💎𝟥𝒱𝓈 𝓍 𝑅𝑒𝒶𝒹𝑒𝓇💎

Route 9~ Vox

"Vox!" a voice snarled from the doorway.

I flinched at the sudden voice yelling at us. Vox whirled toward the door just as I did to see Val standing there, arms crossed and clearly not happy.

"What the fuck are you doing? I need you in my office, stat," he snapped, stepping into the room. The aura around Vox instantly changed. He seemed tense, angry, and afraid all at the same time. I rested a hand on his shoulder, but he was still tense as a board.

"Val, my whole life doesn't revolve around you," he hissed, his TV screen flickering. Velvette peeked her head around Val, her pigtails bouncing as she whipped out her phone. Val let out an eerily harsh laugh and spat, "Yes it does. You made your bed when you signed your contract with me. Is Y/N the reason you can't concentrate?"

Vox protectively placed a hand on my leg, temporarily shielding me from Val. Despite the situation, a faint red blush spread across my cheeks at his touch. "Listen," he said. "Y/N has nothing to do with this. What do you want?"

Val glowered at us, practically taking up all the space in the room. He bared his teeth and hissed, "Well your little 'Radio Friend' has been ransacking my studios in the city. And no doubt it's because of YOUR antics. And I need to you fix it. I'm sure as hell not doing it."

Vox's hand gripped my leg, no doubt in anger. I lightly rubbed his shoulder so his claws would loosen their grip. He softened his grip and gave me a loving glance before snarling back at Val. "Val, whatever he chooses to do is HIS decision. NOT my fault."

Velvette snapped a photo of Valentino as he seethed before us. She blinked at us and whispered, "Listen, Val, maybe we can come back later-" Val whirled toward her and interrupted her, "Some of my best-paying clients are dead thanks to that stupid TV! I'm not gonna let that go! Either you help fix this now, or all your money in your account goes to me!"

My ears perked up at that remark. I gathered some courage and said, "It wasn't his fault! They've been duking it out forever! Just because he decided to wreak havoc doesn't mean Vox is at fault!"

Both Velvette and Val looked at me as Vox processed what I had said. "Maybe instead you could send demons to go and fuck up something he's invested in! Don't punish Vox for something he didn't do." Val narrowed his eyes at me as Velvette just stared. She broke the silence by whistling and chirping, "Well, I'll be outside! Hopefully, you can figure this out without violence. See ya!" She darted out of the room and away from the tension.

Vox took a breath and said to Val, "Listen, you can take away next month's pay, and I'll still work. I'll even send some demons out to attack some of Alastor's territory. Ok?"

Tension hung in the air as Val thought about it. Finally, he grabbed a vase in the room and threw it to the ground, shattering it into tiny pieces. He stomped out of the room and growled, "Fine! But you better pull your load you bitch!"

As soon as he disappeared around the corner, Vox and I sighed simultaneously. He turned to me and winced. "I'm so sorry about that, Y/N. Val can get cranky when money's involved."

I shrugged and pretended like it wasn't a big deal, although it was quite terrifying. "Don't worry about me, Vox. He's the one with a problem," I said. He gave me a weak smile and held my hands in his own. "I know... I just wish I wasn't bound to him. That way I could spend all day with you," he said softly.

His hands were warm and soft as I asked, "Why me?" He tilted his head as if it were a stupid question. It probably was.

"What do you mean?" he asked. "Just... everything about you. Your eyes, your smile, your voice... why would I settle for anyone else?" Heat flushed across my face as he gave me a tight embrace. I hugged him back and let out a sigh of relief.

"I... I love you, Vox," I said hesitantly. He smiled at me and replied, "You stole my line." He threw me a playful wink, and I snorted. He flopped onto his bed with a smile and whispered, "I wish we could run away."

I flopped down beside him, intertwining my fingers with his. "That would be lovely." He turned toward me and promised, "Once I get out of my contract with Val, I promise, PROMISE, that we'll run away. Away from the studio and into the big city somewhere." I looked over at him and gave him a warm smile. "You don't have to do that for me. And wouldn't you miss Val and Velvette?"

He snorted again and said, "I'd miss Velvette's antics, and I suppose I would miss Val a little... but we're all overlords. We'd be bound to run into each other eventually." He stared at the ceiling, a blank expression on his face.

"We have a dysfunctional friendship," she blurted out. "I guess when you're stuck in this literal hellhole, real friends are just hard to come by."

"Well I'm your friend," I said, trying to lift his spirits. He winced and replied, "After all we've been through, I'd think we're more than friends." I let out a chuckle and leaned on him. I heard his heartbeat quicken underneath me as I agreed, "Yeah, I guess we are more than friends. I'd love to make it official with you, Vox."

He let out a laugh but then realized that I was serious. "You're for real? You actually want to make it official? You want to be my actual partner?"

"If you want to," I said shyly, nuzzling closer to him. He blushed and said nervously, "I'd love more than anything to be your boyfriend, Y/N. If you'll have me.."

I leaned over and kissed, him, his eyes practically bulging out of his screen. "Don't worry, I'll have you."