Why Him - Radiodust

A Change in Behavior

Charlie's POV
It's been a few days since our first customers arrived, which has actually been going really well. We had another guest come yesterday and so far they've been liking it here, which raises my hopes that this hotel will be a success.

On another note, Alastor's been acting... different. I'm not sure if I should be worried about him, though. He's quieter than usual, I never hear him humming as often as he did the first few days, and it was after I saw him a few mornings ago when Pax and Glaze arrived. I ask him if he's okay but his response is always "as fine and dandy as ever," which is pretty obviously a cover-up.

I can't help but think he really is softening, and he's realizing it. I know he doesn't want to change. He told me himself, the day he arrived.

I'm making my way up to Angel's room to talk to him and see if he knows anything. If not, I'll just have to confront Alastor myself.

3rd person
Charlie knocked on Angel's door, receiving a "gimme a sec," from the other side. She patiently waited until she heard the doorknob click as the door opened just enough for her to see Angel's face. "Hey, what's up?" Angel opened the door a little more, stepping into the doorway. Charlie held her arm with a slightly worried look on her face. "Do you have some time to talk?" Angel nodded and stepped inside, opening the door for her, as if to give her the right of way to come in. He didn't close the door behind her after she walked through, not wanting anyone to get any sort of ideas if they heard the two talking behind a closed door. Charlie was okay with this since Alastor was most likely in bed.

Angel was in his robe, after all, it was pretty late, but he hadn't been thinking about going to bed yet. Fat Nuggets squeaked excitedly at Charlie's feet as she sat on the edge of Angel's bed, to which she smiled and picked him up. "Hello, you little adorable piggy!" She set him in her lap and pet Fat Nuggets on the head as Angel sat beside her. "He likes you," Angel said as he looked down at Fat Nuggets. Charlie nodded. "I like him too."

Angel lied back on his bed, letting out a sigh and closing his eyes. "So what did ya wanna talk about at this time of night?" He messed with his hair as he waited for a response. "It's about Alastor." Charlie looked down at Angel, whose eyes shot open. "...what about him?" Angel nervously looked to the side, after all, no one really knew the two were together yet. They had kept it under the radar. "Well... he hasn't been acting himself lately and I wanted to know if you knew anything about it." Charlie looked back down at Fat Nuggets who had snuggled up in her lap. Angel let out a sigh of relief, realizing this wasn't about their relationship with one another. "What do you mean different?" Angel said. Charlie thought for a moment. "Well... he's stopped humming, he's been looking a lot more tired lately, he never talks to me much anymore..." Charlie said, trailing off. Angel sat up and rested his head in his hands. "I actually eh, haven't really noticed it. When did it start happening?" he said.

Charlie fiddled with her fingers. "Well, the morning we had our first two customers, the morning he let you sleep in," Angel nodded, "he acted unbelievably nice towards them. And he told them the reason he was here was to be redeemed, which isn't true, but he did it to keep them from leaving. I've never seen him do something so... kind before," Charlie said. Angel didn't have anything to say, he just thought and continued to let Charlie speak. "He told them that they'd be able to be redeemed and that someday they'd see the face of heaven. He even said they'd walk streets of gold together," Charlie said. Angel was dumbfounded that Alastor would say something like that, especially to someone he didn't know. It almost made him jealous, but that wasn't the point of this conversation.

"Did Al tell you he didn't want to be redeemed?" Angel looked down at Charlie, not knowing of what Alastor told her the first day of his arrival. Charlie nodded. "He also told me he was here for his own entertainment, that he had no intent to change." Angel knew that much, he also knew Alastor didn't think redemption was possible.

Alastor walked through the main hall, the hall he took to get to his room until he heard voices from a different direction and what sounded like his name. He made his way towards the voices until eventually realizing it was coming from Angel's room, and he recognized Charlie's voice. He quietly sat down on the wall close to the bedroom door, not wanting them to know he was there. Angel's voice rang from the room, "did Al tell you he didn't want to be redeemed?" Alastor sighed, knowing that they were on the subject of his behavior over the past few days. This probably meant that Charlie would find out things he didn't want her knowing.

"He also told me he was here for his own entertainment, that he had no intent to change." There was a pause. Alastor continued listening.

Angel looked down at the floor and rested his weight on his arms as he leaned back a little. "Y'know, the night before we had those two show up at the hotel, Al and I stayed up talking for hours." Charlie glanced at Angel in surprise. "We were talking about our past lives and... now that you mention it he did get kinda quiet after I mentioned my mom. I'm guessing it's a sensitive subject for him. It wasn't just that, though, um..." Angel sighed, hesitating to continue and rubbing the back of his neck. Charlie didn't say anything, but she was completely interested in finding out what Angel was going to say next.

"We're together, actually." Angel avoided eye contact as Charlie's eyes widened. "You're serious??!" Charlie squeaked. He gave a small nod as she hugged him. "I'm so happy for you!" She had a big smile on her face and Angel grinned, being thankful that she supported, but he didn't know how Alastor would feel about her knowing this.

Alastor covered his face as the words came out of Angel's mouth, "we're together, actually." The last thing he wanted was for Charlie to spread it through the hotel faster than corona, and lose his title as the radio demon. He listened as Charlie got excited and congratulated Angel. "You need to keep quiet about it, I wouldn't have told you if you weren't concerned about him, although I kinda have a feeling that his behavior isn't about our relationship," Angel said barely loud enough for him to hear.

Charlie let go and raised a brow. "Well, what do you think it's about, then." Angel shrugged. "I dunno... but, I'm kinda worried about him, too, now." Charlie sighed and looked down. "I'm sure it'll be okay. I was thinking earlier that he might be softening, and realizing it. Something like that might be a little much for him. I mean, think about it. You're one of the most powerful demons in hell, and for decades you kill and gain power, working your way up the food chain, then suddenly in only a few days, you realize that you've fallen for someone and you don't know how to handle it. He's probably overwhelmed." Angel nodded. "That makes a lot of sense, actually. You think it's something that small?" He said. Charlie paused. "I don't know. The only real way to know would be to ask him about it. Both of us." Angel sighed, thinking for a while, watching Fat Nuggets curl up a little in his sleep. "He wouldn't like that," Angel said. "I know, but. What else are we going to do? We can't help him without knowing what's going on," Charlie said. Angel shook his head a little. "No, I mean, he wouldn't like both of us confronting him like that. Maybe I should talk to him in private tomorrow," Angel suggested. Charlie sighed, nodding. She knew the two were close, especially for them to fall for one another as fast as they did.

Alastor got up and walked away from the room, shaking his head. He wouldn't enjoy opening up about his emotions, he never did. The only person he'd ever talk to was his mother, but she was gone and the only other solution for him was to hide his feelings and put on a smile. After all... you're never fully dressed without one.

He walked down the hall, disappearing around the corner and not looking forward to what was to come the next day.

Charlie thanked Angel for letting her talk to him, wishing him luck for the next day as she walked out the door and said goodnight. Angel picked Fat Nuggets up and pet his head as he watched her close the door.

"Well Fat Nuggets, looks like we'll be making the deer talk tomorrow."

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