Work Text:
Another late night at the office. Why did it always seem Rouxls had to lag behind to finish up the work of the day?
Hah. As if he needed to ask himself, Rouxls thought bitterly as his fingertips pecked at his keyboard with a stewing ire. Rouxls knew why. Mr. Halberd just liked seeing him squirm. Squirm like a cockroach under his massive, hulking boot. Rex often said it was because he was the best in the office but he and Rex both knew Rouxls was barely more competent than any other fool in the workplace. Hell, he was sure even Jevil could pick at this spreadsheet faster than-
Fuck. Goddamnit...!
There was the ice again. Freezing his stomach first and then creeping up his spine to settle in his lungs and steal the very wind from them.
Rouxls pushed the keyboard away to bury his face in his hands again. The cheap desk's surface frosted over where his elbows rested upon it. He felt so helpless. He felt so... lost.
He felt frozen in place.
"Lesser Dad!!" piped up a small, high voice, spiking above the low hum of the AC unit that still blew cool air into the lonely, dark office space.
"Lancer?"
Rouxls swiveled around to see the young paint-covered boy standing there in the hallway before the his office. Standing (and ignoring the sound of shattering ice), Rouxls approached the small heir.
"Whatte be'est thee doing here?" queried Rouxls, "'Tis thy bedtime, no?"
"Well yeah, but I wanted to show you a project I just finished!" Lancer grinned mischievously as he grabbed Rouxls's chilly hand suddenly, pulling him along. Rouxls was dumbfounded, jogging lightly to keep up with the energetic lad's pace.
"Lancer, I reallie Must keepeth to mine work--"
"It'll take just a second, Lesser Dad! I promise," Lancer said as he directed a big grin towards the fuddy-duddy assistant. Rouxls only sighed as he pushed up his glasses further on his face. The resulting glare in the lenses only served to amplify Rouxls's severe features.
"Fine. Doux maketh it quicke, though."
And so Lancer picked up the pace. Through dimly lit corridors with only screens displaying all manner of corporate platitudes to light their way and across desolate polished tile one could be sure was cleaned hours ago, Rouxls found himself outside in the muggy, uncomfortable heat of the city air, being led over by hand to the factory which produced that-- smoke. The smoke that came from the mouth of Hell.
Sign of the devil; city on fire...
Rouxls was stirred from his thoughts when he noticed that Lancer had finally let go of his hand to run ahead. Jogging after the boy, Rouxls felt the air leave his lungs again as he looked up at the pristine shapes of still-wet color staining the dingy factory building. It was... graffiti. And it was impossible to ignore. Bright and colorful like a snake, its message was of warning, telling those that viewed it to stay far away. To not eat the candy the artist's own father produced.
"Do you like it? You told me not to eat the candy 'cause it wasn't safe so I thought I should tell everyone else! They should get to be safe from the bad candy, too!" Lancer chirped, bouncing on his heels. The hooded boy's peppy demeanor changed though, once he saw the horror on Rouxls's face.
"L... Lancer," Rouxls breathed weakly as he approached the factory wall, placing a hand beside the grafitti, onto the grime-ridden wall. "Thou- ...Y-you can't- do this... This isn't safe for you, either."
"Wh- But... Lesser Dad, it's just paint!!" Lancer insisted, stepping towards his father's assistant. "And I made sure no one could see me! Plus, I'm not gonna get in that much trouble, Greater Dad'll--"
"Lancer... Please..."
Lancer felt his words die in his throat at the fear in Rouxls's voice. Showing genuine emotion, let alone negative emotion, wasn't quite something Lancer was used to seeing from Rouxls.
"I want you... to be safe from harm. But I- I can't protect you from everything..." Rouxls relented quietly. He turned then, new creases in his brow forming as he met Lancer's shocked gaze. "Especially not with- with big, attention-grabbing spectacles like this, Lancer! Do you know what would happen to you if your father knew--"
"I just... wanted to help..."
Looking on at the downcast young boy, Rouxls sighed, beside himself. He crossed the distance between him and Lancer, bending down to envelop Lancer in a tight hug. Lancer hugged back tight, immediately seeking out the comfort of hiding his face in Rouxls's shoulder as he'd done so many times before.
"I know," Rouxls murmured as he pressed his cheek against Lancer's head. "I know you only wanted to help... But you have to help yourself, too... You have to- look out for yourself, too... There's only so much trouble I can keep you out of..."
"It's not fair..." Lancer lamented, tears coming to his eyes and wetting his Lesser Dad's blazer. "Other people should know the candy's not okay to eat... I-it's bad- not telling them, I mean..."
Rouxls forced his eyes shut as if it could keep his own sea of tears at bay, too. He only hugged Lancer closer, then. "...I know... I... I know..." he yielded. Rouxls pressed a feather-light kiss to his son's head, to comfort the lad. Pulling back just a mite, Rouxls moved to wipe away the tears from Lancer's furry cheeks. "But we can do other things to help... In the meantime..."
Lancer sniffed again, nodding. "Okay..." he sighed.
"Okay. Thank you for understanding, Lancer..." Picking the lad up, Rouxls turned back and carried Lancer in the direction of Halberd Inc.'s main offices. Unbeknownst to the high-level assistant, however, the boy whose head laid so adorably against his shoulder only brainstormed of further, subtler ways to get the message out. To save others from eating the candy. Just as his Lesser Dad saved him.