Chapter Text
As soon as church was over, Alastor hit the ground running to get home so he could change his clothes. He knew Maman would tan his hide if he got his church clothes dirty so he had to change even if it would waste precious time.
“And where do you think you’re going, boy!?” he heard her shout after him.
“I’m going fishin' in the bayou! Don’t worry, I’ll change!” he called back to her as he ran down the road.
He’d already done all his chores before church and Maman already gave him permission to play afterward, so besides skipping the church luncheon there was no reason to stop him. He wasn’t all that hungry anyways. He just wanted to see Luke again. He passed cars and neighbors as he ran home, an excited smile never leaving his face even as he panted to catch his breath. He changed his clothes, grabbed his pole and an old bucket, and ran out the door again.
“Hey Al, you going fishin’?”
Alastor paused when his neighbor, Mr. George, tried to wave him over. He didn’t like the man very much. He always smelled like grease from his job and he tended to shake Alastor’s hand a little too vigorously. But he also would give his old milk jugs to Maman so she could sell them back to the shop for a few pennies.
“Yes, sir. I gotta go, tho!”
“What’s your hurry? Fish ain’t goin’ nowhere!”
“I’m meeting my friend! I gotta go, Mr. George! Bye!”
“Alright, but hey! If you catch any cats, I’ll buy ‘em from ya, okay?”
“Okay!” he shouted as he entered the woods.
A little extra pocket money never hurt, not that he often had any. But that thought was pushed aside as he made his way through the bushes. Soon enough, he was stumbling into the familiar clearing that he and Luke agreed to meet in.
“Luke? Are you here?” he called out, searching for his blonde friend.
“Over here!”
Alastor walked towards the water and found Luke in what could only be called a strange situation. In the boy’s lap was a brown female duck and her ducklings, on his shoulders were several wood doves, and on his head was probably someone’s runaway hen. His friend was practically buried in birds and he couldn’t help bursting into laughter at how silly he looked.
“What’s so funny?”
“Y–you are! How did you manage to get all those birds to sit on you!?”
“S’not funny, they just did it on their own! Don’t laugh at me!” Luke stood up and pouted at him, but the birds remained undisturbed which had Alastor howling even louder as the blonde pouted at him with an armful of ducks.
“You look ridiculous!”
“Yeah, well, you’re late,” Luke huffed. “I almost thought you weren’t coming.”
“Aw, I’m sorry," Alastor sighed. "Church just went long cause Pastor had a lot to say today.”
“I guess that’s fine.” Lucifer began setting down his various feathery passengers when he spotted the pole and bucket in Alastor’s hand. “What’s that you got there?”
“I thought we could go fishing today! You said you’ve never done it before, right?”
Luke shook his head, but looked excited for this new experience. Alastor grabbed his hand and led him to a muddy part of the bank and knelt down.
“Okay, first we need bait! Worms are super easy, we just have to dig.”
“Worms?” Luke grimaced.
“Hey, don’t worry. S’not like they’ll bite you. Now help me dig!”
The pair dug and gathered the worms they found in a little pile on a drier part of the bank. When Alastor felt they’d gathered enough, he showed Luke how to hook one on the pole and cast it into the water.
Luke turned to the brunette as he sat and watched the little piece of wood floating in the water. “Well, what now?”
“Now we wait for a bite.”
“Oh, okay.” He sat next to Alastor and watched the piece of wood…for maybe two minutes. “How long do we wait?”
“Until there’s a bite.”
“Got it… How do we know there’s a bite?”
“The bobber will sink.”
“Right, bobber will sink… How long does that take?”
“Luke, fishing is usually done in silence cause talking too much can scare the fish. So, SSSHH!!”
The blonde boy deflated, but continued to watch the bobber in silence.
“...”
“...”
“...”
“...do you think we have a bite yet?”
“Luke, I swear to God Almighty that if you don’t shut up we’re never gonna catch anything!”
“But it’s taking so long!” the blonde whined.
“It’s gonna take longer if you keep hollerin’ like that!”
“You started it first!”
Neither boy noticed that the bobber had gone down until the pole was nearly yanked right out of Alastor’s hands.
“Holy–!” Alastor yanked the rod back as whatever they had caught fought against the line.
“Did we do it!? Did we get a bite!?” Luke shouted, jumping up and down excitedly.
“Oof, yeah,” he grunted. “And it feels like a big one! Help me get it out of the water!”
“Right!” The shorter boy grabbed around Alastor’s waist and pulled, but whatever they had on the other side of the line must have been huge.
“This must be the biggest fish ever! We can’t let it get away!” Alastor panted excitedly.
“I’m trying, I’m trying!” Luke cried out.
Their pole bent nearly in half with the weight of whatever was on the other end. It creaked and cracked and the boys pulled with all their might.
“We’re gonna lose it!” Luke shouted as he heard another crack from the fishing pole.
“Keep pulling, don’t give up!” Alastor yelled.
The brunette mustered all his strength, planted his feet firmly in the muddy bank, and yanked with all his might. Suddenly, the tension gave out as the pole snapped and sent the pair sprawling into the mud. Alastor laid there for a second, upset that his pole had broken and they’d lost their fish when he heard an enormous splash. He sat up and saw as the biggest catfish he’d ever seen flop onto the bank. He scrambled for it, grabbing its gills and hauling it the rest of the way onto land.
“We did it!” he whooped.
“Oh my god! It’s so ugly!” Luke gasped and laughed. “What are we gonna do with it now?”
“Oh man, Maman’s going to be so excited! We’ll have catfish for weeks!”
Luke scrunched his nose. “You’re gonna eat it!?”
“Of course! Don’t tell me you’ve never had catfish before!”
The blonde shook his head and Alastor just couldn’t believe it. He knew he had to change that immediately. He took a rope from his overalls and looped their catch onto it. With any luck, Maman had come home already and would be willing to fix up something for their lunch.
“Come on, I can’t send you home without trying it,” he huffed as he heaved the heavy fish over his shoulder. “Grab the pole and bucket and follow me!”
Luke picked up the items, but hesitated to follow. “But…we have to keep us a secret, remember?”
Alastor paused. He knew he was the one who set the rule in the beginning, but now it was just frustrating. They’d been friends for only a few weeks, but he felt he’d already known Luke for a lifetime and he wanted him to meet his maman. If Maman knew Luke, he knew she’d love him and then they could play well into the night because they could play at his house. But he also knew what kind of world they lived in and the kind of trouble his friendship with Luke could bring to his maman.
“Right…well, I’ll make sure to bring some next Sunday! Like I said, there’s plenty here and I’ll ask Maman to make you the best catfish!”
Luke gave him a wobbly smile and nodded. “Does that mean you have to go home?”
Alastor looked at the sky and knew they still had a few hours of sun left. “Not right now. Let me just tie this guy to a tree so he stays fresh and we can play some more!”
🌺🌺🌺
That evening, he walked home covered in muck with a giant catfish over his shoulder. Maman was so impressed with him that she said she’d cook it with grits tomorrow for breakfast.
“I still can’t believe you caught that thing by yourself!” she exclaimed as she served him his supper, collared greens, boiled potatoes, and ham. “Your father’s gonna be happy to have some fried catfish sandwiches for his lunch, too. You want me to fix you some for school?”
“Actually, can I have catfish on Saturday?” he said through a mouthful of greens.
“Baby, don’t talk with your mouth full. And why Saturday?”
Alastor shrugged, trying to be nonchalant, but he could tell she saw right through him.
“Oh? Does my baby have a secret? Might it have something to do with you running off every Sunday after church?” she asked with a smirk.
He didn’t answer, kicking his feet and stuffing his mouth so he had more of a reason to stay silent. When she poked his overstuffed cheeks, he just whined and tried to swat her hand away.
“Now when did my baby start keeping secrets? Lemme guess…you got a new little friend? Is she cute? Maybe a girl from your class?” she teased.
He huffed and scrunched his nose. She got it at least partly right, but Luke wasn’t some girl from his class obviously. He was much prettier than them anyways.
“Okay, fine. Keep your secrets for now," she huffed, but she couldn't be that annoyed with how widely she was smiling. "I suppose as long as you’re doing your chores, I don’t have to meet this little friend…yet.”