Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

a year ago. 

Nathan busied himself in the kitchen, occasionally glancing out the window above the sink. He didn't really know what he was watching for, just observing. 

He moved to the stove, dropping a few finely chopped up herbs into a stew of some sort. He moved back towards the sink to wash his hands, when something caught his eye from the window. A shadow, moving fast across the yard. Nathan narrowed his eyes, shook his head, and continued. He dried his hands, and saw it again. Moving back the way it came. 

Now that wasn't nothing. 

Nathan turned the stew to simmer, and pushed the door open to the kitchen. He sighed as he made his way outside, looking around. 

"Anyone out here?" He called, stepping off the porch. He walked to the side of the hotel, looking at the shrubbery and trees for any movement. Maybe it was just an animal? But the bushes didn't move at all. Nathan raised an eyebrow, then walked to the other side of the hotel. More shrubs and trees. But he did hear a twig snap. Deeper into the greenery. He adopted a cautionary gait, walking slow and guarded towards the sound. 

He peered around thicker trees and tall bushes, until his eyes landed on a hole. An uneven, somewhat shallow hole. He raised an eyebrow, and walked towards it. He crouched down at the edge of the hole, and tilted his head. Sitting on the other side of the hole sat a child. His dark hair was unruly, leaves and twigs sticking out of it. He had dirt on his face and clothes, a stick in hand. He dragged the stick through the loose dirt, looking up at the shadow that became visible. 

He looked up. blinking. Nathan smiled softly, extending a hand. "Hey, bud!" He said softly, tilting his head. The child narrowed his eyes, looking at the extended hand. His features contorted into a look for confusion, but when he realized this man wasn't going to hurt him, he stood up, taking Nathan's hand. 

"Let's get your outta there. You're covered in dirt." Nathan snickered, brushing the leaves from the child's hair. "What's your name, little man?" Nathan asked, walking back towards the hotel, the child's hand loosely in his. He looked down, and the boy was staring at him. "I am Abaddon. High Prince of the Black Realm." He nodded, face stoic. Nathan blinked. "Sure, Abaddon! Whatever you say. We should get you a bath and something to eat..." He trailed off. Abaddon looked at him like those words cursed his entire bloodline. "Bathing? I am not the being to be subjected to bathing. I do it myself." "If you're talking about standing in the rain or sitting in a pond, hate to say it, but that doesn't count, bud." 

Abaddon narrowed his eyes. Nathan brought him inside, brushing him off one more time. "We'll need to wash your clothes, too. You're like a dust sponge." Nathan laughed, leading Abaddon to his room, and bringing him to the bathroom. "Alright, bud. Let's do this as quick as we can."

Abaddon sat at the kitchen table, staring ahead with an unblinking stare. His hair was almost dry, and his clothes were actually clean. 

"See? How's that feel? Being clean." Nathan said from the stove, stirring something in a tall pot. Abaddon grunted. "It's... it is not unpleasant." He confessed with a frown. Nathan chuckled, turning around. He sighed, eyes dropping as he faced the pot. He ladled a bit of the stew into a bowl, and set it front of Abaddon. "Go ahead and eat, bud. I'll be right back." 

Nathan stood outside the kitchen, shutting the door behind him. He fumbled for his phone in his pocket, and dialed his sister's number. The line trilled a few times, before she picked up. 

"Hello?" Katherine was cooking dinner. Nathan could tell by the way she was talking, and the whispered: "Ben, no. Not yet." 

Nathan sighed. "Hey Kathy. I uh... there's something. I found something, I should say." Katherine stopped moving. 

"Nathan, what are you talking about? Was it another ghost?" She asked, shaking her head. Nathan sighed. 

"No. A kid. I think he's human? He was in the backyard, in a hole. He was dirty and looked like he'd been there for a while." He heard Katherine sputter for words. 

"I- Nathan. You're telling me you found a child in your backyard??" Katherine sounded bewildered. "Kathy, I know this sounds crazy, but believe me. I can't just leave him out there. It's supposed to rain tonight." 

Katherine sighed again. "Oh, God. Okay, I get it. Listen, let's do this: I'll come over tomorrow morning. See what this is all about." 

Nathan nodded. "Sure, that's fine. I'll see you in the morning." He heard Kathy mutter something. "Yeah. In the morning, Nathan. Good night." 

Nathan walked back in the kitchen. Abaddon ate. However, the stew was all over the table. Boy, was Nathan in for a treat. He grabbed a cloth from a drawer, wiping the table with a fond sigh. "It's okay, bud. We'll get there." He assured the boy, sitting down next to him. Abaddon busied himself by chewing on the spoon, confused when it didn't bend as easily as he wanted it to. 

Nathan sighed again. What was he going to do? He brought in a child he found in a hole. In his yard. But, like he told Katherine, he couldn't have left him outside. Though he looked like a child, the habits he was already displaying made him question that. Abaddon looked up, tilting his head. "You look strange." he pointed out. "Like you are wondering." Nathan tilted his head. "I am wondering, but you don't have to worry about it. You all done, bud?" Nathan asked, tilting his head. Abaddon looked down at the partially empty bowl, and nodded.

Abaddon insisted that he didn't sleep, but agreed to stay in a room with a bay window so he could watch the sky. Nathan sat in the parlor, running his hands down his face. Stressed. 

That's all. 

Stress. 

Chapter Text

The mornings usually started early. Since that first morning that Katherine came over, Abaddon had grown used to Nathan. The hotel. He was less avoidant and actually stayed indoors. Sitting in chairs was still something they were working on. 

Nathan had also figured out that Abaddon was in fact not a human child. He was a demon who possessed the child's body three hundred years ago. But Nathan still kept him around.

This morning specifically, Abaddon slept for thirty minutes. He then got up at 5:15, and went outside. He came back inside at 8:10. That's how Nathan woke up to three dead birds in the sink. 

"Oookay, buddy. Can we leave the birds outside?" He turned around to the boy sitting at the table. Abaddon hesitated. "It is an offering." he said simply, as if that explained everything. Nathan nodded. "Yeah, but they can be an offering outside. I have to bleach the sink, and the smell irritates Jessica." He sighed, peering at the feathered mess in the sink. 

Abaddon blinked, climbed the counter, and took the birds. He left, and returned a good five minutes later. "They are buried." He reported, taking his seat again. "Thanks, Abaddon. That's probably better for them, anyways." Nathan sipped coffee from his mug, sitting down. "So, you remember Katherine, right? My sister?" Nathan asked, looking over at the boy. Abaddon nodded. He held a spoon in hand, swirling it around in the cereal bowl. "Well, she's going to come back today. She's bringing her own kids." Abaddon tilted his head. "She has offspring?" Nathan nodded. "Yeah, she does. She's got a son, his name is Ben. He's 12, if I remember right. And she's got a daughter, Esther. I'd say she's... 10." Abaddon stared. "And they are coming here permanently?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Nathan blinked.

"Oh- well, I don't know. She might later, I guess." Abaddon only nodded once."Very well."

Katherine pulled up to the hotel before noon. She helped Esther out of the car, who seemed apprehensive. Ben followed behind them, though he stayed close to Katherine's side. Katherine opened the door, making sure her children followed behind her, and turned towards the parlor. "Nathan?" she called, looking around for her brother. Somewhere far off, she heard a distant: "Kathy?" From that, she guessed he was in the kitchen. She then heard footsteps, and Nathan stepped into the parlor. "Hey, Kathy!" he beamed. Abaddon was on his hip, who held on for dear life. 

Katherine hadn't seen Abaddon last time. He hid from her. Ben and Esther stood close behind Katherine, staring at Abaddon. "Well. Ben, Esther, this is... Abaddon. He's.. your cousin." The two stared at him, still clinging to Katherine. Abaddon held onto Nathan, returning this mutual, unsure stare. "Abaddon," Nathan got closer to Katherine. "That's Ben, and that's Esther. Remember how I told you about them?" He said while crouching, putting Abaddon down. Esther peeked around Katherine, and walked out from behind her entirely. 

Katherine got down to Abaddon's level, tilting her head. "Hi there, Abaddon. My name is Katherine. I'm sure Nathan told you all about me." Abaddon blinked, nodding stiffly. He turned to look at Esther, and nodded to her, as well. "Well, how about you three go... outside? Don't go far, okay? Ben, watch your sister." Katherine suggested, which earned her a nod, and hurried steps out the front door. 

Nathan sat down with Katherine in the kitchen, where Katherine stood at the window where she could see all three children. 

"Nathan," she began, sighing with a hand on the bridge of her nose. "Kath, I know. But I-" "What were you thinking? Do you realize what this means? If you won't send him out, you're going to have to find a way to document that he's yours." Nathan blinked as she spoke, stress taking over her features. "Well, there's the hiccup. He's... not entirely a human. Figured it out the hard way," Nathan confessed, shaking his head as he leaned his elbows on the table. Katherine looked up. "Wait- what do you mean he's not human? Are you about to tell me he's-" "A demon." 

Katherine stopped. She stared at her brother, absolutely still. "..What?" "He's a demon, Kathy. He's just.. he's trapped in the body of a nine year old from the Puritan era. He's been around a while." Katherine blinked several times. She seriously thought Nathan was messing with her. "Nathan, did you eat something bad? Or-" "Oh, please. You can't tell me you didn't see it. What he was wearing? It's what I found him in. When I went in the backyard?" Katherine glanced towards the window, seeing that the three children were warming up to one another now. They were sitting in a patch of grass near the window, while Abaddon taught Ben and Esther to play Jacks. 

"Oh, Nathan. What did you get yourself into?" She sighed, head in her hands. "I need help, Katherine. I can't do this on my own. Not right now, anyways." Nathan confessed standing up to stand at her side. He rested a hand on her shoulder. "And you want my help?" "You have two, and they seem to be just fine. I thought you might know a thing or two." 

Katherine looked at Nathan for a minute. Her eyes were soft, the corners of her mouth turned upward in a fond smile. 

"Alright then. We're doing this, then." 

Chapter Text

Nathan had long accepted Abaddon being a demon. He knew about the weird, wacky things he did, like stealing acorns from squirrels, thinking he'd like swimming only to realize he doesn't know how to, and sitting in the sink until Nathan wakes up. Those were all things, plus more, that Nathan had known about. However, he was not aware that Abaddon had his own, twisted views about what people did. 

He once spied on the mailman through the window. He turned back towards Nathan, and spoke quietly, afraid that the man might've heard him. "Nathan, why does he come here all the time with little white shapes? I do not like them. They stress you out." Nathan snickered when he heard that. Gosh, he almost laughed to himself again just thinking about it. 

However, Nathan slightly dreaded today. He had errands to run in town, which meant Abaddon had to come, too. He couldn't leave Abaddon alone. Last time he did that, Abaddon dragged several deceased squirrels inside. So Nathan had ultimately decided that the demon was no longer allowed to be left alone. But there were, obviously, downsides with taking Abaddon with him. 

One: Abaddon would have to wear somewhat normal clothes (that were clean). For some reason, Abaddon had a severe attachment to the clothing he wore regularly, so much so that it was a fight to get him to take them off to be washed. Two: Nathan would have to spend several minutes talking Abaddon through social conduct, and what was appropriate to say and do, versus what was not. And that, in and of itself, was the hardest part of all of this. He debated asking Katherine, but she'd tell him the same thing their mother used to tell him: "Just do it yourself, Nathan. I'm not always going to be here to hold your hand." 

So Nathan was truly on his own with this. 

It took him an hour to convince Abaddon to change his clothes. While Nathan helped him situate the clot he's, he began the gentle lecture of how going out was going to look like. 

"Now, I know going out in town is going to be a little different for you, but it's alright! It might be a little scary, but that isn't an excuse to try and bite someone. And you can't glare at people, because if they see your eyes change colors like they do, that'll be a few questions for me to answer." He explained, looking up when he tied one of Abaddon's shoes. The boy was looking down at him. "And if they try to set a rosary on my head?" Nathan blinked. "I don't think anyone will do that, bud. But just in case, you can stand by me. I won't let them get ya." He nodded surely, moving to tie the other shoe. 

Abaddon nodded. "I see." he mused, though it was quiet.

Abaddon did not enjoy the car ride there. He did not appreciate the car seat that Nathan expressed was necessary. He stared out the window the whole time, watching the nature zip by and turn into buildings. There were people everywhere. He did not appreciate that, either. It was like these people had personally offended him by being there. Abaddon goes into public and the public was actually there? Disgusting. 

Nathan noticed how apprehensive Abaddon was, and sighed. "It'll be okay, bud. You don't have to talk to anyone. I'll do all the talking." He meant the words to be a method of comfort, which he could see Abaddon had received. The demon-boy softened, but immediately went rigid when the car stopped. Now he actually had to get out? This was terrible. 

When the two stepped into a supermarket, Abaddon was lifted into the cart. He preferred sitting in the basket part, not the actual seat part. Besides, he was too big for that. He held the cart in a death grip, eyes surveying the people around him. He didn't trust any of these people. He realized at one point, though, that the people didn't really care about his presence. 

Abaddon did his best to remain calm and somewhat normal like Nathan had asked. He was anxiously looking around, despite that, especially when Nathan turned into an overly crowded aisle. He sat up like a prairie dog when he saw the yogurt, however. He caught Nathan's attention, and pointed. 

"Hm? Oh- you want that? Which one?" Nathan asked, walking closer to him. Abaddon narrowed his eyes to see the little fruit on top of the lids. "That one." He said softly, pointing to the one that had a strawberry on top of it. Nathan nodded. Quietly beaming with pride for Abaddon having both spoke up for what he wanted, and for being normal about it. 

Abaddon was pleased with himself, too. He asked for what he wanted, and Nathan had received his message flawlessly. It was miraculous what one could do with someone who listened. 

The two walked around for several minutes after that, before Nathan steered towards the check-out. Abaddon had seen the lines when they walked in, and he had to admit, he was not excited for that part. But Nathan had told him what it was for, and why they had to go through it. Nevertheless, apprehension for both the waiting and the people bit at his ankles like a dog. 

Abaddon shrunk down into himself, still holding onto the cart as tight as he could. He did this for two reasons, he told himself. First, he needed something to anchor him to reality to remain calm. Second, he had to hide his claw-like nails that Nathan needed to clip. 

Relief washed over Abaddon like a tidal wave when it was finally their turn. He assisted Nathan by handing him the things from the cart, but stayed stationary. He watched the cashier's fast hands run the items across a red light, and that produced a beep sound. Abaddon remembered Nathan telling him to not be scared of the noise, because all it was doing was saying that everything was accounted for. Okay. That sounded reasonable. 

Nathan paid, nodding as he and the cashier made small-talk. Abaddon didn't care much for what the two were talking about. He just plastered himself to the side of the cart when the bags made their way next to him. The cashier, a short lady with black hair that faded to pink, purple, and blue (strange as that was to Abaddon), smiled at him. No malice behind it. Just a friendly smile and wave as Nathan pushed the cart towards the doors. Abaddon stared after her. What was she trying to do? Nobody smiled without devious intent. She was trying to siphon something from him. She could sense what he was, and was trying to drain him of his wickedness. Oh, he did not appreciate that stunt. 

Abaddon stayed silent for the car ride back to the hotel. Likely thinking of the multi-colored hair woman that tried to funnel his essence from him. 

Nathan looked in the rear-view mirror at him. "Abaddon? You okay back there?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as he turned his attention back to the road. Abaddon looked forward. "That woman. She smiled at me. Like she was trying to conjure my power." He shook his head, voice quiet like she'd appear if he spoke of her too loudly. Nathan shook his head. "I don't think she was trying to do all that. She was just trying to be friendly, that's all, bud. That's what people do. It's polite." 

Abaddon didn't think the insultingly bright colors of her hair were very polite, but who was he to say? It felt like a personal assault on his old eyes, but whatever. At least her attempt to siphon his essence didn't work. 

For now.