Chapter Text
Cooking dinner was usually something the two did together, but this afternoon Vox hurried to begin before his beloved was home. His dearest deer deserved the day off :3
He grabbed a shark-themed apron and uncharacteristically clumsily began the preparations for the jambalaya he'd be making.
It's not like he was a bad cook, oh no, but it was a recipe unfamiliar to him. Plus the stress and pressure of that recipe being a family one of Alastor's made him pretty laggy. The whole point of this was to be a surprise which would impress him, it couldn't be something shite.
In the end the dish itself turned out pretty alright. The kitchen was a horrible mess, but the most important thing was the food right? Vox was just about to start tidying when he heard noises from the front door. He grabbed the jambalaya and dashed into the hallway, projecting a self-important grin as he anticipated Alastor's reaction to this deed.
When the door opened and Alastor's figure came into view, Vox's voice failed to sound as confident as usual, letting out a somewhat shaky and almost shy 》Welcome home!《.
Although Alastor was at first somewhat startled to be so suddenly greeted, he soon relaxed a little realizing the situation.
》I uhh... made your family's jambalaya!《 Vox's smile failed him, looking awkward and craving the other demon's approval.
Alastor blinked before cheerfully clapping his hands together.
》How wonderful!《 But his smile was also off - clearly strained and uncomfortable. 》I suppose you intended we eat it together?《
That's when it struck Vox he'd completely forgot about setting the table. He was too caught up in getting the food itself right, but he was absolutely not going to get some employee to do it.
》Fuuuuck I forgot about the tableee《 He groaned, almost dropping the dish.
Alastor's forced smile turned slightly more genuine at how endearingly pitiful Vox was being. He offered to take care of it but Vox snapped at him.
》No, this dinner is all on me, I'm doing it!《 Vox ran off and Alastor just awkwardly stood there until Vox came back and took his hand to lead him to the dining room.
It was a small room, with an archway rather than a door between it and the kitchen, meaning Alastor had to walk through that whole mess. The only light in the dining room was a candle slightly off-centre the table.
Alastor and Vox both sat, just kind of looking at each other - some awkward confusion here, some longing stares there - before Vox again snapped out of it and actually served.
Vox also quickly said the Lord's prayer - so quickly and distracted that he slurred over his words multiple times and had to restart. Why he still prayed when in Hell himself was probably just for the routine of it, Alastor thought. Vox was quite fond of routines. Or perhaps it was more of an obsession.
Tasting the food sent a shiver down his spine, something he skillfully hid from the man across the table. This really was his mother's recipe. Not as well executed, but her recipe nonetheless.
He wasn't sure what he'd even thought Vox meant by "your family's", but it certainly wasn't something so... accurate?
After both eating in awkward silence, Vox's cocky grin returned looking at Alastor.
》I take it you liked it, you're a little messy.《
This was untrue. Vox stood up and walked right up to Alastor's face, his eye spinning.
》Lemme... clean that up...《
A long tongue almost found its way to Alastor's (clean thank you very much) cheek, getting tightly squeezed by a suddenly appearing tentacle. Still by the tongue, Vox was swiftly thrown across the small room.
Vox looked at Alastor's aggravated face.
》What the fuck, dude?!《
》I can ask you the same.《 Alastor snarled.
Ashamed silence.
》Fuck man, I get it, I'm sorry!《 Vox looked away, then sighed.
》I... I just wanna feel like we're actually close.《 When Alastor didn't respond, Vox's head practically whipped back to look at him with an unintentionally pleading face.
》Fine, I admit it, I'm a, a whore for your attention《 he laughed, losing track 》Ha, it's fucking pathetic, and, and you don't even know what I'd give for you to see me as uniquely worthy of your time!《
Alastor sighed himself, his ears drooping. It took him a great deal of effort to get out the words he wanted to say.
》You are special to me, Vox.《
Vox trembled before collapsing. 》Just...
Bullshit!《 he whined through tears. 》You're so fucking distant...《
Alastor sighed again. He had no clue how to comfort, so, feeling horribly ashamed over it, he bent down and took Vox's hand.
Vox didn't lift his head, but tightly gripped Alastor's hand back. His claw-like fingers dug into Alastor's glove, who tightened his own grip. They stayed like that for a while.