Luke was taking it really, really well, which was why Eddy didnt grimace and try to insist that he wasnt famous. It was such an odd position for him, something he still couldnt solidify in his mind. He was well known in a very elite, exclusionist world but for the rest of humanity? They didnt know him, not really. They only knew his work, recognized his statues as fixtures in their everyday lives, as things they passed by on their daily commutes or used as landmarks to meet at or appeared in the backgrounds of their photographs. In his opinion the beauty of his work, of the statues that everyday people knew, was that they were treated as incredibly mundane.<br/><br/>Eddy loved that, the anonymity it provided him but also how it snubbed the convoluted convention of fine art. Beauty and art should be an everyday fixture of daily life, not something to be enjoyed by only the elites. Art should be as common and as accessible as public restrooms and waterfountains, but no one ever lauds the plumbers as celebrities for doing their work. Eddy shouldn't be either, but people did anyway.<br/><br/>But that was a prickly conversation to have another time. Debating his fame would only be a diversion when they had better things to discuss.<br/><br/>"But I do owe you some answers," Eddy said in response to Luke's promise, "it wasnt fair to you, hiding who I was... am. Who I am. And you're more than just a passing acquaintance. At least, I hope you are... I'd like you to be....."<br/><br/>Eddy used to think he was more eloquent than this but he quickly realized that was a bald faced lie as he stumbled through this awkward... whatever it was. A confession, maybe? His stilted words had that feeling about them, cautious and questioning, hedging for reassurance. He wanted to know that what they had between them had been real and not the unrequited pinings of a lonely old man. He wanted confirmation that Luke coming back meant something. But he was not brave enough to ask outright, too afraid of misstepping or misinterpreting but still so desperate to know the truth.<br/><br/>Eddy hated feeling this awkward and unsure, like a newborn calf stumbling into the wide open world. Vulnerable and naked. He didnt know how people did it, how they could just invite someone to come closer without fear of being irreparably damaged, but he was willing to try, to open up if it made Luke stay a little while longer.