Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Curled over his drawing tablet with possibly the worst posture imaginable, Lucius was in the zone and hard at work at his art. A few quiet woofs from the window seat barely drew his attention enough to take note of them before Snowy subsided into quiet again. 

When it happened again a while later, Lucius glanced at the clock just to make sure he hadn’t lost track of time entirely. But it was still too early for Snowy to need more walkies, and she settled down quick enough so Lucius went back to it. 

The third time was a mere 20 minutes later. He looked up to see the dog pressed against the window, nose smearing the glass, tail wagging. With breathy little woofs she was clearly excited but still well-behaved enough to use her 'indoor bark'. 

Whatever caught her interest was gone again by the time Lucius set his drawing aside and ambled over for a look. Snowy was already settling back down into the sunbeam she had been lounging in, uninterested in the few passersby still on the street below. Maybe it had been a dogwalker, or a pigeon on the fire escape. 

The pattern repeated the next day. And the next. Snowy would suddenly take a lot of interest in something down on the street.After watching whatever it was for a few minutes, she always went back to the usual hard work of being a dog: a lot of laying around, with occasional breaks to solicit ear scritches from whoever was nearby. She never got rowdy enough to need to be shushed, so Lucius was not highly motivated to drop what he was doing to rush to the window for a look.

Finally one lazy morning, Lucius was lounging around on the sofa near the window scrolling on his phone when Snowy glued herself to the window in that particular way, and he decided to have a look. 

There were enough people walking the pavement that it took a moment for Lucius to spot the slow-moving figure in black pushing a rollator. That sight was getting to be familiar, actually.

Of course it would be him that keeps getting Snowy so excited.

AS Lucius watched, the man came to a pause not far from the window where Snowy and Lucius were watching. There was a bench at the bus stop there, but he didn’t sit. Instead he leaned a hip against the back of it, shifting his weight to one leg so he could take a moment to massage the other thigh. With his head bent like that, all Lucius could see from above was dark hair shot through with grey.

Until the stranger tipped his face up to the sky, expression taught with pain. His eyes clenched shut in a grimace for only a moment before he suppressed it. Put a neutral-to-slightly-grumpy mask over it and opened his eyes to face the world again.

Two black leather-gloved hands gripped the handles of the rollator and the man carefully shifted his weight onto both legs. He sighed so deeply that Lucius imagined he could hear it through the glass.

For moment as he began walking again, the handsome stranger's eyes strayed upwards.  Looking right in the direction of the window that had two looky-loos spying on him like weirdo pervs. Well, one weirdo perv and one innocent dog, both close enough to fog the glass with their breath and thus easy to spot even from the street level.

Without a single thought in his head, Lucius panicked and ducked before he could be caught staring. Quite literally he dropped into a sudden squat so he would be hidden behind the mound of white fur taking up the window seat and wouldn’t be caught staring. 

He felt like a fucking idiot immediately but he still took a long moment to roll his eyes at himself (and give mental thanks to various friends that kept dragging him to yoga classes - he was amazed he hadn't pulled a muscle droppin' it that fast with zero stretching to warm up) before he finally stood again. Sheepish and embarrassed. Thank god no one else was around to see that. 

When he peered out the window again, all Lucius saw was the black-clad man slowly turning the corner at the end of the block.

Chapter Text

The man continued to pass every day, and Snowy continued to be obsessed with him.

 (Maybe Lucius was getting a tad obsessed too. He’d been workshopping things to call the guy since he didn't know his name and ‘handsome stranger’ felt so Edwardian, and ‘that guy’ was getting a little tired. ‘Leather DILF’ was an obvious option but was not quite the right vibe.) 

Without fail a few times every day, usually fairly early in the morning. His appearances were regular; he was clearly doing laps around the block for exercise, and/or to get accustomed to walking with whatever was going on under his trouser leg. 

Lucius didn’t confirm that it was him every time, but Snowy’s rising excitement came like clockwork.

Even if he had wanted to look every time (which he totally didn’t, okay?), when he’d gone to have a look the next day after first seeing the guy (ugh) it seemed like Salt-and-Pepper Daddy had developed the habit of looking up at the window each time he passed. 

Which, okay, an enormous smiling doggy face grinning happily at you? Totally fair go on Pepper Daddy’s part. Who wouldn’t check that window every time they passed by? 

But it meant that if Lucius wanted to spy, he had to be Covert. He couldn’t just press his own face against the glass next to Snowy’s.  

The bathroom had a small window though, with a gauzy curtain for privacy. Inside could see out, but outside could not see in. 

Standing with legs straddling either side of the toilet while he peeked out the window, Lucius was absolutely not beating any ‘weirdo perv’ allegations here. 

He firmly ignored that fact and carried on.

Which allowed him to witness in the coming days a couple of occasions where Disabled Daddy (oh fuck no , he definitely lost woke points for that idea, even if it only existed in the privacy of his own thoughts) was clearly struggling. 

The mobility aid changed from time to time. Sometimes it was forearm crutches. Once it was the cane Lucius had seen him with the first time they met; he hadn’t passed by under the window a second time that day…

Okay, it was truly a little unnerving how much detail Lucius was taking note of regarding this guy’s schedule and habits. Stalking was not actually on his list of hobbies, thank you. He really needed to remove the temptation to peek out the window every time Snowy perked up. Getting out of the house would do the trick. It hadn’t been that long since Lucius had finished the coffee he picked up during Snowy’s morning walk but a tasty little treat wouldn’t go amiss. He kinda deserved it for giving up his daily eye candy from Short Dark and Handsome.

The dog looked interested when she saw Lucius pulling his shoes on. But if he brought her along, there would be no smiling slobbering face in the window to greet handsome passersby. 

An idea occurred to him.

A piece of drawing paper, a sharpie, a pair of scissors, and some tape later he was ready to go. 

Lucius paused outside the building and looked up to survey his handiwork.

Snowy was peering down at him from her usual spot in the window. On the glass pane above her was a sign, shaped like a comic book dialogue bubble, with the words ‘BORK BORK!’ written in thick letters. 

Lucius couldn’t help but smile at it. It was silly, but he was sure it would make Leather Zaddy smile too.

Chapter Text

Lucius developed a new routine in the coming weeks. Snowy got her morning walkies, and after that Lucius went walkies by himself. He usually ended up at the diner where he could playfully antagonize Roach by ordering some bougie avocado toast with truffle oil and pine nuts or whatever, which would set the chef ranting passionately about influencer food trends through the entire process of cooking, plating, and serving up what Lucius actually wanted: an otherwise bog standard bacon butty, enhanced only by Roach’s mastery of seasoning, unparalleled across all the bland lands of England. 

It was a fun bit piece. Even if that arsehole still charged him for the avocado toast instead of the much more reasonably priced bacon sandwich. Lucius couldn’t really argue with it though. With the amount of money Roach had paid Lucius in furry art commissions over the years, Lucius didn’t begrudge him wanting a little of it back. 

Sometimes Lucius brought along his drawing tablet (when he remembered to charge it) and camped out there for a while. Always doodling more than working, because he’d get distracted snarking and bantering with Roach and whoever was working that day. It was worth it for the camaraderie, and the bottomless refills on tea. 

If the diner was busy though, he’d head to the library to catch up on his manga or drop in on whichever friend’s workplace had the most tolerance for visitors hanging around. 

All told, when he finally headed home, he was usually toting lunch with him, having had a full morning where he was not peeping out any windows. 

The hottie was not forgotten though. 

Lucius was going to have to buy another pad of paper soon, the way he was going through at least sheet a day, more if he scrapped an idea. 

But hanging signs in the window had become another fun bit. He’d even started posting pictures of them on his instagram. It was actually kind of annoying when they got more traction than his actual professional art did. That doesn’t mean he’d object if they went viral though. 

The window adornments had started simple. Word or thought bubbles that said inane things like “Good morning” or “Finally Friday” because Lucius just did not have any better ideas. 

Not until the day Snowy decided to investigate some spilled pepper in the kitchen, and spent the most of the day with her face comically scrunched up between sneezes. Then Lucius decided to get silly with it. 

When Fang came home that day, Lucius could hear his giggles coming down the hall and knew that he had noticed the sign taped above a grimacing Snowy, that read “Who farted?” Humor was clearly the way to go, and the next several days saw more silly jokes.

If Lucius was a smarter man, he would have made a list of ideas instead of having to think one up every day. Maybe even made a few signs ahead of time so they’d be all ready to go. Then maybe he wouldn't have forgotten to put one up the morning he awoke horrendously hungover, hating the world for existing at such a loud volume and bright… brightness. 

Thankfully Fang had taken Snowy out already so Lucius was able to rot in bed for most of the morning. When he finally dragged himself upright and decided he had the energy to make a coffee run, he didn’t spare a thought to his window art. He just threw on his biggest darkest sunglasses, and a big floppy hat as well, and stepped out the door. 

At exactly the time Goth Zaddy was passing by on his regular stroll. 

The man moved with a lot more ease now, and was only using the cane these days. He was a little slower with it than the other mobility aids, but it didn’t seem to pain him to use anymore. So that was good. 

Less good was the flash of mild disappointment that crossed that grizzled-but-handsome face when he glanced up at the window that was joke-less today. 

Unnoticed, Lucius watched as the man turned away and kept walking.

Well, shit. It was entirely unreasonable for Lucius to feel like he had let the guy down. And yet…

He was going to have to fix this. 

But, not until after a late breakfast and one of Roach’s disgusting-but-effective hangover remedies. 

Once he felt human again, Lucius spent most of the afternoon drawing. He scrapped the first few ideas, then set aside a portrait that was actually fantastic, but none of the details would have been visible from the street. Finally he settled on a design and a word bubble to go with it, cutting them out so they’d be set for the next day. 

Which turned out to be a great thing because he may have definitely overslept the next day when he had an actual appointment to keep, and he barely had time to make himself cute if he was going to be on time to meet a potential client. He probably would have forgotten to hang his creations in the window if he hadn’t had the foresight to leave them on top of his bag the night before. Once that was done, he left with a dash. 

All for nothing, as it turned out. He was just arriving at the Starbucks when the client sent a text that something had come up, and could they work out the details over email instead? Which Lucius had tried to suggest in the first place, but whatever. 

Lucius decided to go in and order himself a pink drink since he was already there, and a little thirsty from hustling to get there. He deserved a little treat for making that effort, if you asked him. 

Heading back home at a much more leisurely stroll, he was distracted by his beverage and his social media feeds, so he didn’t consider the timing of his return. Not until he darted a glance up from his phone to make sure he wasn’t about to run into anyone and spotted a figure in black only meters away. 

Feet coming to a halt without his active input, Lucius was just in time to watch as his mysterious man looked up to Snowy’s window. Witnessed as the lips behind that silvering goatee twitched upwards, then parted for a laugh. An honest to god laugh. Not a huff of amusement or a low chuckle but a slightly gravelly laugh of true humor. 

The way the man’s eyes were creased at the outside corners with crows-feet was something; it made him seem warm and funny and was attractive in a way Lucius had always enjoyed in older men. And this was the first time he was seeing those hazel eyes shine with something like happiness rather than being dark with anger at Lucius or, worse, pain. 

Lucius was definitely staring. Just standing there on the pavement, phone forgotten, drink dangling unsipped in his hand, eyeing the man until of course the man noticed and glanced back down to make eye contact. 

Lucius deserved a fucking award for not reflexively flinching when he did. He couldn’t quite parse the expressions crossing the man’s face, but he didn’t see any of the anger or annoyance he’d witnessed before, that was for sure. 

Crinkly-Eyed Cutie held his gaze for a moment before looking back up to the window. He seemed to study today’s decorations for a second. 

Lucius had drawn a stylized illustration of the man. A bit chibi for his usual tastes but still recognizable as the man with his dark clothes and his goatee, and Lucius had brought out his favorite silver paint marker to highlight the silver hairs on his head. Lucius had started to draw a little cane too but he wasn’t sure if that would be insensitive. Then he wondered if not showing it would be, like, erasing the struggles of people living with disabilities or something.

Finally deciding to just get silly with it, he drew a sword in the little man’s hand and inked a pirate flag above his head. 

After he settled on the design, the word bubble for the window pane next to it came easy. It read “Show me your booty!” 

The inspiration for the signs himself dropped his eyes back to Lucius. He tilted his head slightly towards the window in question, but it was clear from his face he knew the answer. And if he thought he was hiding that little smirk behind his facial hair, he was dead wrong. 

Lucius responded with a coy smile and waved a saucy little waggle of his fingers at the man. 

The smirk widened into a smile, though not so wide as to crinkle his face up again. He nodded at Lucius; in acknowledgement, thanks, forgiveness for past (accidental) transgressions? who knew? But Lucius would take it. 

Then the man… turned an about-face and began walking away in the opposite direction, which he had just been coming from. A break from routine from a man who did circular loops every other day he passed by.

Lucius was a bit flummoxed by that. It wasn’t until his innate slutty instincts had started checking the guy out that he realized that that was the intent . The man had turned his back to show his booty, as demanded by the sign in the window. If Lucius had been sipping his drink, he absolutely would have choked on it the moment he realized that.

Instead he took advantage of the opportunity he had been given and had himself a good look at that tiny little white-man derriere clad in black denim cutoff in deference to the late-spring’s attempt to emulate mid-summer conditions. So it took him several moments before his eyes strayed anywhere beyond the guy’s butt. 

When they finally did, he noticed that where the shorts ended a metal prosthetic was revealed. Lucius didn’t know shit about artificial limbs, frankly. Before he could even decide if he should do something about that, he was distracted again by bare skin elsewhere.

He’d only seen the man in coats and jumpers before. It had only been warm enough to do without for the past week or two. So Lucius never had reason to suspect the man’s biceps would look that… yummy and bite-able in short sleeves. Visibly strong but not overly muscular, and extremely sexy. Lucius had to shake himself out of a rapidly-developing fantasy about a headlock-prone bone sort of situation. 

Headlock Hunk continued his walk, eventually disappearing from sight. 

Oh, Lucius was definitely staying home to see his reaction to tomorrow’s window sign. 

Only… what the fuck was he even going to put up there??