Work Text:
The Ballroom looked, to put it simply, gorgeous.
Every ounce of effort put into the organization of that moment was now showing fruition with most pleasant results. Alastor smiled to himself, satisfied that everything was going well.
It was easier to think about that than the nagging voice telling him that once the event was over, his deal with Lucifer would be done.
He kept his thoughts contained and didn’t let anything show. Just his smile and enthusiasm and control, stepping into his role of Host of the Hotel. Residents and guests were milling about as expected, attended by Jemy and Julia’s well trained staff. A few curious eyes and all electronics were turned down at the door, and other than some grumbling from the most electronically addicted guests, overall everything had been going swimmingly.
Alastor made another round around the Ballroom, ensuring everything was moving along smoothly, making a brief detour to greet his friend.
“Rosie, my dear! A vision as always.”
“Thank you, dearie! And don’t you look gorgeous, yourself! You really do need to recommend your tailor to me,” she tittered, patting the lapels of his suit with authorial satisfaction.
“Well, her marvelous work does tend to stand out, but I’m not sure you could afford her… she’d charge you an arm and a leg!” they laughed, barely bothering to cover the cackling sound.
Rosie’d made some last minute changes to his suit, making it match with the King’s. It wasn’t obvious, but the embroidery details and color contrast told Alastor the whole story. She’d giggled to herself and winked when he’d picked up the garment, and he’d been perhaps a little relieved she hadn’t seen his face when he’d actually seen the modification at the time he’d changed into it. It would have told her too much.
Maybe it wouldn’t have mattered, considering how sharply she was looking behind him.
“You better get to his Majesty,” Rosie whispered. “The vultures are circling.”
Looking in Lucifer’s direction, he saw that Charlie had left her father’s side at some point, leaving the King cornered between a few guests, holding a champagne flute so tightly it was a miracle it had not snapped already. Maybe it already had, and he’d just repaired it.
“I suppose you’re right.”
“Go, go!”
Alastor rolled his eyes, amused, but he marched in Lucifer’s direction nonetheless. Perhaps he didn’t have to worry so much. Even now that the event was over, he still had the chance to be in his ’s company, considering not only was Alastor’s exclusive radio broadcast still pending, but they also shared a living space.
Surely he could simply find another reason to spend quality time together, it wasn’t like all they did was event planning. They had been in each other’s proximity almost every waking moment, he’d even started sleeping almost exclusively in Lucifer’s room. What was he expecting Lucifer to do? Kick him out starting tomorrow morning? Ward his room with a laugh and a ‘Bitch, you thought!’? That’d be ridiculous.
Yes, completely absurd.
Banishing the silly thought aside, Alastor started walking to where Lucifer was, when the people around him were pushed to the side by a flurry of magic sparks glowing yellow and pink, earning a squawk from the crowd.
“LUCI!!”
The unexpected voice rumbled in the Ballroom and Lucifer looked like he just sucked on a lemon before he was swept off the ground by a brightly colored demoness resembling a cross between a fox, some insect, and a lava lamp, of all things. She also looked entirely too happy to simply see the King.
“Bee? What—what are you—?”
The fox creature made a high-pitched happy sound, her antenna vibrating as she tossed Lucifer up only to catch him again and nuzzle against his face. Alastor had to bite his tongue to prevent himself from growling, tasting blood when Lucifer recovered from the shock and nuzzled her back, his arms going around her.
“I missed you so much, bitch!” ‘Bee’ said, apparently not ready to put Lucifer down, who didn’t seem to mind the breach of space or disrespect. “You totally left me in the read, like, that’s so rude, man. Not cool.”
“Sorry, Honeybee,” Lucifer said apologetically. “I’ll… catch up, yeah?”
“Obviously,” Bee’s antenna vibrated again and Lucifer giggled, probably feeling the subtle vibration. He loved that kind of thing, Alastor would know.
Just the previous night Lucifer had nestled against his chest, content in feeling Alastor’s radio infrasounds. But this wasn’t a problem, or at least not one he needed to concern himself with. He just had to figure out who the hell this demon was, what was her connection to Lucifer, and. Step. In.
He was working on wrestling back his unjustified mood when the room shifted colors and a large spiral of blue and white flames marked the entrance of another higher demon. The newcomer was even taller than the demoness and significantly broader. He was dressed in some absurd arrangement of what Alastor could only describe as an array of straps, lace and ribbons. He preened for a moment under the appreciative gazes and wolf whistles of the crowd, before his neon eyes fell on the King.
“Luci, baby!!”
“Ozzie?” Lucifer asked, his jaw all but hanging.
With surprising gracefulness for a demon his size, the newcomer sidestepped the smaller sinners and all but sashayed his way to the King and the fox demoness, taking both in his arms and hugging them so tight it made the trio laugh, Lucifer sandwiched between them.
And Lucifer let them.
“Well fuck me sideways and call me Martha. Wasn’t expecting the King of Lust himself to make an appearance,” Angel’s voice nearly startled him. He looked at the spider demon, confused for a second. “Val’s gonna blow a gasket when he hears this. He’s been trying to contact the dude for ages.”
Alastor looked between Angel and back to Lucifer. It took him a moment to connect the dots. The list, the talking, and what he had seen before around Pride and just by living in Hell.
“That’s Asmodeus and Beelzebub,” he mumbled.
These were not just higher demons. These were Sins.
Angel nodded. “The FuckLord and the Queen Bee herself! They must’ve been really looking forward to seeing our Short King. I’ve heard Sins rarely leave their respective Rings. And don’t they all look cozy?” he whistled, plucking the maraschino cherry out of his drink and popping it into his mouth, eyes narrowed as he looked at the Sin of Lust with open envy. “Ugh, just look at that chest fluff. Makes even a guy with my goods feel humbled.”
It was a very lovely fluff indeed, thick, obviously groomed to perfection and currently Lucifer had his arms all over it because he was nuzzling into Asmodeus’ neck, where he had two smaller, horned heads who were also nuzzling him back.
A few lights behind Alastor exploded, making a couple guests jump and run. Angel didn’t really react, likely being well used to him by now, just muttered something about replacing them. Alastor didn’t even turn, not when his eyes were glued to Lucifer and how he just… let the two Sins be all over him.
The music slowed down, and his ears perked up, catching parts of the conversation.
“What are you doing here?” Lucifer laughed, once Asmodeus finally put them down, Beelzebub was still messing with his hair, rufflying away all the work Alastor had done. “Wait, no. don’t tell me… Charlie?”
Both of them pulled out two perfectly engraved invitations. Alastor remembered those, he’d made them upon Charlie’s request, not thinking much of it at the moment. She had been sneaky about it, didn’t even put the names of both Sins but a little doodle of a bee and a heart instead, both sporting tiny crowns.
For someone so used to expecting betrayal, Alastor could admit he’d never had seen it coming from Charlie, of all people.
The three of them laughed, like it was all some delightful big joke, and it wasn’t two seconds before the prodigal daughter herself was upon them, already talking a mile per hour. Alastor had to take a few steps back, feeling like the room was closing on him. Which was stupid because they were in an open Ballroom with plenty of space.
“Ain’t that cute?” Angel snorted fondly.
Alastor held his arms at the small of his back, his smile sharpening as he bit the inside of his lip, tasting blood in his mouth. His eyes had shifted to black sclera and the filter in his voice made it sound like he was hissing.
“Charming.”
Charlie said something Alastor couldn’t hear, and ran towards Vaggie, maybe looking to introduce her. Lucifer had settled with his arm around Beelzebub’s hip due their height difference, and she had two sets of arms around him as well, one still messing absently with his hair. They looked incredibly comfortable with each other, none of Lucifer’s usual aversion to being touched on display. He only really looked this comfortable with Charlie or him. Only…
Had Lucifer even touched him in public?
They’d held hands, of course, but only because Alastor had been the one pulling him along… and that was it.
He scoffed, deciding he was being irrational and he should just go gauge the situation himself. He should approach Lucifer and his company, to introduce himself, of course, and maybe remind them of keeping such unsightly displays to themselves in mixed company–he was the host of the Hotel after all.
Alastor fixed his jacket and was about to walk over there when he stopped, finding Beelzebub giving him the side eye instead, her head tilted and antenna vibrating.
Alastor kept his smile, but the higher demon looked at him oddly, and then turned back to get Lucifer’s attention, her hand up and against his ear like she was telling a secret. She said something to him that made the King frown and then laugh nervously. She looked so amused. Even Asmodeous leaned closer, the three of them openly whispering—and what kind of rude behavior was that?
A laugh that sounded more like a snort snapped him out of his thoughts. Angel looked at him with sympathy, of all things.
“Dude, they’re totally talking shit about you. Eh, guess royals do be like that.”
Lucifer said something, looking at Asmodeus, who quickly glanced towards Beelzebub and then to Alastor’s direction, breaking into a grin followed by a very suggestive wink.
“Or not…?” Angel whistled. “Oooooh! Maybe they’re planning a foursome? Lucky you.”
Alastor clenched his teeth. Did Lucifer want something like that…??
He barely concealed the shudder that took over him, the hairs from his neck down to his goddamn tail standing in dread over the mere idea of being involved in something like that, he almost felt nauseous when thinking about people he didn’t know touching him, touching them.
“You up for that? Don't seem like yer kinda scene, but then again, never would have pegged ya for the kind of guy who’d go for a married man, ya homewrecker!” Angel nudged him on the side. “But seriously, if yer not up for that foursome can ya give them my number? I’d love to be a Sin sandwich.” Angel giggled, a drunken blush spreading across his face.
Alastor bristled, and felt the shadows shift at his feet. What was Angel even saying? He looked back towards Lucier, who was laughing wholeheartedly, looking happy. The King ran a hand through his hair, the light catching in the gold of his wedding band.
Oh.
The world screeched to a halt, or at least that’s how it felt for him. Alastor took a few steps back, suddenly unable to look away from Lucifer’s ring, the very same thing he had been ignoring all this time, not even thinking about what it stood for.
Angel looked over his shoulder, winking. It felt so wrong, and Alastor was suddenly acutely aware of the picture he made. The King of Hell, who was married, colluding with some Overlord? It didn’t matter who he was, they probably didn’t even know, and they probably didn’t even care.
He saw Asmodeus talking, looking at Lucifer with a very pleased, suggestive face, vaguely waving a hand to the general direction Alastor was lurking about. He felt his face burn, his ears trying to pin down, only managing to keep them upright by sheer force. So they were indeed talking about Alastor, but if that was the case—No. That… that couldn’t be.
The sudden tightness of his chest made it hard to breathe, and yet a wheezing sort of sound escaped him. He stepped back, covering his mouth with one hand, his eyes darting around the room with nothing to fixate on, his ears finally pinning back when the truth hit him.
He was just Lucifer’s affair, wasn’t he?
“Smiles?” Angel’s voice started to sound further and further away. “Ya good?”
All of the sudden, Beelzebub yelped, looking positively alarmed, and the three Sins looked in his direction.
It was too much, he couldn’t do this.
He dug his claws into the palm of his hands, feeling eyes on him. It wasn’t in his head, either, he was definitely being watched. He caught Carmilla’s flinty stare first, all business and cold evaluation. Rosie was also staring—and actually making her way towards him, smile sharp in a way that meant whoever had upset him was about to answer to her, but even knowing that what fueled her concern was affection, he couldn’t help but feel pathetic, and small, and so very stupid.
He couldn’t stand it, and even less so when he saw both Lucifer and Charlie starting to move towards him as well, looking confused and concerned. He felt the shadows shift and snap at his feet, and he might have hissed raw feedback when he saw even Husk quickly approaching, likely thinking he was about to harm Angel Dust.
Everyone was watching, or coming for him, or both, and there was only one thing he could do about it–
Smile, my dear. You’re not fully dressed without a smile.
But he couldn’t. He couldn’t do it anymore.
Another step back, and his shadow enveloped him in itself, the penumbra swallowing him into its safety, but he couldn’t find comfort even in the space in between, couldn’t find enough air. He had to get out of the dark, step into some open space. He felt constricted, his antlers growing in size to match his distress.
The shadows released him, and he tripped on his own feet, crashing against the headboard of the bed with a loud crunch, his antlers catching and scratching on wood before he rolled over and fell to the floor of his room. Except this was not his room, he ended up in Lucifer’s quarters while thinking of safety.
As if he didn’t have enough shame to deal with already.
Alastor moved to his knees, holding his throbbing head, forcing his antlers to go back to their regular size. He stared at the headboard, his gaze fixed on the perfectly carved notch he’d just left, the only one there. Him. He couldn’t stop looking at it, nausea hitting him harder.
Both of his hands buried into his hair as he shot to his feet. He laughed to himself while pacing the room, static and muffled crackling noises overlapping with his own frantic giggles. He couldn’t stop or get himself together, and he didn’t bother to try, not when his mind was circling over and over on the reality he’d cornered himself into.
He pulled hard on his hair, ripping some off in between his claws, before covering his mouth, feeling like he might vomit at any second, couldn’t even keep his eyes closed without picturing critical gazes everywhere around him, suffocating him.
Alastor’s eyes stung but refused to humiliate himself any further by crying. Not when everything that had led him to this moment was his own delusional thinking that he’d… what? Stood a chance? That there was something here for him besides a time-limited transaction? That it had meant anything?
That he could be something Lucifer could ever want?
The lights flickered and a few exploded, the static growing so strong it would have been heard outside the room, were Lucifer’s chambers not protected by his wards. He could scream his lungs out here and no one would hear, just like no one had heard every wanton moan and salacious cry that Lucifer pulled out of him in that very same space.
Just a notch, and nothing else.
Alastor made a pitiful, small sound, holding his arms around himself. He was shaking so bad his teeth chattered with it, but he couldn’t stop. He scoffed, fuming over his own pathetic reaction. It reminded him of how Lucifer had been acting the day before, stressed out of his mind over the most ridiculous things. Was this the same thing? If it was, he almost pitied him, it was horrible.
Except Lucifer had been worried about things outside of his control, and not the consequences of his own stupid actions.
The remaining lights went off completely only to come back a second later, his shadow having snuck from the penumbras and moving around him, coming to a standing still before him. Its form oozed concern, from the way the expression on its face looked more like a grimace than a grin, to the lowered ears and raised arms trying to appease him. The way it was looking at him was painful, because they knew exactly how he felt, and that meant he couldn’t even lie to himself about any of this.
His shadow made a soft, concerned sound, then froze, its ear perking up. It darted towards the door, opening it for Lucifer before Alastor could say a word, let alone protest. He stood in the middle of the room looking at the King, frozen.
“Al? Al, are you okay, what happened?” Lucifer asked, closing the door behind him. He got closer, his hair a ruffled mess, and reached for him but Alastor couldn’t help but flinch and growl.
Lucifer frowned, dropping his hand. “What’s wrong…?”
“Everything! I ruined everything!”
His voice built up, the static shifting when he could no longer contain it. What a disgrace. He should have kept things simple, focused. That way he could have kept control of the situation, of everything happening between Lucifer and him. If he had done so, he wouldn’t be in this position. He might have been able to keep the king.
He couldn’t place the unhinged laugh that followed. It was his voice, but Alastor couldn’t feel anything but the dread consuming him, and the laugh continued, looping like a record. Lucifer’s hands were hovering over him, debating if touching him would be of any help, and Alastor just kept flinching away, wanting to be close but not touched at all.
“But the party is going so well?” Lucifer said, uncertainty in his voice. “Everyone is having a good time, Charlie is over the moon, this is perfect. You didn’t ruin anything at all.”
Slowly, Lucifer’s hand finally landed on Alastor’s shoulder, and he let out a pathetic wounded sound masked by static. He lowered his head, feeling like the world was breaking around him, he was so incredibly furious his eyes prickled with it.
“I.”
“Alastor?”
He dug his claws into his sides hard enough to draw blood. The pain was not grounding him, he couldn’t even have that. Alastor’s shoulders dropped, and he stared at Lucifer’s boots, feeling hollow.
“I don’t want to be your whore.”
Silence stretched between them, his heart pounding in his ears.
“Um. What?”
Alastor giggled, it was a manic sound. “I don’t want to be the King’s whore.”
Taken aback, Lucifer stilled. “Wait, what—Am I… have been making you feel like that?”
The question was laid for him, his tone gentle and hesitant, if a bit hurt. As if he were bracing for the answer. As if he’d done anything but spoil Alastor so badly he didn’t know how he’d manage to live without it anymore.
“No,” he answered with a shocked laugh, because if it were that easy, Alastor wouldn’t be standing in the King’s room feeling as if his world had just been torn to pieces. “You didn’t even need to! I cast myself into that role, all on my own!”
“Alastor, no, that’s not—”
“I focused so much on making myself appealing after you showed the barest inkling of interest. I latched onto it, because you like having sex, and it was good, but now our deal is ending, and …that’s all that’s left!”
Lucifer looked at him, upset and bewilderment clear in his pretty features.
“Wait, that can’t be right—Al, I thought you wanted this too, I thought you were enjoying yourself?”
“I wanted your attention… and it worked!” Alastor laughed, it left a bitter taste in his mouth. “But if I can't keep doing that part, then what’s left? Nothing. There’s nothing I can give you…” He looked away, his pathetic voice shaking. “What else could you possibly want from me?”
He laughed again, pressing the heels of his palm against his eyes. His anger was turning into something else, something that made his chest feel hollow and cold, nausea rolling in waves. His claws went for his hair again but Lucifer grabbed his wrist and pulled them back. His first instinct was to growl at the King and snatch his hands back, the sound coming distorted as the static crackled and his eyes shifted into red on black sclera, vision blurry.
He couldn’t understand the way Lucifer was looking at him. He looked sad of all things, it made no sense. The King released him, but hovered his hands again, and Alastor let himself be guided to sit on the couch, even when all he wanted to do was claw at his face and scream until his chest stopped feeling so strange.
It hurt, somehow reminding him of the angelic wound he sustained, although he knew there was nothing physically wrong with him anymore. He didn’t think Lucifer could fix this as easily as he had the last one.
“Can I touch you?” Lucifer asked, and Alastor almost recoiled. Instead, he shook his head without looking at him. “Okay.”
“I don’t want your pity,” he growled.
Lucifer sighed. “I’m not pitying you, I’m worried I hurt you.”
“You did nothing,” Alastor argued with a growl, feeling tired. “It really was all my doing.”
“That’s not true. I went along with everything around the deal, especially the sex, because I thought that was what you wanted—” Alastor snapped his neck, staring. Had Lucifer not wanted sex with him to begin with? Perhaps he was being transparent in his mania, because Lucifer winced. “—I don’t want you to think I only cared about the sex, because that's not true. I truly enjoy your company, Alastor.”
He didn’t say anything, but his mind was racing, his thoughts too muddled to make sense of anything anymore. He wrapped his arms around himself again, scoffing, his eyes fixing on the notch on the headboard.
“I like you, and I care for you.” Lucifer added, making him look at him instead. The King was smiling, a light blush across his face. “I enjoy being with you, getting to know you, everything… it’s… I wasn’t expecting it, but here we are.”
“What…?”
“I don’t want things to end just because our contract is done. You and I getting closer was never part of the contract at all, Al. I made sure of it—I take care of the wording on my dealmaking, you know that. That was just us.”
Alastor looked down at Lucifer’s hand, where his wedding band caught the light’s reflection, casting some shine around it. He couldn’t stop seeing it.
“You have a wife,” he mumbled, like that answered every question that had been screaming in his head, and it did. He chuckled, feeling stupid. “I can’t believe I forgot that.”
Lucifer grimaced and sat a little closer, but didn’t touch him. Alastor didn’t know if he could handle being touched at that moment, not with everything he was feeling.
“That’s… Llilth and I split years ago, but our marriage was over way before that. Both of us saw the writing on the wall as we grew apart. Part of me will always care for her, but we’re not together anymore, and that’s not gonna change. But that’s not why I keep the ring,” Lucifer explained, holding his hand up and flexing it a few times. “Wearing it is just… easier.”
“For what?”
Lucifer chuckled. “Appearances. Lilith has a far more natural talent and charisma for ruling than I ever did. I wanted to make things easier for both while neither of us was ready for the questions and advances. It doesn’t escape me that people will look my way more than hers, so keeping the ring on was my crutch.”
Alastor’s breathing had evened out at some point while listening to Lucifer. He could be lying, but what would be the point, after Alastor had humiliated himself like this? His reasoning made sense, too, because it wasn’t an outlandish thought, it was simply the truth. Lilith may be beloved by many, but when the chips went down, all eyes were going to be on Lucifer. Just like his were.
Twisting his hand again, Lucifer reached for the ring and took it off, holding it between his fingers with a bitter smile. He turned the gold band a few times, and then it shimmered away in a flurry of red and gold sparkles.
“I’d like to keep this thing we have,” Lucifer said, his expression morphing into something soft and hopeful. “No contracts, no time limits, just ourselves and the mess we bring with us. I want the good, the bad, and the ugly… but only if that’s what you want as well.”
Alastor studied him for a second, not knowing how to even process just about the last thing he’d expected the King to respond to when facing his deranged tirade.
“I don’t know what you want me to say.”
“It’s not about what I want Al, it’s about what you want,” the King huffed, likely trying not to sound frustrated. “If you decide that this is over, and just want to remain friends, I’ll respect that. Hell, you don’t even have to answer me right now—”
His shadow moved in tandem with his messy thoughts, wrapping around Lucifer, clinging to his back. Lucifer gave it a fond, soft look and bumped his head against it—something Alastor both felt and didn’t, chest going tight with it.
“I don’t want us to be over,” he blurted, finding the words to speak his mind, even if his thoughts were still a mess. “But I don’t know what it’d look like, and if it’s just sex—something you can and will end when you get bored of me—I don’t think I could handle… that.”
He knew he couldn’t, the last few minutes were proof enough.
“Well, I don’t know what that looks like, either. But I can promise you, it’s not just about sex,” Lucifer said with a little smile. He sounded hopeful. “And the rest we can figure out!”
Alastor finally dropped his arms, still feeling overwhelmed but at least able to breathe freely again. He looked down at Lucifer’s naked hand, and reached to take it in his own. The King let him, not moving until Alastor laced their fingers together, watching their joined hands between them.
“I’ve never felt like this before,” Alastor admitted, not sure if he felt embarrassed or just tired. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Hmm, I’m no expert, but talking helps, also patience, although not gonna lie, that one is hard,” Lucifer said with a wince. “We’re gonna fuck up along the way, many times, probably—actually, I’m sure it will happen.”
That made him chuckle. “Are you saying this because I just had a crisis?”
“Please. If we’re keeping count, I had like five crises in the past two days, and one was over fucking napkins, jeez. So, I’m very likely to lead on the next one,” Lucifer said with a playful smile and a shrug.
He said it so easily, like it was simple. Just a fact.
Neither of them had this figured out, there was no foolproof path they could follow, and their start had already been rocky, even before they got physically involved.
And Lucifer still wanted this.
Alastor sighed, letting himself slump against the back of the couch, throwing his free arm over his eyes while tightening his hold on Lucifer’s hand like it was a lifeline. Perhaps it had become one for him at that moment, and he had no plans to let him go.
“I don’t know what to call these… feelings,” Alastor said, dropping his arm but keeping his gaze fixed in a spot on the ceiling. “I don’t understand them.”
Lucifer made a sound, but it felt like understanding.
“Well you don’t have to rush,” he said, and Alastor could hear the smile in his voice. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Tilting his head, Alastor found Lucifer’s eyes already on him, glowing softly in the dark. It was such an entrancing gaze, it made him feel like there was nothing else in the world but Alastor to look at, and even if there were, Lucifer wouldn’t look away. Hemoved, reaching for Lucifer and using his weight to pin him to the armrest. He could feel the King’s breath on his face. Lucifer’s arms moved around his waist, giving him the lead and Alastor closed the space between them in a kiss. It was clumsy and a little strange, but he liked it, he… He really, really liked it. It was lovely.
Eventually he pulled back, but only to breathe and smiled against Lucifer’s lips, the cold in his chest receding and a static laugh vibrating between them. Why had it taken him this long to kiss Lucifer? It didn’t matter, because now he could do it as much as he wanted.
It felt so real. Like holding light in between his hands, a shine that let him see the road after walking it blindly for who knows how long. He didn’t know such light could even exist in a place like this.
He went for it again, like he couldn’t get enough. Perhaps he couldn’t, and he didn’t care, because Lucifer responded in kind, leaving control of the kiss to him but also guiding it, showing him how to make this so much better for the both of them, his skin all but prickling with enjoyment.
Curse Heaven thrice over and praise everything unholy, he really liked kissing Lucifer.
Another laugh, and they broke the kiss. Alastor rested his forehead against Lucifer's and just held him, pinning and clutching him a little. He didn’t know how to do any of this, but he could learn, and just… see how things went. Lucifer wanted that. Wanted him.
Humming softly, the King kissed him again, just a soft press of lips, and then stood up, pulling Alastor to his feet as well. He refused to let go of the King’s hand, but Lucifer didn’t seem to mind.
“Do you wanna go back? We don’t have to,” Lucifer said.“We could just stay here and cuddle up, or something.”
Alastor raised a hand to stop him, hiding a smile. A few weeks ago he would have scoffed at the mere idea, remarking how biting off a limb was a far more appealing suggestion. That thought was not even close right now—in fact he couldn’t think of anything he would have liked more than crawl under Lucifer’s rather lovely, extra-heavy blanket, bury his face in the King’s chest while he played with Alastor’s ears, and not be expected to leave for at least a solid week.
Alas, no rest for the wicked, particularly the ones in charge of event organization. He was the hôtelier and he had a job to do.
“I… yes, we should go back.”
He didn’t do a great job of sounding convincing, and Lucifer didn’t look entirely reassured but nodded, leaning for a quick, one-handed hug while he took care of the stains on Alastor’s suit. “Alright.”
Leaving the room felt like he was preparing for a battle, and Alastorhad to consciously keep a hold of the static that wanted to crackle around him. He’d just taken a step to make things right, to be with the person he wanted, even if he never imagined he would, and that meant something. Perhaps what grounded him the most was the knowledge that Lucifer felt the same way.
The door closed behind them, and Alastor stared at the hall like it was too long and incredibly short at the same time, his vision blurring for a second, so he decided to look at Lucifer instead. Lucifer was already looking back, head tilted up, obviously worried about him, and Alastor just had to get one last quick peck. Except when he did, Lucifer decided to pull him down and made it a proper kiss, and what else could Alastor do but scoop him up in his arms? Lucifer shouldn’t be so damn scoopable if he didn’t want to be scooped. If the smile he felt against his lips was anything to go by, however, the King wasn’t complaining.
“Que carajos?!”
They both froze. Alastor looked over Lucifer’s shoulder, finding Vaggie gaping at them while Charlie looked like he was about to explode in sparkles, rainbows and glitter, probably.
“Oh my fuck, I knew it, I knew it, I told you, Vaggie! I KNEW IT!”
“No? No! Angel knew it. You just said they were getting close.”
“And they are! look!”
There was a second Alastor froze, worried about how Lucifer would react, but the King was giggling against his neck before jumping back to his feet, not seeming concerned at all.
“Oops,” he said with a wink and a shrug.
“Ohohohoho! I gotta tell everyone!” Charlie announced.
Alastor was next to her faster than he’d ever moved. “Now, now, my dear. This is your night and the last thing we want to do is overshadow your efforts. Let’s just keep this to ourselves for now, yes?”
“Yyyyeah, about that…” Lucifer walked over, nervously scratching the side of his face. “I already told my siblings, ahhah, IIII… probably should have asked. Sorry!”
Alastor blinked down at him, his mind catching up with Lucifer’s words.
The Sins. He was talking about Asmodeus and Beelzebub. Alastor looked away, smiling wide to hide the heat threatening to burn his face. He folded his arms and partially covered his face with his fingers, barely containing his laughter.
Lucifer had not been hiding or mocking him, he had been freely talking to two very important people, to his family about them, as an item. A done deal, if you will.
“Did you, now?” he asked, trying not to sound like he was entirely charmed and very likely failing, since Lucifer relaxed at his words, Charlie cooing softly in the background.
“Well, I assumed it was fine since you definitely told Rosie. Don’t think I didn’t notice you two cackling like hens while I was trying on my suit.”
Alastor nodded, mostly to himself, and took Lucifer’s hand. “That’s fair, then.”
Vaggie had recovered from her startling moment, and sighed with a slightly forced smile. She took Charlie’s hand. “Let’s… get going, now that everything’s good here.”
And yes, it was.
He closed his eyes and focused on that, calm flooding his senses along with a sense of accomplishment, and once they went back to the ballroom, he was feeling like himself again. He was about to let go of Lucifer when the King tightened his grip instead, feeding his sharp and confident smile.
“Are you good to meet with Ozzie and Bee?” Lucifer asked, giving his hand another squeeze as they slowly rejoined the crowd. “I tried to get all the teasing out of their system, but I can’t promise they’re done.”
Alastor smirked, noticing Carmilla was looking in their direction again, all of her attention set on their held hands, her eyebrows so high they might start climbing her buns any moment now. He decided to let her speculate, giving her a little wink.
“Should I be concerned?”
“Oh, no. They’re the nicest ones of the bunch. I actually think you’ll really like Ozzie.”
“...Perhaps in a bit, then.”
The first thing he noticed was Beelzebub hovering over the crowd, looking in their direction. She had her head tilted as she looked at them. Whatever she decided seemed to be positive because she waved to Lucifer with a smile, nodding enthusiastically and shaking her hands in two thumbs up like flags.
She then dropped back to ground level, landing at the bar and immediately seeming to make herself at home between Angel and Cherri Bomb, the three of them starting to down shots one after the other amongst much cheering.
Niffty also seemed to be floating in whatever made up the trailing… syrup? of her hair, but she looked to be having a good time, so he was not going to deal with that unless he had to.
Asmodeus approached them, but so did Rosie. With a last squeeze, Lucifer went to talk with his brother while Alastor let himself be guided just to the side. He felt bad about worrying her. She held his arm on hers, and he leaned into her presence.
“Are you alright, dear?” she asked.
“I am now, ” he reassured her, and looked over his shoulder to Lucifer. “Except it seems I’m about to be introduced to the King’s siblings, who I wasn’t even aware would be attending tonight. Would you like to join us? I’ll need your cunning eye.”
“You always have it, Al,” she assured. “But first, I think the King would like to see you.”
She stepped back just before Lucifer grabbed him by the arm again. Alastor looked into his eyes, and felt the need to just stare at them for a while.
The dance floor had a few people in it, everyone was minding their business, Alastor didn’t care for them. He knew what he wanted. One beat to the next and his mood made the music sync with his own radiowaves and became more prominent when the music selection shifted into Tchaikovsky’s Waltz from ‘La Belle Dormant’.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better,” Lucifer said, nudging him with his shoulder.
“Very kind of you, dear,” Alastor laughed, and offered his hand to the King. “Shall we dance?”
Lucifer smiled and took his hand.
“I thought you'd never ask.”