❝ the same deep water as you ― open . ❞

[LUCERNE.]

#73614b[align=center][div style="width: 430px; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana; font-size: 6pt; letter-spacing: 1.5px; word-spacing: 0px; line-height: 12px; color: #000"]On the days where he didn’t obsessively preoccupy himself with life in the clinic, Lucerne often spent a lot of time to himself consumed with his very own little projects. Whilst some days he’d spend time gardening or tending to his bee hive, other days such as this he found himself lounging back on a garden chair, binoculars at the ready as he surveyed the sky for any fluttering movement.

He breathed a sharp inhalation through his nostrils at the sight of two birds over the ocean, raising the binoculars to identify the flying birds. ❝ Razorbills. ❞ He uttered to himself, entirely preoccupied with his hobby to even take notice of any passersby. Not that he was too concerned with passersby, of course; nothing would stand in the way of his bird watching, especially now that he was so intently focused on it.

---

he's like a grandpa at the ripe age of thirty four

[ADDY.]

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— although addy liked to say to himself (and sometimes to others) that lucerne had no life, it had taken a while for him to realize that lucerne had more of a life than he did. the other man was often preoccupied with all of his projects, either running st. peter’s, spending time with his damn bee hive, trying to save the turtles, among other things. sure, lucerne had a lot of little projects to busy himself with - though as addy stood and watched lucerne a ways away, looking through binoculars, he felt certain that he still had more of a life than this bastard. he had to have more of a life than one full of goddamn bird watching.

stepping closer to lucerne, the man too entranced with his hobby to even take notice of him, he huffed a short breath, unamused. “your age is showing,” he remarked gruffly, looking towards the other man before taking a seat at the chair next to him. shifting around in the seat, he hummed before asking, “or have you always acted like a crazy old man?” did lucerne even have to answer that question?

[LUCERNE.]

#73614b[align=center][div style="width: 430px; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana; font-size: 6pt; letter-spacing: 1.5px; word-spacing: 0px; line-height: 12px; color: #000"]Whilst perhaps Addy was right in saying that Lucerne did not have much of a life if he were to preoccupy himself in seemingly menial hobbies, they were all past times which Lucerne adored enough that if this was him wasting his life away, he wouldn’t mind too much. All of his projects and ideas he focused on to keep his mind busy brought him great joy; always learning, or reciting what he already knew, gave him a great sense of pride. Validation.

He barely took notice of Addy as he approached, far too preoccupied in following the flight of razorbills passing through the sky, until he was shaken out of his engrossment by a huff. ❝ Your age is showing. ❞ Lucerne lowered his binoculars, blinking up towards Addy with puzzlement. What was that supposed to mean? As Addy took a seat beside Lucerne, his next words helped clarify what Addy was really insinuating. Not that Lucerne understood any more; as far as he was concerned, his age and love for the simple things in life were mutually exclusive.

Lips parted, with Lucerne peering over at Addy wordlessly for a moment before he held the binoculars out to him. ❝ The razorbill is the closest thing to a penguin you will ever likely see… based on phenotypic characteristics, of course; they’re more like puffins. Look. ❞ Addy would never show interest in it - Lucerne assumed - but he’d still openly rattle on about it to him regardless. After all, it brought him joy whenever he could share his knowledge with Addy, whether Addy showed interest or not.

[ADDY.]

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— as addy made his remark, he almost expected to see that familiar look on lucerne’s face. for a man that was so genuinely smart, even the most passive of comments could go right over lucerne’s head. people could say lucerne was out of touch with the real world, usually unable to take most quips thrown his way as anything but literal. though from the man’s own incapabilities, that part was more amusing to addy than the joke itself. it had always been that way. the familiar look of bewilderment on lucerne’s face just made him huff, shaking his head as he sat next to him.

then, lucerne handed the binoculars out to him. addy furrowed his brows. he reluctantly took the binoculars, waiting a moment before taking a look through them. it didn’t hurt to join lucerne in his antics from time to time, even if lucerne’s enthusiasm was admittedly unmatched each and every time. “you said they look like a penguin, huh? a- puffin?” and here addy assumed that a puffin was - some kind of pastry or some shit.

he leaned back a bit, lowering the binoculars. he ultimately held the binoculars back to lucerne. “why are they called razorbills? what shit could they possibly cut with a beak like that?” god, sometimes he hated the man’s rambles - they could be complicated and boring - though it often paid to see the interest in his eyes. the excitement during his smartass replies.

[LUCERNE.]

#73614b[align=center][div style="width: 430px; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana; font-size: 6pt; letter-spacing: 1.5px; word-spacing: 0px; line-height: 12px; color: #000"]Perhaps it was more a blessing than a curse that many social interactions didn’t quite make sense to Lucerne. Comments were often taken far too literally, and mocking laughter was often met with puzzled looks from him. He wasn’t adept in the art of social interaction, and perhaps it saved the humiliation of realizing that people often found it amusing that he could be so ignorant. A man who so often prided himself on being a genius, it would be the greatest grievance to realise that he had thoroughly over-exaggerated his own knowledge to himself.

Addy was a good man - Lucerne often failed to realize this - as he chose not to challenge Lucerne’s ignorance and instead take the binoculars to see for himself what had Lucerne so intrigued. ❝ You said they look like a penguin, huh? A- puffin? ❞ Lucerne knitted his brows together, curtly responding with, ❝ Precisely. ❞

In Lucerne’s eyes, Addy was beginning to express interest in what he was observing. Addy should have known that his interest would only encourage Lucerne. ❝ Look closer, Addy! Can’t you see? The edges of their upper beaks are like blades! Fascinating as it is not only used to grasp onto fish, but to also protect itself from predators. ❞ Without second thought, he leaned over towards Addy, grasping onto his hand to return the binoculars to Addy’s eyes.

❝ Look closely; it’s difficult to see but I believe that one there has a fish! I imagine it’s to feed their young. If I remember correctly, we are currently the midst of their breeding season. Truly fascinating to see them in their swarms right here on our coastline. I wonder what attracted them to this part of the world. ❞

[ADDY.]

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— if anyone else ever knew about addy’s feelings for lucerne, the redhead would’ve felt almost embarrassed to admit just how much he cared about the other man. feelings were often confusing for anyone, let alone for someone like lucerne - let alone feeling things for someone like lucerne. though to say he could ever try and un-love the other man seemed like an impossible feat by this point. even after lucerne found out about how miserably in love addy was with him, the man still stuck around. the man was still his friend.

lucerne grasped onto his hand and pulled the binoculars back up to addy’s eyes. addy smiled subtly to himself. and maybe after coming to the district, he finally realized that he was okay with whatever difficult-to-explain relationship they had. “you’re telling me that they fight off predators with their beaks?” he responded dully, just to huff a short breath. “badass.” certainly not the wording lucerne would’ve chosen to use - but, c’mon, the man must’ve been implying that.

leaning back, he lowered the binoculars and held them out for lucerne to take hold of again. “alright, bird man. don’t get too attached to them; who knows if they’ll stick around for long.” like addy knew a damn thing about the breeding season of a puffin.