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meridian_roseTitle: Friends Will Be Friends
Fandom: Da Vinci's Demons
Pairing/Characters: Riario, Vanessa, Zo, Nico, Leo, Clarice, Leo/Riario
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 3101
Fic Series: I Have Inside Me Blood Of Kings
Summary: Vanessa and Nico return from a diplomatic visit to find that Leo has fallen victim to an assassination attempt and despite his immortality, has not yet revived. An increasingly distraught and paranoid Riario is guarding the body lest someone bury Leo. It's left to Vanessa to try and calm Riario and convince him that they will figure this out, that's he not alone, and for Riario to let Leo's friends help.
Content Notes: Temporary Character Death
Author Notes: Takes place within the Immortal AU further along than the most recently posted chapter of that series, after the war/Crusade and in a time when Leo and Riario are in an established relationship.
An earlier version of this fic was posted at my journal fulfilling the Trope Bingo Round 6 prompt "Hurt/Comfort". This is a revised and expanded edition, with a happy ending.
Also @ AO3
Vanessa took a careful step forward, the stone floor of the crypt cold beneath her feet. Riario was on his feet in a second and she bit back a gasp. His hair was lank, eyes bloodshot, and he clutched at his dagger as if it were a lifeline. Zo had not been exaggerating.
"Vanessa." Riario's voice was raspy with disuse. There was something desperate in his tone, a hint of relief in his eyes before it was gone in an instant. Suspicion wiped away any hint of vulnerability and he frowned. "What are you doing here?"
She tightened her grip on the handles of the basket, squared her shoulders. "Nico and I are home now. I came to see you and Leo."
His gaze strayed for a moment to the slab of marble where Leo lay in repose. "You will not take him." It was a declaration as well as a threat.
Vanessa shook her head. "I'm here to help." She swung the basket towards him. "I brought supplies. Food. Water. Cloths."
He eyed her warily, approaching as if he were a wounded animal.
"Let me clean him up," she begged. She did not add that Riario needed a wash just as much, if not more.
"Put the basket on the floor. Take a step back."
She obeyed. Riario rifled through the basket's contents and seemed satisfied. Then he moved to check her for weapons, running his hands roughly over her body. She gave a small involuntary gasp and immediately turned her head to meet Nico's gaze and shook her head. Next to him, hiding behind the thick column near the crypt's entrance, Zo was no doubt fuming.
He would not hurt her, she'd told them. She could approach Riario where they could not. She did not fear him. She'd meant every word. She held onto that belief as steadfastedly as any other article of faith..
"Very well," Riario said at last. He stared at Nico, who remained silent some distance away, before he returned to his place at Leo's side. Vanessa followed, placing the basket on the floor.
Her lower lip trembled as she laid eyes upon Leo's face. Pale and deathly still. Oh, Leo. She took out a waterskin and offered it to Riario.
"You first," he said.
She supposed he had every right to be suspicious. Not that Zo would be above drugging her and Riario both if it would save Leo. That was the problem though; this wasn't about saving Leo. It was a fight over possession of his body. His corpse.
She took a long drink from the waterskin, swallowed, and passed it to Riario. He took it wordlessly, sipped from it. It must have met with his approval because he drank the rest in long, greedy swallows.
Meanwhile Vanessa took up a second waterskin, damped one of the cloths she'd brought with her, and began to wipe at Leo's face, washing away the traces of vomit and flecks of blood.
"I brought a clean shirt," she said. Riario looked from the basket to Leo and took out his dagger again. He deftly sliced along the seams of Leo's current garment. Together they tugged at the cloth, removing the soiled material.
Getting the clean shirt onto Leo took a little more manoeuvring. After Riario glared at where Nico and Zo were hovering to make sure they stayed put, he lifted Leo's head and shoulders. Vanessa worked the shirt over Leo's head. Getting his arms into the sleeves proved somewhat challenging, but, finally, the job was done.
Leo looked more serene now, like a carved image on his tomb and not the body which should be lying within.
"Tell me what happened," Vanessa said, smoothing Leo's hair neatly around his shoulders. Zo's expletive laden account of things had given her an overview of the events that had taken place while she and Nico had been on a diplomatic visit to Clarice's distant cousin, but she wanted to keep Riario talking. "There was a dinner party?"
"Yes." Riario rattled off the names of the guests; several cardinals, some minor nobles, a couple of military officers. "Clarice made a toast. We all drank. And then Leonardo…he starting coughing. I thought he was choking. He was clawing at his throat."
Vanessa stayed silent, imagining the terrible scene.
"Then he vomited over the table," Riario said, far away, reliving it. "Clarice got to her feet. She wanted us to take him to another room and have a physician attend him. But before we could move he began coughing up blood. I had my arms around him but when he collapsed, I had no choice but to lower him to the floor."
He paused, moistened his lips. "He was dead by the time I was brushing his hair back from his face. Clarice suspected poison. She acted quicker I than did, ordered the palace doors shut; the perpetrator had to be within the walls. Cardinal Ducci stood, swigged from a flask he was carrying, said 'Let's see you survive without your beloved artista, you Florentine whore' and a moment later he died, just as Leonardo had."
Which explained Ducci's body being on display outside the palace; staked through, the way Vlad's victims were, Nico had told Vanessa.
"Before she left to confront the rest of the Ducci family, Clarice said it was unfortunate that the cardinal had thrown his life away for nothing. We all assumed Leonardo would revive. After Zoroaster arrived we — we thought — it was a joke, really. To put Leonardo here, rather than in his bed. To tell him when he woke up he'd ruined the dinner." Riario broke off.
Vanessa tipped her head. "But he didn't wake up."
Riario brushed his knuckles against Leo's cheek. "After the first day I began to worry. It's never taken either of us so long to revive. The second day, Dragonetti said we had to consider the possibility that Ducci had used a poison that truly had killed Leonardo. The third day Zoroaster said we couldn't just leave him here, he wanted to, to bury him or properly entomb him," Riario said, the words coming faster even as he choked on them. "I couldn't let him do that."
He gave a short sob. Vanessa, torn between reaching for Riario and glaring over her shoulder at Zo, chose the latter.
"He's not dead," Riario said. "That is, he is dead at the moment. But only the way he has been before. There is no spoiling of the flesh. No smell of a rotting corpse. No insects colonising the body."
They'd both seen death before, he on the battlefield, she at the convent and in Leo's workshop. He spoke truly.
"I know it is taking longer than usual to revive," Riario went on. "But he will. He must."
"I believe you."
He didn't hear her or didn't care to respond. "But Leo is the only one who would know what to do other than wait. And I cannot stand guard forever. You don't know how many times I've thought about taking the last drops from Ducci's flask for myself. I never asked for immortality and if the poison would end it, then so be it. "
"No," Vanessa said, horrified.
"He promised," Riario said wretchedly. He blinked back tears. "He promised he wouldn't leave me again. I can't do this alone. Better you entomb us both!"
She wrapped her arms around him, let him weep into her shoulder, great wracking sobs as grief and exhaustion took their toll. "It's all right," she soothed. "You're not alone. We're here, Girolamo, all of us. We love you. It will be all right."
It was several minutes before he got himself under control. Vanessa turned away to let him wash his face with yet another rag and gain some semblance of normality.
"So you've been here all this time, alone but for the dead?"
"Yes. Three days, I think," Riario said. "It's hard to keep track of time when you do not dare to sleep."
"Or eat," she said, facing him again. "Or drink, even?"
"There's a leak," Riario said, pointing to a narrow window. "There was rainwater, sometimes. And that corner – will need cleaning. Though after the first day of my vigil there was no food or water left in my body to be expelled. I'm relieved that we can still enjoy food and drink and ah, other bodily pleasures. However it is also irksome that our bodies do still require sustenance and sleep. I didn't know how much longer I could go on."
Vanessa nodded and folded her arms. "Zoroaster da Peretola, what in the name of all that is holy were you thinking?"
Nico, and a shame-faced Zo, ambled over to join them.
"I just wanted to keep him safe," Zo said. "In case someone came to take the body – to take Leo away. To study him or burn him or…I wasn't trying to take Leo away. But Riario –" He met Riario's gaze. "But you wouldn't listen."
Riario eyed him suspiciously. "You should have been clearer."
Zo sighed. "I know. I'm sorry. I thought we were better friends than this and now we're back to you threatening me with blades."
Riario swallowed. "When it comes to Leonardo I am perhaps inclined to overreact."
Zo gave a sharp laugh. "We've all been there," he said. "I heard what you said, about the body still being intact. I think you're right. We just need to give him more time."
"Or not," Nico said. Everyone looked at him. "Maybe Dragonetti was right about the poison, that it was meant to injure Leo more than anything we've come across before. And you were probably right that Leo would know what to do. But I was his student, and Vanessa helped with some of the autopsies, and Zo's had to listen to Leo's ramblings about alchemy for years, and you're educated and insightful."
Zo nodded. "You mean we can figure it out ourselves."
"Yes. Read some of Leo's notes," Nico said. "Make sure we understand what we're doing before we test what is left of the drug. Then we can discover what it is, what it is made from and how it works, start to consider antidotes."
Vanessa pressed a hand to Riario's cheek. "You see. You should trust us. We all love Leo and we will always protect him. Now, don't take this the wrong way, but you need a bath, to be followed by some food and a few hours rest. You're in no state to do research."
Riario nodded. "I will go, on one condition. We move Leonardo to our room."
Of course he still wanted to be close.
"He can be guarded there as well as anywhere else," Vanessa agreed. The palace's guest room in question had unofficially become Leo's whenever he wanted it. Ostensibly the chamber next door was reserved for Riario when they both stayed overnight, but it was no secret that only one room was ever occupied.
"You're going to sleep in the same bed with him like this?" Zo asked incredulously.
Vanessa fixed him with a glare. "He's been barely sleeping with Leo like this, here on the stone floor," she said.
Zo nodded. "All right. We'll move him. It's fine."
Vanessa gave Riario an encouraging smile. Together they would get through this, as they did everything else.
x
Riario opened the door to find Clarice in the corridor, with a serving girl at her elbow. The girl's knuckles were white from clutching the laden tray — a jug, two goblets, a plate of fruit — and her eyes were fixed on the stone floor.
"Girolamo. Good morning."
"My Lady Clarice." He bowed. He wished he'd put on his jacket rather than answer the knock upon the door in his shirtsleeves, but Clarice did not seem bothered.
"There is no change?" She glanced over his shoulder.
"No."
Clarice sighed. "The Ducci family were quite apologetic and denied any knowledge of the cardinal's intentions. They have given me assurances of their loyalty and a number of gifts, all of which are worthless. I had hoped to return to better news."
"My regret is as great as yours."
She gave him a sympathetic look. "Greater, of course." She smoothed down her skirts. "Now, I understand the servants have been most disobedient. They have, despite the Lady Vanessa's instructions, refused to enter this room."
Riario nodded. "They are afraid. I am not angry with them."
"I am," Clarice said. She turned her gaze on the serving girl. "Take that tray inside."
The girl bobbed a curtsey. Riario stood aside and let her pass. Clarice followed, watching the tray be placed carefully on a table. The girl curtsied again and fled the room.
Clarice paced the room, pausing at the bed. She reached out, her fingertips grazing Leo's cheek. "It is a strange magic."
"Yes." Riario moved to pour himself a drink.
Clarice shook her head. "The servants will attend your needs and this room as they would any other," she said. "I ask only that you be the one to remove the, that is, remove Leo from the bed long enough for the linens to be changed."
Riario nodded.
"Is there nothing that can be done to hasten his resurrection?" Clarice asked.
"We are reading Leonardo's research," Riario said. Which would be easier going if Leo didn't write backwards and upside down and in various codes. "He has been studying this 'strange magic' for some time."
Clarice moved to put one hand on Riario's shoulder. "I will pray for us all. I believe this magic is a gift. You and Leonardo have a destiny to fulfil. It does not end this way."
Riario swallowed. "I no longer have such unwavering faith."
She squeezed his shoulder before she released him. "If you have need of anything, ask and it will be yours. I owe you both more than I can say."
Clarice left, closing the door behind her. Riario picked at the grapes for a while before he decided he was not hungry. He pulled on his jacket and took up a hairbrush. He would feel more himself once properly dressed and groomed.
"Let me."
The brush fell from Riario's fingers. "Leonardo."
Leo blinked lazily. He tugged at the shirt. "Did you undress me?"
Riario crossed the room and shut Leo up by kissing him hard on the lips.
"Hello?" Leo said when Riario released him. "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong?" Riario stared at the ceiling, eyes damp with tears of relief. "What's wrong! It's been ten days since you died. Ten!"
Leo sat up, stretching. "Really? That's unusual."
Riario's hand clenched into a fist and it was only with great effort that he did not punish Leo's lack of concern with a smack in the face.
"Ten days," he said, voice strangled. "We worried you might never come back. And you promised." He sat on the edge of the bed. "You promised you would not leave me alone."
Leo wrapped his arms around Riario, warm and strong. The reassuring beat of Leo's heart thumped against Riario's chest. "I'm here," Leo said, pressing a kiss to Riario's hair. "Come on. Come here."
A moment later they were lying alongside each other, boots and all in Riario's case and fuck the bed linen. Leo held him close, made more promises, whispered endearments, kissed away the grief and fear.
"We have to tell the others you're awake," Riario said at last. "You scared us all."
"I'm sorry."
"It wasn't your fault."
Leo gave a soft laugh. "But you are still angry with me."
"I cannot do this alone," Riario said, as he had so many times before. "I'm angry because I thought I might have to. Or take other steps."
Leo frowned. "What do you mean?"
Riario hesitated only a moment. "The poison Ducci gave you. I thought it might be a permanent death or a deathless eternal sleep. I was willing to take whatever was left from his flask."
"Ducci?"
Riario nodded. "After you died, he killed himself the same way."
"I see. And you thought you would join me in oblivion?"
"Yes. Though I didn't know if the remaining dose would be enough."
Leo sighed. "You know I don't want that. I could never want that."
"I know. But you were gone so long."
They were silent for a while. Leo pressed kisses to Riario's cheeks, forehead, lips.
"You think enough of the poison might offer a permanent death?"
Riario nodded.
"Is that what you want? For me to study this poison and have me find a way to kill you?" Leo's voice caught on the words.
Riario lowered his gaze. "You promised that too. That you would find a way to end this."
"That was before. Before this, before us. Girolamo, do you think I want to do this alone?" Leo cupped Riario's chin. "Would you truly rather die than live with me?"
Riario blinked away tears. "No. No, of course not. I would just like the option. In case of dire emergency."
Leo nodded. He moved his hand to rest on Riario's back, a comforting weight. "All right. I can understand that. We will investigate this poison anyway. I need to know what is it and how we can prevent it from being used against us in the future. Too many people are beginning to see what we are and fear us. We must protect ourselves. But I need you to promise me one thing."
"Ask."
"If I find a cure, as you always call it, a way to kill us? Don't rush to take it. No matter how bad things seem." Leo's expression softened. "Things seemed terrible to you these last few days, I see that. But I'm all right. I'm still here. Promise me you won't be too quick to give up. Don't let me wake one day to find you dead from something I concocted."
Riario nodded. "I promise."
Leo kissed him again. "What changed your mind this time?"
"Your friends."
"Our friends."
"Yes," Riario agreed. "Vanessa, mostly. Zoroaster and I have had some disagreements."
"Wouldn't be you and Zo if you weren't arguing over something," Leo said.
"He wanted to bury you."
Leo made a noise of outrage. "Did he? The fucker. I'll have words with him about that."
They lay together for another few minutes more before Riario kissed Leo again and began wriggling out from his grasp. It was time to let Vanessa, Zo, Nico, and Clarice know Leo was awake. To share this good news with their friends.
Fandom: Da Vinci's Demons
Pairing/Characters: Riario, Vanessa, Zo, Nico, Leo, Clarice, Leo/Riario
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 3101
Fic Series: I Have Inside Me Blood Of Kings
Summary: Vanessa and Nico return from a diplomatic visit to find that Leo has fallen victim to an assassination attempt and despite his immortality, has not yet revived. An increasingly distraught and paranoid Riario is guarding the body lest someone bury Leo. It's left to Vanessa to try and calm Riario and convince him that they will figure this out, that's he not alone, and for Riario to let Leo's friends help.
Content Notes: Temporary Character Death
Author Notes: Takes place within the Immortal AU further along than the most recently posted chapter of that series, after the war/Crusade and in a time when Leo and Riario are in an established relationship.
An earlier version of this fic was posted at my journal fulfilling the Trope Bingo Round 6 prompt "Hurt/Comfort". This is a revised and expanded edition, with a happy ending.
Also @ AO3
Vanessa took a careful step forward, the stone floor of the crypt cold beneath her feet. Riario was on his feet in a second and she bit back a gasp. His hair was lank, eyes bloodshot, and he clutched at his dagger as if it were a lifeline. Zo had not been exaggerating.
"Vanessa." Riario's voice was raspy with disuse. There was something desperate in his tone, a hint of relief in his eyes before it was gone in an instant. Suspicion wiped away any hint of vulnerability and he frowned. "What are you doing here?"
She tightened her grip on the handles of the basket, squared her shoulders. "Nico and I are home now. I came to see you and Leo."
His gaze strayed for a moment to the slab of marble where Leo lay in repose. "You will not take him." It was a declaration as well as a threat.
Vanessa shook her head. "I'm here to help." She swung the basket towards him. "I brought supplies. Food. Water. Cloths."
He eyed her warily, approaching as if he were a wounded animal.
"Let me clean him up," she begged. She did not add that Riario needed a wash just as much, if not more.
"Put the basket on the floor. Take a step back."
She obeyed. Riario rifled through the basket's contents and seemed satisfied. Then he moved to check her for weapons, running his hands roughly over her body. She gave a small involuntary gasp and immediately turned her head to meet Nico's gaze and shook her head. Next to him, hiding behind the thick column near the crypt's entrance, Zo was no doubt fuming.
He would not hurt her, she'd told them. She could approach Riario where they could not. She did not fear him. She'd meant every word. She held onto that belief as steadfastedly as any other article of faith..
"Very well," Riario said at last. He stared at Nico, who remained silent some distance away, before he returned to his place at Leo's side. Vanessa followed, placing the basket on the floor.
Her lower lip trembled as she laid eyes upon Leo's face. Pale and deathly still. Oh, Leo. She took out a waterskin and offered it to Riario.
"You first," he said.
She supposed he had every right to be suspicious. Not that Zo would be above drugging her and Riario both if it would save Leo. That was the problem though; this wasn't about saving Leo. It was a fight over possession of his body. His corpse.
She took a long drink from the waterskin, swallowed, and passed it to Riario. He took it wordlessly, sipped from it. It must have met with his approval because he drank the rest in long, greedy swallows.
Meanwhile Vanessa took up a second waterskin, damped one of the cloths she'd brought with her, and began to wipe at Leo's face, washing away the traces of vomit and flecks of blood.
"I brought a clean shirt," she said. Riario looked from the basket to Leo and took out his dagger again. He deftly sliced along the seams of Leo's current garment. Together they tugged at the cloth, removing the soiled material.
Getting the clean shirt onto Leo took a little more manoeuvring. After Riario glared at where Nico and Zo were hovering to make sure they stayed put, he lifted Leo's head and shoulders. Vanessa worked the shirt over Leo's head. Getting his arms into the sleeves proved somewhat challenging, but, finally, the job was done.
Leo looked more serene now, like a carved image on his tomb and not the body which should be lying within.
"Tell me what happened," Vanessa said, smoothing Leo's hair neatly around his shoulders. Zo's expletive laden account of things had given her an overview of the events that had taken place while she and Nico had been on a diplomatic visit to Clarice's distant cousin, but she wanted to keep Riario talking. "There was a dinner party?"
"Yes." Riario rattled off the names of the guests; several cardinals, some minor nobles, a couple of military officers. "Clarice made a toast. We all drank. And then Leonardo…he starting coughing. I thought he was choking. He was clawing at his throat."
Vanessa stayed silent, imagining the terrible scene.
"Then he vomited over the table," Riario said, far away, reliving it. "Clarice got to her feet. She wanted us to take him to another room and have a physician attend him. But before we could move he began coughing up blood. I had my arms around him but when he collapsed, I had no choice but to lower him to the floor."
He paused, moistened his lips. "He was dead by the time I was brushing his hair back from his face. Clarice suspected poison. She acted quicker I than did, ordered the palace doors shut; the perpetrator had to be within the walls. Cardinal Ducci stood, swigged from a flask he was carrying, said 'Let's see you survive without your beloved artista, you Florentine whore' and a moment later he died, just as Leonardo had."
Which explained Ducci's body being on display outside the palace; staked through, the way Vlad's victims were, Nico had told Vanessa.
"Before she left to confront the rest of the Ducci family, Clarice said it was unfortunate that the cardinal had thrown his life away for nothing. We all assumed Leonardo would revive. After Zoroaster arrived we — we thought — it was a joke, really. To put Leonardo here, rather than in his bed. To tell him when he woke up he'd ruined the dinner." Riario broke off.
Vanessa tipped her head. "But he didn't wake up."
Riario brushed his knuckles against Leo's cheek. "After the first day I began to worry. It's never taken either of us so long to revive. The second day, Dragonetti said we had to consider the possibility that Ducci had used a poison that truly had killed Leonardo. The third day Zoroaster said we couldn't just leave him here, he wanted to, to bury him or properly entomb him," Riario said, the words coming faster even as he choked on them. "I couldn't let him do that."
He gave a short sob. Vanessa, torn between reaching for Riario and glaring over her shoulder at Zo, chose the latter.
"He's not dead," Riario said. "That is, he is dead at the moment. But only the way he has been before. There is no spoiling of the flesh. No smell of a rotting corpse. No insects colonising the body."
They'd both seen death before, he on the battlefield, she at the convent and in Leo's workshop. He spoke truly.
"I know it is taking longer than usual to revive," Riario went on. "But he will. He must."
"I believe you."
He didn't hear her or didn't care to respond. "But Leo is the only one who would know what to do other than wait. And I cannot stand guard forever. You don't know how many times I've thought about taking the last drops from Ducci's flask for myself. I never asked for immortality and if the poison would end it, then so be it. "
"No," Vanessa said, horrified.
"He promised," Riario said wretchedly. He blinked back tears. "He promised he wouldn't leave me again. I can't do this alone. Better you entomb us both!"
She wrapped her arms around him, let him weep into her shoulder, great wracking sobs as grief and exhaustion took their toll. "It's all right," she soothed. "You're not alone. We're here, Girolamo, all of us. We love you. It will be all right."
It was several minutes before he got himself under control. Vanessa turned away to let him wash his face with yet another rag and gain some semblance of normality.
"So you've been here all this time, alone but for the dead?"
"Yes. Three days, I think," Riario said. "It's hard to keep track of time when you do not dare to sleep."
"Or eat," she said, facing him again. "Or drink, even?"
"There's a leak," Riario said, pointing to a narrow window. "There was rainwater, sometimes. And that corner – will need cleaning. Though after the first day of my vigil there was no food or water left in my body to be expelled. I'm relieved that we can still enjoy food and drink and ah, other bodily pleasures. However it is also irksome that our bodies do still require sustenance and sleep. I didn't know how much longer I could go on."
Vanessa nodded and folded her arms. "Zoroaster da Peretola, what in the name of all that is holy were you thinking?"
Nico, and a shame-faced Zo, ambled over to join them.
"I just wanted to keep him safe," Zo said. "In case someone came to take the body – to take Leo away. To study him or burn him or…I wasn't trying to take Leo away. But Riario –" He met Riario's gaze. "But you wouldn't listen."
Riario eyed him suspiciously. "You should have been clearer."
Zo sighed. "I know. I'm sorry. I thought we were better friends than this and now we're back to you threatening me with blades."
Riario swallowed. "When it comes to Leonardo I am perhaps inclined to overreact."
Zo gave a sharp laugh. "We've all been there," he said. "I heard what you said, about the body still being intact. I think you're right. We just need to give him more time."
"Or not," Nico said. Everyone looked at him. "Maybe Dragonetti was right about the poison, that it was meant to injure Leo more than anything we've come across before. And you were probably right that Leo would know what to do. But I was his student, and Vanessa helped with some of the autopsies, and Zo's had to listen to Leo's ramblings about alchemy for years, and you're educated and insightful."
Zo nodded. "You mean we can figure it out ourselves."
"Yes. Read some of Leo's notes," Nico said. "Make sure we understand what we're doing before we test what is left of the drug. Then we can discover what it is, what it is made from and how it works, start to consider antidotes."
Vanessa pressed a hand to Riario's cheek. "You see. You should trust us. We all love Leo and we will always protect him. Now, don't take this the wrong way, but you need a bath, to be followed by some food and a few hours rest. You're in no state to do research."
Riario nodded. "I will go, on one condition. We move Leonardo to our room."
Of course he still wanted to be close.
"He can be guarded there as well as anywhere else," Vanessa agreed. The palace's guest room in question had unofficially become Leo's whenever he wanted it. Ostensibly the chamber next door was reserved for Riario when they both stayed overnight, but it was no secret that only one room was ever occupied.
"You're going to sleep in the same bed with him like this?" Zo asked incredulously.
Vanessa fixed him with a glare. "He's been barely sleeping with Leo like this, here on the stone floor," she said.
Zo nodded. "All right. We'll move him. It's fine."
Vanessa gave Riario an encouraging smile. Together they would get through this, as they did everything else.
Riario opened the door to find Clarice in the corridor, with a serving girl at her elbow. The girl's knuckles were white from clutching the laden tray — a jug, two goblets, a plate of fruit — and her eyes were fixed on the stone floor.
"Girolamo. Good morning."
"My Lady Clarice." He bowed. He wished he'd put on his jacket rather than answer the knock upon the door in his shirtsleeves, but Clarice did not seem bothered.
"There is no change?" She glanced over his shoulder.
"No."
Clarice sighed. "The Ducci family were quite apologetic and denied any knowledge of the cardinal's intentions. They have given me assurances of their loyalty and a number of gifts, all of which are worthless. I had hoped to return to better news."
"My regret is as great as yours."
She gave him a sympathetic look. "Greater, of course." She smoothed down her skirts. "Now, I understand the servants have been most disobedient. They have, despite the Lady Vanessa's instructions, refused to enter this room."
Riario nodded. "They are afraid. I am not angry with them."
"I am," Clarice said. She turned her gaze on the serving girl. "Take that tray inside."
The girl bobbed a curtsey. Riario stood aside and let her pass. Clarice followed, watching the tray be placed carefully on a table. The girl curtsied again and fled the room.
Clarice paced the room, pausing at the bed. She reached out, her fingertips grazing Leo's cheek. "It is a strange magic."
"Yes." Riario moved to pour himself a drink.
Clarice shook her head. "The servants will attend your needs and this room as they would any other," she said. "I ask only that you be the one to remove the, that is, remove Leo from the bed long enough for the linens to be changed."
Riario nodded.
"Is there nothing that can be done to hasten his resurrection?" Clarice asked.
"We are reading Leonardo's research," Riario said. Which would be easier going if Leo didn't write backwards and upside down and in various codes. "He has been studying this 'strange magic' for some time."
Clarice moved to put one hand on Riario's shoulder. "I will pray for us all. I believe this magic is a gift. You and Leonardo have a destiny to fulfil. It does not end this way."
Riario swallowed. "I no longer have such unwavering faith."
She squeezed his shoulder before she released him. "If you have need of anything, ask and it will be yours. I owe you both more than I can say."
Clarice left, closing the door behind her. Riario picked at the grapes for a while before he decided he was not hungry. He pulled on his jacket and took up a hairbrush. He would feel more himself once properly dressed and groomed.
"Let me."
The brush fell from Riario's fingers. "Leonardo."
Leo blinked lazily. He tugged at the shirt. "Did you undress me?"
Riario crossed the room and shut Leo up by kissing him hard on the lips.
"Hello?" Leo said when Riario released him. "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong?" Riario stared at the ceiling, eyes damp with tears of relief. "What's wrong! It's been ten days since you died. Ten!"
Leo sat up, stretching. "Really? That's unusual."
Riario's hand clenched into a fist and it was only with great effort that he did not punish Leo's lack of concern with a smack in the face.
"Ten days," he said, voice strangled. "We worried you might never come back. And you promised." He sat on the edge of the bed. "You promised you would not leave me alone."
Leo wrapped his arms around Riario, warm and strong. The reassuring beat of Leo's heart thumped against Riario's chest. "I'm here," Leo said, pressing a kiss to Riario's hair. "Come on. Come here."
A moment later they were lying alongside each other, boots and all in Riario's case and fuck the bed linen. Leo held him close, made more promises, whispered endearments, kissed away the grief and fear.
"We have to tell the others you're awake," Riario said at last. "You scared us all."
"I'm sorry."
"It wasn't your fault."
Leo gave a soft laugh. "But you are still angry with me."
"I cannot do this alone," Riario said, as he had so many times before. "I'm angry because I thought I might have to. Or take other steps."
Leo frowned. "What do you mean?"
Riario hesitated only a moment. "The poison Ducci gave you. I thought it might be a permanent death or a deathless eternal sleep. I was willing to take whatever was left from his flask."
"Ducci?"
Riario nodded. "After you died, he killed himself the same way."
"I see. And you thought you would join me in oblivion?"
"Yes. Though I didn't know if the remaining dose would be enough."
Leo sighed. "You know I don't want that. I could never want that."
"I know. But you were gone so long."
They were silent for a while. Leo pressed kisses to Riario's cheeks, forehead, lips.
"You think enough of the poison might offer a permanent death?"
Riario nodded.
"Is that what you want? For me to study this poison and have me find a way to kill you?" Leo's voice caught on the words.
Riario lowered his gaze. "You promised that too. That you would find a way to end this."
"That was before. Before this, before us. Girolamo, do you think I want to do this alone?" Leo cupped Riario's chin. "Would you truly rather die than live with me?"
Riario blinked away tears. "No. No, of course not. I would just like the option. In case of dire emergency."
Leo nodded. He moved his hand to rest on Riario's back, a comforting weight. "All right. I can understand that. We will investigate this poison anyway. I need to know what is it and how we can prevent it from being used against us in the future. Too many people are beginning to see what we are and fear us. We must protect ourselves. But I need you to promise me one thing."
"Ask."
"If I find a cure, as you always call it, a way to kill us? Don't rush to take it. No matter how bad things seem." Leo's expression softened. "Things seemed terrible to you these last few days, I see that. But I'm all right. I'm still here. Promise me you won't be too quick to give up. Don't let me wake one day to find you dead from something I concocted."
Riario nodded. "I promise."
Leo kissed him again. "What changed your mind this time?"
"Your friends."
"Our friends."
"Yes," Riario agreed. "Vanessa, mostly. Zoroaster and I have had some disagreements."
"Wouldn't be you and Zo if you weren't arguing over something," Leo said.
"He wanted to bury you."
Leo made a noise of outrage. "Did he? The fucker. I'll have words with him about that."
They lay together for another few minutes more before Riario kissed Leo again and began wriggling out from his grasp. It was time to let Vanessa, Zo, Nico, and Clarice know Leo was awake. To share this good news with their friends.
