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Alastor was a problematic figure. He was often the reason behind many of Vaggie’s and Charlie’s arguments, Vaggie usually saying that Alastor would be the one to make the whole hotel project crumble, given he was an enabler of sin.
But, despite all that, his relationship with Charlie — as well as most of the hotel’s resident and staff — was quite amicable. They shared an office on the lower floors of the hotel, and Alastor actually helped her when it came to the project. It was nice to have a person like him on the project, because he would often put her feet on the ground and help her approach the public.
Since he came along, she never ended up in a fight with a reporter. And people didn’t really know that the Radio Demon was sponsoring the hotel, so it wasn’t because Alastor was threatening.
Staying for more than twelve hours together in the same room nearly every single day allowed them to build some sort of reluctant friendship. Which is why Charlie was immediately set off when Alastor didn’t show up for work.
The first thing she did was ask Husk and Nifty about it, but neither of them knew what was going on. Charlie learned that when Alastor disappeared like that, there was usually a reason for it. Sometimes it was something as plain as boredom, other times it was more serious things, such as a particularly nasty meeting with his father.
Angel had joked that Al was probably eating a lowly demon who managed to piss him off, but she didn’t think that was the case. Given Alastor never returned to the hotel, Charlie was even more concerned. So, she was swarmed with paperwork the entire day, double of the usual things she did.
She didn’t expect the TV Overlord to knock on the door and excuse himself inside her office just as she was about to wrap the day up. A part of her was relieved for it.
If Alastor was a problematic figure, then his relationship with the TV Overlord was even more problematic. Vox didn’t really care for the hotel, and he refrained from encouraging sin while in the hotel. The most he could do was annoy all the residents, but even then, he didn’t really care for it.
Alastor and Vox were close. Charlie couldn’t exactly pinpoint how, but they seemed to get along quite well. Which meant that, if anyone knew what happened with Alastor, it was him.
“Hello there, Vox,” she greeted him. “How can I help you?”
She didn’t want to start things off asking about Alastor, that would be a bit rude. Charlie didn’t want to give the impression she was only agreeing to speak with him because of Alastor, given there wasn’t any reason for her to dislike him.
Charlie had always been a firm believer in the good inside anyone. If Alastor and Vox had managed to overcome their differences and have this close of a relationship, then the two were in their path to redemption.
“Hi there, Princess,” Vox smiled. “It’s… about Alastor.”
“I noticed he didn’t show up for work today, is he alright?”
“Yeah, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Alastor’s… going through rut,” he said, rather hesitantly. “It’s probably best if this stays here, Al’s already pretty battered up. I don’t want him having to deal with the fallout if this rut business get out.”
“How is he?” she asked, worried. She knew very well how Alastor felt about sex, having heard the deer demon explain many times over to Angel about it after Angel flirted with him.
When Vox began popping up at the hotel, Angel stopped with his flirting and exchanged it to sex jokes, which made Alastor blush and revolted him. Vox didn’t really seem to mind that much.
“Pretty doped up, to be honest. It’s probably for the best, Al’s ruts are bad for everyone involved. He shed his velvet yesterday, so I took him to Porn Studios…”
Charlie frowned. For a moment, she couldn’t believe what she heard. She felt like a fool, believing Vox would show Alastor mercy during such a sensitive period for the demon. So, she interrupted him, scolding:
“That’s rape, Vox.”
“N-not like that,” Vox said, screen glitching a bit at his surprise. “Al is usually in a lot of pain during his ruts, so Val and I worked on something to ease it a bit, and Val has doctors there and all, I just…” Vox cut himself off, taking a deep breath. “I wouldn’t… I wouldn’t do that to him.”
Charlie winced a bit. She shouldn’t have made assumptions.
“I’m sorry for assuming that” she tried to make up for her mistake.
“It’s okay, I’d be suspicious if I were you,” Vox said. “But, anyway, while Al is away, I’m gonna do his share of the work on the hotel project. I’m not gonna stay here to work, cause I have to keep an eye on him and all, but I’m gonna help as much as I can.”
“Thank you!” she beamed, handing him Alastor’s part of the paperwork. He seemed like he already knew what it was about, and he wasn’t really that bothered about the extra work. “Can we visit him?”
“I don’t know… next time Al’s awake, I’ll ask him,” Vox got up and walked towards the door. “Thank you. Bye, Princess.”
And then, something came inside Charlie’s mind. She called for him:
“Wait, Vox.”
She had to know. Alastor and Vox were far from good people, but she had to know it for the sake of her redemption project. Vox turned to him, expecting something from her, and Charlie gathered herself before asking:
“What is your relationship with Alastor?”
Vox smiled.
“We’re partners. We have a sort of queerplatonic relationship,” Vox explained. “Like, we’re more intimate than friends or even boyfriends, but we don’t expect the whole sex or romantic love of each other.”
“So, you don’t love him?”
“I love him alright,” Vox laughed. “Just, not romantically. I love him like an equal. And this probably sounds stupid, but I don’t really know how to explain it. We just… belong to each other,” Vox suddenly had an idea. “I’m his in the same way that he’s mine. And I know that both of us are willing to build this relationship of ours without tying any of it to any sort of romantic attraction. And that kind of freedom is amazing. So, I love him like an equal.”
Charlie felt tears prickle at her eyes.
“Do you think Al loves you?”
“I’m certain of it. Though, Al’s love is a bit different from mine. It’s a bit more familiar. Al sees me as family. Not like a brother or a father, thank goodness, but like a husband who has taken care of him for quite some time. So the love isn’t even dependent on the romantic attraction.”
Charlie could have cried. Not only because Vox’s confession was beautiful, but because, if that was true, there was a chance that demons could be redeemed. She dismissed the other man, smiling to herself.