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It wasn’t uncommon for Alastor to disappear for a while. He had a life outside of the hotel, Lucifer knew that. His overlord activities could have him gone for days, and no one would hear from him. It wasn’t anything that caused too much concern, other than the occasional fretting or loneliness. Lucifer knew that it was normal.
But the fact that he had been completely silent on air was not.
Alastor always broadcasted, no matter where he was or what he was doing. But the radio simply played static, signaling nothing on air. Lucifer had kept it on the entire day, hoping to hear his boyfriend’s voice, but nothing played; not even one of his pre-recorded messages. Needless to say, he was a little worried.
He had reached out to Rosie, wanting to know where he was; he knew from recounts of overlord events that Alastor almost always let her know something about his whereabouts, if he didn’t bring her along. But, the cannibal had said that she had no clue where the deer demon was; and that as far she knew, there was no overlord business going on.
So, after that interaction, Lucifer was concerned. Sure, it was possible that he simply hadn’t told Rosie where he was going, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. But, without knowing where Alastor was, there really wasn’t anything he could do…
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Lucifer hummed as he strolled through the hotel. Charlie had asked him to grab some paint from the east wing, something about fixing up some chairs. His footsteps echoed in the hall, shoes clicking on the wooden floor.
The area was empty, the hall quiet aside from his stride. There were doors leading into rooms, but there was nothing inside other than a bed and dresser, no guests inside to add a personal touch.
He caught movement in the corner of his vision, and he turned to look at the disturbance. It was Alastor; well, sort of. He was in his shadow form, slowly moving around the ceiling.
“Al? What are you doing?” Lucifer asked.
There was no response, not even an acknowledgement to his presence. Lucifer furrowed his brows. Even as a shadow, he knew Alastor could hear him.
“Alastor?”
The shadow continued moving, but it looked… odd. It was slow, sluggish, even, jerkily moving through the hall.
“Al, come on,” Lucifer dug through his pockets before he found the flashlight in his pockets, which he kept for emergencies.
Alastor would sometimes use his shadows to escape him when Lucifer wanted him to do something he wasn’t fond of, such as showering or other general hygiene. It was by accident one night that he discovered that large amounts of light would cause Alastor to change back.
He flicked on the flashlight, shining it at the shadow, which was about to round the corner on the wall. The shadow changed, and Alastor was now visible. He stumbled into the wall, and Lucifer’s eyes widened when he saw him shaking. Sure, he might be a bit disoriented from changing back so quickly, but something was wrong…
“Hey, are you-”
Lucifer was cut off as a sharp screech of static pierced the room, the lights flickering as the walls seemed to warp.
“Ge-et away,” Alastor’s antlers grew, but he continued to shake and his voice wavered.
“Alastor? What’s going on?” Lucifer held out his hands in what he hoped was a calming manner.
Unfortunately, Alastor didn’t seem to take it that way, and he stepped back, looking panicked and unsteady.
“I said stay back, you can’t t-take me back there, I won’t let you,” He snarled, the bite in his words subdued by the quivering volume.
“Take you where? Al, what’s wrong?”
Lucifer was concerned, to say the least. Alastor was shaking, breathing heavy and a little wheezy. He looked scared, something that Lucifer wouldn’t expect to see from his boyfriend. He was unsure of what to do.
Not fully knowing what he was doing, Lucifer took a step forwards, holding eye contact with Alastor. He moved slowly, trying not to scare him.
“Just calm down, okay? I don’t know what’s bothering you if you don’t talk to me, sweetheart. Just take a breath, okay?” Lucifer mimicked a deep breath.
“N-no, you’re lying, I can feel her, I can’t breathe, it’s too tight,” Alastor whimpered.
“What’s too tight, Al? Who are you talking about?” Lucifer took another small step forwards.
“Don’t call me that, you’re not allowed to call me that, you can’t-”
“Woah, woah, hey, you’re alright. What do you want me to call you then?” Lucifer quickly tried to divert his focus when Alastor started wheezing again.
“I-I don’t-” Alastor stumbled, toppling forwards.
Lucifer managed to catch him before he fell, sitting him up against the wall. The deer demon looked dazed, eyes slightly glassy and face pale.
“Are you hurt?” Lucifer took Alastor’s arm, checking him for any injuries.
Lucifer put a hand on his neck to check his pulse, before frowning. He moved his hand up to cup Alastor’s cheek, feeling an unusual heat radiating from him. He brushed his fingers over his dark cream colored skin, moving back his bangs, which were stuck to his forehead with sweat.
“Oh, Bambi,” Lucifer cooed.
“... Luce?” Alastor asked, a bit of clarity crossing his features.
“Yeah, it’s me. Where have you been?”
“I- I, I don’t know, I had to… do… something…” He trailed off, blinking,”My head feels odd.”
“Yeah, you have a fever… are you not feeling good?”
“Yeah… right, I’m not feeling well,” Alastor mumbled,”It hurts to breathe.”
Lucifer nodded, listening intently. Alastor seemed out of it, definitely not well. His fluffy hair was matted with sweat, face pale with a light flush over his cheeks. His lips looked chapped, probably from dehydration, and the circles under his eyes were more pronounced. He was pretty much half asleep, probably semi-delirious based on how he had been acting previously.
“Can you walk?” Lucifer asked,“You need to lie down, when was the last time you slept?”
Alastor shrugged,”I can walk just fine, ‘m not a child.”
Lucifer was a little skeptical, but decided not to push it. He pulled Alastor off of the floor, making sure he was steady. Alastor, despite being shaky, was able to walk; at least for a while. But the longer they walked, the more Alastor started to stumble, leaning more and more on Lucifer. Pretty soon, Lucifer was pretty much dragging him along as he fell asleep.
The fallen angel paused, taking off his coat and wrapping it around Alastor’s shoulders before slowly picking him up. Alastor was seemingly too tired and out of it to protest or care, limp and pliable in Lucifer’s arms. He was lighter than Lucifer expected, almost concerningly so. He wondered if Alastor had even eaten since he disappeared.
Eventually, he arrived at their room, struggling a little as he tried to dig out his key without jostling or dropping the sick man in his arms. Eventually, he just gave up, deciding to use his magic to open the door.
The room was dark, the blinds drawn and lights off. Lucifer walked over to the bed, stumbling a little when he tripped over a discarded duck. Alastor stirred a little at the movement, letting out a soft groan.
“Shh, it’s fine, sorry,” Lucifer murmured, apologizing to the duck and his boyfriend.
He dropped Alastor onto the bed, grabbing for the covers.
“Lu, shoes,” Alastor mumbled, shifting his feet.
“Right, okay,” Lucifer reached for Alastor’s black shoes, starting to slip them off and set them to the side.
He found it a little funny that even half asleep, Alastor still cared about the cleanliness and sacred nature of the bed. Lucifer recalled the time Alastor had threatened to eat his ducks after he had eaten in it.
“Okay, do you want to change into some pajamas? I can grab some from the closet if you want.”
Alastor hummed,“Maybe later.”
Lucifer really thought that Alastor would be more comfortable in something other than his typical elaborate outfit, but he wasn’t going to risk getting on his nerves. If push came to shove, he could always magically change Alastor once he’s asleep; besides, Alastor was so out of it he doubted he’d notice.
“I’m going to go grab you some water, you’re probably dehydrated. Do you need anything else?”
Alastor shook his head, stretching as he laid out on the mattress, feet beginning to tangle in the blankets. Lucifer gave him one last glance before leaving to grab him some water.
He entered the kitchen, opening the cabinet and grabbing out a glass. He had stopped to let Charlie know, and of course she offered to help like the sweet girl she was. Lucifer had turned her down, knowing that Alastor would not want anyone seeing him like that; and besides, he was perfectly capable of caring for him.
He also grabbed a box of crackers and some Synanol, figuring some medicine and food would do him some good.
When he returned to the bedroom, he was relieved to find Alastor still in bed. HIs eyes were closed, his mouth open as he breathed. He probably couldn’t breathe through his nose, Lucifer realized as he recalled the stuffy undertones to Alastor’s voice.
“Al, you awake?”
There was no response, and Lucifer sighed. He was probably exhausted; and although he needed medicine and nutrients, Lucifer couldn’t bring himself to wake the demon. He looked so peaceful, red eyes closed and wrapped in the warm blankets.
Lucifer grabbed a wet towel from the bathroom, wiping it along Alastor’s face before resting it on his forehead and crawling into bed next to him. His fingers combed absentmindedly through his red and black locks, and Lucifer pressed a soft kiss into his hair.
Although Lucifer had plenty of things to do, he didn;t want to get up. After all, the only thing important to him right then was his sick partner, the rest of Hell could wait.