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Baxter went through his notes with intense concentration. If he wanted 100% accurate results, he had to conduct the experiments exactly as he had done with his first test subject. Niffty had helped him with this, but it probably wouldn't be necessary with his comparison subject. It was also less dangerous if he got caught.
However, it was harder to get hold of this subject, but asking Charlie for help probably wouldn't distort his study too much. When his test subject came strolling down the stairs, he didn't hesitate to approach him.
“Excuse me, do you have a moment?” Having fulfilled the obligatory courtesy, he did not wait for an answer. “Your Highness, is it true that you have problems with names?”
“Eh?” said Lucifer, confused, looking around. “Have you seen Charlie? She wanted me to come here and—”
“I asked her to call you,” Baxter interrupted, pulling out a clipboard. “Please tell me who this is.” He showed him a picture of Charlie that he had taken during one of their sharing sessions.
“Charlie, but where did you get—”
“And this,” it was a picture of Vaggie.
“That's... Charlie's girlfriend,” replied Lucifer, who still didn't know what exactly Baxter wanted from him.
Baxter put the pictures away and showed him one of Husk.
“Um,” Lucifer tilted his head, “Charlie's bartender?” It sounded more like a question than a definite answer.
Nodding, Baxter showed Lucifer a picture of Angel Dust and Cherri Bomb.
“Charlie's spider friend and Charlie's spider friend's friend. What's this about? Lucifer asked, now slightly annoyed by all the questions.
Baxter ignored the question and made some notes. “As expected,” he muttered, which only made his test subject angrier.
“Now listen, I don't have time for this nonsense, um...”
“Baxter, Your Majesty,” Baxter assisted.
“I knew that,” Lucifer replied defiantly. “Did that radio guy tell you to annoy me?”
He rolled his eyes and snorted, “That's just like him. He's always trying to stir up trouble. I bet he's hiding here. Come out, Bambi! I've got you figured out!” Lucifer shouted across the room, and Baxter eagerly took notes.
“You can be sure Alastor isn't here, but it's good that you mentioned him. I have a few questions.”
“Then be quick about it, please,” said Lucifer, annoyed, folding his arms in front of him. “Of course,” said Baxter, turning a page on his clipboard. “As we have established, you are not very good at remembering the names of the hotel residents and usually use variations that start with ‘Charlies’ and then their status or something.”
“Y-yes, that’s because—”
“Except when it comes to Alastor,” Baxter interrupted him again, “Why does he get so much of your attention that you even give him nicknames? For example, you called him Loudspeaker and, earlier, Bambi. All very personal names that are tailored specifically to Alastor, don't you think?”
“That's because...”
Again, Baxter diligently noted Lucifer's uncertain reaction and continued. “And you even have a sign with his name on your door. Why can you remember his name and not others? Is he important to you, or are there special feelings involved?”
“Oh my, it's very rude to talk about someone who isn't here.” Alastor stepped out of the shadows and stood grinning next to Lucifer, who flinched in surprise.
“I knew you were behind this! What's your problem?!” Lucifer snapped angrily at Alastor, moving closer and closer to his face.
“Shouldn't I be asking you that? After all, you're the one having such stimulating conversations about me with our esteemed guest,” Alastor continued to tease, without backing down, looking Lucifer up and down.
“Keep on dreaming,” snorted Lucifer.
“Wouldn't that be you again, or why are you wearing pajamas at this hour?”
“These are loungewear. Not everyone is as uptight as you and wears tight-fitting suits all day long!”
The two seemed to have forgotten that Baxter was still there, but that didn't bother him.
Their conversation was very informative and insightful. Not only did he see the reaction of golden blood on snow-white cheeks, but he was also able to glean some information from the quarreling pair.
He was able to use some of it for his second experiment on Alastor's shadow and noted how it looked at Lucifer with dreamy eyes and flew around him.
“Well?” asked Niffty later in lab, looking over his shoulder while Baxter typed on his laptop. Baxter sighed deeply and looked at the screen with dissatisfaction. “The results are disappointing.”
He clicked on a file to show Niffty his conclusions. “The similarities are frightening. I expected them to be more divergent, but I was wrong.”
He looked at his comparison list with displeasure.
-Increased heart rate when the specific person is nearby ✓
-Enlarged pupils when the specific person comes into view or is seen in pictures ✓
-Increased urge to get the specific person's attention ✓
-Increased urge to go to that person and talk to them as soon as they are in the room ✓
-Increased urge to make eye contact with that specific person ✓
-Increased likelihood of mentioning that specific person even when they are not there, or steering the conversation towards them in order to talk about them ✓
-Increased likelihood of only talking or interacting with that specific person, even though other people are present ✓
-Increased likelihood of doing things that are guaranteed to provoke a reaction from that specific person ✓
-Mood changes when the specific person is present or absent ✓
-Increased likelihood of addressing the specific person with a special name that other people do not receive ✓
-Increased likelihood of viewing other people as a potential threat if they come close to the specific person
He was able to check off almost all of them after his last test.
It was really a shame. He had spent days and weeks conducting his research, sitting with Niffty in air ducts to obtain unbiased results so that the two of them wouldn't notice his experiment.
Only to then discover that the courtship behavior of angels and sinners appears to be exactly the same.