So Soft (Radiodust Story)

Dancing Around the Truth

(Alastors POV)

This is tiring, and painful. I want to tell him, to talk to him like I do to Husker, but I can't. I can't let myself be that vulnerable. Who knows what would happen, to Angel, to Charlie, to the Hotel, it's just picking up. What about me?! My reputation, in the gutter, over some, feelings!?? Never. Never. I will not commit to this.
'You said that about having sex, and yet it happened, twice.' Stupid conscience.
"I was drunk the first time, and dying the second, I didn't have a choice.
'It was still fun though, nooo? Maybe this will be too...'
"No it won't be. Imagine," I cut myself off as I teleported to my room, already fed up with the days work. I can skip sleep and catch up some other time, "Imagine if I started dating Angel. It's nonsense, my reputation as an Overlord would be in ruins. Hells strongest with a hooker? God no. Never in my dreams."
'Oh, but yes in your dreams.'
"NO! No, no, that is final. I don't want to!"
'Yes you doooo.'
"No i-"
My ramble was interrupted by a paper being shoved under my door. I bent down and picked it up, curious.

Dear Alastor.
Meet me on the roof top tonight, please
Angel Dust xx
PS; Dress up nicely x

Oh. He wants me to meet him. He asked so nicely, how could I say no. It's just a formality. That's why I'll go. Just out of kindness, and formality. Simple as.

(Angel POV)

The table was set, tidy and proper, just the way Al would like it. I smiled to myself. This whole, proper thing, it's kinda fun. I can see why he does all the time, makes me feel proud.
I spun around in my dress, knee length and peach pink, proud of my work, my attire, my effort. I never put this much effort into anything. I hoped he would like it.

"Angel, wow. This place looks beautiful, you look stunning." I heard Alastor's voice behind me, and turned around, slightly flustered. He was gesturing to the rooftop around us, I had strung up some cute fairy lights in the spare time I had before he came. His smile to me seemed so genuine, I almost cried right there. He wasn't ignoring me.
"You came."
"Of course, how could I miss such an evening as this?" Alastor walked to me, and took my hand in his, giving it a slight kiss. I knew I blushed fiercely, but turned away from it with a a smirk, hopefully throwing him off. He pulled out the chair beside me, and I sat on it, as he pushed it in again. Then she sat in the one opposite, and smiled to me again. I was lost in his face for a moment.

"Uhh, Champange?" I asked.
"Yes please, but no shots afterwards this time, alright?" He winked to me and my heart almost stopped. It was good to hear him joke about it, glad that he's more comfortable with it now, at least with me. I popped the bottle and poured out our glasses.

(Alastor POV)

SHIT. SHIT. SHIT. ALASTOR STOP BEING SO SMOOTH, HE'S GONNA CATCH ON!!

(Angel POV)

"So," Alastor began," how have you been, with work and all. We haven't really talked since, well, you know." He looked at me awkwardly.
"Still can't bring yourself to say it, huh sugar?" I chucked at this, and he joined me. "I've been pretty good, Val stopped going so rough with work since you threatened to kill him gruesomely for a whole 5 minutes. His face when I came in was pretty funny. Otherwise it's just been the usual stuff, flirting with Husk,-" "You know he secretly likes that right? When you flirt with him?" "-He does?! That lying dick. Anyways, that's me. How's you been?
"I've been alright. Getting a lot of work done. Not having to miss an entire week or so has been helpful."
"How have you been since that night anyways? You kinda stopped talking to me after that..."
I saw him tense up, and could practically see the thoughts running through his head.
"I've been, okay. Just, trying to figure somethings out about myself, you know?" His eyes looked down, trying to avoid further questioning. So I left it there, and instead served dinner. After a bit of awkward silence, we started to fill it with casual banter, jokes about work, other demons, the shit that went down earlier that day. His laugh rang around the roof top and made me smile so hard I couldn't stop. Somehow the jokes turned to Vaggie's anger issues, and Charlie's over excitement, and then Niftys cleaning frenzy's, Huskers drinking, my work in general is a joke, but one I'm okay sharing with Al, and then-
"Hey, I've been wondering, how come you panic so much?"
"Pardon?" Just that question seemed to startle him, the table cloth felt the gentle wrath of his claws.
"Like, you keep panicking over shit. After we had sex the first time, when you thought Husk found out, even the first time you healed me, you seemed panicked over the fact I had woken up. Why?"
He bowed his head and placed his glass on the table.
"Being as, powerful, as I am, I can control almost anything, make people do my bidding, make shadows do my dirty work, call other beings to get rid of my distractions. I have such control over, well everything. Or almost. I first noticed it when my heats started getting worse, a few years back. I had no control, I was stuck in agony for a week, and there was nothing I could do about it. That realisation got worse after coming here, things like, you seeing me at a vulnerable point, Husk finding out a shameful secret, even having, it, at all, without my knowledge, I couldn't do anything about those things, such small things, and yet they were completely out of my control. It panics me. Makes me second guess, makes me weak. At least that's what I've convinced myself off."

A silence filled the air for a few moments.

"Wow. I'm so sorry. I had no idea, but it kinda makes sense. It doesn't make you weak though Al, it just makes you a bit more human, like the rest of us, and a bit less murder machine."
He chuckled at my words, and picked up his glass again, though his head was still down.
"Thank you for you kind words, my dear."
"No problem, Al."

The conversation picked up again after that, dinner and then dessert going down without a hitch. We were nearing the end of our Champagne, but Alastor filled it up again in a snap.
"You sure you want to get that drunk Al?"
"It's full of non alcoholic fruit punch this time dear, so no worries."
"Ahh, dang it." We laughed again, our voices harmonising.

"Hey, Alastor? Why did you start ignoring me again? You seemed fine the first few days after, it, but then you were gone. What did I do?"
You would have to be a fool to not see Al tense up, or hear the table being scratched, or the static that filled the air for just a second. Then he seemed to cave.

"Promise you won't tell?"
"Promise." I crossed my fingers on all my hands and showed him. He smiled at this.

"I realised, that I enjoyed your company. It started after you comforted me in my office that time, before you began disappearing into your work. Just that smile, those kind words, so easing. Then it was the movie, I sat beside you on purpose, and enjoyed your cuddling into me. The food, just another way of sharing a moment, the dancing, a true trip around the stars in my mind. It was so small, and yet it made me smile so. Husker pointed it out though, and I realised myself, and panicked. I couldn't be in-." He froze. "I couldn't feel that way about you, I couldn't let myself be vulnerable, someone could hurt you, or Charlie, or anyone here if I'm not at the top of my game. So like I did with Husker, I avoided you, in hopes something would change. It didn't though, and now here I am, pouring my heart out like a fool."

He looked up at me, and a look of surprise sprung across his face, but I knew it was because of the tears running down my cheeks.
"You care." I practically whispered it.
"What? Of course I care Angel, I-"
"After you began ignoring me again, I was sure that I did something, that you didn't really care about me anymore. I heard you say to Husk that you weren't sure what you were going to do about me. But it turns out you really care!" Tears were flowing like waterfalls but I didn't care how bad it made me look, I was lost in bliss.
"Oh Angel." Al got up and pulled me into an awkward hug, holding me tight until I had relaxed again. I heard a snap, then a song started playing that I didn't recognise, but he began whisking me around the roof top to it anyways, graceful and sure of his every move. He was completely in control and you could tell. He was whispering along, and winked at me before dipping me deep to the floor. I felt myself blush, as did he, before pulling me back up. I leant in to kiss him, but he put a finger up to stop it. Instead he planted just a soft kiss on my cheek, and linked my arm, magicking away the table and lights, then taking me down the elevator, mumbling something about a movie to himself. He looked up to me, and I just smiled, too busy lost in my own thoughts. Someone cared. Not just a little, but a lot. And out of the hundreds it could've have been, it just happened to be the biggest dick of them all.
Ironic.

***

This was a start, something small. No kisses, no make outs, let alone any sex, they barely acted out of their new normal around the hotel, but the little moments, a dance on the roof, a movie night in, an evening dinner and music, little things, vulnerable moments of peace in the eternal destructive chaos.

————————————————————————
THIS IS THE END OF THE MAIN STORY. I MIGHT ADD ON MORE, IDK YET. HOPE TOU ENJOYED :)