#Growing pains | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

1-helluva-hazbin · 8 months ago

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Growing Pains

Lucifer x Reader

Content warning: fluff, trust building, slow burn, building communication skills, self improvement, fast proofread (please excuse the errors)

Summary: Lucifer's attempt to bond with you, a newer resident of the hotel, spectacularly backfires. Unable to avoid Lucifer, with an impending sinister catalyst, necessitate a resolution forcing you to work through your avoidance tendencies.

Author Notes: This one shot is on the longer side. Let me know if you think I should have made it 2 chapters or if it works as it is. I also wanted to apologize for the day delay! Yesterday did not go as I had planned.

Word Count: 6183

Thank you for all the love and support you choose to give!

Charlie and Vaggie were sitting and talking in the hotel lobby not too far off from you. Vaggie’s one arm, the one you could see, casually draped over the back of the couch. Her thumb stretched from its resting position, lightly caressing her partner as they talked. A minute affection Charlie didn’t seem to notice in her exuberant excitement. One you couldn’t help but focus on, completely ignoring the book you were looking over. You forced your attention back to the book momentarily before Charlie started laughing. The sound ripped your gaze from the pages back over to the loving couple. Charlie’s hand now on Vaggie’s arm.

It made the skin on your arm prickle with goosebumps.

“My, my, my, weren’t you ever taught it’s rude to stare?” The accusation startled you from your fixation and you tilted your head to see Lucifer propped from beside you. One eyebrow skyrocketed nearly to his hairline while the over exaggerated smile on his lips seemed to pull painfully tight on his lips as he attempted to playfully exclaim, “It’s almost like you’re plotting something!”

His quip stung, intentionally or not. You had noticed since arriving his method of interacting with other sinners was usually to tease them about sinner-like things; violence, cannibalism, plotting against other people, their drug use. His favorite against you was that you were plotting a scheme, usually against Charlie. Everyone had been slightly wary of you upon your arrival. Charlie had sworn up and down that it would change. That since you always seemed so aloof and standoffish it was just unnerving for some people in the hotel. Including her dad who was trying, in his own way, to connect with all the sinners when he was around. He had a couple thousand years of prejudice to work through but, he was trying!

She had taken to coaching you at every interaction you had with her. Even Vaggie had jumped on board with her encouragement. If one of them said hello and asked how your day was, a simple ‘fine’ wouldn’t suffice. It didn’t encourage bonding! No, you had to elaborate. Tell them what you did that day. Did you learn anything new? What books are you reading? Share with them things about yourself! Ask how their day was. Reference something they previously told you. Have an actual conversation.

As well intended as they were, it was exhausting. Having gone from almost solitary living for the last century or two -between working in a job where you were almost completely unbothered while living with a single roommate whom you could go days without speaking to- this was a complete 180 and utterly tiring. You didn’t uproot your life to make friends. You had come here to work on redeeming yourself. Get into heaven if it was possible. Which Charlie repeatedly told you included being friendlier, kind, thoughtful, and most importantly selfless. Even if you didn’t necessarily care about everything other people had to say, it was important to still allow them space to be themselves without judgment and make sure they felt heard. That is what would help get you into heaven!

You had noticed as time wore on, begrudgingly so, the tactics she had you practicing had been working. Several of the newer residents had loosened up around you and started conversing with you on a somewhat regular basis. During some of the group exercises where Charlie would tell people to pair up, they had come up to you and suggested you work together. It was just a skill you had let wither that you needed to redevelop. A plant you needed to relocate from shade to sun.

Whatever analogy you needed to tell yourself you did to prevent yourself from giving up. You came here for redemption after all which meant something needed to change and maybe that was part of it. You wouldn’t have been cast to hell if you had gotten things right.

So as Lucifer loitered beside you, you tried to keep in mind you needed to be better and that this was his way of connecting like Charlie had said. Regardless of how it stung hearing it time and time again. This was just practice. More draining practice. “I’m not plotting anything sir.” you said, closing the book in your hands before setting it down to make sure he knew he had your attention. Now what though?

You wracked your mind for what to say next. Charlie said to be honest with people. How do you explain to him why exactly you were staring? That you had started craving physical touch again since coming here. That after having gone years without brushing against anything other than the books you worked with, that having Charlie clasp your hands when she was excited or Angel throwing an completely unwarranted arm over your shoulders when he wanted to use you as a prop for his dramatics, those simple actions had suddenly rekindled your human, well sinner, desire for contact. How pathetic would that make you look? How weak? Then to have been caught fixated on them, desperate to live vicariously momentarily.

“I was just…” you drawled. The idea of telling the truth set your face ablaze in embarrassment. You couldn’t bring yourself to say the truth. You looked over at the couple settling on your answer. “...admiring their relationship.”

He openly laughed, playing along with his original story, “Mmmmhm. If you say so~~.”

A combination of frustration and disappointment washed over you. Completely incinerating any trace of the embarrassment you have felt over the real reason why you had been staring. Hearing him happily hum as he sauntered over to Charlie not believing an ounce of what you said regardless of your lack of ill will towards the princess. If he was only joking, why was it the same barb over and over? Why were you the one he continuously chose to make that specific joke with? It really didn’t feel like a joke anymore.

You looked down at your book trying and failing to speedily process your emotions. You heaved yourself up turning to leave. Not wanting to exist in other people’s presence anymore. Too emotionally taxed.

Wrapped up in your own feelings and thoughts you missed Lucifer glancing back at you. You missed the jarred skip of his step as he caught sight of the haggard expression during your momentary unmasking. You missed the fact he stopped walking all together as you slipped from the room.

You quickly found shelter in the sanctity of your room. Recharging the rest of the evening cocooned in the fuzziest blankets you had, that you made sure always smelled of orange and cinnamon, buried in the book you had just gotten. As the evening slipped into night though, you slipped from your room and made your way down the hall needing a small break from the confines of your quarters before heading to sleep. Because despite your exhaustion, you enjoyed a little fresh air before bed.

Living on the second to top floor had its downsides; like being closer to Alastor’s studio or hiking up the seemingly endless number of stairs. You personally felt it had more perks though. One of the best upsides being a small balcony with a cafe styled table and chairs. Later in the evening when a good number of the residents had either retired to their room for the evening or were still out partying, there was a blissful window of time where there was little risk of running into some else. So you would make your way to the balcony and sit looking out over the city.

Disconnected but present.

You pulled one of the chairs next to the railing so the back of the seat was at a 90 degree angle to the railing. Plopping yourself down, you perched yourself in the seat with both feet up. One arm rested on the railing so as you leaned forward, your belly pressing into your legs, your chin and cheek resting on your arm rather than the cool metal. A few adjustments here and there quickly remedied any qualms your body had with the positioning and finally you were nestled in. The final signal of settling a small decompressing huff.

The usual sights and sounds greeted you. Your eyes scanning for any changes or immediate drama to observe from your box seat above the masses. Angel Dust and Husk walking away from the hotel caught your eye. Angel talking with his whole body as Husk just shook his head in amusement. Angel suddenly buckled over laughing before reaching out to place a hand on Husk’s shoulder to steady himself.

The skin on your shoulder prickled and you involuntarily shiver. You look away from them too little too late. The ache for contact instantaneously tearing at you from the inside. The arm wrapped around yourself tightened in a futile attempt to ease the ache, already knowing from experience it wouldn’t work. You buried your face in your arms contemplating just going back to your room to lose yourself in the book that had occupied your warring mind earlier.

A click sounded from behind you making your head shoot up to see a bashful appearing Lucifer holding the door open. He gave a lopsided grin, gingerly pointing to the second seat, “Do you… mind if I join you?”

You blinked a couple of times, staring at him. Immediately wary of his presence. The lingering silence dragged on, making him shuffle anxiously before you gave permission with a curt nod. You directed your attention back out towards the city despite being hyper aware of him.

A quivering laugh slipped from his lips as he stepped out a little too close for your liking, admittedly the size of the balcony was intended to be intimate, and closed the door behind him as he sat down in the seat across from you. He immediately stretched out, slipping his legs through the railings, putting one elbow on the table between the two of you. “Not a bad view from up here. If you ignore most of the gun shots and ‘fuck you’s’ it can be pretty enjoyable.” He shot a sideways glance over to feel out your reaction at his attempted small talk.

“Yeah it is.”

The city sounds echoed between the two of you. Distant conversations filling the void that the two beings right there were unable, or unwilling, to fill. He nervously laughed, his fingers drumming on the table. You looked over to him this time. Seeing his eyes flittering from object to object unable to choose 1 thing to look at.

Quickly, his drumming fingers started to grate against your already worn nerves and tired mind. Unable to bare whatever this was any further, you attempted to excuse yourself as you started to stand. “It’s late. I’m heading to-”

“No! Wait! Wait!” he sat up from his faux relaxed pose holding out both hands. “Just… hold on.” he breathed out yet another quivering laugh, the panic shining brightly in his eyes as you bore into him with yours.

He took a deep breath. He looked away, mentally giving himself a small pep talk before he looked back. “I wanted to talk. About earlier.”

“I’m tired….” you admit as you stood there looking down at him. His nervous grin and hopeful eyes making your resolve to run buckle. “What about earlier?” you ask, easing back into your seat placing both hands of your clasped on the table.

“Thank you.” he said before beginning to explain. “When you were leaving the lobby,” he specified, making a circle motion with one of his hands, “you looked, well, upset.”

“I looked upset.” you repeated.

He slowly nodded. His next words said slowly and carefully, “I was… wondering if it was something I did? Or said?” he paused before further clarifying, “I wanted you to tell me why.”

You scoffed. Perhaps it was the unroofing of a metaphorical wound his joke had made. Perhaps because you were tired. It could have also been a combination or something completely unrelated. Regardless, you were unable to hold back the venomous sarcasm that slipped from you, “Well I can’t imagine why.” Lucifer’s eyes widened, the reaction only egging you on. “It’s like constantly being judged for something you didn’t and wouldn’t do isn’t upsetting.”

Lucifer stared blankly, “What?”

“Oh you’re plotting against Charlie I see?” your voice lowered in a pathetic attempt to mimic the king. “How many times did you think you’d get away with making the same joke before I realized you clearly meant it? That you’re genuinely suspicious I’m out to hurt Charlie?”

“I didn’t-”

“How many times do I have to tell you I’m not out to get her? I like Charlie! She’s kind! She’s thoughtful! Yeah she’s irritatingly persistent but, she needs to be.”

You had started to dig your nails into your own clasped hands in your flurry of emotions unable to reign them in. You took a breath, realizing you needed to step away from this conversation. You stood up just as Lucifer found his voice. “I never meant for it to be an accusation. It was meant to be a joke.” You felt your emotions spike again, your jaw clenching, as he continued, “I saw you staring at them an-”

“Because I’m TOUCH STARVED!” the words were out of your mouth before you could consider what you were saying, “I saw them giving one another affection and was just so envious! I just stared! I didn’t mean to, I-” You glanced up to him to find a look of confusion, twisting with what you interpreted as disgust, on Lucifer’s face that made your train of thought grind to a halt to reevaluate why his expression was so. Your mind finally processing your admission. “I just…” A hand slowly lifted to lightly cover your mouth, your eyes widening.

“What now?” he asked, the confusion deepening in the expression of his face. A raised eyebrow. A lopsided frown. The slight tilt of his head.

Your face started burning, chest tightening. It instantly became hard to breathe. Panic. You were panicking at the vulnerability you had just bared. Anger melded with embarrassment in the midst of your anxiety. You bristled, launching into an unneeded defense. “You know what, I don’t need to fucking explain myself to you.” You turned, throwing the door to the balcony open, practically running back to your room. Anything he might have said behind you drowned out by your panicked thoughts.

A sleepless night followed. Unable to calm your mind, it ran in circles in your head; justification of your outburst, realizing you completely blew it all out of proportion, getting angry that you had allowed such a vulnerability to air so freely, fear of what Lucifer might do with the information or who he might tell, embarrassment at being so weak, anger at the conversation having happened, before feeling defensive again to repeating the looping train of thought. As the day’s light started to breach the veil of night, only then did you finally slip into unconsciousness utterly spent.

The next few days were spent dodging Lucifer which was relatively easy since you were simultaneously also attempting to fix your wrecked sleep schedule. When you were going to sessions though, you did your best to preemptively vacate any areas when you heard Lucifer approaching or avoided areas you knew he would be in. The change in behavior had mostly been easy to truthfully explain to Charlie as well when you boiled down the scenario into the simplest of terms. You had gotten upset about something and had ended up not sleeping well. While she of course wanted to know the whole situation to help you navigate it in any way she could, she was respectful, admittedly a little pouty, when you said it was something you weren’t ready to talk about. Not having to lie to her made you feel a little better since you missed quite a few of her group exercises.

While many of the residents didn’t care or hadn’t found the change to be too out of place, when paired with your explanation, it didn’t slip the careful eye of Alastor. The first day it had seemed to catch his attention but, by the second day he had taken a keen interest in your antics. When you would try to slip out before Lucifer would come into a room, he would stop you to talk about your participation in the session. Once he told you Charlie wanted to speak with you and then took you into a room where Lucifer and Charlie were talking, only for him to have misheard Charlie’s request. While he framed his actions as innocent and well intended, you had never seen the grin on Alastor’s face as wide as it was. It was unnerving.

By the fourth day, you weren’t just paranoid about running into Lucifer. Alastor’s newest hobby had seemed to become tormenting you and his questions and conversations had become probing. Feeling out cracks in your story. At one point he had even told you he was all ears for any issues you might have with other residents or guests.

Having lived through his rise to power, you knew there was no good to come from exposing yourself to such a machiavellian individual. You wouldn’t put it past him to worm a deal out of anyone, even as lowly you. An expendable pawn was still a piece to play and he was one to look at the bigger picture.

At that point, you garnered enough gumption to face Lucifer. You couldn’t risk getting caught under Alastor’s thumb and the idea of him knowing you were touch starved and how that could be held against you igniting a spike of anxiety. You knew Lucifer and Alastor were not on good terms but, the idea of word getting to Alastor was distressing. You loathed the idea of facing Lucifer but you needed to ensure your blunder remained under wraps. This was for self preservation at this point.

Towards the end of the day, you sequestered yourself to your room to prepare; plan key points you wanted to discuss, how you wanted to phrase things, etc. You knew you couldn't lose your head again, considering how the prior incend had led to the current circumstances. After an hour or so though, you felt ready.

You made your way to the top floor, taking extra precautions to avoid running into Alastor potentially heading to his studio. Once certain Alastor was not loitering about or following you, you made your way down the hallway towards Lucifer's room. You focused on your breathing as you trekked the hall. Attempting to quell your anxiety and slow your racing heart, to no avail. By the time you reached his door, your pulse was thrumming in your ears and you were certain he would be able to hear it too.

You stood before his door paralyzed. Both hands clenched at your side. Unable to stop the tremble that plagued them. Your eyes locked onto the perfect white presetine door as if trying to bore holes through it. Your breathing uneven. All the words you had practiced having evaporated from your head as you made your way there.

This was a mistake.

You pivot. Hurriedly, retreating.

Halfway back towards the stairs your eyes register Alastor's studio door and the terror that drove you to the point resurface. You halted. Your hands flew to your head in a silent temper tantrum as your mind raced to determine what would be the lesser evil. A sense of urgency gnawing at you considering you were standing dead center in the hallway of a barren floor.

What was worse; not knowing if Lucifer might reveal what you had said, accidentally or intentionally, with everyone including Alastor potentially finding out or turning around and confronting Lucifer?

The first concern was all just a possibility though wasn't it? There was no guarantee that it would happen. Talking to Lucifer wouldn't guarantee that he wouldn't spill your secret either. You let out a soft, maniacal sounding laugh as you took a step forward only to stop again. A possibility that would weigh on you for weeks to months leading to you lurking around the hotel, as you had been, haunting the place. Harrowed by the uncertainty at every turn.

"FFFUuuuucccckkk..." you groaned softly. Your palms sliding down your forehead pressing into your eyes. You needed to confront Lucifer. The realization making your stomach churn. You couldn't continue dodging him and you couldn't outrun the fear. You turned resting your back against the wall, your hands on your knees as you bent over mentally recollecting yourself. You went through what you had gone over before in your room. Reminding yourself of the key points.

You sighed and brought your palms to your eyes again. Slowly breathed out. Pulling your hands from your eyes, you launched off the wall propelling you back towards Lucifer's room. The momentum only lasting a few steps before freezing again.

"Heeeey, as entertaining as this pantomiming is, and it's a great performance, I would appreciate getting access to my room sometime tonight."

Your face blanched as a shiver slipped down your spine. You slowly turned to see Lucifer standing behind you. Both hands perched on the apple of his cane and a practiced smile on his lips. One eyebrow raised, almost lost beneath the rim of his hat, as he watched you tentatively turn towards him.

Instantly you straightened yourself and stepped aside. "Good evening." your voice was dry and hoarse.

"Yup. Good evening." he chirped back, unmoving. Your eyes were locked onto a spot on the floor, your mind utterly blank. As the seconds drew on, his smile tensed as he nervously waited for you to do...something? His fingers drummed on his cane. "Well... if the performance is over I'll be heading to my room. Have a good night!" He looked away awkwardly and started on his way.

A quick glance at his back got the gears in your brain working. What were you doing? He was right there. You were screwing it up. "Wait...wait! Lucifer…" It was soft, but loud enough for him to hear. He slowed and turned looking back.

"I..." Your eyes meeting made you want to run. The idea of having this conversation replusing you. You pushed off the wall and walked over towards him, fighting the urge to flee. "Are you free? I-...I would like to apologize and talk. About the other day?" Your face felt flushed.

Lucifer shuffled and gently smiled which was unnerving. It was a smile you had only ever seen reserved for Charlie and Vaggie. "Don't you think it's rather late? It would be a little unproductive if we had a repeat of last time."

The comment struck a nerve considering it was earlier in the day than when he had approached you. It must have shown on your face as his smile dropped paired with your response. "That's fine. We can talk tomorrow."

"Unless, you're not tired?" he asked, putting his nervous smile back on and laughing anxiously, "We could have a cup of tea this time. Chamomile perhaps?"

You hesitated but, then nodded. "That would be nice."

He nodded, as he started towards his room onto the spin around. "Ah! You're comfortable talking in my room right? I wouldn't want to make an assumption! We could certainly talk on the balcony again if you prefer!"

"Uh, somewhere private is preferred so your room is fine." You respond bluntly, his nervous energy deflating. He nodded once more, his grip on his cane as tight as a vice.

The two of you made your way to his room; him leading with you trailing after. His room was surprisingly clean though you couldn't help but notice a small work area over to the left of the door with two piles of perhaps 50 or so rubber ducks. He had noticed your gaze and eagerly redirected you over towards the windows where he had a little cushioned bench seat perched below. As you settled into the seat, Lucifer got two tea cups ready with a snap of his fingers.

He carried them over to you with practiced care and gingerly handed one off to you before he sat down as well. You took the cup, admiring the beautiful and intricate abstract design on it, before lightly blowing on it and taking a sip.

"Sooooo..." he drawled, having quickly taken a sip from his cup as well, "before you start, there is something I wanted to bring up if that's alright." Your eyes flick to his, his expression a mask utilizing his usual smile. You nod, making sure he saw before he proceeded,"I need you to explain to me what you meant by 'touch staved'."

You gawked at him. You hadn’t heard what you thought you just heard. “What?”

Lucifer blinked before looking a little frantic and blurting out, “I know what it means! Of course I know what it means. I’m the king of hell. I’m not so wildly out of touch that I don’t!” he laughed looking out the window before taking a sip of his tea, “I’ve also heard it can mean different things to different people. So I want to know what it means. To you! I want to know what it means to you.”

He finally looked back to you taking another sip of his tea, already halfway through his small porcelain cup. Meanwhile, you felt like you were short circuiting sitting across from him. Not only had you spent the last few days fretting and dodging the angel, worrying that he would tell people what you said, but now he was asking you to spell it out for him. Was he….messing with you? You studied him before he gave you a toothy grin coyly purred out, “So?”

It didn’t seem like he was messing with you. Something like this was more Angel Dust’s style of teasing. You mimic Lucifer by taking a sip of your tea for a slight delay. You carefully set the teacup down on the windowsill next to you and place your hands in your lap. “I need you to promise me you’ll never tell anyone.”

“And why would I do that?” He asked. He was messing with you now though you were in no mood for it.

You narrowed your eyes at him and stated as matter of factly as you could despite wanting to spit venom defensively, “I’m not untouchable like you. We’re in HELL. Anything and everything can be used against you by the wrong people. I can’t end up having someone use anything I say here against me.”

His facade softened and his smile dropped into a frown. He brought the teacup up to his lips and muttered something into the chamomile. “No one is untouchable…”

You heard him say something but, hadn't been able to make it out so you remained quiet.

“I promise to never tell another soul.” he finally sighed.

“On Charlie’s life?” you asked, knowing he could still share what was said as there was no magic binding him. You needed to know just how serious he was though and Charlie was usually a good indicator. His eyes flashed red and they narrowed at you. You held firm, keeping eye contact and straightening your spine.

“On my life. No reason to bring Charlie into this.” he leaned back, his eyes fading back to their normal golden hue.

You hesitated to accept but relented with a nod. Knowing you had to accept the compromise he offered but, you did feel satisfied that he wouldn’t share what was said. You started thinking about where to begin. As you contemplated, you felt your face heat in embarrassment. He watched, patiently biding his time as he lightly tapped the rim of his teacup with a claw topping it off with more tea.

“For me…” you looked him, locking eyes. The embarrassment clawing through you. The intensity making you panic. Your eyes darted away. Finding a spot on the floor to stare at again so you could think with even a fraction more clarity. “For me it means I… I …miss…touch.”

You glanced up to him, to see the sight raise of an eyebrow. Your mind started churning with worst case scenarios and suddenly your face burned hotter. You looked away again.

“Not sexual!” The words spit out, not wanting any uncomfortable undertones to the conversation. “It’s just… simple touch. Like hugging. Lightly having someone put their hand on my shoulder. Even just bumping into people. Any sort of skin contact makes me want more and afterwards that’s all I want. It takes days for that to calm down and since being here… that’s usually around the time something else happens. It’s a never ending cycle.”

He listened, his face remaining neutral as you spoke and he remained silent for a beat after you finished. You rubbed your arm. Between talking about the topic and your nerves, there was a compulsion to do something with your hands. He broke the silence, “The other day when we had our…falling out, you had been watching Charlie and Vaggie because you saw them touching one another? That is why you mentioned being envious?”

You nodded, closing your eyes as you took a breath in an attempt to calm yourself.

He smiled. His fingers rubbing the edge of his teacup as he gazed into it. He knew those feelings all too well. “That…makes sense.” You open your eyes to look at him, noticing the look on his face. He noticed your movement and looked up to you, giving a lopsided smile.

Lilith had been absent for 7 years.

Your eyes widened at the possibility and dared to pose the question, “You too?”

Lucifer stiffened a moment, took a breath and nodded. “Yes. Even I have those days.”

He took a sip of his tea and looked out the window. You picked yours back up and mimicked his action.

“I’m sorry…” you said after a few minutes of what you felt was relatively comfortable silence. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you the other day. It wasn’t fair. I was tired and already feeling…exposed? Hmm…sensitive is probably a better word…”

“Regardless, I knew I was tired. I should have asked to shelve the conversation once I realized it wasn’t something I couldn’t handle right then and there. I’m also sorry for not actually hearing you out once you started since I didn’t ask to stop. I’d like to try discussing it again if you’re willing.”

You spoke while looking out the window. Seeing him shift his attention to you from your peripherals you keep your eyes trained to elsewhere. After you finished, you turned slightly to look at him from the corner of your eye.

The conversation that followed supplied far better results than the last. He clarified how all of his barbs had been an attempt to be playful since he didn’t know you well but, understood how hearing it over and over had manifested as a passive aggressive accusation on your end. You apologized for having taken it that way and not properly addressed the issue before it started to fester as anger. The compromising being he wouldl stop trying to interact with you in that way with the caveat being if he slipped up or tried something new that you didn’t appreciate, you would address it before resentment could build.

At the end, the both of you sat on the bench sipping the last of your tea looking out at the city. At some point, Lucifer had opened one of the windows. A light caress of warm wind slipped in scattering goosebumps up your arms despite it not being cold and you brought a hand up to rub them, hoping they rescinded quickly.

Lucifer’s eyes slid to the motion. “So how long has it been since you had, I guess, consistent contact with someone?”

You blinked, thinking about it. “A couple decades.”

“Decades?” he gasped out. He realized just how loud he had been and he coughed with a smile to cover up his reaction. “I mean. Decades. That’s… awhile.”

“Yeah, well…” uncertain on if he was genuinely surprised at the length of time or found it underwhelming and was being sarcastic, you weren’t entirely sure what to make of his reaction. “Most sinners don’t bother with libraries. The hellborn who do, don’t want to interact with a sinner and avoided me, opting for one of the other hellborns working. So I got left alone most of the time.”

You shrugged your shoulders and turned your attention back out the window. Thinking about it now, it hadn’t bothered you then. You suppose you might have just been ignoring that downside though. It had always been easy to check yourself out emotionally and just get through what needed to be done. Not contemplating what you wanted or what could be. Only focused on what was.

“Has…” you start and then stop, wondering if you should ask. You glance over to him seeing he hadn’t redirected his attention to you. “How long has it been for you?”

“Consistently?” he asked as he pondered the question he had posed to you. “A decade? Maybe a little longer. Lilith and I…” his eyes roamed down to his ring. “We had more downs than ups well before she left but I still got some affection in between when we had a good stretch.

A sad tone had seeped into his voice. He gently rubbed the ring with his middle finger, a sense of melancholy filling the room. You watched. Never having had an extended relationship with someone before, you couldn't pretend to imagine the feelings that lingered. You took a breath and then scooted over on the bench seat pulling him from his thoughts. You extended an open hand to him. He stared. He hesitated before slowly reaching out, his decision wavering for a split second before he placed his hand in yours.

You gently took hold of his hand and looked back out the window. He was far warmer than you had expected him to be. His skin soft. You sighed softly feeling far less unsettled by the sensation than you had thought, regardless of how intimate the action could be seen. It was mindless for you as your thumb began to lightly caress the back of his hand. Lucifer fidgeted next to you, though he didn’t retract his hand.

You weren’t sure how long the two of you sat there. The sounds of the city echoing off the walls of his room with hell’s consistent warm breeze enveloping the two of you in wave after wave. Each of you basking in the warmth of the other, no matter how little it was. It wasn’t until you noticed Lucifer starting to nod off that you smiled and squeezed his hand.

His eyes fluttered open to find you looking at him with a bemused smile. The softest you had looked at him to date. “You’re tired.”

“I’m not.” he mumbled, a well timed yawn slipping from his lips. You raised a brow with his response being a ‘tsk’ noise.

You slowly, reluctantly, pull your hand from his before pushing yourself to a stand. A stretch had a few of your joints popping. “Would be an awful idea to fall asleep like that.”

He stood next to you with a noncommittal hum. As you reached for your cup and saucer, a snap of his fingers dispensed of both his and yours. You nod at him before you look over towards the door and then back to him. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. That kind of magic is thoughtless to me.” he said, misinterpreting your meaning.

“I meant for talking things over and spending your evening with me.”

He burbled out a laugh. “Oh well don’t mention that either. Literally. Don’t mention this to anyone. I have a reputation to uphold. King of hell and all.” he grinned at you with his characteristic saccharine smile.

“An exchange of secrets then?” You asked, entertaining a little bit of his playfulness.

“Ah, still worried about me spilling the beans?” he asked, walking you to the door. “An exchange then. I won’t share yours if you don’t share mine.”

“Deal.” The response was quick and sharp. He opened the door and you stepped through the threshold, pausing and turning around. “Thank you again. I… enjoyed this. Most of this anyway.”

“My pleasure.” his hand did several circle motions as he performed a mock half bow.

You rolled your eyes at his dramatics. “Goodnight Lucifer.” you say beginning to head off before you add, “Let me know if you would like to do something like this again. A tea time or something. I’ll make sure to keep it drama free.”

He grinned leaning against his door frame. “I’d enjoy that.”

#lucifer morningstar #lucifer hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel #lucifer magne #lucifer morningstar x you #lucifer x reader #my writing #hazbin hotel lucifer x reader #Growing Pains #slow burn #hazbin hotel lucifer #hazbin lucifer #hazbin hotel x you #hazbin hotel x y/n #fanfiction #fanfic #1-helluva-hazbin #writing

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whereianonymouslypostfics · 7 months ago

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Growing Pains Part 5

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x reader

Word count: ~6.6k

Summary: Little Nat is almost 13 and school’s a bitch. Retired mob boss turned stay-at-home mom Wanda has to figure out how to deal with bullies at her daughter’s school.

A/N: Credit to @rianncreates for this fic idea.

Warnings: Fluff, teen angst, injury, reference to previous injury/trauma, bullies, and pranks

You’re in an appointment when Wanda calls you so she leaves you a voicemail that tells you to call her. Your watch shows the missed call, but you’re too preoccupied with the cute family of rats to notice until about 20 minutes later. By then it’s three missed calls and as soon as you’re out of the room you leave your assistant to finish up as you rush upstairs.

Wanda had thought about it for a while after getting off the phone with the principal, and she was suspecting that Natalya was acting out for a reason. She was a pre-teen and although this type of behavior could be common for most, she knew it wasn’t her daughter. The brunette was more concerned with the rules than either of her parents, hell her entire family. She used to cry when she was younger because she thought she broke the rules, and although she’d improved, she still felt massive amounts of anxiety at the idea of doing anything that could get her in trouble.

Wanda wondered why her daughter had pulled this seemingly random prank. She didn’t know who her daughter had targeted, but the principal had indicated that her parents would be present as well, and that alone made her hope that you’d be free. She didn’t like the idea of facing off parents alone, but she supposes she may not have a choice. When you answer the phone, she’s quick to get to the point because she’s sure you’re busy.

“Wands? What’s wrong?”

Wanda sighs and you can’t help but feel a little anxious about what she has to say. You wonder what could have happened since you last saw her, but you’re not even close to guessing it right when Wanda speaks up.

“Natalya’s principal called. Apparently, our daughter played a prank on a girl, and she’d like all of us to come by at the end of the day for a meeting.”

You’re as shocked as Wanda had been because despite being a little mischievous at home, you never would have guessed that Nat would do something like this at school. She was annoyingly inflexible when it came to the rules, and you can’t help but wonder who made your daughter do this, and why. Instead of asking this because you figure Wanda would have told you if she knew, you ask something else.

“Who is ‘all of us'?”

When Wanda tells you that both of you and the girl’s parents should be present, you can’t help but grimace at the idea. You haven’t had to do something like this before with Nat and you were definitely ill-prepared. You always would have thought that you’d be meeting with another teacher to discuss your daughter’s forgetfulness, not something like this.

“Okay. That sounds…fun. I will be there. Hopefully we can figure out what happened.”

Natalya was beginning to lose her resolve by the time the last period started, and she could barely pay attention as she considered the consequences of her decision. She could have done something else, but this was the only way she and Taylor could think of to get the administration’s attention on her feud with Stacy without Nat directly going to them. Well she ran right to her office, but this prank was a good excuse to get the necessary people in the room to try and get Stacy in trouble for everything she’s done.

Except things hadn’t worked out quite as planned. She’d only been able to say the bare minimum before she was told that the rest would wait until after school. When she’d be back here with both her and Stacy’s parents. The idea of having to tell her moms and Stacy’s parents at the same time was freaking her out, and by the time the last bell rang she was sweating. She raced out of the classroom to find her friends before they went off to practice, and before she had to go to this meeting.

She sees Alyssa first and she nearly runs into her locker as she opens it right in front of her.

“This is going to be so bad.”

Alyssa jumps in surprise at her appearance, but she quickly shakes her head before she smiles kindly at her strung out friend. This wasn’t exactly the plan, but the truth would come out soon and she was sure that someone was going to do something about it. If not the principal or Stacy’s parents, she knew damn well that Nat’s moms wouldn’t just let it go. She could certainly see Mrs. Maximoff plotting revenge for her daughter.

“It will be alright, Nat. Just tell the truth and don’t let Stacy get to you.”

“Yeah, and don’t let her mess with you, or we’ll mess her up.”

Nat turns at the sound of Taylor’s voice a she feels her anxiety increase at the sight of her friend’s gym bag reminding her that she’s going to be late if not missing practice today. She tries to believe what her friends say. She’ll be able to tell the truth about Stacy, and she’ll be killing two birds with one stone since her parents were there. She tries not to think about how mad her moms might be about the whole thing. She’s not sure if they’ll be angrier about Stacy’s behavior, or her refusal to tell them. She’s afraid it’s going to be the former.

“Okay, okay. You’re right. I’ll probably not be at practice today. Can you tell coach?”

They just nod before figuring they’ll say she’s sick. They have a game tomorrow and Nat may not be able to play if she doesn’t come to practice today, but they’ll just have to see. They hug her and offer to walk her to the office so she doesn’t have to go alone, and Nat jumps on the opportunity.

You can’t help but be a little flustered by the time you arrive at school. You see a flood of students leaving and you realize you’ve missed the last bell. It took you longer to get away from work than you thought it would, and you forgot that you’d have to take Boone with you unless you wanted to drive back to work. You contemplated letting him roam around but you were worried he’d be bothered so you’d decided to leave him in the car with the AC on. This only lasted for a moment because as soon as you left, he started to howl and it was definitely noticeable. For this reason, you decided to throw on his service animal vest and let him follow you around. You told him to wait outside of the cafeteria as you walked through the doors and toward the front office. You spot your wife standing next to Natalya who’s looking incredibly tense.

“Hey detka.”

You accept a kiss on the cheek before you turn to your daughter to see she’s looking even more unsettled than you expected. You figure she’s worried about getting in trouble, but you’ll save any scolding until you hear about what happened.

“Hey, there, so this is new.”

Wanda rolls her eyes and Nat shoots you a confused look before looking back toward where you came. You realize that Boone is staring at you and you shoot him a look before pointing back toward where you’d left him.

“Boone’s here?”

You nod despite it being obvious and you claim that you came straight from work which makes Nat cringe a little. She knows you would have been at work for at least two more hours, and she’s not sure if you’re going back after this. She feels guilty for disturbing both of her parents’ days, but she’s hoping this is worth it.

Nat opens her mouth to apologize but she’s cut off as the principal’s door opens and she steps outside right as Stacy arrives with her parents. You’re a little surprised by her appearance, and you don’t miss Nat smile slightly at the sight of the blonde still very glittery.

“Mrs. Maximoff, Dr. Y/L/N, thank you for coming. Let’s get started shall we.”

Nat and Stacy are sitting beside each other against one wall, while all of the parents are sitting directly in front of Ms. Lewis. It seems like an interesting set up until you realize that the kids are going to be the ones doing most of the talking. You realize quickly that Natalya is responsible for the blonde, Stacy’s appearance, and you can’t help but be a little surprised by this.

“So girls, I know we touched on it earlier, but can you tell everyone how this all started?”

Nat considers trying to speak up but she knows that Stacy’s going to start because she always needs to go first. She resists the urge to roll her eyes as she listens to her bitch about her dumb prank again.

“Natalya broke into my locker and put a glitter bomb in there!”

You have to stop yourself from cackling at the ridiculousness of this statement while Wanda tries hard not to frown. Wanda’s always been the tougher parent, but you also just took a little longer to pass judgement. Your wife’s temper hadn’t cooled at all since she left her job, and it was usually your job to remind her to take a breather or not go postal about something relatively minor. You still weren’t sure where this fell considering your limited knowledge. You watch as your daughter sighs before scowling at Stacy with a barely restrained eye roll. You’ve seen it enough to know, and you can tell by your wife’s deepening frown that she can too.

“That’s not where it started. This started when you decided to torment me for no reason months ago.”

There’s silence for a few seconds as Stacy just shakes her head and crosses her arms as she stares at her feet in order to avoid the gazes of everyone in the room.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Nat’s getting fed up with the blonde and she practically throws her arm out in front of her as she asks her a rhetorical question.

“So you don’t remember shoving me and causing me to burn myself?”

Your eyes widen as they go to the mostly healed burn on your daughter’s hand. She’d told both you and Wanda that it had been an accident, and you’d believed her. You’re not sure why she would lie, but you have a feeling that Nat’s about to get to it. Wanda sits up straighter and her eyes flicker to the principal who speaks up before Stacy can.

“Ms. Jenkins, is that true?”

Stacy just shrugs as she continues to avoid eye contact, but she makes sure to glare at Nat’s arm as she lowers in back into her lap.

“No. I’m sure she just tripped. She’s a klutz and everybody knows it.”

Wanda decides that she does not like this girl. She’s rude and more importantly she hurt her baby, and she’s going to suffer dearly for it. She’s about to speak up, but the only man in the room beats her to it as he addresses his daughter with a stern look.

“Anastasia, tell the truth. Have you been harassing Natalya?”

The use of her full name has a similar effect to when you or Wanda use Nat’s in a certain tone and the teen winces before she unconvincingly shakes her head. Realizing they’re not getting anywhere; Wanda decides to address her daughter. If Stacy’s not going to tell them anything, she can only hope Natalya will.

“Natalya. How long has this been going on?”

Nat only considers not answering for a few seconds before she catches her mom’s gaze and she realizes she really has no choice. She bites her lip before she looks to her moms and speaks in a quiet voice.

“A couple months after the school year started.”

You feel your heart sink when Nat says this because that was nearly 5 months ago. You can’t stop yourself from glowering at Stacy who’s now looking at the ceiling and pretending not to listen. You are speaking up before you can stop yourself, but no one objects to your question.

“And your burn…was that the first time you were hurt?”

Nat looks to her hand and runs a finger over the mostly healed pink skin with a frown. It had hurt a lot but luckily it had been small and her mom did a good job of taking care of it so it healed well. She shakes her head before mentioning that she’d been shoved and tripped a few times. When Stacy doesn’t deny it, everyone’s decided that she’s guilty.

“I mean she’s shoved and tripped me a couple of times, but mostly she just makes fun of me for being a loner.”

Wanda hates to hear this because it confirms her suspicion that Natalya had been trying to tell her something last week. She’d been trying to tell her about what she’d been dealing with at school. She was irrationally angry about this to overcompensate for the fact she’d been so oblivious. She had told her daughter that being a loner wasn’t a bad thing, but here someone was giving her grief about it. She was hurting her daughter because she was different. That made Wanda see red and she’s about to say something she shouldn’t when Stacy grumbles under her breath.

“God you’re such a wuss.”

This time Stacy’s mom speaks up and she looks more embarrassed than upset with her daughter, but you don’t have the capacity to care about this right now.

“Alright, that’s enough, young lady.”

Ms. Lewis decides to take it from here because she’s heard enough to make a decision. She’s going to try to give Nat a reprieve for a while.

“Alright, I’ve heard enough. Ms. Jenkins you’re suspended for three days while we investigate Natalya’s claims. Thank you for coming Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins. We’ll touch base again next week.”

Wanda is about to speak up but as the trio stand up, and Stacy practically storms out she realizes that they weren’t dismissed. She wants to know what an investigation entails, and why she’s not just taking Natalya’s word for it. You understand the need to do a little digging, but you wish that Ms. Lewis could understand that your daughter wasn’t lying.

After the family is gone, Nat releases a deep breath as she slouches in her chair. You frown and you consider asking Nat to move next to Wanda, but the principal is speaking up again before you have a chance. You’re not sure if you’re more discouraged or grateful for what she says.

“It’s standard to do some digging and make sure that someone can corroborate Natalya’s story, or at the very least not refute it. For the record, I believe you, Stacy’s always been a problem, but her parents have a lot of pull here. I’ll try my best to keep her out of school for as long as possible.”

Nat somehow looks more defeated by this because she knows that keeping Stacy away for 3 days will be the extent of it. Her parents have donated close to $300k since Stacy started here, and they would probably just throw more money to keep their daughter from being disciplined further. The thought was discouraging and you and Wanda feel the same way, but they hadn’t gone to the trouble of setting all of this up in hopes of getting Stacy truly reprimanded, or at worst expelled.

“Okay, thank you.”

Nat says this despite not really knowing what she’s thanking the older woman for, and she misses the smile she gets in return before they’re all dismissed. You stand up first and you reach out for your daughter to lead her out after thanking Ms. Lewis for her time. Wanda does the same, but she’s a little more upset by the outcome of this meeting. She follows you and Natalya out before checking her phone and realizing that meeting was less than 30 minutes. She wonders what they should do next, but you beat her to it as you look to Nat before glancing at your wife.

“Little Nat, how about you head to practice, and we can talk about this more at home?”

Nat likes this idea because she wants some time to process it all and figure out what she’s going to do next, but she looks to her other mom for approval. She seems more upset and she usually likes to get difficult discussions like this done sooner rather than later.

Wanda sighs as they arrive outside and Boone’s quick to jump up and greet them. He goes for Natalya first, and the brunette smiles as she reaches out to pet him with a sigh. She mutters a greeting before kissing his head and scratching his ears.

“Hi buddy.”

Wanda looks to you and you watch her reach a decision fairly quickly. She wants to talk to Natalya about this more, but she needs some time to think. She’ll go home and think on this as she makes dinner, and then she’ll come back to pick Nat up.

“That’s a good idea, especially since you have a game tomorrow. I’ll come back to pick you up, okay, milaya?”

The term makes Nat look to her mom immediately, and she hesitates for only a second before she nods and risks a hug. Wanda accepts it quickly and she holds her daughter tightly as she lets her grief at the situation overwhelm her for a moment before pulling away. They’ll figure this out. Even if they can’t get the school’s support, she’ll figure out how to make this right.

“Okay, Mama. See you soon.”

After receiving your hug, you and Wanda watch Nat walk in the other direction toward practice. If you weren’t so distracted by your thoughts, you’d offer to drive her, but she’s already well on her way by the time the thought occurs to you. You and Wanda walk to your cars with Boone on your heels, and you sigh before opening the back door for Boone. You help him jump up before turning to your wife with a frown. You can tell she’s equally disappointed by how everything just went and you both need some time to think it over. You’re going to try and work out some things on the ride home, but you’re sure it will take longer than that.

“Are you going back to work?”

Wanda watches as you shake your head before reaching out to pull her into a hug. You can tell she’s a little dazed and you don’t want her driving while she’s so distracted.

“No, I’ll meet you at home, and we’ll talk there. We’ll figure this out, okay?”

Wanda sighs before she shakes her head and looks back over to where Nat disappeared. She holds you tighter before letting you go and wiping her eyes. She hates that her baby has been dealing with that little brat for so long. She thinks back to the conversation she’d had with you recently and despite what you’d said, she feels like she’s let Natalya down.

“I just hate that she’s dealt with this alone for so long.”

You frown as you think about this and you agree with Wanda’s sentiment. At least the part about hating that Nat hadn’t been able to come to them about it. This thought reminds you of dinner last week and how Yelena and Pietro had talked to your daughter at some point. Apparently they’d given her advice. This makes you realize that she probably talked to them about this, and you try not to be upset by this. You shake your head before starting your car so Boone can sit in the AC after you shut the door. You take Wanda’s hand and lead her to her car which is only a couple of spots away.

“I hate it too, Wands, but we’ll talk to her after practice and we’ll come up with a plan.”

Wanda just nods wordlessly as she opens her car and gets in. She lowers the window and looks over to you with a small smile. She’s glad that you were here with her and she decides to believe you for now. She kisses your hand before starting the car with a faraway look.

“Okay, detka. I’ll see you soon?”

You smile at your wife before heading back to your car to follow her. You didn’t have a lot of faith that the principal would be able to do much about Stacy. You decided to figure out all you could about the kid and her parents to see why things had been able to go this far without any intervention. Hopefully they would have more answers after talking to Nat, but for now they were just going to have to wait.

Nat’s scowling by the time she arrives at the softball field. She’s so disappointed by how poorly that meeting had gone. She’d told everyone what happened, but Stacy had only gotten suspended for three days. As of now, there was nothing stopping her from coming back to school and making her life a living hell. She sighs in defeat as she walks into the dugout to see it’s mostly empty. Everyone is doing drills and she doesn’t even know what her friends told coach about her absence. She runs to the bathroom to change and she’s back a couple of minutes later to find Taylor and Alyssa waiting for her.

“Hey, you’re here!”

“How did it go?”

Nat just shakes her head as she throws her bag down and just grabs her glove to join the outfielders. She doesn’t quite make it before their coach calls her over.

“Horribly. I told them everything, and she’s only going to be suspended for 3 days.”

Taylor curses and Alyssa groans under her breath as she tries not to admit that this isn’t surprising. She instead just shakes her head and mutters something uncomplimentary. She shoots Natalya an apologetic look but she doesn’t notice as she jogs over to the older blonde.

“Hi, Coach Frost, sorry I’m late."

The blonde just offers her a smile before asking something that Nat is luckily too distracted to react to immediately.

“Don’t worry about it, Nat. How are you feeling? Your headache gone?”

Eventually Nat nods before she claims that she just drank a lot of water and started to feel better. She goes off to try and catch up on what she missed, and she misses the three looks she gets as she tries to distract herself. She’s going to have to find a way to explain everything to her moms when she got home. She hoped they wouldn’t be too mad at her.

“Wands, come on don’t be mad.”

Wanda shakes her head as she continues to angrily stir the batter in the bowl that she’s holding in her arms. You have already tried to take it from her, but she’d snatched it away and you didn’t dare try again. After all you were hoping to get some of the cookies that she was baking. You glance around the kitchen briefly at the mess that Wanda’s made in an effort to vent and get dinner ready. However, you’re sure that there is enough food here for multiple dinners.

Your wife brings your attention back to her when she turns to you with a glare and an unconvincing response.

“I’m not mad, Y/n. I’m not mad.”

You just nod as Wanda starts to pour the batter in to a pan in several layers. Oh, she was making brookies. You sneak a little closer toward her as she turns to practically throw the pan into the oven and shut the door. You sigh in defeat before trying a different approach that will hopefully calm her down. You’d expected her to be upset like she had been when she left school, but apparently the drive was enough to change this to anger.

“Wanda, I’m annoyed too, but I’m more concerned about Little Nat. Until the principal gets back to us, we should just focus on her.”

Wanda wants to argue more but she knows you have a point. She’s annoyed that Stacy’s parents were able to keep her out of trouble, but she was mostly worried about her daughter. She hated to say it, but she wasn’t really surprised that Natalya let it go on this long. She loved her daughter so much, but she took after you when it came to conflict. She wasn’t the most intimidating teen but Wanda never thought she was going to suffer for it. Maybe that was shortsighted of her.

After setting the timer, Wanda sighs tiredly before turning back toward you with an angry pout. She opens her mouth to speak, but she quickly changes her mind and just walks toward you until she runs into you. You take the hint and wrap your arms around her before kissing the top of her head with a sigh. You can’t think of the last time that you and Wanda had to deal with something like this. Natalya rarely got in trouble unless her uncle was involved, and you think that the last time you’d sat down and talked to her like you’re going to tonight was when she started middle school.

You had wanted your daughter to be as prepared as possible for the horrors that she might face. You didn’t word it like that of course, but you made sure to mention that people could be horrible and mean, and then others can be amazing. She’s made good friends and you’re grateful for that, but somewhere along the way she’d also attracted Stacy’s attention. It made you angry and if she weren’t just a cruel kid, you’d consider threatening her.

“It will be okay, Wands. We’ll make sure our Natalya is taken care of. One way or another.”

“That’s bullshit! We’ll figure something else out, Nat. We’ll make her pay.”

Taylor’s pacing angrily as she and Nat wait for their moms to pick them up. Alyssa had left earlier to meet with Luke to work on a project, and most everyone one else had already been picked up. Taylor had finally gotten Nat to tell her everything that happened, and she was angrier than Nat was disappointed. She knew that it would be difficult to get Stacy in trouble, but she was hoping that this would do it. She should have known better, but she wasn’t going to give up.

“I don’t know. It seems like her parents are just going to be able to get her out of anything.”

Taylor wants to argue against this but she hesitates as she considers other options. Their stunt this morning was just to get the administration’s attention. They could do a lot worse to Stacy, but now they would be the ones to get in trouble. The brunette groaned loudly before she kicked her backpack a few times.

“It’s just not fair! She’s such a--.”

Taylor trails off as she hears a car pull up behind her. She sees it’s her mom and she almost wishes she wasn’t here yet. She wanted to wait with Nat so she wouldn’t stress alone, but it ended up not mattering because as soon as she hugged her friend and got in the car, they drove past Nat’s mom on the way out.

“Hey, Little Nat. How was practice?”

You decided to pick up Nat because Wanda was still cooking when it was time to leave. You wanted her to continue making dinner and try to calm down before Nat got home. She’d been better until she decided to research Stacy’s parents and she realized how difficult it would be to get any justice for her daughter.

Apparently, Stacy’s mom, Deborah Jenkins, was the president of the PTA, and she had brought the school close to $1 million last year. She also funded the replacement of all the computers in the labs at school. It really wasn’t going to be easy to go up against her. Then there was her husband, Mitch, he was the CEO of a fortune 500 company, so the couple probably had an obscene amount of money. Even more than she did.

Wanda was a little discouraged by this, but she tried not to dwell on it as she waited for you and Nat to get home. She’s finished cooking at this point and she was laying down on the couch with Fletcher and Rogue as she tried to relax. The sound of the garage door opening though causes her to sit up straight and she waits impatiently for her daughter to appear.

You can tell Nat is dawdling as soon as she gets out of the car, and you sigh as you grab her bag from the backseat and meet her at the front of the car. You reach out for her with a smile before putting your arm around her shoulder.

“She’s not mad at you, kiddo. We just want to talk, okay?”

Nat nods and she hugs you before she pushes open the door while taking a deep breath.

“Thanks, Mom.”

You smile as you watch Wanda stand up from the couch and practically come running as Natalya and you walk into the kitchen. Wanda smiles back as she rushes forward to pull her daughter into a hug with a heavy sigh.

“Hi milaya. Are you hungry? I made some…”

Wanda made a lot of food. After the brookies were finished, she’d made a pie that was still cooling on the counter. Despite the wonderful smells, Natalya shakes her head because she wants to get his over with. She can tell that her mom has been stressed because that’s the only way to explain all of the food that she’s made. She was used to her mom stress baking, and she usually enjoyed this and got to benefit from it, but she couldn’t think about that right now. She needed to come clean first.

“No thanks, maybe later. I wanted to um...I wanted to talk first.”

After briefly greeting your dogs, you follow mother and daughter to the living room. Wanda sits Natalya down on the couch and she moves beside her quickly. You decide to sit across from them, and you stretch out as Wanda just nods and has to resist the urge to bombard Nat with questions. She has about a thousand, but she decides to let Nat find the words herself as she carefully rubs her burn.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Stacy. I was hoping that she would get bored.”

This doesn’t surprise you at all but you’re still a little disappointed about how Nat hadn’t told you. You don’t say anything though as you watch Wanda frown and reach for Nat’s hands to stop her from messing with her burn. It’s started to itch as it heals and Wanda’s had to remind her multiple times not to scratch.

“We’re not mad that you didn’t tell us, Natalya. Maybe a little confused, but mostly worried that you’ve been dealing with her on your own for so long.”

You see Nat look away toward the dogs that have come to sit at her feet. She hadn’t really greeted them properly and they were waiting for pets as they snuck closer and closer with each passing second. That said, they seemed to realize that something is up, so they’re not jumping all over her excitedly. They’re looking between the three of you, and Rogue whines quietly as he rubs his face against Nat’s leg. She reaches down eventually to scratch him before she decides to tell her parents the truth.

It's been a difficult few months for sure, but she wasn’t completely alone. She hesitated to mention her friends because she didn’t want to get them in trouble. She knows that Taylor occasionally gets in trouble, and she honestly was almost immune to it at this point. Well, that wasn’t true, but she usually let the groundings she got roll off of her back. She couldn’t understand that. The few times she’s gotten in trouble, she felt so guilty that she basically begged for forgiveness. You were always a little faster to forgive than Wanda, so it was usually her that Nat was groveling to.

Nat pushes these thoughts aside as she shakes her head and sits back so she’s closer to her mom. She has to resist the urge to smile at what she says next, but she wants her parents to believe her. She’d had support but maybe not from everyone she needed it from.

“I wasn’t alone. I mean I told my friends, and…”

Nat trails off as soon as she realizes what she was about to say. She would be fooling herself if she thought that her parents didn’t suspect it, but telling them that she’d gone to her aunt and uncle instead of them seemed cruel. Both you and Wanda know what she’s going to say, but you hate to see how guilty your daughter looks, so you decide to help her out.

“Your aunt and uncle?”

Wanda has to stop herself from scowling at the mention of her brother, but she must not do a good job because you turn to look at her with a frown. Natalya cringes slightly but she speaks up quickly to hopefully make her mom less annoyed.

“Well, I went to Aunt Yelena, but Uncle Piet overheard.”

This doesn’t surprise you at all and you just laugh before patting your lap so Boone will come over to you. You smile at him as he puts his head in your lap, and you scratch him for a minute before Wanda speaks up. You’re not surprised by her question, and you’re glad that she’s starting here. You’ve only wondered what they’d told Natalya to do since you found out they gave her advice.

“Did they give you any ideas?”

Nat nods before she mutters most of what she says under her breath. You barely hear it, but Wanda’s already scowling at the idea of what her friend and brother recommended.

“Well, she told me to talk to someone at the school who could help, or talk to you. Then something about hitting back. Uncle Piet thought I should hit her in the face.”

Which I did.

Natalya doesn’t say this but she knows that her parents realize this, and you are once again trying not to smile at the idea of the blonde’s face covered in glitter. You were as averse to glitter as your daughter was, and the idea of getting that much on you made you shiver. You’d have to bathe for hours and you’d probably cry the whole time.

“Did they suggest the glitter thing?”

This time you have to smile because the idea of Yelena coming up with something like that is ridiculous. She would never and you’re fairly certain that Pietro wouldn’t either. He’s more of the ‘punch in the face’ type of guy, and you’re just grateful that Natalya hadn’t resorted to this.

Your daughter shakes her head before she mentions that she came up with it herself. It seemed like an appropriate punishment at the time. This makes you consider what you think Natalya should face as a consequence to pulling a hilarious prank. You’re sure Wanda has something in mind, but you haven’t really talked about it much. She’d been lost in her thoughts for most of the evening, but she doesn’t waste any time sharing them with you and Natalya now.

“I can understand that all of this is difficult, and that you don’t like asking for help but you shouldn’t have done that, Nat.”

Natalya can only nod in agreement because she knew as soon as she decided to pull this prank that it was a bad idea. She should have gone to her parents earlier, but what’s done is done now. She just had to make sure that everything she’d done so far wasn’t going to be for nothing.

“I know, I’m sorry.”

Was she though? She was mostly sorry that it didn’t work out for her and that she’d gotten in trouble. She was sorry that her parents were upset with her, but not about glitter-bombing Stacy, that had been great.

At least Wanda suspects that she’s not sorry about what she did, but she doesn’t mention it for now. Instead, she focuses on the fact that she’s going to have to punish her daughter for the first time in years. Ground her at least. Wanda’s about to say this, but you speak up first when you decide you have one more question before sentencing.

“Why did you do this today, Nat? Were you just fed up?”

Wanda’s not sure why you’re asking, but Nat immediately stiffens at the fact that she’s been caught. Despite wanting to get everything out at once and having everyone important there, things hadn’t gone as planned. She hadn’t hidden her disappointment well, and she’s sure she won’t do any better now. She only considers lying for a moment, but she doesn’t want to get grounded for any longer.

“I wanted a reason to get everyone together. I thought maybe if I could get Stacy’s parents there she’d get in trouble, and then having you two there would mean I only had to admit to putting up with her for too long, once.”

This confirms your suspicions and you frown deeply at the thought of your daughter putting herself in this situation in hopes of getting someone’s attention. She didn’t choose the best way for sure, but she’d risked getting in trouble just to get Stacy called into the office. She’d certainly hoped for more than 3 days suspension when she’d committed to this. You can tell by her pout that she certainly feels this way, and you can’t deny that you want to go easy on her. She is your baby and she’d simply cried for help, but you had to be a good parent. Well, you had to let Wanda be a good parent.

“Well, you certainly got our attention, and we’re going to do our best to see that she’s held accountable, but you need to be too, Natalya.”

The youngest Maximoff represses a shudder at her mom’s tone, but she just nods as she braces for whatever her mom’s going to say next. She tries not to look like she’s bracing to be hit, but it’s been a while since she’s gotten in trouble and she never could get used to it.

“You’re grounded for the rest of the week. Including this weekend.”

Natalya waits for her to say more, but Wanda just looks to you to see if you have anything to add. You just shake your head because you have nothing else to add. You honestly think that Natalya’s failure to get any real punishment for Stacy was punishment enough. This was just a formality. To your daughter though, it probably felt like being kicked while she’s down.

“Okay. Can I go upstairs to clean up?”

When you just nod and Wanda waves her upstairs, you both feel a little defeated. However, as you watch Natalya retreat upstairs with her shoulders dropped and her head held low, you realize she probably feels the worst of all.

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