Worry, worry, worry - Lux Imperator/Mr Ring-A-Ding x Reader Part 9
[This is my longest chapter yet. I don't even know how, it just kept going! Well anyways, enjoy! And.. maybe keep some tissues on hand, you know, just in case!]
Lux wakes up at the crack of dawn. When had he fallen asleep? The last thing he remembered was finishing that exciting little book. It was still in his hand, resting on his chest. Lower down, around his middle, your arms have him wrapped up snuggly. He has to lift and tilt his head to look at you, your nose is buried into the crook of his neck. You're fast asleep. The God of Light watches your face, checking for any sign something's wrong. He'd woken you up for dinner yesterday, the both of you cooking together again, before you came back to bed. You'd been sleeping a lot more than usual, he was starting to worry you might be sick or hurt. Even though he'd be happy if you had to stay in Palazzo where he could keep an eye on you, he didn't want you cooped up in here unwell.
What would he do if you were sick? Lux knew very little about humans, even after a week of being around you and Mr Pye. Sure, he could get the old man to help you, Reginald did care about you too. But would it be enough? What if you didn't get better? Both of his hands latch onto your arms wrapped around his front as his thoughts swirl, golden eyes now fixated on the ceiling. Humans were so fragile, as he'd learned with your co-worker. Enough pressure on his neck did the job. If it was that easy.. what if he'd hurt you accidently? At that thought his hands let go of you. His panicked brain screams at him to get away from you, insistent that he was a threat, so he carefully pulls your arms from around him and gets off the mattress, quickly leaving the room.
His breathing was hard to control, a metaphorical heart racing in his chest. Just like the first day you'd gone out. What was going on with him? Lux walks down the hallway of theatres, a hand on his chest as he fights to even his breaths. Maybe he needed a distraction. He could make you breakfast! A determined little grin rises on his face at the thought of making you proud by not burning it this time, a nice meal waiting for you when you wake up. The little God marches his way to the kitchen, whistling Mr Ring-A-Ding’s theme song to himself. He stops when he realises what tune he's making, scowling at the thought of the flirty toon.
You wake up next to the book Lux had been reading. Huh, he wasn't here? There's no smell of burning this morning, always a bonus. Furthermore, you felt much more rested than yesterday. After a good stretch you get up, putting the abandoned book back in the box. Oh, right, you want to go out today. You needed a shower; it's been 4 days since your last, plus you could get some more fruit and pancake ingredients. Hopefully Lux will be more accepting of you being out of the picture house today.
After putting on a cute little dress and matching cardigan, you begin your search for your God. Already having an idea of where he could be, you head straight for the kitchen. The sun is starting to peek over the horizon, making its way through the diner’s windows. Once you open the door, the smell of cooking fills your senses. You make your way into the kitchen, a smile instantly forming at the sight before you.
There's already a plate of pancakes ready, Lux munching on one in his right hand while his left flips over more that were being made. He hasn't even changed out of the t-shirt of yours he'd worn to bed, it’s more like a dress on him as he sits on the counter to reach the stove. His head quickly turns as he sees you come in, shoving the rest of the pancake in his hand into his mouth so he can wave to you. You giggle at the sight as you go over to him. “Good morning, love. Look at you! Could have you as a chef in here, make you earn your keep.” Scratching the top of his head affectionately, you grin at the thought of the God of Light working here. That'd be one way to get customers in.
Lux swallows the food in his mouth as he leans into your hand, a smile stretching up to his closed eyes. All the worrying from before became a distant memory with you here. “Good morning, sunshine! How are you feeling today, my love?” He pulls you down for a quick kiss before he dishes out the rest of the pancakes.
You start eating at the already cooling pile of them, getting one down before you answer his question. “Better than yesterday. I don't know why, I just had no energy. Now I feel much more alive!”
The smile on your God's face somehow gets bigger. “Well that's good to hear! I was starting to worry.. thought you might have caught something, or I did something to cause it.” He looks to the side, antennae drooping slightly as his worrying thoughts resurface. Just as quickly as they appear, though, you chase them away with a kiss to his cheek.
“Oh, hun, you'd know if I was sick. Maybe the tiredness was from Sunday’s, uh, activities..” You both snort at that. “But I'm okay now. It'll take more than that to keep me down.” Sending Lux a wink, you pop another pancake in your mouth. He stares at you, cheeks turning a darker shade of blue. You're too busy enjoying your breakfast to notice how flustered that made him. He has to distract himself with food to stop the not-so innocent thoughts about you that start forming. It's now that he finally realises you're already dressed as he looks away from your face. A pit of dread forms in his stomach, he's now staring at your dress, noting that you've likely not forgotten the trip you'd spoken of yesterday. His eyes dart around as he quickly thinks of ways to distract you, to keep you here.
“Hey dolly, uh, do you wanna watch something after breakfast? Maybe one of those.. um, “lovey-dovey” movies you mentioned yesterday?” The hum you let out gives him some hope, antennae perking up.
“Sure, sweetheart! I have a few ideas already. But I'm not telling you!” You boop his nose, giggling as he goes cross eyed to follow your finger. “We can watch some when I get back from my trip out. I really need a shower, my head's starting to get itchy.” You don't miss the way his whole body droops. A small frown now on your face, you put a finger under his chin to lift his head up. He's pouting. “I won't be long, Lux. I'll be quicker than last time, won't even be gone an hour. Ok, love?” Your hand goes from under his chin to his cheek, rubbing your thumb under his eye. A sound you haven't heard in a while begins to play, that sad lone violin. Oh, he's really pulling every trick he has to guilt trip you.
His hands move to hold onto your wrist, keeping your hand on his cheek. “Can it not wait one more day, sunshine? Please?” He rubs his cheek into your palm, big wet eyes staring into yours. Who would've thought a God would be so clingy?
You sigh lightly, moving your free hand to his other cheek. “You gotta get used to me not being here, Lux. I can't stay in Palazzo all the time, yeah? We humans need fresh air, sunlight, social interactions, bathing. The only one of those I get in here is the social bit, even then it's just you and my boss. I'll wait for Mr Pye to get here, so you're not completely on your own.” Lux's pout seems to grow at that. He didn't want Mr Pye, he wanted you. The violin is getting more melodramatic, you need to keep talking.“I promise, I will be as quick as I can be. Then we can watch movies, make some more food, take a nap, read, whatever you can think of. Alright? Then I'll stay in for a couple more days before I start to stink again.” The violin record-scratches out at that. He breaks away from the hold you have on his cheeks, burying his pig nose into your neck to sniff you. The puffs of air from his nose tickle you, making you giggle and pull him back by the collar of his tailcoat.
“Don't know what you're on about, angel, I think you smell like a rose!”
“Riiight. What roses have you been smelling, exactly?”
Lux puts a finger to his chin, poking at the scruff there. “Ah, uhm, you know.. super rare kinds! Exotic hybrids, you wouldn't have heard of them.” You raise an eyebrow, getting a nervous grin in return. Even while he was joking around, the worry in his eyes was clear as day. With another light sigh you pull him into a kiss, hoping to at least distract him a bit from whatever was plaguing his mind. The God of Light returns it instantly, a hand going to the back of your head to pull you in closer, fingers embedding themselves in your hair. His other hand is on the side of your neck, gently stroking over the fading marks he'd left on Sunday.
Just as you slip your tongue into his mouth, someone by the door clears their throat. You both move away and snap your eyes open to see Mr Pye standing there, looking quite amused at having caught you two kissing. “Really now, in the kitchen? Have some shame.” He wags a finger at the both of you, though the grin on his face tells you he's not actually upset. Still, your cheeks are now burning. Your boss just caught you kissing the God of Light.
Even though Lux is also blushing he huffs, arms now crossed, annoyed that his kiss with you was interrupted. “There's a lot worse we could be doing in here.” You just stuff a -now lukewarm- pancake in your mouth and look away in embarrassment. Mr Pye covers his face with one hand, sighing heavily. Now the little God has a smug smirk on his face as he snaps his usual outfit on to replace your shirt, proud of himself for putting down the older man’s mood.
To change the subject, you offer some of your breakfast to your boss, still chuffing them down yourself. “It's alright my dear, I ate at home. I can't remember when I bought bacon but it needed using up.” You roll your eyes with a smile. This kind of thing happened quite often. He'd told you many times about the things he found in the fridge, adamant that he hadn't gotten it. It got to the point where he told you what he was getting from the shops so you could remember and tell him whether or not he had actually bought the things he kept finding. Of course, he had, no matter how many times he said he didn't remember getting those items.
Having eaten your fill, you stretch and let out a yawn. “Right, I'm going out for a bit. I'll be an hour at most, I'm only going to be getting a few things. Keep an eye on our resident God, won't you sir?” Mr Pye glances at Lux. He'd seen first hand how worried he got when you weren't there. And heard the consequences of your absence. Those screams crept into his nightmares, making him more wary of the God of Light. Still, you've asked him to do something, he'll always have a soft spot for the employee who's done so much for him.
Reginald pats your shoulder, giving you a reassuring smile. “I'll make sure he doesn't get up to too much mischief while you're away.” With that you nod, turning to blow a kiss to Lux before you head for the exit. You quickly notice there's pattering footsteps following you.
“Are you sure you can't delay this, angel, please? You- uhm, you can go tomorrow, sweetie pie, honest, just stay for one more day with me, love?” You've only made it to the employee lockers when Lux gets a hold of your hand. With a light sigh you stop walking, looking behind you at the anxious little God.
“Lux, honey..” You crouch down so you're eye level with him. He has his head tilted down again, antennae practically on his forehead with how much they're drooping. “It will be an hour at most, okay? I'll get you some more pancake ingredients, some more fruit, I'll even find something new for you to try. Just let me go, please, hun? I'll be back before you know it. I won't be gone all day, yeah? 1 hour, Lux. That's all.” He slowly looks up at you, eyes wet with unshed tears again. He's wringing his hands, bottom lip quivering. At first you think he's just guilt tripping you, but there's one key element missing. That violin. This isn't an act. He's truly this upset at you leaving.
He gulps, taking a deep breath before he finally looks you in the eye. “1 hour and you'll be back..?” The shaking in his voice breaks your heart. You give him a small smile, then hold your pinkie finger out to him.
“I promise. 1 hour at most, then I'll be right here with you.”
One blue pinkie (does it count as a pinkie? He's only got 4 fingers) wraps around yours, before he interlocks all your fingers. “Ok. Let me walk you to the door, sunshine.” He tips his hat with his other hand, the tears in his eyes now gone. Your smile grows, glad he's not as upset now. The sun is beaming through the glass in the door as you reach it, making Lux linger behind you slightly. He holds your hand as long as he can, finally letting go inches away from touching the sunlight. You turn back, thinking he's just calmed down enough to not need to hold your hand anymore, blowing him one last kiss.
“See you later, love!” You wave to him as you step out the door, only turning to walk away when he returns it. The tiny smile he forces onto his face as he does so drops the instant you're no longer looking. He stands there, a breath away from the sunlight, watching you get smaller and smaller until he can't tell what's you and what's in the foreground. Only then does he retreat further into the picture house, his antennae against his forehead.
The stream of hot water feels heavenly. You definitely count yourself as lucky for getting a house with a shower installed already, how could anyone not want this? While you get yourself clean, your mind is left to wander around all the topics you haven't had the time to think about.
How are you going to keep this house?
Palazzo wasn't making any money, hadn't made any in a week. Everyone in town was, unsurprisingly, avoiding the picture house after the disappearance of 15 people (16 with your dead coworker). Unless Mr Pye has a bunch of money saved up, it's unlikely you'll be getting paid. I mean, you weren't getting much use from this place recently, Lux would probably like it if you just moved into Palazzo. It didn't sound too bad; you had a bed, there was food in the diner and plenty of snacks in the picture house, Lux seems to have near full control over the building - he'd keep any unwanted guests at bay.
He's getting more attached to you as more time passes, though. If he was this nervous about letting you leave now, would he ever let you out of Palazzo if you stayed more? No, no he would. Of course he would, he cares about you. He loves you. Scolding your brain for thinking such a thing about your God, you turn off the shower and step out. It’d only been a quick 10 minute wash. By the time you're dressed, you have 40 minutes to get what you need and walk back to the picture house. Hopefully Lux isn't making too much of a fuss.
On the bottom row of a theatre, Lux is slumped in a seat with a bored expression. To pass the time, Mr Pye put on a movie for the God of Light to watch while he did some maintenance work. He thought some more light might cheer him up. From the man’s view in the projector room, that unfortunately didn't seem to be the case.
Lux sighs heavily, eyes fixed on the screen but barely paying attention to the film. His mind was on you, of course, where you might be right now or what you might get for him. He blinks as a woman appears on screen, a man's voice describing her beauty in an exaggerated yet poetic way. The little God snorts at that, rolling his eyes. “Not as pretty as my angel.” He grumbles under his breath before snapping his fingers. The film pauses on the image of the woman, then it blurs and shifts. When the picture refocuses you've replaced her in the scene. Lux leans forward, resting his head on his hand as he gazes up at you lovingly. He gives a sad little sigh after a short while, snapping his fingers again. The image shifts back to normal and begins playing again. The God of Light sinks back into the seat with a pout, his eyes no longer on the screen. He really did miss you.
By now you have all the food you'd wanted to get, so you start looking around for something new for your little lover. Maybe he'd like a board game? Monopoly.. probably wouldn't do well with a God. Maybe something like chess would be better. Lux is quite intelligent, even with only knowing base concepts of the world he quickly picked up on the finer details. By making breakfast with you once, he was able to copy what you'd shown him and done it perfectly. He was a fast learner, he might like a new test for his brain to figure out. Chess will do nicely. That's everything you came out to find, it's time to pay and head back.
Tapping his fingers on the arm rest, Lux glances back at the clock in the projector room. He cups a hand around his right eye, cartoon logic helping him out as his vision zooms in on the face of the clock. You've been gone for 44 minutes. The hands were ticking closer and closer to the time you were meant to be back by. An hour at most, an hour at most. Repeating that in his head doesn't calm his nerves one bit. You weren't back yet, you weren't here. Flashes of all the horrible things that could've happened to you have him gripping the armrests, breathing getting harder. The little God squeezes his eyes shut, trying to block out the intrusive thoughts. He doesn't hear Mr Pye coming down the stairs. Having finished the odd little maintenance jobs that needed doing, he wanted to check on Lux. Reginald cautiously sits down on a seat next to the God, hands in his lap as he listens to his labored breathing. “She'll be back soon.” His voice is nearly a whisper, not wanting to startle the worrying toon.
The God of Light snaps his eyes open to look at the man. “She's not here. She's not here, Mr Reginald Pye, why isn't she back yet?” His voice is shaking, unable to hide the panic that was only getting worse as each second passed.
“I.. I don't know why. But she said she'd be out for an hour at most, didn't she?” He glances at the clock, missing the way Lux begins to glare at him. “She'll be back soon, I'm sure of it. You don't need to worry so much-”
“Don't need to worry? I can't do anything if she gets hurt out there and you don't think I need to worry?!” Mr Pye jumps at the angered tone, leaning in his seat to make more distance between himself and the God. “How would I know if something happens to her? How would I be able to help her? I'm trapped in this fucking empty picture house with an old man whose only helpful advice is ‘not to worry’!” Lux's body is shaking as much as his voice now. His fear over losing you was turning into frustration at the man next to him who was doing nothing.
Through his nervousness, Reginald finds the courage to give a sharp sigh. “What do you want me to do about it? She could be anywhere! She could be on her way back as you're making such a fuss about this.”
“Find her! Go make sure she's ok! Do something for crying out loud!” The God wrings his hands, voice turning desperate. Another quick glance at the clock tells him it's been 46 minutes and you're still not back. Why weren't you back?
It's Mr Pye's turn to be frustrated. “Lux, you can't expect me to go out into town and just find her. She didn't tell me what she was going out for, I have no idea where she could be.”
The God flops back into his seat, a growling angry groan vibrating from his chest. How could one man be so useless? Surely there was a way to make him find you. He wracks his brain for an idea, when something truly evil comes to mind. ‘It’s a shame those old film stocks are so flammable’. Oh, it is a shame indeed. Lux is out of the chair in a second, dashing up to the projector room. He's at the top of the stairs by the time Mr Pye stands up, sending him a horribly mischievous grin before he jumps through the hole in the wall that the projector’s light is still shining through. Reginald rushes as much as he can up the stairs, throwing the door open, only to freeze at the sight before him.
His film reel isn't on the desk. Lux turns to him slowly, the reel in his left hand. Mr Pye holds his hand out, about to ask for it to be given to him, before the God's right hand comes into view from behind his back. On his index finger, a little flame sits. Reginald feels his blood run ice cold at the realisation of what Lux is going to do. “Wait wait, not her, please!” As he takes a step towards the grinning God, the flame inches closer to the reel. He backs away to the door at that, looking between the fire and the sickening joyful look he's getting.
“Go. Find. Her. If you dare to return without her, without my love.” Lux wiggles the finger the flame dances over. “You'll be without your little lady wife.” Reginald gives him a pleading look, his hand still outstretched towards the film reel. He only gets a wider grin in response, the flame inching closer to burn his love away.
“Ok, ok I'll go find her! Please, just please don't..” Mr Pye’s breathing is as labored as Lux’s had been as he runs to the entrance of Palazzo. The God of Light giggles to himself, blowing out the flame over his finger. Of course he wasn't actually going to burn the film, he just needed to give Mr Pye a little encouragement. As he puts the reel back on the desk, he looks up at the clock again. You've been gone for 49 minutes. The grin on his face drops as he goes back to worrying about you, his hands fidgeting with each other as he watches the seconds tick by.
You're nearly back at Palazzo, humming a random tune to yourself as you gently swing the bag you're carrying. It's not been as sunny today, the clouds were really starting to build up now, but you still enjoyed your time outside. You can see the picture house and.. someone running towards you..? Your pace slows, a little unnerved by the sight. Even though it should, seeing that it's your boss doesn't calm your heart down. He looks as pale as the day you met Lux, breaths heavy and shaky as he stops in front of you. “Sir..?”
You don't even get the chance to ask what's wrong before he's talking. “Oh thank God you're here. Come on, we need you back in there. Now!” He's herding you towards Palazzo, a great deal of urgency in his voice. Has something happened?
As you quickly walk with Mr Pye you grab the back of his hand. “What's wrong? Has something happened with Lux?” He shudders at the mention of him, practically pushing you through the door. It doesn't move by itself this time, Reginald ushers you to go further into the picture house as he closes it.
Now on edge from your boss' fearful behaviour, you look down the hallway. There's no sign of Lux, not a sound in the building. Mr Pye comes up behind you, a hand going to your shoulder to guide you into a theatre. You both make your way up to the projector room, where the God of Light is standing. He's staring up at the clock, a worried little frown on his face. Seeing he no longer has his film reel hostage, Mr Pye dashes past him to grab it, moving back behind you once he has it. That snaps Lux out of his daze, his eyes instantly going to you. “Angel, there you are!” He takes a running jump into your arms, burying his face into your neck to hide the relieved tears welling up in his eyes. You don't notice the way Reginald flinches back at his closer proximity.
“There, she's back. Happy now?” His voice is still shaking, backing out of the room as you turn to face him. Lux turns his head to look at him, not lifting it from your skin.
He sighs, waving a dismissive hand at your boss. “Yes, yes, much better.” You don't miss the way Mr Pye glares at him as he clutches his film to his chest before he leaves without another word. There was clearly some tension between them. Why was that?
Your little lover has gone back to snuggling you, a pleased smile on his face. As much as you don't want to break this moment, you need to know what happened. “Lux.. did something happen while I was out?” You feel his shoulders tense up.
The nervous laugh he lets out doesn't help his case. “Well, nothing exciting, sunshine! I watched this really boring movie, Mr Pye did some work up here, now you're back! What did you get while you were out, sweetie pie?” He hops out of your arms, peeking into the bag you'd put down when you had caught him. He's hiding something from you.
“Why did Mr Pye give you that look before he left?” He pauses his search through your bag, little beads of sweat forming on his face. He keeps his head down to hide that, giving another nervous laugh.
“I, uh, I don't know, sweetheart! Maybe he.. got frustrated with the machines or something, uhm..” His fingers are tapping along the edge of the bag. You recognise the nervous habit now. There's definitely something he's not telling you. Without looking back, you start walking towards the exit. If the God of Light won't tell you what went down, your boss will. Lux catches up to you quickly, grabbing your hand and tugging gently. “Wait wait- where are you going, angel? You just got back!”
You won't stop walking this time. “I'm finding out what happened. Either you tell me, or I'll go track my boss down and I'll get all the details from him.” The tugging on your hand gets stronger, but you just pull him along as you get closer to the door. Lux glances quickly between it and you, digging his shoes into the carpet to try and halt your steps. It's not working, you're still getting closer to the door. Closer to leaving him again. Luckily for him, he gets an idea. He can tell you the truth without revealing what he did to Mr Pye.
“I was scared, ok!?” Just like he wanted, you stop at that. That was close. You let him lead you away from the exit as your brain wraps around that concept. He was.. scared? Why? What of? “I'm the God of Light, my whole deal is absorbing light for power. Energy. With smaller levels of light, like those,” He points to the overhead lights. “I just absorb some energy from them and everything's all good.” Lux brings you into your theatre at the end of the hallway, sitting you in a bottom row seat as he stands in front of you. “Bigger sources of light, like your sun, give me more light to absorb. Surprising, I know.” He gives an empty chuckle, looking at the seat next to you as he holds your hands. “If I absorb too much light.. it starts absorbing me, in a way. I won't be able to hold this form together, I'd just.. fade. And I don't know how long it would take me to get back here.” His golden eyes stare into yours, they're so bright but so.. sad. “I don't want to leave. I don't want to leave you, not even knowing if I'll make it back here before you-” There's tears welling up in his eyes. “If I came back just to find out you were gone.. I wouldn't know what to do.”
His eyes squeeze shut as you move your hands to cup his cheeks, wiping away any tears that start to fall. “Oh, love. That's why you've never left..?” Lux nods into your hands, sniffling quietly. You bring him into a tight hug, heartstrings pulling as you hear his muffled little sobs. That's why he was so anxious whenever you left Palazzo. No matter what happened, he couldn't come find you. He was trapped here, having to wait for you to return every time. You rub his back to soothe him, your other hand in his hair, doing everything you can to show him that you were here. You came back and you're okay.
As his crying dies down, the sympathy makes way for a cruel fact. He hadn't mentioned Mr Pye. He was still hiding something. Once he pulls away, you take a hold of his shoulders and look him in the eye. The expression on your face causes a pit to drop into his stomach. He hadn't distracted you enough. You don't ask again, waiting for him to spill his little secret. Eventually he lets out a sigh of defeat, head down to avoid your eyes. “I.. I was really worried something might have happened to you. Ol’ Reginald Pye was insistent you were on your way back, but it wasn't helping my nerves at all. I just wanted him to go see if he could spot you.” His hands are fidgeting again. “I.. remembered what you said, yesterday. About old film stocks being really flammable.” A cold shot of dread pierces you. He didn't..
“Lux.. no, no tell me you didn't-”
“I didn't destroy it!” He backs out of your grip, hands up defensively. “I just, you know, threatened to. He wouldn't go look for you, I needed something to motivate him!”
You have to look away from him. A hand goes to your mouth as you process what he's told you. Lux stands there silently, nervously waiting for you to say something. “How- how could you do that?” He shrinks back a bit at that, antennae drooping. It's not that he didn't feel any guilt about it, he just saw that, in his eyes, the pros outweigh the cons. “He's been here, all this time, putting up with all the pranks you pull on him-” You're on your feet, pointing a finger at him as he opens his mouth. “I know you've been messing with him when I'm not there, don't even try to deny it.” His mouth snaps shut, eyes flicking between you and the floor like a scolded dog. “He's supplied you with all the light you could ever want, not gone home for days, done all the maintenance in here to ensure you can get your damn light,” You step towards him, too wrapped up in your anger to notice the way he steps away from you. “And to thank him for all of that, you take the only way he can see his dead wife hostage!?” Your voice echoes in the otherwise silent room.
Even with the fear from never seeing you this angry before, Lux has to furrow his eyebrows at you. “I needed to know you were okay! I couldn't go find you, I had to get him to go outside.” You don't wait a second to respond.
“You could have just asked him! Did that never cross your mind, you went straight to blackmail?” When you take another step forward, he stands his ground.
“He wasn't going to go! He just kept telling me ‘she’ll be back soon, she'll be back soon’ I had to make him!”
With a frustrated groan you turn and take a few steps away from him. Even though the intellectual part of your brain tells you this is going nowhere, you can't find it in you to stop. “Oh my fucking god, Lux, I thought you killing someone was bad and then you do this 2 days later..” He huffs loudly at the mention of that.
“This again? I killed him to keep you safe!”
“Well you clearly can't do that!” It was a low blow, but you hold out the fading bruise on your wrist. He flinches at that, a hurt look crosses his face before he works up another rush of anger.
“And he's dead because of that bruise! I snapped his weak little neck for what he did, he's rotting away in a dumpster now!”
The disgust you feel from the mental image that conjures just fuels your rage. With another frustrated groan, you realise something. Something that will hurt him, deeply. As much as your heart screams at you to not say it, you look Lux in the eyes.
“And what about the next person who threatens me? Or hurts me? Are you going to kill them too?”
“I don't care if the entire human race storms this building, I'll kill every last one of them! You're mine, my angel, they won't touch a hair on you if I don't want them to!”
“You can't protect me from everything, Lux! Even if you do immortalise me in film, it's not foolproof! One flame, that's all they need! Then I'm gone! Forever!” You watch all the anger leave Lux in a second as he comes to terms with the fact that you're right. He'd seen the fear in Mr Pye’s eyes. How had he not thought of this? The one idea he had of keeping you safe. And you're the one who shatters it. The both of you stand there, the only sound in the room is your heavy breathing. Neither of you can bear to look at the other right now.
It feels like something's broken into a million pieces inside of him. He couldn't keep you safe, even in film you could die. He tries to think of any other way to make you immortal, make sure you never die, never leave him. His thoughts are too scattered, between the argument and this new dilemma he can't think straight. More anger is bubbling, directed only at you. You took that idea from him.
After a break to calm down and breathe, you're starting to feel guilty for what you said. You really went too far with that. Hesitantly, you look over at Lux. He's glaring at you, fists clenched. “Im.. sorry, hun, I-”
“Don't.” That ice cold tone shuts you up immediately. “You- how could you- I just wanted to keep you alive!” Now you're the one taking a step back. “I want you to be by my side for as long as possible, I just want to live my life with you, I had one way to make it possible, a way I knew would work..” He's backed you up against the wall. The only thing keeping you calm is the fact you can hear his voice shaking. “But you.. You're the one who destroys that!” There's tears running down his cheeks at this point, but he's still holding his glare. Even as his breaths shudder with the sobs that want to be let out. “I don't want you to die! I don't know what to do! I don't know how to fix your mortality, I don't know if I even can anymore..”
As he looks down, roughly rubbing at his face, you slowly crouch against the wall. “Lux.. I'm sorry. I don't think you can, love.” His arm stops moving.
“No… no, I will. I'll find another way.”
“No! Why are you doing this?” He looks up, a tear filled glare directed at you. “I don't understand! You say you love me and then you take the one bit of hope I had, the only way I could've been with you forever!”
There's a few seconds of silence, the both of you staring at the other. “I do love you. I love you so much, Lux. I know it hurts, but you have to accept I'm just a human. I'm not going to be immortal, like you, I'm not going to live forever.” You reach a hand out to him slowly. “I don't want to argue with you anymore, hun, please-” He moves away from you.
“I..” The God of Light takes in a deep breath as he turns his back to you. “I need some space.” Before you're on your feet, he's out of the theatre. You walk out of the room, looking down the hallway. He's completely vanished. Worn out from that intense argument, you slump down against the nearest wall. Your thoughts attack you as you hug your legs, blaming you for this, drawing on the fear of him falling out of his love for you. With your emotions all over the place, you can't fight the rising tears.
As you're crying by yourself in the hallway, something light hits you on the side of the leg. There's a box of tissues lying next to you on the floor. A strip of film floats closer from the theatre, slowly wrapping itself around your shoulders like it's trying to give you a hug. At this point you're accepting of any comfort you can get, so you lay your cheek on the cool surface and cry the rest of your emotions out. After your tears dry and sobs subside, the film unwraps itself and retreats to the projector room. You've been hugged by a strip of film. That's a new experience.
Getting off the carpet, you let out a heavy sigh. Lux wants some space, Mr Pye isn't in, you're on your own for now. You follow after the strip of film, your energy drained. Once you're in your projector room, you kick off your shoes and flop down onto your mattress, not even bothering to change out of your dress. You take a quick look at the clock. Fuck, it's only 9am? Good time for a nap.
Gentle tapping on your face makes you stir. At first, your -very much still asleep- brain expects it to be Lux, so you tiredly grumble and bat away whatever is pressing against your cheek. The flat, cool feeling of film has you blinking your eyes open. As you sit up it retreats, floating over to the desk in the room to tap on that instead. You can't see what's on it from the mattress so you force yourself up. There's a couple of apples, an apricot and a peach layed out. Has Lux left them here for you? Probably not, there's no sign of him in the projector room, he's probably still angry at you. Not that you blame him right now, you were unnecessarily cruel during that argument. No wonder he was keeping his distance. The film starts tapping again, getting you out of your self deprecating thoughts. It nudges at an apple, rolling it towards the edge of the desk. Before it can push the apple onto the floor you grab the fruit. You were starting to feel hungry after your.. 5 hour nap - as the clock tells you. As you sit down at the desk you take a bite of the apple, slowly chewing while you watch the strip of film. It's laid itself flat on the desk, the end of the film lifted slightly like it's looking at you. Seems you weren't going to be on your own today.
After your snack, you head down the hallway to retrieve your bag of shopping. Might as well put the rest of the food away while you have nothing else to do. To your surprise, however, when you get to Mr Pye’s usual projector room the bag is gone. You turn back to the door, the strip of film is floating there. It tilts in the direction of the diner before floating off that way. How long was that bit of film? You look down to the end of the hallway, it's still curled into your theatre. No end in sight. There's a literal God in the building, this shouldn't be a shock. The film leads you into the kitchen, where said bag is sat on one of the counters. It's clearly been emptied, now on its side. “Did.. you do that?” Your voice is quiet, half expecting the animate inanimate object to not respond. The end of the film waves up and down in a nod. Right, of course it can.
Just in case, you check the fridge. Lo and behold, the shopping was all there. Literally. The milk, the fruit, eggs, flour, and the box of chess. You have to laugh, taking the things out that don't belong in there. “Well, thank you for the help. Even if it wasn't all correct.” The last sentence is mumbled under your breath. You didn't want to upset the.. sentient strip of film.
While you put away the flour in the right place, you finally notice just how quiet it is in here. Sure, without the near constant stream of visitors it had been quiet before. Now, without even Lux to talk to, it was truly silent in Palazzo. You really have gotten used to his presence, it's strange to be without the chatty little God. Like it senses the drop in your mood, the strip of film taps you on the shoulder. Looking back, you watch it retreat from the room with a wavy motion. Seems it wants you to follow. You grab the chess board and go after it.
You're led back to your theatre. It gently nudges you into a seat, zipping back up to the projector room as it takes the chess board from you. After a short while, the projector clicks on and a Mr Ring-A-Ding cartoon begins to play. The empty film swoops back down, wrapping itself around your shoulders again as you watch the screen. This film's one you haven't seen as often as some of Ring’s other cartoons, he goes to town and causes mischief for the residents and Sunshine Sally to deal with. Huh. Wonder why Lux chose Ring-A-Ding as his vessel. Surely there'd been other circumstances where he could come down to Earth, yet he chooses to take the form of a charming little toon. Maybe, in a way, he felt connected to Ring. Dear God, you're sitting here thinking about your lover like he's off in another country. He's still in the building! But you'd be lying if you said you didn't miss him, even though it's only been a few hours.
On a scene where Ring is up on someone's roof, the film suddenly blurs. You sit up, watching it change as the cartoon comes back into focus. Ring is still there, yet now he's holding a.. um, guitar? Ukulele? Four strings, ukulele it seems. He's looking down off screen, like he had been in the normal frame, as he begins to play a soft tune.
“I'll never smile again.” Holy shit he can sing. Well of course you knew that, he has a whole theme song he does at the start of the cartoon. But like this? He's never sung like this before, in any of the episodes you'd seen. This gentle, deep, loving tone. Is this even.. a real part of an episode? “Until I smile at you… I'll never laugh again, what good would it do?”
He's picked out a real romantic song, too. This can't be part of any episode of his. How is this even happening? “I'll never love again.. I'm so in love with you..” He leans back as his gaze lifts up to.. you. Ring’s looking directly at you, a charming smirk on his face. Why is this making your cheeks flush? Who am I kidding, you're being serenaded by the mirror image of the God you've fallen in love with. “I'll never thrill again, to somebody new..” Ring flashes a grin, winking at you before he goes back to his little smirk. The eye that had closed has gone from black to a vibrant gold.
Your voice is barely above a whisper, yet he seems to hear it. Lux(?)’s smile shifts, his eyes fall half lidded. It's the oh so fond expression he's given you time and time again. It has to be him. “Within my heart.. I know I will never start to smile again, until I smile at you..” You're tearing up at this point, yet a big smile stretches your cheeks. After his sweet little song, the projector clicks to only shine a white light onto the screen. The strip of film uncurls from around your shoulders and shoots towards the entrance of the room.
“Ow! You dare attack your God?!” There's 3 film strips surrounding.. Lux. They're taking turns smacking him on the head, like they're trying to get him to leave. “Okay, girls, easy! I just want to talk to her.” Girls? Ah, he must've picked that up from Mr Pye. Your boss always used feminine pronouns for the films and machines, it's no surprise that he treated them, and actual women, with great care.
The film strips float over to you, still poised like they could attack him at any moment. The God of Light sighs, fixing his clothes before he looks at you. He's wearing a nervous grin that immediately falls at the sight of you, still in tears. “It's okay, hun, I'm not upset.” You quickly begin wiping your eyes, giving him your best smile. That seems to put his nerves at ease as he slowly walks up to you and sits in a neighbouring seat.
“You.. enjoyed that little show, then?” His hands sit in his lap, thumbs twirling around each other as he watches your expression.
He visibly relaxes as you nod profusely. As you both lean back and look at the empty screen, a comfortable silence fills the room. Still, there's things you both need to say.
“I'm sorry.” “I'm sorry.”
You look over at each other, bursting into laughter. Of course you'd apologise at the same time. “Let me go first, love. I don't have a lot to say but I need to tell you.” Lux nods, sitting up a bit as he gives you an encouraging smile. “I shouldn't have said that in our argument, about your wanting to immortalise me. I had wanted to tell you, of course, I didn't want you thinking you had a foolproof plan just for it to blow up in your face later down the line. I know it would've broken your heart to hear it, and I chose the worst time to say it. I was angry, I wanted to win the argument, and all I did was hurt you. I'm so sorry, Lux. If you do find another way, I'll be more than happy to try it. I want to live with you for as long as I can, I hate the idea of leaving you on your own.”
Lux takes a gentle hold of your hand. “I forgive you, sunshine. It did hurt.. a lot. But I've had time to think about it, get all that anger I was feeling out of the way. And now I can see that, well, you were right. I.. I don't think I can keep you forever..” You squeeze his hand gently, giving him an empathetic look. He squeezes your hand back, his smile falling by an inch. “I'm so used to eternity. I watched things change around me, yet I was never affected by any of it. Now, with all these emotions, I don't know how I ever watched stars burn out and worlds collapse so easily.” His thumb is rubbing over your knuckles slowly. “And you… I don't ever want to have to let you go. To watch you die. Your beauty, your personality, every part of you, I want it for all eternity. And yet, I've doomed my heart to break by falling so deeply in love with such a fragile being.”
Lux leans over to kiss the back of your hand. “But, finally, I'll accept it. If I can't have you forever, I'm going to spend the time I have with you, well, with you. I'll make sure you know just how loved you are.” God damn it, he has you tearing up again. How much is he going to make you cry today? “I'm sorry for taking my anger out on you, my love. I was scared, so scared, of the thought of losing you. And I still am. Instead of just saying that, I lashed out at you because you were the one who took that foolish dream from me. Forgive me, angel, these emotions are still so confusing to me.”
You pull him onto your lap to hug him tightly. “I do, sweetheart, I forgive you. I don't blame you for your anger, I would've been the same if I was told I was going to lose you.”
He chuckles, the sound muffled against your shoulder. “You will never be without me, dolly. Not if I have any say in the matter. And I am a God, so I think I have quite the fair share of.. sayings.” You both chuckle at that. Lux pulls away from your shoulder to gently knock his forehead into yours. “May I.. uhm, kiss ya, sunshine? I know I was the one to walk away and all, but I've missed you something awful.” You answer him by pressing your lips to his. He gives a pleased little hum, both hands cupping your cheeks so he can wipe away the tears from your eyes. His tongue hesitantly swipes along your bottom lip, his left hand sliding down to cup the side of your neck. You open your mouth and, before he can react, run your tongue over his and into his mouth. As you grab his scruffy chin between a finger and thumb he shudders, whimpering into your mouth as he practically melts against you.
Unfortunately, you need air, so you reluctantly pull back. Lux follows your lips a couple inches, eyes fluttering open to reveal bright gold hearts. “Never let me argue with you again, angel. I don't want to go hours without that ever again.” You giggle as you pull his head down to rest on your chest, leaning back in your seat with a relaxed sigh. It felt so much better having that guilt off your shoulders, the negativity of the argument all gone. There was one more thing, though.
“I am expecting you to apologise to Mr Pye as well, you know.” You get a very unamused look in response, the hearts back to the usual pie cut pupils. “If he even shows up tomorrow.” Lux pulls at the collar of his shirt sheepishly, a nervous laugh shaking him.
“Yyyeeaah.. I don't think he'll want me anywhere near that film of his for a while.” A lightbulb pops up over his head for a second. “Oh, that reminds me, darling,” He sits up into your lap again, a more serious expression on his face. “I'm sorry I didn't tell you about that right away. I knew you'd be angry, understandably, so I tried to distract you from it with my own feelings.” Your hands go back to his as he speaks. “Everything I said was the truth, though. Every time you talk about going out, I get this tightness in my chest. It feels like I can't breathe, even though I don't need to.” His empty chuckle just gets a sad look from you, so he clears his throat. “I don't want you to feel like you're trapped in here, sunshine. As much as I want to keep you in here, where I know you're safe, I love you far too much to shackle you to me. And it's so frustrating! Half of me wants to never let you leave my sight and the other can't bear the thought of it. And yet, whenever you're gone, I'm counting down the seconds ‘till you get back while thinking of everything horrible that could've happened to you! Is it normal to worry this much?”
Cupping his cheek, you nod. “Of course it's normal for you to get this anxious, love. You're still getting used to having a mortal lover. I was also dragged unwillingly out of the picture house a few days ago. I don't blame you for being a little more on edge.” Lux rubs his stubble into your palm, smiling at your understanding. “Hopefully, as time passes and I take more trips out, it'll get easier for you to relax while I'm gone. You can always talk to me about your feelings as well, hun. Bottling them up won't make it any better.” He chuckles as you gently pinch his cheek.
“Thank you, my love. I'll try to explain them to you, it's hard to get a grasp on all these feelings.” His eyes flick above you. The strips of film are still floating there, the ends tilted down at you and your God. “I can't believe you had my own harbinger against me.”
There's that word again. Harbinger. “What is your harbinger, exactly?”
Lux blinks, a look of surprise on his face. “Gosh, right, I never actually told you about them! So,” He shuffles in your lap, arms hovering as he explains. “I'm in a pantheon of Gods, like an alliance of sorts. We each get our own little harbinger to, you know, kinda announce our presence when we meddle in mortal’s affairs. We can choose their forms, most Gods go for human appearances -so dull-. I chose-” He stretches his arms up, gesturing to the room. “This entire building! Even though it exists without me, I now have control over everything in here! Projectors, doors, strips of film, they're at my command!” He has a big proud grin on his face. “Since my harbinger is also, technically, their own being, they can play around by their own will too! And it chooses to protect you. Like I said a couple days back, it must recognize now that you mean a lot to me. So even if I'm their God, they'll step in if it perceives me as a potential threat to you. Like I'd ever do anything to hurt my angel.” The eye roll he gives the film strips makes you giggle as you raise a hand to them. The closest one slides against your palm, curling around your hand.
“You really are full of surprises, aren't you?” You look back down to Lux. He plays with his bowtie, a big smile on his face.
“I aim to please, pretty lady! Take us up to the projector room, girls.” The film moves to his command. Just like the other day, one wraps around your ankles while the one in your hand shifts to get both arms in its grip. Lux holds onto you as you're both lifted into the air, carefully carried to your bed. “Thank you, ladies, that'll be all.” They let go of your limbs and retreat back to wherever they're stored. It's just you and your God again.
His head is back on your chest as he gazes up at you. “You know, I'm worried about forgetting you after you're gone.” You wrap your arms around him as you listen. “I won't have you for very long, to me. I've lived for.. well, forever.. I'm scared that, the more time passes, with the more things I learn about, there will be less space in my memory for you. So, you know what I'm gonna do?” He lifts himself up so he can give you a quick kiss. “I'll tell every civilization I meet about you. Every artist and poet, they'll all know your name. You'll have masterpieces made in your memory, they'll name stars and constellations and planets after you. So no matter how much time passes, no matter how crammed full of memories my mind gets, I will never, ever, forget you. Even if I can't immortalise you in body, I will in spirit.”
You plant a kiss between his antennae, giggling as they brush against your skin. “That sounds perfect, Lux.” The God of Light flops back down onto you, his eyes closed and a big smile on his face. While you lie there with him, you run your fingers through his hair. It was surprisingly fluffy for a God that seemed to do nothing with it. In the peaceful quiet of the room, you can hear something. It's.. coming from Lux. You lean your head onto his, getting closer so you can discern what the sound is. He's purring. Or.. chittering? It's quite a strange noise, a high pitched vibration. More bug-like than from a cat. But paired with the adorable look on his face, you can't help but love it.
His antennae suddenly perk up, the feeling of them brushing against your cheek making you lift your head to look at him. “Have you been in here this whole time, angel? Do you wanna get something to eat?” A smile rises to your lips at his concern for you.
“Your harbinger got me a snack while I was asleep, don't worry.” The little stalks on his head bend down as he relaxes again. “I got you something while I was out, by the way.” That has his attention. Lux sits up in your lap, hands tapping at your stomach.
“Oooo what did you get, what did you get me?”
“Well get off and I'll show you!” You wave his hands off of you with a laugh, watching him bounce up and around the room in his excitement. Lifting yourself from the mattress, you point at the desk where the chess board has been placed. Lux wastes no time hopping onto the chair by it, leaning over to examine the flat box the game was inside. “It's a strategy kind of game, you have to outsmart your opponent and take all their pieces. I thought you might like a little brain teaser.”
He watches as you lay the board out on the desk and arrange all the pieces. “So we play against each other? Oh, you're on, toots! Think you can win against a God?” You pull up a chair from another table in the room, sitting so the board is between you and Lux. He's got a smug little grin on his face, clearly trying to taunt you.
“I think I can indeed. You're the God of Light after all, not of games.” That gets his signature giggle out of him.
“You're lucky it's not him here! The Toymaker would have you beat in any game you could think of!” ..There's a God of Games? What others exist?
“There has to be a God of Death, right?”
Lux is reading the instructions from the box. “Mhm! Well, technically he just got promoted to Godhood, but they were my pantheon’s leader. Called themselves ‘the God of all Gods’. Ironically, he's dead now!” You stare at Lux as he chucks the instructions aside and slides a piece onto a different square. The Gods can die..? He glances up when you don't make a move in the game, immediately noticing the look on your face. “Angel. Don't worry about that. He was messing with a Time Lord, a rather smart one at that, and he got defeated. Actually, quite a few of the pantheon have lost against that guy now..” That doesn't help your nerves. “They all made the same mistake though, they were all looking for trouble with the Doctor. Me?” He swings his legs up to rest them on the desk. “I'm gonna stay here, with you! So don't worry your pretty little head about that Doctor. I'm not going anywhere, sunshine.”
The lax state he's in calms your nerves. You make your first move, smiling as Lux narrows his eyes in concentration. He scratches at the scruff on his chin before flicking his other hand, a piece moving by itself and knocking into yours. His smug grin makes you playfully glare at him. “Don't think you've won just because of that small victory.”
“Oh no, of course not, sweetie pie. I'll wait till I've beaten you to really celebrate!” Seems he's competitive. Let's see if he's got the skill to back up his boasting. You spend the rest of the day playing against your God, laughing and shouting echoing through the building as you both take wins and losses. You forget about the Doctor that Lux had mentioned, he wasn't worried so why should you be?
[Next chapter's the finale! 2 characters are gonna show up. Can you guess who? ;)]
ellievsbear
yousharknotpass
dailybridgerton
tangentwithtanner
