What's Not to Love - a Beetlelands Soulmate AU

A Little Unconventional

That brief experience had left the older Deetzes dazed. Delia lay across the couch, her hand resting against her forehead, whereas Charles rested a hand against the kitchen table to find his footing. Lydia had since moved to stand on the stairs a few feet from where the Maitlands and Betelgeuse were standing, a sly smirk flashing across her face as her attention drifted from her dad to Delia back to her dad.

Charles had moved from the kitchen table to the base of the stairs, looking up at Lydia with an apparent look of worry in his eyes. What'd just happened, he wasn't quite sure. But from the looks of it, did Lydia have something to do with it?

"Lydia, what on earth happen-" Charles started to say. But, before he could even finish his sentence, Lydia turned her attention over towards him.

"It wasn't me, dad!" Lydia replied. "It was the ghosts who live here!"

Before her dad could open his mouth to respond, Lydia stepped off to the side and gestured for her new friends to make themselves known to her dad and Delia. It was about time they all got to know one another, after all.

Delia scrambled back into the kitchen, gripping Charles' arm tightly as a look of pure panic crossed her face. Charles rested a hand firmly on his future wife's shoulder just in case, his eyes locked onto the stairs as Lydia made her way down them and, again, motioned for her new, and apparently now equally as nervous, friends to make themselves known to her dad and Delia.

One after the other, Adam, Barbara, and Betelgeuse made their way down the stairs and into the kitchen. As that happened, Charles and Delia's eyes seemed to widen in unison and they held onto one another even tighter than before. Lydia... had been telling the truth the whole entire time. There were real life ghosts living in their house.

At first, neither living adult knew what to say. They just stayed wide-eyed at the two ghosts and the demon that now stood in front of them - the ghosts exhibiting different reactions from the living adults.

Things had gotten more silent as the minutes went on. And Barbara and Adam, both of them stepping forward to properly introduce themselves to the older Deetzes, only made matters worse by causing both Charles and Delia to step backwards just a little. At that, matching apologetic looks crossed their faces.

"Heh, sorry about that," Barbara said, rubbing at the back of her neck. "We didn't mean to frighten you. It's not every day living people see ghosts."

Charles and Delia, the both of them still somewhat at a loss for words, only just found it in themselves to nod. Maybe these ghosts weren't so bad after all. Charles let go of Delia just as Lydia motioned Adam and Barbara forward, her and all four of the adults sitting around the kitchen table.

What none of them didn't know was that Betelgeuse, his hair color now a shade of deep purple, felt all of a sudden alone. He watched the Maitlands and the Deetzes chat for what seemed like a little while, then he looked down at the green soul marks on his arms and promptly teleported back up to the attic of the house. Wanting some much needed alone time to himself. The Maitlands and the Deetzes were going to be in for a heck of a treat when he revealed to them his new plan.

And not one of the five of them seemed to be bothered by that.

Charles and Delia now both seemed to be much less frightened, and much more open to the idea of having ghosts living in the house with them. A now known fact that made Lydia a little more happier and and relaxed. She leaned back in her chair, resting her hands behind her head and resting her feet on the table.

Something which all four adults seemed to take notice of right away.

Barbara nudged Lydia in the shoulder so Charles didn't have to, shooting the teenager a stern look. "Ahem! Feet off the table, missy."

Lydia looked to her, grinning widely and still keeping her feet resting on the table.

"Lydia, feet off the table!" Barbara found herself reminding the teenager.

Again, Lydia didn't seem to have listened to her. Thus leading Barbara to roll her eyes in amusement and annoyance, before the female ghost used her powers to correct Lydia's posture.

Alarmed, but amused, Lydia's attention snapped to Barbara. "Ah! Ghost mom, please remind me before you do that again!"

Again, Barbara rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay."

At that, everyone else at the kitchen table burst into equal bouts of laughter. All without a single care in the world.

If only they knew what trouble lied ahead.