Luke felt the soft kiss, curved into the attention, but he worried perhaps he shouldn't have said anything about Eddy's hands: maybe it was a sensitive issue, maybe Eddy would be upset...  The man didn't answer him right away, causing Luke's stomach to tighen into a knot, but when he spoke, he didn't sound mad.<br/><br/>Luke watched Eddy work at straightening his hand-- it took work, the knuckles creaking almost, and it looked very uncomfortable.  The boy nodded as he heard the explanation...  Arthritis.  That made a lot of sense, actually.<br/><br/>The boy was quiet as he thought to himself, lifting his own hands out of the water to run them over Eddy's in a contemplative exploration.  "... I'm sorry it hurts."  That was all he could say, simple and honest, genuine in its empathy.  Luke couldn't begin to imagine the frustration, the bitterness and anger, or the pain...  He hoped he wasn't overstepping, wasn't crossing a line.<br/><br/>"Is this ok...?" He asked, carefully interlacing his fingers with Eddy's; they were slim, barely there in Eddy's grasp, and he was as gentle as possible.  He didn't want to make the pain worse, not at all.