Enzo didn't come back to see him. Luca was disappointed that Enzo didn't take him up on his offer of company, but he really didn't expect otherwise. Honestly, Luca was just surprised and grateful that Enzo had sought him out at all, given how skittish and elusive the borrower was.

Another week passed with the borrowers out and about. Despite wanting to stay with them, Luca kept to his usual schedule and went into the office three days a week. He could've worked from home, but he figured Enzo could use the breathing room. 

Coming home from work one day, Luca was just hanging up his coat when Harper ran out to meet him, gesturing excitedly and calling up to him. Luca couldn't help but smile as soon as he saw the child, even though Harper did this every day. After living alone for so long, seeing someone so genuinely happy to see him made Luca's heart swell up with warmth.

The little boy stopped by his feet, chattering away. He seemed to have forgotten that Luca couldn't really hear him from all the way on the floor. 

"Harper, you're too close to my feet, buddy," Luca reminded him gently. "Can you back up a little, please?"

Harper did so obediently, still prattling on as Luca removed his shoes and put them on the rack.

"Mhmm," Luca murmured in response to whatever Harper was saying, leaning down to scoop the little boy off the floor.

Harper was all too happy for the lift as he settled into Luca's hands and continued talking from there.

"And that's why Enzo doesn't like it," he was saying.

"Is that so?" Luca asked, not really knowing what Harper was talking about. Enzo didn't really like most things, though, so Luca figured he didn't need to know the specifics.

"Yep!" Harper happily confirmed.

Luca looked around. "Where is Enzo, anyway?" he asked. Enzo was always nearby whenever Harper was with Luca, keeping a watchful eye on the two of them. It seemed like the older brother still didn't fully trust Luca.

"Oh, he went to check out the spider situation," came the surprising answer. "I didn't want to go."

"How long has he been gone?" Luca asked next as he headed into the kitchen to get started on dinner. "Will he be back soon?"

"I'm already back," came a voice from the counter, and Luca and Harper both whipped their heads around to look.

Enzo was standing by the cutting board, brushing some cobwebs off his clothes and looking put out. He even had some spider silk caught in his dark hair, and Luca pushed aside the urge to reach out and help him. 

Luca winced. "Still there?"

Enzo nodded shortly. "Yeah. They're bigger now, too."

Harper shuddered and pressed himself closer to Luca. Luca patted him to try to make him feel better.

"It's alright, Harps," he assured the boy. "I'm sure they'll be gone eventually."

The little boy looked up at him with big eyes. "Will we have to go back in the walls once they're gone?" he wanted to know. "I'd rather stay out here with you."

Luca was at a loss, and he looked at Enzo. The older brother just raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms.

"Yes," Enzo replied, and Harper sighed

Luca, however, was touched. He... wants to stay out here? he thought incredulously. He wants to live with me?

"But we won't be able to go back for a while," Enzo added at Harper's disappointed silence. "Those spiders look like they're hunkering down for the winter now."

Harper shivered again. "Man, I hate spiders," he complained.

With the little boy's mood soured like this, Luca tried to come up with something that would cheer him up, thinking as he absentmindedly stroked along Harper's back with his thumb.

Suddenly, an idea came to him. It was something David had loved, and Luca often resorted to it whenever his brother got cranky or bored.

"Well, do you want to have a dance party, then?" Luca asked. "Get your mind off things?"

Harper cocked his head. "Dance party?" he echoed. "What's that?"

Luca set him down on the counter beside Enzo and helped Harper step off his hand. "Here, let me show you."

He ran to his room to grab a speaker, placing it on the counter when he got back. Harper looked intrigued while Enzo took a small step back.

Ah, Luca realized. I'll have to make sure the volume is turned down really low for them.

He pushed the speaker farther away from the borrowers and turned it on. Harper's eyes lit up at the little blipping noise it made as it booted up. Enzo's eyes just narrowed suspiciously.

Luca then pulled up a random, upbeat pop song on his phone, and Harper gasped aloud as the music poured softly from the speaker. Rushing to the mesh face of the machine, the little boy pressed against it, grinning as the vibrations passed through his tiny body.

"Enzo, you gotta try this!" he hollered, and Luca turned the music even quieter, realizing that Harper was probably going deaf with his ear pressed against the speaker like that.

Enzo just shook his head and waved him off, leaving Harper to shrug and beam up at Luca.

"Now what?" the child asked. "What's a dance party? I want to have one!"

"Ok, so when you listen to the music, you just sort of... dance around to it," Luca explained.

Harper looked confused. "Dance?" he echoed, his little eyebrows furrowed.

"Yeah, it's... when you move around to the music."

At Harper's continued confusion, Luca paused.

"Do you... do you not know how to dance?" he asked in disbelief.

Harper just shook his little head, white hair swinging

Luca turned to Enzo. "Enz? You too?"

"I can dance," came the surprising answer. The older borrower looked disinterested. "Our mother taught me."

Harper did not seem to like that answer. "What?" he said. "You know how to dance? Why didn't you ever teach me?"

Enzo shrugged. "Didn't seem like a useful skill to pass on," was his uninspiring answer.

"Enzo!" Harper exclaimed, outraged.

"Huh? What?" Enzo demanded defensively.

"You're supposed to teach me these things!" Harper protested. "Why didn't you teach me?"

"Knowing how to dance isn't going to keep you alive," Enzo pointed out. "I only teach you what you need to survive."

Luca watched the little ping pong argument with wide eyes before finally cutting in. He had meant to cheer Harper up, not make the brothers mad at each other.

"Well, it's ok, because you can learn now, Harps," he interrupted, and the little borrower looked up at him.

"You'll teach me?" he asked hopefully, and Luca nodded.

"Sure, bud." He turned to Enzo. "Want to help me fill in the parts I miss?" he asked.

Enzo shook his head and took a seat by the speaker, leaning against the wall as he did so.

"I'll just watch," he said, stretching his legs out and crossing them at the ankle. "Have fun."

Luca tried not to feel disappointed at the rejected invitation. He had hoped that Enzo coming out to meet him the other night was a sign that the borrower wanted to be more involved in their activities.

Guess it was just wishful thinking, he thought.

Shaking off the gloomy mood, Luca turned his attention to Harper. "Ok, so the most important thing about dancing is knowing all of the really bad dance moves," Luca advised. Harper stared up at him with his big black eyes, hanging on to his every word. "It's more fun that way."

With the music still playing merrily in the background, Luca then taught Harper how to do the disco and sprinkler before moving on to the macarena and the robot. Harper copied him excitedly, and Luca couldn't stop laughing at the little boy's sweet enthusiasm. Out of the corner of his eye, Luca even caught Enzo nodding his head along.

Gotcha, Luca thought smugly.

Satisfied that Harper knew the basics, Luca turned him loose to practice his moves. However, Luca quickly realized that his tutorial was wasted on the child, as Harper ignored everything Luca taught him and freestyled moves that... definitely couldn't be called dancing.

Hopping around like a little bunny and waving his twiggy arms around haphazardly, Harper looked like he was having the time of his life, utterly disregarding the rhythm of the song in favor of just moving as much and as randomly as possible.

Luca tried to help him stay on beat by holding his hands and gently guiding him, but Harper was too excited. So, Luca just leaned back and watched, grinning, making sure Harper didn't bounce too close to the counter's edge as he jumped to his heart's content.

Luca snuck a glance at Enzo, and he saw that even he had a faint smile on his face, eyes soft as he watched his little brother enjoy himself.

Well, guess it's not a total bust, Luca realized, watching the two borrowers.

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A/N: Filler fluff? Absolutely. But Harper is adorable, and Enzo is a party pooper, and this chapter encapsulates both. Honestly, it's a good thing Luca stepped in to be a second big brother to Harper (even though he clearly gives questionable dancing instructions). Enzo is the type of brother who would make Harper watch a documentary instead of a normal movie because it's "educational." Luca is... very much not that type of person. If he thought he could get away with it, Luca would totally be giving Harper ice cream for breakfast and letting him stay up late partying. But Enzo is too terrifying, so he doesn't dare. 

Thanks for reading! Next chapter sees some major *relationship development* between Enzo and Luca. Don't forget to vote and comment. See you in the next part! 

p.s. the official reason the spiders have so much plot armor is because Luca doesn't want to risk calling an exterminator and flooding the walls with harsh chemicals. The real reason is because I needed a way to keep Enzo from disappearing into the walls before he could actually fall for Luca.