Work Text:
Angel Dust had no clue how no fucking clue how he ended up in this situation. At the end of a hallway. Facing the Radio Demon. Okay, technically he did know how he got here, but it was never something he could’ve predicted, not in a million years. What started out as a simple, budding friendship had turned into something a lot weirder. Alastor and Angel had been spending more time together. Going out on errands together, talking together. Neither of them really had romantic feelings for the other. They had just been friends! Until they weren’t.
Until Alastor invited Angel into his room for a drink and a conversation. Angel couldn’t even remember what they had been talking about, he hadn’t even been drunk. Tipsy for sure, but not drunk! Okay, probably a little drunk.
At some point in the middle of their conversation between meaningless words and Alastor pouring him a third glass of cognac they kissed. It was arguably one of the clumsiest kisses of Angel’s life but because it was the Radio Demon it was also one of the hottest. They didn’t just kiss either, they made out. In Alastor’s bedroom, Angel Dust straddling his waist, claws in Angel’s skin and the taste of alcohol on their tongues.
When the two of them finally got a control of themselves the moment became insanely awkward as they stared at each other. Angel had almost been convinced that Alastor was going to kill or eat him or anything else but he had quite literally been a deer in the headlights. Angel felt embarrassed, worried if he had taken advantage of Alastor while he was drunk.
The ending result had been Angel Dust running out of his room after apologizing and having a complete breakdown in his room later that evening. He had avoided Alastor for like…two weeks afterwards. He had tried to convince himself that he was doing well, that he’d gotten over it but the truth was it never escaped his mind, every single second he was alone he thought about Alastor. About kissing him.
He’d done really good about avoiding Alastor, even if at some moments he was practically tripping over himself to get away from Alastor even when it seemed like he was trying to have a conversation.
Angel had done everything in his power to avoid talking to Alastor, even trying to escape in the most comical ways possible, but when the person you were trying to avoid was an all-powerful Overlord it was a lot easier said than done. It became very clear now that Alastor had cornered him that Alastor was basically allowing him to be avoidant and make a complete and utter ass of himself.
Now Alastor had Angel Dust cornered, smile unreadable as Angel pressed his back against the wall. Even now he was trying to think of an escape route, but there was no way in Hell Alastor would let him get away so he had no choice but to face him head on and try and keep things cool and casual. He could definitely manage that. “Sooooo.” Angel spoke, trying to keep his tone light. “What uh, what did ya want to talk about?” He was definitely trying way too hard to be nonchalant.
Alastor, on the other hand, made it look easy to be nonchalant. He looked like he always did, hands behind his back, head tall and wearing that big, dumb, sexy smile. Angel didn’t even realize he was this attracted to Alastor until his tongue was in his mouth. Stop thinking with your dick and focus, you idiot. Angel scolded himself. “Well I’ve been trying to talk to you for a few days! You, however, have been avoiding me.”
“Pfft me? Avoiding you?” Angel tried to laugh him off. “I’m just a busy guy! A lot of people want a piece of my time.” He winked at Alastor who just narrowed his eyes, clearly not believing a word that left his mouth.
“Darling, you have all but jumped out of a window trying to get out of a conversation with me.” Alastor pointed out.
“Ha. Nah…couldn’t be.” Angel didn’t know why he was still trying to deny it, Alastor clearly was buying it.
“I understand I am very out of practice when it comes to kissing, especially to someone of your expertise but I didn’t think it was worth avoiding me over!”
What? Angel stared him down, completely befuddled by the words that had left Alastor’s mouth. “I’m sorry, what?” He stood up straight. “You think I’m avoiding you because you’re a bad kisser?”
“Why else would you be?” Alastor tilted his head.
Is he actually stupid? Angel blinked several times. “Uh, no. It’s not because of that.”
“But you admit you are avoiding me!”
Angel groaned. “Yes, I’ve been avoiding you.” He rubbed his temples, this wasn’t going to be an easy conversation. “But not because you suck at kissing, you don’t. I’ve been avoiding you because we kissed.” He could see Alastor still looking very confused. “You and I were just drinking and then we fucking made out. I panicked cause you are clearly very someone not into the whole dating and sex thing. I barely even remember how it happened. I panicked, I didn’t—” He sighed. “I didn’t want it to feel like I was…forcing you.” Angel looked away, unable to meet his gaze.
“Ha!” Alastor’s laugh was not what he expected. “Angel, dear, do you really think that we would’ve kissed if I didn’t explicitly want to kiss you? Do you see me inviting anyone else in this hotel into my bedroom?”
Angel stared at him again, his face felt like it had been set on fire and Alastor was just standing there, looking amused. “You wanted to kiss me?”
“Yes!”
“Then why the fuck did you freeze up like that?” Angel demanded, stepping forward while Alastor wasn’t phased at all. “You looked so fucking shocked when we stopped kissing!”
“Hm, well I suppose I hadn’t been expecting that kind of kiss so I was a little caught off guard! But before I could recover you ran out of the room!” Alastor shrugged. Why is he so fucking calm about this? It was kind of pissing him off. Angel wasn’t supposed to be the one freaking out about a kiss, Alastor was!
“Why did you want to kiss me?” Angel asked sharply. There had to be some kind of weird, stupid reason that Alastor had wanted to kiss him. “And why are you bringing it up again now?”
“As we’ve been spending time together I have found myself feeling some unexpected feelings towards you! You entertain me a lot more than anyone else in this hotel, you surprisingly provide very enthralling and enriching conversations and I think you are rather handsome!”
Angel tried not to dwell on the "surprising" part about all of that, it kinda sounded like he should be offended but he would focus on everything else. He thinks I’m handsome? Angel blushed more, certain his face was about as red as Alastor’s hair. “And all that made you want to kiss me? No offense, but I didn’t think you gave a shit about relationships.”
“I don’t! Not usually, anyway.” Alastor stepped a little closer. “But I’ve been around for a very long time and I don’t plan on dying any time soon so I have plenty of time to try new things! So I figured, why not?” He threw his hands up. “Why not give this whole dating thing a try? I like you, and I want to spend more time with you! Isn’t that what dating is?”
“Uhhhh.” Angel was so dumfounded, his brain couldn’t even fully process what the actual fuck was happening to him right now. “I guess? There’s a little more to it than that. Like going on dates, kissing, hand holding, shit like that. I guess there’s…sex too, but that’s not really a requirement.”
“Yes, I am aware of all the activities that are a part of being in a romantic relationship.” Alastor nodded. “Though I imagine I still have a lot to learn! That’s why I chose you! And of course, because of the other reasons I listed.”
“I just need to set a few things straight.” Angel put his hands up, trying to get his thoughts in order. “You want to date me?”
“Yes!”
“Like, the whole relationship thing. Holding hands, going out on dates, spending time together. All that?”
“Yes!”
“And you’re doing this because you’re curious.” Angel crossed his arms. “So I’m essentially an experiment to you.”
“Essentially, yes.”
“Do you know what that sounds like to me? Just using me for some kind of weird experiment to see if you like dating? What am I getting out of this?”
Alastor tilted his head, looking genuinely confused. “I thought you enjoyed the time we spent together!”
“I do, but—” Angel let out an exasperated sigh, would this conversation even be worth it? Would Alastor ever understand. “I don’t want to agree to date you just for you to decide “Whoops I don’t like this see ya!” and suddenly you don’t want anything to do with me. So what if that happens? What if you discover that you hate being in a relationship?”
“I don’t think that I could ever hate your companionship.” Alastor looked at him curiously.
“Okay, cool but you know that there’s also an emotional side to this shit. I’m not a very stable person, alright? If I break down because Valentino’s worked my ass half to death are you gonna be able to help? Am I going to be able to depend on you? Emotionally, I mean.”
This seemed to get Alastor to actually stop and think. “I cannot promise that I will be as emotionally available as you may need, that is not who I am. I may not be able to give good emotional advice but if needed I can offer some head pats and a shoulder to cry on!” His grin was so goofy. Fuck he’s cute. Angel couldn’t hide his laugh at such an image.
“Alright, fuck it.” Angel threw his hands up in defeat. “You wanna date me? Let’s fuckin’ do it.” Alastor lit up like an evil Christmas tree. “First we gotta lay down a few ground rules.”
“Such as?”
“I just wanna know what you're comfortable with. I’m not worried about having sex with ya unless you want it. I also gotta know you’re gonna be okay with my job. I have sex with a lot of people and you know this. So you can’t get all jealous on me.”
“I am fully aware of your job and I have no issue with it! I appreciate your understanding regarding my stance on sex.”
“Of course.” Angel nodded. “Now, is there anything you don’t want me to do? Can I tell people we’re dating?”
“Yes.” Alastor confirmed. “I don’t care if anyone knows!”
“Great.” Angel sighed. “Sounds like a plan.” Angel looked at him awkwardly, not knowing what else to do from here. “Guess the great Radio Demon is my boyfriend now.” Angel smirked at him, having gained his confidence back. Those words sounded so strange coming out of his mouth.
“I suppose I am!” Alastor looked up at him. “I must say I am very excited to explore this whole endeavor with you, my dear!”
“Same.” Angel gave a sweet smile. “To be honest, it’s been a while since I’ve been in a relationship, can’t wait to see whatcha got, Smiles.”
That was how it started. A kiss, then suddenly Angel was dating Alastor. The Radio Demon. It had been about a week now and it was still pretty awkward. Right now it really didn’t feel like much had changed between them. They’d talk, enjoy drinks together, maybe share a meal. They’d kiss, sometimes pretty intensely but never once more and Angel was weirdly okay with it.
He got plenty of sex while working, and it was honestly nice to come home to Alastor and know that it wasn’t expected of him. He could just…chill and wind down with Alastor. Who was his boyfriend. No matter how many times Angel said it, it still didn’t sound real. Though every second they spent together was…very pleasant. He could certainly, with time, get used to this whole weird ass situation.
Angel hadn’t come clean to the rest of the hotel yet, but they also weren't really doing much to hide it. They were spending a lot of time together, and Alastor surprisingly wasn’t as opposed to some light PDA as Angel expected him to be. He was fine with Angel sitting close in public, with holding hands.
One day in particular Angel and Alastor were sitting together in the Hotel’s lounge on the round, purple couch. Alastor’s radio was placed on the center table playing some music while Angel leaned against his shoulder, scrolling his phone. They weren’t really doing much, just enjoying each other’s company and very much being somewhat affectionate.
Angel’s head was neatly tucked into the crook of Alastor’s neck, mindlessly looking at his Sinstagram. As much as Alastor claimed to hate technology and social media, Angel knew he would steal glances here and there out of sheer curiosity. While they were sitting here, Charlie entered the room. Well shit. Angel thought. If they were ever going to find out, right now would be the time. When Alastor didn’t pull away, Angel stayed put as well.
“Awwwh!” Charlie saw them, her eyes sparkling. “How sweet! You two are becoming such good friends!” What? Angel lifted his head and looked at Alastor who looked equally as confused. “Sorry to interrupt but Al, I need your help with something.”
“Of course, Charlie.” Alastor stood up, summoning his staff and holding it behind his back. “Will I see you later, dear?” He glanced down at Angel.
“Uh, of course, Smiles.” Angel nodded and watched him leave the room with Charlie. That whole situation had been incredibly strange. They were clearly cuddling, but Charlie had called them “good friends.” He shook his head, just trying to brush it off as Charlie’s usual naivety. He was certain that this would not become a recurring issue.
Angel Dust was unfortunately—dead wrong. Over the next couple days, the same thing continued to happen and not just with Charlie. Angel had noticed a rare moment where Alastor’s suit was a little unkempt, his bowtie slightly crooked. Angel fixed it for him, smiling at him and Alastor gave him a very pleasant thank you. This had gotten a “Oh, Angel you’re such a good friend!” Which was…grating to say the least.
Angel found himself going somewhat out of his way to try and get them to notice. Holding Alastor’s hand, being as affectionate as Alastor would allow. Kissing his cheek, nuzzling into him when he could. They would just either ignore them, or just refer to them as “Buddies” or “Wow you two have become such besties!” from Charlie.
It had been almost a week of Angel trying everything he could just to get them to notice him and Alastor, but nothing worked. It was honestly starting to piss him off. Did they just not care enough to pay attention? Did they actually notice and just didn’t give a shit? Were they all playing some kind of collective prank of him? Was Alastor part of it?
Angel leaned against a nearby wall, stopping his walk to Alastor’s room. He put his hands over his face, this wasn’t that big of a deal. It was so so fucking stupid, him and Alastor had been dating for like two weeks.
Alastor himself didn’t seem to care nearly as much, if not at all that they didn’t notice. He seemed pretty indifferent on whether they knew or not. Their entire relationship was still exceptionally casual, but Angel himself was hyperfixated on this stupid, stupid non-issue. Angel’s head hit the wall softly behind him and he just stared up at the ceiling.
He was about to peel himself off the wall when he heard footsteps accompanied by the voices of Charlie and Vaggie. “Have you noticed Angel and Alastor lately?” Angel nearly choked on air and fell over. He looked around frantically, about to make a very stupid choice. There was a nearby linen closet. He practically leapt towards the door knob and nearly ripped the whole thing off its hinges and threw himself inside, knocking over a flurry of towels.
“Yeah, I have.” Vaggie replied. “They seem…really close lately.”
“They do! They’ve become such good friends, best friends even! They’re spending so much time together, I’ve never even seen Alastor so affectionate! I’m so proud of them both.” Angel was practically begging Vaggie to talk some sense into her girlfriend. Surely, if anyone noticed it would be Vaggie. Right?
“Yeah, it’s a little weird but I’m glad. They both seem to be keeping out of trouble, so good for them if they’ve become such good friends.” Wrong. Angel roughly bonked his head onto the wall, making a much louder noise than he intended.
“What was that?” Charlie asked and Angel stumbled away from the wall. God he would look like such a fucking idiot if they caught him spying. There was a long moment of silence where Angel had completely forgotten how to breathe.
“Probably nothing.” Angel exhaled sharply and put his hand on his chest over his racing heart. “You know this place is always making a bunch of noises.”
“You’re right.” Charlie giggled. “Wanna get some lunch now?”
“Sure babe.” Their voices faded away and Angel was left alone, feeling like such an idiot. He fell against the wall, why was this happening? Did they think that someone like Alastor would ever be with someone like him? Was it just that unbelievable?
Angel exhaled into a tired, hurt sigh. He stood up straight, running his hand through his hair and looking around at the mess he’d made in the closet. He really couldn’t be bothered to fold the towels that he knocked over. He picked up the messy pile of towels and put them back on the shelf they had fallen from before peeking out of the closet door and back into the hallway.
Alastor would be wondering where he was by now, so Angel had to hurry to his room before the Radio Demon started tracking him down. He was still feeling so conflicted, so…stupid and hurt about all of it. He stood outside of Alastor’s room for a few moments, his chest just feeling a little tighter and just exhaled sharply.
He didn’t want to dump all this shit onto Alastor, he probably didn’t even care. He swallowed all of his frustrations and knocked twice on the wooden surface before stepping inside. Alastor was inside as always, his music playing and green fire burning in his fireplace. “Ah! There you are, dear.” He turned around, facing Angel with his usual big grin. “I was wondering where you were.”
“Sorry, Smiles.” Angel forced himself to have the best smile he could muster. “Just uh, got. Lost.” Stupid.
Alastor tilted his head. “Lost? You’ve been in this hotel a while now.” He turned around before facing Angel with two glasses of wine. Angel sat down in front of the fire and took the glass Alastor handed to him.
“Lost was uh, the wrong word.” Angel didn’t know what the hell the right word would be. “I was uh…” Angel gave up and just sighed. “I was lyin’. I was just hiding in a linen closet and eavesdropping on Charlie an’ Vaggie.”
Alastor looked genuinely confused. “Whatever for?”
“Because no one thinks we’re dating!” Angel put his hands up in exasperation. “We’re clearly being affectionate, you don’t act like this with anyone else!” He didn’t want to unleash this all on Alastor, but here he was. “I don’t know what else I could do shy of sticking my tongue down your throat in front of them all!”
He heard a staticky screech from Alastor and he cleared his throat. “Please don’t.”
Angel couldn’t help but be amused by Alastor’s reaction, he was so god damn cute. “I won’t, Smiles. Promise.” He slumped back against the chair, picking up the wine glass and staring into the deep red liquid. He suddenly felt very exhausted from his outburst.
“Darling if I may ask.” Alastor spoke up after taking a small sip from his own glass. “Why do you care so much?”
Angel really tried not to be hurt by this. “I—” But he didn’t have an answer. For all his bitching. For all his crying and frustration. Angel didn’t know why he cared so much. Yes you do. Angel’s internal thoughts finally broke through. “It’s stupid.” His voice lowered and he avoided Alastor’s gaze as much as he could.
“Angel dear, I can assure that I won’t judge whatever reason you may have. There must be a reason.” Alastor urged. Angel bit his cheek, both wanting to talk about it and also shove it all way deep down and never speak of it again. The reason was stupid, and he and Alastor had only been together for like two weeks.
“I…” He found his voice. “I’m worried its because they think someone like me couldn’t ever be with someone like you.” His gaze slowly shifted back up to Alastor. His expression as unreadable as ever, as neutral as it could be. “That it’s just so impossible for them to ever consider.”
He wasn’t sure what he expected from Alastor, but it sure as well wasn’t laughter. Angel pouted and glared at him. “I apologize for laughing, my dear.” Alastor set his glass down. “However, I think that if either one of us is causing them some bias, I'm certain that it’s not you.”
Angel peeked up from his hands. “What are you talkin’ about?”
“I have made it very clear to everyone that I am not particularly interested in any sort of romance, so do you think that perhaps their perception of me is what’s causing this?” Alastor gave him a frustratingly smug grin.
Angel pouted more and crossed his arms in a huff. “I…guess.” Angel looked away. “It’s still…fuck I dunno.” He slumped his shoulders, knowing he was acting like a dumb child. “Do you not care about it?”
“Frankly, no.” Alastor spoke nonchalantly. “The opinions of others mean very little to me.” From the corner of his eye he could see Alastor standing up and walking over closer to Angel Dust who intentionally didn’t look up. He couldn’t help but feel like Alastor was being dismissive. He really didn’t blame him…but he didn’t feel very good about any of this. “I didn’t decide to enter a relationship with you for the approval of others. I did it because I wanted to, and I don’t regret my choice to do so in the slightest. Do you regret it? Are you perhaps dating me because you only wanted to be known for dating me?”
Angel finally looked up in alarm. Fuck, is that how I sound? “No!” He exclaimed, then quickly hushed himself. “No.” He slumped over again. “That’s not what I care about, I promise. I’m just…so fucking insecure. I’m…arguably a little proud that you’re dating me? Like, the all powerful Radio Demon who doesn’t have interest in anyone suddenly took an interest in me!” Angel put his hands to his chest. “Maybe it did…inflate my ego a little bit. I’ve never really been anything special, so I was just…happy.” He ran his hands through his hair. “God I suck, don’t I?”
“Not at all, dear.” Alastor reached down who took Angel’s hand and urged him to his feet. Angel blushed very faintly, standing up and looking down at him. “If I’m being honest, it inflates my ego a little that you think so highly of me.” He interlaced their fingers, Alastor’s smile was so infectious that it took over Angel’s face. “Personally, I think you are special. Everything you stated is a fact, I had no interest in anyone until you. I wouldn’t have done this with just anyone.”
Angel looked into his big, crimson eyes. He hadn’t really been expecting…this kind of complimenting from Alastor but he wasn’t going to complain. “I’m just some porn star, Al. I still feel like the opposite person you’d ever been interested in.”
“You are much more than that. There is a very deep, intelligent and artistic side to you and that is what interests me.” Alastor urged him just a little close, one of his hands going to Angel’s waist. He was really trying not to get all dumb and emotional about all this. “Let them think what they want. It does not affect my opinion on you.”
Angel let out a sigh, he knew that Alastor was right. He was overthinking this, the truth was he was happy with Alastor and it didn’t really matter what they thought or didn’t think. They’d figure it out eventually. “You’re right.” Angel breathed out and smiled. “Sorry for…bein’ all dumb about it.”
“You are a rather emotional person, I was prepared for this.”
Angel laughed and wrapped two of his arms around Alastor’s neck. “I’m gonna go ahead and not be offended by that.”
Alastor gave such a cheeky, shit eating grin that Angel had to match it. He wiped that smile off Alastor’s face by leaning down and kissing him. He was very much getting used to this, and Alastor had certainly gotten better at it. He really is right. Angel thought to himself, losing himself in the taste of wine on Alastor’s lips. None of it matters.
Angel had given up on everyone else knowing the truth, and he’d felt a thousand times better. He’d just been focusing on their relationship, spending evenings together. Giving up his cares had been the best call, and Angel knew he’d have to get used to Alastor being right about most things but he honestly didn’t mind. It was nice…having someone who was willing to both be kind and honest to him.
His feelings had all be dumb, caused by his own vanity and his own insecurities but those were slowly starting to dwindle away, he was getting more comfortable with himself, more comfortable with Alastor. At the current moment, Angel was getting ready to leave for work. He finished off the daiquiri that he’d gotten from Husk and set the glass down.
Everyone else was nearby as well, sitting and chatting, even Alastor. “Alright, babes. I’m off to work.” Angel made sure he had his phone before heading towards the door.
“Oh, Angel!” He stopped walking and he glanced over his shoulder as Alastor spoke. He saw the Radio Demon happily striding over to him. “One thing before you go.”
Angel raised an eyebrow. “What’s up, Smiles?”
He saw the most devious look in Alastor’s eyes and he didn’t think he could’ve predicted what happened next. Alastor lightly tugged on Angel’s shirt, tugging him downwards and standing up on his toes. Alastor kissed Angel Dust, and it was not a friendly kiss. It wasn’t quite making out but Alastor kept their lips locked together for a solid 15-20 seconds.
Angel was far too shocked and flustered to be any kind of suave and romantic, completely stunned into utter shock. Alastor pulled back wearing that usual grin and looking insanely proud of himself. Angel’s eyes shifted to the crowd of observers, every single one of them had their jaws dropped. Charlie looked like she was about to cry from joy and Niffty looked absolutely thrilled.
“And now they know.” Alastor whispered softly, touching Angel’s cheek delicately with his claws.
“I thought you didn’t care.” Angel stared down at him, trying to understand what was going on, just why he did that.
“I don’t care.” Alastor’s gaze became so…soft. “I did it because you care about it.”
Angel didn’t know what to say. He never expected this. He knew they were dating, he knew that Alastor prided himself on being such a gentleman but this…this felt different. Suddenly, their relationship felt like so much more than just Alastor “experimenting.”
Angel smiled down at him. “Thank you…Alastor.”
“My pleasure, darling.” Alastor stepped away, still beaming with pride. “Have a lovely evening at work!”
Angel looked at everyone else who was still shocked and laughed. “Have fun dealing with them.” He turned away and walked out of the hotel, that little gesture had been huge from Alastor and Angel was truly feeling like this relationship could be something more…something special.