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Alastor would never grow accustomed to the human realm as it was now. The buildings were entirely too tall, the people entirely too loud, and there were entirely too many damned cellular telephones equipped with cameras around every corner for him to feel truly comfortable.
But, Charlie had insisted.
Those absolutely lethal puppy dog eyes were nigh irresistible and Lucifer had folded under their sheer power like a wet newspaper.
So here they were. At some kind of parade.
Lucifer was right at home, practically squealing over every little aspect of the gathering of people, snapping pictures of Charlie whenever he could, and generally making a nuisance of himself.
Alastor was content to stick to the shadows, keep his sunglasses on, and the wide brimmed hat he had donned to keep the blazing sun off his face. Whoever had planned this damned event in the middle of summer deserved a spot in hell alongside him.
The crowd was a sentient thing, surging and moving at a pace both glacial and alarmingly quick. He weathered the crush of bodies for a moment before finding his way to a nearby alleyway and perching on the edge of a precarious crate. Alastor looked down: Lucifer was nowhere to be found.
Alastor cursed to himself, scanning the crowd for a second-third-fourth time, absolutely no sign of the king. And with his short stature? It would be nearly impossible to spot. All around him was a veritable explosion of color and sound, flags waving and people cheering making it nearly impossible to skim the surface of the crowd to any effect.
And then he saw it.
Amidst the whorl of the crowd one area was dark. Red and black and-
Alastor read the banner and snorted.
The Satanic temple? How apropos considering their somewhat incognito guest. Oh Lucifer would absolutely love this. Alastor scanned the area, they were offering something called an “unbaptism” and had several banners proclaiming “Hail satan” which was just adorable.
And then he saw it.
That stupid white hat.
That long tailcoat
Those obnoxious heeled boots he had spent a solid 15 minutes looking for on the floor of Alastor’s bedroom.
The devil himself had found his people.
God help them all, he needed to get over there before Lucifer started a riot, they couldn’t get kicked out of another event, and not this one, Charlie would kill them-
Lucifer was cheerfully conversing with the group, eyes wide and laughing wide enough Alastor could see him wipe at the edge of his eyes. The prince of darkness himself held up a t- shirt and pulled it over his head and Alastor sighed fondly, pulling his hat down over his brow, forging to the crowd.
It was only a matter of time before something tipped them off that the man in front of them was something more than human and well, he did not want to be the cause of a modern day witch hunt. Or well, devil hunt.
Lucifer cheerfully waved, beckoning Alastor over once he saw his lover approaching.
“Al! You’ll never guess. These delightful folks were just telling me about the charity work they are organizing! And get this-”
He gestured to the shirt, covered in rainbows so bright Alastor nearly had to avert his eyes with the words “Hail Satan” plastered in the middle. The grin Lucifer gave him was bordering on shit eating as he chuckled conspiratorially.
“I’m wearing this the next time I go down to the wrath ring.”
Alastor laughed, a full throated thing. “Whatever you say, your majesty. When you get banned from Satan’s company again I will have a pint of something strong waiting.”
Lucifer squawked indignantly, yammering about how “it was one time” and “satan didn’t mind” and “I fixed the damages, you ass!”
At that time the crowd lurched once more and Charlie and Vaggie were spat out of the throng and their band was reunited.
Charlie wrapped both Alastor and Lucifer in a hug that could only be described as bone crushing and had tugged them forward.
“Come on, the parade is about to start!”
Oh. Oh no.
The princess of hell expected its reigning monarch and consort to be to walk in a parade in the human realm?
This surely would end badly, but looking at how excited his Morningstars were, Alastor set the worries aside and followed.
-------------------------
And that had brought him to the present, flag hoisted above his head and Lucifer at his side, walking through the center of the throng, surrounded by enough confetti to plug the waterways for days, and ears absolutely assailed by the sheer, palpable joy of the humans around him.
It was surprisingly tolerable, especially with the blank, purple and grey fabric blocking the worst of the sun.
Lucifer had briefly explained what the flag meant when he handed it to Alastor. Excitedly babbling that there was a word, a label, for people who were like him. People who didn’t experience attraction. It was something to be celebrated, something perfectly wonderful and acceptable-
Alastor had nearly crumbled then and there.
In the time he had been alive he had been quite the eligible bachelor, the ladies fawning over him and practically flinging themselves at him with a ferocity that was sickening. A few gentlemen as well. But despite how much he wanted that little spark, that little nudge of what this “love” was supposed to be, it had just never come.
Of course, he had loved his mother, he had close friendships, dear Mimzy being one of them, but there was always that sense of being “other”. That he was somehow broken. Incapable of feeling this emotion that was so central to humanity that it had penned epics, launched ships, been central to nearly every lasting work of fiction, the songs that he has sent wafting across the airwaves-
The fact that he could never seem to find it?
It struck a blow to the inferiority complex he knew for a fact he was nursing.
But now?
He felt his smile slip into something a little softer, a little more human, his arm falling.
Lucifer was there next to him, whooping and hollering along with the rest of the crowd, and Alastor was filled with a surge of an emotion he wasn’t entirely familiar with.
Gratitude.
While he had been wreaking havoc in hell, humanity had progressed. Learned. Been better. For fuck’s sake, he had a place now! It was almost heavenly to behold. He slipped a hand to Lucifer’s shoulder, holding him closer. Conveying all the emotion he could scarcely bring himself to think, let alone speak with that one little touch.
Lucifer, ever attentive, tutted, hoisting the other end of Alastor’s flag. He was supporting it as best he could, the colors flying proud once more. The metaphorical meaning was not lost on him, the shorter king stubbornly waggling his fingers, trying to call a breeze to fill the flags and fan out the colors, and Alastor held him tighter against his side.
He was so lucky to have such a wonderful, supportive partner. One who met him step for step, day by day, moment to moment. One who would support him through good times, bad times, and times when one of them inevitably was embroiled in some horrific hijinks-
He was lucky to have Lucifer. This acceptance was a bastion, a bulwark, a lighthouse amidst the stormy seas. He smiled. To himself. How funny that he had found more acceptance and love in death than in life.
Alastor had finally found a place and a person with which he could belong and he was never going to let either of them go.