Care (Crimson Peak; M)

[Spoo]

Holy guacamole.

I've been writing this fic for well over a month, and I have JUST FINISHED IT...like, today. You'd think being a diehard gothic romance fan would make stuff like this easier to write, yeah? Hahaha, NOPE. In any case, here we have my very first (and probably only tbh) Hiddles!character!torture. I will admit, the man's got some class to him - and, you know, he's also preeeetty attractive - so I definitely found some purchase in Sir Thomas Sharpe~

For those of you who've seen Crimson Peak, this takes place a few weeks before Thomas meets Edith. Pre-Edith. Pre-dith?? ALSO. We all know that Thomas and Lucille are very, ahem, "close", buuuuut there's nothing explicit or scandalous here.

Without further adieu, my lovelies, I present to you My Sad Goth Son and his Sweet Murderous, Darling Manipulative Sister.

~ * ~

Care

by Spoo

There was a heaviness to his skull, an ache to the throbbing cavities beneath his eyes, and a tenderness to his tonsils that rendered the folio of notes, sketches, and general mechanics in front of him completely useless. There would be no more progress that night, he grimly conceded.

With a sigh of defeat, the weary engineer finally withdrew himself from his work and sat back to pass a hand over his face.

Thomas had been seated in his workshop for ages, toiling over a few mishaps in his latest prototype. He had thus far failed to fix the flaws - something that wore on him endlessly - and each attempt only resulted in further frustrating setbacks.

Perhaps tomorrow, he thought resignedly, cupping the side of his neck. The glands that sat at the summit of his throat felt inflamed beneath his fingertips; it was with a wince that he pressed into them to evaluate their severity. The assessment was short-lived, however, when his hand was suddenly, and very urgently, needed elsewhere.

Transferring his fingers quickly, Thomas caged them over his mouth to catch the sneeze he hadn’t sensed developing: “Hihh’IXSCHHhish!”

The release was a voiceless, damp mist against his palm, yet it was enough of an occurrence to disturb the moths on the far side of the room. They took flight in a whispering flutter of wings and relocated to another part of the attic, where they soon began to feed on curled tendrils of decaying wallpaper.

When he felt confident that he wouldn’t sneeze a second time, Thomas dropped his hand and slouched back, so that the chair he sat on would support more of his shoulders than it did his spine. His eyes shut in time with a soft sniffle; it felt far, far too easy to fall into sleep’s awaiting arms.

Whether he did, in fact, doze off or slip into a disorientating in-between realm, he was ultimately brought back into awareness by the sensation of hands on him. The contact, though in reality light and harmless, grew distorted in his muddled brain.

It became harder, suffocating, and it awoke Thomas with a gasping start.

His eyes were wide and glazed with fear as he whipped around to identify the source of his thundering pulse, yet…instead of finding a drunken, malicious brute towering over him, hands extended to grip at his windpipe, he was relieved to see the slender form of his elder sister illuminated by the candle she held.

“Lucille,” he croaked, speaking for the first time in hours. “You startled me.”

“You would have heard me approaching, had you not been asleep,” she replied coolly.

There was no argument to be made with her statement, for the old floorboards were notorious for creaking when stepped upon. That and Lucille’s presence was always announced by the metallic clinking of the keys that were clipped at her waist.

“I was resting,” he settled for saying.

“Resting in the dark and draft when you’re unwell,” she pointed out, almost impassively, as she set her candle on his desk. “An ingenious idea, to be certain.”

Thomas knew better than to try and conceal anything from Lucille, which is why he hadn’t bothered to mask his poor condition or make light of it. She was aware of his brewing illness, just as she was aware of all else that occurred at Allerdale Hall.

“You’ve come to fetch me, then, I suppose?” he asked, watching as she took one of many wooden toys into her possession.

“I’ve come to remind you of our upcoming trip to America,” Lucille corrected, her fingers stroking the intricately carved face of the doll Thomas himself had made for her in childhood. “And how I would rather you not be ill throughout the duration of our stay. I’m sure you’re aware that an English gentleman tends to lose his charm when his nose is dripping…”

Cued by the straightforward bluntness of Lucille’s statement, Thomas pressed the back of his fingers against his nostrils only to discover that they were, much to his utter embarrassment, wet. The slope of his nose wrinkled at his own touch, for even the lightest of stimuli tickled tremendously, and before he could even think to react or remedy the situation, he was lurching into the bridge of his knuckles.

“Hhh’IKSCHhshh!”

“Bless you.”

“Thaaah—XSCHHHhish!…thank you. Excuse me.”

Lucille considerately spared Thomas the mortification of groping for the handkerchief he'd never mind amidst the clutter by proffering one she’d brought along with her. He gratefully accepted it with the hand that wasn’t pressed to his nose and turned from her viewing, so that he might reclaim some decorum.

As her brother composed himself, Lucille laid the doll on its shelf and listened, ever alert, as a cold gust of air whistled through the eroded ceiling. Winter wasn’t far off, and she hoped that they - the three of them - would return before the snow fell and made both travel and production terribly difficu—

“Hhk’IHSCHSHhhh!”

Lucille turned to view Thomas over her shoulder - Thomas, who was now bent away, shoulders hunched, nose in handkerchief - and then said, with crisp articulation, “Bless you.”

She neared him then, so as to stand directly before where he was seated, and reached out her hands; her palms found his cheeks and, once he’d resurfaced, guided his face into an upward tilt. His eyes were misty - a common byproduct whenever he sneezed in multiples, she knew - and his skin felt overly warm beneath the chill of her slender fingers.

Snuffling damply, Thomas leaned forward to rest his throbbing brow against the soft velvet of her bodice. In truth, he was beginning to feel the brunt of his cold; it was as if he had officially welcomed it by stopping his work for the evening.

Lucille, who had begun running her fingertips through his raven curls, said: “I’ll draw you a bath.”

“A bath would be lovely,” he murmured, sniffling again.

“A bath, some tea, and bed,” she concluded, cradling his skull against her diaphragm.

“Mmn…”

Lucille allowed him to remain there, securely tucked against her, for a moment longer. Then, gently pulling away, she gestured for him to rise. Thomas did so, sluggishly, and assumed his proper height once he’d mustered the energy to stand; his joints were stiff from being sat as long as he had, and he moved more like an automaton than a man as they walked to the lift.

As they descended into the lower levels of the house, Lucille watched Thomas closely. His expression had turned distant, his eyes narrowed into a squint, as if he were lost in a private thought he hadn’t thought to entertain her with.

Although, the truth was shortly revealed when they arrived at their intended floor. No sooner had the cage opened to release them did Thomas surge forward in a swift swish of long sleeves, away from the lift, away from Lucille, to step out onto the moonlit landing. A great swell of an inhale was taken before he collapsed into the handkerchief he’d kept tightly gripped in his hand.

“Hihh’ITSCHHH’OO!”

Unlike his other sneezes, which had been more soundless spray than forceful sound, this very much vocal outburst echoed into the very foundation of the large ancestral home.

Lucille waited until Thomas had recovered and then pressed onward; she gently took him by the elbow and led his fatigued frame into the bedroom. Sitting him atop plush and embellished bedclothes once she’d set down her candle, she mimicked her earlier actions of cupping his face, preciously, in the dip of her palms.

Only this time, she leaned against the restrictive bones of her corset to press a lingering kiss across his forehead. “Don’t move,” she whispered.

Separating herself, Lucille left him to draw the bath she’d spoken of.

Thomas, now alone, glanced into the gloom of the spacious room. The fireplace was unlit, which gave the air an added measure of coldness; it encouraged the violent shiver that seized him, raising both gooseflesh and hackles alike.

He would need to be well soon if he was to conduct business in America. He would also need to be well if he was to… Slowly, hollowly, his stare drifted to the other side of the mattress, where it observed the empty space, devoid of a bedmate, until inky tendrils ate at the corners of his vision.

Yes. He would need to be well for that.

Thomas was ultimately broken from his morbid trance by Lucille, who had returned to him from her task. She extended her hand in offering, which he took without delay, and, together, they advanced towards the hot bath she’d prepared for him.

Behind them, the house breathed and with its moaning exhale the inky tendrils fled.

Fin.

[Ali Marie]

YIPPIE!!!

Aw man! I LOVED this!!!

It was fantastic! Very well written, every little detail.

Just...WOW.

[darkness-is-the-light]

Despite not watching this movie (it looked too scary for my liking), I feel as if I have before. Your descriptions are absolutely beautiful, as always. Your stories seem to give me a very comforting vibe, which is most likely due to your vivid descriptions. The fetish was just a plus, but I would definitely read this without it added. Wonderful job, Spoo.

[Subtly Clashing Wishes]

As always, a pleasure to read your work. The descriptions are lush. You do a wonderful job of creating a sense of foreboding as well, which makes those gifs in your signature even more creepy.

[alias]

OH. MY. DEAR. LORD. Spoo!!! This is BEAUTIFUL. I've just been staring at my keyboard speechless for five minutes now because I don't even know where to start. You captured Thomas Sharpe (and the immaculate man that is Tom Hiddleston) so flawlessly that I HEARD him and I SAW him and it gave me CHILLS. Not only did you woo me with his poise and elegance, but you also hit his vulnerable notes perfectly, even without the help of him being sick. AND LUCILLE! You got her crisp and heavy presence spot on. They way you convey their relationship is sheer artwork. It's so aptly subtle, and at the same time poignant and emotional.

As for the fetish aspects... OMG SO CUTE THOMAS I JUST WANT TO CUDDLE HIM IN HIS BIG FLUFFY VICTORIAN BED! D'awww all sniffly and sneezy and achy and fevery. Dude your spellings are perfect. And that last vocal one . That made my tummy do the butterfly flippy thing.

But fetishy fun aside, this is a lovely story. It captures the tone, the characters, the style, and the overall essence of the movie completely. You really do the characters and their relationship justice, and I love that this is more than just a piece of fetishy fun. It's a story that has weight to it, and it's a perfect prequel that reveals another level of such complex characters. Your writing itself is beautiful and evocative, and I feel fancy and elegant and victorian reading it. Everything about this is perfect. So. Much. Love.

[bangbang]

OKAY SO YOU ALREADY KNOW I LOVE THIS MOVIE (because we saw it together!) AND THIS FIC (because it is excellent!) BUT I'M GOING TO ELABOURATE.

- I was giggling when I started because of Pre-dith and your Small Sad Goth Son, but those giggles soon turned into gleeful cackling at just how miserable Thomas is. Like, my head was aching in sympathy as you described his heaviness and his congestion and how he JUST CAN'T SOLVE THINGS RIGHT NOW.

- The sneeze making the moths fly away was perfect and I FELT like I was in that creepy attic with him. The sounds are greeeeat throughout, tbh, and perfectly define (and, as he loses control of them, defy) the severe-Victorian-gentleman Thomas is supposed to be.

- Aw. Poor Thomas having bad dreams and subconsciously interpreting Lucille's touch as something sinister made me sad. She just wants to love you, Thomas!

- On that note, I love your portrayal of Lucille. Her awareness of everything that goes on. Her clinking keys and creaking corset and steel-and-softness. Ugh I love her so much and you've written her perfectly.

- Their whole relationship here is so, so good. Those too-close siblings all alone in that creepy house. Your setting and character interactions are SO true to the film and gothic-romancey. I love it.

- And the overall tone of foreboding - the constant reminders of the task that they're going to do - is so great in context of what we know, and I just love this as a prequel to the film that deepens their relationship and aghhhhh.

In conclusion - GOOD JOB SPOO.

[Spoo]

Alexandra Marie: Thank you so much!

Sophie83540: The movie was absolutely scary, so no worries about not watching it. I had to sleep with my light/TV on for a while, which goes to show how "brave" I am when it comes to these types of films. But anyway, thanks for your sweet and kind words.

SCW: Thank you!

alias: The first time I read your comment I had to walk away from my laptop because oH MY GODDDD. First of all, you're a spectacular writer yourself, so any praise from you in general is beyond glorious. Second, you flatter me! Thankyouthankyouthankyouuuuu.

bangbang: We DID see this movie together, and you watched me hide behind my hands for 80% of it. THANKS FOR NOT JUDGING ME, DUDE. (And thank you for your amazing feedback [I know we're super close friends now, but I still get all fuzzy when you comment on my stuff ]).

I also wanna thank those of who you have PM'ed me about this story! I appreciate you all just as much as the in-thread commenters.

[•.*°•☆. Q .☆•°*.•]

[sCREAMS] This was AMAZING GGGG GG G G!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i can't even. It's like 4 am here and I can't even like, pick out what was awesome it was all of it basically you did GREAT spoo this was so fricking awesome