Art Hibernation Ends Now

Fleck groaned, massaging the crick in his neck, twisting his head at an odd angle, to try and relieve the ache that had developed a few days ago. He’d been trying to ignore it until he’d finished the piece he’d been working on diligently for the past fortnight.

What a fortnight it had been. He had all but excluded himself from all social interaction. He’d actually only left his studio in the past sixteen days - a little over a fortnight really - to relieve himself when he needed to. He threw himself into his work so fully that he hadn’t left to seek out food or social interaction. Various family members had visited every few hours to make sure he hadn’t keeled over, and make him pause long enough to eat and drink. He’d even been sleeping on the beaten up old couch pushed into the corner of the room for a few hours at a time. Never a full night’s sleep.

Dick had hung around for the first few days, making sure he did take proper breaks, and keeping him company, but it wasn’t long before Dick faded away, leaving Fleck alone to finish.

He grunted, cracking his neck in a wholly unsatisfying way, as his bare feet padded across the wooden floor of the hallway. He’d just shut the door on the courier service that was transporting the wax sculpture, and smaller maquette to the casting studio, and was ready to start being human again.

Though he certainly didn’t look human right now. His shirt, a loose black tank top that was so big that it even hung off his bulky frame, was stained with various colours of wax and, rather unpleasantly, sweat. He hadn’t changed it in almost the full sixteen days he’d been working on it. His blond hair, tied in a bun atop his head, was heavy with grease, but swept back it didn’t look as bad as it could do. Bags were present under his eyes, and his jaw was coated in thick stubble, almost long enough to be a full beard.

He mentally made a checklist for himself as he opened the kitchen door. Food, sleep, shower, shave, call Dick to assure him he was still alive. Those were the necessary actions. Anything else could wait.

"I didn't realise you had a zombie infestation."

Dick was leant against the counter, with a coffee cup in hand. He was a stark contrast to Fleck; his eyes were bright, his hair light and fluffy from being freshly washed, and his shirt were crisp and clean.

He flicked his eyes over his boyfriend to take him in after having not seen him for so long. The stubble was a welcoming sight. The stained shirt? The greasy hair? The stink? Not so much.

Yet he still made his way through it to place a much-needed kiss on his lips.

"I only stopped by to bring you some food," he nodded to the table where a paper bag sat, "and I was just about to come up to give it to you, but it seemed you beat me to it."

Sleep deprived as he was, it took him a while to compute what Dick had said. He had the decency to look sheepishly ashamed of himself as his boyfriend approached.

Yeah, it wasn't a pretty sight. He knew that.

When Dick leaned up to kiss him, he reciprocated eagerly. Starved of affection for over a fortnight, he was more than eager to start making up for lost time.

His arms wrapped firmly around Dick's waist to keep him close, and he nuzzled against his neck, facial hair rubbing against the Vampire's pale skin with the movement. His eyes flickered upwards at the mention of food and Fleck groaned loudly.

"Is that a grilled cheese from Cathy's? I love you." His boyfriend knew him so well.

Dick was just going to go in for a light kiss, unsure if Fleck would appreciate anything more. That was thrown out of the window as soon as Fleck eagerly kissed him and he kissed back with an equal amount of fire, hands smoothing up tanned arms to wrap around his neck.

His breath smelt and tasted bad, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Especially with the new sensation of stubble against his skin. It was distracting.

Subtly, he arched and tilted his head a little more to the side as he felt Fleck's stubble scratched at his neck and cause a tingle down his spine. Yes. He could definitely bypass the smell and grease for this.

"Of course, and I added a few extra treats in there for you too. Figured you need them, I was worried you were going to waste away in there."

He gently prodded Fleck's stomach.

Fleck definitely needed a date with the bathroom in the immediate future. He felt gross. He needed to brush his teeth, and wash his hair three times, and shave - both the growing section of his undercut, and the creature that was growing on his face.

"I probably haven't lost that much weight. Chai and Leo have been forcing food down my neck at least twice a day." At least, he thought it was about twice a day. Time tended to get away from him when he was working on a major project. He actually wasn't too sure what day it was, let alone what time it was.

So he might have lost a couple of pounds. They were easily gained back. It wasn't like he was suddenly skinny as a rake. Losing a few pounds was probably healthy for him. He was just about as much fat as muscle.

He flinched when Dick prodded his stomach, recoiling slightly, but refusing to give up his firm grip on Dick's waist, ending up in just dragging his boyfriend closer to him.

"Let me eat, and maybe brush my teeth and shave, and I promise I'll be more social." As he made his promise, he scratched at his cheek, then dropped a little kiss to Dick's lips.

Then he pulled away and made a bee line to the bag on the counter. He wanted food so bad.

"Glad someones been making sure you're eating while I wasn't here."

Dick smiled into the kiss and then let his boyfriend go. He reclaimed his coffee and took a seat on the bench.

He studied his zombified boyfriend again. Fingers absently brushed over his neck where the light skin had been rubbed red. He mulled over his thoughts and toyed with the coffee cup before finally coming to a decision. Then stalled a little more before finally voicing them.

"Can you promise me to only do the first two things? Or maybe swap the shaving for a shower?" He asked, with a flush on his face.

"I can sort out your washing in the meantime if you want."

Not that he was entirely sure that shirt could be saved.

Fleck was already halfway through the grilled cheese when Dick voiced his thoughts.

His head whipped around and, cheeks stuffed with half-chewed food, he spoke. "You like it?" His voice was pitchy with shock. Not quite high, but certainly not his usual tone, either.

He was totally indifferent to his own facial hair, in reality, but exes - Rafaella in particular - hated it. He'd been conditioned to stay clean-shaven pretty much all the time when he had a partner. He'd been keeping up with it well with Dick, until he had art projects. But until this time, Dick had faded away until Fleck had called him to assure him that he was alive and able to be social again. Dick hadn't seen him with any real amount of facial hair.

Fleck swallowed his mouthful and scratched at his cheek again.

"I guess I can skip shaving... if you really want me to keep it?" He was a little unsure, so used to people not liking his facial hair, but if Dick wanted him to keep it, he wasn't going to fight it.

Dick watched as cheese and grease dripped down into the stubble he was admiring.

Still, somehow, someway, found him attractive.

Dick's own eyebrows rose in surprise. Sensitive ears meant he didn't miss the unusual tone. He certainly wasn't expecting Fleck to be shocked by his request. Instead, just a simple yes or no answer with a handful of teasing.

"I do, I think it looks good on you- but that is if you want to keep it. You don't have to if you don't like it."

Which would be disappointing, but he would much rather his boyfriend be comfortable in his own skin.

He shrugged and took a bite out of his sandwich. 

"I'm neither here nor there on it," he answered honestly. "I just stay shaved 'cause I'm used to people not liking it."

He popped the last bite into his mouth, and reached for the napkin that had been shoved into the bag. He wiped off his hands and mouth.

"So, apart from your presence, what treats did you bring me?" he asked, reaching for the bag again. His sweet tooth wasn't as great as Dick's own, but it was still pretty strong. He knew there was something sweet waiting for him, so he wasn't going to let it sit there.

"Oh. Well, I like it. A lot."

How could people not like that? It looked good on his strong jaw and gave him a rugged appearance that Dick was partial too. Plus, he was pretty partial to the sensation too.

"I brought you a cannoli, but, ugh..."

He watched as Fleck took the pastry out of the bag and he grinned sheepishly.

"Someone couldn't help themselves."

A good chunk was taken out of it.

"There is also a pack of fresh bruttiboni in there that you could snack on, but I am guessing since you are down here and not up there you have finished?"

Fleck rolled his eyes good-naturedly when he pulled out the already half-eaten cannoli. 

"You're lucky I love you, you know?" He arched a brow as he licked some of the filling from the treat. "I don't usually tolerate people eating my cannoli and getting away with it."

He took a bite from it, then grimaced as the sugar got to a sensitive tooth. His tongue prodded the tooth as he swallowed. Damn, he really needed to clean his teeth bad.

When he took a second bite, he made sure to chew on the opposite side of his mouth.

He grinned sweetly at his boyfriend.

"Technically, it was my cannoli before it was yours. Just be happy I gave you half. There was another."

Since being with Fleck he has managed to, slowly but surely, been able to eat more food. Both through Fleck waving treats in front of his face and then insisting that he ate something else. Like a vegetable. Which Dick could very much live his whole life happily without.

His newly developed eating habits were starting to show. His ribs became less prominent, and his jeans were a little snugger. Not that it bothered him, and as far as he was aware, it didn't bother Fleck.

"You're such a little shit," he declared with a shake of his head. He was smiling though.

"Thank you, oh benevolent boyfriend, for allowing me the honour of having your half-eaten cannolo, since you filled your stomach with another one, and couldn't finish this one," he thanked in his usual ridiculous grand voice, sweeping his arm out and bowing his head. He knew Dick's game.

He swiped some filling onto his finger and stood as he popped the last piece in his mouth.

As he passed Dick, heading towards the bathroom - a mercy to anyone with a nose in the vicinity, he swiped that bit of filling onto the tip of Dick's nose.

Dick laughed at the truth of it, and at his boyfriend dramatic display.

It had only been a week, yet he had still missed him. Missed this.

Letting out a small grunt surprise, he scrunched his nose up as the cream was swiped onto his noise.

"Leave your clothes outside the bathroom and I will put a wash on," he said. He wasn't about to let them stew any longer by sitting in a washing basket.

Fleck gave a little chuckle when Dick grunted.

He'd missed it, too. Locking himself away had gained him a nice chunk of money, yes. He could now treat Dick to something nice. But he'd missed actually being around him.

"You're not joining me and making sure I clean everywhere?" One brow arched upwards. "Or don't fall asleep and drown in the bath. I'm sleep deprived. It could happen."

He just didn't want to be away from Dick for too long.

Dick's eyes lit up.

It didn't take much to convince him.

"Okay, I'll join you."

He stood up to meet him and to follow him into the bathroom, his arm looping around his.

"Only to make sure you don't offend anyone else's senses and die, of course."

"Of course," he agreed with a grin.

His boyfriend wouldn't join him in the bath for any other reason, would he? The notion was inconceivable.

Fleck leaned over to set the shower going, then began stripping off his filthy shirt, wincing in disgust when the damp cloth brushed against his skin, and wax peeled off him. A little hiss sounded when a bit of soaked-in wax ripped off a few hairs on his stomach. Ouch.

He tossed the shirt, instead of in the washing basket, towards the door. That thing wasn't going to be saved no matter how much they worked. He wasn't even going to try.

Dick watched as his boyfriend removed his clothes, eyes narrowing at his clothes in a crumpled pile a the doo. Then at his boyfriend's body. There was still a musty smell coming from him, and not the pleasant kind.

His own clothes removed and left in a neat pile on the side, he turned to his equally naked boyfriend and tugged him into the shower, making sure he got the brunt of the shower first, to at least get off the first film of sweat.

"I swear you try to burn off my skin every time we share a shower," he said as hot water splashed off Fleck's body and onto him.

Under the shower head, he pulled the band form his hair and let it fan out over his shoulders. Weighed down with water, the tips bobbed around mid-thigh. His hair was getting ridiculously long now.

At Dick's complaint, he rolled his eyes and moved forwards, herding Dick back against the cool tiles of the cubicle, not stopping until he was pressed firmly against Dick.

"Stop being so melodramatic." Like this he was almost completely shielding Dick from the spray. As the hot water beat against his back, he leaned down to give Dick a slow, lingering kiss.

The cool tiles against his back were welcoming. The body pressed firmly against him, even more so.

Slowly, he let out an unsteady breath.

"Me? Being melodramatic? Never."

He welcomed the slow and lingering kiss. Enjoying its leisurely pace. Hands slid up Fleck's now slick chest and he cupped his jaw, feeling rough bristles under his palm.

"Yeah, not you. You're never melodramatic."

He nuzzled into Dick's neck again, facial hair scraping against his cheek and neck.

He just relaxed like that, content to feel Dick's arms around him. He'd been so touch deprived - self-induced but no less unpleasant - and he just wanted to feel his boyfriend holding him.

Feeling his boyfriend nuzzle into his neck, he made a noise that verged on a little more than content. His arms hooked around Fleck's neck and he pressed a kiss to a pierced lobe.

He himself hadn't exactly had any sort of sexual, or even platonic, intimacy. On one hand, he could count how many people he was comfortable touching him, and Fleck was his main source.

Another kiss was pressed to Fleck's neck.

"You are most definitely keeping the beard."

"Mmm," he hummed. He would keep it if it made Dick happy.

"Not letting it get too long, though. They look gross when they're straggly." If he was keeping it, he was going to care for it. There was a fine line between hot facial hair and a total mess.

"Can you wash my hair, I dont want to move."

Dick made a noise of agreement. It looked good at the length it was, and he couldn't imagine Fleck with something like a straggly, untamed bush on his face.

"Sure, but you do need to move so I can actually get the shampoo and conditioner."

He was currently stuck between the showers tiles and his boyfriend. Which he honestly didn't mind. At all.

Fleck grunted, thoroughly unhappy with having to move, but he did so reluctantly, shifting enough for Dick to be able to grab the shampoo bottle.

He didn't loosen his grip on Dick's waist though.

He just wanted to be able to cuddle him. He wasn't going to let that go for anything right now.