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A piece of building broke off in the distance, and Alastor turned to look in its direction. All around him, places were in disarray after he had caused chaos to the fifth city in a row. Among the rubble, demons were scattered about, either lying faceplanted on the ground or draped over a building. Alastor was honestly impressed he was able to do so much, even though it had been a while since he last went all-out.
Nice to know I still have it in me, he thought while exhaling, flexing out his claws. Although, he still felt a twinge of guilt. Before all of this, he'd summoned his shadows in front of him, them eager to take whatever order he had. "Make sure she hears nothing of this," he had told them, feeling more frazzled than he looked. "Gossip won't do me any good, and I don't need her assuming things. I will tell her myself."
And so they did- while Alastor went on a stress-filled destructive spree, a handful of his shadows did everything they could to prevent word of it from reaching the hotel, and by extension, Charlie. Now he stood and surveyed his work, looking forward to taking a long rest before making his way to the hotel.
Though, not everything goes as planned. Unbeknownst to him, Charlie was cautiously wandering about the area, looking for the red deer demon. No doubt it's him… she thought as she stepped through yet another tattered city. Passing by a fallen drug store sign, she finally spotted the familiar shape of Alastor standing in the distance, his front turned away from her. Surprised and relieved, she quickly bounded in his direction, calling out for him. "Alastor!"
Upon hearing her voice, Alastor stiffened in shock. Charlie? Here? Even worse than her knowing about this by the time he got back, she ended up seeing him in the aftermath herself. He didn't even have time to think of how he'd deal with the shadows that messed up the seemingly simple task before she was just a few steps away.
She stopped behind him and took a deep breath, steadying herself, then called again. "Al."
He stayed facing away from her, wishing he was in pretty much any other situation. Any plan he had to explain this the way he wanted to was thrown out the window. Nothing he could do about it now. "Hello, dear. As wonderful as it is to see you, I'd rather continue to have some time to myself."
"And let you keep doing this?" Charlie gestured to the general area. "I ran into so many demons on the ground, practically begging me to make Lucifer send an angel or something and end them for good right there. They were miserable!"
"They'll heal in due time, so it's no trouble."
"That's not really the point, Al." She sighed. "I know your track record hasn't been perfect, but I haven't seen you slip this badly since before you joined the hotel. What happened?"
Alastor stood there silently for a few long seconds, then turned around fully. His usual grin was still there, but the tiredness in his eyes made Charlie flinch.
"Ah well," he said, "we've both been working rather hard lately, I'd say. No real harm in blowing off some steam." He groaned inwardly as, despite his efforts to scold himself into staying up, he began to feel less stable on his feet.
Charlie rubbed her hand with her thumb uncertainly. "Uh, by now, I'd hoped that you'd know that carnage isn't...the ideal way…" She began to trail off as she noticed Alastor grimace and sway slightly. "...to…" Before she knew it, he started to fall forward, his staff poofing away. Panicking, she reached out to him. "A-Al!"
She quickly grabbed his arm and was able to pull him into her arms before he hit the ground. She fell to the floor on her knees, holding him tightly. She brought his face over and looked straight at him. "Are you okay, Al?!" she gasped.
Alastor opened his eyes and laughed a little. Truthfully his body ached all over, but he wasn't about to admit it. "I've certainly felt worse than this before, darling. I don't think I need to be held like your life depends on it."
"You nearly collapsed onto the ground, Al. I'm not letting you go." Charlie pulled him into a soft hug, with her hands on his back and back of his neck. He sighed and relaxed into it, resting his chin on her shoulder.
"If that's what you'd like."
They sat there in silence, with Charlie gently rubbing his back and listening to his quiet breathing. After a couple of minutes, she spoke up again. "So…"
"...Hm?"
"About this. What's been going on?" she asked, concerned. "You've seemed a bit out of it lately, but you being gone for a whole week really started to worry me. When Razzle and Dazzle told me that they'd found you around here causing havoc, I was pretty surprised, but I had to come here and see for myself."
Alastor bit back a sigh of frustration, wishing he'd kept a better look out for the sneaking assistants. Somehow, they'd passed by his and his shadows' radar. Curse those goats, honestly…
"Is this what you've been doing for a week? Terrorizing these demons? It's no wonder you can't stand, you probably exhausted yourself out. You didn't even broadcast your destruction like you normally would have."
Alastor brought his right arm around her back lightly, returning the hug a bit. "I would have informed you of this when I returned."
"But why do this at all?" she questioned. "You've been helping me run the hotel for a good while, better than I ever expected. Your progress has been inspiring other demons, even. But this stunt probably set you back a considerable amount in the eyes of Heaven."
He glanced to the side. "...And is that really so terrible?"
Charlie shifted a bit, surprised. "What? But...you've seen the others. With those results, I thought you were starting to believe in redemption for yourself, too."
"Yes…" Alastor paused for a moment, then closed his eyes. "Dear, do you know how long we've been running this hotel?"
She blinked. "Oh...um well, it should be six years now."
"And how many souls have been sent to Heaven?"
"A-a little over four-thousand," she stumbled, still amazed at the rather impressive total.
"Four-thousand." He nodded lightly. "And I remember every number they had."
"Who?" Charlie asked to be sure.
"Oh you should know, sweetheart. Hmm, let me think: a certain exuberant spider…"
Charlie thought for a second, reminiscing. "Mmn...Angel Dust. 1,382."
"And a feisty moth…"
"Vaggie...2,574." She stopped, then continued. "Husk, 2,856. Niffty, 3,975. Aw, man…" She raised her right hand to rub her eyes a little. "I really do miss them."
Alastor cracked open his eyes slightly. "So, you see what I'm getting at then."
"I do? Well…" Charlie brought her hand down and let it rest on his back again. "I'm sure they're happy up there. We don't have to worry about them."
He gently shook his head. "No, Charlie. They're probably having the time of their afterlife; I never worried. At the rate my progress was going, I couldn't guess when I'd be escorted into Heaven. It could've been the next day for all I knew."
"Then, wouldn't that be a good thing?" She glanced over her shoulder to the left to look at him a little better. "You'd finally be able to leave Hell. You could truly be happy." Alastor didn't respond immediately, only hugging her a bit tighter. Charlie then began to suspect something, and her eyes widened. "Unless...oh…"
"Charlie…" he started softly. "You know that I'm happiest when I'm with you. What would be the point of being in Heaven, if you were not by my side? To end a six-year partnership, and land in a place that most likely won't even allow me to hunt and eat raw meat." He chuckled, thinking how ridiculous it was that Heaven may consider that a 'sin', then sighed. "I thought, if I could just tear a few souls apart, I'd keep my spot here for a handful more years. Of course, you'd probably think less of me if I turned this into a repeated offense to lengthen my time here."
Charlie felt an awful pang of remorse. As nice as it was to hear Alastor speak openly with her again, she couldn't help feeling responsible for his internal struggles.
"Oh, Al…" She put her left hand through his hair gently. "I love having you here with me. I admit, I've thought a few times about the day you'd leave for Heaven. How great it would be for you to stay instead. And I may have cried a little bit…" she laughed sheepishly. "But I know I can't do that to you. You deserve a chance to have a real afterlife along with the others, and I know you're capable of making it. I shouldn't stop you. I'd never forgive myself for letting me be the reason you can't make it to Heaven."
Alastor sat up some, still mostly leaning against her lap, and faced Charlie. He sighed and put his hand on her shoulder, then lifted it to hold the side of her face, giving her a genuine smile with lidded eyes. She nestled her face into his hand and smiled, closing her eyes for a moment, then opened them to look directly at him.
"Please, Al." She saw his gaze soften further at that, and her heart fluttered. "Promise me you'll still try to get to Heaven."
As she looked at him, her eyes full of endearment, Alastor felt more at ease. Ah, the things I'd give to never lose this view. Her faith in him was truly something else, and he would make sure she'd hold onto it. He closed his eyes and leaned forward to rest his forehead on hers. "For you, darling, anything."
Charlie smiled even wider as Alastor pulled his head back slowly. "Thank you."
"Mm-hm. But!" he added suddenly, raising a finger. "I'll be needing you to promise me something as well."
Charlie nodded her head lightly. "Of course."
"Promise me that you'll try to find a way to visit Heaven someday. I'm certain it's not all it's cracked up to be up there, without a belle like you stepping foot in it at least once."
She laughed softly. Well, if demons can be redeemed then I guess anything’s possible... She then leaned forward to hug Alastor again, who happily returned it. "I promise."
.
.
.
*~Bonus~*
"Okay Al, we've been here for like an hour! Do I have to carry you back to the hotel, jellylegs?" Charlie teased.
"Perhaps, though there's always the option of dragging me back there!" Alastor chuckled. "Whichever is easier for you, my dear."
Playfully rolling her eyes, Charlie got to her feet and swooped him up bridal style, deciding to carry him for a bit. "Now, I hope you didn't forget that you'll have to apologize to all those demons," she said, walking with a steady pace.
Alastor cringed at the thought. "Ehh…"
"Al, it's been years and it's still hard to apologize to someone after maiming them?"
"Change doesn't happen overnight, as they say!"
Charlie blew a small puff of air in his face, causing both of them to laugh. "Six years isn't exactly 'overnight'!"