Chapter Text
As Alastor stood there in front of the cottage he could feel Belphegor’s eyes on him. He hated it when she did that. It was unsettling how much she saw. For being the Sin of Sloth, she was too observant. He supposed since she already knew he was here; he might as well get this over with. He did not want to spend a night apart from Lucifer ever again if he could help it. He sighed as he stepped up to the quaint cottage door. It was so unlike the other Sins’ homes. Hers was cozy and welcoming with a garden out front that brought back childhood memories that he often tried to forget. A swing in the front yard amongst all the flowers moved gently in the breeze and he was tempted to just sit there until all of his problems melted away. It really wasn’t much of a surprise that Lucifer came here when he go overwhelmed. It just hurt he didn’t always run to Alastor even when Alastor was sometimes the cause of that hurt.
The door swung open in that eerie way that always happened in horror movies and Alastor just rolled his eyes at the theatrics. He walked in and was not surprised to see his husband standing in the living room waiting for him. What did surprise him was the new poncho he was wearing. No doubt one of Belphegor’s creations and probably infused with magic to help Lucifer stay calm when he was panicking. Alastor was sure he would get an earful if he tried to get rid of it.
“No Belphegor ready to rip me into pieces?” Alastor’s smile grew strained, waiting to see how Lucifer was going to react to him being here. Or if a certain Sin was planning on attacking him.
“I have convinced her that for now that I prefer you all in one piece.” Lucifer moved a little closer to Alastor, fingers twitching like he wanted to reach out and touch; his eyes filled with worry and hope. “Are those our wedding rings?”
“Yes, I think it is long past time for us to start wearing them.” Alastor moved to maneuver them to the couch. “Let us take off this hideous thing and put on the ring you spent so much time making mon étoile du matin.” He dropped his radio filter and watched Lucifer relax as he replaced the plain gold ring with the smaller red one. He then took the white one and placed it on his finger.
“I’m still upset with you.” Lucifer didn’t look up, just took Alastor’s hand in both of his and admired how the rings looked on their hands. He was so proud of how they turned out. The white stood out beautifully on Alastor’s larger hand and he knew Alastor appreciated seeing his favorite color on Lucifer.
“I know and you have every right to be. I was not thinking when Vaggi came barreling in and demanded I stop playing games with you. I just thought it was hilarious. I do not think the foolish girl realizes how much time and work you put into being the king. I have enough on my plate right now and would prefer to enjoy the free time I have until we make our marriage public knowledge, and I have to officially attend to my royal duties.” Alastor squeezed his husband’s hand as he stared at their joined hands. The rings really did look magnificent. “I am sorry I told her. I had forgotten about your lunch with Charlie.”
“Two apologies in one week? Who are you and what have you done with my husband?” Lucifer’s lips curved up in a sly smile as he tried to ease some of the tension rolling off Alastor in waves. Upset or not, there was no other being in any of the realms he would rather be with than the uncomfortable demon sitting next to him right now.
“I am just a stupid demon, married to a literal angel who spent two weeks away from him, worried every day about whether or not he was taking care of himself. I know I am not handling things well. In my poor attempt to return things to normal, I have been an inconsiderate ass.” Alastor closed his eyes, it wasn’t unusual for him to admit to his feelings to Lucifer, but he knew they were not alone. He couldn’t see Belphegor right now, but he knew she was nearby.
“Oh sweetheart.” Lucifer’s voice cracked as he pulled Alastor to him and squeezed, relishing the tiny bleat that left his husband in his surprise. “I absolutely did nothing but sleep and eat every sweet I could get my hands on while you were gone. I’m not even sure I showered more than once, and I absolutely made at least 500 ducks in an effort to keep myself distracted. You should see the paperwork I ignored.”
Alastor just huffed and curled in closer. The familiar cold of his husband soothing the emotions coiling in his chest. The world around him could burn right now and he would not care as long as Lucifer still held him like he mattered.
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Charlie and Vaggi were curled up on the couch in their room with KeeKee laying between them. It had taken Vaggi at least two hours to get Charlie to calm down enough to retreat to their room instead of following Alastor to Sloth. She had started to make Niffty look calm by comparison.
“How do I handle this Vaggi? I don’t know what to do.” Charlie was torn. She had a lot of information dumped on her in a short amount of time and was having a hard time trying to parse through it all. She had always believed her parents were meant for each other. That the divorce was temporary. Her mother’s silence should have been a major clue.
“Well, let’s start with what might the easiest thing to figure out.” Vaggi adjusted them both so Charlie’s head was in her lap, and she could start combing out her hair. “Do you want your dad to be happy?”
“Of course I do!” Charlie sat straight up and looked at Vaggi incredulously. How could she think otherwise? Had she been that terrible to him lately?
“Ok, so that is solved and we can be happy for them. Confused, but happy. Maybe we can make them dinner to celebrate? Just the four of us? Maybe that will help us to understand them better.” Vaggi just smirked as Charlie pouted up at her. The resemblance between father and daughter was uncanny.
“Yeah. Dinner sounds good. We’ll have to think of something Alastor approved that we can all eat though.” Charlie sighed and laid back down. This had been such a long night. She now had two dads and one of them was the Devil and the other a cannibalistic serial killer. How was this her life?
“Maybe we can all cook together? Or order take out? Something to ask them about when they get back and have had some rest. We should probably make them take some time off.” Vaggi continued to run her fingers through Charlie’s hair as she thought out how to best phrase the next part. Better to bite the bullet than sugar coat it she guessed. “This isn’t the first time your dad has flinched like that when your temper flared up Charlie, and I don’t think it’s because of Alastor. Do you have any idea why he would do that?”
Charlie just got quiet and pulled KeeKee closer to her, the cyclops cat growling in protest. She hadn’t really given it much thought the last time it happened because she had been so upset, but she had flipped a couch and continued to yell at her father while he tried to make himself small. The implications of that made her heart hurt.
“I…I think it’s probably well past time for me to ask my dad why my mom took me away from him when I was young, about what really happened in their marriage. I don’t think I remember things the way I should.” Charlie’s voice was quiet and unsure. The implications of her not remembering things correctly weighed heavy on her knowing what she knows about her mother’s powers. It was also probably well past time for her to get back in touch with her aunts and uncles. She had a lot of questions.
Vaggi just held her as the tears came. She had a feeling that both father and daughter were in for a long painful road and she would have to figure out how to get along with Alastor along the way. The Devil and an Overlord for future fathers-in-law. How she had found such a messy family in Hell was beyond her.