Archive of Our Own

Charlie didn’t know what exactly happened to Alastor during the battle.

She had assumed he died and his prolonged absence confirmed it, before he had suddenly made it back to the hotel.

The grief she had felt partially lessened by his presence. She finally had closure. At least one of the presumed dead residents of her hotel had survived. No one had seen Alastor die after all.

One moment Alastor had been defending the hotel and the other moment he had disappeared. Charlie saw his broken staff and had indeed concluded that he must have had a fierce altercation with Adam. 

She didn’t know the details, but not like it was important. The important part was that Alastor was alright.

Or was he?

Alastor was not going out at all, his movements had been more calculated and slow and he was speaking way less. He still kept up his cheerful attitude, but it wasn’t the same.

But then, it was too early to say, so shortly after the Extermination.

Charlie chalked it up to his exhaustion after the intense battle.

That was a few days ago. Alastor was hobbling when he thought no one saw. His facial expressions would sometimes derail and his eyes would squint and harden, like something that frustrated him. He looked distracted and he rarely left his room.

And now Charlie caught him looking pretty pale, sitting on an armchair and sipping tea. His hand was shaking and he spilled some of the tea.

“Oh! How clumsy of me. I am gonna clean that.”, his voice quivered slightly.

He leant down from his sitting position and immediately regretted it.

The wound on his chest protested and he couldn’t move as all air had momentarily been pushed out of his lungs and he couldn’t help but gasp. He was stuck leant over his legs.

“Alastor!?”, Charlie called, alarmed.

She had a hunch something was strange about Alastor, but she never had confirmation. But the Radio Demon did not just gasp in pain out of nowhere.

“I’m fine. I think I pulled a muscle.”

He was not fine. He was in pain and panicking by now. He didn’t want anyone to see! Especially not Charlie! His pulse was going haywire, he was starting to become dizzy. The pain wasn’t subsiding, he felt trapped, as if the walls of the hotel were closing in on him any moment. He couldn’t show weakness, it would be bad for his image! He couldn’t trust anyone, they shouldn’t see! Shouldn’t see how pathetic he was. Shouldn’t think it was them he had gotten so hurt for. He had to work, he had to function, he had to move on. Words, thoughts, desires were clouding his mind and aggravating his injury further.

Getting defeated by Adam and having to disappear was shameful enough, he could handle himself on his own.

“Let me help you.”

As Charlie gently grasped him and hoisted him up in a regular sitting position, he felt like he had been burnt. He flinched, fear gripping him like a vice. He had to get out of here! He had to run.

“YesLetMeGo.” he squeaked out breathlessly, attempting an emergency retreat before he made himself even more bare.

He stood up so violently, the force of his movements gave him the rest.

“Oh no…”

His vision had turned to darkness, sensations dead to the world.

He started falling forward, slumping like a lifeless puppet.

Charlie gasped and dove after him, catching him by his armpits right before he could hit the floor, most of his body in a horizontal position by now.

She then gently hoisted him back on the sofa and screamed - for Vaggie and Niffty.

“What happened!?” Vaggie yelled, watching the slumped form of a frowning passed out Radio Demon on the bed.

“I have no idea! He looked awful, he spilled his tea and started groaning. I tried to help, he tried to escape and then he passed out on me. Just like that. What if he is hurt, Vaggie!?”, Charlie sounded pained: “We have to check on him.”

Neither one of the girls liked the big gash on his chest that had been sloppily hidden beneath bandages and slowly dripping.

No wonder he had been missing. Adam must have nearly sliced him in half!

By the time they were finished patching him up, Charlie had sunken very deep into guilt tripping. Not only had Alastor nearly been killed, but he was hurting badly and didn’t tell anyone! He was just pretending it was all fine. And no one had even went to look for him when he had been assumed dead. But now that she saw how bad Alastor truly felt, despite pretending nothing had happened during the fight, she would not let go.

Never before had Alastor shown himself to be vulnerable or what he truly felt. He must have truly hated that. This was the first time she had been presented with the opportunity to start redeeming the hardest case. Someone as complicated and multifaceted as Alastor, that pretended he was fine after a near death experience. He’d never hear the end of it now, she would make sure of it. If there was a sinner in hell that needed her badly, it was him. Her co host, her sponsor… and the brave resident of her hotel, nearly laying his life down. Without even being acknowledged for it. Likely, because it wasn’t planned either.

Charlie gingerly put some spare clothes on him and wrapped him in a blanket, while she thought of what to do.

“Heeeello guys! Oh, did he fall asleep?”, Angel Dust confusedly stepped into the lit lobby, accompanied by Husk and Niffty.

“No! Alastor passed out on us.”

“He was almost fileted in half.”, Vaggie murmured, “How he didn’t die of blood loss by now, nobody knows…”

“Well I’ll tell you what. He is like a cockroach… hard to kill and hard shell to crack. He’ll be fine. Just give him time.”, Husker muttered.

“Does that imply that he has a soft interior?”, Angel muttered, looking over the pained expression of the Radio Demon.

The smile was once again plastered on his face, but he was grimacing, so it could be characterized as a frown. His eyebrows were turned upwards, his breathing came labored and he looked fragile and pale.

There was silence for a bit as everyone stared at his pallid, suffering face.

“I wouldn’t count on it.”, Husker turned to the side, annoyed he didn’t have a bottle with him, “But he definitely has emotions and weaknesses like all of us. He is just better at hiding them.”

As if on cue, Alastor whimpered. It was a tiny, soft, very human sound. The radio filter was off and with his fluffy deer ears and his lanky limbs he looked so tiny wrapped in that blanket.

Angel blushed and looked to the side, willing his mind not to go into the gutter and cleared his throat.

“He’s kinda… cute like that.”

Niffty giggled and gently patted over the Radio Demon’s ears, which oddly seemed to calm him down and made his expression soften.

“Don’t let him hear that, or he’ll kill you.” Husker sighed and shook his head.

Charlie gently stroked over his forehead, animated that Niffty’s care was doing something for him, and noticed how warm it felt.

“Oh no! He is burning up. The cut must have gotten infected or the blood loss caught up with him. We need something cool for his head and maybe some fluids? I suppose a blood transfusion would be useful, but that would be hard to get right.”

Now it was her panicking, running through the hotel to get medical supplies or conjuring them out of thin air to accommodate his needs.

“We are NOT losing him. NU-UH!”

Alastor felt like a tractor had driven over him. His entire body was hurting and aching, he felt like someone had put him in the oven, while simultaneously feeling the chills. He was so disoriented and confused. There were colors around him, they were all smudged and moving. Lights and colors and stars. And they tasted funny…

“Oi, yikes, you’re awake!”, Cherri Bomb said way too cheerily and loudly.

Alastor’s eyes widened as he felt like someone had stabbed him through both ears. It was like someone had dropped a metal pipe onto a glass floor and it reverberated in his skull. What was happening, who was talking? No idea, but the noise was killing him.

“Huh? You okay buddy…? Charlie and Vaggie went emergency shopping, so I had to jump in and take the next caretaking shift. … AH!”

Loud static screeches permeated the air and made her feel like her ears were bleeding.

“WAIT A SEC.”, she squeaked and rushed deeper into the hotel.

Husker was hungover and sleeping, but Angel had come to help his bestfriend.

He quickly crouched down in front of the crazed looking Radio Demon and felt his forehead, before pulling out a thermometer.

“Yup. Alastor has decided to die on us apparently! As an aftereffect of getting sliced by angelic steel.”, Angel bit his tongue, frowning as he peeled the blanket off Alastor.

“Cherri, we need ice! And medication. PRONTO. Call Charlie… tell her Smiles is dying…”

“How high is his fever!?”

“108°F (42,2°C). He needs fluids too. Ugh, why NOW out of all moments.”, Angel groaned and went to turn on the AC in the hotel.






“Charlie! You and Vaggie have to come home NOW. Angel said your demon’s dying.”

“ALASTOR IS DYING!?”, Charlie screamed into the phone so loud, that Cherri had to pull it off her ear.

“Yeah, his fever is through the roof. He needs medication and fluids and… by the sound of it, prayers.”

Charlie had thrown down a couple demons on the way home and was not the last bit sorry for it. Well, she was but they likely would not be as badly hurt as Alastor was if she was too late. She would under no circumstances lose another one of her friends!

And Angel was not over exaggerating. Alastor looked like shit. He was all flushed in the face, his pupils were unfocused and he looked dead to the world even awake.

A couple hours of going insane over him and they have actually managed to get his fever down to a whopping 103°F (39,4°C)! Still high, but not as life threatening. Alastor was heavily medicated and connected to a drip.

Charlie was chewing her nails while she took breathing exercises. Vaggie shook her head, gently hugging her girlfriend against herself.

“Maybe we should bring him to the hospital.”

“Maybe… but so soon after the battle it must be so full. And we can watch after him. Niffty is good at nursing…”, she let out a shaky breath.

“Charlotte…”, Alastor slurred gently from his bed, weirdly waving his hand through the air, like a curious cat.

She was next to him in a second, leaning in and grasping his hand with the most puppy eyed expression ever.

“Yes, Al?”, she gently coed.

Angel and Cherri were worriedly watching them from the other sofa.

Alastor scrunched his face up, looking confused: “Why you have two heads…? Huh… and one of ‘em is red…”

“Oooooh, he is tripping balls! What do they put into that medication.”, Angel muttered as he started reading the labels.

Charlie looked at him sympathetically, gently brushing over his cheek, coing softly: “Oh, Alastor… I am here. I’ve let you down once, but I won’t do it twice! Everything’s gonna be alright, I promise.”

Angel huffed: “Now he scared me shitless too! … Also… where’s Husker? He always has the best advice.”

“Thank you…”, Alastor gently murmured, the lacking radio filter making him sound sweeter than anything they’ve ever heard of him.

He leaned his head enjoyingly against Charlie’s hand with an innocent closed mouthed smile and closed his eyes.

“Hey, Al. No dying!”, Charlie gently shook him, as she felt tears gathering in her eyes, “You can sleep, but please. We are your family, we love you!”

Angel stopped in the middle of the room, he had been on the way to get Husker when he heard Charlie say that and changed his mind.

“Nooo! Tell me it ain’t so….”, he kneeled in front of the sofa Alastor was lying on.

Alastor made a gentle comfortable little sigh and got more cozy on the blanket.

“Good… that’s a good boy.”, she exhaled shakily and gently patted Alastor’s ears like she saw Niffty do.

His ears were flicking a bit, twitching slightly as she touched them. It was a good sign nevertheless.

“What do you mean?”, Niffty sniffed, “Is Master dying?”

“We hope not. He needs us!”, Charlie muttered, “Alastor please hold on strong and let us take care of you. You fought for us and we will fight for you.”

Niffty climbed the armrest next to Alastor’s head and made herself cozy there, while pouting.

Vaggie got behind Charlie and slowly started massaging her shoulders.

They froze when they heard a loud yawn behind them and a very sleepy looking Husker entering the room.

“What’s all this ruckus about, huh? … Why are you all looking so sad…”

“The Strawberry seems to be dying.”, Cherri quipped, looking uncomfortable.

“I hope not! But I think it’s time to bring him to the hospital.”, Charlie sniffed.

“Oh… I can’t imagine he does. But that might not be the best idea. Last time he was in the hospital he attempted to chomp a nurse’s arm off.”

“Huh? Does that mean he trusts us…”, Charlie looked back over the now very adorable and really nonthreatening and sick looking Radio Demon, “But I am running out of ideas! His wounds got infected. What can you even do against Angelic Steel. He got axed by Adam. Plus, he seems so tired, maybe he can’t resist by now.”

“Well in his own way. He probably doesn’t realize it.”

Alastor made a gentle humming sound and patted Niffty back, which seemed the most heartbroken anyone had ever seen her be before. Eventually he scooped her up on his chest and squeezed her like she was his teddy. She seemed to like that a lot and Charlie tried to stop herself from crying and took out her phone to snap a picture instead.

Then she went and dialed emergency services.

Vox had barely been paying attention to the drones near the hotel. After the battle everything was calm and quiet. So he almost missed how the ambulance halted in front of the gates. Thanks to his movement detectors there were alerts on his screen.

The lanky demon leaned forward and almost fell over his own legs when he saw the medics wheel out none other than Alastor! His hand limply dangled off the stretcher, neutral expression on his face, looking so wrong. A weird yellow and red ball was clawing into his chest and Charlie was crying like it was the hearse and not the ambulance standing there.

It should have made Vox happy. But he was the exact opposite.

“WHAT THE HELL, BITCH. YOU DECIDED TO DIE ON US!? Stand the fuck up! Pussy, he only hit you once, why are you going to the hospital? Dafuq… why are you my archnemesis!? You aren’t being serious, are you!? All these damn god damn years I knew you…”

The princess staggered, but immediately entered, while the rest of the gang followed in a car. Vox ordered his drone to follow them almost as if in trance, barely able to breathe. Every of his muscles hurt, he could hear the static in his ears growing louder, his breathing to become faster, his pulse skyrocketing.

He called Valentino on his phone.

“VAL, YOU HAVE TO COME SEE THIS. ALASTOR IS GETTING WHEELED INTO THE HOSPITAL.”

“Oh my. Has he gotten into another fight so soon after this?”

“NO, I THINK IT’S BECAUSE OF THE FIGHT THAT HE IS. I don’t fucking understand. Adam cut him ONCE. One fucking time. I am going fucking nuts, Val! I am gonna kill someone…”

“I haven’t heard you this angry in ages. It’s very hot.”

“MOVE YOUR ASS HERE. You don’t fucking understand. He wasn’t moving and he wasn’t smiling. HE WAS FROWNING. That fucker is always smiling, what the hell.”

“Honestly I can’t tell if you’re happy or angry at this point. Both?”

Vox didn’t have the nerve to tell Valentino that he wasn’t the least bit happy. It would probably confuse him and he couldn’t explain it so well over the phone. Maybe this was a bad idea.

By the time Valentino arrived in Vox’s tower, he was violently disassembling his chair into as many parts as he could muster and screaming like he was skewered on a stick. The surveillance screens meanwhile showed Alastor in the hospital waiting room with all the Hazbin Hotel inhabitants taking care of him and talking. And if the Radio Demon didn’t look like total shit.

Honestly, considering the circumstances, he could understand why Vox was freaking out. It was not every day one could see the Radio Demon be so vulnerable.

“FUUUUUUUUUUUUCK! SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT! CURSES! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU ALASTOR! FUCK YOU ADAM !”

Val had to blink a couple times, because he couldn’t believe what he was seeing and hearing. Were those tears? Was Vox crying? Did he even know Val was here by now!?

“Oh, I thought you were glad to Adam for the show?”

Vox seemed to have realized he wasn’t alone anymore and he fell to his knees, scratching the floor and TV static screeches so loud, his screens turned completely off for a couple seconds before turning back to life.

“You don’t understand, Valentino!”

Vox turned his head quickly and yes, he was definitely crying.

“It should have been ME. It should have been me that kills him. Not some heavenly bullshit! HOW DARE HE think he can escape me. That fucker! I am not letting him fucking get away with this!”

Valentino was speechless tilting his brow upwards, completely confused at Vox’s reaction. Even though he could understand if Vox preferred to be the one killing Alastor, it almost seemed like he didn’t want Alastor to die at all. Perhaps it was because Alastor had been missing for so long, that he couldn’t drag it all out, perhaps because he secretly enjoyed every time they crossed paths.

“Are you sure that you hate him, amigo?”

“OF COURSE I FUCKING HATE HIM. HE IS DYING ON ME. Is that my fucking punishment for losing to him!?”

Vox sent a mechanical component from his chair flying and splintering one of his many screens. As much he hated having to replace his screens, he needed to destroy something, before he accidentally caused another power blackout. 

Valentino had to keep himself from chuckling and instead clasped his arms behind his back: “Well… you could wait and see… if he ever wakes up again. Or you could… you know. Go to the hospital… like a proper ‘archenemy’.”

Vox was breathing labored by now, squinting inconspicuously over to his business partner.

“You know what. YES. If he’s gonna have his last moments soon, I better fucking see them!”

“You know Vox. Not to step on your toes. But I feel it’s not killing Alastor that you favor, but seeing him suffer. After all you don’t-”

“I AM SUPPOSED TO BE THE ONE KILLING HIM.”

“Yes, yes…Totally.”

Charlie was extremely nervous when Alastor was finally wheeled to the operating table. The operation could have complications after all, but at least Alastor was not resisting… due the fact that he had passed out again.

Vaggie was cuddling her as much as she could. Niffty was rolled up in a ball on Husker’s lap and chewing on her tiny nails.

Angel sighed: “Well, we all know that Al is not easy to handle. But we are starting to understand what his problem is. He doesn’t like asking for help, he is too proud aaaand he hates being vulnerable… AND he pretends he is fine.”

Husker nodded and smiled gently: “Very observant. Wonder who you learned that from.”

“Yes! But first we have to focus on him surviving! I still can’t believe he didn’t tell us. You say he trusts us, but if he did, it wouldn’t have happened in the first place. I should have noticed he felt so awful. I should have looked for him after he disappeared!”

“Charlie. You can’t help someone who is running away from help. You had enough going on to keep attention on everyone. It is unfortunate though that the only time Alastor did something great for us, he felt ashamed about it.”, Vaggie explained.

“Yes, sometimes Alastor bites off more than he can chew. He prefers to lick his wounds alone.”, Husker shrugged, “He hates showing weakness and codependency. He always wants to be perfect and in control. And for some reason he despises men. The more dominant and macho ones.”

“Never knew I would have something in common with him.”, Vaggie quipped.

“What if he’s gay…”, Angel mused, scratching his chin, “He keeps hanging out with the ladies.”

Husker shook his head: “He is only friends with them. I am pretty sure he’s never dated anyone in his life. Although sometimes I think he and some of his friends would be a good match.”

Charlie kept nervously glancing back and forth to keep her occupied while she waited for the results: “Well regardless of what he is or isn’t, we will accept him for it. We have to show him he is a resident like anyone else and he can talk about his problems with us. And we will have to try harder. But then, none of us expected Alastor to turn out this way.”

Eventually he came back from the operation. It was successful, but he would have to stay in the hospital for a couple days to make sure the infection was dealt with.

The nurses said the latest he would wake up would be the next day at noon.

When it was the evening of the next day and he still was asleep, Charlie was a nervous wreck. The other residents were faring little better. Unnerved by the stillness of the usually so animated Radio Demon. He was weak, very weak and aching.

Vox was sitting on Valentino’s lap as he kept staring at the screen of the hospital monitor shoveling ice cream down his throat like a heartbroken teenager. And at the moment he really did not look any different from it.

The next day the nurses grew concerned and had to monitor Alastor more frequently. Despite that, his infection was reducing and his body showed signs of improvement. The fever had gone down slightly, but still was pretty high.

It was midday and Charlie and Vaggie were practically living in the hospital by now. Charlie was dozing off on her girlfriend's lap. Husker and Cherri were in the hotel with Niffty and were supposed to replace them soon. Angel was quietly scrolling through social media as he sat beside them and checked if Alastor was still breathing every few minutes.

That was when the doors to his hospital room were kicked open loudly and a very angry and steaming TV Demon had stepped inside.

“HERE is that fucker!”

He angrily stomped his foot.

“ALASTOR, WAKE THE FUCK UP!”

Charlie startled awake, looking around like a panicked chicken, Angel accidentally threw his phone into the nearest flower pot. Only Vaggie stayed focused, grabbing her angelic spear she jumped between Alastor’s bed and Vox, frowning threateningly.

“Not. A. Step. Closer. You filth! You aren’t hurting him.”

“Who said I wanted to hurt that sad fuck! He did it by himself already!” , Vox gesticulated around with his hands like he was having a stroke. He was all jittery and couldn’t stand still, his temper caused disturbances on his own screen.

“As far as I know, you two are rivals. So why are you here?”, Charlie gently inquired after she calmed down from her near heart attack.

“I am HERE to make sure the fucker doesn’t even THINK about fucking dying. And if HE does die I want to fucking watch. He owes me a fucking rematch, but look at his goddamn sorry state! He is pathetic!”

“Oh yeah, you flat faced scrap metal gadget!?”, Angel stood up and walked closer, towering over Vox as if he could compare to an Overlord, “You were sitting at home like a fucking baby and twiddling your thumbs. If we would have lost they would have gone after ALL of hell. And then I would have loved to see Adam crush you. But then… I guess I would be dead as well.”

Vox tried to take a deep breath, but that was hard when he was in the same room as Alastor. Literally so close, yet so far apart. He wasn’t waking up, he was so sick!

Charlie slowly walked over nervously trying to smile: “I am sorry. Do not take it to heart, Mr. Vox. But I do not think you can do anything. We’ve tried and I guess all we can do is be close to him and hope he can battle the infection.”

“Infection!? What fucking infection?”, Vox flinched and snuck past Vaggie and stood next to the bed before she could blink.

He stared at the neutral face of Alastor, clad in hospital clothes. Without gloves you could see his dark and clawed hands and all the scars littering his arms that definitely continued on all over his body.

Charlie sighed and came closer: “You see Alastor disappeared after the battle and came a couple hours later. He has a gigantic cut on his chest and we are all wondering how he didn’t bleed out by now. However he didn’t properly close the cut and it got infected, while he was pretending that everything was fine. He fainted on us and later on had very high fever. The nurses took proper care of the infection and we have yet to hope it’s over and he wakes again.”

Upon noticing how tightly Vox was gripping the metal railing of the bed, she exhaled.

“I do not want to make assumptions about your relationship with Alastor, but you could try telling him how much you hope he will get better again, even if it is just for the sake of your rivalry. Hope is all we have at the moment.”

Vox chuckled bitterly, another disturbance flashing across his screen, his shoulders hanging off him: “Relationship. There is NO relationship! Alastor ‘doesn’t HAVE relationships with ANYONE’.”

Vox hit the closest wall so hard, the tile broke.

“That fucker rejected me. Constantly making fun of me. And here I am standing like an utter FUCKING fool, begging him not to die, just so I can FUCKING try beating his ass again!”

Vox was in hysterics by now, stomping like a little kid that didn’t get his candy. Charlie was unsure of what to do until she heard a particularly interesting sound. A sniff. She looked and saw the angriest expression you could ever see on anyone’s face, mixed with tears at the corner of each screen. In this moment she oddly wanted to comfort him. Even though the character of all Vee’s was volatile and annoying at best, she could sympathize with his feelings.

Angel’s eyes widened as he took in the situation and even Vaggie was confused.

“You are not alone. He never tells us about his problems and he tries doing everything by himself. It is a pity you guys didn’t work out. It wasn’t nice of him, but if you guys don’t fit together it might just be for the best. Despite that, we recently discussed the fact that Alastor might not be interested in anyone at all. And if he was, it would most likely be women.”

“I n-never said…”, Vox stuttered and shook his head, “LOOK. We used to be FRIENDS. In the very fucking beginning. But Al-Fucking-astor always thought he was too good for me and I will never outdo him!”

“Dude, watch your language. You TOTALLY sound like you have a crush on him.”, Angel sighed.

“I FUCKING DON’T!”, Vox screeched, his voice broke and ended in a whiny wet sniff, “I h-h-hate that fucker.”

“That’s why you are visiting him in the hospital and crying till your synapses burn off, eh?”

“What the HELL is going on here?” , Husker bellowed when he saw Vox standing in the middle of the hospital room.

Niffty and Cherri were also present, confusedly staring at the scene. Charlie hurried over to Husker and gently put an arm on his shoulder.

“It’s aaaaall fine. Vox came over for a social visit. Despite their rivalry he does care about Alastor and is scared he might be dying… just as we are.”

Husker stared at the back of the tech giant and back at Charlie rather unconvinced, but Vox wasn’t denying anything. He was making odd sounds though.

“You know, you making it sound like it’s all Alastor’s fault. But to me, it sounds like you were just jealous of his success and couldn’t handle rejection.”, Angel tutted on.

“You’re Angel Dust, ain’t ya? No wonder Valentino fucking hates you. I stopped him from gunning you down, but I shall not be so lenient next time.”

Angel felt visibly uncomfortable and made himself a small ball on his chair, looking to the side and shivering.

“Man, listen. I was… I was just trying to help. You know, arguments have to be looked at from both perspectives. You seem like you are still holding on to your old friendship and have a grudge, while Alastor moved on. That ain’t healthy.”

Vox’s voice echoed through the room and the static made everyone cover their ears and jumped in circles.

“WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU KNOW, WHORE!? He let me take his FUCKING picture. How the fuck did he paid me back for my loyality!?”

Husker raised a brow as he saw the streams of tears running down the screen in waterfalls: “And yet you still yearn for his attention and acknowledgement. You are pulling his pigtails like a stupid bully with the girl he likes.”

Vox melodramatically fell to the ground and started hitting with his fists on it: “I DON’T LIKE HIM, STOP! I AM GONNA RIP HIM A NEW ONE WHEN HE IS HEALTHY AGAIN. I AM GONNA KILL HIM WITH MY OWN FUCKING HANDS. STOP PSYCHOANALYSING ME.”

Charlie took a deep breath and stepped closer: “Listen… I am VERY sorry for you, Mr. Vox. I understand your grief and frustration. But unless you tune it down, I will have to ask you to leave. You are stressing us and other patients out. This is a place of healing.”

Vox suddenly stood up and straightened, adjusting himself and taking a deep breath. His voice sounded surprisingly level.

“Okay. I will come back another time then. … But if he is dying or waking up, call me.”

He gave Charlie a phone number and then practically fled the station.

It was quiet for a few seconds as everyone stared after him.

“What the fuck was that?”, Vaggie breathed.

“Okay….”, Charlie made little breathing exercises and closed the doors to the room again, “So it seems it’s not just us who care about Alastor.”

Angel visibly relaxed again and sat up: “That guy’s a total loser. Still angsting over Alastor when he couldn’t care less. But he might actually be amused if we tell him, so… why not?”

Charlie sighed, completely resigned and sat next to Alastor’s bedside, gently stroking over his forehead.

“I hope all our efforts will be worth something. I already miss his voice…”

“Not just you…”, Angel sighed melodramatically and then scratched behind his neck and suddenly beamed, “TV Simp also does!”

“Master will definitely be better soon! How DARE he leave us alone!”, Niffty sniffed and stomped her feet.

“I am sure someone as powerful as him will be up in no time.”, Vaggie gently smiled.

The next day Charlie didn’t expect to see Vox back at the hospital again. Especially calmly strutting into the room as if the day prior simply did not happen.

“Well princess, I have considered my earlier behavior and collected myself.”, he put on his best customer service voice and reached out a hand, “I am offering a truce to you all, until Alastor is better again.”

Charlie, who hadn’t expected Vox to attack them anyway, was a little confused.

“Are you considering attacking the hotel in the future?”, Vaggie tilted her head questiongly.

“Maybeeee? If that makes Alastor fight me. But he cannot do that being bedridden, can he?”, Vox smiled as if he had said something very sophisticated that he could be immensely proud of and strutted over to an empty chair by his bedside.

He then threw one leg over the other and pulled out his phone.

Charlie and Vaggie shared confused glances and shrugged, not seeing much harm as long as he behaved. And behave he did. He got them all cheap coffee from the vending machine and was now talking about how much better he was than Alastor and how many doors had been opened to him by cooperating with other overlords.

The reactions were varied… from nonchalance, to annoyance, maybe amusement even, to confusion… and in Charlie’s case endearment. Vox clearly cared about Alastor in his own way, but he had some issues he had to work out with himself regarding that. Alas, the Radio Demon never even mentioned him, whereas Vox seemed obsessed with him. Vox could singlehandedly make sure that Alastor’s reputation would never be forgotten.

For a moment, they had a strange distraction in front of them, that eased their worries even if just for a little bit.

It all changed when Alastor started whimpering in his sleep. The TV screen flickered and he started speechlessly to the side, frozen as he observed.

Alastor was grimacing, shuffling in his sleep, groaning in pain. Vox stood up without thinking, staring from him to the heartrate monitor, that showed an abnormal heartrate.

“What just happened!?”

Charlie gently caressed his cheek, trying to calm him down.

Vox’s emotions ranged from upset, to kind of jealous, to angry, to helpless in a couple of seconds and culminated into even more panic. Not only was he utterly confused how SHE was touching the Radio Demon, but why he wanted to do it too? And what was happening to him. He seemed to go worse.

“Don’t tell me he is dying now!”, he yelped, “How dare he!”

“I…? I don’t think he is, but we might need to call a nurse… I think it’s more likely he is having a nightmare.”

“Nightmare!? Is that really normal!?”

The nurses and Charlie both actually had managed to pacify Alastor… with meds and kind words and touches, while Vox was busy rocking back and forth on the floor, trying to calm his nerves. Vox’s total overreactions were strangely helping the other Hazbin Hotel members keep a cool head.

Even when the nurse left, Alastor kept making pained sounds and shuffling and muttering something unintelligible.

“HEY! Alastor, wake the fuck UP!”

“That’s not gonna-”, Charlie tried intervening.

Instead of doing what Vox was dreaming of doing he grabbed Alastor’s collar and gently shook.

“IT’S ME, VOX. YOU GONNA JUST DIE WITHOUT SAYING GOODBYE TO ME? Think again, shithead.”

Vaggie was about to throw Vox half across the room, but Alastor’s whimpers suddenly ceased.

“Will you not EVEN GRACE ME with a last look? For good old times sake!”, Vox sounded like he was gonna start crying again any moment, “You left me for fucking 7 years, I FUCKING MISSED YOU, YOU FUCKING BITCH. I WATCHED EVERY OF YOUR GODDAMN RADIO BROADCASTS, I HAVE THEM NUMBERED IN MY PERSONAL FOLDER.”

Angel giggled into his sleeve, absolutely losing it, with Husker looking disgusted and Charlie beamed with a cute smile. Vaggie was glad the man had stopped shaking Alastor, idly wondering if the pained sounds stopped because of a good or a bad reason. Cherri and Niffty looked rather confused.

And then Vox just dropped to his knees, hanging over the bed, hiding his screen against the railing as he started wailing loudly, unconsolably.

“Ooooh, Mr. Vox, I am so sorry!”, Charlie rushed to his side, gently hugging his shoulders and caressing his arms.

She flinched and stumbled back as electricity zapped her, the lights in the room flickering and electrical devices malfunctioning as Vox sobbed, his shoulders shaking, his lungs barely supplying him with oxygen.

“Oooouh, Voxxy. You can be quite pathetic and cute at times.”, Valentino enjoyed his cigarette as he watched the scene from the surveillance cameras in V tower, “Guess if you ever attacked Alastor again, he might be more lenient with you after this…”

It felt like ages when Vox calmed down, but as a matter of fact it was barely a few minutes, until he had forced himself to, sufficiently having let go of the frustration, worry and pain he had felt the last few days. He felt better though, but he was still worried sick. He straightened and dusted himself off, wiping his screen. Then he promptly walked around the other side of Alastor’s bed and climbed in, sitting himself on the edge next to the Radio Demon, legs stretched out, arms crossed, huffing.

“I am staying here…”, he resolutely said, his voice still a little quivery from crying, “If something happens to him, it better be with me around.”

The Hazbin Hotel residents stared awkwardly from one to another. It felt almost a little intimate… As funny as Vox’s behavior was, it was rather difficult to not to pity him and agree that none of them would know what the hell to do if anything happened to Alastor.

“Sure… C-Can I get you anything? Do you feel better?”, Charlie softly tried, tilting her head as she tried to cheer up the TV Demon, if not for his own sake, then for their ears' sake.

Vox shook his head, huffing frustratedly under his breath: “Fucking ancient fucking geezer deciding to take the easy fucking way out…”

It wasn’t until the next day that Alastor actually indeed woke up…

Alastor was so disoriented and groggy when he woke up, that he was not sure where he was. Everything hurt, he was hungry, his throat was dry.

And then literally all hell broke loose. Charlie was fussing over him, his friends were yelling and asking him a million questions out of which he could barely remember even one.

What day was it? What month, what year? No idea, did he care?

There were hands patting his cheek, Niffty was somewhere at his legs. Only slowly he regained a little bit of focus, but he was still a little rattled. When he could finally catch snippets of a conversation about ‘He is no longer heating up so much…’ he finally spoke.

First with a cough, then more firmly, his radio filter still gone.

“What…. the hell is going on!? Everyone is going crazy. What did I miss?”

Charlie gasped and breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that not only had Alastor woken up and his fever was lower, but he was also showing signs of lucidity. His eyes were no longer glassy and unfocused, but he still looked worse for wear.

“Of COURSE we are going crazy over you. You almost died from getting your wound infected and didn’t told anyone. We are your family!”

“ MOTHERFUCKER, WHO SAID WE ARE FAMILY!?” , Vox’s voice RIGHT next to his ear cut straight through the banter and left his blood run cold in alarm , “I CANT KILL YOU IF YOU DIE ON YOUR OWN, BITCH. I STILL DIDN’T HAVE MY REVENGE.”

That had to be the most inconvenient moment for him to arrive, but for some reason he was the only one fazed. He slowly, without straining his neck, turned and stared at the TV demon that was sitting in bed right next to his lying form (on top of the blanket too), his knee leaned slightly against Alastor’s hip. He had thought it must have been the bed’s railing or his staff, not a person!

Why Vox had elected to arrive now out of sudden and scream at him like a banshee, he had no idea. He just knew no one was doing anything about him and he was getting a headache just having to see his annoying flatscreen.

“Well, you can kill me now in my weakened state.”

That’s what he assumed he was here for, not like Alastor understood anything that happened. The white walls were reminding him of something though. It was like he was trapped in a bizarre dream.

Charlie sighed and said more firmly again, used to the TV demon's antics by now: “Vox please go home, don’t start anything!”

But it was too late already, a screw seemed to have gone loose when Alastor automatically had participated in their banter. Vox, (who had been in the hospital for half a day by now, unlike what Alastor thought), had suddenly turned and straddled Alastor’s lap, shaking him by the collar with crazed, desperate eyes.

“It wouldnt be the fucking same! DONT YOU FUCKING DARE DIE BY SOMEONE ELSES HAND AGAIN, BITCH. YOU ARE MY NEMESIS....”

Angel was trying not to laugh, biting his lips and staring with a grin at the very homosexual scene. He slowly started lifting his phone, only so very subtly.

Husker, just as slowly, grabbed Angel’s hand and lowered the phone again, so very subtly.

“What the fuck, let me go!?”, Alastor growled, while Charlie fussed over what to do. Everything still hurt and he felt too heavy to move, but if Vox dared attack him he would react.

That had to be the most shameless and brash display ever seen. Alastor could understand if Niffty tried to cuddle him from time to time, but then they were close and she was a little feral tiny cyclops pet-like creature.

Vox was squirming on him pretty obscenely, with his screen way too close and his emotions greatly confused the Radio Demon. Especially because he refused to show his.

“Why are you on my goddamn lap!?”

Charlie tried to elaborate, before it escalated or could be misunderstood: “He was cry-”

“ SHUT UP. I CAME TO TELL YOU TO-... TO…”, Vox interrupted her in great panic, flushing and becoming all stuttery as he leaned back and removed his hands from his collar, “Get the fuck healthy again… So I can take you on, on full power.”

Angel wiggled his brows and drawled in a sultry way: “ You gonna 'take him' eh?”

“Oh not like THAT. I have Valentino for that.”, Vox huffed, gesticulating around.

“Are you sure? You’re already in the right position. Now slowly move your hips around and growl as you angrily shake his collar….”

Vox was at a loss for words for a moment and promptly slid off the bed, crossing his arms, gathering himself and becoming solemn.

“It appears my pleas have fallen upon deaf ears. But then Alastor didn’t die so MAYBE subconsciously that fucker did understand me. … It’s not like I care about you or anything like that!”, he hastily turned to Alastor now and waved a finger around him, “Look after yourself better… you suicidal MORON!”

And with that, the heavily blushing TV demon teleported out of the hospital room.

Angel started clapping excitedly: “What a performance! Is he starring in the newest romance movie? Does it have an 18+ rating? Oh, he would get SO MANY views. That would be the best show he ever released.”

“Have to agree, that tension was somethin’!”, Cherri giggled.

Charlie let out a breath she was holding and gently caressed over Alastor’s cheek: “I am SO glad you are awake again. You’ve almost died on us twice , please next time don’t hide how hurt you are!”

Alastor abashedly avoided her eyes, overwhelmed at the attention he was getting and still rather dizzy: “I didn’t think… it would get so bad. I thought… the fact that I managed to survive, means I will live. But I constantly seem to miscalculate angels…”

“Yes, the side effects of angelic steel is also not to be underestimated…”, Vaggie muttered, “Thank you for holding Adam back… I am glad you are still around, you did good.”

“HOW could I have done good!?”, Alastor burst out in a moment of weakness, “I got myself cut up by such an amateur! Was he just playing with me the entire time? I landed so many hits on him and he only used one attack and my staff was gone!”

He hid in his hands and groaned. It felt strange even to his ears for his filter to be gone.

“Hey, he almost killed me too and I am the princess of hell… I should be above a mortal soul and yet…”, Charlie gently stroked over his fluffy ears again, “The most important part is that you get healthy again and we can get you back to the hotel.”

“What the hell did Vox want…?”

“I CAN TELL YA WHAT HE WANTED!”, Angel chuckled and rushed forward, “He wanted to bang ya. He came here crying hysterically, being all worried about you, wouldn’t leave us the fuck alone, kept talking about you NON-STOP. We ain’t kidding Al, he was ALL over ya. Bahahahaha, I am almost jealous I don’t have anyone fawning like that over me.”

The deer turned his head slightly, frowning again, his eye twitching slightly: “You’re kidding me, right?”

Husker chuckled, but shook his head: “No we are not… He laid next to you in bed all night long.”

“Oh Satan, I thought I was rid of him for good”, Alastor chuckled, “Who would have thought Vox would push past his big, fragile ego and visit me in the hospital. Pah, surely out of respect for my work?”

“Bahahahhaa, ‘respect’ , he shook your collar, demandin’ ya don’t die, calling ya a ‘bitch’...”, Cherri held her belly.

Alastor chuckled as well: “Well, if he doesn’t know how else to express it…”

“Smiles, you better not do anything strenuous the next weeks. We gotta keep ya’ safe!”, Angel pointed well meaningly in the air.

“Can I climb him now? Can I climb him now?”, Nifty tugged at Charlie’s pants with big eyes.

“Sure! But don’t touch his chest, it still hurts.”

“MAAAASTEEER…:”, Nifty nuzzled up to his head and next to his neck, cuddling him for all she was worth.

Alastor chuckled softly and joined in the cuddles, closing his eyes. Maybe it didn’t hurt to be vulnerable from time to time. Not that he would openly admit it to anyone… not that he would have usually thought about it, if he wasn’t in this peculiar situation. After all, a lot of things he thought he knew about himself were no longer true. Things changed. If even Vox could push his pride aside to learn to care for him… maybe he wasn’t too weak for caring for the hotel residents. After all… the joy in their eyes he saw when he finally woke up… would be hard to fake. 

He’d be damned if that wasn’t their reaction after he almost got killed for them (not like that bit was even planned). Which was honestly what he thought he deserved anyway. But maybe, just maybe he could indulge in thinking he was an ok person.

Even though Vox was still watching every camera he had in his grasp and knew Alastor had been transferred back to the hotel a couple days later, as soon as he heard Charlie’s voice on his phone, he had half a heart attack.

“IS HE DEAD!? IS HE OKAY!?”

“YES. It’s fine. I just called to tell you he is back at the hotel… We put him in a hospital room nearby with his favorite books and he is happy. We will watch over him closely, but it’s better if he stays in the hotel.”

Vox exhaled long and hard and sat down on the couch: “Good.”

“I.. I have a question for you. How long have you and Alastor been friends?”

“Mhh…. I am not sure, it’s been a while… let me think. The more time passed and the more modern I became, the weaker our friendship was… At least 40 years I am sure, maybe more?”

“And one argument was enough to destroy it? Or was it… the difference in likes and philosophies.”

“Both perhaps?”

“Well, you know Alastor well. So… do you know how to make him open up. You know… about his past? About his feelings and thoughts?”

“Hmm… to be honest you guys are doing good on that front already. Maybe try to make him realize no one is perfect and asking for help is nothing to be ashamed of. It doesn’t make him any less independent. Just don’t overdo it with the ‘caring for him’. He might run away otherwise.”

“Okay. THANK YOU; THANK YOU. You know, you can… always visit him, you know?”

“Oh, no, no, no, no. Next time I see him will be on the battlefield! You hear me… And he will praise me for finally defeating him.”

Charlie chuckled, already making plans for caring better for Alastor and not believing Vox truly hated the Radio Demon: “Sure… Can’t wait. But I hope… that maybe… someday you two can be friends again.”

Vox stared through his screen, at the hotel and the radio tower in particular, imagining Alastor inviting him over and showing him his newest setup. It’s not like Charlie will ever succeed redeeming him, but both of them friends again? 

“I wish…”