Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“And that concludes our show…Tune in next time. Until then, I leave you with this” Alastor reached over to a smaller radio connected to his control panel. He turned the dial and what began playing was a tune years past his time, but the demon had grown rather fond of, We’ll Meet Again by Vera Lynn . His body swayed slightly in his seat, lightly tapping his foot along the beat of the bass, with his hands resting on his lap. Alastor hums along happily throughout the song’s entirety, harmonizing with the vocalist.

And with the song’s conclusion, his broadcast ends with a turn of a switch - the illumination of the ‘ON AIR’ signage flickering off, now blending with the rustic sky of dawn.

His broadcast started normally and ended normally as it should. He worried that his capabilities performing his normal routine tasks would be affected after the “slight” mishap with Adam during extermination day. It has only been 4 weeks since the battle with Heaven and surprisingly Alastor has been holding up well - so far. He still wasn’t sure what kind of aftereffects this injury would have on him, but so far the wound was behaving just as expected. A burning pain, like a constant trickle of holy water dripping on his chest, but it was somewhat bearable. 

The only time the wound posed to be an issue was when he reappeared in front of the hotel inhabitants 2 weeks after the hotel was rebuilt. 

—

2 Weeks ago.. 

Finally showing up for attendance to the group after the hotel’s completion, Alastor was greeted ecstatically by the crowd - minus Husk and Lucifer, naturally. He was pleased the residents were happy to see him as it seemed to irritate the angel who refused to be part of the group hug. While being bombarded with a tight embrace from the group, Alastor couldn’t help, but shoot a smug grin whilst side eyeing the king of Hell who looked less than pleased to see him alive and well. Lucifer rolled his eyes and shot the demon a middle finger in response. It was during that time where the gash on his chest began to throb painfully, as if someone was lightly tracing the wound with a knife.

The demon was caught off guard by the sudden pain, but kept his composure enough to join the group outside the building to take in the sights of the newly remodeled hotel. Though, not to his taste, he was grateful they kept him in mind by including his radio tower and keeping it away from the eyesore that is the apple shaped room attached to the opposite side of the building. However, the decor was the least of Alastor’s concerns when the pain was heightened even more so the longer he lingers with the group and he promptly excuses himself to his bedroom. He quickly heading to the bathroom to check the damage in the mirror, but by the time he undressed himself to expose his chest - the pain had dulled back to its normal beats. 

Alastor looked at his reflection, the wound didn’t look any different either. He shrugged and began redressing himself, figuring it was just the usual process of sustaining such an injury. These things were supposed to hurt, sometimes more than usual depending on the circumstances. All that hugging by the others must have aggravated it. He will make sure to keep more of a distance between himself and the hotel residents in the future.

—

Alastor leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs on top of the surface of the control panel. He tilted his head back while clutching the fabric of his clothing in front of his chest as his body started to relax. Breathing became an annoyance, much to his own, as it continuously reopened the wound that he believed was healing. Expected shocks of pain radiated throughout his body. The demon would have loved to say he was used to this feeling as it always happens after each broadcast since it takes much vocal usage, but it always left him winded after.

“Well, well - this is rather disappointing. Can’t already be this worn after a simple show.” Alastor muttered to himself. He closed his eyes to focus on his breathing - slowly, turning his attention to direct his breathing through his abdomen as opposed to his chest, while simultaneously tightening his core. A breathing exercise he frequently utilized when preparing his voice for a broadcast - whether he narrated the day’s events or decided to gift the listeners with a song. Though this time around the exercise certainly helped with managing pain from the wound that always wanted to pick a fight after simple tasks.

After the pain slightly subsided, Alastor sighed in relief, opening his eyes to stare at the ceiling before lifting his head right side up again. The demon rose from his seat and stretched his arms upward, releasing the tension his spine sustained from sitting for a long period of time. He wasn’t sure how long he rested, but lately it felt like his rests have become longer and longer. Though, it could all be his imagination considering how much more exhausted he’s been lately, not just from his slow recovery, but also from the old and new tasks Charlie had assigned him with. 

With a new and “improved” hotel, the building received some more practical renovations to make it more habitable and comfortable for guests. Although, that also meant more frequent upkeep. Nothing the great Alastor can’t handle - well..usually he can handle these types of things just fine. He hated to admit it, but it has become more cumbersome juggling all the hotel work as well as his own personal agenda and of course masking the fact he was injured.

Alastor sighed, smoothing out any wrinkles on his clothing before grabbing his mic and making his way towards the tower exit. The morning had arrived and he had spent a little too much time dawdling after his broadcast. He still had to prepare breakfast for the residents before they woke for the day. 

The demon quickly opened the door to exit and hastily walked through the doorway before noticing too late a presence at the door - running into the other with a bit of force causing Alastor and the unexpected guest both fall back to the ground with a loud THUD.

“SHIT, ow!” Lucifer exclaimed, rubbing his rear, wincing from the pain of the impact. The angel turned his head to look at Alastor, also on the ground, staring back at him with narrowed eyes and a less than pleased smile, almost a scowl, “Well, good morning to you too, your majesty! I must say I am quite honored..” Alastor seethed through his teeth, “to be greeted by you this early morning, but I’m afraid you must have forgotten your manners before arriving here amongst your eagerness to meet with me!” 

The demon picked himself and his mic up off the ground, brushing off the dust and dirt from his clothing. Alastor was ready to continue his little quips at Lucifer, but a familiar, yet unwelcome sensation crept up in his chest. The pain was back and had felt a bit worse than before, like the knife had dug itself ever so slightly against his skin as it followed the path of the wound. Alastor’s smile faltered for just a second before returning to its usual form, eyeing Lucifer to make sure the angel hadn’t noticed the sudden change in deposition. 

Once again, the pain caught him off guard and Alastor’s body decided to move against his will with his free hand crossing over his chest to grab onto the fabric over his injury, but Alastor immediately followed the movement with a bow towards the king - a facade to hide the fact he was clutching onto his clothing in pain while also hiding any potential facial expressions that would incriminate him. 

The last thing he needed was for Lucifer to be asking questions and finding him in a weakened state. He would rather disintegrate right at that moment before feeling small and helpless in front of the most powerful being in Hell. The less he knows about him, the better.

“Oh! My apologies, your majesty!” Still bowing, Alastor quickly straightened his expression to a pointed smile before lifting his head to look at the angel - still on the ground before him. “Here I am going on about manners, when I have yet to check for my own!” Alastor stood upright, removing his arm on his chest and placing it behind his back. 

With his microphone, he angled the top towards the king, “Allow me to help you up. I would offer a hand, but I’m afraid I am unworthy of directly touching royalty. You would probably rather lie on the dirt beneath your feet than come into contact with the blood on my hands...” 

Lucifer rolled his eyes and reached out to grab onto the microphone that was offered to him.

Alastor smirked mischievously at Lucifer, pulling his microphone to lift the angel up onto his feet before taking back his staff to his side, “Although..” Alastor started, grinning wider at the king, “It would seem you wouldn't need any of my help in that department, hmm?” Alastor narrowed his eyes at the angel as he reached over and mockingly brushed the imaginary dirt off the kings shoulders before taking his hand back and wiping it off on his clothing, “I would appreciate a notice before gracing me with your presence.”

The angel scoffed while he straightened his hat on his head before crossing his arms. His eyes threw daggers at Alastor, “Pfft okay. And what? Do you want a wax sealed letter sent to you to announce myself before I swing by?” Lucifer remarked sarcastically.

“A knock will suffice actually.”

“Well, obviously I was going to knock.”

“Ah, but you didn’t, and here we are.”

"BUT I WAS GOING TO."

"I'd rather judge by actions than intentions, your majesty."

Lucifer growled, “Are we really going back and forth on this? Everyone can see it was an accident. You rushed out right as I was about to knock!” Lucifer exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air in frustration before dropping them, placing one hand on his hip and the other to pinch the bridge between his eyes. He released an exasperated sigh, “Look, the reason I’m here is because yesterday, Charlie asked me to help you with breakfast today.” Lucifer dropped his hand from his face and gave an irritated expression towards Alastor.

Alastor cocked an eyebrow, intrigued by the idea, but still opposed. It was an interference in his routine and found it bothersome, “Oh my, does the princess believe I need help? Does she think my cooking is inadequate? Or is it the menu? If that’s the case then-”

“Look, I don’t like this anymore than you do,” Lucifer cut off the demon, prompting an irritated eye twitch from Alastor, “but Charlie says we have to spend more time with each other so she recommended that I give you a hand in the kitchen. So let’s at least PRETEND to get along, alright?” Lucifer stepped closer in front of the demon - once again crossing his arms over his chest, tapping his foot impatiently while waiting for a response. His frown was a clear indication that if the fallen angel didn’t have to do this - he would absolutely decline the request. However, Lucifer was eager to help his daughter and perform any of her tasks despite his apprehension, clearly trying to put in the, albeit late, effort to rebuild a relationship that was stunted early on due to his own emotions.

Alastor hummed in thought, tapping his chin as he pretended to ponder the idea. Such a ridiculous request the princess had. The two of them couldn’t even pass simple pleasantries to one another when they walked past each other in the halls without throwing glares as sharp as their claws that they wished were wrapped around each other’s necks…let alone spending some civil quality time with each other, be it hotel duties or otherwise.

A playful grin stretched across Alastor's face, knowing if the king was already this irritable with just his presence, oh how entertaining it would be to continue eliciting such reactions. “Oh my, I’m not sure, your majesty! I never found myself as an actor! I’m afraid my skills are in short supply.” The demon teased, laughing at his own joke amongst a candid laugh track emanating from thin air.

The angel rolled his eyes, “Yeah, yeah whatever. I’m gonna take a guess that you’ll at least try right? Since, yknow, I remember you saying that you are happy to fulfill her bizarre requests.” A smirk graced the angel's face, feeling as if he had caught someone in a petty lie.

“Ha!” Alastor exclaimed, “I’m glad to see our king’s memory is as sharp as ever despite your old age.” He chided, before walking past Lucifer and starting towards the hotel main building.

Lucifer frowned and quickly looked back at Alastor to see him casually walking away, “H-hey! Where are you going?!”

“Come along now, we're late to prepare breakfast.”

—

The preparation of breakfast definitely could have gone much quicker and easier if it wasn't for the fact that the angel and demon were arguing about what they should make while on the way to the kitchen and as they arrived.

“We will be baking homemade bread,” Alastor firmly dictated, “It’s simple and quick to make as we are already behind schedule. The oven does half the job. I assume even you can do half the work?” 

Lucifer frowned deeply, eyes sharply stared at the accusatory demon, “What the hell is that supposed to mean?! Pancakes are even easier and quicker and I can make them just fine!” He pointed angrily at Alastor.

The demon also pointed an accusing finger back at Lucifer, “Need I remind you, last time I witnessed your pancake making ‘skills’ you were easily distracted and nearly burnt the kitchen to the next layer of Hell.”

“Don't be so dramatic, chef,” Lucifer sheepishly peered to the side, grumbled under his breath, “Yeah..well, cooking isn't even my job! I was just picking up your slack since you decided to be MIA throughout the entire time the hotel was being rebuilt! How was I supposed to know you were the one that usually handles this stuff?”

Alastors chest continued to throb in pain throughout the entire time he was arguing with Lucifer. He was definitely exerting more effort going back and forth with the angel when he should be conserving his energy, but he couldn't help, but attempt to get the last say in against the angel. The pain in his chest begged a bit for the demon to calm down. 

With a tired sigh, Alastor brushed off the angel's comments with a wave of his hand, “If you’re done blaming others for your mistakes, you can help me prepare the dough.” 

—

“Hmm” some time has passed since Alastor placed the ready prepared dough inside of the oven to bake. Usually, the scent of bread baking would start to fill the kitchen, yet for some reason the aroma was muted and dull, almost non-existent. “We should prioritize gathering quality ingredients..” The demon muttered under his breath as he leaned over to view the loaf through the oven window. 

“What was that now?” Lucifer asked from the kitchen sink, starting on the mountain of dishes the both of them had made knowing it could have been less if they weren’t trying to sabotage each other’s task every chance they had. While the angel was lathering a dish with soap, he turned his head to look over at Alastor who looked to be deep in thought.

Lucifer wouldn't say it out loud, but he learned a lot from Alastor during this… bonding exercise. Despite the recipe being rather simplistic, there were small nuances that Alastor explained that would really elevate a simple loaf of bread. And he believed it. The proof was in the pudding, but in this case it was in the oven. The air was warm and the scent of baked bread was comforting. 

Alastor waved a hand in dismissal at Lucifer’s question, continuing to stare through the oven window. He sighed before straightening his back and turned to look at the angel, “I was just saying we should have more quality ingredients for our meals. Usually, my homemade bread will fill the kitchen in warm aromatics, but clearly that isn’t the case. I assume it’s because of the poor choice of ingredients. I do recall not being the one to do the shopping recently.” Alastor furrowed his brow, his grin slightly dropping at the corners.

Lucifer cocked an eyebrow, confused at the demon’s statement. The kitchen was filled to the brim with the soothing smell of baked bread. Did the baked goods Alastor made in the past smell even more wonderful than this? “What are you talking about? It sme-”

“Oh my goodness, Alastor, are you baking bread? It smells soooo good!” Charlie poked her head through the kitchen door, her face beamed with joy as she squealed. The princess fully walked into the kitchen to stand next to Alastor by the oven to really take in the aroma.

Alastor blinked, turning his head to face Charlie, puzzled at the princess’s words. His face shifted to look back at the oven, “Does it now?” The demon said flatly, hiding the questioning nature of his tone. 

Charlie nodded quickly, “Yes! I’m so glad you and dad are getting along too! You know what they say, the way to a person’s heart is through their stomach! And what better way than your delicious home cooking!” The princess proclaimed as she threw her hands in the air in excitement.

Alastor looked back at Charlie and nodded, his smile paling in comparison to the excited princess, “Well, I’m glad you like it. Now, it’s about time for breakfast, yes? I believe the bread should be just about done.” 

“Oh yeah! Let me help you set up the dining table!” Charlie started for the kitchen door before stopping to look at her father and motioned to him to come with, “Dad! Come help me also! Alastor looks like he's got this covered and it'll be quicker if you and I set up the table!”

“Oh uh, sure, sweetheart!” Lucifer placed the dishes back into the sink and quickly made his way towards Charlie. He paused for a moment to look back at Alastor who had turned back to the over and was engrossed at in his own thoughts, “Hey, Al, just let us know of you need help.”

“That is very thoughtful, but I am fine” the demon remarked, without looking at the two. Lucifer stared at Alastor for a moment before shrugging. He turned to his daughter, “Let’s go Charlie!” and the pair hurriedly left the kitchen to do what they set off to do.

After they had left, Alastor slowly opened the oven door. He donned two oven mitts before removing the bread pan from inside. The demon studied the baked good intently - it looked perfect, from how it had risen to the toasty golden brown in its hue.

“Interesting..” Alastor bemused. He continued to stare at the loaf, feeling the heat radiate through the oven mitts and also onto his face. He paused for a moment, before taking a deep breath at the expense of opening up his wound further,

And yet, he couldn’t smell anything.

Chapter Text

“Hey Dad..” Charlie started, turning her head to look at her father who was finishing up cleaning the dishes. 

The two stood side by side in front of the kitchen sink. Lucifer resumed washing dishes as before and Charlie took on drying them to be stored. They offered to clean up since Alastor was the one who cooked. It looked like the demon had other plans he needed to tend to urgently from the way he was quick to leave without joining them for breakfast - so they figured they could take clean up duty off his hands. 

“What's up, sweetheart?” Without turning to look at her he passed her a dish to be dried off. 

Charlie did just that, thinking inquisitively as she circled a drying towel on the dish. “How are you and Alastor getting along?”

“Oh, we are doing fantastic, char char! Practically best buds ah haha!” Lucifer played up rather unconvincingly and obviously Charlie knew. 

The princess sighed, wiping off the last bit of water from the dish in her hands before setting it down. She faced her father and crossed her arms, lifting her hand to hold her chin to ponder, “Well.. If you say so, but is it just me, or does Al seem kinda off? He left in a hurry after making breakfast. I'm worried, but I’m not sure why.”

Lucifer finished up the last of the dishes, wiping his damp hands on a towel and turned to his daughter. He placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled at her reassuringly, “Don’t let that creepy host of yours get to your head, Char Char. I was with him the entire morning. He’s doing well! …A little too well ugh.” The angel’s face dropped in irritation, as if he couldn’t believe he wasted his morning with THAT guy just to argue with him, but anything for his daughter.

Charlie chuckled, placing a hand on top of her father’s that was placed on her shoulder, “I’m still worried. Al may be unpredictable, but he does have his routine - he never misses meals with us.” The princess’s expression changes to that of a small pout and puppy eyes, “Would.. it be okay if you can give him something to eat? I know he said he already did, but I’m not sure he did.” 

Lucifer’s face contorts for a moment, before smiling widely at the princess, “Of course, sweetheart! You’re too kind to these sinners, Charlie. A huge heart I’m telling ya!”

The princess beams excitedly, hugging her father as tight as she can, “Oh thank you thank you, dad!! This is the perfect opportunity for you both to continue to bond with each other!” She quickly lets go of the angel and started rummaging through the fridge to begin preparing a meal for Alastor, “Al’s kinda picky with what he eats. I’ve only really seen him eat his own cooking, so I’ll just warm up the leftovers he’s made.” She looks at each packaged container intensely, trying to decide what would be right for someone as fickle as the radio demon.

Lucifer went over next to Charlie to see what she was grabbing and stared with interest at the organization of the fridge and its contents. It was clear to see the prepped meals was made by the oh so perfect chef Alastor - considering, well - the demon himself was the only one that cooked for the hotel, but even if he wasn’t the only one, there was a certain way the meals were neatly wrapped up, labeled, and stored away in the fridge for later consumption. It was a dead giveaway that, yeah, of course the pompous prick would label the leftovers…what? He even time and dated each one when it was made? AND put a Best By date on there?

If Alastor was anything, he was definitely meticulous. And it annoyed Lucifer. He thinks he’s oh so perfect ugh pompous prick. I should just make him something and really show him what cooking is. The king recalled back to when he almost burned the kitchen down trying to make pancakes and clicked his tongue. That was ONE time. ONE TIME. I’m not used to this kitchen! Lucifer knew that if he tried to make anything he would probably get an earful about how abysmal his cooking is blah blah blah the king of hell didn’t have the mental capacity for another verbal tiraid today.

“Oh! Here let’s give him Maque Choux! He makes it often so he must like it!” Charlie said happily. She began preparing a bowl and warming it up in the microwave, before handing it to her father, “I know he’ll appreciate the gesture, dad!” 

“Y-yeah. I know he will, charbear.” He halfheartedly said, taking the bowl from his daughter.

_____________________

Maybe he was getting sick. Yes, of course. That has to be the answer. Alastor thought to himself as he arrived back to the Hotel from his short walk to clear his head. His chest stopped hurting as intensely the further he walked from the hotel, thank heavens. The pain persisted throughout the entire morning, fortunately, yet unfortunately, he was able to distract himself, despite the distraction being an entirely new problem- 

There’s just.. nothing.

Upon reaching the entrance, the red demon dissolved into his shadow beneath his feet - manifesting into his bedroom and began pacing back and forth deep in thought.  He decided to pass on breakfast and opted for a walk, with the excuse that he had actually eaten earlier - which was, of course, a lie. However, Alastor hadn’t felt hungry after the interesting situation he found himself in in the kitchen. 

He couldn’t smell anything anymore. Nothing.

Alastor confirmed it several times after the fact by lighting a few incense, scented candles, and even poor sinners he came across during his walk - solidifying that his sense of smell was indeed gone if even the scent of burning flesh and blood of lowly demons hadn’t penetrated his senses. So it must be a sort of cold, right? 

Yes, of course it is. That's the only logical conclusion.

Actually, that’s the only answer that made sense. He was injured after all. His health, much to his dismay, was compromised. When he was a human, his mother was sick quite often, which was unfortunately passed down to Alastor. The human Alastor had a poor constitution that left him bedridden for days at a time as a child and as an adult. Naturally, his mother was very protective of his health and learned every home remedy and preventative practices that she could to keep Alastor in the best wellness as possible despite hereditary setbacks.

It didn’t help that since the battle, Alastor had been using a substantial amount of power to close up his wound, though the injury proved to be quite stubborn and refused to close up completely. This had left Alastor in a state of limbo, where he would use his powers to try and heal his wound, the attempts appearing to work, only for his chest to split open again. Rinse and repeat. 

It also didn’t help that he was also using much of his power to stop the bleeding. Unlike the efforts to seal the wound to properly heal, he had to constantly use his demonic powers to keep the wound from bleeding. It didn’t take much energy to do so, but it was definitely energy he could be conserving for really anything else. Unfortunately, he couldn't just stop doing it. Last time he did, it was a week after the battle and he thought the cells would have clot together by now and stopped the bleeding on its own like normal. Goodness was he wrong, as soon as he let his power drop its barrier on his chest, the wound opened up and began bleeding heavily and the pain felt almost as new as when he first received it.

Alastor furrowed his brow. his smile twitching at the edges. He wanted to avoid suturing himself again. He's tried several times in the past, but concluded that it required too much time and caused too much pain and discomfort in the process, for such little relief to be worth it. The stitching would always come undone after a day, sometimes not lasting a full 24 hours. 

Today however, he’s been feeling more exhausted and decided it was time to try again. This would allow himself approximately a day to regain his energy even if only to use again in an attempt to heal his wound and stop the inevitable bleeding.

It can't be helped.

Alastor began gathering all the supplies needed to stitch himself up from his emergency storage supplies he kept under his bed along with a small mirror he kept at this bedside table. The demon sat down on the mattress, placing the suture supplies next to him on top bed. 

With a snap of his fingers, Alastor called upon his shadow before him. It instinctively knew what to do - taking the small mirror and holding it up to show the reflection of Alastor's chest. 

The demon began to undress, first removing his coat followed by unbuttoning his shirt to expose his chest. 

As to be expected, the wound remained the same. The same as a few weeks ago, the same as this morning. The entire gash glowed a soft golden hue that made it obviously look holy in nature and almost pulsating. It was sickening to see such a display on his skin.

Alastor started to work quickly - threading the needle, sucking in as much air as he can into his lung, and bracing for the long, painful process of stitching himself back together. 

After what felt like hours, Alastor finally managed to sew up his wound and released a well deserved sigh of relief. He was able to give his powers a break which his body thanked him for even if it was not a long rest. 

Each interwoven stitch felt like cigarette burns and his chest felt like it was lit on fire. Alastor was panting, drawing up a cold sweat after such a task it had made him light headed. 

The demon got up from his bed and walked towards the bathroom mirror. He gripped onto the sides of the sink, leaning towards the mirror to study his complexion. I suppose I look a bit...worn.. One thing Alastor did learn as a human was that when your body gets injured - you are prone to getting sick, and even more so if you were born into a body like his - “ weak..” Alastor growled beneath his breath. Weak, weak, weak…  He tightened his grip on the sides of the sink, cracking the porcelain beneath his fingers. His smile contorted and twitched seeing his own reflection.

Weak, weak, weak, weak, weak, weak, weak, weak, weak, weak, weak, weak, weak, we–

“Hey, Al are you okay?” Lucifer’s voice rang through the room door followed by several knocks. Alastor blinked - snapping himself out of his thoughts. He turned his head towards the direction of the bedroom door, then to his hands. His grip on the sink loosened as he sighed at the sight of the new repairs he must make on top of his already mountains of work. 

The angel held a bowl with food that Charlie had prepared to give to Alastor in one hand and with his free one he knocked once more. 

“Hey smiley asshole, open up - Charlie asked me to check up on you.. I can care less about how you're doing, but she’s the one who’s worried about you for missing breakfast so I can't let you stay in her head rent free.”

Making sure the aggravating sinner was okay was certainly the last thing the angel wanted to spend his afternoon with, but of course Lucifer obliged if it meant the relationship between himself and his daughter would improve. So sure, he'll go see the tacky radio demon as often as he needs to despite really not wanting to. Lucifer continues knocking, more impatiently. 

Alastor sighed again, this time more exasperated. Despite his own best interest of using his magic, he snaps his fingers - donning himself with his usual attire. He took another look at the mirror to straighten any hair out of place or smooth out any wrinkles in his clothing before making his way towards the door to, once again, greet an uninvited guest. As soon as the demon reached for the door handle, a sudden jolt of pain hit his chest, “..urg.!” Alastor groaned, wincing at the pain. A sharp radio feedback emanated through the air. Not now.. The demon tightened his grip on his clothing. 

“Uh… Al.. You alright..? I can hear you behind the door.” Lucifer questioned. The angel reached for the door handle and attempted to open it.

Alastor blinked into realization, “Don't -!” the demon snapped.

Lucifer jumped in surprise, letting go of the handle, “Jeez sorry!” He took his hand back to his side, “Okay, okay - I stopped.”

Still gripping his coat over his chest, Alastor forced himself to snap his voice back to his usual composure. The demon took a steady, deep breath despite his wound’s arguments, “While I’m glad you knocked first, I would also appreciate it if you wouldn’t try entering someone’s private space before being invited in.” Alastor replied through the closed door. 

“Uhm.. ooh-kaay.. But why won’t you open the door? Don’t tell me I caught you while you were changing or something and you’re shy .” Lucifer teased, placing his free hand on his hip, smirking. Despite Alastor not being able to see the angel’s expression, Lucifer knew the demon could feel it.

Alastor’s body tensed up, his smile tightening and his ears pinned upwards - in disbelief the king of hell would even mention something like that. No tact at all..

“Oh hoh hoh! It seems you caught me, your majesty, I am in fact… indecent at the moment.” Alastor’s voice was low, almost flirtatious. It burned his tongue needing to stoop to such perversions, but.. 

“W-what..?! N-no-” Lucifer sputtered out clumsily, “I just.. I-I just wanted to-” 

..the reaction the dear king had was fascinating. Someone as powerful as Lucifer stumbling over his own words to Alastor’s implication.

“Oh, I am SURE you wanted to, my dear! I assume that’s why you tried entering my bedroom on your own accord, yes?”

“N-no!” Lucifer stammered as his body tensed, blushing slightly from embarrassment of his joke backfiring. The angel shook his head to loosen the tension in his body before responding, “Can we PLEASE not start this back and forth thing again. It’s annoying. I only wanted to know if you were okay because of Charlie and she thought it was weird how you skipped breakfast saying you ate beforehand”, Lucifer sighed, his body leaning forward, already exhausted by this nothing of a conversation before continuing,  “but I’m pretty sure you didn’t since yknow…we were together the whole morning.” The king awkwardly remarked, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand, while gripping the bowl tighter with the other.

“I merely had a very early meal before your visit this morning, your majesty.” Another lie to hopefully stop any further questions from the king, “I appreciate your concern, but your feelings are wasted as I am fine, now if you excuse me I’d like to retire..” Alastor’s smile twitched at the corners as the burning sensation in this chest continued and this entire nonsense conversation was not conducive to the overall state of his body.

“Wait!” Lucifer began knocking more fervently on Alastor’s door.

“My, my, persistent are we? Are you that eager for me to present my body to you, hmm, my king?”

“Alastor!”

“Fine, fine. I jest.” Alastor stood in silence for a few moments, before finally responding with a straightforward answer that should be enough to appease the king and stop his incessant questioning, “I’m… unwell. I believe I caught a cold of some sort.” Alastor “admitted”.

Lucifer cocked an eyebrow questioningly. For all the years he’s been alive he has never heard of any of Hell’s inhabitants catching something as small and common as a cold before. Demons have gotten sick before, yes, but it was usually more serious and intense due to the nature of their environment - usually ending in a double death. No one here had common colds as far as he was concerned.

I guess there’s a first for everything. Lucifer concluded. Sure it was a situation unheard of, but Alastor looked fine and sounded fine except for that odd comment in the kitchen about not being able to smell his own baking.

“Okay..sure, I guess.. You did say something funny this morning - which would make sense since you said you’re sick. Demons usually don’t get colds like this though.”

“Lucky me, I suppose.”

“Heh, yeah..”

Lucifer and Alastor stood awkwardly in silence, with the door still closed between them. 

“Sooo… You gonna let me in or wha-”

“No.” Alastor said, cutting Lucifer off.

“Oh come on!! Just open the damn door you stubborn prick!!” Lucifer barked at Alastor’s bedroom door, kicking it with his foot while making sure not to spill the contents of the bowl he was now holding with both hands.

Alastor clicked his tongue, annoyed that the angel was causing unnecessary racket, “Why are you so adamant on entering my room?! I told you I'm fine! Don’t you dare make me into some kind of personal project of yours to gain your daughters love and affection which, may I inform you, cannot be bought with favors!” 

This entire conversation had most definitely overstayed its welcome. Alastor was exerting more energy than he should which in turn agitated his wound even more. “Especially disingenuous ones! Charlie is a bright young lady, she can see through your facade, you know.” The demon huffed, irritated at the fact his well needed rest was being interrupted far longer than he anticipated.

“I told you already what the plan was! To PRETEND to get along. Why are you surprised now? You agreed to it!” Lucifer spat back incredulously. 

“It seems your memory isn’t as sharp as I thought, my king! I never said I agreed to this.”

“Oh ha ha, shut up tomato tomahto, you didn’t HAVE to agree. Did you just forget the whole morning where I helped you make breakfast at the request of Charlie? You went along with it anyway!”

“I wouldn’t go as far as to say that was.. helping.”

“ UUUGGH!!” Lucifer took a hand to pull at his hair in frustration.

These arguments are more like petty squabbles at this point. Any word that came from Lucifer’s mouth was only met with sarcastic remarks and quite literally anything to get under his skin.

The two men argued back and forth through the closed door which was now a locked door to prevent Lucifer to try and force his way inside- irritating the angel even more so as he thought he was making progress trying to get along with the demon for his daughter. It always felt like whenever the angel took one step forward - Alastor forced him to take ten steps back. 

On his last nerve, Lucifer came to a conclusion and had enough, “I’m warning you right now, asshole. I’m going to teleport myself into your room whether you like it or not. So if you need to cover up, do it now.” And with that Lucifer opens a portal into Alastor’s room and steps inside.

Alastor quickly returns to his normal demeanor despite his nagging wound. His smile widens with malice at the corners as he watches the king of hell step foot into his room without permission. He takes note of the bowl of food in the angel’s hand.

“How bold of you, sire! Taking advantage of the situation are we? You must have thought that this was the perfect opportunity to poison me, hmm, your highness?”

Lucifer closes the portal and glares at the demon, “Why is that the FIRST thing you think of?”

“You said it yourself, we should pretend to get along for Charlie’s sake, but as of this moment - we do not have an audience to perform for. So forgive me for finding your acts of good will… suspicious. ”

“You’re a real piece of work yknow that?”

“It is my pleasure to be a thorn to your side, your highness.”

“Just eat your meal and I’ll leave.” The king shoves the bowl into Alastor’s hands in a huff.

Alastor looks at the contents of the bowl, seeing it was Maque Choux, assuming it was his own cooking so it should be safe, “Fine.”

The demon takes the bowl and sits down at one of the armchairs by the fireplace, getting comfortable before eating his first meal of the day. He looks at Lucifer who was also looking back at him, not moving from his spot. “Are you going to just stand there?” Hoping the angel would just leave him alone finally.

Lucifer scoffed and headed over the other chair across from Alastor and sat down, crossing his arms and placing one leg over the other. He frowned at the demon before him, “Charlie probably expects me to stick around or something or else she’ll ask why I’m back so soon. So I’m just gonna sit here and wait for you to be done and I’ll take the bowl back.”

“You’re going to.. Watch me?”

“Don’t flatter yourself, There are better things to look at than your creepy face, but don’t mind me - I’ll read a book or something.” A book manifests itself into Lucifer’s hand and he begins reading.

Alastor took a moment to adjust to the fact that he probably wasn’t going to get any privacy for the rest of the day and sighed. Taking a look at the bowl in his hands, he brought a spoonful into his mouth. His eyebrows furrowed and his eyes frowning in place of his lips, yet he continued eating with the same expression.

This can’t be mine. Must be Lucifer’s - his cooking is horrendous. 

If Lucifer could be honest, he didn’t really feel like reading so his eyes ended up mostly glossing over the words and needing to reread lines since he wasn’t paying attention. He was curious to see what Alastor was doing. Well yes, he was eating of course, but sitting in silence was deafeningly awkward and honestly wouldn’t mind some conversation and yes, even with the oh so Mr. Perfect Alastor. 

The angel peeked over his book and noticed the disgruntled look on the demon's face as he ate, “So uh… how is it? Maque Choux, right?”

“Bland. A disgrace to the dish. I’m surprised there’s any color to this at all.” Alastor retorted, taking another bite, assuming it was made by the devil himself. That would explain the flavor or lack thereof . The demon wondered if the king of hell knew any other seasonings besides salt and pepper. Scratch that, there isn’t even any pepper. 

Lucifer scoffed, rolling his eyes, “Yeah ha ha nice joke. You never let up, do you?”

“Who’s joking? This doesn’t taste like anything.” Alastor continued eating, though thoroughly disappointed in not being able to enjoy his actual first meal of the day and one that was supposed to be quite delicious.

“Maybe you're actually just a shit cook! HA HA! Everyone’s probably just being nice to you.” Lucifer put his book down and threw Alastor a smug grin.

“I'm not sure who you're trying to insult considering YOU were the one who had done the preparation of this meal. But one things for sure, this dish is lacking any presence. I suppose you and this meal have a lot in common?” 

Lucifer fumed at the other demon, heat rising to his face, “What is THAT supposed to mean, you piece of shit?” 

Alastor grinned back wickedly, fully aware of what he meant. He placed his bowl down by the nearby side table and stood up, his eyes turning into dials.

Following suit, Lucifer got up from the chair and horns began growing from his forehead as he slowly started to transform, but suddenly the angel blinked in realization - turning back to normal. The king cocked an eyebrow up in confusion, “Wait.. How sick are you? You know that’s your cooking right? Like.. Charlie reheated leftovers.”

Alastor’s eye’s snap back to normal, turning to the bowl on top of the side table. I made this..?

After a few minutes of silence and neither men moving or speaking, “An apple.” Alastor said suddenly.

“What?”

“I said an apple. I know you always have one.”

Lucifer stared at Alastor with the most confused face the demon has seen on the king, “You want an apple..?”

“Unless you want to hand me your cane? Though, I assume it is not edible.” sarcasm lining Alastor’s words.

“Yknow you could just ask?? Like a normal person?? And say please??” The angel huffed incredulously, snapping his fingers, manifesting an apple in the air in front of Alastor for him to take.

Alastor takes the apple and aggressively bites into it, the juices from the fruit running down his lips, dripping from his chin. What should have been a sickly sweet flavor upon his tongue, yet he was greeted with the overwhelming taste of -

Nothing. Again.

Alastor takes another bite, then another, and then another. Devouring the entire apple - core and all. He licked the juices off his fingers just for good measure, but still -

“Nothing..” Just my damn luck.

“What?”

“It’s nothing, please leave, your majesty. I would like to rest.”

Chapter Text

Lucifer POV

The angel had wordlessly left Alastor’s bedroom, as per the latter’s request. He had forgotten to take the bowl of Maque Choux back and instead left as soon as he was told to, mechanically going on his way to meet Charlie again to update her on Alastor’s wellbeing. 

“He’s just got his work cut out for him, sweetheart! I’ve really been making him earn his stay here with all the extra chores I been making him do to keep this hotel in tip top shape. Builds character and Heaven knows he needs a new one hahaha! ..Just kidding!” Lucifer teased with a white lie, nudging Charlie with his elbow. Not really understanding himself, why he had to lie. He just knew that he probably should.

The angel assumed the demon wouldn’t want his business to be out in the open, even to Charlie, what with Alastor being the stubborn prideful sinner he is. 

Charlie frowned, realizing Alastor must have been overworked, but paid it no mind it due to how capable the radio demon proved himself to be even with the new and bigger renovations to the hotel. He just never complained, “He should take a break for as long as he needs. I'll go ahead and tell him that we can manage for a few days without him.” Charlie’s eyes were washed with guilt.

Lucifer felt a soft panic strike his chest. Shit, wait, I can’t let her know he's sick - he'll get upset, “N-no! Wait, it's okay. I'll.. I'll do it. I'll tell him. Can’t have you bother yourself with a sinner like him!”

Charlie smiled reluctantly before giving her father a light hug, “Thanks dad for all your help.” She let go of her father and went to find the rest of the residents to prepare for their next activity.

The angel sighed in relief, though he wasn’t sure why he offered to see Alastor.. Again! His brain felt like putty in the hands of the deer and he was greatly disturbed by it. Lucifer teleported into his bedroom of the hotel. He didn’t really need to be here, but he really had to collect his thoughts for a moment before seeking out Alastor again.

“Why did I lie to Charlie to cover for that asshole?? I could have just told her that he’s sick! What’s wrong with that?” Lucifer paced his room back and forth, gripping his hair with his hands. The angel tried to think of any reason why he said what he did that would make it seem like it was for his daughter’s sake, “If I told her the truth…then she would have been even more worried..and then she would spend more unnecessary time on a nobody like him! Yeah, that's why!” Lucifer sighed in relief again and plopped onto his bed face first, remaining that way for a few moments before turning over to his back to stare at the ceiling.

The fact he had to anxiously contemplate to justify his actions…He already knew beforehand that he was lying to himself before the realization really settled in, “Shit…” The angel covered his face with his hands, “Shit..shit..!!”

The frustrated angel didn’t want to feel anything towards that self proclaimed gentleman, but for some reason he’s become acutely aware of Alastor’s presence, from how the deer looked to how he moved. When suddenly, the fixation on the cocky demon started the cogs in his brain. Lucifer couldn’t fathom why, but he felt the need to preserve Alastor’s pride and dignity by keeping the demon’s moment of weakness a secret.

His thoughts went back to when he was pretending to read and ultimately giving into his curiosity by peeking over his book just to watch the other man eat. Perhaps he was just bored, but either way the silence was uncomfortable with a demon he was not on friendly terms with so he couldn’t help his wandering eyes to ease his own mind. 

Maybe it was from the way Alastor sat on the arm chair, with his back straight, one leg crossed over the other, while holding the bowl as if it was delicate, fine china.

Or maybe it was the way Alastor lightly held the utensil, lifting it to his mouth to gently take a bite of food - without so much as a shaky hand or a morsel falling out of place.

The demon’s movements were refined and perfect on every turn. The deer’s emotions were always checked in place, not letting them do the talking, at least on the outside. It annoyed Lucifer how Alastor did everything right. It didn’t matter if it was even “right” or not because to the king, it was - and it was fit for royalty. Alastor could have done everything backwards and it would still look like that’s how it was meant to be.

Lucifer’s annoyance bubbled into a low burning anger. He already hated that Alastor essentially filled the role as Charlie’s father figure during his absence, but seeing how the radio demon functions in person made him feel ashamed in himself thinking that not only was he lacking as a father, but as a king as well. 

The angel was clumsy and somewhat temperamental. He was impatient and he knew it well. Lucifer wanted to reap the benefits of a repaired relationship with Charlie without doing the actual work his daughter wanted, which was to get along with Alastor in the hopes of being friends or at the very least, acquaintances.

The king felt like he had so much lost time to make up that it caused him to rush what should be a slow and natural progress, but he didn’t want to take his time. In fact, he just didn’t want to face the demon at all with how inadequate Alastor made him feel. Lucifer dropped his hands from his face to his sides and continued to stare at the ceiling.

With all these feelings, Lucifer knew it was a fault all his own for having them - wearing his insecurities on his sleeve. He was an open book for the wiley deer to take note of and saving it in his back pocket for future use. Sure, the king was still skeptical about Alastor offering a helping hand to his daughter’s endeavors and fully believed he had ulterior motives that only benefited the deer, but that's besides the point. The point was the king of Hell had made himself vulnerable in front of Alastor who was just an insignificant drop of water within a lake. 

Despite all of that - Lucifer has always been curious about Alastor since he arrived at the hotel, though he would never admit it out loud. What were Alastor’s intentions? What does he seek to gain from this project of his? Surely, it can’t all be for entertainment.

The angel couldn't help , but to be curious and it only grew stronger - recollecting how Alastor’s face looked just earlier today.

It was the way Alastor’s eyes held all the words his lips did not say. His emotions emanated through the red gems, despite his permanent smile. Lucifer wondered if anyone noticed how expressive Alastor was. He wondered if anyone thought the demon only toyed with people and nothing else, not realizing something more. 

It was the way he sternly requested an apple from the king of hell himself, as if anyone in hell had any authority to demand anything from him. Yet Alastor did anyway - and Lucifer obliged. 

It was the way Alastor bit into the apple with such intensity, not caring how the juices of the fruit dripped from his lips and trailed down his chin. The way Alastor devoured the apple with such resolve it made him look ravenous the way his smile widened at each bite. 

And it was the way Alastor licked the juices off his fingers, saliva trailing from his lips to his fingertips - looking unsatisfied at what he consumed while his eyes fell into an unreadable expression. Confusion? Disappointment? Hunger? Lucifer wasn’t sure, but it was fascinating. And all he was able to do was stare at the marvel before him until Alastor muttered something under his breath, snapping him out of his trance.

“Nothing..”

“What?”

“It’s nothing. Please leave, your majesty. I would like to rest.”

That was..weird. The whole interaction nagged at Lucifer. Obviously Alastor wasn’t doing well, he was sick after all. And with how the day was turning out so far, it tracked.

Okay.. okay. So he’s just showing some side effects, but that’s nothing, why should I care? Lucifer quickly sat up on his bed, “It’s not that I care… It’s because I don’t want Charlie’s host to slack off on his work longer than he should.” He nodded, agreeing with himself even though the nagging feeling persisted, telling him otherwise, but he ignored it.

After an hour being left to his own thoughts, Lucifer got off his bed. The angel decided that he would help Alastor with his work so he can rest and be back in full health and be useful for Charlie again! Thinking it wouldn't take long for the demon to get over his ailments since demons recover rather quickly. The deer didn’t look bad anyway - just some symptoms. And who knows, maybe they can get along in the process. Though, he highly doubted it.

And with that Lucifer snapped his fingers and opened a portal back at Alastor’s bedroom door. 

The angel remembered how long the two of them argued and how long it took for him to actually get inside Alastor’s bedroom. He started to dread the idea of the whole ordeal repeating itself. He’d prefer if he didn’t have to strong arm his way in like last time knowing he let his frustration get to him, invading the deer’s privacy in the process. 

Lucifer once again knocked on Alastor’s bedroom door, “Uh.. Hey Al.” He awkwardly said through the closed door, this had been the third time today he’s had to see the demon. His chest tightened slightly, anxiousness creeping its way through. Now that he was more aware of the demon, the fact he’s been visiting him multiple times today made him feel clingy when it wasn’t his intention and he felt embarrassed.

Lucifer’s knocks were met with silence for a brief moment before hearing footsteps walking towards the door. To the angel’s surprise, Alastor actually opened up without any fuss.

“Back so soon, your majesty?” The demon stood at the doorway - his composure unchanged from just an hour ago, still with the same smile always stamped on his face. Alastor looked at the angel up and down, narrowing his eyes, almost squinting.

The angel huffed, Well good to see you too I guess. Noticing the deer’s expression being less than enthusiastic. He’s definitely annoyed.

Although the demon’s face was usually difficult to decipher -  Alastor’s eyes left bread crumbs for Lucifer to follow and the angel could see the other was becoming very exasperated being bothered and probably suspicious at his visit once again considering how the other looked at him.

Lucifer scratched the back of his head, looking to the side awkwardly, “Uh yeah. I know you’re resting. I’m just letting you know Charlie’s giving you a little vacation from hotel stuff.” The angel dropped his hand and instead placed it on his hip. He straightened his back and made eye contact with the demon, “But don’t think that means you can just slack off here. Just because Charlie exempt you from work, doesn’t mean that I have to.” Lucifer pointed at Alastor accusingly, as if the demon would take advantage of the other people’s goodwill as he recovered.

“HA! How amusing. I was unaware that YOU were in charge of this establishment. Last time I checked, it was Charlie and yours truly.” Alastor’s smile widened. Lucifer noticed a small twitch of the deer's eye, still narrowed, along with a short quick breath. Heh, didn’t like that huh?

Lucifer grinned mischievously, “Weeell technically, I run everything in hell. So by all accounts - you work for me.” The king threw a toothy smile at Alastor, quite pleased with himself using his status for something this petty to one up the demon.

Alastor’s eye twitched again as he stepped closer to the king, placing a hand over his chest and leaned down towards Lucifer until he was a mere few inches away from the king's face in a slight bow. The demon’s eyes lifted, as if he was just seeing the angel clearly. The sudden close proximity caused the angel to lean backwards a bit in surprise. Lucifer could feel heat build up on his face, his heart quickening in speed. Alastor was just too close.

The deer’s smile grew wider, gripping the material of his clothes his hand was placed over, the tension in the grip, almost trembling. Lucifer concluded that the demon was probably finding his expression amusing and was just shaking in delight or something.

Alastor took a shallow, hitched breath before replying, “I wonder how Charlie would feel knowing that her father is exploiting one of his employees while off the clock?” He gritted through his teeth. Lucifer noted a hint of discomfort in the deer. 

The angel frowned, lifting an index finger in the air to respond back, but Alastor snapped his back up straight again and walked past the angel, starting down the hall.

Lucifer turned his head to look at the other’s back walking away from him. He huffed before following the demon, “Hey, where are you going? You’re supposed to be resting!” The king caught up to Alastor to walk right next to him, seeing he was still holding onto his clothing over his chest. Lucifer paid it no mind.

“Why, didn’t you just say I wasn’t exempt from my hotel duties? And there is much to do!” Not missing a beat to his step, Alastor picked up his pace just to spite the angel - causing Lucifer to quicken his own to catch up again.

“Look you know I was just joking, kinda. Like sure I don’t want you to just do nothing the entire time, but you should take it easy.” Lucifer stopped in his tracks, causing Alastor to notice and stop as well - turning to look at the angel. The deer tilted his head to the side questioningly.

Lucifer didn’t really know how to phrase his words properly. What exactly did he want to do again? He came over with a reason, but Alastor is a horrible influence, just talking to him distracted the angel from what he set out to do. That’s right, I’ll help him with work, that way it doesn’t pile up and stress Charlie and other people out. He nodded to himself, completely glossing over that he wanted to make the effort to be on friendly terms with the demon. 

AND put Charlie’s mind at ease so she doesn’t have to worry about this guy, maybe with time she can just fire hi-

“Well?”

The angel blinked, taking him out of his thoughts. He made eye contact with Alastor - feeling a small blush form on his face from embarrassment, “Oh! Uh. As I was saying -” Lucifer clears his throat and offers his hand to the demon to shake, “I decided to help you with your work. I know you probably don’t want to sit around doing nothing, but since you’re feeling unwell, I’ll lend you a hand.” Lucifer sucked in air into his lungs, holding it for a second before letting it out - calming any nerves he had facing the demon, “I… also decided to make the effort to…be more… acquainted… with you.”

Alastor raised an eyebrow, releasing the grip he had on his clothes, placing both hands behind his back, “Oh my! The king himself wants to become friends? Though, I assume this is just for Charlie?”

“Of course it is, but I’m tired of half-assing things. Who knows maybe you’ll actually work for me one day haha!” The angel laughed half-heartedly.

Alastor hummed in thought, looking to the side while tapping an index finger on his lips pretending to ponder on the offer, “Don’t tempt me with a good time, your majesty. I'm so sure your company provides competitive benefits.” He mused sarcastically.

“Cmon Al, my arm is getting tired.” Lucifer complained, his hand still extended to the demon in a form of a peace offering, “Look I’ll even throw in a couple full days off for you where I take care of your chores while you’re recovering from your weird cold. So, I do whatever you want, we get along like Charlie wants, everyone’s happy. Do we have a deal?”

“Hmm…” Alastor pondered a bit longer, his smile shifting to a teasing smirk, “Deal, however..” 

Alastor reaches to take Lucifer’s hand, bowing forward to meet the Angel’s gaze at eye level, but instead of a handshake, the deer gently takes the angel’s hand and brings it to his lips - lightly kissing the king’s fingers, “I don’t take deals lightly and neither should you, your majesty. One can really misconstrue your words just now.” The demon crooned mischievously.

Lucifer’s eyes widened, his mouth open in surprise of Alastor's lips on his hand, “I-It wasn’t an actual deal you know that!” He most definitely can feel a wild blush decorating his face, which Alastor noticed, making the demon chuckle. 

“Are you making fun of me?!” Lucifer huffed before realizing Alastor still held his hand oh so close to his mouth. He quickly took his hand back, rubbing the spot the demon kissed. He could still feel the sensation of the deers soft lips. 

“Why, I would never!” Alastor straightens his body and places his hands behind his back once more, “Now if you don’t mind. I’d like to catch up on some work, so we’d better hop to it.” Alastor turned on his heel and began heading towards the main entrance.

Lucifer followed along, “So what’s first on the agenda?” 

“Well, I’d like us to tend to the garden by the entrance. They’ve been neglected lately due to the uptick of “rowdy” guests that have no plans for redemption - destroying the garden in the process while disposing of the troublemakers.” Alastor chuckled, referring to the frequent attacks the hotel encounters from demons looking to loot a supposedly easy target, “Though, while I do quite enjoy the exercise, it saddens me seeing the garden in such disarray.”

“Huh, never thought of you to be a gardening type guy.” Lucifer responded, the new fact interested the angel, yet it was not surprising to hear from someone like Alastor.

“Well you thought correct - I’m not. The work can be arduous and could yield no results despite your efforts - and who could honestly say that hard work with zero results is enjoyable? Practically no one and I quite enjoy the fruits of my labor.” Alastor said matter of factly, not showing any real interest in the actual task of tending to a garden despite it being the first chore he chose to tackle with Lucifer.

The angel raised an eyebrow in confusion, “So why do you do it? You could just leave the garden alone. Since, yknow, it keeps getting destroyed.” 

“Two reasons. For one, if we would like to attract more tenants, a presentable exterior should be in order and that includes the surrounding landscape.”

“Fair. And the second reason?”

“I quite enjoy what the garden produces, of course, anyone would agree.”

“So like, flowers?”

“Of the like, yes. I’m curious to see what can bloom down here. Doesn’t necessarily have to be flowers, but so far roses are the most common flower to grow.”

The two continued to walk and talk until they were outside the hotel entrance. They both took a look around the area and can see how sad the state of the garden had become and despite how grand the new hotel was, an ugly entranceway would deter sinners who had good intentions and think if the hosts didn’t care about the small details, why would they care about small details such as themselves?

Alastor took the first steps towards the garden before suddenly turning on his heel to look at the angel, lifting a finger to notify the other, “Ah, one teeny, tiny problem though. I hope you will indulge me, your majesty.” Alastor pinched his index finger and thumb signifying how small of an issue this was, though Lucifer could already tell it was a lie.

The angel crossed his arms, “Don’t tell me you actually don’t know what you’re doing so you’re making me do all the work instead?”

“Even better!” Alastor went over to the nearest intact flower and held it, causing the petals to shrivel and decay in an instant before turning into dust. He turned to look back at the king with a smile, “Ah, I forgot to mention. Flowers wilt under my touch.” He tapped his chin cheekily, looking to the side to feign innocence.

Lucifer scrunched his face, dumbfounded that Alastor was brazen enough to pull the wool over the king’s eyes with all that talk about labor and results and blah blah blah “So I was right! You did take me here so I’d do the work for you!”

“Oh but, my king! Didn't you graciously offer your assistance? However, I would actually love to tend to the garden and it's sad condition. Keep in mind I do it all the time, I just merely do not touch the flowers themselves.”

“So why did you show me all of… that?” Lucifer motioned with his hand at the general area Alastor was standing.

The demon walked over to the king and stood next to him once more, peering over the landscape. He smiled teasingly, “Just because! Think of it as a fun little party trick and your reaction was quite amusing. I should have given you a mirror to see for yourself!”

“Agh! What the fu-” 

“And-” Alastor started, cutting off the other. He turned to face the king and threw him another teasing grin, “I thought I’d use it to my advantage. I am supposed to be on vacation after all. So I am grateful that the king himself would assist me where I fall…short.” The demon chuckled. 

Lucifer frowned, disgruntled words spewing under his breath before stomping over to the garden and crouching down to take a good look at what exactly he has to work with. He knows he can just snap his fingers and make the garden good as new, but that would just make Alastor’s life easier wouldn’t it? So he figured the longer he takes with this job, the longer Alastor would have to stick around instead of fucking off doing God knows what.

The angel took notice of the few flowers that remained, all red roses, and he too began to wonder what other kinds of plants could naturally grow here in Hell - he never really thought of it. He never really thought to look and see what could.

Lucifer made a mental note of the fact and wondered what Alastor even does to take care of the garden, which flower the deer liked and why and if that flower can even grow here. The king suddenly realized what kinds of thoughts were going through his head and mentally slapped himself. Why he would care is beyond him. So he began plucking out the dead plants and piling them up to his side, carefully making sure he didn’t pick the ones that still had life in them. 

Alastor soon came up right beside him and crouched down as well, both their arms coming into contact with each other, “I’m surprised! The little king is getting his hands dirty for a simple sinner like me. Why, I’m touched.”

“Shut it, Al. I’m just doing what I said I would do.” Lucifer continued weeding out dead plants without glancing back at Alastor.

“A man of his word I see! As am I!” Alastor waved his hand and conjured up several unlabeled satchels of seeds, handing them to Lucifer.

Lucifer looks at the packets being handed to him for a brief moment, before reluctantly taking them, “What are these?”

“Take a guess!”

Lucifer rolled his eyes. Probably red roses. Of course. Have you seen this guy? Have you seen this ‘garden’?

“Roses.”

“Correct! They remind me of my mother whom I have fond memories of - I quite fancy them. Though I haven’t been successful in growing any of those yet.” Alastor pointed at the packets in Lucifer’s hand, leaning in a bit closer to the angel, their arms still making contact with each other, but with more pressure.

Lucifer looked at the deer, confusion spread on his face. The angel opened his mouth to question the other, but Alastor quickly picked up on the angel’s confusion, “White roses, your majesty. Down here only red ones seem to grow, but it would be lovely to see if white ones could bloom.”

“White roses huh?” Lucifer acknowledged, “What’s the reason?” 

Alastor looked up, taking note of the perpetual burgundy sky gradually darkening in color, signaling the end of the day was upon them. The demon continued staring fondly in thought towards the sky as he spoke, “You see, my mother had sort of a green thumb, being a single parent with a young child she used her skills to her advantage and opened up a floral shop. She received many flower arrangement orders for young couples looking to be wed - can you guess which ones?”

“..White roses..?”

“Precisely! Glad you’re keeping up, your majesty!” Alastor teased, grinning at the angel, lightly patting Lucifer’s back.

Lucifer looked at the demon, rolling his eyes, “I never thought they’d be a popular flower of choice for a wedding, seems kinda boring.”

“Oh, on the contrary, your highness. White roses mean a variety of things, innocence, purity, youthfulness - and yes, very popular for holy matrimony.”

“Huh, never took you for a sentimental guy - could have fooled me.” 

“And you would be right again - I am not one for such frivolous emotions. No, actually I am quite partial to a white rose’s alternative meaning - do you want to take another guess as to what that is, your majesty?” 

“Uh.. well um.. - ” Lucifer stammered, looking away from the demon unsure of what to say.

“Lucky for you, I do!” Alastor exclaimed, not giving time for the angel to answer knowing he didn’t have one. He took a hold of Lucifer’s chin and gently moved his head to look him face to face only a few inches apart, “As I said, white roses hold many meanings, but the one I am quite partial to is - new beginnings.”

“Oh! Uh-..um..” The angel just stared at the deer, stumbling over his words, as if Alastor was speaking on behalf of Lucifer and knew the innermost workings of his soul.

New beginnings… Alastor didn’t have to say anything else, Lucifer already knew. Even though the demon’s reason’s were different from his own, those two words spoke to the angel. It was the basis why Lucifer was even at the hotel. Though try as he may to start again and to keep going - he always fell behind due to his shortcomings - while everyone else moves on without him.

The angel was feeling a bit awkward with himself as he hadn’t had a conversation like this in years with anyone, let alone with Alastor and he didn’t know what to respond with. He just...stared. Stared at Alastor. Stared into those red jewels as they shined back at him.

The sheer fact alone that the two were having this touching moment together was more than enough to send his heart racing. Was he nervous? Maybe? Was he feeling a bit encumbered by the sudden nature of the conversation? Maybe..? Was he suddenly realizing how close Alastor was? Really, really close.. He’s touching me…He’s holding on to my face…

“S-so..” The king started, struggling to not stutter as he fought a blush heating up on his face. Though he knows he fails everytime. He pulled away from the demon’s touch, “Your mother…Did she teach you how to garden?”

“Oh yes, very much so!” Alastor took his now free hand and rested his own face against it. He closed his eyes briefly, wincing a bit, before taking in a short, quick breath once more before exhaling slowly, “Aside from the shop, we mostly grew ingredients for our meals. Vegetables, fruits, herbs - the sort.” Alastor recollected fondly, despite the conditions of his time growing up were less than ideal - the memories with his mother he always cherished. “Though, it was for necessity as the shop earnings were barely enough to cover the basics, but she did all she could and I did all I could as well.”

Lucifer smiled warmly, turning his head to look at the bare garden in front of them, “Your mom sounds lovely. She was lucky to have a son she could rely on.” Snapping his fingers, the angel summoned a small shovel, digging a tiny hole into the garden soil before ripping open a seed satchel. He places one seed into the hole before covering it up with dirt, “I wouldn’t know the feeling of having parents, sure I have a “father”, but you know how the story goes. He’s not really known for being kind and forgiving, since he had no problem throwing his kid away.” Lucifer grumbled, obviously referring to himself. The angel looked up to the sky, still bright red indicating midday - it would be a few hours before the hue darkens to welcome the evening.

Alastor looks at Lucifer and smiles at him softly, feeling a bit proud of himself from the angel’s remarks, “Well, being the only man in the house as well as an only child - I had to step up where my own father couldn't. Sound familiar?” Alastor teased, but Lucifer could tell there was no malice. The deer was making light of a sensitive topic of his which should make him angry, but for some reason Lucifer felt.. 

..Relieved? Like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. The elephant in the room was acknowledged, but without shame or judgment. 

Turning to look back at the demon, the angel saw just that - no judgment, no mockery, just an unexpected warmth in Alastor’s eyes. Lucifer chuckled bitterly, “Hehe, ouch.. I guess it does. It stings a bit - not the kind of bonding I was hoping for with you, but it's something.”

“Mmn. Yes. But no use fretting over the past.” Alastor continued making eye contact with the king - still with an unusual kindness and warmth in his eyes. “What matters is the present and what you choose to do with it. It doesn't matter what you do or how you do it, so long as you do it with intention.” 

Alastor turned his attention to the ground and prodded the soil with his claws, forming a small hole, “Although my mother was kind and loving she was rather strict, but never unfair. She always told me to move with purpose so as to not lose my way in life.” He reached over to grab a seed from the satchel Lucifer was holding, and dropped it into the hole before covering it up, “Despite my actions as a human earning me eternal damnation - I knew what I wanted during my time alive and I don’t regret it.”

Alastor continued more fervently, “The day is ours for the taking, your majesty. It would be a shame for our king to let it pass him by while he has the entirety of hell at his fingertips. Ah! Even better, our king has a daughter waiting and willing to reconnect with her father by giving him useless tasks.. such as bothering me!”

The angel turned his head slightly to the side, breaking eye contact in embarrassment. Or was it shame? His chest was beginning to feel tight and complicated with all these emotions he tried his hardest to keep bottled up.

Alastor took a hand and gently cupped the side of Lucifer’s face, tenderly moving it back to meet each other's gaze with each other once more. Red gems still burning with warmth. 

This sinner is bold to be handling me like this - is all Lucifer could think of to ground himself and keep from his inevitable turning into a puddle in Alastor’s hands.

“If my mother was with us right now she would have liked you, as you are, at this very moment. Regardless of what has happened, you've found your way here, at your daughter's hotel and by the looks of things, you've found your purpose. You found your new beginnings.” Alastor gently rubbed his thumb on Lucifer’s rosy cheeks, relishing at how flustered the angel had become under his touch, causing the king to freeze in position.

Lucifer just stared wide eyed at Alastor, his mouth slightly agape in awe at what the other had said. He was speechless; it nearly petrified him. Alastor’s eyes pierced through the angel’s chest and rattled his heart. No one’s ever told him anything like this before. Everyone assumed just because he was the king of hell that he had everything under control. Even through his absence, everyone turned a blind eye and made assumptions that all his bases were covered. 

Lucifer swallowed nervously, “But… What if I mess up?” His voice was quiet, just above a whisper, “What if I do something wrong and it fucks everything up, everything Charlie's worked for, everything that YOU wor-”

“It doesn't matter.”

“Ah...” 

After a few moments of comfortable silence. The demon releases the other man’s face and stands up from his crouching position. He raises his arms up to stretch before placing them on his hips, surveying the land before them, then back at the sky, “Well, that’s enough of that. Let’s continue where we left off.” Alastor blinked a couple times, before rubbing his eyes, “It's getting quite dark.”

“Ha, and you call me old. The day is still young. We still have plenty of daylight to burn.”

“Hmm. No matter!” Alastor took a shaky breath in, taking extra care to lightly brush off dirt that sprinkled the front of his clothes, “There is still much to do.”

Chapter Text

After what was a surprisingly pleasant time gardening - Lucifer and Alastor tackled a few more tasks which took no time at all. They both agreed to work on one more chore before calling it a day. The day had gone by exceedingly quickly, it was almost alarming, from the way Alastor noticed how the sky and surrounding environment quickly grew darker. 

Alastor usually finishes his work around mid afternoon at 3pm. Even though today was an exception with work taking longer than usual - it definitely should not have been so time consuming. And surely enough, upon checking his pocket watch pulled from his inner coat pocket, it was barely 5pm - still way too early for the night to be gracing Hell. 

How peculiar.. Alastor mused internally. 

What was even more peculiar was that the world around them had become somewhat… blurry? Not so much so where it hindered his ability to move around, just barely enough to be an annoyance. But no matter, Alastor could adjust, and he has. 

The last chore of the day was settled on something less physically taxing, which was to take a walk through the entirety of the hotel to check that everything was in tip top order.

Lucifer and Alastor silently walked the hotel’s outside perimeter as they surveyed their surroundings, the silence rather comfortable. In fact, one could say it was quite pleasant. There was no pressure, no mindless dribble, no need to keep up any conversation. Though, there was an inkling that either one of them wouldn’t mind conversing once more with the assumption that their talks would continue to be amicable.

As much as Alastor disliked it, he quite enjoyed his time with the little king despite the rocky morning. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but he felt much better the longer he stayed with the angel. His breathing became more stable and less taxing and he found himself using less energy to keep up appearances due to his injury. The demon’s body felt more at ease which he hasn’t felt since before the battle. In fact, he hardly noticed the pain.

And then it hit him - 

It.. doesn’t hurt..?

Alastor almost stopped in his tracks at the sudden realization. He peered over at the angel walking next to him from his peripheral, taking note that Lucifer was half looking over the landscape, half daydreaming. The deer mentally concluded that the other man was probably too distracted with his own thoughts to notice him doing anything. He was already pushing the envelope by telling the angel that his odd behavior was under the pretense of being “sick” - he most definitely didn’t want to show what vulnerable state he was in from his injury to someone like Lucifer.

Lucifer - the king of hell. Even if by name only, even if no one respected the title - he was king for a reason and Alastor knew it. He didn’t have to be present in battle to know about Adam’s ultimate defeat by the hands of the fallen angel. Sure, Nifty dealt the final blow, but that was merely the nail on the coffin. The entire city would not stop clamoring on about the king who was back from his hiatus and how he easily overthrew the leader of the angel army.

These angels have been active for eons - of course Alastor didn’t stand a chance. 

And he hated feeling so small, so weak.

Alastor clenched his teeth, sneaking a look at Lucifer once again to make sure he was distracted with whatever he was doing before the deer quickly placed his hand over his chest. He gently prodded around with his fingers - instinctively flinching at the expected pain, but to his surprise.

There was no pain.

Alastor quietly released the breath he was holding in before placing his hands behind his back. Finally.. took longer than expected, but it seems to be healing properly. 

It was the first time in what feels like months, where the demon had felt any relief. His body had felt little to no pain - he hadn’t even noticed when it started to diminish until it was gone. 

All he knows is that ever since Lucifer started coming around to pester him, Alastor’s injury bothered him less and less with every visit the angel made - when he was not exerting himself with arguments of course. Alastor’s smile widened in glee, he felt like he could take on anything again. No restraints from his wound - he can finally begin his normal activities outside of the hotel. 

The demon took a look at the sky again, a deep dark red. Objects around him were becoming nothing more than dark outlines unfocused amongst their equally dark background. How anyone can enjoy a walk at night these days he’ll never know. Such a shame.

Alastor lightly rubbed his eyes before blinking a couple times for his eyes to adjust, “Oh dear, where has the day gone?”

“Yeah, it's going to get dark soon, huh? We should wrap things up here.”

“Ah yes, typical of an angel. Fallen or not. Your eyes are sharp.”

“Was that sarcasm?”

“Perhaps.” 

The angel raised an eyebrow, before settling into acceptance. He’s acting weird again...whatever. He’s always like this. Lucifer looked over to see Alastor rubbing his eyes, “Tired huh? I mean.. That’s to be expected I guess. Long day and you’re sick - hell I’ve never seen you out and about this long before.”

Alastor’s eye twitched, realizing he had relaxed a little too long and now the angel was noticing his activity. It was true he hasn’t been spending much time outside of his usual duties, but unfortunately that’s all he has been able to do as of late without his wound searing through his skin. 

“Anyone would be devoid of energy if they had spent as much time with you as I did today!” The deer smirked playfully at Lucifer as the Angel shot back an annoyed frown. Alastor continued, “Ah, but don’t be mistaken, your majesty. Your company, while unwanted in the first place, was surprisingly palatable!” He laughed.

Lucifer scoffs, turning his attention back to survey the hotel surroundings, “I know that wasn’t a compliment, but I’m going to take it as one anyway! So thank you !”

“It is once again my pleasure to be a thorn to your side, your majesty~”

“Ugh shut up, Al.” Lucifer chuckled, turning to look at the demon again, smiling teasingly, “I too thought hanging out with you wasn't the worst thing I could have done today.”

“I see you finally picked up a sense of humor!”

“And I see yours is still as tacky as your room interiors.” 

“Oh come now, I only learned from the best!” Alastor shoots a teasing grin at the Angel.

The both of them laughed together as they walked along their route continuing their idle chit chat. 

Lucifer asked questions about the hotel and sometimes about Alastor and Alastor redirecting his answer in the form of questions for Lucifer just to get under the little king’s skin, but also to keep the comfortable space between them as is. Surprisingly, the deer would receive honest answers back despite the angel’s frustration of him avoiding the questions.

Not that Alastor really cared about Lucifer’s private life and inner workings - he was merely.. curious about the angel, more than he was to gloat about himself much to his own surprise. Who knew that a whole day spent with each other can drastically change their dynamic. And Alastor would be damned again if he didn’t try to utilize their newfound friendly terms (so far). 

However, not only that, for some reason Alastor just felt more drawn to the little king. He couldn’t pinpoint why. Maybe he was just in a good mood due to the lack of writhing pain within the clutches of his wound which made him feel like salvation itself! And the feeling extended to niceties towards Lucifer.

Regardless of the reason, why not have a little fun with it?

The two finished up their patrol at the back of the hotel and began to head back towards the entrance. As they walked back in silence, there was a feeling of the need to break it. The air surrounding their quiet walk felt odd and Alastor guessed it was the fact that once back inside the hotel, they were to exchange awkward goodbyes -  unsure of what the changes were between them and what this means moving forward. It was just so much easier to simply part ways without any meaning to it.

And yet, Alastor didn’t want to end it on that note. Even though it was getting late, he felt compelled to stay with Lucifer just a little bit longer. 

As if Lucifer read his mind, the angel cleared his throat, grabbing his attention, “ Ahem- So uh.. it's still a bit- well the day is..” The angel stammered, fumbling over his words trying to break the awkwardness around the two. 

Alastor chuckled softly, “Drinks, your majesty?”

Lucifer’s face brightened, “Yeah.”

____________________________________________

The two headed straight for the bar upon their return, both eager to finish the day off with their poison of choice - chatting casually along the way.

Husk stood at the bar wiping down glasses with a small towel as he watched them take their seats without a break in their conversation or even so much as a glance to acknowledge his presence. He curiously looked at both of them, confused as to why they weren't bickering with each other, but shrugged it away and quickly remembered that he didn’t really care. Husk cleared his throat to gather their attention, “What will it be?” 

Lucifer turns his body forward towards Husk, “Oh, I'll have a-”

“Actually.” Alastor interjected, snapping his fingers, instantly teleporting a nondescript bottle from the top shelf of the bar to sit on the counter between himself and Lucifer. He snaps again, making two glasses with ice appear in front of them, “I believe I have it covered, my friend.” He popped the cork of the bottle and began pouring a third of the glass in each, “Feel free to excuse yourself.” 

Taking that as an obvious hint that he needed to go, Husk nodded, “Try not to break anything while grabbing stuff.” Husk pointedly said, clearly at the both of them, unsure if this moment of peace would last much longer and expected the two to brawl for a stupid reason or another at a moment's notice upon his leave.

“Do you hear that, your majesty? Allow me to assist you if you find something out of your reach ha!”

“Oh hoh hoh, running out of material already, Al? Don’t tell me that's all you got! I have plenty of other charming features for you to notice.” Lucifer’s lips upturned in a shit eating grin towards the deer.

“Unfortunately for you, my king, despite all your charming features, as you say, the list is still quite…”

“Don't you fucking say it..”

“.. Short . HAHAHA.” Alastor cackled at his own joke. 

It was obvious the demon wasn't sick of the same old gags, which would usually irritate Lucifer, but now he was more so amused to see Alastor laugh it up despite how corny it was to always poke at his stature. The angel couldn’t help, but laugh along with him.

Husk’s face scrunched in confusion at the scene playing in front of him, “Yeaaah. Well you two have fun with…whatever this is.” And with that, he leaves the bar.

After a minute of laughs filling the bar, Alastor lifted his drink to his lips. He must have been parched because he downed his drink faster than he could blink to the point where the amber liquid dripped from the sides of his mouth. A little unbecoming of him he had to admit, but paid it no second thought further because, by god, he was in high spirits. He swiped the alcohol dripping from his lips with his thumb, lapping up the pad with his tongue.

He gave his now empty glass a look over before he took notice of his surroundings looking just a little more dim and a little more blurry, but as one does, you blame everything on the alcohol and Alastor mentally dismissed the notion.

Lucifer had taken his glass, but the rim lingered on the bottom of his lip, mouth slightly open as he stared through his peripheral at the demon - completely fixated at the little motions Alastor had taken. It took no more than five seconds for Alastor to clear his drink, but to him it felt like an eternity as he watched the deer from the corner of his eye - following the alcohol trail from his lips down to his chin with Lucifer’s eyes returning once again to Alastor’s lips while the demon flicked his tongue out and licked the remaining alcohol off his thumb.

The scene felt awfully familiar to the angel, the beat of his heart audibly taking over any noise around him as it drummed lowly in his ears. Lucifer gulped, not sure if he had actually taken a sip out of his glass or if he had swallowed the lump in his throat. The angel's mouth felt like cotton, so it had to be the latter, but even if it wasn’t - he silently admitted to himself that the scene Alastor displayed before him would have left anyone thirsty .

With a blink, Lucifer quickly snapped out of it, downing his drink just fast enough to prevent his brain from realizing how embarrassing its thoughts were. Already bewildered his brain was coming up with these things.

His eyes perked up at the taste, “Oh this stuffs not bad!” Turning his head towards Alastor, lifting the glass and lightly shakes it to watch the ice tumble inside. His eyes shifted to look at the demon through the glass.

Alastor grinned proudly, “As it should be. One of the finer batches its creator has to offer.” He poured himself and the king another round, filling half the glass this time. 

“Oh? And you know this fella?”

“Indeed.”

Lucifer smiled excitedly, “You should introduce us! The hotel could use some more high quality liquor!” He leaned over closer to the deer, “And maybe a few bottles for the ol king of hell, eh? Amirite?” Lucifer playfully nudged Alastor with his elbow.

A soft static feedback was released from the deer upon feeling a sudden jolt of warmth shoot through his body from the unprompted point of contact. Alastor quickly dismisses it as not used to being casually touched like that despite welcoming the sensation. Luckily, it looked like the other man hadn’t noticed his reaction.

Alastor shakes the feeling off and scoffs at the angel for his comments, “I assure you, sire. You both are well enough acquainted as is.” The deer takes another swig of his drink, “No need for introductions, we already met, no?”

“No kidding? You?” Lucifer stared in disbelief.

“Of course! Handcrafted by none other!” Alastor boasted before seeing the skeptical look on the angel's face, “Don't look too surprised, my dear. Surely, it can't be that unbelievable considering the time I was alive. Do you recall the Prohibition? Or should I offer a history lesson of the 1920s in vast detail to you?” The demon's smile curled mischievously. He kept going before waiting for an answer, “In any case let me start with the Eighteenth Amendment of the US Constitution which states the-”

“Nooo. No, no! No need for that,” Lucifer huffed, shaking a hand to stop Alastor from saying anything more. He took a drink from his glass before continuing, “I know my history. I've been alive even before it was given a name, thank you very much.” He took another drink, almost clearing his glass again. The angel stared curiously at the remaining liquor inside, “So.. this is Moonshine then, right?”

“Correct! Glad to see my little lesson was helpful to you.” Alastor poured the both of them another round, filling the glasses.

“Wha- you didn't do anything! Are you trying to gaslight me asshole? Well it won't work! Ha!” Lucifer clumsily drank from his glass while he playfully nudged Alastor again in tandem, but with the side of his arm - sending another wave of warmth throughout the deer's body.

This time, Alastor accepted the warm sensation. Relegating himself to its fleeting bask. The relief it gave on top of a pleasant evening having drinks made Alastor sigh in content.

The warmth was… nice. Comforting. As was this nothing conversation with Lucifer, even with the same feeling when no words are exchanged. And all Alastor wanted was to continue like this, with him, throughout the night. 

Because when was the last time he felt this relaxed? He couldn’t say. All it took was a little less than a day for him to release the tension in his muscles and enjoy what little his position had to offer as a Hotelier, as an Overlord, and as a secret third role that kept him chained, yet with Lucifer - it felt like there could be more. 

Despite his cage, Lucifer made it feel spacious. It was freeing. It was a semblance of freedom - he didn’t know why or how, but Alastor wanted more.

He turned to look at the devil next to him. Noticing Lucifer’s lips glistening with Moonshine. 

Alastor wanted more. A familiar feeling stung at his chest as pain was quickly taking over once again, but Alastor couldn’t tell if it was from his desire to be free or if his wound was once again rearing its ugly head. Oh it hurt. It hurt so bad. Escape was so close.

His freedom. It was so close. 

Without a second thought, Alastor reached out and gently cupped the angel’s face. He was doing that a lot lately, but everytime he did, he felt better feeling the angel's soft skin on his fingertips. In the garden, the feeling was subtle, mistaken for a moment of empathy, but now it quite literally was sending him sparks and dulled the pain slightly, but wasn't enough. It hurt so much.

It was so close - he can feel it.

Lucifer tensed in surprise, looking back at Alastor wide eyed, unable to look away, mouth slightly open to say something, but with nothing coming out - his face glossed over with a beautiful golden blush. 

Alastor's smile softened. It was so close - he could taste it.

With his hand still holding the angel, Alastor slowly ran his thumb across Lucifer's lips. The demon leaned in closer, staring deeply in angelic eyes - taking his hand back to lick the excess liquor he had wiped off - all without breaking eye contact. 

And in that instant. The pain was gone. With, yet again, relief taking its place. Alastor gazed warmly at the angel.

They both sat there for what feels like forever, but had to be no more than a minute. Lucifer was left flustered as Alastor continued to stare almost longingly at him with an expression so soft he wanted to rub his eyes to make sure they weren't playing tricks on him. 

Lucifer’s face burned, clearly with a blush that brewed more intensely. He started mouthing words, but uttered nothing, but a single word, “Hey…”

Alastor blinked. Suddenly realizing where his mind had wandered to and what he had just done. He moved away from the other to settle back in his seat, becoming painfully aware of his current surroundings with his head feeling cloudy, foggy upon breaking up his thoughts, possibly from being so deep in them he felt like he was dissociating. He held his glass with one hand and gripped it so tightly until he heard it crack.

Lucifer began talking, an awkward chuckle in his voice can be heard, assuming to move past what just happened, but Alastor wasn't paying attention to any of it as he began to spiral within his thoughts.

This was a problem. He was becoming too comfortable, too rapidly attached to the king of hell. And it hasn’t been a full day. This is completely out of character for him. Was relief from a wound dealt by an idiot all it took to bring the Radio Demon to such a soft state?

Alastor tightened his grip around his glass. Another crack was heard.

It was unacceptable. Comfortability was a luxury no sinner in Hell had and if they thought they did, they most likely wouldn’t live to see the next morning before inevitably becoming prey.

As much as the demon tried to stop himself, Alastor was finding himself being drawn to the angel, but couldn’t risk getting close to him, the stakes were too high and he didn’t work his way up the food chain only to fall from grace…

Lucifer kept droning on and on - something about Charlie and ducks and the usual dribble.

..or into grace if Alastor was being honest.

No, he needed to distance himself from Lucifer. Bonding and being acquaintances was all fine and dandy, until every vulnerability was out in the open for the most powerful being in hell to pick apart and use against him or even add another chain to slowly tighten around his neck. 

Alastor couldn’t bear looking weak and pathetic in front anyone, especially in front of the king. His pride and stubbornness wouldn’t do it, regardless of the angel reading pages of his own holy book for everyone to listen to. 

But that’s the thing, Lucifer was allowed to be vulnerable. He was allowed to freely read. He has the capabilities to, because no one would dare to go against such a powerful spectacle such as him. Lucifer didn’t have to fear residing in hell, it was his creation after all. No, Lucifer didn’t have to crawl to the top and fight with an inch of his life.

Grip tightens more - another crack and another.

Lucifer himself was…comfortable. And comfort wasn’t something conducive to Alastor’s survival. It was a foolish reverie, that only the ones with power and control can partake in.

And Alastor felt like he was losing both, despite the little he had of them.

The glass shatters in his hand. Alastor looks down and blinks a few times. He knows he's bleeding from the glass pieces embedded into his palm, but the sight before him was a bit of a blurry mess of red and black and brown and whatever colors made up the area at the bar counter. Was he shaking? He felt his bones tremble. His eyes refused to cooperate. Was he tired? He probably was.

“Woah, woah! Hey, it's okay. Hold on..” Lucifer's voice breaks through his thoughts and the angel gently takes the affected hand with both of his. A soft golden glow surrounds the hold, the stinging from the cuts began to subside as the Angel healed him.

Alastor's body relaxes again, but said nothing throughout. Worn from the mental gymnastics his mind put him through, but Lucifer's touches made it all feel far away. He had to get away from him before he's in too deep. And so far - his head's under water…

“Don’t know your own strength, huh? I get it. We probably drank too fast. What - is the liquor, like, 90 proof or something? Strong stuff.” Lucifer tenderly rubbed the demon's hand with his thumbs.

After a few seconds of silence, “...120 actually.” Alastor corrected. He placed his free hand to cup Lucifer's own that still held on to him.

He had to get away, but it felt so good. And Alastor hadn’t felt this way in a long time. It was more than just the absence of pain or even comfort -

“How about we call it a day, your majesty? And we can reconvene again tomorrow to make breakfast.” 

“Heh. You’re letting me back in the kitchen so soon?”

Alastor hummed in thought, “Unfortunately, your majesty.”

“Hey, now! Don’t you think we’re past formalities?” Lucifer teased.

Alastor chuckled, “Unfortunately, Lucifer.”

- It was peace.

____________________________________________

Back in his room, Alastor stood near his bed rubbing his eyes. He just felt so tired his eyelids were beginning to feel heavy. The day was just filled with surprises and frankly he was ready to leave it all behind him and welcome a new day. The deer blinked a few times, seeing stars and black dots in his already bleary vision - he rubbed his eyes again, more aggressively and upon opening them again his vision looked somewhat displaced and continued to look blurry.

“Just one night.. What’s the harm?.” Alastor mumbled to himself.

He never needed sleep and if he could be honest, he quite disliked it. It left him vulnerable and open for any attack. Even though he was a light sleeper and was acutely aware of his surroundings in and out of slumber - knowing that all it takes is a fraction of a second for a predator to capture its prey was enough to keep him on his toes while even in his dreams. That, in turn, didn’t provide him with any restful sleep. So he thought it was better without it. Can’t lose what you don’t have.

But just this once, this once in a blue moon, he willfully let his guard down and plopped on top of his bed - closing his eyes and quickly allowing sleep to take him over.

____________________________________________

It’s dark..

Alastor opened his eyes - still lying in bed. All he saw was darkness. Through his foggy mind, he continued to lay in his bed for a moment. Processing what he was seeing - or lack thereof. From the rare occurrences that the demon slept, he always woke up at the same time every morning and he assumed today was no different. 

But it was different. Maybe I slept less than usual.. Assuming the night still covered the sky, however Alastor knew that wasn’t the case, but didn’t want to believe it.

Considering what had happened the day before, he sensed a pattern.

Alastor could feel his heart rate rising. His hands rolled into tight fists, digging his nails into the palms. He knew even at night, the illumination of the fireflies in the bayou in his room would provide ample lighting. The demon got up from his bed and turned to look at what he knew was the direction of the bayou and his suspicion was verified.

“Ha.. HA. HAHAHA.” the demon cackled, his radio filter becoming distorted. 

“Ah.. this will be troublesome..” He mused painfully to himself, knowing today was the day he and Lucifer were to make breakfast once again for the hotel.  He did offer after all. 

Was it ridiculous that he was actually looking forward to it?

Yes it was. 

Was it ridiculous he was actually excited to see the small king?

Yes it was, but from how the situation is faring right now. He wouldn't be able to navigate his way through the hotel let alone to the kitchen.

He wouldn't be able to see the ingredients, the utensils, the layout of the kitchen without feeling around like a bumbling oaf. He wouldn't be able to see Lucifer and would probably bump into him constantly. He wouldn't be able to see how hilariously stupid he'd look fumbling with ingredients and ultimately burning even water. He wouldn't be able to see the golden blush on his porcelain face and how it contorted in oh so many amusing expressions whenever he was being teased. He wouldn't be able to see how intensely the golden hue peppered the angel's cheeks, despite how rosy they were, whenever he closed the space in between them or even glanced the angel's way. He wouldn't be able to see it.

And this stirred something unrecognizable in him. Why was he thinking of Lucifer in this way? 

“..shit..” Alastor’s breaths became short and quick, he hugged his chest, clutching to the fabric of his clothing to try and calm himself down so as to not continue to hyperventilate. 

Now this was more than just an inconvenience. This was dangerous. When word gets out that not only was the Radio Demon in a weakened state, but had also become soft - soon enough mobs will flood the Hotel gates and will track his every move outside the vicinity. 

Though if he could be honest with himself, he felt that he was not lacking in physical power. The only parts of him that had been affected was his sense of smell, taste and more importantly - his sight, but other than that he felt like if sinners were so bold as to kick him while he was down - they would soon be met with a tendril or two piercing their fragile, actual weak bodies.

No - in fact Alastor had been feeling better than ever despite circumstances. He no longer felt chained down by his injury and his powers have not felt draining on his body. Until he can pinpoint what exactly is going on - he will just have to make sure everyone he encounters was none the wiser. 

He might not be able to do certain tasks, but luckily, in a way, he wasn't alone. Alastor summons his shadow, already aware of the situation and will be the core aid of Alastor’s day to day from this point on.

With his plan settled and out of the way, Alastor decided it was about time to get ready for the day ahead of him. He quickly rose from his bed and using his memory of the layout of his room and muscle memory of his daily routines, the demon made his way to his bathroom, but before he reached the door- 

“Uurk..!”

Alastor suddenly collapsed to his knees and violently began tearing and clutching to the material of his clothing over his chest. It was so sudden, but the pain was back and it was worst. Oh it was way worse than before. 

Alastor couldn't focus, he couldn't understand what was happening and continued to double over in agony. His groans were guttural and strained. He was fine yesterday. The moment at the bar was just a fleeting sensation, that resolved itself just like he said! He was GETTING BETTER! He was fine merely a handful of hours ago!

“Lucifer.. Lucifer…” Alastor begged underneath his choked up breath. He couldn't comprehend why he was calling for the angel, his mind was running 100mph. He knew he would rather damn himself a second time than ask him for help and see him in such a state. Yet for some reason, his body felt compelled to seek the angel, to call for him. 

He heaved and choked on every breath he tried to take. His head was spinning from lack of oxygen and the returned burning affliction in his chest. His hands began to feel wet. He knew it was his blood and a lot of it, but he foolishly still wanted to confirm.

Alastor shakily brought one of his hands to his lips - first breathing in slowly before licking off the wet off his palms.

He could smell nothing,

And he tasted nothing. 

He already knew the outcome, but the fact he couldn't confirm the obvious bleeding was close to sending him into a spiral. 

Alastor clenched his teeth angrily, accidentally drawing blood from biting his lips, of course, unable to taste it on his tongue, “Not now.. Not again..” He seethed. This was a knife to his pride. An absolutely unacceptable way life in Hell decided to treat him. Alastor knew the world did not owe him anything, let alone Hell. He KNEW his life in eternal damnation was caused by his own hands - and he never lied about not regretting it, but..

After what feels like several lifetimes - fighting tooth and nail to climb the ladder and stake his claim as one of the best. So that no one, NO ONE, can look down on him. No one can have the upper hand on him ever again. All the fighting for his life as a human and afterlife as a demon would have been for something.

Though, it was all wishful thinking as time progressed. Despite rising the ranks he still found himself chained to someone much stronger than he is and unable to escape with his soul intact, his forced seven year hiatus dropped his status to a laughable degree, and now this? HA HA HA. Now this..

“..This..This is just the cherry on top, huh.”

His anger at his ever changing predicament grew. He unconsciously began transforming into his full demon form. 

“I will NOT be made a fool. I will NOT be torn down.. I will not... I won't.. I can't.” He growled, forcing himself to stand up from the ground still clutching on to his clothing, practically ripping them off his body, as the gash on his chest antagonized him.

As he picked himself up, his powers began whirling uncontrollably. In a somewhat state of panic, the air around him began to glow an eerie green surrounding his body - the energy from his powers attempting to force the demon down again in its vain attempt to protect and subdue Alastor from further exertion. 

Yet, another power, light and airy, golden in its hue was materializing around Alastor as well - forcing him to get back up. The demon picked up on it quickly, but did not have the mental capacity to process the foreign energy.

The floor beneath him began to rumble violently, causing light fixtures in his room to shake and rattle and odds and ends to fall off of shelves.

Both powers fought over Alastor and he wasn’t having any of it, the lack of autonomy over his own body was driving him insane and his insides began to twist and turn and inflate in anger like a bubble close to bursting. If he didn’t take command soon, his side of the hotel would be nothing more than piles of rubble, but his mind did not know which direction to take because either choice would have him falling to the whims of two forces that he had no control over.

Wait.. just.. WAIT. I need.. I need a moment. Alastor once again wrapped his arms around his body and tightly held himself as the world around him shook and forces circled around him. Just.. I can’t think… I need to focus..

“Focus…” Alastor shut his eyes and-

“Al!! Al are you okay?!”

And suddenly - both forces fighting for Alastor had dissipated. And the pain, as if it had not been one of the worst sensations he’s felt, had loosened it’s grip.

Just enough to catch his breath.

A sudden fear courses through Alastor’s veins and he hated it. The fear that his body would be stricken again to such pain and losing himself in front of everyone - in front of him. 

And yet what remains is the feeling, the need to reach out to Lucifer, to call to him, to go to him, to be near him - maybe to feel his smooth, soft skin on his fingertips…

Oh he hated it. And he hated that he couldn't stop himself.

Alastor swiftly brought himself back up and snapped his fingers to change his soiled clothing and bring the room back to it's original state, but that was a mistake as using his powers instantly gave way to the painful sensations he was fearful of receiving. 

With a deep breath he remained standing in place - calming his body to adapt to the pain once more as he had always done since the battle. Alastor closed his eyes, seeing no difference than when they were open, then he sighed “I’ll be right there.”

Chapter Text

[FIVE]

If Lucifer wasn't already awake, he would have been in for a rude awakening from how violently the building shook. He was in the middle of manually dressing himself in his usual attire - stepping into his pants with one leg mid air when the shakes began - causing him to lose balance and fall onto his rear.

“Ow! What - What the fuck is going on?” Lucifer quickly stood up, trying to get his bearings straight without finding himself back on the ground and tangled in his trousers again. He resigned to more angelic means of getting ready with a snap of his fingers - instantly fully clothed.

The tremors continued, growing in intensity. It felt so close he had to look down thinking the floor beneath his feet gave way.

Decor began falling off of shelves. Piles of rubber duck projects tumbling over and rolling off of his work table. Even furniture shifted around from the vibrations.

The source had to be close and it didn't look like whatever was causing this was going to stop anytime soon as Lucifer continued to watch his room fall into disarray around him.

Lucifer knew he had to stop whatever was going on before it took down the whole building. He closed his eyes to focus on the vibrations and sensed that the source of the phenomenon pointed towards the opposite end of the hall, where Alastor's room resides.

Lucifer's stomach dropped. Shit, Alastor! Snapping his eyes open,

He knew Alastor could take care of himself, but for some reason the angel's anxiety tugged at his brain at the knowledge that the demon could get hurt.

What if Alastor’s condition suddenly got worse? A ridiculous notion, yes. Alastor was all around dandy yesterday, very unlikely he would have gotten more sick than he already wasn't exhibiting.

But what IF? What if he got worse overnight and is too incapacitated to do anything?

Yes, yes - the idea is stupid and a smidge overreacting. Lucifer knew it.

Yet, Lucifer had a sinking feeling that he should be paying close attention to him. To stay close. He already had taken it upon himself to not only get along with the demon, but to watch over him and help him with whatever he saw fit. He was really trying here, trying to make an honest effort. Who cares if it’s just been, what? A day? Since deciding Alastor might just be alright for a sinner. Lucifer was allowed to change his mind at the drop of a hat and start caring and that includes all the aforementioned ways he was planning to help the other man.

Not as if Alastor really needed it, the help that is, or even the company. The deer was moving along swimmingly with or without him, but it didn't stop the nagging feeling.

With a swift wave of a hand, a portal was summoned towards Alastor's room. Quickly, Lucifer stepped through golden rings almost misstepping and tripping over from how much the ground shook. He knocked on Alastor's door, heavy handed, but suppressing any quick movements that hinted at desperation.

“Al!! Al are you okay?!”

Suddenly, the building stills and the floorboards fell back into place. No more rumbling, shaking or other. Lucifer darted his head around - the building stopped sharing alright, it wasn’t his imagination. The stillness of everything almost made him believe nothing ever happened.

There was a moment of silence that felt unnatural considering what just transpired, before Alastor's voice cut through the door, “I'll be right there.”

Slow footsteps were heard from the otherside. Sure, sure - no rush, not as if the building wasn't about to collapse in on itself centralized wholly at Alastor’s doorstep. The demon in question was sure taking his sweet time before finally opening the door to grace the angel with his presence.

Lucifer sized the demon up, assessing him from head to toe, side to side - making sure Alastor was fine. He took note of the other not making eye contact or even saying one word since opening his rooms. To top it off, the man had the gall to cross his arms over his chest and lean, unbothered onto the door frame as if it was a casual Friday around the water cooler to make small talk.

Rude. And weird. Mostly rude. All of this.

But more importantly Alastor was fine. Unharmed, because of course, Of COURSE he was okay. He looked better than okay, not a hair nor collar out of place. Perfect, all the damn time.

Perfect. Of course.

Lucifer once again noted not a peep nor peek out of the deer and continued staring anywhere, but Lucifer. “Uh..Hellooo..?” Lucifer waved a hand in front of Alastor, but the other didn’t acknowledge his gesture.

Well, shit - not even a glance? Not once?

He took back his hand, rubbing it awkwardly. Seconds passed without another word and the heat of irritation began bubbling inside Lucifer's chest. He bit the inside of his cheek to hold back a growl, “How… are you?” He queried whilst swallowing any bite, “You look.. fine? I mean that's a good thing…Great even! That you look fine, more than fine actually!” He rambled, “But..You felt all of that, right? Of course you did, everyone probably did.”

Alastor’s smile sharpened with a tilt of his head,“Felt what?” He said matter of factly, before cocking his head back and began buffing off dirt that obviously wasn't there from his claws on the sleeve of his arm. For good measure he examined them as if they were infinitely more interesting than the king of hell making a personal visit despite making this, what, the fourth time?

The angel supposed the shtick could have lost its appeal after the first unwarranted visit.

Lucifer suppressed the urge to bite his lip at the thought of being a nuisance to the demon despite the other doing exactly that. They were getting along so well so far, if Alastor was being this much of an ass early morning, guess the feeling wasn't mutual. But Lucifer hoped that wasn’t the case.

The angel rolled his eyes, “You're kidding.. don’t bullshit me Al - it shook the whole building!” Lucifer sighed, feeling his body deflate. He was already feeling defeated and the day had only begun. So this is the game Alastor wants to play? Well, Lucifer won’t participate, “I sensed the source coming from your side of the floor, so I went to check on you.”

After a few seconds, Alastor finally looked up from inspecting his hand to look at, or rather, past the angel before him, rigidly moving off from the door frame, “Worried about me, your majesty?”

“It's Lucifer. And I'm only worried about Charlie being left with all the work you'd leave behind if you decide to kick the bucket.” He folded his arms and stuck out his forked tongue in indignation. Alastor did not react to the retaliation and was, as usual, awfully calm about a situation that would make anyone else feel otherwise. The demon just stood there, looking at/past him with the most collected expression, it almost felt like contempt. “And I happen to not feel like being gaslit today if you don’t mind.”

The demon’s expression finally shifted as Alastor's grin curled at the ends mischievously before softening into as much as a pout as he could without dropping his smile. He brought the back of his hand to his forehead and the other hand splayed on his chest in a ‘woe is me’ manner - closing his eyes and swaying back slightly to really sell the bit, “This is my end! I cannot continue any longer. Poor Charlie will suffer greatly doing unpaid menial labor without my presence. What a shame.”

Lucifer scoffed, giving the biggest eye roll, “Oh, FINALLY. It’s a little known secret that I've been thinking of a way to get rid of you, but it looks like the trash is taking itself out.” The angel smiled triumphantly.

“You wound me, sire! After all that we have been through the last 24 hours.” Alastor opens one eye cheekily to peek over at the angel, grinning wider.

Lucifer huffed, spinning on his heel to turn his back on the demon, “Pft. Trust me, just the length of this conversation going nowhere is too long if you ask me. I don't know how I survived a day!”

“Oh come now, don't be like that, your majesty! We have many more hellish days ahead of us - don't tell me you're bored of me already?”

Irritation dug into Lucifer's brain once again and he quickly turned back around to face the demon, pointing accusingly, “It's not boring because I have to keep reminding you it’s LUCIFER. My name isn’t ‘your majesty’ or ‘sire’. Cmon Al we talked about this last night!” They were getting along so well! What happened in the few hours since they last saw each other?

“Yes, well - I changed my mind.”

Guess that answered that question, but left even more in its wake, “What? Why? You - You can’t just change your mind about this??”

“I can and just did! Besides, hearing how flustered you are, sounds much more appealing!”

“What-why would I be flustered at you not saying my na-” Lucifer stammered before Alastor cut him off, “Come along!” Purposely ignoring Lucifer's prattle as he blended into his shadow below him and reappearing in the middle of the hall a good distance away with his back facing Lucifer, “- Lest we are late to prepare again. No need for a repeat of yesterday hmm?” Alastor called out over his shoulder before he started down the long hallway without waiting for the other.

With a groan and a few explicit words under his breath, Lucifer tailed behind.

___

Soon in the kitchen, Alastor was relieved to be somewhere he felt more at home in. Where he felt more at ease.

He didn't want to acknowledge it, but the incident in his rooms could have gone south fast, before the angel interfered. Luckily to Lucifer, Alastor seemed right as rain and was ignorant of what exactly happened that made the hotel agitate in its foundation. Alastor seemed more than willing to avoid the topic altogether, just as how he intended it to be. He didn't want to think about the shame and embarrassment he would feel if Lucifer found him out because there was nothing to figure out. That was that.

The less Lucifer knew, the better. At least his wound decided to behave in the meantime, the pain back to its usual inclinations that Alastor can keep hidden for unsuspecting company. It hurt, obviously, but was manageable. A new norm.

If there was anything he was thankful for, it was for his vivid memory or else navigating through this unnecessarily large hotel with mostly unoccupied suites would have been extremely troublesome. Memorizing the layout of the building proved to be useful as a facilities manager, but who would have known it would also be essential for those rare times when one's eyesight decides to take a little sabbatical?

Definitely not him, suppose he was just one of the lucky ones.

The demon had beelined straight to the fridge upon arrival to the kitchen and began feeling around the contents inside all the while hearing Lucifer grabbing what sounds to be an unnecessary amount of pans, bowls, utensils, spatulas, and every kitchen tool he thought they would need to prepare breakfast.

Alastor hoped they weren’t strewn around carelessly, avoiding them would be a hassle and tripping over them when they would have been easily avoided would be a hassle to explain.

As he listened to the clanging of pans, assuming Lucifer was looking for the perfect one to use, when really any one moderately sized would do the trick, the angel spoke up,

“Hey, so what do you think was happening to the hotel? The shaking was so strong all my projects was falling off shelves and my room did a little rearranging without me lifting a finger. You sure you don't know anything about it?”

Oh, of course he wouldn’t let this go. It was in his voice, the accusations.

“Perhaps an earthquake?” Alastor continued poking around the refrigerator’s interior in search of ingredients, “Eggs and bacon, your majesty?”

“Lucifer. I'm going to keep being annoying about this-”

“More than usual, your majesty?”

“Shut up. Again it's LUCIFER. And an earthquake in hell?” The sound of the angel’s search stopped, he probably found the pan he wanted to use. Lucifer’s steps shuffled towards the stove and the clunk of the pan hit the burner top. The stove emitted a few seconds of clicking, before the familiar song of the fire igniting began, “Also yeah, eggs and bacon sound pretty good.”

Alastor hummed in acknowledgement, “Not unheard of. Hell isn't immune to environmental changes.”

Lucifer scoffed, “Right. Say it was an ‘earthquake’, which it wasn't, why was it centralized entirely at this hotel, at your part of the floor?”

“I seem to have a knack for attracting mayhem.” Alastor continued to rummage around with one hand as his other held the refrigerator door open, swiftly feeling his way from the top shelf and working his way down one by one, “In any case, whatever it was, left as fast as it arrived with no damage done. Chop it up as an unusual phenomenon, but not too unusual for hell.”

Hopefully that should be a sufficient answer to quell the little angel’s curiosity and cease his incessant questioning.

“Okay, but that still doesn't answer my question-”

Or not.

“Why did I feel it centered around your room?”

Alastor sighed.

“Sire.”

“Lucifer.”

The demon groaned, running a hand down his face before pinching the bridge of his nose, “I'm not doing anything nefarious that will endanger Charlie or the hotel if that's what your inquisitive mind is thinking. As I said, the fun seems to follow me, but otherwise I haven't the faintest clue why it does.”

“Doesn't seem like much fun if you ask me.”

“I assure you, your majesty-”

“LUCIFER.”

Alastor breathed in slowly, before exhaling it back at the same pace, “I assure you, no one asked.”

“...Fine.”

He finally let it go.

___

Lucifer hovered his hand over the pan, gauging the heat level and deemed it ready for bacon first, thinking the leftover bacon fat would be perfect, albeit heart disease ridden, to cook the eggs in. Which, hold on - Alastor has been taking his sweet time gathering ingredients. Probably a way to piss him off even more today.

He was worried about Alastor for nothing and the thanks he gets is the demon reverting back to being insufferable to even speak a couple words to. What, did everything yesterday mean nothing? What’s with all the honorifics again? He wasn't about to let all the progress go down the drain - his relationship with Charlie was on the line!

But..he supposed Hell wasn’t built in a day, he would know, much to his frustration.

Still though…

It was fucking annoying.

The angel turned his head to Alastor and watched the demon slightly bent over, digging around the contents of the fridge.

Must be something either super interesting or extremely infuriating to hold Alastor’s attention. The demon rarely cared for anything else that wasn’t for his amusement like the asshole he was.

“You’re taking a long time in there.” Lucifer leaned back away from the stove to get a better look over at what the hell Alastor was doing, noticing the demon meticulously assessing each item from the fridge individually, “Checking if stuff went bad or something? That can wait yknow? We got a whole hotel to cook for.”

Alastor clicked his tongue disapprovingly, “Ah, yes, the entirety of SIX hotel residents not including the both of us can wait. So impatient, no wonder our first attempt together yesterday was less than stellar. Simply no respect for the craft!”

Lucifer watched as Alastor looked to have found what he was looking for. FINALLY. A carton of eggs and a pack of bacon after some unnecessary inspection of them. Really? It took him that long? They were fine, just bring them here already!

As if reading Lucifer's mind, Alastor's shadow took the ingredients and floated towards Lucifer.

Lucifer raised an eyebrow, looking at the shadow holding out the bacon and carton of eggs then looked back at Alastor who had moved to take a seat at the kitchen table, obviously getting comfortable from how he relaxed his shoulders and placement of his elbows on the table. He even went and rested his chin in his hands and closed his eyes like he's about to take a small siesta while letting Lucifer cook for a whole hotel alone.

Lucifer took the ingredients, smiled softly at the shadow with a nod of thanks, before looking back at Alastor once again, with a frown, “Soo. Are you going to help or what?”

“Or what~” And Alastor continued as he was, making no effort to change that, “I thought it would be more enjoyable for the both of us to let you take the reins this time around. You were adamant on proving a point with your cooking skills, so let's put that to the test shall we?”

“Oh no you don't. You're thinking of skirting your work and dumping them on me again aren't you?” Lucifer walked over to the demon and firmly planted his hands on the table to hold eye contact with Alastor, with the demon not returning it.

That annoyed Lucifer further. They were definitely back to square one. Back to your majesty bullshit. Back to this blatant disrespect from one of the most self centered and arrogant sinner he has ever met. The red fuck can’t even be bothered to look at him while talking to each other.

Back again with Alastor getting under his skin and he knew it from earlier that day from the apparent nonchalant way the deer leaned against the door frame and began inspecting his nails as if they were freshly manicured or something and was checking for any singular flaw that he knew didn’t exist while simultaneously acting as if HE very well doesn't exist. Just like how this damn demon was doing now, acting as if he was no more than a random demon off of 2nd and Main Street not worth a damn in damnation.

HIM. Lucifer. The KING. Even if the title doesn’t carry much weight, but he felt compelled to bring it up to make a point that he wasn't so sure of himself to prove.

Alastor clicked his tongue disapprovingly, “Well. Yes. But my statement still stands. Besides-” Alastor said without opening his eyes, or moving from his current position, which struck another cord within Lucifer.

The angel huffed to butt in, ”Yeah?? Oh yeah?? Besides what huh? What can possibly be more important than the hotel? Than Charlie?”

Alastor’s eyes twitched, still without opening them. Lucifer heard a low growl from the demon. Good, that hit a nerve. Of course Alastor can’t dedicate every second of his day towards the hotel and probably has important Overlord duties. In general the everyday of this sinner‘s life is probably never boring, eventful actually - whatever that may be. Assuming anything else was unfair and insulting really, but Lucifer didn’t care and selfishly admitted to himself that none of that matters because it should be all about Charlie and the hotel.

Just Charlie…and the hotel. Nothing more.

Alastor cleared his throat, breathing in slowly either to calm himself or Lucifer or both - Lucifer didn't know.

“I merely thought that, you, burning down the kitchen once again is a much more favorable outcome than me potentially contaminating the meals and infecting the entire hotel. This is for the sake of the other residents.”

“Bullshit, when did you, the oh so scary Radio Demon, care for other people’s sake?”

”You know, your majesty… I’m starting to think your heartfelt confession of not - and I quote - half assing, this whole charade of ours was yet another disappointing endeavor of yours.” A small smirk displayed itself on Alastor’s insufferable face.

Lucifer snarled, rage building, he could have sworn smoke was coming out of his ears, “Well, I'm starting to think you're not actually sick.” Lucifer narrowed his eyes at Alastor suspiciously, pointing an accusatory finger at the other, “I mean - you look fine. How do I know this isn't some kind of ploy for you to make the king of Hell do your bidding?”

Alastor sighed, blinking his eyes open and dropping his hands on the table. He turned in his seat to face Lucifer, crossing one leg over the other and opting to drum his claws on top the table impatiently, “Firstly, your offer the other day, and let me repeat, YOUR OFFER, is still in effect, is it not? Yet you seem surprised that I'm accepting it? Second, you know very well I can't make you do anything. No deal was finalized, I'm merely relying on the honor system. Lastly, should I look disheveled and out of sorts just for you? Hm? Would that be satisfactory proof to justify my condition?” Alastor pretends to cough a pathetic cough behind his hand.

Lucifer grinned wildly, holding his chin in thought, “Huh. Actually- yeah! It'd be nice to see you all messed up. You'd be a sight for sore eyes for once!” He dropped both his hands on the table and leaned forward a bit closer towards Alastor, ”And just like right now, you're just sore on the eyes, ha!”

Alastor, seemingly unfazed at the close proximity, hummed thoughtfully, “So what I gather is that you'd rather see me in such a … compromising… position? Duly noted, though I must say you have very salacious tastes.”

Lucifer’s face burned golden, the blush reaching his ears. He began sputtering out words while leaning back away from the demon, “Wh- no. pfft. thats not- What I mean was…Don't think that I meant-..” but all that came out was a mess of incomplete thoughts. This was ridiculous, stupid. He should not be flustered at Alastor's clear teasing.

The angel used the crook of his arm to cover his face and turned away from Alastor's gaze that looked a bit more attentive than usual, with his other hand still on the table formed into a tight fist.

Alastor remained silent - to let Lucifer ruminate in his embarrassment he’s sure, but it was no more than ten seconds before he spoke again, “I did not dismiss my work yesterday, you should know, you were there.” His voice uncharacteristically soft.

But Lucifer couldn’t let this petty, nonsensical argument go. He had a point to prove, but the more he pursued it, the further the point got away from him. It was all so, SO stupid. This was a nothing burger of an argument.

Lucifer wasn’t even sure what he was trying to prove. Because he knew everything he was saying held no weight. Just like his title. Just like his position in any place he stepped in.

”You barely lifted a finger! You might as well have not been around if you were just going to scrutinize my gardening skills.”

He was so angry. Why was he so angry at Alastor? He wasn't as mad as when they first met, and the taunting from the demon was worse in his opinion. Yet a few unacknowledgedments were getting under his skin.

”Oh hohoh! My apologies, YOUR MAJESTY. I didn’t realize we were tallying points. I never pegged you as someone to keep score of petty favors.”

The angel knew Alastor didn’t do anything to warrant these accusations, but Lucifer kept going. He couldn’t help it, ”That is not what I meant and you know it, you may act like you do a lot here and around the ring, but you probably put off work, by dumping it on others. I bet your hands look like they haven’t worked a day in your life or afterlife.” Lucifer then snatched Alastor’s wrist of the hand that was drumming irritatingly on the table, not actually going to examine the deer’s hand, but to make his fleeting point, a not a very good one and the angel knew it, but it was more important to get the last say. Even if the way to do that is exclaiming some baseless claims, just because.

Lucifer then braced himself for the inevitable push back from Alastor, but what he saw upon Alastor’s face instantly melted any disdain he was feeling towards the other. What Lucifer expected to see was anger, resistance, and animalistic transformation into whatever abomination Alastor becomes when guarding his defenses, but instead a look of shock was splashed all over the deer’s expression.

Alastor looked at him as if he was seeing Lucifer for the first time, his eyes were so wide, heartwarmingly doe like. His mouth was slightly open and ears were stiff upright.

Lucifer couldn’t look away from the other, continuing to watch as Alastor’s eyes slowly shift from the initial shock, to confusion, and then finally-

Relief..? Yeah..

Relief.

Lucifer couldn’t rationalize the expression as a response to their argument. He expected more aggression from the demon. Not... not whatever this was. Not whatever strangely soft this moment had become and Lucifer was starting to feel a bit bad, ”…what..?” He whispered under his breath that he didn’t even know he was holding.

The angel’s hold on the demon’s hand trembled, and he couldn’t tell if it was from his own or from Alastor. And Alastor continued to stare at him, almost in awe, almost in confliction.

Yeah.. He was really starting to feel bad.

Lucifer looked down at his hold and his eyes widened seeing that their fingers had laced together. His face began to feel flushed again. When did that happen? He didn’t know and felt sheepish with himself all while including this entire situation of accusations and crossing silent boundaries.

The angel looked back up to Alastor and watched as the deer's eyes slowly moved down to also look at their hands intertwined with each other, neither of them letting go, before looking back at Lucifer, this time with his brows furrowed, disappointed.

Lucifer’s stomach dropped seeing such a look on Alastor, mouth moving to utter an apology for holding on to him for too long and of course doing so initially with such force, but nothing was coming out and he was only able to mouth the words ‘sorry’ all the while continuing to hold Alastor’s hand, even tightening his grip anxiously. Lucifer turned his head to look away, ashamed.

And he didn’t understand why. He didn't understand anything at all.

This wasn’t supposed to be like this, whatever this was, and the unpredictable nature of Alastor made his mouth dry and his thoughts run in circles.

Alastor suddenly sighed, a sigh that felt like he was relenting to Lucifer's embarrassment and decided to throw him a bone to help the poor sap save face, “Your majesty… Listen.. I‘m-"

Fuck.. No.. No, don't apologize. You aren’t supposed to apologize. Get mad at me. Fight me. Just don’t say sorry.

“I…apologize if it looks to be that I’m not pulling my weight for Charlie and the hotel. I’m not above criticism of my work, so if your majesty deems me as not contributing as much as I should be, then who am I to disagree? I’ll do more. Though, I would appreciate it if you would handle the meals for the meantime. I do not wish to spread this little illness of mine to the residents.’’ Alastor’s face shifted to something more soft and contained. His eyes clearly drained, even slightly of color possibly due to the exhaustion mixed in with the harsh overhead LED lighting of the kitchen.

Lucifer bit his bottom lip, his brow lowering in guilt. Wracking his brain to try and utter his own apology, but his lips failed him again. This time he knew his own hand were the ones that were trembling and he hoped Alastor was able to gather that he was sorry.

But Alastor made no indication that he was aware of the angel’s intention and continued, ‘’I may not be able to help directly, however-” Alastor slowly took his hand back from Lucifer and snapped his fingers. Several of his shadow minions manifested in a puff of green smoke in front of Lucifer, all eager to be put to work, “They can. And they are surprisingly good for more than just patching up holes in the wall.”

Lucifer definitely felt bad now. While eyeing the little shadow dolls, he knit his brow, feeling a pang of disappointment in his chest, and for what? He didn't want to admit any reason to himself. He looked at Alastor, who had turned his attention to his shadow helpers.

Lucifer scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, “Do they talk?”

“They can communicate.” Alastor said plainly, still keeping his focus on anywhere, but him. Lucifer hated it. He hates that he hated it.

“I'll take that as a no?”

“You'll soon see that they can get their point across just fine.”

“…I see.”

The little shadows Alastor conjured up will have to do - for now. Lucifer took a slow breath, expelling it along with a lingering uncomfortable pang poking within his ribcage, “Okay, well..thanks. So what will you be doing? Gonna watch me slave over a hot stove?”

“Perhaps another time, sire. For now I believe we should attend to separate duties for today. Sitting around doing nothing will only prove you right and we wouldn't want that, now would we?” With a slight smirk and a tip of his head and without giving Lucifer the chance to refute anything the other said - Alastor disappeared into his shadow.

Lucifer's heart sank, staring at the empty seat Alastor was sitting in, mentally kicking himself for clearly chasing him away. What a great start of the day huh?

Square one, square one, square one. Back to square fucking one.

Lucifer forced the beating in his chest to settle away the discomfort he continued to refuse to acknowledge and instead gave himself a flicker of hope. Next time for sure, when he's better. I'll show him and cook up a mean breakfast.

Together.

Yeah..Next time for sure.

___

Alastor reconstituted back into his room, practically forcing his way through his bathroom door to stare at himself in the mirror.

He can see again..He can see!

It wasn’t perfect, he wouldn't call it 20/20. Everything looked more dim, unfocused just like yesterday, but he could see. And that’s all that mattered.

But for how long? He definitely did not want to find out.

Summoning his shadow minions was probably not the best course of action to assist Lucifer in the kitchen. It was already a trudge going through his regular routine without the use of his powers and after actually using them for more prolonged tasks - Alastor's energy reserves would deplete considerably making any wound maintenance difficult to preserve.

But the whole argument in the kitchen oddly left him feeling more rejuvenated after his sight suddenly returned to him. Summoning his shadow minions did not exhaust him or his power.

And the pain, it once again disappeared in that instance just like earlier today in his room, just like the day before at the bar.

The relief.

It happened as soon as Lucifer grabbed him. Very barbaric of the little king might he add, but that was besides the point. Now things were making more sense and oh Alastor hated the implications.

The demon had planned on tackling a few tasks before his Overlord meeting taking place in an hour, but decided to forgo any hotel duties until after. Right now what he needed was to clear his head and a casual stroll around town before making his way towards Carmine's would do him well. He would assume Lucifer would pick up his slack, but even if he didn't, Alastor would just finish up when he returned.

__

Walking would usually be his preferred method of transport, helps clear the busy mind, and good thing too because now he didn’t really have any other option. Well, he did, but it would be wise of him to conserve as much energy as he can.

Now that his vision has returned, Alastor didn’t want to take any unnecessary actions. He didn’t know if this return of his sight was temporary, but better to not to leave it up to chance.

He still couldn’t smell or taste anything. Shame, but he’ll live. His eyesight was definitely more preferred.

On the way to the meeting, Alastor recounted the morning’s events and how the search through the fridge took longer than it should, naturally due to his…(former?) impairment, and it didn’t help that the fridge was filled with containers of leftovers, condiments, and a random assortment of perishable items of various shapes and sizes, though most felt a tad too similar to one another.

He had made sure to keep eye contact with every item he touched and some he held closer to his face as if examining it. An issue Alastor quickly realized was when one loses a sense, that person becomes heavily reliant on the senses that remain present.

Now that wasn’t a problem in of itself, but if one is trying to hide these problems, one has to remember to act like there was no problem at all. That included pretending to focus on what was in front of them instead of staring off into the distance. That meant making eye contact with another individual when speaking to them or turning away to avert gazes at uncomfortable moments or even to examine each damned item in the fridge with not just his hands, but with his eyes as well, knowing damn well he can’t see a goddamn thing, yet still had to pretend he did.

It was all so aggravatingly tedious, but he had to persist until he could figure out what exactly was happening to him.

And even when he had found what he was looking for, he didn’t have a choice but to thoroughly assess the items. Feeling for the rectangular shape with a cardboard texture. He had to prod around until he found what he assumed was a package of bacon.

The whole charade felt ridiculous. So ridiculous he couldn’t help, but expend some energy to his shadow to take over. He himself, may not have been able to see at the time, but luckily his shadow could.

Though, even just that small gesture was exhausting. And now he was inundated with the knowledge of what physical contact with Lucifer might mean and what it did for him.

Keeping a distance is proving to be harder than he thought.

___

Just his luck, during the immensely dull overlord meeting his vision had once again disappeared. It's almost comical how it did, the way he was blinking away the sudden irritation in his eyes - from the bright fluorescent lights he's sure - followed by momentarily shutting them to rest only to welcome complete darkness as soon as he opened them as he did this morning. He wasn't even shocked at this point and he hoped his outward expression showed just as much. Alastor did say the fun always followed him, but Lucifer was right - it wasn't very fun in the slightest.

Not that anyone asked the damn angel.

“That concludes our meeting. Thank you once again for attending this month my fellow Overlords - I will call upon your attendance at a later date.” Carmilla ended, dismissing the group.

Alastor remained seated as he listened to his fellow colleagues shuffle out of their seats and began their exit from the conference hall.

The meeting went just as well as expected - noisy and unproductive. Luckily, Alastor wasn’t needed this time around so he merely listened in to all the dribble with his eyes following the direction of where voices were located - all for feigning normalcy. And he didn’t mean to toot his own horn, but he felt he’s been doing a rather fine job of hiding the state he was in. Not that he would be able to assess the expressions of others - but his other senses have been heighted quite a bit and by just the tone of their voice and the demonic aura others would exude was enough to read into their intentions.

If he could be honest, he had no idea what the meeting was even about. He simply nodded away in acknowledgement or verbally agreed with statements upon hearing other’s do so as well without knowing what he was agreeing to, but it’s not as if it mattered. These meetings usually felt like formalities and very rarely do any plans come into fruition. He isn’t usually inattentive like this because, information is quite powerful in Hell so even if the information wasn’t anything interesting in particular at the time - who knows what kind of use it will have in the future. But Alastor digressed - he felt he deserved this one moment in time to mentally take a breather and tune out the ramblings of a painfully dull meeting and plan his next moves.

Speaking of plans he should probably head back to the hotel before anyone at the meeting needed to speak with him and maybe see what could have triggered-

“Alastor, darling!” Alastor felt a gentle, yet firm hand on his shoulder.

The demon blinked out of his thoughts and turned his head towards the familiar voice with a cheerful smile in greeting.

“Rosie!” Alastor exclaimed, he placed his own hand over Rosie’s that was on his shoulder.

“Alastor, sweetheart I’ve been calling your name, but you were daydreaming so intensely I almost didn't want to wake you up! What has occupied that head of yours, mister? Everyone left, but here you remain!” Rosie used both her hands to take Alastor’s - rubbing the backs of the demon’s hands tenderly.

Alastor could feel her eyes boring into his skull, thick with concern. No sight needed.

“Just needed a little reprieve, Rosie dear. These gatherings sure know how to keep the ears ringing, ha ha!”

“Well, speaking of the meeting. I’m surprised you agreed to some of these ideas!”

Alastor tilted his head in confusion, “I don’t follow? Everything spoken about today sounded just fine, hardly anything for me to oppose!”

“Alastor…darling.. You-”

“You agreed to the idea of expanding the Vees’ territory, more specifically, opening up more franchises under Voxtek near that little hotel of yours.”

The deer twitched upon hearing the new voice, ears twitching towards the annoyance for a moment before relaxing. Alastor sighed, “Eavesdropping is quite rude, old friend.” The demon turned his head towards the direction Vox’s voice was coming from. The media Overlord’s voice sounded a bit distant and based on the direction, Vox was waiting by the doorway.

Strange.. normally Alastor can sense someone nearby, especially Vox. Rosie was a different case, Alastor admitted to himself he was too much into his own head and wasn’t paying attention. But Vox, he should have felt his presence was close, considering the constant clashing of the TV demon’s electrical waves against his own. It wasn’t until Vox spoke up that Alastor even registered the surprisingly soft frequency Vox was emitting, it was almost unnoticeable, when usually aggressive and forceful.

Alastor felt frustration tugging at his muscles. He should have realized Vox was there. He was losing his edge and fast. Alastor knew if he didn’t figure out what was going on, these slip ups would happen more frequently and dealing with that stupid picture box is the last thing he needed on his plate.

Alastor can hear the TV demon sigh, already sounding exasperated before listening to his footsteps grow closer, shoes clicking on the hard floor and stopping a mere few feet away from the pair.

Rosie spoke first, “Now Vox, darling. Alastor here is not here for a fight so don’t go looking for one.” Rosie's voice was stern and almost sounded like she was prepared to throw down if Vox tried anything.

Alastor can hear Vox scoff, “If I wanted to, I wouldn’t have waited until after this boring meeting. In fact, I would have tried during! It would liven things up here, finally, eh?”

Alastor can feel Rosie’s hands slightly tighten around his, he was absolutely sure the cannibal was frowning disapprovingly at Vox.

Vox coughed awkwardly, breaking whatever atmosphere he had made, “Uh okay look. Rosie is it? Can I call you-”

“Just Rosie is fine, dear.”

“Right.. Rosie. Look. I know you’re usually hanging out with this asshole, but I also know that, at least right now, you’re not just here to ask him to join you for tea and cookies.”

The corners of Alastor’s smile twitched, focusing his attention to where he believes Vox to be standing, “And what is that supposed to mean?”

“I believe I was talking to Rosie? Hmm, old friend?”

“Well, it is obvious you are speaking about me, so by default, you are also speaking with me.”

Rosie let go of Alastor and clapped her hands twice, gathering their attention, “Well that’s enough of that, let’s stop before you two start.” She scolded both of them, shutting them up, “Now, Vox, I have a feeling I already know why you stayed behind so why don’t we just clear the air here for dear Alastor?”

Vox cleared his throat, Alastor can hear him slowly walk closer towards them until the deer can feel the heat and tiny electrical jolts emitting from the TV demon just inches from his face. Alastor continued to look ahead, assuming Vox’s face was in front of his.

To Alastor’s surprise, he feels cold, sharp, metal-like hands grab his face to meet the other demon more eye to eye. The deer growled, preparing to attack Vox at the sudden manhandling.

“What do you think you're doi—”

“You can’t see can you?”

Alastor blinks, his eyes going which way and that, unable to focus on a single point when all he can see was black. His ears fell back, firmly pinned against his head.

“Thought so..” Vox let go of Alastor’s face. The deer can hear sighing - this time from both Vox and Rosie.

He didn’t mean for his expressions to give himself away, but the statement threw him completely off guard at his already vulnerable moment. There was no use hiding it, but he couldn’t give

himself away even more - not in front of Rosie, not in front of that stupid TV.

Alastor scoffed, rolling his eyes, “Don’t be ridiculous, I’m looking at you aren’t I? You look as stupid as how I left you seven years ago! HA HA!” Alastor quipped fruitlessly in a sad attempt to save face, “Now if you excuse me, Rosie, Vox - I really must be going.” The demon starts to get up from his seat only to be pushed back down into his seat by what feels to be two sets of hands, one pair being much gentler than the other.

Vox spoke again more seriously, “Look, let me get straight to the point. I proposed to Carmilla to open up more Voxtek locations because why the hell not and I thought I'd get a rise out of you for fun. Instead I get no reaction and you agreed with every single one I brought up. Hell, I even suggested opening a shop at your little passion project and you said yes!”

“Lapse of judgment I’m afraid, even I can admit to the rare times mistakes are made.”

“Yeah okay, YOU agreeing to ALL TEN propositions I had was just a mistake? You were DISTRACTED Alastor.”

“Even if I was - what does this have to do with my vision?”

“The entire meeting you never looked at me the entire time!”

“Oh hohoh! A little self-centered are you? Why would I spend a waking thought on you? Miss me that much?”

“Shut UP and LISTEN. I usually don’t give two shits, but when YOU aren’t reacting to any of my taunts during the meeting even during the few times you ‘looked’ my way. I knew.. I already knew something was up. This wasn't like you. Why didn't you call me mediocre? Clout chaser? A stupid picture box..? Just.. Don't you get it?”

Vox's voice was too serious, too soft - infuriatingly so.

Alastor bit his lip, his eyes moved to where he believed Vox’s were, “I’m.. FINE.” The demon spat out, his voice gritted through his toothy grin. “I can see FINE, I was merely distracted and not quite myself as you said - surely I can be granted such grace, yes? Agreeing to your stupid ideas was a mistake - that’s ALL.”

“See even now!” Vox quickly grabbed Alastor’s face once again eliciting a guttural growl from the deer and lifted his face up slightly, “You aren’t even looking at me! This entire time you turn your head to my voice, your eyes look everywhere, but you aren’t looking at me.” Before Alastor was given the chance to bite off Vox’s hand - the TV demon quickly let go and brought his hand back to himself.

Alastor’s anger bubbled once again and shot up from his seat, ready to wring the neck of the media Overlord, “Touch me one more time. And I will personally make sure your plans crash and burn. I am FINE. I can handle myself!”

“Do you really want me to hit a nail into your soon to be coffin? You old ass fuck, you're not fooling us, you're not going to fool anyone! And you know why?”

A guttural growl escaped Alastor's throat, “W H Y?”

For a moment, nothing was said. No movements were heard, but soon the sound of shifting clothes replaced the stillness and Alastor felt a gentle touch of someone brushing his bangs out of his face. A touch so delicate, he could have sworn it was from Rosie - but it was just more infuriatingly, uncharacteristic behavior from Vox.

Alastor heard Vox breathe in slowly, almost bracing himself, “Your eyes, Alastor. They've completely whited over.”

And again there was silence, stillness. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath.

Then several of Alastor's tendrils began to erratically show themselves and reach out to grab where he sensed Vox to be, but was stopped once again with a light hand on his shoulder - retreating his tendrils back.

“Now, now Alastor. We know you can take care of yourself, but this is serious. Losing your vision? Goodness that’s not nothing!” Rosie took the deer’s hands into hers again and lightly kissed the tops of them, “Look. We won’t tell anyone what’s going on, but you need to get looked over.”

“I’ve been managing just fine, my dear. I'm able to continue my usual routines and I've been getting around without any fuss- I'm here aren't I?” Alastor quipped, rather proudly all things considered.

Vox clicked his tongue, taking Alastor’s hands from Rosie.

Radio dials appeared in the deer’s darkening eyes and his antlers began to grow, “What did I say about touching m-”

“I’m taking you back to Voxtek and having you assessed by my personal physician.” Vox cut in, tightening his grasp with Alastor’s, “You’re a narcissistic piece of shit, but it’s no fun messing with you, when you can even see it! It's just… it's no fun. I hate all of this.” Vox looks over to Rosie, noticing her skepticism by the furrow of her brow, “Rosie, you can come too. I know this piece of shit won’t agree to come with me unless you do.”

The cannibal Overlord was a bit skeptical, yes, she studied Vox’s face - reading any tell he may have that would show he had less than good intentions, “I’ll come along, but this is still Alastor’s choice in the end, you know that, right, Vox?” Rosie smiled, the tail ends of her lips sharply turned upward, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

“Right...” Vox’s grip on the deer’s hands loosened. The TV demon’s shoulders dropped slightly in defeat, before perking up again, “So! What do you say Al? Let’s get you checked out, eh?”

Taking his hands away from Vox’s grasp, Alastor turned away from the two demons to stare into nothing but darkness in front of him. The deer cringed from the idea of receiving medical care, from Vox no less. Not only will he be indebted to Vox, but who knows how loose lipped his staff will be treating the Radio Demon. Just having one person know about the state of his body was one too many - and there were TWO of them. His whole persona he meticulously curated was slipping and soon enough those around him will not look at him with fear, but will instead look down on him as someone they can take advantage of.

An even worse thought reared its ugly head, what would Lucifer think about all of this? Would he feel disappointed? Disgusted? Lucifer would finally have a reason to kick him out of the hotel thinking his usefulness ran its course. Who would want a hotelier that can’t see? This was hell after all. Any accommodations would only be a liability.

Alastor would have had a powerful ally on his side if he continued this little song and dance of theirs. Not that he didn’t mind it. The company wasn’t always unpleasant and that said a lot these days.

No, no. No use lying to himself, the angel’s company was a welcomed change in his humdrum day to day. A potential ally was just a bonus, and he’d be damned a second time if he’d let this opportunity be pulled from under him from a measly visual setback… amongst other things.

He couldn't, he can't leave the hotel. He still has unfinished business. He still has goals to complete there. If he wasn't an ally to the king of hell, if Lucifer thought of him as useless to him, the hotel, and Charlie - who knows what could happen to him. Alastor's entire afterlife was at stake solely on his usefulness.

“Well, Alastor dear - I think this is a good idea!” Rosie chirped happily, clasping her hands together, “Why it's not everyday we get to see such generosity from Vox - especially to you!”

“I have doubts that this is just because he's in a charitable mood, Rosie dear.”

“Tsk. Don't be like that, Alastor. It's rude to decline such an offer from the CEO himself! Think of the benefits.”

“Hmm yes, well. I suppose I can squeeze him dry for all his self-absorbed empire is worth.” A not so subtle warning towards Vox that his good deed should remain just that, without catches, hidden agendas, or stipulations.

Vox rolled his eyes, fully aware he wasn’t trusted, but he really didn’t mind.

After some silence, Vox spoke, “So…Let me ask again. Can you see?”

Alastor didn't respond right away, it should have been a simple answer, but this would have been the first time admitting this to anyone other than himself-

-This would be the first time he's truthfully admitting he was vulnerable.

“..No.”

More silence before Vox broke it again, “..I can help you yknow.”

Alastor scoffed, “For a price I'm sure.”

“The exchange rate isn't too bad.”

“I'm not joining you.”

“I didn't ask.”

“Then ask so I can reject you once again.”

Vox sucked in a slow breath to calm his frying nerves before sighing it out, “A picture.”

Alastor raised an eyebrow, "Come again?”

“A picture, another one. I'll use the best my medical team has to offer for you. And when you're all better - I want a developed photo of you and me, using your old ass, outdated camera. That's it. That's all I want.”

Alastor opened his mouth to quip back with a biting remark, but found himself closing it instantly. He didn't know what Vox's angle was, if there was any, and he didn't want to kid himself because everyone in Hell had an ulterior motive.

But this rare moment of vulnerability from both of them left Alastor's chest swirl in unrest before settling into quiet acceptance. Alastor palmed around clumsily until he found Vox's hand, squeezing it with intent.

“Fine-”

Instantly, flows of magic in blue and green circled their grip, sealing their deal before dissipating in air.

Alastor sucked in a hesitant breath, “- Help me.”