Chapter Text
After their talk, Alastor was back to being a constant appearance around the hotel, even going back to working as the manager, though at a smaller pace, seeing as Charlie wouldn't stop pestering him over taking things easy. Still, he did most around the hotel.
And seeing as he was the most useful inhabitant, he was also the most seen one, everyone looking for him when problem arose, be it an invasion, a leaky faucet or a missing object, he was the one to call. That made it easy to notice the subtle changes that started to surface.
The first, was glasses.
Everyone everywhere had seen Alastor and his red monocle, even ridiculed it, but nobody had ever saw him wear wide, round, red glasses around. Still, it became the new normal. One day he simply went down the stairs wearing his usual assemble, but changing the monocle for glasses. It was a small and simple change, but seeing as Alastor was know to be a creature of habits, unchangeable ones, it was immediately clocked. That didn't mean people had the courage to question him. So, since Lucifer was put on time out by Charlie for unnecessary comments, nobody brought it up.
And then another change came. A bigger one.
It was about some weeks after the first change, but it was such a dramatic one, people couldn't help but balk at it.
Alastor's hair.
It was longer, put up, but most importantly, it was full of beautiful red curls like it never was before. When he walked, they bounced and moved beautifully, like an advertisement for hair products.
Charlie gasped when she saw him, hands covering her wide smile as glee filled her. To her, Alastor looked comfortable at the hotel and she was thrilled with this new development. The most relaxed she had ever saw him before was at Rosie's and, still, he looked like he was just biding his time for the next attack against him.
The first to comment, surprisingly, wasn't Lucifer, but Nifty.
"Boss, your hair!" She gasped while she dropped her things and ran to him. "It's been so long since I saw the curls, I missed them so much."
"Well, yes, darling. I have been a bit too busy to keep up the usual routine, even if it annoys me so to change my ways." The deer responded, voice light and soothing, like talking about it didn't bother him at all.
Until Lucifer spoke.
"So even in those things, you're a fake, huh bellhop?" He smirked, eyes shining a mean light. "Even your hair isn't what it seems. I wonder what else you've been hiding."
"Dad!" Charlie chided. "What have we talked about just last night?"
"Sorry, apple pie, but it had to be said. He's always hiding small things, what's to say he's not hiding something bigger?" The devil shrugged, arms crossed.
"Well, that's where you're mistaken Your Highness. I never hid my curls, but since nobody asked much about it, I didn't bother to bring it up. Hair maintenance is so boring to some." Alastor answered, big smile in his face, looking a bit more smug than usual.
"What do you mean 'asked much'?" Adam, who had seemed awestruck before, finally got over his shock.
"Oh yeah, me and Smiles always talk haircare on Tuesdays, it became a thing. He even let me brush his hair once and he does amazing braids on Nifty's hair." Angel Dust spoke up, arms crossed and unbothered.
"And he did my hair during most of our training sessions, when we were planing the fight against heaven." This time it was Vaggie who spoke up, shocking most in the room.
"Vaggie, you knew about this?" Charlie asked, in disbelief.
"In my defense, I thougth it was a secret and you're always saying it's important not to cross boundaries, so I kept my mouth shut about it." She looked away, sheepish.
"I honestly didn't know about any of this, but i also don't care, so." Husk mumbled, drinking a bottle of cheap booze.
And, while happy with the outcome, Alastor didn't bring up changes again, he just kept changing things about his appearance and following with his day like that was the new normal. Clothes, shoes, his microphone, everything either changed or disappeared. By the end of the following four weeks, Alastor looked like a completely different person. Longer curly hair, lose fitting 20s casual clothes, hooves bare for the world to see, a less alive microphone typical from his time and his new round glasses. He looked like the poor black kid from Louisiana that he was. During some moments, even his magic changed. His static would vanish, his voice would be smoother and deeper, with a heavy accent from his time alive. Another times, he just slipped in his habits, speaking in cajun french and creole without seamingly realizing it.
At the end of those days, the most affected was definitely Adam. Smitten with Alastor and all the facets he had to show. He wished to approach, but didn't really know how. Until a particular night.
"You'll never break that, my dear." The voice the first man most wanted to hear came from the lounge, deep into the night when everyone else slept away.
Turning around the corner, Adam witnessed a scene he never thought he would. A lavender collar locked around Alastor's neck, Nifty biting away at the chain, trying to break the contract. The older man just looked at his maid with a fond smile and sad eyes, already aware from the outcome her effort would result in. The first man approached slowly, not trying to spook the pair and have them flee before he could even said anything. For a moment, the chain snapped and all three of them froze, but in the next second, it mended itself, looking brand new again.
"I could break that for you." Adam offered, scaring Alastor and Nifty, the smaler one pulling out her needle, ready to stab the ex-angel once again.
"Ha, don't jest, my good fellow. If anyone could break this chain, I'd be going on dates." The red haired laughed obnoxiously, attempting to distract the older one from what was happening.
"So I could break your deal AND score a date?" The taller man smirked, crossing his arms and leaned on the counter. "Sounds like a win-win to me!"
"By all means." The deer snorted, tired from his workday and the pregnancy, his usual defiancy dimming for a moment.
Adam gently grabbed the chain, pouring as much angelic magic as he could into it. Slowly, the chain started to glow golden, like from the inside out, and crack all over. Nifty and Alastor watched transfixed as his deal broke in millions of tiny pieces. Feeling freer than he ever had, the younger man turned towards the older, eyes wide and misted.
"Shit! Don't cry!" Adam panicked, his hand reaching for him. A hand which Alastor quickly grabbed and propped against his cheek, letting himself feel in this moment of weakness.
"I guess we have a date, then."