Deadly Kiss.

Just Golden.

The tests were relentless, one after another until finally it was time for Asher to be paired with Alastor.

They had been teleported to a swamp-like area, and Asher realized it was made to resemble the swamps of New Orleans, a place Asher vaguely remembers visiting in her past life.

Asher was about to begin trudging through waist length swamp water to reach another area of the swamp, when Alastor grabs her by the waist with a tight grip and halts her. His hand lingers, claws digging into the supple flesh of her gray stomach before retracting as Alastor summoned a bridge made of shadows.

"I guess that works." She says, looking up at the Radio Demon.

His usual grin was in place as he chuckled before gesturing for her to go ahead and cross. "Ladies first." He nearly purred, his eyes giving her nothing but a neutral glint.

She shrugs before doing so, her tail swishing back and forth as she looked around the swamp. It held a melancholic type of beauty to it.

Alastor follows behind her, noticing a name on her lower back that had been crossed out.

"My dear, pardon me but.. what is the name on your back for?" He asked, walking slightly faster so he could match her pace.

"It's a demon I made a deal with, he died sometime last year. I reckon it was the extermination or another overlord." At that, Alastor was slightly taken back.

"You make deals?" He asked, raising a brow.

"Rarely. I've made five the entire time I've been in Hell." She answers as they step off of the bridge and it dissipates.

Alastor hums at the information.

-♡

"It's odd, we've only got five more minutes until the test is over and we've not been attacked." Asher comments before seeing a doe on the trail ahead of them.

"That's because this last test is meant to be peaceful." Alastor tells her, hands clasped behind his back.

"Wait, seriously?" She asked, golden eyes peering up at the red demon.

"Indeed my dear." He said his grin much softer than she's used to.

The softer disposition of the Radio Demon takes her slightly by surprise and her ears furrow slightly.

"Come, my dear. Let us settle for the next few minutes until Charlie pulls us out." Alastor says, holding his arm out for her.

She tilts her head slightly in confusion. "I thought you despised touch?" She asked.

"I do, unless I consent to it or initiate it." He told her, and she relaxed before laying her right hand in the crease of his elbow and her left hand on his upper arm.

The fabric of his waist coat was soft, but not soft like a false fur, it felt like a mixture between satin and cotton, it was a nice feeling and the feeling plus the warmth Alastor radiated drew her smaller, colder self into him as they walked to a bench.

Once sitting down, Asher removed her hands from his arm and folded them in her lap.

Two minutes left, and as they waited, a doe with a very soft colored fur coat approached them, her snout blew out smoke before she lowered her head briefly at Asher.

Asher reached out slowly, tempted to touch the doe. The doe met her in the middle, pressing her snout against Asher's hand gently.

Alastor watched quietly before joining in, scratching the deer gently between her ears. Asher smiled, having never gotten to see a deer so close up, let alone pet one.

Her eyes glowed gold as she revelled in the tranquility of the moment, the scene beginning to fade too early for her liking until finally they were standing in the parlor of the hotel, the doe long forgotten by now.

Alastor was mesmerized by how gentle someone in Hell could be, she was just golden in his eyes in that moment.