Chapter Text
“Ace in the hole.” Charlie had asked him what that meant several weeks ago, once the renovations were finished. Since he had taken up one of the rooms as at least a partial residence to be closer to his daughter, they spent quite a bit of downtime together. She had come into his room that evening while he was organizing his things into the drawers set up when the topic of Alastor had come up.
He didn’t care for the Radio Demon, but from what he gathered, Alastor did make an effort to take on Adam alone. Which was asinine, but admirable in its own way. Lucifer would be lying if he said he didn’t get some satisfaction out of Alastor getting humbled. But it wasn’t worth it seeing Charlie upset, looking for signs of the obnoxious radio personality while they rebuilt. He wasn’t particularly happy to see Alastor again, but the way Charlie lit up kept him from acting too nasty to the man.
After everyone began settling into the hotel again, Alastor was clearly annoyed seeing Lucifer staying. He would make annoying commentary and jabbing remarks, but for the most part, Alastor just glared at him whenever they passed in the hall or were in the same room.
Fine by him, really. But it did mean that he was able to observe Alastor with the other residents.
Shocker, Alastor treated Vaggie much the same as he treated Lucifer. Maybe with a little less performance, but it was the same tone overall. That confirmed his suspicions that Alastor was only pissy with him because of his relationship with Charlie. He appeared to detest anyone close to her. That made sense enough. Sinners could be territorial, especially when they rose to the status of overlord like that asshole.
But when Charlie asked him what does “ace in the hole” mean, because “Rosie called Alastor that” and she “can’t ask Alastor because he just looked confused.”
Ah. Well that is useful information. He paused in his organizing only a moment before he shrugged. “Explains a lot actually.”
“So you know what it means?!” Charlie was always eager to learn something new, and Lucifer liked to think that she got that from him.
He finished the drawer he was working on to sit beside her on the sofa, getting the impression this was going to be a more in-depth conversation. “Before I get into anything, I want it put on the record that me knowing these terms doesn’t mean I know…” he gestured vaguely before continuing with a huff, “his whole deal, okay?” At his daughter’s eager nod, he hummed. “Ace is asexual. I actually have a few followers myself who fall into the category, and there are quite a few here in hell. Sinning doesn’t always involve sex, you know?” At Charlie’s confusion, he explained further. “Asexuals don’t tend to care for sexual relationships. In fact, a lot of them are made sick at the idea.”
“So…Rosie made the joke she knew Alastor and I weren’t a thing because she knows he doesn’t want a relationship…?” Charlie hummed, mulling over the thought. “I mean I guess I haven’t seen him interested in anyone…So yeah, that makes sense.”
“He might be the type that just avoids any relationship that would be more intimate, yeah, but…Charlie, Applecandy, you have to understand that there are a lot of different types of relationships and not all of them involve sex. But that’s something humans are only really beginning to discuss and embrace. Hell, back before humans and orgasms as they are now were a thing, angels had other ways of being…satisfied in each other’s company. And part of the reason your…friend doesn’t date is because he lived during a time where sex was considered a requirement for a relationship.”
“Huh…” Charlie sat quietly as she absorbed the information. “...Do you think it would be too much to say something to him?”
“Normally I would say a person’s preference isn’t your business and to stay out of it, but if he sounded confused like you said before, he may want that vocabulary.” He lifted himself from his seat to stroll over to his small collection of books, the shelves already decorated with various literary-themed ducks, before pulling out a small hundred or so paged piece. “These are some notes and such I’ve collected from some of my followers that fall on this spectrum. The best place to hear about it is from someone who gets it, right?” He presented the book to Charlie. “Feel free to keep it or have him keep it. I’ve gotten what I can from it.”
“Thank you, Dad!” Charlie lit up, launching herself into her father’s arms to embrace him- and nearly crush him in her enthusiasm. “He’s been such a help to the hotel! I wanted to thank him in some way and I just know he’ll love this! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!”
“Just don’t take it personally if he doesn’t want to talk about it yet-” Before he could finish warning her of potential backfiring, she was already rushing out of the room, peppering the air with more praises and thank-yous as she left. In the sudden quiet of the room, he could still hear her dash down the hall, no doubt already on the hunt for her demon friend.
Lucifer rolled his eyes with a smile. It was worth putting up with Alastor just to have these moments with his daughter. Seeing her learn something new that may ultimately help her understand more of the sinners she wanted to help and light up… Even if that joy involved the Radio Demon, it was still a delight to see.
The new revelation of information left him with something to think about as he resumed going through his things.