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Alastor had not thought this through.
After his unpleasant visit to Rosie's, Alastor thought he had created the perfect plan. He knew Vox and his horrible habit of touching others way too well, so he was certain that loophole would be exploited and he could count on his deal breaking. He also knew that, with the help of the deal he issued with Charlie, he could then free himself of Rosie's deal.
Besides the fact that he would have to deal with public humiliation and Vox's antics for a while, it all seemed perfect.
However, Alastor had forgotten to account for something.
He was sitting in a wheeled chair in Vox's room while the TV man was out recruiting overlords to join his side during the heavenly war he had planned. He had been restrained in the same position for multiple days at this point, so his legs had gone numb and his joints ached, but that was the least of his concerns. There was another pain brewing inside of him, one that wasn't from the tight cables or stiff pose he was in.
Alastor was starving.
He let out soft, strained pants as his stomach, dull and empty, was forming knots, folding in on itself painfully as it begged for something to eat. He tried to mentally replay the last few days of torture, attempting to recall the last time he had eaten a real meal. Perhaps it was because he was too dizzy to think correctly, but he swore he couldn't remember that far back.
Even with the wires binding them behind his back, his weakened arms visibly trembled as Alastor began to actually wish for Vox's return. As much as he despised that prick, especially after he made Alastor participate in that horrid parade, he desperately needed him now. Unfortunately, because he felt like he was about to pass out and he couldn't get up and break the deal, Vox was his only chance of getting food.
Just as Alastor's vision was starting to get blurry, his flattened ears flicked upwards when he heard someone's claws grab the doorknob. Eyes half-lidded, he hazily peered at the figure who entered the room.
"They love me, Al!" Came Vox's voice from the blurry figure that was now walking towards Alastor. "I convinced all the overlords to join my side. If I wasn't already powerful, I sure as fuck am now! I have all of Hell's most feared and powerful people on my team!"
Alastor was barely listening to Vox's rant. He was too focused on the fact that it suddenly felt like everything around him had begun to spin wildly, tossing him around and causing nausea to rise from his twisting stomach to up his throat. He nearly threw up on the floor, but he begrudgingly gulped it down as cold claws grabbed his face.
His eyes were failing him, but Alastor could barely make out what looked like Vox's face glaring at him with confusion. "What is wrong with you?" He questioned coldly, examining the pale face gripped in his hands. "You look even shittier than you usually do."
Pained radio waves arose from Alastor, causing Vox to abruptly let go of his head.
Alastor took in a slow, shaky breath, making him feel lightheaded now. He achingly brought his head up to face Vox, who was staring down at him with a puzzled but mildly concerned expression plastered across his screen. He really needed to ask for food, but if the sudden difficultly to form words wasn't holding him back, his pride certainly was.
He was already tied to a chair, humiliated on live TV, and forced into a frivolous smoothie date, imagine how much more embarrassing is would be to beg Vox for food on top of all that. The thought of how pathetic he would look if he admitted helplessness almost made him consider simply letting himself die of starvation.
Stifling his ego, Alastor weakly muttered, "Vox, I... I need to eat..."
Hearing his own voice, shaky as he begged his rival for assistance, was torture. He sounded so feeble and disgustingly pathetic.
And to make matters worse, Vox started laughing.
He snorted, putting a hand over his mouth to stifen it, before bursting into full laughter. "Aw, did- did I forget to feed my little pet? Is he hungry?" Vox teased through snorts whilst doubling over from how hard he was laughing. He leaned over Alastor's chair, reaching his hand out to pet his ears. "Look at you, begging for food like a helpless little stray dog. How- how tragic!"
Alastor tightened his trembling jaw. His stomach was still churning, it felt like he was being clawed from the inside, and his body was starting to shake even more. He *needed* to eat something.
"Please."
A small voice interrupted Vox's laughter. It was quiet, barely audible, but laced with desperation and pain. Vox forced another chuckle, but it came out awkward and hollow. It wasn't quite funny anymore.
"Oh... You're- you're serious?" Vox mumbled as he leaned in towards Alastor and observes his state. He didn't look annoyed like he had for the past few days, he looked genuinely hurt. His head was hanging towards the floor which obscured his face, and his limbs were shaking with weakness. The poor deer looked as if he was about to collapse on the ground if he wasn't tied to the chair.
Vox stood back up, clasping his hands together awkwardly, completely taken aback at how vulnerable Alastor was. He had never seen him like this before. "I guess it's... Been a few days since you ate..."
Alastor didn't respond. Only muffled radio static filled the room.
Vox must've muttered something and left the room, but as the static became thicker, muffling his ears and filling his vision, Alastor could barely tell what was going on anymore. The only thing he could hear against the static was the sound of his tired breathing.
Suddenly, the static abruptly stopped as something was shoved into Alastor's mouth.
He bit down on whatever was in his mouth and tried to jerk away, but Vox's claws were gripped on his chin again, holding him in place.
"Jesus fucking Christ, hold still! I'm trying to feed you! Do you want to starve or not, asshole!?" Vox shouted, trying to keep Alastor from squirming our of his grip.
Alastor, despite still being exhausted, managed to kick Vox in the stomach, causing the TV man to step backward and double over in pain. Then, Alastor spat out whatever had been shoved in his mouth, and what sounded like a metal spoon hit the floor.
"Ow- FUCK-" Vox shouted, grabbing his stomach where he was kicked. "What the hell was that for!?"
"What were you doing?" Alastor asked, trying to sound sharp, but his voice wavered.
Vox stood up, exasperated, still holding a box of something in his arms. He grabbed the spoon off the floor and cleaned it off on his lapels, looking annoyed. "I already said, I WAS TRYING TO FEED YOU, GODDAMMIT! BUT THEN YOU JUST FUCKIN' KICKED ME FOR NO REASON!" He yelled.
Alastor scowled at him. "I can eat myself, I don't need you to... To spoon feed me..." He murmured in a strained voice.
"Well I'm not untying you, we had a deal," Vox insisted, scowling and putting a hand on his hip. "So... either you quit being a little bitch and I spoon feed you or, of course, you pass out and eventually die a pathetic death of statvation. How does that sound?"
"You're not going to... Livestream this, are you?" Alastor said underneath his breath.
Vox rolled his eyes and weaved the spoon between his fingers. "I think that would be just as embarrassing for me as it is for you."
Relaxing his ears that had been pinned back, Alastor reluctantly pulled his head up and looked at Vox in the eye. He clenched his jaw for a second, dreading the events that he knew were going to inevitably come. "...Fine," he accepted finally.
Vox awkwardly cleared his throat as he stuck the spoon into the box in his arms and scooped up something. The room was painfully quiet as Vox brought it close to Alastor's grudging face. Before he could do anything, he saw Alastor grimace at the sight of the food. His face twisted and he pulled his head back like a child denying vegetables.
"Why are you being so difficult!?" Vox blurted, angrily tightening his grip on the spoon.
"Is that cereal?" Alastor questioned.
"Yeah?"
"The... honey-covered kind?"
"Yeah?"
Alastor took in a deep breath, still fighting to stay conscious while he stomach throbbed. "Do you... have anything else? Something less... sweet?"
"For FUCK'S SAKE, I DON'T HAVE BLOODY DISEASED ROADKILL OR A DEAD MASSACRED ORPHAN OR WHATEVER THE HELL YOU EAT IN MY CUPBOARD, I HAVE CEREAL AND IT'S WHAT YOU'RE GONNA EAT, YOU BASTARD!" Vox shouted, more forcefully shoving the spoon In Alastor's face.
Alastor grumbled, but complied. He opened his mouth and let Vox feed him the cereal. Despite the taste being dreadfully sweet, swallowing it sent a flood a relief through his body like no other. His stomach cramped up, but in the sense that he was finally being to feel a hint of satisfaction after being deprived of it for so long.
Vox must've noticed how Alastor's face lit up and how he almost began to lean into him, because suddenly his screen flushed cyan. He clearly wasn't expecting that reaction.
"Wow, okay, you're weren't kidding about how hungry you were," Vox commented condescendingly, chuckling to himself as he watched the drastic change in Alastor's face as he took the first bite. "I thought two seconds ago you said you didn't want it because it was too sweet?"
Embarrassed that he had acted so eagerly, Alastor slumped in his chair again. He mumbled something under his breath before taking another bite, making sure not to look enthusiastic.
Vox continued to feed the deer more bites, now intently staring at the floor or reading the nutrition label on the cereal box because he hated the feeling of how his face heated up everytime he looked at Alastor. He knew spoon-feeding his rival was going to be a bit of an undesirable task, but he didn't expect it to make his own stomach lightly churn.
"So... What took you so long to bring up the fact you needed food?" Vox asked, desperately trying to break the uncomfortable silence between the two. "What made you wait until you were literally about to pass out to say something? Is your ego really that big?"
Without an answer, Alastor shot Vox an annoyed look.
"Just so you know, half-conciously begging me for food didn't exactly preserve your pride. I feel like asking before you were dizzy out of your mind and could barely speak would've saved some humiliation," Vox jabbed, flashing Alastor a smug smile.
Alastor wanted to respond, throw an insult right back at him, but suddenly he stiffened. It probably wasn't a good idea to abruptly be fed lots of sugary food right after days of starvation, because the food was not sitting right in the deer's stomach. As he felt it uncomfortably rising up, he involuntarily started gagging.
Pulling the spoon back, Vox looked at Alastor confused for a second as he started to pale. But, when he saw his breath start hitching, he knew what was going to happen. "Hell no, I am NOT cleaning that up- don't you DARE throw up!" He shouted.
With his hands still bound behind him, there wasn't much Alastor could do. He leaned his head to the side and vomited onto the floor, coughing as he spilled out all the contents in his stomach.
Absolutely mortified by the whole situation, Alastor forced his eyes to intently watch the floor, refusing to look at Vox.
Vox sighed a frustrated sigh, putting his head in his hands. "Great. Fucking great. Now I have to clean this mess up, and I have to feed you again because you THREW UP EVERYTHING YOU ATE. YOU ARE THE WORST HOSTAGE I'VE EVER HAD!"
Meanwhile, Alastor was thinking about how the "die of starvation" option Vox gave him earlier was beginning to sound really nice.