Please Keep Your Waiting Arms Open for Me

by Firefin

Summary:

Lucifer gets curious about the past surrounding Alastor and Vox and seeks out answers. He gets way more than he bargained for and now must navigate two messy relationships, one from the past and one in the present. All the while, he's fighting his own demons.

Vox thinks he knows what he wants, he's always known from the start. Yet when the perfect opportunity for a power grab presents itself, he finds that he is hesitating. What is it about the King that fills him with so much doubt? And why is his perfect façade breaking up?

Notes:

I have once again subjected myself to writing a long-term fic for a crackship/rarepair I care far too much about. Been at this for hours now, so until stated otherwise, you can expect weekly updates starting Wednesday!

For once I actually have an end goal to achieve here and an overarching plot to adhere to as well so maybe I'll finish this faster than my other works in progress

Chapter 1: I Often Find My Thoughts are Haunted

Lucifer had to admit, staying in the hotel and supporting his daughter wasn’t half bad. It certainly beat rotting away in his office all day, doing anything to feel something. Of course, he was always at risk of running into that goddamned deer, but it was a small price to pay for a sense of belonging.

The only thing the two demons could ever agree on was their shared disdain for television. It all felt the same. Nothing but a nonsensical stream of noise and color designed to hold everyone’s attention long enough to convince them to fork over as much money as possible.

Sometimes the hotel residents would gather around the TV in the parlor for the evening. Charlie classified it as a bonding exercise, and given that she could rarely get everyone to agree to come together, Lucifer supposed it made enough sense. That didn’t mean he liked it.

“Honestly, why don’t you turn that silly thing off and turn your attention to anything else remotely worth listening to?” Alastor questioned as he manifested into the room. A rare occurrence these days.

Angel glanced up from his phone with a bored look on his face. “Why bother? Hardly any of us actually pay attention to it, it’s just background noise anyway,” he answered.

“I watch it!” Niffty cut in excitedly, “There’s so many bad boys to see,” she giggled. Lucifer regarded her with a concerned glance.

“Niffty, dear, you could simply go outside and achieve the same effect.” Alastor walked closer to the group. His gaze shifted over to the TV as a familiar face popped up on the screen. Lucifer couldn’t remember the guy’s name to save his life, but he was all over the media all the time. His TV-head made him more recognizable among the masses.

There wasn’t much time to look, however, as soon after Alastor snapped his fingers and cut the power to the television.

“Awww, noooo,” Niffty complained.

Alastor patted her head to appease her and started playing some old song from who knows where. “There, much better!” Only then did he sit down with everyone else.

“Well, it’s not like this will prevent us from talking!” Charlie reasoned, having waited for the right minute to speak up. “Where were we?”

Maggie–Vaggie was the one to reply this time, “I believe we were discussing the recent interest sinners have taken in the hotel.” And just like that the group fell back into idle conversation. Lucifer looked at Alastor, sitting as stiff as a statue with his usual smile plastered on his face.

“You know…” Lucifer started, “You’re always very quick to react whenever that guy shows up on the TV,” he teased, very intentionally poking the sleeping bear.

Alastor’s head snapped to face the King. “Which guy are we referring to exactly?”

Fuck, what was his name? “You know… the one with a screen for a face. He’s practically everywhere?”

“Hmm, you’d think for being everywhere our dear King would remember his name, but I suppose not. I can’t say I blame you, the flat-faced fool isn’t worth your time,” the deer hummed.

“I never claimed he was, I’m just curious. You act like you know him.”

Alastor shrugged, “Perhaps, but that was a long time ago. He means nothing to me now.”

“I find that very hard to believe.” Lucifer muttered. The deer was being far too dismissive of the topic. If it really meant nothing he’d have no issue casually talking about it.

“If you really need to know that bad, why don’t you ask him yourself? But I’m telling you now, he really is a sad pathetic man,” Alastor said, finality tinting his voice. How the hell was Lucifer supposed to do that anyway? The other must’ve seen the confusion on his face, because he added, “You have one of those infernal pocket devices do you not? Just ask it about him.”

Lucifer blinked. His phone, right. He tried to stay off of it for the most part, but it was the simplest solution. “Can I at least get his name?”

Alastor rolled his eyes, forcing his smile more than it already had been. “His name is plastered to everything, surely ‘Vox’ rings a bell?”

“Oh, yeah! Yeah I knew that… it just slipped my mind. That’s all. I don’t really interact with the citizens of Pentagram City much, I was bound to blank on it eventually,” the King reasoned, and definitely not because he was embarrassed that he forgot.

“Perhaps you would have been better off not remembering,” Alastor said flatly. With that, he broke off their conversation in favor of listening to Charlie talk about her goals with an insulting smile on his face. It made Lucifer seethe, but he left it alone.

Instead, the fallen angel pulled out his phone. He had some searching to do. He had questions he wanted answers to. Anything to get back at that damned overconfident deer. Vox being physically attractive was just a bonus… what? Lucifer’s own train of thought caught him off guard. He decided to excuse himself to his room before anyone could question the embarrassed golden flush on his face.

The first page of results when searching up Vox’s name consisted of nothing but advertisements for his company and the company’s respective social media accounts. Next came news sites and articles with flashy titles meant to draw you in. Scrolling down a little farther revealed all sorts of things from forums and discussion boards to fan blogs about him. Lucifer wasn’t sure where to start. No doubt a corporate figurehead like Vox carefully catered his socials to push an agenda, the news could never be trusted, and anything written by the everyday sinner was likely to be highly opinionated.

How should he get in contact? Arrange a meeting? Send a message? Just show up? The tower Vox seemed to occupy was anything but subtle and hidden. Why was he even dwelling on this? He was the King of Hell.

Lucifer decided on the last option. Refusing him would look bad, but trying to get a whole meeting felt too professional. That and Lucifer’s aversion to them, given every time he ever met with Heaven’s officials always ended in their favor. If the Overlord was busy when he got there, Lucifer would simply wait. Easy peasy.

————

Lucifer left first thing in the morning the next day, informing his daughter that he was going out today so she didn’t worry about his whereabouts. He fizzled out in a flash of gold dust after goodbyes had been exchanged.

Getting close to the tower was simple enough. There was security, sure, but Lucifer was a demon of high status. The fact most of the guards were busy fending off reporter after reporter probably didn’t help. It wasn’t every day sinners got to see their King, and the tower had already been flocked with them before he’d even shown up. Fortunately, none of them tried to get too close as they bombarded him with questions he couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to.

Lucifer was met with a sleepy-looking receptionist when he finally got into the bottom of the tower. An aquatic sinner that resembled a seahorse by the looks of it. She was busy trying to balance two phone calls at the same time. Her eyes blew wide when she saw the King and put both of them on hold swiftly.

“Your Majesty!” she addressed him, “H-how can I help you?”

Lucifer smiled politely as he explained his business here, “Is Vox busy? I’d like to meet with him.”

The receptionist turned to one of her many computer monitors. Although Lucifer couldn’t see what she was doing, he heard a lot of typing. She leaned to peek around the screen at him before she spoke, “Is it urgent?”

“I wouldn’t call it urgent,” Lucifer paused to think before continuing, “but I’d prefer it if I could get in today.”

The receptionist nodded quickly, “I’ll send your request up the chain.” She turned back to the monitors. The King could practically feel the nerves radiating off of her. Actually, he could feel it radiating off of every uniformed employee that passed him. Were all VoxTek employees balls of anxiety or was it just because of his position in the hierarchy? There was some more rapid typing and some clicking before she turned to him again, “All done! You may take a seat wherever.” She resumed her phone calls after he nodded and turned away.

Lucifer looked around the room while he waited. All things considered, the tower was really nice. He had expected corporate whites and blues. A sterile almost mechanical climate devoid of any personality. That wasn’t the case at all though. There were a lot of golds and pinks throughout the whole room. Fancy trims and wallpapers instead of plain whites made the walls pleasing to look at. It was nicely decorated too, potted plants, sculptures, and posters on the wall drew the King’s eye around.

In a way, it made him excited to meet Vox face to face. For all Lucifer could tell, maybe Alastor hated the guy just because he had more style.

The sound of the elevator dinging drew Lucifer’s attention away from the room. Another aquatic looking sinner stepped out and bowed to him. “Mr. Vox will see you now, Your Majesty.”

Notes:

Keep on the lookout for little details! It's only the first chapter but I've hidden plenty to analyze in the coming chapters!

Comments are highly appreciated and inspire me to write faster, if you are so inclined ^^

Chapter 2: By Times I Felt Better About It All

Summary:

The first meeting.

Notes:

I've written WAY ahead, so I decided to drop you guys a second update early, but after this I'll stick to schedule... probably.

Enjoy!

Vox stepped out of his third meeting that day with an agonized groan. It was only 9 in the morning and he was already dealing with metric shit tons of idiocy. He would genuinely rather be doing paperwork in his office, at least that was monotonous and boring rather than anger-inducing. He walked back to his office swiftly with a look on his face that told his employees he would turn the next person that bothers him into ash.

He sat down in his chair heavily and glared at his screens. Alastor had oh so conveniently managed to avoid every single one of his cameras since the battle, but Vox wasn’t a fucking idiot. His tech didn’t spontaneously lose signal for no reason. He sighed. He’d spend his energy on that another day.

Just as the Overlord was leaning forward to review his schedule for the rest of the day, there was a knock at the door. His eye twitched. “Enter,” he barked, “make it quick.”

One of his many assistants shuffled into the room with an anxious look on his face.

“Out with it,” Vox commanded as he reached for his mug to sip his coffee. A show of disinterest if anything.

The assistant fidgeted while he tried to find the correct way to word his message, “S-Sir, the King is here- t-to… to see you,” he stammered.

Vox choked on his coffee, leaning forward so it would spill onto the floor instead of his shirt. When he recovered from coughing, his head swerved to the assistant in the room. “What.”

Next thing he knew, Vox was speeding around his office to tidy it up while his assistant fetched Lucifer. Or rather, one of the rooms attached to it. This one was better for receiving guests. More leisurely and comfortable. Lucifer was rarely sighted around Hell, and while Vox didn’t care much for him or his status, this could be a massive opportunity dropped right at his feet! He would be a goddamn fool not to entertain the King with anything but utmost hospitality. All that raw power… the mere thought of having the King of Hell on his side. If he were a man with less self-control he’d come in his pants over it.

He practiced his most charming and charismatic smiles a few times just to be sure they were perfect. Everything had to be perfect.

A knock on the door alerted Vox. He straightened his suit and put on his best smile before calling out, “Come in,” in a casual but friendly tone. Two syllables carefully measured.

The door opened, and the assistant gestured for Lucifer to enter. Then he looked at Vox, who dismissed him. The door shut, leaving the two alone in the room. The King took a few preemptive glances around the room with a look of curiosity on his face. Eventually his gaze fell on Vox. He glanced him up and down once. Twice. The Overlord brushed it off and pulled out a chair for the King.

“Please, have a seat,” Vox started. He sat down himself after Lucifer was situated. “Can I get you anything? A drink? Cigar? We only have the finest,” Vox offered with that smile still on his face.

Lucifer seemed to consider the offer for a second, but he refused, “No thank you, no need.”

Vox nodded and moved to the next part of his usual script, “So, what brought the King of Hell himself to see a demon like me?” he asked, adding a perfectly timed chuckle to the end of the question to make himself seem humbler.

“Funny story, actually,” the king started, “I’m sure a man as in the know as you is aware that the Radio Demon has been lurking around my daughter…” Vox had to fight every fiber of his being not to physically react at the mere mention of Alastor. His blood pressure ticked up, but his smile remained perfectly in place. Everything had to be perfect.

Vox keeps his tone casual, friendly, calculated, “Why yes, actually! It’s quite concerning… I have no idea what he’s up to, but all sinners know that the Radio Demon is no good. What with all his cunning schemes and deal-making.”

“Oh… really?” Lucifer seemed surprised by the info. “Well he definitely rubs me the wrong way, but I didn’t know he was notorious or anything…” Vox watched Lucifer’s expression closely. The King seemed to have some kind of revelation. “Is that why he was so surprised when I said I had no idea who he was?”

Vox couldn’t help but laugh at the concept. Alastor getting his panties in a twist because the King of Hell doesn’t know who he is was a fucking hilarious mental image to Vox. Still, the Tech Overlord had to keep himself together and composed.

“Hm, I can only imagine the look on his face,” Vox says after pulling himself together, “that aside, I’m sure you don’t enjoy having a demon like that around Charlotte. Who knows what he could be up to.”

Lucifer looked at Vox with an expression he couldn’t read. Had he somehow fucked up? Usually playing his cards like this worked. So why was–

“Seriously, what happened between you two?” Lucifer suddenly asks with a positively puzzled expression, “You both talk about each other like bitter exes.”

Vox took a moment just to comprehend the words. He was relieved he hadn’t turned the King against him in a matter of minutes, but he didn’t quite know how to answer the question either. Not in a way that was professional at least. No amount of years ever seemed to ease the stinging in his chest left behind from the past.

Lucifer tilted his head at the Overlord. “Vox?”

One way or another, he was going to have to respond somehow. Vox sighed and straightened his posture. Don’t let any unnecessary emotions slip. “It’s a long and complicated story. The short of it is we used to be close. Now we’re not. It’s no big deal.”

“Seems pretty big to me since you’re constantly at each other’s throats…” Lucifer mutters, seeming disappointed by the lack of a detailed answer.

Vox waved his hand to ease the tension only he seemed to feel. “Call it an ex-business partners’ quarrel. Besides, we’re in rivaling fields, it’s only natural there are tensions between us,” he answered, tingeing his voice with just the right amount of playfulness.

Lucifer looked at him like he didn’t fully believe him, but he didn’t press any harder than he had been. “I see… Well, that’s all I wanted to know. I’ll get out of your way now.” Lucifer started to stand.

Vox panicked. “Whoa whoa, wait a minute! You don’t have to go so soon!” That move was not so calculated or casual sounding. “I mean, if you want to know more about Alastor I have plenty of details on him!” he blurted out. Real smooth, Vox.

If nothing else, it did make Lucifer pause. He looked Vox up and down once and then sat back down. “Well if you don’t mind me staying…” he said quietly.

“Not at all! My other clients can wait.” Vox hadn’t pulled his tone completely to normal yet, but if it worked then it worked.

He accidentally spent two hours talking to the King of Hell. Two whole hours. About any and everything. Not once did he let himself seem anything less than perfect, and yet time slipped past his fingers without him even realizing. He’d shared a few old stories about Alastor, nothing too crazy. Things from a time long abandoned, things that felt impersonal to him.

Somehow, it had gotten Lucifer going. Vox didn’t quite expect the devil himself to be such a family man, but anything to pull him in was better than nothing. Plus, they got along surprisingly well.

As Lucifer was getting up to leave, he looked at Vox and smiled. “We should do this again sometime,” he said. Vox had no choice but to agree.

The door shut softly, leaving Vox alone in the room. He almost didn’t want to get back to work. His whole world felt skewed just ajar enough to irritate him. So many opportunities. So much power. And yet, he sat at the desk feeling oddly hollow. He pushed it down. Down here in Hell, you had to count your blessings.

And a connection to the King of Hell himself? The other two were never going to believe this.

Notes:

I have so much fun writing Vox, he's such a fucked up little guy!
As always, comments are very appreciated!

Chapter 3: And This Tired Smile is a Habit Hard to Break

Summary:

A day in the life of Vox.

Notes:

!This chapter contains content warnings!
See end notes for them

It was the night following Vox’s impromptu meeting with Lucifer. He was sitting in the tower penthouse with his two business partners. He was positive the news hadn’t reached either of them yet, otherwise they would have been up his ass about it. This left him to figure out how to break it to them himself.

“So… how were your days?” Vox started, setting up the conversation.

“Same old same old,” Velvette muttered, “dealt with a bunch’a fuckin’ idiots all day. It’s a miracle we got anything done.”

Valentino smirked as he thought about his answer. His voice came out in a purr, “I finished four whole shoots, and none of my actors had to be put in line,” he cooed. Vox rolled his eyes when Val was conveniently turned away.

Naturally, neither of them returned the question to him, leaving Vox to pretend it was implied. “Well I had quite the day,” he started. Velvette didn’t look up from her phone. Valentino barely regarded him. Vox huffed out a sigh and continued, “I got a visit from the King himself.”

Now that got their attention.

“You what?” Velvette practically snapped as her head whipped up.

“And you didn’t tell us, Voxxy? How cruel of you…” Valentino pouted at him.

“I’m telling you now aren’t I? And to think you two weren’t even giving me the time of day just a second ago,” Vox said with a smirk on his face. He was in a teasing mood. He still had to play it safe. Calculate his words. But it was nice to let go, even if just a little bit.

Valentino leaned over and cupped the corner of Vox’s screen to turn his face towards him. “Well, don’t leave us in suspense, tell us how it went~”

“It went better than you could ever fucking hope to imagine,” Vox stated, oozing pure confidence, “so well, in fact, he wants to meet again.”

Velvette caught on to what Vox was insinuating before Val did. “That means big things for us. I mean, the King of Hell, under our control? No other overlord could ever hope of defeating us!”

“Imagine if we struck a contract with him,” Valentino chuckled, “the King’s soul under our command… under us~”

That comment made Vox stop for a second. He should be all for it… So why did he feel hesitant about it? Getting the King to trust him that much just to use him?

What was he thinking? He’s an Overlord! In Hell! Exploitation is the name of the game! And the King would be the ultimate soul to add to VoxTek’s list.

He forced a smile, “You guys read my mind. Leave it to me, I’ll get him on our side.”

The three laughed together, talking about what they would do if they got the King under contract. After that, they each went to their respective floors to go about their nights.

————

Vox woke up to a phone call before his alarm. He rubbed his screen and sat up groaning before forwarding the call to his phone. “Velvette, it’s 5:43 in the morning, what could possibly be wrong?”

“I don’t know where Valentino went last night, but he’s come back in one of his moods, and I’m not awake enough to deal with it!” she snapped at him. It had only been three days since Vox dropped the news about his visit from the King. He was hoping his coworkers would have thought to lay low, but apparently not.

“I’ll handle it dear, just give me a few minutes,” he told her in his usual placating tone.

“You better be fucking quick Vox, because his screaming is going to give me a damn headache!” The call then cut off.

Vox heaved the heaviest sigh of sighs and pulled himself out of bed to get dressed. He hauled himself as fast as he could, following the sound of Valentino’s voice.

The room was a fucking mess already.

“Val.” Vox barked to get the moth’s attention. Valentino looked at him and stalked over. The same song and dance as always.

“The fuck do you want?” Val growled at him.

Vox took in a breath. He just needed to placate the other. “What’s got you so out of sorts? It’s not like you to come home so angry.” It was definitely like Val to come home angry, but that wasn’t the point here.

Valentino scoffed, yet he started talking anyway, “Some basic bitch ass run of the mill nobody decided to back talk me! Me!!”

“And did you… shoot them?” Vox asked carefully.

“Well, yeah! Of fucking course I did, what else would I have done?!” Val snapped, his accent growing thicker with his anger.

Vox approached him with his hands extended to comfort. “Then there’s nothing to worry about. I’m sure they’ll have learned their lesson by the time they regenerate… Besides, who’s going to mess with you now?”

Valentino stopped to think about it. It was always the best course of action. Make him think to break him out of the echo chamber he creates in his own head. “Uh… no one?”

“Exactly!” Vox cooed at him, “So don’t worry about it so much, yeah?”

“Yeah… Yeah okay,” Val huffed. “But it doesn’t make me feel better,” he whined. He shuffled over to Vox and wrapped all four of his arms around him.

Vox was hoping he would get out of this ‘Make Val Feel Better Session’ without having to go down this route, but apparently not. “And what will make you feel better, my dear?” he said, silky smooth. Ten syllables, carefully calculated.

Valentino hummed, smirked, and pulled Vox closer. “What time do you have to be in work by?”

“As late as I want~” Vox purred back. He’d rather not have a pile of work to return to but if it meant Val wasn’t going to be a nuisance all day, it was worth it.

Vox was given about three seconds before Val’s tongue was in his mouth. He let the moth do as he pleased. Sticky sweet saliva slid down his throat, just enough to cloud his head. Valentino pushed them both towards the couch. Clothes came off. Skin was marked by teeth. Flesh got raked by claws. Insides were pierced all but gently.

It was the way it always was. Raw and carnal. Time passed in a blur. Vox must’ve fallen asleep after, because he woke up still on the couch with the mess left behind. Valentino was nowhere to be seen. It was 11:03 AM.

Vox couldn’t stay here though, as sore as he was. He picked himself up off the couch, wincing the whole time. Fucking Val… If nothing else it felt good. It was what Vox usually reassured himself with. Living with Val was never easy, but they made it work. They made it work. It was as perfect as it could be. It had to be perfect.

A quick shower and an outfit that hid all the marks left on his body and Vox was feeling more like the tech CEO he was. He sent a quick text to Velvette, ensuring her that their most volatile business partner had been dealt with. She read the message without replying, as per usual.

Vox pocketed his phone and was out the door by 11:30. He would have to formulate an excuse for his sudden absence on the elevator ride down to his section of the tower, not that it was ever particularly difficult. Most of his employees were too scared of him to question anything he said, and besides, it was his company. He could do as he fucking pleased. All his subordinates should feel lucky he worked as much as he did to keep everything running smoothly.

He didn’t have time to grab anything to eat before any of his meetings started, and as always, there were a lot of them. He made it into the first conference room five minutes early.

————

It wouldn’t be a day at VoxTek without having to fight off half the population of reporters and paparazzi in Hell. Regard them with a charismatic smile. Tell them what they want to hear. Make sure not a single camera flash catches a moment of imperfection. It all came to Vox like clockwork.

In a way, it was kind of comforting. Going through all the motions as though he were more machine than man. It only made sense for the Overlord who sported a TV for a head, as he occupied every screen in Hell. Emotions were imperfect. The less he felt, the better.

Vox made it back to his private office at 6:00 PM. Of course, most if not all VoxTek employees were on call 24/7, but a majority of them had gone home by this hour. Not Vox. He still had documents of every variety to go through. A cup of coffee rested on his desk as his eyes scanned lines upon lines of text.

His thoughts drifted to the next time the King would request to see him… And if he’d announce his intentions before he just showed up at the tower next time. It was still too early for Vox to reach out himself. Something this delicate had to be handled with care. He’d have to think of some clever conversation topics to lure the King into a false sense of security. What had he brought up last time besides his deluded daughter? Ducks, maybe?

Vox suddenly remembered he was supposed to be reading the document in his hands. Great, he’d have to start from the top again. Before he could get into the flow of it again though, his office door opened. Only two demons in the whole tower could walk in unannounced without fear of being fed to the sharks.

“Val? What brings you up here at this hour?” Vox asked suavely as he spun his chair around.

Valentino sauntered over with a pout on his face. “You, mi vida… You’ve been cooped up here for hours,” he replied sweetly. Vox glanced at the clock to see it was almost midnight. He’d lost track of time again.

“Huh, I figured you’d be out clubbing at this hour instead of checking up on little old me,” Vox teased. He leaned his screen forward into Val’s hands as they reached to cup it. His face was tilted up so he could see Val’s disappointed look.

The moth shook his head and tutted at him. “No, I can’t afford another all-nighter like yesterday. I’d rather fall asleep with you, Voxxy…” he whined.

“Hmm, I suppose I could afford to save the rest of this for tomorrow,” Vox mused. Valentino leaned down to press a kiss to his screen.

“That’s what I like to hear~” the moth whispered to him before going in again, this time with his mouth open. Vox let him in.

Sometimes living with Val was okay.

Notes:

Content warnings:
Dubious(?) consent, Vox is not coerced, but he is only doing it out of convenience. The scene is pretty short and not graphic
Other general manipulative Valentino behavior

Alright! From here on out you guys can expect an update every Wednesday until stated otherwise! Mark it in your calendars, this is going to be a wild ride

Chapter 4: I Survive on the Scraps That Others Give Me

Summary:

The second meeting.

Notes:

The amount of research I had to do about alcohol terms for this is embarrassing...
Anyway, there is alcohol in this chapter

It had been exactly a week since Lucifer decided to go meet Vox on a whim, and it had been plaguing his memories the whole time since. From every waking hour to the minutes before he was falling asleep, his thoughts would always circle back to the strange Overlord.

The King sighed and rolled out of bed. He ought to finally fix his issue and go see the man again by now. He hadn’t really left his room much, and while that wasn’t exactly weird behavior for him, any excuse to get up was appreciated. It was already evening by now, but Lucifer figured it was worth a shot. He opened his phone and immediately got stuck. How should he reach out, anyway? Vox’s accounts were all professional and probably flooded with messages all the time. Anything Lucifer sent was bound to get buried in a matter of seconds, shot down and forgotten before it even got a chance to be seen.

The fallen angel paced around his room deliberating over it. They say you miss 100% of shots you don’t take or something cheesy like that. It was enough of a reason for Lucifer to at least make the attempt. He needed someone to talk to, someone not in the hotel.

Three drafts and a few muffled groans later, Lucifer managed to finally send an acceptable sounding email to one of Vox’s inboxes. It was labeled personal, but something told Lucifer that it wasn’t acknowledged very often.

Yet, despite his doubts, he received a reply only a few minutes later.

‘Good evening, Your Majesty. Another meeting would be wonderful. Coincidentally, I am free tonight. You couldn’t have reached out at a better time. Same room as last time, I presume? I’ll have my employees redirect you there so you will not have to wait around in the lobby.

See you there,
Vox’

Lucifer stared at his phone screen for a solid three minutes, blinking and rereading it just to be sure he wasn’t hallucinating. He certainly wasn’t expecting a reply so fast, let alone being welcomed in so readily. Did Vox really not have anything better to be doing than chatting with Hell’s absentee king?

Those questions could be addressed later. For now, Lucifer had to make himself presentable. He’d never been very good at the whole ‘self care’ thing, so just like getting up, any excuse to was appreciated.

Lucifer freshened up his fur and picked out an outfit a little different from what he always wore. He even made it a point to groom his wings, even though he had no intention of showing them while he was at the tower. It was supposed to be casual, and yet something drove him to put in a little extra effort.

Aside from protecting Charlie, the times he remembered being this motivated to do anything for himself were blurry. Faces were obscured in the edges of his memory, blown away by a gentle breeze turned violent. Lucifer inhaled sharply and hated the way the air felt inside his lungs or against his skin. Two deep breaths, in and out, he was standing in his room in the present. He had places to be, he couldn’t waste time thinking about the past now.

Lucifer left his room for the first time that day. He ended up passing the bar on his way out of the hotel. Angel Dust, of course, had to notice him and speak up.

“Well if it isn’t our resident short king! I haven’t seen ya around since… What? Yesterday morning? What do ya do in that room all day, anyway?” the spider asked, mostly rhetorically.

Lucifer gave Angel an awkward smile while he brushed off the question, “Oh y’know, important things! I would love to tell you about them, but I’m going out so I can’t stay to chat.”

“Out where? Ooohh, did his Royal Highness snag himself a date~?” Angel teased, raising his drink up to his lips to take a sip.

“It’s nothing like that!” Lucifer puffed up slightly too defensively. The accusation had no right making him feel so embarrassed! It was not a date, he was only going to casually chat.

“Keep tellin’ yourself that, buddy,” Angel snickered, “if you get laid I want the details!”

Lucifer rolled his eyes and turned away as the porn star waved goodbye to him. “It’s not a date! But if it somehow ends up there I’ll be absolutely sure to let you know,” he called back sarcastically before he was out the door, where he vanished into nothing but golden shimmers.

It was a little bit daunting seeing the Vees’ territory at night. It wasn’t any calmer than it was during the day. In fact, it may be even more active after the sun sets, with demons filtering in and out of clubs and bars.

Lucifer was lucky enough to be able to teleport himself so close to the tower. Vox hadn’t been lying when he said he’d have his employees redirect the King up to the room they met in last time. They ushered Lucifer into the elevator and directed him to the correct door as soon as he’d stepped foot inside the tower. He was glad about that. How many more times would he take this route before he had it memorized?

Vox was already there when Lucifer got through the door.

The Overlord turned his chair around at the sound of the door and a smile bloomed on his screen. “Well if it isn’t the man of the hour, the King of Hell himself!” he greeted the King. His voice was always so smooth… it lilted gently in places, ever pleasing to listen to. Lucifer got so distracted by it he almost forgot to respond.

“Please, save the formalities. It’s a pleasure to be here,” Lucifer said. He took his usual seat. The shark tank that took up one whole wall drew his eye as it had the first time. They swam around at ease, some only occasionally stopping to observe their master.

“The pleasure is all mine… Make yourself at home, and if you need anything, let me know.” Vox unfolded his hands on the desk and moved in preparation to get anything should Lucifer ask.

And this time, Lucifer found himself thinking about it. It couldn’t hurt to treat himself for once. “A drink would be nice, maybe… Just one, to celebrate the night?”

Vox got up in one fluid motion. “Now you’re speaking my language.”

Lucifer had seen many servant robots running around the tower before, so he couldn’t help but feel special as Vox got up himself to rummage through a fancy cabinet tucked against the back wall. He needn’t go through all the effort, after all.

Vox turned his head to address Lucifer, “Red wine? White? Whiskey? Rum?” the Overlord listed off each option, leaving Lucifer at a loss. He ran into a similar issue every time Husk asked him what he wanted, because more often than not he had no idea what he wanted.

“I’ll uhm… I’ll have whatever you’re having,” Lucifer finally responded after several seconds too long of mulling it over.

“Easy enough.” Vox turned back to watch what he was doing, probably a good idea for handling so much glass. “How do you take your whiskey?”

Lucifer had to think about this too. If it was only one drink, he wouldn’t have to worry about his rather poor constitution for alcohol. What he wasn’t expecting was to feel self-conscious about it. The last thing he wanted was Vox silently judging him for it. “How do you take yours?” he eventually asked, just in case.

“On the rocks,” came Vox’s quick answer.

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Lucifer decided without thinking about it. It would be fine. His drink was set in front of him a few minutes later. He thanked Vox and went to pick it up. Whatever brand it was, it was good. Warm and rich with a sort of cinnamon undertone to it. But what did Lucifer know? He didn’t really drink often compared to the people who could take one sip of something and provide a laundry list of flavors and sensations. All he knew is that it felt very… “Vox” to him.

The Vox who had entertained his silly desires to talk about nothing in particular. Who wouldn’t exactly answer his questions, but wouldn’t push him away either. He glanced up at the Overlord, who was sitting down once more. He folded his hands under his screen and smiled at the fallen angel.

“So, anything new happen in our week apart?” Vox asked.

Lucifer shook his head, somewhat mumbling his answer, “Not really. I don’t exactly get out much. I’m not particularly close with anyone at the hotel either… Besides Charlie. But I like to stay out of her hair, y’know?”

Vox hummed and nodded along, “I get it, it’s not uncommon to feel isolated even when surrounded by people.” The Tech Overlord paused to sip on his own drink. “That aside, our favorite resident old timer hasn’t gotten up to anything?” he asked, smile turning into something teasing and sharp.

“Oh, Alastor? Hell if I know,” Lucifer grumbled, “I try to avoid him as much as possible. He acts like he doesn’t know who he’s talking to.”

Vox snorts, “Yeah, that sounds like him. Terrible to know he hasn’t changed at all, the arrogant prick.”

“Arrogant doesn’t even begin to describe it.” Lucifer puts his glass down and starts drumming his fingers against the desk. “He gets all handsy and affectionate towards Charlie whenever I walk into a room. Like he wants to replace me! Except it’s just to get on my nerves!”

Vox started laughing. It caught Lucifer off guard at first, but eventually it got to him and he was laughing too. “You’re telling me he’d sacrifice his precious pride to act ‘fatherly’ towards your daughter? Now that’s rich! He loves his mind games, but that’s low even for him!” Vox barked between fits of laughter. “I would pay millions to see that!”

“Oh yeah, you have no idea! There was a whole song and dance about it!” Lucifer added bitingly.

They both ended up going on about their shared hatred for the deer for a lot longer than what would be considered normal or healthy, but Lucifer was enjoying the energy. He slid his empty glass over to Vox.

“Hit me with another,” he said, “after all, the night’s still young.”

Notes:

Every day I become less and less patient to post...

Chapter 5: And I've Wasted My Tears on Broken Mirrors

Summary:

Vox cares more than he'd like to admit.

Notes:

You know what, you guys may have a second chapter because I am feeling generous, and they are directly connected to one another

As it turns out, the King of Hell couldn’t hold his alcohol very well. This came as quite the surprise to Vox, as only about 2 and a half glasses in, Lucifer was already sounding less coherent. The golden flush on his face didn’t help his case.

“I’m not that drunk, I can handle a few more!” he retorted when Vox asked if he should slow down a bit.

Vox chuckled. “Are you sure about that, Your Majesty? You look about ready to topple over,” he joked lightly, making sure he didn’t come off wrong. It was going so well, he couldn’t afford a fuck up now.

“Yeeeah, I’m sure! It’s a fffun night! Let loose a’lil, Vox,” the King slurred, leaning forwards and bracing himself on the desk. It wasn’t Lucifer’s first time addressing the Overlord by name, but it still caught him by surprise. Would he be held accountable if he sent Lucifer home drunk off his ass? Would he even get home safely?

They were questions unlike Vox. In fact, he was thinking crazy. This was an opportunity. He put on his most charming smile and picked up Lucifer’s glass. “Well if you’re so certain, who am I to say no?” Twelve syllables, carefully timed despite the King’s inebriation.

Lucifer raised his arms in what looked like an attempted cheer, but instead he toppled back into his seat. He celebrated verbally nonetheless, “That’s the spirit!”

Vox took the glass back over to the makeshift mini bar at the back of the room. He replaced the ice cube in the glass and grabbed the whiskey bottle intending to pour the same amount he had been, but something gave him pause. This stuff wasn’t child’s play. He could keep serving it. Use it for its intended purpose in this room. Make people more… agreeable and open to suggestion.

The King had unknowingly put himself in a vulnerable position. In front of an Overlord no less. This was an opportunity. The perfect opportunity.

In the end, Vox ended up cutting the whiskey. He reassured himself by saying it would all fall apart if he advanced too quickly. He needed to gain the King’s trust. He wouldn’t be able to do that if he got him blackout drunk and started putting ideas in his head at this juncture.

“Heeey, what’s the holdup over there?” Lucifer asked, shaking Vox out of all his doubts.

He turned around with his usual perfect smile. “Nothing, nothing at all.” He returned to the desk and placed the drink down. By now Lucifer’s taste buds were probably too fried to tell it had been watered down. He hoped so, anyway.

Lucifer giggled and took the glass, slurring his reply. “I w’s starting to worry you were never comin’ back or something,” he joked playfully.

“While I was about three paces away? Please, Your Majesty, have a little more faith in me,” Vox chuckled. Seems like he was none the wiser to his drink not being as strong as before. Vox wasn’t entirely sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

“Mmm, I guess you have a point…” Lucifer started. He followed with a barely audible mumble, “But my heart couldn’t take losin’ this already…”

Vox’s smile became a tad awkward. Fuck. Suddenly the tensions in the room had spiked to levels that he wasn’t sure how to deal with. He was accustomed to anger, not whatever this was. Panicking and trying to find anything to break it, Vox jumped to the only thing he knew. Make him think.

“Ahem, so…” Vox started, struggling to lead into it, “Have you eaten at all today?” Eight syllables, spoken too slowly, too off beat. “Perhaps I should have asked that sooner,” he added. It improved the attempt to take Lucifer’s mind off of wherever it was going, if only slightly.

If by some miracle, it worked. The King looked up at Vox with a confused expression as he processed the words. His gaze drifted to the wall. His brows furrowed. Considering he had to think that hard about it, Vox wasn’t very surprised when he finally shook his head with an uncertain overtone in his voice, “I don’t think so…”

The Tech Overlord bit back a sigh and instead offered a much less malicious suggestion than the ones he’d been intending earlier, “Maybe you should do that. Even if it’s something small.”

“I’m not hungry though,” Lucifer whined. Of course he wasn’t hungry. And of course he had to sound childish about it. Vox couldn’t help the sigh that slipped out this time.

Two could play at that game. “Are you sure? I’m sure I have all sorts of treats stashed away in here… Maybe I’ll just eat them all myself,” Vox said, turning his eyes away from Lucifer as if he were considering following through with that.

“Wait wait wait!” Lucifer blurted out, “You can’t have all of them…”

“Oh? And why not? They’re my snacks, aren’t they?” Vox teased. He just had to get Lucifer to admit he did want to eat.

And admit he did, “Because I want some too,” he slurred, slumping forwards over the desk and reaching towards nothing in particular.

Vox tapped his screen and hummed, “I suppose I could share some with you.” He opened one of the desk drawers and fished out a granola bar. It wasn’t much, but at this point anything was better than nothing. He slid it to the other side of the desk into the King’s waiting hands.

It took several attempts for the intoxicated demon to open it. Vox winced inwardly at the display, but he said nothing.

Lucifer glanced past Vox out the window and started talking with his mouth full, “It’s gettin’ kinda late, huh?”

Vox looked at the clock rather than the sky behind him. It was well into the early morning. He couldn’t send the King home like this, though. He couldn’t risk stepping foot on the hotel’s property either. That only left one option.

“Very late. We should get you to bed, Your Majesty,” Vox proposed to him.

“Yeah… Yeah, bed sounds good…” Lucifer murmured. He was no doubt feeling all sorts of fucked up right about now.

Vox offered his hand to the King. “You can stay here until you’re feeling a little less… Intoxicated.” The pair’s hands met. Lucifer’s fingers were shockingly warm. Vox tried not to think about it too hard. “Don’t worry, my couch is quite comfortable,” he added with a chuckle.

“Oh, are you sssure? I could jus’... Magic myself home, y’know?” Lucifer asked. His grip on Vox’s hand inexplicably tightened.

Maybe Vox wasn’t comparable to the literal devil, but the few times he’d tried to teleport after a night of heavy drinking it had ended very poorly for him. He shook his head. “I’m positive. You’re not going anywhere I can’t see you.”

Fortunately, Lucifer didn’t have any further complaints about it. He took a step towards the door and stumbled to the side. Vox moved in to catch him. Looks like he was going to be stuck supporting the other the whole way to his floor. Which wouldn’t have been fine, but probably less awkward, if Lucifer wasn’t two whole feet shorter than Vox was. Vox had to lean down to make sure his guest didn’t fall on his face and it probably looked ridiculous. His only saving grace was that the tower was remotely empty by this hour.

Vox made sure Lucifer was stabilized while leaning against the elevator wall before he hit the button. It jerked into motion. He heard Lucifer audibly groan. He glanced over to make sure everything was all right.

Despite having fur that was whiter than any paper Vox had ever seen, the King’s face had gone pale. Vox groaned to himself. The elevator ride was short if nothing else.

Lucifer was set up on the couch with a pillow and blanket, out like a light in minutes. Vox shook his head. How had it come to this? He emptied out one of the small waste bins in the room and left it by the couch just in case. Better safe than sorry.

The exhausted Overlord spared one last glance to the demon sleeping on his couch. Hopefully he slept well. Hopefully he wouldn’t remember much from tonight in the morning. It was less than perfect.

Vox turned off the lights and retired himself to bed.

Notes:

Five chapters in and this idiot is still in denial, who's gonna tell him?

Chapter 6: Yet I Give Every Piece of Me for You to Take

Summary:

The morning after a night of drinking is never fun

Notes:

This chapter contains warnings
See end notes

The first thing Lucifer became aware of before he’d even opened his eyes was the pounding in his head. He must’ve gotten carried away last night, because the last few hours were a messy blur of blue and red. How had he even gotten home?

He rubbed his eyes and opened them slowly. It was far too bright in the room. Which was weird, because his windows were tinted to prevent that. Come to think of it, the ceiling wasn’t familiar either. Lucifer lifted his head. Where in Hell was he? Surely he wasn’t…

An illuminated poster on the wall of the room gave him every answer he needed. Vox stood in the center, standing imposingly, yet invitingly. The words ‘Trust Us’ were written in bolded letters accompanied by the VoxTek logo. So this was Vox’s place. And he was on Vox’s couch. This was a lot to take in all at once.

Lucifer glanced around for a clock somewhere, he needed to know what time it was.

He was stopped short by a sudden wave of overwhelming nausea. Hell, how much alcohol had he consumed? Spotting the small trash can that was conveniently left for him, Lucifer grabbed it and heaved violently. It felt about as good coming up as it had going down. If nothing else, he was happy Vox had the forethought to leave something for him to puke into, if not a little embarrassed.

And speak of the devil… that saying didn’t really work for Lucifer, did it? Speak of the sinner, Vox entered the room while he was still coughing and gagging.

“Charming,” the Overlord teased. He was already dressed and his usual smile was in place on his screen. Lucifer had no idea how long he’d been awake for. He would’ve retorted if he weren’t face down in the bin again seconds later.

Vox set down a bottle of water for him on the table, which was already a touching gesture, but then he followed it up with a bag. He answered before Lucifer could ask, “I didn’t know what you liked, so I just ordered pancakes. There should be hash browns too,” he said with an even tone. “Hangovers are no fun,” he added with a chuckle.

“Thanks,” Lucifer croaked, voice raw from violently heaving up his guts. He reached for the bag and pulled out a napkin to wipe his mouth. He hadn’t been expecting such a kind gesture from a demon he’d just met. Let alone a sinner who was also an Overlord. In fact, it was surprising he entertained Lucifer at all. It could have been his status, but most sinners were self-centered assholes who only cared for their own gain. Lucifer had always been detached from his subjects, leaving them to govern themselves as they saw fit… Maybe he’d been too quick to judge. Or maybe Vox was just special.

All the thinking was starting to hurt Lucifer’s head more. He could worry about silly things like that later, for now he had pancakes to eat. And water to drink. That was probably important too, immortality be damned.

“Can I get you anything else?” Vox asked. The fallen angel had almost forgotten he was still standing there.

He shook his head, speaking sheepishly, “No, no, you’ve done more than enough for me. I’ll get going soon, I’ve eaten up enough of your time.”

The Overlord nodded. “I’ll be one room over if you need me.” He left the room. Lucifer didn’t know whether to be grateful or disappointed about that.

He shrugged it off and started sipping on the water. The cool liquid helped to soothe his still-burning throat. He wasn’t sure where the pancakes were ordered from, but they tasted good. He took in the room again.

It was neat and tidy, not to mention sparsely decorated compared to the rest of the tower. Shades of blues and grays enveloped the space. Sharp corners and uniform lines were also notably different from the other floor’s ornate flowers and hearts. It even smelled different from the rooms he’d sat in before, like clean linens and salt on a sea breeze. It all felt very fitting for Vox.

Finally, Lucifer reached for his phone. He had been intending to look at the time, but his attention was harshly diverted to fifteen text messages and four missed calls from his daughter.

He nearly dropped his phone in his panic to call her back.

She answered almost immediately. “Dad! Oh thank goodness… Where have you been? Are you okay? Are you safe? Angel told me you went out last night and didn’t come back,” she shot out rapidfire questions at him. He couldn’t blame her, but his pounding head didn’t appreciate the overload of information to process.

He cleared his throat and tried to sound normal in his response. “Whoa, Charlie, relax,” he eased, “I’m perfectly fine. I’ll be back soon, promise.”

“Okay…” she took an audible deep breath on the other side of the line. “I’m glad you’re safe. What happened anyway? It’s not like you to go out for that long.”

Lucifer winced, he wasn’t sure how to tell his daughter he’d accidentally gotten wasted in the presence of an Overlord. An Overlord who, as far as he was aware, hadn’t made any move to take advantage of him.

“Dad?” Charlie asked again, when he didn’t reply for a beat too long.

“Ah, sorry, Charlie. It’s nothing crazy, just lost track of the night. There’s nothing to worry about,” was the only answer he could come up with that didn’t sound terrible. He knew she’d never let him hear the end of it if she found out anything that could be even remotely dangerous. Her girlfriend was especially wary of Overlords.

Reasonably, Lucifer should be hesitant around Vox, but the sinner had shown him nothing but kindness since they started talking. This was the man Alastor was so petty about?

Charlie’s voice shook him out of his drifting thoughts… Again, “You don’t sound too good… Just get back soon. Okay? We’re all worried about you.”

“Yeah, I’ll be there shortly. I love you,” Lucifer told her.

“I love you too, see you soon,” she said before hanging up the call. Lucifer sighed and finished his breakfast. Or perhaps it was brunch. Turns out it was already 12. He’d managed to sleep until noon. If that were the case, Vox surely got up hours ago.

The King got up and collected his trash. He wasn’t quite sure what to do with the trash can he’d vomited into, but he didn’t want to leave Vox to deal with it. One wave of his hand and the bag was replaced with a fresh one. As for the other stuff, it wasn’t difficult to find Vox’s primary trash can. The room was pretty open, after all.

Lucifer’s feet carried him the way he’d seen Vox go earlier. “Vox?” he called out. The last thing he wanted was to accidentally walk into the wrong room and see something he wasn’t supposed to.

The door to his left opened and Vox stepped out. “Heading out?” he asked, straightening his suit jacket.

“Yeah, thank you for… Uh… well, everything,” Lucifer mumbled as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Vox waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t mention it, it’s the least I could do. I’ll escort you out.”

The trip to the bottom of the tower was spent mostly in silence. Vox walked him all the way to the door before speaking again, “Get home safe.”

Lucifer nodded and started walking away. He watched Vox’s smile become sharper as he was surrounded by reporters and journalists in a matter of seconds.

————

Charlie was on his case the minute Lucifer stepped in the door.

“There you are!” she called while rushing over. Her hands found his face and she started tilting his head around as if she were checking for injuries.

Lucifer chuckled, and gently pulled her wrists away. “I told you, I’m fine. Don’t you have any faith in your old man? I’m only the strongest being in Hell,” he joked, trying to take her mind off of his sudden disappearance.

Vaggie joined Charlie’s side and started spouting entirely too reasonable nonsense, “That doesn’t mean anything, Your Highness. Demons of high status have plenty of enemies whether they know it or not… I’m sure plenty of demons out there would do anything to mount your head on their wall.”

The King sighed. She had a point, but he wasn’t going to let her win. He trusted Vox. “I assure you, I was very careful. No one came after me.” One lie, one truth. Hopefully it appeased them.

Vaggie looked like she wanted to argue back, or maybe ask more questions, but Charlie cut her off, “Either way, just be careful, okay? I don’t know what I’d do if I ever lost you…”

Lucifer rested one of his hands on her shoulder. “You’re not going to lose me, silly. You’d have to try really hard to get rid of me,” he reassured.

Thankfully, she took it without a fight. He felt her shoulder relax under his hand. “Alright, alright… I trust you,” she said.

Satisfied with her response, Lucifer nodded a curt goodbye and strolled further into the hotel. Alastor manifested behind him before he made it so far as the stairs though.

“I believe we need to have a little chat,” he said with a toothy sharp smile plastered on his face.

Notes:

Warnings:
Brief depictions of vomiting, not graphic

Posting week by week feels so slow, I want to show you guys more, but I must have self-control lest I run out of chapters to share T-T
As always, comments are highly appreciated! Don't worry if I don't reply, I definitely see and read every single one!

Chapter 7: I'll Be Hollow in the End, But...

Summary:

Expected enemies and unexpected allies.

Notes:

This chapter contains warnings, see end notes

It is also worth mentioning that I wrote this to Super Sonic Racing... what a time

Lucifer found himself in his room, though he’d rather be anywhere else than with his daughter’s self-proclaimed hotelier. The deer had the audacity to say they needed to talk and then not offer any of his own spaces, no! He absolutely had to invade Lucifer’s instead.

The strawberry bastard was pacing around Lucifer’s floor. He stopped suddenly and spoke sharply, “You absolutely reek of cheap plastic and wires.” He took a moment to scowl. “Alcohol too, though that’s neither here nor there.”

Lucifer’s eyes practically rolled on their own. “Wow, I had no idea. What’s the problem? You jealous that he likes me more than you?”

“That is far from the case!” Alastor snapped back, “I brushed it off when you went to visit him the first time, it was my idea after all. A second time, though?” The Radio Demon left his real question unspoken, hanging in the air.

“What can I say? We get along just fine. I can’t say the same for you,” the King spat, “he doesn’t take every opportunity to piss me off on purpose.”

It was Alastor’s turn to roll his eyes. “Has our crown monarch gone and lost his mind? You know he’s just using you, right? Or has he caught you so deep in his intricate web of noise and color so deeply already? I didn’t know you were so pathetic as to fall for one spiraling eye!” the deer mocked, laughing just to add insult to injury.

Lucifer refused to believe any of it, no matter how possible any of it was. “Using me? For what! If he’s using me for my power he’s made a really terrible show of it.” the fallen angel crossed his arms. “Last I checked, the only hospitality you offer is condescension.”

The deer’s eye twitched, and his ever-present smile pulled up tighter. “Lulling you into a false sense of security, surely. Have you met his associates? If anything were a dead giveaway to his motives, it’d be them. A shallow soul like him only cares for money and disgusting…” he paused, seemingly trying to find the right words, “Physically intimate relations.”

Lucifer’s eyes narrowed. He found his tail had slipped out without him noticing and was now flicking like a cat about to pounce. “Oh you want to talk shallow? Step off your high horse for one moment and consider that you yourself are only after power too. That’s what I can’t stand about you sinners! Everything is a constant rat race between all of you! And all I can do is watch as you all climb over one another. You pretend you’re different people, hurting anyone in the way, and for what? A little more control? You make me fucking hate myself!

“And now you want to come into my room and lecture me about how I’m the fool for accepting the only kindness any sinner has ever presented me with? And maybe you’re right! Maybe this is all some elaborate scheme just to milk me for all the power I’m worth! But I’m not helpless! I could tear his soul apart at the seams, hell, I could do the same to yours right now! So why don’t you sit the fuck down and think before you go spouting nonsense rhetoric at me just because you’re a petty and bitter asshole?!”

Lucifer was panting by the time he finished his tirade. He wasn’t sure when he’d slipped into his full demonic form, but every eye was trained on the demon in front of him and his feathers were all puffed up. Alastor stared back with wide eyes, yet he stood his ground the whole time.

Somehow, the fucker still had the nerve to speak, “Let’s not be hasty now, I’m just doing my due diligence to protect this hotel.”

“Bullshit,” Lucifer hissed, tail still twitching.

“As much as I wish it were some sarcastic joke at his expense, Vox could pose a threat to this. He may be a fool, but he’s a fool with an empire of connections,” Alastor said evenly. There was no longer any hint of his previous condescending tone.

Lucifer couldn’t deny that the Radio Demon had a point, and he hated it. He folded his wings and smoothed his feathers down. “Will you get off my ass about it if I tell you I’ll be careful?”

The sinner’s ears twitched in contemplation. “No, probably not. But please, do feel free to continue tearing up those old rotten floor boards! Not even I know everything he tucked down there to hide from the public eye,” he eventually said in a disturbingly chipper tone. He melted into the shadows before Lucifer could complain.

————

Lucifer sat in his room stewing in his emotions for several hours. Which wasn’t unlike him at all, but it felt worse this time than it usually did. He couldn’t afford another night of senseless drinking. He couldn’t rot in bed all day every day for several days either.

For a royal with all the power in Hell, his coping skills weren’t great. He couldn’t lay and do nothing though, his thoughts were already spiraling. His eyes flicked over to his nightstand.

He didn’t want to consider the possibility that Vox only wanted to use him. He longed for connection like no other. He didn’t want to feel so alone anymore. He didn’t feel the same connection to the hotel residents, it was like there was something in the way.

Lucifer sat up in bed. His hand closed in on the drawer handle.

The only love he had ever known was Lilith’s. But Lilith wasn’t here anymore, she wasn’t with him anymore. She had distanced herself from him. Distanced him from his family and left him in the ashes of their mistakes.

The drawer slid open easily, welcoming him to its contents.

Heaven knows how much of a fucking mess Lucifer had always been. He’d only ever wanted the best for people. Why is it that everything he touched fell apart? He’d seen Vox twice. He desperately wanted to believe that this wasn’t like all his other ventures. There was no room in the world left for sympathizing with the devil, he supposed.

The glint of an angelic dagger struck his eyes, calling to him to pick it up.

If he wasn’t allowed to have even a crumb of happiness, he’d paint his flesh gold until he couldn’t feel at all anymore. A small voice in the back of his head tried to convince him that this was a bad idea. If Charlie found out about this he’d never forgive himself. If he never forgave himself he would simply spill more of his own blood. This tainted blood that corrupts everything.

Lucifer grabbed the hilt of the weapon. He could feel its bloodlust.

He craved the punishment for his flaws, his body’s begging for that release of emotional tension. And eventually the bite of the blade sinking its teeth into his thigh would guide his mind back home. It would all be okay.

He rolled up the leg of his pants. The dagger drew closer, prepared to carve another little golden line among the others that were already there. It was a practiced motion, an art form Lucifer had mastered. Cold steel caressed skin.

A knock sounded from the door.

Lucifer nearly jumped out of his skin, quickly jerking the blade away from his waiting flesh. He stuffed back into the drawer and slammed it shut, where it would lie in wait for the next time its master called upon its sharp edge.

“Who is it?” Lucifer called out to the door.

The voice of Angel Dust came from the other side, “It’s me… I have some questions an’ I was wonderin’ if you wanted to discuss em over a drink maybe?”

Why did everyone suddenly want to talk to him? He couldn’t handle any more talks. He would rather pluck out all his feathers one by one.

“I’d love to, really, but I need to cut back on the drinking for a while,” Lucifer responded.

Naturally, it wasn’t enough. Why would it ever be enough? “Then we can talk without the drinks.”

Lucifer sighed, groaning, “And if I say I don’t feel like talking either?”

“Then I’ll keep on pesterin’ ya until you do,” came Angel’s resolute reply.

“Fine. Come in.”

The King’s door swung open. Angel stepped inside and closed it behind him gently. He wasn’t nearly as accusatory or bold as Alastor had been.

The spider inhaled slowly before he started speaking. “You snuck off last night to meet with Vox?!” he suddenly asked with pure bewilderment.

“How do you know that?” Lucifer answered with a question.

“You n’ Smiles weren’t exactly bein’ discreet about your little argument. I heard the whole thing from the hallway,” Angel explained casually. “I’m not quite sure what you were expectin’ when you started yellin’ at each other like that.”

Well wasn’t that just the perfect cherry on top? Lucifer rubbed his face. “Yes, I went out to see Vox. Have you come to yell at me about it too?”

Angel shook his head. “Not at all, but I do have some warnings for ya if you decide to pursue him.”

“Oh? And what might those be?” Lucifer asked, quirking one of his eyebrows up skeptically.

“Just… Be careful, okay? Don’t fall for any sweet nothings. And certainly don’t pledge yourself to him.” Angel sighed. “I don’t see him very often, and I don’t know how he treats his employees… But he enables Val, and for that I can’t trust him. If I had the chance to spit in his face, I probably would.”

Valentino… Lucifer had seen his name pop up a lot in his searching around for information on Vox. He didn’t know much about the Overlord though, he wasn’t really interested in the happenings around the porn industry.

“I never intended on it,” Lucifer mumbled. His chest hurt. His head hurt. Everything seemed to hurt.

Angel laughed humorlessly and went on, “I mean, it would be pretty fuckin’ hopeless for all of us if our King fell into the hands of a group like that…”

“Everyone keeps telling me to be careful, keep my guard up, like I’m some kind of naive child,” Lucifer mutters, “I don’t need to have my hand held.”

“I get it, I get it. No one likes being made to feel like they’re stupid,” Angel said. He raised all four arms in a show of surrender and changed the topic of conversation. “So… Did you fuck him?”

Lucifer gave the spider his best deadpan look.

Notes:

Warnings Include
Referenced self-harm
Attempted self-harm

Oh boy wasn't this just a delight to write, poor poor Lucifer cast in between old problems. He'll figure out his feelings eventually. Probably.

Chapter 8: Hollow is Almost All I've Ever Known

Summary:

A certain Overlord is under a lot of pressure.

“So, Vox! How are things with the King going?” Velvette asked as soon as Vox stepped through the door to the Vees’ shared penthouse. Four days had passed since the… Incident that had led to Lucifer passing out on his couch. He had yet to tell his business partners about it. No matter how he went about it, it had to be perfect.

Vox smiled wide and replied as he confidently sauntered over to the couch, “Things are progressing quite well if I do say so myself!”

“Well, any details then? Don’t leave anything out,” Valentino cooed at him. Pink smoke escaped his lips when he spoke, floating around Vox.

“For starters, he’s already comfortable leaving himself completely vulnerable around me, and it was only our second official meeting,” Vox announced. He sat down and kicked his legs up on the coffee table, awaiting his colleagues’ reaction.

Velvette went as far as to put her phone down and give him her full attention. “Really? There’s no way, even an old fool like him surely wouldn’t just leave himself open like that so soon?” she asked with disbelieving laughter woven into her words.

“Ohoho, yes way!” Vox responded, carefully watching the faces of the other two.

Valentino took another drag from his cigarette. “Don’t leave us in suspense, Voxxy~ What did he do?”

“Our second meeting and he decides to get completely fucking shitfaced! He didn’t even have that much, turns out His Royal Highness can’t hold his alcohol,” Vox sneered about the King. It should feel good… But it didn’t. He pushed down the heavy weight in his gut. He wouldn’t be able to control his tone if he let something as silly as feelings get in the way.

Velvette burst out laughing, only managing to speak between fits of giggles, “Oh it’s too easy! Well? Did you get anything important out of him?”

“Not much, he wasn’t very coherent about it. I think he’s lonely though, desperately so. It should make my job much easier,” Vox explained.

Valentino leaned over to wrap his upper arms around Vox’s shoulders. The moth drawled into his auditory processors, “Good job, Voxxy~ I’ll be sure to treat you later.”

“Could you two keep it in your pants long enough to finish the conversation at hand?” Velvette snapped at them. “Loneliness is easily exploited, but was he easy to sway on things?” she asked.

Vox paused at the question. He had avoided trying for fear of scaring the King off, and no other reason. He shook his head and shrugged. “I’m not sure, it seemed too soon to tell.”

“You’re telling me you got the King of Hell drunk of his fuckin’ ass and didn’t try to convince him of anything at all?” She snorted, “I thought I knew you better, Vox.”

Val was still hanging off his shoulders, but he pouted at the TV demon. “Not even a hookup?”

“Bedding the King of Hell was never in the plan, Val,” Vox stated flatly.

“Come ooon, he’s the King of Hell! You have to be at least a little curious~” the moth teased, pinching Vox’s screen between his thumb and index finger.

Velvette rolled her eyes and opened her phone again, though she continued speaking to them, “We never know when Lucifer’s interests may shift. You can’t afford to be pussyfooting your way around him.”

“I’m aware of that, Vel, but playing my cards too fast won’t do us any good either,” Vox retorted. Did neither of them know the benefits of having even a little bit of patience? “It was only our second meeting, there will be plenty more where that came from,” he reassured. Nineteen syllables worth of words spent trying to rein their demands in. That was almost twenty.

“There fucking better be, because otherwise I’m posting your most embarrassing pictures,” she threatened. The scary thing was she was dead serious about it. Vox made a mental note to scrub her devices of anything she could use to blackmail him with at some point.

“Oh give him a break, doll,” Valentino chimed in. “I’m sure he can handle this~” he purred at first before his voice turned sharp, “But if he can’t… I’m crushing that pretty screen under my heel.”

Vox was kind of hoping his accomplishments would have spared him their threats, but apparently not. He’s not even sure what he was expecting in place of them, honestly. He wanted to heave a sigh. Frankly, he was exhausted, but he couldn’t show that.

So he kept on smiling instead. “And I’m sure you’d love every second, my dear,” he said smoothly.

The comment got Val to giggle. A good sign. “Oh you know me so well~” he drawled as he resumed his affectionate rubbing up on Vox.

The Tech Overlord let him do as he pleased while he thought about how to move forward. First of all, he had to establish a more stable contact with Lucifer. That could be done easily via just giving the man his personal phone number. Very few people contacted Vox on his personal phone, it would be less stressful to keep track of messages.

Next he had to find a surefire way to keep the King’s interest… But how was he supposed to do that? Vox thought long and hard about it, deciding he would need a step in between one and two. He’d call on Lucifer and lure him into discussing his interests. Things he enjoyed doing perhaps, his favorite genres of music, movies, shows, anything and everything. If Vox had mastered anything in his afterlife, it was the attention economy.

————

Vox found himself in his office with one goal in mind. So far, Lucifer had only ever reached out to Vox. It was something the Overlord didn’t mind at first, as letting Lucifer come to him willingly was for the better in the long run. It meant the King didn’t see him as a threat.

But if Velvette and Valentino were going to put so much pressure on him, it couldn’t continue like this. Vox practically fell into his chair and spun towards the screen where the King’s email to him was still open in the background.

His fingers took position over the keys. It was a practiced motion, a second nature. The first draft fell into place on the screen. It fell wrong. Ctrl + a, backspace.

The second draft came slower. It had more thought in it, but it still wasn’t good enough for the Tech Overlord. You didn’t become one of the most profitable monopolies in Hell by distributing anything that was ‘just okay’ and Vox certainly didn’t intend on starting now. Everything had to be perfect. Ctrl + a, backspace.

They say the third time’s the charm. It wasn’t. All he had to fucking do was write a simple invitation. Simple! He wrote emails all the damn time, so what was with his sudden incompetence with words?

Four drafts. Five. Six. Seven.

It wasn’t until nine drafts later where Vox’s stress finally reached a breaking point and he forced himself to come up with something even remotely decent. It eventually became the final after some polishing around the edges. Too formal and it would have sounded impersonal and detached. Too informal and it might give the wrong impressions of Vox.

He read it back to himself to be sure it passed his quality control checklist.

‘Good evening, Your Majesty. I’m aware it is late, but I was wondering if you would be interested in stopping by again? I’m not exactly in a position where I can come to you, I fear. We could hang out in my living space this time, it’s more comfortable up there. Plus, you’ve already seen it anyway. No drinks this time, but I’ll be sure to set out snacks.

I look forward to your reply,
Vox’

Vox felt himself glaring at the words. The whole thing felt like it was being held together by duct tape and glitter glue, but the longer he spent writing one fucking email, the later it got. It would have to do. His whole body shivered as he clicked send.

Now that that was done, Vox had to find out what to do while he waited for a reply. His attention turned to another screen where he opened a fresh document and wrote out a bulleted list of things he could ask. Then, just to be safe, he sent it to himself so he could reference it internally. One of the many tricks he used when he didn’t want to forget anything.

Conveniently, his speakers pinged as soon as he was done with the list. He spun back to the monitor he’d been looking at previously. Lucifer’s reply was sitting at the top of his inbox. Vox opened it hastily.

‘Hello! I’d love to, I can be there in an hour! If comfort is the goal, I’ll come in something casual this time. See you there!’

The Overlord let out a digital sounding sigh. It was simultaneously relieved and stressed. Instead of one less thing to worry about, the worry got diverted into another outlet. Everything was going to be perfect, Vox would be certain of that.

His fans started whirring from the anxiety that came with the added pressure of needing to move faster, but he forced them to quiet down. It would be okay.

Vox worked best under intense pressure, after all.

Notes:

How would you guys feel about two updates per week? I just hope I can keep up with the chapter demand if I follow through with it :')

But! I hope you all enjoyed. This chapter is a little lackluster in my opinion, but I promise it'll get better TwT

Chapter 9: And Those Days Spent Happy Leave Behind an Unrelenting Ache

Summary:

When the answer to a question leaves behind more questions.

Notes:

I have decided you guys will get a chapter on Sundays as well as Wednesdays until further notice! Also the chapter index is getting lonely you guys should open it I think

Vox had less than an hour to prepare his space. The time crunch pushed him to work faster, as time crunches are wont to do. It couldn’t look rushed though.

The pillows on his couch were always neat given the fact that he never used it, but he made sure they were in order anyway. Every visible surface was dusted off. Lucifer would be sober this time, and unlikely to be hungover either. If his alcohol tolerance was anything to go by, he didn’t drink very often.

Vox looked at his coffee table. The lack of decorations rendered it bare, but it offered plenty of space for snacks. What did he even have in his kitchen? It was only ever regularly stocked with things he ate regularly. It was only ever snacks, since Vox didn’t cook for himself and ordered out more often than not. He suddenly found himself feeling overwhelmingly insecure.

Would Lucifer judge him for his taste in snacks? His diet in general? It was a ridiculous fear at best.

“Fuck me,” Vox muttered to himself as he trudged off to the kitchen. He had at least three different brands of potato chips on hand right now and several dips sitting in the fridge. He fished a few bowls out of his cabinets. Turns out he used them so infrequently that they also needed a good dusting.

A quick rinse and wipe down later and they were good as new. Probably.

Vox picked his favorite of the potato chips, it only made sense since he’d be eating them too. The second bowl got tortilla chips, lime flavored to be specific. He hesitated on what to put in the third bowl. He had plenty of things that were novel or limited flavors, but which one did he pick? And why was he placing so much importance on this when there was more to be done?

Perhaps he could settle on just using the two bowls. They weren’t particularly big, and while Vox could kill two large bags of chips by himself in one afternoon, three bowls seemed like a lot for a small hangout.

He put the third bowl back in its cabinet. He could always grab it later if he needed it. The other two bowls got placed on the coffee table, and were soon joined by French onion dip and pineapple guacamole respectively.

At this point Vox realized he was still in his usual suit. If Lucifer was coming in casual, it would be a good idea to change. The Overlord dressed down into just his undershirt and striped sweater vest. His hat was left on his nightstand.

It didn’t exactly scream comfort, but Vox would have to meet the King in the lobby. Vox was one of very few demons in the tower with access to the private floors, Lucifer would be helpless to get up here otherwise. That meant Vox couldn’t dress in completely casual clothes. There was too much risk of being seen.

It was a rightful concern too, despite the hour there were still plenty of demons outside the tower that could look inside. Vox had to be extra careful. Countless news outlets had already reported the previous ‘Lucifer sightings’ around the tower. He wasn’t sure if Lucifer himself knew about the uproar, but it was intense. Demons online were having a field day losing their minds over every new conspiracy theory that came out over it. If journalists spotted him with Vox himself they might choke on the froth spilling from their own mouths.

So he stood out of view of the windows. Lucifer showed up relatively quickly, thankfully.

Vox studied the King’s appearance. He was in a t-shirt with some kind of duck graphic on it. An unzipped jacket rested over top of it. Vox’s eyes flitted down to the gray jeans next. They were much more form fitting than the King’s usual pants, and perhaps Vox found himself admiring the shape of his legs for a second too long.

He quickly pulled himself back into script and smiled as Lucifer walked over. “Welcome back,” he greeted. Three simple syllables.

The shorter demon smiled back, but there was a nervous quirk to it. Something was wrong. “Hey, not like you to come all the way down here for me,” he said, leaving a question in the air.

Vox picked up on it and responded appropriately, “You wouldn’t be able to get up to my floor without me.” He gestured for the King to follow him into the elevator.

“I suppose that makes sense,” Lucifer chuckled. His hands were shoved into his pockets and his shoulders looked tense. Had something happened in the four days they hadn’t seen each other? Vox hadn’t planned for any unforeseen events happening in such a short time. He prevented his fans from kicking on in response to his riding anxiety.

It hadn’t gone wrong yet. Deep breaths. Just find a way to ease the King’s own anxieties and proceed from there as planned.

“So…” Vox started once the elevator doors closed. “If we’re going to be in communication with each other, we should probably have a better way to contact each other, huh?” he asked, posing the suggestion as a question.

Lucifer perked up and nodded. “Oh! Yeah, I completely forgot to ask about that last time. I suppose that’s my fault for getting so drunk,” he spoke with embarrassment creeping into his tone.

Vox waved his hand to try and dispel any insecurity the other may have had. “It happens to the best of us. No demon can be expected to be perfect, that would be unreasonable.” He winced internally.

“Heh, you seem to do it just fine,” Lucifer replied. It sounded lighthearted. For reasons unknown to Vox, it stung a lot to hear.

A change of subject was desperately needed. Vox forced one of his usual laughs. “Well, that’s the world of business for you. I just do what I have to.” Seventeen syllables, perfectly calculated to wrap up whatever the fuck that was about. Vox continued, “And speaking of things to do, exchanging phone numbers…”

Lucifer nodded and pulled his phone out of his pocket. Vox watched in the corner of his eye as he opened his contacts. Vox gave the King his number and watched as it was saved.

The elevator doors finally opened and both demons were permitted to step out of the tension in the claustrophobic space and into the comfort of Vox’s living room.

“Well, make yourself at home.” Vox gestured to the room.

Lucifer got himself situated on the couch. Vox watched as he glanced around the room. Eventually the King spoke, “So, anything specific you called me here for, or…?”

The Tech Overlord joined his guest on the couch and offered a calculated reassuring smile. “I was hoping we could get to know each other a little better.”

Vox watched as the demon before him seemed to only tense further, but his face was nothing but a blank expression. The answer came out after an awkwardly long pause, “I’m very bad at that… You’re going to have to bear with me on that.”

“That’s perfectly fine! We have all the time in the world, we’ll go at your own pace,” Vox offered. He eyed the chips on the coffee table and took a handful.

Lucifer nodded. “Thanks… It means a lot. I have no idea where to even start though.”

“Well then it’s a good thing I do!” Vox referenced the list from earlier without having to pull anything up. “We’ll start basic, what are some things you like to do? For fun or otherwise.”

The King spent a long time thinking about it, but Vox didn’t rush him. “Things I enjoy doing… Well…” There was another long moment of hesitation. It was Lucifer’s turn to grab chips, though it may have been desire to stall for time and nothing more. “Sometimes there are circus routines hosted at Lu Lu World… I go to some of them and they’re always a treat.”

“Oh yeah, you do have your own theme park don’t you? You should totally take me sometime,” Vox joked, anything to lighten the mood.

Surprisingly, the King seemed open to the idea. “Huh, that doesn’t sound half bad. It can be a little awkward going there since I’m… Me, but it could be fun!”

Vox hadn’t intended to make a genuine suggestion, but maybe Lucifer was right, maybe it could be fun. Why did the idea sound so appealing? And why did it make his heart beat faster? He shook the thought away, he needed to keep the conversation on its rails.

“Is there anything else you enjoy? Surely there has to be something… watching anything? Music you like?” the Overlord offered. Questions with a more structured prompt sometimes worked better.

Lucifer hummed, sounding a little hesitant again, “I try to stay away from the TV usually, but I do enjoy the occasional cheaply made romcom.” He turned his head away. He seemed shy about that fact.

“I could turn one on if you want,” Vox said. The TV in the room was just sitting lifelessly against the wall. “They make good background noise.”

The King seemed to consider it, but he shook his head. “That’s alright, talking to you is enough. Is there… Anything you enjoy doing?”

“I can’t say I have much time for myself on most days, but I enjoy spending time with my sharks. Hell, even though it’s not ‘me time,’ there are parts of my job I like too,” Vox explained. Technically, it was true. Vox enjoyed his job from time to time.

“I could never,” Lucifer chuckled back, “it all just gets to be so much, and I’m not even talking about the work. The sheer amount of responsibility is just… Just…”

“Daunting, perhaps?”

Lucifer pointed at him. “Yeah, that! I don’t know how you do it.”

All Vox could offer was a shrug. Lucifer was a far older being than him. “Live and learn I guess.”

The King sighed. His vibe was all off again. Vox couldn’t put it off any longer he supposed.

He bit the bullet and asked, “Did something happen, by any chance?’

He watched as the demon before him shrank on the couch. The other’s hands moved to rest on his thighs. He avoided looking at Vox for the most part.

So, the Overlord quickly backpedaled, “You don’t have to answer that if you don’t feel like it… I was just curious.”

“No, you deserve to know, I suppose.” Lucifer’s grip tightened. “After I got back to the hotel last time I was here… Alastor stopped me. We got into a huge argument… He told me not to trust you,” he admitted.

Vox stared for a few seconds. Just blankly stared as he processed the words. Normally the mention of the old prick would make his blood boil. Instead he just felt a heavy sense of hollowness. Alastor was right to be distrustful of him. Right to warn Lucifer to keep his guard up. And that hurt.

Lucifer continued, “And I know I should listen to him, but… I want to believe. I want to believe that for once in my godforsaken life, someone really cares. Actually really truly cares… And to think that someone could be one of the least expected demons in Hell…” His voice cracks on those final words before it fades out. “Sorry,” he eventually murmurs, “I got carried away there.”

Vox… Didn’t know what to say. No amount of calculation or careful planning could ever produce a script that would have prepared him for that. He was an Overlord. He wasn’t any pinnacle of good morals. He had hurt countless times to get where he was today. But… He scrapped the plan. He couldn’t bring himself to do it.

He couldn’t betray this soul.

Not like he’d been.

Vox took a deep breath in to steady himself. “I… Can’t say I blame him. But I… I want… I don’t… It’s not like…” Fuck! Why was he so bad with words all of a sudden? All he ever dealt with was words! Words, words, words! Every fucking day!

But he couldn’t shut down now, Lucifer was looking at him with such a hopefully expectant expression.

“I guess now is as good a time as any to tell you what you started coming to me for…” Vox muttered.

Vivid images came to him as he recounted the story.

————

Vox hadn’t been in Hell for very long at that point, but he already knew he didn’t like it. If the living world was cutthroat, it was even worse down here. His only hope of survival was a fellow who’d taken pity on him, some kind of deer demon who hosted a radio show. Vox looked up to him. They got along just fine, better than any other demons he’d seen thus far. It felt special.

They grew closer over the months, until Vox couldn’t live in denial any longer. Still, he kept his heart in its cage. He lived on those fond glances and soft smiles for as long as he could. He never considered that maybe he’d read the situation all wrong.

They’d been drinking that night. Alastor had taken Vox up to the balcony to get some fresh air. Needless to say, all the noise and alcohol had been getting to him. They were idly chatting. It was the night his heart had accidentally escaped the confines he kept it in.

“I love you.” They were just three words. Three little syllables. Just three.

Alastor turned his head to face the TV demon. “What?”

“I said I love you…” Five syllables this time.

“Why?”

Vox smiled. He missed the way Alastor’s smile had gotten sharper and how his shoulders tensed at the time. “Well… it’s like you’re the only guy down here that I can trust. It was a rough start, but we got there, didn’t we? There’s nothing we couldn’t do together. Think about it, we’d be the greatest power couple in all of Hell!”

As soon as Vox finished talking he felt something in the air change. His smile died on his screen. Alastor’s ears pinned back. “Why, that’s the stupidest thing I think I’ve heard come out of your mouth yet.”

“W-what do you mean?”

‘Vox, this is Hell. Did you honestly think any of this meant anything?” the deer asked condescendingly. The look in his eyes was something Vox could never scrape from his memory.

The rest of their argument was a blur of red and green. All he knew was that Alastor had cut him off completely… And the worst part is, Vox had never known what he did wrong. How was he supposed to know that his business partner at the time would react so strongly to three words? Three syllables?

Vox still sought after him for a while after. It had become borderline obsessive. He wanted answers. The only answers he ever got were sharp stabs through the gut, though.

He’d reinforced the bars on his heart’s cage that day.

————

Lucifer was staring at him with wide eyes when he concluded his recounting of the tale. It was amazing that Vox managed to keep his composure throughout the whole thing. He left out the part where he traded Alastor’s fleeting fond tenderness for Valentino’s harsh drugged up sex. The King didn’t need to know about that.

“Vox, I…” Lucifer started.

Vox raised his hand to stop him. “It’s fine.” It wasn’t. It hadn’t been fine for a long time. But Vox lived with it all the same. He grabbed one of the chip bowls. Normally he would wait until Lucifer had left to start stress eating, but if a small show of imperfection was the only thing between the Overlord and a memory-induced breakdown, so be it.

Neither of them could lift the heavy atmosphere that lingered in the room, try as they might. It stuck to Vox’s skin, an unwanted caress of his past trying to haunt him.

Lucifer left only twenty minutes later. Vox drowned his emotions in calories and paperwork.

A heavy dread settled in his chest. How was he going to tell the other two?

Notes:

Fun fact! Originally I wanted to have a complimentary song to describe each chapter, but I have the memory of a rotting log and forgot every song I would have referenced in my summaries.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed my hastily scrapped together events of the past!

Chapter 10: You Took the Seeds of My Happiness

Summary:

How about a change of pace?

Lucifer and Vox took a small break from each other after that night. The fallen angel didn’t mind. Things had gotten very heavy, and more personal than either of them would have liked to admit. But it also allowed them to grow closer in a way.

Lucifer had already obtained the knowledge he’d been seeking from Vox, he had no reason to return. But he did. It was a gradual thing at first, only texting the other once a week if at all. Eventually once became once or twice. Once or twice became three times a week. Life went on as usual around Lucifer, especially since he’d somewhat stopped announcing his frequent departures to his daughter or any other hotel residents. Alastor and Angel were the only two who ever picked up on it, and Alastor left him alone.

Before he knew it, two months had passed him by.

Unlike Alastor, Angel checked in every once in a while. Goes to show how much Alastor meant it when he implied he was worried about the safety of the hotel. Angel, on the other hand, seemed to genuinely care about Lucifer’s wellbeing. It was refreshing.

They were sitting at the bar together. Husk had probably overheard plenty about Lucifer’s recent ventures with the CEO of VoxTek, but if he cared, he didn’t show it.

“So,” Angel started, “you still visitin’ him?” the spider asked nonchalantly.

Lucifer nodded and took a sip of his mocktail, something Husk had suggested after the last time Lucifer drank at the bar. “Yeah, and it’s been going pretty well too… He seems pretty genuine when he talks to me. That, and he’s never gone out of his way to exploit any of my weaknesses, as far as I’m aware.”

“Huh, you wouldn’t think it from a demon like him,” Angel mused, “but how would you know what weaknesses he’d know of to exploit?”

Lucifer chuckled self-deprecatingly. “Funny story actually, I got really drunk on our second meeting… Like reeaaally drunk. Blackout, even.”

Angel nearly spat out his own drink. He slammed his glass down on the table. “You what?!” That was probably an appropriate reaction. “That’s why you didn’t come back that night?!”

“Yeah, I woke up on his couch. He even provided me with a blanket… and breakfast,” Lucifer explained. He left out the more embarrassing parts of the story.

“Fuckin’ hell, Luc… How did that even happen? He didn’t coerce you, did he?” Angel asked, understandably concerned.

The fallen angel quickly waved his hands to refute the accusation. “No no no! Not at all… I’m the one who uhm… Suggested I have more, actually. I was in a good mood that night.”

The spider ran his fingers through his hair in pure exasperation. “I mean, I do it all the time, sure, but… The Lucifer Morningstar?” he sighed before shaking his head. “I mean if he took care of ya after, then I guess I can’t complain. Unless it’s some kinda rouse to indebt you to ‘im.”

“I don’t think that’s the case. Surely he would have brought it up again, if that was his intention. Instead he seems to prefer to brush it under the rug… In fact, he makes it a point to keep me away from alcohol.” Lucifer shrugged, sipping on his drink again. “But what do I know?”

Angel smirked and raised an eyebrow at him. “And you’re absolutely positive you ain’t bangin’ him?”

“I will not hesitate to throw you through the wall,” Lucifer replied flatly. Of course, he didn’t mean it. If anything, he enjoyed the bit.

Husk rolled his eyes at their antics. Still, he chipped in. “Sounds to me like you two are fond of each other if nothing else,” he grumbled.

Lucifer couldn’t deny the growing fondness in his heart for the Overlord anymore. Whether or not that fondness was reciprocated to the same degree was another question entirely. Vox hadn’t dropped any hints of that being the case. If anything, he was pretty reserved emotionally outside of casual banter and chitchat. But maybe that’s just who he was as a person, protecting himself. If the Alastor story was anything to go by, it made sense to Lucifer.

The fallen angel shrugged in response. He wasn’t drunk, but something about the bartender made him want to open up about the whole situation. “I guess so, I at least enjoy the time I spend at the tower. He seems to as well, but he rarely ever talks about himself beyond anything surface level.”

“You wanna drop an example of that?” Angel asks, “I’m kinda curious… I work in that tower of his and yet I don’t know remotely anythin’ about ‘im. Surface level or otherwise.”

“Well, sharks are his favorite animal, but he can’t pick any one specific species of shark… And his favorite chip flavor is sea salt and vinegar,” Lucifer answered.

“A man of culture in terms of chips, I see,” Husk pitched in again.

Angel thought about the information before nodding. “That sounds all pretty on brand. Was there anything that subverted your expectations? Anything at all?”

Lucifer thought for a moment. Had Vox let him know anything seemingly out of character? Lucifer had seen plenty of things and put the pieces together himself, but that wasn’t the same as being told. Eventually something came to him. “Ah! He likes jackets that are fleece on the inside.”

“I suppose that is pretty unexpected for him…” Angel mused, “He’s only ever seen on camera in suits.”

“Anything can be changed for the camera. We only see what he wants us to see,” Husk mutters around the bottle he’d been drinking from, “It’s why his ‘Trust Us’ slogan is bullshit. How is anyone supposed to trust something so easily altered?”

Angel continued talking to Husk, but Lucifer got caught up thinking about that remark. Vox didn’t speak to Lucifer much differently than he spoke to the camera. There were only fleeting moments where other things slipped through, things Vox would never say on air.

Doubt managed to claw its way into Lucifer’s chest. He tried to reason with himself that he was being unreasonable. Vox had been vulnerable around him sometimes. Unless that was part of his act too? Something to make Lucifer feel safe, something to make him feel seen. Something to let him relate to the Overlord.

He thought back to two months ago. It was fleeting, but there was hurt in Vox’s eyes when he told Lucifer what happened between him and Alastor. Real hurt. Not the kind of hurt anyone can fake in the moment.

Alastor’s warnings caressed the edges of his mind.

Lucifer’s hands found purchase in the hem of his shirt and wrung themselves around it. It had been two months. If Vox was going to do anything he would have made moves already.

“...What do you think, Luc?” Angel’s voice faded in as Lucifer’s thoughts returned to the real world.

He hadn’t been paying any attention. “Uh… What?” he asked sheepishly.

“About Vox coming to visit us here? It would probably have his guard up more, but it just doesn’t seem fair that you keep going to him,” Angel said. Lucifer furrowed his brows. How had the conversation gotten here?

Lucifer spoke his answer unsteadily, “I don’t know, I’d have to convince Alastor on it… And then make sure they don’t tear each other apart. I don’t want to make Vox uncomfortable either, but I guess I could ask… As for Alastor…”

“We can convince him together,” the spider offered.

“Count me out,” Husk said promptly, “I’d rather tie my ears in knots.”

Angel laughed and reached over to pat the cat on the shoulder, “Fair enough. You couldn’t pay me to try swaying Val on anything durin’ work hours.”

It was fascinating to the King. Angel had explicitly stated he didn’t trust Vox. So to propose bringing him here was a curious decision on his part. Maybe there were ulterior motives at play, but Lucifer doubted they would get in his way, so he couldn’t exactly be bothered by the thought. It was just a matter of handling that stupid Kool-Aid colored stag–

“I heard you want to talk to me?” the asshole in question manifested behind them without warning, making Lucifer jump.

Husk put his bottle down, put his hands up and started walking away. “I’m not a part of this, you can have their heads, but not mine.”

Alastor waved Husk goodbye in a threateningly friendly manner. “That’s a good man, Husker!” He put his hands together and hit the floor with his cane to lean forward in a scarily casual show of attention. “Now, you two! What’s this about letting a certain pathetic picture box into my hotel?”

“It’s Charlie’s hotel, for one, and secondly, I don’t see what you’re so worried about,” Angel said defiantly. Lucifer had to give him credit, the sinner had balls.

Alastor’s ear flicked in irritation. “You do know everything he could mess up, yes?”

“And you couldn’t handle him yourself if he tried? What, big bad guy like you scared of a so-called ‘pathetic picture box’? Be real,” Angel shot back, going as far as to mock Alastor’s accent and roll his eyes. Lucifer hadn’t even gotten a word in yet and the deer’s antlers were already growing.

“You’ve got some nerve talking to me that way,” Alastor snaps.

It didn’t sway Angel one bit. “And you know you can’t hurt me without havin’ to answer to Charlie. We’re not blind, Smiles.”

Alastor turned his gaze on Lucifer, who was still just sitting there awkwardly. “I want you to be very aware that if your new pet causes anyone trouble, I will not hesitate to throw him and you out.”

Lucifer glared. “He’s not a pet, he’s… A friend.”

“Keep telling yourself that, Your Majesty. You must pity him like a wounded animal. I can’t think of a single other reason you’d keep running back if you’re not being manipulated like you claim. I’ll have my eye on both of you,” Alastor said lowly with a growl behind his words. His frame melted away before Lucifer had a chance to retort.

“I think that was a yes,” Angel said after several beats of silence.

“Close enough, anyway,” Lucifer replied. He pulled out his phone and sent a quick text.

‘How would you like to visit me at the hotel tomorrow?’

Notes:

I don't have much to say about this particular chapter... But I hope you all enjoyed nonetheless!

Chapter 11: You Handled Them with Nothing but Care

Summary:

Deception begets more deception.

Vox’s last two months had been absolute hell… No pun intended. Lucifer was visiting more and more frequently. Vox was careful about never letting it conflict with the time he spent with his business partners. He didn’t want Lucifer meeting them and, albeit understandably, running away. They had a good thing going. He didn’t want to ruin it.

He was really good at ruining relationships.

His solution to telling Velvette and Valentino about the fact that he couldn’t bring himself to manipulate the King was to not tell them anything. Instead he fabricated a story. Making up events and plans in order to string them along into believing he was getting somewhere when in reality he was going in the opposite direction.

They believed him for now… But it wouldn’t be long before they caught on, and Vox would need a game plan to handle that. A game plan he didn’t have.

At the very least, Lucifer was none the wiser to the Overlord’s predicament. The King was presented with Vox’s usual mask, the Vox that didn’t look like he wasn’t getting any sleep. The Vox that didn’t have a diet that was a fucking mess. The Vox that had not been letting his responsibilities swallow him whole. He was fucking exhausted.

Lucifer made it a little more bearable.

He was on his way up to meet with his fellow Vees. He had everything he was going to tell them ready, he only hoped it was believable. Valentino was pretty easy to fool most of the time. Velvette was the harder one to fool. Unlike the moth, she had more than half a brain cell dedicated to things other than sex.

The elevator dinged pleasantly, in contrast to the unpleasant feelings churning around in Vox’s gut. The doors opened, revealing the other two already waiting for him, as per usual these days.

“About fuckin’ time,” Velvette announced as soon as she saw Vox walk into the room, “get lost on the way here?”

Vox regarded her with a deadpan laugh. “Ha ha, very funny. I was just wrapping up with some scripts that were sent in for my next show,” he explained. It was a bold-faced lie, but the others didn’t need to know he’d spent the last fifteen minutes pacing around his room trying not to break down in tears or vomit.

“Better late than never, Voxxy~ isn’t that right?” Val hummed from where he was laying on the couch.

Vox joined him, sitting down with a heavy sigh. “You two will be the second death of me, I swear.”

“You know you love us… Or at least me,” the moth purred. Vox had to actively prevent himself from grimacing.

He shook his head in feigned amusement. “Are you two going to keep dogging on me or are you actually going to say something worth my while?”

“That depends, do you have anything new to tell us or not?” Vel asked, impatience creeping into her tone.

Both of them knew Lucifer had been visiting, but neither of them knew how frequently it had been. Vox could use this to his advantage. He was the one with eyes everywhere, not them. “Hmm… not much. I’m at a bit of a standstill at the moment, but worry not, my dears, he’s still very interested.”

Velvette looked at him with an interesting glint in her eye, but it was gone so quick Vox wondered if he’d imagined it.

“You’re really taking your time on this one, aren’t you, mi amor?” Val said, distracting Vox.

“I told you both that it’s important to take big tasks like this slowly,” the Tech Overlord replied casually. For once, Velvette didn’t challenge him on it. Suspicious. Or maybe she was finally coming around to the idea of taking things slow, even if that wasn’t what Vox was doing. Maybe Hell was about to freeze over.

Velvette waved him off and returned her attention to her phone. “Whatever, you can keep being a pussy about it, just get somewhere.”

“You can trust me,” Vox replied as smoothly as possible. Four syllables.

He wasn’t very confident in his own words.

————

Who the fuck did he think she was? An idiot? Velvette wasn’t blind and Vox wasn’t as composed as he thought he was. He was fucking bullshitting them, and maybe Val fell for it, but she sure a hell didn’t. ‘You can trust me’ her ass, he was stalling for some reason. That was the part Velvette was confused about. Vox was never hesitant about fucking someone over before, he had plenty of souls contracted to his name. He’d work a bitch to the bone with no remorse, gleefully laugh at another’s misfortune if it amused him, hypnotized whoever he pleased into doing his bidding just to get ahead. So why the hesitation now?

Was he afraid of it backfiring? She supposed that might make sense, but the risk was more than worth the reward. How scary could the King be? From what Vox told them, he seemed like a pathetic bitchboy.

She had to get his ass in gear, no more pussyfooting. And if it turned out he wouldn’t do it, she would. Vox had been distancing himself from them lately, so the first thing she had to do was rein him back in, by any means necessary. And she knew just how she was going to do it.

She opened her phone to her texts with Valentino. She announced she’d be paying him a visit as soon as she was out the door.

Valentino was lounging on one of his couches, lazily puffing from a cigarette while he scrolled through his phone. His antennae twitched when he heard Velvette coming.

“Hey there, dollface,” he greeted, “why the sudden visit?”

Velvette sat on the other couch in the room. “We need to talk about Vox,” she stated curtly.

Valentino cocked his head to side, the fucking idiot. “Uhhh, why?”

“Because he’s been acting weird,” the younger Overlord explained as calmly as she could. “Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed anything at all?” she asked, hoping the moth wasn’t as dense as he acted.

He hummed about it before answering, “Yeah, I guess he is. He takes longer to reply to my texts… and he’s always ‘too tired to fuck’ lately.”

Velvette rolled her eyes. It was better than nothing, she could work with this. “Isn’t it a little concerning? The King walks into his life and all of a sudden he’s fallin’ off on everything he’s supposed to do? Haven’t you noticed he hasn’t given us a single proper update?”

“You aren’t implying what I think you’re implying, are you?” Val asked. He put his phone down. She had his attention. Now, she just had to divert it.

She smiled sharply at the moth. “Oh yes I am. I think he’s losing interest in us.” Velvette wasn’t entirely sure if that was the case, but it gave Valentino a reason to act.

His fur puffed up and a scowl formed on his face. “That ungrateful asshole–”

“Now now, we can’t be too hasty here,” she cut him off before he could react too strongly. “We need to think about this carefully. We need to remind him why we started all of this, and that’s why I need you,” she explained, “you’re gonna have to sweet talk him a bit, make him realize what he’s doin’ is hurting our whole operation. Once you get his backwards ass on the right track again, he’ll go back to normal, and you two can continue… whatever it is you do.”

Valentino took a second to think about it. “Hmm… You have a point there. I’ll see what I can do.”

She smiled at him, nodding her head. “Good.”

Velvette left Val to continue doing what he had been and returned to her floor. Even if pinning the moth on Vox backfired, Velvette was acquainted with their falling outs. If the moth failed, she was plan B, and Vox would be feeling low. Prime time to sit with him and make him see the light. The TV-head was a purebred attention whore, and Velvette wasn’t above exploiting it.

She just had to wait for Valentino to make his move.

Notes:

This chapter is a whole 200 words shorter than others and I didn't realize... I am unworthy :(
Jokes aside, I hope you enjoyed as always.
Pretty soon every main plot line will be established and then we can really get the ball rolling >:)

Chapter 12: And They Sprouted in the Bed Under Your Windowsill

Summary:

Vox has gotten caught in a crossroads, yet he tries to tread both paths at once.

Surely this is what it felt like to drown.

Vox consumed himself with his work. He didn’t want to think about anything else. The growing tensions between him and his business partners. The strange feeling in his chest when Lucifer wormed his way into the Overlord’s head. It was suffocating him. He felt a lot like he had back in his days as a fresh sinner. It was like Lucifer gave him the same looks Alastor used to.

But he refused to believe it. His heart was staying locked up in its jail cell, he couldn’t run that risk again. He didn’t know if he’d ever recover from another rejection like that. He didn’t know if he could bear running back to Val like that. He didn’t know if he’d be able to keep on keeping on.

The Tech Overlord shook his head. Work. He was supposed to be doing work.

The numbers started swimming in his vision hours ago, and every calculation felt like it was scraping against his internals, but he persevered. Not because he had to, but because his other option was far more painful.

His computer screens glared back at his own, cold, but inviting. It felt like he fell asleep in his office chair more than his bed these days. His back wasn’t very happy with him about it, but it was an issue easily ignored. He had all the time in Hell to fix it when his afterlife calmed down. If. If his afterlife calmed down.

It wasn’t a comforting thought.

A knock on his office door pulled him out of his own head. He responded almost mechanically, not stopping to take into consideration the time, “Come in.”

To his surprise, Valentino walked through the door. It was only then that he looked at the time and registered that none of his employees would be coming to him unless the tower was on fire or something.

Val came up behind his chair and hovered over him with a pout on his face. “Still up here, Voxxy?”

“You know how I am, Val,” Vox started. He wasn’t prepared to deal with the moth.

Val tutted at him, “Just because I know doesn’t mean I like it. I think we should talk, baby… Somewhere comfier than his dreary office of yours.”

Vox eyed the other curiously. He was being oddly gentle with him. “What’s wrong?” he asks, letting his suspicion slide past his usual filter and into his tone.

“Nothing is wrong, I’m just worried about you, amorcito…” Val spun the chair around so Vox was facing him. “You’ve grown… Distant, recently.”

As much as he wanted to, Vox couldn’t deny it. “Huh, I suppose I have. I’m sorry, my dear, I’ve just been so busy with everything…”

A slender hand came down to gently run down the side of his screen. “Come on, baby, let’s go somewhere else. Your room? Mine? The penthouse maybe? I don’t care, just anywhere but here.”

Vox heaved a heavy sigh. He pushed himself up off his chair in acquiescence. “Fine, love. We can talk in your room,” he said. It was always easier to deal with Valentino when he was on his own turf. He was slightly less prone to tearing up his own stuff.

Valentino gave him a pleased smile and led him out of the office. He rubbed Vox’s shoulders while they waited in the elevator. “So tense…” he muttered to himself. “You really need to take care of yourself better, Voxxy,” he added after.

It was so unlike Val and yet… It was everything Vox craved, even if he didn’t want to admit it. This softness, this tenderness. Deep down, he knew it wouldn’t last. Maybe tomorrow they would be ripping each other’s throats out again. But for now Vox could bask in this attention.

Vox was herded into Valentino’s bedroom and sat on the velvety comforter. The moth joined him immediately after.

“Now what’s going on with you, Voxxy? What’s got you stressing so bad?” Val asked, holding both of Vox’s hands in two of his own.

Vox avoided his gaze. “I guess I’m just under a lot of pressure right now, you know? Between my normal duties, the King, and the pressure Vel is exerting on me,” he lied. He was under pressure, but that wasn’t exactly the reason he was struggling.

“Hmm… You need a break. Why not spend some much needed time with me?” Val offered, “And then you can go back to work with a clear head.”

The Tech Overlord thought about it. “When exactly would this break be taking place?” He needed a timeframe before he made any sort of decision.

Valentino cupped his face with his other two hands and purred at him, “We could start right now if you wanted, baby.”

Vox’s phone buzzed, interrupting the moment. Despite his better judgment, Vox pulled it out to look. It was a text from Lucifer. He quickly turned the screen so Valentino couldn’t see.

The moth still asked about it though, “Who’s texting you at this hour? On your personal phone no less?”

Fuck, Vox had very few numbers saved on his personal phone. He had to think fast. “My technician,” he answered casually, “I’m overdue on an appointment.”

“What kind of appointment?” Valentino tried to peek around to see the phone screen.

Vox moved the phone screen down to gesture to the back of his head. “Y’know, an appointment to open me up and clean out any dust or other dirt that’s gotten into my system. Maybe that’s what’s fucking me up so bad…” The more he spoke, the clearer the fabrication became in his mind’s eye.

Valentino narrowed his eyes in confusion. “Why the fuck does he text you at this hour?”

“Because he knows I’ve gotten my most important work done already at this hour.” Vox shrugs it off. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go discuss this real quick, I should be back in a few minutes.”

The other Overlord rolled his eyes, but waved his hand towards the door. “Make it quick, Voxxy…”

Vox hurries out of the room and finally reads the message Lucifer sent him. He smiled blankly at the screen for several seconds as he processed the words.

‘How would you like to visit me at the hotel tomorrow?’

Vox? At the hotel? Was he mad? Perhaps suffering some kind of brain damage? The Tech Overlord had never tapped the keys on his screen faster.

‘What about Alastor? He’d have me impaled before I even got through the door.’

Vox paced around while he waited to see if Lucifer would respond. He’d give it two minu– his phone vibrated in his hand and he looked down to see the new message.

‘Funny story, Angel yelled at him and he must’ve gotten embarrassed or something, so he said he’d let you over :D’

Vox let out an amused huff. That was the most surprising thing to happen to Vox in a good long while. It was a tempting offer… But Valentino had just started offering his own time to Vox. If he declined the moth… Would he ever get the chance again? He needed to come up with an excuse.

It wasn’t very hard, he had already told Val he had an appointment to attend. A smirk stretched across his screen as he typed his reply in.

‘I suppose I could make some time. I’ll see you then.’

Vox returned to Val’s bedroom, where the moth was impatiently waiting.

“Is it all figured out then?” he asked, smoke trickling out his mouth and pooling around the room. Vox grimaced, Val was allowed to smoke everywhere but Vox’s own floors, but it still messed with his head. Quite literally, it got in the vents and was all around unpleasant.

Vox waved some of the pink vapor away from his face and replied with a smile, “Yep! I’m going tomorrow, which means you’ll have my undivided attention after I get back.”

“I suppose that works.” Valentino took another drag from his cigarette. He had the courtesy to turn away from Vox before exhaling, but it didn’t exactly fix the room full of smoke problem. He snuffed the remaining butt out before he gestured for Vox to rejoin him in bed. “Well, just because you’re leaving tomorrow doesn’t mean you can’t stay here the night, does it?”

Vox stifled the urge to cough. He glanced at the window and thought about opening it, but any situation with Valentino was delicate. He opted to shoot himself in the foot and just deal with the lingering fumes. “I suppose a night together couldn’t hurt,” he replied after clearing his throat. The lingering smell left behind on Val wasn’t unpleasant at least.

Vox stripped down to just his boxers. Valentino always preferred skin to skin contact on the rare occasions they slept together without sleeping together. He joined the other half of his on and off relationship under the covers. The light was turned out. Only then did Vox realize how tired he truly was.

His head spun as he fell asleep.

Notes:

I don't think I've ever written manipulation until now... Unclear if it comes off as manipulation or not since it's through Vox's perspective...

Either way! Hotel visit part 1 finally drops on Sunday, the 29th of September :3 and it's slightly longer than my other chapters (by approximately 900 words, but still). Sorry to string you all along for so long but it will finally be upon ye soon! Stay tuned!

Chapter 13: You Welcomed Me in When No One Else Would

Summary:

Vox finally visits the hotel.

Notes:

And so it arrives! The first hotel visit!
Remember to expect the unexpected!

Vox woke up well before Valentino did. The moth’s sleep schedule was notoriously unpredictable, just like the man himself. The Tech Overlord gently nudged the other’s wings off of him and got out of the bed. There was a small squeak of protest, but Vox quickly fixed the covers to avoid waking him.

Once he was certain Val would stay asleep he discreetly traveled back to his own room through the electrical grid. He didn’t quite bother to get dressed yet, opting to shower first. Vox thought excessively about what he would wear. And also how he was going to get to the hotel without drawing the suspicion of the press. It all had to be perfect, lest he accidentally shoot himself in the foot. His ability to travel along electrical currents would only get him so far, not to mention it was exhausting over long distances.

His other option was have his driver escort him in a normal looking car rather than his usual limo. That was probably the better option.

He pulled on his clothes quickly, something a little more casual than usual, and called his driver even quicker. Soon, he was out the door. The car windows were tinted, so none of the many demons in the Vee’s district saw the Tech CEO leave the tower. As far as they were concerned, he was too busy to give them the time of day.

The drive to the hotel was mostly uneventful. Vox stared out the window for the most part, mentally preparing himself for every scenario that could go wrong. He had a script for each one, prepared and saved to his internal drives.

The hotel came into view, looming on the horizon. It was a lot more appealing to look at ever since the battle with heaven. Larger and more organized, yet still a ways away from the rest of the city.

The car pulled up onto the lot. Vox took a deep breath to steady himself. He’d been trying to ignore how terrified he felt. Alastor would be there. The dread weighed heavy on his shoulders, but he pushed past it. For Lucifer, if nothing else.

Vox stepped out of the car and started walking up the hill leading up to the hotel doors. He raised his hand to knock and announce his presence, but the doors opened before he could.

There Lucifer stood with a big smile on his face. He outstretched his arms to either side in greeting.

“Welcome! Come on in, and don’t worry, everyone already knew you were coming,” the King explained, stepping to the side eagerly to let Vox through.

The Overlord put on his best smile in return as he entered the hotel. Something charming and confident without looking suspicious or arrogant. The perfect smile to match the occasion. It had to be especially perfect.

“It’s a pleasure to be here,” he said, turning to Lucifer as the doors closed behind him.

Lucifer chuckled, he seemed pretty excited. “The pleasure is all mine, please, don’t be afraid to get comfortable, the hotel residents are welcoming… Er, minus Alastor, but we don’t need to worry about him.”

Vox was about to reply when something skittered in his periphery. He turned his head to face it, but it was already gone. Until it wasn’t.

Without warning, one large eye was staring into his two. It was that maid that occupied the hotel. Vox knew about her, he’d seen her during the battle against heaven. She was the one who plunged the dagger through Adam. That wasn’t a reassuring thought.

The little demon giggled before she greeted him, “Hello, bad boy~” She giggled again, leaning backwards from where she held onto his jacket.

“Uhhhh… Hi?” he said back, unsure if he should be afraid of not.

Lucifer stepped in to handle the situation, finally. “Now now, Niffty, I know you’re excited, but if you scare Vox away now you won’t be able to show him your collection.”

“Oh!” the maid exclaimed. She let go and hopped off of Vox, but she continued to look up at him. “You’d better not run away,” she said semi-threateningly before skittering off in the same manner she’d skittered over.

“What the fuck was that about?” Vox asked, dusting himself off once the little demon was out of sight.

Lucifer waved dismissively. “Don’t mind her, she’s just excited you’re here. She enjoys it whenever your shows come on TV and Alastor doesn’t turn it off immediately,” he explained casually, though Vox could tell by the look in his eye that he was omitting something.

He didn’t push for any clarification, “Right, got it… Anyway, uh… Got any plans for us?”

Lucifer thought about it for a second. That probably meant no. “Well, my daughter wanted to speak to you if she got the chance. If you’d like to get that out of the way… If at all.”

Ah Lucifer, ever the supportive father. Vox deigned to entertain the idea despite not believing in any of the redemption bullshit. “I suppose, it couldn’t hurt.”

“Great! She’s over here.” Lucifer grabbed Vox’s arm and pulled him over towards the parlor. The contact was unexpected. Vox continued to feel the warmth of the King’s hand even after he let go. “Charlie! He’s here,” Lucifer announced.

The Princess shot up from the couch, nearly dropping her phone in the process. “Oh! Oh my goodness, already? Wow, okay, uhm… Well!” she stammered, working herself up into some kind of tizzy over the Overlord. And he hadn’t even said anything yet. “It is a pleasure to have you here, Mr. Vox! If… If I’m allowed to call you that. Uhh…”

Vox resisted the urge to sigh or roll his eyes. He couldn’t disrespect the Princess when her father was standing right next to him. “Relax, I’m not going to take your head off. What is it you wanted to talk to me about?”

“Right! Right, what I wanted to talk to you about. As you know, the hotel has been revamped since the battle… Where it got completely destroyed… But besides that! I’ve been considering ways to advertise it better!” she started rambling on. Vox could tell where she was going with this, she was much too predictable.

Still, he entertained her. “Oh? And let me guess… You’d like to use one of the time slots of my channels? If not have VoxTek sponsor you as a whole?” he asked, tucking his arms behind his back formally.

“Yes!” the young woman exclaimed. “Yes, that’s exactly it! So… If you’re open to discussing it at all…” she trailed off, looking at the Overlord expectantly.

Vox tilted his head, a calculated move to make it look like he was considering. “I suppose I could make room in my schedule for an official business meeting. We can discuss semantics there.”

“Oh? Really? I mean… That would be great, yes, thank you!” Charlie replied excitedly, “You have no idea how much this means to me!” She truly wore her heart on her sleeve. Vox could pinpoint every emotion that crossed the Princess’s face. A stark contrast to his own calculated smiles and rehearsed scripts.

Vox regarded Charlie with a curt nod. “I’ll see you then. You can schedule an appointment through the official VoxTek business email. I’ll handle it from there,” he explained.

“Got it! Thank you again, really!” she said, going as far as to bow to him for so much as giving her a chance. It said a lot about the state of her plans. She promptly ran off yelling a name Vox wasn’t familiar with.

The Overlord turned back to Lucifer, who was standing there with a proud look on his face. Once he realized Vox was looking at him though, his smile returned to a casual friendliness.

“She’s quite something, isn’t she?” Lucifer said fondly.

“I don’t know where she finds all the energy… Or positivity, for that matter,” Vox replied, making sure to keep his tone light. Wouldn’t want to upset the King. He liked this friendship he’d established… Yes, friendship. He’d be a fool to ruin another good thing.

Lucifer shook his head. “Me neither, I just hope she can keep that fire burning. Anyway, would you like a tour, perhaps? Wouldn’t want you getting lost,” he teased, laughing lightly.

Vox shrugged. “Why not? I’m sure I could find my way around, but it would be more interesting to be shown.”

————

The tour went by relatively quickly. Vox didn’t pay much attention to every little thing Lucifer said, only taking note of places he deemed important. He spared a few glances at the memorial Charlie set up for Sir Pentious with a slight sense of guilt, but he brushed it off and went about his day. They were back in the parlor now, both sitting on one of the couches.

Vox took notice of the only TV in the hotel. It was a super old model. Nostalgic and painful to look at. It stood out amidst the modernization of everything else that was installed post-battle. He brushed it off and looked at Lucifer instead.

The King was lounging back against the arm of the couch with one leg kicked up over the back of the couch and the other tucked underneath himself. It was a position that was anything but proper or royal. Vox took it as a testament to how comfortable Lucifer was around him… Though he was sure the fact they were at the hotel instead of the tower had something to do with it too.

Lucifer eventually took notice of Vox staring. “What’s up?” he asked, leaving Vox scrambling for some kind of question or comment.

“So…” he started slowly, “You helped construct this new and improved version right?”

“Oh, yeah… I did, it was the least I could do…” Lucifer replies, rubbing the back of his head.

Vox continued on, “It must’ve been exhausting. It barely took any time at all before the building was complete.”

Lucifer chuckled, shrugging nonchalantly. “Not really, it was a group effort. Besides, Hell is my domain. That kind of magic comes like second nature.” the King opened his hand, sending gold sparkles into the air above it. Eventually, the glitter and dust formed a shape, and an apple that wasn’t there before sat in the palm of his hand.

“What a neat trick,” Vox commented, “and you can just… Do that whenever? What about the laws of mass?”

“I’m still an angelic being at my core…” Lucifer said, his tone becoming somewhat solemn, “I was there in the era of creation. It is a part of me, and I am a part of it.” Lucifer fingers tightened around the apple, causing the fruit to explode into the same golden glimmer that had formed it. “It stuck with me through the Fall… I don’t know what kind of man I would be today if it hadn’t.”

Vox hummed as he thought about how to respond to that. It was a bit heavier than he was expecting. Still, he couldn’t just brush it off and leave the other in an awkwardly tense silence. “I can’t say I understand the feeling completely but…” he trailed off, once again struck with the horrible realization that he really didn’t know how to comfort someone, only placate them.

“It’s alright,” Lucifer jumped in, “after all, I get to create all sorts of things down here still, don’t I? So… all’s well that ends well.” The King’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes, but if he wanted to drop the topic, Vox would drop it.

He switched up topics to clear the air. “The hotel residents sure are something, aren’t they?”

Lucifer’s smile became a little more genuine following the question. “Yeah… They take some getting used to, but they all mean well… Save for maybe Alastor. Don’t know what his deal is.”

“He’s always been like that. He never changes,” Vox huffs in reply, “the sooner you give up trying to understand, the better. But the others seem fine… That little one scares me though.”

The King covers his mouth to stifle his laughter. “I don’t blame you, Niffty can be a bit much.”

“Speaking of, didn’t she want to show me something?” Vox asked. He wasn’t particularly interested in it, a little concerned even, but it was worth questioning.

“Oh yeah! Her collection… I’m not entirely sure what she collects, but if you asked Husk, I’m sure he would have an answer.”

Vox looked over at the bar. He knew Husk was a soul on Alastor’s leash. Poor guy. Still, Vox shrugged. “If she remembers, I’ll choose to be in for a surprise.”

“Suit yourself,” Lucifer replied. He hummed to himself and sat up straighter before speaking again, “What about your colleagues?” he suddenly asked.

That gave Vox pause. “Uhhh… What about them?”

The other demon looked everywhere but at Vox. “You never talk about them… At all. I haven’t even met them, and it’s been quite some time.”

“Oh, that, right… Well…” Vox stalled. “You don’t need to meet them… They’re not the most delicate or polite of demons,” he explained, leaving out many crucial details.

“Sometimes Angel talks about Valentino. I couldn’t imagine working with someone like that,” Lucifer muses mostly to himself, “how did you even end up in that situation? If you don’t mind me asking, that is…”

Vox rubbed his arm awkwardly, unsure of how to frame the story to make it sound less messy than it was. “Val was… There for me when Alastor decided I wasn’t a fun plaything anymore, I guess. But that was then… Things are more complicated now. Sex sells…” Vox trails off. There really was no way to make this sound less terrible.

Lucifer thinks for a while. It was like Vox could see him turning the words over in his mind. “Has he ever hurt you?”

Vox stiffens at that, quick to refute. “No, no, he’s never injured me.” Valentino had never hurt him… Not in any meaningful way, at least. Vox could tolerate a bruised body or cracked screen for his empire. It could all be replaced or hidden, anyway. Of course, Vox didn’t tell this to Lucifer, but it was a nonissue. There was nothing the moth could do to him that he couldn’t handle. Vox always made sure of that.

Come to think of it, Vox shouldn’t keep Valentino waiting much longer. He’d start getting suspicious sooner or later. If he miraculously figured out how to track Vox’s phone only to find that the location was turned off, Vox was in for several hours worth of arguing.

Arguing he really didn’t feel like participating in.

He could probably afford a few more hours before Valentino suspected him of anything, though… So at the hotel he stayed.

Notes:

Welp! That concludes part 1, yes there is a part 2 for this that will be up on Wednesday.

There are plenty of little things in here that get mentioned that will be brought back up again eventually!

Chapter 14: But My Demons Close in on Me, Ravenous, Cold

Summary:

Did someone say progression of feelings?

To say Lucifer had been excited to see Vox was an understatement. It was the Overlord’s first time visiting him instead of the other way around. So far, everything had gone smoothly, Vox seemed to enjoy the atmosphere, and Alastor had left them alone so far. Lucifer swore he felt eyes from the shadows sometimes, but he could deal with it.

If Vox noticed, which he should have, having known Alastor much longer than the fallen angel, he didn’t comment or even insinuate it.

They were both sitting in the parlor. The other hotel residents had left them alone for the most part. Lucifer did expect Niffty to come over at some point and unnerve Vox more than she already had.

An idle conversation flowed from both of them, carried up by this and that. Apparently Vox was regretting his decision to spontaneously announce a new project just to appease the masses.

“Other Overlords are annoying to work with,” the TV-headed demon ranted, “they want you to meet so many terms and conditions, and sure I run my business the same way but fucking hell, what’s the big deal? This isn’t the kind of deal that could result in a power steal! Sit the fuck down! We both have deadlines to meet, just sign off already!”

Lucifer nodded along. “I don’t understand how you can sit through so many meetings…”

Vox sighed, shaking his head. “Business is business. Granted, I wouldn’t want to deal with any of Heaven’s officials. They seem like buzzkills from the little you’ve shared about them. And let’s not forget the first douchebag… It was pretty cool when he hit Alastor though,” he huffed in amusement.

“Ah, Adam… He was certainly something. He wasn’t always like that though, in fact he was a lot nicer back in our Eden days… It seems time wasn’t kind to any of us,” Lucifer said, sighing heavily. “He crossed a line when he laid hands on my daughter though. I would have killed him myself if she hadn’t stopped me…” he chuckled sheepishly.

“And then Niff finished the job anyway. I saw it all from the tower,” Vox admitted.

This surprised Lucifer. “You were watching the whole time?”

The Overlord across from him nodded. “With a drone. Mostly to watch Alastor get his ass handed to him, but I still have the recording of the whole thing.” He smiled at the King. “You were pretty cool, you know your way around a fight. I wouldn’t want to end up on your bad side,” he joked lightheartedly.

The words made Lucifer’s heart flutter despite the casual tone used. “I assure you, you’d have to do something truly heinous to warrant that kind of treatment.”

“I promise I have no intentions of hurting your daughter,” Vox said, putting his hands up in a playful show of surrender.

Lucifer nudged him just as playfully. “Well I guess we have no reason to worry then, huh?”

The Overlord shook his head. “I suppose not. I will admit though, those wings are pretty fucking cool. The tail too,” he continued, “you’ll have to let me see them in person some time.”

“Oh, these old things?” Lucifer asked jokingly, slipping into his more demonic form. “They’re nothing special, honestly.”

“They’re certainly more intimidating than anything I came down here with.” Vox was staring, Lucifer noticed.

A cheeky smile crossed the King’s features. He was hesitant to confess his growing feelings, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t push the line a little bit. He ruffled his feathers and smoothed them back down neatly before laying one wing in Vox’s lap. The Tech Overlord’s eyes went wide.

“W-what are you doing?” he asked breathily.

“You look like you want to touch them… Go ahead. I haven’t preened in awhile though, just a heads up,” Lucifer explained.

He watched Vox’s expression change, though only barely. The sinner was admittedly good at controlling his face, but that only meant Lucifer caught himself paying more attention to little differences. He hadn’t found many, but little quirks in Vox’s smile or the subtle differences in how his pupils looked often provided clues.

“Are you sure?” he asked, blue-tipped claws hovering over the feathers apprehensively.

Lucifer rolled his eyes in amusement and lifted the wing a little to meet Vox’s hands. “I wouldn’t be offering if I wasn’t, now would I?”

Vox still looked hesitant, but his fingers delicately stroked the feathers in front of him. They probably weren’t as soft as they could have been, and many had bits of keratin stuck to them, but he didn’t seem to mind.

Until his claws came in contact with a pin feather Lucifer hadn’t bothered to free himself. The fallen angel watched as Vox stopped and stared at it, seemingly trying to figure out whether or not to ask.

Lucifer answered the silent question anyway, “It’s a pin feather, a new feather that has a sheath on it while it develops. I’m supposed to take them off, but I guess I missed that one.” In reality he just didn’t preen nearly as often as he was supposed to, but with six wings worth of them, how was anyone supposed to be bothered to neatly take care of each individual feather?

Vox hummed, gently examining the imprisoned feather. “May I…?”

“Go ahead, just pinch it gently until the sheath breaks and pull,” the fallen angel instructed.

The Overlord did as instructed, though he was very cautious about it, much more cautious than Lucifer had ever been. The sheath was removed and the feather combed out. Vox smiled subtly as he worked. He found a few other feathers with leftover bits of keratin around their bases and handled them too.

Lucifer appreciated it, it felt nice and meant he wouldn’t have to do it himself later. It was a simple activity, but it demonstrated trust between them.

Until someone had to go and ruin it.

“What are you two lovebirds up to over here?” came the very distinct voice of a certain porn star as he walked into the room.

Lucifer jumped and pulled his wing away from Vox as fast as Vox pulled himself away from the wing. “Angel, what the fuck!” the King exclaimed.

The spider smirked at them with an air of mischief. “Whatcha doin’ over here, huh?”

“We are not ‘lovebirds’ for your information,” Vox stated plainly.

“Keep tellin’ yourself that, Wires. Anyway, you’ve been down here for a while and I was starting to get curious. Looks like I had reason to be,” Angel teased them.

Lucifer felt his face heat up, no doubt becoming a shade of gold. “We weren’t doing anything that strange, I assure you.”

The King glanced at Vox, who was sporting quite the embarrassed glare on his face. If he squinted, he could make out the faintest pixelated blush on the other’s screen. It was pretty cute, though Lucifer would never say that out loud.

Angel was not at all discouraged from his teasing, “You know, I hear birds preen each other to show affection, soooo…”

“Well it’s a good thing I’m not a bird then, huh?” Vox shot back defensively. He didn’t sound genuinely angry, instead it seemed like he was trying to cover up feeling flustered. But what did Lucifer know? He’d never been very good at reading tones or expressions, not as good as his peers at least.

“Well if you keep doin’ that, Lucifer might start getting mixed signals!” the spider continued.

Lucifer knew it was a joke. But somehow, it still stirred up feelings of doubt. After all, Vox had always been reserved around him. Lucifer intended to admit to Vox how he felt eventually, but with the way things were, it seemed like it would be a long time coming… If at all. How did Vox feel about him?

Angel continued poking fun at the Overlord, confident as always under the protection of the hotel. Eventually Vox stopped dignifying him with responses, but by that point other hotel residents had gathered around to see what was going on.

So Lucifer did the responsible thing and offered Vox a way out. “Now now, I know you all want a turn teasing the big bad Overlord while he has to be on his best behavior, but he’s a busy man and certainly exhausted.”

Vox jumped on the opportunity immediately, “Yes, as much as I would love to, I cannot respond to all of your comments. Try again next time.”

Next time… Well, despite any doubts Lucifer was harboring in his heart, at least Vox alluded to coming over again.

“That being said, I should probably head out now,” Vox eventually said after glancing at the time, “can’t leave my business all by its lonesome for very long, who knows what’ll happen!”

Lucifer stood up to see Vox out. “Going already? I understand…” he pouted. He escorted the Overlord to the door.

The two said their goodbyes to each other with a lot of the hotel residents watching, but the King wasn’t fazed. He had some thoughts to dwell on.

Notes:

This concludes the entire first hotel visit! Boy are things going to get interesting from here on out...

As of writing this, apparently there are 68 comment threads on this fic, y'all are insane, thank you 😭

Chapter 15: And it is My Blood They're After, My Blood They Want to Spill

Summary:

Did someone order a filler chapter with a small side of angst and a medium sprite?

Notes:

This chapter has no reason to exist other than to break perspective from Vox for a little bit...

After Vox left, Lucifer felt a sense of emptiness sitting in his chest. A hollow feeling that left him unsure of what to do with the rest of his day. He stood in front of the door for a solid four minutes before someone said something.

“You look like a lost puppy over here, what gives?” Angel asked. He strolled over to the King’s side, leaning down to be more at eye level with him.

Lucifer startled a bit, but recovered and responded quickly. “Oh! Uhh, just kind of wondering what I’m supposed to do now,” he admitted.

Angel tilted his head to the side and gave the fallen angel an inquisitive stare. “What do you usually do?”

“Well… That’s a great question, Angel,” Lucifer stalled. He did not have an answer to that one. “Uhm… I suppose by this time I would be… Musing.” Wonderful job, Lucifer, this surely wouldn’t lead to more questions.

“Musing huh? Well, why not come muse with us in a little bit, Charlie has an activity planned tonight,” the spider offered with a smile.

“She does? What is it?”

Angel shrugged with both pairs of arms. “Hell if I know, probably some kind of board game. They’re supposed to be bonding exercises but tensions tend to get real high if you haven’t noticed by now.” He paused and smiled. “I guess we all come out closer in the end.”

Lucifer thought about it for a second. “I guess I wouldn’t mind joining you tonight,” he finally answered, “while I’m still feeling sociable and all.” He really didn’t want to return to rotting in his room.

“Well then come on over again, you can’t just stand there until Wires decides he wants’ta come back,” Angel encouraged, laughing as he guided the King back to the parlor.

Charlie was instructing her girlfriend to retrieve anyone who was missing as she stood in the middle of the room with some kind of box. It had colored dots on it: pink, purple, orange, and teal. Lucifer’s gaze fell on the label, though difficult to see from the angle he was at. It read ‘Devil’s Tempest’. They were in for an interesting night.

Lucifer was too distracted to feel Alastor’s eyes on him from behind. The deer announced his presence very loudly, getting yet another startle from Lucifer. He really had to work on his jumpiness. Of course, the insufferable radio host started talking to him, why wouldn’t he? “Well well well, my dear Lucifer? Joining us tonight are we?”

“So what if I am, is that so strange?” the fallen angel asked back, already fed up with infrared eyesore.

Alastor tilted his head a concerning amount to the side as he gave a long drawn out hum. “Why, yes! The time you don’t spend hiding from us is spent in that gaudy tower my self-proclaimed arch nemesis calls home!”

Lucifer rolled his eyes while he replied, “You don’t need to make mountains out of molehills.” It certainly wasn’t what Lucifer wanted to say, but he also didn’t want to stir up trouble on game night. He begrudgingly took it when the damned deer opened his mouth to have the final word.

“I will continue for as long as I please. After all, I don’t approve of any of the decisions you’ve been making, Your Majesty,” he said in a too-lighthearted tone.

Lucifer so desperately wanted to tell the asshole that he didn’t remember needing a sinner’s approval to live his life, but he vowed to be the bigger man. He made his distaste known with a glare though.

He put some distance between himself and Alastor in the form of asking Charlie what her plans for the night were.

She gleefully explained them to him, “Oh, you’re playing with us, dad? That’s great!” She set the box down on the coffee table and shook the lid off, revealing a mat and a spinner. “We put this mat on the floor and spin this wheel. The wheel will tell you where to put your hands and feet!”

Husk strolled over holding a bottle, joining in the conversation in his ever grouchy manner, “And what about those of us with more than two hands?” he asked, his eyes hard set on Angel. “Seems like cheating to me.”

Angel gasped in mock offense. “What! Just because I was blessed enough to come down here with six hands does not mean I’m cheatin’!”

“Hmm… Husk does have a point,” Charlie considered, “it may be best if you only use two hands. Your height already gives you an advantage.”

“Forget my height, Val has me in crazy fuckin’ positions for hours on end every shift,” Angel scoffed, a confident smile crossing his features. “You’re all going down!”

Charlie laid the mat out on the floor and broke up the banter by continuing her rundown. “We can’t all play at the same time, so I’m going to need four volunteers for the first round.”

Vaggie came back carrying Niffty like a stray cat. “I only found this one.” She glances up at everyone else. “Probably because everyone is already here,” she reasoned aloud.

Niffty skittered around the mat, eyeing it with an ominous look in her eye. “Looks like bugs,” she said intensely.

“No no no, Niffty, they’re spots! For putting your hands and feet on! Though… You might be a bit too small to play,” Charlie explained, rubbing her chin. “Oh! I know, why don’t you spin the wheel for us!”

The little sinner nodded her head rapidly. “Okay!”

“Now, regarding my previous statement about needing four volunteers…?” Charlie asked, scanning the group for anyone who looked like they wanted to participate.

Angel cracked his knuckles and retracted his second pair of arms into his body. “Count me in, you guys won’t even know what hit’cha!”

“Well if he’s playin’ I guess I will too,” Husk grumbled, though his eyes betrayed the smile in his words.

Charlie turned her head enthusiastically to Alastor, but the deer didn’t entertain her for even a second. His ears laid flat on his head and his smile pulled into a grimace. He replied in his usual tone, if not a little more filtered, “I wouldn’t dream of getting in the way of your… Silly little game, dear.”

Lucifer pounced on the opportunity to be a good father and also drag Alastor’s name through the dirt. “If Mr. No Balls over here doesn’t want to play, I will,” he announced triumphantly.

“That’s three!” Charlie exclaimed, “But we need one more…” her gaze inevitably fell on her girlfriend, who stared back with an exasperated look.

“I’d love to participate, but what if it gets awkward? With your dad playing and all,” she says rapidly, trying to find any excuse to not put herself in this position.

“Hmmm… I’ll allow you to veto any move that puts you in an awkward position!” Charlie decided, beaming wide.

Vaggie sighed in defeat. “I can’t say no to you… I’ll play.”

“Eee! Okay okay! All of you stand on the edge spots!” Charlie instructed.

The four of them moved into position. Lucifer stood across from Angel while Vaggie stood across from Husk. It was safe to say he felt minuscule compared to all of them, even Husk, who slouched most of the time.

A turn order was established and the wheel started spinning. At first it was fine, simple, most of them barely moved. But a few more spins later, Lucifer was back to back with Vaggie, both of them positioned parallel to the floor. Meanwhile Angel arched over them in a pose that could not be comfortable. Husk was in his own little corner of the mat, lucky bastard.

Lucifer accidentally made eye contact with the spider awkwardly sprawled over him, who somehow looked like he wasn’t straining at all, even going as far as to wink.

“Told ya’ you were goin’ down,” he boasted.

Lucifer scrambled to find a good comeback. “Oh yeah? Well what I lack in skill I make up for in… In…” and he fell flat.

Angel snorted. “Take your time, I’ll wait.”

The King wanted to retort, but it was his turn again and– What did they mean left hand orange?! He strained to reach it, his chest now facing the ceiling. It would be so easy to just shapeshift into something more comfortable for this, but alas, it would be counted as cheating.

By the end of their round, the four of them were an unrecognizable tangle of limbs and wings and tails. It was Husk who did them in at the end, finally giving up with a heavy groan.

“I’m too old for this shit,” he complained from the bottom of the pile they were now in.

“You did really well!” Charlie cheered from the sidelines.

Charlie swapped out for Lucifer in the next round, meaning it was couple against… Almost couple. Lucifer was pretty dense sometimes, but not that dense.

He sat on the couch and watched the chaos unfold. It wasn’t until he was sitting that he realized how much his feet hurt. When was the last time he filed down his hooves? They were probably overdue for maintenance.

The shifting of the couch drew him out of his thoughts. Lucifer looked up to see Alastor had sat next to him and his neutral face immediately fell into one of annoyance instead.

“Here to insult me some more?” he asked preemptively, already prepared for it.

Alastor glared at him very briefly. “Is that all you take me for? Some kind of charlatan who only gets kicks making fun of those beneath me?”

Lucifer felt his eye twitch at the implications of his words. “You don’t really give me much reason to believe otherwise. Maybe if you ever did anything besides mock and ridicule me, I’d be more receptive to your presence, ever think about that?”

“You have a point, Your Majesty, where are my manners!” the deer drawled on, “Despite your foolish endeavors as of late, I must say, Vox was oddly well behaved today…”

It was a backhanded remark, but Lucifer would take it. “Uhh, yeah? He’s not exactly the worst scum of Hell. Besides, you’re the only sinner I know ‘foolish’ enough to challenge me directly,” he stated plainly, using Alastor’s insults against him.

The Radio Demon sadly did not visibly let it faze him. “It begs the question, what did you do?”

The fallen angel’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean what did I do? I talked to him, we grew friendlier over time, and now we’re comfortable around each other? How the hell do you go about making friends?”

“I have no need for frivolous relationships like that, Your Majesty!” Alastor said it like it was the most obvious thing. In a way, maybe it was the most obvious thing. “Neither does Vox, which is exactly why it’s suspicious.”

Lucifer sighed heavily. “Can you not accept that maybe the guy does actually want to have life outside of business?”

“I suppose I can’t,” Alastor said, dismissively adjusting his cuffs.

The deer wasn’t antagonizing him about it as much for once… He saw an opportunity. It was risky but he had to take it. “He told me about your past together y’know,” Lucifer admitted.

He didn’t miss the way Alastor stiffened, even if the sinner’s tone remained casual. “Oh, did he now?”

“Sounds to me like you left him absolutely shattered,” Lucifer continues.

“I suppose that’s his fault for getting attached. He knew who I was and what I was capable of, he was the one who deluded himself into believing we were anything more than business associates,” Alastor replied curtly.

It didn’t sit well with the King. Surely there was more to it. More that the deer wasn’t letting on. “And you couldn’t have let him down easier?”

A flick of those red ears. “The Radio Demon doesn’t do ‘easy’, Your Majesty.”

“You keep telling yourself that. I don’t care, nothing you say will persuade me to stop pursuing this,” Lucifer huffed, squeezing every ounce of finality he could muster into his words. If Alastor wasn’t going to budge, neither would he. This conversation was over.

But of course, as he was getting up to return to his room, the blood-colored bitch just had to get in a final word. “I do hope you feel so satisfied when he finally goes after your soul, my King,” he said in a singsong voice.

Lucifer scowled and whisked himself away into his room. It was a mess as always. He’d get around to tidying up someday, he told himself for the fourth time that week. But for now he kicked off his boots and settled himself into bed, pulling the various blankets he surrounded himself with into a nest-like shape.

His own little bubble from where he ignored everything. Be they cervid assholes, the world, or his own needs. Absent-mindedly he remembered the pain in his hooves.

It was from this little bubble that he would let doubt eat away at him.

Notes:

I had to add a little bit of substance there at the end. As always I hope you enjoyed and I will see you on Wednesday! With yet another Vox chapter... perhaps my favoritism is showing

Chapter 16: My Feet Feel Frozen to the Ground

Summary:

And so we return to the tower.

Notes:

Okay Staticmoth enjoyers, enjoy it while it lasts!

I don’t know if this chapter warrants any warnings, but just in case, there will be a warning in the end notes

It wasn’t the most efficient method of transport, but it certainly was the fastest. Traveling such a great distance through the electrical grid was bound to put a strain on every circuit and wire in Vox’s body, but he didn’t have the minutes to spare waiting for his driver.

He hoped his departure from the hotel looked natural enough to the other demons surrounding him. It definitely wasn’t though. He felt the telltale buzz of his phone in his pocket, the tone he set for Valentino to differentiate him from his other personal contacts.

The moth was definitely suspicious of his whereabouts.

As soon as he got close enough to the city, he was gone in the blink of an eye, zipping through the wires at ridiculous speeds. He told Valentino he was almost home before he started traveling, so this was his only option if he wanted to be fast enough.

In mere seconds he was back at the tower, in his bedroom.

The world tilted violently as he tipped backwards and fell into his bed frame, barely catching himself on the edge of the mattress. Sparks jumped off his skin in protest at the blatant overuse of power.

He took several moments to catch his breath. He had to make himself presentable for Val. Forcing himself to stand up properly, he fixed his outfit up, rehearsed his usual tone, and made his way out of his bedroom.

As soon as he stepped out of the elevator, a familiarly smooth voice greeted him. “Voxxy! There you are, what took you so long, mi amor?” the moth asked, sauntering over to cup Vox’s screen.

“Sorry about that, my dear,” Vox responds in his own seductive tone as his hands come up to rest on top of Val’s. “Turns out things were worse than I realized,” he lied.

He carefully watched the other Overlord’s still-intact antenna twitch. Not a good sign. He came up with an excuse before Valentino could even finish asking. “You smell funny, Voxxy… What’s up with that?”

“My technician moved to a new upgraded office in the territory,” Vox explained, recounting the paperwork he did for a building VoxTek recently repurposed. “It’s closer to the outskirts than the previous. That also contributed to my delay, but only barely. Sorry, I forgot to tell you.”

Val’s eyes narrowed slightly. Fuck. Of all times for the moth to be intelligent. “Are you lying to me, amorcito?”

“Why would I be lying to you?” Vox asked nervously.

Valentino’s slender clawed fingers traced their way down to the collar of Vox’s shirt and gently found purchase in it. “You smell like the Devil’s princessa,” he said lowly.

“Ah, do I?” Vox mentally berated himself for forgetting about the time his on-off partner complained about the Princess visiting him. Of course he would know what she fucking smells like.

Vox didn’t resist or avert his steady gaze as his neck was exposed. “You do, Voxxy. Lucifer too, don’t think I haven’t picked up on his scent with the amount of time you two spend in… Close quarters,” he whispered, his face moving in closer. Shit. Shit shit shit, Vox didn’t have an excuse for this. He would have to resort to plan two.

“Hmm… You sure you aren’t losing your sense of smell too?” Vox asked mischievously, “Do you still remember what I smell like under all the confusion?”

“Of-fucking-course I know what you smell like, Voxxy,” the other hissed, pouting at the mere implication.

Vox brushed his fingers against the moth’s fur gently at first, until he grabbed a handful without warning. “I know you’ve been dying to taste me since last night. Go ahead, my dear~” he uttered, tilting his head to the side for Valentino.

Vox knew his partner well. If he was thinking too well with his head, he was easily intercepted by making him think with his dick instead. “We’ll talk about this later,” he growled, but as soon as his tongue found Vox’s skin, the Tech Overlord knew Val would soon forget all about his concerns.

————

Vox can’t remember the last time Valentino stayed to patch him up after he was done, but it was an appreciated rarity. Perhaps because they were both supposedly taking a break, or perhaps because he’d been uncharacteristically sweet. Vox didn’t mind it either way.

Bites were lovingly tended to, complete with a kiss for each to top it off. As expected, Valentino didn’t bring up their previous conversation. Instead he got set up in bed. Vox slid in next to him and was swiftly enveloped in a velvety wing.

His thoughts drifted as he started falling asleep. Despite his passionate night spent with Valentino, he couldn’t shake a certain rosy cheeked smile out of his head. Maybe it was the way his head was still reeling from Val’s pheromones, but he found his thoughts turning less pure by the second.

Valentino often asked invasive questions about the King. Most of them were rhetorical, yet Vox dismissed all of them anyway. Apparently he was a hypocrite to have done that.

Because the longer he lie here in the embrace of his partner, the further his thoughts spiraled, making it harder and harder to fall asleep. Was he being unfaithful?

Would Val even care?

The pimp often fucked his whores without a second thought as to how that made Vox feel. The Tech Overlord desensitized himself to it over time. He decided that surely these fantasies were fine in comparison. There was no way he was going to be able to repress them with Val’s addictive essence still running through his veins. So he succumbed instead. It was Val’s fault for kissing him more than usual.

He undressed the King in his mind’s eye. No one had to know.

His teeth were sharp and claws long. No one had to know.

Soft fur ghosting under his own fingers. No one had to know.

Horns that looked good for holding, tail that looked good for pulling. No one had to know.

No one would know.

His dreams were far from holy when sleep finally did take him.

————

Vox awoke the next morning in a groggy haze. Until it all came back to him and shame quickly rooted itself throughout his entire being. The fuck was he on last night? He looked at the moth curled around him. Right. That’s what.

He wiggled out of Valentino's arms carefully. The other demon mumbled and grumbled, but ever the heavy sleeper, stayed just as unconscious as before.

Vox needed to go stuff his face with something grossly unhealthy and then freeze all his skin cells off in the shower. Maybe then he’d feel like a real being.

It would probably also be helpful to re-disinfect and change his various bitemark’s patches. Some of them bled through overnight. Damn those teeth. Vox enjoyed it, but would it kill Val to press in just a little gentler?

The morning went by relatively quickly, aided by the fact that Vox was accustomed to such monotony. Vox sat on the couch doomscrolling through his socials when Valentino finally surfaced.

“Morning, sleeping beauty,” Vox greeted him with a teasing edge in his voice.

The other Overlord grumbled at him, “I don’t understand how you’re always up so early… Your sleep schedule is just as fucked as mine.”

Vox shrugged, looking up from his phone with a cheeky smirk, “What can I say? The morning is inviting.” In reality, he only got up that early because he had to.

“You’re fucking insane,” Val mutters.

“It’s a good thing you have no issue sticking your dick in crazy then,” Vox shoots back.

The moth doesn’t reply to that one, instead dragging his ass to the kitchen, probably to grab coffee.

A gentle buzz from his phone distracted Vox though. A text from Lucifer dropped down from the top of his screen. He opened it.

‘I enjoyed yesterday, I hope we can do something like that again sometime!’

Vox read it over several times. His chest felt oddly warm. He started typing a reply. He stopped and started and thought about it for a while, but in the end, the final didn’t go through that many drafts.

‘I’d be honored, if you can convince Al to have me again, haha’

Vox felt embarrassed for himself as soon as he hit send. Who types out ‘haha’ these days? Lucifer didn’t seem fazed at all though as his response came through.

‘It shouldn’t be that difficult, Angel is really good at provoking him’

A soft chuckle escaped Vox. He’d never quite gotten along with Angel, not that he talked to the spider much, and the sinner was quite ballsy teasing him the way he did yesterday, but maybe he had his uses. He started typing a reply, but never finished it.

Instead, Vox quickly closed and pocketed his phone as Valentino returned from his little coffee expedition with a hot mug. The moth kicked his feet up on the coffee table.

“Isn’t it nice, Voxxy? Not worrying about work for once? We could do whatever we want,” he purred, taking a sip from the mug.

Vox shrugged. He had about two hours before he started twitching from lack of productivity. He had no idea how he was supposed to spend a few days not doing anything. “Sure, but what exactly did you have in mind?”

When Valentino was sweet, he was saccharine. Cloying. Vox relished in the attention, his previously exchanged messages and subsequent unfinished reply forgotten. “We could do what lovers do. Go out to dinner maybe… Take each other shopping. Or have little outings, sit in the park, have a picnic and pretend we aren’t Overlords for a day.”

“That all sounds very nice, but how exactly do you intend on keeping the press off our asses?” Vox asked. It was a valid concern. He’d hate for a day out to be ruined by the paparazzi.

Valentino laughed at him like the answer was obvious. “Just hypnotize them, mi amor. It can’t be that hard.”

Vox scoffed, rolling his eyes playfully. “You can’t honestly expect me to hypnotize every reporter and journalist this side of Hell, can you?”

“I suppose I could lend a hand or four as well. But you know my abilities aren’t as suited to pushing people away from me~” the moth whined, looking at Vox like some kind of innocent kitten.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. Just decide what we’re doing today so I can get properly dressed,” The Tech Overlord huffed. It seemed as though he was in for a lot of syrupy affection.

And for better or for worse, he welcomed it readily.

Notes:

This chapter includes implied sex, nothing is typed out or descriptive though

Next chapter… next chapter will have significantly more warnings but I can’t tell you what they are yet. They’ll be in the beginning note

Chapter 17: I Want to Move, but My Body Won't Cooperate

Summary:

How do you love the most hated being in all of creation?

Notes:

Alright guys, this chapter is a bit much. There are graphic depictions of self-harm in this chapter. You don't need to worry about skipping it, not much aside from that self-harm occurs.
Keep yourselves safe <3

If you do skip it, I'll provide a little blurb of what you missed in the end note

Lucifer stared at the read receipt for a concerning amount of time. His message wasn’t something that required a response, no, that’s not why he felt odd about it. It was the fact that Vox had started typing and then suspiciously stopped without sending anything that got him.

Reasonably, the King entertained the idea that it might have been an accident, he swiped on the keyboard and it typed something against his will or maybe he accidentally hit a letter while putting the phone down.

But try as he may, the seeds of Lucifer’s doubt were hard weeds to pull, and no amount of chemical reason was enough to fry them down to the root. It was like his brain was allergic to anything at all that made more sense than the ‘oh no he must hate me’ mantra it had taken up since earlier that morning.

Should he send another message just to check? No, what if his suspicions were confirmed? And what if he seemed annoying about it? He could wait it out. Some kind of confirmation would come to him, surely… For better or for worse.

It’s not like he could blame Vox either, Lucifer did plenty in the past to warrant hatred. What he couldn’t understand is why Vox would just string him along like that. All of Alastor’s warnings bubbled up from the murky dredges of his mind. Was Vox just playing it super safe? Maybe that was it…

Lucifer’s head spun with a storm of his own creation. His head and his heart locked in a vicious battle with each other. One wanted to protect Lucifer while the other wanted to love Vox.

Did Vox love him?

Could anyone love him?

The one person he ever entrusted his heart to abandoned him. Perhaps it was what he deserved. After all, Lucifer barely loved himself, how could he expect anyone to do what he couldn’t?

A familiar stinging sensation crept up on him. He should have expected it. He glanced at the drawer of his nightstand. Warm… Inviting.

His fingers found the handle all on their own, like his flesh was eager for it. It had been a while since he punished himself by his own hand. Once more the blade peeked out of the darkness, dutiful and cold. The hilt welcomed the fallen angel’s hand around it, and did not resist being lifted from its confines. It always listened to its masters command, it served its purpose well, and without complaint.

It stopped not to question the decisions of the man who owned it, it was everything Heaven honored. Obedient.

Unlike Lucifer.

His pants slid up as far as they would go, exposing his legs for the blade. The blade that patiently waited to taste his angelic blood.

The swirling thoughts in Lucifer’s head peaked into a near unbearable roar.

Why should Vox love him? He’s the reason Hell exists at all. If not for him no one would be down here.

The cold of the blade met the warmth of his flesh. Impure white was soon marred by a gold he didn’t deserve. The gold of his former divinity. It was hot against his skin, getting caught in his fur, staining it as it slowly trickled out of the new open wound.

He watched it run for several seconds too long. Several seconds until it wasn’t enough, and another cut was made. Golden line after golden line joined those that already existed, carving delicately harsh patterns into his flesh.

For a brief moment he stopped to think about what he was doing. How could Vox love him? Look at him! He was a mess, through and through. A mess who felt the need to purge an infinite pool of sin from his body. A mess who would bleed and bleed trying to rid himself of an issue he could never truly fix.

He brought the blade down again in a futile attempt to shut his head up. It didn’t work. Tears ran down his face, hot and disgusting, much like the blood that bubbled out of every cut. The blood that sickened him, taunted him, served as a painful reminder of what he is. What he was. What he lost.

He was so preoccupied with his own thoughts that he somehow missed the footsteps outside, the knock on his door, and the call for his name.

A sob tore itself from his chest. All because of a stupid message. Or lack thereof, he supposed. He needed to get out of his head. He needed to get out of his skin. This sinful skin of his. He should rip it all off and burn it.

In his turmoil he failed to notice someone continuing to call his name. It wasn’t until they opened the door that he froze and looked up.

“Luc? Are you okay? That’s a stupid question, don’t answer t’at…” came the voice of one particular porn star.

The spider stood in the doorway, all four hands held up in some kind of placating gesture. The two of them spent an awkward amount of time just staring at each other.

Angel seemed uncomfortable, but he put on a smile and broke the silence, “I was comin’ to ask ya wanted to join me out on a day trip… Y’know, as friends, but it seems like now is a bad time,” he tried to joke in an attempt to lighten the mood. “Can I come in?”

Lucifer slowly put his dagger down and nodded.

Angel stepped inside cautiously, closing the door quietly behind him. He crossed the room in a few gentle steps and sat himself next to Lucifer, close, but not too close.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” he eventually asked after several beats of silence.

The King didn’t quite know what to say. He opened his mouth. Closed it. Glanced around the room to stall for time. Fidgeted with his hands.

The spider sighed. “I’m no good at this comfort stuff… That’s more up Husk’s alley, if ya can believe it.” More silence passed while both parties tried to find words. “If nothing else, let’s get’cha patched up, okay?”

Lucifer pointed to his nightstand drawer. Inside it he also kept the stuff he would use to clean himself up… When he cleaned himself up. He didn’t touch it often. Instead he’d watch each wound bleed until it closed up, and then simply remove any mess present with a wave of his hand.

But it seemed that Angel Dust was insistent on helping him clean up, so who was he to deny the sinner that right?

The disinfectants stung against the exposed flesh, but every single cut was treated with utmost care and gentleness. Lucifer almost wanted to tell the other that he wouldn’t shatter and there was no reason to be so careful about it, but he didn’t know if he would be telling the truth.

One thing was for certain though, he felt so incredibly weak. He’d been doing so good recently too… Talking to people, not hurting himself like this.

Surprisingly, Angel started talking again, “I won’t pretend to know what you’re goin’ through or anything, but I want you ta know that I… Understand the desire. To punish yourself… Break yourself.”

The fallen angel could understand, the few things he had overheard either from Angel himself or about him were quite dire situations.

“But…” the spider continued, “I know I’m not alone. And you aren’t either… So, don’t feel the need to hide away when you feel like this, get me?”

Lucifer pulled the stuffy air of his room into his lungs and finally found some words to say. “Yeah… Thanks. Just don’t tell Charlie about this… Please?” the question fell from his lips like a plea. Some kind of almighty and powerful being he was. “She deserves a father figure who at least… I don’t know, appears a little stable? Heaven knows how much I’ve failed her in the past…”

The sinner kneeling in front of him reached out an awkward hand, hovering it around Lucifer’s shoulder. The King gave him a curt nod of permission. Angel’s hand lowered down onto his shoulder. The spider smiled, something lopsided and timid. “I wouldn’t dream of telling her something like this. She’d run herself ragged tryin’ to fix you as if that’s her job.”

Lucifer managed a small huff of amusement. “And we can’t have that… I’m supposed to be the one helping and supporting her, aren’t I?”

“That you are… Now come on, let’s get you out of this room. How about a drink or two?” Angel asked, standing up after he finished with the last bandage.

“Hmmm… Okay, but you have to make sure I stop after two,” the King replied.

He tucked the dagger back into its drawer and tugged the legs of his pants back down into place. He was still stressed out about Vox, but at least Angel was here to pull him out of his own head.

Whatever Vox was doing, Lucifer hoped he was having fun.

Notes:

Angel and Lucifer friendship is getting stronger. I can't believe that originally wasn't supposed to happen. They are,,, bonding

Chapter 18: Now They’re Closing in for the Kill

Summary:

Vox can’t have his cake and eat it too

Notes:

I didn’t know how to feel about this chapter when I wrote it and I still don’t know how to feel about it now but I’m too lazy to rewrite things ever

Valentino’s love was hot, suffocating… Overwhelming. Despite all the various things they spent time doing together, things they normally wouldn’t do at all, Vox still found himself thinking about Lucifer.

Their conversations were candle light. Gently flowing flickers, seamlessly going with the flow. Even if things got uncomfortable or heavy, the wick would eventually reignite itself.

Valentino was a raging fire compared to Lucifer. Vox found himself slipping back into his old habits when it came to dealing with the moth. He knew if that fire got out of control, he would be swallowed up within it. The Tech Overlord would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy Val’s attention, but he couldn’t relax in this position.

One slip up and Valentino would pull away. This hot burning love was better than no love at all.

The two Overlord’s were making a show of terrorizing one of the newer shopping districts in Hell. Which is to say they were simply walking, while the lowly sinners around the area avoided them. Except the press, of course. Still up Vox’s ass about Lucifer’s frequent visits to the tower. Did they really have nothing better to report on?

It had taken most of Vox’s energy just to repel all of them, and even then more always came out of the woodworks to harass him with questions.

Vox’s internal monologue got interrupted by his partner, who was also insistent on asking questions apparently, “Come to think of it, Voxxy, what’s the game plan for Lucifer?”

“Oh, that!” Vox replied too quickly as a result of auto-piloting his responses like an idiot. “Well you see, my dear, the King has proved to be quite tricky in terms of deceiving.” It was only partially a lie. “It has been a while, I know, but powerful figures like him don’t just let their guard completely down willy-nilly. I would need one absolutely inconspicuous contract in order for him to sign his soul to us. And as you may know, soul contracts are one of the most difficult ordeals in hell… When it comes to powerful demons anyway.” He measured his tone, hoping the moth would buy his lame excuses.

Valentino frowned. A terrible sign, really. “You’re selling yourself short, Voxxy. And even if you were struggling so much with it, you could always come to me and Vel to help you plan. We work as a team, don’t we?” he asked, pouting the whole time.

The Tech Overlord shook his head, maintaining a fond smile on his face in hopes of dispelling Val’s concerns. “I appreciate the offer, really, it’s just… How do I put it? With how long me and Lucifer have talked now I think he’d notice if something that wasn’t my idea cropped up, and if we rouse even any suspicion, it’s game over. We don’t want that, do we?”

“No, but still…” Val said, flicking his antennae in frustration, “You don’t tell us much of anything anymore. You can see why we’d be concerned, right, mi amor?” The moth purred. One of his hands reached up to gently play with Vox’s own antennas, sending shivers down the Overlord’s spine.

Vox furrowed his brows. He did suppose he wasn’t talking to them much anymore, but he had his own reasons for that. He just wasn’t sure how to go about telling the other two. He couldn’t tell them they stressed him out because they would have questions and he couldn’t tell them he’d grown attached to Lucifer either. He was truly caught between a rock and a hard place. “Yeah, yeah I understand,” he started explaining. Five syllables in hopes of dropping the conversation. Fuck, when had he started counting again? …And when had he stopped? “I’ll try to be more available, it’s just that there’s always a lot on my plate. You know that.”

Valentino sighed heavily, audibly giving up for the time being. “You win, Voxxy, you win.”

The two continued down the sidewalk and back to the tower. Val spent most of the walk on his phone, so Vox decided to pull his out as well. It was then he remembered that he never replied to Lucifer. A half typed out message remained sitting in the box, abandoned.

Surely it wasn’t too late to finish. A few words were added and send was hit.

Shockingly enough, it only took the King a few minutes to respond. Vox found himself wrapped up in the conversation, not considering that it would look suspicious to Valentino. Of course, Val could do whatever the fuck he wanted without drawing suspicion from Vox, but Hell forbid Vox do anything.

“Who are you texting so much, Voxxy?” the moth asked, glancing around his own phone to side eye the Tech Overlord.

Vox replied in his most charismatic tone, “I could ask you the same thing, my dear.” He left out the part where he told Val off for pulling out his phone first.

“I’m talking with Velvette… That’s not that out of the ordinary, is it?” the moth asked, tilting his head to emphasize his point. “Besides, I text people all the time. You don’t.”

Vox sighed heavily. He supposed his fellow Overlord had a point there, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. He could feel the potential argument in the air, he had to play his cards carefully. “I’ve simply decided it would be best for me to maintain connections through casual conversation. People are more likely to agree to things when they also happen to be your friends.”

Valentino’s antennae flicked. “I thought I told you to stop working for the day, can’t you ‘maintain connections’ later?”

“I could, but I also find it is quite imperative to make sure no one is drifting from our grasp. This isn’t a mentally taxing task anyway, Val, I’ll be fine,” Vox reasoned. If anything, Valentino was more detrimental to his mental health than Lucifer was.

The thought filled Vox with the urge to go see him again. It came in like a truck and the driver didn’t even bother to slam the brakes in a panic before hitting him. How was he supposed to get out of this without drawing Valentino’s ire about it?

“Actually, come to think of it,” Vox started, “I’ve been getting restless being away from my desk like this. It wouldn’t kill me to do a little bit of work tonight, would it?”

Valentino squeaked at him. “No, I suppose it wouldn’t, but I don’t like the idea either. Can’t I at least stay with you?”

“I’d prefer it if you didn’t, I need to remain focused for these things, dear…” Vox needed to sweeten his words just a bit if he was to convince his business partner. “And you’re very distracting I’m afraid~” he adds a little quieter.

The moth pins his antennae back in a pout, but still, he reluctantly acquiesces. “I suppose I could let you run back to your office just for tonight… But I’ll expect you to keep relaxing after, and you can capitalize on how oh so distracting I am~” he purrs over Vox’s shoulder.

“It’s a deal then,” Vox says confidently. Valentino returns to typing away on his phone after that, and eventually they part ways in the elevator. Vox carries himself to his office and collapses into his chair. Val was fucking exhausting.

At least Lucifer was easy to be around. Easy enough to be around that Vox popped a question that he wasn’t necessarily intending to ask today.

‘Do you happen to be free tonight?’

The Tech Overlord felt guilty only for a moment for going behind Valentino’s back like this. He reassured himself with the fact that Val wouldn’t hesitate for even a second to do the same thing, so why should he? If it landed him in hot water later, he would deal with it. It was a future Vox problem, for now, present Vox only sought out a nice time.

It was only a few minutes before Lucifer’s reply came through.

‘I am, why? Already miss me that much?’

Vox averted his eyes from his phone like it was watching him. He felt his screen heat up to an unreasonable temperature for such a normal message. It takes most of his willpower to send a confident sounding message back.

‘Perhaps I am, I can be over soon if you’ll have me’

In a matter of seconds, Lucifer enthusiastically approved of the idea.

‘Oh, of course! I just need some time to tidy up but I’ll notify you as soon as that’s done. I’ll make sure Alastor stays off your back again too!’

And so it was decided. Vox did reply to a few emails and scheduled his days for when Val finally let him go, if only to feel slightly productive for once that day. The rest of his time spent waiting for Lucifer’s go-ahead consisted of freshening up and pacing around his living room.

————

Meanwhile in Velvette’s studio, the other two Vees were locked in a rather heated discussion.

“What the fuck do you mean he isn’t fallin’ for it?” Velvette snapped at Valentino. Her patience was wearing very thin.

Valentino was quick to defend himself, “I mean he isn’t falling for it! He keeps finding ways to slip through my fingers! I even dosed him up on my pheromones more than usual and that’s not working either!”

Velvette paced around with her arms crossed. “Well why aren’t you keeping him with you then? It sounds to me like you’re just letting him go where he damn well pleases!” she spins on her heel to accuse him directly.

“Because if I try to argue with him on these things, it will achieve the opposite effect! You know how we are, babydoll. The last thing we need is to push him further away, no?” the moth retorts. Velvette hated it when he made sense.

The doll sighed, pinching the space between her eyes where the bridge of her nose would be if she still had one. “Well if you can’t do it, we’ll have to think of something else. I could always try finding an excuse to talk to him… Unless…” Velvette mused. A devious smirk bloomed on her face. She was expecting Valentino to handle the situation with less tact than he had, but she never considered influencing him to fly off the handle intentionally. It was playing dirty, but for the sake of the Vees, it was necessary. “Unless you get into an argument on purpose!”

“Why the hell would I get into an argument on purpose?” Valentino asks, narrowing his eyes as if insulted.

“Because he always sulks like a lost puppy after,” Velvette explains, “it would open him up to my influence, and then we go from there.”

The moth tilted his head. “Doesn’t that seem a little… Low?”

“We’re Overlords, fuckhead, and besides, you’re the last demon who should be worried about acting ‘low,’” the doll says plainly, tapping her foot on the tiled floors.

Valentino grumbled, clearly not pleased with the idea, but Velvette knew he didn’t have any better ideas. “Fine, go ahead and make me the villain if it gets Voxxy back… But you’d better make sure you know you’re absolutely going to succeed or I’ll never forgive you,” he huffed.

Velvette waved him off. “Oh don’t you worry, I’ve got this handled,” she said confidently.

She would get their stupid TV idiot back if it was the last thing she did.

Notes:

I planned an illustration for an upcoming chapter… I should get working on that probably… granted I have no idea how to get images onto ao3

Chapter 19: I Think They’ll Hate Me For It

Summary:

A more special get together approaches

Notes:

I do not have the image I intended to draw for this in any rendered, digital, or otherwise Good capacity 🪑 too busy with October art challenge

Lucifer had been sitting with Angel on the couch when he got Vox’s message asking if he was free. The spider watched his whole demeanor change, and obviously asked about it.

“Whoa, what’s got yer entire mood shifting all of a sudden?”

Lucifer laughed awkwardly, knowing his response would probably incriminate him. “Oh, it’s nothing serious, it’s just that Vox texted me back and he wants to come over,” he admitted nervously.

Angel looked at him funny for that. “Really? You’re bein’ dead serious with me right now?” The question sounded like a joke, lighthearted and airy, but it flustered Lucifer nonetheless.

“Uhh… Well… Yes?” The fallen angel fidgeted with his hands. “I’ve been a bit in my own head about him lately.”

The sinner sitting across from him sighed and shook his head. “He’s got you wrapped around his finger… Which is kinda dangerous, if he even knows that.”

Lucifer shrugged. “I don’t think he does, I haven’t told him anything, and I try not to show it… I’m worried it might drive something between us, y’know? That and the whole everyone telling me he’s a manipulative bastard thing I guess, which I’m less worried about in terms of my own safety. I can handle him, I just don’t want that to be the only reason he entertains me the way he does…”

“Hey, I get it.” Angel offered Lucifer his comforting hand once more. “No one wants to find out that someone they feel affection for was just using them the whole time.”

The way Angel reassured him made Lucifer wince, it clearly came from a place of understanding. “Sorry to dredge up feelings like that…”

The spider waved him off. “Eh, it’s whatever. Let’s get back on’ta da topic at hand, shall we? So Vox wants to pay us a visit again already?”

“Believe me, I’m surprised too. Maybe I should tidy up my room…” Lucifer mused mostly to himself. Still, Angel caught it and raised a suggestive eyebrow at him.

“An’ why’s that? Got any special plans?” he asked, his smirk mischievous in every conceivable way.

Lucifer’s face went bright gold immediately. “What?! No! It would just provide us a safe space from all the other hotel residents!”

“Uh-huh, keep tellin’ yaself that, Your Majesty.”

“I’m being honest!” Lucifer retorted. “I couldn’t show him anything anyway thanks to… My poor earlier-today decisions. It would probably kill the mood and give him questions.” he added, slightly ashamed of himself.

Angel’s suggestive look faded into a soft one. “I believe you, I believe you, promise.”

Perhaps in a moment of misplaced confidence, or simply because it’s the first thought that came to his brain, Lucifer spoke without thinking, “Though I suppose I don’t need to take my pants off to suck his dick.” In less than a second he realized what he said and quickly backtracked. “Wait! What?! No– You didn’t hear that!”

Angel Dust promptly started wheezing. Lucifer watched him laugh for a solid minute and a half, embarrassed and regretting his choices. Though he had to admit, it was a little funny.

“Alright, alright. Let’s go tidy up that room of yours, yeah?” the sinner finally said when he calmed down enough to speak again. The spider got up off the couch and offered a hand to help Lucifer up as well.

The King accepted his hand and nodded. “That’s probably a good idea. I was planning on just magic-ing everything away, but actually cleaning is probably the better solution…”

The two made their way up the new and improved hotel and into the quarters Lucifer established for himself. Angel looked around as if he hadn’t seen it earlier. Then again, maybe he was too focused on Lucifer to care about the state of his room. It had only gotten worse since Angel was inside it any time before today as well.

“Well, where do ya wanna start?” he asked, turning to look down at the King.

Lucifer rubbed the back of his head. “That’s the issue… I don’t know. It’s just way too overwhelming to decide on any one place.”

Angel nodded in thought for a second. “Alright, bet. We’ll start with all your clothes then.” The spider then started picking up clothes off of the floor. It only took him a few seconds to locate Lucifer’s neglected hamper and toss them inside. “Simple and easy.”

“What did I do to deserve a friend like you..” Lucifer said as he watched Angel get to work, eventually joining him in tidying up. It was his room after all.

Angel paused for a second. He smiled awkwardly as he replied, “I’ll be honest, at first I was hoping I could find a way off Val’s leash with you gettin’ close to Vox and all… But you’re fun to be around, so I decided to stay for more than just my own self-interest.”

It made an infinite amount of sense to Lucifer, and while it probably wasn’t something most people would want to hear, the King wasn’t fazed in the slightest. “Oh, well why didn’t you say so to begin with? I’m sure I could help you find a way out of working for your abusive boss. I’m only the King of Hell.”

“I know, it just felt cheap and shitty to ask you about it directly. I was hoping some kind of loophole or connection to Vox would crop up… Probably wishful thinking on my part,” Angel admitted, “though I guess you would have reason to be angry with him.”

Lucifer tilted his head at that. “More reason than the reasons you already gave me?”

“He licked your daughter.”

“He what.”

Angel tossed more clothes in the hamper before continuing, “Yeah, I watched it happen. Grabbed her arm and just. Tasted her I guess. It was gross.”

Lucifer didn’t register the lashing of his tail or the ruffling of his feathers. “I could go over there and shred his soul right now if I wanted to.”

“Easy there, Your Majesty,” Angel soothed, “we have all the time in the world to make sure that bastard gets the treatment he deserves, but right now we gotta focus.”

The fallen angel tucked his wings and tail back into their hiding places and pulled himself together. “Yes, right. We prepare for Vox, I have a fun time–” Angel gave him a look to which Lucifer started speaking quicker, “and then we can handle Valentino.”

“Sounds like a plan ta me.” The spider handled the last of the clothes and moved onto the next thing that needed doing. “You got any trash in here? I can run that down while you put any miscellaneous objects in their places.”

“Okay… I can do that. There’s probably plastic things in here that need to be trashed. And uhm… Boxes probably?” Lucifer said as he moved to organize a pile of his ducks, which Angel appreciatively didn’t comment on.

The two of them made quick work of the room while they talked about this and that. Turns out it looked worse than it was and Lucifer was just too overwhelmed to handle it. Now with everything stacked neatly he could see his floor! That rarely happened. Now, if only he was confident in his ability to keep it that way.

“Welp! That’s a wrap then! Good work team,” Angel celebrated, “if ya ever need help with it again, you can reach out, yeah? Plus, it gives me an excuse to gossip.”

The King felt himself smiling before he even registered the words. “Heh, yeah, thank you again. I’m going to go make myself presentable now…”

Angel ruffled his hair unexpectedly. “You go do that. Make sure you wear something nice and sexy for him, yeah?” he teased, eliciting more flustered defenses from Lucifer.

“I’ll wear whatever the hell I please! Now shoo shoo.” He waved the sinner out of his room. Lucifer stood in front of his door with his arms crossed for two whole minutes out of spite before finally dragging his ass over to his closet. In truth, he did want to wear something nice, but what? He only had a few outfits that would fit the occasion…

Obviously a suit was too formal. If he wore something slutty Angel would get on his case about it, but it was kind of funny. And would be worth it. Hopefully.

He stalked over to his closet and opened it. There were more things back at the palace, but ultimately the situation was the same, it was full of clothes he liked but never wore. Now that he had a chance, though, he had to make sure it was absolutely perfect… Or at least nice to look at.

It didn’t take him very long to find something he liked, he just hoped it wasn’t too much. A cropped top with straps that cut across the small area where his stomach would be visible. It still had the tag on it… he pulled it off and slipped the top on.

As for pants, he had a nice pair of jeans that were red in color. They even came with a detachable decorative chain on them! Lucifer decided to keep it on for this. It was a nice little touch.

He switched out his usual boots for ones that had a taller heel, and definitely not just because he wanted to feel tall.

The King walked over to his mirror, much easier to access now that his room was clean. He admired his reflection for about a minute. He was pretty hot, he had to admit. He could only hope it wasn’t too much.

There was only one thing left to do. Lucifer grabbed his phone and sent the message stating he was ready to Vox. It was seen and replied to in record time. Was Vox watching his messages this whole time?

The idea made Lucifer giddy, as though he were a schoolgirl instead of the King of Hell. He was still smiling when he left his room to wait downstairs.

Notes:

We have a second hotel visit coming up already 👀

Chapter 20: The Way I Can’t Resist Temptation

Summary:

✨The second visit✨

Notes:

Aaa I’m falling behind in my prewritten chapters. I have 6 left, so if I don’t post in approximately 3 weeks, that’s why :(

That aside! Enjoy all the growing tensions!

If Lucifer remembered correctly, it didn’t take very long for Vox to get to the hotel last time. That did not stop the others from giving him sideways glances while he waited. Of course, the one demon he didn’t want approaching him about it did, because why wouldn’t the deer?

 

“That’s certainly an outfit, Your Highness. Pray tell, what’s the occasion?” the stupid transatlantic accent assaulted Lucifer’s ears before the red could assault his eyes.

He grumbled quietly to himself before he replied, “Vox is coming over. No, you cannot convince me to change my decision, so maybe you should go run off somewhere else and leave us to talk in peace.”

“Oh, he’s already running back so soon?” Alastor asked, flicking his ear in what was maybe annoyance. “Was he not just here recently?”

“He was, and he’ll probably be here again, so get used to it.” Lucifer crossed his arms.

The face Alastor made was a strange one that Lucifer couldn’t pin. The deer’s smile was strained, that was typical, but his brows furrowed. It was only for a brief moment though, as a second later the sinner schooled his face back into his usual smiling expression. “Well I suppose I’ll leave you to it then.”

The King rolled his eyes as soon as the Radio Demon melted into the shadows on the floor. It would be great if the bastard would just tell him the actual problems he had with Vox. Unfortunately the chances of that happening were so slim that Lucifer would be welcomed back into Heaven before the deer spilled anything.

He would continue stewing in his frustrations if the door didn’t open shortly after. Vox walked through and glanced around the room before his eyes fell on Lucifer. He was wearing a dress shirt that Lucifer wasn’t familiar with. His pants looked the same though, if not a little bluer.

“My my, what do we have here?” he asked, voice low and confident, “You’re making me feel underdressed for the occasion, Your Majesty.”

Lucifer waved him off. “Oh please, it’s fine. You look stunning in everything you wear,” he complimented, “I wouldn’t doubt you could make a trash bag look good.”

There was a passing look of surprise on Vox’s face, though it was quickly overshadowed by the same confident smile Vox always wore. What was with Overlords and always changing their expressions so quickly? “You flatter me, Your Majesty… Though I must say, I’m inclined to say the same about you.”

“What? No, there’s no way, no. I uhm… I look downright silly in some things. Yeah,” Lucifer said quickly. Some of his words ran into each other as a result. He could feel his face heating up, probably turning a visible shade of gold.

“You should give yourself some credit. Unlike me, you can pull off cute looks as well as hot ones,” Vox replied smoothly. He was unfairly good at this game.

Lucifer’s face got hotter by the second. “Okay, well that aside! Why don’t you come in and make yourself comfortable?” he suggested, gesturing for Vox to walk inside instead of stand in the doorway.

The Overlord didn’t hesitate to properly step inside. “So, what’s the plan tonight?” he asked, “Our usual talks? Perhaps a drink or two? Something more than that?”

“Well… I was hoping you had some ideas, because I sure as hell don’t,” Lucifer admitted embarrassedly, “some host I am…”

Vox shook his head. “There’s no reason to beat yourself up over it. I’m the one who suggested we meet tonight.”

Lucifer supposed that was true, even if it didn’t make him feel much better about it. “In that case, a drink doesn’t sound half bad… Husk usually gives me the non-alcoholic ones though. Keeps me from accidentally going overboard.”

“Huh… Perhaps I’ll have to stock up on those myself. Not that I’m averse to having you crash on my couch again,” he said teasingly. Lucifer felt his heart flutter in response. Damn the charming bastard. Lucifer wants to kiss his stupid screen. Or do more to him. He curbed his desires though, he could pine later… That, and the last thing he wanted to do was prove Angel right.

“Don’t feel obligated to just because my alcohol tolerance is worse than a field mouse’s,” Lucifer said quickly. As much as he appreciated the thought, he wouldn't want Vox to accommodate for him. He could bring his own drinks, after all.

“Now now, it’s no trouble, Your Majesty,” Vox started, “it’s no trouble at all. We can discuss more at the bar. Lead the way.” The Overlord gestured out in front of him, prompting Lucifer to start walking.

It was interesting. Vox was acting differently from how Lucifer usually saw him. He was as confident as always, but his words weren’t as restrained. The King could only hope that he was reading the tone right, but he seemed more open today, not as reserved. It made his mind spin with thoughts and feelings that he had to fight to rein back in. Pine later!

He led Vox over to the bar and sat down. For once Angel wasn’t occupying the space, which was a slight relief. Vox need not be teased relentlessly tonight. In the spider’s place however, Niffty sat. And boy, was she excited to see Vox again.

“You’re back!” she gasped, hopping up to stand on the books Husk put on the stool as a sort of booster for her. “You can’t run away this time!”

Vox paused in his stride. His smile faltered. Not that Lucifer could blame him for being hesitant around the little maid. “Oh… Why, of course not. I’m afraid my last visit was cut short, but it shouldn’t happen this time.”

“Leave him be, Niff,” Husk cut in, “if my bartender’s instincts are correct– and they usually are– you’ll be seein’ this guy often.”

“Now what is that supposed to mean!” Lucifer huffed, trying not to seem as flustered as he felt. Husk knew bits and pieces of how Lucifer felt about Vox, and while normally he’d be all for the teasing, Vox was standing right there.

Husk slid over Lucifer’s preferred virgin drink of choice with the subtlest of smirks on his face. “It means whatever you want it to mean, Your Highness.” The cat turned his gaze onto the Overlord who still had yet to sit down. “And what can I get you?”

“Oh, me?” Vox asked, “I don’t particularly care, so long as it isn’t something cheap and gross.”

Husk hummed before he replied, “Not cheap and gross… I can work with that.”

Finally Vox sat down next to Lucifer. Husk shooed Niffty away on a wild bug chase for the time being, but it wouldn’t be long before she came back. Lucifer had to drum up a conversation while there was an opportunity.

“So, what made you pick tonight to come over?” he asked, “If you want to share, that is.”

Vox sighed, which was always a great sign. “I needed out of that tower for a bit. Valentino has been up my ass figuratively and literally lately and while I can deal with him just fine, it’s not the most fun thing in the world.”

“Ah, right. Valentino…” Lucifer felt his eye twitch. “I actually wanted to talk to you about him… Again. It’s just a bit more serious this time.”

“Great… What did he do? I’ll try to adjust his behavior,” Vox groaned. By the sound of it, Valentino was more of a nuisance than the Overlord let on.

Lucifer took a deep breath. He had to stay level-headed. “For one, it’s been brought to my attention that he harassed my daughter.” He paused to watch Vox wince like the statement physically hurt. He continued, “And also I’m a bit concerned with the way he handles Angel…”

“I see…” Vox tapped on the bar top and took a sip of his recently claimed drink. “Well, I can definitely reprimand him for what he did to your daughter. That’s easy… As for Angel… he’s got him under contract. I’m afraid there isn’t much I can do legally there. This is Hell after all.”

Lucifer frowned and averted his gaze. He found his thighs were stinging again, and not just because he took out his feelings on them earlier that day, even old cuts radiated a pain he knew all too well. He rubbed them gently in an attempt to make it stop. “I understand that it’s Hell… I was mostly curious if there was any way at all to change the situation for the better. I probably should’ve expected there not to be.”

Husk grumbled from behind the bar, “I know that tone…”

Lucifer looked up at the cat. Vox seemed a bit caught off guard as well by the sudden intrusion into the conversation.

Husk continued speaking. “You can’t blame yourself just because someone else made some poor decisions and dug themselves into a pit, Your Majesty,” he said flatly.

“Blame yourself?” Vox asked, understandably confused.

Lucifer’s mind blanked. He wasn’t sure how to go about responding. “Well, I uh… It’s… Who’s blaming themselves? I just… What- what were we talking about?” he stammers, ultimately backing himself further into a corner.

“You know what I’m getting at,” the bartender muttered.

Vox’s brows were furrowed as he regarded the fallen angel with a highly questioning stare. “You don’t have anything to do with Angel, why in the three realms would his situation be even remotely related to you?”

“Do you want the long story or the condensed one?” Lucifer attempted to joke. He didn’t appreciate the sudden scrutiny, even if it was out of concern.

“Any answer would be preferable to no answers, frankly,” Vox said.

It was becoming clear that Lucifer had no other way out of this, so he submitted and started to explain, “Nothing in the history of Hell would exist if I hadn’t… Done what I did. I was responsible for the creation of Hell, the very reason people started turning towards evil. If I hadn't, maybe everyone today would be existing in a paradise instead of a shithole.”

The King watched Vox’s expression shift several times before the Overlord opened his mouth. “I would bet my entire company that even if you never meddled in human affairs, they still would have found a way to fuck it up. We humans are great at that. Besides, I don’t know anything about Heaven, but I bet I personally would hate it up there.”

“You’re probably just saying that to make me feel better,” Lucifer retorted, but Vox was quick to shut him down.

“Riddle me this, Your Highness, how many pleasures do they actually let you indulge in?”

Lucifer thought for a moment. “Not many I guess, but that comes with its own benefits… The souls up there aren’t worried about signing their souls away to get by or drowning in a sea of endless suffering.”

Vox shook his head. “I don’t expect you to fully get it, since you were never human yourself… But I wouldn’t trade this life for one of blue and gold.”

The King wanted to argue and claim that was easy for Vox to say, but he couldn’t. Overlords rose and fell every day, and it’s not like Vox got his empire handed to him. The fallen angel was left with the only option of accepting defeat. “I guess you have a point.”

“Yes I do, that’s more like it! Now enough depressing talk, I do believe we’re supposed to have fun during these times,” Vox stated. Lucifer couldn’t disagree there.

It became clear that Husk’s presence was limiting Vox’s openness somewhat, but the conversation was interesting nonetheless. This time they talked about the human world and all the different cultures that existed. Vox recounted some stories from his life, for better or worse. It turned out how much Lucifer thought he knew about humans wasn’t actually much at all.

As the night progressed Vox grew somewhat tipsy. He refrained from getting completely drunk though. Probably a wise decision on his end.

“You know, if you’re feeling uncomfortable down here, we could move up to my room,” Lucifer suggested, noting the way Vox would pause in his sentences every time someone passed by too close.

“Your room, huh?” he asked. He seemed a bit hesitant.

Lucifer quickly explained his reasons and hoped they were enough, “Yeah, there would obviously be less residents to bother us, and I have quite the comfy couch, and– I’m making this sound even more suspicious aren't I…” The King trailed off, realizing just how bad he was with words.

“You are, but I trust you,” Vox replied, “if it’s your room you want, we can go up there. I would appreciate the lack of prying eyes,” he said directly into the shadows.

Alastor manifested in front of the two wearing his usual smile. “Ah, finally notice me, old pal?”

“Notice you?” Vox rolled his eyes. “I could feel you staring the entire time. You’re lucky I only chose to say something now.”

“Hmm, well you can’t really blame me, can you?” the deer asked, tilting his head in an innocent manner. “But aside from that, before you run away, I’d like to speak with you. Preferably away from anyone who would bother listening in.”

Lucifer watched Vox tense up. “And why’s that, you radio bastard? I would be a fucking idiot to enter a room alone with you.”

“Then I suppose we’ll need ourselves a mediator, won’t we? Husker, if you’d be a dear?”

The cat avoided making eye contact with Alastor. “I don’t know, this really isn’t any of my busin–” Before he could finish his sentence, a green chain appeared around his neck and dragged him out from behind the bar.

“That wasn’t a request,” Alastor tutted in a light scolding voice that heavily juxtaposed the show he just put on for both Vox and Lucifer.

Vox sighed and got up. “Right, because a soul you own is the world’s least biased mediator. Whatever, just make whatever this is quick. I’ll meet you in your room, Your Highness.”

Lucifer watched as the Overlords walked deeper into the hotel before he had a chance to challenge either of them. He was angry, but all he could do was trudge back to his own room and wait for Alastor to release his guest. The King unceremoniously pouted the entire time.

Notes:

Sorry not sorry for all cliffhangers, it will happen again :3

Chapter 21: But I’m Losing Myself in You

Summary:

No summary, just read what you’ve all been waiting for :)

“What is this about, you fucking prick?” Vox spat. He hated the fact that he was now stuck in a room with the asshole with no conceivable risk-free manner of getting out.

Alastor gestured for Vox to sit. “I simply want to know what you’re playing at.”

Vox sat in the chair and started tapping his foot impatiently. “What I’m playing at? The hell do you mean? I’m not ‘playing at’ anything,” he argued, “or have you forgotten that not everyone is obsessed with mind games as you are?”

“Easy, old pal, easy. No need to get so defensive. It’s a simple question. I know how you work these days, I’m not blind. Nothing is worth the time unless it’s a business opportunity,” Alastor stated like it was an absolute fact. The audacity of this guy.

Vox’s fingers twitched. “And how the fuck would you know that? You wouldn’t see what goes on behind closed doors unless you were spying on me…”

“I’m not, but I don’t need to, unlike you and your silly little drones.” The deer manifested a cup of tea to sip on from seemingly nowhere. “It’s plain as day. And I don’t even bother with your silly little devices.”

“So what you’re saying is that you’re confidently working on an assumption you made based on… What? A few seconds of a program you saw? Word of mouth? Right, because sinners are soooo trustworthy,” Vox hissed. Frankly, he wanted to get back to Lucifer as soon as possible. The King was infinitely better to talk to.

Alastor smiled wider. “Don’t be so quick to throw people under the bus, dear friend. Are you not a sinner yourself?”

“That’s besides the point!” Vox retorted, “I can tell you right now for a fact that I am not planning a goddamn thing!”

“And if I were to ask your business associates?”

Vox froze. Could he trust them to lie about something like that? Of course, Vox wasn’t intending on anything nefarious anymore, but they didn’t know that. And since they thought he was still plotting something, would they be able to confidently lie to Alastor’s face? The red asshole was insufferable, but he was also perceptive.

The Radio Demon’s smile widened a bit, smug and victorious. “What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?”

The Tech Overlord scowled. “If I told you the truth you wouldn’t even believe me! In fact. I doubt you care about Lucifer’s well-being at all in this, you just want to drive me away from him!”

“Well isn’t that a lofty accusation to hurl at me,” Alastor said, pretending to be offended. “What good would it do me to come in between you?”

“I don’t know, maybe you’re so goddamned sadistic that you can’t see your old plaything establish a new… Friendship with someone without feeling the need to break him all over again!” Vox shot back.

Alastor shrugged nonchalantly. “I still fail to see how that benefits me in any way.”

“Right, because it’s one of Hell’s best kept secrets that the Radio Demon will just torture random souls for his own entertainment sometimes. For fuck’s sake, Alastor, admit for once that not everything has to be for someone else’s benefit.” Vox glanced at Husk who was awkwardly standing between the two. He should be more careful about what he says. Still, he continued before the deer could respond, “I wouldn’t put it past you to ruin my relationships for a laugh.”

“Please, I don’t need to ruin any of your relationships, you’re plenty good at doing that yourself.” Vox felt sparks fly off his skin. “I mean just look at your taste in men and women. The King of Hell is no small fish either. Not the kind of demon someone just becomes friends with on a whim.”

Alastor didn’t need to add his next sentence. Vox heard him loud and clear. “That’s funny coming from a man I wasted my time on. I sure as hell don’t intend on leaving Lucifer broken or abandoned, not over anything. Not a lack of perceived ‘uses’ and especially not over three little words.”

The deer pinned his ears back as his smile tightened. He almost looked hurt for a second, but it was quickly replaced with a look of bored anger. “Still bent up over that, I see.”

“Yeah, so tell me why exactly I would leave someone the way you left me?” Vox growled.

Alastor didn’t have an immediate answer for that question. He must not have expected old emotions to be brought into the argument. It showed when he finally did respond. “I still believe you a fool for ever placing any amount of trust in a demon, let alone me.”

Vox stood up. “I think this conversation is over. I’m going back to Lucifer, and there isn’t a goddamned thing you can do about it. Husk, if you could point me in the right direction?” he asked, brushing past Alastor as the deer tried to respond.

Husk stayed awkwardly where he was, only moving when Alastor waved a hand, dismissing him. The cat showed Vox to Lucifer’s room and then trudged back off, presumably to the bar. Vox stayed standing in front of the door for a while. He needed to calm himself down and school his expression back into a confident neutral one. Or… At least that’s what he told himself.

His time spent with Valentino led him into falling back into old habits he’d somewhat broken with Lucifer. In the end, he told himself it was for his own comfort.

He knocked on the door to announce his presence. “Lucifer? I’m back.”

“Ah, Vox! Come in,” Lucifer replied from the other side.

The Tech Overlord took a deep breath and opened the door. Upon stepping inside, he took a preliminary glance around Lucifer’s room, taking in little details quickly. Notably, the pile of ducks in the corner, as well as the apple motif around the room. Even his bed sheets and comforter had apples on them.

“So, how did it go?” Lucifer asked, shaking Vox out of his examination of the room.

Vox smiled as charmingly as he possibly could. “Terrible, thanks for asking.”

Lucifer frowned. “Oh… I probably should have expected that answer. What did he want from you, anyway?”

“He’s convinced that what we have is some kind of plot to use you… It’s not. But then again, it seems all his relationships are that, so why wouldn’t he project onto me!” Vox said, laughing humorlessly through it. The Overlord was particularly uncomfortable with Alastor’s unspoken threat to ask Vel and Val. Perhaps it was high time he told them the truth. The resulting consequences from them would hurt a lot less than Alastor pulling Lucifer away from him.

Vox didn’t realize just how exhausted of his afterlife he was until the King came along. One lone respite in a sea of paperwork, fake smiles, and placation. He wouldn’t be able to go back to just bearing it all. Maybe he’d be able to tell Lucifer the truth too someday.

“Vox…” Lucifer murmured, “I’m sorry, I should have said something.”

Vox shook his head. “No, you probably wouldn’t have been able to sway him. Even if you did, he’d just seek an audience with me elsewhere probably.” The Tech Overlord sat heavily on the couch, next to the King. “It’s whatever, I can handle anything he decides to throw my way.”

Before he could process what was happening, Vox felt hands cupping his screen, gently turning it. “But it’s not whatever, he clearly upsets you a great deal,” Lucifer said quietly.

The Overlord was smiling confidently before he could even register the words. He brought his own hands up to hold Lucifer’s, his usual mask of self-assuredness overtaking him like second nature. “I appreciate the concern, Your Highness, but I’ve got it handled.”

“Don’t give me that.” Lucifer pouted. “And please, call me Lucifer. There’s no need for titles or formalities here. You’re… Allowed to be open, or vulnerable. I mean, you treat me with nothing but care and kindness. I would do the same for you, y’know…?” The King’s eyes maintained contact with Vox’s, something that he normally didn’t do.

As much as Vox wanted to respond with something more genuine… He couldn’t bring himself to. “I’ll keep that in mind… Thanks,” is what he ended up saying. He needed to swing the conversation away from his own emotions. “But I think that’s enough feelings for one night. We should get back to the fun things.”

“Well, if you insist, we can.” Lucifer sighs. “But I’m here… If you need me.”

The Overlord found his smile softening into something a little more heartfelt. He opted to blame the alcohol in his system, but something about Lucifer in this moment was drawing him in.

The smaller demon was staring at him, eyes all wide and round. It made his next words stand out all the more. “Would it kill the moment if I said I wanted to kiss you right now?”

Vox shook his head. If anything it was the perfect course of action to such a picturesque scene. He spoke no words. Instead he started to lean in. Lucifer met him halfway.

It was something so foreign and new to Vox. There was no headrush or dizziness that followed their lips touching. There was no expectation for something more. Lucifer was delicate with him. In fact, Vox found himself at somewhat of a loss on how much or little he should be doing.

Lucifer pulled him in a little closer, some kind of reassurance.

Vox decided to do what felt natural to him. He stopped thinking so critically of every move. He especially tried not to think about the fact that his tongue was in the mouth of Hell’s King. Time slowed down and sped up equally, and by the time they pulled apart, neither were sure how long it had been.

“You’re pretty good at that,” were the first words spoken, Lucifer smiling as he said them.

“I could say the same about you,” Vox replied. It made sense that an eternal being like Lucifer would pick up skills over the amount of time he had existed, but there was something about him that still made it unexpected. Perhaps it was his unassuming appearance.

The King laughed at that. “I’m good at plenty of other things too, you know.”

Vox’s screen heated up so fast his fans kicked on. “Oh yeah? Guess you’ll have to show me sometime then,” he said smoothly despite how flustered he felt all of a sudden.

Lucifer didn’t reply, instead he pressed forward to kiss Vox again. The Overlord welcomed it, eagerly reciprocating the other’s advances.

Whatever notification he’d received during it went ignored.

Notes:

And the crowd goes wild!!! (It’s all downhill from here)

In other news, yesterday I went to my first ever concert for my birthday. It sure was something! I had a good time

Chapter 22: Everything About You is so Powerful

Summary:

Once again Valentino gets in the way.

Notes:

Hate to be the bearer of bad news buuut this chapter probably isn’t going in the direction you all hoped it would 😅

Trigger warning for violence/physical abuse!

To say things escalated from there would be the biggest understatement in the history of Hell. Being torn between Lucifer’s sweet talking and sweeter advances; and the persistent pinging inside his systems from Valentino left Vox at a loss for what to do. He didn’t want to cut a visit short again because of the fucking moth but he also didn’t want to give Val any reason to be suspicious of him. It could end in disaster.

Lucifer seemed to pick up on Vox’s plight too, because he ended up asking about it, “Vox? Is something the matter? You’re hesitating a lot…”

“I uhh… There’s this… There’s. Hm… I-” Vox stumbled on every sentence he tried to put together. It was infuriatingly imperfect of him.

“It’s okay if you’re not in the mood, we can stop. I don’t expect anything of you,” Lucifer reassured gently. It was the first time in his afterlife that someone told Vox he was allowed to stop. Of course, him not wanting to wasn’t the issue here, and he knew there was no expectation, but it took him by surprise nonetheless.

He was quick to respond, “That’s not the issue, I promise. It’s just… It’s hard to explain.” It wasn’t, he just didn’t want to. “I’m sort of caught between sides and I don’t know who to spend time with…”

“Well… Who do you want to spend time with?” Lucifer asked, his tone soft… Careful even.

“I want to spend it with you, but…” Vox started answering before trailing off.

“But what?”

The Overlord took in a deep breath. “But I’m worried that choosing you will cause other problems for me later down the line… And I don’t… I can’t… I just don’t know.”

Lucifer frowned. It was a show of sympathy, maybe even pity. Part of Vox wanted to revel in the fact that someone actually cared, but the part of him he catered to fill his image 24/7 told him to be repulsed by it. It was always so confusing when it came to the King. Vox wanted this, he wanted it so bad. He wanted to be vulnerable and he wanted to confide in another. To turn his brain off for a second and not have to worry about what everyone else was thinking, about the consequences it would bear on what he toiled endlessly to construct.

But there was always something in the way.

Whenever he did convince himself to open up, even if only for a brief moment, it would only stir the conflict. In the moment it felt so good… But afterwards he wanted to claw his heart out and squeeze the emotions out of it. He would berate himself for slipping up and not presenting the way he was ‘supposed to’ for hours, sometimes even days. Even if he thought that part of him that was so insistent on protecting the perfect illusion he put up for others was being unreasonable.

He was behind closed doors. The King hadn’t done anything to hurt him. He had no reason to believe he would start now.

He didn’t believe Alastor would back then either.

“Vox?” Lucifer’s voice drew him out of his head. “Talk to me… Please? What other problems? Maybe I can help you, but I need to know what’s going on first…”

Vox felt his brows furrow on their own. He was so at odds with himself. He had to force every word out, “Valentino has been… Rather bothersome lately as you may know.” He paused to watch for any change of expression on the King’s face. When there was none he continued. “I worry that maybe he’ll get… Suspicious of where I am. He doesn’t know I’m here.”

“And what will happen if he finds out?” Lucifer asks. There wasn’t a single hint of ire or malice in his voice. Only genuine curiosity laced with a little bit of concern.

“That’s the part I’m worried about.” Vox elected not to mention what Valentino expected of him with the King. “He can be unpredictable, and it can be one hell of a fucking headache to rein him back in if he flies off the handle. The last thing I want is him to do anything rash and…” ‘Potentially hurt you’ remained unsaid as well.

Lucifer’s eyes scan around Vox’s body. The Overlord was about to ask, but the King started speaking before he could, “You said he’s never hurt you…”

Vox grimaced. The way he was acting probably was pretty contradictory to that statement, huh? “I did say that, didn’t I… And I stand by that, he… Hasn’t. Not in any meaningful way…”

“Meaningful way? That means he has,” Lucifer stated plainly.

Vox backpedaled rapidly in an attempt to redirect the conversation. “That’s not what I’m worried about him doing. I can handle him… It’s just. I would rather not. But I also don’t want to leave.”

Lucifer heaved a sigh. “Well… I don’t want to be responsible for getting you in trouble or anything. So… You can go if you want, and we’ll figure it out later. You could always come over another day. Or we could call… And if you want to tell me more of what’s bothering you, you could do that too,” the King rambled on. He didn’t sound thrilled about it, but Vox couldn’t blame him. Vox wasn’t thrilled either.

Vox glanced out the window to avoid replying if only for a few seconds longer. “But I don’t want to go… I’m so torn. I can’t keep living this… Double life, I guess.”

“So neither of your… Business associates know about this?”

“No, they do… Just not the full extent of it, you know? They uh… They’d probably get in the way. Very in the way,” Vox explained quickly, “they’re sporadic and irrational a lot of the time. Oh, and neither of them know how to process an emotion.”

The King hummed. “I see… Well, ultimately, it is your call. I’m not going to kick you out… You know what’s best for you.”

Vox was going to use this opportunity to say something smooth and change this awful dreariness that fell over the room, but he got interrupted by the forty-seventh internal ping from Valentino. Fucking unreasonable bastard.

Finally, Vox opened his phone to glance at the messages being sent to him. Most of them were short, ‘vox?,’ ‘where r u?’ ‘why aren’t you answering?’ type messages. There were a few about not being able to find Vox in his office… Which means Val went looking. Great.

Gradually each message changed tone. Simple where are yous and are you okays turned into ‘vox i swear to satan if you don’t get your ass back here i’ll rip the wires out of your head’ and similar threats. How charming. Vox’s hand tightened around the phone. “Maybe I should go…” he finally said.

“I understand… We’ll continue this another day. Keep yourself safe, alright? And… Don’t hesitate to reach out if you need me.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks… For having me,” Vox said as he fixed the wrinkles in his clothes. “I’m sure we’ll meet again soon.”

The Overlord got up and started walking towards the door, but before he stepped through he turned back around. “Sorry, again for all of this…”

Lucifer shook his head. “Don’t be.”

Vox smiled halfheartedly. Looks like he would be teleporting home again… If he called his driver to the location they wouldn’t get here fast enough before Valentino made good on his threats. He strolled once more to the edge of the city, just close enough to tap the electrical grid and zap himself home.

Just like last time he was there in seconds. He didn’t land gracefully though, his body seized and he ended up on his floor with a deep thud.

“Oh fuck me,” he groaned to himself quietly. Everything burned and sparks were dancing across his skin. He really had to stop getting into situations that necessitated traveling via his powers.

He heard footsteps through the floor. Valentino must’ve come to investigate his living quarters and heard him land. Vox cursed to himself some more. He was hoping he’d at least be presentable before the confrontation.

“Voxxy?” He heard the moth before he saw him. His voice was strained with a barely contained anger. “Is that you?”

Unfortunately Vox’s head was still spinning too much for him to look up when he heard the bedroom door open. Valentino stepped into the room. “Oh, it really is you. What are you doing down there? Get up, we have to talk.”

“Give me a minute…” Vox mumbled into the floor.

“Whiny little bitches don’t get to have a minute. I said get up.” Vox felt the moth grab his arm and before he could react, he was violently hoisted up off the floor. The sudden change in orientation hit him hard, his vision swam so bad he could’ve sworn his screen blacked out. It took him a while before he could see clearly and focus on Val.

Vox rasped, “What do you want from me?”

“You know exactly what I want you fucking slut. Where the hell were you?!” the moth yelled back. Vox didn’t have a made up story ready this time though.

The Tech Overlord broadcast an awkward smile over his screen. “Uhh… Out,” he said, like a stupid fucking idiot.

Valentino dropped him and shoved him towards the bed. “Obviously! Do you think I’m that fucking stupid?!”

“No, no, I don’t! Just let me explain–” Vox tried to course correct the conversation, but it was no use.

The fur around Val’s neck was all sorts of puffed up and his wings were unfurled, twitching impatiently behind him. “You have thirty seconds. Get to explaining.”

“Whoa, whoa, isn’t thirty seconds too little? Give me some time to get my thoughts in order at least,” Vox said, speaking so quickly he stumbled over some of his words. He was messing up left and right. He was rarely this bad at dealing with Val when the moth got like this… And the few times he did mess up this bad–

The hand struck Vox’s screen before he registered Val was moving, still disoriented from traveling such a far distance in such a short time. “Thirty seconds would be plenty if you weren’t trying to hide where you ran off to, you fucking bitch.”

Vox carefully touched his screen. No cracks. That was good.

“You’re not getting out of this, Vox. I’ll beat the information out of you if I have to, and it’s starting to look like I might,” Valentino continued.

“Just- wait!” Vox threw his hands out in front of him as soon as he saw Val gearing up to strike again. “I need some time, Val, fucking hell… I feel like I’m gonna vomit…” The Overlord practically pleaded. The words felt helpless and slimy coming out of his mouth.

The moth tucked his wings back in and lowered his hands. “Fine. You have five minutes to fix whatever the fuck this is, and then you’re coming straight to me. Understood?”

“Don’t talk down to me like I’m one of your whores,” Vox snapped back without thinking. It was instinctual. He knew he was going to regret it.

Valentino scowled at him. Vox watched his hands ball into fists, but didn’t move out of the way in time before the other Overlord grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. “Then stop acting like a damn fool. I’m only giving you what you deserve, ignoring me like that. And to think I was trying to help you! What, am I not fucking good enough?! Is that it, Vox? Someone needs to keep you in line or who knows what you’ll run off and do behind my back next!”

The best course of action to take would have been to grin and bear it probably. The best course of action is not what Vox chose.

He grabbed Valentino’s wrist tightly. “Let go, asshole. You don’t fucking own me,” he said lowly, daring his partner, if he could even call Val that, to defy him. If it was going to come to blows, he might as well stand up for himself.

Naturally, the other demon didn’t back down even a little bit. “I ought to rip your head off your neck, you ungrateful piece of shit,” Val spat.

“Good fucking luck with that.” Vox shoved Valentino off him. His fingertips sparked weakly. He was still recovering from overuse of his powers, but he still retained enough electricity to cause a small shock if he needed to.

“Oh, so we’re playing it that way huh? Fine then, I can work with that.” The other Overlord growled.

He surged forwards at Vox. Claws found purchase in skin and dug in deep without mercy. Things were grabbed and thrown or bashed. Walls were hit and things knocked over. Electricity met red dust that floated in the air.

Vox tried to shock Val off him, but it wasn’t enough. Eventually, the Tech Overlord ended up pinned. “Look at you, fucking pathetic!” Valentino mocked ruthlessly. The moth still had two whole free hands to hit him with. Unfair.

“Maybe you should’ve given me time from the start!” Vox shot back. He wouldn’t stand down unless he was knocked out.

“Maybe you shouldn’t have snuck out behind my back!” Valentino slammed his fist into Vox’s screen.

The sound of shattering was audible. It registered before the pain did.

“Fuck!!” Vox gasps. He struggles against Val’s grip, trying to free himself so he could cradle the new injury.

“Serves you right,” the moth hissed. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it just to draw from it and blow the smoke back into Vox’s face. “This conversation isn’t over, but I’ll give you your oh so precious time to collect yourself. And fix your face while you’re at it. It’s fucking disgusting how fragile you are.”

With that, Valentino got up off of Vox and stormed out of the room, slamming every door he could behind him.

Vow, meanwhile, just laid there for a while. He cradled his screen, but made no move to get up yet. Fuck it hurt. The cracks spider-webbed out to every corner of his display. His mouth tasted like iron and burnt plastic.

He should probably get up…

Notes:

College has me so burnt out I am so burnt out I want to do so much nothing 🪑
I may have to skip Sunday’s post if I can’t catch up to my own schedule 😔😔😔

Chapter 23: Even When You Feel Scared or Worthless

Summary:

Vox could really use a support system right now...

Notes:

Sorry for no post last Sunday! But I am back... Kinda. As a bi trans man living in the states, I am. Quite peeved but that's neither here nor there! I have chapters to share! Please enjoy them

Vox did in fact get up, but he didn’t make it very far. Instead he sat on his floor. He’d had one too many emotions that day, and they were all catching up to him rapidly. At first he tried to breathe through it. Fight it back. Not let everything overwhelm him too much. It didn’t work though.

The first sob that clawed its way up his chest was quiet, but it opened the floodgates. Soon enough tears spilled down his broken screen while his whole frame seized up with every choked whimper that came out of him. He fucking hated it. This pathetic display, what would everyone say if they saw him like this?

The thought only pushed him to cry harder. He could barely breathe through the thick emotions swirling in his chest. They were suffocating him.

He was at a complete and total loss. He surely couldn’t tell Valentino or Velvette the truth. And what was Lucifer to him? Was this all worth it? Why did he feel like no matter what he chose he’d be moving in circles?

He reminded himself that he was an Overlord. A pathetic excuse for one.

Vox cried until he gagged, gagged until he retched. He was supposed to be in control. Had he really lost himself so much in such a short period of time that even his own body disobeyed his commands?

The pain radiating through his head didn’t help. He pulled his bedroom trash can over. He only ended up crying into it though. Was nothing going to go the way he expected it to? Part of Vox wished he’d just pass out then and there so he wouldn’t have to keep thinking. His head was at war with itself, as per usual, but now it couldn’t decide what to make him dwell on against his will: his relationship with Lucifer or the growing tensions between him and his fellow Vees.

Both things played ping pong with his mind… Or perhaps it was more like tug of war. Either way, he wanted it to stop. He’d kill a man to be back at the hotel… Lucifer’s company would be a great comfort. Unfortunately, he’d also kill a man to ensure Lucifer never found out about this.

Vox pushed the trash can away and brought his knees back up to his chest. He carefully rested his head there, trying not to do any further damage to his screen. He didn’t look up when he heard his door open.

“Damn, he really fucked you up good…” said a familiar voice.

Still, Vox didn’t bother to lift his head. “What do you want, Velvette?”

The youngest Vee sighed. “Came up here to check on you. I could hear you an’ Valentino three whole floors down…” She paused for a moment. “That looks like it hurts.”

“It does, great observation,” Vox stated flatly

“Don’t be like that. Come on, we’ll get you nice and fixed up and you can vent all your woes to me.” She gently tugged on his arm, trying to get him to his feet.

The Tech Overlord pulled away. He wasn’t exactly in the mood to talk, much less to one of his business partners, but he knew he wasn’t going to sway her. Vox braced himself on the bed and slowly rose up into a standing position. His legs shook under him, betraying his state further. He wanted to rip them off.

“I’m only trying to help,” Velvette tutted as she reached to stabilize him again. He didn’t fight her on it this time. “Let’s go somewhere with better lighting.”

Vox let the little demon guide him over to the bathroom where he was promptly sat down on the floor… Since she wouldn’t be able to reach his head if he sat anywhere else.

“Now you sit tight here while I go grab you one of your spares,” she instructed. He didn’t need help replacing his head, but Velvette had done it on more than one occasion by now. Normally the gesture was appreciated, but right now it only served to make Vox feel even weaker. He closed his eyes and waited patiently for her return, trying not to break down in tears again.

Vel returned swiftly and wasted no time in unlocking the mechanisms that kept Vox’s head on his shoulders. For a brief moment, everything went dark, and his thoughts halted. Of course, the respite didn’t last, as soon after the replacement for his head was in place and properly connected. He didn’t say anything.

Velvette frowned slightly. “You’ve been awfully distant, y'know. We’re starting to worry about you. What’s going on in that head of yours?” she asked, sounding pretty casual about it.

Vox still didn’t answer. He didn’t speak at all.

“Givin’ me the cold shoulder, huh? Fine. But I’m not leaving until I get some sort of answer,” the young Overlord huffed. She dragged Vox back to his bedroom and sat with him while he sulked.

It was a good long while before Vox managed to say anything. “I don’t know what to do, Vel.”

She looked at him. “About what?”

“About everything going on right now, Vel. It’s just so much… I’m overwhelmed, I’m exhausted. I wish I could just step away from everything…” Vox trailed off.

“But you can’t,” Velvette finished for him, “look, I know it’s a lot. What with trying to get the King under your thumb and all.” Vox winced. “... But you’re the face of our whole operation. Without you, the Vees are dead in the water, completely belly-up. We need you, Vox…”

The older Overlord stared out the window into the city below for a moment. “I know… I’ll try to get my head back in the game, I just… Need some time.”

He felt Velvette’s hand come to rest on his arm. “That’s more like it… Now why don’t you tell me more about what has you all bent up. How are things going with Lucifer?”

Vox felt his whole body stiffen up before he could force it not to. He hadn’t exactly made a firm decision on how he was going to handle the truth. Especially not with Velvette, who seems to see the most potential in a partnership- forced or not forced- with the King. And of course, she immediately caught on to him, because why wouldn’t she? He was weak… Vulnerable.

“Well that’s not a good sign, is it… What happened, Vox?” she asked, her tone uncharacteristically gentle.

He took in the deepest breath he could manage with his lungs still shuddering from his earlier… Episode. “Nothing… Nothing happened Vel, we still talk regularly. He likes me… Maybe even more than that.”

Velvette’s reply came off a little snippier than her previous, “So what’s the issue then? You don’t seem to want to talk about it, and haven’t for a fucking while now.”

“The issue…” Vox started, but he couldn’t make himself finish. The three syllables were left to hang in the air with unresolved tension. Despite all his efforts, his perpetual state of ‘at a loss for words’ remained, talons gripping tightly at his throat. Velvette would never hit him, and never had, yet Vox found himself afraid. He cursed himself for it all the same, he was supposed to be the intimidating one.

Velvette waited more patiently than he expected. “Take your time, but I’m gonna need answers whether you want to give them to me or not.”

Vox could only nod while he deliberated, running every possible scenario for how this could go. He must’ve sat there silently for ten whole fucking minutes. Finally, he managed to say something. “The issue is that I’m hesitant… I mean, I don’t really have many people to talk to, outside of you and Valentino. And Lucifer likes me, actually likes me, not like the demons I have to talk to for work who try to butter me up so I’ll slip up and give them more than they deserve. He likes me so much that I don’t… I don’t want to lead him on like that just to stab him in the back. I’ve experienced it before Vel, I wouldn’t wish it on him,” he explained, spilling everything and hoping for the best.

“So what I’m hearing is you got emotionally attached and now you can’t proceed business as usual, is that it?” Velvette asked, her eyes boring into his very soul.

“I guess so, yeah,” Vox muttered. When she put it like that it made him look oh so pathetic.

“Okay… I see. What can we do about this?” The young Overlord starts to pace around the room. “Surely you can’t intend on just being buddy buddy with him for the rest of your afterlife?”

Vox shook his head. “That probably wouldn’t work. Eventually he’s going to have questions about our whole operation and I’d have to change it to keep him around…”

“Which leaves getting rid of him now. Unfortunately, I can’t let you do that… This opportunity is too good,” she mused. “Oh! What if you took a break from each other? It doesn’t have to be long, just enough for you to get your head back in order and your priorities straight,” she offered. Frankly the idea sounded horrible to him. He didn’t say it that bluntly though.

“Vel, I appreciate that you’re trying to help, really… But I don’t think that’s going to work. I don’t want to put him through what I had to go through,” Vox responded carefully.

Velvette obviously didn’t like that with the way she rolled her eyes at him. “It always comes back to that fucking deer with you, doesn’t it. You’re really going to just abandon this because he hurt your feelings back before history was recorded on stones?” she groaned, “You are the last demon I’d expect that from, Vox.”

“I know, I know, I didn’t expect it from me either… But it’s not that simple,” Vox said. Small hints of pleading for her to drop the topic trickled into his voice. She didn’t.

“Really? Because I think it is that simple, you just need to remember what we do all of this for. I stole a glance at your inbox while you were away. Things are really piling up there, you need to get your head screwed on straight. Who knows, maybe spending a few days on work and only work will do you some good,” she chided. The young Overlord tapped her foot on the floor in seemingly frustration. “I’ll go handle our bumbling fuckin’ idiot, you focus on setting your priorities straight.”

Vox rubbed his arm. Velvette’s sentiments were opposite to Val’s, but that wasn’t so surprising. More work, less Lucifer, huh? About three months ago, that would’ve sounded great to the tech CEO, but now? It felt like some kind of punishment. He sighed. “Okay… Try not to piss him off more for me, it’ll be difficult to work if he’s trying to get up my ass about his feelings,” he said, both metaphorically and literally.

Vox watched her go with a sinking feeling in his chest, but he pushed it away. He had work to do.

Notes:

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I will be back on Sunday with another one. I'm going to lock in, I'm going to lock in today and write so much to distract myself from the everything >:)

Chapter 24: I Can Only Hope You Feel the Same About Me Too

Summary:

Perhaps the worst plan in Hell’s history, but desperate people do desperate things I suppose…

Notes:

Sorry for being kinda late to post I started playing Hollow Knight and didn’t stop for 4 hours straight 😅
Anyway this chapter is a little shorter, but just think about how close 27 is (I forgot to check how long it is but it sits above 8k words 😵‍💫)

I don’t know how much it warrants a warning, but there are discussions of drug use

Velvette didn’t enjoy seeing Vox beat up like that, but it was a necessary evil. From here she could gently guide him back to the right path, and then they could continue living as a happy dysfunctional unit. Business would thrive and no one in Hell would be able to talk down to them… Down to her… Ever again.

She left Vox to sort himself out for a few days and so far it was working. He was back to his regular schedule and progress was being made from what she could see. Emails were answered, meetings were had, partnerships were struck with smaller businesses that the Vees would eventually absorb. Everything was as it should be. Except for that one stray meeting Vox had planned with the Morningstar’s daughter. That was a strange one. Vox claimed he only agreed to it to look good in front of Lucifer… Which Velvette didn’t have any reason not to believe.

That meeting was scheduled for a week or so from now if she remembered correctly and apparently was supposed to be an opportunity for the deluded girl to discuss means of which she could waste Vox’s time to ‘promote her hotel’. Vox probably wouldn’t agree to anything but if he did it would be far more risk than reward. Maybe Velvette should insist on sitting in with him, the Vees were a team after all. Val could sit and look pretty, he was good at that.

Just in case…

Who’s to say Vox wouldn’t start straying again thanks to his dumb feelings? And it was fucking irritating because he was the one telling her and Val not to let feelings get in the way of business! Velvette groaned and pushed her chair away from her desk. She’d been toiling over some new schematics for hours now, she ought to do something else.

So she made her way towards the elevator and decided to invade Valentino’s space. Not because she liked dealing with him, but because they should probably discuss their next course of action. She knew she had to move carefully. Vox had cameras everywhere, and with the TV idiot at his desk more often than not again, there was no doubt in her mind that he was monitoring several of them at any given time.

She gave any cameras with their lights on a wide berth and slinked quickly past any that were poised lens-down with their lights dim until she eventually reached Val’s studio. If her calculations were correct, and they always were, he’d be coming out for a smoke break right about… Now.

She pounced on the opportunity and beckoned him over. “Val, over here.”

The moth looked up from his phone at her while his other hands worked on getting a cigarette lit. He made a face like he was rolling his eyes and walked over. “This better be important.”

“I’d say anything to do with getting Vox back on our side is pretty fuckin’ important, dickhead, so can the attitude and listen for once,” she said snappily.

“Are you here to compliment me on what a wonderful job I did?” he asked, with something of a smug smile on his face.

Velvette winced internally. “You certainly roughed him up fuckin’ good… But that’s not the point here. The point is, he’s been doing a good job at staying on task so far, but it’s only a matter of time before he starts straying again. And if he strays too far, the King is as good as gone, slipped completely from our grasp.”

“How do you know that?” the pimp asked incredulously, “Vox rarely shares what he’s really thinking with us.”

“He does when you kick his fucking screen in,” she said flatly, “the fuckin’ idiot went and caught feelings and now he’s too pussy to follow through.”

Valentino’s fur puffed up in ways Velvette had only seen when the moth was ranting and raving about Angel. “What?! What do you mean he ‘caught feelings’? That fucking bastard–”

“Val.” Velvette crossed her arms waiting for the moth’s attention. “Don’t go acting a fuckin’ fool over jealousy and use your head.”

The pimp snapped back at her, “I’m using my head just fine thank you very much. I can’t believe him, sneaking around behind me like that.”

Velvette stood there staring at him with a questioning look on her face, waiting for him to stop and acknowledge her. The moth’s hypocrisy was unmatched.

“What?”

“Weren’t you the one badgering Vox to fuck Lucifer in the first place?” she asked while keeping her voice as monotone as it would go.

“Well, yeah, but now it’s different! You said it yourself, he’s straying away from us, I never asked him to do that. And what if he enjoys the goat bastard’s dick better than mine?! No one’s dick is better than mine,” Valentino spat with all the eloquence of a shattering vase.

All Vel could do was shake her head and try to get him back on track, suddenly remembering why she always told Vox to deal with Val himself. “Clearly you don’t want that, which is why it’s imperative we find a way to keep his ass on track. And also find a way to uproot that little crush of his. As long as he likes Lucifer, he won’t go in for his soul.”

The moth groaned obnoxiously. “Who knew this would be so much work… and it was his idea in the first place to manipulate the King! Usually Vox is so self-sufficient… Whatever. Any ideas on how to turn him off from Lucifer…?”

“As smart as I am, I’m afraid not. And with the stunt you pulled a few days ago, he’s unlikely to want to talk to you…” Velvette reasoned, “I guess that leaves it up to me….”

“Hey! I only did what you asked me to do!” Val argued vehemently.

Velvette rolled her eyes. She did not ask Valentino to get physically violent, she only told him to argue with the other Overlord. She wasn’t about to get into a heated argument with Val herself though, so she held her tongue, as much as she didn’t want to. “Yeah yeah, let’s not get hung up on little fuckin’ details. Maybe I could brew something to pull Vox’s head out of his ass… But where would I even begin with that?”

Valentino perked up in her periphery. “Do you even need to make something new? We have the love potion don’t we?”

“Wouldn’t that have the exact opposite effect?”

“Not if we go about it correctly. It makes people more compliant. All we have to do is be around him when we dose him,” Val explained.

She paused, thinking about it for a second. “You said he was unreceptive to your pheromone…”

“He was, but the potion is processed. More effects, more potency, and it’s easier to control,” Valentino explained. “You of all demons should know that, you’re the one who fucking made it,” he added, just to get on her nerves.

Velvette raised her eyebrow. “Are you sure you’re the same Overlord that whined to me about using ‘low’ and dirty tactics to get our way? This is practically a textbook example of low,” she grumbled.

“And synthesizing a whole new chemical soup to drug him with isn’t?” Val reasoned back. He was so fucking annoying when he had a good point.

She ran both of her hands down her face with an exaggerated sigh. “Fine. We’ll do it your way… It’s for his own good,” she said, more to convince herself than Val. “If this works, we’ll have Lucifer’s soul, and we can go about business as intended.”

She fought so hard to work her way into a position where she was worth a damn. She wouldn’t let the TV bastard take it away from her. She wasn’t willing to lose this. Even if Vox and Valentino both got on her nerves, even if things were dysfunctional. It was better than what she had before. Up here at the top of the food chain, things mattered. Her opinions, her feelings, her very existence, it all mattered down here in a way it hadn’t back in the living world.

Despite the form she’d taken upon death, a physical manifestation of how she lived, she would not become someone else’s plaything again. She was the master of her dollhouse.

Notes:

If I had the time or energy I would write more about how each Vee aside from Vow feels, but for now you’ll have to get surface level looks into their psyches

Chapter 25: Our Pasts are Messy, and Our Enemies Messier

Summary:

Everyone in Hell is so conniving…

He heard everything he needed to hear, and he didn’t even need to talk to them directly! What an idiotic pair of demons, with or without their self-proclaimed leader. It was an effort not to laugh during his whole return trip back to the hotel. His smile stretched across his face almost manically. Most sinners already made way for the Radio Demon, but when he came through looking like that? Entire streets emptied themselves in his wake.

Alastor cupped the top of his cane in one hand. In it, all the proof he’d need to convince Lucifer that he was right sat, recorded and ready for a less than live broadcast. Of course, he’d have to omit most details, but that was neither here nor there. He didn’t need to reveal to Lucifer that Vox changed his mind, just that Vox was after his soul in the first place, and then he’d never have to think about the idiot again. Actually, he didn’t need to reveal anything to Lucifer at all.

His grin became that much more sinister as he stepped back into the hotel.

The first thing he did upon his return was send out his shadow to find Charlie. It didn’t take very long, and so Alastor paid her a quick visit in her office, where she was ironically drafting up a presentation for the same Tech Overlord he was here to warn her about.

“Charlie, my dear, do you have a moment?” he asked innocently, “I have some things I’d like to discuss with you that are of utmost importance!”

The princess looked up from her desk and stopped chewing on her pencil to greet him, “Oh! Alastor, hello there… I’m slightly in the middle of something, but I guess it can wait.” She pushed the papers away and sat up straighter. “What is it you came to tell me about?”

Alastor sauntered over and sat himself right down on the arm of her chair. “Well you see, it seems I have stumbled upon some properly concerning information,” he said, fidgeting with his cane to draw out the tension.

“Concerning information… About what?” Charlie asked, looking up at him. Her brows were furrowed. “Is someone in danger?”

The Radio Demon grinned more. “Why yes, actually. Your dear father I’m afraid…”

“What?!” the young woman shot up out of her seat, turning rapidly to face Alastor head on. “What happened? Where is he?”

“Oh relax,” Alastor tutted, waving his hand at her to settle her down, “nothing has happened… Yet. But it could. Today I paid a quick visit to the Vees’ tower, as much as I didn’t want to, and I overheard some rather shocking things.”

From there, Alastor let the two Vees he eavesdropped on speak for themselves.

“Who knew this would be so much work… and it was his idea in the first place to manipulate the King!” Val’s voice came through the old speaker.

Velvette’s voice rang out after, “If this works, we’ll have Lucifer’s soul, and we can go about business as intended.”

The Radio Demon stopped the cane from playing anything that would give away Vox’s change of heart and watched Charlie’s expression shift from concerned to livid.

“That fucking bastard!” she snapped, horns already growing out of her head.

Alastor stopped her before she could do anything rash by continuing to speak. “I tried to warn Lucifer several times, but he won’t listen to me. But perhaps a visit from his beloved daughter will set his head straight…” he suggested.

The princess looked down at her drafts like she wanted to tear them up and set them ablaze. Alastor merely sat back and watched, enjoying the inner conflict she broadcasted on her face.

Finally, she spoke, “I’ll… Go talk to dad and then I’ll figure out how to go about this… I can’t just squander an opportunity to promote my cause like this, but…” She paused. Took a deep breath. “I can’t make any rash decisions. Think clearly, Charlie,” she said to herself. “Dad first, plans later. Thank you, Al… I’ll take it from here.”

Alastor merely nodded and smiled, waving her off and wishing her luck. She exited the office swiftly, leaving the Radio Demon by his lonesome. He wondered if he should spy on the situation using his shadow, but he was confident that this would sway Lucifer, so he didn’t need to. Instead he returned to his room, humming to himself. These demons were too easy.

————

Lucifer found himself thinking a lot about his last encounter with Vox. The Overlord seemed so defeated and at his wit’s end, and the look really didn’t suit him. Lucifer texted him asking if he got home safe after he left, and he didn’t respond until the next day. Then, he said he’d be less responsive, that something came up and work was kicking his ass.

It was the last message either of them sent to each other. It made Lucifer feel like he was missing something. Eventually Vox would come back and they could continue chatting, but it wasn’t reassuring enough of a thought. Even this brief loss of contact was eating Lucifer up inside. And even then, how long would it be before he could hear Vox’s voice again? He loved Vox’s voice.

The King put his phone down just in time for someone to knock on his door. “Who’s there?” he asked, trying not to sound as messed up as he felt.

“It’s me, dad. Could we talk for a moment?” came Charlie’s voice through the door.

In the blink of an eye, adrenaline started coursing through Lucifer’s veins, setting his blood on fire and kicking his heart into high gear. He cleared his throat before replying, “Oh, uh, of course, sweetheart. Just give me a second, I’ll meet you out there.”

He pushed himself out of bed and tried to calm the shaking in his limbs. If he had to be there for his daughter, he would be. He stepped out of his room almost a whole minute later, smiling nervously.

“What did you want to talk about? You can tell me anything,” he said.

Charlie glanced around the hallway to see if anyone was around, suspicious, but Lucifer didn’t question it. “It’s about Vox, dad,” she started.

Any of Lucifer’s previous attempts to calm his nerves down defenestrated themselves in seconds. He laughed awkwardly, not knowing how else to react. “Oh! What… What about him? Is he not honoring your attempts at communication?”

“That’s not it, he responded in a timely manner and agreed to set up a meeting actually… It’s about… His intentions,” Charlie explained, wincing a bit.

Lucifer’s brows furrow. He clasps his hands together in a vain attempt to make them stop shaking so much. “His intentions?”

“His intentions with you…” Charlie answered, “He wants your soul.”

The King stared up at his daughter, processing her words. “Your funny little busboy didn’t put you up to this did he? Where is he? I’ll show him for messing with my daughter,” he spat vehemently.

“Whoa whoa! Dad, please… Yes, Alastor did come to me, but it wasn’t hearsay… He had a recording of the Vees talking. They want to manipulate you into signing your soul away to them. They want to use you!” his daughter practically pleaded with him.

Lucifer’s first instinct was to deny her, argue that it can’t be true. He didn’t do that though. “A recording…?” he instead asked.

Charlie nodded solemnly. “Of that moth guy and a woman I don’t think I’ve ever met before.”

“Valentino and Velvette,” Lucifer mumbled. Nothing from Vox himself…?

“Them, yeah! Valentino was talking about how it was Vox’s idea to manipulate you,” Charlie continued, “I think you should be extra careful around him… If not stop seeing him altogether.”

Lucifer glanced back into his room where his phone was sitting on his nightstand. “I’ll… Think about what you’ve told me,” he said slowly.

“Okay… But please be careful,” Charlie replied one last time before leaving Lucifer to return to his room.

He quickly picked up his phone and shot Vox a quick message.

‘Hey, I know you’re busy but when you get the chance, I think we should talk’

He hit send and closed the phone. He really really hoped that Alastor’s information was incorrect. Based on what Lucifer knew, Valentino and Velvette were both unreliable sources.

But come several hours later, still no reply from Vox. Not even a read receipt. Just what had the Overlord gotten into that left him this busy. Lucifer was practically pulling his hair out from all the dread and anxiety that were curled up in his chest. He couldn’t sit here and wait forever!

He sent another message.

‘Vox? You okay over there?’

Several more hours, the sun had long set and yet there was still no answer. Lucifer gave up for the day and tucked himself into bed. If there was still nothing by morning, he’d have to go find something to do to keep himself sane.

Notes:

Hmmm… I sure do wonder what Al’s motives are! There are very very tiny hints in here. Blink and you might miss them!

Chapter 26: The Threads Coil Around to Choke Us Both

Summary:

It’s not easy being at war with yourself.

Notes:

This chapter is also kinda lackluster and my continuity took a hammer to the head but I just. Don’t feel like touching it up. Fortunately! The next chapter is 27 :)
Are you guys ready for that?

It was kind of comical in a depressing way. Lucifer still hadn’t received any kind of update from Vox. It was going on 72 hours now. Three whole days of utter and complete silence since Lucifer’s last text to him, asking if he was okay. Lucifer had half a mind to go barging into the tower demanding answers, but… At the same time he didn’t want to violate a boundary. It all came back to not wanting to scare Vox away… Even with all the doubt and anxiety.

It was kind of comical in a depressing way. How Lucifer’s mind started playing tricks on him again so fast, ever since Vox left that night maybe a week ago. It tried to convince him that Vox hated him only moments later. And despite his best efforts, the voice in his head was still nagging at him about a week later. It was like Lucifer was always going in circles, no matter what he did. Nothing ever changed. Every high would be followed by the lowest low.

The day he told himself he was going to dedicate to a self care session slipped past him, and he was painfully aware of every second of it. His blankets grew heavier atop his frame as they eagerly fed on his time, becoming ever greedier. Every hour that ticked by contributed to the weight. It was all he could do to toss and turn in a vain attempt to escape their grasp, but he alone was not strong enough to break his self-imposed confines.

Every time he saw a glimmer of hope, every time he thought maybe, finally, he could escape his bed, he was reminded. The ever growing mountain of mundane tasks he’d neglected to get done loomed just out of sight, deterred only by the very same sheets Lucifer found himself trapped in. How long would it be before someone noticed? Before someone started asking questions? Before someone went looking for him? Checking up on him?

What time was it even? He didn’t bother to check.

Lucifer looked at his hands. The hands of a sinner. They belonged to him. And yet they felt so far away. Everything felt far away. His bed had a funny habit of doing that. Like an island, surrounded by miles of ocean, no land in sight. Just him and the fabric.

And he would have kept laying there as long as time itself continued if not for his physical body and its stupid needs. A sharp hollow aching in his stomach…

He supposed it had been a while since he last ate something. And so he let the pain push him to roll out of bed, the only thing he could cling onto like a lifeline while he navigated back to the mainland from his little island. As soon as his feet hit the ground, his head spun.

The headrush was brief, but it left his limbs jittery and uncoordinated. It felt like he was piloting a puppet on frayed strings as he trudged his body towards his door. His hooves were the next thing to protest. They desperately needed to be trimmed and filed down. Hot pain accompanied every step he took. It was a miracle he didn’t decide to simply crawl back into bed.

Against all odds he made it to the hotel’s kitchen. Unfortunately, the battle had only begun, and his biggest adversary came to face him head on. Decision making.

Lucifer didn’t know what to eat. He didn’t have the energy to make anything, but none of the snacks in the kitchen necessarily called out to him either. And so all his effort was wasted just for him to reach an impasse. He could bear to tolerate the empty feeling for longer. He started turning around the return to his isolated island from a fruitless journey.

And was promptly interrupted in doing so. “Whatcha up to over here, Luc? Haven’t seen ya in a while,” said Angel Dust who confidently strutted into the kitchen, holding some kind of iced latte.

“Oh you know, just had to throw some trash away,” Lucifer lied, “I was just about to head back up to my room.”

“Really? You’ve been there for days now, why not come out and enjoy yourself a little?” the sinner asked, “Val has been actin’ real weird lately, all spacey and unfocused… Which means he’s less focused on venting all his frustrations on me, so I’m in a good mood!”

Lucifer’s brows furrowed. “Huh… Wonder what could be causing that…” He shook his head. “It’s none of my business, I should probably be going.” His voice came out flat and lifeless, an accurate representation of how he currently felt.

The spider frowned. “Lucifer, wait up a sec’.” One of his arms reached out for the King, but stopped short of his shoulder. “You good? You seem a little… Not all there as well. Uhh… No offense.”

Lucifer sighed. He really wasn’t all there. In fact, he didn’t know where the rest of him went. It was shrouded in some kind of weird mental fog. “I… It’s complicated.”

“Complicated, huh? Say, why don’t we go pay Husk a visit at the bar? He’s a better listener than I am,” Angel replied, his tone coming through lighthearted.

To refuse would likely look pretty suspicious on Lucifer’s part… And Angel was only trying to help. He reached deep within himself to muster up the energy to agree. “Well, it couldn’t hurt,” he answered.

“That’s more like it!” the sinner encouraged. Lucifer allowed himself to be dragged over to the bar, where Husk was stationed as per usual.

Lucifer sat down in the seat he always chose when he came here with Angel, and Angel sat down one stool over from him. It was the most comfortable distance.

Husk glanced at them both over the bottle pressed to his lips. One long red eyebrow quirked up in a silent question.

Angel answered for them both, “Our resident royal here has found ‘imself all sorts’a out of it and down in the dumps.”

“Well that’s not much to go off of,” Husk grumbled. He turns his attention onto Lucifer. “Are you here to search at the bottom of a bottle?”

Lucifer quickly shook his head. “Oh, no- not at all. This just serves as a… Change of pace? I guess? That room’s been driving me crazy,” he replies, awkwardly laughing at the end. Why did he come here again? What did he expect two sinners to do? They certainly couldn’t fix his depression, and nor would he want them to try. He was his own burden to bear.

“That’s understandable,” Husk said, setting the bottle down on the bar counter, “mind the bluntness, but you’re not exactly hard to read, Your Highness.”

“I’m not?” Lucifer blinked. He was pretty sure he knew that already, but to hear it so matter-of-factly…

Husk practically snorts. “No, not even a little bit. You may be pure angel, fall or no fall, but you got problems just like the rest of us.” The cat leans forwards on the counter and pops a small smile. “It’s a little reassuring, if nothing else.”

“Oh, that,” Lucifer chuckled, “my background of divinity has been nothing but a source of endless troubles for me since the day of my creation…”

“I’ll drink to that,” Angel chipped in.

Husk shook his head fondly as he continued speaking, “Whatever you need to get off your chest, we’ll understand it.”

Lucifer sighed heavily. Simply venting his frustrations wasn’t going to lift the weights out of his ribcage, but maybe it was a step in the right direction. “It’s… It’s Vox.”

“Color me shocked,” Husk muttered, “what did he do?”

“It’s not about what he did, it’s about… what other people are saying he did,” Lucifer explained. “Alastor has been sneaking around, and the slimy bastard got my own daughter to tell me about something he claims he overheard.”

Angel hummed, “That’s gonna be hard to confirm or deny…”

“Exactly… Charlie told me that Vox really is after my soul– That it was his idea. Alastor apparently heard his colleagues talking about it.” Lucifer ran his hands over his face in frustration.

Angel Dust repositioned himself on the stool to be more upright and attentive. “His colleagues? Nothing from Vox himself?” When Lucifer shook his head, the sinner continued, “That’s pretty dubious…”

The King groaned, pulling his hands away from his face. “I know. I’ve reached out to Vox, but he’s completely MIA. He hasn’t even seen the messages. I’m… Worried. Did I do something wrong? Or did something happen to him?”

“That’s certainly a situation…” Husk grumbled, “Any idea how you’re going to go about it?”

“I thought about demanding an answer in person, but if something really did happen to Vox, what if that causes more problems?” Lucifer mumbled awkwardly.

Husk sighed a sigh only an old bartender can sigh. “Well… Maybe it’s in your best course of action to wait for a little longer, then… We’ll go from there.”

It wasn’t the answer Lucifer wanted, but it was the answer that made the most sense. The voice in his head telling him he wasn’t good enough was there to stay it seemed. Sometimes it felt like all the reassurance in the world wouldn’t be able to lift all the rubble crushing his spirit up long enough for him to crawl out…

But he couldn’t bring himself to speak up.

Notes:

Recently I learned my next college semester will be actually hell, I am going to burnout so bad and be so angry and it will suck 😩
But you aren’t here to listen to a writer on the internet’s woes
I hope you enjoyed! I look forward to seeing your comments as always 🫶

Chapter 27: But if This was Meant to Be, I Am Begging Fate to Pull Us Through

Summary:

A lot happens in this one.

Notes:

Oh boy oh boy it's tiiiime!

Now, you see that non-con warning on this fic? That's in effect here. Along with non-consensual drug use, under/non-negotiated kink, and public humiliation (regarding the non-con). Proceed with caution.

If one thing was for certain, it had been the most profitable week VoxTek had ever bore witness to, with Vox heading every winning decision and sealing every deal. It was a double-edged sword. The blades were sharp, and they felled each and every adversary Vox came up against… But they also deeply bit into hands. Every morning Vox found himself more exhausted than the last, falling back into the same bad habits. His smile sharper, tone even more persuasive, his reflection was perfect. Everything was perfect again… He was so tired of being perfect.

A distant but familiar voice called out behind him, velvety and lilted, “Voxxy? It’s like 7 in the morning and you’re already up here, mi amor?”

Vox turned his chair around in one fluid motion to face Valentino directly. “Well of course!” he replied, trying to keep his voice sounding eager and smooth. They hadn’t spoken to each other much since Val’s… Outburst. “Work doesn’t stop when I do.”

“I can’t argue with that,” his fellow Overlord sighed, “which is why I brought you something… Consider it an apology for last week.”

Vox narrowed his eyes at him. “You? Apologizing? Are you feeling okay? Running a fever, perhaps?”

“Oh, put a fucking sock in it, Vox,” Valentino protested, “let me do this for you so we can kiss and make up later.”

“Fair enough… What did you bring me anyway?” the Tech Overlord asked. He could see a mug in Val’s hands, but the moth was too damn tall to see inside it.

Valentino strutted over and set the mug gingerly down on Vox’s desk. “It’s coffee… I wasn’t sure of all your preferences, but it’s a little sweet.”

“Well, I was just thinking I could use a little more caffeine in my system,” Vox said, while picking up the mug. The coffee was a pleasant shade of pale brown, but not too pale. There was even whipped cream and cinnamon in it. “Uh… Thanks,” he added after.

Val moved behind Vox’s chair and draped his arms over the Tech Overlord’s shoulders. “Of course, amorcito, there’s no need to mention it,” he said sweetly, “I know Vel works you hard but make sure to take time for yourself too, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah I’ll try,” Vox offered. His tone was soft and it sounded genuine enough, but it too was fake. Everything about him is fake. It’s fake. But it’s perfect.

He brought the mug to his lips and took a sip. Val was right, the coffee was a little sweet. Vox usually took his coffee black, but this was good too.

“What do you think?” the moth asked, peeking down to try and read Vox’s expression. Vox was sporting one of his practiced smiles. Not because he disliked it, it just came quick and easy.

“It’s very nice… You’ll have to tell me what you put in it,” he replied, chuckling a little at the end.

Valentino waved his hand as if to shoo the question away. “Oh nothing much, just a little splash of heavy cream and vanilla syrup… Obviously you can see the rest of my additions.”

“That I can. Should I expect any other special things from you?” Vox asked, entirely joking.

Valentino shrugged. “Who knows, maybe. But don’t go and get greedy on me now, baby~” he cooed.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Vox chuckled again. Valentino kissed his screen and told Vox he’d be back soon before leaving Vox to his monitors. Right, back to work. He glanced at his calendar. His promised meeting with the King’s daughter was coming up soon… And he had no idea how to go about it. It was a major risk for his corporation to promote something so ridiculous, but at the same time, Lucifer was very supportive of his daughter. Thinking of Lucifer, it had been some time since Vox contacted him… His personal phone was sat face down on his desk, all notifications turned off until he wasn’t so swamped with work. Had he missed anything from the monarch? The question nibbled at him like an insect too small to do any real damage, only big enough to cause a disturbance.

Velvette had been really adamant about him staying away from the King until his head was ‘on straight again’, and as annoying as he found his coworkers he didn’t want to disappoint. So why did it feel like he was spiraling out of control?

He sighed heavily and turned his attention back to his monitors, typing away at emails and evaluating company plans. He had conferences coming up soon… Stealing a glance at his still-full mug of coffee he decided he’d need to finish it quickly. When he brought it up to his mouth it almost looked pink-ish… But the inside of the mug was pink too, so he chalked it up to the light from his screen reflecting weird.

The sweetness coated his throat and it warmed his stomach pleasantly. He recognized when the caffeine hit, everything became a little sharper… It felt good. It was rare for Vox to feel the effects of caffeine at all these days; his tolerance had long since surpassed the point where jitters would set in. Maybe the added sugar helped, he wouldn’t know.

The final mouthful was swallowed and he set the mug down on his desk.

Unexpectedly, that was also around the time Valentino returned from wherever he went. Vox heard the elevator open and turned around to greet him once more.

“Back so soon?” he asked teasingly.

“Well, that’s what I told you, isn’t it?” the moth replied smoothly.

Vox rolled his eyes. “I suppose it is, isn’t it? But we both know that ‘soon’ can mean anything with you.”

Valentino laughed at that… The sound was soft and it drew Vox in. He beckoned his fellow Overlord to him, Val happily complied, coming to a sit on the arm of Vox’s chair. “You seem to be in a good mood, hm?” he cooed.

“Yeah, well… Maybe I should take my coffee sweet from here on out. It’s working miracles,” the Tech Overlord said, dropping his tone to match Val’s.

“Glad to hear it, mi amor.” Valentino’s fingers brushed up against Vox’s antennas gently. It felt so nice… “Looks like you have somewhere to be in a few, hm?”

Vox nodded. “I do…” He didn’t want to go, despite the sense of peace that had rolled over him like an inviting fog. He wanted to stay here, with his monitors, with Val.

“I wouldn’t last a day working your schedule,” the moth joked, gently drawing Vox’s antennas back. It was something akin to the way a lover would brush back the bangs of their beloved. The sensation always left Vox’s spine tingling, but it was even better today. “Why don’t you come by the studio when you’re free? You’ve been working nonstop all week, you deserve a little down time.”

The Tech Overlord was about to decline, but he thought about it for a second longer. He felt better now, but that didn’t change the fact that he was wearing himself incredibly thin lately. A break wouldn’t hurt. “Well, I don’t see any reason not to… I have a few meetings, but I’ll swing by. You can count on it,” he promised.

“Good boy, amor,” Val purred quietly. That familiar hot and burning love licked at Vox’s chest. And he could forgive and forget every doubt he had and every ugly moment for it. “Now go tackle those meetings, I’ll be waiting for you~”

————

Try as he might, Vox couldn’t shake the desire to bail on the meetings and hurry down to Val’s studio. Still, he patiently sat through every agonizing minute… Only because he had to. The caffeine helped him to pay attention, though the buzz only ever lasted a few hours for Vox. It was in his system… But he couldn’t feel it anymore by the end of the meetings, leaving behind a sleepy haze. He could ignore it, if only for the promise of more attention. Attention he couldn’t get from Lucifer. Lucifer…

The nibbling from before returned, and his phone felt oh so heavy in his pocket. Vox hesitated before pressing the elevator button for Valentino’s studio. A peek wouldn’t hurt, would it? It might…

He didn’t want to keep Val waiting, so he shoved the urge down and hit the button. He should enjoy what he had while it was still being given to him.

Vox waltzed into the studio like he owned the place. There was a shoot going on, so he stayed quiet as he made his way over to Val’s chair, parking himself right next to the moth and smirking when they made eye contact with each other.

Looked like Angel was on shift today. Vox hazily remembered that he was supposed to talk to Val about the spider… He glanced back down to study the moth’s expression. He seemed to still be in a good mood… But was Vox willing to potentially ruin his entire day for someone else? Not really…

No words were exchanged between them until the scene was wrapped up. “Voxxy, glad you could make it~ How did your meetings go?” Valentino asked, pulling out one of his cigarettes in the process.

“About as well as all my meetings go… Nothing interesting or new, but I guess the same old motions are better than catastrophe,” Vox muttered. He reached over to light Val’s cigarette for him.

The other Overlord hummed, caressing the edge of Vox’s head in a show of thanks. “I think there’s comfort to be found in things remaining the same, no?”

“I guess… It certainly has a familiarity about it.” Vox glanced around the studio as Val’s actors and actresses flitted about, cleaning themselves up.

Valentino flicks his antennae before calling out, “You know what, I’m feeling generous today. We’re ending early, go home!” Vox gets pulled closer to him. “You’re more important, baby~”

Vox’s screen heats up all on its own. “Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to keep you from work,” he said, his smile betraying his true feelings on the matter.

“Don’t worry about that, Voxxy, this won’t take much longer to finish up anyway. We have plenty of time to enjoy ourselves…” the moth hummed, seemingly thinking before he continued, “Why don’t we go out tonight?”

Vox raised an eyebrow at that. “Out? Out where exactly?” He asked curiously. He already knew the answer, he just wanted to hear Val say it out loud.

“To a club, of course, where else? It’s been far too long, no?” Valentino stands up from his chair. “Besides, I’ve been looking for an excuse to get all dolled up.”

The Tech Overlord saw Angel sneak by into his dressing room in his periphery. The sinner was looking at them sideways like he was analyzing them or something. He would have said something, but he was drawn back into Valentino, a pink fog embracing him. “A night out couldn’t hurt,” Vox agreed. He let his fellow Overlord lead him back toward the elevator, two arms looped around his back.

Vox was tasked with helping Val pick out his outfit once they got to the moth’s living space. It was something Vox was never really good at, but the good vibes of the day helped a bit.

“Which one of these do you think is sexier?” the moth asked, opening his wings and holding up two different bodysuits with cutouts in various places to his frame. Vox studied both for a few seconds.

He pointed at the one he preferred, cut high on hips. “That one.”

“Hmm… Good choice! I’ll go get ready while you think about what you’re going to wear.” Valentino started toward the bathroom.

Vox stopped him with a question of his own, “Don’t I get help making decisions too?”

Val pursed his lips. “I suppose, if you really need it, but you always know what you want.”

“Isn’t Velvette always telling me my taste in fashion is atrocious?” the Tech Overlord asked, teasing and lighthearted.

“She is… Isn’t she… Yeah, okay, I’ll come with you.”

————

It took longer than Vox would have liked for both of them to get ready and out the door, like it always did, but at least they made it this time. He couldn’t say that for every time the two of them tried to go out together. That was unimportant though. They were together and they were in the club.

“Do you want anything to drink, mi amor? They have fun cocktails here,” Val cooed at him, gently caressing his antennas once again, sending electric shivers throughout his TV-headed partner.

Vox thought about it for a moment. “I’m not really looking to get drunk tonight… I feel good enough without a buzz~”

Valentino tilted his head and smiled affectionately. “Are you sure? Here, what if I let you try what I usually get?”

“I don’t know… I like my alcohol to taste like alcohol. You enjoy all that fruity shit… Dangerous stuff,” Vox said, regarding his more-than-business partner with a playful sideways look.

Valentino huffed at him. “Oh please, give it a chance! You liked the coffee this morning, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, yeah I did, but alcohol is different, is it not?” Vox reasoned back.

“Oh shut up and just try it,” Valentino argued with a certain finality that left no room for any kind of rebuttal. Vox followed him over to the bar where he ordered the cocktail. The Tech Overlord watched as the bartender put at least three different juices and maraschino cherries in it. Vox grimaced. All his teeth would rot before the liquid was half way down his throat, how did Val drink this stuff?

As the bartender was handing the drink over, some common sinner bumped into Vox, knocking him away from the moth. He turned around snappily, ready to shock the shit out of whoever it was.

But they’d already slipped into the crowd around him. Suddenly Vox became painfully aware of why he didn’t go out in public often. He’d have to review the security footage later… But for now he returned to Val’s side, who was sipping on the cocktail.

He let out a hum of satisfaction before he lowered the glass for Vox to take. “Just give it a try, there’s no harm in it, Voxxy~” he encouraged.

Vox rolled his eyes, but he accepted the glass into his hand. “This better be fucking worth all the sugar in it,” he muttered.

“You bet it is, every last drop,” the moth reassured.

Vox brought the glass to his mouth and took a hesitant sip. Obviously the sweetness was the first thing to hit him, but once he got past it, the drink wasn’t actually that bad. He just couldn’t have a lot of them, he couldn’t taste the vodka in it at all.

He sighed and admitted defeat, “Fine, it’s good. Happy now?”

Valentino’s smug grin grew thrice in size. “Very happy, mi amor~ Now let’s go have some fun, hm?”

Vox allowed the moth to guide him wherever. At some point everything seemed to blend into one bright pink blur, and he loved every second. It was probably the most fun Vox had experienced by Val’s side in a long time. He pressed up closer to his partner whenever anyone got too close, and would in turn get rewarded with words of praise and sloppy kisses. It dissipated the jealousy into clouds of cotton candy every time.

Somewhere through the fog was the odd sensation that Vox forgot about something, but he couldn’t recall what it was. He couldn’t recall how many drinks he had either. He was starting to feel a little dizzy…

He tugged on Valentino’s sleeve. “Ithink we s…hould head out soon…” he mumbled, slurring all his words together.

“So soon, Voxxy? It’s only been a few hours. Don’t tell me your old man body can’t keep up,” Val teased him. Only half the words registered.

“I wan’ta go home,” Vox argued back.

Valentino chuckled and placed a hand on his back, guiding him through the crowd. “Okay, amorcito. We’ll go home… Don’t pass out on the way to the car now.”

The Tech Overlord made his way slowly towards the door of the club. On autopilot, he scanned outside for any journalists. Thankfully, he found none. His very quiet but still present logical mind knew it would be a headache if he got spotted in this state. He collapsed into the back of the limo, Val sliding in next to him.

“You sha-hould’ve stopped me after the… fourth?” Vox said, half coherently, in an attempt to scold his partner for letting him keep drinking. It didn’t really come through as such.

“Aww, but baby, you looked like you were having a lot of fun,” Val teased back, “why would a stop a good momentum?”

Vox tried to glare at him. “B’cause the world is spinni’g in ways it’s not s’possed to,” he grumbled.

“Ah, nothing a good night’s sleep can’t fix. You’ll wake up… Almost good as new, and then you can go about your work.”

The shorter Overlord couldn’t argue with that. He shifted closer to Valentino seeking the moth’s touch and comfort. “At least hold me?” he asked, looking up innocently.

“Of course, mi amor, of course. Just get yourself nice and comfy~” The moth pulled him in, guiding Vox’s head to nestle up in the soft fur that sat around his neck. “We’ll be home soon enough, and I’ll carry your wasted ass to bed,” he continued, his voice low and taunting near Vox’s face.

Most of the drive was spent in a pink haze, with Vox barely paying attention to anywhere his train of thought was taking him. Something about his meeting with the Princess, reviewing the footage from the club, and talking to Valentino about important matters were lost… Brushed away by red velvet wings and moonlit lake whispers. He needed the other in a way he’d never needed before.

Valentino made good on his word to carry Vox to bed. The Tech Overlord was lifted easily into four waiting arms. Every step the moth took left his vision waving in and out between reality and dreamlike illusions. He welcomed every fleeting flicker of what was, what is, and what would be, all washed in the same strawberry watercolors.

Vox’s conscious mind nagged him that maybe his drinks were laced with something, but it got drowned out just like everything else that didn’t fit in with the fantasy.

The bedsheets soon swallowed him, and he was lulled into dreams of scarlet tinted makeout sessions and cherry-cola caresses. Any and all important matters and logic fled away into the thick fog.

————

“Are you sure you got this? You don’t want anyone to come with you?” came the voice of Charlie’s girlfriend from behind her while she paced around her office reading over her note cards.

Charlie spun around with a forced smile on her face. “Nope! I have definitely got this! There’s no possible way he could refuse,” she said, hoping her words sounded more confident than she felt.

Vaggie sighed and leaned up against the wall with her arms crossed. Charlie recognized it as a sign of her own anxiety surrounding the whole situation. “Still, it seems wrong to send you in alone. What if I waited outside? You could call me in, in case things go sideways,” she offered.

“As much as I appreciated your concern, and I really really do, I don’t want him to feel like he’s being threatened,” the Princess explained, walking over to offer her girlfriend a reassuring hand to hold… And definitely not because she herself was the one who needed the reassurance. “If Vox suspects I might try to corner him he probably won’t agree to anything…”

“You have a point… Just be careful. I can’t believe I’m suggesting this, but even smuggle Alastor in with you if you think there’s any nonzero chance of danger,” Vaggie practically pleaded, “we don’t know what Vox is capable of.”

“I’d argue that we do know, seeing that he’s been here… But I guess it is pretty different if I’m alone, huh…?” Charlie chuckled nervously. “There’s also the matter of dad and what he wants with him…”

“For now let’s focus on one thing at a time… Who knows, maybe you’ll even learn something while you’re there without asking.” It was wishful thinking at best, but Charlie needed all the hope she could get her hands on. She steeled herself while organizing all her notes.

With a quick kiss goodbye, and some more words of reassurance, she left the hotel and started making her way to the tower on foot. As per usual, the residents of hell were miserable and depraved… Charlie tried not to focus too much on them. If this meeting went well, plenty of sinners would soon be on the path to better situations. Her surroundings changed the closer she got to the tower. More cameras were present, following her every movement. Neon lights and screens displaying advertisements for every product and service one could think of lined the windows of buildings. It certainly was vibrant.

The second the Princess stepped onto the street the tower sat on, she was flocked by journalists eager to get any kind of news about Vox’s dealings and lifestyle. Did the Overlord really live with people hounding him every day? Must be the consequence of fame.

She refused to answer any questions, fighting her way through the crowd until she stumbled into the lobby. Charlie quickly fixed up her appearance before checking in with the receptionist sitting at the front desk.

“One moment please,” said the sinner, juggling three phones at once. Several calls were handled, and several more put on hold. “How can I help you?”

Charlie tried to smile confidently… As practice for when she faced Vox. “I’m Charlie Morningstar, I’m here for a meeting with a certain Mr. Vox?”

The receptionist checked a few calendars on the screens in front of them. “Hmm… Yeah, that’s right. Seems he’s attracting the whole royal family,” they joked, “he’s up in room 635-B. 12th floor.”

“Got it, thank you!” The Princess made her way to the elevator. All of her nerves were frayed, but she couldn’t lose this opportunity. “635-B, 635-B…” she muttered to herself so she wouldn’t forget the room number. The doors opened up to a pleasantly pink and gold hallway, reminiscent of the other parts of the tower she’d been in… Namely Valentino’s studio… Eugh.

Charlie’s footsteps echoed down the hall, dotted with the occasional employee rushing around doing tasks. Soon enough she came up to the door of room 635-B… It loomed in front of her with an ominous energy about it. With a shaky inhale, Charlie pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Vox sat at the head of the table, his business associates on either side of him. The Tech Overlord put down his phone and spoke smoothly with a wide and confident smile typical of him, “Welcome, Princess. So glad you could make it today.” He glanced at the clock above the door. “And not even a second late.”

“Ah, y-yeah, yeah! Wouldn’t want to keep anyone waiting now would we?” she responds back, voice coming out way more nervous than she wanted it to. She stole a quick glance at Valentino and Velvette. Their faces were far less inviting. Honestly, she wasn’t even aware they’d be sitting in, and it put her at a disadvantage instantly. She probably should have planned for that, but she didn’t… She would have to adapt.

“Before we get started there are some… Things I would like to address,” Vox sighed, his tone becoming lower. Charlie’s heart kicked up into a painful pounding against her ribcage. “I would like to humbly apologize on behalf of my business partner here, who thought it appropriate to harass royalty…”

It took Charlie a second to understand what the Overlord was getting at, but it made a lot more sense as soon as the moth-man next to him piped up, ‘Wh- Hey! I thought this was a business meeting, not a ‘throw your partners under the bus’ meeting!” he protested.

“Yes, well… I’m afraid your actions do inhibit the business being discussed with this client and it would be rude of me not to address it at all,” Vox replied coolly, “moving on, Miss Morningstar, you have come to discuss matters of promoting your hotel, is that correct?”

Charlie nods enthusiastically. This part was easy… So long as she didn’t break into song. “Yes! As you may know, I believe very strongly in second chances, and being condemned to Hell for an eternity of suffering just doesn’t seem fair…” she sighed, hoping that this revised part of her usual spiel would sell her point better than in the past, “As you may know, my residents and I recently fought off an attack from Heaven… With the help of my father. It was a scary and stressful time, and… I don’t want my people to believe they are powerless to help themselves in these times of war.

“Even if redemption isn’t something that’s in the books, I still want these people, these human souls to believe that change is possible! I’ve learned some things about the exterminations I rather wouldn’t have but… If we can fight Heaven off our backs, if we can spearhead change within Hell, maybe– just maybe, we can improve the quality of life for everyone down here!” she finishes her speech proudly, with her hands over her heart and optimism in her voice.

The following silence is deafening.

Velvette broke it. “Well that’s certainly… An outlook on it.”

“A pretty naive one at that,” Valentino chirped after.

Vox raised his hand to silence his colleagues. “I see. So as you see it, if redemption cannot get us into Heaven, the least it can do is lessen the suffering of the common sinner?”

The Princess chewed on the inside of her cheek. Not the response she was looking for, but she had to push forward. “Yes, all I ask of you is to get more eyes on my cause with your influence. It could be anything, so long as more people start paying attention to what I’m trying to do here. We’re so stuck in our ways, that many believe there’s no hope of change. People who feel powerless are going to behave as if they’re powerless.”

“I can’t argue with that,” Vox started, “but you do realize this is a big financial risk for my company, yes? I mean… All due respect, but you’re nothing short of a laughingstock in hell, Princess. I can’t have people losing faith in my brand if I go through with this… How do you plan to circumvent that?”

“I have thought about that… The last thing I want to do is pose a detriment to your company. It’s not like I haven’t united parts of Hell before. I’m sure I could do it again,” Charlie said nervously. In truth, she didn’t know how she was going to prevent backlash.

Vox drummed his fingers on the table and sipped from a mug of what the Princess assumed to be coffee. “Hmm… But you’re not positive you could do it again?”

“No… I’m not. But if you could just give me some more time… I have quite a few powerful figures in my corner. We- we could work something out,” she pleaded.

The Overlord in front of her took another sip from his mug, somewhat dismissively. But something about his demeanor seemed to change. “I’ll think about it. We’ll meet again. But next time, you’d better have all your ducks in a row,” he finally said.

“Really? Oh, thank you thank you thank you! You won’t regret this!” the Princess exclaimed as she gathered up her note. She couldn’t wait to tell everyone the good news. Anything that wasn’t a loss was a win! And she was winning!

She hurried out of the room, barely noticing the looks Vox’s colleagues were giving him before she was gone.

————

“What the fuck was that, Vox?!” Velvette snapped at him, “The more we entertain her, the more she’ll keep bugging us!”

Vox put his hands up in a placating gesture. “Relax, relax… I didn’t say yes to anything, I’m just assessing her capabilities as a businesswoman before I turn her down…”

Velvette rolled her eyes. “Cut the bullshit, you just want to impress your stupid crush! Get over yourself, you know it’s not happening!”

“Whoa whoa whoa, who said anything about a crush?” Vox retorted. He thought he handled it quite well, all things considered, what with his fuzzy head… Whatever that was about.

Valentino stepped between them, cooing gently, “Come on now, let’s not fight about it. If Vox appeases Lucifer’s daughter, it makes Lucifer trust us more, doesn’t it? I’m sure Voxxy is trying very hard…” The moth caresses his screen, trailing his hands up along the frame and then further along his antennas, making him shiver.

“I hate it when you have a point,” Vel grumbles. She waves Vox off. “Go get back to work, this meeting has wasted enough of your time.”

Vox sighed heavily. He couldn’t argue with that, he had more important matters to attend to. He patted Val’s hands, still rubbing the frame of his screen to get him to stop, and then he rose to his feet. The world swayed in hues of pink for a second… It had been happening more recently, but oddly enough, he didn’t think to question it. He continued on his way, leaving the room.

He caught bits and pieces of Velvette and Valentino conversing as he walked away from the room.

“Told… not to d… ead… im more…”

The Overlord shook his head and proceeded to the elevator. He caught glimpses of the cameras that lined the walls and felt like he was forgetting something. It was yet another thing that had been happening more frequently lately. Unfortunately, it was quite an energy sink to try and remember, so Vox opted to shrug it off for the time being.

He returned to his office and continued toiling away on improving his business model. Valentino once again dropped by to invite him down to the studio. The more time Vox spent with the moth, the pinker the edges of his vision seemed to get. He made a mental note to ask Valentino about it, but it too would later slip his mind when he went down to pay the moth a visit.

The more time that passed, the more Vox felt like his days were slipping away from him. He would blink and hours ticked by on the clock faster than he could process it. At least it meant he could go see Valentino now. He definitely got enough work done in that time… Probably.

His partner already had cocktails for the two of them ready and waiting in delightfully pink glasses when Vox got there. He took a sip, finding it to be subtly sweet and fruity.

Valentino pulled him in, cooing, “There you are, Voxxy! Sorry about Vel earlier, I know how hard on you she can be… Honestly, I don’t know what her problem is. You’re doing your best.”

“Eh, I’m not that upset about it… I didn’t agree to anything. I’m still playing it safe,” Vox said, shrugging his shoulders and continuing to sip on the cocktail he was given. “But I can’t fault her for being paranoid… We’re playing a dangerous game…” The Tech Overlord furrowed his brows. What game was he playing, exactly? Who was he trying to fool again? His head was such a mess lately, he couldn’t remember.

Vox glanced over to the set in front of him and Val. Looks like they were wrapping up a scene, with Travis taking the metaphorical wheel while Valentino was distracted. Out of nowhere Vox found himself considering sitting in for one of these productions. It was a bizarre impulse and entirely unlike him. He shook his head as if to physically dispel the thought.

While staring, he accidentally made eye contact with Angel Dust. The porn star looked at him funny… But not like he was judging the Overlord, or disliked his presence. It was more of an analytical stare. Either way, Vox didn’t enjoy the scrutiny.

Valentino came to distract him from his thoughts once more. “That we are… You said so yourself. But I trust you, mi amor~”

“Thanks, Val,” Vox said quietly. There was something persistently nagging at him… What was it? Was it something about Angel? Maybe…

“What do you say to another night between us, Voxxy? Maybe try some new things out this time?” Valentino asks, guiding Vox back into the all-encompassing pink.

The thought of entertaining the proposal made Vox all sorts of dizzy. “I don’t know, Val… We’ve been doing a lot lately…”

“We have, and that’s exactly my point, amorcito~ why slow down now when we’ve already shifted into high gear?” the moth purred softly.

Vox sighed, contemplating it. “Hmm…” he finally responds, “I guess another night couldn’t hurt?”

Valentino pulled him into a deeply passionate kiss as soon as Vox finished speaking. It was unexpected, but welcomed… Even if it added to the way the room was spinning. Vox felt Angel’s eyes boring into them the entire time. Naturally, Valentino ruined the moment to address it.

“Angie, baby~ something the matter over there? You’re not jealous are you?” the pimp asks, his voice sweet but dangerous.

The sinner waves four hands dismissively. “Nah, he’s all yours.” He smiles seductively… Or at least Vox thinks he does. “I’ll still be here when you want a piece of me.”

Valentino mercifully drops the conversation, but Vox doesn’t miss the last glance Angel shoots them before he retreats into his dressing room. Vox shakes his head. “So, did you have a plan for tonight, or are you thinking about it?”

“I know exactly what I want to do, but it’s a surprise~”

Vox agreed on instinct before he even had time to think about it, “Oh? Consider me intrigued… I’ll meet you up in your room, I suppose?”

Valentino nodded his confirmation. “I’ll be up in a minute, I just need to wrap some things up here. Don’t worry, I won’t leave you waiting too long, baby~”

The Tech Overlord was hesitant to pull away from his partner’s grasp, but he did and made his way up to Valentino’s floor to wait for him. He obediently sat on the couch for about sixteen minutes. The moth sauntered over to him, swaying his hips with every step.

“Is my Voxxy ready for me?” he asked in a husky whisper.

Vox smirks confidently. “Born and died ready, my dear.”

He lets his partner lead him into the side room, where they usually carried out more intense activities. The thought to demand Valentino for some kind of explanation of what he intended to do never crossed Vox’s mind… Rarely did any kind of negotiation take place between them anyway. If either of them didn’t like something, they could fight the other off and deal with whatever consequences ensued after.

Valentino sat Vox down on the couch in the room. “Alright, mi amor… Can you disable your vision for me~?” he requested sweetly. Vox would be an asshole to disobey. Tapping into his internal systems, he cut the feedback from his eyes, plunging everything in darkness.

“Done,” he announced. He felt Valentino wrap something around his head. Likely a blindfold, purely for the cosmetic appeal that Val loved so much. With his sight inhibited, Vox could only try to feel or hear what was happening around him, so it took him by surprise when Valentino suddenly lifted him.

He must’ve yelped audibly because the moth apologized, although teasingly, “Oops, did I startle you, Voxxy? My bad… Though you really should be used to this kind of thing by now.”

“Sorry about that… still adjusting, you know me,” Vox said sheepishly.

Val had control tonight… And he wouldn’t exploit it, surely. Vox was held down on the bed in the room. Clothes were shed and thrown to the ground based on what Vox could hear. He wasn’t sure whether his partner would opt to tie him down or just keep him pinned. It turned out to be the former, Val’s excuse being that he could do more with four free hands instead of two.

The other Overlord whispered sweetly to Vox while hands roamed his body. He explained in great detail how pretty Vox looked like this, and how much he wanted to ruin him. He was at Valentino’s mercy.

And it was beautiful.

The moth’s lower hands found Vox’s thighs, oh so tantalizingly trailing experienced fingers inwards. Meanwhile, his upper hands teased the Tech Overlord’s nipples. Vox whined at him, though it did nothing to move his partner along any faster.

Everything felt so much more intense than usual, every point of contact against Vox’s skin only plunged him further under those strawberry lemonade rivers, his conscious mind drifting through the lazy flow of whatever haze had come over him. He should be concerned about it… But it just felt so good. Too good to care.

Distantly, as though underwater, he heard a bottle pop open. It took him a few seconds to register that Valentino’s hands had left his thighs.

“Just stay nice and relaxed for me, okay?” Val cooed. Vox pulled against his restraints impatiently when his partner’s fingers teased his entrance, agonizingly slowly making their way in. “Ah ah,” the moth tutted, “you know that won’t get you anywhere, Voxxy.”

The big bad CEO of VoxTek laid there, trying his best to listen and adhere to his partner’s instructions. He would never be rewarded if he obeyed his instinct’s desires for pleasure. Valentino was in control. Completely in control. Vox submitted himself, and for those moments his existence was nothing but bliss.

It was beautiful.

Valentino’s hands danced up his chest, coming to a stop when they delicately cupped Vox’s screen. He couldn’t see the moth, but he could imagine the sultry smile on his face. “Do you think you’re ready for me, mi amor?” Val asked, voice low and close to Vox’s auditory processor.

The Overlord wasn’t given any opportunity to answer though, the question wasn’t asked for his benefit. The moth pushed inside him with only that question to serve as a warning. It elicited quite the groan from Vox.

“Listen to you…” Valentino purred, “Who knew big cold and heartless businessmen could sound so sweet~” His upper hands found Vox’s antennas next, flicking and gently tugging on them. It made the Tech Overlord squirm. “Maybe being a slut is your true calling.”

Finally, Valentino started rocking into him after what felt like forever. If every sensation on the outside was amplified, every sensation on the inside was like pure euphoria injected straight into Vox’s system, and Val was still technically going slow.

Usually it wouldn’t feel this intense… And that fact alone was enough to stir Vox’s conscious thoughts from their slumber. Before they could break the surface though, Val gave him more instructions, “Now, I know how much you want to lose yourself, Voxxy… But you’re gonna have to wait for my permission. You can do that, right?”

Once more, the haze overtook him. Could he do that? It was all so overwhelming, the pleasure threatened to consume him in his entirety. “Val, I don’t know… If I…”

“Shhhh, no speaking. I know you can, you’re my good obedient whore, aren’t you?” the moth asked rhetorically. He left the Tech Overlord no choice.

And so Vox resisted… And resisted… Until he couldn’t resist anymore. When Val came inside him, Vox followed suit, regardless of how hard he tried to avoid it.

His body jolted and sparked in tandem with the rush of liquid euphoria. He whimpered and whined, trying to apologize, “Val I… ‘m sorry, I didn’t mean–”

He was cut off, not by the moth’s voice, but rather his hands. Valentino’s hands were around his neck, gripping just tight enough to prevent him from saying any more. In fact, Vox could barely breathe, and that startled him. As the very last shreds of control vanished from the Tech Overlord’s grasp, he found a weird anxiety setting in.

“Hmm… You’ve got some nerve, disobeying me like that, amorcito,” the other Overlord said, his voice dangerously calm. His claws remained around Vox’s throat until the poor guy started kicking. When he let go, the CEO was left gasping and coughing.

But before he could catch his breath completely, once more, he was denied the right to breathe.

Beauty wilted as panic set in.

Vox thrashed against his restraints, trying to kick Val off of him on instinct. The moth didn’t let up.

Fuzziness had started setting in by the time Vox was permitted air again. His conscious mind was violently pulled out of the pink clouds and imbued with a hell of a lot of adrenaline.

“What the fuck, Val!” he rasped out.

Unfortunately, it was taken as talk back, rather than a hint. “Oh, who authorized you to speak to me in that tone? I certainly don’t remember doing that…” the moth punctuated his sentence by clenching his hands again. “If Voxxy wants to go faster, I guess we’ll have to go faster, huh?”

Vox had no time nor ability to argue as Val suddenly slammed into him. Pleasure quickly became pain, and there was nothing Vox could do about it. Valentino’s claws finally left Vox's throat alone, but now they dug into his skin, biting flesh and drawing blood.

Deep down, the Tech Overlord knew fighting back was pointless… And yet, he tried anyway. Delicately speaking, “V-Val, please… I–” he was silenced with a swift bite to the shoulder, making him gasp in pain.

His partner was unrelenting. Vox didn’t dare ‘open’ his eyes, the last thing he needed was to give Valentino any more reason to give out punishment. All he could do was reference his system’s clock and count down the minutes until his partner was finally done with him.

Vox was left to fend for himself after… He didn’t have any energy for self care. He instead became locked in an internal argument with himself. One side fought valiantly to try and rationalize Valentino’s actions while the other felt hurt and violated. When Val came back to bed, Vox made it a point to stay as far away as he could on the large mattress.

————

Vox could barely open his eyes the morning after. The persistent fog in his head was worse than usual, not to mention how everything hurt. He pushed himself up on sore arms. Fuck, the ropes left some pretty nasty marks on his skin… He shook his head and banished himself to the shower to try and pick up the pieces of his ego. Maybe patch himself up too…

For the first time in a long time, he made himself his own coffee. It didn’t taste quite as good as Val’s. Vox’s memory of last night was spotty, he remembered some things but the rest was just a painful haze. He downed the coffee in hopes he could clear up his thoughts some, as they were incredibly disjointed, and he still had to work.

Distantly, a memory came to him, back in the club. If he didn’t want to process his night with Val or the complicated feelings surrounding the moth, he could take his anger out on some random sinner that wronged him instead. He made haste to his office, eager for the distraction, and the process of hunting that fucker down. No one pushes the CEO of VoxTek and gets away with it. How Vox forgot about it for so long was beyond him. At least it meant there was a bigger potential for the element of surprise.

Vox pulled up the footage of that night on three separate cameras. The sinner’s face was clearly depicted in two of the angles. It made them incredibly easy to identify, they were even a user of his brand. VoxTek engaged in some shady user data collection, which turned out to work in the Overlord’s complete favor.

But on the third camera he caught something else. Vox rewound the footage to play it from the beginning again.

The same moment Vox got pushed away from Valentino, it looked like the moth dropped something into his drink. Some kind of liquid, suspiciously pink…

Things clicked into Vox’s mind piece by piece, and every realization made him feel sicker and sicker to his stomach. How many drinks had he received from Val lately? And how many of them were pink-toned?

The more the Tech Overlord thought about it the worse off he became. Was he angry at his partner for drugging him? Or was he mad at himself for not realizing sooner? He was supposed to be perceptive, two steps ahead, perfect… And yet here he was, pacing around his office trying not to vomit whatever Val last gave him despite knowing it was already too late.

It explained so much, the sudden fogginess, the increased affection he felt, the way time seemed to slow and speed up. The overwhelming pink all his thoughts were dipped in.

Vox stopped pacing. Drugging him with a product they fucking sell… Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous. He sat back in his chair and stewed in his feelings for about three whole hours. Valentino would definitely be in the studio by now.

The Overlord downloaded the footage, sent it to his phone, and then got up swiftly. They were going to fucking talk about this.

Vox barged in on a recording… So much for almost being done filming. “Cut!” he yelled himself, grinding everything to a halt.

“Voxxy?” Val asked, painting his voice with a fake innocence, “What’s the matter? Grumpy because I didn’t have coffee made for you this morning? It’s not my fault you get up so damn early.”

“Shut the fuck up, Val… And fuck your coffee,” Vox growled, he stalked over, his phone in hand. The angrier he got the more he remembered about what he wanted to do, what he wanted to say. He wasn’t quite sober… but the adrenaline helped.

Valentino seemed surprised by the sudden aggression. “Whoa, amorcito… Seriously, what’s up with you? This isn’t about last night, is it?”

“Explain this to me,” Vox said, schooling his voice into a cool and even cadence. He held up the phone, close enough to the moth’s face for the blind bastard to figure out what he was looking at.

He watched very closely as Val reacted to being caught. He predicted the moth would try to lie his way out of it, so he paid attention to every facial twitch and fidget.

“Explain it? All I did was add a little more flavor to your drink, what is there to explain?” the pimp retorted defensively.

“What did you put in it, exactly? I want the brand name,” Vox hissed. If Valentino couldn’t answer that it would look pretty bad on his end.

The moth scoffed. “You think I pay attention to the brand name of everything I use? It was just a… Additional cherry flavor,” he reasoned.

“Really? That’s the best lie you could come up with? And I didn’t taste any additional cherry in any of my drinks that night.”

Valentino waved that point off like it was nothing, “You were wasted, mi amor, you wouldn’t be able to remember that much about that night. Stop talking crazy, baby. You’re overthinking again,” he cooed, as if Vox was some kind of child in need of comfort.

“Gaslighting me now, are you? I remember enough about that night to know a bold-faced fucking liar when I see one!” Vox argued, “I may not remember the exact number of drinks I had, but it certainly wasn’t a blackout amount, not with how much of those fucking things is juice instead of alcohol. Hmm, it’s almost like they were spiked with something,” he finished angrily.

Valentino puffed up like he was about to retort. There was a dangerous look in his eyes, like an animal with nowhere to run. “All I wanted to do is help you, you were all sorts of stressed out, baby. I wasn’t drugging you… More like medicating you. You should be thanking me.”

The tech-head seethed, nearly crushing his phone in his grip. “Thanking you?! My head has been a fuzzy spinning fucking mess for… For days! Almost a week! How is that helping me? I can make my own fucking decisions!”

Vox could see the moment Val realized he was rapidly losing ground to stand on. The moth had lost the battle. What Vox missed was his last ditch effort to win the war. Suddenly Vox was yanked closer and his so-called partner’s tongue was in his mouth.

Vox tried to push him off, but he found his exhaustion and the drugs still in his system had left his powers dulled to the point where there wasn’t enough voltage to faze his aggressor. He coughed and gagged around Val’s tongue, which dripped sticky sweet saliva down his throat in practically gallons. Vox was rapidly losing the strength in his limbs, so Valentino held him up. It happened so fast that the Tech Overlord could barely process anything happening around him.

He was held there until his head spun so much he could barely stand up straight. The neediness, a usually welcome side effect turned against him, set in after.

“There you go, that’s better, isn’t it baby?” Valentino finally asked once Vox was no longer able to defend himself. Vox could only mumble back as one of Val’s hands undid his belt and nudged his pants down.

He tried to pull away, but the overwhelming amount of Valentino in his system left him completely powerless. Worse yet, while he was too weak to physically react, he found he was just lucid enough to register everything happening consciously. His senses were slow to pick up on anything, and his brain slow to process it, but they worked just enough to leave his conscious mind screaming behind his drug-addled mind’s acceptance. Travis, Angel, the rest of Val’s fucking whores… They were watching every second. Watching the pimp make a fool out of him.

Vox felt more than watched his boxers get pulled down and out of the way next, exposing his dick to the entire room. He once more tried to push Val away from him to no avail. His limbs were like jelly.

“Shhh, no fighting. Let me help you forget all your worries, mi amor,” Valentino continued to murmur. He teased Vox’s chemically-induced erection with one finger, eliciting a pathetic sounding whine from the big bad CEO. He wanted Val to touch him. He wanted to crawl into a hole and hide for a century.

Vox caught one passing glance at Angel’s expression. He was the only one in the room who seemed to be uncomfortable with the situation, yet he didn’t look away. Everyone else seemed surprised, shocked, some of them even laughed… Or at least Vox thought they did. It was hard to tell with his periphery spinning around where he was trying to focus.

Something wet slid down his screen, it took him a hot second to recognize it as drool. Satan, he was such a mess. Val wasn’t helping in the slightest, his hand finally wrapping around his dick in full. The lack of any sort of lubrication wasn’t great, but it didn’t matter when Vox was so drugged up on the other Overlord’s pheromones, it got the job done… Embarrassingly quickly.

Valentino didn’t stop there though, of course not, he backed Vox up into the wall. The moth didn’t pay any mind to the room full of sinners watching. If anything, he made it a point to put on a show.

“Isn’t that so much better, baby? If you’re good I’ll keep going~” he said lowly. It was reminiscent of last night. Vox could only reply with whines and whimpers, his body refused to cooperate with his conscious mind’s pleading to make it stop. It left him feeling so helpless. Valentino unfolded his own wings and started tugging his own pants down. “You know how I get during filming, don’t you, Voxxy?”

The Tech Overlord wasn’t able to answer, but he didn’t have to. He was barely given any time to prepare before Val was pushing inside him. No warning, no warmup, and completely dry. Tears pricked at the corner’s of Vox’s eyes. He vocalized the pain, but it came out more like pleasure.

“You’ll feel better soon,” Valentino reassured sweetly. But it never did get better. Vox may be high enough to get into Heaven, but Val’s saliva alone wasn’t potent enough to induce the same memory fog as the potion was. Not anymore, anyway. Instead it was a constant internal battle between the high and his conscious mind.

Too weak to fight his lover off, reacting in all the ways Val wanted him to against his will. All while a room of people watched.

It was only when he saw someone come back with a phone that fight or flight kicked in hard enough to give him even a little bit of leverage over the chemicals in his blood. He managed to zap himself outside the prison of Valentino’s arms with nothing but pure desperation to keep him going.

It took the moth by surprise. It was enough. Vox yanked his pants back up and stumbled away for the exit quickly, teleporting whenever he could muster enough pure distress to. His head spun the whole time.

Why would Val do that to him?

Notes:

I spent a ridiculous amount of time on this chapter, so I hope you enjoy. I also urge you to send all your anguished comments, analyses, and the like my way. I enjoy reading them a lot!

Stay tuned, up next a certain someone finds out about all of this.

Chapter 28: If it’s All Falling Apart Around Me, Will You Still Be There?

Summary:

A rescue mission

Notes:

A certain angel is maaaad~

This chapter has further mentions/implications of rape/noncon as well as drugging occurring, but no explicit scenes

Angel could only stare in abject horror as he watched the scene unfold before him. Up until the moment Vox ran away it was like watching a car crash… Or a house fire. His eyes met Val’s for a moment. And for that moment the moth almost looked regretful. Almost.

“Everyone go home!” Valentino barked at them. He didn’t wait for anyone to move before chasing after the other Overlord, slamming the door behind him.

Frankly, Angel didn’t know how exactly to feel. Vox was supposed to be powerful, smart, charismatic. A fucking sleazeball and hella dubious about his business practices and the people he associated with, but… It would seem that had come back to bite him in the ass. Angel had suspected something was up yesterday, Vox was off, not quite acting himself. Whatever things Vox had eluded to about his intention with Lucifer fell apart. Val had been drugging him…

And then to try and make Vox forget, he…

The spider shook his head. He walked swiftly towards his dressing room. Lucifer had been in a funk ever since Vox stopped replying to his texts, despite Angel and Husk’s best efforts to keep him at least somewhat engaged. Turns out the depression of a fallen angel was really hard to combat. It didn’t help when Val had him working crazy hours, and Alastor could just pull Husk away from Lucifer… Literally.

He didn’t know how the King would react to this information, but he deserved to know. Angel just had to go about telling him carefully. Popping out his third pair of arms, the porn star cleaned himself up as fast as he possibly could, packing his things hastily and haphazardly.

Angel’s thoughts continued to swirl in an uproarious storm his entire way hom– to the hotel. He’d been on the receiving end of that vile potion and that sickly saliva many times before. He knew how much it fucked with the head.

The spider burst through the hotel’s doors much more violently than he usually would.

He was still greeted by Charlie though, “Angel! You’re home pretty early, what gives?”

“Where’s Lucifer?” the sinner asked, completely disregarding the Princess’s question. “It’s kinda urgent.”

Charlie’s demeanor changed a bit, becoming more serious and concerned. “In his room, like usual… Why? What happened?”

Angel put his hands up. “I’ll explain latea but right now I needa talk to your dad, and as soon as possible.”

When the Princess didn’t press him for any more answers, he continued forwards, not even stopping to put his stuff down before he found himself in front of the King’s door. He knocked, loud and rapid.

“Lucifer! It’s me, can I come in? I got news about Vox,” he explained, knowing the fallen angel preferred to know what he was getting into before starting a serious conversation.

Lucifer did call back from inside, dully, “What does it matter anymore? He clearly wants nothing to do with me… Maybe the kiss was going too far…”

“For the love of–” Angel huffed, “It has nothing to do wit’ that and you know it! It was foul play! I can explain it in more detail, but you gotta let me in first… Or you could come out here… But no isn’t an answer! The situation is too big.”

There was a sigh, a groan, the shifting of fabrics, and finally footsteps. The door opened, revealing Lucifer looking disheveled as usual. “Foul play?”

The spider sighed and nodded. “Yeah… You’re gonna wanna sit down for this though…”

————

Vox was sitting on his bed, head spinning and breaths coming in quick bursts. His door was locked and barred. It was only a matter of time before Valentino came to talk to him. But Vox didn’t want to talk, he didn’t even want to be here. His limbs shook uncontrollably. He didn’t know if it was anger, anxiety, or just pure unaddressed adrenaline.

What the fuck was he supposed to do now? Sure, Valentino had gotten handsy with him at inappropriate times before… Vox was always able to brush it off though. Not this time. He couldn’t just pretend this didn’t happen. Could he?

There was a knock on his door, suspiciously gentle.

“Vox? Could we talk?” came Valentino’s voice from the other side.

Vox’s entire body seized up with both rage and fear. “Like hell we can talk! What the fuck is wrong with you?!” he yelled back, “Just leave me alone! I don’t want to see your face let alone hear your disgusting voice!”

Vox’s words were harsh… He reassured himself that they weren’t as harsh as the moth’s actions towards him. He had every right to be mad! Or did he? Still drugged and dizzy, he was subconsciously inclined towards Val. He had to fight it.

He could practically hear Val trying to find some kind of argument to use behind the door. “Look, Vox- I panicked… Velvette is on her way up if you’d rather talk to her.”

“No, no I wouldn’t. She’s just going to tell me to pull my head out of my ass again!” Vox retorted. He was so tired of his colleagues.

Despite his protests, he heard the semi-muffled sound of his door slamming open. Velvette’s voice pierced the air after, “What the fuck do you mean ‘we have a problem?!’”

“I mean we have a problem!” Valentino yelled back. He could tell by the tone of their voices that an argument was about to break out between them.

“That’s not enough information, Valentino,” Velvette groans. Her voice had gotten significantly closer. “What happened?”

Valentino started squeaking with every word, “I mean he fucking found out, and I panicked, and now he won’t talk to me!”

“How did he find out?” Vel asked, sounding positively pissed, “What did you do?”

The moth argued back with venom, “Hey, don’t go pinning the entire blame on me, how was I supposed to know he’d check the cameras?”

There were barely even pauses between their screeching voices. It’s like neither of them cared about the fact that Vox could hear every word. “You spiked his drink in sight of fucking cameras?”

“He has them everywhere! Do you have any idea how hard it is to find blind spots in this fucking place?!”

It solidified the truth that Vox had been getting drugged. And both his colleagues were in on it. A small piece of him wanted to believe Val’s excuses, that the moth had good intentions… But what intentions could possibly justify drugging up your lover? And why was Velvette aware of it? Angry it came to light, even? Icy panic spread across Vox’s chest. He needed to get out of here… Did he have anywhere to go?

Valentino and Velvette’s screaming match continued outside the door, “How could you be so fucking stupid? The goal was to bring him back to us, not drive him away!”

“It was your idea to do this in the first place! Maybe if you weren’t so paranoid about Vox running off with the King this wouldn’t have happened!”

The sound of something hitting the wall and shattering followed those words. “Yeah? It was your idea to use the love potion was it not?! And it was a real risk! I’m not paranoid, your head is just on fucking backwards!”

Vox glanced at his phone on the nightstand. He’d never grabbed it so fast before in his life. Punching in his password as fast as possible, he navigated to his messages. The argument-turned-altercation between his colleagues faded into a loud droning in his head. He read the messages from Lucifer that he’d missed and mentally kicked himself for not noticing them sooner… But due to the circumstances, he had to disregard them for now.

‘Lucifer?’

He sent the first message hastily only to immediately begin the next.

‘Could I come over?’

And almost as an afterthought, one begging ‘Please?’

————

“Valentino what?” Lucifer practically demanded. Angel had been explaining what he saw in the studio that day.

Angel put his hands up in a soothing gesture. “It’s not my place to give any details… But he forced himself on Vox… Between that and the drugging I think it more than explains his lack of response. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get his side of the story, of course, but…”

Lucifer’s hands shook with a barely contained rage. He needed to fly over there and blow Valentino up immediately. Before he could decide whether or not to follow through, his phone buzzed. Vox’s name appeared, illuminated on the small screen. The phone buzzed twice more and two more messages came through.

Lucifer was incredibly quick to pick the device up.

Angel peeked over curiously. “What’s goin’ on?”

“He’s asking if he can come over…” Lucifer replied. A small part of him was still down about the fact he’d gone ignored for so long, but he didn’t think it was justified anymore. It wasn’t entirely Vox’s fault… If at all. He wasn’t sure how love potions worked, but they sounded scary. “I have half a mind to go get him myself…”

The spider hummed. “Would that be a good idea?”

Lucifer’s wings popped out, already ruffled up and twitching. “It certainly wouldn’t be a bad one.”

“I mean… No, it would get him out of there. I guess we can figure out what to do going forward after he’s here… It’s just crazy to me. I didn’t really like the guy, not that I disliked him, I guess I was just really distrustful… But seeing someone of his status get,” Angel paused for a while before continuing, “put down like that…”

The King started typing his own text response, a simple ‘I’m on my way’ before tucking his phone in his pocket. “I’ll try to be quick about this, if I come back bloody, it’s that damn bastard’s”

Angel nodded. “I’ll be down in the parlor… Should I inform the others? Uh… That we’re expectin’ an unexpected guest?”

“Probably a good idea… But tell them to give us some space,” was the last thing Lucifer said before vanishing into a cloud of golden dust. Despite having been inside the tower on numerous occasions, Lucifer didn’t trust himself to manifest on the correct floor, nor did he want to have to travel up through it. His brilliant solution was to appear near it. He had wings, all he had to do was find the right floor… And given the fact that only one small cluster of windows shone in blue hues, it didn’t take long.

Where there was once glass, hundreds of eyes appeared instead. Lucifer spotted Valentino and Velvette, on opposite sides of the room from each other. It appeared they were fighting, only freezing to investigate what interrupted them.

They stared wordlessly for several very long seconds. Lucifer descended onto the floor with a dangerous look on his face. He paid the other two Overlords no mind and he slowly walked past them, almost daring them to make a move toward him. The King fully turned his back in a silent taunt. Turns out they were too smart to fall for it, as they backed away from their monarch.

But he couldn’t proceed with them in the room. Wordlessly, Lucifer pointed to the door. Valentino was quick to obey. Velvette, however, hesitated.

The fallen angel turned his head to make eye contact with her. It was enough to finally scare her off. With the two disturbances handled, Lucifer was able to knock on Vox’s door in peace. “Vox? You in there?”

It was a few moments before the Overlord answered, “Lucifer? Is that you?”

“Yeah, Angel told me that…” he hesitated. He knew Vox hated vulnerability, and he didn’t want to make him comfortable. “...That some bad things happened recently, so when I got your messages, I… Well to answer your question, yeah, you can come over.”

Silence followed.

Eventually shuffling could be heard within the room, and a little while later the door opened. Vox looked understandably shaken up. Lucifer held out his hand. “You’re not averse to flying, are you? It’s faster than driving.”

It was with a slow hesitation that Vox accepted his proffered hand. “That.. Would be okay, yes,” he said with a calculated cadence. It sounded like some sort of forced professionalism.

“I’ll make sure no one bothers you when we get there,” Lucifer reassured while he lifted the Overlord up with ease. Vox blinked in surprise. “What? Don’t underestimate me just because of my stature,” the King gently joked in an attempt to lighten the tense mood even a little.

Carefully, the fallen angel spread his wings and left out the same window he came in through. Vox gripped onto him for dear life during the entire flight. Lucifer offered as much reassurance as he could until they landed safely in front of the hotel.

The King returned his precious cargo to the ground and guided him inside. They had a lot to discuss.

Notes:

Yeah it’s another cutoff before an important interaction, sorry I need to catch up on my prewritten chapters. Fortunately, Wednesday isn’t that far off!

My mental state is poor but fuck it we ball

Chapter 29: Would You Hold Me and Say I’m Not My Mistakes?

Summary:

An arrangement is made

Notes:

The next few chapters are Fun- they weren’t fun to write but they’re fun

This chapter however, has very very vague and brief mentions of the events in 27, such as rape/noncon

Vox was relieved, but he still wanted to crawl into a hole and die. He felt safe but endangered. Grateful yet ashamed. How had he fallen so far that he needed to run to Hell’s main monarch to get him out of a situation he brought on himself?

Now he was sitting in the King’s room, waiting for… Whatever came next. He wasn’t really sure what to expect from anyone anymore. The Overlord glanced at the smaller man, who was pacing around the room with a conflicted expression.

Lucifer finally spoke up, asking a question, “Are you hurt?”

Vox hesitated, being so frazzled and anxious on top of drugged wasn’t very good for carrying himself the way he usually would. “No… No, no I’m not hurt…” He tugged on the cuff of his sleeve.

“Okay…” Lucifer sighed, running both of his hands through his hair. “Where to even begin? It’s been a long couple of days, huh?”

Vox forced out a curt laugh. “Something like that, yeah.”

“Well… I guess before I get into it, I should also ask if you need anything.” Lucifer looked at him expectantly.

The Tech Overlord quickly shook his head. It was embarrassing enough having been brought here by the King himself, the last thing he wanted to do was request anything more. “I’m fine for now, thank you,” he answered professionally in some fruitless attempt to mend his wounded pride. Except for the fact that his words were slightly slurred.

Lucifer didn’t dwell on it. “Let me know if you change your mind, you don’t sound so good.” He shook his head. “Now… There’s a lot we need to talk about.” Vox winced. He had a hunch that his period of radio silence was part of that lot. “I was told you were plotting against me…”

“By who?” Vox asked in a rising panic.

The fallen angel narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. “Charlie… Now, she did get her information from Alastor. But it was a recording… A recording of your–” he paused and made a face, “business partners. Care to explain that?”

Vox swallowed nervously. He couldn’t afford yet another spiral into panic right now. Not with his head spinning the way it was… But it did help his thoughts to be a little less clouded. “I… Yeah, I can explain that–”

“Well then get to it…” Lucifer’s voice took on a desperate tone, “I don’t want to believe it’s true. Your voice was absent from the recording…”

The Overlord had every opportunity to lie. To tell Lucifer that he framed it that way to Valentino and Velvette to avoid suspicion from them. The idea made him feel weird though… Like a weight in each lung. He’d rather be honest. He told himself he’d handle the fallout if it went poorly. Return home and work things out. “The day you unexpectedly showed up at my door… I did see it– see you as an opportunity. I told Valentino and Velvette as soon as I could. They were excited about it…”

He watched as Lucifer’s face twisted up in hurt. It was a familiar look. He’d worn it many times himself. Vox took a deep breath in and continued. “But the more we hung out, the more we talked… The more we got along, I started realizing that I didn’t want to use you like that. I… Didn’t want to admit that to Val or Vel. I wasn’t sure how they’d take it. Turns out I underestimated them, they figured it out anyway. At least Velvette did, and shared it with Val… I think? It was hard to pay attention to everything they were saying earlier.”

“And you were going to tell me this when?” Lucifer asked.

“I… Wanted to, but I really didn’t know when to. I didn’t want to kill the mood of our last hangout… And then I was… Distracted,” Vox said slowly. He rubbed his screen and sighed. “I would understand it if you… Wanted to send me home.”

The King crossed his arms. “I can’t in good conscience do that to you… But I’m not happy about it either. How would I know if you’re telling the truth or not?”

“You wouldn't,” Vox stated outright, “I can’t make you believe me. That’s your own choice.”

Lucifer walked over and sat down next to him heavily. “These last few days have been terrible,” he admitted. “Your sudden silence was certainly poorly timed. I’ve been stewing in nothing but hurt, anxiety, and denial this entire time… Yet I can’t really bring myself to be mad at you. Especially not after what Angel told me he saw.”

Vox’s eyebrows pinched together. Vox was plenty mad. Mad at his associates, but especially mad at himself. Mad for not catching it sooner. Mad for feeling a growing nagging feeling in his chest that he needed more. “So… What do we do now?”

Lucifer wrapped a tender wing around him. It took Vox by surprise. “I’m sure Charlie wouldn’t mind letting you stay here for a few days to collect your thoughts. I wouldn’t mind it either…”

“I don’t recall consenting to this agreement,” a new voice entered the room. The shadows in the corner squirmed, and Alastor stepped out of them not long after.

The King was quick to snap back, “Good thing the hotel doesn’t belong to you then.”

“Ah, but I am an integral part of its management, am I not?” the Radio Demon answered. He tilted his head and continued mockingly, “I see you haven’t taken any of my warnings to heart.”

Vox felt his whole body tense up. It was bad enough that Velvette and Valentino had been conspiring against him. He expected it from Alastor, but it still added insult to injury. “I already explained the situation,” he muttered, “any of your input is unnecessary.”

Lucifer backed him up, “Yeah, and I don’t recall inviting you in here either.”

The deer’s tone remained unusually calm as he spoke, singsing even, “You didn’t, but matters that involve the safety of the hotel are under my jurisdiction. It was well within my right to interfere.”

The Tech Overlord noted his throat starting to grow tight. It only served to make him spiral further. He fought very hard to keep his digital voice from cracking, “Please, what could I possibly do right now? What am I so capable of that scares you so much that you’re this desperate to throw me out?”

“I’m not scared of you,” Alastor retorted quickly.

“Then why are you adamant that this is some kind of scheme?” Vox challenged him again, “You know plenty well that you can overpower me easily. It doesn’t make any sense, Al! Hell, Lucifer would have an even easier time putting me out of commission than you would… permanently. What do I have to do to prove that I’m not after his soul anymore?”

The little outburst gave the Radio Demon pause. He didn’t have an easy comeback for it. Of course he didn’t. “You know I’ve never been fond of you–”

Vox interjected, “And that’s a good enough reason to shove me away so violently? I’m not here for you… I’m not even here for Lucifer right now!”

“Then what are you here for?” the deer asked.

Vox felt the familiar sting of tears in his eyes and mentally kicked himself. It was hard enough to hold himself together without directly acknowledging what happened. “I’m here hiding, okay?!” he snapped, trying to sound aggressive to mask the desperation in his voice, “Hiding like a fucking coward from the mess I made! Because I can’t stand like a man to face it… There, hap… Happy?” Vox croaked. In spite of his best efforts, tears spilled down his screen anyway. It wasn’t a direct admission of the things that went down in the tower, but it was enough.

Alastor hesitated to answer again. For but a moment, an unfamiliar expression Vox couldn’t read crossed his face. With his ears pinned back, he answered quietly, “You always did have such terrible taste in people. Fine, you can stay… But I expect you to be out by as soon as next week.”

“It’s already Thursday, that’s hardly enough time,” Lucifer butted in, “he stays until he knows what he’s going to do about the other Vees. If it were up to me, I’d tear them to pieces,” the King growled.

The deer’s eye twitched. “I give an inch and you take a mile. I won’t give him the boot, but I am under no obligation to get along with him.”

The fallen angel huffed. “Good enough… Now kindly get the fuck out of my room,” he spat.

Alastor was quick to dissipate back into the shadows, and his presence vanished from the room soon after. Vox was locked in a war with himself to get his rebelling body under control. He felt Lucifer’s wing hug closer around him. He avoided looking at the King at all costs.

“You’re certainly good at filling me with conflicting thoughts and feelings,” Lucifer said lightly, “take your time… I’m not going to judge you for having emotions.”

The words only served to spur Vox’s sobs on further. He was so incredibly embarrassed, and yet he didn’t want to pull away either. The soft sensation of the other’s feathers holding his vulnerable heart was the most comforting thing Vox had felt in a long time.

He cried until his head and his heart grew too tired to continue fighting each other, and once both waved their white flags, a familiar numbness took their place.

Notes:

Whatever you think Alastor is up to, expect the unexpected!
Though, I would love to hear the theories 👀

As always, thank you for sticking with me and my nonsense plot this far

Chapter 30: I Can’t See Through This Suffocating Dark

Summary:

It would seem everyone is having trouble adjusting.

Notes:

I don’t have much to say about this chapter, it’s one of those transition chapters where nothing of super major note happens

It has warnings though such as
Blink and you’ll miss it mentions of rape, drugging, and physical abuse

To say Lucifer was conflicted would be quite the understatement. Vox had finally calmed down to the occasional hiccup instead of full on sobs. It hurt to see the Overlord this upset, but at the same time Lucifer couldn’t just completely disregard the whole soul thing. In his heart, he believed the man told him the truth, but he was also the paranoid type. There was also the issue of the other Vees. It was unclear what they were going to do about this. If they tried to apologize, Lucifer certainly wouldn’t forgive them, but that also didn’t matter.

What if Vox chose to go back anyway?

Against his better judgment, the fallen angel found himself imagining what a future with Vox would look like. He could give the Overlord so much more than the company he ran could, and he wouldn’t need to bend over backwards for any of it. He wouldn’t need to turn to people like Valentino for companionship. When Vox wasn’t performing for the camera, regardless if a camera was present, he always looked so much… Softer.

Lucifer would do almost anything to see that side of Vox more often. The fallen angel looked down at the drowsy Overlord, the sobs that wracked his body earlier having sapped all his energy.

The King spoke softly, “How about we go get you set up in a room? I can go talk it over with Charlie…”

“Yeah… Just come get me when it’s done? I can’t be seen like this,” Vox rasped between shuddering sighs.

A curt nod was all Lucifer could manage as he painstakingly pulled his wing away from the other. He couldn’t help but offer the Overlord a blanket in its place, but it was politely declined. Lucifer didn’t press the issue, leaving the room to go find his daughter.

He found her leaning up against the railing overlooking the parlor, observing her residents fondly. He hated to disturb her, and yet it had to be done.

“Charlie?” he called out to her quietly, “Can we talk for a moment?”

She spun around quickly, looking a little surprised at first before easing into a casual smile. “Oh, dad– sure, what did you want to talk about?”

The fallen angel took a steadying breath in. “I’m sure Angel informed you about an unexpected visit from Vox?”

“He did, yeah.” His daughter nodded. “I haven’t seen him though, Angel also mentioned something about space, so I informed everyone to steer clear of any high traffic areas for the time being… I’ve considered it an exercise in boundaries.”

Lucifer smiled just slightly. His little girl never ceased to fill him with pride, always trying to be as kind and considerate as possible… “Yeah, he’s here. He’s going… To be needing a room–”

Charlie cut him off in her disbelief and excitement, “He’s staying here?!”

“Just temporarily I’m afraid,” the King explained. It hurt to watch her face fall.

The disappointment in her tone was evident, “Right, of course. My bad.”

“Sorry to dash your hopes… Now, I don’t know what is going to happen in the future, so I’m focusing on the now. And right now, Vox needs a safe place where he can stay…”

“I understand, I’ll go grab a room key. Is he looking for any room in particular?” his daughter asked.

Lucifer shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. I have a request though, I’d like it to be near mine.” When Charlie raised a nonjudgmental but questioning eyebrow at him, he scrambled to find a reason that wouldn’t make Vox look as vulnerable as he was right now. “I just want to… Keep an eye on him– for his sake and everyone else’s.”

“Well, I can’t argue with that…” Charlie stood up straighter and fixed her outfit. “Now, let’s go get that room ready!”

————

Alastor watched from afar as the Morningstars walked in and out of the vacant room they intended to prepare for Vox. His smile was strained and his eyes were narrowed the entire time. He only left once Lucifer waved his spawn off and went to retrieve the pathetic Overlord in question. Deciding he needed to cause some poor unfortunate soul discomfort, he found himself at the bar.

For once, Husk wasn’t behind it. In his place was a note stating that he’d be back eventually. Alastor had half a mind to summon him then and there, but he was distracted by the Princess’s significant other walking by. She would have to do.

“You there, a moment if you’d be so kind,” he began, casual but leaving absolutely no choice in the matter for the ex-exorcist.

She rolled her eye and grumbled something in Spanish he didn’t quite catch before speaking up, “What do you want?”

Alastor put his hands up in a placating gesture. “Relax! I just wanted to inquire your opinion on our hotel’s newest temporary resident.”

“Our what?” the woman asked flatly.

Alastor tutted, “I see your… Partner hasn’t deigned to inform you yet. A certain Overlord by the name of Vox will be staying here… Temporarily, of course.”

He watched a series of expressions cross the angel’s face as she processed the words. “I feel like if I ask you for more information I’m going to get nothing but a string of useless riddles…”

“Does having such an influential yet petty figure under your roof not disturb you?” the Radio Demon pressed.

All he was given in response was a shrug and a deadpan remark, “He’s proven before that he can be well behaved here. I don’t think I have to worry… Especially not if Charlie is okay with it.”

The deer frowned. It definitely wasn’t what he wanted to hear. He’d much rather it if the woman was peeved, annoyed, perhaps distraught about the news. “Is that really all you have to say about this?”

”Yeah? What, were you hoping I’d validate your feelings?” She asked, still sounding as emotionless as before.

The Radio Demon puffed up defensively. “Don’t go around spouting nonsense. I simply wanted your opinion on the matter…” he paused to think for a few seconds before a positively sinister smirk spread across his face. “Say, if Vox is seeking refuge here at the hotel because of something bad happening in the tower, what does that mean for your dear Charlotte’s plans?”

Now that got a reaction out of the angel. Her feathers even got all ruffled. “Oh shit, you’re right… Well, the odds of the whole company going under are slim… But it will definitely be difficult to get through if there’s internal tension…” she mused to herself. “How much do you know?”

”Only as much as I’ve told you, of course,” Alastor reassured her while rolling his eyes, “the frivolous flat-faced bastard refused to give me more than a pathetic display of emotions that didn’t amount to much,” he shrugged, words casually scathing.

The ex-exorcist sighed heavily, running her hand down her face. “It was pointless to ask from the beginning, I should have known. Okay, well, I’m going to go about the rest of my day now, and you can go do… Whatever it is you do during the day,” she said tiredly.

Alastor would have frowned as she turned away if he was into that kind of thing, but he wasn’t, so his smile remained in place. Once more he was left to his own thoughts. The last thing he needed was to see his old enemy around more often. In fact, the less he thought about the other at all, the better. The blue of the demon’s stupid screen, tainted with despaired tears was an image the Radio Demon couldn’t seem to shake from the forefront of his mind. With the dullest of aches in his chest, he too turned around and walked out of the hotel.

Some fresh air was in order.

————

Only two sounds registered for the Tech Overlord for the next ten minutes. The quiet thudding of his own footfall on the floor and the loud pounding of his heart in his head. He’d started pacing as soon as Lucifer left him to settle into his new temporary place of residence. It seemed to be the only thing to slow down his storming emotions long enough to form a logical thought.

Here he was, on the territory of his greatest enemy and seeking refuge from his greatest allies.

It was so backwards and upside down and Vox was starting to forget who he even was at this point. When all professionalism, anger, and cunningness was peeled away, what was left? It was as though he was trapped too deep inside the him he constructed to get by.

Fuzzy memories of each soft moment shared with Lucifer gradually unveiled themselves from the curtains of his subconscious. But could he even trust those? Was that him? Was that Vox?

Was the Vox that sobbed on his floor following a rough beatdown, wishing for a companion, the real Vox?

Was the Vox that flashed charismatic smiles and clever lines to everyone, drawing them in, the real Vox?

Was the Vox that spent rough passionate nights with a violent lover, putting on a private show and being rewarded with pleasure, the real Vox?

In the end it didn’t matter. None of those Voxes had prevented him from ending up here in the end. None of those Voxes eased the hurt in his chest… Or the hurt in his head, for that matter.

“What am I even doing here?” he grumbled to himself quietly. He stopped pacing and sat down on the bed. “When did it all get so… Incorrect?”

That’s what it was. It was all incorrect. He‘d lost sight of everything, what he was, his routines, his principles, his responsibilities. He wouldn’t be here if he’d just let Val have his way. He wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t given them a reason to drug him. He wouldn’t be here if he‘d stuck to the plan. He wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t let his heart escape its cage.

But it was out, and putting it back in was proving more difficult than expected. It didn’t help that Lucifer handled it with so much care, like the King was afraid of damaging it.

Vox looked out the window. It was still bright out. He wasn’t ready to go out yet… He didn’t want to face anyone, not like this.

An ugly stirring in his insides told him he should go back to the tower and submit to his colleagues. Return to that blissful pink. Oh, how he longed for those lazy cherry rivers to wash over him and carry all the bad thoughts away.

Vox groaned and shoved the urge down.

He needed a fucking shower.

Notes:

I hope you enjoyed, there are more interesting characters on the horizon

Chapter 31: My Past Haunts Me In A Way I Cannot Describe

Summary:

Something something deeply rooted sense of needing to be cared about.

Notes:

Fun fact! You may have noticed that chapter titles often have nothing to do with the chapter… but put all the titles back to back and it starts to make more sense 👀

There is alcohol consumption and the beginnings of a withdrawal in this chapter. It doesn’t amount to much but I feel I should mention it

Two days. Only two days had passed since Vox came to the hotel… And to say tensions were high would be a grossly drastic understatement. He wasn’t here to make friends, and so he avoided most of the other residents as much as possible… Which was easier said than done without spending every hour of every day in his room.

He glanced at his phone as it buzzed violently. Messages from both Velvette and Valentino poured in, a new barrage of words basically every two hours. Most of the messages were half-baked apologies, while others were begging and pleading for him to come back. They tried everything. Making offers, promises, claiming they’d do whatever it took to make it up to him.

He silenced the phone.

Deciding that he was sick and tired of staring at the same four walls, the Overlord finally left the room and headed out. He pulled himself together as best he could, he needed to put on an air of indifference to his situation. He couldn’t look weak in a place like this.

Yet again he found himself experiencing… Cravings. Damn Valentino and his addictive properties. And damn Velvette for amplifying the potion’s so much. It was only four days! Four days! Maybe a distraction was in order… Usually they came and went, often aggressively, leaving him clawing at the blankets desperate for even a moment of respite. This time, however, he’d try to find a better solution.

A replacement.

The bar was as quaint as always, standing out in stark contrast to the fancy hotel around it. The bartender, who Vox had only conversed with a few times, sat behind the counter lazily guzzling down something from a bottle.

The sinner locked eyes with the Overlord and set the bottle down. “Huh, I was starting to wonder if the talk of your arrival was nothin’ more than a rumor or not. Guess it wasn’t,” he said, tone uncaring and bored.

“Don’t get used to my presence,” Vox stated, seven even-cadence syllables to make absolutely sure he didn’t look like the mess he was at the moment. “I’ll be gone shortly.”

Husk shrugged. “It doesn’t affect me either way. Now, something tells me you didn’t come all this was just to chat.”

Vox sat down and folded his hands on the counter. His voice was smooth and calculated as he responded, “You’d be correct in that assessment. There isn’t much to do here in the ways of recreation. I want something strong.”

“Hoping to ride out the rest of your stay in a stupor?” the bartender asked, accusingly even as he reached behind the counter to rummage around. “Charlie holds plenty of games and exercises.”

Vox huffed, his reply curt and formal, “I prefer my recreation to be solo.”

“Bullshit.” The sinner poured the drink anyway, despite his- extremely bold and aggravating- tone towards the Tech Overlord. “But it’s not my job to babysit,” he said casually.

Vox watched him make the drink very intently, he couldn’t take any chances. “You’re very mouthy for someone who pretends not to care about other people’s problems,” he stated, remaining calm despite the urge to lash out at the cat. The last thing he needed was to draw Alastor’s attention to himself.

“I just don’t like it when people are fake. Nothin’ more, nothin’ less.” Husk proceeded to slide over Vox’s drink.

“Oh? And what about this is so fake?” Vox asked, trying to sound casual rather than defensive.

The sinner answered while picking up the bottle he was holding previously, “I could give you a laundry list, but you wouldn’t like what you’d hear.”

The Overlord practically bristled… Metaphorically. Sparks flew off his antennas and his left eye twitched, though without the spirals. He needed to remain in control of himself. “Well if you’re so sure,” he grumbled before busying himself with his own drink.

It wasn’t as strong as he would’ve liked, but that could be remedied… Though it meant spending more time with this fuck ass cat and all his infuriating ‘wise words.’

After some time spent in the one-sided tense silence, Husk spoke up once more. “I’m going to go join in on tonight’s festivities. You’re welcome to join us, if you can pull that stick outta your ass.”

“I think I’ll keep this stick right where it is, thanks,” Vox replied, tone oozing snark. Appearances be damned, he was too sober for this.

“Suit yourself.” And then the bartender was gone.

The Overlord remained seated where he was, only moving to pour himself more whenever he ran out of alcohol. It only marginally drowned out that damn moth’s pull, leaving Vox tipsy and irritated. A bad combination.

The sound of laughter coming from nearby drew his attention. The other… The residents of the hotel were only a few steps away, in the parlor nearby. With his inhibitions blurry and the need for even more distraction, Vox got up to investigate. He held his TV-head high as he stepped into the room to see what was so funny.

“Oh, Vox!” Charlie exclaimed on sight, “I almost forgot you were here! Are you here to join us?” she asked enthusiastically.

He shook his head and managed a charming smile. The corners of his mouth twitched with the effort though. “I came to observe.”

The Princess didn’t seem to be disheartened by the response at all. “That’s okay too! You’ll get to see a glimpse into how we operate, everything is an opportunity after all, right?” She delivered each line confidently. Vox was almost impressed. However, immediately after she giggled. “I sounded so cool just then, didn’t I sound so cool?”

“Really cool, babe,” said her girlfriend, who was sitting next to her, one wing draped over the Princess. Vox found that he missed the grounding feeling of Lucifer’s wing around himself.

The Tech Overlord found a seat that was nearby, but not too close to anyone, and he dared not look at Alastor, who was staring daggers at him from across the room.

He noted that Lucifer was nowhere to be seen and made a mental note to go look for him later, everyone else was here… Which unfortunately included the hotel’s deranged janitor, who was also staring at him, just with far less malice and far more… Whatever that was. Honestly Vox would prefer the malice.

After regaining her composure, the Princess took back the reins and guided everyone into a conversation. “Okay! So, I know we’ve been together for a decent amount of time now, and we get along. So I’d like to introduce an activity that promotes trust… Less forcefully than last time!” she chuckled nervously before continuing. “First, I would like you guys to share something that makes you feel vulnerable– comfort permitting,” she quickly added, “and I want everyone not currently sharing to be understanding and supportive of that vulnerability! Have an open mind!”

Vaggie added onto the instructions, “I know we’ve all…” She glanced at Vox. “Almost all fought off certain doom together, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we’re all open to supporting each other through our individual rough patches. Selflessness is a good attribute to have if we want to improve our environment.”

Vox watched as they talked amongst themselves, trying to decide who should go first. Vulnerability… It was a feeling he’d been way too up close and personal with the last few… However long it had been. It pissed him off. But there was something underneath all the lament and revulsion. Something that told him maybe he should share something himself.

He chalked it up to the alcohol in his system and continued to observe the scene before him.

“You know what? I’ll go first. I got plenty that makes me feel vulnerable,” Angel Dust offered, raising one of his hands to silence the small crowd. Charlie beamed with so much pride and joy it looked like she was about to faint from sheer happiness. Or tear her cheeks. “For starta’s, my stupid contract with Val is a massively glarin’ one. I mean… Why wouldn’t it be? I’m sure most of us here can relate that it’s no fun being controlled by a demon who only has their interests in mind, with no way out. Even worse when you’re literally under them.” For the briefest of moments, the spider locked eyes with Vox. The show of empathy made him feel sick. It made him feel seen.

The Princess sniffled, she looked like she was barely holding back tears. “How wonderfully spoken, Angel… You are so brave, not only for speaking, but also for standing up to him whenever you get the chance.”

“It certainly ain’t easy to be brave when you know what the consequences are…” Husk grumbled.

“Yeah, well… It is what it is.” The spider shrugged.

Charlie spoke up again, a little more composed this time, “We’ll help you find a way out of that. No matter what it takes…”

“Well… Anyone else got anythin’? I know I’m not the only one,” Angel said bluntly, directing the attention away from himself.

The conversation flowed from there. The princess mentioned how helpless she feels whenever her plans aren’t working the way she wants them to. Vaggie mentioned her heritage, and how her lack of trust towards others isolates her. Husk mumbled something about poor decisions, notably looking away from Alastor the entire time. Niffty… Vox didn’t want to think about what Niffty had to say.

The whole thing radiated a strange… Warmth? It was awkward, at times uncomfortable, and yet several times Vox felt himself wanting to speak up.

Wanting to be heard.

He curbed the desires yet again in favor of his dignified appearance. It was safer that way.

Notes:

Well I was catching up- until I wasn’t. On the bright side, my semester is almost over and I’ll be less mentally unwell

Tune in next time for a tall red buck who’s name starts with A

Chapter 32: My Present is a Violent Storm

Summary:

Sometimes advice from a friend is needed.

Notes:

The beginnings of the Alastor arc, I hope you enjoy!

It had been five days now since Vox came to the hotel, and boy was a certain radio host not happy about it. Despite the other Overlord’s efforts to avoid him, he ended up running into Alastor several times during his stay. The encounters were brief, but always tense.

“Still working it out with your associates, I take it?” Alastor hummed, his irritation masked behind several layers of fake intrigue mixed with condescension.

“Believe me, we’re working it out,” Vox muttered back, clearly all attempts at acting polite towards the Radio Demon were cast to the wind.

Alastor replied with mock reassurance, “Well, I’m sure you can work it out faster! I believe in you.”

If the other Overlord’s expression could have fallen any farther, it would have. He muttered something inaudibly and turned away. There was one thing that stood out to the deer though.

Vox looked so incredibly exhausted.

Alastor too went about the rest of his day, though his smile was strained. With every passing hour, he knew he couldn’t keep deluding himself into believing Vox was here to cause trouble. That didn’t mean it was any easier to look at him though.

The Radio Demon had never been good with other people’s emotions.

Even less so his own.

He decided he ought to get out of the hotel for a while, if only so he didn’t risk running into the other. Maybe to get his thoughts in order too. And he knew exactly where to go.

————

He was squeezed as soon as he walked in the door.

“Oh Alastor! Thank Satan you’re okay! What were you thinkin’ going head to head with the leader of the exorcists like that?! It’s been ages!” Rosie chastised him immediately after she stopped trying to affectionately crush his ribcage.

That’s right… He hadn’t been here at all since after the battle. “Sorry to worry you, my dear! Never my intention, but I got oh so busy in the following months I simply had no time to catch up properly!” he reassured his fellow Overlord in his usual singsong manner.

“Well then, that changes right now. You go sit and make yourself comfortable while I prepare us something to snack on,” she said insistently, pushing him over to a nearby booth.

With a leisurely smile in place, Alastor obeyed. How he hoped she’d never change. It wasn’t long before Rosie came back with a full spread of delightful little finger foods, some of which were literal.

She sat down across from him, a pleasant sharp-toothed smile on her face. “Now, where do we even begin!”

“I suppose someone has told you most of the latest news by now, you old cackling hen,” he teased affectionately, “the hotel is new and improved, the King is under its roof, and a war between the realms is on the horizon, yes?”

Rosie nodded along. “All old news indeed. I suppose I’ll let your second prolonged absence slide though. All that nonsense can’t be easy.”

Alastor sighed as though inconvenienced. “Well it would be pretty simple, but there is one issue that has cropped up as of late.”

“Well don’t leave me here in suspense now, dear!” she pressed, “Out with it!”

One of the Radio Demons ears flicked in irritation at the acknowledgement of the fact he couldn’t shake the presence of. “Vox is under its roof now too.”

Rosie’s face was encompassed by a passing look of complete shock for several moments. “No way! Really? What in Lucifer’s red Hell brought him there?”

“Funny story, actually!” Alastor started like he was setting up a joke. “Lucifer himself,” his delivery flattened on purpose, trying to imply he wasn’t fond of the development.

The Overlord across from him shook her head in disbelief. “Well I’ll be double damned, ain’t that the development of the century! Any idea why? Come on now, you know I want every detail,” she urged.

It was the expected reaction. At least it gave Alastor an outlet to vent all his frustrations toward someone who understood. “Well you see, my old enemy and the King have been getting sickeningly buddy buddy with each other. Lucifer would go over there regularly to chat with Vox. I have no idea why… I digress, something– I don’t know what, Vox wouldn’t tell me– happened at the tower… And for whatever reason, he chose to hide behind Lucifer while it gets sorted out,” he grumbled the last part while reaching down to pick up a slice of heart from the board between them.

Rosie hummed as she processed each piece of information. “Sounds to me like there’s more than meets the eye here… Regarding all parties.” A comforting smile crossed her features. “Let me guess… There’s this weight in your chest that you don’t really want to acknowledge, but know ignoring it will only make it worse.”

“Something like that…” Alastor groaned, “What do you suggest I do about it?”

The other Overlord’s tone never wavered from gentle suggestion. “It’s never too late to talk to him, try to clean up some of that messy history. I don’t doubt it would make both of you feel better.”

“I don’t really think he wants to talk to me. I’ve made quite the show of trying to push him away again,” the deer admitted, distracting his gaze with the snacks in front of him again.

“It happens to the best of us, especially where hurt feelings are concerned. So you got a little lost in what you thought you needed to be to keep yourself safe… But you should know by now that continuing to pretend is not your only option. Especially after workin’ with that Charlie,” Rosie continued to reassure him, “whatever the case may be, I’ll be here for you. I just want to see you happy.”

The Radio Demon’s smile faded just a bit. It was still there, just… More like an afterimage left behind. “Let’s say I did try to talk to him… Who’s to say he’d even listen?”

“Well, that’s his choice. And however you choose to react to that is your choice. It certainly won’t be easy, but a little bit of patience and understanding goes a long way. You don’t have to get it perfect.”

“I can’t help but worry,” Alastor mumbled, “that I’ll panic again… Muck everything up further.”

Rosie shook her head. Opened her mouth. And from it she spoke silken words of wisdom. “Not every conversation has to be a fight for survival, Al. Sometimes a conversation can be just that, a conversation.”

“You never fail to have all the words, do you?” Alastor chuckled. “I owe you dearly, I really do.”

She was quick to rebut him. “Nonsense. Your company is worth more than all the favors in Hell.” The other Overlord stopped to think for a moment. “But if you really wanna make me happy, stop by a little more frequently, yeah? Just like the good old days.”

The Radio Demon’s smile returned. It wasn’t strained, it wasn’t forced, and it certainly wasn’t a passing echo, but a genuine smile. The kind only those closest to him ever got to see. The kind he used to regard Vox with before everything went to shit.

————

Alastor stayed with Rosie in her emporium for a while longer, catching up on all the latest gossip before eventually bidding her adieu. He decided to walk back to the hotel, enjoy the fresh air… It gave him time to think.

Just talk to him… It wasn’t a fight for survival. Being open and honest was never really one of the Radio Demon’s strong suits. He was regarded as a threat by many. Something to be avoided. Even the Princess of Hell herself, someone of a higher status than him, had greeted him with hesitance and trepidation.

Just talk to him… A conversation can be a conversation. He needed to approach calmly. No venom, no vitriol. Open… Vulnerable. Did he even truly know how to be vulnerable with others? He opened up to Rosie… But that was different. She was different. Vox had several means of hurting him if he were to let the wrong information slip. Vox also looked incredibly hurt as of late. That weight in his chest returned.

Alastor shook his head and steeled his resolve. What he needed to do was stop overthinking it and… Just talk to him.

He made it back to the hotel with ease. Strolled inside. Climbed the stairs, each step adding more and more weight, more dread, more hesitance. Yet he did not slow down. He could not slow down. To slow down now would be to give up.

He ascended until he came to the correct hallway. It was… welcoming, yet foreboding.

The Radio Demon only stopped once he came up to Vox’s door. Now he really couldn’t turn back. He raised his hand up with an uncertainty unbefitting of an infamous figure such as himself.

He knocked. “Vox? Do you have a minute? I need to…” He paused. Took a breath in. Evened out his voice into something friendly.

“I need to talk to you.”

Notes:

Tune in next chapter for the conversation between Vox and Alastor! It’s a tense onnne~

I once again am thanking you all for sticking around with me and my nonsense writing this far, y’all are real ones and I appreciate you all very much <3

Chapter 33: They Both Serve to Hurt and Mark

Summary:

The one with even more talking in it

Notes:

Personally, I think I cooked here so please enjoy

There is an important announcement in the end notes!

“I need to talk to you,” came Alastor’s voice from the other side of the door. Vox felt his heart rate kick up until it hurt. He could stay silent… Pretend he wasn’t in the room, maybe. Maybe Alastor would go away on his own.

He didn’t. “Vox, look, I’m… I apologize for what happened earlier. I really think we should talk. Just the two of us.” There was another tense gap filled with nothing but suffocating silence. “No tricks, no games, no mockery.”

Vox stared at the door. He was alone. Would it be safe to let his enemy in? He took a few cautious steps toward the door. Against his better judgment, he cracked it open just enough to peek out. “Does it have to just be the two of us?”

“It would be… Awfully complicated, to involve anyone else,” replied the deer. Vox studied his smile for a long few moments. It was small and unthreatening. Worried, almost.

“I don’t know…” the Tech Overlord replied.

Alastor’s face changed a bit, he looked hurt. Hesitant. “What if… We made a deal? Not the suspicious kind, but a normal deal. I promise I will not hurt you, I will not… Yell. I will not accuse you of anything.” It was awfully unlike him. It made Vox second guess himself. It made Vox worry. The Radio Overlord continued. “All you must do is agree to talk to me.”

“Fine…” Vox said after weighing his options for about a minute, but he wasn’t going to haphazardly agree to anything, “On the one condition that I get to cut it short if I at any point feel like you’ve gone back on your word.”

The deer nodded, and so Vox moved to let him into the room. Both Overlords kept a healthy distance from each other. The energy between them made the air thick and heavy.

There was a long silence. Vox didn’t look away from the deer once.

Finally, Alastor started talking, “I wanted to… Address some things. Some things about the past. Some things about the present.”

Vox’s expression settled into one of cautious confusion. “The past? Why now? What changed?”

“I talked to an old friend.” Was all Alastor had to say about that. Once again, silence overtook the two. Alastor looked conflicted, while Vox didn’t know what to say. What is someone supposed to say in this situation? And why was everyone so dead set on making him remember his worst moments at his lowest low?!

“Go on,” Vox eventually prompted.

The Radio Demon bowed his head. “All those years ago… I… I made a mistake. One royally large mistake. In fact, I don’t know if ‘mistake’ even cuts it. Back then… When you… We…”

“Back when you told me everything meant nothing? That I was nothing to you? It was all one big lie, so you could use my naivety for an upper hand?” Vox finished for him, his tone becoming harsh all on its own.

Alastor recoiled slightly. “Yes… That. I would just like you to know that I… Don’t really believe that. I never did, I…”

Vox grimaced and crossed his arms. “If you tell me you panicked, I think I might short circuit.”

“Ahah… Why might that be, old pal?” the deer asked, sounding nervous about it.

Vox’s antennas twitched and sparked. “It just seems everyone I know these days is ‘panicking’ and making me the victim of their… Poor decisions, let’s say.” He didn’t want to be fully transparent if he didn’t have to be.

“Hmm… Well, I won’t say I panicked then. I… Overreacted. I lied. I hurt you to protect myself. Quite pitiful, isn’t it?” Alastor murmured.

“Don’t think putting yourself down is going to make me any more receptive to this conversation.”

The deer shook his head. “I don’t think that, not at all. But I did want to say that I… Have felt bad about it since that day. Guilty… It haunts me like a melody in a song you can’t remember the name of. Yet I chose to keep hurting you, because it seemed… Easier… To continue that false narrative than to admit I was wrong. So here I am now…”

“I…” Vox started. Stopped. Started again. “I don’t know how to feel. I mean… The idea that all my suffering, every painful moment I’ve had to endure up until this point was all founded on a lie? Because you were too fucking cowardly to admit you felt bad? And why did you react like that anyway, huh?! Is a confession of love really that scary? I trusted you!” he yelled. He wasn’t connected to any power sources, and yet the lights flickered anyway. If nothing else, a reassuring show that his powers were no longer inhibited by any disgusting pink substances.

Alastor stepped back and raised his hands. “I know, I know you did. But you must understand I… I didn’t return your feelings. I’m not… I don’t… I don’t know what’s wrong with me really,” he admitted sheepishly. “I had myself convinced I’d know when I found the right person for me, and yet... I’m sorry, I didn’t know how to explain it to you then. I barely know how to explain it to you now.”

Vox’s hands twitched and his screen glitched, his voice skipping beats as he tried to reign himself back in, “And s-s-so the ob-bvious course of act-ction was t-to drive me away, shatter-r my hear-rt. Got it.”

“It seems so incredibly idiotic of me looking back now, but I didn’t know if I’d be able to look at you the same after… Knowing,” Alastor explained.

Vox’s chest felt tight, his breathing seemed stunted, and more tears threatened to spill. How he even had more tears to cry, he didn’t know. “Is that sup-pposed to make me-e-e feel better?”

“Of course not,” the Radio Demon said softly, “no one would want to hear it. I just… I may not be able to love you, but I want to stop pretending I hate you.”

For the first time since the encounter began, Vox turned his gaze away from the other in the room. “We can’t just return to the way it was…”

There was a heavy sigh before Alastor replied. “No, we can’t.”

“I can’t return to the way anything was, it seems…” The words felt… Bitter. Steeped in hatred and longing. Vox wanted to lash out. Wanted to be held. “I don’t know what to do, Al… The longer I stay here the blurrier it all becomes! I can’t just abandon my empire, not after everything I’ve done to get where I am!”

Silence of a different kind. A long period without words.

Until Alastor finally asked, “Might I… inquire about what happened that brought you here?”

Vox froze up. It was his turn to step backwards. He hadn’t even gone into detail with Lucifer. It was shameful. Someone of his status in Hell… It was bad enough that others had seen it, even if their souls were owned. He swallowed back the bile rising in his throat. “I don’t owe you an explanation…”

“No, you don’t. But I would like to understand the situation,” the other urged, “clearly it has affected you a great deal.”

“I’ll think about it,” Vox eventually said, “right now I need to…” What did he need to do? Figure out how to approach the other Vees to talk through his next course of action? Focus on being okay enough to just get by? Tell Lucifer? Drown it all out?

Every option swirled in his head, giving way to the painful memories he was trying to find a solution for. The internal storm occasionally leaked out into his external presentation, with visual errors crossing his screen at concerning paces. The lights flickered again, more intensely this time.

“Vox, breathe,” Alastor said, eyeing the lights nervously. He could see the deer in his periphery, tense, unsure what to do about the situation. Looks like they were in the same boat after all. “I’ve said all I need to say… Would you… Rather speak to Lucifer instead?”

Vox stumbled backwards until he was sitting on the bed. His words came out in a distorted mess, barely clear enough to understand. “DoN’T… kN0w.”

“Well I can’t just leave you like this…” Alastor grumbled, “And you’re understandably upset with me.” There was a long pause. “I’m going to get him.”

Vox was given no time to argue, not that his words were cooperating with him anyway. The other Overlord disappeared from the room, dissolving into the shadows in seconds. Vox willed himself to pull it together, but he was met only with more trembles. It was fucking pathetic, the way he kept letting it get to him.

He only barely registered the hurried footsteps coming towards his room.

Notes:

So, were you correct on Alastor’s motivations to be bitter and hostile?

Aside from that I have an important update! I have only one complete chapter after this, which will be posted as usual, but then I will be going on a mini hiatus. Just a small one! And I will write in the background at a slower pace.
You see I also draw and I have a lot of drawings I want to do- I will return to posting as normal when I feel I have enough chapters to avoid this happening again, apologies!

Chapter 34: This Skin Marred With Thousands of Mistakes

Summary:

Oh boy more talking, I sure do love to write talking.

Notes:

Last chapter before I go on mini hiatus to focus on drawing for a little while!

There is a very very very brief (one sentence) mention of Lucifer’s sh in the first paragraph of this one

Lucifer’s room was as cold and desolate as it always was, despite him being in it… Despite the fact that he could walk outside and spend time with people he cared about. The lights flickered in the corner of his eye, but he paid them no mind. He was curled up in bed as he usually was, absentmindedly tracing over every raised line he could feel on his legs. He thought he’d be happier with Vox’s close proximity, but the two had mostly avoided each other… For no one particular reason that Lucifer could see. Maybe it was because Vox didn’t feel well. Maybe he didn’t trust Lucifer enough to confide in.

A hasty knock on his door caused him to jump, as well as derailed his train of thought. He yanked his pants back up and rolled out of his bed. “Who is it?” he called out.

“Alastor, Your Majesty,” said the voice on the other side. The asshole’s voice was notably lacking any kind of singsong attitude or edge to it. Suspicious.

“What do you want?” Lucifer asked next, standing up, but not moving to open the door.

When Alastor replied, his voice was quieter than before, “I think… I think Vox needs you.”

“What happened?” The King finally moved to open the door, taking note of the Radio Demon’s awkward expression.

His question was met with a head shake and an uncharacteristically timid answer, “It’s a long story, but I’m almost certain he needs someone with him. Someone that isn’t me.”

Lucifer, with plenty more questions but no desire to ask them, nodded and moved past the deer. He made his way over to Vox’s room, knocking to announce his presence before opening the door. “Vox? What’s going on in here?”

He was met with panicked breaths. He approached the Overlord slowly, not wanting to startle him any further.

Vox looked at him. Looked away. Folded in on himself from where he was sitting. It never hurt any less to see him this way, fearful and distressed. Lucifer sat down next to him and sighed. What could he possibly say to make anything going on feel any less devastating?

He didn’t know, but he couldn’t remain silent either. “Can I… Do anything?”

He watched the other’s face, behind the colorful errors and flashing lights, his expression shifted several times. His voice was barely audible. “Your… Wings.”

“My wings…” Lucifer echoed, taking a second to understand the request, “Oh, of course, here.” Without hesitation, the fallen angel let his wings unfurl. One draped over Vox’s shoulder, another hugged his waist. The weight seemed to ground the Overlord, who busied himself with the smooth feathers.

Lucifer didn’t say a word while Vox calmed himself down, only smiled when he felt the familiar sensation of the other meticulously preening each feather with his claws. It felt nice… And it seemed to distract Vox from whatever was bothering him.

It distracted him enough that he eventually spoke up, “Alastor came to talk to me… Reveal some truths,” he mumbled.

“Huh, that’s unlike him…” Lucifer said.

“It is… But, he told me some things that… I just don’t know how to feel,” Vox admitted, “I’m angry. Really angry, but I’m also… relieved? But I feel helpless too, and it’s just–” he cut himself with a shuddery sigh.

Lucifer shook his wing ever so slightly, silently urging Vox to focus on the feathers again. “Well, I can’t tell you how to feel… But if you want to share what he told you, I wouldn’t judge you for it.”

“Turns out that… Everything that happened after the day I… Confessed to him- was built on a lie.” Vox laughed bitterly after the admission. “He didn’t know how to react… So the best thing he could think to do was push me away! And now look where that got me– So many years of exhaustion…”

Every word was spoken with an indescribable weight to them, and Lucifer certainly couldn’t blame Vox for that. “Well,” Lucifer started, not really knowing how to comfort the other, but feeling the need to try anyway, “if nothing else, it did land you here… With me, didn’t it?”

Vox was quiet while he picked through Lucifer’s feathers, looking for sheathes. He looked contemplative, until he opened his mouth again, “It did, yeah…”

“I can’t make it all better… Can’t erase the scars or the hurt… But I can sit here and hold you. I can show you what it’s like to be cared for,” Lucifer said softly… Almost desperately, “if only you’ll let me.”

The Overlord’s hands stilled in the King’s feathers. “Even after my previous plots against you?”

Lucifer chuckled and shook his head. He owed Vox some honesty of his own, “That’s the least of my worries now, really. I’m more worried that you’ll… Leave. Try to forget all about this, try to go back to the way things were before I showed up at your door unannounced.”

“I’ve considered it,” Vox murmured, “but the more I think about… Trying to reason with Val and Vel the less inclined I am to try… They badger me daily to talk to them. I haven’t replied, and yet they keep trying to explain. I don’t think Velvette knows what Val did… It’s exhausting.”

“It sounds exhausting. You deserve a break… Just know you have a place here,” Lucifer reassured him. “And if it gets messy… Well it helps to have a monarch on your side, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah… Thank you,” Vox said, so hushed he was barely audible.

Lucifer tightened his wing around the Overlord. “Don’t mention it…”

“I hate how uncertain my future is. I have survived on routine plans and showmanship for so long. It feels so foreign, but at the same time the thought of going back… It’s sickening,” Vox grumbled. “My company is already suffering from my absence… Everything I worked for…”

The King sighed, replying somberly, “I know a thing or two about pouring all your time into something, only for it to fall to pieces in front of you.”

Vox stops his preening to look out the window. Lucifer follows his gaze. The tower was on the horizon, looming over the rest of the city like the overwhelming corporate entity it was. It was quite an ironic view… Perhaps he should have checked that before setting Vox up in this room.

The Overlord looked away and continued the conversation, “It’s a sunk cost fallacy at this point…”

The utterance came as a surprise to Lucifer, so he asked, “What do you mean by that?”

“The whole thing has long since stopped bringing me any kind of fulfillment. I thought I would be happier at the top, where no one could hurt me. Oh how foolish I was… But I have spent so long maintaining my status, to do anything else would feel… Wasteful,” Vox explained. His face shifted the longer he spoke, becoming bitter and exhausted.

Lucifer frowned. The whole situation only seemed to get more conflicting the more they spoke. “Would you like to… Discuss your options?”

Vox shrugged. “I don’t know… I already know I definitely can’t go back to the way things were in any stage of my afterlife… But I don’t know where I would go if I abandoned everything either. Would I stay here? Try to redeem myself? Please…”

“You could stay with me…” the King offered. It was a gentle suggestion, but it bore an impossibly heavy weight. “As long as you need,” he added, as much as he hoped it would be forever.

“I guess with you is different from here at the hotel,” Vox reasoned, looking a little less bitter than before.

“You’d be under no obligation to participate in Charlie’s reform program… And you’d have the protection of a royal…” Lucifer holds a small angelic flame in the palm of his hand. “You’d be safe.”

A small smile crossed Vox’s tired features, and it made Lucifer’s chest squeeze. He longed to cherish that smile, to keep it on that alluring screen of the Overlord’s. He would offer Hell itself and more if he could if it meant he’d finally get to experience companionship again. To have someone to take care of again. He was a creature driven by that unshakable longing for connection. Nothing shook him to his core more than the idea that he could lose this again…

To his surprise, Vox leaned in closer. “You’re so strange,” he said with a light tone. “You embrace me with so much selflessness despite my sins. You cherish the me that has been used and thrown away so many times that I’m barely recognizable from the man I once was… Why?”

Lucifer sat in a stunned silence. That wasn’t an easy question to answer. “Well uhm… Just spring that on me why don’t you, heh. But the way I see it… You may have done bad things… And associated with terrible people, but I know you’re capable of so much more than harm. Even the tattered pieces you speak about like garbage are beautiful to me. Is it so strange to want to cherish that?”

“How… Poetic,” Vox chuckled. “You are the one thing in this utter dumpster fire that doesn’t burn me… Say, if I were to arrange a meeting to talk it out with Val and Vel,” he hesitated, looking conflicted and insecure. He shook his head and brought his eyes to meet Lucifer’s. “Would you come with me?”

It wasn’t even a question, and there was no hesitance. “Of course I would.”

Lucifer continued to sit with Vox, occasionally the conversation would drift. Sometimes it would lull, other times it would peak. Despite the circumstances of the situation, it was so easy to fall back into this comfortable exchange of words.

He was still afraid, but Lucifer could hold the hope that it all worked out in the end in his hands. From their easy talks to the way Vox preened his wings like a partner would…

He held onto this moment like a lifeline.

Notes:

I hope you have enjoyed thus far- and I will see you when I see you :D
Stay safe and happy holidays!

Chapter 35: You Embrace it With a Gentleness Forgotten

Summary:

Adapting to new surroundings can be so challenging when all you've known is masking.

Notes:

I managed to finish this chapter up enough to get it posted, but this doesn't exactly mark the start of consistent posting. I'm so tired, chat... So so very tired. So very tired and so very angry. College is a challenge, the world is a nightmare, and I can only imagine how much worse it will become before it gets better :')

I'll try to write when I find it in myself to have energy amidst the everything and also the four fandom weeks I'm participating in

Sincerely,
A very burnt-out trans guy trying his best-
Okay enough of my rambling, go read the chapter

Vox had been residing in the hotel for six days now. He’d done a good job of repressing every craving and urge to run back to Valentino so far, but unlike most substances, the peak of withdrawal was a delayed onset. If that had any purpose, Vox didn’t know. Frankly he didn’t care. He just wanted it to stop.

He needed a clear head to contemplate his plans moving forward. Lucifer had proposed a group meeting with all the hotel residents… But the Tech Overlord wasn’t exactly sure how much he’d be comfortable with divulging. They were all very supportive toward each other, but him? He was a stranger, an outsider, he had no place here. Besides, how was he to know he could trust them with such potentially sensitive information?

But then there was the issue of Charlie wanting to use his networks to promote her cause… And he would definitely need to discuss that with her. More and more, one particular thought crept up on him, haunting him, refusing to dispel regardless of how ever he tried to distract himself from it… From the weight it bore.

What if he never went back?

To entertain the thought at all was nonsensical. To abandon everything. To stay here…

Here with Lucifer.

His antennas sparked with the uncertainty of such a prospect. The end of the Vees as Hell knew them. The thought alone made him jitter. Or maybe that was just the withdrawal again. He chewed on his claws nervously, a habit he’d only picked up recently now that there was less constant stimulation to keep him focused on something all the time. He shook his head. He decided he needed to get out of his… The room more. It was slowly driving him insane.

He found an excuse in the fact that he had yet to eat, and it was past lunchtime by now. Vox made his way through the halls and down the stairs, admiring the ornate details of the place. The kitchen was full of all sorts of fun things. None of his particular favorites, but any junk food had his heart, really. After digging around for some time, he found a large bag of chocolate covered pretzels, drizzled lightly in peanut butter. They had his heart immediately.

The sweetness did something to ease the cravings. Little, but something. He would have eaten the entire bag if he were left to his own devices, but he was rudely interrupted by Alastor walking into the kitchen.

The tensions rose immediately… Awkward tension.

Alastor cleared his throat and greeted him, shattering the very heavy silence, “Ah, good afternoon, Vox…” The deer glanced down at the pretzels and for a second, it looked like he wanted to ridicule Vox. Instead, he started awkwardly explaining his business in the kitchen, “Sorry to interrupt your snacking session, but I must prep for dinner.”

“This early?” Vox asked, glancing at a nearby clock.

“Why yes!” The deer exclaimed, seeming relieved, “We’re having a rather simple selection, but eating early. Charlie insists on having these frivolous movie nights… I prefer to sit out.”

Vox hummed, continuing to shove pretzels in his mouth. He ignored Alastor’s backhanded remark about television. “Movie nights?”

“Yes, surely you haven’t fried your circuits that badly?” the other teased, “A night in which everyone gathers around a noisy picture box and watches moving pictures, need I explain more?”

It got an eye roll and irritated huff out of the Tech Overlord. “I know what a movie night is, asshole. I guess I just didn’t expect one to be happening…”

Alastor turned his back to rummage through the cabinets, grabbing supplies he would need. “Well, she made it explicitly clear that you’re invited to join in on the… Festivities, but didn’t want to encroach upon your space. How sweet of her.”

“Maybe I’ll check it out…” Vox mumbled, “can’t be any worse than spending the night in my room, pitying myself…”

The Radio Demon paused in his movement for a moment. He seemed regretful. It was a terrible look on him, really. “Surely not, I’m sure. If nothing else… They’re not the worst crowd to hang around. You could even learn a thing or two from them.”

Vox narrowed his eyes. “Now what is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing bad, old friend, nothing bad. You could merely benefit from having friends, is all,” Alastor explained, and while Vox didn’t enjoy the insinuation that he didn’t have friends, it technically wasn’t false.

He begrudgingly affirmed the claim, “I guess you have a point… Not that I’m good at the whole… Friendship thing. Or finding good people apparently.”

Alastor let out an amused huff. “Fortunately for you, a whole group of them has been dropped conveniently at your feet. No worries of picking the wrong people when there is no wrong option, hm?” The exchange was… Uncannily casual. Comfortable almost.

Vox stared at the other for a while, continuing to snack the entire time. He decided to test the boundary, against every fiber of his being screaming at him not to. “And what about you?”

“Me?” Alastor asked, sounding caught off guard, “I figured I was off the table entirely, to put it lightly.”

“Hypothetically… I don’t forgive you… I don’t know if I ever truly will yet, but that’s not the point. Would you consider yourself a wrong option?” he asked, voice low and cold.

The Radio Demon was quiet for a long moment. He looked contemplative. “Hmm… I suppose that would depend. You have changed quite a bit over the years. Maybe we got along once, but whatever compatibility remains has been muddied by an era of complicated emotions. You may be asking me, but really you should be asking yourself.”

Vox grumbled inwardly. The red bastard had a point. There was one standout though. “Only I’ve changed?” he asked.

“You know me, Vox. Being stuck in the past is one of your biggest gripes with me,” Alastor replied, his ears flicking in mild annoyance.

Vox rolled his eyes. “That doesn’t mean you haven’t changed as a person at all. We aren’t stagnant beings, as much as you want to believe that…”

“I don’t suppose that’s why you practiced a fake persona so intensely you deluded yourself into believing that’s who you were for the better part of your afterlife?” the deer shot back.

“Don’t turn this back on me… Maybe I wouldn’t have had to if you’d made better choices.” Vox shook his head. “But arguing with you isn’t worth my limited energy.” He busied himself with the pretzels again.

Alastor changed the topic. “You’ll spoil your appetite if you eat the whole bag, you know.”

The Tech Overlord could only shrug, not inclined to care.

————

Following the hotel’s absurdly early dinner, Vox stuck around to listen to everyone discuss what they should watch this time. They all had differing opinions, leading to a lighthearted bickering sustained by every new suggestion.

“We are not watching any more horror movies!” said the Princess with a surprising amount of force, “I still have to pull back the shower curtain every time I open my bathroom to make sure nothing is behind it… Can’t we watch something fun and lighthearted?”

“Booooring,” Angel interjected, “I ain’t gonna sit through any kind of snoozefest, I want something with action! Thrill!”

Vaggie raised her hand amidst the friendly debate and spoke up, “I think war movies are pretty exhilarating. It’s nice to see sisters in arms from the sidelines.”

“Exhilarating and traumatic, maybe…” Husk grumbled.

Angel leaned over the cat’s shoulder, smirking. “Well then what do you suggest, Whiskers?”

Husk shrugged. “I don’t really care, I’m just looking out for my fellow residents,” he said semi-sarcastically.

“They make exciting movies that are also uplifting, don’t they?” Lucifer chipped in, “Like uhhh… What do they call them- superheroes?”

Cutting through the bickering and silencing everyone, came Niffty’s voice, “I think we should watch another one of Angel’s movies!”

Everyone turned their heads simultaneously toward the little demon and vehemently shouted out a unanimous “Absolutely not!”

Angel followed up the rejection with a crumb of reassurance, “I appreciate the support, Niff, but I don’t think we need to scar little miss butterflies and rainbows anymore than we have. I won’t stop ya from watchin’ ‘em… In private.”

“Aww… Okay,” Niffty pouted.

And just like that, the discussion was back to square one. Vox suddenly became painfully aware of why so much time was allotted to this movie night. He started to tune them out until all of them were suddenly looking at him. “What? What did I do?”

“You control essentially all of Hell’s televised entertainment, so we were hopin’ you had some kind of suggestion,” Angel oh so graciously explained.

“Just because I work in the media industry doesn’t mean I personally watch and review everything that crosses my networks!” Vox argued back.

“Surely not everything, but there has to be something you enjoy watching, right?” Charlie asked, innocently tilting her head.

Vox sighed, “I spend most of my time on work. If you want the business answer, best I can give is the most generic movies do the biggest numbers. Tropey, sticks to the script, nothing super risky. Only after porn, of course, but we already established that’s off the table.”

“You can never go wrong with family friendly!” Charlie laughed nervously.

Vaggie spoke up again, “They might not be the most family friendly, but I wasn’t opposed to Lucifer’s suggestion.”

The back and forth continued only a little while longer while everyone decided on what kind of superhero movie to watch. Vox wasn’t really interested in the movie itself, but he did find enjoyment in watching everyone. It was like watching his camera feed, just without the monitors or safety provided by his office.

He sat in a chair off to the side, keeping relative distance between himself and the others. The others minus Lucifer, who was sitting on the floor next to the chair.”

“Don’t you want a real seat? The floor isn’t very… Kingly,” he commented.

Lucifer was quick to brush it off, “I’m not exactly a kingly king, am I? Besides, I enjoy the floor. It’s cozy.”

Vox couldn’t argue with that. “Suit yourself…” He had half a mind to offer his lap, dissuaded only by the fact that he was in a public space and also still jittering so much. Like ice water in his veins, his skin felt clammy. The movie could only distract him so much from the terrible sensation. It was almost nauseating… Or maybe that was the withdrawal too, turning his stomach and trying to convince him to run back and end the torment.

He thought he was masking it well… But when he glanced over at the other hotel residents, Angel met his gaze with an all too knowing look. The both of them proceeded to have an entire conversation with their eyes alone. Angel glanced over towards the kitchen. Vox rolled his eyes and broke eye contact. Angel half-lidded his eyes in a look of disapproval and spoke up anyway, “Looks like we need some more snacks. Hey Vox, why don’tcha come with me to help carry some of it?”

“Angel! Vox is our newest guest, we can’t put him to work!” Charlie protested, but Vox raised his hand to stop her.

“It’s fine, Princess. I don’t mind…” he said as he got up from his chair. It wasn’t the greatest excuse in the book, and it made them both look incredibly suspicious, but it would be more awkward to refuse. Vox accompanied Angel to the kitchen and leaned up against the counter, waiting for the spider to initiate a conversation.

“I know that look, I’ve seen it on myself far too many times,” the sinner said, while opening cabinets and rummaging around them.

Vox huffed, “And what of it? It’s not like I’m debilitatingly ill…”

“No, I suppose not. That doesn’t mean I can’t give ya some tips, though.”

“Tips?” Vox asked, quirking an eyebrow, “I can handle myself…”

He was met with a snort. “I’m sure ya could, but I’ve been told there’s no glory in suffering in silence.”

“Guess not…” Vox admitted with a muted attitude. He stayed around to listen to Angel’s tips and tricks while the spider gathered the snack he’d promised the others. Before they could both return to the main room though, one final piece of wisdom was imparted on the Overlord.

“Y’know… It’s not weak to rely on others. I learned that over my time here… I’m sure you could too…” Angel spoke soft and earnestly, but the moment was snuffed out just a quickly, “Now let’s get back out there before tha others think we got lost or somethin’”

Vox only nodded and followed the sinner back out. He knew the words rang true, and yet it still somehow felt wrong. He glanced at his messages against his better judgment on the way back to his seat.

He was running out of time…

Notes:

I do intend to reread everything and mark down plot points I need to resolve so that there isn't any major drop in quality going forward so don't worry about that, it'll just take me some time

Chapter 36: Oh You Make My Chest Ache and Spark

Summary:

Oftentimes we try to outrun our problems, and oftentimes we find that our problems are faster than us.

Notes:

This chapter is 100 words shorter than usual, I'm sorry... But since I sort have maybe lost all my motivation to draw anything but the newest addition to my OC collection, I have more motivation to write!
I'm not yet returning to my normal schedule, but soon hopefully. My semester ends in early May, so I'll have way more energy to do things I actually want to do!

On the seventh day of his stay at the hotel, Vox finally decided to seek out an audience with the Princess to discuss the… Delicate situation his company found itself in. If everything went under, she would surely be disappointed… His hesitance to simply suck it up and go back made him feel like the world’s biggest pussy, but it was amazing how tired he realized he was when he finally took a second to stop moving.

He shook his head and fixed up his suit, the same one he’d been wearing before the incident that brought him here in the first place. An attempt to appear more professional. He’d been borrowing a lot of clothes lately, since he dared not try to sneak back into his own home to collect his things. Oh the irony. He couldn’t help but laugh, though perhaps only so he wouldn’t cry.

The Overlord straightened his back and walked confidently towards the Princess’s office, knocking and announcing his presence in as formal a tone he could muster, “It’s Vox. Could I perhaps seek an audience?”

The response from the young woman was quick, and far more casual, “Oh, of course! Come right in!”

He sighed, preparing himself for every worst case scenario before he opened the door.

Charlie was wearing an inviting smile on her face, but it was clear that she was nearly as exhausted as he was. He nodded a formal greeting before sitting down across from her.

The Princess put down the papers she was going through and gave the Overlord her undivided attention. “So, what did you want to talk to me about, exactly? I hope the other residents are treating you well.”

“Yes, yes, no worries there. I have been welcomed with open arms, no doubt thanks in part to your efforts…” Vox started, “I have come to discuss a much more… pressing issue.”

Charlie tilted her head, her expression taking on an air of concern. “Is everything okay?”

“It is a matter regarding our… How do I put this? Collaboration. I’m sure you have many questions regarding my temporary stay here at this hotel of yours…” Vox said, trying to dance around getting to the issue while he psyched himself up.

“Well, it is only natural to have questions…” Charlie replied quietly, “But I’ve refrained from asking as to not pry. I know you Overlords love your privacy.”

Vox nodded. “I appreciate your understanding, but it would appear that the circumstances that have driven me here had…” he paused, trying to put his next thoughts into words that didn’t sound horribly desperate, “A larger impact on me than I initially anticipated. Something of a… Falling out between me and my colleagues has muddied the water. Whatever your conditions were may need to be revised…”

Charlie looked at him with an odd expression on her face. At first it was unreadable, but then it slowly shifted into a look of sympathetic understanding and… What looked like disappointment. It was to be expected really, although Vox had promised the young woman nothing, the fact he acknowledged her at all was probably a major win from her point of view. And now that he was in a position where he’d be able to provide so much less… Disappointment was only appropriate.

But the Princess’s next words changed everything about that assumption, “You know, you don’t need to be so formal with me… We’re all friends here. If there’s something on your mind… I could help you work through it? And then we could discuss our options from there. It doesn’t always have to be work work work, business business business. It can just be a casual chat.”

Vox paused. Of the many scenarios he’d prepared for, this wasn’t one of them. Why was everyone in this goddamn hotel so open? The unfamiliarity was intimidating… But he had to give Charlie some kind of response. “A casual chat…”

“And if you don’t want to talk with me… I’m sure dad would be willing to hear you out,” she offered, “though, I hear having a middleman tends to complicate an exchange.”

“I suppose you deserve to know some of what is going on,” Vox said with a hint of trepidation, “as the one who is currently housing me.”

The Princess gave him a silent nod to prompt him to continue.

Vox took in a deep steadying breath. “Life has been rather hectic lately. I’ve found myself a… A victim to things I never thought…” he drifted into an extended silence, feeling the ghost of that icky clawing sensation, that humiliation. And Charlie waited for him to be comfortable enough to continue speaking. “I never thought it would turn out like this. I put my trust in someone I shouldn’t have. All those years of camaraderie suddenly mean so much less to me. It is scary, it is confusing, and I’m exhausted. I find myself… Hesitant, every time I consider returning home, returning to work. Returning to the way things were…

“I guess what I’m trying to say is… Once you open your eyes, it’s really difficult to close them again.”

The two demons sat in the heavy silence of the office for a while, just taking everything in. Charlie’s face went through a range of emotions, before settling into a somber smile.

“I can’t say I fully understand when I know so little about the situation,” she started, “but I know it wasn’t easy to admit even that much. I want you to know you always have a place here, regardless of what you want to do in the future… And as for our collaboration, we can discuss that when the time comes.”

Vox huffed a laugh, though it carried little to no amusement. “How can you extend such an offer to a guy you barely know? Let alone one that has threatened you in the past…”

“Everyone deserves a second chance, don’t they?”

Before Vox had the time to dwell on that, a sharp knock came through the door followed by the voice of Angel Dust, “Hey uh, Charlie? Hate to interrupt but the otha’ Vee’s are at the front door.”

Vox cursed under his breath. So they hadn’t been bluffing about showing up if he didn’t respond soon.

“They’re what?” Charlie asked, getting up and rushing over to the office door to open it.

“It’s me they want…” Vox answered without looking up at her, “I suppose I should go handle them.”

The Princess put her hands up to stop him. “Not alone you’re not. Let me come with you…”

“I’ve got it, really…” Vox insisted. The last thing he needed was everyone finding out what really happened.

“Well at least take someone with you! I don’t care who, dad, Alastor, even Angel if he agrees to it.”

Angel contemplated it for a second. “I s’pose I am off hours… Couldn’t hurt to stand up to Val a little more. Even if I get my shit kicked in for it later.”

Vox stared at them, a little dumbfounded. “You really don’t have to do all that for me… but if it makes you all feel better, I’ll let someone supervise the situation. Just stay out of sight, I don’t need a third party listener complicating what is already going to be an… aggravating exchange,” he explained begrudgingly, “I only want intervention if it comes to blows.”

It seemed to placate Charlie enough because she nodded. “I’ll go inform dad. You seem to trust him the most…”

With that settled, Vox started towards the door, leaving the office and staring into the hotel lobby. The main entrance stood at the other end of the large room, intimidatingly. It dared him to come closer, perfectly concealing the threat it contained behind itself. Every step felt heavy and slow. Vox couldn’t even hear his footsteps against the floor as he proceeded forward.

He felt Lucifer’s presence fly by and settle somewhere by the door, entirely unseen, but familiar enough to feel. The others would have no idea… hopefully. But he couldn’t worry about that right now. He had a few seconds to prepare for a conversation that he would never be prepared for. A conversation he could never be prepared for. He had waited too long, and now the problem sought him out.

A heavy sigh left the Overlord. It was time to put an end to this.

And so he opened that front door.