Chapter Text
Alastor knew that he had a problem with cute things. He knew it, and his maman had known it (the amount of baby gators and fawns he had brought home from the bayou drove his mother to fits), and Rosie certainly knew it (Hell ducklings…he would explain nothing more).
Which was a bit of a problem when he found himself picking up a large-eyed, adorable box-headed TV demon out of the trash one day, and bridal carrying him to Rosie’s ( “I’m keeping him, Rosie!”/“You get to clean up after him, deer.”) to patch the darling up.
Flash forward 20 years, and Alastor is very much attached to Vincent, his little Picture Box. Not so little anymore, since his proto form had gone through some (unfortunately needed) upgrades…but still Alastor’s little Picture Box.
Now, they were drinking together at their usual bar, the music soft in the background, Alastor’s 3rd Sazerac almost empty, and Vincent’s 4th whisky still nearly full.
“…and I told that moth demon, Velenciaga or whatever, that I didn’t want his business thanks to your advice, Al…You’re inspiring, you know that, you really are!” Vincent praised the deer demon earnestly.
“Good boy, Vinny,” Alastor praised Vincent in return, his eyes catching the perking up of the TV demon’s antenna and the blush on his screen in delight.
“It’s good you avoided getting into cahoots with that disgusting moth…He would have been a terrible influence on you. I fear what his presence would have done to our relationship.”
Vincent ducked his head, and Alastor watched with curiosity as the younger man rubbed the back of it and looked nervous.
“Well…Speaking of relationships…Heh, I was…I was wondering…Would you go on a date with me?” Vox stuttered out, and there was a record scratch from Alastor that made the few other patrons start eyeing them warily, like they were waiting for the Radio Demon to lose his shit.
Alastor couldn’t believe it — a date??? His precious Picture Box…had romantic feelings for Alastor??? How…quaint! Did Alastor feel the same way?
…He wasn’t certain, if he was honest with himself, which he tried to be.
He felt…upset when Vincent wasn’t around, certainly; agitated, wondering if he was ok, what he was doing, if he missed Alastor…it was rare that they weren’t around each other, since they lived together, and did most things together. Rosie called them… co-dependent??? He didn’t understand, really. He was not dependent on Vincent!
… Okay, maybe he was a little.
But did that translate to romance? Alastor wasn’t sure, but…He believed he would like to find out!
“I would love to, Vincent,” Alastor purred, putting his hand in the flustered television demon's larger hands.
Vincent's delighted squeals were adorable.
This was going to be very entertaining!
Alastor found himself fidgeting as he waited for Vincent to knock on the door for their date.
Despite living in the same apartment, Vincent had insisted on picking Alastor up like they were in some 50's teen romance…which would make…not much sense, admittedly, considering the decade Vincent had died in, and how old Vincent was when he died — wasn't he in his 50's? If Alastor had lived, they might have been the same age if they had met on Earth!.
Alastor was certain that Vincent would come to the door with some sort of gift, and was unsure if Vincent would be expecting Alastor to also get one, so he had gotten one anyways — he wanted to spoil his Picture Box; as was his right!
The knock on his door was expected, but it still made him jump and let out a quiet bleat.
Clearing his throat, Alastor straightened his bow tie and grabbed the gift he had bought for Vincent, then let out a breath and opened the apartment's front door.
Vincent was there, looking breathtaking, wearing a larger (and not singed, bloody and torn) version of the suit Vinny was wearing in his proto form when he fell to Hell — sparkles and all. His Picture Box was holding out a banquet of red roses, that on closer inspection, were made of red and black feathers (Goetia?).
"H-Hi Al!" Vinny stuttered, "You look amazing!" Alastor's smile widened, and he felt his chest flutter at the look Vinny was sending him and his outfit.
Alastor was wearing a sunset red suit with a dark blue, almost black bowtie that had clear envy crystals sewn on it, so it looked like the night sky, dress pants the same shade as the bowtie, without the crystals, and his hooves were free and polished, knowing that Vinny loved his hooves (it was only a leftover human habit that had Alastor wearing shoes most of the time). His monocle was replaced with red-tinted, gold-framed, small, round spectacles, and his hair was curly, surrounding his head like a cloud. His tail was fluffy and free from his trousers, as Vincent preferred.
"Thank you, Darling, you look stunning as well," Alastor bowed, presenting his own gift with one hand, and with the other, grabbing the flowers and sticking his nose in them — yep, feathers from a Goitia with a floral scent. Alastor wasn't the only demon with a flower-withering touch, and as with most curses in Hell, demons had found a way to substitute it — floral-smelling feathered demons made a killing selling their feathers for banquets.
"These are lovely, Vinny, thank you!" Alastor exclaimed, face bright, tail wagging. "Let me just —" snapping his fingers, he put them in a vase above the mantlepiece.
"And for your gift," Alastor motioned to it with a flourish.
"Oh!" Vincent's screen flushed a light blue. "You didn't, I mean, you shouldn't have, I was the one who asked you out-"
"Take the gift, darling." Alastor sighed fondly — his silly Picture Box. So attached to his little 50's sentiments.
Alastor would train that out of him, over time.
Vincent took the envelope and slit it open with his claw.
He shook the envelope and out came a picture that his Picture Box stared at for a long moment, before looking up at Alastor with wide, wet eyes.
"Did you…Did you really get me a shark of my own?"
Alastor melted at the puppy eyes Vincent was giving him; the younger man was really adorable like this.
"Indeed," Alastor nodded, shifting on his hooves and pointing at the photograph, "That shark was bio-engineered by a Sinner scientist named 'Baxter'. You can name her; she is a mix of technology and a Megalodon shark from the oceans of the Envy Ring. I was able to strike a Deal with both Baxter and Leviathan themself to have her made and to give her to you, on assurances that you will treat her like a creature of her calibre deserves."
Vincent nodded rapidly, his eyes wide, his adorable antenna bobbing along. Alastor resisted the urge to bat at them like a cat.
"Of course! I'll treat her like the Queen she is!" Vinny gasped, eyes literally sparkling in his bright digital face.
"I know you will, darling, else I would not have risked the ire of a Deadly Sin," Alastor laughed. "Shall we be on our way?"
Vincent held out his arm, as a gentleman would to a lady. Alastor almost laughed again at the gesture; instead, he hooked his arm through the taller man's arm and softened his smile.
"Such a gentleman, my dear Picture Box," Alastor teased, and Vincent flushed a light blue again.
This was going to be a very entertaining date!
The year was 1998, and Alastor and Vincent (going by Vox now to anyone who wasn't Alastor, Rosie, or Velvette) had been dating for 11 years now, to the day. It was their anniversary, and Vincent claimed he had simple plans for this one, since he'd had a exhuasting couple of months at AVVTek.
The silly man didn't realize Alastor had found the ring in his sock drawer.
"This place is nice," Alastor noted, looking at the 20s-era decor of the New Orleans-style cafe that was a recreation of Cafe Du Monde in his hometown. "It reminds me of my home back in the living world," Alastor grabbed Vincent's hand, intertwining their fingers.
"This is lovely, Vinny, thank you." Alastor's smile grew soft.
Vincent chuckled and blushed. Cute.
"You haven't even had the food yet! They have cannibal options!" Vincent looked so proud of that, and Alastor paused.
That was odd — normally, places outside of Cannibal Town, or at least, the further you got from it, didn't often sell Cannibal options. Come to think of it, this restaurant was new — barely weeks old.
"Darling…Did you have something to do with this place popping up so recently?"
Vincent cleared his throat, and Alastor was amused to see the embarrassment on his Picture Box's face.
"Uh, yeah! It used to be a frozen yogurt place, ugh, and Vel commented on that being a worse punishment than Hell itself. So I uh, bought it out and turned it into a place that you would enjoy…uhm, that is, if you don't like the food here, I can 100% fire the chefs and find new ones; Shok.Wav could use a snack, anyways," Vincent chuckled awkwardly.
"Oh, darling," Alastor cooed, touched at the gesture, "Thank you, Vincent, this is wonderful; I will reserve my judgment for the food, but the decor in and out of this place is spot on, so I commend you on a job well done!"
Vincent beamed, his antenna perking up adorably.
"I'm so glad you like it, Al!"
"I didn't think I'd ever get to this point," Vincent admitted, star-struck as they walked into the ballroom, their names and titles as overlords being read out.
It was 2004.
"Well," Alastor patted his husband's arm, "Television, radio, and AVVTek have become so widespread not just in the Pride Ring, but in all 7 Rings, that they couldn't possibly have not invited us, Darling."
"We have, haven't we?" Vincent hummed smugly, and Alastor playfully rolled his eyes.
"There's the Pride in yourself I know and love," Alastor teased, booping Vincent's much-flatter screen. It was too bad that his nature required upgrades as tech developed — Alastor missed his darling's adorable boxy head. But the cost of Vincent not updating was not worth it.
"Do you know if any other Overlords were invited?" Vinny murmured in Alastor's fluffy ear as they walked into the center of the crowd, bowing to the statues depictiong the Royal family.
The Ballroom was quite magnificent, you could have fit the first couple of floors of AVV Tower into it — height and all. There were Goetia, Sins, hellhounds, imps, Envy demons, baphomets, Wrath demons, a few select demons from Greed that looked like they wanted to take a bite out of the richest in the room, and, from where Vox could see, only two other Overlords from Pride: Carmilla Carmine and Zestial.
That was unsurprising, considering how old Zestial had to be, and how Carmilla's weapons business supplied most of Hell.
"Ah, I see Carmine and Zestial are here," Alastor hummed. "That answers your question, dear." Alastor wondered if the King and Queen interacted with the Sinner Overlords, or if they were like the imp staff, ignored unless they needed a drink or food, or wanted to complain.
The decor and architechture was gorgeous, and reminded Alastor of pictures he had seen of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, that Vincent had shown him when they were looking for decor choices in AVV Tower. Here in the Royal Palace, it fit; somehow, he felt that the same style would be wasted on, and look beyond tacky, in AVV Tower.
Vincent's hand tensed on his arm, and Alastor saw the nerves on his flat-screen face, and Alastor squeezed Vincent's arm with his hand, and patted it.
"Calm down, darling, you will do fine. I'm sure the King and Queen will be much too preoccupied with their fellow royals to deign to speak to lowly Sinners, regardless of our invitations to this event."
The media Overlord bit his lip and nodded. "We still gotta make connections here, Al!Maybe some new clients from Sloth — their medical tech is more advanced than ours, but I'm sure we could sell them something…"
"That's the spirit, mon cher," Alastor grinned proudly.
Later that night, Vincent and Alastor were chatting in a corner, debating whether to call the evening to a close, as Carmilla and Zestial had already left an hour before, when they were approached by a imp waiter.
"Sirs, your presence has been requested in one of the private chambers off the ballroom, if you would both follow me?"
They nodded, following the imp, looking at each other with wary curiosity.
"What do you think this is about?" Vincent muttered in Alastor's ear, causing it to twitch.
"I am unsure, but be prepared for it to be a high-ranking Goetia; they're snobbish, so don't lose your temper."
"Shouldn't I be telling you that, Al?" Vincent snorted.
Alastor was about to reply, but the door opened, and they were greeted by a luxurious living room parlour with the last company they expected:
The King and Queen of Hell.
Vincent swallowed, his throat making a clicking sound, and he couldn't help the spurt of static that flashed over his screen for a split second in his shock.
Alastor's reaction was much more subdued: a tightening of the deer's arm around Vincent's, and a hitch in his breathing for barely a moment.
As one, they both bowed and muttered the appropriate, 'Your Majesties," until they were bid to rise.
"Come, sit across from us." Queen Lilith had a serene smile on her face, but didn't show any emotion that Vincent could discern.
Vincent followed Alastor's lead and walked to the velvette couch across from the Royal couple.
Lucifer was looking at them with furrowed brows, a hint of displeasure that he couldn't hide; Vincent remembered hearing about the King's distaste for Sinners, but the TV Overlord was determined to get on the King's good side — Vincent had charmed Alastor, he could charm one carmudgeonly King.
"Thank you both for coming, Overlord Alastor, Overlord Vox." Lilith smiled at them, waving her hand and with a flash of lavender light, a tea set appeared.
"How could one refuse such a request, when it is from Royalty itself?" Alastor replied, his mouth not melting with butter.
Lilith's smile became warmer, but the King's scowl twitched a bit at the edges. Hah, even the King couldn't deny Alastor's dry, sarcastic humour hidden by charming words.
"It's an honour, your majesties," Vincent nodded, but internally frowned when Lilith's smile twitched, and Lucifer's scowl returned full force. What had he said wrong?
~Don't simper, Vincent, it sounds insincere, like you want something from them~ Alastor sent over their private signal.
The TV demon felt a bit of offence — who didn't like flattery? But he took the advice to heart anyway.
"Apologies, I'm a bit nervous, even in life when I was famous, I never was in the presence of royalty…or someone able to crush me under their pinkie finger, heh," Vincent laughed uncomfortably, and the two Royals seemed to relax some, at the honesty. Vincent internally frowned. What kind of self-respecting Royalty wanted sincere, awkward honesty and not flattery? Weirdo's.
There were a few moments of awkward silence before the King spoke with a roll of his eyes and a huff.
"You have both gained rapid power and influence in all of Hell. Too much to be comfortable with without some reassurance. We need to make sure you aren't a danger to our family, mainly our Char Char."
The Queen sighed, looking both unsurprised and also completely Done™️ with the King and his 'bull in a china shop' impression.
"I apologize for the King's bluntness," Lilith smiled at them tightly. "But he is, unfortunately, correct. You both have gained a lot of power and influence to the point where it has gotten many of us…worried about an uprising. We don't want Heaven to turn its eyes on us; we would not survive a full-fledged attack from them, not now."
Vincent looked at Alastor, both of them showing the confusion they felt noticeably on their faces.
An uprising? They hadn't even thought that was even an option, let alone a threat that was something Heaven feared! Why would they? Heaven hadn't done anything to deserve an uprising — not that they knew of, anyway. Besides, maybe existing and being peaceful when it was chaos down here, but if they were honest, both Alastor and Vincent preferred Hell and its chaos.
So it was a bit of a shock to hear that an uprising was a worry that the Royals had towards the two powerful Overlords.
"Uhm, look," Vincent swallowed, looking towards Lucifer and Lilith, who were looking at them with expectation of…something. "We didn't even know that uprising was an option…and even knowing it is, we wouldn't want to, anyway." Vincent looked towards Alastor, asking him to chime in wordlessly.
"We like it in Hell!" Alastor chirped, his wide smile going soft. "Even if I had the option to go to Heaven, willingly, I would not, and my partner here feels the same way — we enjoy the chaos of Hell." Alastor paused. "But, if I'm not mistaken, it's not just an uprising against Heaven you are all worried about, is it?"
Lucifer pursed his lips, and Lilith's smile tightened, and the room seemed to rise in temperature just enough to become slightly uncomfortable. Alastor's arm tightened around Vincent's again.
"No," Lilith spoke, voice still holding that gentle tone. "It's not."
Lucifer huffed, crossing his arms, and glared at them both.
"Look, I-we, wanna make sure you two don't try to start a coup — Lilith and I would have no trouble dealing with you both, but Char Char doesn't need the trouble. If you two even think about trying to overthrow the Throne of Hell —"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Vincent spluttered, raising his hands, "The thought never crossed our minds, your Majesties, we swear! Right, Al?" Vincent looked at Alastor with wide eyes, hands shaking.
"Right indeed, love!" Alastor nodded, ears pinning back, looking warily at the Royals. "Absolutely, we have no designs on the Throne, or on Heaven. We promise you, Majesties, that we would never even attempt to start a coup. If we even try, feel free to strike us down!"
"Are you both willing to make a Deal to ensure that?" Lilith sipped her tea, unfazed. "I believe that would ease our worries."
Alastor hesitated, but when the threatening heat rose in temperature again, He nodded. "Yes, of course! If it will ease your fears, we will do this!" He nudged Vox with his bony elbow, and Vox nodded along, feeling his spine pop with how fast he nodded.
"Yes, I would be happy to, as well, Majesties!" Vox agreed; There was no way he would want to invite the wrath of the upper echelons of Hell, let alone the King and Queen themselves — he had heard horror stories of what the Queen alone was capable of when her family was threatened or hurt.
The next few minutes were a blur, but in the end, it was with a flash of their four signature colours, poison green, electric blue, holy gold, and lavender purple, that the Deal was finalized; even if Vincent had ever eventually wanted to take over Hell and Heaven, it would be impossible to ever happen in the future.
Once the deal was completed, the two couples relaxed, both having dealt with the tension between them.
"I hope to see you two in future gatherings, when invited," Lilith spoke, and even Lucifer looked much more relaxed at the idea of the two Sinner Overlords being in his presence again.
Vincent bowed, and Alastor did too at the same time.
"Of course, we would be honoured, genuinely; we had a great time tonight, despite the uh… brief intermission," the TV demon chuckled lightly.
Lilith nodded, a smile on her face. "I believe even some of those uppity Goetia wouldn't object to both your presences again, making them genuinely laugh is quite the feat, especially for a Sinner."
Alastor laughed. "Quite the feat indeed! They seem to be the stiff sort of birds, if you don't mind me saying so,"
Lucifer blurted out a laugh, then looked shocked at laughing, covering his mouth in shock.
"Well, now you must return," Lilith smiled at them brightly, "I've never seen Luci genuinely laugh at something a Sinner says!"
"Lils!" Lucifer yelped, blushing gold, and Vincent noticed Alastor looked charmed at the King's laugh, and couldn't help the twinge of possessiveness that tightened in his chest.
He didn't notice that Lilith had also seen Alastor's charmed look, and didn't notice Lucifer's gaze linger on them both with that blush not fading.
If he had, things in the future would have made more sense.
It was 2005, and Alastor and Vincent had been invited to many more balls and parties that the King and Queen (now Lu and Lil's t0 the two Overlords, respectively) had thrown. The Royal couple had become good friends with Vincent and Alastor over the past 7 years. It had been a pleasant surprise to Alastor that Lucifer was actually good company once he got over his instinctive hatred of Sinners — Alastor pointing out that the Devil's wife was, in fact, the first Sinner he had helped with that (after a few weeks of sulking and the King ignoring them). Lilith was also good company; her love of gossip and taste for music made her Majesty and the two media demons fast friends.
Even after 7 years, though, they had yet to meet the Princess of Hell in-person. Alastor wasn't surprised, and neither was Vincent. The Royal couple, especially Lucifer, were extremely protective of their daughter, no matter that she was a fully grown adult capable of caring for herself. From what little they had heard about Charlotte Morningstar, neither Overlord was very surprised at the protectiveness — Charlotte sounded breathtakingly sweet and naive to a point that was deadly in Hell.
It was a Friday night in Hell's version of Winter that Lilith and Lucifer brought up for them to meet Charlie for the first time. Alastor was cursing himself as he adjusted his waistcoat for the fifth time since they arrived, frustrated that his extra fluffy coat of fur had made his wardrobe fit him weirdly; he refused to get a new wardrobe just for Winter, no matter how many times Vincent tried to convince him — it was a waste of money, in Alastor's opinion ("You're not in the Great Depression anymore Al, you're rich now, remember?" Vincent tried to convince him every year. Alastor refused to admit that each Winter that passed was wearing him down).
"Is she home at the moment?" Alastor inquired, trying to ignore the tightness of his clothes and the way his fur was uncomfortably compressed in them, making the skin below it feel moderately painful.
"Yeah, she's visiting us for the Winter break before she goes back to University," Lucifer nodded, before frowning, peering closely at Alastor. "Are you ok, Al? You look uncomfortable," Lucifer asked, and Alastor grimaced.
Damn, he thought had hidden it well enough.
"Yes its just…Issues with what Winter does to my form," Alastor sighed, resisting the urge to itch his chest fluff.
Lucifer frowned, turning to Lilith, who was raising an eyebrow at Alastor's words, before she lowered it, nodding.
"You're growing a Winter fur coat?" Lucifer guessed, and Alastor nodded, grumbling.
"Yes, and it makes my clothes fit uncomfortably."
Vincent nodded, pointing at Al with a thumb.
"And this idiot refuses to buy a new wardrobe for Winter to use when his fur grows, all these years. I've tried to convince him, but he's more stubborn than Satan in a snit."
Lilith snorted at the comparison.
"Silly deer," the Queen laughed. "Why would you put yourself through that when you could afford hundreds of new wardrobes with plenty of money to spare?" Lucifer nodded, voicing his agreement.
Alastor pouted. It seems like everyone was against him on this! Betrayal!
"Fine, I'll go to the tailor tomorrow!" Alastor snapped petulantly, making the three others laugh.
"Mom? Dad?"
Vincent and Alastor scrambled to stand and bow as the Princess entered the room; no matter how long they had been friends with the King and Queen, they had never met the Princess, and social niceties must be adhered to.
"Oh, please don't bow!" Alastor rose with Vincent, and the two of them got their first look at the Princess of Hell outside of a portrait.
She was the spitting image of Lucifer, minus the King's height and lack of nose.
Charlotte looked at them with a bright, sparkling smile that screamed innocence and joy; that type of smile had never been seen by the two Overlords in Hell before, so it was a bit startling to see it on the face of what many Priests alive on earth would call the 'Antichrist'.
"It's an honour to meet you at last, Princess," Alastor reached out a hand for her to shake, only to let out a short bleat and a squal of static as he was pulled into a sudden, tight hug.
"Charlotte!" Came Lilith's exasperated voice, and Charlie was pulled off of Alastor, who was frozen still, not used to anyone other than Vincint just…hugging him, one of Hell's most feared demons.
"Sorry!" Charlie squeaked, looking at Alastor apologetically from her mother's hold, now a decent three feet away. "I'm just so excited to meet you two! I've heard so much about you two from Mom and Dad!"
"Hopefully all good things!" Vincent teased after he steadied Alastor, who resisted the urge to melt into his shadows.
Charlie nodded so hard with that sparkling smile that Alastor was certain her head would pop off like a doll.
"Of course!" Charlie assured them, and Lucifer grinned.
"She especially liked the story of the imp child playing Galaga on your screen, Vincent!" Lucifer smirked.
Vincent's screen glitched at that, and Alastor could see the blush tinting his screen once it settled back to show his face.
"Lu! You said you'd never tell anyone about that!" Vincent complained.
Lucifer looked confused. "Charlie's not anyone, though? She's Charlie!"
Vincent looked ready to protest more, but Lilith waved him off.
"Don't bother, Vincent — Lucifer is hopeless at keeping anything from Charlie — and vice versa."
"Why would I keep anything from Char-Char/Dad?" Both Lucifer and Charlie spoke at once, looking baffled.
Lilith looked at Alastor and Vincent pointedly.
"Point taken!" They corused, and the three of them shared a laugh, leaving the two other Morningstars to look on in confusion.
It was 2010, and Alastor was attempting to haggle with a shopkeeper in a newly opened shop in Pentagram city in his own territory, where they sold things retrieved from the living realm. Alastor had been trying to find a birthday gift for the Princess and Vincent (whose birthdays were remarkably close), and while he had found Vincent's (an old recording from when he was hosting 'Shark Week' back in his living days), Charlie's had proven more difficult, since as a Princess, she really had the money to buy whatever she wanted. However, this new shop and it's irratating shopkeeper were reluctant to part with the one thing that Alastor had paid specifically for the blasted imp to smuggle into Hell that he wanted to gift to Charlie for her birthday!
His mother's handwritten cookbook.
Alastor had noticed that Charlie had not inherited her parents' talent for cooking — mainly because she had never learned. Alastor wanted to teach her, as a gift, but he wanted Charlie to have something physical to hold on to, and he doubted that the darling girl would appreciate his own cookbook, which was filled with recipes that involved a more…lively meat. So, his mother's cookbook would be the only thing that would do — only it was on earth, and Alastor (so far) had no ability to get there, unless he was summoned, and even then, he was never able to get the chance to explore earth before the summoning ended, stuck in the summoning circle or with his summoner.
When he found out that a little shop had popped up, willing to smuggle things from the human realm, he knew he would be a frequent customer for as long as it stayed standing, and he was willing to invest in it to keep it that way.
"I commissioned you to get this book for you. I already paid you the full fee, and now you want me to pay extra?!" Alastor snarled at the imp, who trembled slightly, but stood his ground.
"Look, it was in one of those human museums — your old house had been converted into one, we had to break in, and we almost got caught, and one of the succubus had to seduce one of the human night guards to distract him so we could get out of there without causing an inter-realm incident! It's just a fee for the extra trouble!"
Alastor paused at that; His old house had made into a museum? Had they figured out he had been the Bayou Butcher, and made his house into a warning to others about his crimes? Had they dragged his good name through the mud? His mother's good name?
"Was it a museum to my crimes as a serial killer?" Alastor asked, truly curious.
The imp swallowed, looking at Alastor warily.
"Uhm, no, Mr. Radio Demon, sir. They er…apparently believed you died trying to stop the man who was your victim…who they posthumously charged with your crimes."
In the end, he gave the terrified shop-imp the money, plus some extra, walking out of the shop cackling, demons fleeing as soon as they caught sight of the madly laughing Radio Demon, certain that his cheer could mean nothing pleasant for anyone around.
It was January 2016, and Lucifer was ranting about some of the souls that had fallen to Hell, something about an orange politician that Lucifer would love to get his hands on when he inevitably fell to Hell? And how it was his fault that people like this guy existed.
"Lu, we've talked about this," Alastor sighed, standing up and stopping Lucifer's pacing, putting his hands on the King's shoulders. The King stared at him with wide eyes, a light golden flush on his face, probably from embarrassment. "You are not to blame for what humans choose to do with their free will, Vincent, Lilith, and I have been trying to get that into your thick skull for years now!"
"But if I hadn't given the Apple, none of you would be here! You wouldn't-"
Alastor sighed. He had been saving this for a very bad day, but…
"Charlie would not exist without your gift. Do you regret your daughter's existence, Lucifer?"
Lucifer stopped, face blanching, the words hitting home, and the little King let out a sharp wheeze, seemingly imagining what not giving the gift of Free Will to humanity would truly mean.
"I…No! Never!" Lucifer gasped, eyes going watery, and Alastor clicked his tongue, his heart hurting at the sign of his Kings distress. Pulling the fallen angel into a hug, he rocked them both gently.
"Then there you have it. Giving the Apple created more than just death, destruction, and pain. Humanity has done so much good, along with the bad. What side we chose to take with the choice of Free Will is no fault of yours — and saying you are responsible for our own choices goes against the whole idea of Free Will, doesn't it, mon ange?"
Lucifer sniffed and nuzzled into Alastor's shirt.
"…Yeah, I guess it does…Thank you, Al…You're a good friend."
"Of course, Lu."
A friend…yes.
The two of them never noticed Lilith in the shadows, watching them with a smirk.
Maybe if they had, the next 7 years wouldn't have been so painful for them all.