Work Text:
"Come on, Al, I know it's probably not your favorite- I swear, you don't have to interact with him at all!" Charlie stood in front of Alastor, waving her hands about, really trying to convince him to just agree to the offer the Hotel had received. But Alastor was not having it.
Two days prior, Charlie had come running through the door, looking like she may genuinely explode from joy. She wrapped up Vaggie tightly in her arms, before happily announcing to the entire Hotel crew that Vox, the TV Demon, the one who was in charge of almost all media in Hell, had agreed to do a live show at the Hotel, interviewing her and all of her companions. This was quite possibly the best news that she could have ever imagined. Well, besides for Sir Pentious getting redeemed. But now, she would get to tell everyone about redemption!
She knew that Alastor and Vox weren't on the best terms, which only made everything sweeter. Alastor said that it was a business deal gone awry. That sounded like the perfect time to restore an old friendship! Vox had even agreed to have Alastor on air, showing the world that they had made up, because redemption looked just that promising.
It was all so good. Until Alastor heard about it. And it was all down hill from there.
For the past two days, life at the Hotel had been filled with Charlie practically begging Alastor to let this happen. She didn't want to go through with it if he was uncomfortable, as much as Vaggie and Lucifer told her that it was ok, and that he was just being stubborn. After all, he refused to give a good reason why. He had just said that Vox was untrustworthy, and left things at that.
So now, she was going as far as to offer him the opportunity to not even see him. He could stay up in his room, or even go visit Rosie in the Cannibal Town for the day. Vaggie said that this was probably not a good idea, considering how much publicity Alastor would bring, but Charlie didn't know what else to do. He seemed nervous at the mention of Vox, even if, deep down, she sort of assumed that he was just being obstinate, still mad that her father was there and doing many of the tasks that he once did.
"Charlotte, no. I am not letting that pompous piece of newfangled media in this Hotel," Alastor said, definitively. He leaned on his staff, still sewn with glowing green threads. That was another thing that he refused to talk about, dodging it in the same manner as he dodged everyone's questions about Vox.
Vaggie just rolled her eye. "Alastor, me estás jodiendo? I know, I know, we agreed no more TV stuff. Well guess what. Charlie isn't making you even interact with him anymore! You should be thankful that she's not making you. Malagradecido," she complained. She was growing more and more frustrated with Alastor's antics by the day.
"Or, at least tell us why! You don't even have to go into detail! Just, please, we want to understand where you're coming from!" Charlie was being much softer than Vaggie about it. She took a step towards Alastor, reaching out her porcelain white hands towards him, and he immediately pulled away. She retreated, forgetting his aversion to touch that he didn't initiate. "If you think that he's like, you know, a threat... we want to know!"
"I'd say he's a threat, depending on your... situation," the deer sinner's voice trailed off slightly, eyes glancing down at the carpet beneath him. This whole Hotel looked so different since Lucifer got involved, so much more lavish, extravagant lights and ornamentals everywhere. He couldn't bear to think about what it reminded him of. "Maybe, just maybe, you could just simply trust me for once!"
He didn't like how easily those words rolled off his tongue, repeating words that were all too familiar to him. "Trust me, Alastor, just trust me. I've got you. Trust me," the looping was starting in his mind, echoing back and forth off the walls of his brain. Eugh. He squeezed his eyes shut, desperately trying to clear those thoughts before they became all consuming. It had been a while since he had let the truth of everything get the best of him. And he wasn't about to let Charlie's foolish idea cause things to come back to his mind.
Charlie stepped towards him again, this time succeeding at touching him, thankfully only his elbow. He still pulled away rather quickly, but it was already too late, all of the receptors in his brain yelling at him about obvious danger. "Alastor, no. He was being so honest, he wanted to help us! Why don't you trust me."
Alastor froze. He could almost hear her words in Vox's staticky voice, he could almost feel his touch coming up on his skin, begging him to just trust, trust, trust- he was about to snap, before someone else's voice thankfully managed to pull him from his thoughts.
"Guys, come on. Why don't we give it a break. Boss said no, it's a no," Husk stood at the bar, immediately returning to his bottle of cheap booze after speaking. Niffty, who was sitting on the barstool in front of him, nodded along with his statement. Alastor took in a sigh of relief. Thankfully, Husk's voice was one of the few things that could definitely snap him out of that spiral. He was the one there, the only one there, all of those years ago, comforting him when he didn't have to. When he probably shouldn't have.
"You don't have to try to... defend him if you don't want to," Vaggie replied, turning towards the bar. Her hair was up in a high ponytail, held up by her red bow, a gift from Charlie for their first anniversary. She had worn it every day since. "He's just being Alastor about this whole thing. And I'm tired of it."
Husk opened his mouth to respond, to tell her that he wasn't just "being Alastor" about it. That there was something more, or that maybe, she shouldn't judge him, even if it was just this one. He didn't want to be defending him ever. But he also knew that sometimes, he should. However, Alastor shot him a warning look, one telling him to just drop it. Seeing it, he shrugged his shoulders, going back to organizing bottles, and simply nodding his head along to what Vaggie was saying.
At least Husk's comments were enough to give Alastor a few moments of peace, a few moments that he probably wouldn't have had otherwise. He would just have to accept that Vox was going to come into this Hotel, the only place that he did truly feel safe, even if he would never tell anyone that. He was going to come in, violate his security, and Charlie was violating his trust. Whatever. He would just have to get over it.
He ignored Vaggie's complaints as she continued talking to Charlie about her plans. He tried to tune out their conversation, however. He didn't want to hear that stupid television's name again.
That was until Angel flicked on the TV. He hated when the TV was on, and he generally left the room when someone did so. "Whateva," the spider demon said, flopping onto one of the new couches. "I don't necessarily trust Vox eitha, but if he's willin' ta help-"
Angel was cut off by a blinding blue light on the TV, with the words "breaking news" in flashing white letters, interrupting whatever silly program he had turned on. Alastor stopped in his tracks- deer in the headlights had to have come from somewhere, after all. Then, suddenly, Vox's face was on the screen, sending a chill up Alastor's spine. He could practically feel Husk's eyes drilling holes into the back of his neck from there. No, he had to play it cool. He had to take a deep breath and play it cool and ignore Angel making a comment about him not even being able to watch TV and- he had to be ok. He had no other choice.
"Good evening Pentagram City, and to folks in all of the rings of Hell! This is your host, Vox, delivering to you some breaking news! I have been talking with Her Majesty, the Princess of Hell, getting ready to bring to you the first live interview with Charlotte Morningstar since it was proven that redemption is possible!" Charlie smiled. She didn't think that the talks had gone this far, as to announce it yet, but. "I'll be talking with her! I'll be talking with her new girlfriend! I'll even be talking face-to-face with the Radio Demon for the first time since his disappearance! All to service you, the people of Hell!"
Charlie's comments about the broadcast went unnoticed by Alastor. Everything went unnoticed by Alastor. That was, besides the image that then appeared on the screen, Vox pointing to it. An old photo, before his absence, before... everything happened. Them close together, friends, the picture in black and white. They were standing together, a photo for their new venture. That was the night that it happened. That was the night that everything went bad, that everything fell apart, that he- no, Alastor, don't think about this.
"I'm so excited!" Charlie squealed, coming up to Alastor, extending her arms for a hug. How long had she been standing there? Should he hug her back? Why weren't his arms working. Why couldn't he moved. The photo of him and Vox was still on the screen- get that thing off of the satané screen-
"Why! Why are you excited! He's just going to- oh, never mind. I don't- I don't want to be associated with this stupid project any more if you are inviting- I don't know, if you're inviting him! He is not welcomed in this Hotel! Un point c’est tout!" He exclaimed. He finally managed to step away, his breaths coming in shallow gasps, his heart racing. With his last bit of strength, he jumped into his shadows, quickly teleporting up to his room.
"Seriously, I don't understand why it has to be such a big deal," Vaggie groaned. She pulled Charlie closer to her, the Princess looking quite upset. She rubbed comforting circles into her back, doing her best to comfort her. "Hun, it's just... it's just Al being Al. It's nothing you did."
Charlie buried her head in her girlfriend's chest. She felt awful. She din't know why Alastor didn't just agree to it, why he had to make it an issue! She knew that he had... mixed feelings about Sir Pentious' redemption, which hurt in its own way. But that he had to be so upset about Vox even coming to the Hotel! She knew that they were rivals, but as far as Alastor had ever told her, it never extended beyond business. She hated making him feel uncomfortable, but she couldn't stop thinking about all of the souls she could save with this interview! "Maybe I should just go talk to him, I don't know."
Husk was still at the bar. He had watched the whole thing go down. He knew what had happened. He was there after it happened, he was there when Alastor walked into his apartment without warning- he braced himself, Alastor probably coming to complain or request a favor. But he walked in crying and bloodied, limping, his head hanging down. He had never seen him like this, and the way he said his name, his voice barely above a whisper, filled with broken, lost static. He couldn't just leave him. Not like this.
"Let me go talk to him, just, stay there," he said. He hoisted Niffty up into his arms, knowing that, as much as he could try to comfort Alastor, nothing was ever as good as his little Niffty. His stomach hurt. Sure, he felt like Alastor might kill him for this, but what would make that different from any other day.
"You really don't have to, Husk, thank you, but," Charlie muttered, still close to Vaggie's chest. She didn't want him to feel like he was just being left to clean up the mess that she had started, simply by inviting his ex-business partner to come to the Hotel.
But Husk just shrugged her off. He was already flying up the stairs, much quicker than trying to heft his tired paws up one step at a time until he reached the second-to-top floor of the brand new Hotel. Especially with Niffty still in his arms.
The closer he got to Alastor's new room, which he hadn't even been in yet since the remodel, the more the nausea and angst grew. He was pretty confident that Alastor was just going to snap and push him away, tell him that he was fine, yell at him for trying to care. Heaven forbid a man try to care. As messed up as their relationship had become, there was still some affection deep down, remembering their days when they used to be friends, before everything went so, so wrong. He couldn't help but care, try as he might not to.
When he reached the door, he gently knocked on its deep wood, the door rattling slightly as he did so. Alastor didn't respond to him, but he could hear crying coming from the other side of the door. The same despair in his whimpers as he had been that day. His heart sank, knocking again. Still nothing. "Alastor, boss. It's Husk. Can you just let me in? I'm not gonna bug you."
Silence. Husk groaned as he set Niffty down, the silence from Alastor both annoying and unnerving. Usually, whenever he tried to get in during a situation like this, Alastor would gripe and tell him to go away. Him not saying anything at all was far more worrisome. He felt the tiny maid shuffling around his feet, before she reached up and opened the door. Of course it was unlocked. He should have checked that.
Alastor leaving his door unlocked was, quite possibly, the worst sign ever imaginable.
The cat demon followed Niffty in, walking into Alastor's room, doing his best as to not scare him. It was completely dark, his usual lights off and his curtains completely drawn. Husk could hear crying, the demon whimpering and sitting on the ground, curled up onto himself as tightly as possible. It had been a while since he'd seen him like this. It must have just gotten to be too much.
"Uh. Alastor. Boss," Husk's voice was firm, cutting through the silence. There was a small creaking of the floorboards as he stepped, however, considerably less than in the last Hotel. Niffty stayed by Husk, knowing better than to startle Alastor in this state. Husk would be ok if he lashed out. Niffty might not be.
When he didn't respond, he tried again, a little bit louder. He tried to make himself sound more comforting, too, to the best of his abilities. "Alastor, hey, it's Husk. Are you with me?" As he got closer, he could see Alastor rocking, and his eyes were squeezed shut. "Hey, bud. You gotta open your eyes for me. We're at the Hotel, yeah? It's safe. No one's gonna hurt you."
The Radio Demon looked up at him, his sclerae a bitch black, red dials in his eyes. He was probably hallucinating, Husk figured. But at least he didn't seem to be hurting himself. He nodded a bit. Husk knew that he would often go nonverbal when he was so stressed. He was just glad that he was with him enough to respond to him. He reached a shaky arm out, beckoning Husk closer. Niffty approached as well, sitting next to Husk as the chimera took a seat on the floor. "Whatcha doin' here, boss?"
Instead of responding with words, Alastor just reached out, beginning to run his fingers and feel through Husk's red feathers. He worked his way inwards, rubbing every few feathers in between his shaking digits. His breaths were still short and quick, too quick. He continued to get closer to the cat's back, before working his way down to his tail. His interest in it was almost innocent, taking comfort in a familiar touch.
He did this on that night, too. After he called out for him, he didn't say another word for hours. He just laid there, his only signs of awareness being how he picked at the cat demon's fur and feathers, grounding him in the present. He stayed there until he finally managed to say the words of what had happened, them fighting back his tongue with each syllable. It was already more than clear to Husk what had happened, and he regretted not stopping him from going out with Vox that night. He didn't say another word, simply letting Husk help him, guiding him into the shower. He didn't fight back at all.
"You're doin' good, Al," Husk said, bringing himself back to the present. He looked over, Alastor's eyes having gone back to the normal red. Niffty was closer to him now, and he was gently rubbing her head, lovingly. That was good. He hummed quietly, a tune that he'd heard Alastor sing to himself before. He had never paid it all that much attention. Something about getting dressed with a smile.
"What am I going to tell Charlie? I... I don't want Vox here," Husk didn't really expect Alastor to be speaking again so soon. His voice was so shaky, barely even audible over the static in his voice. Out of nowhere, a violent cough racked his body. He wheezed for a moment after, with Husk immediately turning his attention to Niffty.
"Niff, go get boss some water, won't you?" He asked. She immediately began to scurry off, which was good. He needed some time with just Alastor. He turned to face him, resulting in a rather pathetic noice from the deer. He flicked his tail over, Alastor happy to at least have his tail feathers to play with. "I'll talk with Charlie, alright? I'll get the whole thing sorted," he wasn't exactly sure how he was supposed to do that, considering that he was most definitely not going to get permission to tell her the truth. But he'd figure something out.
Alastor replied with a practically haunting laugh. It was empty in a way, like he wasn't fully there yet. "Or, I could just grow up about this whole thing, huh, Husker. It's been so long, I probably shouldn't even be letting it bother me anymore. It just... it won't get better."
Husk shook his head. "No, boss, absolutely not. There ain't growing up here to do. It's trauma. And no one, not even you, is above it," he paused for a moment, waiting to see the sort of reaction that that would bring out from Alastor. He was weirdly calm about it, when he usually would be very defensive. "You're strong, Al. I'll get it all worked out with the Princess, somehow. I mean, I know Char. She won't think any less of you if you explain-"
"No!" Alastor was very firm on that, curling back up into himself. He couldn't imagine even telling her. He knew that Husk had assured him plenty of times that it didn't make him weak, that it was ok, that it's not his fault- it didn't mean that he wasn't the Radio Demon, who was in petrifying fear of Vox because of what had happened all of those years ago.
"That settles that," Husk replied, hearing the door creak open once more. Niffty ran in, carrying a glass of water, handing it off to Alastor. He took it, his hands still trembling, immediately pressing it to his lips. "You're doing good, you're doing so good. Just breathe," Husk was glad that he seemed to be calming down at least. "You're safe."
"Yeah... safe," he whispered back. He finished the glass, setting it down on the ground next to him, and then almost immediately collapsed onto Husk's shoulder. He began to cry, rubbing his face in Husk's grey fur. "I can't... it's been so long, Husker. It's been so long. I... I can't calm down,"
The cat felt his tail grabbed again, sharp claws trying to be as careful as possible, playing with the feathers. He tried to hold it as still as possible, wrapping his paw around the shaking demon. He pulled him closer, before he felt Niffty begin to push herself between the two of them. She wrapped herself around Alastor, too. It was a family, in its own way. "Take a deep breath, alright? I promise you. You're safe now, and I'm never gonna let him- he's not gonna hurt you again."
He felt a nod on his shoulder, still half-hearted. He could feel his fur being bitten at, Alastor just trying to calm himself down. Husk began to rock, Alastor rocking with him. He knew that the motion often helped him. After several minutes, he could feel Alastor's body becoming more and more limp. The crying was stopping, and soft breaths were beginning to replace his rapid, panicked ones. Husk couldn't help but chuckle, slowly moving, taking Alastor into his arms.
Carefully, he carried him over to his bed, gently placing him in it. Niffty followed behind him, placing a blanket over Alastor's now still body. "Good night, Al," Husk said. looking down at him. He was going to have to figure out how to explain everything to Charlie. But maybe he could have a minute. He helped lift Niffty onto the bed, watching the maid get under the covers with him. "Come get me if you need me, Niff," he said, leaning over and placing a kiss on her head. He slowly made his way to the door, never taking his eyes off of Alastor. He only wished that he could have done more.