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His tentacles, his minions, his shadow, and even Alastor’s own arms were all weighed down with a plethora of corpses they had found lined the streets, killed by unknown means and by sinners who had long since abandoned them to their fates. Beside him, walking along the sidewalk with him on the outside, as any gentleman should, was a lovely lady, one he had recently wronged. It was the reason he was here now, helping her collect products for her emporium. The pair had spent the past couple of hours strolling through the streets of Hell, shopping, or what could be considered such, for flesh that could be turned into food to be sold at Rosie’s shop. He struggled with every step he took, not because it was too heavy for him, it wasn’t, but rather because of the length of time he had been holding things so awkwardly shaped, but he supposed it was what he deserved after what he had done.
Alastor had gone to visit Rosie the previous day, hoping to discuss their new arrangement after he had escaped from the deal that had bound his soul for a century. They hadn’t had the time to talk when The Might of Lilith was about to explode, but with things having calmed down since then, he had found the time to sit down and have a discussion he knew would take hours as they both spoke of their boundaries and their goals for their partnership moving forward. Never in all his time down here did he believe he would partner up with someone, let alone the woman who owned his soul. He had told himself that once he was finished with his end of their bargain, he would never see her again. Over and over, he had reminded himself of this, yet here he was, not only willing but wanting to work with her, despite his being fully able to take his freedom without reservation and part ways with her.
However, when he stepped through the door of her store, he immediately bumped into the last person he desired to see: Susan. She had given her life during the battle at the hotel against Heaven, but she did not die at the hands of an exorcist. Rather, there had been a bit of an incident between her and another cannibal. One of Rosie’s cannibals had supposedly, in their confusion, attacked Susan, believing her to be an angel. He wasn’t certain how much he believed that story, as he could understand purposefully attacking the woman and only afterward spinning a tale about how such a thing had happened in the first place, one that took any blame off themself. Either way, it had taken the elderly woman some time to recuperate and regenerate after being partially devoured by one of her kind. He had appreciated the time apart; he had already been aggravated when he last came to visit Cannibal Town, and seeing her might have sent him over the edge.
The second he had come into contact with the crotchety old bitch, she had begun to complain about anything and everything in sight, which included him. Typically, he was able to brush off such insults from a woman who treated everyone the same way. He must have already been a tad on edge about the conversation he and Rosie needed to have; however, as before, he could stop himself. He had, in his annoyance, accidentally destroyed one of Rosie’s glass displays, ruining both the display itself and all the food contained within as shards of glass fell into it. It wasn’t until after that he had realized what he had done, and it was only a moment later that he came face to face with the owner of the emporium, ready to reprimand him for such careless behavior.
After filing out her cannibals from her shop so that none of them accidentally got injured, she had dragged him to one of the more private rooms by the ear. There, Rosie had scolded him for losing his patience because of Susan. He had, in his defense, told her that he didn’t even understand why she allowed such a horrid woman into her place of business, but she hadn’t had any of it. She had reminded him that, whether he liked it or not, Susan was one of the souls in her care and, as such, she was welcome in her emporium much the same as everyone else, including him. Thankfully, after that, Rosie had calmed down slightly, enough to think of a way he could make it up to her, which was how he ended up here, carrying the dead bodies of easily a dozen or so sinners back to her emporium so she could replace the products that he had destroyed.
As they passed the sign telling them that they had arrived in Cannibal Town, Alastor mentally reminded himself again and again that it was only a little further now, that in mere moments he would be standing before the entrance of Rosie’s Emporium, and he would finally be able to set down the corpses he had been carrying for the past couple of hours. Each step was a strain on his body, but it would be over soon enough, and just as he was thinking that, the storefront came into view, and it only took a few more steps before he was standing at the front entrance.
Standing to the side of the door, Alastor allowed Rosie to open it. Usually, it would’ve been his job as a gentleman to open it for a lady, but given the circumstances, he was willing to forget about his self-imposed rules for a second. Stepping through, he didn’t enter too far into the building before placing down the bodies that would soon become meat to be sold by her and eaten by her people. That wasn’t a part of his making it up to her, however. His job was done; he had done as she had asked him to do. The rest was up to her.
After placing the corpses onto the floor beside the door, a huge weight at last taken off him, Alastor turned to face Rosie, exhaustion etched into his features. There were plenty of things they still had to talk about, but in this moment, there was only one question he needed to ask her.
“So, am I forgiven?” Alastor questioned with a soft smile.
A light, tittering chuckle fell from Rosie’s lips, a sound that sent a shiver through his body. She took a step toward him, invading his personal space as she so loved to do. It was something that used to get on his nerves a bit, back when she had power over him, but today it had felt different. When she got close to him, it didn’t feel patronizing or as though it was a subtle way to remind him of her control over him. Rather, it simply felt as though she wanted to be close to him. It made him wonder whether it had been this way all along, and he had simply read too much into her every action. So, while he would typically attempt to back off, he stood his ground, enjoying the feeling of her closeness.
“Yes, dearest, you’re forgiven,” Rosie responded with a smile that matched his own.
Taking a step toward the door, Alastor gave Rosie a small bow before standing back up to his full height once more.
“Well, in that case, I should take my leave. I’d hate to take up any more of your time, especially when you have so much work to do,” Alastor said, gesturing to the bodies on the floor with a single hand.
Placing his other hand on the door, he was about to push it open and leave as he had told her he would, but she stopped him.
“Alastor, wait,” Rosie said, and whether because of the way she said it, a little rushed as she forced out those two simple words, or because he was used to listening to her commands, he stopped in his tracks, turning his attention back toward her.
“Is there something you-” Alastor began, slightly confused as to why she hoped to prevent him from leaving. He had done as she asked, had gone out with her today, so they could shop for new products, for lack of a better word, and she had told him that was everything she needed from him, so why?
Alastor wasn’t left to stew in his confusion for too long, though, as the next thing he knew, Rosie was leaning forward. His breath caught in his throat, and his body stiffened for a fraction of a second as her lips made contact with his cheek. His eyes widened, staring at her in surprise as she pulled away slightly to whisper to him.
“Thank you, darling. I truly appreciate your help.”
And just like that, Rosie pulled away. Giving her a small nod, Alastor politely replied to her gratitude, his voice much too quiet and vulnerable for his liking.
“You’re welcome.”
With that, Alastor turned toward the door and pushed it open, stepping out into the chill evening air, but he wasn’t cold in the slightest. There was a heat in his body, centered at his face, that staved off any frigidity he might have felt. His heart was racing in his chest, and his steps were faster than normal as he practically fled Rosie’s Emporium, not standing to be in that overwhelming atmosphere for a single moment longer. As he walked toward the entrance of Cannibal Town, he tried not to think too hard about what his reaction to Rosie’s affection could indicate. Still, he already knew that it would be keeping him up that night as he found himself, as he generally did, unable to get any sleep. However, as he started his journey back to the Hazbin Hotel, one thought stood out in his mind: this shopping trip, though it had proven to be a bit of a struggle, turned out not to be so bad after all. In fact, he would say that it had actually been well worth it to spend some time with Rosie, not as a Mistress and her pet, but rather as two equals, as it always should have been.