Chapter Text
Lucas was bored out of his mind. He was sitting at the Hellp Desk with Judy, everyone else busy with things and he felt like being by the Hellp Desk and Judy offered to stay with him. He was glad that she had offered as he never watched the Hellp Desk on his own. That had always seemed like the worst thing possible to him.
Even though Lucas wanted to be here, he was still bored. Usually, he would hang out with Sharkie when he felt like this but they had reincarnated with Ruggy and so he was left to be bored. He did think about bringing up their stream on MortalTube but he couldn't bring himself to. He did start scrolling on his phone though which actually managed to put off souls from coming through his line. He did feel bad for bringing Judy down just to not actually take souls on her own but he knew she didn't mind. She had told him she wanted something to do anyway.
Lucas continued looking through his phone until he heard Asmodeus come through. Lucas had only met Asmodeus a few times but he liked him. Judy asked him what he was doing round here and Asmodeus responded that he was avoiding paperwork so he thought he would help out. Lucas let out a small snort at that before looking up at him.
"You would prefer to deal with some of the souls that come through here instead of paperwork?"
"Well... I mean... Mostly yes actually. Unless it's shitty military spouses." Asmodeus shivered and Lucas couldn't help but feel a bit of sympathy. He never dealt with them personally, instead handing them off to anyone else who wanted to deal with that. Or, failing that, instantly trapdoor them. He had been told that the first time Asmodeus dealt with an intituled military spouse, he was not told about there being a trapdoor for quite a while.
With that, Asmodeus started dealing with souls as well. He certainly dealt with them a lot differently than how everyone else dealt with them but it still worked. Lucas started looking back at his phone reading a book on it. He wasn't too interested in it but it was somewhat keeping his attention so he wasn't complaining.
That continued until two souls came into his line. Obviously they hadn't gotten the hint that he didn't actually want to deal with souls so he resigns himself to dealing with them and looked up to see who they were. He wished his hadn't. He really wished that he didn't come down to the Hellp Desk and he wished that he had just stayed in his paradise and revelled in his boredom there.
"Hello, Lucas. I can't say that either of us are surprised to see you here." His biological mother said. His biological father stood slightly behind her. Lucas' heart was beating out of his chest and he was so, so scared. It wasn't like when Harry had come through his line and he could push away the panic, even just a little bit. No. He couldn't push past this panic.
So, Lucas just stood there, staring at both of them, unable to move. That went on for what felt like forever until Asmodeus spotted that something was wrong and came over. "Is everything okay here?"
"Yes, we were just talking with our son, Lucas. My wife was just saying that we weren't surprised to see him in Hell is all. We weren't religious while we were alive but seeing as Hell is real, given how he died, it doesn't surprise us." The words his father spoke felt like a dagger to the heart. He had thought that they had at least somewhat cared for him when he was alive and everything that both of them were saying was evidence to the contrary.
"What? Cause of death has nothing to do with being sent down here. And even if that was the case, Lucas has his own paradise. He was never sent here. He just works here." Asmodeus seemed very much confused and Lucas just wanted this conversation to end. He wanted to run away and hide yet again. He had thought he was past that feeling before now.
His parents had nothing to say in regards to what Asmodeus said and while it would have been nice if they had left it at that, they didn't. They never could leave things alone, especially his mother. "Well, even if that's the case, my husband and I would like to know why we are down here." Lucas knew his mother would end up asking something like that. He just knew it.
Lucas only came out of his somewhat trance when Asmodeus went to grab each of their files and he rushed to stand up, grabbing them before he did. He didn't want Asmodeus to know about his parents and therefore him. It contained things that he hadn't even opened up to Lily and Bel about. Bel trusted Asmodeus and therefore Lucas had some trust for him, absolutely nowhere near enough to let him read their files though.
Judy finally noticed what was going on and asked what was going on to which Asmodeus responded that the souls at the Hellp Desk were Lucas' parents. Judy instantly seemed to realise the type of situation, just from that tiny bit of information. She stood in front of Lucas gently taking the files away from him. At first, he hesitated but he was reassured by her. "Don't worry, Darlin', I won't read them. I just don't think it's any good for you to hold onto them." With that, he let Judy take them and put them out of reach.
"Now, you two know exactly what you did so I suggest you go to your level before you have all of Hell redefining your understanding of what punishment is." Judy didn't sound 'sweet as pie' as she spoke to his biological parents. She was using the tone of voice she only saved for special occasions. His parents weren't great but they sure knew when they couldn't win in a situation and Lucas watched them walk off.
Lucas felt the adrenaline leave his body and his legs gave out beneath him, leaving him to be caught by Asmodeus. Lucas knew he should have felt relived that his parents had left and gone down to their level but he didn't. He didn't because he knew that now, they were in the realm as him. Before, he had had some protection, given the fact that they were still alive. He didn't feel like he had that anymore. Even if, logically, he knew that they wouldn't be able to leave their level and reach him.
Lucas ended up zoning out until he was greeted with Bel's face in front of him. He was smiling at Lucas and Lucas instantly felt relieved that he was here. He reached his arms out and Bel scooped him up into a hug without hesitation. Lucas buried his face into Bel's neck and held onto him tight. He started dissociating again but it was different this time. He felt safer now that Bel was here so the dissociation felt softer, less aggressive. It felt more like a nice weighted blanket on his mind rather than a tone of rocks.
He felt Bel stand up, lifting Lucas with him. Bel talked with someone but Lucas didn't concern himself with who he was talking to or what was being said. He just continued to drift as Bel started walking and he only sort of came out of it when Bel sat down on a isolated bench and gently turned Lucas' head so that he was looking at Bel.
"Do you want to go to your paradise or Lily's?" Lucas considered it for a few minutes. He wouldn't be left alone either way, he knew that. While it would be nice to be at his paradise and it had all his comfort items, Lily's had Max. His cats were still alive in the mortal world as far as he was aware and he liked spending time with Max. He pointed to Bel, hoping that he would get the message which he seemed to as he nodded. "Do you want to collect some of your things first?" At that, Lucas nodded enthusiastically which made Bel smile.
Bel walked to Lucas' paradise and Lucas allowed himself to mentally drift off again until they reach Lucas' paradise. Bel carried Lucas into his house and went to his bedroom. Bel set Lucas on the bed and picked up a bag and set it by Lucas. "Do you want pack your comfort items and I'll go get your necessities?" Lucas nodded and Bel left the room for a little bit, probably to go grab Lucas' toothbrush and other things he didn't want to think about right now.
Lucas started gathering the toys he wanted to take with him the most, holding onto Ellie. He had only left her here due to going to the Hellp Desk and he didn't want to be made fun of by souls for carrying around a stuffed animal. Lucas looked around his room a little more, thinking of what else to take. It took a little while for him to think of more things and when he did, he ended up packing some of his favourite pyjamas and some comfortable clothe and is happy to leave it there.
He had just finished when Bel came back into the room with a toiletries back which he put carefully in the bag. After, Bel picked the bag up, slinging it over his shoulder and Lucas raised his arms again so he could be picked up. Bel happily obliged, adjusting him to he is being held comfortably. Lucas started hugging Ellie. "You happy to carry Ellie?" Bel knew the answer to that question would be yes so even though Lucas nodded, he hadn't needed to.
The walk back to Lily's paradise was filled with Bel talking about how his day had gone and Lucas was only somewhat listening. He wasn't trying to be rude but he was finding it hard to stay even somewhat grounded right now. He knew that, realistically, Bel wouldn't mind and that he was just talking about his day to offer some kind of normal for him right now, and for that, Lucas is glad.
When they got there, Lily was waiting with Max sitting on her lap. Max looked up after sensing new people come closer but relaxed again once he knew who it was. That was until Lily picked him up off her lap and put him on the floor, which he did complain about. Lucas couldn't blame him. Lily made her way over to Lucas, silently asking if he was okay which Lucas gave a 'so-so' hand gesture. He was now that he was back with the parents who actually loved him but he also 100% was not okay. It was weird.
Lily accepted his answer and said hello to Bel who greeted her back. The two started talking about their days and Lucas fully tuned out. He felt safer here than almost anywhere else in the afterlife and his brain had been struggling to hold on so he finally let himself fully dissociate. He wouldn't do it for long, or he hoped so anyway, but he needed to give his brain a bit of a break from everything, even just for a little bit.
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When Lucas came to, he was snuggled up to Bel still. Lily was sitting next to the two of them and Lucas could hear a film on in the background. It didn't sound familiar so he wasn't sure what they were watching and he was too comfy to turn his head around and see. While he was mostly present, he still felt fuzzy and feeling fuzzy, whether it be a good kind or not, it took it out of him. So, he was happy to just stay right where he was and rest.
Bel started running his hand through Lucas' hair and he felt like his body was melting. In a good way. Lucas snuggled his face into Ellie's fur, taking comfort that she was there. He stayed right where he was until his stomach started making noises. He wasn't sure how long he had gone without eating as he didn't know how much time he had lost but he guessed it had probably been a while. Both Lily and Bel laughed a little and Lucas couldn't find it in himself to be even slightly embarrassed.
"Sounds like it's time for food." Lily spoke before she paused the film and Lucas let out a loud whine, which surprised him. He'd never really felt comfortable enough to show his distain for an idea with such a loud whine before. Still, he knew it wasn't a bad thing so he decided not to think too much about it.
Lucas felt himself be lifted once again and he buried his head in the crook of Bel's neck. He had been so comfy and he just wanted to go back to that. He didn't understand why he was getting so upset about that. Seeing his biological parents once again had brought up old habits and he hid how upset he actually was. Especially since he deemed it as something stupid to be upset over.
Bel carried him over to the kitchen and put him down on one of the counters. He instantly missed the comfort but he didn't do anything about it. Lucas watched as Bel and Lily prepared some chicken soup for him. He was glad it was soup as he didn't think his stomach could handle eating something other than that. He still didn't feel like eating the soup but it seemed to be one of the foods that he could at least force himself to eat.
Once it was ready, Lucas hopped down from the counter and made his way over to the dining room table and sat down. He placed Ellie down on the table, far enough away so that she wouldn't get any soup spilled on her. Bel and Lily made their way over and the three of them ate in relative silence, which upset Lucas more. He wanted things to be normal and when he stayed over before, they would all talk while eating, especially when Sharkie was over as well. He enjoyed it, even if he never felt like speaking that day. He missed Sharkie and he wanted them back.
All his emotion ended up spilling over when he dropped his spoon on the floor. Tears started falling down his face and he started finding it hard to breath. Everything he was feeling was way too much. He had always felt too much but this time, it was more than he had ever felt. He didn't even know how to even begin describing it.
When Lily and Bel crouched beside him, trying to check to see if he was okay, Lucas flung himself at them, clinging onto the two of them for dear life, like he was afraid that they would leave him too.