Harmony in Hell: A Radiodust Story

Chapter Thirteen

"How much do you remember from when we were alive?" Alastor looked at the spider; the two were walking again, the final destination forgotten. They were now headed back to the hotel.

"Everything," came the straightforward reply. It was indeed true; it took time for all the memories to resurface, but they did.

"When did you realize I was, well, Anthony?" The radio demon stayed silent for a moment. He wished he could say it was an instantaneous realization, but that wasn't the case. Initially, when he arrived at the hotel, he saw Angel Dust as just another lost soul. The personalities didn't align, at least not initially. Alastor had always viewed Anthony as, well, an angel. But he knew that wasn't accurate. How many nights had he sat there with him while he was high or dysfunctional to the point Alastor had to carry him home? Once Alastor began acknowledging Anthony's flaws, his sins, that's when he recognized that Anthony, his love, had been right in front of him. Alastor didn't articulate any of this; instead, he simply said, "A while."

The spider slowly spoke, "I knew the night you arrived that you were, well, you. I knew because of the jambalaya. It was exactly the same as the jambalaya your mother made the day I met her." This surprised the deer, and his face must have shown it because the spider then said, "Don't look so shocked; I always loved your ma's cooking."

Alastor chuckled, "Everyone adored my mother's cooking."

Angel started to say something, then shook his head, "You're doing that thing where you change the subject. You did it all the time when I was upset, so why now?"

"Because you're shaking, my dear."

"What? No, I'm-" Angel glanced down at his hands, and sure enough, they were shaking. The spider fell silent, trying to pinpoint what might be wrong. Then it occurred to him, "You kissed me back, then just kept walking. Why?"

"Why to which?"

"Either, both, just why?" The deer paused, then answered, "For the kiss, I simply wanted to. For the walking, it is unwise to stand in the middle of the street for too long."

The spider was silent for a while; they had almost reached the hotel when he asked, "Will things ever go back to the way they were before?"

"Aren't they already?" This caught the spider off guard. He had expected a straightforward no, maybe even a why, but not that. He thought about it for a moment. Alastor had comforted him more than once, using the same methods as when they were alive. He was making it a point to help him get away from Val, just like with his father. Maybe they really had fallen back into the same ways. Maybe, it truly was this simple. Or perhaps, he was overthinking it and just needed a good night's sleep.