Work Text:
Chapter One:
The first time he noticed something was happening was in France. The B.P.R.D had been called into help with a case involving a dozen or so murder/suicides. The M.O was the same- victims were usually long term couples. All the people interviewed during the case had the same thing to say, couple had been together for years. No problems in the relationship. No reason for the deaths.
Unusual but not necessarily something they would help with until a C.S.I. at one of the scenes noticed some strange symbols drawn with the victims blood. A further analysis of the previous scenes rendered the same symbols all hidden from plain sight and all drawn with the victims blood.
Hellboy, Liz, and Abe had been flown out once the symbols had been translated as ancient Sumerian. More specifically a syphoning pattern meant to help a demon feed off its victims.
They had gotten into France late, using the cover of night to break into the house of the most recent victims. Richard and Marianne Blumberg a retired couple that had recently moved out to the country to enjoy their twilight years in peace. Married 38 years and found two days ago with Richards head on a plate at the dinner table and Marianne with a hole in her head sitting in front of it.
Now the scene was clean but Abe had been able to see what had happened. As suspected there had been a third party at the house. Someone who could hide themselves enough from Abe’s vision that he could not give a description other than this: hunger- a deep clawing void that left Abe breathless and as near tears as he could get.
Now as horrible as the case had been they had handled it as usual. The problem had been from a completely unexpected corner. They had been assigned a liaison officer from the DGSE Ines Bisset was a 5’ 9” fire cracker with thick brunette hair and fiery green eyes. She was everything he liked in a woman and any other case he would have at least flirted a little bit. Instead he felt nothing, no interest. He didn’t notice at first until the conclusion of the case when the big reveal had Ines being a Succubus that got her kicks from destroying true love and feeding off the misery and despair as her victims watched the love of their lives tortured and killed in front of them.
As they were bring her down she had been able to get them drugged off her powers and each of them had to fight their way free of their own tailored seduction. That was were the problem had reared it’s ugly terrifying head. Hellboy had jerked awake to find himself in a large bed with sunlight streaming cheerfully through the window. He had gotten up to the smell of bacon and eggs and the sound of children giggling and a sweet voice singing.
What he had found had shocked him so bad he had snapped out of his delusion and gotten to the demon right as it was about to bite into Abe. He had ruthlessly ripped it apart and exorcised it sending it screaming back to Hell before Abe and Liz had been able to get free.
The case had been wrapped up they had been shipped back home with a weak ass thank you and Hellboy had spent the night in his room with his head in between his hands. “I’m so screwed.”
~~~~~~~~~
The second time he had been just as unprepared when the Problem came up again.
It was a rare moment where the B.P.R.D. had no open cases and HB, Abe and Liz were watching old horror movies and critiquing...basically everything about them.
They had been watching for 12 hours straight when Abe had called it quits saying he needed to go for a swim and it had just been him and Liz sitting on his couch with nothing but a bowl of popcorn between them. Credits had started scrolling and Hellboy looked to Liz to see what they should watch next and had stopped as he realized she had fallen asleep.
She was slumped on the other side of the couch her head tucked in between her arms, her mouth slightly parted and giving the cutest little snore. He hadn’t even thought about it he had scooped her up and tucked her into his bed just as he had a thousand times before. But unlike the other times when he straightened up and saw her stretched out, completely at ease his heart -didn’t so much skip a beat - as kinda felt like a hot air ballon that was slowly filling up. The feeling just held him there getting larger and warmer until he was sure his heart would pop out of his chest and suddenly he knew it was worse than he thought.
The vision he’d had back in France popped into his head and his heart clenched painfully. He had gone down the stairs in his dream and walked into the kitchen.
There had been a large wooden island in the middle of the kitchen with two children sitting side by side on one end and a woman singing softly at the stove flipping an egg in the pan. At first he didn’t even register the woman he had been too caught up in the children.
A boy and a girl were happily eating away their little feet swinging back and forth under the chairs. The boy was play growling as he tore into a piece of toast his gleaming golden eyes playful as he terrorized his breakfast. A little tail could be seen swinging lazily behind him and his black hair was tied into a bun on his head revealing two little horns protruding from his skull.
The girl was singing along with her mother and would take a careful bite between each verse. Her hair was left loose her little horns poking out between her bangs. She didn’t seem to have a tail that he could see but when her brother tried to steal her bacon she turned to him and let out a little stream of fire. He had laughed and backed away but their mother noticed and spun around drawing his attention for the first time.
“Alice Broom, what have we said about fire breathing at the table!” Liz said sternly her arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently
The girl, Alice ducked her head shyly and said, “To not to cause I might burn the whole house down.” She quickly took a big bite of her food. The boy growled and went for Alices bacon but one quick scowl from Liz and he was grinning cutely and obediently eating his eggs.
Liz turned and noticed him and the smile that broke out on her face was so warm and happy made his guts twist in a way they had never done before. “Good morning sleepy head.” She had said turning back to the stove and scowling down at the eggs. “It looks like your breakfast is going to be a little burnt this morning babe. Sorry.” She threw an apologetic look over her shoulder and before he knew what he was doing he had walked up behind her pulled her back into his arms and nibbling gently on her ear.
“No worries.” He heard himself say. “You can make it up to me later, when the kids go to sleep.” And when Liz had let out a dark little laugh and slightly rubbed up against him the light bulb had turned on in his head and Hellboy and snapped awake.
He’d spent the next three weeks avoiding Liz and trying to rationalize it away as just some stupid demon trick.
And now he was here in the safety of the B.P.R.D and Liz was in his bed peaceful and trusting in a way no one but father had ever been with him. He had gone back to the couch and spent the rest of the night just as before - with his head in his hands. “I’m so screwed.”