Okay. So. Charlie had to admit, things got a liiiiiittle out of control.

"You two can take your pizza and shove it !" Angel Dust screamed from behind their barricade. "There's some things you just don't fuck with. It's, like, against the Pit itself for Christ's sake!"

"How about we all just calm down and talk about this," Charlie tried to reason.

"Yeah, right! And have you pizza nazis enforce your rule over us?!" Husk shouted. "As if! Fuck you!"

"You three are being spoilsports," Alastor complained. "There's nothing wrong with-"

"There's EVERYTHING wrong with it!" Vaggie yelled. "It's an abomination! I can't BELIEVE Charlie, of all demons, is actually involved with something that grotesque."

Charlie cringed. "I mean, it adds a sweetness to the pizza!"

"The best kind of sweetness!" Alastor agreed, twirling his cane about.

"BullSHIT!" Charlie ducked as someone threw a vase over the pile of furniture at her and Alastor. "Y'all can go ahead and suck my dick on this!"

"I bet his dick probably tastes better than that pizza!"

"...Okay, so, were ya tryin' to flatter me or what? 'Cause that comparison ain't right."

As Vaggie and Angel Dust started arguing, Charlie just sighed to herself. "Great. Tried to have a pizza night and I ruined it."

"Oh, ho! You didn't ruin it! Not at all!" Alastor thumbed over to the barricade. "They simply lack any good taste. Clearly those of us with high-class palates understand the truly exquisite taste of the pizza you ordered."

"Maybe…" Charlie rubbed her arm. "I was just trying to make a bonding activity! Board games and pizza, what could go wrong?"

"Now now, just because they're being pathetic doesn't mean we shouldn't still have some fun." Alastor balanced one of the pizzas on a finger. "This means we don't have to share our pizzas with each other and we can truly see who the real demon overlord is."

The flippant comment made Charlie chuckle, just a little. "Oh yeah. You're in real competition with a demon lord right here."

"Oh yes, I know."

Charlie couldn't tell if he was continuing the sarcastic back-and-forth or if he was being honest. Typical of Alastor. Shaking her head, she called out, "Last chance to join us!"

"We're havin' our OWN party over here! With blackjack! And hookers!"

"What hookers? All that's here are you two losers and me."

"There's at least one here!"

"You don't count, Angel."

"Oh! My! You've just hurt my poor sweet feelin's, you know that?"

Charlie chuckled. It sounded like the three of them were going to have their own little party. It was nice that Vaggie was getting along with them better. She'd been worried about that for a while now.

"Well then, shall we?" Alastor waved his cane in the direction of the lounge area of the hotel. Charlie took the invitation, walking in with him following behind her.

In the room Charlie had set up a variety of games. Board games, card games, sports games...everything that people would want to have fun with! It well and truly stunk that no one wanted to play with her.

Except Alastor. She looked over her shoulder at him as they made their way to the middle of the room. He was strangely nice for a demon lord. He'd only tried to take her soul once at the very beginning! And that attempt was half-hearted at best. No one would've fallen for that really bad attempt. He wasn't even trying to be sneaky!

"So then, my dear, what would you like to play first?" Alastor looked around at the options available. "Backgammon? Chess?"

Charlie thought for a moment. "What about Battleship?"

"Battleship?" Alastor made a face. "Pen and paper, correct?"

"Actually…" Charlie went over and dug it out. Holding it up with probably a little too much excitement, she exclaimed, "It's an electronic version!"

"...Hm." He walked over and sat down at the free table nearest Charlie. "It can't be worse than dealing with Vox and his inane technologies."

Charlie resisted squeeing in joy, instead walking over and setting the game up. "Okay! Here, I'll explain how to play."

"I know how to play. I just don't know how to use this... thing ." He waved at the board.

"Still, I'll explain."

It didn't take long to explain it. It was one of the simpler models.

"Time to play~" Charlie lilted.

"Indeed!" Alastor took his time deciding where his pieces went. Charlie tried to do that too, but she'd already known what she had wanted her configuration to be.

So she started watching Alastor.

His brow was furrowed in concentration. Bright eyes made his intelligence very well known. Teeth as sharp as his wit. Well-dressed with perfect manners and a rather fetching jawline. His voice was rather smooth, too.

...wait. Was she checking Alastor out?

Charlie shook her head. That was weird. Really weird. She wasn't attached to anyone - the closest thing she had was Vaggie, and they just slept together to keep the nightmares away and were super best friends forever. That didn't mean she got to oogle one of her...business partners? Was it appropriate to call him that?

"Are you ready?"

Charlie shook her head as she realized that Alastor had finally decided his pieces. She chuckled and airly said, "Yeah! Let's, let's get going."

"And start eating this delightful pizza!" Alastor added. He popped open his box with his microphone cane thing and took out a piece. A frown marred his face for a second as he looked at the pizza. "Even with it being one of the best places around they still didn't cut the pizza evenly."

"That's a-okay!" Charlie said, grabbing her own pizza box. She opened it and couldn't help but to also frown for a split-second.

It was completely crooked. Mangled, with cheese spread all over the place. No wonder Alastor was annoyed.

Trying to save the situation, she noted, "Well, at least we know that it's homemade and not store-bought!"

"I suppose that's a point." He took a bite of his piece and hummed. After swallowing, he said, "Fresh ingredients! That's a big plus."

"It's a wonder they can even find some of this stuff."

"Some demons make a living popping to the living realm and taking what they wish," Alastor unnecessarily explained.

"Ah." Charlie messed around with one of her pieces. "So…?"

"Ah! Yes! Our game!" Alastor waved at her. "You go ahead and go first, darling dearest."

Charlie swallowed. Why did that slightly condescending nickname make her heart jump?

"Right." Charlie thought hard, sticking her tongue out to help her. Finally she decided, "A4?"

"Miss!"

"I can't believe this." Charlie gaped at the board. " How ?"

"Strategy," Alastor said simply.

"You didn't miss me once and I didn't hit you once!" Charlie eyed him. "You're cheating."

"Perhaps. Or perhaps you're delightfully predictable?"

"Hmph." Charlie took a bit of her precious chocolate. At this point she was alternating the chocolate with the pizza. She couldn't go without her chocolate for too long, after all.

"Would you like to play again?" Alastor asked with a smug smile.

"...Yes. But!" Charlie tapped into as much of her power as she dared and let it burst through the room. As she thought, she could feel a presence over her shoulder. Tentacles that she didn't particularly like to think about rippled through her hair before settling back and away. She proudly declared, "There! Now we're on equal footing."

Alastor's eyes brightened slightly. "Ah! A brief glimpse of the dearest daughter of Hell. Tell me…" He leaned over, curiosity leaking off of every corner of his being. "Why don't you do that more often? You would earn so much more respect if you simply let yourself loose every once in a while."

"You do know about the void in the fourth district, right?" Charlie asked flatly.

"Hm?" Alastor thought for a moment before snapping his fingers. "Ah! Right! The trash compactor! Vaggie mentioned that once."

"Yeah…" She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I don't have...the best control…"

"Practice makes perfect!" Alastor noted, playing around with a piece on the board. "Speaking of that little demoness…" He looked up at her with what was attempted indifference but he couldn't hide the interest. "What, exactly, is your relationship with her?"

"Vaggie?" Charlie was baffled.

"Yes! Are you two lovers?"

Charlie made a face. "That's a bit prying."

"We're friends. Or, at least, friend ly . Isn't it natural to want to know more about the lives of your friends?"

"Well…" Charlie looked away, scratching the back of her head. "I mean, we have...sex...sometimes…" She suddenly realized how that must sound. Instantly she began to wave her hands defensively. "We aren't involved like that, though! We just get lonely." More quietly, she added, "And we keep each other safe."

"It seems more like you keep her safe."

"I mean, yeah, I help her out." Charlie defended, "She isn't an appendix to me. We're best friends. She helps me with my problems."

"Like when you run out of chocolate," Alastor supplied.

"Yeah, when I run out of chocolate."

"You know, you don't need to simply rely on one person. And would it really be that terrible if you let your tentacles loose every once in a while?" Alastor asked.

"Like anyone would want to see anything like that. Totaling the neighborhood? Bad idea," Charlie said.

"I would be rather keen to see more of you. I find you…" He seemed to reach around for the right word. " Fascinating ."

"Really?" Charlie was far too invested in Alastor's opinion. She tried shaking it off but couldn't quite manage it.

"Yes! Watching you on the television was rather fun. Everything I've seen afterwards simply draws me in more and more!" He grandly opened his arms wide. "You're a mystery! An enigma! How could I not be drawn to you?"

"You're drawn to me?"

"In the best way possible." Alastor spared a moment to eat what was probably the last of his pizza. "Mmmm...sweet and cheesy!"

Charlie couldn't help but to feel flattered. She didn't think she was that interesting. It was almost surreal, thinking that Alastor was that interested in her.

...Maybe…

A really, really bad idea formed in her head. Really bad. Like, Vaggie would throw a fit if she knew.

At the same time, she wouldn't know if she didn't try, right?

Charlie very deliberating picked up a bonbon. "We were going to play another game, right?"

"Yes we were." Alastor looked down at his pieces. "Now then, how shall I do this…?"

"However you want." Charlie made a show of licking the treat in her hand. She had seen her mother do it a bit with her father. Maybe she could pull it off too?

"Hm…" Alastor tapped his chin.

Charlie continued licking at the bonbon with all her might. It was starting to melt a little. Probably from the acid saliva. She had trouble with that sometimes.

"Are you all right, my dear?" Charlie met Alastor's concerned gaze.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine." She self-consciously looked at the partially melted bonbon before popping it in her mouth. Through the chocolate she murmured, "Just...savoring the taste!"

"Right…" He looked at her sideways before he resumed looking at the board.

Charlie sighed. Well. That was a bust. Clearly she was too amateur at molesting food to pull it off. At least, with chocolate.

She eyed the pizza. While the chocolate was a bust, it was hard to screw up sucking on things. Right? Right.

Charlie picked up a slice and specifically pulled off one of the pieces of pineapple that her friends hated so much. Then, she carefully put it in her mouth, making sure he was watching as she sucked on it. The juice dripped onto her lips. She licked it off as sensually as she could.

Alastor watched her, confused. He looked between her and the remains of his pizza before he, too, took a piece of pineapple off and sucked on it a little. He swallowed it even as she continued to play with her piece and again looked at her.

"I don't quite understand what you're doing," Alastor said even as she continued to play with her piece of pineapple. "If I didn't know any better, I would assume you're trying to flirt with me."

Charlie nearly facefaulted. The pineapple piece fell out of her mouth and landed on the game board. Trying to recover, she mumbled, "I, ah…" Swallowing, she admitted, "Maybe a little bit?"

"...Ha! Haha!" Alastor straightened up. "Again, you surprise me!"

That wasn't...quite the reaction she expected. Curiously, she asked, "Are you...interested…?"

"I've never been one for romantic interactions," he noted. His eyes half-lidded as he said, "However, I think I might make an exception for you."

"What? Really?" Charlie's heart soared more than it should've.

"Yes! You're positively captivating! And…" he chuckled. "I rather enjoyed seeing the glimpse of the real you. The one that you hide away from everyone. I want to see more . I want you, strangely. At least," he laughed now, "it's strange for me!"

"So…" Charlie toyed with the smushed piece of pineapple stuck to her board. "What do we do now?"

"I'm not sure," Alastor said. "I've never found myself in this situation, really."

"Neither have I." Charlie looked back up at him. "Let's...take it slow?"

"What, exactly, does that mean?" Alastor pressed. He seemed more than a little interested in the prospect.

"I, ah…" Charlie looked at his hand resting on the table and had an idea. She reached over and rested her hand on his. The electric feeling mixed with what she was sure was his blasphemous power washed over her. She said, "Let's try holding hands? Hugging? Stuff like that?"

"Yes, I suppose that would be a good starting point, my dear," Alastor said. He shifted his hand so now he was holding hers. After a moment he noted, "This is...rather nice."

"It is, isn't it?!" Charlie said more excitedly than she probably should've.

"Indeed! This is even better than that pineapple and soul pieces pizza!"

Charlie nodded, then paused. "Wait...what? Soul pieces?"

Before she could ask more, she was caught off-guard as she caught a strange sound from the doorway. Looking over, she nearly cringed as she realized that Vaggie, Angel Dust, and Dusk were all crowded at the doorway. Vaggie looked like she was about to have a heart attack, breathing heavily through her nose with a vein sticking out of her head, while Angel Dust was letting out muffled laughter and Dusk just looked disgusted.

" What did we just walk in on?!" Vaggie yelled. She shook her head as she stomped over to Charlie.

"You can't tell two...lovebirds…" Angel Dust burst into full-on laughter. "Oh my god! I can't keep a straight face! What kind of dumbass thing are you two doing? Hand holding? For real ?"

Vaggie grabbed Charlie by the arm and pulled her slightly away from everyone. She muttered quietly to Charlie, "Okay, so, what did he do? Did he get you to contract with him somehow? How did he trick you?"

"He didn't trick me," Charlie said, trying not to cringe. "We just...connect."

"...You're far too innocent for your own good." Vaggie rubbed her head. "This is going to blow up. It's gonna be a disaster. Alastor's gonna eat your soul, or blackmail you, or something ."

"I don't think so," Charlie said, glancing over at Alastor. He seemed to be stuck in a tit-for-tat with Angel Dust, likely over what they walked in on. "He seems pretty genuine on this."

" That's how they all are ." Vaggie waved her arms around. "They're demon lords for a reason . If they didn't know how to lie, they wouldn't be where they are now!"

"Vaggie." Charlie laid a hand on Vaggie's shoulder and squeezed. "Can you trust me on this? I think...I think it's going to lead to something good."

Vaggie stared for a moment before she slumped. "Okay then. If you want to take him on as a pet project, I can't really stop you. But!" She stuck a finger in Charlie's face. As always, a weapon magically appeared in her other hand. "The second he tries something, you let me know. I'll put him in his place."

Charlie laughed nervously. She knew Vaggie was being serious. To see her try to take on Alastor would be a nightmare. "Yeah. I'll, uh, let you know."

"Okay."

Vaggie and Charlie turned back to the others and paused. And stared.

Angel Dust was wrapped up in a bundle of tentacles that were swarming from various sigils in the air. He looked annoyed, though Charlie was certain that he was enjoying it. He always enjoyed that sort of thing.

Alastor was looking on, lips twitched into a strange grin. There was no mistaking the irritation. Clearly Angel Dust had talked trash enough to strike a nerve. Charlie was just glad that he hadn't smeared Angel Dust across the floor.

"Alastor!" Charlie tried to defuse the situation with an idea. "Why don't we try, ah, going on a date?"

"A date? What are you, teenagers?" Angel managed to grunt through the tentacles covering his face. Another tentacle fully wrapped around his head.

"That sounds like a splendid idea!" Alastor said. He promptly got up from his seat and, sparing a moment to kick Angel Dust in the side, he walked around the table to Charlie. "Well then, my dear, where were you thinking of going?"

Charlie's mind raced as she realized she hadn't thought that far ahead. Thinking on her parents again, she stumbled, "How about, uh, that one place? With the flaming trapeze act?"

"Ah! I know that place. I once had a bit of a political dispute there." Alastor held out his arm to her. "I realize they only take reservations, but I'm sure they can slip us in."

"Actually, I know the owner," Charlie said, more sure in her decision. Taking his arm, she said, "She'll fit us in no problem." She leaned in and whispered like it was a secret, "She's worked with my mom before."

"I see! Perfect!" Alastor snapped his fingers. Out of the corner of her eye, Charlie saw the tentacles vanish as they unceremoniously dropped Angel Dust on his face. A curious little smile was followed by, "Shall we?"

Charlie smiled right back as brightly as she could. "I think we shall!"