The Way We Once Were

Chapter 1: Nowhere Left To Run

PLEASE READ BEFORE CONTINUING:

This story will contain graphic imagery, mention's of suicide, self harm, etc. If a chapter has such themes I will post a TW at the top :)

There will be lewd scenes in this book. I do understand that this particular way of writing him is out of character canonically. I am in no way shape or form trying to invalidate the ARO/ACE spectrum, and hope to not invalidate or dismiss anyone's preferences. For all intensive purposes I am writing Alastor as Demisexual (remaining on the ARO/ACE spectrum to some degree) in this book. Any scenes with NSFW content will also have warnings.

All that being said, please enjoy~!

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The extermination was brutal.. They were always brutal- but this last purging left you with a different kind of scar—not just the physical laceration that ripped down your right shoulder. Evangeline, your cohort, your best friend—the only thing that made hell even closely bearable—was dead. 'Why didn't she just RUN like I told her?' Your mind reeled over and over; never once did it let you feel secure. As all of hell rampaged for territory, you found yourself panicking. Everywhere was dangerous. How had it always been so dangerous? And you never noticed—in the 90 years you'd been here, you'd never noticed. Perhaps you had—of course you had—but  grief had twisted your reality. It was only then, in the chaos, that you found yourself on the doorstep of the Hazbin Hotel. 'Where else was there to go?' You felt sick to your stomach at the very thought of returning to the territory you and Evangeline had claimed. 'Safety, the hotel had safety.' You shook your head in an attempt to convince yourself that what you were doing made some sense. Holding one of your dark-tipped claws up to the stained glass entrance doors of the hotel, you knocked. There was a distant, scurrying sound from behind the door before it swung open. In the doorway stood a tall she-demon, whom you instantly recognized as Charlie: Lucifer's daughter. Your eyes grew slightly wide, unsure if you should bow-? You ultimately chose not to.

"Hi! "

She chirped enthusiastically. You gave her an uncomfortable smile, not at all sure what to say.

"Are you wanting to check in?" Charlie asked excitedly, her eyes beaming in your direction.

"Yes- that's why I ca-"

Before you could finish your sentence, Charlie took you by the hand and began walking you into the hotel. Your body stiffened uncomfortably as she touched you; you recoiled—Charlie seeming unbeknownst to the action.

"Welcome to the Hazbin Hotel! You are going to LOVE it here," Charlie rasped, taking a deep breath. "This is the lobby, and this is the-'' You watched with mild amusement as the princess launched to and fro, explaining on and on about the smallest details of the hotel. "This is the bar-and the bartender-" Charlie gestured widely toward a cat like demon with large red wings. He glanced over to you with the barest acknowledgment before turning and lifting a bottle of booze to his muzzle. '' and thisss-" She shifted her gesture to a lanky spider-like demon who was sitting at the bar, whom you instantly recognized: '' is Angle Dust, another one of our other guests!" The aforementioned Angle Dust glanced you up and down.
"Ahh, so we've finally got anotha' body up in this lively place." He said sarcastically. Husker rolling his eyes. "What's your name, then, toots?" Charlie's whole body went stiff. " Ohmygosh-! I can't believe I didn't ask you that- I'm so so so sorry." You chuckled somewhat uneasily; the environment was completely different from any other you had experienced in hell, with Charlie's antics and all.

"Your fine, It's Y/n. "  You responded, your voice reserved but you offered a genuine smile. 

" Well Y/n- We- Oh!"
Your eyes drifted to where the princesses had trailed too, and saw a gray demon with long white hair and a piercing red X overlapping her right eye. Charlie trailed over to her, holding her hand.
"This is Vaggie, my girlfriend!"

You gave Vaggie a glance. The more people you encountered here, the more your guard began to go up. "Vaggie, this is Y/n; she's going to be our newest guest!" Vaggie's eyebrow raised, as if she were mildly suspicious of you.

"But I'm sure you're exhausted," Charlie said, turning towards you and ending the statement in exasperation. She was incredibly animated. "You'll have lots of time to meet everyone else, but for now-" Charlie put a key in her partner's hands. "Vaggie will take you to your room so you can settle, Be back down by seven! We'll be having an activity." Charlie flashed another incredibly warm smile at you, and you couldn't help but feel a wave of sympathy for her. 'She didn't belong down here.' Wordlessly, you followed Vaggie up the stairs towards one of the hotel's bedrooms. There was an apparent tension you felt coming from her, and you simply chose not to engage with whatever issue she had with you.

"This is your room." She put the black key in your hand. "Like Charlie said, there's an activity towards seven, but if you prefer to just settle, we'd understand." You were slightly surprised to hear that comment, and you nodded to her.

"Thank you; I'll see how I'm feeling."

Vaggie nodded, then walked down the corridor to go back downstairs.

Opening the door, a small room greeted you; it wasn't anything special: a double bed, vanity, closet, and wardrobe—the essentials. There was a lingering apple motif that you noticed in the hotel, and your room was no exception: apples being carved into the wooden bed frame and wardrobe. Letting out a sigh of trapped air, you less than gracefully fell into your bed, curling up on your side and letting yourself dissociate into nothingness, tears you couldn't even recognize as your own freely sliding down your face.

Knock

Knock

Knock

Blinking back to reality, you glanced over at your door, the knocking continued. Your brows pinched together in a mix of annoyance and intrigue; the knocking- it was familiar. A little tune from your time—you hadn't heard it in so long..? Lifting yourself off the bed, you slowly ran your hands over your face to collect yourself, brushing your hair back with them so that it would naturally re-part. You approached the door, took one more breath, and opened it.

In the doorway stood a tall, thin, and incredibly well dressed man-

No..no way. It couldn't be..

"Alastor?"