Chapter Text
“Hey Alastor?” Vox peeked over, getting in Al’s line of sight. The Radio Demon raised a brow at the silly tv head. They were having a pleasant stroll down Hell’s main boulevard. It was a lovely day with the screams of the guilty ringing throughout the air.
“Hm?” he hummed, giving the dear fellow an ear.
“I um… I was wondering if you were interested in doing something new? Something fun!”
“New?” he pondered. “Not slaughtering all in my wake? Has that become dull for you, sweetheart?”
Vox flushed for a millisecond from Al’s constant southern nicknames and mannerisms but pushed through, “It hasn’t become dull, but um… something recently opened up and I was wondering if you’d be interested. I have… two tickets for it. Stole it off of a sinner I electrocuted a while back.”
Al pleasantly giggled, “The only appropriate way to acquire things down here in Hell,” he tilted his head, “Well, don’t leave me in suspense. What is this new exciting venture? You are piquing my interest.”
“I don’t really know if this is up your alley,” Vox contemplated, then shyly brought out the two tickets from his pocket. “There’s a new amusement park which just opened up. I was wondering… if you are interested in rollercoasters.”
“Rollercoasters?” Al pondered. “Isn’t that a sort of childish activity?”
“Not exactly,” Vox mentioned. “You have to be a certain height so you’re not flung off and plummet to your death.”
“Quaint.”
“So, I wanted to know if you’re interested?” he questioned, his gaze cautious yet hopeful. “I was curious if they… are the type of exhilaration, you’d find… fun?”
“I don’t know…” Alastor replied. “I’ve never been on one before.”
“Y-You haven’t been on one?!” Vox gasped. “Ever?! Is it cause you thought they were for children?”
“No, not exactly,” he responded, playfully swinging his cane about. “They existed when we were children, didn't they?”
“Right, but why?”
“Hm, if I could be forthright,” he answered with a ponder. “Part of it was the expense, but overall it’s simply because I wasn’t allowed to.”
“Huh?”
“It was just the way of the times, old pal,” Alastor reminded. “Come on now, you remember what I told you about my appearance, yes?”
“Ah- Oh- Ohhhhhh!” the gears seemed to finally click in his head. “So it was- oh… Um…” He stopped for a bit, thinking, then asked, “So, you were never allowed to-?”
“Well, there were certain days people like me could go,” Al stated. “But it was during very inconvenient times. After I became a well-known radio host, it was more acceptable for me to participate in such events and establishments during regular hours. Also by then I could afford it, but mainly I had to be accompanied by the fairer skin. However, the crowd I knew who wanted to go to such places, was… tediously obnoxious. They weren’t as civil as they wanted you to believe. In the end, I think I just blew off any idea of it.”
“What about Mimzy?” Vox questioned. “Surely she would have wanted to go?”
“Oh no, Mimzy was terrified of such things,” he fondly chuckled. “Perhaps it circles back around to your height requirements. She believed she would fly right out of the seat.”
“Oh… right, she is pretty short.”
“Microscopic,” Alastor joked.
“Damn…” he pondered, then wondered, “Heh, next thing you’re gonna tell me is that you’ve never been to the movie theaters either.”
“I saw a couple of films in my life,” he said, scratching his chin in thought. “Moreso in death. However, perhaps not as much as you.”
“Cause…?”
“I was not allowed to,” he matter-of-factly hummed. “There were some cinemas which were run by truly crooked, unsavory fellows. They died before I gained my notorious appetite, so I couldn’t pick my teeth with their bones. But later, I ate a few of them after landing down here in Hell.”
“But the movies you did see?”
“I saw with the upper echelon,” Al responded. “They invited me to premieres of films they had starred in. It was a lovely experience. And again, much easier to access once I reached stardom myself.”
He paused for a moment then exclaimed, “Now that you mention it, I recall purchasing a ticket before I died. Obviously, I never got to see the film, but it makes one sentimental knowing I never got to go.”
“Which one was it?” Vox asked. “Maybe I can get it down here.”
“Sorry, old pal,” he sighed with a shrug. “I simply don’t remember anymore.”
The two paused then the tv demon continued.
“Um… then, what about… have you ever had a milkshake before?”
“Hm? Milkshake?” he muttered, ears perking, thinking. “Those were in diners, right?”
“Yeah!”
“I’m afraid not, old sport,” he chuckled. “As a teenager, I certainly-”
“Wasn’t allowed to?”
“Now you are getting it,” Al proudly smiled. “Yes, and I think it took a while to popularize them in the south. There were a few establishments, but none I could ever enter. After some time, I suppose I just stopped caring about such mundane things and would rather fill my hunger with the useless wretches of society. Plus, I never had much of a sweet tooth, Dear Vox.”
He paused, fretted, then remarked, “If you could, would you try one now?”
“Heh, I would think it’d look awfully absurd for the Radio Demon to enter a diner for a simple milkshake in this day and age,” he laughed.
“Maybe the diner could be rented out,” Vox suggested. “So no one would see you and um… it wouldn’t seem so… absurd?”
Alastor peered then leaned closer, “Vox?”
“Y-Yes?!”
“Do you want to pamper me with a milkshake?”
Vox shuffled about then murmured, “Only if you want to.”
“Are these your ideas for a fun day out?” Alastor snickered. “Spoil me with rollercoasters, movies, and milkshakes?”
“A… A little bit,” he anxiously stated. “But if you don’t want to, I won’t talk about it anymore.”
Alastor stared at him, watching the tv demon shyly twist his foot back and forth, waiting for rejection. He pondered then said, “Well, you entertain my ideas for amusement all the time. I suppose one time for all these ‘fun’, mundane things couldn’t hurt.”
“R-Really?!” Vox gasped.
“I can’t see why not?” he giggled. “Perhaps the rollercoasters will be thrilling and I might gain an affinity for milkshakes. But after I entertain your ideas, I want to go on a hunt. Is that fair?”
“Y-Yeah!”
“Then it’s a deal,” Al grinned.