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Happy birthday, baby! This is for Lyndsey, who wanted a story about our demons. :) If anyone else is curious enough to read it, for an explanation of what a chibble is, see the illustration about halfway through the story.
Title: Ensemble
Author: Clay
Characters: Damien, Josué, Justin, Mr. Peaches and Gwen!
Rating: PG
Summary: A snapshot in the lives of three demons. Having lost their families in one way or another, they’ve found one another and formed a little family of their own.
Word Count: just shy of 3,500
The bell over the door jingled as it closed after the last patron of the day. With a satisfied sigh, Damien flipped the sign from open to closed before bringing down the blinds and throwing up the cursory wards—nothing complex, just enough to keep out any thieves or vandals—simple enough for even his limited skills in magic.
“Josh?” he called, throwing a look over his shoulder toward the cash register, where his best friend was slouching, the very picture of bored out of his mind. “Could you count down?”
With an overly dramatic sigh, Josué pushed himself away from the counter to stand up straight. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say.”
Frowning now, Damien crossed over to him just as the drawer popped open. “You didn’t have to come in today,” he said quietly. “Justin and I can handle the store by ourselves.”
“I never said I didn’t want to come in.”
“You didn’t have to.”
Sighing, his lips drawn down into a pronounced frown, Josué muttered, “Whatever. It‘s fine.”
“If it’s so fine, then why are you acting like it’s a chore?” Damien crossed his arms over his chest, and Josué rolled his eyes, finally looking up.
Because, Damien. It is a chore.” At Damien’s raised eyebrows, he amended, “Well, it’s work. You can’t say it’s not. And I’d rather be out fucking with ogres.”
“Then go. No one’s stopping you.”
“Yeah, but…” Josué waved vaguely in Justin’s direction. “You know, the kid…”
Damien leveled a look at him. “What about him?”
“We’re doing this to help him, right?”
“And you think this is helping?” Damien uncrossed his arms, gesturing widely to Josué. “He’s not a burden, Josh, he’s a child!” He paused then, suddenly realizing how loud he’d gotten. Dropping his voice dramatically, Damien leaned across the counted to whisper, “And when we promised to take care of him, that included his parents store. It’s the only think he has left of them. I know you understand that.” He searched Josué’s eyes, seeing a flicker of emotion within them before Josué turned away.
Shutting the register drawer, Josué nodded slightly to himself. “I think maybe you’re right. I’m just going to take off.”
Damien let out a breath, physically deflating. “All right,” he said. He nodded and licked his lips. “Will you be home for dinner?”
With a strained chuckle, Josué came out from behind the counter. He looked up at Damien incredulously. “Dinner? We’re not playing house, Damien. You can run the store and watch the kid all you like, but you’re not my little wife, and he…” he pointed to Justin, his hand wavering slightly as his voice dropped, “…is not my son.”
A flash of guilt stole through Damien, and he ducked his head, frowning as he counted, “I know, Josh, I know, but we’re a family now—the only family any of us has. We’ve all lost someone—”
Josué put up a hand with a loud laugh, shaking his head. “Are you serious? Who have you lost, Dame? Jonathan? The man that killed Justin’s parents and my wife and son? Because last I checked, your psychotic brother was alive and well, and you were still making excuses for his bat shit insane behavior…or has that changed?”
Damien swallowed. “I know you don’t understand—”
“Look, whatever,” Josué said, breezing past him. “Just don’t expect my sympathy.”
Blowing out a breath, Damien reached out as Josué passed him, grabbing his arm and holding him in place. “I don‘t,” he said. “I would never ask that of you, but you can’t expect me to stop loving him. He’s still my brother, no matter what he‘s done.”
He waited a moment, and finally Josué sighed, his shoulders slumping as the fight went out of him. With a slight nod, he looked back and met Damien’s eyes. “All right, I’m being an ass. I’m sorry. “ Damien let him go, and he continued, softer now, “You’re right. We’re all in the same boat here. We‘ve all lost someone…and we all deal with that differently, Dame. Fucking with ogres and chasing fairies is how I deal.”
“But you’ll be back for dinner?”
Josué looked away, shrugging. “I’ll try.”
When the bell jingled again, closing after Josué now, Damien felt anything but satisfied. He scrubbed a hand over his face before taking a step toward the door himself. With a thumb and forefinger he parted the blinds and peered out into Hell’s perpetual night, watching Josué as he disappeared down the street.
Deep under the earth’s crust, the voluminous caves that made up the demon kingdom were toasty and dry, forever lit up like Las Vegas with glittering fairy lights and magic fires. The landscape itself wasn’t far off from a desert, either. Pale, scrubby, low lying plants were few and far between, poking up from the packed dirt and rock. Stray chibbles roamed the streets like tumbleweed.
Damien scowled. It was a far cry from the small castle he’d grown up in, surrounded by the lushness of the black forest. The lake and the gated gardens, playing chess with Jonathan while the sun set over Strasbourg, cooking dinner for his brother and father while the hebiki begged for grapes at his feet—god, how he missed it all. The worst of it, he felt, was how you couldn’t see the sky in hell. It always left him feeling antsy and claustrophobic.
With a sigh, he turned from the window, only to find Justin standing immediately before him.
He jumped, giving a small gasp, then chuckled lightly as his heart calmed. With a smile and a shake of the head, he reached out, patting Justin on the head. “Hey, kid. Everything all right?”
“You don’t have to come anymore,” Justin said softly. He was hugging a chibble to his chest. “If you don’t want to. I can do it myself.”
His smile wavering slightly, Damien nodded. “I know you can, but I want to help. I’m not leaving you alone.”
“I’m not alone,” Justin said. The chibble cooed softly, as if backing up the statement.
Damien sighed, brushing past him on the way to the register. With Josué gone, he still had to count down and lock up the money for the evening. “I’m not leaving,” he said again. The rug behind the counter was askew, revealing the blood stained wooden floor boards beneath. With another sigh, Damien kicked the rug into place before opening the register.
He could feel Justin’s eyes on him as he counted the coins, but he didn’t look up.
“I can take care of myself.”
Damien bit back his frustration. “What do you want for dinner?”
“You don’t have to—”
“Look,” Damien snapped, slamming a hand down on the counter, and startling Justin into silence. He looked up, and they locked eyes. “I said I want to be here, and I don’t care if you don’t believe me. It’s the truth. Now what do you want for dinner?”
For a few seconds, Justin just stared at him. The chibble, completely oblivious, snuggled into his arms, cooing contently. Slowly, Justin seemed to relax, his shoulders dropping slightly. He looked almost grateful. “Spaghetti,” he said.
Damien nodded, relaxing enough himself to give Justin a small half-smile. “Spaghetti it is.”
* * *
Damien ran a finger along the jars of emotion lined neatly along the wooden rack. Normally he’d throw a healthy dose of Betrayal in with the sauce, but he was running low and another emotion would have to do. Envy was a little too tangy to meld properly with the tomatoes, and Anger was a little too peppery. Finally deciding on Apathy, he uncorked the bottle and sprinkled it in. It wouldn’t do much to enhance the flavor profile he was trying to create, but at least it wouldn’t ruin the dish, and besides, he thought, listening to Justin playing at the kitchen table, kids rarely appreciated fine cuisine.
The chibble from earlier sat on the counter, his brain stalk flat against his back, eyes large and fixed on every move Damien made. Damien replaced the Apathy and gave the sauce a stir, catching sight of him out of the corner of his eye. Slowly, he slid his gaze over until he and the chibble were staring straight at one another.
“Can I help you?” Damien asked.
The chibble scooted closer. “Cooooo….”
“Justin?”
“Mm?” Justin looked up from where he was toying with a spirograph.
“Tell me again why we couldn’t leave this one at the store with the others?”
“That’s Mr. Peaches!” Justin exclaimed, like Damien was expected to remember its name. “He was my father’s!”
“Yeah,” Damien snorted, throwing him a look. “I know. Your parents had, like, two dozen of these…things.” He furrowed his brow and pushed Mr. Peaches away, only to have him scoot closer still. From the other side of the stove, Gwen gave a warning hiss before curling possessively around Damien’s arm.
“You better come get him,” Damien suggested, grinning as Gwen slid along his shoulders, flicking her tongue decisively at Mr. Peaches, then casually baring her fangs. “I don’t think Gwen likes the attention he’s paying me.”
With a good natured sigh, Justin finally came over, scooping up Mr. Peaches and saving Damien from its creepy stare. “And you call me the kid,“ he muttered, shaking his head. Cuddling Mr. Peaches close, he looked up at Damien earnestly, his voice taking on a note of pride. “They liked taking in strays,” he said gently, smiling at Damien as though he’d understand that. “But Mr. Peaches was my dad’s favorite.
“Besides,” he added, twirling around and wandering back across the room, “he likes you!”
“Oh, joy,” Damien muttered. He shook his head, coaxing Gwen off him before finishing up dinner. He set about draining the pasta, calling out. “Feed him or kick him out or something because we’re about to eat, and I don‘t want him begging. Oh, and clean off the table, too.”
“Eat?” Justin said. He looked over to Damien, frowning, and placed Mr. Peaches on the ground. “Shouldn’t we wait for Josué?”
Damien frowned as he heaped the pasta into a serving dish. He opened his mouth, but then shut it without uttering a word.
“He’s not coming to dinner, is he?”
“He’ll come home when he‘s finished doing his thing,” Damien said.
“And don’t you start up with this ‘you don’t have to take care of me if you don’t want to’ bullshit again,” he added, spinning around and catching Justin just as he was sucking in a breath to speak. Justin snapped his mouth closed as Damien set the pasta down on the table. “That’s not what this is about, and you haven’t cleaned off the table yet.”
Justin paused, blinking, then nodded, muttering an apology as he hurriedly scrabbled to gather his papers and pens. Damien finished setting the table, and they sat down to eat a few minutes later, with Gwen and Mr. Peaches skittering about the floor, alternately begging for food and hissing at one another. Justin slipped them both half a meat ball, then blushed hotly when he sat up and found Damien watching him accusingly.
“Justin, what did I say?”
He looked down at his plate and pushed the pasta around, saying, “Okay, but I have a question! If it’s not about that, then what is it about?”
“What are you talking about?”
Justin looked up at Damien cautiously through his lashes. “Josué. Why isn’t he here? I know you guys were yelling in the store. Is he mad at me?”
Damien stabbed a meat ball with his fork. “Are you trying to distract me from the fact that you’re feeding the animals?”
“No!” Justin exclaimed. “I’m serious. I want to know. Is it…he doesn’t like me, does he?”
With a heavy sigh, Damien lay his fork down. He reached across the table, laying his hand over Justin’s. “No. Stop thinking like that. Josh…he….” With another sigh, Damien pulled his hand back. He took up his fork once more, but he didn’t eat, instead toying with the pasta on his plate. “Being with us here…I think it reminds him a little too much of his family.”
“I make him think about his son,” Justin realized, nodding along. He thought on that for a moment, then shrugged. “He’s going to need to face that.”
His bluntness brought a smile to Damien’s lips, and he leaned back, casually twirling his pasta. “Oh does he now?”
“Of course,” Justin said. He split another meatball for Gwen and Mr. Peaches, then looked back to Damien earnestly. “He’ll never be happy living in the past.”
For a moment Damien could only stare at him, then he smiled, lifting his fork to his lips. “You are way too smart for your own good, you know that?”
Justin smiled back, saying softly, “My dad used to say that all the time.”
“Well, it’s true,” Damien agreed. “And Justin?”
Justin looked up at him curiously.
“No feeding the animals!”
* * *
Dinner went pleasantly enough after that, and when it was over, Justin retired to his room—actually Josué’s, though the latter had given up the bed happily after Justin moved in, having a preference for sleeping on the couch anyway—while Damien cleaned up.
He checked on Justin once, but the kid was already in bed, fast asleep. His drawing things from earlier were spread on the floor. With a fond sigh, Damien gathered them up, pausing just once as he noted the scribbled form of both a man and woman in the lower corner of the otherwise very mechanical drawings. He wondered if they were meant to be Justin’s parents.
Josué came in just as Damien was heading back to his own room. The front door slammed closed, signaling his entrance, and Damien cringed. He looked over to see Justin shifting in his bed and hurriedly slipped out of the room, throwing a look around the darkened hallway.
“Josh, is that you?” he whispered.
Josué came stumbling around the corner, a wide smile spread across his mud splattered cheeks. Damien watched him for a moment, unable to help but smiling, himself, as he shook his head at his friend. Josué was filthy, not only covered in mud, but with a fair few cuts and scrapes as well. He was practically limping and obviously tired, but he looked a lot better off mentally than he had earlier that day.
“Hey,” Josué greeted, clapping him on the back as he worked his way toward the bathroom.
“Why do you do this to yourself?” Damien shot back, still watching him with a wry smile.
Josué laughed and shrugged. “Hey, I don’t knock your hobbies. Cooking?” He pulled a face. “What’s up with that?
“Speaking of which, tell me there’s food,” he added to the backdrop of Damien’s laughter.
“Yeah,” Damien assured him. “Leftover spaghetti in the fridge.”
“Awesome.” He nodded toward the bathroom. “I’m gonna shower before I eat. You heading to bed?” Damien nodded, and Josué grinned. “Good night, then. See you in the morning.”
“See ya.”
Damien looked after him, long after he’d disappeared into the bathroom. As much as tousling with ogres seemed to please Josué, Damien had to wonder if one day they’d get the better of him. Justin was right; the sooner he got past Penelope and Etienne’s deaths, the better.
With a deep sigh, he started to his room, but stopped, starting horribly as a voice called out his name from behind him. Spinning around, he found a sleepy eyed Justin half hidden behind the doorjamb of his bedroom’s entrance.
Damien put a hand to his chest and let out a breath. “Damn it. You have to stop sneaking up on me like that.”
Justin frowned. “I wasn’t sneaking up on you. You were being loud and not listening.”
“Oh, is that right?” Damien shot back, putting his hands on his hips.
“You woke me up,” Justin pointed out, and any cockiness on Damien’s part fell away immediately.
“Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry about that,” he said, reaching forward to pat Justin on the head. “Go back to sleep, all right? I promise we’ll be quiet.”
Justin gave a short nod, and Damien turned away, once more headed toward his own room when he heard his name called out again. Turning his head, he saw Justin had shuffled a little further out into the hall. “What is it, honey?”
Mr. Peaches was crowded at Justin’s feet, his brain stalk curled affectionately around Justin’s ankle. Justin watched the chibble rather than meet Damien’s eyes as he asked, “Can I sleep with you tonight?”
Damien paused a moment, just studying the boy, then gave a short nod, smiling. “Of course. Come on.”
He herded both Justin and—much to his consternation—Mr. Peaches into the room before sliding the door shut behind them. He slipped into bed, then held the blanket up as Justin slipped in beside him and curled up against his side. Mr. Peaches cooed softly before snuggling in at the foot of the bed next to Gwen, who opened one sleepy eye before decided he wasn’t worth her trouble and going back to sleep.
Damien waited for Justin to settle down, then pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “Think you can sleep now?”
He felt Justin nod against him and closed his eyes.
A few minutes later, however, the silence was interrupted with a quiet, “Damien?”
“Mm?”
“Are you asleep?”
Damien smiled. He pulled Justin a little tighter against him, saying, “No, not yet. You all right?”
Justin didn’t answer right away. He didn’t even move to nod or shake his head. For nearly a full minute there was absolute silence before Justin finally said, “He looked sad.”
Damien’s smile was replaced by a confused frown, and he opened his eyes, looking down at Justin, but Justin wasn’t looking at him. Instead he was staring into the darkness on the far side of the room, his eyes shiny and unfocused, as though he was looking into a memory.
“Who looked sad? Josh?”
“No,” Justin said. He curled a little tighter against Damien’s side. “It happened so fast. My da—my dad was teaching me how to use the register, and then he was dead, and there was…it was all red, and then my mom was dead, and I don’t remember how it happened. I was so confused, and he…he just looked sad.”
“Jonathan,” Damien whispered, horror falling over him. He’d never heard Justin talk about his parents’ deaths before.
Justin nodded. He wiped at his cheek, and Damien realized he was crying. “I don’t think he meant to do it. I think it was an accident. He looked really sad. I feel really bad for him.”
“Honey,” Damien said. He wanted to say more, but what could he say? He pulled Justin into a tight hug, rubbing his back between his wings.
Justin hugged him back just as tightly, pressing his face into Damien’s chest. This close, Damien could feel the hitching of his breath and the shakiness of his lungs as he fought to control his breathing. His voice was still oddly calm, however, as he said, “I’m sorry you lost your brother, Damien.”
Damien swallowed. “Justin…”
“It’s almost worse than me or Josh because your family is still there, but they don’t…they don’t want you.”
“Wow,” Damien said, raising his eyebrows. “Harsh, kid.”
“What?” Justin popped his head up, his eyes widening. “I’m sorry, I didn’t—”
“It’s okay,” Damien hurried to assure him, placing two fingers over Justin’s mouth with a smile. “I wasn’t serious.” He took his hand away, then reached out to stroke a soothing path down the back of Justin’s skull. “Besides, I still have a family.” Justin watched him curiously. “I have you.” A crash in the hallway followed by muffled cursing signaled Josué exiting the bathroom, and Damien’s smile widened. “And I have Josh. We all have each other.
“Do you remember what I said to you in the store today?” he asked after another moment of silence.
Justin frowned, searching his memory, but Damien saved him, telling him, “I’m not leaving you.” He smiled at Justin, letting his hand rest at the back of Justin’s neck, then giving it a reassuring squeeze. “You’re stuck with me, kid.”
Slowly, Justin smiled back at him. He lay his head back down on Damien’s chest, and together they listened to Josh stumble his way into the kitchen. “Then you‘re stuck with me, too,” Justin whispered.
Damien relaxed back into the pillows and closed his eyes. He hugged Justin tightly for a long time before finally loosening his grip, a satisfied smile on his lips. “Go to sleep, kid.”
“Damien?”
“Mm?”
“I love you.”
Damien smiled in the darkness and hugged Justin close. “I love you, too.”
The end!!
Title: Ensemble
Author: Clay
Characters: Damien, Josué, Justin, Mr. Peaches and Gwen!
Rating: PG
Summary: A snapshot in the lives of three demons. Having lost their families in one way or another, they’ve found one another and formed a little family of their own.
Word Count: just shy of 3,500
The bell over the door jingled as it closed after the last patron of the day. With a satisfied sigh, Damien flipped the sign from open to closed before bringing down the blinds and throwing up the cursory wards—nothing complex, just enough to keep out any thieves or vandals—simple enough for even his limited skills in magic.
“Josh?” he called, throwing a look over his shoulder toward the cash register, where his best friend was slouching, the very picture of bored out of his mind. “Could you count down?”
With an overly dramatic sigh, Josué pushed himself away from the counter to stand up straight. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say.”
Frowning now, Damien crossed over to him just as the drawer popped open. “You didn’t have to come in today,” he said quietly. “Justin and I can handle the store by ourselves.”
“I never said I didn’t want to come in.”
“You didn’t have to.”
Sighing, his lips drawn down into a pronounced frown, Josué muttered, “Whatever. It‘s fine.”
“If it’s so fine, then why are you acting like it’s a chore?” Damien crossed his arms over his chest, and Josué rolled his eyes, finally looking up.
Because, Damien. It is a chore.” At Damien’s raised eyebrows, he amended, “Well, it’s work. You can’t say it’s not. And I’d rather be out fucking with ogres.”
“Then go. No one’s stopping you.”
“Yeah, but…” Josué waved vaguely in Justin’s direction. “You know, the kid…”
Damien leveled a look at him. “What about him?”
“We’re doing this to help him, right?”
“And you think this is helping?” Damien uncrossed his arms, gesturing widely to Josué. “He’s not a burden, Josh, he’s a child!” He paused then, suddenly realizing how loud he’d gotten. Dropping his voice dramatically, Damien leaned across the counted to whisper, “And when we promised to take care of him, that included his parents store. It’s the only think he has left of them. I know you understand that.” He searched Josué’s eyes, seeing a flicker of emotion within them before Josué turned away.
Shutting the register drawer, Josué nodded slightly to himself. “I think maybe you’re right. I’m just going to take off.”
Damien let out a breath, physically deflating. “All right,” he said. He nodded and licked his lips. “Will you be home for dinner?”
With a strained chuckle, Josué came out from behind the counter. He looked up at Damien incredulously. “Dinner? We’re not playing house, Damien. You can run the store and watch the kid all you like, but you’re not my little wife, and he…” he pointed to Justin, his hand wavering slightly as his voice dropped, “…is not my son.”
A flash of guilt stole through Damien, and he ducked his head, frowning as he counted, “I know, Josh, I know, but we’re a family now—the only family any of us has. We’ve all lost someone—”
Josué put up a hand with a loud laugh, shaking his head. “Are you serious? Who have you lost, Dame? Jonathan? The man that killed Justin’s parents and my wife and son? Because last I checked, your psychotic brother was alive and well, and you were still making excuses for his bat shit insane behavior…or has that changed?”
Damien swallowed. “I know you don’t understand—”
“Look, whatever,” Josué said, breezing past him. “Just don’t expect my sympathy.”
Blowing out a breath, Damien reached out as Josué passed him, grabbing his arm and holding him in place. “I don‘t,” he said. “I would never ask that of you, but you can’t expect me to stop loving him. He’s still my brother, no matter what he‘s done.”
He waited a moment, and finally Josué sighed, his shoulders slumping as the fight went out of him. With a slight nod, he looked back and met Damien’s eyes. “All right, I’m being an ass. I’m sorry. “ Damien let him go, and he continued, softer now, “You’re right. We’re all in the same boat here. We‘ve all lost someone…and we all deal with that differently, Dame. Fucking with ogres and chasing fairies is how I deal.”
“But you’ll be back for dinner?”
Josué looked away, shrugging. “I’ll try.”
When the bell jingled again, closing after Josué now, Damien felt anything but satisfied. He scrubbed a hand over his face before taking a step toward the door himself. With a thumb and forefinger he parted the blinds and peered out into Hell’s perpetual night, watching Josué as he disappeared down the street.
Deep under the earth’s crust, the voluminous caves that made up the demon kingdom were toasty and dry, forever lit up like Las Vegas with glittering fairy lights and magic fires. The landscape itself wasn’t far off from a desert, either. Pale, scrubby, low lying plants were few and far between, poking up from the packed dirt and rock. Stray chibbles roamed the streets like tumbleweed.
Damien scowled. It was a far cry from the small castle he’d grown up in, surrounded by the lushness of the black forest. The lake and the gated gardens, playing chess with Jonathan while the sun set over Strasbourg, cooking dinner for his brother and father while the hebiki begged for grapes at his feet—god, how he missed it all. The worst of it, he felt, was how you couldn’t see the sky in hell. It always left him feeling antsy and claustrophobic.
With a sigh, he turned from the window, only to find Justin standing immediately before him.
He jumped, giving a small gasp, then chuckled lightly as his heart calmed. With a smile and a shake of the head, he reached out, patting Justin on the head. “Hey, kid. Everything all right?”
“You don’t have to come anymore,” Justin said softly. He was hugging a chibble to his chest. “If you don’t want to. I can do it myself.”
His smile wavering slightly, Damien nodded. “I know you can, but I want to help. I’m not leaving you alone.”
“I’m not alone,” Justin said. The chibble cooed softly, as if backing up the statement.
Damien sighed, brushing past him on the way to the register. With Josué gone, he still had to count down and lock up the money for the evening. “I’m not leaving,” he said again. The rug behind the counter was askew, revealing the blood stained wooden floor boards beneath. With another sigh, Damien kicked the rug into place before opening the register.
He could feel Justin’s eyes on him as he counted the coins, but he didn’t look up.
“I can take care of myself.”
Damien bit back his frustration. “What do you want for dinner?”
“You don’t have to—”
“Look,” Damien snapped, slamming a hand down on the counter, and startling Justin into silence. He looked up, and they locked eyes. “I said I want to be here, and I don’t care if you don’t believe me. It’s the truth. Now what do you want for dinner?”
For a few seconds, Justin just stared at him. The chibble, completely oblivious, snuggled into his arms, cooing contently. Slowly, Justin seemed to relax, his shoulders dropping slightly. He looked almost grateful. “Spaghetti,” he said.
Damien nodded, relaxing enough himself to give Justin a small half-smile. “Spaghetti it is.”
Damien ran a finger along the jars of emotion lined neatly along the wooden rack. Normally he’d throw a healthy dose of Betrayal in with the sauce, but he was running low and another emotion would have to do. Envy was a little too tangy to meld properly with the tomatoes, and Anger was a little too peppery. Finally deciding on Apathy, he uncorked the bottle and sprinkled it in. It wouldn’t do much to enhance the flavor profile he was trying to create, but at least it wouldn’t ruin the dish, and besides, he thought, listening to Justin playing at the kitchen table, kids rarely appreciated fine cuisine.
The chibble from earlier sat on the counter, his brain stalk flat against his back, eyes large and fixed on every move Damien made. Damien replaced the Apathy and gave the sauce a stir, catching sight of him out of the corner of his eye. Slowly, he slid his gaze over until he and the chibble were staring straight at one another.
“Can I help you?” Damien asked.
The chibble scooted closer. “Cooooo….”
“Justin?”
“Mm?” Justin looked up from where he was toying with a spirograph.
“Tell me again why we couldn’t leave this one at the store with the others?”
“That’s Mr. Peaches!” Justin exclaimed, like Damien was expected to remember its name. “He was my father’s!”
“Yeah,” Damien snorted, throwing him a look. “I know. Your parents had, like, two dozen of these…things.” He furrowed his brow and pushed Mr. Peaches away, only to have him scoot closer still. From the other side of the stove, Gwen gave a warning hiss before curling possessively around Damien’s arm.
“You better come get him,” Damien suggested, grinning as Gwen slid along his shoulders, flicking her tongue decisively at Mr. Peaches, then casually baring her fangs. “I don’t think Gwen likes the attention he’s paying me.”
With a good natured sigh, Justin finally came over, scooping up Mr. Peaches and saving Damien from its creepy stare. “And you call me the kid,“ he muttered, shaking his head. Cuddling Mr. Peaches close, he looked up at Damien earnestly, his voice taking on a note of pride. “They liked taking in strays,” he said gently, smiling at Damien as though he’d understand that. “But Mr. Peaches was my dad’s favorite.
“Besides,” he added, twirling around and wandering back across the room, “he likes you!”
“Oh, joy,” Damien muttered. He shook his head, coaxing Gwen off him before finishing up dinner. He set about draining the pasta, calling out. “Feed him or kick him out or something because we’re about to eat, and I don‘t want him begging. Oh, and clean off the table, too.”
“Eat?” Justin said. He looked over to Damien, frowning, and placed Mr. Peaches on the ground. “Shouldn’t we wait for Josué?”
Damien frowned as he heaped the pasta into a serving dish. He opened his mouth, but then shut it without uttering a word.
“He’s not coming to dinner, is he?”
“He’ll come home when he‘s finished doing his thing,” Damien said.
“And don’t you start up with this ‘you don’t have to take care of me if you don’t want to’ bullshit again,” he added, spinning around and catching Justin just as he was sucking in a breath to speak. Justin snapped his mouth closed as Damien set the pasta down on the table. “That’s not what this is about, and you haven’t cleaned off the table yet.”
Justin paused, blinking, then nodded, muttering an apology as he hurriedly scrabbled to gather his papers and pens. Damien finished setting the table, and they sat down to eat a few minutes later, with Gwen and Mr. Peaches skittering about the floor, alternately begging for food and hissing at one another. Justin slipped them both half a meat ball, then blushed hotly when he sat up and found Damien watching him accusingly.
“Justin, what did I say?”
He looked down at his plate and pushed the pasta around, saying, “Okay, but I have a question! If it’s not about that, then what is it about?”
“What are you talking about?”
Justin looked up at Damien cautiously through his lashes. “Josué. Why isn’t he here? I know you guys were yelling in the store. Is he mad at me?”
Damien stabbed a meat ball with his fork. “Are you trying to distract me from the fact that you’re feeding the animals?”
“No!” Justin exclaimed. “I’m serious. I want to know. Is it…he doesn’t like me, does he?”
With a heavy sigh, Damien lay his fork down. He reached across the table, laying his hand over Justin’s. “No. Stop thinking like that. Josh…he….” With another sigh, Damien pulled his hand back. He took up his fork once more, but he didn’t eat, instead toying with the pasta on his plate. “Being with us here…I think it reminds him a little too much of his family.”
“I make him think about his son,” Justin realized, nodding along. He thought on that for a moment, then shrugged. “He’s going to need to face that.”
His bluntness brought a smile to Damien’s lips, and he leaned back, casually twirling his pasta. “Oh does he now?”
“Of course,” Justin said. He split another meatball for Gwen and Mr. Peaches, then looked back to Damien earnestly. “He’ll never be happy living in the past.”
For a moment Damien could only stare at him, then he smiled, lifting his fork to his lips. “You are way too smart for your own good, you know that?”
Justin smiled back, saying softly, “My dad used to say that all the time.”
“Well, it’s true,” Damien agreed. “And Justin?”
Justin looked up at him curiously.
“No feeding the animals!”
Dinner went pleasantly enough after that, and when it was over, Justin retired to his room—actually Josué’s, though the latter had given up the bed happily after Justin moved in, having a preference for sleeping on the couch anyway—while Damien cleaned up.
He checked on Justin once, but the kid was already in bed, fast asleep. His drawing things from earlier were spread on the floor. With a fond sigh, Damien gathered them up, pausing just once as he noted the scribbled form of both a man and woman in the lower corner of the otherwise very mechanical drawings. He wondered if they were meant to be Justin’s parents.
Josué came in just as Damien was heading back to his own room. The front door slammed closed, signaling his entrance, and Damien cringed. He looked over to see Justin shifting in his bed and hurriedly slipped out of the room, throwing a look around the darkened hallway.
“Josh, is that you?” he whispered.
Josué came stumbling around the corner, a wide smile spread across his mud splattered cheeks. Damien watched him for a moment, unable to help but smiling, himself, as he shook his head at his friend. Josué was filthy, not only covered in mud, but with a fair few cuts and scrapes as well. He was practically limping and obviously tired, but he looked a lot better off mentally than he had earlier that day.
“Hey,” Josué greeted, clapping him on the back as he worked his way toward the bathroom.
“Why do you do this to yourself?” Damien shot back, still watching him with a wry smile.
Josué laughed and shrugged. “Hey, I don’t knock your hobbies. Cooking?” He pulled a face. “What’s up with that?
“Speaking of which, tell me there’s food,” he added to the backdrop of Damien’s laughter.
“Yeah,” Damien assured him. “Leftover spaghetti in the fridge.”
“Awesome.” He nodded toward the bathroom. “I’m gonna shower before I eat. You heading to bed?” Damien nodded, and Josué grinned. “Good night, then. See you in the morning.”
“See ya.”
Damien looked after him, long after he’d disappeared into the bathroom. As much as tousling with ogres seemed to please Josué, Damien had to wonder if one day they’d get the better of him. Justin was right; the sooner he got past Penelope and Etienne’s deaths, the better.
With a deep sigh, he started to his room, but stopped, starting horribly as a voice called out his name from behind him. Spinning around, he found a sleepy eyed Justin half hidden behind the doorjamb of his bedroom’s entrance.
Damien put a hand to his chest and let out a breath. “Damn it. You have to stop sneaking up on me like that.”
Justin frowned. “I wasn’t sneaking up on you. You were being loud and not listening.”
“Oh, is that right?” Damien shot back, putting his hands on his hips.
“You woke me up,” Justin pointed out, and any cockiness on Damien’s part fell away immediately.
“Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry about that,” he said, reaching forward to pat Justin on the head. “Go back to sleep, all right? I promise we’ll be quiet.”
Justin gave a short nod, and Damien turned away, once more headed toward his own room when he heard his name called out again. Turning his head, he saw Justin had shuffled a little further out into the hall. “What is it, honey?”
Mr. Peaches was crowded at Justin’s feet, his brain stalk curled affectionately around Justin’s ankle. Justin watched the chibble rather than meet Damien’s eyes as he asked, “Can I sleep with you tonight?”
Damien paused a moment, just studying the boy, then gave a short nod, smiling. “Of course. Come on.”
He herded both Justin and—much to his consternation—Mr. Peaches into the room before sliding the door shut behind them. He slipped into bed, then held the blanket up as Justin slipped in beside him and curled up against his side. Mr. Peaches cooed softly before snuggling in at the foot of the bed next to Gwen, who opened one sleepy eye before decided he wasn’t worth her trouble and going back to sleep.
Damien waited for Justin to settle down, then pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “Think you can sleep now?”
He felt Justin nod against him and closed his eyes.
A few minutes later, however, the silence was interrupted with a quiet, “Damien?”
“Mm?”
“Are you asleep?”
Damien smiled. He pulled Justin a little tighter against him, saying, “No, not yet. You all right?”
Justin didn’t answer right away. He didn’t even move to nod or shake his head. For nearly a full minute there was absolute silence before Justin finally said, “He looked sad.”
Damien’s smile was replaced by a confused frown, and he opened his eyes, looking down at Justin, but Justin wasn’t looking at him. Instead he was staring into the darkness on the far side of the room, his eyes shiny and unfocused, as though he was looking into a memory.
“Who looked sad? Josh?”
“No,” Justin said. He curled a little tighter against Damien’s side. “It happened so fast. My da—my dad was teaching me how to use the register, and then he was dead, and there was…it was all red, and then my mom was dead, and I don’t remember how it happened. I was so confused, and he…he just looked sad.”
“Jonathan,” Damien whispered, horror falling over him. He’d never heard Justin talk about his parents’ deaths before.
Justin nodded. He wiped at his cheek, and Damien realized he was crying. “I don’t think he meant to do it. I think it was an accident. He looked really sad. I feel really bad for him.”
“Honey,” Damien said. He wanted to say more, but what could he say? He pulled Justin into a tight hug, rubbing his back between his wings.
Justin hugged him back just as tightly, pressing his face into Damien’s chest. This close, Damien could feel the hitching of his breath and the shakiness of his lungs as he fought to control his breathing. His voice was still oddly calm, however, as he said, “I’m sorry you lost your brother, Damien.”
Damien swallowed. “Justin…”
“It’s almost worse than me or Josh because your family is still there, but they don’t…they don’t want you.”
“Wow,” Damien said, raising his eyebrows. “Harsh, kid.”
“What?” Justin popped his head up, his eyes widening. “I’m sorry, I didn’t—”
“It’s okay,” Damien hurried to assure him, placing two fingers over Justin’s mouth with a smile. “I wasn’t serious.” He took his hand away, then reached out to stroke a soothing path down the back of Justin’s skull. “Besides, I still have a family.” Justin watched him curiously. “I have you.” A crash in the hallway followed by muffled cursing signaled Josué exiting the bathroom, and Damien’s smile widened. “And I have Josh. We all have each other.
“Do you remember what I said to you in the store today?” he asked after another moment of silence.
Justin frowned, searching his memory, but Damien saved him, telling him, “I’m not leaving you.” He smiled at Justin, letting his hand rest at the back of Justin’s neck, then giving it a reassuring squeeze. “You’re stuck with me, kid.”
Slowly, Justin smiled back at him. He lay his head back down on Damien’s chest, and together they listened to Josh stumble his way into the kitchen. “Then you‘re stuck with me, too,” Justin whispered.
Damien relaxed back into the pillows and closed his eyes. He hugged Justin tightly for a long time before finally loosening his grip, a satisfied smile on his lips. “Go to sleep, kid.”
“Damien?”
“Mm?”
“I love you.”
Damien smiled in the darkness and hugged Justin close. “I love you, too.”
The end!!
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