Archive of Our Own ^beta

Velvette looked around the hotel lounge with disinterest and took a few photos here and there. “Ugh, the interior designer should be hanged. What kind of out-of-touch taste is this?” said Velvette with a disgusted expression on her face. “Hey guys,” she said in a sugary sweet voice, filming herself with her smartphone.
“Don’t forget to tune in to the big live interview with our princess of hell, Charlie Morningstar”, she chirped, panning the camera across the lobby. 
“Let's find out together what this hotel has to offer. See you later.” She ended the video and the smile faded from her face.  Highly focused, she edited the video, added the relevant hashtags, and posted it on her social media account. The likes and views went straight up.
“When are we finally going to start, Vox? I have other things to do today than sit around here,” she said snappishly, putting her hands on her hips. “We still have to wait for Charlie—oh, princess, there you are!” He walked toward Charlie with an exuberant laugh and touched her shoulder.
“Thank you for taking the time to see us. We're all so excited to hear what you have to say now that the heavens are leaving us alone.” He shook her hand with a broad grin. “We're excited too. I'm just waiting for my dad, then we can get started.” Vox's eyes twinkled with excitement and Velvette pricked up her ears.
It had been ages since Lucifer had been seen, and since his appearance at the battle for the hotel, he had been the talk of the town. Every post and every picture of him was guaranteed to go viral, which would mean more likes, followers, and therefore influence. This interview was like hitting the jackpot for them. 

They took their seats on the large couch in the hotel's common area, set up the microphones, cameras, and lights. And then they waited and waited and waited. “Princess,” Vox tried to cover up his annoyance by sounding overly friendly, “When can we expect your father?”
“Just a moment,” Charlie apologized somewhat tensely and rushed off with her smartphone in her hand. “There is one good thing about the delay,” Velvette remarked, engrossed in her smartphone, “People are more excited than ever about the interview.” She showed Vox the comments on her latest video and those waiting for the livestream. Everyone wanted to know what was going on and was eager to hear what the hotel was all about. “He'll be here soon,” Charlie said, sounding relieved, and sat back down on the couch. 
“He was busy with something.” Vox and Velvette nodded amiably; they didn’t care why the king was late, he should just get his ass over there so they could exploit his appearance.
“Char-Char, sorry for being late. I was... held up.”
Velvette pulled herself together so as not to burst out laughing and quickly snapped a photo of Vox's expression and his glitching error messages. It was just too good not to capture.
“Where did you get that coat?” Charlie asked, and Lucifer looked down at himself in surprise. “Oh, this?” Lucifer said, nervously running his fingers through his dishevelled hair.
“I wanted to try something new. The red brings out my eyes better, don’t you think?” He laughed, trying to sound convincing, and sat down next to her. The first headlines and hashtags were already popping into Velvette’s head. 

Even without the rumor mill kicking into gear, this stuff was brewing on its own. There was no one in hell who didn't know who belonged to that red pinstriped suit with frayed ends, which hung over the king's shoulders like a cape that was much too big, almost like an oversized blanket.
Add to that the tardiness, the tousled hair, and the nervous behavior, and you knew everything you needed to know without having to ask. 
Her gaze fell on Vox, who was trying very hard to fix his circuits and stop his screen from flickering. He was doing his best to continue the interview professionally, but it was hilarious. 
Velvette repeatedly took photos for her social media account and those of the other Vees. She even captured a racy moment when Lucifer absentmindedly scratched his neck and something that definitely looked like a forming hickey was visible underneath.
She was already looking forward to posting this picture.

To Vox's great relief, the interview was almost over. Just the closing remarks and then they would be done. Lucifer's appearance had completely thrown him off balance.
“Thank you very much for your time, Princess, and also for coming, Your Majesty.”
And now, let's get out of here.
“Oh, am I late?”
All eyes and Velvette's smartphone turned toward the voice. Velvette burst out laughing. Alastor approached the group leisurely, wearing a much too happy grin. “Al,” Lucifer hissed, immediately covering it up with a cough. As if that would make it better. “Oh dear, do you need a candy for your throat?” Alastor asked hypocritically and sat down insolently close to Lucifer. “I hope I’m not interrupting your important interview.”
What was definitely accidental with Lucifer was pure intent with Alastor. And that was precisely why Velvette loved the other Overlord. She hadn't taken such good snapshots in a long time.
Lucifer's coat was definitely too short for Alastor, reaching just to his waist and barely past his elbows, but Velvette thought it was actually quite stylish. It was something new for the old radio fanatic. Alastor folded his hands relaxed in his lap.
“I didn't expect the interview to take so long, but good old Vox has always had a knack for stealing other people's valuable time,” said Alastor, grinning provocatively at Vox. “You,” he growled, but immediately caught himself. “Alastor, my dear, I didn't expect you to dare to appear on camera. Otherwise, I would have invited you personally,” said Vox, his voice dripping with subtle anger. Alastor just laughed and crossed his legs.

“Believe me, I wouldn't have come. But the wait took too long,” he glanced sideways at Lucifer, “I hate being interrupted when I'm enjoying something neat.” Lucifer gave him an offended look, and Alastor added, “That's why I had to come and see what was taking so long.”
Vox's screen flickered and showed a change from red to blue before it recovered. “Oh, Alastor, you don't have to lie,” he laughed maliciously. “Be honest, you're camera shy and hid yourself away,” said Vox with a grin, “Or was it fear of a touch of modern technology? Is TV too scary for you?”
“Why so terribly uptight?” sneered Alastor, “Isn't your business partner any help to you?”
“I'm relaxed,” hissed Vox, his screen flickering dangerously. “Really? I was just about to give you—”
“Okay, that's enough,” said Charlie, stepping between Vox and Alastor. “Alastor, you promised to control yourself,” she scolded him, and he accepted her nonchalantly. 

Much to Velvettes' displeasure, he stopped tormenting Vox, who also stopped experiencing funny malfunctions.
The interview was, of course, a massive hit, and almost all of the clips went viral, as did the picture she had posted.
It showed a sadly very pixelated Alastor. How he had managed to manipulate her cell phone was a mystery to her and annoyed her greatly. How he had placed his hand on Lucifer's thigh.