13. Lucien
LUCIEN
My ass hurts from sitting on the roof. As soon as Sparkle told me to leave, I technically left.
I just didn’t leave the vicinity of his house.
Instead, I teleported to the roof of his family home because I had to know why his father was so rude to my sweet, darling kitty cat.
I needed to be there in case something happened.
Not that Sparkle needed me. My sassy kitty can hold his own, apparently.
When everyone went inside, I had to get creative, which is how a higher demon of the second ring ended up lying on his stomach with his head hanging over the side of a roof so he could spy through a window.
Dignified? No. Necessary? Absolutely. I used enough magic to mostly hide myself.
Someone powerful enough could probably spot me, but they’d have to know to look.
No one knows to look. Except maybe that griffin from the bakery. I wouldn’t put anything past him.
I watched Sparkle walk through the house and into his bedroom.
I could still hear him talking to his little brother, and any humor I found in my predicament disappeared.
The poor boy was terrified his father wouldn’t love him because he likes boys.
But Sparkle didn’t hesitate. He made sure his brother knew he was loved.
He listened. He comforted him. He was exactly the person that little boy needed.
That’s my kitty. Not my kitty. We’ve established Sparkle doesn’t appreciate that. My hopefully someday kitty.
Then Sparkle’s father decided to make everything worse. I nearly teleported into the house when the asshole tried to kick Sparkle out. I probably would have if his mother hadn’t finally lost her shit. Sparkle’s mama is terrifying. I like her.
Watching her rip that pendant off her husband’s neck was almost worth the ache in my ass. Almost. Then the ears popped out. And the tail.
Oh. Oh.
The hypocritical little shit.
Sparkle’s father has spent all these years making him feel bad about something they fucking share.
There are so many delightful ways I can make that man regret ever making Sparkle feel like there’s something wrong with him.
Nothing permanent, of course. Probably. But Sparkle’s mama seems to have the situation handled.
She even told the asshole he could leave if he couldn’t get his fucking attitude adjusted.
I really like that woman.
Then things got even more interesting. Sparkle is moving out. My kitty is moving out! I nearly cheered before remembering I was spying on a private family conversation while lying on their roof. Celebrating might give me away.
And now he has the pendant that glamoured away his father’s ears and tail.
Which means Sparkle can go anywhere. He won’t need temporary charms or have to wait until Halloween to explore the human world.
I can take him to New York for dinner. Paris for dessert.
Tokyo just because we can. I can show him places he’s only ever seen in pictures.
Fuck. I’m not supposed to know any of this.
I can’t exactly show up tomorrow and say, Congratulations on moving out, darling. Also, where would you like me to teleport you now that you have your father’s magical pendant? He’d know I was spying. Which I was. For his protection. Mostly.
I already knew he works at Flutter and Fangs, though. He told me that himself. That information was obtained through completely respectable means. And I have been meaning to visit the club.
Okay, I haven’t, but that doesn’t matter.
I pull my phone from my pocket and text Ryan and Lars.
Lucien: Wanna go to a strip joint with me?
The answers come quickly, thank goodness. I don’t have the patience to wait.
Ryan: Yes.
Lars: No.
I stare at my screen. No?
Ryan: Why the fuck did you say no?
Lars: Absolutely fucking not.
Lucien: Why?
Lars: Did Sparkle invite you?
Lucien: No.
Lars: Did he tell you where he works?
Lucien: Yes.
Lars: Did he tell you to come watch him dance?
Lucien: No.
Ryan: Oh. Yeah. Wolfie’s right. That’s creepy.
Lucien: Okay, then I’ll just keep watching him from the roof.
Lars: WHAT?!
I ignore Lars’s little outburst and roll back onto my stomach to watch Sparkle when I can. I’m like this for a very long time, long enough that my neck starts to join my ass in protesting my life choices.
Lucien: THE CAT HAS BEEN FORCED TO SIT DOWN.
Lars: Are you still on his fucking roof?
Lucien: That’s irrelevant.
Ryan: You need hobbies.
Lucien: I own a nightclub.
Ryan: Apparently your new hobby is peeping through windows.
I’m not peeping. Peeping implies something sexual. I’m observing. There’s totally a difference.
Inside, Sparkle tries to stand again, but his mother points at his chair. I can’t hear what she says over his sisters talking at once, but Sparkle slowly lowers himself back into his seat. One of the twins grabs whatever he was reaching for and carries it into the kitchen instead. Interesting.
His mother puts a plate in front of him and kisses the top of his head before moving away. Sparkle stares down at the food like he doesn’t know what to do with it, and my chest squeezes.
Lucien: His mother made him sit down again.
Lars: YOU’RE STILL ON HIS ROOF?!
Lucien: I am lying down. No one can see me.
Lars: ON HIS ROOF.
Lucien: You keep getting hung up on that.
Sparkle’s little brother wedges himself into the chair beside him. One of his sisters takes the other side, and within seconds, everyone is talking over each other again. Sparkle laughs, and there it is. That beautiful fucking smile.
I sigh and watch him while his family fills the table. His father eventually returns too, though he takes the seat farthest from Sparkle. His ears are still out. So is his tail. Good. The bastard can suffer through having a perfectly adorable set of cat ears.
Sparkle doesn’t look at him, but his mother does. Every time Father Sparkle opens his mouth, Mama Sparkle shoots him a look that makes him close it again. I need to meet this woman under circumstances where I haven’t spent way too long spying on her family.
One of Sparkle’s sisters reaches across the table and steals something off his plate. Sparkle laughs when she shoves the entire thing into her mouth. He looks happy. Not the way he does at the bakery with his friends. This is softer. Comfortable.
But every time someone gets up, Sparkle starts to move. Someone needs a drink, he moves. Someone drops something, he moves. His mother needs something from the kitchen, he moves. And every fucking time, someone else beats him to it. He looks lost. Oh, darling.
Lucien: I think Sparkle’s family is trying to make him stop doing everything.
Ryan: Good.
Lars: Are we still pretending you aren’t spying on a private family dinner?
Lucien: Yes. Keep up.
Sparkle starts to rise again, and his mother catches his shoulder. Whatever she says makes two of his sisters laugh. Sparkle sticks his tongue out at them and drops back into his chair.
I saw the same thing at the grocery store.
I took two boxes from his hands, and he looked at me like I’d committed a crime.
He complains about being overwhelmed, but the moment anyone tries to take something off his plate, he scrambles to grab it back.
If Sparkle believes everything is his responsibility, of course, there isn’t room for romance.
Which means showing up at his job tonight is probably a terrible idea. I hate when Lars is right.
Lucien: Fine.
Lars: Fine what?
Lucien: I won’t go to Flutter and Fangs tonight.
Ryan: Holy shit.
Lars: Did you fall off the roof and hit your head?
Lucien: I hate both of you.
Ryan: You love us.
Lucien: Debatable.
I sigh and roll onto my back, staring up at the darkening sky.
This is ridiculous. I’m a higher demon. I’ve lived for centuries.
I’ve traveled between realms. I run one of the best supernatural clubs in the area.
I can teleport across the world with a snap of my fingers.
And apparently I need a wolf shifter and a vampire to explain why showing up uninvited at my crush’s strip club immediately after spying on his family dinner is a bad idea.
When I phrase it like that, I suppose it does sound a little questionable.
My phone buzzes again.
Lars: Go home.
Ryan: Yeah. Let the kitty breathe.
Lucien: I hate when you make sense.
Lars: See him tomorrow at the bakery.
Lucien: That’s different?
Lars: YES.
Ryan: He already knows you go there now. And you literally told him you’ll see him tomorrow.
Lucien: Excellent point.
Lars: And if he isn’t there, you DO NOT hunt him down.
Lucien: Define hunt.
Lars: LUCIEN!
Ryan: I’m crying lmao.
I grin and tuck my phone against my chest. Fine. Tomorrow morning. Same time. Same place as the last couple of mornings. And if Sparkle isn’t there, I’ll eat my breakfast like a perfectly normal demon and go home. Easy.
Inside the house, another burst of laughter reaches me.
I roll back onto my stomach and peek over the edge one last time.
Sparkle laughs so hard his ears flattened against his hair.
One of the twins has her arm around his shoulders while Ferris hangs off his other side.
His mother stands behind him with her hands resting on his shoulders.
His father isn’t smiling, but fuck him. Everyone else is having fun.
For all the loneliness I sensed pouring off Sparkle when we met, he is loved.
Deeply. Messily. Loudly. Maybe what he needs isn’t someone to save him from any of this.
Maybe he needs someone who asks what Sparkle wants and makes him sit his pretty ass down once in a while.
I can do that. But not tonight. Tonight, I can give him what he actually asked me for. Space.
Fuck, romance is difficult.
I push myself onto my knees and immediately groan when my neck protests. How long have I been on this fucking roof?
Tomorrow, I won’t mention the pendant. I won’t mention his father or that he’s moving out, and I definitely won’t mention that I spent hours lying on his roof like some lovesick gargoyle.
I’ll wait until morning to make my move. After all, I know exactly where my pretty kitty will be. Probably.