the bones of our past - Lockwood x Lucy

The Mad and the Foolish

"Ow, bastard!" Lockwood cursed as he stubbed his toe on yet another piece of machinery, nearly making George send a salt bomb in his direction.

"Stop cursing like that!" he shouted right after realising nothing except for Lockwood's toes was in any actual danger. "I always think some ghost or another got to you!"

"Why would they put some random parts of machines in the middle of the bloody room? I'll stop cursing when the decor makes more sense! Plus, haven't we figured out already that the ghosts would go for Lucy first, anyway?" He tried his best to make that last part sound like it wasn't something he was constantly worrying about, like he wasn't sneaking glances at her across the room every few seconds.

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Well, maybe they'll change strategy if you complain about their housekeeping often enough."

If only, Lockwood thought to himself. He would complain about this damn place as often as necessary if that meant the haunting would focus on him instead of on her.

Placing the source had been easy enough: They had hidden the glasses not far from the front door half covered by an overthrow and then radioed Mary to tell her. The agents were supposed to contain the source discreetly as soon as possible and then simply act to flourish it out a bit so that Jacobs wouldn't grow suspicious.

The agents of Lockwood & Co., however, had the harder part of the job: They had to stand guard and secure the mill in any direction so that Mary's group wouldn't be caught in any fast-forming fog they couldn't sense. For that, they would have to split up, one agent for each hallway that led away from the entrance, and this worried Lockwood.

What if Lucy had one of her visions again? What if the fog managed to isolate her again and whispered things in her ears that weren't true?

However, he knew that Lucy would never consider his concerns, even if he were to voice them. No, however bad the feeling in the pit of his stomach was, she'd never let him convince her to leave the mill or even just leave one of the hallways uncovered in favour of sharing an iron circle with him.

Would she listen to Colby?

It was an irrational thought that had shot into his head, but it was there nonetheless. It nagged on him, the way Sam had basically confessed his love for her right in front of him, when for all Sam knew Lucy and Lockwood could have actually been the couple they had acted to be during their first meeting.

They had never officially debunked that lie, after all. Or was it so plain for everyone to see, how far Lucy was out of his league? How hopelessly unrequited his feelings for her were?

Now, he hurt himself over and over again by thinking about the way Lucy and Sam had smiled at each other. Her cheeks had flushed, he had seen that. And even though she hadn't given Sam quite the soft, caring smile she often shot Lockwood in their more peaceful moments, how long would it take for her to do that, too? How much time did he have left until that smile wouldn't be reserved for him anymore?

What if, after this case, Lucy decided to not return to London with them, but to stay here with Colby instead?

The thought made Lockwood want to throw up.

But then again, what right did he have to claim any part of her? To claim her smile, to claim her time, to claim her attention? None of that truly belonged to him. She wasn't his and didn't want to be his, either.

He had no right to act like the jealous prick he'd been this evening.

And he would apologize for it - later, when they weren't standing in a severely haunted mill anymore.