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Lydia was beat.
She lugged in her fistful of shopping bags, practically hurling them onto the counter. Delia followed, carrying the last of her bags, her cheery disposition not faltering despite the fact that it was nearly four o’clock in the morning.
“Well, that was fun! Right, Lyds?”
Lydia huffed as she unbuttoned her coat. “Yeah, not as fun as I’m gonna have sleeping for the next twelve hours,” she retorted without hesitation.
Though she was well used to Lydia’s sarcasm and cynicism by now, Delia’s smile dropped. She couldn’t help but feel a little hurt by her response, since she had just spent the last couple of hours (and a copious amount of money) Black Friday shopping with Lydia. Since moving in, Delia had begun making a genuine effort to bond with Lydia. Her attempts had mostly gone well, with a few exceptions, like that one time they tried hot yoga, but nevertheless, it was hard to tell with her. Lydia was tough to read, and Delia feared they weren’t connecting the way she wanted them to.
“Alright, then. Good night, Lydia.” Delia said softly, with a weaker, defeated smile.
Lydia listened as Delia made her way up the stairs, waiting until she heard her bedroom door shut, which became her cue to shove her face into her hands and groan dramatically, careful of her volume as not to wake anyone. Though, there was someone who hadn’t gone to sleep to begin with, as he often didn’t.
“Jeez, Lyds, you mind?” he grumbled.
Beetlejuice was cozied up on the couch, feet propped on Delia’s new coffee table (in spite of her constant protests), watching a Christmas movie marathon on the Hallmark channel. This wasn’t unusual of him, Hallmark movies had become his guilty pleasure since moving into the Deetz and Maitland house.
Without a word, Lydia joined him, unhesitatingly making herself comfortable as she snuggled up close, sliding herself under his arm, resting her head on his chest and sprawling her arm over his torso.
Beej watched this play out, amused, and didn’t resist. “Well, hello to you too, kid.” he teased, dryly.
Quietly, they sat for a bit, in casual embrace. Beej didn’t deny her because, for one, he could tell something was wrong. Secondly, receiving affection from Lydia was the equivalent of being liked by a mean cat- it was rare and momentous, so he took what he could get.
“So… you wanna tell me what’s wrong?”
“Hmmmph.”
“Oh wow-yeah-that’s riveting. Please go on.”
Lydia lightly chuckled at that, but still wouldn’t give in.
“Can you tell me now?”
“No.”
“What if I promised to shower for a week?”
“That’s actually kind of tempting… but no.”
Beej sighed and patted Lydia’s head. “Alright, kid, I give up. I won’t keep buggin’ ya. I mean, shit, if I had to spend five hours shopping with Darla, I’d be pissy too.”
“Well actually… I had a good time. That’s not why I’m upset.” Lydia admitted, mumbling.
“Oh?”
Lydia sat up.
“I really like Delia. And I like hanging out with her. It just feels… wrong,” said Lydia, in a small voice.
“What’d you mean?” Beej asked, with genuine concern.
Lydia breathed shakily, attempting to compose herself. “Beach days, haunted houses, Christmas shopping… I used to do these things with my mom. And now, all of a sudden, Delia’s taken her place and that’s just supposed to be okay? Her eyes began to well up.
“I feel so guilty- like I shouldn’t be enjoying it, and I can’t bring myself to express to Delia that I actually like spending time with her. Even though it’s not the same as it was with my mom... it’s still fun, and Delia probably thinks I still hate her and-” her voice broke. “.. and I just miss Mama,” she choked out, barely audible.
Tears running down her face, she quickly stood up and tried making a run for her room, only to be stopped by Beej, who placed a firm hand on her shoulder.
“Hey,” he said, gently. “It’s okay, kid. C’mere.”
He pulled her into a tight hug. Lydia let go of any inhibitions she had left about showing her emotions and sobbed into Beej’s chest.
Beej slowly guided her back to the couch, not letting go, where they sat for a while. He held Lydia close, her head tucked under his chin, and stroked her hair.
While he would never admit it to anyone, the demon had a major soft spot for Lydia. He was more than happy to offer her the love and attention he wished he could have received at her age. When he returned to the house to reconcile with the Deetzs and Maitlands, the two became inseparable. It was Lydia who was first able to forgive him for his past actions because she recognized that under it all, Beej was just lonely. He loved this little breather- her kindness, her stubbornness, her smarts, her wit, her appreciation for the dark and macabre, and most of all, he was so proud of her. Proud that throughout all the hardship she’d faced in the last year, she was able to remain so strong. Though, she didn’t always have to be.
When her crying had subdued, Beej retracted from her slightly so they could face each other.
“Y’know that your mom would want you to enjoy life, even the things you used to do with her, right?” Beej asked, affirmingly.
“Yeah,” Lydia sniffed.
“And y’know that Delia probably understands that it’s been tough for you to adjust to all this, but that you can communicate to her that you truly do appreciate your time together, right?”
“Yeah."
“And y’know that you don’t have to bottle up your feelings anymore, and that I’m always here if you need to talk, right?”
She revealed a small smile and locked eyes with him. “I know.”
Beej flashed a smile back. “Then, Christ, are you fucking done now?”
Caught off guard, a hearty laugh escaped her, pleased by Beej’s twisted humor, as she playfully shoved him. His tenderness could only last so long.
They resumed their position on the couch, sinking back into the cushions and Lydia curling up to Beej’s side.
“You should head to bed, kid, it’s getting late.”
“Hmmmph.”
“...You’re not budging, are you?”
“Nope.”
“Fine.”
Beej pulled a blanket over the two of them, bringing her closer and pressing a kiss onto her head.
“‘Night, Lyds,” he whispered, as she swiftly fell into a deep slumber.
“Man,” Beej said quietly to himself, “I just know that post-cry sleep is gonna hit.”