Chapter Text
“Oh my god!” Vox had not stopped laughing at Alastor since he first saw the announcement outside. “Oh my fucking god, you are FUCKED!” He was bent over with laughter and wiped away tears from his screen. “This is so fucking good!”
Alastor stared at him silently fuming. “Yes thank you for your s̴̨͉͉͓͎̦̠̙̪͚̩̄̆̏̋͑̿̂̏̏̋̈́̆́̌͆͑̐ͅy̶̛̛̫̎̈́̌͆̔̈́͂̆̎̈́̊̈̏̕͝m̴̩͔̬̝̲̀̃́͝p̴̼̋́͒̿͛̀̽͆̓͌͋͐̚͠͝ä̷͕̻̣̙͉̹́͆̋̈́̋̽̍̉͘͝ẗ̴̨̬̻͍̱́̒̈́̓͆̇͂̽̏͒͠ḧ̷̡̬̖̞͙̟̬̯́͐̂̌̔͑͗̅͑͐̅̈͒̄͜͜y̷͓̲̘̙͍̮̙̺̹̲̟̱͓̱̘͕̐̆̒̇͆̇̉͝.”
“Sympathy?” Vox gasped but at least he stopped laughing. “Since when do we give each other SYMPATHY? I laugh at you for being stupid enough to let that angel nearly murder you to protect your stupid hotel and you laugh at me for being the Prey of MY soulmate Hunt. What did you expect from me?”
Alastor had to admit Vox was not quite wrong with his assessment. But he did notice that even though Vox could have sold him out immediately suspiciously the video underneath his and Lucifer’s names on the Hunt board only showed the Hotel even though Vox knew very well Alastor was not in there anymore.
So Alastor pressed on. “How was it?”
“How was what?”
“Being Prey in a Soulmate Hunt?”
Vox wrinkled his nose slightly than shrugged. “I have to admit I wasn’t that happy to be chosen as prey in the beginning. I mean I am a fucking overlord and I fought to be where I am and then I don’t even get to be Hunter? But honestly… being able to use my powers to keep Valentino and Velvette guessing for days on end… it was kind of fun. And then going all out in the big final battle…” Vox smiled at the memory. “Pride ring didn’t have electricity for a WEEK!”
“So…” Alastor formulated his question carefully. “You enjoyed your Claiming?”
Vox laughed. “Of course I did!”
“You were… very vocal about asking your partners to stop!”
“Well yeah, duh!” Vox rolled his eyes. “That’s the entire point of the game, isn’t it? The Hunters get to be seen as powerful and the Prey gets to enjoy the best fuck of their lifetime while acting like they hate it.”
Alastor knew he was starring at Vox in confusion but he couldn’t stop himself.
“Al?” Vox looked at him slightly worried. “Al, you did know Val and Velv didn’t actually rape me, right?”
“I do not understand.”
“You don’t understand what, Al?”
“How any of that would be enjoyable.”
Vox frowned. “You don’t get how consensual non-consent can be hot? You do live in a hotel with Angel Dust, right?”
“I don’t understand how any… intercourse could be enjoyable.”
“You don’t… what?” Vox blinked at him a few times then his eyes widened in realization. “You… you don’t like sex?”
Alastor slowly nodded.
“Fuck!” Vox let his screen fall into his hands. “Fuck, we were really not suited to be in a romantic relationship, were we?”
“I told you so several times.” Alastor pointed out. “You wouldn’t listen.”
“I… I didn’t… you never told me WHY!” Vox pointed out and raised his head again to glare at Alastor.
“Because…” Alastor bent forward on his cane. “It wasn’t any of your business!”
“I,” Vox sighed. “Fair. I guess whoever chooses our Soulmates for us knows what they are doing.”
Alastor let a low whine slip and the static around him grew for a moment before he could catch himself.
Vox’ eyes softened. “Hey, Al listen: Lucifer is your soulmate. He doesn’t want to hurt you, especially not like THAT! Have you ever considered, you know, talking to him? If we had properly talked to each other our friendship probably wouldn’t have ended up as broken as it is.”
Alastor was tempted to tell Vox how much he sounded like Charlie right now but in the end decided he had better things to talk about. “How would I tell him? All of hell is watching our every move!” He pointed outside at the big screen now showing Lucifer having left the hotel and dear god, time was running out for Alastor.
“No,” Vox disagreed. “I am watching both of your every move. And I decide on what appears on screen. I can make sure to give you an unwatched minute to explain yourself to him.”
“It doesn’t matter!” Alastor pulled at his hair with one of his claws. “He is the king of hell. He has to make a s̵̫̭̱̜̙̖͕͍̫͙͉̰̐ͅp̴̧͚͓͖̥̗̘̝̗͙̟̟̼͑̽̿̃̍͐͛͜͜͠e̷̡̦̼̳̘̠̫̜̬̱͇͇͎̩͐̓̇̈́̊̋͜c̸̼̜͙͚͈̥̠̪̙̀̒̃̉̓̏͋̏͜ͅt̶̢̬̹̲̖̱̩̗̙̰̙̙̘̣̂̎̐́͐̀̽̅̀̓͋͒͆̚̚͠å̶̫̩̯̥̘̖̻͔͊̆̅̉͑̌̀ͅc̸̗͈͒̿͗̇̔͆̍͠͠ĺ̷̨̝̠̱̹̤̍̿̏ë̷̢̟͉̖̻̪̤̝̞͓͖̻̮̰̻́̏̾̌̂̀̂̓͋͘ out of the claiming or he will lose all respect in hell. I doesn’t matter what I want!”
“Al, of course it matters what you want. I…” Vox was interrupted by loud banging on his door.
“VOX!” It was Valentino’s voice. “VOX, HAVE YOU SEEN WHAT IS GOING ON OUTSIDE!”
“WAIT A MOMENT!” Vox shouted at the door and turned back to Alastor but he was already halfway swallowed by his own shadows. “Al, wait!”
“Sorry old pal,” Alastor told him. “It seems like I ran out of time!”
And he was gone before Vox could reply.
The thing about being on the run from the king of hell was that apparently all sinners had decided that helping Lucifer capture Alastor would get them into the good graces of their king. And everyone wanted to be in the good grace of the king of hell.
“Look, look, he’s over there!”
Alastor cursed himself as he hurried through small alleyways that he swore had been abandoned for decades now but for some reason today of all days several drunken hooligans had decided to sell their drugs here out of all places. Considering that they all were hell and drug deals weren’t even illegal made Alastor question why they decided to do it in the middle of a dark alleyway.
“I’ll grab him!”
Alastor turned around and the shadows grew around him in a big display. “I̵̛̹͙͕̙̩͇̫͇̳̤̰̜̣͗̊̈́̀̈̓̃͂̈́̅͑͝ ̸̖͙̜͆̐̆͝ḏ̶̳̥̣̞̹͈͙̒͊̂̓̍̑̒́̾̀̍̾͐͋̐͘̚ǫ̷̝̳̹͖̳͓͔̰̲͇̝̟̰̖̯̩͌̈́͒ņ̶͙͎̥͕̜͈̣͍͍̫̳͔͈̤͖̹͗̔̀̇̃͒̓̈́̉̀͂̚͝’̵̨͔̱̮̮͎̦͍̜̮̫͚̎̄̍͂́̆͌̍̆͝t̵̹͚͛̈́̈́̈̈͐͛̓̊͊̓͘̚͝ ̷̡͚̫͚̥͙͈̣̥̻̥̝̫̠͚͈̇̊̅̇̔́̅̍̚͝t̵̯͋̀̄̒͊͆͝h̴̡̛͎̠̳̹̫̲͇̯̻͉̀̔̐̅̒̈̓̐̋̎̅͊͆͘͝͝î̵̗̏̑͌́͗̎͛̕n̵̡̛̻̲͈͗̊̽̓͝͝ķ̵̡̢̣͓̘̫̟͇̳̬̙̙͓͂̂͊͒́̓̾̒̈̈͂̋̉̽͝͠ͅ ̵̜̲͉̯̱͖͎̝̞͖̱̼͚̥̼̝͂͊̔̒̾͗̈́̍̒̿̓̒̀́̓͝s̸̢̭͕̱̻͚̄́̌̏͒̈͋͝ȯ̸͉̬͇͇̝̜͖̩̙̻̼͈͍͈͔̇̈͊͛̍̉͐͂̏̒̿̿̕̕͝!̵͙̠̟̻̞͕̱̘̪̤̼̰̅̄̊̿̕”
The sinners stumbled back in fear. While greedy none of them were stupid enough to try to fight the Radio Demon. Sadly they were more than aware enough of his predicament to be able to annoy him in other ways.
“VOX!” One of the men in the crowd started shouting. “VO-OX, HE’S HERE! THE RADIO DEMON IS HERE!”
Alastor cursed and lashed out with one of his shadows throwing the sinners against a wall and making the shouting stop but it was too late. Several drones seemed to have heard the commotion and came flying over. Alastor used his shadow tentacles to destroy most of them but he knew he was too late when he heard a small pop behind him. Instinct alone let him stumble out of the way as Lucifer Morningstar grabbed for his arm.
“Hello there love!” Lucifer grinned up at him leaning casually on his cane. “How are you this beautiful morning?”
It was two o’clock in the morning and still mostly dark ignoring the slight red shine that never seemed to leave hell and a few street lights that were not broken yet.
Alastor sneered at the devil. “Took you long enough to find me.”
Lucifer grinned and slowly stalked closer. “I had to give you a bit of head start, to make things fair you know?”
Alastor took a step backwards with every step Lucifer took towards him and hated himself for showing weakness. But if the first man had managed to take him out with a single hit he couldn’t take the risk and let an archangel close enough to get good aim at him.
And still the smile did not leave Alastor’s face. “Is that true or are you just afraid of losing?”
“Ha! How about we make all of this a bit more interesting?” Lucifer grinned back showing off his sharp teeth and then suddenly he charged forward aiming for Alastor’s chest with his cane.
Alastor easily blocked with his own cane then send a shadow towards his opponent. “Interesting?”
Lucifer sidestepped the shadow and a stream of bright golden energy escaped his hand. “I always thought the Soulmate Hunt was rather… traditionalist!”
Alastor ducked and the wall behind him exploded in a shower of dust and small stone pieces. Lucifer used the distraction to get a grip on Alastor’s wrist but Alastor shook him off. “What are you proposing?”
Sadly this time Alastor was not quite fast enough to dodge the next beam of energy and he hissed in pain, the static around him growing louder as he gripped his stinging shoulder.
Lucifer didn’t press his advantage. “I caught up to you this time, now it’s your turn!”
And he vanished into nothing.
“What…” Alastor looked at the air where Lucifer had just been. “…the fuck?”
After his vanishing act it was not hard to figure out where Lucifer was. Vox’s cameras showed him casually strolling down one of the main streets of pride ring. Occasionally he looked up at the cameras following and gave them a small smirk.
Alastor was fuming. He wasn’t sure what the devil’s angle was here but he would not let himself be ridiculed no matter if it was by his soulmate or someone else!
Sinners started running away screaming as the street in front of Lucifer broke open in a spectacle of Shadows and green magic. The king just stopped walking and looked at Alastor rising from the carnage. The smile on Lucifer’s face was weird, Alastor would have had nearly mistaken it for relief.
“You came.” The king commented casually.
“You don’t think I would just ignore a challenge like that!” Alastor growled.
“I should have known better.” Lucifer’s grin widened as wings sprouted from his back. “You are nothing like Lilith.”
He came flying forward and hit Alastor with a force that let him crash into the building behind him.
Alastor wiped the blood from his face and stood back up. “You won’t get rid of me that easily!”
“Oh, I hope so!”
It took getting thrown into walls two more times and a damaged knee that Alastor decided it was time to retreat. He had only managed to hit Lucifer once and the bent limp had just rightened itself again as if it was nothing!
“I think this the time,” Alastor gasped “…for me to take my leave.”
“Don’t worry, honey,” he heard Lucifer shout as he vanished into his shadows. “…there is nowhere you can hide from me!”
Alastor had made it to one of his secluded hiding places he had never shown to anyone (a bunker a bit outside the city) and was scarfing down one of his pre-prepared meals. He had been avoiding Lucifer and every other sinner in hell for 10 hours by now with no sleep and barely any rest. His overuse of his own power and his lack of recuperation time had made him ravenous and he was thankful he had predicted this outcome and prepared.
After finishing his meal he leaned back against the wall behind him and closed his eyes in exhaustion. He had barely evaded capture by Lucifer three times already today and it would have been more if he hadn’t kept teleporting from place to place. He was tired, sore and couldn’t help but jump at the slightest sound and still… still…
He couldn’t quite help the grin spreading over his face every time Lucifer had challenged him to a fight. The blood was rushing through his veins, his attention focused as seldom before and Alastor… Alastor could barely remember when he had last felt so alive.
Then he heard steps above him. “Alastor!” He knew that voice. “I followed your magical signature I know you are here somewhere.” The devil seemed to stop walking directly above Alastor’s head and he held his breath. “Come kitty, kitty, come out wherever you are.” A moment of silence.
Then the metal trap door leading to the bunker was ripped out of its hinges with a terrible screeching sound.
“Found you!”
Lucifer jumped down into the bunker and Alastor charged!
Lucifer knew that Alastor in contrast to the devil did not have the ability to follow magical signatures. But at the same time he seemed to know that Alastor would have hated the condescension of just staying in plane sight for Alastor to find him. Instead when Alastor followed the smell of power and angelic blood he found Lucifer in one of the more unsavory parts of pride ring enjoying a cup of tea away from the cameras.
As Alastor threw him through the window of the coffee shop and stalked after him one of the sinners on the street started shouting. “THIS IS NOT A SOULMATE HUNT, WHAT YOU ARE DOING IS A BAD GAME OF TAG!”
Lucifer turned towards him with his horns and tail showing and fire in his eyes. “I don’t need to prove myself to any of you by participating in an obsolete tradition, I AM YOUR KING!”
The sinner shrank back and Lucifer turned back around to Alastor, tail and horns still out but his eyes full of a mischievous twinkle. “Where were we, darling?”
Alastor felt his horns grow to match Lucifer`s. “At me tying you up with my shadows.”
“Uhhh,” Lucifer grinned. “Kinky.”
Lucifer’s ability to use Alastor’s magical signature to find him proved to be very annoying but he had found out that it was more difficult for the devil to follow him whenever he hid among different other magical signatures. That had led him to where he was hiding now in a house full of drug addicts so high they barely noticed the moving shadows. Or maybe they thought they were part of their delusions who knew.
Alastor had sat himself into a corner leaning his head against a wall and trying to keep his eyes open. The lack of sleep was starting to slow him down. Every action seemed to take a millisecond longer than usual which had been showing in his recent fights with Lucifer. He had gotten sloppier and it had nearly cost him the fight a few times. He was sporting a broken finger, a slash along his back that luckily had stopped bleeding nearly immediately, a banged up shoulder and a small limp. In contrast he had only managed to hit Lucifer enough to make him bleed once and oh dear god it had smelled good enough to make Alastor’s mouth water. He wondered if a taste of this heavenly blood would be worth getting captured alone.
But no he had to concentrate if he didn’t want this to be over. He had to stay vigilant! Vigilant…
Alastor just startled out of his sleep when loud steps were running towards him. He jumped up but didn’t get a view of his attacker before strong arms enveloped him. He called his shadows towards him ready to strike until his brain caught up and he noticed the person hugging him was far too tall to be the devil even if the blond hair did seem familiar…
“Charlie?” He gasped out.
“ALASTOR!” She cheered. “I missed you so much! It’s been nearly four days by now that you have been gone.”
“I…” He starred down at her in bewilderment. “How did you find me?”
“I was looking for new hotel guests in here and then I felt your magical signature.” She let go of him enough to take a step back and look him up and down. “You look even thinner than usual. Are you eating enough? I guess that is why you made so much food in the hotel before you left, right? You should have told me I would have helped.”
“Charlie, your father…”
“Is on a Hunt for you, I know.” Charlie smiled up at him. “And I can’t wait to have you officially as my stepfather soon, you’ll finally be an irrevocable part of my family. But I can’t get involved in a Soulmate Hunt that would be against the spirit of it.” She shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter anyway, does it?” She leaned forward. “He’ll capture you soon.”
Alastor felt a shudder run down his back but he didn’t reply. He wasn’t sure how he could explain the dread deep in his stomach when he thought about the Claiming to Charlie – sweet, innocent Charlie, his daughter. He decided to not even try.
But she noticed his hesitation – of course she did, clever girl. “Alastor? Are you okay?”
“I…” He looked at her and shook his head. “I have to go.”
“WAIT!” Charlie raised her hand to stop him then fumbled in her back until she got several small Tupperware containers out. “Here.” She pushed them at Alastor. “Please try to take care of yourself. For me, okay?”
Alastor blinked at her then slowly accepted the containers. “Thank you my dear. This is a very kind offering.” He let the Tupperware vanish into the shadows.
Charlie pulled him into another hug. “Don’t worry, Al, everything will be okay.”
Alastor wished he could believe her.
When Alastor opened the Tupperware later that evening he saw several dishes made with cute smiley faces or formed into animals shapes which without doubt had been made my Charlie. One of the dishes was different though. It was several pancakes rolled together in a big container with a piece of paper on top that just read: “Eat, I promise these are not poisoned!”
Alastor crumbled the paper in one hand. He still ate the pancakes.
Every fight Lucifer started with Alastor ended with the demon being hurt enough to take a temporary retreat while every time Alastor managed to find Lucifer the devil laughed during their fighting until he at some unpredictable point decided to take his leave.
Alastor was more than aware that while the devil could keep this game of theirs going for eternity Alastor was the one whose body was giving in on him. Sooner or later he was going to crash in one of their fights and as unconventional as Lucifer had proven to be there would still have to be some kind of Claiming. And Alastor was not stupid enough to believe he would be the winner who got the claims.
Alastor was running on fumes. The Hunt has been going for nearly a week by now. A week with barely any sleep, shrinking food supply and lacking of rest. The longer the Hunt had gone on the smaller the breaks between fights against Lucifer had become. And the more Alastor’s hiding spots had diminished.
Now he was sitting in his old radio tower hoping that the residual of his magical energy would cover up his presence. As he sat in his usual seat staring out of the window with heavy eye lids a flying screen suddenly appeared in front of him.
“Not now Vox!” Alastor grumbled and sent a lazy shadow out to destroy the screen but it dodged his sloppy attempt easily.
Lettering appeared on the screening big enough to be easily readable from a distance. “You got to tell him now before it’s too late!”
“Keep out of my business!” Alastor hissed and another shadow grabbed for the screen but it dodged again.
“Ask him or you will both regret it!”
“S̴̻̠̥͚̬̘̀͆̀͌́̋̍̊͗͗̋̄͌͂h̴̢̛̹̬̪̹͇̩̻̟̦͇͙̹͖̘̥̻̚ű̵̢̦̞͔̤͔͉̫̖̲̝̳͙̟̱̬ṭ̴͇͕̘̺̯̺͚̞̺̺̘̯̠͓͉̗̎̕̚ ̶̢͓͔̙͚̰̭͕̳̘̻͚͉̃͌͜͝͝u̸̡̹͓̗͈̰͙̳̇͊̏͆̒͂̀͛̌͂̅̐͘͘p̵̡͕̰̬͈̫͎͕̙̟͍̍̔!”
“Lucifer will want to know!”
Alastor rose out of his seat ready to rip the offending piece of technology into little bits…
“I will want to know what, Alastor?”
Alastor whirled around to face Lucifer standing behind him. He pulled his staff towards him but Lucifer stopped him with a raised hand.
“What do you need to tell me Alastor?” The deer didn’t reply. “Or should I go and give Vox a visit? I am sure he won’t be able to disobey a direct order from the king of hell.”
Alastor growled showing his teeth but it didn’t seem to deter Lucifer. The demon turned around to unsurely look at the screen flying in front of the window again and this time it read: “Time until you get spectators that will force me to make this conversation public: 1 minute!”
“I…” Alastor said.
“59 seconds!”
Alastor turned around towards Lucifer again. “I don’t…” I don’t want you to Claim me. I don’t want to have sex. I don’t want what I see on screen every second time a Soulmate Hunt ends. Alastor didn’t know what to say.
“Hey,” Lucifer took a step forward his hands raised as in surrender, his voice soft. “Talk to me, Al.”
“I am scared about the Claiming!” It escaped him before Alastor could properly think about his words. “I don’t want you to t̶̘̙̝̓̐͒̆͒̊̀͋̏̏̏̀̿̚̕̚͝ǫ̸̧͔̮̪̖̮͔̮͒̄ũ̸͎̯c̴̨̨̰̼̬̯͍̯̳̠̪͊̔́̓̄͑̐͐̌̾̆̆̽̕͘͜͜h̶̏͑̉͊̅͝ͅ ̷̬̞̜͈̠̟̌͑ṁ̴̖̑̇͌͌̌̈̂̿̔͂̓̒̕̚͠͝e̸̟͉̯͆̉͂͝͝ͅ … like that!”
“We can just skip the whole Claiming thing…!”
“N̷͇̜̘͉̥̣̙̰̗͉͓͉͘O̸͈͇͛̃̍̌!̸̡̜̮̻̜̙̜̠͙̺̦̞̒̈́“ It escaped Alastor before he could stop himself but he realized he meant it.
“Okaaaaay, that isn’t confusing at all.” Lucifer looked over Alastor’s shoulder and the deer followed his gaze to see the countdown at 30 seconds already. “But we don’t have time for this.” Lucifer turned back to him with a new intensity in his gaze. “Give me a word!”
“What?”
“Give me a safeword.” Lucifer repeated urgency in his voice. “Any word that if you use it during our claiming it will stop everything that is happening.”
Alastor frowned. “You can’t just…”
“A WORD, Alastor!” Lucifer commanded.
“Charlie!” Alastor answered. He wouldn’t want to think about his surrogate daughter while involved in… such activities and he doubled Lucifer would like to think about her either.
“Good,” Lucifer smiled. “And just in time.”
Shouts were rising up from the ground level. “LOOK, THEY ARE OVER THERE!”
Lucifer’s grin widened and he gripped his staff tighter. “Tired of running yet, my deer?”
Alastor called the shadows towards him. “Don’t be overconfident, t̵̝̰̰͙̜̖̮̠͕̜̹͗̄͆̎͊̉̃̂̑̇̀̾̽̒̒̚̚ͅh̴̠̤͖̮̪̤̏̽̂̈́͗̇̈̓̈́̉̆͊̕̚͜i̸͉̪̔̋́̚ͅş̵̛̑͋͂̀͋̋͑̍̊͌͐͗͊͌͝ ̴̛̯̟̟̘̯̗̜͖̟̳͓̭͉̝̤͌͊̋͗̌͑̈́͘͜ĩ̸̡̨̢̳̫̫̲͇̣̦̮͂̒̅̑͐̉̅́͝s̶̢̹͓̘̺̗͇̀̃͐̍ͅ ̸̙̘͙̠̳̄̿͐́̾͊̾͌̚͜m̵̭̖̬̹̯̆̌̏̊̔̉͆́͝y̸̘̩̳͓̪͙̙̻͓̳̜̦̝̰̎̐̏͂̐̈́̒́͐̕̕ ̴̧̛̯̳̫̥̝̪̻̙̮̭̔̃̆̌͝͠t̵̠̼̼̖̞̱͑̎͂͒͘̚͜ȩ̴̝̝̣̐̄r̶̢̙͉̞̗̲̻͕̫̯̦͓͂͛̅̋̋͜͠͝͠͝ȑ̴͉̰̞̤̦͈̻͛̀͆̈́̌̾͋̄̾̂̚͜ͅį̴̢̲͙̺͎͔͔̗̦͎͔̒̈̍͗̈́̓͒̓͒͑̐̈́́͘͠͝͝t̵͈͉̼̭͙̳̭͕͚̹̼̫̀̈́͒̀̾̍͂̆̃̕͘ͅǫ̶̧̡̨̬̞͔͊͛̒̀̓̔́͌̒̓̈́r̶̡͉͚̜̫͖̲̗̜̎͌͛͊͒ý̴̙̳̞̌́̈̐́̊̌́͐̀̾̿̇̊͝.”
He had to take his leave five minutes later with a bloody nose but he felt reassured. Lucifer had given him an out from the Claiming in case he needed it. Now it was on him to make sure he wouldn’t need it.
It felt good being back at the hotel after a week – back home. Alastor wondered when he started considering the hotel his home. When did he start getting used to Huskers gruffness greeting him in the mornings, Angel Dusts incessant chatting keeping conversations going even when Alastor himself got too tired to be the main entertainer, Vagatha’s protective combativeness keeping the hotel and everyone inside safe even when Alastor wasn’t capable of doing it himself, Niffty’s easy company, Charlie’s bright smile greeting him…
Alastor already felt safer as he made his way to Husker’s room and slipped inside using his shadows. The cat was taking a nap rolled up lying in a sunny spot of the sofa.
“Salutations, my dear old friend!”
Husker jumped up with a hiss and his claws drawn before he recognized Alastor and sighed. “Jesus Christ, can’t you use the door like a normal fucking person?”
“My apologies,” Alastor was leaning on his cane more because his utter exhaustion made it hard to stay upright without it then for anything else. “My current predicament made it of utter importance to not be seen by any other sinners.”
Husker looked him up and down slowly. “Well you look like shit!”
Alastor gave him an unimpressed glare.
“My god, sit down before you keel over!” Husker ordered rolling his eyes. “I’m getting you a drink.”
Alastor sat down in a pink armchair that he was very sure had been put in Husker’s room by Angel Dust and took the drink (his favorite, of course Husker knew that).
The cat demon sat back down on the sofa opposite Alastor with a whiskey in hand. “So, what brings you back to the hotel now of all times?”
“I needed to talk to you.” Alastor admitted with chagrin.
“Me?” Husker’s eyebrows raised to his hairline. “You are in the middle – or let’s be honest with how you look – you are at the end of your Soulmate Hunt and you want to talk to me of all people? Why?”
Alastor hesitated then decided to ask. “When you had your Soulmate Hunt with Angel Dust you decided to Claim him in the middle of the hotel’s lobby on the bar counter. Why there? If you wanted to demonstrate your prowess why not somewhere more public?”
Husker cocked his head. “Because that was what Angel wanted.”
“I… What?” Of all the answers Husker could have given that was not what Alastor expected.
Husker laughed. “Aren’t you supposed to be good at manipulation? You got to work on your people reading skills or you’ll use your edge boss!”
“I… Angel was begging you to stop for the first five minutes of your… interaction.”
Husker looked at him incredulous. “He was saying `noooo dady please` while draping himself over the counter to look more appealing!” Alastor’s lack of understanding must have been written on his face because Husker continued. “Dear god, Alastor, you are better than this, he sounded exactly like he did in one of his stupid movies. If Angel really didn’t want me to have my way with him he would have shot me not whined!”
Alastor had to admit that did make a certain amount of sense but: “How does any of that prove Angel wanted you to Claim him in the hotel lobby?”
“Because that is where he stopped running from me.” Husker explained. “Beforehand he was actively trying to escape anytime I caught up to him – I mean he was laughing and bantering while fighting but every time he tried to seriously get away so I let him. But then after three days I think he decided we played long enough and he was standing in hotel lobby waiting for me next to the bar. He even wore one of his impractical dresses – pretty enough to show off but not his favorite so he didn’t mind me ripping it to pieces. It also gave easy access for any unsavory things I might want to do to him.”
“Why would he want you to Claim him in public like that?”
Husker rolled his eyes. “Because he is an attention seeking show-off of course. I thought you of all people would understand.” His last sentence was dripping in sarcasm. “You certainly don’t seem to mind battling Lucifer in the middle of the most public squares.”
Alastor did have to admit he had enjoyed the shouts of the crowds surrounding them whenever they had a fight in the city. But listening to Husker’s words… it was pretty obvious Lucifer far exceeded his power level, had he let him escape all these times? Was he waiting on Alastor giving him a sign that he was ready to stop running? But: “I don’t want my Claiming to be like Vox’s. For it to be watched by all of Pride Ring.”
Husker sighed. “You know Angel didn’t want that either. He had already shown off to much of him having sex to want that to happen again in such a special moment to him. Why do you think he chose the hotel of all places - somewhere where you made sure no cameras would be around? He wanted attention, yes, but only by the people important to him.”
“That might have been possible for you…” Alastor caught himself tucking at his hair and forced his hands back in his lab. “…but Lucifer is the king of hell and I am an overlord. If he doesn’t claim me publicly he will lose the respect of pride ring. I will lose respect, everyone will think I am too weak to even be worth claiming. It would undermine both his and my position and hell!”
“Alastor, your mental health is more important than your or Lucifer’s pride. And considering the game of tag the king of hell started he is clearly aware of that!”
The laugh that escaped Alastor was slightly unhinged. “We are in the wrong place for pride not to be taking over our lives I fear, my dear.”
“Boss…” Husker stretched a hand out but Alastor stood up before he could touch him and patted imaginary dust from his coat.
“I must thank you for your advice Husker.” Alastor gave him a nod. “Our conversation was most enlightening and I think I know how to solve this problem now.”
“If you say so.” Husker looked down into his whiskey glass as if it held the answers to all problems of the universe. “Take care of yourself, boss!”
Alastor took that as his sign to leave.
“I wouldn’t have expected you here of all place.” Lucifer walked into the room cautiously as if looking out for any traps (to be fair several of Aastor’s hiding places had been booby trapped).
Alastor was leaning against the big mixing board he had installed into the radio tower on top of the hotel when it was build. “I have decided it was time to stop running.”
Lucifer looked around in the small wooden room with raised eyebrows. “Did you now?”
Alastor was waiting for any protests. The king of hell could not afford for his Soulmate Claiming to be in a small dingy room away from any witnesses it would ruin Lucifer’s reputation. The devil didn’t say anything and Alastor’s smile grew.
He pressed a few buttons on his right side without taking his eyes of Lucifer and the raised his radio staff towards his mouth.
“Salutations, my dear listeners.” Lucifer’s eyes widened as he realized what Alastor was doing. “My apologies for not broadcasting for a while I was… otherwise inconvenienced as most of you have probably heard by now – or rather seen. But not to worry for this final battle of our Soulmate Hunt I have decided to broadcast it in this superior medium! Sorry Vox, old pal, I fear this might drop the ratings of any of the stupid soap operas you put on air this evening.” A laugh track played before Alastor took over again. “Well then, the king of hell against the Radio Demon. İ̴̗͚͌͜ ̴̧̧̦̙̦̣̣̲̜̬̰̥͇̗͂̓́́̈̀͗͐̐͆̔̽͐̑̂͘͜w̵̛̲̱̝̙̺̲͓͔̮̞̩̱̣̍̏̄̄͜͝ò̶͙̠̱̫͔͔̖̫̭̥͕͚̟̥̖͚̇͘ṉ̴̢̡̹̣͇̘̮̥̱̯̙̱͊̂̏̏̉͑͗̓͊̅͌͂͐͘̕̚͝d̴̨͇̜̬̰̫͕͈̼̹̺͈̞̦́̅͂͊̊́̀̌̚͜͠e̸̗̮̥̲̪̚r̵̤͇̱̹̟̗̞̻̫̀̔͛̽̿̏ ̴̨̣̟͇̳̭̼̲̺̖͔̼̙͉̌̃̃̈̅̏̊͂̀̄̕͜͝ͅw̵̢̙͈͇̉̍̌̕͝͝͝h̵̨͘ŏ̷̠̿̓͊̌̑̕͝ ̶͕͛̎̈́̀͑̔͌̐̓̔̔͒̚̕͝ẃ̵̨͎̪̖̺̝̩̤̖̤̔͊̀̔̈́̊͂̆͒͛͐̐̀̊̕͠ͅį̵̛̘̭͕̻̼̜̙̖͖̝͔̮̬̜̃̅̇̊̈́́̔̎̅̔̄̽͑͘ͅͅļ̵̨͙̱̩̙̬̟̣͔̺̫̦͌͐͜l̵̨͎̝̥͍̩̰̬̃̚ ̶̺̆́̆́̃f̷̧̪̖̳͎̰̞̐̆͋̎̋͆̈́̈́̋͂͐̕ī̷̢̝̰̗̩̫̥͈̞̌̅̈́̐͆͛̇̾͆̈́̊ͅn̷̛͉͈̣̟͉͖̳̈̍̉̓͒͊̋̃̚͘͠a̴͚̥̹̟̦̥̮͎͐̄̈̃̾́̓͋̂̓̄́͒͌͝ľ̷̨̨̢͉̻̻̘͔̅ļ̵̛̣͉̯̯̼͍̫͙̜̜̹̟̄̎̍̏̅͘y̶̨̮̝̟͓̥͖̔̋̎̽̆̄̑̈́̑͒̏̚̕͠͠ ̶̧̨̖̰͉͕̠̲̠͉̟̖̜̬̜̒̉̂͐w̶̛̱̑̿͛i̶̡̨̭̗̥̰͈̫͖̖̘̜̲͓̼̮͆̿̇͗̄͌̈́̿̈̾̒͊̒̚͘̕͝n̸̥̦̤̞̜̟̺͇̱͒̀̓̓̂̔͐́́͠͠ ̸̧̖̟͔͇͕̟̞͔̽̌̓́̊̾̄̌̓͗͌͒͜͝t̷̨̩̰̹̹̥̲̪̦̱͚͈̖͔̆̆̒̈́̓̏̿̚͠͝͝͠ẖ̵̨͙̯͕͓̥̳̍̿͜͝ī̷̡̭̗̈́͂̍̈́̎͆͆͋̈́̂̿͘s̵̡̡͇͙̰̙̩̗̝̘̹̣̖̳̝͒̀̂̈̈́̌͝ ̵͎̹̕͜f̴̧̳̳͎̞͎͎̯̍̏̈̌̈́̽̽̒̅̾̅̈́̓ͅͅị̴̢̢̨̛̮̥̙͚͔̯̎̽͂̂̃̄̅̎͘ͅͅg̶̡̦̪̭̪͎͎̣̞̱͍͓̈̉̾̈́̈́̾̄̔̏̇̀̚͘ḩ̶̱͔̼̹͍̯̰̱̺̗̘͊̃̀̍̒̇̃͋͊́̿̾̕͝͠ͅͅţ̷̢̢̛̛̳̤̮̜̣̻̺̟̱͚͍̹͂̄̉̊̔̊̇͑̅̚͜͠!̸̧̡̯̹̠̩̞̞̘̭͕͕̩͘”
Lucifer raised his staff with a grin showing off all his sharp teeth. “It seems like all of hell is about to find out!”
Alastor was the first to strike: A wall of shadows encompassing the small room from wall to wall rolled towards Lucifer. There was no place to avoid it so Lucifer just raised a hand and a shield of glowing gold build around him and the shadows bounced off it uselessly. Another wave of his hand and a snake of pure gold wound itself towards Alastor. He sent out a shadow but exhaustion let it appear just late enough the snake could easily avoid it. Alastor struck at it with his staff but it wound itself around the wood and wandered up his arm. He hissed and used his teeth to rip it off him and threw it against the opposite wall.
Lucifer had used the momentary distraction to come closer and Alastor managed to just raise his staff to fend Lucifer’s cane off. The devil laughed. “You seem a bit tired my deer, maybe you should have a bit of a lay down?”
Alastor growled and summoned several of his shadowy demons to him to attack Lucifer. “Sorry, I think taking regular naps like you do is more of an old person thing to do! If you’re already thinking about the next nap it seems to me like you will be the one having trouble to keep it up!”
The creatures crawled up Lucifer’s legs and even arms since he was small enough they could easily reach all of him. A sudden gust of wind caught the small things and threw them against the walls hard enough they vanished back into nothingness. When Alastor looked at Lucifer again he saw he had summoned his wings that were big enough to nearly reach the ceiling.
“It seems about time someone shows you how to properly take care of yourself, love.” Lucifer’s voice was more booming then before. “Look at you, completely neglected yourself for an entire week. Such a mess.”
Alastor growled again and charged towards the devil staff in hand but Lucifer side-stepped his attack, gripped the arm holding the staff and easily forced the cane out of Alastor’s hand letting it clatter to the ground. Alastor hissed and used his claw to swipe at Lucifer but then there was a small explosion of light and where the devil had just been sat now a snake which was winding itself up Alastor’s arm. The demon snapped after it with his teeth just as he did before. This time though his arm was ripped down with the sudden weight of a small monkey holding on to him. Lucifer laughed and used the long arms of his new shape to grab Alastor’s other arm and forced both of Alastor’s hands to his back. Another transformation and Lucifer’s normal form was back. Alastor turned his head as far as he could to snap at Lucifer with his teeth again but he was out of reach. Instead the demon saw how the golden snake that attacked him before wound itself up the devil’s small body to easily glide unto Alastor’s hands, wrapping itself around them several times before hardening itself into pure gold.
Alastor desperately tried to rip his hands out of the snakes grip but it was no use. His hands were bound together but luckily for him he didn’t need full control of his hands to control some of his shadows. A snap of his fingers and a tentacle of shadows wrapped itself around Lucifer and threw him across the room. The devil hit the opposite wall with a loud bang and a wince from him. Lucifer gasped for air as he slowly made his way out of the dent in the wall behind him.
“Seems…” Lucifer took a few shallow breaths until he got his breathing back under control. “Like I need to put some mittens on my naughty kitten so he stops scratching up my furniture!”
He rushed forward just as Alastor had made it to his feet. The demon moved to the side using his shadows as well as he could with limited to control to keep Lucifer away. The devil just grinned and ran at him again but this time as Alastor moved Lucifer’s cane wrapped around his ankle, took him off-balance and let him fall face first to the ground.
Another whine escaped Alastor and he tried to roll on his back quickly but Lucifer was too fast. He was on top of him and holding him down. His fingers wrapped around Alastor’s to stop him from summoning more shadows. He felt another spark behind him and something soft enveloping his fingers and as Alastor looked back he saw Lucifer had put actually mittens in the form of cat paws on him.
He grunted and bucked his hips to throw Lucifer off him but it was no use. The devil remained unmovable on his back and grinned down at Alastor until he stopped fighting. It didn’t take long until exhaustion took over and Alastor slumped back down with a tired bleat.
“There, there, now that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Lucifer stretched a hand out to pet Alastor’s head but the demons head shut up and sharp teeth would have sunk into the devil’s flesh if he hadn’t pulled his hand back just in time.
“Ts ts ts,” Lucifer reprimanded him. “If you want a bite you have to ask nicely.”
Alastor scoffed at him. “Go to hell!”
“Already here darling.” Lucifer reassuringly rubbed a hand down Alastor’s back which was very much in contrast with the evil grin and mean words spewing from his mouth. “Well if you don’t want to play nice I guess I’ll have to muzzle you.” A golden gag appeared in his hands. “If you’re a good boy the rest of the night I’ll let you have a bite out of me as a reward.”
Alastor whined and leaned his head back to not give Lucifer access but the devil took hold of his hair in a punishing grip and pulled his head back to fit the gag into his mouth. Alastor buried his sharp teeth into the golden leather but he doubted he even made a dent in it. Before Lucifer let go of his hair he leaned in very close to one of Alastor’s red ears and whispered in a low enough tone so no one on the broadcast would be able to hear him: “Say your safeword into the gag and I’ll still hear you.”
Lucifer let go of his hair and set back. “Now where were we? Ah yes, claiming!” He stood up, took hold of Alastor’s arm and hip and flipped him to his back as if he didn’t weigh anything. Then Lucifer gripped the red suit jacket and literally ripped it off Alastor. “Sorry my deer, I will buy you a new one.”
Alastor felt his chest tighten. Husker had said the easy access of Angel’s dress had convinced him that he wanted to be claimed sexually which is why Alastor left his suit on exactly as it was. Jacket over his shirt completely buttoned up to the top and bowtie on. Or at least the tie had been on a few seconds ago before Lucifer had pulled it from his throat. Now the devil was busy with unbuttoning Alastor’s shirt.
The demon was frozen in place wondering how far he would let Lucifer go – if Alastor would let him have his way with him before giving his pride up and using his one way of escape.
“Hush,” Lucifer mumbled, one of his hands rubbing Alastor’s shoulders as if to calm him. Alastor wasn’t sure when he started shivering but he seemed unable to stop himself now. “I know, I know but I just needed some free access here.”
Lucifer pulled Alastor’s open shirt away so it pooled behind him with only his arms still in its sleeves but before Alastor could worry any further Lucifer slightly pushed his head to the side and BIT INTO HIS SHOULDER.
Alastor’s eyes flew open and he let out a loud shout paired with a high frequency tone of static as felt his skin rip open and blood spilling into the devil’s mouth. The sudden rush of adrenaline and endorphins made him feel light-headed and slightly out of his body. All the little pains littering his body suddenly seemed far away.
Lucifer finally let his teeth unlock from Alastor’s throat and looked down at him with a bloody smile. “MINE!”
Alastor whined his eyes half-way closed in pleasure. A hand found its way in his hair and scratched just behind his ear and a moan escaped him. That only seemed to encourage Lucifer who used both his hands to pet his hair, slightly scratching at different points until he found the ones that made Alastor make the most sinful noises and turn into a puddle of happy deer.
Alastor had very few people he trusted enough to touch him and those rarely had time to sit down and give him proper head massages even if he had let them. Hell had no time for such weaknesses. Sometimes he forgot how good human touch with no seconds thoughts behind it could feel.
Lucifer’s hands wandered from his head to his shoulders where he healed the wound at Alastor’s throat and the one he had given him a week ago on his shoulder enough that he could continue his massage further down. Slowly the pets, massages and healing continued until Alastor could barely keep his eyes open and was not even trying to hide the noises he was making anymore.
“I think this is enough for now.”
Alastor opened his eyes as he felt Lucifer’s weight shift of him and he saw the devil reach for his radio staff. Lucifer raised the staff towards his mouth with a flourish. “Sorry folks, that was it for today. Please chime in at the next broadcast but be forewarned it might be slightly belated. I think our dearest radio host might need to catch up on some sleep for the next week or something. He was battling the king of hell after all.” He tapped the staff on the ground and Alastor felt the broadcast being shut down.
Alastor let his eyes fall close again before he felt arms around his shoulders and under his knees and Lucifer picking him up bridal style.
Lucifer looked down at him with slight worry in his eyes as he opened the door to the tower and started walking down the steps towards the hotel. “You’re alright there?”
Alastor opened his eyes to give Lucifer a look that could best be described as “Duh”.
The devil chuckled. “Still giving me attitude even now.”
The door from the staircase to the rest of the hotel opened and when Lucifer stepped outside they were immediately surrounded by worried looking faces.
The first to step forward was Charlie who was looking from her father to Alastor and back. “Dad, is everything… did everything go well?”
Behind her Alastor saw Husker looking him up and down. Alastor could only imagine how he looked: Trussed up with restraints on his wrists, his hands and his mouth, blood covering his throat with his shirt hanging off him and eyes too tired to keep open for long but Husker’s eyes stopped at the trousers that Alastor clearly was still wearing and at the overlords ears that were raised happily and not pinned back in pain or fear and Husker seemed satisfied.
Next to Husker Angel Dust was whining. “Nawww, I wanted to see the Short King take Smiles apart!”
“Don’t be such a perv.” Husker told his soulmate. “Come on, there’s nothing to see here.” He pulled him down the corridor
“Mhm, so commanding Husk,” Angel let himself be lead easily. “Wanna truss me up like Smiles there and throw me on bed?”
“Considering both of you never shut up I think Lucifer had the right idea with the gag.”
“Ohhh, don’t threaten me with a good time.”
While the two were bickering they made their way down the corridor Lucifer nodded at his daughter. “I better take Al to a proper bed before he falls asleep on me. Maybe we can have a nice family dinner once he is fully awake again.”
Charie clapped her hands together in excitement. “Oh that sounds like so much fun, right Vaggie?”
Vagatha looked down at Alastor with slight doubt but then just shrugged. “Sure sweetie.”
“Yay,” Charlie waved at them as Lucifer started to carry Alastor off. “Get better soon Alastor.”
Just before Lucifer could carry him off Niffty managed to easily climb up on top of Alastor and put her short arms around his middle. “Missed you, don’t stay gone that long again!” Then she jumped off him and ran down the corridor.
“Wow,” Lucifer smiled. “You seem to have a lot of good friends, Alastor. Maybe you can rub off on me with that.”
Alastor wanted to tell him that most of these people were not his friends – entertainment at best – but he was too tired. Instead he just buried his head in Lucifer’s arms and whined.
“Yeah, let’s get you to bed, mhm?”
Lucifer was carrying Alastor back to the demon’s bedroom and Alastor couldn’t express how thankful he was that he would be able to see the stars he had put on his room’s ceiling again. A few minutes later he was deposited on a soft fabric. The bonds around his wrists and fingers vanished, his shoes and socks were taken off and a soft blanket was thrown over him.
He opened his eyes one last time to see Lucifer sitting on the other side of the bed smiling down at him.
Alastor smiled back. “Is now the right moment to tell you I have sold my soul to your wife?”