beneath it...

Sandalphon obviously followed his gaze and grabbed the notebook in a fluid motion, tucking it into his apron without missing a beat or saying a word.

It didn't matter. The coffee was good and the company better, even if only silence passed between them.

"What are you doing later?"

"Hey, I asked first!"

"But I saw him first!"

Lucio had only been back with the crew of the Grandcypher for a couple of days before they'd docked for supplies and a few repairs. The week-long layover had meant time to explore the island, but Lucio had been scouted instantly by a desperate director in need of a performer and, well, it had seemed appropriate!

"Thank you, all of you, but I really can't-"

"Tomorrow, then?"

"How about the weekend?"

"I'll just join your crew."

The crowd in the lobby crushed in a bit more, all wanting to him or at least proposition him but Lucio only smiled. It was certainly flattering! And while he did need to make an exit, he wasn't in that much of a hurry. It wasn't as if-

"Come on!"

A hand grabbed his wrist and Lucio looked down to see a rumpled-looking Sandalphon half-glaring at him with his ruby eyes.

That was a surprise that actually caught Lucio off guard. Oh, he'd invited Sandalphon to see the performance; he'd invited any member of the crew who was free, though most of them had taken other day-jobs or had other tasks to attend to. But he'd seen a few familiar faces in the audience, including Sandalphon. Given the nature of the show, however, every time he'd glanced towards Sandalphon's seat, Lucio had expected it to be empty.

Surely, he was taking far too many liberties with his voice and face. Surely, Sandalphon would leave angry... Except he hadn't. And now, he was attempting a rescue that wasn't entirely needed.

"Sandalphon!" Lucio grinned at Sandalphon before smiling widely at the rest of the crowd. "Sorry, it looks like it's time for me to leave for the evening."

He did need to make a stop in the theatre's tiny dressing area first, to change clothing and collect payment for the evening, not that he entirely needed the latter.

Sandalphon just sat and reached for the script sitting nearby, leafing through and not looking up even as Lucio began undressing.

"It's by a local playwright, not one we've encountered while traveling," Lucio explained.

"Not terrible," Sandalphon said softly before frowning. "I liked a few parts."

"You could try writing a play," Lucio offered, midway through pulling on his own clothing. "You write..."

Sandalphon flicked his gaze up for just a moment before turning surprisingly red.

He didn't protest, though, and Lucio thought that was surely something.

"You could always show me-"

He dodged to avoid getting hit with the script and then raced, still pulling his clothing into place, to catch up as Sandalphon stalked off.

"What-" Sandalphon glared at the canister before giving Lucio a sharp look.

"From the last time you were here," Lucio replied. He didn't explain that the canister, stuck to the shelf with a bit of a putty that would keep it there through the airship's rolls and shudders, was one that Sandalphon had shoved into his hands all those months ago. He'd gotten it purely by chance, by commenting to Lowain that he'd enjoyed the aroma, which was also true.

But it was the perfect little holder for three of Sandalphon's brown feathers, retrieved once the storm had calmed and Sandalphon had woke and properly realized where he was.

And then mumbled thanks before storming off.

The feathers had not dissipated and had spent a bit of time tucked with a coffee cup before gaining their current spot. There was a script on the shelf, too, laying flat and below the shelf's thin lip.

It was not exactly a Sandalphon shelf, but Lucio supposed it could be. He wouldn't mind it being one.

But the shelf had nothing to do with why Sandalphon had stopped to visit.

"You should ask before keeping anything like that," Sandalphon finally said.

Lucio blinked. That did make sense. He just hadn't really thought about it. His own feathers tended to vanish, even if someone had wanted to keep one, so...

"Then, Sandy, may I keep-"

"Give me my notebook."

Ah, yes, the actual reason for the visit. Sandalphon had misplaced a notebook and after a day, word had gotten around to look for it. That wasn't uncommon for the airship; someone was always misplacing something or other and Lucio had gotten quite good at finding things. Sandalphon could have found his own notebook, he was certainly powerful enough, but Lucio had noticed that Sandalphon spent an amusing amount of time doing his best not using what he had at his fingertips...

And wingtips...

That, Lucio had tucked into the drawer beside the coffee cup.

He hadn't opened it, despite temptation. Technically, he wouldn't need to. But he hadn't peeked at all, not even unconsciously. He knew it was Sandalphon's because of where it had fallen, wedged in a small gap between fixtures in Sandalphon's cafe and retrieved without physical means.

Lucio handed it over quietly.

"I didn't look," he said.

Sandalphon looked at him for a long, long moment. There was something brewing that Lucio didn't quite understand, but before he could ruin things himself, Sandalphon turned to go.

"I know."

"There's a note on your door, but I did not read it," Shalem said. "Even if a note is in the hallway, if it's not on a main door, it isn't for everybody. It's a shame; some of them are incredibly interesting."

"I'll have to go look," Lucio said, curious. He'd finished up a shift helping not Lowain but Ladiva in her little nook of the ship. And she'd given him a few little bags of treats for later, one of which Lucio had quickly offered to Shalem when he saw her.

"You should," she said, before taking her treats and leaving.

Even if she hadn't read it, she'd obviously determined enough about it to make a point of telling him and not just focusing on Ladiva-made goodies.

Well-

He was close enough that he could just walk to his cabin, so Lucio did just that. And there, on the little board for pinning notes and whatnot, just below his nameplate, was a single page torn from a familiar-style of notebook. It had been turned, so that whatever was written was obscured from general view, but the identity of the writer was obvious.

Lucio unpinned it and turned it over, expecting either an invitation for coffee or a complaint or something else short and to the point.

He was not expecting six lines written with a faltering and scratchy pen-

-not about Lucifer, not really-

-but about something else, new and undefined.

Lucio smiled as he unlocked the door to his cabin and stepped inside.

He'd tuck the poem beside his coffee cup, wrapped and hidden, and then see if perhaps Sandalphon wanted to join him. He had an extra bag of treats, after all.

And Lucio was fairly sure they tasted of both love and possibility.