Alastor continued his walk down the streets of Pentagram City. Usually he went on walks daily but since the whole Volastor fiasco, he hadn't had much time to really do that. Between being stuck in a gem to doing his best to keep a lid on Vol's attitude, he had little time to himself.

Now that the tensions between them had more or less simmered down Alastor was finally given breathing room and found a sense of normalcy amongst the chaotic realm. This was probably the most normal thing he had done in a while and he wasn't going to lie, he had missed this. He had missed going out and being able to enjoy the cool breeze passing by.

Though he couldn't help but feel something was off about this. When he walked, he noticed the stares of several demons were on him.

Normally he would've brushed it off since on other days prior to this one, most demons froze up or straight up hid in trash bins, cowering behind whatever they could find just to avoid meeting his gaze.

Most of the time he didn't really mind this, but it did get old when you were trying to walk the streets only for every demon within a twenty mile radius to run for the hills. He got used to it, but it still bothered him to a degree.

But something was different, they were giving him rather...devious looks.

'Whatever,' He thought, he knew any sinner who genuinely tried to touch him would be in for a bad time. They could look as confident as they wanted but Alastor knew he was strong enough to ward most demons off of him and those stronger than him usually didn't walk the streets of Pentagram City at this time of day.

Still, he could feel their stares and knew what those looks of judgment were for. It was because that damn picture Niffty shared online.

Even if Niffty no longer had it on her account it had already spread across the Rings and Alastor was certain that it wouldn't be forgotten for a VERY long time. People probably had the damn thing downloaded onto their phones and he was lucky that Niffty hadn't uploaded a video of them instead.

In other words, his reputation was definitely going to be tainted for a while. Whether it'd fully recover was something he wasn't too certain of. Sure, demons still feared him but it was pretty obvious that the leaked photo was on the top of their minds every time they saw him on the streets.

Some demons even started to whine at him and were giving him suggestive looks. He knew those looks far too well and Alastor wanted nothing to do with what the other demons were imaging in their heads.

Obviously, Alastor decided his best choice of action was to flee the scene. He couldn't handle a walk with so many lecherous stares directed towards him and he wasn't taking his chances near these perverted freaks.

So he went to the only place he thought would shield him from the public's eye. Rosie's emporium wasn't too far away and considering they hadn't spoken to each other face to face in a while, he didn't see why he couldn't pay his old friend a visit.

Rosie sighed as she filled out some paperwork from her desk. She was purchasing another round of goods for her store and had locked herself away in her office to continue her affairs, only to become disturbed when a knock came from the door,"What do you want?"

"Lady Rosie, the Radio Demon is at the door," A maid informed.

She paused. She hadn't expected any visitors and she and Alastor hadn't spoken face to face since the party at Lucifer's mansion. She had heard he returned not too long ago but hadn't had the time to approach him due to how busy her work schedule was…

"Oh…" She regained her composure,"Well in that case, do let him in. It'd be rude to keep an old friend waiting…"

"As you wish, Lady Rosie…"

The maid quickly left and after a few moments, Alastor himself came through the office door with a jovial smile on his face,"Long time no see, Rosie? It's been quite a while hasn't it?"

"It has. You've been absent for quite some time, Al. I was beginning to wonder what happened to you. You had me worried you died for quite a while…"

"The doors to Double-Hell only swing one way," Alastor chuckled,"Believe me, if I was double-dead I wouldn't even be here talking to you."

"So what happened to you again?"

"It's a VERY long story…" Alastor admitted,"Are you certain you want to hear it? It's a rather long one…"

"I have time," She shrugged,"Besides, it's about time we caught up over a nice cup of tea…"

He sent her a look,"You know I don't like tea, Rosie…"

"Oh I know, I just like saying that…But do go on, I'd like to know what's been going on while you were away."

"Alright then, since you insist...It all started back at the party..."

"-And that's how it happened," Alastor said before sipping on his coffee.

"I see…" Rosie said, still staring at him cautiously. He had just explained the entire tale of what happened to him and Vox, the creation of Volastor and what happened after that point. He had done his best to condense the story enough to where Rosie could keep up while still leaving in the more important details."That's quite the tale, Alastor. I'm impressed you haven't broadcasted that along with your return…"

"To be fair, I didn't really have time for that," He admitted,"I probably would've broadcasted my return if we weren't in a war-zone. Besides, it wouldn't have been appropriate with Vox dying and all…"

"Oh…I remember hearing he died on the news," She said as a maid poured another cup of tea for her,"Honestly, I can't say I expected him to die like that."

"Nobody did…"

"Aw, you sound upset. What's wrong, Al? I thought you'd be happy that Vox was gone…"

"Earlier I would've. But things have changed since then. Not to mention it wasn't like I was the one who killed him, Valentino died. Besides, it did get rather lonely without him around. He was really the only person who actually made things entertaining for me and when he was gone, it kind of just sunk in that I had nobody to engage in a proper rivalry with. It was so lonely, even with the others around nobody could really fill in the gap he left."

"And now?"

"Well, I still feel somewhat empty on that front, but since Vincent's here, it makes me feel less empty…"

"Vincent?"

"He's Vox's reincarnation. I forgot to tell you about him but he's what was left of Vox's soul put into a holy vessel. Micheal attempted to revive Vox but since his demonic form was compromised, Micheal had to settle for giving Vox a body of his own. It was only supposed to give Vox a body but Micheal factory-reset him on accident, turning him into a shell of his former self."

"So does that mean Vox is still dead?"

"For the most part. Vincent's memories are gone. They're not even suppressed into his mind like we had hoped, they're just erased from existence…"

"Do you think someone would put Vox's memories into Vincent's?"

"Maybe an angel could, but considering how Micheal ended up erasing Vox's memories in the first place, I wouldn't take that chance. He means well but I know that he'll just make things worse trying to 'fix' Vincent's mind. Someone else would have to do it and given Micheal's banned from Heaven, I doubt anyone is going to be coming for aid…"

"He's banned? What for?"

"You remember how Lilith is pregnant right? Well the baby is his and it's coming fairly soon. I believe Heaven caught wind of this and the other Angels decided to banish him for the time being."

"Is it permanent?"

He tensed,"I wouldn't know. They didn't exactly come down and tell Micheal when he was allowed back in. They just stripped him of his ability to travel to Heaven naturally and trapped him in Hell. If I had to guess, they're trying to punish him for breaking the rules but this does seem a little much. Especially since they haven't given an exact duration for how long Micheal is going to be down here. They might not let him back in if they view the offense as something he can't come back from…"

"I mean, he hardly did anything that terrible. With how he's being punished you'd think he had murdered someone…"

"Angels tend to treat out of sex marriage and the over indulgence alcohol as punishable offenses, especially since Micheal is supposed to know better by design. Still, compared to other crimes, his track record is pretty clean compared to everyone else. If they don't accept him I'm not certain what he'd do from there. The only reason he isn't on the streets is because Lucifer is letting him crash at the Mansion, though I have the feeling he doesn't really want him there…"

"Well Lucifer has to want him there else he'd kick him out, Al…"

"That's probably more for practical reasons. Lucifer knows Micheal has nowhere to go and if he lets him loose, he'll probably end up wrecking something by accident. Micheal's too strong to be left to his own devices and if he's not watched he could easily destroy the entire sector with the flick of his wrist. Unlike everyone else, Lucifer is aware that Micheal is one of the few people who can actually hurt him and doesn't want to take any chances with him running wild. It's easier to keep an eye on your train wreck of a brother while he's in your house than he is out on the streets."

"So if Micheal isn't let back in after this, what do you think will happen?"

He shrugged his shoulders,"I'm not certain. My best guess is Lucifer tries to make Micheal useful to him somehow. Usually if Lucifer can't get rid of someone who is bothering him he just has them work under him. I doubt he'd be able to get Micheal to agree to be his lackey, but if he plays his cards right and if Micheal is that desperate, he could get him to rule Hell alongside him. Whether Micheal takes up that offer is up to him but depending on how bad things become. If Heaven still refuses to let him back inside,I wouldn't consider the possibility out of the question for him. At that point, he'd really have nothing left to lose and if I were in his position, I'd probably be considering it…"

"And what about you, Al? What do you plan on doing after this?"

"Hell if I know. The hotel is still being rebuilt last I checked, it's probably almost done but I wouldn't count on it being finished right this second. We're all just hanging around the Mansion for the time being. Perhaps once Charlie's little passion project is back we'll move back in. A lot of things got burned in the fire so we're being forced to start from scratch again. Thankfully nothing irreplaceable was lost, else it'd be upsetting…"

"You're still going back to that Hotel? Why? It's not like the Redemption thing is going to work…"

He shrugged his shoulders,"I know, but it's not like I have anything else better to do. I'm already invested in it and those people aren't constantly trying to run away from me like everyone else does."

"Fair enough. I suppose there are enough benefits around that would keep you invested despite the 'Redemption' being a bunch of nonsense. And Alastor? Is there something on your mind?"

"Why do you ask?"

"You look like you've been in deep concentration ever since this conversation started. Is something bothering you?"

"In a way. You know that photo of me that spread on social media not too long ago?"

"Oh yes, that one. I heard about it. I take it that Niffty didn't ask permission to post that did she?"

"Absolutely not…." He replied,"Believe me, I had to explain why what she did was wrong to her when she came back. And you're not going to believe the reason she did it, all because her stupid internet friends told her she'd get popular. Honestly I'm rather disappointed in her. I expected that out of someone like Velvet and her counterpart, not Niffty…"

"Never underestimate someone. She may look cute and innocent but we know better. She's still a denizen of Hell, no matter how passive she looks…"

He groaned,"Don't need to remind me twice. Worst part isn't even the picture, it's the effect that night had ..."

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean, Rosie! I lost my virginity to a clown girl and a reincarnation of my rival! Do you not see how that could change things!? And now everyone knows about it thanks to Niffty! My reputation is never going to fully recover from this and I doubt any denizen of Hell is going to look at me the same for quite a while."

"Al, don't be like that. I mean, sure, you're technically right but maybe it'll pass. They'll forget eventually…"

"They won't forget, Rosie. Things like this never die. By the time it passes I'll be double dead at that point…"

"That can't be the only thing on your mind though, I get the picture didn't paint a flattering picture of you but it seems something else is troubling you. Do you want to talk about it?"

"I guess…"

""Al, you know you don't have to…"

"I know. But I'd prefer talking about it with you than anyone else. I just feel that...things have changed between the three of us now that we slept with each other…"

"What do you mean?"

"Well Vanny's super casual about the entire thing, a bit too casual if you ask me and Vincent is...well Vincent…"

"What's that supposed to mean? Did he do something in particular that made you feel that way?"

"He called me pretty when he was drunk. For context, he was under the impression I was a woman the whole time, I think the drinks got this head and I was too out of it to really correct him on that note. When we were sober, I prepared to put the entire thing behind me until he so graciously informed me that I was still pretty to him."

"Aw, that's sweet of him, Al. I don't get what the problem is, it don't appear his feelings for you changed even when he realized you were actually a man."

"That's precisely the problem! I thought maybe he only had sex with me because he thought I was a girl and that the feelings vanish once he realized I wasn't, but it had the opposite effect. Now I fear that Vincent's attracted to me as a person!"

"And? What's the problem?"

"You know why that's a problem! I have no relationship experience and I doubt I can ever truly return the feelings Vincent would want. We weren't even supposed to have sex in the first place, it was an accident, a fluke!No things have gotten complicated and I don't know what to do. I don't want to get involved in that mushy stuff, especially since I'm not capable of 'loving' him or anyone else for that matter the way they'd want…"

"Who says you have to? I hear kids these days have something called 'Queer Platonic Relationships' and they're really popular for those who aren't as interested in the sexual/romantic parts of life. You can always establish that if you want…"

"I don't know what that means…"

"Neither do I. I think it's like a special sort of relationship that isn't romantic but can transcend the binds a 'normal' romantic relationship would have. You could always try that out with him if you don't want to reject him…"

"It's not like I don't like Vincent, he's a good friend but I'm just worried that he won't understand that…"

"You can always try talking to him. He's a grown man, he'll understand if you communicate with him. After all, I doubt he won't want to be your friend either way…."

"I know, it's just that I know he's interested in Vanny too and I wouldn't want to intrude on that…."

"Then include her in the circle. It's not uncommon to have more than one platonic partner and given how Vanny is, I doubt she'd reject it. I'm certain she likes you two enough to join in on the club…"

"Rosie, I'm still not certain about this…."

"Hey, you don't have to if you don't want to. It's your choice Al, I'm certain everyone will understand either way. As long as you're comfortable and happy I'm alright with what you do…"

"Thanks…" He replied,"I appreciate the advice. Honestly, I'd probably be lost without you. You're a lifesaver…"

She giggled,"What else are friends for,Al? After all, someone's got to stick with you thick and thin, because if not me, who else would you turn to?"

"I wouldn't know honestly…"

Rosie playfully patted Alastor on the back, giving her friend a wink,"Exactly...Now go out there and show the world whose boss…"

Alastor made his way out of Rosie's Emporium. Hoping to gather the courage to approach Vincent about the situation. He wasn't quite certain how to go about it and it was truly rare for him to struggle forming a coherent sentence but when it came to the subject of genuine feelings, Alastor was about as proficient as a struggling poet.

'Come on, Al...You can do this…' he thought to himself, still trying to gather his composure long enough to form a sentence. This uncharted territory and while Alastor was a bit uneasy, he was going to at least try and give this a shot, more so to bring some peace to mind if anything…

Still, as he was walking, he couldn't help but notice a pair of demons, one male and one female approaching. Alastor narrowed his eyes, they were following behind his trial a bit too closely for his liking. He tried to lose them but when it became obvious they were trailing him, he abruptly stopped in his tracks and turned around with a faux-affable,"May I help you? You two look as if you want something out of me…"

"You were just the person we were looking for!" The demon girl cooed,"You're that Radio Guy aren't ya?"

"Yes. What's it to you exactly? Because I assume that you and your boyfriend aren't loony fans, yes?"

"No not really," The male replied,"You see we heard about that little...controversy and we were just wondering if you were open to a threesome? It's been a while since we've had someone between us and me and my girl thought you'd be a perfect fit…"

Alastor stared at them in disbelief,"Absolutely not. I know the news has put the wrong idea into your heads but I'll have you know I was drunk when that happened. If I was sober then that would be a different story…"

"You don't have to be so stubborn. You sure we can't change your mind?"

"I'm very certain," Alastor said flatly,"Believe me, I have no interest in either of you. Besides, I have business to attend elsewhere and I'd appreciate it if you all backed off. You're wasting my time and I'd prefer if you two got out of my face…" Alastor prepared to sidestep them only to be caught off-guard when the girl grabbed his arm,"What are you-"

"You can't just leave! We're not leaving until we get what we want and you're coming with us either way!"

Alastor's eye twitched. He was prepared to murder the two of them with the flick of his wrist but was caught off guard when Vincent appeared before them, slapping the girl's arm away and baring his teeth,"Hasn't your mother told you to keep your hands to yourself, young lady? You're awfully handsy towards someone you don't even know…"

"Hey, what's your problem!?" The guy said,"We were just trying to have fun dammit!"

"Hm? Is that so? Because your definition of fun must be very distorted if it includes trying to touch another man's boyfriend…"

There was a noticeable pause, Alastor blinking in confusion,'Wait what? Boyfriend? Since when was that a thing? I don't remember agreeing to this…' Alastor looked ready to protest, but fell silent when Vincent sent him a look to be quiet

He narrowed his eyes,'Play along Al…'

In silent agreement, Alastor obeyed, falling back and allowing Vincent to take charge of the situation.

"Wait, he's your boyfriend?"

"I am," Vincent said,"Now if you don't mind, I suggest you and your girl turn around so we can act like this never happened…."

"And if we don't?"

Vincent then pulled out his spear, gritting his teeth,"Then you two won't like what happens afterwards. Do you know what I am? Because I'm not a denizen of this god awful pit, I'm an Exorcist and you know what Exorcists do to demons who stay out too long at Extermination. It may be past that date, but that doesn't mean I can't rack up another two alleys on the kill board. I doubt anyone would really miss you two…"

At long last, the message finally seemed to click. The moment they took a look at Vincent, they quickly realized they were out of their league.

Messing with the Radio Demon was one thing, but messing with an Exorcist who appeared to be his violently protective boyfriend was another can of worms entirely. Alastor in the very least couldn't kill a sinner without holy weaponry, but Vincent could and very easily might I add.

All it would take is one swing of his spear to end the life of anyone near him and the last thing you wanted was to be face to face with an angry Exorcist as it'd likely be the only thing you'd ever see from that point.

They quickly changed their tune, now cowering at the sight of Vincent's spear, the male demon shakily saying,"H-Hey now, there's no need to be so hostile, man…"

"Yeah, we didn't mean any harm…"
Vincent scoffed,"Uh-huh, sure you did. Now step away from Al and I or else I'll have to go through with my promise of killing you two. If you value your lives, you'll run away and never show yourselves around us again. Because if Al or I see you again, you're dead, you hear me?"

Within seconds, the other demons quickly ran for their lives, screaming in terror as their plan had been foiled.

Alastor blinked before slowly chuckling,"Looks like they won't be bothering us anytime soon…" He then looked at Vincent,"Can't say I imagined you'd step in for my rescue. Though I'll have you know I was more than capable of handling the issue myself…"

"Sure you could…"

"Vincent, I'm more than capable of defending myself from attackers. Those people are cannon fodder to me. Had you not intervened I would've solved the issue myself because nobody touches me like that and gets away with it…" He said, the static emitting from his voice."They got off lucky, had I been the one to deal with them they wouldn't have lived through that encounter…"

"Had a feeling you'd say that. Regardless, I still just wanted to be sure that you were safe…" He said,"By the way, what are you doing around this part of the city? I didn't take you to go out around these parts…"

"I got bored," He admitted,"I was kind of just wandering about, lost track of where I was and when I noticed you were getting harassed by those idiots something made me go head over and deescalate the situation."

"Fair enough. I can't say I blame you but I honestly am glad that I ran into you. I was just thinking about you earlier…"

"You were?"

"Yes. It's about your attraction to me…"

"Oh...Al, look I swear I don't just want sex out of you, I swear-"

"I'm aware of this. I know things got...intense between us but we both know that we weren't in our right minds while that was happening. Well at least for the most part given you still seem to have affection for me despite being sober…"

"Yeah, that never went away despite everything…" He rubbed the back of his neck,"I was just hoping that you wouldn't freak out at me feeling that way towards you. I know you wanted to pretend it didn't happen and I tried to as well but I couldn't…"

"Neither could I. My memory won't let me forget no matter how hard I try. I suppose trying to ignore the past doesn't work, but maybe trying to establish a future will change things…"

"Establish a future? What do you mean by that, Al?"

"Well I was thinking of entering a...wait what was it called again? Queerplatonic relationship?"

"You mean platonic?"

"Y-Yes. That's the word I'm looking for…" He mumbled, somewhat embarrassed he messed up the word in front of Vincent."I know you're probably not looking for that type of relationship, but I really do the best I can offer. What do you say?"

"I mean, do you want it?"

"I wouldn't mind. It depends on if you want to give it a try. Especially since I know you and Vanny have something going on, I wasn't certain how you'd react to this proposal…"

"Given how Vanny is, I bet she'd jump over the moon if we included her in this...Though do you want her involved?"

"It's fine. Vanny's a bit...immature for my standards but I suppose that cannot be helped given her age…."

"So...Partners?"

Alastor shook his hand,"Partners…" He then looked down,"Hey look at that! I think one of those freak's dropped their wallet!"

"Uh, Al? Are you certain we should take that? That is stealing…"

"Hardly matters," He said,"They're already long gone and it's not like they'll be coming back anytime soon. There's a large amount of money in here, we should use this to our advantage and-Hey!"

Vincent took the wallet from him,"I don't trust you with that amount of money, Al…"

"Oh come on! I managed my finances before! It's not like I'd waste it on anything stupid-Oh my god! Vincent, look! A store!"

"And?" He asked,"There are tons of stores in this pit, what's so special about this one?"

Alastor screamed, grabbing Vincent by the collar and shaking him around,"They're selling RADIOS! And they're on a discount! Do you not see how that's important!?"

"I really don't. What's the big idea? They're just Radios, why are they so important to you?"

Alastor sent him a look,"Did you seriously just ask me that? In case you haven't noticed Vincent, I'm the RADIO DEMON! It's in my name! You can't not expect me to get excited at the notion of getting Radios, especially while they're on sale! Come on, we have to go get them before those other demons get their grubby mitts on them!"

"Alastor, there is no way in Hell we're spending someone else's money on Radios of all things. That's the dumbest thing I can think of and-"

"Please…" He whined,"I want them so much…"

Vincent tensed, he really didn't want to go in there but Alastor was legit pulling on his sleeve and pulling the puppy dog eye gambit in an attempt to get him to change his mind and the worst part was that it was working previously.

He sighed,"Alright fine! We'll go in the stupid store…"

"Yay! I knew you'd turn it around, partner!" Alastor suddenly grabbed Vincent's sleeve and dragged him inside, the taller male momentarily blushing and screaming as he was forced into the building, Alastor ignoring his newfound partner's screams in the process.

By the time Vincent was out of the store, he and Alastor were carrying pretty much all the Radios they could carry on them, much to Vincent's chagrin as he struggled to walk with them in his hand. They had spent all that money in the wallet of fucking radios of all things and were struggling to carry them all due to the sheer amount of them and their weight.

"Ugh…" Vincent growled,"Al, tell me why we had to buy an entire shelf's worth of Radios again? This stuff is so heavy! I told you that we bought too much but you didn't listen to me!"

"Sense! There's no such thing as too many Radios!" Alastor chided,"Believe me, Vincent, these Radios have earned a very important place in my heart."

"Yeah yeah, I get it, but did you have to buy dozens of them?"

"Because the hotel burned down all my other Radios and I need to restart my collection!" He informed me,"I lost so much and I need to at least get back where I started! Especially since I need to name all of them!"

"Name them? They're literally Radios, Al…"

"They're more than that to me! They're my children! My babies! Which is why you and Vanny are going to help me name them once we get home…"

"Are you kidding me, Al?"

"Nope! Come on, turn that frown upside down, we've got a long day ahead of us and there's no time to lose…"

The angel didn't even bother responding, rolling his eyes,'Good lord, being his partner is going to be such a handful…'

Thanks for 12,164 views, tell me what you think below! Love to know what your thoughts on this chapter/story are as a whole.

Enigmus-288: Honestly no. Niffty legit only hears,'Don't let Al see my stuff, better hide it better.' She learnt absolutely fucking nothing.

TheColoristDemon: Thanks. Yeah that sounds about right not that I look into the song. Wasn't intentional but I can see why you thought that way.