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III. Lux

July 23rd

Lux wrung their hair out, water dripping onto Seth's floors, but it was better than the cold water dripping down their back. Standing there, pressed up against Seth in the entry way, Lux could feel their cheeks starting to turn red. All the confidence from earlier began to disappear.

Tucking their head down, Lux cleared their throat, stepping to the side and into the main living space. Sparse furnishings met their eyes and then Lux's vision honed in on the broken shards lying discarded on the kitchen counter.

"What happened there?" they asked.

"Oh..." Seth muttered, still standing in the doorway. His shoulders slumped, and Lux reached towards him, despite standing halfway across the room.

"Wait, please don't get upset," they whispered, shivering when a column of water ran down their back. "I just wanted to ask a question."

"I dropped it," Seth whispered, moving into the kitchen. "It was WGI Championship mug from last year."

Oh yeah, they did beat us, Lux thought sourly, but shook themself of the thought to quickly focus on Seth again.

"It was from my dad." His voice wavered, but Lux's internal sense of nurturing took over, and they quickly took Seth by the hand, pulling towards the couch.

"Hey, it was an accident," they soothed, cleaning away tears that had started to pour down Seth's face. "You can always order a replacement - I'll order you a replacement."

"You don't understand!" Seth wailed, and Lux visibly flinched from the outburst.

Stepping forward, Lux took one of Seth's hands. Tugging him away from the kitchen doorway, they sat down on the couch facing away from the kitchen.

"Hey, accidents happen," they repeated, rubbing little circles into the back of Seth's hand with their thumb. He continued to sob, staring into nowhere. Taking Seth's head, they brought it against their shoulder, while quietly murmuring condolences and soothsaying for Seth.

"But my dad is dead!" Seth sobbed.

Lux, unsure of how to respond, looked around the apartment for ideas.

I'm not prepared for this, Lux wanted to scream, but instinct took over as they wrapped their arms around Seth's trembling body. Smoothing his hair into place and wiping tears from his face, they worked to assuage the anguish Seth was currently experiencing.

"He hasn't vanished, though," they murmured, rubbing Seth's back. Little hiccups escaped the senior's mouth. "He's still in here" - they tapped Seth's temple - "and all around you. He's in your mornings and afternoons, your evenings and your nights. Between your actions and your conscience, your dad hasn't left you."

Seth looked up at Lux, a sudden calm written across his face, though that soon evaporated as another little wail burst through his closed lips.

"If you have some gorilla glue, I can put the mug together again," Lux offered, stroking their thumb across Seth's cheekbone.

He nodded and swallowed hard, fighting the sobs inside his throat. More and more hiccups sounded from the teenager.

"Do you want some water?" Lux asked, glancing behind them towards the kitchen. They could see the pile of shards on the counter, but also the refrigerator.

"Y-yeah," Seth stammered, disentangling himself from Lux. "Sorry about this."

"You don't need to be sorry," Lux replied. "You'll find I'm actually a huge mother figure for a lot of people."