Work Text:
Alastor waits outside the aquarium, leaning against the wall. He's supposed to be meeting Vox here for a date — her idea, obviously — but he's a little early. It's no matter, really; he can just people-watch until she gets here. Perhaps it'll calm his nerves a bit?
One would think every date was their first date with how Alastor always seems to be a bundle of nervous energy in the hours leading up to it. Nervous energy that he knows will dissipate the moment he sees her, always a bundle of excitement and joy rushing to meet him, as if she somehow still can't believe he's agreed to go out with her again. Perhaps she feels the same nerves he does.
He scans the crowds of people passing by, waiting for any one of them to be her. Some head into the aquarium, looking rather awed as if they can't quite believe it's real. (Understandable, really, considering the ring of Hell they all inhabit.) Others move about their daily lives in the varying states of abject horror that seem to be typical of Sinners with little power to their names. Such a pity, living in fear all the time. One of the many perks of being an Overlord, Alastor has long since decided, is being above all that. How oddly funny that his biggest source of anxiety these days is making sure his dates go well.
He continues scanning the crowd, spots Vox well before she sees him, her antennae sticking out above everyone else like a beacon. He summons his shadow, sends it rushing over to her, chuckles to himself when those antennae spark in surprise. He's sure she doesn't intend to be as cute as she is half the time, unaware how those little unconscious behaviors are just so endearing to him.
She pushes through the crowd, following his shadow's lead until they can truly see each other and oh, the way she immediately lights up upon seeing him — literally, her screen visibly brightens — makes his heart flutter in his chest. She looks absolutely stunning, donning a lovely yellow sundress (she's become quite enamored with sundresses recently) and smiling like he'd imagine one would if they'd won the lottery.
He calls his shadow back and she dashes toward him, practically jumping into his arms (there's that excitement and joy with which she always seems to be abuzz). She wastes no time, immediately pulling him in for a kiss as he holds her close. The slight fuzzy static from her screen makes his fur stand on end in an oddly-not-too-unpleasant way, and she giggles as she pulls back, at least having the courtesy to smooth his hair back down.
“Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long,” she says by way of greeting.
“Nonsense, dearest, I got here a bit early. You're right on time. And looking as lovely as ever, might I add.”
A smattering of pixels in a color he can't quite ascertain light her screen, a digital blush of sorts and electricity sparks between her antennae, arcing into a heart. She may just be the most adorable thing he's ever seen. She covers her face with her hands for a moment, as if perhaps he'll un-notice her flustered state. As if he doesn't speak to her like that purposefully, just to see her blush.
“You're sweet,” she replies, still not looking directly at him. But he can see her smiling, can feel heat still radiating from her screen even as she's turned away. She frees herself from his grasp, grabbing his hand instead and pulling him along toward the aquarium's entrance. “C'mon, let's go in!”
Vox isn't quite sure where she wants to go first. Immediately upon entering, they're met with exhibit after exhibit of different sea creatures, housed in tanks at least twice her own height and surely wide enough to match. The sharks should be somewhere toward the middle, based on the little pamphlets they'd gotten with maps, but she really wants to save those for last. She ultimately decides to just make her way around in a big loop, dragging Alastor along to the first tank to their right.
In it are a bunch of long fish that look quite similar to eels, but none of them seem to have less than two heads. They seem content enough, a few swimming right up to the glass as Vox and Alastor approach. It is rather odd watching the fish turn their heads, seeming to almost curl toward each other in a way, as if each head is trying to look at the two of them on its own.
“What… are these creatures?” Alastor asks, and when Vox looks over at him, she finds him watching the fish with a confused expression, head tilted adorably as he squints at them. “Why are they… the way that they are?”
Vox can feel her screen brightening with her excitement. She'd done a lot of research into this place in the days leading up to their date, partially because she was curious, but also a little because she thought it might impress him if she knew a lot of stuff before they got here.
“So, obviously they can't just bring in fish from the living world ‘cause those don't really exist down here,” she begins.
“Mm, of course.”
“So some of the fish here are biomechanical recreations of fish we had up there. But others, like these, come from other rings of Hell! I hear there's lots of cool ones in Envy and Sloth. I've been told Sloth has some really nice beaches, and Envy is mostly water ‘cause all the demons that come from there are fish types!”
Alastor nods, tapping at the glass in front of him. Rather than spooking, the fish move closer to him, as if he'd called them forward somehow. “Interesting! And how are they getting them here from the other rings? To my knowledge, Sinners can't travel between rings. Though it would be lovely to visit those beaches with you if we could.”
“You wouldn't even go in the water if we did!”
“But from all I've ever heard about it, Sloth sounds like such a calm and relaxing place, especially compared to the hustle and bustle of Pride. And sue me for thinking you look nice in a swimsuit.”
Vox giggles a bit at that. “You're silly. I love you.”
It makes her feel a bit like she might melt into a puddle, the way he looks at her then. The way he smiles at her is soft, genuine, something she knows no one but she ever gets to receive. “I love you, too.”
Vox drags Alastor along to exhibit after exhibit, chattering happily about the creatures they pass. They start to play a little game, taking guesses before reading any of the information panels on what ring each one is from, what it's supposed to be exactly (and some of them are surprisingly difficult to guess, looking like nothing either of them have ever seen before). It's quite fun, especially seeing how excited Vox gets when she gets one right and he doesn't. (She's definitely keeping score.)
He still doesn't know how all these fish got here — all she'd been able to tell him was that businesses here often make deals with businesses in other rings — but if getting to spend his day with her, getting to see her overflowing with excitement and joy like this is the result… Well, he certainly isn't complaining.
He has to admit, he's paying a lot less attention to the exhibits than he is to her. She talks a lot, but he really could listen to it for hours on end. For the rest of his afterlife, perhaps. And isn't that a nice thought? The two of them, together, day in and day out, until the end of time… It makes his heart flutter just thinking about it.
Does she think about it, too? Does she imagine what forever could look like? Coming home to each other at the end of every day, never having dinner alone again, waking up next to each other each morning? A wedding — their wedding — even? He tries not to imagine that one too much; the thought of her in a wedding dress, walking down the aisle, promising to spend the rest of her afterlife by his side… It's all a little too much, overwhelming in a wonderful way, but it leaves him feeling oddly lightheaded and like his heart might just burst.
His mind always seems to wander like that nowadays. As if he can't seem to truly focus on anything else. He catches his thoughts trailing off into these daydreams as he tries to work during the day, dreams of it all nearly every night. It's worst when he's with her, of course, every moment feeling like a fresh reminder that things could always be like this. Just the two of them, forever. Perhaps that's all he needs.
“Al, look!” Vox's voice cuts through his daydreams — when had his mind wandered off again? — as she tugs him along toward an enclosure set into the ground.
They'd passed it on the first level, but it seems the top is open on the second, perhaps because the creatures inside aren't entirely aquatic? They look something like dinosaurs, with wide bodies, long necks, and a more reptilian tail. But they have four fins instead of legs, and seem to have to push themselves around when they aren't in the water.
Vox leans over the edge of the enclosure, reaching out. Her hand almost brushes one of the creatures that, thankfully, has its back turned. Alastor wraps an arm around her waist and pulls her back. “Careful, darling. That thing is absolutely going to bite you.”
“No, it won't! He's a good boy, I'm sure of it!”
Alastor nods in the direction of a sign next to the enclosure that reads Careful — We Bite! “The staff here seem to disagree. Why don't we move on?”
“Oh, that's just what they want you to think. All fish are my friends. I know it, they told me so,” she argues, though she does let him lead her away.
“Mm, yes, I do recall you knowing fish language. My favorite fact about you,” Alastor replies sarcastically.
Vox grins, clearly amused. “Oh, you haven't heard? There's three hundred fifty fish languages. And I know all of ‘em.”
“Truly an impressive feat! I'm not sure how you have room for anything else up there.” Alastor punctuates that last bit with a light tap to the outer casing of her head, which just makes her giggle.
“I'm very good at compartmentalizing. A valuable skill when you have to know everything.”
“Oh? You know everything?”
“Mhm! Except the things I don't.”
He laughs, amused with her banter. “Hm, if you know everything, then what am I thinking right now?”
She turns to him, grinning. “That you love me.”
“That I do.”
It takes them a surprisingly long time to finally get to the sharks, not that Vox is complaining. It just means more time with Alastor, and she'd gladly spend her every waking moment with him if she could. She's a little sad this means their date is coming to an end soon, but she pulls him along with her nonetheless.
The shark exhibit is almost like a cave. One of those huge tunnels that's aquarium glass on all sides and above, so that the sharks swim around and over you, but this one just has more of the shark tank at the end of it. Vox rushes into the middle of it, looking all around in wonder as huge biomechanical sharks swim overhead and around her, glowing from the vents at their gills. A lot like she does.
She smiles, and can feel her head heating up as her screen glows brighter. “Al, look at them!” she calls out, pointing at the sharks overhead.
“They're enormous,” he notes. “These must be the biomechanical fish you mentioned? They don't look entirely organic.”
“Yeah! They're, like, part robot and part fish! But all shark! I'm gonna have some like these someday!”
Alastor chuckles. “I'm sure you will.”
“I will! Once I'm in control of the station, and I have tons of money for it, I'll put in a big shark tank there and I'll have sharks like these. I've got it all planned out!”
“Are you sure a television studio is a good place for a shark tank?”
“Well, I highly doubt you'd let me put in a shark tank at the house.”
“The house?”
Vox nods, eyes still following the sharks as she speaks. “The house we're gonna have someday. I don't think you'd let me keep sharks there. And really, I don't imagine we'd get one big enough for a shark tank anyways. That'd be way too much house for two people.”
She says it casually, but she can practically feel the pixelated blush creeping onto her screen, fans whirring to life to keep up with the further increase in internal temperature. They haven't really discussed anything like this before, but that doesn't mean she hasn't thought about it. It brings her quite a bit of joy, actually, imagining a domestic life for the two of them, having their own little slice of Heaven amid the Hell where they actually reside.
“I'd like that,” Alastor says quietly after just enough pause to have made her nervous. “Definitely no sharks at the house, though. Perhaps a cat instead?”
Vox turns to him, finds him looking at her so lovingly, her heart skips a beat or five just seeing it. His ears off to the side, that soft, genuine smile lighting his face, eyes looking at her like she's all that exists, all that matters. Her fans get louder, and she's pretty sure that means she's blushing even more now.
“I don't think we have cats down here? Besides the one you picked up at the casino a while back. But that's, like, an entire guy, so. I don't think he counts.”
Alastor just laughs, pulls her close and kisses the top of her screen. “You're adorable,” he says, and she tucks her head against his shoulder in an attempt to hide the fact that she really can't stop blushing when he's like this. “There's… sort of cats. Not quite right, in the way no animals in Hell are. But close enough. We could get one of those.”
“Deal. Anything you want, as long as it means we're together.”
“Oh, my love, you couldn't get rid of me if you tried. I'm quite persistent.”
“I wouldn't have it any other way.”