Content warning: Minor/Adult Grooming
Word Count 4,334
December 31st, 2003
“Oh my god, Vee this is delicious!!” Akira’s cheery voice shook Lucas from his daze. He sat up clumsily, wiping the slobber from the corner of his mouth before resting his elbow on the couch armrest.
Did...Did I really fall asleep?
He looked around at the commotion. It was a full house tonight, full of his mother’s best friends, acquaintances and some of their neighbors. People were sitting on the stairs holding champagne glasses, resting along the counters as they tried the various dips which covered the marble countertop, and a few random kids darted out the door, yipping with their hands full of sparklers. He usually hated this type of liveliness, but it was New Years Eve, so it was tradition at this point.
He let out a yawn, hopping down fromthe couch before giving his side a scratch. He only came downstairs to grab some food, but apparently he passed out while waiting on it.
Great.
There was a chance that those few minutes of snoozing caused his entire room to be destroyed by the reckless kids that filled the halls of his house. He was never this careless when it came to protecting his belongings, but he’d been tired lately, especially since winter break started. Laziness and the chance to gorge himself with food without the cackling giggles of his peers filling his ears seized him the second his teachers announced, “See you next year, Lucas! Happy holidays!”.
It was nice to enjoy the break as it was always stress free, allowing him to once again enjoy his birthday and the holidays with the people who couldn’t be bothered to bug him about his quirks. Not to mention, he spent much more time with Cheren which wasn’t focused on schoolwork. He was finally 13 too, which felt strange for a little while. It wasn’t really a big deal to him, but everyone around him couldn’t let the fact go for a full week.
“My baby’s boy grew up so fast!” Akira had sobbed, shaking Lucas vigorously before squeezing him tight. His father merely smiled at him before giving him a good whack on the back for luck. His birthday parties were just as lively as New Years night, but calmer as his mom would only invite what she considered “family” (meaning his father, Veronica and Ariana, with a new addition being Barry) as it laid in alignment with Christmas. Every year, his mother would tell him how “he was the best present she was ever given” and more mushy things that’d make him blush and get all embarrassed in front of everyone.
He’d open up his gifts, which were usually just more art supplies, new shoes, a new game (if any came out in the year), and a couple of bucks from everyone around him. Veronica would usually bake the cake since it was one of her niches and she claimed to have the best recipes, much more trustworthy than his mother’s Northern tastebuds (admittedly, it was hard for Lucas to disagree with that claim considering he’d anticipate Vee’s cakes the second he’d wake up the day of his birthday).
Everyone would relax, replay the same stupid Christmas movies over and over, talk about old times while Lucas usually hibernated after stuffing himself to avoid entertaining Ariana. His birthdays became quieter after Karter died, since he was usually the life of the party, but it seemed his father tried to keep up the pace following what he’d usually do to keep anyone from getting sad about it. Barry’s arrival seemed to spice things up too, as everyone engulfed the demon into their traditions, helping him fit in and feel comfortable. Barry was clueless about everything, even his own origins, so everyone took the initiative to explain how their society functioned. He seemed to grasp things quite easily, comparing them to how things functioned down in Hell but no one really understood much of what he meant other than Ariana and Lucas. The adults still failed to believe he was a demon considering how goofy Barry was, and this was enough to help Lucas view him in a much more relaxed manner.
After squeezing through a crowd, Lucas approached his mother and gave her shirt a tug, wiping his eye.
“Mom, did you put my food up?” He mumbled drowsily, startling Akira as she turned down to look at him.
“Oh, there you are, hun! Cheren took it upstairs for you since you were asleep.” She smiled goofily before setting down her wine glass. “I thought you got up a while ago.”
Lucas blinked. “N-no, I just woke up.. I’m gonna go eat though. Thanks.” He nodded before squeezing past the guest on the stairs and heading toward his room. He had no idea Cheren was already here.
He could’ve woken me up.
Upon reaching his room and opening the door, he looked to his lanky, black haired friend who laid lazily over his bed, eyes closed as the The Simpsons played quietly in the background. He smiled weakly at the sight of him before creeping past to grab his food which sat on the table beside the bed. It was still warm, so Lucas hadn’t been asleep as long as he thought he was.
He blinked upon realizing the majority of his favorite sides were picked out of though, especially the coleslaw. He gave Cheren a look before climbing onto the bed to eat. It was best to just leave Cheren be if he had to seek refugee in his room to rest, it was nearly midnight so he didn’t blame him.
A good 5 minutes passed before Lucas felt a jab in his side, causing him to squeak and turn around. To his side, Cheren laid there with his eyes wide, his glasses crooked from dozing off with a definite bed-head.
“What was that for?” Lucas hissed, turning away to face the TV again, face flushing lightly. He couldn’t stand when Cheren would poke his sides.
“I thought you were asleep downstairs.” He mumbled through a yawn, stretching his arms before sitting up. Lucas watched him, growing apprehensive as Cheren tossed his legs over the bedside and laid back again. He had tossed half of his body, leaving Lucas with little to no space. This wasn’t anything new though, so Lucas merely continued to eat.
“I fell asleep waiting for food.” He took a spoonful of macaroni and cheese and stuffed his mouth. “She said you brought it up here with you.”
“Oh, yeah. I did. It’s over there on your dresser.” Cheren smirked as Lucas froze with the spoon hanging out his mouth.
“O-Oh. Sorry.” He squeaked, setting the it down quickly, his face heating up with embarrassment. That explained the half eaten sides. He just assumed Cheren ate off of plate which he often did.
“It’s fine, keep eating. I couldn’t finish it up anyways.”
“A-Are you sure?”
“Yeah, it’s cool.”
Lucas looked back at him before continuing to eat; He was almost finished with what was left anyways.
“When did you get here?”
“Hm?” Cheren looked at him again.
“Did you get here when I was asleep?”
“Yeah, when I came in the door, you were dead on the couch.”
“Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“Your mom told me to leave you be since you were complaining about being tired.”
Cheren took off his glasses and wiped them clean with the sleeve of his sweater. He sat up a bit and stared at Lucas, who had shrunk in place as he stuffed his mouth.
“After we hang out, are you actually like, tired afterwards? Like we just started havin-”
“I only said I was tired to get my mom to make Ariana leave me alone. It has nothing to do with that.”
“Are you sure?”
“Y-yeah.” Lucas looked away, his face flushing. He stuffed his face with the remaining scraps of food hoping Cheren wouldn’t ask anything else. He’d only been tired from eating so much food all day, and didn’t want Cheren to think it had to do with what they did the day before. It’d probably make him feel bad, and that’s the last thing he wanted.
Cheren let out a sigh of relief before laying down again.
“I thought you were trying to avoid me.”
“What? No. I mean, it’s really late...I’m usually asleep around this time.”
A part of him hated how concerned Cheren would get, it was worse than how his own mother would bug him over his moodswings or the way Ariana would interview him. Ever since Cheren found out that the kids at school were regularly beating him up, he’d become extremely defensive, constantly finding a moment to check in on him or shoot him with a round a questions. Lucas appreciated the care, but it got a bit annoying because Cheren always assumed the worst of things.
Luckily, it seemed he caught the hint not to ask anything else since he changed the subject.
“...You know there’s a kid outside flying around? Atleast, earlier there was.”
Lucas looked to Cheren as he sat the plate down on the side table.
“You mean Barry?”
“...It has a name?”
“Yeah, that’s Vee’s new...cat I guess. Me and Ariana found him a couple of months ago. I thought I already told you about him.”
Cheren smirked and turned to the wall. “You did, but I can’t remember you mentioning it was a blonde.”
“Well, I didn't think you cared. I mean, he’s a goblin with wings that acts like a cat. Also, he’s a crybaby and he barely wants to do anything except lay around and play with yarn. It’s weird.”
“You’re saying that like it’s a bad thing!”
Lucas frowned and rolled his eyes. “He eats raw meat, Cheren. And dead animals, like bones and everything. He drags them in Vee’s house sometimes.”
“...Oh, holy fuck. What the fuck type of animal is it then?”
“A demon or somethin’, I dunno. At least that’s what he told me and Ariana. No one really knows for sure yet, but he acts like a kid so we could care less.”
Cheren blinked, sitting up. “She’s raising a demon?”
“I think so. I mean, he hasn’t tried possessing anyone yet and just wants to be pet and tossed a ball, so I think it’s a stupid one. It’d make sense since it’s living here on Earth.”
“That’s fuckin’ cool, man.”
“I...I guess.”
Lucas looked down at his pants and wiped the crumbs off. He’d grown a bit closer to Barry over the months, and had simply realized that Barry had to be a broken considering his demeanor. He’d cry over being yelled at, he always gave random people hugs (which lead to people freaking out over the fact a 3’5” toddler with claws was grabbing onto their legs), and actually found cooking fun. He did make killing wild animals a sport and still decided to eat roadkill instead of a bowl of spaghetti, but nonetheless, he was still soft. Definitely softer than what he heard demons would be. And due to this, questions of his existence became minimaland he was completely accepted into the neighborhood.
“It’s like, 6 minutes before the New Year, you know?”
“Wait, really?”
“Yeah. It’s 11:44 pm.” Cheren finally sat up completely, leaning on Lucas a bit which caused him to sink into his pillows. “You excited for the new year?”
Lucas blinked and nodded, adjusting his position so his legs wouldn’t fall asleep under Cheren’s weight.
“2004 is a weird number. That means in like, six more years in 2010, I’ll be 18.”
“You’ll be 20 in 2010, actually.” Cheren snorted as Lucas counted on his fingers quickly to check his math.
“Oh. Oh, well I knew that. I just...got the numbers mixed up.”
“I know, it’s alright. But that’s not what you should be excited about...” Lucas felt his arms wrap around his waist as Cheren pulled him close. He squinted off into the distance as his messy head of hair drifted toward his own.
“So, I asked your mom if she’d be alright with you coming with me for summer vacation next year.”
“Wait, really?” Lucas looked at him, startled at the news. Cheren had mentioned it before, but never thought he’d actually go through with it.
“Yeah. Had to ask your dad too, he’s chill with it since he says you do nothing but hang out with Ariana or paint dogs all day. He was actually really happy about it. He thinks I’m cool. I managed to fool him, ha!”
“Holy shit.” Lucas gaped. “So, I’m going?”
“Yeah, they said it was alright as long as you pass next semester with no C’s.”
“...I...Er…”
“You know I’ll make sure that happens.”
“Oh, thank God.” Lucas sighed. Ending the year with no C’s was damn near impossible without Cheren’s help, especially when it came to his Algebra lessons. And it wasn’t that he would just do his homework, Cheren would actually force him to do problems until he understood what he was doing wrong at first since he could never follow the lessons with the rest of his class.
“It’s gonna be really fun, I’ve been planning this for so long! I even made a list of spots I wanna take you to before we go to my house.” Cheren tightened his grip around Lucas, causing a squeak to escape his mouth as the two of them rolled across the bed. He let him go temporarily before bumping noses with him.
“There’s one minute left. Do you have any wishes for 2004?” Cheren grinned, looking Lucas in the eye as he fixed his glasses.
Lucas merely stared back, blushing hard before averting his eyes.
“Uh...I...I don’t know. I hadn’t thought about it. Do you have any?”
“Maybe. Can’t say, because then they might not come true.”
“What are they about?”
Cheren ignored the question as counting down could be heard downstairs.
“Oh, shit. We’re missing it.”
“No, no, we’re not. Stay here.” Cheren pulled Lucas back down onto the bed, leaning on his stomach. Lucas held his breath as his mentor lowered his face toward his own, his heart began racing immediately against his touch.
“I thought...it’d be nice if we went into the new year together, like this.” Cheren smiled softly, cupping his hand behind Lucas’s head. “You know, a lot of people do this sort of thing.”
“Oh, uh. Yeah.” Lucas managed to get out, trying to keep himself composed. Kissing on New Years was something he knew his parents would do, and other adults. It felt so weird to actually be doing so himself.
I’m 13 now. This is okay.
The moment cheers erupted from beneath them, Cheren pressed his lips against Lucas’s, sinking him into a kiss. Lucas stared at his forehead temporarily before allowing himself to accept it.
It’s not hurting anyone.
It wasn’t as if this was the first time they kissed, but it was different...especially considering the circumstances. They’d never do this with a full house of people, especially knowing his father was downstairs and could walk in any second if he wanted to. Lucas couldn’t help but grin into Cheren’s lips, weakly attempting to put his arms around him. It wouldn’t hurt to return the affection but it got awkward when his arms couldn’t reach past his sides.
I can’t do this.
Embarrassed, Lucas broke the kiss, turning his head away from Cheren’s who merely took that as a chance to proceed down his collarbone. He winced as Cheren pulled against the collar of his T-shirt to run his tongue down his neck, instinctively making Lucas shove his head away.
“W-We can’t do that, Cheren. Everyone is downstairs.”
Cheren stared at him blankly before rolling his eyes. He let out a sigh before sitting up off of Lucas.
“You always ruin the mood.”
“I-I didn’t try to but, I don’t want to get in trouble.”
“Has anyone come upstairs yet?”
“...No..but they might. We didn’t go downstairs for the countdown so-”
Cheren pressed his finger against his lips with a smile, causing Lucas to go silent, burning with anxiety.
“Shhh, it’s alright. Come on. Don’t go into the new year being a pussy.”
“A-Ah...Alrig-”
“ALEEEEXX!! WHERE ARE YOU!” Ariana’s voice echoed through the stairs, causing Lucas to jump up frantically and shove Cheren away.
“I told you someone would come!” He hissed, trying to fix his shirt, brushing himself off awkwardly. Cheren simply stared at him before sitting back lazily, taking off his glasses to wipe them off.
“It’s just Ariana.” He snorted.
“Exactly. It’s Ariana.”
It was only seconds before she arrived at his door, trailing behind her was Barry who had a burnt-out sparkler in his mouth. The both of them were wearing coats since they had gone outside to play with the fireworks.
“You missed the WHOOOOOOOLLLEEE THING, ALEX!!! They shot off HUUUGE fireworks! And the countdown on TV was so cool!” Ariana bounced up and down, as she motioned what happened with her hands. Barry had sat down beside her, wagging his tail as he stared off at Cheren.
“I’ve seen it every other year, you don’t have to explain what happened.” Lucas hissed, leaning against his bed. “Is that the only reason you came up here?”
“Well, yeah. OH! I was wondering if you wanted to help me and Barry shoot off the rest of the fireworks with the neighborhood kids. Aaaand, hi Cheren! I like your sweater!” Ariana smiled brightly before rocking on the heels of her shoes.
Cheren gave her a thumbs up as Lucas groaned. He really didn’t want to go hang out with the other kids since alot of them liked to pick on him, but it he also didn’t want to sit around Cheren since he was being pushy. He frowned, trying to balance his choices.
I could always just go down and hang out with m-
“Is anyone out there watching you guys shoot the fireworks?” Cheren interrupted his thoughts.
“Nuh, my mama and Lucas’s mama are downstairs with all the other adults. Kathy is outside though, but she’s smoking.” Ariana squeaked.
“Huh. Someone needs to make sure you don’t set eachother on fire. I’ll go out there.”
Lucas watched Cheren as he stood up, stretching before heading down the stairs.
Well, I guess that settles it.
“Give me a second to grab my coat...I’ll be out in a second.” Lucas mumbled, heading toward his closet clumsily. Ariana squealed before running down the stairs, leaving Barry sitting at his door.
Lucas turned around to face him, scowling as he slipped into one of his more comfortable jackets. It was warmer than usual tonight, so it wouldn’t be necessary to go out in his snow coat.
“Why do you keep staring at me? You’re starting to act like Ariana now.” He hissed as he zipped it up.
Barry sat down the worn out sparkler and whipped his tail.
“Your friend is weird.”
“You mean Cheren?”
“Yeah. He seems different compared to the other adults downstairs.”
“He’s younger than them, that’s why. Not all adults act the same, Barry.”
“That’s, that’s not it. It’s something else.”
“What? Are you talking about how he’s gay?”
Barry blinked, his tail going still.
Lucas rolled his eyes before grabbing his shoes.
“He doesn’t want you, if you’re worried about it. He doesn’t like ugly cat people.”
“He’s gay?” Barry followed behind him.
“Er...Yeah. You know what that means right?”
Barry shook his head, embarrassed.
“Are you serious?”
“I’m still learning your human lingo, dude.”
Lucas sighed, pinching his nose. He really didn’t want to explain it.
“Its...it’s like when two guys like each other instead of the normal. You know, like a girl and a boy.” His face flushed as he dropped his sneakers, slipping into them.
“Oh! That’s was normal down in Hell, you know. We don’t call it being gay.”
Lucas’s stomach churned upon hearing that.
“That’s not very comforting, Barry.”
“What do you mean? It’s not normal here?”
“Have you been paying attention on Earth the past two months?”
“Well, yeah. Don’t have much else to do.”
“Do you ever see two guys hold hands together when you’re outside?”
“...” Barry sat back and looked off into the distance as if he were rewinding his thoughts. It was only a second before shaking his head.
“That’s because you get beat up if you do that.”
“Seriously?” Barry whipped his tail and frowned. “Man, you humans are weird. You guys beat each other up over everything.”
“I know. It’s...stupid.” He tied up his shoes and looked down the staircase. Cheren must have already gone outside with Ariana and the others at this point considering he could hear the sizzling pops of the fireworks.
“That’s not the weird thing about him, though.”
Lucas looked back to Barry.
“...what is it then?”
“He’s got some really long legs. It’s weird. I’ve never seen a human with legs like that.”
Lucas couldn’t hold in his giggle at his observation, he always thought the same thing.
“Yeah, he does.”
---------------------------------------------------------
June 2004
“Honey, are you sure you have everything? You have your toothbrush, right? Oh, do you have your sketchbook? Oh, okay, you do...wait! Cheren does know about your athsm-”
“Mom, I have everything, and yes he knows! I have my inhaler! I’ll be okay! I’ll call you, I promise.” Lucas groaned, shutting the trunk of Cheren’s car. He had just tossed his last bag into its tiny space, securing the items he needed for his month long trip.
Akira stood on the sidewalk, twiddling her fingers apprehensively as she watched her son approach her once again. She stared down at him before deeply exhaling, allowing a small smile to come across her face.
“I can’t believe my boy’s going to Michigan without me…” She sighed weakly before kneeling down to Lucas. “I wanted to take you when your father was in town, but ever since Cheren told me he wanted to take you instead, I couldn’t bring myself to do a double-trip!”
“It’s alright, ma. It’s only for June. We can probably go together next year or something. I think Cheren would be alright with that.”
“Yes, yes. I know. I think you might enjoy it more with Cheren anyways, I heard he has a very nice house up there. Not many kids get a chance like this, you know, honey!”
“I know.” Lucas flushed and scratched his neck.
“My big boy doing big boy things! I’m so proud of you! Usually, you’d be clinging to my legs, sobbing to stay home! It’s so nice to see you finally wanting to get out.”
“Y-yeah, I know…”
“You have all my numbers memorized, right? Mine and your daddy’s?”
“Yes. Uh, your cell...dad’s cell...and the house number.”
“Do you remember Vee’s?”
“....” Lucas stared off into the distance, trying to remember the digits. “I...I don’t.”
“Oh, it’s alright. I’ll give them to Cheren.” Akira stood up as she looked to Cheren who climbed down the porch’s steps, a popsicle stick hanging from the corner of his mouth. He was wearing a flannel tied around his waist, his glasses hiding his eyes due to the intensity of the sun.
He looked to Lucas and Akira momentarily before taking the popsicle in his hand.
“Is Lucas ready?” He yawned.
“Yes. You have our cell numbers registered, right?” Akira had turned to Cheren, still tense. Lucas shoved his hands in his pocket as he leaned against the door of the car. He, himself was still quite scared to know he’d be away from his mother for an entire month in an entirely new state. He wasn’t fond of being seperated from her for long times, or his house for the matter, so the thought of getting to Michigan and not immediately having a way to go home made his stomach churn and bubble.
He focused on keeping his breathing stable with the thought of Cheren making sure he’d be fine. He knew he’d be safe going with his mentor, and he’d have a phone to call her anytime he needed, so it’d be fine. He needed to grow out of being a pussy who clung to their mother at all times anyways. It was one of the main reasons kids picked on him; he was scared of everyone and everything, and never did anything interesting other than sit around. Cheren’s description of their trip seemed to satisfy his needs to grow: hanging around, snacks and video games. Cheren expressed how they’d be spending time with his old college friends who were alot like him so he’d have nothing to worry about. His heart fluttered with excitement with the thought of hanging around the older, cooler people who wouldn’t push him around for being the way he was.
I’ll be okay.
“Lucas, come on, we gotta head out now if we wanna get there before it gets too late!” Cheren called out, interrupting his thoughts. He blinked, leaning off the door before turning to him. Cheren was already opening the driver door and climbing into the car.
We’re...leaving.
Lucas shifted uncomfortably.
“Mom.”
Akira stretched her arms out from the sidewalk, a teary smile plastered on her face. Lucas couldn’t help but run into her welcoming hug and cling for a few seconds. It wouldn’t hurt since he wouldn’t be able to do so for a while.
“I’ll miss you, I’ll call you.” He mumbled into her shoulder as she held him tight.
“I’ll call you too, honey. I love you, please have fun and stay safe. If you get homesick, mommy’s at home and you know you can call.”
“I know. I love you, too. Bye.”
“Bye honey!”
Lucas climbed into the passenger seat clumsily and clicked his seatbelt into place. Cheren sat silently in the driver's seat, the popsicle hanging from the corner of his mouth.
“You ready?”
“Yeah.”
And with that, they drove off.
next chapter