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The hotel had been busy lately. Like, really busy. Lucifer wasn’t sure whether he liked it or not. There was more business for Charlie, obviously, and that was good, but it was also loud and crowded. Lucifer never was fond of loud and crowded. Yet another trait unsuitable for a king, he supposed.
It also came with Charlie being extremely busy. Vaggi was the hotel manager, yes, but Charlie was also meant to help. It was her hotel, after all. Lucifer was spending less and less time with her.
And the thing is, Charlie was really the only one Lucifer ever spent time with besides Alastor.
Charlie was one of his favorite people. The other members of the hotel…a bit fuzzy. He knew Husk and Niffty, they were Alastor’s confidants, after all, and he knew Vaggi since she was Charlie’s girlfriend, but everyone else was a bit of a mystery. Hell, he hadn’t even known Angel Dust’s name until Charlie had informed him that he’d left a few months after the fact.
Even if Charlie was busy, it wouldn’t stop Lucifer from trying. If he was one thing, he was determined and stubborn.
He’d teleported out of his room with a burst of magic and looked around. He was fully dressed and ready, like he was about to attend kingly duties or something. Which, he was not, but he wanted that to be the vibe he gave off.
He looked around. It was crowded as it had been all week, new sinners flooding in to check in, or at least see what the deal was about. It took him a good minute to find Charlie in the middle of the room, but when he did, he immediately ran over to her, trying not to stumble over the rug.
“Charlie! Charlie! Charlie!” He called, waving his arms. His daughter was basically surrounded by a mob of sinners, her girlfriend beside her as she explained things to them. She didn’t hear him.
“Charlieeeee,” He tried again, trying to raise his voice over the commotion. She still didn’t hear him.
He tried to sidle around everyone else. Bodies blocked him, both big and lithe. He tried to squish through them, but they didn’t move aside. He huffed in frustration, stomping his foot.
“Charlie!” Lucifer resorted to crawling between the sinners’ legs, and it got the job done. Once he got to Charlie, though, she was already starting to walk away and the sinners moved to follow her.
He tugged on her sleeve before she could move away fully. “Charlie! Whatcha’ doin’?”
She finally glanced down at him. Her surprised expression morphed into an apologetic smile. “Sorry, dad. This is really important. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
Vaggi piped up from beside her. “Charlie, hon, I can take care of this if you need.”
Charlie waved a dismissive hand. “No, no. It’s fine. We were doing this together, remember? I’ll talk to dad later.”
“If you say so…” Vaggi glanced between the two of them, and then grabbed Charlie’s hand and hurried her away. The crowd of sinners flocked after them, nearly trampling Lucifer.
After he’d straightened his hat with a frustrated murmur, Lucifer glanced wistfully after Charlie. Sometimes, it felt like she was trying to get away from him. He knew it wasn’t the case, but he couldn’t help but think about it.
He trailed away, head down, and went into the lounge room branching from the lobby. He didn’t check to see who else was in there when he arrived, just slumped down against the door and held his face in his hands.
Lucifer was a very irrational person, at least he was self aware. Being isolated for so long along with the mental baggage that came with it does that to a person. Right now, he felt extremely irrational. Charlie didn’t hate him, obviously. She had things to do. She was all grown up now. She had responsibilities and not everything could be made about him. Still, he wanted to talk to her now. Why couldn’t she have let her girlfriend do it instead?
With a growl of rage, he stood up and punched a wall. His wings flared out and puffed up big so they took up a good portion of the room. He whipped around, tail lashing and hitting any object in the near vicinity.
Charlie should be able to make time for him, right? She hadn’t talked to him yesterday, so why make him wait? Maybe she secretly hated him all along. Maybe no one liked him at all and he was just oblivious to the hate in everyone’s stare.
He jumped on the furniture and flapped his wings around, each movement made in pure rage. Not to anyone specifically, but just at the fact that this was happening. He wanted to talk to his daughter! And he was the king, so really, he should be able to now!
He whirled around and spun and lashed. Wild movements from his wings and tail knocked nearly everything over. He zoomed over and used his claws to scrape down the wallpaper, in turn ripping through it. He didn’t care, though. He scrabbled at it more until there was a shallow, scrappy hole in the wall.
His arms hurt. His wings hurt. His head hurt. Eventually, that caught up to him, and he stumbled on the ground, curling up in a little ball. He cried into his hands for a moment, before managing to wipe his eyes and nose. He tried his best to calm down, taking deep breaths. His horns slowly went back into his head, his wings curled up to be smaller, and his tail slipped back into his coat.
A voice made him jump. “My, my, Lu. I must say, I’m glad I wasn’t caught up in that very surprising act of violence from you. Only a few feathers to the face.”
Lucifer’s head snapped up, and then winced when he spotted Alastor sitting in the lounge, a book in his hand and a mildly incredulous stare sent his way.
He couldn't form a proper response, not really. “Sorry.” He hiccuped.
“An apology from his majesty?” Lucifer couldn’t tell whether Alastor’s surprise was feigned or genuine. “You must be really upset.”
Lucifer nodded, still curled up.
“Hm. I suppose that you’ve interrupted my private reading time already… come here and tell me why you’re upset.”
He hesitated, just for a moment, and then stood on shaky legs to walk over to Alastor. He plopped onto his lap, stretching his arms forward like a cat.
Alastor sighed, set his book down, and raised his hand to card through Lucifer’s hair. Lucifer leaned into his hand. “Whatever could be the matter?” The sweetness in Alastor’s voice was strained enough to be audible. Lucifer nearly laughed, but he didn’t.
He sniffed. “Charlie doesn’t wanna talk to me.”
“I’m sure there’s a good reason for that. The princess has been awfully busy this week, has she not?”
“W–well…yeah…but…” Lucifer struggled to form his thoughts. “I tried getting her attention, but she said she couldn’t talk right now. And her girlfriend offered to show the sinners around for her, but Charlie went out of her way to say she could do it.”
“She’s very independent. I’m sure she just wanted to finish the job.” Alastor supplied, his hand moving down from Lucifer’s hair to stroke along his spine. “She likely didn’t mean anything by it.”
“Yeah…yeah…” Lucifer wasn’t entirely convinced, but he shut up anyway. He wasn’t particularly fond of being proved wrong by Alastor, and he knew that’s what would happen if he continued. He nuzzled closer to him instead, resting his nose on his thigh.
“Charlie is a fine young girl,” Alastor continued. “She’ll talk to you later, she said? I doubt she’ll forget about that. She loves you, Lucifer, as you two have established already. There is really no need to worry.”
“I know…I know…” Lucifer tapped his fingers on Alastor’s leg nervously. “But what if…what if she decides to abandon me?”
Alastor was silent for a thoughtful moment. “I won’t give into your silly little hypotheticals, dear. She won’t decide to do that. I don’t know Charlie the best personally, but I’ve gathered that from what I know about her. She will not abandon you.”
“...will you abandon me?”
Alastor’s hand stopped on Lucifer’s spine. Then, he took it to tilt Lucifer’s head up to face him.
“No, sire. No I will not.”
Lucifer smiled. “Right.” Unable to resist the urge, he leaned up and pecked Alastor on the lips. Alastor blinked in surprise, and then shoved Lucifer back down onto his leg. Lucifer giggled in surprise.
“Not quite right for the situation, I must say.” Alastor mumbled. Lucifer could hear the embarrassment in his voice and it made him preen.
“I thought it was very right for the situation. Anyway, you looked very kissable right then.”
“I wouldn’t know. I’m not particularly fond of mirrors.”
“What are you, a vampire?”
“A deer, but close.”
Lucifer fought against the hand at the back of his head, scrambling at his leg, until Alastor’s grip slackened and Lucifer managed to raise his head. “Are you gonna bite me, mister vampire–deer~?”
Alastor growled. “I may if you keep talking like that.”
“Kinky. I wonder what everyone else would think about this.”
“I wouldn't want to think about it.” Alastor replied briskly. “And it’s not kinky.”
“Not yet, it’s not.”
“I will deny you lap privileges.”
“What??” Lucifer gasped, genuinely distraught. “No!! I like it here!”
“If you’d like to stay here, then I request you shut your mouth.”
He didn’t have to take advantage of that, but he really wanted to. He tilted his head up with a smirk. “Make me.”
“...fine.” Alastor pressed a quick kiss to Lucifer’s lips, and then forced him back down again.
Lucifer let out a squeak of protest. “Hey, hey! I can do it myself!”
Alastor lifted his hand away, and Lucifer settled back on his lap. He hummed contentedly, burying his face against his thigh. Alastor was a skinny guy, but he had enough cushion for Lucifer to make himself comfortable.
After a moment, Alastor slipped his hand under the waistband of Lucifer’s pants. Lucifer was about to protest with a flustered squeak, but instead of doing anything, Alastor brought out Lucifer’s tail and began stroking it. Lucifer immediately relaxed, letting out a breathy sigh.
As they sat there, a purr rumbled from Alastor’s chest that Lucifer reveled in. He pressed the side of his face to his lower chest, eyes closed in comfort and pleasure. Alastor always knew his weak spots. Maybe he’d just pet a lot of cats when he was alive.
The door to the lounge opened. Lucifer didn’t freeze or look up. Not immediately, anyway. He was too comfortable.
“Oh! Alastor!” Lucifer’s head shot up, though, when he heard Charlie’s voice. “Sorry. Um, is my dad…busy?”
I can answer myself, Lucifer thought, just a tad bit spitefully.
“I believe that’s his to dictate.” Alastor gestured toward Lucifer with his head.
“Um.” Lucifer glanced uncertainly between the two of them. The whole reason he’d gotten angry earlier was because he’d wanted to talk to Charlie, but he was enjoying his time with Alastor right now so much… “I’m a little busy right now, sweetheart. I’ll see you tonight, ‘kay?”
Instead of acting crushed or sad, Charlie smiled. “Alright. I have a few more things to do, anyway.” She took a few steps back. “I’ll see you tonight.” She left the lounge.
Lucifer flopped his head back down on Alastor's lap immediately. Alastor continued with his petting. “Funny,” Alastor remarked. “I was thinking you were going to spend your night with me, at this rate.”
“Oh, shut it.” He mumbled. “You overestimate my libido.”
Alastor snorted. “Who said anything about that? I merely meant sleeping in the same bed.”
“Sure you did… I won’t talk with her too late into the night, don’t worry.”
“I’m worrying?”
“I mean, seems like you are.”
Alastor hummed thoughtfully. “I suppose I’ve just gotten used to the company.”
Lucifer smiled softly. “Me too.”
They sat there, Alastor stroking Lucifer’s head while he rested on him, completely content. The book sitting at Alastor’s side had been long forgotten, but not to a negative degree. Lucifer liked the attention on him, anyway.
“Thank you,” Lucifer finally murmured. “For helping me calm down a bit.”
“Not at all, Lu. It appears concern for you has been a natural occurrence as of late, and I can’t say I’m quite ready to dispel it.”
“That’s good. I don’t think I’d want you to dispel it, either.” Lucifer lifted his head slightly, giving him a sleepy little smile.
“That works out for both of us, then.” Alastor scratched him gently on the top of his head, and then leaned in for a soft kiss. Lucifer returned it eagerly.
Once they’d pulled away. They looked at each other with fondness that made Lucifer’s heart want to explode. “You meant it when you said you wouldn’t leave me?” Lucifer couldn’t help but ask, but his smile remained.
“Every single word, I promise you.”
Lucifer kissed him again.
“I won’t leave you either.” He said firmly.
“I had no doubts, my king.”