Chapter Text
Alastor made a full recovery in just over a week, though he still had to use his cane for support when standing. Angel was there to offer his arm whenever needed, and sometimes Alastor would take it more for an excuse for contact than any real need for assistance. He did not try to go into Angel's room and Angel did not invite him at first.
Until finally Angel did, leading him up the stairs by the hand. Angel closed the door as Alastor say down on the stool, Nuggets waddling over to snuffle at his shoes. Angel sat down on the bed, taking a breath and letting out a deep sigh.
"I appreciate you coming to help me." Angel started, picking at his claws with one set of hands and tugging at the hem of his shirt with the other. He seemed to be struggling to find the words he needed, so Alastor didn't interrupt. "And I am sorry I yelled at you. I was mad. I'm still a little mad." He glanced up at the light fixture, brow furrowing. "Any other bugs in my room?"
"Other than y'self, no. There was jus' de one." Alastor answered honestly.
Angel snorted at the unexpected joke, glad that Alastor felt well enough to try lightening the mood, despite Angel needing to be serious. "Good." Angel nodded. "I know you probably don't see the harm keepin' surveillance on shit but… I ain't stupid. I know everyone thinks I'm just some dumb bitch and a lot of 'em think they're entitled to my business just cuz they've seen me with my clothes off and they think that means they know me--"
"I don' think--" Alastor started, only to be cut off quickly.
"Let me fuckin' finish." Angel snapped, glaring. "It's… It's like with the phone! I ain't got shit to hide but I still like havin' the option of knowin' when someone's payin' attention to the shit I do. Don't matter if I'm just talkin' to Nuggets or myself or paintin' my nails or fuckin' myself raw cuz of whatever emotional breakdown I happen to be havin' at the time. I don't like the thought of somebody seein' or hearin' me when I ain't aware of it."
"I understand…" Alastor replied when he was sure Angel was done. "It wasn't my intention to be spyin' on you specific'ly when I put dat up dere. But I did end up listenin' in on you more den de others over time. I wanted to be close to you but I didn't know how to. Not without lettin' you get close to me. That… scared me." Alastor hated himself for admitting to it, that he was afraid of anything, but it was necessary for them to have a mutual understanding. "After dat it became habit. Hearin' you jus' breathin' in your sleep was comfortin' to me."
"I would've still liked to know." Angel reiterated. "And if you need comfort you can always just sleep with me." At the startled look Alastor shot him, he clarified. "Just sleep. No fuckin' required. Fair warnin' though my hands are heat-seekers."
"Y' still want me 'round?"
"Well yeah." Angel shrugged. "Just 'cause I'm mad at you for bein' a little stalkery don't mean I wanna end… whatever the fuck we are. As long as you don't do it again."
"I thought… Since y' hadn't let me up here for over a week." The wave of relief Alastor felt at that could have knocked him over. "I thought y' were done with me."
"That's cuz you smelled like blood and I have a pig up here." Angel deadpanned. "You call yourself a southern boy. I know Nuggets is small but you were weak. Drop your guard and they'd have undone all the hard work me and Vaggie did to put you back together."
"Right." Alastor chuckled, bending with a wince to scratch at the pig's ears, Nuggets snorting contentedly at the attention. "You were hurt too."
"Yeah but I'm their daddy. Nuggets loves me too much to try to eat me." Angel joked.
"I know de feelin, sha." Alastor said warmly.
"I love you too, you jackass." Angel replied, surprising them both.
Alastor grinned, a real one and stood. He took the few steps it took to fall into Angel's many arms which accepted him graciously as they both fell back onto the bed. It jarred what was left of Alastor's internal bruising, but it was such a mild thing compared to the absolute feeling of safety he got from being within Angel's presence. Angel tucked Alastor's head to his chest, nuzzling against a fluffy ear. Hearing the spider's heartbeat quicken under his fur, he was reminded of a piece of advice from a past meal.
"Would y' like to go out sometime?" Alastor asked, perhaps a bit awkwardly.
The joyous laugh he got in return was well worth the momentary embarrassment. "We're some backwards motherfuckers." Angel said between giggles. "Of course I would."
Months passed, Angel and Alastor both learning more about each other. Their past lives. Boundaries that had to be respected and which aversions could be pushed how far. How to navigate intimacy when one of them had the sex drive of a rabbit while the other had none at all. And, if Angel had behaved himself well enough by Charlie's standards, nights out of the hotel for time together without walls hindering them.
It was during such a time that Alastor had realized something so very intriguing that he just had to share, which is why he knocked politely on Charlie's office. She welcomed him in, having just been going over budgeting paperwork with Vaggie by her side.
"Charlie dear, I must apologize for calling your idea nonsense when we met." Alastor began. "Though I still don't think any demon will be making their way up to the pearly gates, I do believe a form of redemption is in fact very possible."
"Oh?" Charlie asked, perking up.
"I don't think I can explain it very well to a Hellborn such as yourself. How fortunate that your lady love is here! Vaggie, when you got here to Hell there must have been something bothering you. Something internal you just couldn't ignore." Alastor said.
"Don't make me say it." Vaggie said quietly, wincing at it.
"No, I know for some that information is private. I respect privacy now. I just want you to think. When did it stop?" Alastor asked, his grin only growing.
Vaggie, as Alastor had predicted, looked to Charlie with such a tender gaze that a younger Alastor may have found it sickening if he didn't know exactly how it felt.
"I thought so!" Alastor continued cheerfully, then grew serious as he addressed the Princess once more. "Life is not kind to people, Charlie. It hurts and it demands so much for so few returns. And then we die! Those in Hell don't really suffer much more than the living. But I've learned something. With the right person, or people, you don't feel the pain as much as you would alone. It may not solve every problem but… It certainly helps." Alastor's smile lessened, but was more sincere. "I think redemption comes in an end to that suffering when we learn to care for someone beyond ourselves."
"That's…" Charlie said, looking between Vaggie who seemed to be having a very visceral epiphany, and Alastor who simply cocked his head at her. "I'm still going to try to get everyone to Heaven."
"Oh I don't doubt that you will try." Alastor said, sounding oddly encouraging. "I gleefully await the day you prove me wrong once again! Anyway, that's all I wanted to share. If you'll excuse me, there's a spider upstairs waiting for me to read questionable literature to him. Goodnight!" Alastor excused himself, practically skipping out of the office.