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Alastor had been the Conductor of the Polar Express for as long as the locomotive had been taking travellers to the North Pole.
He had lived a relatively normal life up until a day in his early adulthood where he fell through some ice, and had awoken in the North Pole.
He did not understand how it happened, but he simply accepted it.
When he was hired onto the Polar Express, he had met one of his coworkers, the train's head steward.
Lucifer Morningstar.
He had been named after the being from Christian myths, and had been living in the North Pole for longer than Alastor was even alive before he joined the express.
There were a lot of rumors among the train staff about what he actually was, as he wasn’t human completely, nor was he an Elf.
He was a rather charming, if a bit irritating person to be around however.
Alastor was especially annoyed whenever the man would act like a bumbling fool, especially in front of the passengers during that idiotic performance he had.
It annoyed Alastor.
And yet, the two somehow found themself enjoying each other's companies during the less hectic journeys.
And after one night spent in a pub in the North Pole, the two ended up realizing they felt things for each other that were much more than platonic.
And so the two had begun dating.
And it worked.
Really well.
They balanced off each other perfectly. Lucifer was great at emotions and more silly stuff, and Alastor was great at doing things that were much more calculated and practical.
They were complimentary.
It had taken an embarrassing amount of time though for either of them to get the guts to propose.
It had been Lucifer who eventually got over his nerves and done it though.
It had been on the train journey that would have marked ten years exactly of working on the Polar Express.
Alastor had been embarrassed, but had said yes without hesitation.
And so the two were officially husbands.
The two quickly had realized they were interested in having children, and had a surrogacy to have a child.
And then their precious Charlie was in the world.
She and Alastor had taken Lucifer’s last name, as Alastor had no attachment to his own, and Charlie was made from his genetics.
And finally this year, Charlie was old enough to join her dads on their job on the polar express.
They were going to have a great night!
___
[December 24th, 23:55. Christmas Eve. 1957]
Alastor was not having a great night.
The last several houses had either been no-shows, or had shook their heads and said no.
“All aboard!” Alastor called out.
The man sighed as he checked his watch. If this boy didn't hurry up he was going to just go ahead and leave.
“All aboard!” He shouted again, growing a bit annoyed.
Alastor sighed again and was about to turn around and signal for the train to keep going before he finally heard the sounds of stomping in the snow.
He turned back around and faced the kid. He was probably around ten or so, and was wearing a blue coat and yellow pajamas. He looked like a douche
Alastor let out an internal groan. “Well? You coming?” He said tiredly, not caring if he sounded demanding or rude.
“Where?” The kid asked dumbly.
Ugh, moron too.
“Why, to the North Pole, of course!” He said dramatically, “This is the Polar Express!”
“The North Pole?” The kid repeated dumbly again.
“I see.” This kid is one of the most idiotic to date, He held out the lantern he was holding to the kid, “Hold this please.”
He reached into the train and grabbed a clipboard and pointed to a name. “This you?”
The kid read it for a moment, “uh, yeah?”
Alastor sighed and pulled the clipboard back towards himself, clearing his throat before reading aloud, “Well it says there that… ‘No Photo with a department store Santa’… ‘No letter this year’…” he paused, “You made your sister put out the milk and cookies this year.”
He leaned forward, his eyes narrowing as he took back the lamp. “It sounds to me that this is a crucial year! If I were you, I would think about climbing on board.”
Or don’t. Alastor honestly did not care at all for this kid.
“Come on, I’ve got a tight schedule to keep to.” He said with an annoyed voice creeping into his tone as he checked his watch.
The kid shook his head and took a few steps back.
Alastor sighed. “Suit yourself.” He said before stepping onto the steps of the train.
The locomotive’s whistle sounded before it began to slowly pull forward as the engine kicked back up.
Alastor waited on the steps for a few moments as the train continued to move, and as expected the kid hopped on.
Damnit.
He cleared his throat to get the kid’s attention when he kept staring back towards his house. When the boy finally turned around, he slid open the door to the main cabin for the passengers.
The kid followed him inside of the room where there were tons of other children singing and running about.
He noticed Charlie sitting down with another girl who was darker skinned and wearing some pink pajamas. Alastor smiled at the two chatting.
Awww, Charlie made a friend!
He walked over to Charlie’s seat and gently kissed her forehead. “How’s my little girl doing?” He asked with a smile.
Charlie lit up with excitement, and the other girl seemed to be surprised at Alastor calling her his daughter.
“Oh I’m having a great time, pa! This is Emily and she’s my new friend!” Charlie said full of excitement.
Alastor chuckled. His daughter was adorable. “I’m glad you’re doing good, sweetheart. I’m sure your dad will come around later. But be good for now, okay?” He said gently.
Charlie nodded quickly, “Of course, Pa! Love you!” She said with a smile only little kids have.
He snorted with amusement, “Love you too, I’ll see you later.” He said before walking off back through the hallway of the train and into the next car.
He went through some drawers in a hidden compartment and found his hole puncher, before sticking it into his pocket.
Alastor then made his way back into the cabin and saw all the kids were staring out the window.
“Tickets!” He called out, making a clinking sound with his clippers. “Tickets please!”
He walked his way over to the boy from earlier who still sort of annoyed him, “ticket please.” He said boredly.
The kid shook his head.
Alastor is about to strangle this kid, “Try your pocket.” He said tiredly.
The boy reached down and felt around in his pocket that was apparently rippled. Alastor sighed, “Try your OTHER pocket.”
The kid did so, and was startled to find a ticket inside of there.
He held it up to Alastor, who promptly snatched it and began to puncture letters into it.
B____E
Alastor’s attention was switched when he heard the sound of some kids getting up to a ruckus at the front.
“Ah ah! That is a public-address microphone! That is not a toy!” He exclaimed, making his way down the aisle.
He got in between the kids messing with it and leaned over with a stern expression. “Go back to your seats immediately or I may be forced to remove you from the train. We don’t want that, so we?”
Once the kids went back to their rows, he went back through and punched a few more kid’s tickets.
Alastor then walked over to the train’s microphone and spoke into it, his voice being filtered through like it was a radio. “Next stop, 11344 Edbrooke.”
He then made his way back towards the staircase of the train and once it slowed down, stepped down onto the ground again, waiting for the next kid.
Fortunately, this one was a bit faster than the other one. But he was just as stupid. Through Alastor did see that the kid was several years younger— about Charlie’s age.
“Well? You coming?”
The kid went through the same song and dance as the previous one, and Alastor got back on the train.
He re-entered the hallway between the cabins where he was keeping his clipboard and retrieved it.
Then, as he was writing things down, the train suddenly halted and he fell against the wall. He could hear the sounds of dishes clattering from a few cabins down.
Lucifer was going to whine about that later. Ugh.
He swung the door open to the passenger’s train car, “Who in hell decided to pull that emergency brake!?” He demanded, his voice a little more angry than he intended.
Alastor did force himself to relax a bit when he saw Charlie seem startled by his upset demeanor.
One of the kids sat up on the floor, before pointing at the annoying kid. “He did it!”
Alastor let out a growl, “You…” He stormed forward, approaching the boy, “In case you didn’t know! That cord is for emergency cases only!” He exclaimed with a twitch to his eye. He sat up and went over to the window to signal the front.
These damn kids…
“And in case you weren’t aware, tonight is Christmas eve! And this train is on a very tight schedule!” He explained with an annoyed voice, walking his way back to the boy.
“Now young man,” He leaned forward, “Christmas may not be important to some people, but it is to the rest of us!” He said with a slight shout to his voice.
Alastor swears he’s about to punt this kid into next Christmas—
He was about to continue his rant when he was interrupted by his daughter’s voice, “Pa!”
He turned to her with a furrowed brow, then her friend spoke up, speaking quietly. “He was just trying to stop the train so that kid could get on!”
“Hmm.” Alastor pondered for moment before he turned back to the annoying kid.
“Is that what happened?” He asked with an expression that gave away how annoyed he was despite his near constant smile.
The kid nodded, and he sighed. “Well, let me remind you that we are on a very tight schedule and—“ he cut himself off, reading the time.
“—and I’ve never been late before! And I’m certainly not going to be late tonight!” He made his way towards the front and turned back for the passengers. “Everybody, please take your seats!” He demanded, his smile tight.
The kids hurried and did so, and Alastor clears his throat. “Thank you.”
The train began to move forward again, and Alastor took it as his queue for the Hot Cocoa song. “May I have your attention please?” He said over the intercom, “Are there any polar express passengers in need of refreshments?” He asked.
The chorus of children all shouted yes’s in agreement.
“I thought so.” Alastor said, before he opened the door for the kitchen staff of the train who all came out dancing in time with tap shoes. Alastor grinned as he saw his husband follow, wearing his uniform and looking great in it as usual.
Alastor stepped out of the room and waited in the other cabin while they went through the whole performance about hit chocolate. He did smile at the sound of Lucifer’s singing and the faint sound of Charlie’s giggles.
Her joy made all of these grievances worth it.
Eventually, they finished up their song and the staff all headed back towards the kitchen compartment. Lucifer, who was last, was halted with Alastor grabbed him by the coat and yanked the shorter man towards himself.
Lucifer was startled, but immediately grinned and stood up on his toes to kiss Alastor who leaned down and met the short kiss eagerly.
“Well hello, honey!” Lucifer said with his usual cheerful smile, “How were the kids for you this time around?”
Alastor let out a sigh and sat back on one of the booths in this train car, Lucifer immediately walking around and sitting behind Alastor so the taller man could lay his head in his lap.
“That bad, huh?” Lucifer said with a light teasing voice, but it was gentle enough to make Alastor relax.
“This one kid keeps pissing me off.” Alastor complained tiredly, his fake smile falling off his face and just turning to a tired frown.
Lucifer hummed in thought and gently began to stoke Alastor’s hair, his fingers scratching the taller man’s scalp in just the perfect way to start removing some tension.
“I’m sorry about that, Hon.” Lucifer said sincerely, “Has Charlie been good for you?” He asked softly.
Alastor’s lips upturned slightly in a small smile that was genuine. “You know Charlie. She’s always well behaved.” He said softly with an amused chuckle.
Lucifer laughed in a small agreement, “Yep! I’m glad she seems to be having a good time though. Maybe she’ll get to work on here with us as well when she’s an adult.” Lucifer said with a thoughtful expression.
Alastor hummed, his eyes closed as he leaned further into Lucifer’s touch and against the man’s lap. “Mmmaybe…” he trailed off, his voice slurring slightly as he relaxed.
Lucifer giggled and leaned down to peck Alastor on the nose. “Now don’t go sleeping on me now, Al! You have a job to go do!” He teased.
Alastor sighed dramatically and sat up, before turning to Lucifer and pulling the man’s face towards his. And the two shared a soft kiss for a moment, before Alastor pulled away, now a bit less tense.
“Thank you, Luci.” He said with a fond and grateful smile.
Lucifer grinned and winked playfully. “Of course! Now I’ll see you later, yeah?” He said, standing up and helping Alastor onto his feet as well.
Alastor grinned and bent forward to peck Lucifer’s cheek. “Of course, dear. I’ll see you later!” He said, waving with a smile as Lucifer slipped off back towards the kitchen cabin.
Alastor sighed and cracked his knuckles, turning back to the children’s compartment.
Time to get back to work.
___
Alastor had eventually gone back into the compartment to finish clipping everyone’s tickets.
However, Charlie’s friend, Emily, had seemed to have lost her ticket.
So Alastor had decided to take her and Charlie to the front of the train, Since Charlie had also lacked a ticket but that was simply because she was not given one.
Then he had gone to go check with the passengers again, but he was halted as the train stopped again.
Alastor sighed tiredly. This trip had been one of the worst ones by far.
Alastor had made his way back to the front of the train and found the annoying kid from earlier standing there with his daughter and with Emily.
“You!”
He approached the kid and leaned down with an annoyed expression, “Young man! Are you bound and determined to ensure that this train never reaches the North Pole?!”
“But look!” Emily said, drawing his attention to where Alastor was looking out the window.
“Caribou crossing?!”
God damn it.
Alastor made his way to the front of the train where he saw the engineers, Mr. Pentious and Mr. Baxter.
After some trial and error, they managed to find a way to make the caribou get off the tracks, and Alastor stuck with the kids at the front of the train.
But then, the train began to speed up.
And it continued to speed up.
It was going incredibly fast.
And suddenly, the sound of wheels on the rails shifted to that of loud screeching of steel against ice as the train suddenly began to slide atop a massive glacier.
The train hit a bump on the ice and it then began to tilt onto its side as it slid across the glacier.
Alastor immediately reached towards the kids who began to scream. “Hold on now— HOLD ON!” He grabbed Emily and gathered all his strength to keep her from falling.
He felt one of the other kids grab his coat and hold onto him as well, but he felt a wave of helplessness as he noticed their grips begin to slip.
He thought all was going to be lost until one of the kids suddenly gained a burst of strength and pulled him and Emily back up. Alastor swore he saw a bright glowing light from the corner of his eye but he turned and it was gone.
Hmm…
“Thank you, young man.” Alastor said politely to the annoying kid.
The train eventually slowed down and stopped on the ice, and Alastor huffed before leading the children back to the engineers
After sorting out the issue they were having, Alastor noticed the ice was starting to break.
The Polar Express began to move again and they narrowly made it back onto land and lines up properly onto the tracks between two mountains.
It was a feat of incredible luck.
Then, apparently Emily found her ticket.
So Alastor did his thing and punched the paper before handing it back to her.
Then he led the children back to their cabin along the back of the train.
As he did, he sighed and told them stories. “Careful now! You know, on my first Christmas Eve run I nearly died when I slipped on the ice myself! I reached for a handrail and it broke off so I fell!” Alastor paused as he gently pulled Charlie down next to him, “But, I did not fall off this train.”
“Someone saved you?” Emily said, her eyes wide.
Alastor grinned mischievously, “Or something…”
It was a beautiful creature…
Charlie rolled her eyes at him, “Quit being all smug and stuff, Pa.”
Emily didn't mind Charlie and still seemed excited. “An angel?”
Certainly pretty enough to be one…
Alastor shrugged at her, “Maybe.”
Lucifer reminded him of whatever it was…
Alastor climbed down a ladder and the annoying kid followed him down with a curious look. “Wait! Did you ever see him?”
Not for longer than a second.
Alastor turned away, setting down his lantern before helping Charlie and Emily down from the top of the train. “No sir. But sometimes, seeing is believing. And sometimes, the most real things in the world are the things you cannot see.”
Whatever it was, it was most definitely real.
Alastor turned around and opened the door to let them back inside the train.
The kids followed him back to their train car and sat back down in their seats.
Alastor took a moment and crouched by Charlie.
“Hey sweetheart. I’m sorry that this ride has been pretty rough for you.” He apologized to his daughter.
She giggled at him, “It’s fine Pa! I’ve had a great time!”
Alastor’s smile turned wider and he gently kissed her cheek before standing up straight. “That’s good then! I’m going to go talk to your dad but I shall see you soon!”
Charlie waved at him and giggled, “Bye Papa!”
Alastor didn’t stop smiling even as he left the car.
___
The door shut behind him as Alastor entered the kitchen car.
He spotted Lucifer washing up some of the dishes in a bucket, while some of the other staff was cleaning up some broken glass that was everywhere undoubtedly because of the incident’s earlier.
He approached his husband and wrapped his arms around the man’s waist from behind, nearly startling Lucifer into dropping a dish.
“Al!” He exclaimed, startled, before he let out a soft snort and leaned back into the embrace. “You can’t scare me like that.” He chastised lightly.
Alastor chuckled and placed a playful kiss on the back of Lucifer’s neck. “I definitely can and will.” He teased.
Lucifer let out a dramatic sigh as he moved onto another dish. “Everything turn out alright up with the engineers? This trip’s been tougher than usual; I’m a bit sorry that it happened to be Charlie’s first.”
Alastor let out an annoyed grumble, “The same kid from earlier has been a nuisance. Charlie’s friend has been lovely, and Charlie’s been sweet as always. I think she’s still having fun.”
Lucifer smiled, “That’s good, I am sorry about that one kid. What’s his name?” He asked curiously.
“I don’t even know— he just pisses me off, though.” Alastor grumbled.
His husband chuckled, “Don’t kill him, alright?” He teased.
Alastor sighed before he checked his watch. “I need to get going, will you be helping to chaperone this time?” Alastor asked.
He hoped the answer was yes.
Lucifer raised a brow, “Well, I could… but there are an awful amount of dishes to clean up after such a messy ride~” He teased.
Alastor buried his face against the back of Lucifer’s shoulder. “Apple of my eye, darling, honey. I beg you. Please help me chaperone.” He practically begged, his voice tired sounding.
Lucifer grinned and turned around, gently kissing Alastor’s chin. “Since you asked so nicely~”
___
Alastor and Lucifer headed to the back of the train where they found Charlie with Emily, the annoying boy, and some other kid who was around Charlie’s age.
They were looking out at the northern lights as the pair approached them.
“Hey, you four!” Lucifer said, rushing up to the group of children and grinning, “We just crossed it!”
“Latitude 66 Degrees, 33 Minutes” Alastor cut in, checking his compass. “The Arctic Circle.”
Lucifer dramatically pointed over the railing to a group of lights in the distance. “You see those lights in the distance? The ones that look like a strange ocean liner floating on a frozen sea?” The man turned back to the children, “That there is the North Pole!” He grinned.
Alastor huffed and rolled his eyes to himself at Lucifer. His husband was such a dork.
Emily blinked at Lucifer, seeming extremely excited. “Oh my gosh, really?! Also, Charlie says you two are her dads but that’s kinda odd to me cause I thought you need a mom and a dad to have a baby but—“
Alastor let out a sigh, he honestly tended to forget about the certain biases there were about gay relationships there were in America and other countries.
“Yes well, That’s the magic of Christmas! It uh, it doesn’t need to make sense.” Lucifer interjected before Alastor could say something offensive to a child.
Emily blinked, before she shrugged, “Okay!”
Alastor nodded subtly to Lucifer in thanks, who responded with his golden retriever grin and winked.
Ugh, such a dork.
___
“We made it! And with five minutes to spare!” Alastor exclaimed, standing on some of the stairs between two train cars as the Polar Express made its way through the streets of the North Pole.
Lucifer smiled and hugged Alastor’s side, reaching a handkerchief up to clean off some fog from the taller’s glasses. “We’ve never been late before.” He teased.
The two headed back inside of the cabin and walked through to make sure all of the kids were still behaving well.
“Where are all of the elves?” Emily said, her eyes wide as she stared out the window.
“They’re gathering in the center of the city.” Charlie answered, her face having a slightly smug smile on it for being so knowledgeable. “That’s where Santa will give the first gift of Christmas.”
“Who gets the first gift of Christmas?” A nerdy kid said, leaning over the back of his booth.
Alastor grinned, looking between the children as he leaned forward, “He will choose one of you.” He said, his voice sounding as ominous as possible.
“Look! Elves!” A little girl exclaimed, pointing towards the window.
All of the kids rushed over to the window and Alastor glanced over to Lucifer and sighed with a slight smile.
Time for the best part of the ride.
___
“Alright! Ladies and Gentlemen, get into two columns if you please. Shorter in the front and taller in the rear!” Alastor said as Lucifer helped kids down from the train. “Even numbered birthdays on the right and odd numbers on the left!”
“Hey now! No pushing, it’s five minutes to midnight!” Lucifer called out to some of the kids.
The nerd kid spoke up, seeming confused. “Hey what gives?! It was five minutes to midnight four minutes ago!”
Alastor grinned, butting in. “Exactly! Now, columns of two!”
Charlie and Emily approached Alastor, his daughter gently tugging on his coat to grab his attention. “Hey dad? What about him?” She asked, pointing back to a kid who was still on the train.
Alastor sighed, “No one is required to see Santa.” He said.
He walked back towards the front, “Now you are not required to hold hands, but please remain in your columns while we are in transit!”
~~~
Lucifer was smiling and about to follow Alastor, when he noticed Charlie following two kids onto the caboose.
He frowned, Why were they going back there?
“Hey Hon? I’ll be back in a second, I just need to do… something.” He said called out to Alastor, before he began to walk back towards the caboose.
Then he noticed.
The train car was moving.
The car had been disconnected from the train.
Oh shit.
He quickly began to run over there, hopping onto the staircase just as it began to pick up speed.
He took a moment to catch his breath, before he made his way up the stairs and through the door of the train car.
“Kids!” He shouted, as he made his way through the cabin, finding them all at the railing at the back.
“The emergency brake!” One of the kids shouted.
Lucifer blinked, “Right! Of course!” He said, making his way to the back and spinning the wheel for the brake, which began to jam the wheels.
The train slowed down to a halt onto a railway turntable, where the thing began to spin for a solid minute before slowing down.
Lucifer let out a sigh and nearly collapsed against one of the walls of the train car.
“Eugh… you kids alright?” He said tiredly, glancing over them before he snapped back up, remembering that Charlie was also almost hurt.
“Oh crap! Charlie! You alright!” He said, rushing over to her and checking her over for injuries.
She rolled her eyes at her father, completely unharmed. “Of course I’m fine, Dad! Quit being so dramatic.”
Lucifer let out a relieved sigh and gently released his daughter before looking back at the three other kids. “You guys alright too?” He asked.
His daughter’s friend, Emily he thinks she was called, nodded. As did some other small guy and an older boy who looked a bit grumpy.
Ah. That must be Alastor’s ‘Annoying kid’.
“Well!” He said, clapping his hands together to remove a bit of dust that gathered on his gloves, he turned away to look outside the window.
“Time to figure a way out of here, yeah? Don’t worry, I’m the master of navigating the North Pole so as long as you kids stick with me, you’ll all be okay— HEY!” He began, before looking back at the kids to find them all crossing on the thin beams which made up the train tracks.
Lucifer let out an annoyed sigh and hopped onto the railings to follow the kids. “Or sure, I’ll follow you guys. I’m sure this will turn out swell!” He said sarcastically as he followed the kids down the tunnel.
He could faintly hear the sound of music being repeated on a record player as they went through the tunnel.
After they got across, the kids immediately ran off across the tracks, leaving Lucifer momentarily in the dust.
“Hey- wait a second!” He shouted, taking a moment to pant and catch his breath before he ran after them.
Gosh, these kids were going to be the death of him.
Just as he thought he was catching up to them, he heard the faint sound of bells ringing.
Then, he saw the kids go down a staircase. “How come I can’t hear anything?” He heard one of them say faintly.
Following them down, he frowned and whisper yelled at his daughter and her friends, “you can’t just run off like that Charlie! You may live here but your friends have other homes and they have to make it back to the train later.” He said with a stern tone.
The kids seemed to just ignore him though as they looked down at the elves who were monitoring the nice list.
“Hey, listen to me- wait!” He said, nearly falling over when the kids ran off towards this one pipe machine and hopped inside.
“Wait, don’t go in there—!” He said but then the machine activated and they were sent off.
Oh shit!
He ran up to the glass of the thing and pounded on the windows for a second. “Damn it!” He shouted, before he let out a sigh and backed up to let the device open again.
Lucifer let out a sigh, before he sat down in the machine and pressed the button to go to the station near the square. Surely that’s where they went.
___
Arriving at the city center, Lucifer quickly realized that was NOT where the kids went.
Gosh, Alastor was going to be pissed… but he needed to be honest.
Lucifer made his way over to where his husband was currently corralling the children into where they were supposed to stand when Santa arrived.
Alastor smiled wider at the sight at Lucifer, and he was already dreading telling the truth.
“Hey love, handsome, dear, love of my life—“
“What did you do now?” Alastor said, a brow raising an an amused tone in his voice.
Lucifer gulped. “So I uh, maybe sorta lostafewofthekidsintheNorthPoleandoneofthemisCharliebutihavenocluewheretheywent.” He said, rushing the end.
Alastor’s smile quickly dissipated. “I’m sorry— you WHAT?!” He grabbed Lucifer by the shoulders harshly, but not in a way that actually hurt the man.
Lucifer winced. “I tried to follow them! But then they jumped into the tube thingy and I assumed they went here but then they didn’t and—“
Alastor let out an irritated sigh. “Do we need to start a search party?” He said, annoyed.
Lucifer shook his head. “No! No no no— I’m sure they'll turn up! The kids can hear the bells ring too! I’m sure they’ll make it back here eventually.”
Alastor seemed disbelieving but didn’t completely argue. “Fine, but if they haven’t turned up by the time Santa arrives then we’re getting some of the elves to do a city wide search.”
Lucifer looked over all of the kids that were in their spots at in the crowd. “Hey, where’s that nerdy kid?”
~~~
Alastor looked up past the massive tree in the center of the city, and his eyes widened.
The blimp that had Santa’s sack was far too low.
“I may be just an old railroader,” Alastor began, “but I believe you folks up there may need some more altitude!” He shouted up.
The elves around him nodded in agreement, mumbling before they all shouted, “More Altitude!”
Immediately, several elves jumped out of the blimp.
Lucifer grinned and turned to the kids, “Hey uh, those elves are specialists so do NOT try that at home!” He said, before smiling nervously at Alastor who just scowled at him tiredly.
However, the star on the tree bean to fall forward and off of the tree. On queue, some elves bungee jumped down from the blimp and pulled the star back up to its spot.
Then, the sack heavily landed on top of Santa’s sleigh.
Alastor glanced over and Lucifer and pulled out his pocket watch and tapped it.
You’re running out of time, Lucifer.
Some elves hopped up onto the sack of presents and began talking down to something that was in there.
Then, the people inside emerged. It was the kids!
Alastor made his way over to the sleigh, leaving Lucifer to watch the kids.
The nerd kid, who was also apparently with them, slid down the sack. Alastor glared at him. “I’ve been looking for you.” He said, before gesturing for him to join the other kids.
Emily slid down afterwards, and Alastor forced a friendly smile onto his face for Charlie. “Nice to see you again.”
Then the annoying kid went down, Alastor’s grin tightened. “Cutting it a bit close, aren't we?” He said, his voice a bit tense.
The kid just shrugged before walking off.
Then the shy kid appeared after a moment, Alastor rolled his eyes and just walked pointed him back to the other kids.
Then Charlie slid down, and Alastor grabbed her arm firmly and crouched down. “Charlie, you scared the hell out of me and your father! Why did you run off?!” He said, his voice harsh.
Charlie looked a little guilty, but not very much. “I was curious! I don’t usually get to see a lot of that stuff!” She said.
Alastor frowned a the six year old. “Regardless! You can’t just do that!” He said angrily, he grabbed her hand and the pair walked back to the crowd of kids.
He crouched back down and hugged her though. “I am glad you’re alright, but if you do that again you might give me or Dad a heart attack.”
Speaking of her dad, Lucifer quickly ran over to the pair and scooped Charlie into a tight hug. “Oh Charlie! I am so glad you’re okay!” He said, his voice emotional. “I was so so worried!”
Alastor made a gesture with his hand to tell Lucifer to calm down a bit while they were in public. Lucifer hesitated, before he set Charlie back down on the floor.
“Me and your Pa are going to give you a long talk later!” Lucifer said sternly before he ushered her towards the children.
Then, the trumpeting began to sound from the city hall and the reindeer began to fly out towards the sleigh.
Then the elves brought out the reindeer’s harnesses and the bells began to loudly ring throughout the center, drawing cheers from the crowd.
Once the deer were ready, the music began to start back up and Santa stepped out of the building.
The elves stood up on each other's shoulders excitedly as they looked at Santa.
Alastor tilted his hat to Santa, while Lucifer just rolled his eyes and elbowed him. “He’s such an attention uh, you know. Quit fueling his ego.”
Alastor grinned, “Oh! And never see you get so irritated whenever I pretend to share an ounce of respect for him?”
Lucifer rolled his eyes.
Then, Santa made his way over to the kids, staring at one of them with a curious expression. “What was that you said?” He said, a cocky grin on his face.
The kid, ugh, the annoying kid, blinked up at Santa. “I… believe?” The kid was holding one of the bells in his hand.
The kid held the bell out to Santa, “I believe that.. this is yours?” He said.
Santa raised a brow, “Oh wow! Thanks kid that uh, means a lot.” Alastor saw Lucifer face palm from the corner of his eye.
Santa looked over through the group of kids, seeming to look for if he saw anyone who looked more interesting. “And uh, speaking of things that means a lot! Time for the first gift of Christmas!” Santa said.
Lucifer rolled his eyes and Alastor nudged him to try and act pleasant in public.
“And I’ve decided to uh… fuck it, let’s have this kid right here!”
Lucifer looked as though he wanted to either gouge his eyes out or rip out Santa’s, or whenever it wasn’t Christmas, Adam’s innards.
The crowd of elves cheered however and carried the kid towards Santa’s sleigh where Adam sat down.
The annoying kid climbed up into the sleigh and sat down on Santa’s lap. “So uh, what the fuck ‘cha want for Christmas, kid?” He said crudely.
“Me?” The kid said stupidly.
Santa rolled his eyes, “Fuck— Yes, you!”
The kid whispered something in Santa’s ear, and Alastor saw Adam roll his eyes before pretending to be interested.
Santa stood up and held up the bell from earlier. “Behold! The fuckin’ first gift of Christmas!”
Adam crouched down and said something to the kid, before Alastor made his way over.
“Well uh, thanks for that Adam, but I believe you must get going!” Alastor said, tapping his watch.
“Hey! Don’t real name me here and— fuck it, later loser.” Adam said, waving off Alastor who made his way quickly back to the kids.
Gosh, Adam was a pain.
As the sleigh made its way up, Adam shouted out to the crowd as he flew over the North Pole. “FUCKIN’ MERRY CHRISTMAS! LETS GO DEER BITCHES!” He shouted, pulling out his whip before the sleigh flew out over the tree and then teleported away in a burst of glowing magic.
There was a silence over the crowd for a moment, before every elf threw up their hats.
Alastor then grinned, looking down at his husband for a moment before calling out.
“All aboard!”
It was time to bring the kids home.
____
After punching all of the words into the kid’s tickets, the children boarded the polar express.
The ride back was significantly less eventful than the journey to the North Pole. The kitchen staff provided more hot chocolate on the way back, and the kids all made it back to their own separate stops.
After the whole trip was over, Lucifer and Alastor brought Charlie home to their apartment in the North Pole.
She was very much still awake and excited from the adventure, so Lucifer and Alastor decided to have the talk.
They decided to ground Charlie for at least a month, and she wouldn’t be having any of Lucifer’s pancakes on top of the other punishment.
Charlie also promised to behave better if she got to ride again next year.
Then they put Charlie to bed.
Once Charlie was asleep, and Alastor and Lucifer were both changed into pajamas, Alastor returned to the kitchen and was immediately pulled into a tight hug.
“I’m glad that’s over.” Lucifer said with a relieved and exhausted tone as he breathed against Alastor’s chest.
Alastor smirked and teasingly poked Lucifer in the rib, drawing a startled squeak from the man. “Hey!”
Alastor giggled at that, planting a soft kiss against Lucifer’s head before he wrapped his arms around the shorter man and pulled him up into a bridal carry.
“Hey! Put me down!” Lucifer protested, but the smile on his face showed he wasn’t really serious.
Alastor grinned and playfully nipped the blond’s neck to tease him. “Hmmm… nope! Your punishment for losing Charlie is… cuddles!” Alastor said, carrying his husband it to the bedroom.
Alastor tossed Lucifer onto the bed, drawing a small shout from him.
And the door closed.