Laundry Detergent

by Your_Deerest314

Summary:

“They were out of laundry detergent. That was the fact that Alastor realized one perfectly gloomy morning. He heaved out a sigh, eye twitching in annoyance as he left the laundry room to inform Charlie of his impromptu supply run.“

“ ‘Never mind.’ His ear flicked as he watched the devil hand the bottle to Niffty, who let out a maniacal giggle before scampering away, the aforementioned King of Hell shooting him a smug look.“

 

(Or, Alastor realizes he cares abt the crew in the worst way he can imagine.)

Notes:

This is literally my first fic ever y’all, please be patient with me! This will have two endings btw, both will be labeled so you can avoid the sad ending if you want! I’m sorry the first chapter is so short, hopefully the next to will be longer. I may also add to the first one later on if inspiration strikes.

Chapter 1: Soap

They were out of laundry detergent. That was the fact that Alastor realized one perfectly gloomy morning. Sure he had been missing for a few days while he handled his little mishap during the extermination, but he HAD hoped that at least Charlotte would have known better than to neglect tasks as important as restocking. He heaved out a sigh, eye twitching in annoyance as he left the laundry room to inform Charlie of his impromptu supply run.

‘Never mind.’ Alastor thought to himself. You see, right when he finally managed to track down the runaway Princess, Lucifer summoned a fresh bottle of the missing laundry detergent. His ear flicked as he watched the devil hand the bottle to Niffty, who let out a maniacal giggle before scampering away, the aforementioned King of Hell shooting him a smug look. ‘Well fine,’ Alastor huffed softly, his smiling grimace a tad sharper than usual. ‘I suppose he wins this round.’

 

Where was his paperwork? Alastor glanced into the drawers of his desk again to make sure they hadn’t gotten misplaced. Charlie always made sure to leave his paperwork right where it could be seen, and after a few times of the work being skipped out on, her girlfriend had followed suit. ‘Surely they didn’t forget?’ He scrunched up his nose at the thought ‘no, Charlotte would never. She always keeps others in mind.’ With that, the deer stood and left his study to go ask Charlie.

‘Never mind.’ He caught himself thinking for the second time that week, as he walked into Charlie’s office to find her handing Lucifer the paperwork HE usually handled. He felt a slight sting in his chest as the fallen angel shoved past him with a smirk. “Ah, Al-!” His ear twitched as he heard the princess nearly stutter out his name. “Sorry-! I just got used to having him do the paperwork while you were gone… surely you wouldn’t mind sharing, right? I mean…. Dad needs SOMETHING to do-“ Alastor sighed, cutting off her rambling. “It’s alright, darling. I understand.” Of course he did, she didn’t have a malicious bone in her body and was just trying to do what was right. So why did he still feel… hurt?

 

He watched in silence as they all giggled and had fun. It was game night, he had realized only a few minutes prior, and yet Charlie hadn’t come up to inform him when it started like she usually did. Granted, he normally wouldn’t join in on the games, preferring to watch the chaos unfold, and yet…. His chest hurt again. This time it was accompanied by a slight sting to his eyes and he realized that he felt… left out. He nearly scoffed at the realization, but he supposed he really had come to enjoy the others company over his time spent at the hotel.

He locked eyes with Lucifer, grin twitching as he braced himself for the smug look that awaited him. Instead, he found surprise and guilt. “A-Alastor!” He heard Charlie’s startled cry. “Apologies for interrupting. Enjoy your games.” He grit out through clenched teeth, only hearing Angel’s “Wow, who crawled up HIS ass this morning?” and the following giggles as he disappeared into a wisp of shadows.

 

It wasn’t long before he started to notice it in the little, everyday things too. Charlie stopping waiting for him when he went out and returned late at night, group dinners that he was conveniently left out of, Lucifer becoming the go to whenever something needed fixing, the growing, pitying glances the fallen angel had been shooting at him. All the little things began to add up, adding to the burning emotions filling his chest, the sharp sting of tears threatening to fall as he walked in on another group dinner, cooked by Lucifer of course, just another thing he had been replaced in.

He was tired, he just wanted to be included, was there something wrong with him? Maybe if he was better they would want him again? If he behaved, would they invite him? He didn’t want to be alone again. He COULDN’T be alone again.

 

He tried cooking for them but the food went ignored. Tried to be kinder, more welcoming, but was treated with suspicious glances and cold shoulders. He stopped eating sinner meat, despite how it made the hunger knaw at his stomach, his eternal punishment for his gluttony while topside. When they told him to shut up, he stopped talking altogether. Anything to keep them from leaving him.

Anything.

Chapter 2: Spilt

Summary:

Rosie gets involved.

Notes:

WAHHH THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR THE RECEPTION ON THE LAST CHAPTER! It means a lot to know that people actually enjoy my writing! This chapter IS the sad/bitter sweet ending, the good one will be posted tomorrow probably depending on how busy I am! I hope you enjoy, I had a lot of fun writing this one!

She could only watch as her dear friend suffered. Watch as he grew more distant, as he lost that spark that had drawn her to him all those years ago. It had started off small, Alastor had mentioned off handedly that he WAS planning a grocery run for the hotel (something about laundry? She wasn’t sure, that had been months ago) but he had apparently not needed to since Charlotte’s father had it handled. She had noticed how his smile grew a bit bitter as he retold the story, teased him for being jealous. “Now if I didn’t know you better Alastor, I’d say that you seem to be a bit upset over your little friend’s not relying on ya!” To which he had scoffed “As if! Me, caring about what those cretins think? Can you imagine Rosie dear?”

And yet, he had still left their lunch with a slight droop to his ears at the thought of being replaced.

 

It was only a short few days before Rosie saw him again. They didn’t have another lunch scheduled until the next week, so she was caught off guard. One look at how he had stormed in however, a hurt glint in his eyes and his fangs bared in a sharp grin, had her instead setting out a kettle of tea and inviting him to speak. The two of them had sat in silence for a few long moments as Alastor collected himself, it wasn’t unusual for him to go quiet when upset but this was a bit much. Usually he was able to mutter out an explanation at least, but instead he sat there at a loss for words. “Alastor dear, what happened this time?” She prompted him gently. “I- it-“ He let out a frustrated groan, smile tightening. “Charlotte started giving Lucifer my paperwork. She…. She said that it was so that he had something to do but she didn’t… SAY anything to me beforehand and just… just expected me to be okay with it.” Rosie hummed softly, it wasn’t like her friend to be upset by something so small, however she had learned over the years that he took any form of rejection pretty hard. Even if it simply was what he saw as a rejection of his assistance. “I’m sure that she meant to tell you darling, try to avoid being so harsh on her. She’s young, and hasn’t quite figured things out yet.”

It had taken her only a mere half hour to cheer her friend back up, and they had enjoyed a lovely impromptu snack time together as a result. When Alastor left, it was with that pep in his step that she loved so dearly and a genuine smile shot her way as he said his goodbyes. Despite that however, she had a sinking feeling in her gut. That was the first time in a while he had broken down like that, maybe she should go talk to Charlotte about his rejection sensitivity. She was sure that the princess would be willing to take his needs into account, even if it may require some more effort every now and then.

 

In the end, she wasn’t able to schedule a time to go visit the princess. She was busy, busy enough she had to cancel her and Alastor’s last meeting and most of her other plans for leisure time. She had finally gotten the time to sit down and rest when she heard a hesitant knock at her door. Rosie heaved herself to her feet, stretching out to crack her back before opening the door. “I’m sorry, the emporium is closed today- Al honey hey, what’s wrong?” She took one look at his face and ushered the deer inside. The poor thing was on the brink of tears, shaking slightly as he tried in vain to suppress the strong emotions. “Hey.. hey, you’re okay, love. Hush now, Rosie’s here.” She soothed him quietly, taking him upstairs to her personal quarters. Once there, she got him set up with one of her soft blankets and a few snacks before leaving to give him a few minutes to compose himself. She knew how much he hated crying in front of others, so she busied herself with some cleaning so he could have some time. After a while, she returned to the room she had left the deer in, where she snuggled under the fluffy blanket and held him as he let out soft, pitiful bleats.

It wasn’t for a few hours that he was ready to talk again, and when he did she felt her blood boil. Those cretins hadn’t even bothered to invite her little fawn? Sure, she knew he could be a bit much for some people, but to so blatantly leave him out? To mock him when he left upset? That was too far in her book. They were hurting her sweet little deer, and when her friend finally left the next morning she sent him off with rage in her heart. ‘How dare they.’

 

He kept canceling on her. Every hang out they set up, every lunch, he kept canceling with the excuse of being too tired, too drained. Eventually word just stopped coming, he stopped showing up without even a warning. She was worried, after the state he had been in the last time she had seen him, she had no doubt that he was spiraling. But there was nothing she could do. She couldn’t visit him at the hotel without having to explain why she was there, and while she would love to tear those cretins a new one for what they’ve done, she knew Alastor would be upset. So, she had no way to reach him. Nothing to do but wait. She threw herself into her work to keep herself busy, hoping that he was alright.

He wasn’t alright. Her poor friend was in horrible condition when she finally saw him again. He had showed up on her doorstep without a word, his eyes dull and tired. She could tell he hadn’t been sleeping, or eating for that matter. Her poor little fawn had lost so much weight, she was surprised he was still standing. Alastor hadn’t said a word since he arrived, instead choosing to watch her blankly as she tried her best to make him comfortable. Rosie didn’t know how it could have possibly gotten this bad, were his so called ‘friends’ really that cruel? Did they really just sit and watch as the poor man fell apart? She snarled to herself, he wouldn’t answer any of her questions when she asked. “You’re not going back there.” He finally made eye contact with her for a brief moment before his ears flicked back. “I know…” He replied, the first thing he had said in the couple hours he had been there. His voice croaked with disuse, it had been a while since he had spoken. Rosie sat next to him, gently pulling him into her side. “You’re never going back there. I won’t let them treat you like this ever again. I promise.”

 

‘Where’s Alastor?’ Charlie thought to herself one morning. It had been a while since their resident lurker had popped in. Now that she thought about it though, “I haven’t seen Alastor in a while… has… has anybody seen him?” She asked her friends over breakfast. “Last I saw him was like a month ago.” Husk grumbled, he had enjoyed the quiet lately. “He looked like shit. Wouldn’t be surprised if he fucked off somewhere else.” Charlie let out a soft sigh, looking down at her plate with furrowed brows. “He wouldn’t do that… not without saying anything…” She trailed off. “Right..?” They all avoided her gaze, unsure of how to respond. Charlie huffed softly, standing from the table and ignoring Vaggie as she called out for her. She had to find her friend, surely he hadn’t gone far. Alastor wouldn’t just up and leave despite what everyone seemed to think. ‘Maybe Rosie has seen him? He does go and visit her a lot…’

She was proven right, though it wasn’t in the way she had hoped. The moment the princess had knocked on the door, she had been greeted by the sight of Rosie towering over her, and promptly had the door slammed in her face. “W-wait Rosie! I’m just looking for Alastor, have you seen him? He’s nowhere at the hotel a-and I’m getting pretty worried-“ The door was ripped open again, Rosie’s furious face glaring down at her. “YOU’RE worried now are ya? Now that he’s been missing for weeks? What, did you go to ask him for a favor and he wasn’t there? Hm?” Charlie stared for a moment, surprised by the overlord’s sharp words. “What? N-no I just-“ “Save it. You’ve done enough damage to him. You and all of those cretins you call friends.” She poked Charlie in the chest with a long claw. “You walked all over him, left him out, treated him like nothing, ignored and berated him for MONTHS. And you dare to come here and claim that you’re WORRIED?” Tears gathered in Charlie’s eyes “I didn’t mean-“ “Save it.” Rosie snapped, cutting her off again. “You have no idea the shape I found him in. I’ve only just got him talking again, and it’s still nowhere near his chattering from before. You should be ashamed. He let you guys in, trusted you, tried to improve for you, but all you did was shut him out and beat him down.” The cannibal snarled at her, standing back to her full height and starting to close the door. “Get out of here Charlotte. Before I decide to make you tonight’s dinner.” The door slammed shut, leaving Charlie in front of it. Confused, tears streaming down her cheeks, she made her way home. Had she really done such things? Surely she hadn’t taken it that far but… she also hadn’t really been looking out for him, had she? She had failed him, they all had. And now her friend… former friend was suffering due to their actions. What had they done?

Chapter 3: NOT A CHAPTER (yet)

Hello all! Sorry for the lack of new chapters, I’ve had a LOT of stuff going on in my personal life regarding both my health issues and work stuff! I promise this story isn’t abandoned though, I will get that last chapter out even if it kills me. Have a lovely night/day! 🫶🫶🫶