Chapter Text
That night, Alastor didn’t sleep a wink. Staring at the ceiling, he could only replay the argument after Lucifer had downed the drink—the drink he’d spiked with that mysterious drug. There wasn’t any visible effect; Lucifer looked as composed as acid rain as he eventually gave up on the argument and vanished back to his own room.
The same could not be said for Alastor. He couldn’t deny the uneasiness churning in his chest, a mockery of the burning pain that Lucifer had cured him of.
He knew nothing could be done other than to wait and see what effects would surface in the morning. Yet he still couldn’t will himself to think about anything other than the little nuisance who probably didn’t deserve whatever horrors the drug might unleash.
Even as he walked down to the kitchen—much later than he normally would have, since he couldn’t bring himself to face the consequences just yet—his mind was still swimming with endless possibilities. Regret wasn’t a feeling Alastor was accustomed to. Yet here he was, stewing in it like a sinner in boiling tar. And all because he’d slipped Lucifer a little something. In hindsight, maybe he should’ve tested it on Angel first—he’d survive anything, surely.
“Hey, big guy, whatcha thinking about?”
Just his luck that the one who caught him pondering his life choices was Angel Dust. It appeared the saying ‘speak of the devil and the devil shall appear’ did not just apply to the devil himself.
“Nothing at all, my effeminate fellow! How are you this fine morning?”
Quite obviously, Angel did not believe him, judging by the suspicious glance he threw Alastor’s way. Fortunately, the spider chose not to pursue the subject, although the words that came out of his mouth weren’t much better at easing his unease.
“Eh, could’ve been better. Val was being a real piece of shit yesterday. And short king’s acting really weird today too, so...”
A loud shriek of feedback had Angel wincing and backing away from the now-frozen form of Alastor.
“Uh, you alright there, Smiles?”
“Perfectly fine, my good fellow! Now, what’s this about our little majesty acting peculiar?”
With all the experience of someone who had been living in the hotel alongside Alastor for months, Angel chose to steadfastly ignore the way Alastor’s neck twitched and cracked at a sharp angle, instead pointing toward the foyer.
“Just see for yourself.”
He should have known that anything described as weird by Angel Dust would definitely be extremely shocking. After all, the spider had such a high tolerance for the peculiar that he would stare at Cthulhu himself and only go, “kinky.” Alastor found himself staring, dumbfounded, as a scene so out of character unfolded right before his very eyes.
“Trust falls are great, Char Char, but I think they might be a bit too much for newcomers.”
“Oh... then what do you suggest, Dad?”
“How about Minefield? That’s a classic. Also, I think you could try Two Truths and a Lie for team bonding activities. Sinners are always hungry to know of potential weaknesses.”
“Um, interesting point, Dad, but thanks! Those sound pretty fun!”
Alastor did not know what to think. It wasn’t uncommon to see Lucifer do anything to help or bond with his daughter—pathetic him always trying to make it up to Charlie—but to see them discussing the bonding activities that Lucifer had always run away from was definitely rare. Not just that, but he was also playing gin rummy with Husk at the same time, and if Husk’s stressed expression was anything to go by, the one getting wrecked wasn’t the distracted Lucifer. Which was a bit strange since Alastor did not remember the little king being that skilled with cards, at least not enough to go up against Husk who was pretty much an expert at all card games.
“As you can see, weird.”
“Indeed, I see your point, my good fellow.”
As they approached the kitchen, Alastor also noticed stacks of different types of sandwiches. Seeing as it was Lucifer’s turn to cook today, it appeared that he had spared them the pancakes for once.
“Hey, toots, how’s it hanging?”
“Hey, Angel. Alastor.”
It had also appeared that dear Vaggie had decided he was much less a concern than the new Lucifer, seeing as she didn’t turn to face him even as he slipped past her for a cup of coffee, still staring at the king who was now giving Charlie life advice while making Husk question his life decisions.
“By any chance, Angel, do you know what’s up with His Majesty?”
“I really don’t see why you would think I know jackshit, toots. Sure, this fluff can get people on their knees and spilling their sins, but it sure has no effect on our short king.”
Groaning, Vaggie quickly turned away from Angel, who was helpfully pushing up his chest fluff to emphasize his point.
“That was extremely unnecessary, Angel.”
“Well, whatever it is, at least someone’s enjoying herself.”
Gesturing vaguely in Charlie’s direction, Angel snatched up a couple of sandwiches himself, heading over to comfort the increasingly stressed Husk, who was all but pulling his fur out as he contemplated how he was losing to a guy who wasn’t even looking at the cards.
“Oh, Al, bit late today, aren’t you?”
Alastor completely understood Vaggie’s feelings, his skin crawling at the use of the overly familiar nickname that he had only allowed Charlie to use because he needed to earn her trust and didn’t see a need to push for formality.
“Well, I certainly must apologize for my tardiness. I must admit I went to bed rather late last night doing my duties to help dear Charlie over here. Running a hotel is rather difficult, don’t you know, Your Highness?”
Yes, taunts. That was definitely something Lucifer would react to. Nothing in whatever drug Lilith gave could take his short and hot temper away—
“Oh dear, I do know. Hope you got enough sleep then.”
Another loud shriek of feedback had all the residents save for the cause of it flinching and covering their ears. Alastor, however, ignored Vaggie’s shouting about not screeching their ears off in favor of staring at the king like he had grown a second head. Not that he was the only one, since Husk had dropped his cards in shock, and the sandwich Angel was chewing had slipped from his mouth with his jaw-dropped expression. An understandable reaction, truly, because...
Lucifer not flying off the handle? Lucifer not rising to his taunts?? Lucifer being nice??? What was next—Lucifer becoming a real functioning individual not composed entirely of sugar? Or worse, a hugger?!
As he stared wordlessly at the king, who was now soaking up praise from Charlie about keeping his cool and not fighting with Alastor, Alastor found himself regretting his actions again, but now for a much different reason.
Oh, what in the name of his maman had Alastor unleashed? And, more importantly, what if Lucifer started emulating his daughter and hugging everyone in sight?!
It was not the first time Alastor had cursed out Lilith for her outrageous orders, but this was perhaps the first time he had wished her dead and gone for putting him through the terror of this new Lucifer.