I don't own digimon.

The following chapter contains references to homophobia. Readers discretion is advised.

Story 30

A Friendly Visit Pt 1

Bringing his car to a stop, Lucas let out a sigh. Even if he somehow made it back without Veronica knowing of this visit, he had little in the way of an alibi for where he had gone.

"Here goes nothing." the househusband muttered and unbuckled. Carefully opening the van's door, he could already feel at least one set of eyes staring down at him. Looking for the source, Lucas found himself unable to discern the source of it. Pushing that possible paranoia to the back of his mind, his attention turned to the front door. Relatively unassuming as entrances went, he couldn't comprehend how Veronica could be so against their daughter knowing about her brother. Every time he had brought up the possibility of some kind of outing involving them, Veronica shot it down before he even had a chance to open his mouth. Maybe this would get him to the bottom of that mystery.

Slowly approaching the door, Lucas took care in examining the surrounding area. Relatively well kept, the only sign of concern he had was the surprisingly high fence boxing off the backyard from the rest of the property. Were raccoons and squirrels that big of a problem in this neighborhood? Even if they were, better solutions for dealing with them existed. Or maybe something else was in play that wasn't so obvious, kind of like the eyes that were staring at him a few moments ago. Focusing back on the door, Lucas gave it a knock. Waiting a couple moments, he got no response back. Looking for a window, he found one of those rectangular ones to the left of the door. Peering through, he could clearly make out at least one light on. Why weren't they even trying to open the door? Surely someone had to have noticed him by now. Taking a step back, Lucas knocked again. Waiting a bit longer, the door eventually opened up… to reveal Beelzebumon of all people. Dressed in his regular biker getup

"Yo yo, it's ya boi Beelzebumon. What can I do for you?" the biker digimon announced and got a look from Lucas. How the hell was he supposed to respond to that? For starters, what kind of greeting was 'Yo yo'. Was he talking to an adult or a teenager here? Secondly, did they just use 'ya boi' in a non-ironic fashion? No, his ears didn't deceive him. Raised further questions without anything in the way of a good answer. If an answer existed at all. Part of Lucas wasn't completely sure that one actually did. Not anyone that was around his age, that was for sure. But this was his ticket into figuring out what the big deal was with Veronica and her brother.

"Is Steve here?" Lucas inquired and Beelzebumon looked behind himself. Turning back to Lucas, he stepped off to the side.

"He went grocery shopping. He'll be back in a bit. For now, why don't you shoot the shit with me?" Beelzebumon explained and Lucas stepped inside. From the entranceway, he could easily make out the living room and kitchen. Part of him was reminded of his own home. But the househusband kept that thought to himself. The last thing he needed was to be kicked out right after he had gotten a solid lead here.

"Uh… sure." Lucas answered as Beelzebumon headed for the living room. Following right behind, his gaze came upon a table with a set of photos on it. Stopping at the first one, care was taken in picking it up. A pair of men stared back. One on the left was dressed in white, while his companion was dressed in black and wore a mask over the upper half of his face. While snazzy, it didn't really add much. "I'm guessing the one on the right is Steve?"

Beelzebumon shook his head and let out a chuckle. Turning to face Lucas, his gaze caught the picture. Then it's back over to the househusband.

"That would be Keith. Steve is the one in white." Beelzebumon explained and Lucas set the photo back down. Turning back to Beelzebumon, he gave the mega digimon a nod. "That was on their wedding day. According to Keith, that was only a couple months ago. Kind of weird how time flies, even in the face of everything that occurred last year."

The words rolled out, Lucas freezing up. The battle between Eosmon and the digidestined felt so long ago and yet, was still a recent memory in the minds of so many. Tempted as he was to inquire further, that wasn't why he was here. Nor would Beelzebumon be the sort of person who could tell him more about that mess. Just one more thing to ask Steve about.

Heading off once more, the pair made a beeline for the living room. A small room, the walls had been done up in beige. The floor on the other hand, looked to be some kind of tile. Not that Lucas could place it for the likes of him. But he did recognize the large couch. Veronica had for some reason wanted it so much, but had been unable to get it. Was this the reason? No, that would be absolutely petty. Totally in character for Veronica, that didn't really answer the question he had set out to answer.

"Would it be wrong of me to assume that you're here because of that slut Veronica?" Beelzebumon announced and Lucas froze. Hopefully that word was only used to describe his wife and not any other women.

"I guess you could say that?" Lucas answered and took a seat on the couch. For now, Beelzebumon chose to stand up. Arms behind his back, he was clearly the one in control. Even as that set of eyes from earlier came over him. Surely his host had some inkling of who could be behind that. At least, that was what Lucas hoped to be the case. "She's been acting weird since what happened a couple weeks ago."

Beelzebumon looked away, muttering something at the ground. Then his gaze returned to Lucas.

"That would explain the broad's truly wonderful messages she's been leaving on the home phone." the mega digimon announced and got a confused look from Lucas. Figures. Part of him kind of hoped that he was at least aware of that fact. "I'm not entirely sure what you see in her that you can just stand by and let her call my partner and his husband slanderous names and suggest they kill themselves."

His words rolled out and Lucas stared down at the couch cushion. Raising his hand up, he slammed it into the couch. Bouncing right off, he raised his fist back up. This time, Beelzebumon grabbed hold.

"I just got that couch all done up nice. I will not let you vandalize it over your own oversight. Take this as a learning opportunity." Beelzebumon continued and let go of Lucas's fist. Stepping back, he watched the househusband let out a sigh.

"I just don't understand why she's so mad at him." Lucas whispered and continued to stare at the couch cushion. Nice as it looked, his tears threatened to fall down and supposedly ruin it once more. Nothing that a couple tissues couldn't fix. "Everything that I have heard about him made him sound like a good person. I don't understand."

Beelzebumon let out a deep breath and debated his options here. He had no clue how much longer it would be before Steve got home. At the rate things were going, there might not be a home to put groceries in. For now, probably beat to keep Lucas calm. Beyond that, he wasn't completely sure.

"You know how siblings are. Always at each other's throats." he answered, Lucas's gaze finally meeting him once more. Giving a nod, the househusband shifted his position on the couch. Once he was comfortable, his mouth opened up. But no words came out. Closing it back up, Beelzebumon shot him a confused look. "Though, that wouldn't explain the magnitude of Veronica's actions. By any chance have you ever had any interactions with digimon before this?"

Lucas stared down at the couch once more. Compared to everything else he had been asked so far, this shouldn't be that hard to answer. Yet, why was he having so much trouble in answering this question? Absolutely unbelievable. The only digimon he could say with certainty was Volcdramon. But that was a given. Beelzebumon was probably looking for encounters before that. Racking his mind to the best of his abilities, he did come upon one possible candidate that would fit the bill.

"I nearly got attacked by a large tank when digimon were invading the world." the househusband explained and watched Beelzebumon look for a piece of paper. Walking over to the kitchen, he found what he was looking for. Coming back, it doesn't take the mega that long to write Lucas's statement down. Then it's right back to looking at Lucas. "I'm guessing you got to go down?"

Beelzebumon shook his head, trying his hardest to hold in the laughter. Lasts a couple seconds before he let it all out.

"I wish." Beelzebumon announced and got a confused look from the househusband. Setting the paper and pen down, he did his best to meet Lucas's gaze. "No, I got back down here a bit after their wedding."

Lucas nodded, his gaze catching a glimpse of the now open front door. Part of him debated getting up from the couch, he decided against it. At least until he had actual confirmation that Steve was here and it wasn't Keith for one reason or another.

"What are you waiting for? Ya boi is here now." Beelzebumon continued and Lucas nodded. Getting up from the couch, Lucas made his way over to the front door. Poking his head through, his gaze found his target. Dressed in a shirt emblazoned with Sailor Moon and a plain pair of pants, locks of short blonde hair waved about in the wind, a set of sapphire eyes already meeting Lucas's eyes. Even as the bags of groceries in his hands shook about.

"Hello." Steve greeted and held his hand out. Waiting a moment, he watched Lucas reluctantly make his way over. "Would it be wrong of me to assume that you're Veronica's husband?"

Lucas gulped, but kept his gaze on Steve. Somehow, the extra set of eyes seemed to be even more focused on him here.

"What gave it away?" Lucas answered and Beelzebumon joined them. Looking a bit above the pair, he did his best to hold his laughter in.

"Well, ya girl Ophani has been fixated on you the entire time you've been on the property." the mega digimon announced and Lucas looked up. There, Ophani stood from within her fence perimeter. Giving a wave, Lucas cautiously waved back. Returning his attention to Steve, he did his best to hide the embarrassment. Easier said than done.

"If you could help me bring the groceries in, I could shed some light on my sister's actions." Steve explained and handed a bag off to Lucas and Beelzebumon. Accepting the 'gift', it was all hands on deck.