carpaldragon

[carpaldragon]

The Fire in the Sin

Chapter 5 - Radio Killed the Video Star

Word count: 5,164. Read on AO3. Series Masterlist. <- Previous Chapter.

Summary: Takes place during the Episode 2 of the show and follows the same events, just with Mina inserted into the storyline. Alastor starts to make an effort to not be such an ass to her. Some slight simping but no smut . . . yet (wink wink). TW: Canon typical violence and language, torture, and gun violence.

Series Summary:

In the 1950's, Alastor met the woman he would eventually marry but unfortunately his Radio Demon persona went for her soul rather than her hand. He has to learn what it means to love, and cherish, without possessing and he does. Their relationship is beautiful, strong, unbreakable . . . but he carries a dark secret through their marriage for decades until eventually he has to face the consequences of that secret and leave her, without warning, for seven years. He returns, finding her at the Hazbin Hotel, and has to convince her to forgive him, while being literally bound to secrecy, unable to tell her any of things he now is desperate to explain to her.

(This is a duel timeline fic, timestamps will be a the top of every chapter.)

Chapter 5 - Radio Killed the Video Star

Present Day

Charlie had wanted to meet with everyone first thing in the morning to brainstorm a plan for the hotel now that the next Extermination Day was only six months away. When Mina came down stairs with Niffty, she was surprised to see only Angel lounging on the lobby’s sofa.

When she had first come to the hotel, everyone’s relationship with her had been strained. All but Charlie had kept her at a safe distance, and Charlie was . . .  a lot. The woman was growing on Mina, but the constant hyperactive state she was in drove Mina a little insane sometimes. So she had brought Niffty along with her, offering up her maid services as her first commitment to the hotel.

Mina didn’t own Niffty’s soul, that was Alastor’s position, but Niffty had still stuck by her side the last seven years, even without Alastor around. Their relationship was an odd one. She couldn’t exactly call Niffty a friend as the two had never had what Mina would call a “normal” conversation, but Niffty was a companion. Somewhere between a God daughter, a pet, and a minion.

When Alastor returned, Mina noticed that while Niffty took orders from him and attached herself to him throughout the day, the tiny woman still made an effort to hang around Mina just as much. It meant a lot, since when Alastor had first attained Niffty, Mina had really enjoyed the short woman’s presence, but Niffty had initially treated Mina as not much more than the “bonus Overlord.” They got along well enough, but the two women had never had a bond like Alastor and Niffty had, until he had disappeared. So, it especially warmed her heart whenever Niffty chose to start the day with her rather than Alastor.

Mina took a seat next to Angel while Niffty sprawled across the coffee table.

Angel was another friendship she had been surprised to find she herself in. Although he tended to be extremely obnoxious whenever the subject turned to Alastor, the two demons had sought a strange sort of shelter in each other when they both first arrived at the hotel. Angel was able to vocalize his skepticism about the hotel in a way Mina didn’t dare, but she found his opinions on the place refreshing. And, for the most part, he was actually pretty nice and funny. When he stopped acting like such a slut and would just relax with her, she found him to be the easiest to get along with.

“So, can I ask a question? In all seriousness, I ain’t trying to poke fun here,” Angel asked.

Mina regarded him and decided he looked like he was in a more serious mood than he typically started his day in.

“Alright, shoot,” she said.

“What’s really going on between you and Big Red? I mean, you talk about him like you two are still together-“

“We are,” she said firmly.

“-Right. But you two are not, you know . . . sleeping together. You ain’t even sharing a room so it’s not like it ain’t obvious there’s some trouble in paradise. He comes down here every morning making a big show of how happy he is to be back, with you specifically, and you just keep pushing him away. But you were ssooooo fucking mopey before he got back, so why are you so pissed off now that he’s here?”

Mina signed, “Angel, it’s complicated. And private. I don’t really want to talk about it.”

Niffty giggled, “That’s ironic.”

“Shut it,” Mina scolded her, though there was no bite to her remark.

“Oh come on,” Angel prodded, “just between us girls, eh? What the guy do? Because as creepy and evil as he seems to be, he doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to screw around. So, what was he doing for seven years that’s got your legs closed up for business?”

“He wont tell her!” Niffty butted in again.

“Niffty!”

“Wait, seriously?” Angel asked.

“I said I don’t want to talk about it,” Mina stood and stormed out of the room. The audacity of these people sometimes. They were lucky she considered them friends otherwise she’d probably rip their tongues out and eat them in front of them.

__

“So you’re telling me,” Angel said, leaning forward to whisper to Niffty once Mina was up the stairs and out of sight, “that not only will Alastor not tell anyone else where he’s been, but he won't even tell his own wife?”

“Nope!” Niffty said, swinging her legs back and forth in the air. “Not me, not Mina, not anyone. No one knows and it’s really upsetting Mina. But I don’t really care, I’m just glad he’s back.”

“Ooof, tough gig for Kittens though,” Angel said with a sympathetic frown.

__

Alastor was where he had spent the first minutes of every morning since Extermination Day; out on the balcony that overlooked the road to the hotel, drinking his coffee. It had become his own little domestic routine. In decades past, he had always taken his morning coffee in his radio tower; it had the best view in all of Pride ring after all. And though this small balcony couldn’t compare to that, it wasn’t awful, and he tried to make a point of only being in his new smaller tower when necessary. What good would the host of this hotel be if he was always locked away from the other guests?

He smiled in pleasant surprise when Mina stepped out onto the balcony.

“Good morning, my love! Come to join me?”

She neither returned his greeting nor accepted his invitation to sit.

“There’s a meeting about to start any minute downstairs,” was all she said.

He suppressed the urge to sigh, reminding himself a little bit of empathy towards her sour moods was the least he could offer her . . . though she did make it difficult most days.

“I do recall Charlie saying as much last night.”

Mina crossed her arms. “Well, love, are you planning on actually attending then or are you just going to sit up here emitting radio static?”

He didn’t bother hiding the roll of his eyes and his genuinely happy smile turned to that of an irritated smirk.

“I’m sure Charlie can stand to wait a few more minutes. Either that or she’ll clue me in on anything I missed if it’s really important. So please, darling, sit down. I do miss our mornings together.”

Mina hesitated a few seconds, before uncrossing her arms, and sitting in the chair across from him. His true smile returned as he summoned a cup for her, remembering the disturbing amount of creamer she preferred in her coffee. For a carnivore, she had quite the sweet tooth.

He watched with pride as she took a small sip, followed by a larger one as she realized that even after seven years apart, he had gotten it just right. These small moments were all she was allowing him for the moment, so he reveled in each little chip he was able to make in her armor.

He studied her, even though he was pretending not to, and picked up on the way her tail occasionally flicked about at the end, her fingers fidgeted with the handle of her coffee mug, and the way her eyebrows pinched together into the smallest of frowns as she stared unfocused off into the distance.

“Mina,” he prompted gently, “something on your mind this morning?”

Her chest rose as she took a slow, deep breath in, seeming to wage some internal battle with herself before she made the decision to speak.

“Why did you choose a separate room from mine?” she asked, her eyes pulling away from their view to finally look at him.

Oh dear, he thought.

It bothered him how uncertain and sad she looked. Her anger was one thing; difficult to deal with if only because he was so unused to it being directed at him.  His ego couldn’t help but fuel the feelings of indignation her biting remarks sparked in him. But feeling guilty was always worse and Mina’s pure hurt at his actions was near unbearable for him to face.

He was not a man accustomed to admitting guilt. So, when she made eye contact with him and he could see, even for a moment, the depth of the pain he had caused her, he had to look away.

“Is that not what you wanted?” he asked. “You were so angry when I returned. I was simply offering you some space.”

“Why would you think I wanted space?”

Alastor tilted his head, very perplexed by Mina’s sudden switch of emotion from the last several days.

“You have made it perfectly clear how unhappy you are-“ he began but she cut him off.

“I am unhappy, you spanner! I’m so fucking furious and sad, all at once, all of the time, but not because you’re back. Alastor,” she said his name with a sigh and leaned across the table, taking his hand. “I want you to talk to me. Space from you is the last thing I want.”

Alastor nodded. He should have guessed this was where she was going to steer the conversation.

“You want answers,” he said, pulling her hand to his lips and kissing her knuckles. “I did promise I would deliver them . . . in time.”

She pulled her hand away and crossed her arms, once again looking away out at the horizon rather than at him.

“I’m afraid we are at an impasse here,” he continued, “if immediate information from me is what you are after and it’s the one thing I cannot give you.”

Now it was her turn to roll her eyes, her anger returning and clearly burning away any signs of sadness.

“You’re not giving me anything.”

Alastor was pretty sure there was an inuendo in her tone, but he chose to ignore it and made a show of looking offended.

“I offer you my undying love and devotion, isn’t that enough?”

She looked back at him, eyeing him up and down as if she were studying him.

“And what about your respect?”

He smiled wider and chuckled.

“Oh, you silly little thing, you,” he said as he dissolved into a shadow, wrapping smokey tendrils around her ankles, and pulling her into the darkness with him only to manifest their bodies a foot away. Standing chest to chest, he cupped her chin in his hand and tilted her face to meet his. “I respect you far more than anyone else in this God forsaken place. You’ve forgotten that was the very reason why I gave up the pursuit for your soul and asked for your hand instead.”

There was a retort on her lips, he could practically see it, and he was going to silence it with a kiss before she got the chance to spit it out. Maybe, if the moment had gone right, he would have even taken them both back to her room and physically showed her all the respect, love, and devotion he was speaking of. Charlie’s meeting be damned.

If only that hulking chunk of metal hadn’t interrupted him, Alastor very likely would have given into many urges he had been keeping at bay lately. Urges he knew Mina would have encouraged, regardless of whether or not she was still angry.

The explosion that hit the side of the hotel blew away the last bit of tension between him and Mina and they pulled away from each other with reluctance.

That snake demon was insane to keep coming back for a fight. Like a game of cat and mouse except the mouse kept running back to get disemboweled.

It had always been a bit entertaining before but this time he had caught Alastor at a very bad time.

___

Mina expertly and aggressively shoved the clip into the tommy gun and brought it up to her shoulder, letting another round off until the demon tied to the post in front of her was just a pile of liquified, smoldering mush.

She had declined both Alastor’s invitation to join him on his errand to the tailor’s and Charlie’s request for help recruiting Sinners to the hotel. Mina knew it was only proving Alastor right that she was causing there to be more space between them, but for the moment, she didn’t care. She physically needed a breather from him after their conversation that morning. And although Charlie’s pleading eyes had admittedly had a tiny effect on her, Mina knew she had to get away.

And Angel had been right there, offering to help her blow off some steam by mentioning he had a robust collection of guns and ammunition.

Instead of going to the gun range he liked to frequent, she showed her appreciation at his offer by taking him to her old stomping grounds.

Abaddon’s Pit.

Her employer and adoptive family member here in Hell didn’t often allow outsiders in but Mina had been part of the family long enough that her personal voucher was never questioned. And although she was no longer a Torturer, she still had free reign to come and go as she pleased.

So she talked to a couple of her old coworkers that she was still close with and got her and Angel an hour with a dozen souls that were there to accept their punishments. She was careful to select ones that she hadn’t sent there herself, avoiding any potential of them recognizing her and giving her secret away. Best that the only thing they verbalize in front of Angel were begs for mercy and screams.

Angel, bless him, didn’t seem the least bit fazed at partaking in some torture. It was too bad he had sold his soul to Valentino before he had caught Abaddon’s attention because he would have been good at this.

“So, this is what happens to Sinners and Hellborn’s when they try to get to Earth, huh?” he asked, as he finished shooting at a rather large bull demon and went to reload. “Gotta say, I don’t see why anyone would take the risk. It’s like, literally the only rule we gotta follow. And what’s so great up there anyway?”

Mina shrugged, “Mostly drugs. There’s a black market for selling Hellish products on Earth, and that, predictably, mostly consists of drugs. But a few of them, like this fucker,” she pointed with her gun as a fresh body materialized on Angel’s board, a cottonmouth demon he had already blown apart a couple times. “Are so racist or homophobic or some other flavor of bigot they think Hell is too progressive and they try to claw their way back up to the surface.”

“Reeaaally?” Angel asked. “And this is what you did for like . . . decades? You actually got paid to torture Hell’s Greatest Dickheads?”

“And the more creative, the better,” Mina said, and held down her trigger until the gun was empty again.

“That .  . . is so fucking awesome,” he said, before he raised his own gun and hesitated. “You know, I think I’ll go a bit slower with this one.”

His tommy gun vanished and out came a rather large pistol that must have already had a round in the chamber because Angel simply aimed and fired. The hissing demon in front of him screamed out in fresh agony as his crotch darkened with crimson.

Mina smiled with pride at Angel. He really would have fit right in with her here.

___

Their walk back to the hotel was a lot more subdued; Mina was lost in her own thoughts of the past and Angel had a set of his arms wrapped around himself as if against some cold draft. That was the problem with torture. It was the best way to blow off steam but it could also leave one feeling incredibly burnt out if they weren’t careful.

She noticed after a while that her new friend tended to look awfully unhappy when he thought no one was looking. It was a feeling she could relate to, at least this last week, and she suddenly felt awful about how a couple of their last conversations had gone, and that wouldn’t do. She hated feeling like she was in the wrong.

“Angel, I think I owe you an apology.” He looked at her in confusion, but his cloudy demeanor had vanished as soon as she had his attention. “I got a bit touchy this morning over nothing and the other day . . . well. I suppose it was a bit overboard to threaten to ‘cauterize your holes’.” She mumbled the last bit, feeling awkward in her shame.

“Aww, shucks toots, it’s no big deal,” Angel said, laughing. “I could learn to back off a bit myself. You’re just so cute and little most of the time, it’s easy to forget how spicy you can be. But that’s probably what Smiles sees in ya’, ain’t it?”

He was trying to be playful and lighten the mood, but Mina felt her face heating up, his words having a very unintended effect on her.

“Shit,” Angel said, immediately noticing the change in her, “I’m sorry, I’ll stop bringing him up.”

They walked in silence for a few more paces, just getting into view of the hotel, before Angel spoke again.

“Okay, actually, I got one more thing to say and then I promise, it’s nadda from me until you say otherwise.”

Mina huffed and stopped walking but said, “Alright fooiinne,” in her heaviest accent, “get on wit’ it.”

“Look, maybe I’m way off here. And whatever I’m about to say, I’m not saying you shouldn’t be upset about the fact that he’s not being upfront about everything. But the only thing that’s obvious about Alastor, to everyone else in that hotel but you, is that he loves you. He may be a scheming, secretive bastard, and super fucking creepy half the time, but what he feels for you . . . that’s the good shit that doesn’t come around often. Your relationship may not be perfect right now but this is Hell, Doll face, and most of us? We’d kill to have someone who looks at us the way he looks at you when you walk into a room.”

Mina felt her chin begin to quiver as she fought back tears, refusing to let them spill. She had cried so many times in the last seven years she wasn’t sure how she had any left. So she took a deep breath and forced them to stay put.

“Why do you think I’m still at that shit hole of a hotel?” she said, forcing herself to crack a smile.

Angel chuckled softy, obviously relieved she hadn’t broken down.

“Whaddya mean? I thought it was for my charming personality and good looks?”

She laughed out loud and Angel pulled her in for a side hug and they were just about to continue walking when suddenly they found themselves on a darkened street that had succumbed to a sudden power outage.

“What the fuck?” Angel said, looking around them as their eyes adjusted to the dull red light from the sky.

“I think I have an idea,” Mina said and pointed to the brightly lit up hotel on the hill above.

Angel raised an eyebrow. “What, you think your man caused a city-wide power failure?”

Mina just shrugged and continued walking. “It tends to happen whenever he and Vox get into it. I was beginning to wonder how long it would take the V’s to figure out Alastor was back. Like oil and water, those two.”

“No way,” Angel said in disbelief, “I’ve worked for Valentino for forever now and I never hear him talking about it.”

 “The other V’s stay out of it. Hell, I stay out of it. Alastor really did try at one time . . . it’s . . .  Well, it’s complicated. And a bit sad, to be honest. But yeah, whenever they bump into each other nowadays, this is usually the result.” Mina gestured to the darkness around them. “Used to happen all the time.”

“Seriously? That means that all those rolling black outs that happened, what? Like a decade ago . . . oh my God!” Angel doubled over laughing. “Your weird ass husband got me so many days off work, Val was pissed! Ha, that’s fucking great! Hey, you think he could do it again next Tuesday? There’s this thing called a donkey show and-“

__

Once inside, Mina couldn’t stop her feet from taking her right up to the top of the hotel and up into Alastor’s Radio tower. His shadow met her near the entrance and practically danced along the wall next to her. Clearly, it was very pleased with itself, and she reached her hand out to touch it, trailing her fingers along the wall as the two of them moved down the hallway together.

She found Alastor lounging in his seat, his feet crossed and resting on the control panel in front of him.

“Up to trouble?” she asked, earning a small laugh from him.

 “Only the best kind, my love.”

Mina leaned against the wall across from his and crossed her arms. Though her expression was relaxed, she made a point of not responding to him just to see if he would offer up any more information unprompted for once.

Alastor took his feet off the panel before him and spun around in his chair to face her. His smile was a knowing one, showing that he was aware of the intent behind her silence but it didn’t bother him.

“It wasn’t much, really,” he began. “Just Vox trying and failing as usual for a power grab. I simply used the opportunity to broadcast the fact that The Radio Demon,” he opened his arms wide for show, the static effect on his voice growing heavier “is back in business.” After a beat, his eyes narrowed, and he continued. “And where did you run off to?”

“To The Pit,” Mina said easily, and her own smile widened as his eyebrows shot up in surprise. She knew that he knew that she was keeping her own secrets and that he suspected they involved Abaddon, so she let him sit with her admission for a second longer before she added, “I took Angel shooting there, just for fun. The targets there are far more lifelike, as you know.”

“And how is our old friend?” Alastor asked pointedly, speaking of Abaddon.

“Getting along as usual, I suppose, though I didn’t see them today.”

“Today,” he repeated, “well, they should be getting along great if their best employees are now working for them for free.”

Mina tossed her hands up in the air.

“Why do you insist on being such a stubborn tosser every time their name comes up? Honestly, love, I thought you would be in a good mood now, that’s why I came up here.”

“I’m in a wonderful mood,” he said defensively, “and I was in a good mood this morning, too.”

Her shoulders dropped as she felt something in her soften. She was just so tired. It was exhausting always being angry with him and constantly trying to outwit him in arguments. For over a week now,  she had been swinging back and forth between wanting to fight him and wanting to fuck him and suddenly she wanted neither. She just wanted the man she loved to hold her.

Alastor, astutely clued into her moods as of late, noticed the change and, never one to waste an opportunity when presented, stood up.

“And what kind of radio show host am I? Not playing any music, how shameful.”

A snap of his finger and sounds of soft jazz filled the room. Mina recognized it as a favorite ballad of his to slow dance to. It didn’t have lyrics, which as a singer and poet, Mina usually found distasteful, but she had to admit, as Alastor took her hand and led her to the middle of the room, she appreciated the absence of words now as it gave her mind more space to focus on the body pressed against hers.

Alastor and Mina did not share the same love languages. Hers was physical touch; she needed to be held, kissed, touched, fucked; to reinforce a connection and though Alastor was certainly capable of providing that, he more often showed his affections through more subtle forms. An act of service, a show of vulnerability, private quality time; they all meant just as much to him as a passionate evening in bed.

He was choosing to slow dance with her alone in his tower rather than pick a petty fight over her old boss – who he really loved to hate – and for him, that was a massive display of devotion.

Mina rested her cheek against him as they swayed, savoring the moment. She knew this peace wouldn’t last long; eventually the secrets between them would drive them apart again. But as the song ended and transitioned to another and their dancing didn’t cease, Mina felt a glimmer of hope that this rift between them wasn’t permanent.

Angel’s words from earlier were still fresh in her mind, and she held onto Alastor just a little tighter as she mulled them over.

She could be an awful person. Had done truly horrific things to people whenever she felt justified in doing so. Her ability to cut ties with all empathy for a person could disturb even herself. But she loved this man. And although he was capable of even more heinous acts than herself, she knew in her bones he felt the same about her. They had always been each other’s exception to all their worst traits; the one thing in their lives they always chose to treat with tender care.

Not even the last seven years could undo that kind bond.

___

They had walked hand in hand through the hotel. Their private moment had to eventually come to an end, and they wordlessly decided to leave the radio tower together. The dance had been exactly what Alastor needed after such an invigorating day and he felt rather calm and sated.

Until they had come face to face with Sir Pentious, their new co-resident in redemption.

The demon was an absolute buffoon and Alastor did enjoy making a show of degrading him, but he did find it a bit insulting that Charlie seemed far more trusting of Pentious than she ever had of himself.

“Oh, love, it’s probably just because he’s the furthest thing from threatening,” Mina said when they had a moment alone on the sofa before Charlie’s next activity began. “Even when you’re not trying, you give off very threatening vibes.”

“Hmmm,” Alastor nodded, taking her words as a compliment, and leaning into the gentle one-handed back rub she was giving him. “I suppose I can’t help myself.”

She pulled away and Alastor immediately missed the contact.

“It’s a bit funny though, don’t you think? He shows up so soon after you’re fight with Vox.”

“It was hardly a fight,” Alastor corrected. “I wouldn’t even respect that interaction enough to call it an argument. But, yes, I was thinking much the same thing. That idiot is up to something, though I doubt he’s competent enough to pull anything off.”

Mina leaned into his side, resting her head on his shoulder.

“You could always use it to your advantage. Expose him for what he is and look the hero for it.”

“I do love the way your mind works,” he said, pressing a kiss between her ears, “but this time, I think I’m more in the mood to follow Charlie’s lead and then watch it blow up in her face. It’ll be entertaining and like I said,” Alastor sighed, sounding almost regretful, “it’s not like he’s going to cause any real damage around here.”

When the others joined them, Alastor sat upright through the whole ridiculous performance. Sir Pentious was as over the top and believable as a monkey dressed up in woman’s clothing, but it was still wildly entertaining to watch.

His poor, poor Charlie. She believed every word of it, too. The Hellborn clapped and cheered, so blindly desperate to believe in redemption that she was more convinced in the V’s puppet show than she was in the hotel’s only real resident.

She had all but abandoned hope in Angel, discarding him and even put his faults on display for everyone with the little skit she had written up. It was hilarious. Charlie was so easily manipulated into believing lies and giving up on her friends.

How . . . beneficial.

Mina had seemed genuinely upset when Angel had announced he was turning in early and she had wanted to scold Charlie for her negligence. Alastor held her back, telling her to let things simmer a little longer and assuring her that the spider could handle himself.

When everyone else had retired for the night, Mina had asked if he would join her, but he declined. He had told her he simply was still too wound up from the day and was planning on a few more hours in his tower to catch up on some work, but that was a lie on a couple of fronts.

Alastor was exhausted, not having truly slept since his return, and the surge of power he had sent out into the city hours before had nearly drained him of what was left. He also did not plan on getting any work on his station done, not with Pentious wandering about. So, he lingered in the shadows, utilizing the dimmed lights of the hotel to hide, and watched the drama unfold.

He saw it all; Pentious hiding the camera and Angel’s drunken confrontation with him. Vox’s outburst and Charlie’s act of forgiveness. It was all so delightful and once it was all over for the evening, Alastor joined with his shadow and headed straight for Mina’s room.

This was something he could tell her about and after how well things had gone between them that day, Alastor was sure it would seal the deal and help him gain her trust back completely. Once he had informed her of everything that had transpired, he would join her in bed and finally succumb to his body’s need for sleep. In the morning, he would make a point of moving the rest of his stuff into her room, and all would be right between them again.

He slipped beneath the frame of her bedroom door and solidified at the foot of her bed. What he saw made his smile strain unnaturally across his features and his ears pin back.

The bed was made up and empty.

Mina had fucking left . . . again.

Next Chapter ->

[carpaldragon]

The Fire in The Sin

Chapter 4 - Terminally Dispelled

Word count: 4,205. Read on AO3. Series Masterlist. <- Previous Chapter.

Summary: Mina's arrival in Hell. TW: canon typical violence and language. Use of a racial slur. Cannibalism. Mentions of opioid addiction.

Series Summary:

In the 1950's, Alastor met the woman he would eventually marry but unfortunately his Radio Demon persona went for her soul rather than her hand. He has to learn what it means to love, and cherish, without possessing and he does. Their relationship is beautiful, strong, unbreakable . . . but he carries a dark secret through their marriage for decades until eventually he has to face the consequences of that secret and leave her, without warning, for seven years. He returns, finding her at the Hazbin Hotel, and has to convince her to forgive him, while being literally bound to secrecy, unable to tell her any of things he now is desperate to explain to her.

(This is a duel timeline fic, timestamps will be a the top of every chapter.)

Chapter 4 - Terminally Dispelled

Part 2 – Terminally Dispelled

October 4th, 1917

Pentagram City

She was falling.

Falling . . .

Falling

F A L L I N G –

Mina opened her eyes and sat up, gasping for air.

She had jerked awake, having felt that familiar feeling of suddenly crashing in a dream at the very beginning stages of sleep, except this time it had taken much longer than usual for her body to respond to the surreal sensation of falling.

Only she wasn’t in her bed, which should have been expected. She was sitting on her hind end in a completely disheveled manner, on a street corner in a city she was sure she’d never seen before.

As everything came into focus around her, she looked on with rapidly growing horror. 

There were buildings and a paved street like in any normal city but the carriages were being pulled by all manner of beast, none of which were natural. And even the creatures that were walking upright like humans were mutated monstrosities with very little human qualities about them.

She scrambled to her feet as one particularly large, scaled creature brought a carriage towards the corner she was occupying. She backed away without looking behind her until she was abruptly met with resistance.

“Hey, look where you’re going!” a deep voice rumbled and she turned around to see a towering, half-bear, half-man demon looming over her.

The scream that tore from her throat was feral and she took off, running blindly down the street. She was completely lost to her panic and every turn she made just exposed more horrors.

After what felt like a mile, she found what looked like an empty alleyway and collapsed with exhaustion. She clutched at her chest with one hand while the other pressed against the brick wall and fell to her knees.

It took her a minute to catch her breath but when she finally did she realized . . . she could breath. Really, properly breathe.  

The hand that was against the wall let go and she pressed it to her temple instead.

She could think.

For the first time in two years, she wasn’t foggy from drugs and her lungs were clear rather than riddled with disease. She felt so alive. Only later would she reflect on this moment and laugh at the irony. Right now, she was just confused. How could she feel so clear headed and not remember how she got here or where “here” even was.

Mina closed her eyes and counted to ten, taking deep and calming breaths. When she opened her eyes again, she took in her surroundings without letting herself panic.

The first thing she examined were her hands.

She felt like herself, only healthy, but these were not the pale, delicate hands she knew to be her own. The skin was dark brown and her nails were far sharper and thicker than her own. At the nail beds they were a translucent shade of black but they turned into opaque talons as they extended out past the tips of her fingers. She pushed her sleeve up and found that oddly enough, the dark brown faded back into her usual Caucasian complexion at the elbows. Lifting her skirts, she saw the same transformation in skin color at her shin and kneecaps.

She had a pointed coloration to her now almost like . . . like a cat.

Mina touched at her face, desperate for a mirror, and hoped her face didn’t have similar markings. She was relieved to find no whiskers but as she explored further up, she felt what were undeniably ears. Two large, cat-like ears sat atop the crown of her head and the human ones she once loved to adorn with earrings were gone from behind her jawline.

Her fingers combed through her hair, which now felt much thicker than before and was a rich black instead of the strawberry blonde that had been a trademark of her Irish heritage.

There was an odd feeling, like an extension of her spine, that she could feel moving behind her, and she reached back and grabbed at it, jumping as her hand made contact.

A tail. She had a fucking tail coming out from a perfectly place hole in her skirts and it was very much attached to the base of her spine.

She could feel herself beginning to hyperventilate again, so she forced herself to calm down before vertigo took hold of her.

What was the last thing she could remember?

The ocean.

A rainy day.

A voice . . .

Jonathan.

Blood.

He had stabbed her.

She had killed him.

The beach.

The rain.

The world was spinning . . .

The leopard.

Mina’s hand went to her neck as the memory became clearer. She could still feel it ripping her throat out and the odd lack of pain that came with it, just the strange feeling of release and then . . . falling.

She was dead.

It sounded outrageous to her own atheistic mind. She had denounced her family’s Catholic beliefs and everything that came with it years ago. She believed in no higher authority and certainly didn’t believe in an afterlife.

Well, the joke was on her now, because as it turned out, her little sister had been correct during their last conversation.

Mina had landed herself in Hell.

__

She wandered the streets for the rest of the late afternoon and well into the darkest hours of the evening. This city never seemed to sleep and there was no shortage of beasts out and about, though almost none of them took any notice of her. It would certainly seem that she belonged here as her own part-animal form was far from the most horrific she was witness to that night. In fact, it appeared she was downright ordinary looking to the residents of Hell, having kept at least the majority of her human appearance. Once, she had passed what appeared to be a human body with a mucous covered octopus for a head and she began to feel grateful at how well her soul had fared in the vanity department.

Eventually, she found herself away from what she guessed to be the city center or at least a bustling business district, and came upon some more residential areas.

And then blessedly, what looked to be a park.

Although most of the plant life was snarled and half-dead looking, there was the occasional blood red rose or deep black pansy. There was even a large lake, though it gave off a putrid, sulfuric smell. It was still by far the most pleasant and quiet place she had come across in hours of walking and she approached the lake, less put off by the smell than she would have thought.

The surface was like a black mirror and she saw her reflection for the first time and sighed with relief. Her face was still more or less her own. No changes in complexion or markings besides her eyes and teeth. Her dentition was exactly that of a cat, small, pointed incisors and dramatically larger canines. Even her back molars were serrated and deadly sharp. Gone were the bright blue eyes of her human years; replaced by the large eyes she had last looked upon before she had been devoured. Green and gold irises around large, vertical black pupils. She titled her head, watching her ears as they twitched in response to her consideration of her new look and found she was quite fine with the changes she could see.

Feeling like there wasn’t much else to do at this point but give into her exhaustion, Mina left the lakeside and found a bench and curled up in a fetal position, quickly falling asleep.

What passed for dawn in Hell came a few short hours later but the same strange red hue still lingered in the sky above. Mina guessed it was just the way the atmosphere looked and felt a pang of regret when she realized she would never see another clear blue seaside sky again.

Well, Hell wasn’t meant to be pleasant. She supposed it was fitting that the thing she had loved most about the living world would be taken from her here in this wretched place.

She sat up and rubbed sleep from her eyes and realized she could hear birds singing.

Tiny black shapes darted around from the twisted tree branches above her bench. A couple of them landed on the ground near her and though they looked like horrible combinations of bird, bat, and scorpion, and were fighting over what appeared to be a human eye, she found their whistling song to be very pleasant; not unlike the sparrows that had lived in her hedge as a child.

Mina was cold, and starving, but she had nowhere to go and had no idea what to do about any of those issues, so she reclined back into her bench and began humming along with the Hellish bird song.

A couple walked past her, arm in arm. They were horrible to look at; the man had gills and gigantic webbed hands and the woman was dressed in a bloodied nurse’s gown with rotten flesh hanging from her face. But they smiled and laughed, clearly in love and enjoying their morning. The fish-man was holding a basket and it smelled heavenly to Mina’s hungry senses.

She hated them on site.

Perhaps it was a new instinct instilled into her demon form; like how a human baby simply knows to hold its breath under water. Or perhaps it was sheer luck, a coincidence that she had always found singing to herself to be a soothing act when one of her dark moods came upon her. Either way, the end result was the same.

Mina began singing and got a taste of what she was really capable of.

The Dawning of the Day was one of the few songs she knew how to sing completely in the native language of her homeland. Irish Gaelic wasn’t allowed to be spoken in her parents’ home, or at school, but her grandmother had done what she could to teach her and Mina had sung it as often as she could in her youth, mainly out of spite of her oppressive Catholic upbringing.

Maidin moch do ghabhas amach,

Ar bruachaibh Locha Léin;

An Samhradh ‘g teacht a’s an chraobh len’ ais,

Is lonrach te ón ngréin,

Ar thaisteal dom trí bhailte poirt

Is bánta míne réidhe,

Cé do gheobhainn lem ais ach an chúileann deas,

Le fainne geal an lae.

As she sang, Mina kept her eyes on the couple, focusing all her envy on them. If only they would just drop that basket, she could at least satisfy her hunger. Clearly, they were easily able to obtain food of their own, where she was going to have to beg or steal if she wanted even scraps of a meal.

The man dropped the basket and carried on.

Mina stopped singing, watching in disbelieving shock.

Had she done that?

She wanted to run and grab the food before they noticed but didn’t want a confrontation in case she drew attention to herself. It would be two against one and she had no weapons on her.

If she had caused them to drop the food basket, maybe she could push it even farther and get rid of them all together.

She started singing again.

Ní raibh bróg ná stoca, caidhp ná clóc;

Arm o stóirin óg ón spéir,

Ach an folt fionn órga síos go troigh,

Ag fás go barr an fhéir.

Bhí calán crúite aici ina glaic,

A’s ar dhrúcht ba dheas a scéimh,

Do rug barra gean ar Bhéineas dheas,

Le fainne geal an lae.

Although she hadn’t anything specific in mind, Mina focused her intention on the couple simply being gone and as soon as she had sung the first song, the couple turned from the path and headed directly for the lake.

It wasn’t exactly what she had in mind, but it was now clear to Mina that her song was affecting the couple. She continued with her verse as she watched in fascination as the couple waded into the water, blank stares on their faces, and the water began to steam around them.

The water was either acidic or hot, but either way, it was burning them, and yet they remained stone faced, continuing their decent into the lake.

Mina continued singing, even as the couple was submerged up to their waists, when a large tentacle reached out of the black water, wrapped itself around the couple in one swoop, and dragged them under.

They never even screamed.

Mina stood, processing what she had just done, and smiled.

Walking over to the basket, she went through the contents and was even more pleased with herself. It was real food, not some trick or poison. She had half expected spoiled vegetables or rotten meat but instead it was warm bread, soft cheese, and wonderfully cured salami.

She ate her fill sitting right there on the pathway, not even bothering returning to the bench.

If anyone bothered her, she would simply start singing again.

(English translation of The Dawning of the Day)

One morning early I went out

On the shore of Lough Leinn

The leafy trees of summertime,

And the warm rays of the sun,

As I wandered through the townlands,

And the luscious grassy plains,

Who should I meet but a beautiful maid,

At the dawning of the day.

No cap or cloak this maiden wore

Her neck and feet were bare

Down to the grass in ringlets fell

Her glossy golden hair

A milking pail was in her hand

She was lovely, young and gay

Her beauty excelled even Helen of Troy

At the dawning of the day.

On a mossy bank I sat me down

With the maiden by my side

With gentle words I courted her

And asked her to be my bride

She turned and said, “Please go away.”

Then went on down the way

And the morning light was shining bright

At the dawning of the day.

­­

__

By the evening’s end, Mina had acquired housing and by the week’s end, she was finding it easier and easier to get whatever luxuries she desired – if she was careful.

She didn’t always have to kill for them; usually she could get people to just give her things or leave their possessions behind. With a few short lines of a song, most Sinners who stood between her and what she wanted were putty in her hands.

The couple at the park had been an accident, though it was interesting to see how easily she had been able to off them without even intending to. But she wasn’t a monster, and she didn’t kill or maim just for fun, only if it really benefitted her. Mina wasn’t so short on empathy that she couldn’t realize that every other Sinner here in Hell was similar to her in that they were just trying to get by. She was just lucky enough to have a power that gave her a step up in this world.

The only hang up that seemed to come with her gift was that she couldn’t just direct it at whoever she wanted. Anyone within ear shot was subject to her will when she sung. She found that out when she had tried to get a street vendor to walk away from their booth of food and the entire city block had vacated the area.

The strength of her power was daunting, and she had come to two concerning conclusions in her first weeks in Hell. One, she had an alarming lack of control over her magic and sometimes it scared her a bit. Two, there were beings in Hell far more powerful than herself and she could easily draw unwanted attention to herself with the wrong display of her power at the wrong time.

Siren abilities were not unique to just her. It was what Lillith herself was well known for. And there were several Overlords with a variety of hypnotic tricks that were far stronger than her own. However, she seemed to be the strongest average Sinner she came across, and she knew that would paint a target on her back for all those even more powerful than herself, so she did everything she could to keep a low profile.

Meaning, she mostly kept to herself and only used her siren abilities when alone with the person she wanted to manipulate.

Mina did try and find honest work, so she didn’t always have to steal money or goods, but it seemed there was a shortage of normal employers in Pentagram City. One could find a job that paid but with the steep stipulation that the person that paid you got to own part of your soul. Or just own it outright, depending on who you were dealing with.

As dangerous as living independently in Hell was, Mina was not about to give up her newfound freedom. She would rather cease to exist completely than be under someone else’s control ever again.

On the night that everything changed, she was making her way back to her place from the only bookstore she could find within walking distance of her new home. The owner was a lower-level Overlord and they had started an easy sort of acquaintance over a shared love of Shakespeare. Though he had offered a deal for her soul for 50 years of guaranteed employment and the promise of introducing her to the bard himself. The book seller was surprised when she took offense at his offer, and it had nearly stopped her from returning all together. But there wasn’t much else to do to pass the time in Hell besides read and though she was fairly certain she had sworn off men forever, it was nice to have someone to talk to, and the Overlord hadn’t propositioned her again when she eventually returned.

Arms full of her latest purchase, she ambled down the street, unaware when she caught the eye of a Sinner she had passed by that then began to follow her.

After a few more paces, he called out her name.

Mina froze there, right in the middle of the busy sidewalk, and felt the first real icy fingers of fear since that first day of her afterlife.

Her memory of her death was still fuzzy from the opium she had been on, but she was able to recall the exact way Johnathan had said her name from behind her before he attacked.

Was this going to be her eternal punishment? Having him come after her, again, and again, and again?

She took a steadying breath and turned to face him, almost surprised that he didn’t look the same as the last time she had seen him. But, of course, he was no longer any more human than she was. In fact, she wasn’t even sure it was him at first because the demon before her was more pig than man.

Forty years later she would read of the upright walking swine in Orwell’s novella Animal Farm and laugh for that was exactly what her ex-lover had looked like the night she finally ended him for good.

“It is you,” he said, and she realized he also hadn’t been certain of her identity, until she had stopped in response to his voice.

She laughed out loud to cover up her anxiety. “Oh, love, death really doesn’t look good on you.”

“You’re the one who did this to me!” he spat. “I wasn’t even trying to kill you, you stupid mick, why did you have to go at me with that knife?”

Mina didn’t bother justifying that question with an answer. Instead, she looked around her, trying to find a way out. The street was crowded, far too crowded to use her power in any way that wouldn’t cause a massive slaughter, which would undoubtedly cause more problems for her in the long run.

She felt her ears pin back and she hissed as he drew nearer. Despite the crowded street, she knew she could expect no help from any passersby. This was Hell, after all, and she had herself been a bystander to many assaults. Violence was simply part of life here.

But a strange thing happened as he got closer; her stomach rumbled, and she noticed he smelled good.

Not in an attractive kind of way, like a man freshly showered and perfumed. No, Johnathan smelled like a salted and honeyed roast set out for supper.

Something else Mina would read years later was that cats of several species have a remarkably fast reaction time, as quick as 20 milliseconds. Much faster than the average predator and certainly quicker than a slobbering pig.

That night, however, was the first time she got to experience just how much agility and a set of sharp teeth could win over brute strength and size.

The last time Johnathan had lunged for her, Mina had run. This time, she dropped her books and jumped first to the side to let him clumsily run past her, and then onto his large, round back.

She let her instincts take over and her strange new body responded in kind. Mina felt her face morph, her mouth and teeth growing larger, and her vision tunneled to the pulsing source of blood in the short stout neck exposed before her.

It was over in seconds.

First, she ripped out the side of his throat, holding onto his shoulders even as he stood and tried to buck her off. Her extended claws dug deeply into his flesh, and she bit down again, growling in pleasure as more hot blood filled her mouth.

Johnathan rammed his body backwards into the building beside them, crushing her and knocking the wind out of her so that she did finally let go. But she was only momentarily dazed and as he spun around to face her, offering her the more delicate front half of his body, she lashed out with her claws. She eviscerated what was left of his neck and he fell back as she pounced on him. Not a heartbeat after his back hit the ground, she was gutting him alive.

On lookers barely glanced at her as she split open his rib cage with her bare hands, clawed out his heart, and ate it.

__

Feeling full and very satisfied with herself, Mina finished her journey home, her gore covered hands happily holding onto her books she was still looking forward to reading.

She could feel the sticky blood drying on her face and could see that it was staining her blouse, skirt, and even the precious books but it was no matter. It could all be cleaned later. For now, she let herself revel in the confidence it gave her to walk safely home and not be bothered by anyone she passed by.

If only she had been able to bask in the blood lust of killing her husband years before, rather than quickly cleaning herself up and fleeing the scene.

This feeling of strength and power, that no man would ever again be able to touch her against her will, was truly invigorating. She approached the doorway to her building, feeling unstoppable, undeniably free, on top of the world-

A shadow fell upon the doorstep before her, far taller than one her own body could cast. She felt a shudder run through her as the shadow sprouted six appendages, three wing-like shapes on either side. A rush of hot air hit her back and tickled her hair against the back of her neck.

Then as suddenly as it was there, the heat and the shadow retreated, turning itself into a perfectly average height and shape.

“Forgive me if I frightened you,” a soft voice said from behind, “my kind is known for our dramatics, even when we’re not trying.”

Mina turned around slowly, expecting to see the worst nightmare Hell had offered her yet, but instead saw the closest thing to human she had seen in weeks.

It seemed to be man, but their features were more feminine than most, making her unsure. Their blonde hair was cut short and fashioned like a man’s would be, but they wore a dusting of gold eyeshadow, a fair amount of blush, and a long golden earing hung from the lobe of one ear. The voice that had spoken didn’t give anything away as far as gender went, either. They wore black trousers but the white dress blouse adorning their torso was much more like what a woman would wear.

“Who- I’m sorry, what, are you?” Mina asked, trying with all her might not to seem even half as terrified as she was.

The being smiled, showing almost perfectly normal, pearly white teeth, although the canines were just a little more pointed than a human’s would be.

“My name is Abaddon,” they said, “I’ve been watching you, Margaret Gallagher. And I’m here to make a deal I don’t think you’ll refuse."

Next Chapter ->

[carpaldragon]

The Fire in the Sin

Chapter 3 - Overture

Word count: 6,733. Read on AO3. Series Masterlist. <- Previous Chapter.

Summary: Takes place slightly before and through the end Episode 1 Season 1 and during the events of the actual extermination day. TW: canon typical violence and language. Alastor is an ass for most of this chapter but you get brief moments where you can see he's still a simp for his wife, he's just having A BAD DAY.

This AMAZING painting is done by the wonderful lustylita. Please follow her for the best Alastor artwork your eyes will ever feast on. The entire scene in the radio tower was inspired by this image.

Series Summary:

In the 1950's, Alastor met the woman he would eventually marry but unfortunately his Radio Demon persona went for her soul rather than her hand. He has to learn what it means to love, and cherish, without possessing and he does. Their relationship is beautiful, strong, unbreakable . . . but he carries a dark secret through their marriage for decades until eventually he has to face the consequences of that secret and leave her, without warning, for seven years. He returns, finding her at the Hazbin Hotel, and has to convince her to forgive him, while being literally bound to secrecy, unable to tell her any of things he now is desperate to explain to her.

(This is a duel timeline fic, timestamps will be a the top of every chapter.)

Chapter 3 - Overture

Present Day

Alastor sat on the balcony of his room, intently watching the road that the lead up to the hotel. He took a sip of his coffee, then checked the time on his pocket watch. This year’s extermination was set to begin in a few minutes and the hotel was short one resident.

Not that he was worried.

Mina had survived several years’ worth of exterminations without him and she was resourceful.

And she certainly knew how to make herself scarce, apparently.

No, he wasn’t concerned exactly but he was definitely agitated.

Likely this was her way of making a point to him about not knowing the whereabouts of one’s spouse during trying times, but he didn’t care for it.

As the residence of a Hellborn, the hotel was a safe haven during exterminations and therefore safe for any of its other permanent residents, including Sinners . . . as long as they stayed away from windows and doorways. Now was not the time to be playing petty games with him. If Mina wanted to continue to be stubbornly cold and distant, she could very well do so in the safety of her own room.

Alastor took another drink, looking every bit on the outside like he hadn’t a care in the world.

He supposed she could have found sanctuary elsewhere.

If his suspicions were correct and she had returned to working for Abaddon, Mina could also still claim her old residence at The Pit. That had been in her previous contract after all; housing, safety, and above all else . . . power.

Alastor sat up and squinted as a figure came into view down the road.

Well, he was almost beginning to hope she wouldn’t show up. It would have been undeniable evidence of what she was up to.

He slipped into shadows and manifested purposefully behind her.

“Playing games now, are we?” he asked, delighting in the way she jumped in her skin, her usually sleek black tail fully fluffed out in agitation that he had managed to startle her.

She huffed at him and continued walking.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure, you don’t,” he said dryly. “It makes perfect sense to be out and about minutes before an extermination day begins.”

“I just needed some fresh air before I have to be cooped up in the hotel all day and night with you.”

“Oh, the horror,” he said with a roll of his eyes.

“If you’re so concerned, then why don’t you go back inside? I don’t need an escort just to walk up the drive.”

“An excellent idea, my love,” he said and linked his arm through hers before she could protest.

They turned to shadow together and appeared a second later in the hotel lobby.

“Look what the cat dragged in!” Angel announced, surprisingly awake and already with a bottle in his hand. “Or what the deer dragged in . . . the deer dragged the cat in- you know what, never mind.” He took another big gulp from his drink.

“Oh thank God, thank God, thank God,” Charlie said, launching herself around Mina in a bear hug. “We were so worried when no one could find you. Thank goodness Alastor got you back in time!”

“I was already coming up the road,” Mina mumbled and shuffled off to sit next to a very inebriated Angel.

“And where were you, exactly?” Vaggie asked with a hand to her hip. “We’ve been looking for you for the last hour.”

“I told you all we needn’t worry,” Alastor chimed in, once again using his shadow form to transport himself across the room and into the seat on the couch next to Mina, sandwiching her between himself and Angel. “Extermination Day makes everyone a bit restless. So she got a bit carried away while out gathering her thoughts? No harm done.”

Mina looked at him with surprise; she clearly hadn’t expected him to defend her. But he wasn’t about to give the impression to the rest of the hotel residents that he didn’t have the situation under control.

A scream sounded in the far distance, just loud enough to make out, but it was enough to make the mood of the room instantly shift.

A second later, the siren began to shout its annual alarm that the extermination had begun. It had just been too late to warn the first victim.

Alastor felt Mina’s weight shift a little closer to his side. His smile widened, knowing she was never as unfazed by these days as she let on. No one was.

“Yeah,” Charlie said, her eyes suddenly sad and focused on the hotel door. “No harm done.”

____

Alastor wasn’t the type to verbalize his complaints, but inwardly he had to admit, the day was proving to be particularly shitty.

In fact, his entire first week back had been more trying than he had expected. Playing along with Charlie’s childish and naive fantasies had pushed him far out of his comfort zone and the extermination had her seeming extra determined to give them all a wholesome day.

The only upside was that today was the first time since his return that Mina had gone hours without insulting or pestering him. Before his departure, they had enjoyed decades of marital bliss. All that time had allowed him to forget how difficult he found her when they didn’t see eye to eye on things.

Only this time it was worse because Alastor honestly was left feeling a bit bereft at her treatment of him. Nearly a century ago, she had been smart to keep away from him. He had been after her soul, after all. But this time was different. This time, he had no ulterior motives – not with her at least – he was just desperate to have her by his side once again.

Some of the things she had said to him, especially during the first argument in her room, had well and truly hurt his feelings. And that fucking pissed him off. It was one thing to confess to being in love, he had gotten over his reservations with that ages ago. But even to this day, he didn’t care for how easily Mina could control his emotions. It made him feel weak and distracted where once upon a time he had found strength and comfort in her.

And then to start off the day with her up and going missing the way she had was just the icing on the cake. Mina was keeping her own secrets from him, and the audacity of her hypocrisy had his already short supply of patience running on empty.

However, since the extermination had begun, she had been noticeably warmer towards him. It had begun there on the couch, her willingly leaning into his side for comfort. Then she and Niffty had disappeared into the kitchen for a while and brought back breakfast for everyone; some sort of quiche but in the shape of a cupcake that Niffty had called “egg bites.” He had been skeptical at first but then Mina had presented his own special serving, promising she had made his extra spicy, and they had been incredible.

Charlie then insisted on them all participating in some sort of social game she had called “two truths and a lie” so they could all get to know each other. He had been about to excuse himself when Mina had once again settled herself next to and against him. She had even brought him more coffee, knowing full well that he was perfectly capable of summoning it himself, just so she could make a point of being nice.

So he stayed, deciding that it would be a good opportunity to learn more about the other residents and study them. Plus, Vaggie and Husker both looked hilariously uncomfortable with Charlie’s proposition.

As their host had begun to explain the rules of the game, an explosion had gone off, close and large enough that they had all felt the rumbling beneath their feet. Mina had turned in her seat, eyes glued to the front doors, but her hand had gripped onto his bicep and held fast.

“It’s quite alright, Mina,” he had told her. “We’re safe as houses in here.”

Several smaller explosions followed, along with a resounding chorus of screams, and Charlie’s little game was forgotten as everyone sat around in tense silence.

“Well, that was a real buzzkill,” Angel said once the battle outside seemed to push itself deeper into the city center and farther from the hotel.

“Then why don’t we lift the mood a bit, eh my dear?” Alastor said, smiling pointedly at Mina.

She met his gaze but seemed uncertain.

“I don’t know, it’s been a while . . . and I don’t usually do it to make people happy.”

“Nonsense! I’ve seen you command an entire crowd into a jolly good time, you would do perfectly well just giving them a slight suggestion of a more peaceful time.”

“Whattya talking about?” Angel looked confused but he was the only one. It seemed everyone else was already clued into Mina’s ability and were considering the idea.

“You didn’t think the Radio Demon’s own wife was powerless, did you?” Alastor asked, materializing a grand piano with a snap of his fingers. “They don’t call her The Siren for no reason, my friend. She can command your emotions and desires with a simple melody. Her real talent is making a person kill themselves at the sound of her voice but of course she wouldn’t do any of that here.”

“He ain’t kidding, either. Seen her get a dozen demons to turn their guns on themselves and blow their brains out,” Husker said and then chuckled. “Gotta admit, it was pretty a good night.”

“Yeah, sounds super fun. Just the kind of thing we need today,” Vaggie deadpanned.

“Vaggie,” Charlie said, “Alastor said it wouldn’t be like that. Plus, I trust Mina. She would never do anything to hurt us.”

“You wont regret it,” Alastor said, appearing at Charlie’s side and holding her by the shoulders. “It’ll be more soothing than the smoothest whiskey Hell has to offer. Calm your nerves in no time at all. Mina?” He said her name with a suggestive gesture towards the piano, inviting her to begin.

 “If you insist,” Mina said and took her seat, “Did you have anything in mind?”

“You’re the professional,” Alastor said but Charlie clapped her hands.

“Oooh, ooh, I hope you know this one, it’s a bit after your time but-“ and she bent over and whispered something into Mina’s ear.

Mina feigned offence. “I’m hurt you would assume otherwise. Not all of us are stuck in the past,” she said, giving Alastor a teasing look.

She began playing and the soft, happy melody filled the room. It wasn’t one Alastor recognized but he had to admit, it wasn’t awful. Mina was a talented pianist, and it was rare that she chose a tune when he prompted her for one that he didn’t like.

Then she began to sing and the magic really took shape.

“I want to live where soul meets body

And let the sun wrap its arms around me

And bathe my skin in water cool and cleansing

And feel, feel what it’s like to be new . . .”

The first time he had heard her sing, Alastor had been convinced she was working a spell on him. Her voice was truly the most enticing he had ever heard. There had been plenty of female musicians he had respected and admired in life and in Hell but never had one made him feel the way she had. But that was just her sheer talent.

When she sang and brought her magic into it, the difference was obvious. There was no longer any individual thought of his own solidifying in his mind, nothing left of himself but whatever her siren voice commanded. It was the difference between infatuation and someone taking complete and utter control over your faculties.

Nothing would unsettle and bother him more if it was anyone else doing this to him. But Mina had never used her power over him without his consent and he had quickly learned to admit, it was the most affective drug to settle one’s nerves. And with his own power being far greater than hers, he knew he could withstand a mental attack if he ever truly fought against it. Vox had given him the opportunity to test that theory ages ago, and the rival Overlord had far stronger powers of hypnosis than his wife.

The song ended and the spell lifted but the sense of tranquility still lingered in the room’s atmosphere. All of the guests, even Niffty, looked completely blissed out.

“Jesus toots, I feel like I need a cigarette after that,” Angel said, his head lulled onto the back of the couch, and each of his six limbs limp at his sides.

Mina stood up from the piano and bit her lip as she looked around.

“Maybe I went a little too hard on them.”

“Au contraire, ma chér,” Alastor said, putting an arm around her waist, “I think it was just right.”

Indeed, the following few hours had passed nicely, allowing him to enjoy Mina’s good mood while it lasted and tolerate each and every one of Charlie’s silly forms of entertainment.

Eventually, though, due to the limited nature of her powers of hypnosis, the charm had worn off and when it did, he was more aggravated than ever. The occasional sounds of turmoil outside were the least of his problems compared to the personal Hell he was finding himself in within the walls of the hotel.

Mina’s social battery had worn out long before his and she had retreated to her room. He sent his shadow in to check on her every now and then, but found she was being sincere, rather than trying to sneak off again. She was tucked under the covers of her bed with a novel in her hand, only slightly changing positions every time he spied on her.

He should be relieved, but it just bothered him more that she felt she could simply excuse herself to do something as selfish as read while he was left playing the extroverted hotel manager. The least she could do was play another song to keep the rest of the staff more subdued. A song an hour was not that much to ask of her on a day like today, and yet she had retreated from everyone like a senseless wallflower.

Charlie was on the verge of hysteria, Vaggie and Husk were taking turns on who could be the most Negative Nancy, and Angel wouldn’t stop making leud inuendoes at everyone’s expense. Truly, by the time dusk had settled, the only person Alastor wasn’t ready to kill if it meant five minutes of peace and quiet was Niffty.

He decided enough was enough and as soon as the opportunity came where no one was paying attention to him, he slipped into his shadow form and left for his radio tower. If he couldn’t leave the hotel, at least he could get some work done.

____

Mina crawled out from her covers and went to her bedroom window, peering out over the city below.

The extermination was still going strong, more than 12 hours in. She let the curtain fall in disgust.

She knew she shouldn’t have excused herself when she had, but she was so mentally exhausted she just couldn’t take it anymore. It had gotten to the point where it was impossible for her to focus on anything, so she had left. When she became overwhelmed in social settings, she got pissy. And she was really trying to make an effort to not be pissy with Alastor, at least on this particular day.

Mina sighed, knowing she should probably return the favor of checking in on him. Although she had pretended not to notice, she was aware every time his shadow slunk into her room to make sure she was alright.

Either that, or he was making sure she was staying put. Her fault for getting home stupidly late this morning, once again on a job up on Earth she thought she could take care of overnight. But really, whatever Alastor suspected, did he really think she was going to leave the hotel while the extermination was still happening?

She headed out to find him and quickly found the other residents still gathered in the lobby, though it was evident Alastor wasn’t among them. Niffty hadn’t seen him either, so in preparation of finding him holed up in his own room, she grabbed him a glass of rye from the bar as a peace offering. But his room was very much empty and that left her one last logical place to look; the new radio tower he had added to the hotel. Mina left the glass on a table in the room and left.

He hadn’t invited her up there yet, so she had avoided going up there on principle but if he was really there tonight, she had to make sure he was okay.

After giving a soft knock on the door to announce her presence, Mina stepped into the room and stared in stunned silence at what she saw.

Alastor was using a laptop.

His jacket and monocle were off and his hair was pulled back into a tight knot in the back, meaning he was fulling engaged in his task and incredibly over stimulated by it. The state of his disarray meant he would be in an extra irate mood, but she had always found the distressed look on him incredibly attractive. When he let his guard down it was for her eyes, and her eyes alone, and it showed his level of trust in her. Plus, it was just plain hot.

But the shock of seeing him using such modern technology was more than enough to distract her from her lustful thoughts.

“Alastor?”

“Hmmm,” he responded, not bothering to look up from his task.

“Just making sure it’s actually you.”

“Very funny.”

He wasn’t telling her to get out, so she slowly approached him, noticing an image of the hotel on the screen of the laptop. His hand hovered over the keyboard rather than touching it and the green glow of his magic ebbed and flowed as the image shifted around.

“What are you doing up here?”

“I’m  . . . fuck,” he hissed through his strained smile and pinned his ears back. The laptop screen flickered to black for a second and when it came back on, the program he had been trying to use had clearly crashed. “I’m working on something. Someone around this Hell forsaken place should be.”

Mina put a hand on his shoulder and he tensed beneath her fingers but didn’t shrug her off.

“Can you do whatever this is downstairs? I don’t like you up here, it’s not safe right now.”

“I’m fine,” he said and this time he did push her hand off.

Mina crossed her arms and looked down at him, her tail swishing in agitation behind her.

“Al, please. You can have as much solitary confinement as you want in your room, to do whatever this is, where an angel is far less likely to break through the glass and exterminate you.”

“No one but you is annoying enough to bother me up here,” he mumbled, still not turning to look at her.

“Oh, I’m annoying now?”

“Yes, terribly so.”

“Well better annoying than dead! Not even the great Radio Demon is immune to an exterminator’s blade so you get your arrogant, narcissistic, egotistical ass downstairs unless you plan on disappearing for good this time.”

Alastor slammed the laptop shut and Mina was shocked it didn’t break in half from the force. He stood and as she blinked, he was back in his normal attire; jacket perfectly in place and hair down, though it was more frazzled than usual.

“And would that make you happy, my dear?” He sneered; eyes turned to dials as his temper began to take over. “I may be all those things and more but you have been nothing less than a cold, stubborn, secretive, hypocritic little shrew since I’ve returned.”

She glared back up at him, a solid head taller than her even if he hadn’t quite begun to morph into his full demon form.

“Sit down,” she said.

He tilted his head. “Pardon?”

“Sit,” she repeated, pointing a claw at his chair. Then after a beat she added, “Please.”

He complied and returned to his normal visage, though the upper half of his face was still stuck in a deep scowl.

Without invitation, Mina set herself in his lap and kissed him.

Alastor went rigid at first but as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself tighter against him, she felt him relax beneath her.

He began to kiss her back in earnest and she felt his hands tighten around her waist, his claws digging into the flesh of her upper thighs.

It was the first real moment of intimacy between them besides the quick kiss he had given her on the first night of his return. She parted her lips and he responded well, and as his tongue met hers she felt the vibration of a purr beginning in the back of her throat. It was undeniable at this moment how much she had missed him and how starved for his affection she was, and it caused her near physical pain to pull away when she did.

“Let me be absolutely clear,” she panted, still holding onto the sides of his face “I am still very upset. It’s taking all of my self-control not to lash out at any given second with you. But I’m also still madly, desperately in love with you, and am not about to lose you all over again. So please,” she pressed a kiss to his forehead, “get your precious, infuriating tail downstairs where I can remain angry without also having to worry for you.”

Alastor’s smile dropped into a thin line and for a moment he looked so sad. It was such a foreign expression on his face that Mina almost didn’t recognize it for what it was and then in a moment, it was gone, replaced by the wide, sharp-toothed smile she was used to.

She could tell he was trying to come up with another stinging remark, but just as he opened his mouth to speak, a bright flash of yellow light lit up the room. He turned his gaze to peer at something behind her and Mina stood and turned as well, looking out the large window at the destruction happening outside.

A horde of angels had come within a few hundred yards of the hotel and one of them was armed with some sort of light-wielding weapon and using it on a fleeing group of Sinners. Several angels broke free from their arial assault and descended on what was left of the scattering crowd, their spears glinting in the dim light, even at this distance.

How was this not blasphemous? Angelic beings straight from Heaven getting to kill in the name of their cause while she had been sent to Hell for simply doing what she had to do to survive. And what of it if she had enjoyed it? These angels were doing far worse than she ever had while she was alive, and they clearly had as much lust for violence as she did.

“Darling,” Alastor said, standing up from behind her, “I believe we were in the middle of something.”

“I know, it’s just,” Mina said, eyes still glued to the scene of carnage below them, “I hate them. So much. I just-“

Another flash of light from whatever that horrible weapon was and Mina felt Alastor grab her arm.

“Time to go,” he said and felt the familiar light weight feeling of his shadow before she was being pulled down.

They were back in his room in an instant but he was no longer beside her. Rather, she was left standing in the middle of the normal portion of the room while he had materialized a full work bench and seat in his bayou, his focus already seemingly back on his work.

Mina knew it was just an act. He was just as affected as she was, he was just better at shutting it out, but she still hated him for it in that moment. How could he keep going like this, just pretending he wasn’t in just as much pain and turmoil as she was? She wanted to scream at him, claw at him, make him beg to take her back, make him show her that he wanted her just as badly as she wanted him.

And why couldn’t she set her own pride aside for one night? She should go to him, tell him that none of it mattered, that she forgave him as long as he was still hers, and continue on with the kiss she had given him up in his tower. He could take her and fuck her right there on the floor of his room and it would be like none of the pain of tonight or the last seven years had ever happened.

But that wouldn’t be like either of them.

Intimacy was a struggle with Alastor. He always had to be in the exact right state of mind for it to be of interest to him. Only then would he let his guard down. Only then, could he be soft and sweet with her. And as much as her body ached for that side of him, Mina’s heart was still too bruised to give him what he would need in order to fulfill both of their desires. She could do it; the moment they had shared a minute ago had proved he was still susceptible to her advances, but it would mean letting him believe she trusted him again. And that was the crux of their situation. He demanded trust from her when, right now, she had almost none to give.

With regret, Mina grabbed the whisky glass she had left on the dresser before and walked towards him, setting it beside him without a word.

As she turned away, she saw from the corner of her eye his confused glance at the glass.

“Mina,” he said her name with the same trace of regret she felt but rather than give in, she simply walked out the door and let it shut behind her.

____

The morning came and with it, the end of the extermination. It had raged well into the evening hours, but it had given Alastor the opportunity he needed to complete his task. As deplorable as he found working with this kind of technology, it needed to be done to set the next part of his plan in motion, and it was a welcome distraction from his personal problems.

He couldn’t be wrapped up in his exasperation with having to make this blasted commercial and succumb to his turmoil over the state of his marriage. He simply didn’t have the emotional capacity for all of that at once. So, he had chosen one over the other and figured he would deal with the consequences in the morning.

Thankfully, Mina had seemed to resign herself to at least being cordial in front of the other residents. If she was still smarting from his abrupt dismissal of her advances the night before, she was being classy enough to act as if all was well when they had an audience. Perhaps today would be a better day, after all.

She had easily agreed to join the others in the lobby for his presentation and as the commercial began, it quickly became evident she was the only one who appeared entertained by his efforts.

Could she tell he had purposefully done an awful job? He couldn’t be certain, but she was failing to totally suppress a grin and as she made eye contact with him, there was a kind of familiar knowing in her look.

That shared glance between them meant more to him than the rather passionate kiss she had given him the night before.

As the commercial ended, so did their moment, and he focused his attention back to where it needed to be.

“So, what do you think?” he asked, acting for all the world as if he expected Charlie and Vaggie to be pleased, which of course they weren’t.

“I’m sorry, what the fuck was that?” the loud little one began, followed by Charlie’s pathetic attempt to smooth things over. If she was really going to rule Hell and be the powerful force he would eventually need her to be, she really needed to work on her authoritative tone.

“Bad, the word you’re looking for is bad,” Vaggie interrupted.

“Funny, I was going for hilarious.”

Mina failed to stifle a chuckle and Vaggie turned her head to glare at her. “It’s not hilarious.”

Mina just raised an eyebrow at her.  

“Ugh, of course you’re on his side,” Vaggie huffed and turned her frustration back on Alastor. “It didn’t even explain anything about how we’re trying to save demons from extermination, which is the whole fucking point.”

Charlie started up again and the three of them went back and forth for a minute, Alastor purposefully riling Vaggie up until she was on her feet on the couch, trying to add height to her indignation.

“You been here a week and you – both of you,” she exclaimed, pointing dramatically at Alastor and then Mina, “are supposed to be helping, and instead you’re mocking us.”

“Oh don’t drag me into this,” Mina said, crossing her arms, “I got Charlie that spot on the news and that would have been plenty helpful if she had done a decent job of it.”

“And you don’t think we find it suspicious that the news spot you got her is what supposedly got Alastor’s attention, huh? After you made such a big deal about looking for him?” Vaggie countered.

Alastor’s smile grew as he watched the tension between the women in the room grow even more.

Mina’s ears pinned themselves out to the side as she eyed the petite demon up and down.

“You don’t want to go there with me, love. Trust me.”

“You want me to trust you?!” Vaggie exclaimed, “Then get him to fix that disaster of a commercial because no one is going to want to come to a place that a powerful Overlord like him thinks is a waste of time.”

Vaggie sat back down and Alastor was just considering if the time had come to make his move when Angel raised a hand.

“What?!” Vaggie snapped.

“If in ya filming a commercial, can I suggest you take advantage of the talented celebrity you got right here?”

“Angel, you’re a porn star,” Vaggie said unimpressed and as they bantered, Alastor slithered his shadow form across the room to reappear closer to the cause of further discourse, just in time for Angel to predictably suggest that he make a sex tape with him.

“Aha! Never going to happen.”

“Will you stop hitting on my husband?” Mina said, all traces of her previous good mood gone as Vaggie and Angel unintentionally got on her last nerve.

“There’s no need to be jealous, baby,” Angel said, “You could join in. I usually charge extra for girls but if it’s in the name of helping out the hotel, I’ll give you a freebie.”

Mina growled as she stomped over to where the spider demon lay sprawled across the couch.

“Whoa whoa whoa,” Angel held up all four hands in submission, “I’m just kidding around, no need to get violent.”

“I swear,” she said, a finger pointed right in his face, “come onto either of us one more time an’ I’ll cauterize every single one of those holes you use to make a livin’.”

“Jesus, Alastor, your missus is a little tense,” Angel said, brave enough to turn away from the angry feline to look up at the deer demon who was clearly enjoying the chaos. “You really haven’t fucked her since you got back, have ya?"

Before Mina could react, Alastor whisked them both away via shadow back to Charlie and Vaggie’s side of the room. Her jealousy was never sourced from an insecurity of Alastor’s faithfulness to her, but rather from feeling disrespected by anyone who would dare tread on her territory. The feeling was mutual, and they had both had their moments in the past where someone’s leud comment got the better of them, but now was not the time or place for violence.

Thankfully putting the space between her and Angel, as well as keeping a well-placed hand around her hips, created an instant calming affect the hot-headed Irish woman.

They watched together as Charlie attempted to diffuse the situation more and Angel just continued making suggestive comments, though they were at least self-deprecating now.

Then, right on cue, Charlie’s phone went off and she dismissed herself to talk to her father.

“Hey, I have question,” Angel said, finally changing the subject away from his body parts. “If freaky-face over there is so powerful, then why can’t he just make people stay here?”

“Oh, trust me,” Alastor laughed, before quickly extending his antlers, “I can.”

Before he could truly revel in the look of fear on their faces and the look of delight on Mina’s, Husker decided to put in his two cents, and it started another round of Angel’s inappropriate and pointless flirting. It only came to an end when Vaggie stepped in, making the point that Sinners were supposed to choose the hotel.

“Well whatta ‘bout her?” Angel asked, gesturing towards Mina, “can’t she just go downtown and sing one of her trippy little tunes to get people feeling like they want to be better people?”

Vaggie groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers. “Absolutely not. What is it about the concept of choice that you aren’t getting?”

Alastor watched with amusement as the drunkard and the self-righteous continued to clash, not failing to notice that Mina had fully calmed down and had stepped away, trying to subtly eavesdrop on Charlie’s phone call. His wife’s instincts were still sharp as ever as to what was really worth paying attention to. It impressed and excited him. As long as he couldn’t explain anything to her himself, he needed Mina to be on her toes and trying to work things out on her own.

Lucifer must have finally wrapped things up – honestly how long did it take to ask a simple favor – because Charlie had pulled Vaggie aside, then quickly bounded out of the hotel and down the street, as Mina curiously watched the whole scene unfold.

It was time for the real fun of the day to begin.

____

Once they were done filming the commercial and were waiting for Charlie’s return, Mina took the opportunity to talk in private with Vaggie.

“Alastor made a deal with you, didn’t he?” she asked, cutting to the chase.

“Wait, you didn’t know?” Vaggie asked.

Mina knew he had purposefully done an awful job with the original commercial he created. He didn’t take the hotel any more seriously than she did, but he was a showman at heart and would have easily been able to come up with something more convincing than that if he had actually been trying.

She could tell immediately he was toying with them, drawing Charlie in with the idea of the commercial, but then not fully delivering until he got something in return. Then suddenly he and Vaggie returned to the lobby and the plan was a go.

So Mina ignored Vaggie’s question, not liking the implication that Alastor hadn’t let her in on his plan. True, he was hiding a lot from her, but this just all felt so painfully obvious, she didn’t feel the need to be clued in beforehand.

“What were the terms of the deal?”

“Well, that’s the weird part,” Vaggie said, “it wasn’t a big deal. He just said he would help film a decent commercial if I promised to not make him do any TV related stuff in the future.”

“Huh,” Mina said, already forming theories in her head and turned to walk away.

“Wait,” Vaggie stopped her, “you don’t think it’s more than that, right?”

Mina paused, knowing she was at a crossroads. She could do things Alastor’s way and dismiss Vaggie’s concern and pretend nothing was wrong. But Vaggie was likely too smart for that, and it would ultimately cause more distrust between them. The other option was to display just enough honesty to make it appear Mina really was on her side. If Alastor was being even a little honest with Mina, then it was true he needed to gain Charlie’s trust to get along with whatever plan of his he was concocting. And Mina seemed to have figured out before Alastor had that Vaggie was the real path to gaining Charlie’s trust.

Mina made a show of sighing and looking defeated.

“Vaggie, look, you’re a smart girl. And despite you clearly having a problem with me since day one, I respect you. So, I’ll be honest with you. I really don’t know what Alastor’s planning, but I do know him. And he never makes a simple deal, there’s always a catch. It’s either going to benefit himself more than he’s letting on or it’s going to hurt you more than he’s letting on. Sometimes both.” Mina put a hand on Vaggie’s shoulder and did her very best to look concerned. “Just promise me, if he tries making another one, you’ll tell me about it before you agree to anything, okay?”

“Okay,” Vaggie agreed, “And hey, I know things got a little tense before . . . I guess I shouldn’t have tried accusing you-“

“It’s fine,” Mina smiled, “water under the bridge.”

Later, even when they had a moment alone, she didn’t confront him about the deal. It almost certainly had something to do with Vox. Either he was using the deal to protect the hotel from Vox’s reach or he would use the deal in the future so that Vaggie couldn’t force him to get involved if Vox were to ever jeopardize the hotel in a way Alastor thought he could benefit from.

Mina decided it was best for now to sit with her theories as a test to see how well she could predict Alastor’s next moves. She surprised herself when she realized she still trusted him with her safety; because no matter what the intentions of his little deal with Vaggie were, she knew it wouldn’t bring any harm to herself.  

As they came down the staircase into the lobby together, Alastor burst her little bubble.

“You know about the deal, don’t you?” he whispered.

Mina just smiled.

“I see your need for attention can still win out over your need for secrecy.”

He huffed. “I wasn’t keeping the deal a secret; I’m just surprised you haven’t asked me about it.”

“Hmm,” she shrugged, “I guess I didn’t find it that interesting.”

That clearly was a blow to his ego, and he sulked in silence the rest of the way into the lobby, choosing a solitary chair rather than being close to her.

Charlie arrived home and Vaggie pulled her to join them in front of the television set. The commercial began to air when an emergency broadcast cut it short.

Mina sat in shock as Katie Killjoy announced the coming arrival of the next extermination.

Just six months away? They were cutting the time between their slaughter in half?

The other residents were just as outraged as her.

Everyone except Charlie and Alastor.

Rather than continuing to watch the TV screen, Mina studied their faces and came to the sinking realization they both already knew about this.

She quickly worked out Charlie must have just found out at the meeting with the angels she had been at all day but Alastor?

How the fuck did he know?

Next Chapter ->

[carpaldragon]

The Fire in the Sin

Chapter 2 - Reflections

Word count: 2,600. Read on AO3. Series Masterlist. <- Previous Chapter

Chapter summary: The story of Mina's (Alastor's wife) life and death. Trigger Warnings: Canon typical violence, canon typical language, suicidal ideation, religious trauma if you squint, forced marriage, mention of abortion, mentions of dubcon, terminal illness, drug use, domestic violence, murder.

Series Summary:

In the 1950's, Alastor met the woman he would eventually marry but unfortunately his Radio Demon persona went for her soul rather than her hand. He has to learn what it means to love, and cherish, without possessing and he does. Their relationship is beautiful, strong, unbreakable . . . but he carries a dark secret through their marriage for decades until eventually he has to face the consequences of that secret and leave her, without warning, for seven years. He returns, finding her at the Hazbin Hotel, and has to convince her to forgive him, while being literally bound to secrecy, unable to tell her any of things he now is desperate to explain to her.

(This is a duel timeline fic, timestamps will be a the top of every chapter.)

Chapter 2 - Reflections

October 4th, 1917

California coastline, near Sonoma

Mina Gallagher looked out at the Pacific Ocean and wished she was dead.

Fantasized about it, more like.

Growing up in Ireland had given her a enduring love of the ocean. She was in awe of its power; how it could go from calm as a child’s rocking crib to an omnipotent force capable of ripping sea cliffs apart in a matter of hours. Her small, weak body craved that kind of strength, and she would slip her shoes off to stand in the shallow, icy waves, praying to it as devotedly as her parents prayed in mass every Sunday.

As a teenager, she would run away to the shoreline any chance she could and let the ocean be the only witness to her desperate tears. She had thought about swimming out into it then, letting a rip tide carry her away to freedom . . . and certain death. Same thing, really. But she hadn’t the courage then.

When she was married off at 16, she stood through the whole long torturous ceremony, daydreaming not of a groom as most girls did, but of stowing away on a ship and fleeing to America.

A year later, with her husband in pieces in his coffin and her dead baby not yet dispelled from her womb, she got that wish granted. Only she had been no stow away; she had been a proper passenger, with her fare paid for by her new manager.

Her voice, and her body, were his for the time being. They often snuck out on deck late at night and he would fuck her from behind, thinking she enjoyed the thrill of potentially being caught as much as he did, but in reality, it was so she could watch the waves ahead of them and ignore the man grunting from behind her.

Men were such pigs, but they were easy to manipulate. He had thought he was using her, but it was the other way around.

It took her a couple more years to be free of him but eventually she was able to dispose of him. Not as violently satisfying as she had dealt with her husband but with a poison that she was able to frame his assistant for.

There were many downsides to being a woman born around the turn of the 20th century but getting away with murder was one of the rare benefits. No men were comfortable admitting that a quaint little five foot nothing girl was capable of causing them harm, let alone hacking them to bits or slipping arsenic into their drink, so she was never the prime suspect in either of those cases.

The Irish Siren was the nickname the Americans had given her and they loved her scandalous life story and the lyrics that were inspired by it in a way that her conservative Catholic homeland could never.

If she had lived to see the roaring twenties, she really could have come into her own.

Mina coughed into her napkin and it came back bloody.

She had been able to make a living touring the nation, completely reliant on her “God given” talent to sing until the age of 24. Not long after that birthday, the coughing started. By the year’s end, it was clear her singing career was over. She was the Irish Siren no more.

The Atlantic ocean had always felt like home to her, so she had stayed on the east coast for as long as she could. Back home in Ireland, the Atlantic was mercurial and always in motion but here in America, she saw its other face. This Atlantic was calmer, steadier, and more reliable. The fair weather, high humidity, and low elevation of the Carolinas were supposed to be good for those suffering from consumption and she was able to continue making a decent living as a poet. She couldn’t sing anymore but she could still write, though she kept her favorite, darkest pieces to herself.

Eventually the itch to travel one last time consumed her thoughts, a stronger acting force than the disease consuming her body, and she saved up enough money to cross the country by train and buy a house on the west coast. She had always meant to see the Great American West and now that her time was growing short, it was now or never.

The Pacific Ocean was so much more than she expected. Here on the coast it was often overcast and rainy, and tricked her mind into being nostalgic for her lost childhood home. She had loved Ireland’s landscapes, enough to almost make her forget how much she had hated her life there.

It was so big, this new ocean. She purchased a globe so that even in the evenings when it grew too dark to see the water, she could still admire the sheer dominating size of the thing. There could be so many secrets hidden beneath its depths. Lost civilizations or ancient Eldritch style monsters long forgotten by the modern world.

If she had worshipped the Atlantic Ocean, she had well and truly fallen in love with the Pacific.

Mina stared out her window, watching the rain, and accepted she would have to wait for another day.

Her plan was to row out on the next sunny, calm morning, get out as far away from the shore as the tide and her sickly body could take her, swallow the rest of the laudanum, slit her wrists, and jump in the water. Let the ocean and its creatures, depths, and secrets have her body. It was better than a casket and a last devotional ceremony to a God she had turned her back on long ago.

She coughed again, and the wracking overcame her frail form, forcing her to sit down and double over. Afterwards, she breathed in as deep as she could, but it was painful and hardly satisfying to her oxygen starved body.

That perfect day had to be very soon or she wasn’t going to live to see it.

From what seemed like a distance, she heard a knocking, and realized it had been going on for a while but she was so lost in her laudanum she hadn’t noticed.

It was probably just her one and only neighbor, a bizarre middle-aged man with more money than wits, and a rather strange collection of exotic animals that tended to get loose. He came over more often than her physician, asking if she had seen any of his escaped creatures. The conversation always turned into a proper visit, and she didn’t have the energy or the patience for his strangeness today. So she ignored the knocking and continued in her reverie. Maybe the would-be visitor would assume she had finally died and would leave her in peace.

She laughed out loud at that thought and triggered another coughing fit.

The world turned glossy again and several minutes to several hours could have gone by as she watched the ocean waves in her drug induced stupor until a voice from behind her lifted her from the fog.

“Hello, Mina.”

She turned in her seat to face the man in her doorway, unsure of who he was at first. After a heartbeat, her mind registered the face.

“Johnathan,” she said, acknowledging him as if she had any idea of why he was standing in her living room like he had every right to be there.

She thought she had done away with him for good. In no uncertain terms she had made it clear to him that unless she wanted to continue being dissatisfied in the bedroom, there was no point in him staying in California for her. She was too sickly to perform any kind of proper wifely duties for him, too barren to give him any more heirs and frankly he had enough of them already, and she was clearly dying soon anyway. The only reason he had to continue to propose to her was for her money, and she had told him frankly she wasn’t stupid enough to leave her fortune to a man such as himself. That had gotten her slapped and though she hadn’t been physically well enough to fight back, she had born the shiner proudly in the mirror for a couple weeks. At least she had been left in peace because he had stormed out of her house after that argument and not returned. She had hoped either the war or the pandemic would kill him, or that she would be dead herself before he had the opportunity to bother her again.

“More prospecting business dragged you back to town, eh love? Come to try and marry a corpse while you’re at it?”

“You were always such a cold-hearted bitch,” he said, and she noticed he was slurring his words even more than she was. “I’m surprised there’s enough heat in you to keep that cunt warmed up.”

She had her faculties about her enough to know to stand up and begin putting distance and furniture between him and her. He had never spoken to her that way before, not even when he had hit her.

Johnathan was always a short-tempered little shit with those he deemed beneath him but he had been well mannered with her up until his last visit. She was lonely and often drunk or drugged since her diagnosis and had allowed herself to be entertained by him now and then.  But she was realizing too late that she had become arrogant and careless around men in the last couple years of her life and forgotten how dangerous an animal they could be when they didn’t get their way.

And Johnathan looked like he regretted not giving her more than a hard slap all those months ago.

Mina ran, as fast and hard as her tired muscles could carry her, and made it all the way into her rarely used kitchen before he was able to catch up. Not that she had any plan or real means of escape.

But she did have knives.

She was able to grab one out of a drawer but then he was on her, slamming her face into the edge of the counter and she dropped to the floor.

Somehow she managed to roll onto her back and face him, all without dropping the knife. But he saw it and was able to grab her arm before she could drive her weapon into him.

Her arms were as weak as everything else in her body but her grip was still strong enough so that he couldn’t pry her fingers off from the around the hilt, at least not while also trying to hold her legs down as she desperately tried to kick at him.

Johnathan gave up his attempt at removing the knife from her hand and instead turned her wrist so that the deadly point was now facing her stomach.

“Stupid bitch,” he hissed out when she got a good hard kick into his shin. “I don’t want to kill you, stop fighting!”

Oh, he just wants to beat and rape me, how considerate, she thought.

Her face was bleeding badly from where it had made contact with the countertop and she tasted her own blood. Johnathan had strength, size, and health on his side of this battle but she had something he likely hadn’t considered.

She had already come to terms with her death. And she was really, truly, quite insane.

Mina stopped trying to hold him away from her and let the knife plunge into her abdomen. It hurt, but there was little wind to knock out of her lungs anymore and she had so many painkillers in her blood at this point, so she hardly felt more than a deep pressure.

Johnathan’s face was brought suddenly closer to her as he wasn’t expecting the sudden stop in resistance against him so she closed the gap between them by sitting up just a couple inches and bit hard into his cheek.

She clenched her jaw down as tightly as she could and felt the flesh tear and a new taste of blood spurted across her tongue.

He screamed and she laughed.

Mina let go as he pulled away suddenly, clasping a hand over his face and still screaming. She wasted no time in yanking the knife from her own stomach and swinging it up and then down again, burying the blade to the hilt in his neck.

It made a squelching noise as it sank in and Johnathan’s screams were replaced with a wheezing expulsion of air.

She brought the knife out and then right back into his chest.

He fell backward and she stabbed again.

And again.

She didn’t stop until the fatigue in her arms made her stop.

Mina struggled to her feet, using the kitchen counter to pull herself up, and looked down at the body of the man she had just slaughtered with her bare hands. He had not been her first victim. Not even her second. And her only solid thought was it was too bad she couldn’t have done that more often, to more men.

She was so out of breath and getting really, really tired now.

Looking down at herself, she realized most of the blood pouring down her dress was her own and remembered she had been stabbed.

Right. Today would be the day after all.

She stumbled through her house and out the back door.

The rain hadn’t stopped but it was alright because she really couldn’t feel the cold.

Just make it to the water. That’s all I want, to feel it one more time.

But it was so far away.

Her house sat a good 200 yards from shore and she was barely off her back porch before vertigo caused her to stumble to the side. It took almost all her remaining energy reserves to get back up and when she did, her vision was so blurry and her head was spinning to the point that she nearly vomited.

She looked down at the hand that was pressed to her bleeding abdomen, trying to will herself to walk the rest of the way down to the water. It was no good. She was surely going to pass out any second now. If she hadn’t been so out of her mind from lack of blood and opium, she likely would have cried.

When she looked back up, she saw the strangest thing.

A panther was crouched, maybe just ten feet from her, still as a statue and looking right at her. Its coat was shiny and mostly black, but light enough in some places that a dark golden-brown pattern of wide spots could be made out along its sides.

Maybe the knocking had been her strange neighbor after all, at least at first. Come to tell her he was missing a member of his collection and to not venture too far out from her house today.

The panther’s irises were green, with gold around the edges, and her poet’s mind declared it the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen.

But it doesn’t have a panther’s face, she thought, that’s the face of death.

It leapt for her then and she simply sat down. When it landed, she had a moment to feel its weight push her back into the sand beneath her.

She kept her eyes open as its teeth found her neck but she was already too far gone to feel any more pain.

Next Chapter ->

[carpaldragon]

The Fire in The Sin

Chapter 1 - Pilot

Word count: 6,993. No TW other than canon typical stuff for this first chapter. Read on AO3 Series Masterlist

Series Summary:

He took her face between his clawed hands and kissed her, hard and quick.

“So now that I have you back,” as he spoke, his voice crackled and lowered several octaves, and the room darkened as he allowed his power to slip out just enough to make reality around them go fuzzy. “I’m not letting you go.”

In the 1950's, Alastor met the woman he would eventually marry but unfortunately his Radio Demon persona went for her soul rather than her hand. He has to learn what it means to love, and cherish, without possessing and he does. Their relationship is beautiful, strong, unbreakable . . . but he carries a dark secret through their marriage for decades until eventually he has to face the consequences of that secret and leave her, without warning, for seven years. He returns, finding her at the Hazbin Hotel, and has to convince her to forgive him, while being literally bound to secrecy, unable to tell her any of things he now is desperate to explain to her.

(This is a duel timeline fic, timestamps will be a the top of every chapter.)

Chapter 1 - Pilot

Present Day

The Radio Demon strolled down the packed sidewalk, humming as he went.

There were several business sections of Pentagram City and this was one he had been most familiar with, though it had changed quite a bit in the last seven years. It was irritating to say the least and left him feeling close to the same amount of disorientation as his first days in Hell, nearly 100 years prior. Not that his irritation could show through his expression with his ever-present smile plastered across it.

No, unless a demon was a part of his very, very, small circle of close confidants and was used to the subtleties of his body language, Alastor seemed aloof and unbothered as he continued on his way. Hands clasped behind him, holding his cane at his back, his steps never faltered as he continued to mentally mark the changes to the neighborhood he once knew so well.

Right next to the feeling of uncertainty, was its sister emotion, indecision. His very first day back in Hell and Alastor was having a devil of a time figuring out where he should go first.

Who should he find first?

Never mind all that now; best to reacquaint oneself with their surroundings before he forced himself to decide on a direction. Take it all in, as they say. And a particularly dense crowd had formed up ahead at what looked to be the location of an old radio shop here in town. It didn’t look like it was doing so well but the owner was under contract with him, and it wasn’t as if Alastor had been around lately to enforce his standards upon the place. Oh well, he thought with a mental sigh, at least Vox hasn’t gotten his cheap wanna-be 21st century claws into the place. It’s nothing I won’t be able to rectify in due time.

Alastor drew nearer and noticed the warning posters with his likeness posted on the wall of the shallow alcove around the window display. It was hastily done but still fresh, meaning his contracted soul, though clearly slacking in his duties, still remembered him. Better yet, still feared him. That nearly made up for the tacky television sets and their obnoxious technicolor presence sitting just on the other side of the windows.

A decade ago, Alastor would have made a show of breaking the glass, smashing the TV’s, and summoning the shop owner just to drag the pathetic demon through the streets with his shadowy tentacles.

Unfortunately for Alastor but rather fortunately for all the other viewers on the sidewalk next to him, The Radio Demon’s temper had been put in check seven years ago when the invisible chain around his neck had tightened and forced him into secrecy and an embarrassing amount of . . . good behavior.

Pulling him from his daydream of carnage and vengeance, the images on those offensive screens were the first things to really grab Alastor’s attention during the first few hours of his return to the Pride Ring.

Charlotte Morningstar.

The daughter of Lucifer and the Princess of Hell was advertising her new hotel to all the Sinners of her father’s Kingdom.

Well. It would seem as if the stage had already been set for him.

Time to begin Act I.

____

In a dark alley several blocks away, the air suddenly blistered with heat as a portal bloomed into existence a foot above the ground, its fiery edges dripping small chunks that blackened the concrete below.

Mina stepped through and the portal snapped shut behind her the second her tail was past its perimeter. It took only a few milliseconds for her heightened feline eyes and ears to check her surroundings for those who may have spotted her entrance, and she gave a small sigh when she was sure there were no witnesses to her little secret. A small blessing after such a long day of hunting. Killing and disposing of the mess would be easy but she was in a hurry to get back to the hotel and relax.

Not that she would (or could) admit it out loud to anyone, but she was exhausted. That short-horned drug smuggling little twat that she had been assigned to track down had put up more of a fight than she had anticipated. Underestimating the enemy was a stupid, rookie mistake. Giving the illusion of helplessness was Mina’s M.O. after all, and it was embarrassing that some common Hellborn had nearly beaten her at her own game.

The job had taken up all her allotted time on Earth when she had been hoping for a few precious hours to devote towards her own agenda.

Finding Alastor.

Mina hoped her old coworkers were in an extra spiteful mood during their shift so that smuggling demon that ruined her day got an extra-long and painful session in The Pit.

She also hoped that spot lighting as the main guest on the news used up a good portion of Charlie’s enthusiastic energy. Hopefully her new “friend” didn’t have any obnoxious group activities planned for the rest of the day.

All she wanted was to get back to her room with a strong glass of wine and a book so she could drink, read, and mentally escape her loneliness for a few hours until sleep found her.

A nice, quiet evening.

____

“This ridiculous thing you’re trying to do! This hotel! I want to help you run it.”

“Uhhhhh, so you’re not here for-“ Charlie started but with an incredibly unsubtle shake of her head, the petite Spanish speaking demon with the oddly angelic looking spear, stopped her from finishing her sentence.

“For what, dear?” Alastor prodded, leaning forward. The Princess was to be completely in the dark about the entire ordeal and yet she seemed to know something he was unaware of.

“For . . . for, um . . . for redemption! Obviously,” she laughed nervously, sneaking another glance at her companion.

“Oh, of course not, that’s wacky nonsense!”

And he continued, giving Charlie a well delivered lie about entertainment, while deliberately leading her away from the clearly less naïve members of her staff.

­­­­­­­Steering her clear of the influence of the other two, however; kept him out of earshot of Vaggie and Angel’s conversation.

“. . . who we can’t risk getting involved with unless we want to end up erased.”

“Ya done?” Angel chuckled.

“He’s also Mina’s husband,” she deadpanned.

“Veeeery funny, toots.”

“I wouldn’t joke about something like this,” Vaggie said, somehow frowning even deeper. “And when he up and disappeared, she nearly tore Pentagram City apart looking for him. Most of Hell thought she was just his plaything but with him gone, her fury was unleashed, and she stopped hiding her true strength. They say only Abaddon was able to step in and control her again. That was her with a broken heart, imagine what will happen when she finds out he’s back and not looking for her.”

“That guy? He looks like a strawberry pimp,” Angel laughed again, “No way he’s the fella Mina has been all bent out of shape over.”

Vaggie made a vague “uuggghhh” noise and rose from the couch, marching over to Charlie and pulling her into a different corner of the room.

“Charlie, listen, you can’t believe this creep. He’s a dealmaker, an overlord, and more importantly, he’s the one Mina has been trying to get over! The whole reason behind her decision to join us!”

“I know he’s bad, and clearly, we don’t know what really happened between him and Mina, but I can’t just turn someone away. It goes against everything this place is supposed to stand for. And who knows, maybe a reunion will actually help. I know they probably don’t wanna change, but if they really were in love, then maybe there’s a chance this will go well!” she finished with a small, hopeful smile.

Vaggie’s shoulders sagged. She knew that look and knew Charlie’s undying optimism had won over logic.

____

Alastor walked around the hotel parlor, once again humming, and mentally gathered up as many details as he could.

Over the decades he had perfected the art of not only knowing when people were talking about him, but also understanding when they were merely admiring, fearing, gossiping, or worst of all, keeping secrets.

And this trio was definitely hiding something from him.

“So, where is your hotel staff?” Alastor asked, leaning low to get uncomfortably close to Charlie. Uncomfortable for him but much more uncomfortable for Miss Morningstar.

“Uh . . . . well,” she paused, and he knew he was close to this mysterious subject matter.

“Alastor!” a high-pitched voice screamed from the stairs and recognition dawned on him before he had even turned around.

“Niffty!” he announced with his hands in the air as the one-eyed maid scurried to shorten the distance between them. Within seconds, she was propped up on his shoulder like no time had passed. “My darling girl, just what brought you to this fine establishment?

Niffty opened her mouth to answer but Charlie beat her to it.

“She’s our maid! DUH! Hahaha, she’s just the best. Soooooo, you two know each other?” she asked, her voice ending a few octaves higher than normal.

Alastor and Niffty blinked at her in tandem for a beat before Alastor spoke.

“Of course I do, my dear, I own her soul. Sssoooooo,” he drawled, in a perfect mimic of Charlie, “I’ll ask again. What is she doing working for you?”

“I came here with Mina,” Niffty said with an uncharacteristic look of confusion.

Alastor eyebrows shot impossibly up and his body went visibly stiff.

“Oh shit,” Charlie said for the second time that day.

His head snapped in her direction.

So that was the princess’s big secret. Fascinating. Of all the places he was planning on looking for his wife and she somehow knew exactly where to be when he came looking.  So now his next question was . . .

“And why is she here, darling?” his eyes shifted for only a second to Niffty to indicate he was asking her to respond, but then settled right back on Charlie. The ever-present smile doing nothing to make his expression look less malicious.

“Oh,” Niffty said, and with a deep exaggerate breath, she began. “She heard a rumor that Heaven had something to do with your disappearance after she tore apart a whole bunch of bad guys looking for you and Abaddon told her about Charlie trying to get people into Heaven and then because she felt she had nothing left to lose – those were her words exactly-”

Niffty giggled and took another breath. Alastor continued to stare unblinkingly at Charlie.

“-she wanted to see if it would actually work and even if it didn’t help her find you then at least she got to fuck over Heaven one way or another – again her words exactly – so she told me to come here with her so Charlie would believe she could contribute something and the hotel was really nasty and there were a lot of roaches when we first got here and Mina gave me this really big needle to stab them with and I killed them all in the first week but Mina’s been really nice about it and keeps summoning more for me to kill-“

“Okay, that’s disturbing,” Vaggie interrupted and motioned for Niffty to climb down from atop Alastor. “Alright, so whatever, Mina is here. And she’s almost as dishonest as you, big surprise. You clearly didn’t come here looking for her, so you don’t get to be mad that we didn’t tell you she was here within the first three minutes of you showing up.”

Alastor laughed and put a hand to his chest.

“Please, my dear, I’m not angry. Why would I be upset? This simply saves me the very next trip I was going to take once I settled in here.”

That wasn’t necessarily true, nor was it a lie. He was still on the fence about what he was going to do with Mina. On the one hand, he did want her around and knew she would find out about his return sooner rather than later. Best to make it appear he had been looking for her as well. On the other hand, she would make things very, very messy for him going forward if she got involved without knowing the whole picture.

“Wait,” Charlie said, looking between Alastor and Niffty, “That’s why Mina came to the hotel? But I thought she believed in me? She seemed so sincere . . .”

Vaggie put her hand on her girlfriend's shoulder. "I mean, hey, look at the bright side. The way Niffty tells it, Mina really does think it could work, she just wants it for . . . er, different reasons."

“Oh, that would be just like her,” Alastor said as he continued with his pacing and examining the space around them, “she always was a deceptive creature. And the best lies are always the ones with a healthy peppering of truth to them.”

“Hmmm, sounds like you two really are a match made in Hell,” Vaggie rolled her eyes.

“Is it true? That Heaven had something to do with you leaving-“ Charlie gasped, “Oh, did you actually go to Heaven?!”

“Charlie, dear, I think my first business lesson to you as your new hotel manager will be to help you understand that rumors are often just that. Heaven. Oh my, what a grandiose claim. Come now, I bet there are far more entertaining rumors out there about my absence.”

The four hotel occupants just stared back at him.

“So, when are you expecting her back?” Alastor asked, spinning around and once again invading Charlie’s space.

“Oh, any minute now . . . I’m sure. Or maybe later tonight. Could be tomorrow . . . we don’t really know.”

Alastor’s smile remained but his eyes turned to slits.

“Ooooh, daddy can’t wait to get a little somethin’ from the missus?” Angel said from his lounging position on the couch. “Been a while? You know, if you need to let off some steam before the big reunion-“

“Ha! No," Alastor said, turning to shadow and disappearing from Charlie’s side to Angel’s faster than the spider-demon could finish his last sentence. “Very well then, looks like I’ve got a lot of work to do around here, and I would prefer to get a good start on it before Mina makes her appearance. I suppose I could call in a few favors.”

­­­­­­­­­­____

Mina used to enjoy going for walks through Pentagram City. She was always a restless spirit, even in life and well before Alastor. Traveling had been one of her passions and although in Hell she wasn’t allowed to leave Pride Ring, she was sure to put in a few miles on the soles of her shoes when down time allowed for it. New souls were arriving all the time, making her home in the afterlife an ever-changing metropolis with boundless secrets to explore.

But walking home from work? That was a bitch.

It was the most annoying irony that she was one of a handful of Sinners with the ability to not only portal around Hell, but also to the living realm, but she had to keep that fact a secret and therefore had to walk an ungodly amount of distance just to keep up appearances.

She was beginning to let go of her plans for indulgences in order to crawl straight into the arms of sleep when the hotel came into view.

A large golden blimp-like machine was positioned above it that seemed vaguely familiar. She was sure she’d seen it around during the turf wars the wanna-be Overlord Sinners tended to strike up now and again. If it was at the hotel though, that could spell trouble for her. Not in any life-threatening kind of way but it may force her to expose certain powers she was no longer supposed to be in possession of.

Mina ran up the hill to the hotel, formulating a plan as she went. She would have to find a way to draw whoever was operating the machine out and into earshot of her voice. Or, if she really had luck on her side, the machine would have some kind of listening device, and experience had shown her that was enough for her siren powers to at least subdue an enemy. No angelic fire or portal would be necessary.

And then she saw the shadowy tentacles begin to wrap themselves around the machine in a crushing grip and drag it down.

There were few Overlords in Pentagram City who utilized the power of shadows. They were a tool for teleportation and espionage. But there was only one demon who was powerful enough to manifest them as tangible and prehensile weapons of destruction.

Mina’s feet stalled without her realizing and despite her sprint uphill, her breath caught in her throat. The only part of her left moving was the undead beating heart in her chest.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­____

Alastor threw the last bit of intent and rage into his magic as the tentacles tightened their grip and began dragging the machine downward.

The disgrace of being at this place, the idea of having to entertain every whim and fancy of Lucifer’s daughter, the audacity of him, the Radio Demon, being controlled. He was going to have to play a delicate balancing game of keeping up this ridiculous front while also re-establishing his reputation and he was going to have to do it all with Mina right there beside him. He had done everything he could before his disappearance to ensure she was not involved, that his damnable secrets were far from her grasp, and apparently all that work had been undone in his absence.

Abaddon.

His shadows squeezed impossibly tighter at the thought.

These fallen angels were even worse than their still-heavenly relatives.

Mina was going to be impossible to handle now. Her infuriating stubbornness and tendency to question everything was almost certainly going to get in his way. He didn’t know how he was going to pull it off, but Alastor had made a reluctant decision:  he had to get her out of this place.

With a final burst of power, the blimp was pulled under into the shadowy realm below and what was left on the surface exploded, disintegrating into nothing but smoke and dust.

He had gone seven years without her companionship, he could push her away for a little while longer. It would hurt her even more than what he already had, but she was strong. They were strong. Once everything came to light, she would understand.  

Then the smoke began to clear and there she was. Just a silhouette at first; a slender feminine form in the distance.

The small black ears with a rim of golden fur were the first dead giveaway that it was really her. Her shiny jet-black hair was next, and he noted it had grown substantially longer in the last several years. But she still wore the same shin length orange sun dress she had favored since the 60’s, and it was paired with the black knitted sweater she almost always adorned to hide to her shoulders and arms. Trailing behind her, her long, black-furred tail swished slowly back and forth low to the ground.

It was only when he could make out the details of her green and gold flecked eyes, could see that her vertical pupils were blown into wide orbs, that Alastor realized she had been walking towards him.

And that he had been likewise drawn to her.

Damn all his deals and secrets. Every demon and angel in every spiritual realm he could name was forgotten in that moment.

As his contemporaries were likened to say, they could all get fucked.

Mina was right there, close enough to reach out and grab. So, he did.

____

Before Mina could make her brain process anything enough to form words, she took a lung full of air in and breathed in the scent of the man crushing her to his chest.

It was like the humid, warm breeze off the ocean. The still, murky waters of a swamp. A damp, cool woodland at twilight.

She buried her face into his collarbone, just next to his bowtie, and breathed.

It really was him.

There was no passionate display of long-lost love, no desperate kisses or words of longing. Public displays of affection were never their thing. Well, it was never Alastor’s thing, and she went along with it to keep him comfortable. The only time she could recall him kissing her in front of others was on their wedding day. But the way he was holding her now, folding her body perfectly against his own, told her how much he had longed for this embrace.

No one would be able to pull off a mimic this true to his character, so she knew instantly this was the real deal.

Everything she had fought over, killed over, nearly died over, over and over and over again for the last seven years. Right here, in her arms, and she could practically feel the relief coming off him in waves, nearly as strong as her own.

She looked up at him and there it was, his trademark smile. Even after decades together, one of the few things she had never called him out on was that she was sure he couldn’t not smile. Whether it was a consequence of his demon form or his magic, she wasn’t sure, but she knew down to her bones that he was being forced to smile.

There were other more reliable ways to read his body language if one knew him well enough. His eyes mostly, his ears if he was distracted enough were also a good give away.

So she also knew this was him genuinely happy.

“Alastor,” she whispered, her Irish accent only showing through in her pronunciation of the “r.”

“Bonjou ma amour,” he replied, dropping his Trans-Atlantic accent for his native creole one, something he reserved for her and only her. It had always worked to weaken her resolve, even decades ago when she had still been trying to avoid his advances.

She took a small step back, just enough to be able to visually take in all 7 feet of his presence, but kept her hands on his arms.

“You’re really here,” was all her flustered brain could manage.

“It would appear so,” his voice crackled with static, and her world spun in response to the long-lost perfection of it.

She paused for another beat, gathering her thoughts. This was all so much process so suddenly.

Mina took a deep breath in to steady herself.

“Tell me everything,” she said.

Alastor tensed, a subtle shift in his posture, and smiled wider.

“Oh, where to begin,” he said, turning to stand beside her and putting an arm around her waist before suddenly pulling her past the small crowd of hotel residents that were unabashedly watching their reunion. “It’s quite the tale, my dear, and I’m sure it’ll all be told in due time but at the moment it looks like you and I have some things to attend to first.”

He opened the front doors of the hotel as if on cue and guided them inside.

Mina stopped short, which was not easy given how strongly Alastor had been pushing her along.

“Like hell,” she said, crossing her arms “you’re going to explain everything and you’re going to do it right now.”

Alastor’s eyes flicked back and forth between her and the other residents that were also filing into the lobby. He was clearly getting agitated and quickly.

“Mina,” he said slowly, “I hardly think now is the appropriate-“

“Hey!” Charlie said, coming to stand between them, “don’t let us ruin this special moment! Minaaaa,” she said, pulling her by the hand and gesturing towards the staircase, “why don’t you show Alastor your room and you guys can take however long you need to catch up. We’ll all understand that you need some privacyyyyyy,” she ended in a sing-song voice, elbowing Mina playfully.

“Yeah baby, a seven year dry spell,” Angel said, passing them without even looking as he headed straight for the new bar. “Wowza, now that really sounds like hell.”

Mina did a double take as she just now noticed the new bar and Husker.

“Wha- nevermind,” she said, quickly choosing to ignore Angel’s comment and what was obviously Alastor’s addition to the lobby.  Instead, she focused her attention back on her husband, given him her most pointed glare and crossing her arms again. “Shall we?”

“Alright,” he said, feigning a more relaxed tone, “if you insist. I suppose seeing our quarters should be at the top of my list anyhow.”

Mina’s shoulders sagged with relief and she took his hand, guiding him along, though he could feel the rest of her tumultuous feelings building up, likely to explode once they were alone.

____

­­­­­­­­He should have known Mina was going to interrogate him right away. Not that he could blame her in any way. If the roles had been reversed, Alastor knew he would have gone quite mad with the lack of information and control the situation would have left him in.

Who was he kidding? He was just a hair away from that already, and he had a far better picture of what was really happening than she did.

Stepping into the room, he had a second to take in the décor, some of which he recognized from his old radio tower and felt a twinge of pride knowing she had brought it here just because it reminded her of their old home, before the door slammed hard behind him.

He closed his eyes and sighed, then put on his best innocent smile as he turned to face the wrath of his scorned wife.

“What. The FUCK, Alastor!”

Ah, she was starting with the swearing already. He really abhorred yelling and unnecessary vulgarity, yet he had to go and marry an Irish woman.

“Where would you like me to begin, my love?” he asked, ever the professional radio host by keeping his voice calm and level, knowing it likely only infuriated her more. Best to fan the flame so that it blazed hotter and burned itself out faster.

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, love, begin at the fucking beginning!”

He opened his mouth to speak even the vaguest answer that his mind could come up with and found he couldn’t utter a sound.

Mina stared at him, her frustration and hurt evident in every sharp line of her posture.

Alastor took another breath and tried again. The sound of a radio dial finding nothing but empty airwaves as it searched from station to station filled the room for a few beats before he gave up.

He couldn’t utter a single word that was on the tip of his tongue.

As it turned out, when he was told he couldn’t talk about it, it was meant to be taken literally.

He would have to find a way to work around that. Somehow.

“May I just say,” he began, “that I truly did miss you. It really was a terrible experience.”

There, he could get that much out at least, and it was very much the truth.

“Oh well that’s lovely, I’m glad taking off without a God damned word to your wife and leaving me high and dry for seven fuckin’ years wasn’t exactly a holiday for you.”

Tears were building in her eyes and threatening to spill over as her accent thickened with her emotions. He stepped towards her but she took two steps back.

“Mina,” he said, doing his best to sound sincere, though he knew his cursed smile often made him look more guilty than not, “I really am trying to find the words.”

“Where have you been?!” she yelled, her voice cracking as she nearly sobbed out the words.

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple,” he answered sadly.

“WHY?!”

Words continued to fail him so he tried reaching for her but she pushed past him instead, walking deeper into the room as she angrily wiped tears from her face. She was rarely the type to cry from sadness, nor was she one of those women who got weepy from tender moments, but Mina was susceptible to tears when angered and Alastor knew it embarrassed her to no end.

He felt great pity for the situation he had put her in and hated himself for it. It’s why his first instinct had been to push her away before the guilt he knew she would make him feel complicated his plans even further. But she was here now and with the unfairness of the situation being rubbed in his face, he was suddenly determined to make things right with her. So much had been taken from him already, and he had played his part well up to this point, so he deserved to at least be given this slice of his life back.

Mina stopped pacing and fixed her eyes on his.

“You knew, didn’t you? You knew you were leaving the last time I saw you. I could tell something was wrong and after-“ she stopped, heaving in a shaky breath before she could continue, “You don’t know the things I did trying to find you. I hurt people I cared about. I hurt people you cared about. I couldn’t even fucking think, Al, I was sure someone had killed you. And then I remembered the things you said that last day and I . . .” she put her hands to her face, covering her eyes like she was trying to force her tears to stay in.

He came to her then and she finally let him. Cautiously he placed his hands around her wrists and pulled her hands away.

“I’m sorry.” He sounded pathetic, even to his own ears, but he knew anything else he would try to say would be shoved back down his throat.

“Just tell me it wasn’t your choice,” she begged, “Tell me where you’ve been and who made you leave. I’ll keep your secrets, I swear, you know I will. I don’t care if it’s dangerous. I need to know. I need to know, Alastor. Whatever happened, please, just please tell me!”

He tilted his head at her and frowned, concentrating on what order of words, what phrase, would get her intelligent mind on the right track. This magic that was binding him was tricky, but if he couldn’t outright tell her things, perhaps he could pose the right questions for her.

“Do you really think I would have voluntarily left you?”

That gave her pause and he could practically see the wheels beginning to turn behind her feline eyes.

“I don’t know.”

“Yes, you do. You know me. Better than anyone. And that doesn’t sound like me at all, does it?”

“I don’t know you!” she said, trying to shove him away but he held on fast to her arm, “How can I know someone who’s been gone for that long? Let me go!”

She pulled on her arms but he didn’t let up. Mina was strong and perfectly capable of exerting more force if she really wanted him to free her. But even in their most heated of arguments, neither of them had ever raised a hand in anger to each other, and Alastor counted on her to not do so now. So he held her tight and smiled wider as he felt her give up.

An outsider would have watched and thought him malicious, but this little display of temper was far from what either of them were capable of.

“You do know me,” he said once she had stopped struggling, “and while I am bound to secrecy for the time being, I promise I will deliver eventually. You just have to trust me.”

“I don’t trust you,” she spat, her ears pinned back even flatter than before.

“You’re going to have to if we’re both to get through this.” He let go of one wrist and cupped her cheek, surprised she allowed him to even do that much, and used his thumb to wipe at a solitary tear.

“Fuck you.”

He chucked, “Perhaps later, ma amour, but I don’t think the mood is right for that at the moment.”

“Fuck you!” she repeated, with more venom this time. She hit a closed fist against his chest and he was momentarily shocked enough to not react. “You don’t get to do this!”

She hit his chest again and this time he did react, grabbing her again by her wrist, unable to stop himself from holding just a little tighter than necessary. Mina stilled in his grip but not before a low literal growl sounded from her chest.

“You don’t get to show up and act like nothing has happened and smile and make your fucking jokes and think I’m just going to play along. Do you really think I’m that weak?”

“No,” he answered darkly, still smarting from the two strikes she had gotten in. They hadn’t physically hurt but they had taken large chunks out of what was left of his patience.

“Fuck,” she whimpered, beginning to sob in earnest now and she dropped her gaze from his and hung her head. “I am stupid.”

“You are far from stupid," he said flatly, with more static and less empathy than he intended but honestly, he should get an award for putting up with this tantrum of hers as well as he was.

Mina just shook her head, still looking down.

“I am so stupid. For believing you  . . . all those years. For thinking that just because you married me, that we were happy together, that any of that meant a damn to you.”

“Mina-“ he cautioned. The room was beginning to darken as his shadows responded to his own emotions spinning out of his control.

If Mina noticed his display of anger, she showed no response.

“Why did you come back?” she sniffed, and Alastor’s shadows halted their climb up the walls at her question. “Why bother if you won't even tell me why you left?”

The shadows retracted their ascent as Alastor’s own feelings of injustice melted away. Of course she had hit him, he was lucky she hadn’t done worse. The fact that she hadn’t was a testament to how much she still cared. Through all of her pain and uncertainty, she still loved him. Still felt safe enough in his presence to express her real feelings.

Beneath his smile, he gritted his teeth and swallowed his pride. Leaning forward, he placed a small kiss to the crown of head, right between her flattened ears.

“To es l’amour de ma vie,” he whispered into her hair.

You are the love of my life.

It seemed to do the trick as she slumped into his arms, crying in earnest now, but allowing him to wrap his arms around her. She had a vice like grip around his torso as she hugged him back and that was far more uncomfortable than the insulting blows she had dealt before, but he allowed it all the same.

They remained that way for a while, her crying as he stroked her hair, and let her work through her feelings to the point of exhaustion. He was a little worried for his jacket as he felt her claws grip into the fabric at his back but it was a small price to pay to get her calm enough to hear what he had to say.

Or at least, what he could say.

He began slowly, testing his words for both their sakes. Her name was always his favorite, so that was what he led with.

“Mina,” she quieted a little at the sound of her name, so he pressed on. “I need you to trust me.”

She shook her and pulled away, just a little. “I don’t know if I can.”

He sighed. “Do you want this to work out?”

“Of course I do,” she frowned, looking insulted and it was exactly the response he was hoping for.

“Good, because I’m telling you what needs to happen for that to be a possibility. Now, I’ll tell you one bit of honesty that I think is safe for me to say . . .” he paused, waiting for the block to happen and when he felt no resistance, he dealt the blow. “I didn’t come to this hotel looking for you. I didn’t even know you were here.”

She hissed in a breath but didn’t pull away more so he continued. “I was planning on finding you, when things had settled, when I was in a position to tell you more, because I know how unfair all of this must seem to you right now. I do. But now that you’re here anyway and have gotten yourself wrapped up in this mess despite my absence, there’s only one thing for it.”

He took her face between his clawed hands and kissed her, hard and quick.

“So now that I have you back,” as he spoke, his voice crackled and lowered several octaves, and the room darkened as he allowed his power to slip out just enough to make reality around them go fuzzy. “I’m not letting you go.”

The room snapped back to normalcy and Mina stood there, as affected by his power display as she was by the kiss. But it wasn’t fear that showed in her features, it was excitement just shy of arousal. He had never doubted she would remain faithful to him and that would have left her incredibly touch starved and she had always enjoyed his more demonic side. Maybe it was a low blow to manipulate her in that way, but Alastor needed every trick up his sleeve to keep her listening.

“I’ll try to trust you,” she began, “but I need you to give me something more to work with here.”

“Alright then, I will try as well. Allow me a moment to think?” he asked, and she nodded cautiously, never taking her eyes off of him as he slowly strode around the room, one hand behind his back with his staff, as the other went to his mouth, held there in concentration.

“A ha! I think I’ve got it,” he said, “It doesn’t appear to be too much to tell you that I need to gain Charlie’s trust. I don’t even need her to believe that I believe this hotel can work but I do need her to trust me as a confidant that has her best interests in mind. I’m afraid I can’t say more than that for now.”

Mina frowned, looking troubled. “I don’t like this.”

“What’s to like?” Alastor agreed, “I can’t tell you anything you’re dying to know, my own wife is going to spend the next several months questioning my every motive, and we’re going to have to continue this ridiculous façade being nice to these people. It’s going to be miserable!”

There was the tiniest twitch of her lips that hinted he had almost gotten her to smile.

“That’s the first thing you’ve said that I 100% believe.”

“Then there is hope for us yet. So, here’s my next completely honest statement and it’s my promise to you,” he said, taking her hand to place a small kiss to its back and smiling wickedly. “When all is said and done, you will know everything and I heartedly plan on you getting your brutal revenge.”

Mina allowed her hand to linger in his for a moment longer before she pulled it away.

“Fine. I’ll play your game. For now. But I’m not going to pretend for your sake or anyone else’s that I’m happy with you.”

His confident expression faltered for only a moment before he caught himself and pulled away from the disappointment. She wouldn’t be able to hang onto her anger forever, not now that he would be constantly around to remind her of what they were together.

He inwardly admitted that he had forgotten that as well; what a powerhouse they were when they worked in tandem. Perhaps if he had considered that before . . .

But the past was the past, and as he had told Charlie earlier, there is no undoing what is done. Alastor would be smarter this time and utilize every opportunity that came his way rather than going at it all alone. If he played his cards right, he could increase his odds of coming out on top, free himself from his cursed deal, and gain Mina’s trust back all at the same time. In fact, it would seem those two things together were mutually assured. It was so completely expected of him by those he stood against that he would continue to keep her out of this affair.

Mina had excused herself into the little en suite bathroom of her room to freshen up and while he waited for her to exit, he began re-imagining his plan going forward. Yes, it would seem more fortuitous than he first thought that she was already here at the hotel. If she already had an in with Miss Morningstar and had begun to earn her trust, it would be that much easier for him to assert himself into that dynamic.

A bit later, as they descended the stairs together (Mina pointedly not accepting his hand as they went), he leaned in just enough to whisper to her, “Follow my lead.”

He practically bounced from the last two steps as he entered the lobby where conveniently, everyone had remained.

“Well I’m starved, who wants jambalaya!”

Next Chapter ->

[carpaldragon]

Based on your recent post: "your heart is beating so fast right now" (Alastor x Reader) - maybe some snu snu please? Thank you! ❤️

I am so sorry this took me so long! It's just been a crazy week and I'm preggers and always so tired but I hope you like it. I had to look up what snu snu was and while it's not exact, I hope the rough sex does it for ya!

Trigger warnings: Rough sex, oral (fem receiving), p/v, biting, clawing, choking, use of shadow tendrils/tentacles.

When you had first begun this little romance with Alastor, you had made a lot of assumptions about what it would be like.

You had expected him to be a doting gentleman, maybe even a bit over the top. Opening doors for you, offering his arm, cooking for you, etc etc. And that was all very spot on.

You had also prepared yourself for him to be a bit of a jealous type and that was also certainly true. There had already been a few conversations about boundaries and you assured him that the second you needed his help scaring off someone, you would be happy to unleash him but he wasn’t allowed to threaten to eat someone just because you were friendly to them.

And then there was the matter of sex. You had assumed incorrectly that after that first quite passionate kiss that he would whisk you away to his room and ravish you. Or the second kiss. Or the third.

But nothing else had happened yet. There had been a plethora of opportunities for him to make a move and yet he was clearly one for taking things slowly.

It left you feeling more confused than frustrated because he clearly adored you and wasn’t shy about the fact that he considered you two an item now. Perhaps it was just because he was an older soul but this was Hell. It wasn’t like a little bit of forward behavior down here was frowned upon.

And then the day that Lucifer and Mimzy showed up to the hotel came and you were reminded of a very particular side of Alastor that you found unbearably attractive.

It’s time I remind everyone why I am here.

That confidence. That glee in his eye. The ease in which he eviscerated his enemies. Not to mention the increase in his size and the number of appendages he had when he went full demon on everyone.

You had spent the rest of the afternoon in a tense, silent, rather wet uncomfortableness as you waited for evening to come so you could get a little alone time with your new significant other.

Evening finally came and found you at Alastor’s door. You had spent a few minutes pacing your room, hoping he would come to you, but of course he hadn’t. It was time to take matters into your own hands so you lifted your arm, ready to knock, when the door flung open before you could.

Alastor grinned at you as he noticed your hand still being held in mid air.

“So you were going to knock. I thought you were going to stand there all night.”

“Why would I do that when there are far better things I could be doing this evening?” you said, feeling unusually bold.

“Is that so?” Alastor raised an eyebrow at you as he stepped aside and gestured with his arm to invite you inside.

You walked a few feet into the room and then turned to face him and instantly felt your body warm under his gaze.

He looked angry, or at least as angry as Alastor could look. The strained smile, the pinched brows, the ridge of fur along his ears all dead give aways that the demon that was usually so composed was still very bothered by the events of the day.

But his body language towards you was much more welcoming. So you took your chances and rushed over to him, took his face in your hands, and pulled him down into a heated kiss.

He went tense at your touch but only for a moment before he was melting into the embrace, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you in closer.

There had been plenty of fantasies before tonight that you entertained yourself with when alone in your bed. Images of tender, slow love-making for your first time with Alastor. But that was not what you were craving now and you had a gut feeling it wasn’t what Alastor needed either.

Your hands were everywhere on him; running through his hair, caressing the back of his neck, sliding beneath the lapels of his jacket.

And the way he was kissing you back was only spurring you on. You could feel his need, his own frustration and pent up aggression, in the way his lips crashed against yours with a bruising ferocity and his tongue sought entrance. You parted your lips and invited him in and the taste of him was intoxicating.

He was practically humming with power beneath your touch; he was strung taught with it and you wanted nothing more than for him to unleash it on you.

“I want you.”

The words left your lips the moment you pulled away for air, the statement more a demand than a plea. Your eyes met his in time to see them momentarily blaze a brighter red at your admission.

“Are you certain?” he asked slowly. He was offering you an out; giving you a warning. “Tonight is not what I had imagined for us. I do not have it in me to be gentle right now. Not even with you.”

“I don’t want gentle,” you assured him and brought your lips back to his.

Alastor kissed along your jawline and then dipped his head lower to kiss along your neck.

You let out an involuntary squeak when he bit you, rather hard. You could feel the sinking in of his teeth and then the warm wetness of his tongue as he lapped at the wound he had created along your pulse point.

“Your heart is beating so fast right now,” he whispered, his lips tickling your flesh as he kept his attention at your neck. “If I didn’t want you so badly, I would eat you alive right now.”

“I’m not scared,” you insisted and Alastor pulled away from your neck then to look into your eyes with a mischievous smile.

“Oh, trust me, my love,” he was with a wicked chuckle. “I know.”

____

You were spread across his bed and naked within a few minutes. No time to savor the discarding of clothes, no time to relish in the delight of seeing each other nude for the first time.

No, neither you nor Alastor had the patience for that. Rather, he had you on your back with his face buried between your legs before you could even think of being self-conscious or get a good glimpse of his body.

All you could see now as you looked down your torso at him was his antlers and ears pointed straight at you and the ashen bare skin of his shoulders and arms as he forced your legs wide.

And in a sense he was doing exactly as he had threatened he might do; he was practically eating you alive. There were already a multitude of bite marks along the inside of your thighs, leaving smears of blood along both your skin and his while his tongue and his lips were doing devilish things at your core. Stroking and prodding and sucking on every fold, every inch, every sensitive collection of nerves inside and out of you. Occasionally you felt the edge of his teeth graze your most intimate flesh, never biting down, but each sharp sting added a new thrill to the sensation and made you feel like he was truly and utterly devouring you. All the while you rutted against him, crying out in a mix of pleasure and pain, clawing at his hair as you grew closer and closer to that wonderful edge, and he dug his talons into your hips and thighs in an attempt to gain some control over your movements.

His tongue dived into your depths, curling up and licking in just the right ways, and those unnaturally red eyes of his met yours and you came undone, helplessly shuddering against him as he finally mastered his control over your senses, leaving you breathless and blinking up at the ceiling in a daze after it ended.

You were vaguely aware of him lifting himself up from between your legs but you hadn’t even caught your breath when he had you flipped onto your stomach and aggressively grabbed your hips to lift them upwards with a strength you didn’t know he possessed in this form.

“I’ll ask you one more time, ma cher,” you heard him say in his husky, staticky voice. “Are you sure you want this?”

You huffed a laugh into the sheets beneath your cheek, way passed feeling shy knowing that he had your entire backside and pussy exposed to his gaze at the moment.

“Always the gentleman,” you answered breathily. “But shut up and fuck me, already.”

With a complete lack of verbal response, he slid his cock into you, ramming his hips against the swell of your cheeks as he bottomed out.

He grunted and you cried out as he stretched you to your limits but true to his word, he was far from gentle. Hardly giving your body a second to adjust to the size of him, he set up a rapid pace, sliding almost all the way out before slamming into you over and over again.

“Such a good girl for me,” he praised, though his tone of voice was anything but polite. “If only you could see how well you take me.”

Your brain went numb as he set your body on fire; absolutely aflame with lust and delight as he pounded into you from behind. There was no room in your mind for dirty talk when all that you were felt narrowed down to the claws holding up your hips and the cock that was working every inch of your core in a way you had never experienced before.

But it seemed Alastor still had his wits about him and had no pity for the state he had put you in.

“Did you like what you saw today?”

All you could do to respond was moan and clench your walls tighter around his length.

Alastor grabbed a fistful of your hair and yanked you head back, forcing your back into a painful arch as he kept your hips raised and open, never once losing his ceaseless rhythm into you.

“I asked you a question.”

You felt your body gush at the roughness and the stinging pain at your scalp, your pussy squeezing his cock with new enthusiasm at the anger in his voice. It didn’t scare you, it thrilled you and turned you on even more.

“Yes,” you panted.

“That’s what it takes to get you to want to fuck me? And I thought you were such a sweet thing.”

“What? No – no, I- ” You whimpered as the grip on your hair tightened and you felt the stinging of tears in your eyes beginning to build. But rather than try and pull away, you pushed your hips up and backwards, encouraging Alastor to keep up this act of roughness with you.

“I’ve wanted you every . . . every night,” you managed between gasps and the forceful rocking of your body. “Today just made me want you like this.”

He was silent for a minute as he considered your words, the only sound in the room the wet noises coming from your joined bodies and your coinciding moans.

And then you felt them, cool little tendrils sliding around your body, a cascade of shadows slithering across the skin of your thighs and back.

“And what else did you see today . . . that aroused you to such a point?” Alastor asked. The shadows snaked their way higher, wrapping around your ribcage and caressing your dangling breasts.

He still had your head yanked back by your hair so you couldn’t see them but you knew exactly what they were; those tentacles or tendrils or ropes, whatever they were. Weapons of shadow that Alastor had unleashed that afternoon on the loan sharks, now stroking your body – now completely trapping you to his bed.

You were going to come right then and there, thinking of those lengths of darkness that had disemboweled demons before your very eyes and how wonderful they felt being used on you this way. One toyed with your navel before trailing lower and twisting around the apex of your thighs, stroking that little swollen pearl of nerves with a dexterity and skill that shocked you.

A loud moan tore from your lips, your mouth hanging open at the sensation of it. There were so many of them, you weren’t sure you could count them even if you could see your body from a different vantage point, but you were utterly consumed in their embrace, forcing you completely still as Alastor continued to fuck you with perfect, unrestrained viciousness.

He practically sung your name, a warning for you to respond to his questioning before he had to punish you again.

“These,” you whispered, knowing he could hear you perfectly well. Just in time for one of the tendrils to begin stroking your jawline, you managed to tilt your head enough to capture it with your mouth and give it a seductive wet suck.

Alastor hissed behind you and snapped his hips in an uncontrolled rhythm for a moment and you grinned around the swollen black shadow between your teeth as you realized they were quite sensitive little appendages.

You salivated, letting your drool coat the delicious tendril and took it in deeper before hollowing out your cheeks and giving it another hard suck as you pulled your head away from it.

It yanked away from you and coiled around your neck before you could repeat the motion.

“That’s enough of that . . . for now,” Alastor said and the shadow around your neck tightened as he regained his control of the situation.

Your face turned red, burning hot, and you gasped for air, feeling the euphoria and elation wash over you as your burning lungs fought for oxygen and just when you thought you might actually faint, your orgasm crushed you from the inside out and the tangle of shadow around your neck let go.

You fell face first into the sheets as wave after wave hit you, every second of pleasure being dragged out to the fullest extent by Alastor, not letting up for a single moment as he pushed and dragged his cock through your spasming walls.

And then you were a weightless, boneless mess of flesh and nerve endings as you lay motionless beneath him as that perfect blissful minute ended, only coming back to reality when you felt the change in your lover above and behind you.

His thrusts became shallower, his grip on your hips tightening as his talons dug into you flesh, inch by inch, and then you felt the subtle but telltale twitch of his cock and the warmth of his seed filling you up until it was spilling out of you, coating your folds and trickling down your inner thighs.

Bruised and bleeding, and still tingling with post-coital bliss, you found yourself in Alastor’s arms as you lay on your side, your face buried in his bare and furry chest.

Hands that were now tender and loving, with no threat of claws or cuts, stroked your hair and along your spine as you both came down from your high.

You relaxed into his embrace, basking in the sweet moment; the exact opposite and perfect balance to the rough fucking you had just received. After several minutes, you expected yourself to fall asleep but your mind kept lingering on what had just transpired and rather than feel sated, you felt your thighs rubbing against each other with renewed need.

Nuzzling into his chest fluff, you let your hands become more brazen on his body and you found yourself kissing a trail along his collar bone and up his neck before you heard a deep chuckle come out of him, the vibration of it strong enough to be felt against your lips as you sucked hard just below his adam’s apple.

“Oh you insatiable thing,” he said through his laughter and then he was grabbing you by the jaw and forcing you to look into his eyes. “Want more?”

You couldn’t tell if his tone was challenging or threatening but either way it sent another wave of desire straight down into your core that was still throbbing from how thoroughly it had just been fucked.

Smiling at him, you just gave him one simple nod, and looked eagerly up at him through hooded lashes.

“Well then,” he said, and from the corner of your eyes, you saw those shadowy tendrils re-appear. “Let’s see just how talented that mouth of yours is.”

More request prompts here! Or send me an original one of your own. Only stipulation is they must be Alastor x Reader or take place in the universe of my main fic, The Fire in the Sin.

[carpaldragon]

The Hunt Pt. 3

Read on AO3.

Part 1. Part 2.

Summary: Alastor x Reader (reader is afab, uses she/her pronouns.) Date nights in Hell are done a little differently, especially when you're dating The Radio Demon.

Trigger warnings: Reader and Alastor in Hell for a reason. Mentions of sexual abuse and child abuse. Murder. Horror. Explicit scenes of cannibalism.

“I don’t like this new guy.”

Angel Dust huffed and sat down on the sofa, planting himself firmly between you and Alastor. You scooted over, allowing for more space between you two but Angel just shifted closer, apparently not knowing how to read body language. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Alastor’s smile widen and strain, but his eyes quickly darted back to his newspaper.

You rolled your eyes, knowing when it came to the hotel guests, Alastor forced himself to be on his best behavior, less they tattle to Charlie. And Angel was really no threat, neither to your safety or to the sanctity of the unusual relationship between you and Alastor. He just had no sense of personal space.

“You like this new guy?” Angel asked, peering over your shoulder to look at your book. As if he read.

When you didn’t answer, he leaned back into the sofa, crossing one of his set of arms and his legs.

“Well I don’t like him,” he repeated.

“You didn’t like Sir Pentious, either,” you countered with a disinterested tone of voice as you turned a page in your book.

“Yeeaaaaah, and I was right about him, wasn’t I? At least at first. I doubt this new guy is gonna turn out the same.”

“Sir Pentious still wasn’t exactly what I would define as a threat,” Alastor said, still not looking up from his newspaper. “But it did allow for at least a fraction of entertainment around this drab place . . . for a little while, that is.” He sighed as he trailed off, sounding disappointed.

“Well I don’t like him. My gut tells me he’s a big fat liar.”

You finally sat your book in your lap and gave Angel your full attention.

“He said his sin was pretty much drugs and sex. That doesn’t add up? Not to . . . you?” you asked rather pointedly.

Angel, in his usual unashamed manner, wasn’t offended by your insinuation. “It would check out if it was believable. But this guy, he’s fucking sleezy. A total creeper. I may like my dick and my coke but I’m not like . . . like . . . . evil about it, okay? I give off slut vibes. He gives off like rape-y pedo vibes.”

At this point, Alastor folded his newspaper neatly in his lap over his crossed legs and began tapping on the microphone top of his cane, looking between you and Angel Dust.

“Well this is all rather interesting. You mean to tell me, your spidey senses are tingly?” Alastor asked, smiling his trademark sinister smile and waving his fingers through the air.

You chuckled a little, making a mental note to ask when Alastor had learned about Spider Man.

“If only there were a way for us to learn the truth about our new resident, hmmmm?” Alastor said, eyeing you up and down. “A way to find out what his sins in life really were?”

You met Alastor’s stare, a silent understanding floating between the two of you.

Angel Dust, totally unaware of the sudden tension in the air, stood up with an exaggerated sigh.

“Yeah,” he snorted, “if only.”

___

Unfortunately for Charlie, Angel had been correct.

Fortunately for you and Alastor, you now had a new fun idea for your next date night.

One touch was all it took. One touch was all it ever took.

You weren’t exactly a psychic. You couldn’t read minds. But a handshake, or a pat on the back, a brush of an arm on a busy sidewalk, even with a full layer of clothes on, could give you a sense of the things a Sinner had done in life that got them to Hell. It was a very unique power as you had never met someone else in Hell that wielded anything like it, but until Alastor had found you, you had thought it was pretty useless. Just another thing to overwhelm your senses and make you want to avoid people.

But Alastor had shown you the beauty of it. Had expanded upon the bloody urge for vengeance that had landed you in Hell yourself and taught you how to relish in it. He adored you for your passionate need to punish the worst of Hell’s residents and as a bonus, the flashes of violence and carnage you received from Alastor’s past never bothered you. His demographic of victims matched yours perfectly.  

That morning, you had placed yourself in the kitchen at just the right time for the new resident, your new prey, to come waltzing in for his morning coffee. Your fingers had brushed each other’s as you handed him a full mug and you had been left forcing a smile as you tried not to lose your breakfast over the images that flashed through your head.

His whole life. He had been a wretched monster his whole life. First his sisters, then a few girlfriends, then his wife and own children.

He was a predator of innocence. A destroyer of sanctity and lives.

The other residents at the hotel may have their problems, but this man was evil incarnate. And you suddenly understood his fascination with Charlie.

Well, this vile creature was about to find himself on the menu for yours and Alastor’s next candle lit dinner.

____

You had to wait until Charlie and Vaggie had a rare night out together. Alastor and you had agreed it best not to let Charlie know what happened to her new project resident; best to let her think he just skipped out on her redemption program and ghosted her.

Once you told the other residents the truth about your powers and their new roommate, they were all pretty much on board with helping. Especially Niffty. And even Lucifer was fine with it. He still wasn’t keen on most Sinners and agreed that it was ultimately in Charlie’s best interest if this particular demon just . . . disappeared. He made it clear he wanted nothing to do with it though and would be up in his apple shaped tower, seeing and hearing no evil that may occur that evening.

As evening came to Pentagram City and the bright red sky of day turned to the black-red, starless sky of night, the residents of the hotel found themselves in their places, like player pieces on a game board.

Husker at his bar, Angel and Cherri in the lounge, Niffty seemingly vacuuming a hallway, Lucifer ignoring everything up in his room, you down in the kitchen, and Alastor placed a few doors down from your prey’s room.

The stage was set and it was time to play.

____

A scream tore through the hotel.

The prey sat up in bed, heart pounding, breath coming in rapid gulps, hoping it was just a nightmare. This place was supposed to be a sanctuary. He didn’t intend on any kind of redemption, but the stupid antics of the place were worth the safety from the harsh streets of Hell.

Another scream rang through the night and the prey knew it hadn’t come from his dreams.

He thought about staying in bed and keeping the lights off but what if the screaming came closer? What if Heaven had sent someone down here to deal with the hotel once and for all? Then he had better make his escape while he could, right?

Quietly, and in the dark of his room, the prey tip toed over to his door and slowly opened it, wincing when it made a little creaking noise at the halfway point.

He peered down the hallway and it appeared empty. Completely ordinary. The lights were on, giving it a soft and comforting illumination. Everything appeared safe and sound.

Still on edge and suspicious, the prey stepped further into the hallway, clearing the threshold of the doorway.

His bedroom door slammed shut with a BANG behind him and he instantly turned around, trying with all his strength to turn the handle, but it wouldn’t budge. He began to slam his body into it, mad with fear, and he thought for a second the wood would actually give, when shadows began to spread from the doorframe like inky water.

He stepped away until his back hit the opposite wall, staring in horror as the shadows spread along the wall.

And then the lights began to flicker, the soft rhythmic sound of buzzing filling the air as the electricity fought for its life, before the lights burned out completely, leaving the prey bathed in darkness.

Another scream came from down the hallway, echoing around the walls and making his ears ring.

A wet, tearing sound.

Quiet.

And then . . .

thump thump slide

thump thump slide

thump thump slide

The lights began to flicker back on and in the little glimpses the flashing light allowed, the prey could see the outline of a now familiar deer demon, only much taller than usual. Alastor’s antlers were spread out in full glory, nearly touching both walls of the hallway as he went. His face was contorted into a monstrous grin that glowed like his radio dial red eyes, and he was covered in blood.

thump thump slide

thump thump slide

With every two steps Alastor took, he paused to drag the body behind him, leaving a crimson trail in his wake.

“Ah, hello there, my kindly fellow resident. Would you be interested in playing a game with me this evening? It seems I’m out of other options when it comes to . . .” he glanced down at the demon body he was still pulling alone behind him, “. . . participants.”

The prey swallowed and began taking small steps backwards.

“Hide and seek, doesn’t that sound fun? And the rules are very simple. You see, you hide, to the very best of your abilities. And I seek the second course to my dinner this evening.”

“I-I-I’m pretty tired, A-alastor. Mr. . . . Radio Demon. I think I’ll pass.”

“Oh! Hahaha! I see we’ve had a misunderstanding. My mistake. You see, I only asked you if you were interested. The participation, however, isn’t voluntary.”

The prey found his voice, sounding much bolder and braver than he felt.

“Charlie won’t let you get away with this.”

Alastor dropped the arm he had been dragging the body with, letting it fall with a thud to the carpet below, before he sized up his meal.

With a darker, deeper voice, he answered, “you’ll be gutted before you ever get the chance to breath her air again.”

The prey ran for his life down the hallway, screaming for help as he went. At first he didn’t consider the fact that it should have been impossible for him to outrun Alastor, or for him to make it out of the hallway alive. But as every turn brought him to another hallway rather than the set of stairs he should have found by now, he came to the horrifying conclusion that he was being toyed with. That somehow, with his powers, Alastor had corrupted the very space of the hotel itself, leaving him in a maze of never ending hallways with no possible way out.

He ran until his breath gave out and his sides cramped up with stitches. Stumbling along each new hallway, he nearly vomited when he came across the blood trail left behind by the body Alastor had been dragging. Only this time he was coming up to it from the opposite direction, as if he was following Alastor’s footsteps. Which should have been impossible, since that way was supposed to lead to a dead end. When he turned back around to face the direction he had just come, he saw that it was indeed a dead end, rather than the open-ended left turn he had just made.

 And then the sound of a vacuum cleaner running came from the other end of the hallway. It was completely unexpected and sounded foreign to his terrified ears, but the prey wandered towards the sound, hopeless for another route to take. And perhaps Alastor wouldn’t murder and eat him in front of another hotel resident.

He found Niffty with her back to him, mindlessly vacuuming the hallway. Although it was late at night and any sane person wouldn’t be cleaning at this hour, he didn’t question it with Niffty. The woman was strange and erratic, though he was drawn to her air of innocence. He knew that in Hell, the image of innocence was usually a lie. In fact, it was a lie he was leaning on more and more himself these days. But he was willing to suspend belief when it might lead to a little fun and he had been hoping for an opportunity alone with Niffty since he first saw her.

Those kinds of thoughts were far from his mind when he glanced her that evening.

He was still new to the hotel and though he had seen the news footage of Niffty wielding the knife that killed Adam, he hadn’t yet seen her murder sprees of the roaches, and she appeared weaponless at the moment. The prey was very wrong in his beliefs that she was relatively harmless.

Clearing his throat, he tried to get her attention but either her hearing was very bad, or she just couldn’t hear him over the sound of her vacuum.

He tapped her on the shoulder.

Niffty jumped in her skin for a second before turning around to see who had startled her. When she looked up at him, her one eye looked annoyed and disappointed in him, but she flipped the switch on the vacuum and turned it off.

With a hand on her hip, she gave him a once over, looking thoroughly unimpressed.

“You’re not the fun kind of bad boy.”

“Niffty, I need your help,” the prey panted, ignoring what she had said. He often didn’t understand the things she was prone to prattling off about anyway.

Niffty shook her head in disgust.

“Don’t you know the rules of hide and seek?”

The prey could feel the blood draining from his face as understanding dawned on him.

Niffty brought a giant needle seemingly out of nowhere, brandishing it so that it gleamed in the dim light of the hallway.

“You’re supposed to run and hide!” she cackled and raised the needle above her head but the prey was already off, running back in the direction he had come from, never minding that the hall seemed to change before his very eyes, turning into a completely different hallway.

It split in the middle, the stairs that led to the front lobby coming up just to his right, and he sprinted down them, losing his balance and falling the last half of the stairs.

He rolled to a stop on the hard marble of the lobby, looking up at the disinterested forms of Cherri and Angel, and spying Husker in the distance.

“H-help,” he gasped out, but no one even glanced at him.

“No can do,” Angel said and took a sip of his drink.

“Yeah, fuck off,” Cherri agreed.

Husk simply lifted his middle finger and went back to cleaning glasses.

They were all against him, he realized. Stumbling to his feet and clutching his side, he shuffled to the front door.

He half expected it to be locked from the inside but to his great relief and astonishment, it opened. Warm dry air hit his face and he had never been so glad to smell the sickly scent of brimstone air before.

The prey ran across the threshold with no hesitation and with a blink, found himself running head first into the large kitchen island.

“Fuck fuck fucking fuck!” he screamed out as the edge of the counter slammed into his gut, knocking the wind out of him once more.

“Language,” you tutted from the opposite side of the island, where you stood chopping vegetables and herbs.

“Fuck you,” the prey huffed. “Fuck you and your fucking psycho boyfriend.”

“Now that’s no way to talk to a lady,” Alastor’s voice said from the doorway. “I’m afraid that’s a trespass I can not forgive.”

You smiled at Alastor as he walked into the room, past the prey, and came up to your side, admiring the prepping you had accomplished for your dinner in such a small amount of time.

Indeed, just about everything was ready, save the last ingredient. You even had the candles lit and the placemats set.

“Oh my God,” the prey cried.

“I know!” Alastor exclaimed, picking up a sprig of thyme. “Fresh herbs! In Hell! A rarity, but my darling is fantastic at finding these little gems.”

“You’re both insane,” the prey said, backing away from the island and towards  the door.

He tried the knob but of course it was locked from the inside. There truly was no escape.

Urine ran down his legs, soaking the front of his pants, as you and Alastor began approaching your dinner, walking down either side of the island with matching smiles on your faces.

“You see, my little sweetheart here has quite a lot of trauma to work through,” Alastor began. “And dealing with Sinners with your particular vices, helps her process. Oh yes, we know all your dirty little secrets. She always finds those out and reports back to me so that I may . . . satisfy both of our needs.”

The prey closed his eyes and promised himself he wouldn’t scream.

But the second the claws and teeth were on his skin, scream he did.

____

Your hands were covered in blood up to your elbows and you were sure the lower half of your face wasn’t doing much better. But this was indeed the best dinner you and Alastor had shared in quite some time.

“Really my love, you out did yourself finding these,” Alastor said as he sprinkled fresh parsley onto the slab of thigh meat, raising it up to his mouth and with an unnatural hinge of his jaw, swallowed it in one loud gulp.

You smiled, beaming as a result of his praise, and used your knife to take another slice out of the heart on your plate. Blood oozed out of the severed aorta as you cut into the cardiac muscle, the crimson juices overfilling your plate and spiling onto the table below.

“I have my ways,” you said with pride as you took a hearty bite out of your meal.

“Indeed you do,” Alastor hummed, and reached for the body laid across the table in front of you, ready to tear off another piece of meat.

As his claws tore away another chunk of flesh, the door to the kitchen slammed open and there stood an enraged Charlie, catching both of you literally red handed, coated in blood with your prey gutted and half eaten in front of you.

She took a second to look at the body and then her eyes darted between you and Alastor. Then with a large exhale, she screamed, “What the actual fuck is going on!”

Author's Note: I am sssoooooo sorry this took so long to come out. My wife is in school and we share a laptop so I've had limited access to write. And pregnancy brain has me in a fog and sleeping on most of my down time anyway. I hope you all can forgive me!

Tag list: @cosmiccandydreamer @itsaubreyofcc @thereallsaturnstar @anngray1369 @l3rittany @littlebluefishtail @saccharine-nectarine @everwolf-20 @chewiii-13 @yunecardelia

[carpaldragon]

The Hunt Pt. 2

Read on AO3.

Part 1. Part 3.

Summary: Alastor x Reader (reader is afab, uses she/her pronouns.) Date nights in Hell are done a little differently, especially when you're dating The Radio Demon.

Trigger warnings: Reader and Alastor in Hell for a reason. Stalk & prey roleplay in the bayou that ends in bondage sub/dom sex. Rope bondage, biting, rough oral sex (Alastor receiving), vaginal fingering, rough p&v sex.

It was a rare day in Hell that you felt restless but from your first cup of coffee that morning, you could practically hear your blood humming with the need to do something.

Something new and fun.

You and Alastor used to have no shortage of such things but since his return and moving into the hotel, your date nights were getting fewer and far between and had taken on an air of monotony. They were still enjoyable but it was beginning to be the same repetitive thing over and over again. Alastor chased them down, you made them face their own sin, you and Alastor ate them together, etc etc.

And Alastor was so busy these days, his attention split between Charlie’s needs, his role as an Overlord, and running his radio show. Not to mention, those days he took off without a word for hours, a consequence of his damn deal with the owner of his soul.

But today, you were determined to be in a good mood and make something of it. So you marched up to Alastor’s radio tower with a new idea brewing in your mind; one you were sure he would be interested in hearing.

____

“Oh, sweetheart, you seem so tense,” you cooed as you rubbed his shoulders. He had flung off his jacket, letting his guard down a bit knowing it was just the two of you up there and for just a second, he leaned his head back into your torso and closed his eyes, appreciating the touch.

But then his eyes flew back open and he leaned forward in his seat, looking over his workstation.

“I appreciate your concern darling, but I do have a lot of work to do before I can relax.”

You pouted, though you knew he couldn’t read your expression with his back to you.

“How much longer are you going to be?”

“I’ve no idea,” he said shortly, and you tried to not take it personally. He was never cruel to you, but he could still get a bit terse if you bothered him when he was busy.

With an audible sigh, you tried another approach.

“I was just hoping that this evening we could go on a date.”

“I don’t have any business that needs attending to in that matter, unfortunately, but you know you’ll be the first to hear of it once I do.”

“I think there is someone worth going after,” you countered, letting your voice turn a little suggestive. You caught the slight flick of an ear and knew you had his curiosity. Wrapping your arms around his shoulders, you leaned yourself over him so that you were nearly cheek to cheek. “I think there’s a naughty little Sinner that’s been right under your nose this whole time and she needs punished. And I think she’ll be hiding in your bayou this evening . . . if you think you can hunt her down.”

You kissed him on his jawline and stood up, quickly walking away from him and headed for the door.

He called out your name as your hand reached the doorknob, and you turned around to face him. Alastor had turned around in his seat and was eyeing you with not just interest but absolute hunger in his eyes.

“I’ll give you a 20 minute head start,” he began, then looked up at the clock on the wall. “Starting now.”

With a delighted giggle, you flung the door open and took off at a dead run.

____

The bayou was deeper than you expected.

You had gone for short strolls with Alastor through it before, but he had either misled you about how large it was, or he’d made additions to it since you were last here.

A lot of additions.

You couldn’t even see the entrance to it anymore and had already spooked up a herd of deer and got a rather angry squirrel screaming at you from the trees above, both of which gave away your location.

Realizing early on this would be more challenging than you expected, you worked on controlling your breathing and making each footstep more purposeful and quieter.

You were sure the 20 minute mark was either approaching or had already come and gone and you were just beginning to wonder how you would be able to tell when Alastor entered the bayou when everything around you seemed to go still at once.

Birds stopped singing, the cicadas stopped their buzzing, and even the trees seemed to move in the breeze less. It was like all of nature knew an apex predator was nearby, and everything went into hiding.

It was then that you heard his humming, and your ears triangulated the noise coming up a path you had snuck off of a few minutes ago to hide and cower in the thicket you were now tangled up in.

That fucker was singing. He was so confident in himself he wasn’t even attempting to be stealthy.

Then you saw two pointed red ears in the distance following the nature trail and as he approached, more of him slowly came into view. After a moment you could tell he was looking down at the path in front of him, with an easy smile on his face, and his hands clasped behind his back.

But why was he looking down and not around him, searching for you?

Then he went silent and stopped right at the spot on the trail where you had taken off the path and headed into the shrubbery looking for cover and it dawned on you then and there that he wasn’t following the path at all.

He was following your footprints. Your tracks.

Your heart began to race as the reality of being his prey sunk in and you cowered deeper into the bushes surrounding you, knowing he couldn’t see you from his vantage point, even as you watched his smile broaden and he lifted his gaze from the path to the direction you were hiding at.

But his eyes didn’t land exactly on your hiding spot. Rather they seemed to skim the area around you before his expression relaxed again and he continued on down the path, away from you, and picked up his humming tune again.

You waited until he was totally out of sight, but not before the sound of his humming totally disappeared, to begin moving again.

Deciding to backtrack, you followed along the way you had come until the world around you was completely silent again. You stayed within the thick shrubbery, hiding under trees and carefully moving amongst the ferns and undergrowth, knowing it would be better at hiding your footprints than the open trail had been. It was slow going, but you had to be extra careful not to snap any branches or flatten any leaves as you went, knowing that was just as much of a give away for an experienced tracker like Alastor.

After several minutes, you made a sharp right and hopped over the path, heading back into the deeper part of the swamp, now on the opposite side of the trail than what Alastor believed you were on. You breathed in deeply and steadily before marching on, this time letting yourself move a little quicker.

Eventually the trees became sparser and you paused every few feet, listening carefully as you went, knowing you would have to duck down and hide the moment you heard Alastor’s voice.

Grasses began to populate the area just as much as the ferns were and the ground beneath your feet became muddy. It slowed you down once more, making you search for more solid footing at you went. Then suddenly there was before you a real proper swamp. Nothing but water still enough to see your reflection in, its surface covered in lily pads and water skippers, though the insects were being unnaturally still. You watched as a frog that had been sunning itself on a rock slipped quietly into the water, as if hiding from you.

Or someone else.

Down the edge of the swamp, you could see a little canoe so you made your way over to it, intent on taking it across the water to the other side. You could see a little cabin across the way and while you were sure that could be used as a trap against you, at least you would have the body of water between you and Alastor.

But just as your hand touched the handle of the paddle sitting within the boat, you heard the humming again. Only this time there was no telling which direction it was coming from.

You looked around you, panicking as Alastor’s staticky voice only got louder and louder, but you could see no sign of him.

The damn canoe must have had some kind of magical trigger on it, alerting him if anyone touched it, and you nearly dropped it at the thought.

Instead you set it down exactly as you had found it.

You figured if you left the boat right where it was, Alastor would find it and assume you stayed on this side of the water. So with clothes and shoes and everything still on you, you stepped into the water, wading out until it was up to your shoulder, and silent as night, sank into its depths and let yourself be submerged.

Now that you were dead, you could hold your breath for longer than when you were alive, but even with your demonic strength and stamina, when you finally breached the water’s edge of the other side, you were gasping for air.

You had come up beneath the hanging branches of a willow tree, thankfully giving you ample cover as your head emerged from the water.

It was silent again, no humming to be heard, and no Alastor in sight.

There was however, something in the water with you.

You could see the ripples moving across the mirror like surface, giving away the creature’s immense size well before its scaled body became visible.

The giant gator moved with deadly stealth through the swamp and you thought it would keep swimming right past you, when it made a sudden turn in your direction.

With a thundering heart and shaking hands, you swam as quickly as you could out from under the willow tree and crawled up the muddy bank, just in time to see its massive jaws come up and snap at where your heels had been a moment before.

Its black dead eyes watched you, considering if it would come out of the water in pursuit of you or not. Risking the noise, you let out a growl and felt your skin shift as your more demonic form began to come forward. This was all fun and games until Alastor brought his pet into this; a real creature that nearly almost ate you, and you weren’t about to let that happen. The gator eyed you for one more second before crawling backwards and disappearing into the water.

With a satisfied huff, you took off away from the edge of the swamp but stopped dead in your tracks when you heard the humming pick up again.

The cabin was now only a few yards away and surrounded on three sides by a cluster of more willow trees. With an idea forming in your mind, you took off for it, no longer bothering to hide your tracks.

The door was mercifully unlocked and you ran inside. There was a screened in front porch that lead straight into a split roomed, tiny space. The main room clearly functioned as both a living space and a bedroom, with a sofa and fireplace in one corner and a bed and wardrobe in the other. A closed door must have led to a bathroom. Within the wall opposite the front door was an opening that led into a small kitchen area and you sighed with relief when you saw it had a back door.

“I see you’ve met my little Polly, isn’t she a doll?”

You had to bite your lip to keep from screaming when you heard Alastor’s voice. Until you realized it was coming from the radio perched on the coffee table by the fireplace.

“I’m sorry she gave you such a fright, but I promise she wouldn’t have eaten you.” His soft laughter filled the room. “In fact, she’s a picky eater. She really has a taste for the hearts of my enemies, much like yourself. So you were never really in any danger.”

You turned your back on the radio. So he knew you were in here but wasn’t already here himself. That would only work in your favor.

Letting the water from your swim drip onto the floor behind you, you walked over to the wardrobe and opened it, revealing several articles of clothes and a few towels. Grabbing one, you carefully closed the wardrobe again and wiped away the rest of the trail of water as you made your exit through the kitchen and out the backdoor, leaving just the water droplet that led to the wardrobe behind you.

Once back outside, you ran to the tree line behind the cabin and followed it along until you were back at the front of the house and climbed up into the nearest willow tree and secured your hiding place, waiting for your plan to work.

It took several minutes but eventually you saw Alastor emerge from the shadows of the trees, almost directly beneath you, and head straight for the cabin. There he would follow your trail and find what he assumed to be your hiding place, but you planned on running out of there the second that door shut behind him.

Then you would make it all the way back to your hotel room and wait arrogantly for him on the bed you two shared in there. He could punish you all he wanted there, but only after you made it clear you had beaten him at this game.

He wasn’t humming any longer but just as you foresaw, Alastor disappeared into the covered porch and the second you heard the door of the cabin open and close, you jumped from your spot high up in the willow tree and landed easily on your two feet.

You smiled as you took one last glance at the cabin, knowing you had won.

Before you could turn your back on the house, a set of arms grabbed you from behind. One covered your mouth, silencing your scream, while the other wrapped around your waist and pulled you tight to the taller body behind you.

“Found you,” Alastor sang into your ears before he bit down on your neck, and you felt your body begin to dissolve into shadow with his.

____

“A valiant effort my dear. I must say, I’m impressed. I should have expected nothing less from one worthy of being my lover. But alas, you did not outsmart me.”

You struggled against your bonds as he walked over to you.

Alastor had your hands bound behind your back and your legs tied up so that your thighs were to your chest, and your ass was raised into the air in a most demeaning pose.

All your clothes had disappeared when he transported you back into the cabin, and now he had you gagged and kneeling before him on the wooden floor, a roaring fire the only comfort in the room. And the fact that he had you completely naked and in such a shameless position kept you from being able to hide the signs of arousal now dripping from your core.

“Are you ready to accept your punishment?” he asked you and you tilted your head, pressing your cheek into the floor beneath you, as you did your best to look up at him with your most willing, submissive expression.

His smile looked pleased as he read the non-verbal agreement in your eyes and walked over until he was behind you and got down on his knees.

You felt his palm rubbing against the swell of your ass, teasingly close to your most sensitive area. Then the first slap came, and you flinched against the sting of it but didn’t cry out.

“You’ve been a naughty little Sinner, haven’t you?”

Another slap.

“You said so yourself. And how many people have you killed?”

Slap.

This time you grunted around your gag, feeling your drool begin to soak it.

“Just when you were alive, how many did you say it was?” He was rubbing where he had smacked you last, the cool skin of his palm soothing your red and aching flesh. “Seven, isn’t that right?”

Slap.

“And how many more since you came to Hell and joined me?”

Slap.

“You don’t even know do you? So many you’ve lost track?”

You felt his fingers dip to the lowest part of your ass cheek and give it a greedy squeeze, his claws and the tips of his fingers so very close to your core, and when he trailed his hand back up you felt the wetness that had gathered there being painted across your skin.

Alastor hummed in approval as the sight of your arousal as he teasingly dipped his fingers lower again, not quite touching you at your aching center, but finding your most outer lips still coated with slick, and spread more of it across the flesh of your backside. A silent reminder that he was well aware of just how much you were enjoying yourself.

“Such a deviant thing you are.” You heard him stand and then the soft sound of his own clothes hitting the floor and the unmistakable sound of the zipper of his trouser being lowered. “Such a violent, murderous, little whore I have in front of me. But you’re ready for redemption now, aren’t you my dear?”

He moved until he was in front of you, his bare hooves the first thing you could see, and then he was kneeling in front of you and helping push you up until you were both raised up on your knees, his proud erection in full view now.

With a snap of his fingers, your gag was gone from your mouth, though it still left a bit of saliva running down your chin. Alastor swiped it away with his thumb before grabbing your jaw and making you look up into his eyes.

“You took your punishment so well darling, I think it’s time I let you prove yourself.” He took his cock in hand and rubbed the tip along your lips, its velvety softness teasing you and you let your lips part just a little as you gazed up at him. “Show me what lovely things that mouth can do, and I’ll give you quite the reward.”

You opened your mouth and let him slide into you, hollowing out your cheeks and letting the flat of your tongue stroke along the bottom side of his shaft. He groaned and thrust deeper before pulling out and starting right away with a brutal pace.

It was hard to keep your balance with your arms behind your back and forced to lean forward on your knees, but Alastor kept one hand on your shoulder and the other fisted into your hair as he rocked his hips into your face.

You let yourself moan, your lips suctioned tight around his cock, as he moved in and out of your mouth at a relentless speed. Often, his tip hit the back of your throat, making you gag and choke on him, and your spit dribbled onto him, soaking him and the floor beneath you. You couldn’t take all of his length and you wished he would free a hand for you to pump him at his base like you normally would, but it was evident you were still pleasing him with the way his hands clenched at your body and his cock twitched in your mouth.

It was difficult in this position, but you managed to never try and pull away, taking every inch of him over and over without hesitation, even when he gagged you so hard you had to fight the urge to cough.

With one final thrust, Alastor came and the taste of him filled your mouth. He had such a lovely salty and savory taste to him and your eyes fluttered shut as your swallowed him down. Then he was pulling himself out of your mouth and lifting you up enough that you were sitting on your heels, your toes bent and pressed against the floorboards beneath your weight. For a moment the spell of dominance was broken as he panted against you and pressed his forehead against yours. He was even sweet enough to nuzzle his nose against yours and kiss you between the eyes before that hard look returned to his features and he leaned away from you enough to really take in the sight of you.

“Such a good girl for me. Ready for that reward?”

“Yes . . . please,” you added after a pause, remembering your manners.

“Well then,” he said as he stood back up. “Better get you back in position.”

With your face back to the floor and backside raised full on display once more, Alastor made no preamble before he began running his fingers through your folds and across your clit. No more slapping or clawing at your skin; rather his touch was gentle and tender as he toyed with you there, building you up until you were on the brink of begging for more.

But he had left you tied up and helpless before, so you knew if you should vocalize your wants without his permission or press yourself into his hand, he would retaliate. So, you kept your body pliable and submissive for him and let him have his way. Alastor was talented enough with those fingers that he eventually had you wet enough you could feel your arousal literally dripping from your body, leaving a little puddle that gathered at the back of your knees.

“So quiet,” he mused as he continued teasing you. “Such a good little angel. But surely you want more?”

“Please,” you whimpered and moaned when he slipped two fingers into your depths, curling them down and pulling on your sweet spot as he moved them in and out of you.

“And more?” he said with a saccharine sweet tone.

“Yes,” you panted and begged. “Please. Anything. Whatever you want. Just please . . . more.”

His thumb pressed against your clit, and you cried out as he began working you inside and out.

“Anything I want?”

You came embarrassingly fast, just as that question left his lips, but it was no surprise given how much he had teased and taunted you beforehand. Those fingers disappeared from between your legs and still wet with your own juices, grabbed at your hair again and lifted you up until your back was pressed against his chest and you felt his erection resting against your tail bone.

Nervous and thrilled at the same time of the idea of him already hard for you again, you lifted your chin and pushed yourself into his embrace, eager to feel even more of him, even as his grip on your hair became painfully tight.

“Anything I want?” he repeated.

“You’re the one who caught me,” you said, daring to be a little bold. “I’m not a good little angel but I am yours.”

He chuckled, low and deep, a far cry from the tones most others in Hell got to hear from The Radio Demon, but it was one you had come to learn meant he was truly entertained by something. It was a slip up of his natural voice, a relic from when he was alive, and it sent a shot of pleasure straight down your spine every time you heard it.

And then you were lost in shadow once more, the strange and beautiful feeling of nothing but your soul and his, wrapped around each other in a weightless, blind world.

You blinked and found yourself across the room and on your back on the bed. Most of the ropes had gone missing from your body and your legs were free to stretch and spread wide for Alastor as he crawled over you. Your wrists were the only thing still bound and they were tied to each other and to the headboard behind you.

With his hands, Alastor maneuvered yours legs until they were around him, your knees to his ribcage and ankles hooked at the small of his back, as he slid the entire length of his cock into you until you were hip to hip and felt the hard tip of him pushing against your inner boundary, and you knew the fucking you were about to be subjected to would leave your cervix delightfully bruised.

“This is what you want?” you asked in a teasing tone as you undulated your hips against his.

“Hmmm,” he agreed and bit your neck, just as he had when he had first caught you. “This is what I always want.”

He began to move in you, in and out, in that perfect glorious way that had you seeing nothing but stars and those glowing ruby eyes of his. Every stroke of him within your walls left you wanting more and somehow it was as if he always managed to do just that; every second felt better than the last, every sliding inch brought your closer to that peak of pleasure. You pulled against your restraints, desperate to touch him, to pull him closer to you until there was no space between your bodies at all, but the ropes held tight behind you.

Willing to give in just a little to your needs, he leaned down and captured your mouth with his own, and you made the most feral lusty sounds in response. One of his arms was braced against the mattress at your side but the other came up and wrapped itself at the top of your neck, just below your jaw line, pushing you down into the pillow beneath you as his tongue danced across yours.

You were eager for a tighter grip, so you sucked his lower lip and bit down with a growl, a bratty response you knew would get you the punishment you were after. As expected, his fist clenched around your throat and you gasped in pleasure, pretending it was fear as your mouth and eyes went wide in fake shock.

Alastor licked at the blood on his lips that you had drawn from him, his face a mix of pleasure and rage.

“You evil, wicked little thing.” A painful snap of his hips into you had you crying out, but the noise came out as little more than a wheeze with how tightly he was choking you. “You’re lucky I like it when you do that.”

A few more thrusts into you and you were coming again. You lost yourself in the intensity of it, your body spasming your hips upwards, every muscle from your chest to your toes clenching together and it wasn’t until the very end of it when you realized Alastor had come with you, as his seed filled you up to the point of spilling out onto the mattress beneath you.

The ropes vanished from around your wrists, and you brought your arms down, cradling the back of Alastor’s head as he buried his face in the crook of your neck. You laid there together for a minute, the sound of your heaving breathing and the crackling of the fireplace the only noise, as you ran your fingers through his hair, occasionally stroking an ear or an antler. It was such a peaceful, quiet moment and you swore you nearly fell asleep from exhaustion right then and there.

Then he was kissing your neck, careful little presses of his lips to your skin over the bite wound he had marked you with and you blinked as his loving administrations brought you back to reality.

“I like it here,” you said and felt his shoulders shudder with barely audible laughter, his smile broad against the tender flesh of your neck.

“I’m glad to hear it.”

He lifted his head and looked at you, his smile reaching his eyes as they glowed with adoration and love for you.

“Can we spend the rest of the afternoon here?” you asked, trailing a hand from his hair down his face to cup his cheek.

You knew it was a selfish question; he had already peeled himself away from his busy workload to play this little game with you and he likely was about to turn you down. But to your surprise, he looked pleased with your question and turned his face into your touch, kissing the palm of your hand before he spoke.

“I was hoping you’d ask that. After all,” he looked down at the wet mess between your bodies and the naked state of both of you, “we’re in no position to go for another walk through the bayou just yet.”

“Is there a shower behind that bathroom door by any chance?”

“Shower, bathtub, natural hot spring . . . I can make it be whatever your heart desires, my love.”

You quirked an eyebrow at him, knowing he was just wanting to show off to you.

“Let’s start with a nice, normal shower and see where the evening takes us.”

You pushed playfully at his shoulders, and he obliged you by rolling off of you and the bed, taking your hand as he helped you stand up.

“The evening? Ma cher, it’s hardly past noon.”

You were already walking away from him and towards the bathroom door, giggling a bit at his obviously fake whining, before he pulled you back to him, his chest flush with your back. He kissed your jaw line and then nipped at it, letting his teeth graze across your flesh; a warning and a promise of things to come.

“On second thought,” he whispered, “I think I’ll lock you up in this cabin with me until sunrise.”

If you would like to be added to the tag list for the final chapter Part 3, please comment below.

Tag list: @cosmiccandydreamer @itsaubreyofcc @thereallsaturnstar @anngray1369 @l3rittany @littlebluefishtail @saccharine-nectarine @everwolf-20

[carpaldragon]

The Hunt pt. 1

Read on AO3.

Part 2. Part 3.

Summary: Alastor x Reader (reader is afab, uses she/her pronouns.) Date nights in Hell are done a little differently, especially when you're dating The Radio Demon.

Trigger warnings: Canon typical violence. Reader and Alastor in Hell for a reason. Horror with some twisted romance.

Today had been a particularly drab day.

Acid rain had been falling all afternoon and Pentagram City was shut down because of it. And you could feel yourself shutting down as well.

These bad days used to fall on you much more often. Back when life was simpler and less stimulating. When there were less options to hyper fixate on and stimulate those delightful hormones that didn’t always help you to feel happy but allowed you to . . . feel.

But today you felt that numbness creeping in; a slithering, creeping, darker cousin to boredom. You were so tired and every forced smile and polite reply aimed at the other hotel residents drained your battery little by little by little by little . . . .

You were on your fifth cup of coffee that afternoon, the bitter caffeinated beverage the only thing left that seemed to cause any kind of chemical spark in your dead gray matter, but unknowingly, you had stopped sipping it several minutes ago. Rather, you were just mindlessly staring down into it, watching the little tendrils of separated creamer swirl around the top. At least it was far more interesting than anything else going on in the lobby.

“Are we having a bit of a . . . down day?” Alastor’s voice said remarkably close to your ear and you jumped, turning to find him bent over at his waist, his head right next to yours.

“I’m fine,” you insisted, turning away from him.

He had pampered and fussed over you too many times on days like these, even when – no, especially when they became so bad you couldn’t get out of bed. But things were different now; since his return to Hell, Alastor was busier than ever and you didn’t want to bother him. The guilt would be worse than the emptiness you were currently struggling with.

“I think not,” came his sing-song reply and you shut your eyes against the enthusiasm you heard in his tone.

“Don’t I look fine?” you challenged and when he stood up straighter, his smile pinching just a little at the corners, you heard how snippy you sounded with him and sighed. There was the damnable guilt you had been trying to avoid.

“You look beautiful as always, darling,” came his quick reply. “I just thought you could use a little cheering up.”

He leaned back in, whispering conspiratorial into your ear now. “I was hoping you would join me . . . on a date . . .” His eyes glowed as he let his words sink in. “But if you’d rather sit in here and sulk the rest of the night, I’ll leave you to it.”

“Like . . . a date, date?” you asked, feeling a little bit of the weight leaving your chest as hope bloomed in you.

“Precisely.” His smile stretched ear to ear. “There is someone I need to collect a debt on and the weather tonight seems just perfect for such an occasion. I would more than welcome your company.”

You felt your first genuine smile of the day grace your features, nearly matching the wickedness of Alastor’s own features, and that little spark you had felt turned into an entire flood of dopamine.

“Where to?” you asked and Alastor took your head, pressing a kiss to your knuckles, before leading you out the front doors.

____

The prey dragged itself up the stairs, stumbling on every other step and grasping the handrail for balance as he went. Although the rainstorm had kept him from the bars that night, it hadn’t kept him from his personal stache of liquor and in his lonely anger, he had downed several gin and tonics before his stomach began to protest and he had passed out in his armchair. He’d woken up a few minutes ago, his bladder protesting the diuretic effects of the booze. By some miracle he had made it to his downstairs bathroom to relieve himself and then decided it was time to crawl into bed.

He made it to the top of the landing after a considerable struggle with the staircase and almost forgot to the turn the lights off behind him. Fumbling with the switch, he just happened to glance down the stairs as the lights flickered out of existence.

The prey blinked in the darkness, trying to adjust his eyes, as he thought he saw a strange shadow at the bottom of the stairs.

He was sure he was alone in the house and he couldn’t quite be sure of what he was seeing, so he flipped the lights back on.

Nothing.

Shaking his head and rubbing his eyes, he turned the lights back off.

And there it was again.

A shadow. Taller and definitely there.

Feeling his heart begin to race, the prey flipped the lights on, certain he wasn’t imagining it this time but as the staircase became illuminated once more, the shadow was gone.

He had perhaps had too much to drink.

One last time, he flipped the switch, inviting the darkness back in, and this time when the shadow came back, the prey swore there were faint glowing green eyes and the hint of a smile playing across its features.

And was it a little closer this time? He had sworn it was at the bottom of the stairs but now it seemed to be a few steps up.

“Now that’s enough of that!” the prey shouted and flipped on the lights.

He breathed a sigh of relief when once more, there was nothing.

Maybe it was best to sleep with the lights on tonight, just to be certain.

The prey turned away from the stairs, leaving the switch flipped in the on position, and came chest to chest with The Radio Demon.

“Good evening, Daniel,” Alastor said, smiling wider as the prey’s face turned several shades whiter. “I see you’ve changed residences.”

“Hey there, Al’ . . . I-I mean, Alastor . . . sir. M-Mr. Radio D-demon,” the prey stuttered, stumbling backwards and just barely catching himself on the banister. “You uh . . . you like my new digs, huh? Paid a pretty penny for it but you know, it’ll be good for business.”

Alastor remained at the top of the stairs, watching his prey make its slow decent down and away from him.

“And who’s business would that be? Certainly not mine, I don’t deal in real estate after all.”

“You know, ha, it’s funny you would say that because I’ve been meaning to talk to you- ”

“You made a mistake, Daniel,” Alastor told his prey, all the politeness leaving his tone, although his smile remained.

The prey swallowed audibly.

“Did you really think going to Zestial, of all demons, would save you from our deal?”

“I-I don’t know what you’re . . . talking abou- ”

“You see, Daniel, Zestial and I may not necessarily be friends, but we are colleagues. And we have an understanding. A certain level of respect for each other, if you will.” Alastor narrowed his eyes and his voice turned cold as ice. “And neither of us like having another Overlord’s leftovers.”

Daniel turned and fled, racing down the rest of the steps with a grace that only adrenaline could provide in such a state of inebriation, though he did fumble quite a bit with the locks of the front doors.

Alastor let his prey make it out the front door before he went in pursuit, though he let his deep laughter follow Daniel the whole way down, enjoying the sweet tangy smell of his fear as it spiked at the sound.

In his panic, the prey forgot all about the inclement weather and dashed thoughtlessly out into the rainstorm and ran down the deserted street. It took a minute for the effects to kick in but eventually he started to feel the itching on his skin and then the burning set in. The prey stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, beneath a streetlamp, and watched as the skin on his hands began to turn red and break out in a terrible heat rash.

With a sob, he dashed under an overhang of a nearby business and shook at the doorhandle, but it wouldn’t budge. He thought about breaking the window to get inside but then he heard that laughter again and the streetlights above flickered and then went out, one by one.

Looking down the street, he watched as The Radio Demon stepped out into view, his antlers now wide and pointed above his silhouette, and turned his head down the street, looking in his prey’s direction.

A smell wafted off of him, even from this great distance. A dank, swampy, animalistic smell. The musk filled the prey’s nostrils and burned his sinuses, and he knew it was the smell of a predator about to pounce.

“That’s alright, Daniel, go ahead and run. Please do.”

To the prey’s horror, Alastor began walking quickly down the sidewalk, completely unaffected by the burning rain.  His limbs and entire body stretched out and elongated with every step, closing the distance between them faster than previously possible, until Alastor was a towering demonic presence chasing down the street after him.

“I like my meals warmed up!” he shouted, and the prey screamed as he took off again.

It was either face the rain or be eaten and the prey chose the rain as it sprinted down the street, screaming and crying out for help but not a light flickered on in the buildings as he passed them.

Eventually the burning became unbearable and the prey darted blindly into the nearest alleyway, praying to Roo herself that there would be some shelter to hide in and protect him from the rain.

And there it was, a small overhang by a bar’s backdoor, with a conveniently placed dumpster to hide next to that blocked his view of the street.

That was where the prey found you, standing innocently by the door, shielded from the rain, and he didn’t question why you would be there on a night like this. He only fell at your feet, clinging to your legs and shaking, his hands and face now beginning to blister, his tears hot and stinging his flesh as they fell down his cheeks.

“Please! Please, help me! Let me in! Please! He’s going to eat me, please!”

“Who is going to eat you?” you asked sweetly, tilting your head as you considered the pathetic demon at your feet.

“Alastor. Th-the Radio Demon. He . . . he . . .” the prey fumbled for words, his sentence trailing off as he risked peaking up over the top of the dumpster and seeing nothing but an empty street at the end of the alleyway.

“Oh, right. Him,” you said, nodding. “Well, that’s his thing, isn’t it? Going after demons that try and break their deals. Especially ones like you, who preyed after helpless young women when he was alive. Isn’t that right . . . Daniel?”

The prey’s breath caught in his throat as he glanced over his shoulder at you, a new kind of fear lighting his eyes.

“Who . . . who are you?” he asked in a quiet voice.

“That’s not important,” you scoffed. “Who was the girl you raped and left for dead in the park on the night of your 18th birthday? Or the sex workers you then tortured and killed and left their bodies out in the desert? Do you even remember their names? Do you know how many family members are still looking for their daughters, sisters, mothers?”

“I don’t . . . I didn’t . . .” he stammered, getting to his feet now.

“You did. No use denying it now, Daniel. Not when Alastor and I are so . . . very . . . hungry.”

A crackling noise, like the sound of several joints popping at once filled the air, and the prey looked up and up and up as he saw Alastor’s gigantic form peeling away from the darkened side of the building, turning from nothing but shadow into a very corporeal and deadly form before his very eyes.

Behind him, you shoved at his back, forcing him to fall onto his knees into a puddle of acid rain.

Then you stepped out from under the cover of the overhang, letting the rain soak your hair and clothes, and the prey looked up at you with renewed horror as he realized the acid water had no effect on you either.

“Please,” he whimpered and then began to scream as Alastor bent over and lifted him into the air.

You watched as the prey’s tiny body was lifted higher and higher until the rain and the shadows hid him mostly from view but you could still hear him screaming. Then there was a crunching noise and a wet sound, followed by a thin stream of blood that fell from the sky.

The screaming continued.

“This will be quite unpleasant until it’s over,” Alastor’s voice said from high above you. “But my darling companion does love the taste of demon heart.”

Another sound of stretching and tearing and then you saw it; the warm mass of your meal falling towards you, and you reached up and caught it with skilled precision.

With the prey’s heart now in your grasp, you brought it to your lips and took an eager bite, never minding the blood that ran down your forearms and coated your lower face.

The screaming above you came to a sudden halt with the sound of one final loud crunch and just as you were taking the last bites of your own meal, Alastor was standing before you.

His antlers were still larger than usual, their six points gleaming beautifully in the dim light of the alley, as rain ran down them in rivulets, soaking the red and black hair beneath them.

Alastor gave you a loving smile as you swallowed the last bit of heart.

“Feeling better, my love?” he asked.

“Much,” you said with a satisfied sigh. “Thank you.”

He reached a hand out, wiping away a bit of blood from the side of your mouth with his thumb, though he had hardly succeeded in getting it all.

“You always look positively stunning like this,” he said as he brought his bloody thumb to his mouth and gave it an appreciative suck.

And there in the rain and the dark, you and your lover shared a private and tender kiss, the perfect ending to a perfect date.

Tag list for part 2? It will be smutty.

[carpaldragon]

THIS BLOG IS STRICTLY FOR 18+ VIEWERS. Please respect my boundaries and that I do not want to interact with anyone who is not a legal adult. Minors will be blocked. There is a lot of adult content in my works, including smut and dark themes. Please always mind any TW/CWs at the top of my fics and read at your own discretion. Otherwise let's have some harmless fandom fun and know my message box and ask box are always open! If you would like to be on my tag list for any and all fics, please comment directly below.

Hazbin Hotel Masterlist

Alastor x OCwife

The Fire in the Sin - 🔞⚠️🍋🍻💊🤕🚩

Incomplete/Hiatus. Spans 1917 - through season 1 and will be continued through later seasons. DUEL TIMELINE. Please mind the time stamps at the top of each chapter. This series is my pride and joy but there's a lot of TWs and dark content.

Alastor x Reader Series

Girl Talk - 🔞⚠️🍋

Complete. A mixed bag of comedy and smut. Angel Dust is very curious about what you and Alastor get up to behind closed doors.

The Hunt - 🔞⚠️🍋🤕🚩

Complete. Alastor x reader have some dark ideas as to what their date nights should consist of. This is mainly a horror series, so please take caution and mind the tags.

Alastor x Reader One Shots

Alastor Dating Headcanons 🔞

Alastor Headcanons as a Father ⚠️💥

Flying -🔞⚠️🍋 Alastor saves reader from suicide - but also smut.

The Morning After - 🔞 post-sex fluff and silliness

Trick or Tease - 🔞⚠️🍻🍋You, Alastor, a costume party, and a closet.

Untitled - 🔞 ⚠️🍋"Your heart is beating so fast right now" sentence prompt.

Hazbin Hotel incorrect quotes

Ask Me To Kill For You

Alastor Is A Hypocrite

Cooking

I Have One Fear

Man or Bear

Oscar Wilde

Proper Planning

Too Spicy

What Do You Sleep With?

You Have A Heart

Chaggie oneshots

Vaggie's backstory - 🔞⚠️🍋🚩

A prompt I received where all the exorcists were forced to sleep with Adam.

Wings: 🔞🍋 Charlie really likes Vaggie's wings.

Misc./Headcanons/Character Study

Alastor Has PDA

[carpaldragon]

Reader does actually try to walk off a cliff and Alastor catches them and gets furious and sexy about it and pounds Vexi... I mean reader into the mattress so hard she can't walk anymore and he ends up laughing saying 'let's see you try to do that again now your legs won't work'

Beta'd by @inuhalfdemon

For my darling @redvexillum, I know you're Overtime Vexi right now; working hard on the Discord server, keeping up with daily Kinktober posts, and also literally working an IRL job. This is a no pressure gift to you. Read when you have time and need a little pick me up. I even based Reader off of your avatar on your blog and used language specifically from my favorite fic of yours . . . you know the one *wink wink*.

TRIGGER WARNINGS!: suicide ideation, suicide attempt, depression, mental illness, dissociation, possesive Alastor, Alastor owns Reader's soul, sex as punishment, angry sex, oral (fem receiving), p/v sex, shadow tendrils/tentacles, bondage, use of a gag, overstimulation, lack of aftercare, begging, dom/sub dynamic.

Falling

The warm night breeze ghosted through your hair; a gentle lover’s caress across the back of your neck. It calmed your nerves as you looked down at the drop below and you closed your eyes, thinking you could almost hear the wind telling you to take that final step.

Just one little step.

A few seconds of falling.

Then darkness. Nothing. Peace.

The wind kicked up a little harder, fanning out your wings, and nearly making you lose your balance. You gasped and flailed your arms, catching your balance before you fell.

A stupid lingering human instinct to save yourself. Your body’s nervous system fighting against what your mind desperately wanted.

You took a deep, steadying breath in, and tucked your wings in. They were tiny; pink and membranous things that seemed more for aesthetic than any kind of purpose. It’s not like you could fly with them. They were no more useful than your asymmetrical horns when it came to that skill only very few Sinners were lucky enough to have. And they weren’t even very demonic looking, as far as demon appendages went. Both your horns and your wings were pink, slightly darker shades than the pastel of your skin and hair. Even your fucking irises were pink.

While you quite loved pink as a human, it just felt insulting down in Hell. Like every other aspect of your demon visage. Useless. Infantile. Boring.

Nearly making you fall to your death by being caught in a sudden gust of hot air was the only favor your wings had ever done for you.

Not that you would permanently die, you lamented. Eventually you would re-spawn somewhere within the city. But re-spawning took hours, sometimes even days. And in that time would be nothing. When you were alive you always joked about wishing that you could just take your brain out of your skull, like a temporary death, just to quiet the awful thoughts and feelings your malfunctioning organ plagued you with day and night.

Here in Hell, you could actually do that. Again and again, if you so chose to.

All you had to do was jump.

Maybe it wasn’t worth it. When you came back, Alastor would certainly hunt you down and find you. And you could just see the disappointment in his face. Hear the disgust in his voice. How lowly he would think of his darling then, that she would perform such an empty and pathetic act.

But then again, he was going to find out who you were at your core eventually. Better to rip the bandage off and make him face just how truly damaged you were before you continued to waste his time further. He was bound to get tired of pulling you out of your depressed funks after enough time had gone by. And what good did you bring to his life anyway?

You were a distraction.

He had snapped that to you earlier that evening when you had interrupted his work at the hotel. Those last stinging words echoed through your mind, branding themselves into your grey matter so that you never forgot them.

Well, you wouldn’t be distracting him anymore after this stunt. He wouldn’t bother with you afterwards.

And if you found you really did enjoy the nothingness that came between death and re-spawning, the extermination wasn’t far away. All you had to do was stand in front of an exorcist and simply not move as they brought their blade down on you. Then it would truly be an eternity of peace and quiet for you.

No more distractions.

The thought came to you bitterly as you considered that Alastor was the one who had been distracting you. All these months of his attention, of him making you his darling, of him making you fall in love with him, had just distracted you for a while. But now the pain was back, worse than ever, with one small argument between you two and you realized if it wasn’t for him, you likely would have jumped off this roof months ago.

You could have let it all go during the last extermination, while everyone else was huddled safely inside the hotel.

What a waste of time. A useless, boring, distracting life.

A deep breath. A single tear sliding down your cheek. A last thought of warmth and safety whispering through your mind . . .

“Alastor.”

His name left your lips like a prayer and an apology.

You took a step over the ledge.

The street below became your entire field of view as you lost your footing entirely.

And then the world glitched.

Colors blended in choppy formation and static screamed in your ears, threatening to burst your ears drums. Everything was fuzzy and going dark and a strange tingling filled your body, like your very blood had turned to static.

And then you were back on your own two feet, standing face to chest with the red and black pinstriped suit you knew so well.

Unnaturally large claws had you by the shoulders and you tilted your head up, taking in the full view of a very angry Radio Demon.

Alastor towered over you, his antlers spread wide, his eyes turning like radio dials, and he lifted you up like you weighed nothing until you were face to face and your feet were dangling several feet in the air.

“What the fuck was that?” he snarled, his voice even more full of static than you were used to.

Your eyes went wide at the use of vulgarity from him. You could count with your two useless wings how many times you had heard him swear before and never had it been directed at you.

When you didn’t answer right away, he shook you, calling you by your real name rather than darling, which he never did. He demanded an answer but all you could manage was a little whimper before you broke.

Your chin quivered and you felt the swell of tears in your eyes as a sob squeezed your chest and erupted out.

“I’m sorry,” you choked out and then slowly, ever so gently, you felt yourself being lowered to the ground and then your face was pressed against the soft fabric of Alastor’s suit. His bow tie tickled the side of your face and his scent, heady with Spanish moss and cypress, and some other uniquely Earthy smell that was entirely him, filled your senses.

“Darling,” he said quietly, “my darling . . . why?”

You could barely breath through your sobs, let alone speak, so it took you a moment to gather the strength to answer. Clutching at the back of his jacket, you pressed your face into him harder, trying to hide your reasoning, bury your shame, pretend like every pathetic part of you didn’t exist.

But he had seen, hadn’t he? He had watched you take that step, had come up here to find you and seen that final microsecond when there was nothing but air between you and the ground below.

And he had altered reality to bring you back to him. To save you.

Half of you hoped that meant he really did love you like you loved him. Like he promised every day that he did, even though you never quite believed it.

The other half of you whispered an insipid little lie that was too tempting to not consider  . . . that this whole stunt of yours was just another distraction.

“I don’t want to be a bother anymore,” you finally whispered, hiccupping and choking as you struggled to speak.

Alastor went stiff around you, and you thought then that he would finally push you away. Agree that you really were just a bother. That if he were to ever shackle himself to another soul, it certainly wouldn’t be to such a weak little wretch as yourself.

Instead, his long, clawed fingers grasped you by your chin, forcing you to look up at him. And though his expression was often hard to read, the strain in his smile showed anger while the burning in his ruby eyes showed pain.

“What gave you the idea that you could do such a thing? That I would allow it?”

“Wha . . . what?”

“You’re mine now, darling.” He pulled on your chin, forcing you on tip toe as he brought your face closer to him. “You belong to me and I don’t let what belongs to me just fly away. It seems you have forgotten that.”

His claws were digging into your cheeks and along your jaw line, stinging and threatening, even as he brought his lips down and gave you the gentlest kiss on the forehead.

 

“Perhaps I need to remind you of that,” he whispered to you, his voice low and tender, crackling with a passion you couldn’t misplace. He was angry, you realized, oh yes he was furious with you. But as the world went fuzzy once again, and you felt the familiar sensation of melting into shadow, and your soul blended with his, you could literally feel that burning rage inside of him being twisted and morphed into more direct emotions. Lust and desire filled what was left of your identity as Alastor transported you through the ceiling and walls of the hotel and into your room.

Now this was flying.

Alastor had sat you at the foot of your bed, making quick work of removing your underwear, lifting your pleated skirt above your hips, and kneeling before you, all before you had come down from the bizarre and disorienting high of being nothing but shadow with him.

Now you were reduced to a shell of a person, thoughtless and detached from your feelings and in the best of ways, as Alastor’s tongue made your nervous system aware of nothing else but the bundle of nerves between your legs.

Your knees were resting on his shoulders and already shaking as his tongue twisted and lapped at your clit, occasionally giving the swollen pearl a hard suck, as two fingers pumped into your core, working to pull a second climax from you.

Distantly you were aware of the flutter of your wings; a helpless reflex, along with the tremble of your legs. Tears streamed down your cheeks, though you paid that no mind either. Even if you had noticed them, you wouldn’t be able to place which emotion was drawing them from your eyes.

You only knew that this feeling; the intense physical sensation of Alastor turning you into a whimpering, wanton mess, allowed you to dissociate in the best of ways and everything that had tormented you to the point of standing on that cliff’s edge was completely forgotten.

The fingers of one of your hands wrapped themselves in a white-knuckled grip around his antler while your other hand found purchase in his red locks and you sobbed out his name as you came again.

Just as your walls began to clench, Alastor pulled himself from your clutches, leaving your cunt to clench needfully onto nothing. The abrupt lack of touch right at the beginning of your orgasm was torture and in his absence you pressed your legs together, searching for any friction that would allow for a fraction of the satisfaction his tongue and fingers should be giving you.  

“Now, now, dear,” Alastor tutted, and you felt your legs forced back apart. “Remember, I’m here to make a point. And that point is . . .” You looked down to see tendrils of shadows spreading your legs farther open, tangling themselves around your thighs and hips. “. . . You’re mine.” He began undoing the top of his trousers. “And  any rash decisions,” he pushed his trousers down below his waist, “like trying to jump off buildings,” he pulled his cock free and you salivated at the sight of its red and swollen tip already weeping pre-cum for you, “or pleasuring yourself without permission,” he leaned over you, his tense and wicked smile inches away from your lips as his took a painful fistful of your hair, “will be met with severe punishments.”

You swallowed, daring to meet his eyes with your own submissive, watery ones, and nodded.

“There’s my darling I know and cherish,” he said sweetly. His fingers left your hair and traced along your jaw until they came to your lips.

“And now that we’re at an understanding,” he snapped his fingers and your clothes vanished, “let’s see how well you can take your punishment.”

His cock thrust into you as black tendrils slithered their way up the rest of your nude body, pinning you in place. They teased and stroked every erogenous zone with lovely tenderness, their touch soothing and affectionate even as they forced you to near absolute stillness. In stark contrast, Alastor pounded into you, stretching you to the point of burning and igniting the still burning embers of your last orgasm that Alastor had left unfinished.

You came within seconds, your walls spasming hard against the fat width of his cock. Alastor drove on as if he hadn’t noticed, deep enough to hit the blind end of your depths with every forward thrust. The bruising combination left a dull cramp in your belly as your climax went on for several more moments, an intense combination of pleasure and pressure.   

After the quaking within your core subsided, you went limp within the clutches of the shadows. Three orgasms as intense as the ones you had just experienced were more than enough to placate your mind and body and your teary eyes now began to droop with sleepiness.

And yet Alastor was clearly not finished with you.

“Alastor,” you pleaded, knowing he still hadn’t come but you intended to beg for him to be a little gentler with you until he had. Instead of letting you speak, however; a tendril that had been near your throat laced itself through your open mouth and synched itself around your head, effectively gagging you.

The only response you got from your lover was an angry red glow of his eyes as they narrowed onto you, before he gripped your thighs with his claws and continued on with his brutal pace.

Too much, too much, too much, you internally screamed, a fresh torrent of hot tears burning down your cheeks. Your teeth sunk into the meat of the tentacle between your lips and you strained against the ones holding your wrists down to the bed.

The brutal pace of your punishment went on for several more minutes; an eternity for your overstimulated sex. Everything between your ribs and your thighs burned and ached from the ceaseless, intrusive rhythm of Alastor’s body against yours. Inside and out, he continued to savagely ravish you, until there was nothing else for you to do but begin to silently cry and take the punishment he was dolling out.

Alastor pulled out of you with a suddenness that both relieved and confused you. Your throbbing cunt ached from what it had just been through but as your eyes met his, you felt an emptiness within you. Still wrapped in tentacles, you glanced down at his glistening cock before you looked back up at the sharp tooth smile on the face of the man that you feared and loved above all else.

He still looked as pissed off as ever but there was a softness at the corner of his eyes that hinted at concern and you knew him well enough to know he was worried he might have taken things to far.

As you felt the shadow tentacles begin to loosen around you, you felt a emotion so long-forgotten you almost didn’t recognize it.

Confidence.

And with that thought, you wordlessly turned yourself around until your lay on your belly, exposing your backside and the tiny pink wings you knew Alastor loved to play with whenever he was angry.

A moment came and went and you were just beginning to wonder if you had misread the owner of your soul. You opened your mouth to speak his name once more but before you could utter a syllable, you felt your arms yanked back by the wrists and a powerful tendril wrap around your throat, holding you face down into the mattress.

The shadows that were still around your hips tightened and forcefully lifted your ass into the air and you braced yourself a second before Alastor’s cock slammed back into you, filling you back up to completion and eviscerating that feeling of emptiness.

Tired and spent as you were, you moaned aloud and squeezed his member with every last bit of strength you had within your spongey walls.  

You felt the long, slow drag of his retreating cock sliding against every sensitive bundle of nerves inside of you before another snap of Alastor’s hips had it rocketing back into you.

“Say it,” he commanded and you shuddered with your whole body, knowing what he wanted to hear.

“I’m your darling,” you replied, breathless and yet moaning again as he rewarded you with another thrust.

“And?”

“I belong to you.” He matched this thrust with a gentle stroke of a shadow across the membrane of one of your wings. “Mmmmmm, more,” you begged, as your wings gave a tiny, involuntary flap at the feather light touch.

But he had stilled behind you, waiting for your needfulness to build until you were begging.

“Please,” you sobbed out, feeling your chin quiver as all the emotions of the night came rushing back to you. “I’m sorry, Al’. I’m so sorry.”

As you spoke, the touching of your wings and the powerful movement of his cock began anew. You blabbered on, afraid if you stopped talking, the pleasant sensation of his touch within you and above you would end.

“I love you. I’ll never leave you. I’ll never even think about leaving you ever again. Not in anyway. Not even when your angry with me. Not even when I hate myself. Because I’m yours and I’ll always be yours. I’m so sorry, Alastor. Please don’t stop. Please, you feel so good. Fill me up, love. Because I’m your darling and I’ll be good from now on, please just fill me up. I’m your good girl and I love you and I want to feel you inside me. Please, please, oh God Al’, you feel so good, I’m – I’m – I-”

With a painful pull on your wrists you felt all the way into your shoulders, you felt him spill his seed within you as his body tense and every shadow of his went impossibly taut around you. The heat of his cum burned your walls and spilled down your inner thighs, coating you and marking you as his, and you came along with him, screaming into the sheets. Every tendril bruised into your skin, leaving marks around your throat, breasts, wings, hips, and thighs, as Alastor lost all control, even as he continued to pound into you with an uneven and desperate pace.

Everything blurred as you came down from the high together. You felt your muscles turn to jelly and give out in the final moments of your climax, just in time to feel Alastor finally still and begin to soften before he pulled out.

After several serene moments had gone by, the sheets beneath you began to move and pull away. As if in a dream, you felt your body being moved up the bed and then Alastor’s weight joined next to you as you were tucked into bed. Without being cleaned and without a word of praise or love, which he usually included in an aftercare routine for you.

But you knew, deep within the fog of your exhausted mind, that you deserved this. You would wake up in the morning marked by the bruises and the sticky mess between your legs, and only then would you be allowed to shower and heal yourself.

“Thank you,” you murmured with closed eyes as he finished tucking you in. “I don’t think I can move after that, let alone walk.”

An amused, deep chuckle came from Alastor before he pinched your cheek hard enough to make your eyes snap back open.

He got up from the bed, now fully dressed, and straightened his bow tie and monocle before marching towards the door with a pleased and arrogant look on his face.

“Good, my darling. That’s good. Let’s see you try to pull that nonsense again now that your legs don’t work. Sweet dreams,” he added as he opened the bedroom door and gave you one last warning smile before he slammed the door behind him, hard enough to knock a few decorations off the walls.

You sighed as you heard a lock clicking into place, knowing his point was made, and that he was still very much angry with you. But the storm had passed, for both of you. You relaxed into the soft pillow and closed your eyes, the first smile in days touching your lips as you drifted off to sleep.

[carpaldragon]

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! 🎃 👻

📻🍎

[carpaldragon]

[carpaldragon]

[carpaldragon]

[carpaldragon]

[carpaldragon]