Chapter Text
Angel was sprawled across the bed in his room, busy not being busy. He had pulled out his hellphone and was leisurely trawling the social media sites seeing what everyone else was up to. There were things that still needed to be accomplished today, namely his chores around the hotel, but he was tired of working and figured this was a great time to relax. After all, Charlie was busy working on some big “surprise” for everyone, which left the strawberry pimp in charge of the hotel’s oversight for now. This, in turn, left Angel Dust to his own devices, namely: slacking off.
Being so absorbed in the mindless loop of liking and commenting on posts, however, he'd failed to remember that Alastor was acutely aware of everyone's presence in the hotel. Husk was still at the bar, arranging glasses and shining the tables. Charlie was in her room, researching a book that was recognizable as an intermediate spell book, titled, "Advanced Magic: The Core of Demonology." Vaggie was busy making the grocery and dry goods supply list for the next trip to stock up the pantry and janitorial supplies. And Angel…
"Ah, so he's decided to skip out on work again.”
He turned to his shadow, who was eagerly looking over his shoulder, grinning from ear to ear at the prospect of visiting the slacking spider. "Why don't we pay a visit to Angel Dust? Seems he might be in need of a reminder that we are not so easily sidestepped when there is work to be done." The shadow smiled even wider, the blue grin splitting its visage as its head eagerly nodded its agreement.
Walking out of a shadow, making sure to avoid stepping on the creaky floorboards, he moved right behind the very engrossed Angel. That damned phone had definitely been the main source of distraction for the spider. Oh, how he hated new technology. Whipping up a shadow, he effortlessly swiped it out of the texting hand, then tossed it straight behind him into one of the room’s corners,
"What tha--?"
At the sudden action, Angel nearly jumped out of his skin, landing on the floor with a heavy thud, scrambling back up to his feet before he could recognize his would be assailant.
Angel’s eyes narrowed into slits.
He noticed with more than just a touch of indignance that the red demon looked very pleased with himself, his grin looking a bit more toothy and menacing than it usually did. Who the hell did he think he was to just come in to steal away someone else's stuff ? Angel intended to give Alastor a piece of his mind.
"What gives? That belongs to me, so give it back you damn cervine maniac!"
"You know exactly what gives." Alastor couldn't help the hint of annoyance in his tone, remembering how he’d covered for Angel just the other day. While it was effortless work for his shadows, everyone else in the hotel worked their rears off. It was only fair, and he couldn't stand unproductive individuals. That, and out of all the demons he could torment in the building, Angel was by far the most amusing to toy with.
"Your phone is safe with me," Alastor placed his hands behind his back and smiled while shaking his head, returning to his calm and collected sophistication.
"But first you must do your assigned work! The hotel's policy states that all hired team members must stay on task. Do all tasks diligently, meticulously, and with a smile. "
He absolutely loved that part of the slogan. Charlie was particularly pleased with that small bit Alastor personally suggested. This was the absolute opposite of the sneer he was receiving, the other demon looking as if they’d pounce him.
Angel crossed his arms and scowled. He was irate, but knew that there wasn't much to do about it. Alastor was in charge, and even if hewent to Charlie about it, what was he going to say? " Alastor took my phone because I was playing instead of working " ? Yeah. No. Just, no. He had decided that he was still going to protest, however. This was just plain wrong. Who comes in and just takes someone else's stuff like that?
"Oh really?” Angel challenged, “I don't remember you covering for me. Vaggie was on a rant and bitched for like 3 hours at me. (It was more like 30 minutes, but same thing as far as he's concerned) I even missed hanging out with Cherri!" The last part was actually true. He had been told that his pass to go see his best bitch had been revoked because his work had been left unfinished. If Alastor had done Angel's work, he'd have been sure to let Charlie know all about it.
"This is a buncha bullshit." he pouted, crossing both sets of arms over his midsection. "Besides, my work is done already, Antlers." He would have stuck his tongue out, but even he knew that would have been too childish. his work wasn't even half done, but what the Radiohead didn't know wouldn't hurt him.
Angel was an absolutely horrid liar, and this was an example of that. But, just as he was about to retort, a lightbulb suddenly lit up in Alastor's head, his deceptive, playful side overriding the logical one. He couldn't help it, seeing a wide open opportunity for a game. However, he'd have to drag in Angel somehow, who had become increasingly resistant to any offer he gave over the months they had known each other. It got to the point where even passing the salt during dinnertime was interpreted as a deathtrap.
"Oh, fine. My apologies for jumping to conclusions..."
The phone was thrown from the same corner it’d vanished from , landing on a pillow. Alastor turned away, but did not take another step towards the door. Now, Angel had two choices. He could take the phone and go back on his merry way to what he was doing. Or...
"What a shame. You could have walked away with so much more.”
As expected, the other demon didn't seem to care, already scrolling and tapping on the device.
Alastor rolled his eyes, taking a few more steps, then opening the door. If this last idea didn't work, he'd have to chalk this all up to a defeat.
"I would've done all your ‘finished’ chores, and then some."
Angel, who had snatched up the phone as soon as it had landed, was already scrolling and catching up. He was ready to flop himself back down on the soft bed, his pillows still arranged into the perfect, comfy nest when he heard that last statement from the overlord; something about doing all of his chores for him and more than that? Just what was he on about?
"Wha...what do you mean by that, Antlers?
He had a niggling suspicion that Alastor was up to something, but he wanted to find out just what that might be. The only way to do that was to hear him out.
'Aha! The bait does its magic.'
Alastor grinned widely and closed the door again, turning back around. now he just needed to drive it home. The activity itself had to be interesting for both of them, and the reward also had to be worth the risk. Masking his excitement as he turned, he explained.
"It's very simple. I will once again do all your tasks for the day, and even the following day."
This was no risk on his part, but a huge boon to the loafer.
"You only have to do one thing! You must land one kiss... right here." Alastor pointed at his own cheek, this part certain to seal the deal.
Angel was immediately suspicious. He wasn’t sure exactly what Alastor was up to, but there was definitely something. Angel Dust knew that there was no way that Alastor would openly encourage Angel to get into his personal space unless there was a considerable incentive involved. He tilted his head to the side in thought.
“What’s tha catch, Antlers? I mean, you’ll have to pardon my suspicions here, but this seems like a one-sided offer, tipped in my favor. We both know you don’t work like that” He crossed his lower set of arms over his abdomen, his chin resting on the knuckles of his primary right hand. “What’s in this for you?”
Of course there was a catch. Obviously, telling him what it was would ruin the entire experience. Shaking his head, he just kept on the calmest face he could muster, his facial muscles aching to smile hard, revealing his true intent.
“I’ll be able to watch you try .”
He was looking forward to how this would play out, knowing Angel was smitten with him. The crush was very, very obvious, and while he wouldn't admit it out loud, it could sometimes be... cute. If the spider won this one, he'd get a bone tossed to him, and the aforementioned chores as a bonus.
Goes without saying, Alastor wasn't interested in a romantic relationship in the slightest with him, or anyone for that matter. A kiss on the cheek was harmless, and it was a chance for him to patch any weaknesses he may have in their games. He didn’t want to acknowledge it, but he had been caught off guard by a few maneuvers here and there in their past activities. In summary, he had all to gain from it.
Angel eyed the deer suspiciously. There had to be more to this than he was seeing, but since it was Alastor he knew that figuring out exactly what the elder demon had planned would be ineffective at bes., He decided to do what any rational and sensible demon in his position would do.
“Alright, Mr. Radio Demon, let’s play ya game. So when do we start, and are there any other rules I don’t know about?” Angel had been around enough to know that it was best to make sure you got all the information up front, especially when dealing with Alastor.
"To make it fair, I won't just hide out of the hundreds of rooms here. That would just be silly."
Alastor smiled sweetly as Angel nodded, already tasting the cusp of a complete, flawless victory.
"I'll be at my usual locations.but don't think it'll be so easy."
With this, Angel's phone was once again sucked up, and Alastor stepped right into a portal, a playful wave as he moved to the next scene, casually sitting in front of Husk. Sealing that behind him, all he had to do now was wait.
Placing his fingers around the shot glass he had left on the counter previously, he felt immense satisfaction in rolling it, racing in his mind. There was one simple trick to this game. What was the fun in what was basically hide and seek? Standing right before Angel, materializing as soon as the real one left, was another form of Alastor's. It was impossible to tell it from the original, literally the same exact form; well, almost All around the hotel more of the same spawned, each in their smiling, red suited personas.
"Let's play." The first clone chuckled, sensing his prey's confusion.
"Tha fuck? That son of a--"
Angel growled to himself. He knew that glorified jackass would do something sneaky like this!
"Well, fuck me." He thought. At least there was only one duplicate Alastor. There was only one, right?
Angel stopped to think about where he saw Alastor most frequently. His room! Alastor's room would be a great place to hide since he probably figured on Angel heading for his usual stations at the front desk or the office. He took off at a clip, headed for the deer's domicile.
Before Angel could move, the clone wrapped its arms around him suddenly, giving a sort of weird noise. A noise that Alastor himself would never produce. There was quiet in the room afterwards, the silence daring it to repeat... and it did. It sounded like a cross between disappointed and pleading.
“Did you just fuckin’ murr?” Angels head cocked to one side as he asked.
"But, what if I'm the real one? Maybe you should kiss me to find out." The voice whispered quietly, fake Alastor's breath right up against the other demon's neck. This felt very, very real.
Angel was almost completely sure that this wasn't the real Alastor, but....what if it was? It would be like Alastor to create a false start and then sit back and laugh at Angel leaving the real him behind right out of the gate. He shrugged.
"Ya got a point, Smiles." He leaned over to attempt kissing its cheek.
Fake Alastor gave a delighted giggle as Angel decided to lean in, and instead misdirected him, pulling them both onto a nearby loveseat. Now Angel was on top of his lap, a playful smile as he looked down at their hips, then up again towards the eyes, the implications of the position obvious.
"If I am real, what do you think of me now?"
Pulling in Angel even closer, he laid them both flat, their chests together, and lips mere inches apart.
...
Of course, this wasn't the real Alastor, who was currently watching the hotel faculty try to get through the crowd of radio demons. He hadn't bothered to even check on Angel, so caught up with the others' interesting interactions that it slipped his mind. All his clones would most likely be on task anyways,though with it being an experimental spell, far from perfected, some of them could be just a little different from his real personality.
"Ah well. Let's take a look at what's happening...Alright then-- huh, that's not where I was. Wait... no, wrong one."
In retrospect, using an experimental spell was probably a bad idea, but he was certain this one was at least stable enough to use for a meaningless game like this. However, he was being proved wrong as he sifted through the numerous viewpoints, unable to siphon them clearly.
"ALASTOOOR! WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE?!" Vaggie cried out, and Alastor turned to where the voice came from. All he saw was a wall of himself. He could've sworn that he had created less clones than this. Unless...
"...they're multiplying. Oh dear."