Chapter Text
A few months had gone by since their wedding without much issue. The Hazbin Hotel had been doing great, much to the princess’s delight. With the support of all the staff and archangels, more sinners began to take redemption more seriously, trying their best to change and ask for forgiveness. The couple lived their best afterlives together, loving each other as time passed by.
However, Alastor kept feeling as though something was missing. He couldn’t put his finger on it and he didn’t want to trouble his beloved with this strange problem of his. What is it?
He sighed, confusion riddled in his eyes as he finished his broadcast for the day. It was evening now, most of the hotel's guests were returning from whatever jobs they had or resting in the lounge to await for the princess's rehabilitation activity. Stepping out of his radio tower, he walked down the hall quietly, distracted by his own thoughts as he headed towards the kitchen to prepare dinner for himself and his dearest king. Just what exactly is wrong?
Opening the fridge, Alastor brought out two bell peppers, onions, celery and some of his favourite meat. Why am I so distracted these days? He carefully sautéed the proteins and vegetables, transferring them to a clean plate before bringing out some rice and crushed tomatoes. Hm… I haven’t seen Lucifer since this morning… What was he doing? He added the ingredients together alongside some seasoning and spices before giving everything a quick stir. He was going on about some new duck he wanted to make… With deer ears and wings? The thought made the red eyes of the overlord soften with endearment.
It was surprisingly quiet in the kitchen this evening. Usually sinners who were coming back to the hotel around this time would be scrambling to whip something up to eat for themselves. Due to this, Lucifer had created a second and third kitchen to accommodate the growing number of guests. But there would still always be at least a handful of souls scurrying around the one Alastor was currently in. Perhaps the princess was hosting another one of those dinner gatherings so that the guests could interact and eat at the same time. ‘Food is the way to the heart’ as she would say. She most definitely learnt that from Azrael. That archangel had an insatiable sweet tooth.
As the radio demon finished cooking his jambalaya, he brought out two plates, intricately decorating the dish. He hummed a soft tune as he prepared a cup of apple cider for his beloved before teleporting to their shared living space. To support the hotel more comfortably without getting in the way of his daughter’s vision or returning to live at the empty castle, Lucifer suggested the idea of simply building a living space for himself and Alastor. Of course, Charlie happily accepted the idea as long as it meant that her father would be able to continue to stay at the hotel while still living his best life with the overlord.
If Alastor was right about the events of the morning, the fallen angel would be still up in his workshop, hard at work to create his perfect rubber duck. He set their food down on the dining table, deciding to take a stroll around the hotel before he went to find his beloved. Just as he suspected, many sinners were heading back as dusk settled across the pride ring. Heading to the community dining room, he saw Charlie giving another one of her encouraging speeches with her girlfriend by her side before asking the guests to dig into the wide variety of food prepared to accommodate each guest’s taste. The princess’s red eyes lit up as she noticed the radio demon walking past the crowd.
“Alastor! How’s your day?” Charlie exclaimed, a bright smile on her face as she gestured to the overlord to come closer.
“It was surely not as eventful as yours, my dear.” Alastor grinned as he walked up towards the princess.
“Well… Do you want to join us for dinner?” She asked enthusiastically. Charlie was learning to accept the radio demon as part of her actual family more and she wanted to spend more time with her step-father. She had yet to call him ‘dad’ as there was still a part of her that needed to be convinced that he had proven himself enough, but she was willing to try and understand the overlord better.
“My apologies, dear, but I already have plans with your father.” Alastor smiled, giving a couple light pats on the princess’s head. Charlie nodded, humming softly before her eyes lit up as she began to ramble on about her new ideas. The radio demon stayed in his spot, unmoving as he watched the princess go on and on about something on bringing the guests out on an expedition in the king’s zoo so they could learn about caring for little creatures.
In the corner of his eyes, he noticed a younger-looking sinner in tears with a toppled bowl of ice cream on the ground. He felt a strange sensation bubbling in his stomach at the sight of the sinner child weeping. Although the soul was likely not a child, since he knew very well that sinners take on characteristics of their time before their afterlife, he still felt horrible to see the little one crying. He couldn’t even determine why he felt that way. Usually, Alastor loved to see others in despair. Then again, now that he was thinking about it, the strange feeling contorting in his guts had been increasing every time he saw a child these days.
When did this start? Was it the day he came across a couple hellborn children playing in the fields when he was taking a stroll around the city? Or was it perhaps that time he saw Niffty- even though she wasn’t exactly a child but she was still deemed as one by the radio demon- asking Charlie to allow her to put on another one of her roach puppet shows? Maybe it was when a little boy came up to him one time, mistakenly calling the overlord ‘dad’… He hadn’t known why, but he stood there, dumbfounded, for a long minute before he understood that the child was lost and had called him that by accident. A part of him felt strange when he came to the realisation, almost as if wishing that it wasn’t a mistake.
“Hey, Alastor? Are you listening?” Charlie’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts as he noticed that another sinner had gone ahead and taken care of the little one he was staring at.
“Ah, yes. My apologies. It seems I was lost in thought, my dear!” Alastor exclaimed, a strained smile settling on his face. Perhaps he should really talk to his beloved about the issue, but he didn’t want to trouble the fallen angel, especially with how hyper fixated Lucifer was on his new rubber duck projects. The radio demon quickly bid farewell to the princess and her friends before strolling to the king’s workshop. He sighed, noticing the frown on his shadow.
It seemed to be scolding him, which was funny because he was the one who controlled it. Just ask him! The shadow was practically saying as it stared at the overlord intensely. Bothering him isn’t the solution. He probably wouldn’t even know what this is either way. Alastor was quick to retort in his own mind. It was honestly an argument between his mind and his dead heart. Whatever! At least ask Rosie tomorrow. She’ll probably know…
That’s… Not a bad idea.
Alastor gently knocked on the door to his beloved’s workshop, listening as startled squeaks came from the other side. It sounded as though the king accidentally stepped on or squeezed multiple of his rubber ducks as he ran towards the door. Opening it with a sheepish grin, Lucifer looked up at the overlord’s eyes, confused as he was under the impression that the taller would still be in his radio tower, busy doing his broadcasts.
“Oh! Alastor, what are you doing here? I thought that you said you would be quite busy today.” The fallen angel greeted, rubbing the back of his head with his hand.
“My dearest, I said that I would be busy until evening. Don’t tell me you’ve lost track of time again?” Alastor asked, concern flashing across his eyes as he gazed the king up and down. Lucifer shifted nervously in his spot, looking down and fidgeting with his fingers. If he had lost track of time, then Alastor knew the fallen angel most likely had not eaten anything since their shared breakfast. Even then, the king had only consumed a cup of apple cider, claiming he wasn’t hungry enough for a full meal that early.
“Oh! Uh… Crap.” That was all the radio demon needed to hear before he picked Lucifer up by the waist, earning a surprised yelp as he carried the fallen angel on his shoulders like a sack of potatoes. “Alastor!” The king squeaked out as the overlord began walking across the hallway to their room. Thank goodness no sinners were up here at the moment, or else Lucifer might actually die from embarrassment.
“You didn’t have to drag me here just to have dinner.” Lucifer huffed out before stuffing his face with the delicious jambalaya. Alastor hummed, an amused smile on his face as he swallowed the food in his mouth.
“How else will I ensure that you wouldn’t run away like a curious little child and miss out on another meal?” The overlord chuckled softly at the endearing display of anger in the king’s eyes. “Ah-ah, don’t speak with your mouth full, my dearest.” Alastor teased when he noticed the fallen angel was about to refute his words. It would be a great waste of jambalaya if they didn’t savour it.
“Whatever… It was one time!” Lucifer exclaimed after begrudgingly swallowing the food. The radio demon raised a baffled eyebrow, bemused at his beloved’s words. “Ok, maybe like… five times… or six, maybe ten… Let’s just eat!” The fallen angel sulked as he realised he couldn’t win this. A soft chuckle could be heard from the overlord in front of him before they resumed their meal.
The night had gone by without much issue, other than the strange feeling that continued to torment Alastor for the past few weeks. It didn’t matter, though, since he was visiting his favourite overlord in all of hell today. He swiftly fixed up his coat, having breakfast with his beloved alongside Charlie and her friends. The princess explained that Lilith and Eve had left early in the morning for a ‘ladies day out’, hence they wouldn’t be back for a while. After saying goodbye to Lucifer and the rest, Alastor left the hotel, walking down the streets of Pentagram City to Cannibal Town.
The sinners and hellborn avoided the radio demon like the plague, not daring to cross paths with him. In the royal hierarchy, although Lilith still held the title of queen of hell despite not being married to Lucifer anymore, Alastor held the title of the king’s consort. It was agreed upon together with the royal family that the radio demon would not handle any political decisions, not that he exactly cared for that stuff, but he would still be allowed to voice his opinions on certain matters, or ‘listen to the tea first hand’ as he so kindly put it.
His position had a multitude of benefits, ranging from fewer demons trying to court his beloved or himself, all the way up to the majority of hell fearing him. It was truly entertaining to watch most of the demons living in the pride ring scramble away at the mere sight, tripping and falling on their own feet as they try to escape his sight. Most of the sinners… Nearly all of them except that distasteful, messy picture box demons called an overlord. Vox had not given up on his attempts to humiliate the radio demon, trying his absolute best to find a single speck of dirt on Alastor.
A notable incident, only significant because it gave Alastor a good laugh in the end, was when the TV overlord hijacked his radio show one afternoon. Vox had attempted to tamper with Alastor’s domain by playing ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ on repeat all across hell for three hours straight, only to miss his own show, causing his entire schedule to be thrown off track. It caused a huge scandal with his viewers, and dear lord, there were a lot of karens in hell. So many demons surrounded the Vees tower that day, causing a ton of property damage and earning Vox an earful from Velvette.
It truly did not matter to Alastor that the TV overlord had done such a thing. In fact, it actually earned him more listeners to his broadcasts thanks to the scandal it caused. How things backfired on his so-called rival was hilariously entertaining once he blocked Vox out of his beloved radios for the n-th time. Another time, this one not as entertaining for the radio demon, was when Vox tried to force himself on to Alastor.
It was a disgusting experience, Alastor barely managed to escape the TV overlord’s grasp before things could escalate. He would have had Vox’s head on a platter if Lucifer hadn’t entered the room that very moment. The fallen angel instantly noticed the discomfort in the radio demon’s eyes, demanding for the TV overlord to leave the hotel immediately before turning to comfort his beloved. The king, bless his pure and fragile heart, did not force Alastor to tell him anything, patiently waiting for the overlord to answer him at his own pace. Without a moment to waste, Vox was banned from ever stepping foot near the hotel again, especially since he had snuck into the building without Charlie’s approval.
Even now, Alastor could see the flying camera following his every step. He scoffed to himself, uncaring for the noisy brick-for-a-face that was spying on him. Of course, Alastor could crush the pesky device at any moment, but where’s the fun in that? He would never admit it, but it did intrigue him to see how far Vox would try to take their rivalry. Honestly, with how obsessive the TV overlord was, Alastor sometimes wondered just how bad Vox was left after their little battle.
Somewhere in the Vees headquarters, Vox could be seen clawing at the arm of his chair, cautiously sipping his drink as he scrutinised the radio demon’s every move. “Fucking Alastor and his furry ass ears… His coat is so shitty just like that stupid monocle. What’s with his fucking obsession with red, huh? It’s stupid. Just like him.” The overlord spat out under his breath as he glared at the screen. Unbeknownst to him, another sinner had entered the room as he was spewing out curses at the radio demon.
“Just say you want to fuck him, Voxxie~” Valentino’s voice caused the other to nearly drop his drink all over the table full of electronics. Fucking hell! That would’ve been a disaster… Vox thought to himself before he set the cup aside and turned to face the moth demon.
“What the fuck, Val! At the very least knock before you scare the shit out of me… And no, I don’t want to fuck him! Don’t fucking start on your weird ass kinks of wanting to watch us go at each other.” The TV overlord cursed, ignoring the low chuckle coming from the other. Fucking Valentino and his stupid voyeurism kinks… It’s no wonder he used to run the porn industry before the sin of lust found out.
Asmodeus had no objections on the porn specifically, but the fact that the moth overlord had picked on defenceless sinners who could not say no to Valentino’s methods was what ticked the sin off. The overlord was horrible, even for Vox’s standard, which were already six-feet under, but he could care less about what Valentino did as long as it earned them plenty of money and reputation. Valentino had managed to crawl out of the gutter, not without the help his two partners begrudgingly provided, and started another thing based around sex. It was small, not a lot of customers, but it was growing.
“Now, now… Don’t lie, both me and Vel know of the drama you caused at the devil’s princessa’s little hotel.” Valentino said, folding his arms over the TV overlord’s chair and leaning forward, uncaring of the way Vox dramatically rolled his eyes.
“It was… an accident, ok!? I wasn’t thinking straight…” The shorter sighed, lowering his gaze. He hadn’t meant for that to happen, allowing his down instincts to guide him in that moment.
“Sure~” Valentino taunted, grinning proudly. Vox groaned inwardly, having had enough of the other’s jokes. The moth demon hummed, his attention caught by the many bright screens displaying Alastor before he continued, “Let’s focus on your radio demon rival with a very slutty waist~”
“What? What are you planning, Val? Also, aren’t you supposed to be helping Velvette with her fashion show?” Vox questioned, turning his head up to stare at the taller to try and decipher what he was thinking.
“Vel can handle it perfectly herself,” Valentino began, ignoring the way the shorter sighed. Vox figured that Velvette had probably kicked the big guy out after the moth demon tried to fuck one of her employees or something, which was, well, reasonable. Valentino pulled a cigarette out of his pocket, lighting it up and taking a puff before continuing his words, “Well… I want to get back at their little misfit crew after they fucking took my Angel baby from me, and you want to ruin Alastor… In the, unfortunately, non-kinky way. So, why don’t we don’t we get both the- definitely breedable- big dick in-charge and his little radio demon back at once?”
“Go on…” The moth demon most definitely had Vox’s attention now. Of course he wanted to destroy Alastor… Not in the sex way! Fuck, Val! Shut it with your sex shit, it’s messing with my head! No doubt getting back at the radio demon and the king at the same time would be interesting. He heard a low chuckle coming from Valentino before a dark voice explained the moth demon’s plan.
“Let’s destroy their happy little afterlife…”