Chapter Text
“Ludo, my boy, I’m so sorry I know what he meant to you.” Claudia was doing her best to comfort her adopted son, his first serious lover had just been found murdered in the harbor.
“Who could have done this? He was just doing his job! He was a good man! He didn’t deserve to be murdered!” Ludo was sobbing at this point, angry and destroyed by the news. This morning’s paper had carried the news that Harrison Loxley, the harbormaster of the town had been murdered. The man, Harrison, had been paying for Ludo’s time as often as possible but he never took advantage of it how other clients would, instead he just wanted to spend time together. He’d bring dinner or he’d listen to Ludo tell stories or play his recorder, sometimes they’d just sit and talk, most of the time Harrison just told Ludo about his day until the tiefling fell asleep. Harrison was the first person to ever care about him for him, despite what he was; a prostitute and a devil. But now Harrison was gone, brutally murdered in the night to be found by passers by in the morning like the trash.
“Ludo, darling, I really don’t know, I wish I could do more to comfort you. You don’t have to work today, go for a walk just something to take your mind off of it for a while.”
“I can’t, Monsieur LeRook has an appointment tonight, and you know how he doesn’t like to be told no.”
“Someone else can take him or I’ll turn him away.”
“You can’t. I’ll be back in time. I’m going out but I’ll come back to get prepared.” Ludo was dejected and very much wished that he didn’t have to come back. Genrell LeRook wasn’t his worst client but he was far from the best and definitely not someone he wanted to service after this morning's news but that was his job and he could deal with his feelings afterwards, it’s not like Genrell generally took too much to please. Claudia looked heartbroken at her son, she had always done her best to make him happy but the news was something she couldn’t keep from him, despite how much it had hurt him. She hated to see him like this and really hoped he’d be able to come back from this and smile again, she always loved that sly smile. She watched as Ludo placed his veil over the bottom half of his face and fixed his hair over his small horns, hiding himself from the public as best he could. She smiled sadly as she hugged him.
“Take this and do something for yourself today, he’d want you to find a reason to smile.” Claudia said, handing him a small pouch of coins. He nodded before tucking it away and walking out the door.
The salty air hit Ludo’s face and immediately he felt tears prick at his red eyes, it carried Harrison’s scent. The coastal city was filled with it, a sweet musky and salty scent, he could all but taste it. Ludo flipped up the hood of his long coat and began walking inland, too scared of what the water could hold. He tried really hard to keep from crying but he quickly failed, he just accepted it and cried as he walked to the edge of the city. Exhausted he sat down under a tree. He hadn’t felt this lost in a while. He had been happy, someone cared enough to spend time with him not just because of what he was but despite it. Harrison had never shared the common feelings about tieflings, he wasn’t distrustful of Ludo and had made him feel normal. Harrison had made all of his ugly parts seem beautiful, he’d smiled when he saw his fangs for the first time.
They’d been having dinner for the first time together, Harrison had cooked it and brought it to the brothel. Ludo remembered all the ladies asking what smelled so delicious afterwards, he’d laughed and said someone was attempting to woo him and they all loved it. Harrison had placed the basket of food down and said to him,
“ I don’t want your body tonight, I want you. I just want to talk to you and learn about you.”
At the time it had made Ludo laugh, he couldn’t fathom someone wanting to get to know him that didn’t work at the Pleat. But he also had gotten incredibly nervous, he didn’t like having his veil off if he wasn’t distracting the client in some other way. Harrison had noticed his hesitation as he was setting out the meal on the floor alongside the bed. He paused, kneeled in front of Ludo and lifted his chin to look him in the eyes.
“Ludonis, I know what you are, it’s ok,” a soft smile lit up his eyes “I chose to do this for you and I want you to feel beautiful and free while enjoying it.” Harrison himself had taken Ludo’s veil off that night. Ludo had tried to keep his mouth in such a way to hide them but eventually Harrison had him laughing so much he’d forgotten and Harrison had seen. He had been speechless and Ludo panicked, until Harrison’s face smiled that dopey smile and he had reached over to kiss the younger man.
Coming back to the present day Ludo cried harder, thankful he’d found a semi secluded area to sit. He knew the chance of someone asking how he was doing was minimal. He pulled out his journal. He’d always made a note of good things, now was the time he needed them. He found the entry of their first date out.
A night Harrison had chosen to show him the water. Ludo had never had a reason to go towards it but knew how dangerous it could be, Harrison had wanted to show him the beauty in it. They’d walked together holding hands, Ludo had tried not to as he didn’t want Harrison’s reputation to be tarnished but the big dope had just held him closer. They’d walked to the edge of the docks and sat. Harrison had brought some small snacks and shared them with Ludo as they watched the water and the large ships as they swayed.
“You know, you remind me of the ocean.” Harrison had said it quietly, almost shy.
“What do you mean?” Ludo scoffed, his damn attitude ever present. He heard Harrison’s chuckle and knew even without looking he was grinning wide.
“The ocean is beautiful and ever changing, nothing stays the same but those without knowledge of it would say it never changes. It gives so much without asking for much in return, even when it could have whatever it wanted. But it also holds the sharp edge, if you don’t know how to handle it it’s scary.” Harrison gripped Ludo’s hand, the other holding a raspberry tart that was starting to drip down his calloused hand. Without thinking Ludo took his veil off and found himself licking the raspberry off of Harrison’s rough skin. He felt the deep, booming laugh of the man and he leaned back, blushing. “You’re beautiful, but absolutely insatiable, I love that about you.” Harrison’s soft smile seemed to punctuate the sentence. Ludo’s eyes widened and he began to cry, he wasn’t sure why. Harrison had panicked thinking he’d insulted him somehow and held him close. They really were completely hopeless with each other. Ludo had later explained he was crying because no one had said they loved him in that way and it made him so happy to hear. Harrison had again held him close.
That was the first time Ludo had felt comfortable next to the water because Harrison had made him see himself in it. There was almost a comfort.
The next time that Harrison had brought him to the docks he’d brought him onto a ship, a friend of Harrison’s. He wanted to show him the ropes. Ludo didn’t see the point since he’d planned to stay at the brothel his whole life but he liked seeing the joy teaching gave Harrison so he listened and learned a few new ways to use the knots he already knew.They’d ended up “borrowing” the captain’s quarters for a short while as Ludo learned of Harrison’s fascination with ropes. Ludo had taken control that time to show the sailor a new experience. Harrison had never seen more than the standard pleasures and Ludo loved to indulge him in new experiences. Afterwards they were on the sitting on the deck watching the stars and Harrison had made him feel beautiful yet again.
“Do you know the moonlight gives a beautiful contrast to your horns and hair? It almost makes them a whole other entity, please don’t ever cut your hair it’s stunning and your horns fit so beautifully alongside it, almost corralling it in place.” He’d chuckled and watched Ludo in awe as he said it. Ludo blushed and stood up, walking to the railing. He could hear as Harrison got up to follow him, not at all surprised as Harrison groped him as he saddled himself closer to Ludo, and they looked over the ocean together. Ludo looked at Harrison’s profile, lit by the moon and his own dark vision and marvelled at how comfortable and confident this man had become with him. He had never been scared of him but he had been nervous, those nerves were nowhere to be found these days. Ludo found himself happy with that, seeing no ending in sight for their weekly rendezvous.
Hit with the reminder they wouldn’t return he closed the journal. His last night with Harrison had come and gone, nothing special just a candle lit night in the brothel. Something every other client got, nothing special for the man he loved. Guilt took over Ludo, even though he knew there was nothing he could have done to stop it, he didn’t even know who did it. He took a moment to compose himself and took out his recorder to play, hoping he’d find solace in it like usual. He knew it was a haunting melody but he couldn’t bring himself to play anything else, he funneled his grief into it, playing for the trees around him.
After a few hours of reminiscing and playing Ludo knew he had to get back. Genrell liked to see him put together and that was going to take some extra work today. He stood up, the extra weight of the coin pouch a reminder to do something for himself. He went to the bakery on the way back, purchasing a raspberry tart. He also stopped by the book seller and purchased a new journal, he wasn’t quite done with his current one but something told him he’d need a new one soon. After that he headed back to the Ruffled Pleat.
The mood was somber this afternoon, most of the women had loved Harrison and had gotten the news. Many of them gave him sad smiles but didn’t talk to him yet, that would come later, it was still public hours. Ludo went to the small bath in the back of the house to get cleaned up and do his normal routines to prepare for a visit from Monsieur LeRook. Claudia stopped in about halfway through to remind him he didn’t have to go through with it tonight, she could reschedule. Ludo again told her he would do his job, reminding her that’s all Monsieur LeRook was to him. She left, keeping that concerned frown on her face. After cleaning up he went to his room to decide what to wear. The benefit of being raised in a brothel is that he’d always had a private room, he didn’t mind his clients being in his space most of the time so he’d just made sure to have a few hidden spaces around the house. He had a small chest hidden in the brothel library, it was a small closet really but it was a place for those who worked here to leave their favorite books, jewelry, and journals. He’d always loved reading them, all of the drama and gossip held within those pages could take down whole organizations.
He neatened the large bed with the fresh linen sheets and made it all look fresh for LeRook. He chose a pair of tight black twill pants and a loose black shirt that he left open showing his chest, the skin was almost flawless other than a few freckles. He tended to not wear that much jewelry with clients as it usually just got in the way but he did have a pair of jade earrings that Genrell had gifted him he tended to wear when the man came around, though he didn’t like them. He made sure his journal and the necklace from Harrison he wore daily were tucked safely under the floorboard before heading downstairs. It was a personal choice of his to meet his client downstairs. Sometimes they’d tell him to go upstairs and wait, other times they liked to be a bit more public about their choice of service, he liked to leave it up to them. As he walked downstairs he noticed Monsieur LeRook was already there, damn he was early. Claudia gave him a look that seemed almost an apology as she took the man's coin.
“I apologize for my tardiness, Sir, I hope you will forgive me.” Ludo said to the terrifying man before him. He knew there may be a punishment for it but he hoped not since the man had arrived early without mentioning it.
“Ludonis, I have had a very good business deal this morning so I’m willing to forgive you this time, don’t let it happen again.” Genrell was as close to chipper as he ever could be, it was kind of unsettling. Ludo nodded his head, keeping it in a submissively bowed position waiting for instruction. “Let’s go upstairs and celebrate.” He used his cane to push Ludo forward to the stairs, and the young tiefling obediently led the way. Ludo locked the door behind them knowing Genrell didn’t like to be interrupted, he paid for privacy and expected to get it no matter what happened.