Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“In honor of everything that we’ve managed to accomplish here at the hotel over the last few months, I wanted to do something special for everyone for the holidays,” Charlie said excitedly to the hotel’s original members of which Cherri and Baxter were technically a part. Angel looked skeptically at Charlie. 

“Charlie as much as I’m sure we all appreciate whatever ya got planned, we don’t really do holidays no more,” he said. There was Sinsmas which was more of a hellborn holiday that some sinners like Alastor often partook in, but most sinners found themselves far too busy preparing for the exterminations over the last few years to even bother with celebrating much of anything. Another new year that effectively meant nothing when you were dead. As ever, Charlie wasn’t going to be swayed. 

“I know that,” she said. “But before you reject it out of hand I do think you should give this one a shot. Please—for me?” Charlie gave him those big doe eyes that he could never seem to say no to, no matter how often he wanted to.

Angel looked around the table but it seemed no one was willing to back him up on this, even Alastor looked far too amused by the prospect of whatever Charlie had potentially cooked up this time to even consider speaking up. Angel sighed, scratching the back of Nuggets ears with his lower set of hands. The piglet had been especially clingy after Angel’s disappearing act a few months ago. Sure Al had brought him home kicking and screaming, and sure, Nuggets had been pissed at him for a week there, but eventually he’d come around when he realized that Angel wasn’t going to be leaving him again. Not now that he understood what freedom could truly look like. 

“I promise, it’s really going to be something special,” she assured him, all smiles. Angel didn’t like secrets or surprises. Seventy years in Hell would do that to a Sinner. Surprises and secrets often meant danger, and Charlie meant well but she was far too often part of that danger for Angel’s liking. Not that he was going to argue that much. He shrugged and Charlie took that as all the agreement she needed. What could possibly go wrong?

The moment Charlie dismissed them from the table, she had opted to make this special announcement just after breakfast in a special original guests only meeting that she occasionally did now since most of the original guests practically worked at the hotel; Angel popped up with Nuggets in hand and headed off to his room. He didn’t notice—or he told himself not to notice—when Alastor vanished into the shadows shortly after he left the table. Angel huffed, pushed his hair out of his face, and made his way over to the elevator, brushing off Cherri’s worried looks. 

He wasn’t ignoring her, he had told her as much upon his return a few months ago now—but things had certainly changed. He had agreed to return to the hotel with Alastor, but even still he felt as though he had to keep some emotional distance from most everyone there. There was only one person he felt he could be himself around. Only one person that he knew would understand. 

Alastor was already waiting in Angel’s room with a glass of wine and a jazz record on. Angel felt his body relax the moment he stepped into the room and heard Ella Fitzgerald’s voice crooning from the record player. “How is it you always seem to know exactly what I need?” Angel asked with a smirk. 

“I am a very attentive paramour,” Alastor replied simply as he handed Angel his glass of wine. 

Angel chuckled, “That you are,” he said as he flopped into the wing backed chair that Alastor had recreated from his own room. While the pair technically still had their own separate rooms, in the odd event that either one wanted their own space, their rooms had become a sort of amalgam of one another. Angel’s room now had a bayou, which made letting Nuggets go to the bathroom a helluva lot easier, and Alastor’s room had a makeup vanity and a large closet that very creatively connected to Angel’s closet allowing both of them to come and go as they pleased without either of them technically having to leave their respective rooms. 

It wasn’t that the rest of the hotel didn’t know about the two of them—they didn’t—but it wasn’t a secret per se, it was more that Angel and Alastor both preferred their privacy after the far too public embarrassments the pair had been forced to endure over the last few months. 

“What do you suppose Charlotte has planned for us then?” Alastor inquired as he took a seat in the chair opposite Angel’s own in front of the fire. Angel took a sip of wine. Nuggets wriggled to be let free to go play in the bayou. Angel hummed. 

“Haven’t the foggiest,” he said. Alastor chuckled, he always found it amusing when his beau copied some of his colloquialisms. 

“Nor I, cher, but she seems rather taken with the idea whatever it is.”

Emily had been something of a more frequent fixture around the hotel ever since Vox’s attempted coup of Heaven and that had been strange enough as far as Alastor was concerned, though he tried desperately to ignore that fact. He had already thanked her for saving him from that wretched shark—dog—thing, humiliating though that had been, and he really didn’t want her rescuing him any more than that. He was the Radio Demon for Satan’s sake. 

“Suppose we should see what all this is about then?” Angel asked. 

“As I recall, the holiday is still a few days away,” Alastor remarked eying the calendar that sat on Angel’s wall. It was a pinup calendar of himself, because of course it was, and Alastor couldn’t help but smirk as he adjusted his monocle. It was December 22nd. “Still a good few days away. Depending on how close she wants to get to the day itself.” 

“She didn’t really specify did she?” Angel remarked. Had he missed it? He didn’t think so. Sure his mind had wandered, as it often did during these meetings. 

“If it’s a gift exchange I do hope she plans to let us know at some point, there isn’t exactly a lot of time to set up a Secret Satan and buy thoughtful gifts if it came to that,” Alastor remarked, sipping his wine. This was not strictly true. Alastor knew all of them well enough that he was fairly certain that regardless of who he received in any sort of Secret Satan gift exchange he would be able to provide an adequate gift without much effort on his part. 

Angel chuckled, “She would have elaborated on that wouldn’t she? Did I miss something?” Angel asked looking over at him. Alastor shook his head. 

“She didn’t specify anything just that she wanted it to be a secret it would seem.” 

Angel sighed pinching the bridge of what would be his nose. “I hate surprises.” 

“As do I,” Alastor admitted. 

“A surprise in Hell is like—surprise gunshot to the face. Surprise—angels attacking. Surprise—your boss is filming you in a drug fueled sex coma,” Angel finished off his glass of wine. Alastor’s smile tightened at that, he never did care for the few stories that Angel let slip about his time working for Valentino. He was fairly tight lipped about it all, especially about his time away after Vox’s fuck up, but that didn’t mean that Alastor was entirely unaware. The frequent night terrors gave him a pretty good indication of some of what had gone on, to say nothing of the fact that when Alastor had found him, Angel had been in the worst state he had ever seen him in thus far. Shadow kept a close eye on Angel as they slept, ensuring that any time Angel did have nightmares he could be there to help soothe them. He kept a tight lid on the contents of said nightmares, but what little he did reveal was enough that Alastor had on more than one occasion wanted to kill the wretched moth. 

“Won’t solve anythin’,” Angel had said rather simply every time Alastor brought it up. “Damage is done—don’t wanna bring down the Vee’s wrath on the hotel.” There was a certain defeated energy to Angel’s words whenever he said them that broke Alastor’s shriveled little heart more than he wanted to admit. He loathed it. Loathed seeing Angel so broken down. Loathed seeing his strong, beautiful spider seem so utterly defeated by the likes of Valentino. Still he supposed he understood. As far as Angel was concerned the damage had already been done. Valentino had stolen decades from Angel Dust, to say nothing of the millions upon millions of dollars. Angel was free, technically, but freedom didn’t mean the same thing for him as it did for Alastor. Not when so much of his life and his agency had already been taken from him. His spirit was the one thing Valentino couldn't take, but Satan knew he had tried to break it often enough.

Behind the scenes Alastor had been scheming on a gift of his own, as far as he was concerned, Rosie owed him a lot more than just his fixed staff, Carmilla too, considering the danger she had allowed Vox to put them all in. He had more than a few favors he planned to call in soon enough, but first things first, to get through Charlie’s harebrained scheme. 

* * *

Whatever either Alastor or Angel was expecting, whatever anyone at the hotel had been expecting, Charlie’s actual plan had not been it. 
“What’s happening exactly?” Angel asked as Charlie loaded everyone onto a bus. He was sitting next to Cherri, while Alastor was sat with Niffty who was excitedly sitting on his shoulder. Husk was currently sitting alone in the back of the bus drinking himself silly as usual, half lying down. Baxter was sat behind Niffty, somewhat terrified to interact too much considering that every time he tried Alastor’s eyes would turn to radio dials. 

“It’s a surprise,” Charlie said in that sing-song way of hers, practically bouncing as she said it. Vaggi chuckled. 

“We promise it’s going to be great,” she added. 

“Uh-huh,” Angel hummed. The last person to get on the bus was Emily, and that made more than a few people tense up. Thankfully the angel sat up front with Charlie and Vaggi, leaving everyone else in the middle, far enough away that they still had no idea what was going on or where they were meant to be going.

“The fuck do ya think she’s got planned for us this time?” Cherri asked. 

Angel shook his head, “No fuckin’ clue.” 

“Has it always been like this? I feel like I missed some weird shit these past few months.” 

Angel laughed. “Yeah it kind of has.” The great thing about Cherri Bomb was that Angel could always count on her to just kind of be there. They would talk as if nothing in the world had happened, no time had passed, he hadn’t tried to choke her out in the penthouse. She had been through a lot of shit with Angel. A lot of shit that he didn’t always remember, partly because he didn’t always want to remember it. She had held him during the awful times with Val, and held his hair as he puked up his guts after the worse times with Val. The real moment that had made Angel realize how foolish he was being, the thing that Alastor had said that had snapped him out of his self imposed exile had been about Cherri. Not that Angel had told her that. 

“Don’t you think you’re not trusting your friends to be able to take care of themselves?” Alastor had asked. “Why your one eyed explosive friend alone is more than capable of handling herself more than you give her credit for.” 

Angel had looked up at him. At first he had been annoyed that Alastor was even bringing her up, but then there was a certain smirk on his face. 

“Do you know she lit a bomb and informed me if I didn’t get you back she’d blow my smiling ass to kingdom come?” he had chuckled, actually chuckled as he said it. “I quite admire her tenacity. In a different world I would happily have her in my employ.” Angel didn’t think he had need for a bomb expert and Cherri certainly would never have sold her soul to a demon, Alastor or no, but—something about knowing that Cherri had threatened to blow up the Radio Demon tickled Angel to no end. 

“And you didn’t eat her then and there?” Angel had asked. 

“I ate the bomb.” 

“What?” Angel had laughed himself silly at the mental image of it. He hadn’t even realized that Alastor had managed to get him willingly out of the hole he had dug himself into and back to the hotel. Say what you will about Alastor’s methods, they were nothing if not effective, Angel knew this first hand. He had barely needed to threaten Valentino to get him to cough up his contract and just like that Angel was free. 

Angel had been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t even realized that the bus had driven onto a Hellevator at some point and was currently making its way somewhere that looked unfamiliar. 

“Where the Hell are we goin’ anyway?” Angel noted as he looked around. Outside the windows everything was moving far too fast to really be seen, merely streaks of strange colors. Cherri shook her head, holding on tight until at long last the bus came to a halt. Angel pressed his face to the window and stared. However much he tried to make what he was looking at make sense in his mind, it still didn’t. 

“Grand Central Station?” he asked turning around, but the bus was empty save for himself. “Hello?” Angel called into the empty bus. He stood up rather abruptly, nearly smacking his head on the top of the bus as he rushed to get off. His heart raced in his chest and he suddenly felt as though he had accidentally taken some weird ass hallucinogenic that he didn’t remember. “Charlie? Alastor?” he called. Only there was no one. Angel swallowed as he got off the bus and made his way toward the otherwise empty train station. It looked the way it always did, save for the lack of passengers and wasn’t that unnerving enough. Angel swallowed. Was he meant to get on a train? He wondered. “Hello?” he called again. A pop echoed behind him and Angel turned around fast to find Alastor’s shadow standing behind him.

“Thank Satan, where the fuck…” the shadow chittered quickly. For a second Angel couldn’t understand him and then as if by some magic he didn’t understand, he could. 

“Purgatory,” the shadow said. 

“How tha fuck did I get here?” 

“It seems Charlie’s little surprise was not as well planned out as she and Emily had assumed,” Shadow replied. 

“Where’s Al?” 

“Here too. His purgatory looks a bit different. He’s trying to find a way through.” Angel nodded as he looked around, walking forward with Shadow at his side. It was comforting at least, knowing he wasn’t totally alone. He swallowed as he looked around. Whatever Charlie had been intending somehow a Christmas spent in Purgatory wasn’t exactly the sort of thing he was hoping for. 

And then he heard it. “Tony?” the unmistakable voice of his sister.

“Mols?” Angel’s eyes widened. Across the train station, Molly stood, along with their mother. Angel ran before he could stop himself, sprinting across the train station towards his mother and sister. The Shadow stayed hot on his heels, but Angel was barely paying attention. He barreled straight into his sister and the pair hugged, tears streaming down their faces. “How the fuck…” Angel sobbed. “Shit my mascara is gettin’ all over ya.” 

“Mine too,” Molly said as she held him close. Angel hadn’t realized how much his drag character had been inspired by Molly. She looked so pretty, so ethereal so… angelic. His ma too. 

“Fuck, ma!” Angel pulled her in for a hug. She smiled. 

“I’ve missed you so darling,” she said cupping his cheek. Angel held the both of them for a long time. 

“I still don’t understand,” he said. 

“It seems Charlotte’s surprise was reuniting us with our families on a neutral plane,” Alastor remarked. Angel’s head shot up. 

“Smiles?” he turned around and there Alastor was. Beside him was a beautiful doe with curly brown hair. She was shorter than Alastor, but the smile was unmistakable. “Mother Smiles?” he said. 

The woman in question smiled brightly at Angel. “You must be Angel Dust,” she said. “Alastor has told me so much about you.” 

“Has he?” Angel was surprised. 

“I discovered after Baxter and Pentious’ little broadcast stunt that I could broadcast myself to Heaven,” Alastor said, proudly.

“Wait ya can?” Angel asked blinking owlishly at Alastor. “And ya didn’t tell me?” 

“Forgive me my dear we had other things going on for a time,” he remarked. Angel blushed at that, scratching the back of his neck. 

“Tony, ya gonna intraduce us ta ya gentleman friend here or what?” Molly asked. 

“Oh shit—fuck…” Angel said then blushed again. “Sorry ma.” His mother merely laughed. “Never had ta do this before,” he admitted. The thought of introducing a partner to his family had never occurred to him when he was alive given the time period and after his death well—he didn’t speak to his pops or Niss, and Mols and his ma weren’t ever going to see him so it hardly mattered. Then again he hadn’t really believed he’d find a proper love in Hell anyway. And yet here was, introducing his mother and sister to his boyfriend and meeting his mother in turn. “Mols, Ma, this is Alastor—my uh—boyfriend.” 

“Enchante,” Alastor said as he bowed low, taking first Angel’s mothers hand and kissing the back of it, then Molly’s. Both women blushed.

 
“Isn’t he a charmer,” Angel’s mother remarked. 

Angel couldn’t help but smile. 

“Al, this is my sister Molly and my ma.” 

“A true pleasure,” Alastor said smiling brightly. “And Mamman, this is Angel Dust. My boyfriend, partner in crime, and the love of my afterlife,” Alastor gestured and Angel couldn’t help but blush. He offered Alastor’s mother a curtsy as he shook her hand. She smiled at him.

“Angel, this is my Mamman.” 

“You raised quite the fella,” Angel said. 

Alastor’s mother chuckled. “Don’t I know it,” she said with a bright grin that matched Alastor's perfectly.

“So why the hell are we in Grand Central exactly?” Molly asked. Alastor chuckled. 

“Apparently Charlie’s idea was for us to see our families for this holiday, and Sera insisted that there needed to be a neutral zone. Obviously demons in Heaven or Angels in Hell was a no go without causing havoc, and on Earth would be equally messy so Purgatory was chosen instead. The logistics of which I think Charlie didn’t quite plan out. Suffice it to say, mine was the bayou, while yours seems to be Grand Central, Husk’s is a casino in Vegas and Niffty’s appears to be a train station in Tokyo.” 

“What about Cherri?” 

“She and Sir Pentious are I believe in King’s Cross.” Angel smiled. “I cannot for the life of me parse those two out as a couple but who am I to judge.” 

Angel laughed at that and kissed his cheek.

“So what have you been up to all this time in Hell?” Molly asked. Their mother and Alastor’s mother were deep in conversation, apparently planning their wedding if the look on his own mother’s face was anything to go by. “I mean besides bagging the Radio Demon.” 

“How do you know who he is?” Angel asked. 

Molly giggled. “Word gets around.” 

“How much word?” Angel asked. He wasn’t sure he wanted to explain to his sister what his life had been like. There was so much he had tried to shield her from when they were alive, and so much that he still felt the need to try to shield her from even now. 

“I know a lot more than you give me credit for Ton,” she said. 

Angel sighed. “I was worried about that.” 

“Ya know I’d never judge ya right? For whatever ya had ta do ta get by?” his sister said, as she took his hand. Angel nodded. He hadn’t realized how much he had needed to hear those words. How much he had needed to know that his sister missed him as much as he missed her, and how much she cared. It was all he could do not to cry all over again. Shadow appeared with a handkerchief and Angel couldn’t help but smile. “So tell me about yer boyfriend, he’s super cute.” Angel and Molly looked over at Alastor who was currently off to the side, observing the conversations but not quite joining in. Angel couldn’t help but smile. 

“I really love him Mols,” he admitted. “More than I ever thought possible. More than I ever thought I could deserve.” 

Molly beamed. “I’m so happy to hear that Tony. You know I always thought you deserved the world.” 

Angel blushed into his sister’s hair. He hadn’t always believed it himself, it was difficult when it seemed like everyone felt the need to tell you you’d never be worth shit, no one would ever love you, and that you were only worth a quick fuck, but Alastor didn’t see him as any of that. “Thanks sis. What about you. Any man in your life?” 

Molly laughed, “Oh Tony—the angels are so goddamn boring,” she admitted. “I want someone interesting ya know? Someone different and—”

“Dangerous?” 

“Not dangerous but just someone who’s not a goody goody,” Molly admitted. 

Angel chuckled shaking his head. That was his sister all over. She’d certainly had her fair share of dating guys who were bad boys but she always kept them in check. Some things never changed it seemed. Not that he was much better.

* * *

When Charlie had finally come through to collect them, Angel had worried at first that it would be harder to say goodbye to his mother and sister after all this time. He had worried that perhaps getting to see them at all would make it painful to have to leave, but he was surprised to find that it wasn’t. Alastor took his hand, curling their fingers together in full view of Charlie, no less, and it suddenly felt like anything was possible. He wasn't alone this time. He was going back to Hell with a partner, and somehow that made it so much easier than he had expected.

The pair sat together on the bus ride back to the hotel, Angel laid his head on Alastor’s shoulder, and if anyone had a problem with it, no one said a word to either of them. 

Chapter Text

By the time they arrived back at the hotel on December 25th, Alastor had planned out a whole day for himself and Angel Dust. Angel may have been reticent to reminisce about the holidays that usually had only occurred on Earth but Alastor wanted to make new ones for them. Which meant doing quite a few things outside of his comfort zone. Not the least of which was—he shuddered—Christmas themed picture shows. 

He had found one that was just outside of their mutual times, a classic that looked to be made with puppets called Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. 

“You picked this just because it’s about deer,” Angel teased as the two cuddled in Angel’s bed. He was the only one of the two of them who actually had a television. 

“I confess I was curious what made a red nosed reindeer so special,” Alastor admitted. “Now having seen it I’m not so sure.” 
“It’s magical,” Angel said. 

“It’s asinine,” Alastor replied. “Why would having a nose like that glow?” 

“It’s just Christmas shit,” Angel said. “The magic of Christmas.” 

“And if it was so magical why did he not simply slay the other reindeer for making fun of him?” Alastor tutted. 

“It’s a children’s story Al,” Angel said tossing popcorn at him. Alastor caught it with his tongue. 

“If we had children I don’t think I’d want them learning such bizarre lessons.” 

“I think if we had children all Hell would break loose, literally. A deer demon and a spider demon—the Radio Demon no less having fawns? Might literally break hell.” 

Alastor chuckled. “They would certainly be formidable,” he said absentmindedly petting Angel’s hair. Angel hummed from the spot where he was laying on Alastor’s chest. 

“Do you ever wonder what it would be like? Ya know if we could—” Angel trailed off. It was silly. They couldn’t have children so it was hardly worth discussing. 

“You know I never imagined that I would,” Alastor admitted. “For about a million reasons, but now—with you, I do.” 

Angel looked up at him then, his eyes wide. Alastor leaned down and kissed the top of his head. At that exact moment Nuggets oinked, demanding to be let onto the bed. “Of course we know you’re our baby,” Angel assured. Alastor used a tendril to pull the piglet onto the bed. Nuggets snuffled along the comforter and curled up in Angel’s arms. Alastor smiled at the pair of them. It was a silly thing to think about he knew, and yet—there was a part of him that did think about what it might be like to have a child with Angel. 

Angel would look magnificent pregnant, his stomach round with their fawns, perhaps wearing an adorable little Santa hat. In his mind’s eye, Alastor could even picture all of them wearing matching pajamas together during the holidays. Little deer pajamas, perhaps with Rudolph on them. He could see their fawns as clear as day. One white and pink like Angel, with little antlers and extra arms, and one brown, with little fawn spots. Perhaps they would name their daughter after their mothers. Mary Annette. And their son would be something like Theodore, or Teddy for short. 

They would make gingerbread houses together, Alastor would knit them matching sweaters  with their  initials on them. The kids would go sledding, while Angel and Alastor decorated a tree. He could almost picture  the nightmarish shopping for gifts for their children. Mugs of hot cocoa by the fire, with little marshmallows. The children learning to ice skate and tearing open their presents on Christmas day. Teaching them about their traditions like Babbo Natale and Papa Noel. They would sing Christmas carols—how could their children not be musically gifted given the talents of both of their parents? 

Alastor could picture it all so clearly as if it were happening right before his eyes. Only that it was not to be. Alastor was powerful, the most powerful sinner in all of Hell, but there were some things that even he was certain he could not change. Perhaps it was to help with the possibility of overpopulation in Hell or perhaps it was simply part of their supposed punishment but either way, they could never have children. No little spider climbing up the walls. No little fawn with little fawn spots gnawing on sinners. 

Alastor sighed. “Shall we listen to some Christmas music then?” he asked. 

Angel sniffled. “Maybe later,” he said quietly. “I just wanna nap for now.” 

Alastor nodded, and continued playing with Angel’s hair as the two of them fell fast asleep. 

A strange sound awoke him some hours later. Alastor blinked as the sound of wretching in the bathroom hit his ears. They twitched, folding back, and Alastor shot up out of bed, and into the en suite bathroom where Angel was currently curled over the toilet. “Are you alright my dear?” Alastor asked.  

“I don’t think that wine agreed with me,” Angel admitted. “Or the popcorn,” he looked positively green. Alastor hummed, petting his hair and got him a cool washcloth. Angel sighed and shivered. “Can I get the flu?” 

“I don’t think so darling,” Alastor replied, patting his forehead. 

“I feel like shit.” 

“You look as lovely as ever,” Alastor replied. 

“Don’t lie to me,” Angel hissed. His nose sounded stuffed, Alastor picked him up off the ground and carried him to bed. 

“I’ll make you some of my Mamman’s cure all,” he said. “Little bit of ginger beer, molasses, and tonic and you’ll be right as rain.” 
Angel gagged at the sound shaking his head. Alastor frowned. His shadow popped up just then, grinning from ear to ear. Alastor eyed the shadow as he placed  Angel in bed. The shadow chittered something that Angel could not understand, but Alastor could. He blinked, unsure he believed it. 

Alastor’s heart raced in his chest as he held his hand over Angel’s stomach, his ears perked up, there he could hear the faint beginnings of radio static from within. His eyes widened, and it was all he could do to keep himself calm. 

“Al?” Angel groaned. 

“Yes darling?” 

“I think I need to throw up again,” Angel replied. Alastor picked him up and carried him into the bathroom and continued to help him throughout the night. He didn’t dare question whatever it was that had made it possible, whether some kind of Christmas miracle or gift from his Mamman he didn’t care, Alastor was going to hold on to that little tin of static and help it grow. He didn’t dare tell Angel until he knew it could sustain itself. He would give it all the magic he could, and sinner meat too should the occasion call for it. For now at least, Alastor merely rubbed Angel’s back as he continued to throw up throughout the evening.