Why Him - Radiodust

Is the Deer Going Soft?

Alastor's POV
I lied in bed, staring up at the ceiling of my dark room. There was a glow from the window but that was it. I hadn't changed or gotten under the covers, I just lied there, looking at the ceiling, hearing the white noise coming from my fan. I was thinking about how Angel and I had talked at the bar for all those hours, and how I now had a partner. It was a lot to take in, and I feel like it all happened so fast. I never thought I'd fall for someone that quickly, if at all, and Angel was the last person I expected to be in love with.

I feel like I've known Angel for years, talking to him brought some kind of nostalgia but I couldn't put my finger on it. I felt comfortable with him, truly. Like he's some kind of figure in my life that makes me feel safe. I'm not talking about his dirty sense of humor, which, by the way, he didn't bring up at the bar whatsoever (greatly appreciated), but his personality as a whole. Even his physical form brings some sense of de-ja-vu.

I'm sure I've met someone similar to him in all of my time spent down here, although I can't help but wonder. It was after he started talking about his past life that I started to feel this strongly...

Maybe-

Nonsense.
That's ridiculous.
I should sleep.

3rd person
Alastor woke up to the sound of his alarm clock, slowly opening his tired eyes. He grabbed it and lightly threw it against the wall, letting out a sigh and bringing his hand up to his face. He sat up, realizing he had never changed and probably fell asleep, deep in thought about that night. He hadn't fallen asleep until around 1 am, so this was the second night in a row he had only gotten about 5 hours of rest. Usually, he was a morning person, but not in this circumstance.

He yawned as he turned and sat on the edge of his bed. Today would be a long day, and others would probably notice it. He looked out the window at the usual red sky and stared blankly for a little while. He would let Angel stay in bed a bit longer than usual to catch up on sleep. (Alastor normally acted as his alarm clock lmao).

After changing and freshening up as much as possible, Alastor headed downstairs, fairly quieter than usual. Husk and Angel were both still asleep, but he could hear voices in the lobby. One sounded like Charlie. He slowed at the end of the hallway to listen in, and to his surprise, it sounded like, maybe someone was here? He stepped out into the lobby with his hands behind his back and his usual smile, although he was walking fairly calmly and wasn't humming as usual.

There indeed was a new face in the hotel, two of them to be precise. One of them seemed to notice him and go a little wide-eyed, after all, everyone in hell knew who Alastor was. He walked up to the group and stood next to Charlie, his smile widening.
"Good morning, here quite early I see." Charlie jumped and looked up at him, not knowing he was there. "Oh, hi Al! These are two new customers! Our very first." Alastor nodded and looked at each of them. "It's a pleasure to meet you darlings," he said. Their expressions were slightly scared, but they were surprised to hear a demon use such proper and kind language towards them. "Y-you're the radio demon!" One of them stepped up a little out of excitement. Alastor smiled down at the little demon before him, tilting his head ever so slightly. "Yes, indeedie I am! And you?" he responded.

The two glanced at each other as one of them stepped forward. "I'm Pax, and this is Glaze. I hope you don't mind me being curious, but why are you here?" he questioned. Alastor tilted his head slightly. He raised his posture and looked around proudly at the large room. "Why, to help run this fine establishment of course!" He settled his hands back behind his back as he had become animated with his movements, as he always does when he becomes passionate about something. The two smaller demons smiled, the quieter one speaking up. "A-are you trying to be redeemed too, t-then?" Glaze said quietly, with a little hope.

Alastor paused, giving a glance to Charlie. He had told her it was merely for his own entertainment and that he didn't believe a demon could really be redeemed, but he didn't want to cause a customer to leave, so he let out a small sigh. "I am." Was all he said before he looked back at the smaller demon.

Charlie could tell he wasn't serious, but it was enough to fool the other two. She thought it was sweet that Alastor would do that just to make sure they didn't lose their customers.

"That's so cool! That we're going to be redeemed with one of the most powerful demons in hell!! At least... I hope we will be..." Pax trailed off and looked down. Alastor looked down at him as Glaze rested their hand on his shoulder. The two must be very close. Alastor squatted down and gave a small grin to Pax. "I believe you can do it. I believe everyone in this hotel will one day be able to see the face of heaven. Someday, you two will be walking streets of gold together," Alastor said, having made eye contact with the two of them the entire time. His face displayed a soft smile. Pax's face lit up a little as he looked up at Alastor's face. He nodded slightly and looked at Glaze. Alastor stood up, looking at Charlie and turning before she had time to react to his actions.

"I believe it's time for me to get Angel and Husk up," Alastor said as he walked off towards the rooms. Charlie stood in absolute unbelief of what just happened, watching Alastor disappear into the hall, then looking back down at the smaller demons. They looked up at her with smiles on their face. "He's so nice, not nearly as evil as the news makes him out to be," Glaze gave a grin. Charlie responded, "he's never been that nice to anyone before, actually. He's always polite but that- that was unexpected. I think he's softened since he came here," Charlie said. Glaze raised a brow. "Maybe that means your rehabilitation activities are helping him."
Charlie smiled.

"I hope so."

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THANK YOU FOR READING, IT MEANS A LOT!