So Much In Common: Book 1

Chapter 18: Another Father/Son Discussion

"Father?" Alastor had walked up to his father, who was sitting on a bar stool while sipping a glass of what looked like whiskey.

"Yes, my son?" Furfur turned as his son sat next to him.

"Can I ask you for...relationship advice?" Furfur immediately started coughing from having whiskey go down the wrong pipe. Once his fit was over, he let his eyes rest on Alastor's face, which looked extremely uncomfortable, despite the smile he wore.

"I'm listening." Furfur felt uneasy. He never really thought he'd be having this conversation with his son.

"Well, I was wondering if it meant anything if your partner has surprising knowledge of caring for babies." Furfur did a spit take all over the bar, receiving a wide variety of curses form Husk.

"Well...son," The bigger deer glanced at his son, then back at his glass, "I don't know if this applies to gay relationships, but from my experience with your mother, it usually means that your partner wants children."

"What?!" A low hum of radio static sounded off around Alastor's head, matching the Radio Demon's now frantic thoughts.

"Now son, don't jump to conclusions." Furfur warned, but it was to late. Alastor disappeared in a loud snap of radio static.

"I don't think I've ever seen him look so scared." Husk said as he sipped his beer.

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"Angel?" Alastor knocked on the door of his lover's bedroom. It was late, and Alastor couldn't get what his father had said out of his mind. They still hadn't gotten to the point where they shared a room, but they did sleep in the same bed most nights, whether it be in the room of the deer or the spider.

"Just a minute." After a moment of shuffling around, the door opened, and there the spider stood. He wore a pink nightgown with lace on the sleeves.

"Can we discuss something?" Alastor shifted from one foot to another.

"Al, it's the middle of the night." Angel Dust yawned, stretching an arm above his head.

"You know I wouldn't bother you this late if it wasn't important." Angel looked at his boyfriend, seeing the pleading look in his eyes. The spider gave a defeated sigh before stepping aside.

"Alright, come on." Alastor came in and started rapidly tapping his foot.

"Al, what's goin' on?" Angel was rubbing his temples, unable to deal with the deer's maniac state.

"Angel, do you want children?" The spider doubled over like he had just received a punch to the gut.

"Wha-what gave you that idea?"

"Well, I was curious as to why you knew so much about taking care of babies, so I asked my father. He said it seemed like you wanted children." It hadn't been exactly what Furfur had said, but it was close enough.

"Uh...you see Alastor..." Angel couldn't lie to the deer, but he didn't know how to say it. Alastor did everything he could to make Angel happy, but this was something he couldn't do.

"You do, don't you?" Alastor was met with silence, which was all the confirmation he needed.

"Al, I've wanted a kid for so long." Angel sat on his bed, "I know I can't have one, so let's just drop it."

"Goodnight my dear." Alastor suddenly left the room, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Night Al..." Angel waited until Alastor was out of view, then closed the door.

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"I have to do this." Alastor said to himself as he stood outside a rather fancy house, "Oh, but I'll never hear the end of it if I do."

Alastor paced for a few moments, a few of his shadow puppets watching with slight amusement. The deer had been standing outside of this place for a solid five minutes. His nerve wavered a bit, but he managed to knock three times.

"For Angel." He whispered as the door opened, revealing an imp butler behind it.

"Good evening." The imp bowed, showing respect for his higher up.

"Where is your employer?" Alastor asked, his usual cunning and intelligent self masking his fear.

"Follow me sir, I'll take you to him." Alastor followed behind the butler. He had grown unaccustomed to being treated like powerful demon he was. Maybe being at the hotel was affecting him in more ways than he thought.

After a series of twist and turns through the giant manor, they finally arrived at a large set of double doors. The servant opened the doors and stepped out of the way for Alastor. The deer entered into a vast library, finding the demon he had come to see sitting in a leather chair, a plump novel in hand.

"I've been expecting you, Alastor~" The demon drew out the deer's name, making him internally grimace.

"Hello Stolas, I've come to make a deal."