"Alright, we're ready. You can undress already. Seonghwa, can you clean this brush for me?"

Seonghwa plucked the brush in question from his master's fingers and stalked over to the water basin. It had a murky grey colour from all the paint that had been washed off in there. With his sleeves rolled up, Seonghwa cleaned the brush by hand.

"Entirely?" Wooyoung's voice sounded more insecure than his mind was. He expected as much when Leonardo had asked him for his service. Yet, he exchanged a fleeting gaze with San to seek support. The man had leaned back against some crates until now but sat up, concerned when he caught Wooyoung's eyes.

"Yes. No need to be shy, we view your body as a piece of art." Leonardo took his brush back from Seonghwa and stood behind his canvas. Next to him, Seonghwa mirrored his pose. While Wooyoung hesitantly shrugged off his coat, Leonardo gave Seonghwa pointers.

San came over to help Wooyoung with his clothes. As he undid the laces of Wooyoung's shirt and they stood close together, his soothing murmur relaxed Wooyoung's tense shoulders.

"I'm right here. If they do anything weird, we'll leave."

Wooyoung allowed San to pull off his tunic and then his shirt. As he stepped out of his pants, San collected Wooyoung's clothes on his arm to hold on to them while he waited. Their gazes lingered on each other as San retreated. When Wooyoung turned to meet Leonardo's eyes again, the man nodded at him.

"Easy pose. Stretch out your arms at your sides and keep your legs straight. We can take a break when your arms grow weak."

Wooyoung did as he was told and stretched out. The attic was cold, but his blush kept him warm as all three men in the room eyed him from head to toe. San's dark gaze on Wooyoung was the one he was most comfortable with, but at the same time, it affected him the most. Concentrated on staring out of the window between Seonghwa and Leonardo, Wooyoung disconnected his mind from his body to fill his empty time with thoughts instead.

He thought about his studies again and about what he had learned from the different people he had visited through time.

Mingi had provided knowledge on his theory that immortality remained in place and cursed items or people depending on who touched it. His theories fit with the legends of bewitched objects.

Yunho had considered drugs as a door between the godly self and the human limitations. He had attempted to anger the gods until they punished him with eternal life and would grant him his wish.

Then he had met San, the actual immortal. Who had told him that his turn to immortality had been so subtle he hadn't even noticed it and couldn't remember. To Wooyoung, that ruled out a dramatic bolt of lightning from the skies that carried the will of the gods.

Yeosang had considered biblical stories and the intrigue of the Holy Grail as their path. That theory sounded the most believable to Wooyoung. It was old enough that San might have stumbled upon it as well, but it also still carried the distinct promise of having sustained the time and still making people immortal now.

Now da Vinci had told them the first crumbs about alchemy and how the change of the human body influenced life expectancy. That theory was also timeless, and it matched the medical procedures taken in Wooyoung's time to prolong lifetimes. Their life expectancy already went up compared to a hundred years ago. Technology was a powerful weapon.

He was curious about where this theory would bring them. From how close to the present time Victorian England was, it might be the last part of Wooyoung's long journey. And then he would have to connect all of his pieces and hopefully figure out together with San what was going on. As soon as the internet was at their service, Wooyoung was confident that their research progress would jump far higher.

Yongguk had worked on this case for weeks now, too. He stayed reclusive still, not sharing too much of his enlightenment, but Wooyoung was confident they would find something. Even if it was only San.

Although San would get to decide for himself whether he wanted anyone to treat him as a research subject or not. A man as old as he knew whether he would be comfortable with that. If he wanted nothing to do with scientists and preferred to stick around their institute, Wooyoung would be more than happy to keep him a secret.

"Want a break?"

Wooyoung snapped back out of his thoughts when Leonardo's voice cut through the silent room. He noticed how heavy his arms were and how they ached from his position. When he nodded, Leonardo set his brush down. He scrutinised his painting with a hawk's eyes.

San came over to wrap Wooyoung in his cloak and have him sit down on the crates together with him. While San fed him some grapes, Wooyoung eavesdropped on the conversation between the two artists.

"Oh, come on, Seonghwa. You know better than that."

"What, does it play a huge role in what we are trying to do? I thought the pose mattered most."

"Anatomy matters. Youth. Health. We are drawing a young man for a reason instead of an old man, and this is part of it." Leonardo reached out to correct something in Seonghwa's painting. Seonghwa looked displeased, but he only irked his brow at his master.

"We must perceive this part of him differently," he muttered when Leonardo stepped back. When the artist threateningly lifted his brush, Seonghwa hurried to take his break. His grumbles to himself bothered none of the remaining men.

San chuckled into Wooyoung's hair where Wooyoung's head leaned on his shoulder. They had given up their pretence of not being close for the sake of comfort. His warm breath in Wooyoung's hair had Wooyoung nuzzle closer.

"How petty. I can imagine what it was about."

"I don't even want to know," Wooyoung muttered back. He chewed on some breath while his naked legs dangled from the crate.

"What is the relationship you two share?"

Leonardo was already busy with his notebook again. A regular pencil flicked over the page as he talked to them.

"We're lovers," San announced without missing a beat. Wooyoung smiled shyly.

"That's not hard to see. Stay like this for a moment." He glanced at them for a mere second to make sure they held their poses before his eyes flicked back on his sketch. Comfortable, Wooyoung breathed in San's scent.

"Once we finished this project, I'm willing to lend Seonghwa to you for your research. I will tell him everything I know, so I won't have to interrupt my work. You two be kind to him. I can tell you make him nervous."

Seonghwa looked ready to protest. The matching smirks on San's and Wooyoung's faces shut him up, but he didn't mask his betrayed grimace.

"Thank you," Wooyoung said; sweet like an angel. Leonardo nodded at him before he set his book down.

"Are you ready to continue?"

Wooyoung left his coat with San when he went back to his spot. Following the commands given to him, he shifted back into the pose and waited.

Noon passed, and the sun settled behind the buildings to tease the searching eye with scarce beams of light by the time Wooyoung got released from his position. His arms had become blocks of solid concrete as they fell to his sides. While he got dressed, Seonghwa and Leonardo discussed their techniques.

Wooyoung caught only bits of their conversation, but it took no genius to know that he had become the first part of the success that would be the Vitruvian Man. Glad to know it would turn out looking nothing like Wooyoung since the idea had to be revised a few times before it could be considered finished; he slipped into his tunic. While Seonghwa and Leonardo figured out what Wooyoung already knew since long ago, San muttered praises to him for holding still so well.

When Wooyoung had dressed fully again, he and San grouped up with Leonardo and Seonghwa at their working places. The artists didn't show Wooyoung what they had painted of him, but he also didn't care too much.

"I will go back to my projects. Discuss with Seonghwa when to meet him and I will send him with all the knowledge I have once it's time," Leonardo said. Some paint stuck to his beard as he focused on his studies again.

Wooyoung nodded gratefully.

"Thank you a lot for taking the time. May inspiration be with you."

They were about to leave the room so Seonghwa could speak in private with Wooyoung and San when Leonardo held them back.

"Wait. Take this."

With a sharp movement, he ripped a page out of his notebook. He handed it to Wooyoung without as much of a glance. Then he shooed them off.

As Wooyoung followed San down the stairs, he curiously eyed his new treasure. It was the sketch of them, Wooyoung and San, as they sat on the crate together. San's eyes were lowered as he watched over Wooyoung with his kind and protective face. Wooyoung rested against his shoulder, his lips open in a smile as he talked to San. The bowl of grapes on San's lap was messily sketched and the lines of Wooyoung's legs and coat lost themselves into nothingness, but Wooyoung loved it.

He stored the sketch securely in his pocket before he turned to Seonghwa. The man had crossed his arms, but the smoothness of his brow conveyed his acceptance of being used as a courier.

"Shall we meet tomorrow evening at the same inn as always? We can eat at my home if you two would prefer some privacy over these matters," San suggested. Wooyoung and Seonghwa agreed.

"Privacy would be a good start. Then I will see you there around sunset. Be safe on your way back."

Softened by Seonghwa's care, Wooyoung grinned at him. The skies were dark, but Florence still bustled with life, and he had San with him. Where else would Wooyoung feel more secure than with the man who had challenged an entire tribe of Vikings and a boar for him?

"We will, thank you."

Wooyoung's gleeful expression warranted Seonghwa to turn on his heel and march back up the stairs. With a giggle, Wooyoung looked after him. He knew that the knowledge Leonardo was about to give them was in excellent hands.

San held the door open for Wooyoung when they left the attic. Together, they wandered back down the stairs and bid their farewells to the holy man at the exit.

Back outside and blanketed by the glow of the stars, Wooyoung turned to San with a triumphant grin.

"This was more difficult than what I am used to but it poised no challenge."

San took Wooyoung's hand in his. Now that barely any people milled the streets, they allowed themselves to intertwine their fingers out in the open. To mask their hands enough that it could bother no nightly shadows dashing through the alleys, they stuck close together on their way back to San's home.

"You are good at this job. After everything we heard today, I'm curious where this will take us. Certainly, whatever Leonardo was working on, he spoke with a lot of experience."

Thoughtful, Wooyoung stared at the stars. He found Aries up there. He vaguely remembered seeing Aries on his studies before, in one night he spent in Rome, perhaps?

"The person I interviewed back when you met me as Sandalius was the same. Very sure of what they did because of their questionable experiences. Not that Leonardo would share those with us. But it gives his account more credibility since he ruled much nonsense out already."

"I will have time to explore all that while you are gone to figure it out in your era," San replied.

As they rounded the corner to San's home, San let Wooyoung go up first. They returned to his flat and the second they were in, Wooyoung threw his cloak off. While he stood on the balcony to cool off, San lit a few candles inside.

"Don't explore it too much. I don't want you to get caught up in shady business," Wooyoung called into the room. He wanted to sound dismissive, but his frown blended into his voice. He didn't want to imagine San doing weird experiments on himself or other people.

When San stepped to his side to wrap an arm around Wooyoung's waist, Wooyoung turned his head to kiss him over his shoulder.

With a smile, San snuggled close to him.

"It's minor compared to things that happened in the past. Don't worry about me."

Wooyoung didn't mention it again, but of course, he worried. Even if - at the end of the day - he knew to trust San. And he hoped that the man would stay as amiable as he was by the time their lives aligned naturally.