In her living life, Vanessa hadn't had much to complain about. She'd lived a safe, stable life with her family, unburdened by things like struggling to eat or simply live. Her parents afforded her the trinkets that were within their ability.
She had all the newest things her friends had, from the newest shoes to the best shirts.
Even then, she hadn't lived the cushy life of a high-class citizen. She still had to go to public schools, she still had people to deal with every day, and she still had her own things to struggle with.
Before she'd died, her biggest struggle had been asking out her crush.
After she died… well, things changed.
Two years. It had been two years since she'd died.
Two long years of suffering and agony. Foraging for scraps, avoiding the lechers, and trying not to get eaten alive or raped for the fiftieth time had forced her heart to harden. However, she supposed she couldn't say everything was bad.
"So, how painfully am I killing Val again?" A familiar deep rumble broke her thoughts right on cue, and Vanessa turned her purple eyes over to the source.
There, splayed out on the couch, was the form of a demon who had gained and maintained his role as the biggest contradiction in Hell's history.
Hell's deadliest Overlord. A demon of pure strength, with an affinity for Transformers and video games.
Hell knew him as The Wraith.
Vanessa was one of the privileged few to know his name.
"Well, Angel's sleeping on my couch instead of at the Hotel, what's that tell you?" Vanessa returned the question with one of her own, raising an unamused eyebrow at the man. "He made him pull another all-nighter."
"How bad is he this time?" The nine-foot behemoth asked, raising a questioning eyebrow even as he took a casual bite of the ice cream in his hand.
Vanessa found herself rolling her eyes as she recalled the injuries that Angel would share.
"His ass is shredded, literally, and he has bruises on his neck and hands. And that's just what he would tell me." Vanessa admitted as she slumped back in the surprisingly comfortable rocking chair, which didn't make a single sound as it began to casually rock back and forth. "I'm… I'm worried about him, John. Why won't you just put Val down for good?"
"Because not all of my souls are sickos," John answered with a small sigh as he sat the ice cream back down on the coffee table, before relaxing into the oversized couch as his eyes turned to face the TV that illuminated the dark room. "I kill Val for good, that might start a war we don't need." It was odd, how anyone could be so relaxed and yet sound so sympathetic. "Hell, you know that if I gotta call all my souls to war, that would include you too."
Right. Vanessa had forgotten about that unfortunate part of the arrangement. Still, it's not like he had any control over that aspect of his dealmaking. The power required set terms for the curse to take effect, and John had decided that if he would take anyone's soul, the only cost would be their loyalty.
Luckily, John was very good at proving that he deserved that loyalty, even if it could take a while.
No one is ever pleased or often willing to sell their souls. It's usually an option one turns to when they're spectacularly stupid or have hit rock bottom in the worst way. And selling to the Strength Overlord was no different in that aspect.
But when people did feel those urges, John was often the first they turned to.
Like all Overlords, John still often gave his souls responsibilities to bear, which not only depended on the demon but the job they were assigned.
For example, one might be assigned to run or work at a simple store. The worse ones, John did tend to treat them cruelly, giving them jobs of hard labor, and that usually amounted to nothing. Though, that wasn't to say it was necessarily undeserved.
And that said nothing of the ones who had really pissed John off.
Vanessa remembered the last time a sinner who just so happened to be bigger than she managed to catch her off-guard. Last she'd heard, John had him hauled off to the slaughter factory.
John was a cannibal after all, and he liked his food where he could get it.
That's what made him the biggest contradiction in Hell. Thirty-two percent of the souls John owned remained in control of their freedom and often told stories of a blunt but otherwise laid-back demon.
As opposed to those who provoked him directly. Those were met with an infernal engine of violence and sadism, powered by a mind that could access the darkest parts of its subconscious and enact its worst cruelties.
Biologically, he mostly resembled an everyday man. Well, depending on how one compares humans and demons.
An adult male, with a healthy amount of fat and a bulky muscle structure that still managed to make them pop. His facial structure wasn't even anything overtly scary. Sharp features, a pointed nose, and an angled jaw that was framed by messy black hair.
But… John was a demon, and that was still abundantly apparent. If one hadn't figured it out when he goes full demon, Vanessa wasn't sure what to tell them. Because that was about where the similarities ended in terms of humans.
Unlike humans, his skin was such a pale green color that one would be mistaken for thinking he was as gray as wet cement. Poking out at an angle flush with his face was a pair of horns that poked through the front of his hair. Every bite he stole from the ice cream also continued to expose the jagged, uneven teeth that somehow managed to shine a brilliant yellow and expose the sharp truth behind them.
But even more apparent were the countless gashes marring his skin. Thick, deep, looking as if chunks of his skin had been clawed away. Blood looked to be roaming freely, though that was contrasted by the long dried blood that surrounded the ever-fresh cut.
But those cuts served a purpose, and that was to expose John's deadliest weapon at his disposal.
Not even his strength could compare to the sheer versatility of John's blood, and the only reason he didn't use it often was because he preferred to indulge his vices where he felt appropriate. Hence, unless he's facing an army, all likelihood was that the Overlord would rip you apart with his bare hands.
And that's when he wasn't breaking out the eyes in full demon form, but Vanessa didn't feel like dwelling on that right now.
And then one compounds onto that his physical presence, because the Overlord was every bit as big as he was strong. Though there were plenty of demons taller than the behemoth, Vanessa was still sure to this day that she'd never met anyone with John's sheer bulk. Taller demons tended to be much lankier.
Still… John had been good to her for the time he owned her soul, and he'd been one of the few people to break her walls in a way few have ever managed. However, she supposed the only real help to that was knowing that they had shared a connection in their living lives in the form of John's younger siblings.
To the point that even though he could aggravate her with his gestures like ruffling her hair or tickling her, she'd come to begrudgingly appreciate the fact that John was even willing to be that older brother figure for her at all. His reputation painted many pictures, but a trusted confidant wasn't one of them in the slightest.
"But we keep doing this, John," Vanessa said with a sad shake of her head, letting her walls fade as she allowed herself to be vulnerable around one of the few demons who had earned the privilege. "Angel's trying to break himself, and I know you care enough not to want to see that."
"How come the Princess hasn't broken the deal already?" John asked without looking towards her, digging a claw under another and cleaning it out as he did so. The only indication to Vanessa that he was listening was the response alone, and the ever-so-subtle flick of his ear under his jet-black hair. "It's her Hotel she's staying at. That's what you said last time you guys were up here, right?"
"Yeah." Not that it mattered. Good intentions be damned, Charlie fucking Morningstar was far too useless for any actual good. She tried too hard to act like a Disney Princess, in Vanessa's opinion, and for all the good in her half-holy heart, she hadn't managed to do a meaningful bit of good at all.
It's the reason why she didn't really think the Hotel would actually work, though she'd never tell Angel that. Regardless of her own beliefs, Angel suffered enough in the succubus' opinion, and he deserved every bit of hope he could find.
"She doesn't know." Vanessa elaborated when John silently turned to her with a questioning glance after her continued silence. "Angel's too scared that she's going to get hurt."
"Really?" John sounded genuinely surprised about that, but it wasn't hard to see why. All trifles thrown aside, Charlotte Morningstar would always remain among the three most powerful demons in Hell, and there wasn't a single demon who could take that away from her.
Unfortunately, John also had the bad habit of giving the Princess far too much credit.
"John, she's a liability more than anything." Vanessa sighed, shaking her head in disappointment as her gaze drifted off to stare at nothing in particular. "I know you think a lot of Lucifer's daughter, but come on… what bit of good has she actually done?"
"If you had stumbled across Charlie instead of me, do you really think I'd 'technically' own your soul?" John spoke as if uttering the facts left a bad taste in his mouth, and despite her still frustrated mood, Vanessa let a small trickle of amusement escape her in the form of a chuckle.
"If Charlie had found me, she'd have lost me like a puppy."
John opened his mouth to respond before his heavy jaw clamped closed as he looked up in thought. After a moment, he gave a conceding nod.
"I'll give you that one. Poor girl can't hold onto a reputation for shit." John admitted with a small chuckle of his own as he turned his head back to the TV. "Still, I don't know what you want me to do for Angel. Outside of killing him, the best thing I can do is see if Val's willing to trade." He added, going back to the original topic as he gave a small shrug of his shoulders. "And that still depends on if he'd accept being under my ownership."
"I can bring him up tomorrow." Vanessa immediately offered, a hopeful smile quickly overtaking her face as she allowed her emotions to run free in a safe place. If John could get Angel out of Val's contract, she was sure the spider would accept on the spot. "Val will be satisfied for a bit, he always is with these all-night shoots. That should give him time to hear you out and actually decide."
"Hmm…" John gave a hum affirmation, assuring the succubus that he'd heard her as he tore his gaze away, his eyes drifting off in thought.
Vanessa continued to watch him, apprehension taking over as she began to fear John wouldn't accept. Old insecurities began to rear her head, a relic of a girl who had died long ago.
Those were reasonable requests, right? That wasn't too much to ask of him, he'd already done so much for her-
"You're doing it again." John's voice broke the incoming internal panic attack as he turned back to her, raising an eyebrow as he cracked a small grin. "I can hear your heart, remember?"
Oh, right.
"And to answer your question, yes, that works." John responded, causing Vanessa to try and fail to contain the urge to pump her fist in victory.
Still, she felt it was an acceptable sacrifice because it was time for Angel's respite from eternal suffering.
"And I'll even throw you a bone. If Angel accepts tomorrow, I'll throw in that vacation you've been needing, free of charge."
At that, Vanessa's eyes widened, and the girl behind the hardened exterior began to show herself a little.
"Really?" She didn't even try to stop the hope in her voice as she leaned over her armrest, looking at John with an eager gaze. She'd been going in to help at the library far more often than she'd have liked lately, and though she hadn't been intent on using her vacation time yet, she supposed now was no better time.
"Oh, and that doesn't take away from the vacation time you've already accumulated. If you want, you can go ahead and file the paperwork, and I'll tack that on to the reward."
Ah, right. John had always been big on that aspect, another thing that only added to the mystery around him.
"Good deeds get good rewards." Vanessa recalled those words with perfect accuracy, because John had upheld them from the moment he spoke them.
Despite his almost legendary cruelty, overshadowing that of even the Exorcists, he never wasted a thought when it came to rewarding a genuinely good deed performed by one of his souls.
"There you go," John said, visibly relaxing on the couch and allowing a far more amused smile to come over his face as the business aspect of their meeting died away. "Now, for the love of god, relax. You know you ain't got nothing to worry about so long as I'm here."
"I know." Vanessa admitted with a nod, allowing a small smile to cross her features as she found herself looking at her lap for a moment.
John had his boundaries, she'd learned that the hard way. Though she'd learned much about his life, it still felt like she didn't actually know him sometimes. There were times he'd surprise her, and she felt like she didn't truly know what made John tick.
Considering John knew her inside and out by this point, sometimes it annoyed the succubus.
But then she'd remember that John was her boss, technically her owner, and he'd still managed to earn her trust with time, patience, and a surprising amount of understanding that had no place in Hell.
"This might make you feel better. We put your last rapist in the Saw museum."
The dreaded Saw museum . With all the power and wealth he'd accumulated, it was no wonder that John had been able to afford all the different business ventures he'd entered into. Legitimately at that.
Though, it helps that he has plenty of advisors in loyal souls.
But one of the most terrifying places in Hell for a demon to end up was one of John's many museums.
They were all based on horror movies, and in Hell, the art was about what you'd expect. Outside of history and little tidbits that might interest hardcore horror fanatics, the only real clientele attracted to them were sadists looking to refine their work.
Each museum was another house of horror, with the greatest displays being reenactments of popular deaths throughout the franchises.
The Saw Museum was no different, but it was perhaps the most feared, if not just for the fact that your pain and suffering rely not on an outside employee… but on a finely set timer.
Which meant that the time it took a sinner to regenerate after one of the traps went off had an extra thirty minutes after they'd fully regenerated to realize that the painful process was about to repeat, with no one to possibly save them anyway.
Of course, not everyone was fond of museums, especially with how many there were and the fact that many demons have had a loved one thrown in them.
But anyone who tries to attack one usually ends up as or in a display by John's hands personally.
Upon hearing that her last rapist had once again been effortlessly tracked, Vanessa felt a sadistic grin of her own cross her face as she gave John an eager gaze.
In her living life, people would've thought she was insane with the look on her face.
"Which one?" She asked eagerly, bouncing in her seat, speaking as if she were asking for the details of the latest gossip she'd heard. "Was it the Rack? Oh, the Blender? The Reverse Beartrap?"
"New exhibit," John answered with a small chuckle as he twisted himself so that he was sitting upright on the couch, leaning forward as he lifted an arm towards the cabinet on his table. "Found out his sister had been tracking you for him. Made her my next trophy, and for all their twisted kicks, nothing hurts more than someone you really care about in a lot of pain."
"Oh, oh, what'd you do?" There might've been a time when Vanessa was too scared to even speak of her violations.
But just like murder, rape was unfortunately so regular in Hell that she'd lost count of how many times it had happened after her third month dead.
So she had no qualms in asking as if she were talking about a juicy high-school secret.
"Hooked him up in another Rack, even added a three-sectioned space in the back for his tail," John answered casually as he retrieved a familiar baggy from the desk, and unzipped it before pulling out a couple of blunts. "You plan on staying the night?"
"I'll text Angel so he can see when he wakes up," Vanessa answered as she went about doing just that, pulling her phone from the pocket of her jeans even as she eyed one of the blunts in John's hand. "Do you care if I take the big one?"
"Fuck no, the big one's how I get a good high without smoking all of it." John immediately refused, raising an eyebrow of amusement at the teenager. "Hell, you're lucky I even offer you any, let alone let you smoke."
"Yeah, yeah, still a teenager, blah, blah." Vanessa waved off the words with a good-natured grin as she finished typing her text and hit send, before slipping it back into her pocket as her free hand reached over and took the lit blunt from the behemoth.
He liked to tease her about her age, considering she was sixteen, but she knew the behemoth could give two shits about her age.
She was in Hell, and she was old enough to think for herself.
In her living life, Vanessa would've never allowed herself to so much as even humor the thought of smoking marijuana, let alone anything else.
But Angel had ended up getting her hooked on some of his LSD supply, and the cocaine gave a high unlike any other.
However, smoking weed was a different story. The high wasn't a thrilling, invigorating hallucination fueled by personal demons and biggest fantasies. Rather, it was a calm wave that flooded over her, and John was the only person she knew she could go to for a free supply if she just wanted to unwind instead of lose herself.
"Now, back to details. What'd you do to the sister?" Vanessa asked with an eager grin as she brought the large brown cylinder to her both, and took in a deep wonderful breath of the greatest weed in Hell.
"Tried out a custom idea, figured I'd see if it would fit with the aesthetic." John answered with a small smile, letting the usually hidden sadist show as an unusually happy gleam took over his blue hues.
He did pause, however, as Vanessa passed him the blunt after taking a second hit. Puff, puff, pass and all that.
He took a second to take a deep, heavy inhale of the substance, and his succubus guest felt a little bit of disappointment fill her when she saw a good portion of the brown covering quickly turn to ash as the behemoth managed to use most of the weed in one breath.
But she said nothing. Due to his large mass, John still needed to take a considerably larger intake before any substances would actually affect him. And he didn't really need to worry about anyone lacing his stuff with something he wasn't looking for.
His last dealer had made the mistake of lacing the supply for John with heroin.
That had been a year ago, and Vanessa was partly sure that the rat was still hanging on a wall in the Halloween Museum.
He pulled the stump away from his mouth, and Vanessa watched as his mouth clamped shut and his eyes went wide, as he focused on holding his breath and allowing the marijuana to settle in his lungs.
After a solid ten seconds, a habit John didn't seem to be in a hurry to break, a large plume of smoke was exhaled from his mouth, and Vanessa could already feel a secondhand high compounding onto the already developed original.
That was admittedly another reason why she liked smoking with John. There was something surprisingly addicting about the secondhand smoke the behemoth breathed out, mainly because it was usually large enough to take up half the room.
Smoking with John in a sealed room was the best hotboxing one could find, in Vanessa's humble opinion.
Once he had breathed all the substance out of his lungs, only then did he go back to speaking, though not without a slight cough as he offered what was left of the blunt back to Vanessa.
"Rigged up a machine." He once again returned to humoring his own sadism and the succubus' sick curiosity, grinning viciously as his arms began to raise in order to provide a visual aid of sorts. "See, his sister has wings. So I figured, why not remove them in the most painful way I can think of at the moment? Metal wire embedded through her wings into her shoulder blades."
"Rip them right off." Vanessa found herself shaking her head, an influenced mind beginning to conjure images of what she imagined the sister and the trap to look like. "But what about the timer? Wouldn't you have to scrape the wings off and reattach the wires?" She questioned curiously as she inhaled another puff of the blunt.
It sounded like a lot of work just for a two man exhibit. Didn't really fit John's style.
Of course, if the laugh he gave was any indication, there was far more to it.
"No. We ran a couple pieces of metal over the base bone in her wings, what are they called again?"
"Coracoid?" Vanessa answered with a small smirk, even as she struggled to hold in the vapor that hadn't escaped with the word.
"Yeah, that. Four on each wing. The wire's segmented, and there's a pulley system of sorts almost rigged up." John answered as he took what remained of the blunt from Vanessa's hands and inhaled the last little bit left in it, before tossing the remaining roach off into a random direction. "Once the wings rip off, she's got about thirty seconds with that pain before the broken bones get jammed into her back and the healing process starts."
"And then she's got thirty minutes to relax while she can once she's healed." Vanessa surmised with a small, pleased smile. "Good. Maybe the fucks will learn to pick their targets better."
"Maybe. Won't have any targets for a while though." John pointed out with a pleased grin of his own as he reached back towards the table and lifted another blunt to his mouth. "You hear about that Angelic Security bullshit Vox is trying to put out?"
"It is Vox." Vanessa pointed out with a small shrug, slumping into the rocking chair and enjoying the comfort of the silky cushions as she looked at John with a raised eyebrow. "You knew he was gonna capitalize on this new Extermination shit."
"Well, duh." John responded, his amusement escaping in the form of an eye roll as he shot Vanessa a small smirk. "But what do you make of it?" He asked, before flicking a crimson flame into existence on the tip of his finger and igniting the blunt.
"Another bogus product that's probably just spyware." Vanessa answered with a small shrug. "I mean, come on, the only thing in Hell that can kill the Exorcists is you." She added with a cheeky grin as she took the offered blunt from John's hands once more.
"Not anymore, apparently." John answered with a small shake of his head. His words caused Vanessa to perk up, and she frowned as she patiently awaited an elaboration. "Someone managed to kill an Exorcist during the last Extermination, and now I got Lucifer breathing down my neck."
Oh, that didn't sound good. It took a lot to earn the head honcho's attention, and it wasn't often a good thing when it was gained.
"Do you know who it was?" Vanessa asked as she brought the blunt to her mouth, and she could feel John's disappointment when he shook his head.
"No idea," John answered as Vanessa inhaled. "Only reason Lucifer knows it wasn't me was because it was a blade that did it." He let a frustrated sigh escape him as he shook his head in frustration. "But since I'm the one who made the deal with Heaven, he's made it my job to figure out who the hell did it."
"Shouldn't that be his job though?" While she hadn't met the man herself, Lucifer Morningstar had to at least be capable, right? Why else would he be the king of Hell?
But rather than an affirming nod, John let a scoff escape him, rolling his eyes in annoyance as a small, humorless chuckle escaped him.
"The man hasn't been able to tear his head from his ass in thousands of years. Why the hell do you think the Princess is trying to run that Hotel without his support?" The behemoth pointed out. When Vanessa went to offer the blunt back to him, he raised a hand of refusal. "No thanks, I feel good enough as it is." He allowed a blissful smile to overtake him as he relaxed into the couch.
Vanessa let a shrug escape her. More for her, she supposed.
Then again, John's high would last for a while. So she supposed it was no big loss.
"What do you think about the Radio Demon being back in town?" Vanessa found herself asking out of curiosity and a simple drive for conversation. However, she imagined that John hadn't been too pleased, what with the power outage that had accompanied the musical dual between Vox and Alastor.
"Don't know him, don't care to either," John answered bluntly, shrugging his shoulders as he let his eyes come to refocus on the TV. "I'm with Vox on that one, son of a bitch should've stayed gone. Might have to make that a reality."
"You can kill Alastor but not Val?" Vanessa couldn't help but question his hypocrisy, and a hint of annoyance popped up considering the reason she'd even come to John's penthouse in the first place.
John simply shrugged. "Vox has some good tech, and Velvette's a damn good fuck. I kill Val, I lose both." Ah, so there was some personal gain involved. That made a bit more sense.
Unfortunately, it also meant that it was pointless to question further. If John had his own reasons for keeping Val alive, then Vanessa knew better than most not to question them.
He gave them all freedom, but he could take it away just as easily.
There were still some lines Vanessa was too afraid to cross with the behemoth.
Still, Vanessa couldn't help the amused eye-roll that escaped her at his response.
"Of course Velvette 's part of the reason." Vanessa teased and was rewarded with a small shrug and a shameless smile in response as she took another hit of the whittling blunt. "You just don't want to lose another hole."
"What was that?" Suddenly, John's expression was blank, and he affixed Vanessa a stare that admittedly made her heart begin to beat a little faster in spite of her intoxicated state.
It was a stare Vanessa recognized.
A warning.
She'd touched a nerve.
"Sorry, sorry." Vanessa quickly apologized, raising her hands in surrender, and hoping she'd succeeded in placating the behemoth. "I was just trying to make a joke, I didn't mean to overstep."
John continued to stare blankly for a moment, and Vanessa was beginning to wonder if it was a good idea to head home despite her hindered reaction speed at the moment.
But finally, to the succubus' great relief, John let a sigh escape him and shook his head.
"It's fine. I gotta get over her anyway." He spoke with a heavy sigh as he turned to stare off in a random direction.
Silence befell the two of them, and Vanessa was in no hurry to break that silence for fear of accidentally overstepping again. Of course, the chances of that happening were slim to none… but Vanessa took no chances when she could afford to.
The silence remained, and Vanessa found herself feeling anxious. When John was quiet among the company, it usually meant he was lost in his thoughts. Of course, considering she'd just angered him, she couldn't help the lingering fear in the back of her mind.
She found it would likely be in her best interest to simply remain quiet herself, leaving the silence uninterrupted as she finished the second blunt by herself.
Midway through, though, she heaved a sigh of relief when John glanced towards her and casually spoke up once more.
"Speaking of the Radio Demon while it's on my mind, you hear about him going to that Hotel too?"
That question succeeded in catching Vanessa's attention. It also had the unfortunate effect of surprising her mid-huff, and her lungs burned like fire was inside as she found herself coughing and hacking her surprise out.
"D-Dammit! Don't surprise me like that!" Vanessa immediately tried to save face by shooting the behemoth a nasty glare, and her original fear was lost that quickly as the behemoth let a chuckle escape past his lips.
"Not my fault. You were the one taking a puff." John teased in response, chuckling as he turned his attention back to the TV. Still, he continued to address her without a second thought. "Still, what do you think of it?"
"I thought it was hilarious that Angel didn't even know who Alastor was until he popped up at the Hotel."
Her words had the desirable effect of earning a loud, boisterous laugh of genuine amusement as John threw his head back and erupted into the giggle fit with a smile on his face.
John's laugh was always so infectious, and even if one didn't actually laugh, they were probably smiling at the very least.
Vanessa knew she was.
"Really?" John asked, turning to Vanessa with a look that conveyed his struggle to restrain his laughter. At least long enough to ask the question somewhat clearly. "A-Angel didn't know?!" Once he spoke it aloud for himself, he fell right back into the cycle of amusement.
Which was fair. Angel was far older than both of them, so the fact that he still didn't know who Alastor was after all this time was admittedly rather hilarious.
"He didn't even know the words 'Radio Demon'. It was fucking hilarious when he told me." Vanessa admitted, allowing some giggles to slip free as her addled mind began to lose itself to the addiction.
"I'd imagine," John replied with one final breathless laugh, before shaking his head to calm himself a little more. Despite that, his lips were still struggling to stop smiling in the slightest. "Still, that doesn't answer the original question. What do you think of it?"
"I think it proves my point about the Princess," Vanessa admitted bluntly, her smile fading in place of a frown as her hand began to unconsciously wave the small remaining piece of leaves tucked between her fingers. "I mean, come on, he's been gone since before either of us died, and his reputation is almost as scary as yours. And all a sudden, he's at that Hotel?"
"Glad I wasn't alone in that regard." As much credit as he gave the Princess, he didn't hesitate to make his opinion known to anyone when she made what he felt was a truly stupid decision. "I appreciate what she's doing and all, but you've gotta be downright stupid to invite the Radio Demon to a redemption clinic."
"This is the same girl who will prance and dance around the streets singing a musical while the world burns around her." Vanessa pointed out, raising an eyebrow and offering an amused smile to the behemoth as images of the Princess' last outing crossed her mind.
Something John seemed to agree with.
"Fair enough." John offered a nod of agreement with the words, before glancing at Vanessa with a look of curiosity. "What's Angel actually think of it?"
"Alastor's is, and I quote, nothing more than a strawberry pimp. " Vanessa repeated Angel's words exactly for John to hear, and as expected, it once again made the goliath roll with laughter.
In fact, his body shuddered so hard that the usually sturdy couch vibrated and shifted with a harsh screech.
Not that it was anything new. The tears in the carpet around where the legs of the couch rest would tell you that much.
"A strawberry pimp?" John asked once he came down from his laughter, and he shot Vanessa an incredulous smile as he spoke the words. "I ain't even met him personally, and even I know he's as ace as ace can get."
"Angel has spent seven decades in Hell and still didn't know who he was. What's that tell you?" Vanessa asked, raising an eyebrow at their absent friend's expense, which earned another laugh.
"Again, fair enough." His response was short and sweet, following the laugh as he decided to turn his attention back to the TV. "It's getting late, and I'll probably hit the sack soon after the movie's over."
"What are you watching this time?" Vanessa asked, tossing the remaining roach of the blunt off to the side as John had earlier as she stood to her feet. Her eyes found the TV as she made her way over to John's couch, and the behemoth was nice enough to scoot over and offer her enough room to sit comfortably.
When she saw the movie, she couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"Spongebob? In Hell?"
"There is nothing wrong with a little Spongebob."
"And you aren't worried about your reputation if people knew?"
At that, John let another small chuckle escape before his eyes drifted down to the succubus with a tinge of amusement.
"I have five museums off the top of my head where the main exhibits are either torture or murder. Oh, and I'm the one sinner in Hell who can kill anything with his bare hands. You really give a fuck if someone sees me watching cartoons?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
After a few moments, Vanessa gave in and offered a nod of agreement. John had climbed his way to power, and he was feared for a reason.
The show was interrupted, however, by the sound of an alert coming from the TV. Accompanying that was the familiar sound of John's ringtone, as his phone began crying out for attention to the call.
John didn't even try to reach for it, as the caller's I.D. was displayed on the television.
A soft, happy smile took over John's face when he read the name Nea on the TV.
"Display on TV." John spoke aloud, and only a few seconds later, Spongebob was replaced by a live video call.
However, rather than a certain blue shark, a child was staring back at them with a massive smile.
A child that looked eerily similar to the behemoth sitting next to her… except for the sky blue hair color.
Vanessa had been lucky enough to learn about John's young son only six months into their bargain. He remained a careful secret, and due to John's image being just as common as any other Overlord's, the safest thing for them to do was to keep him out of the public eye.
Very few knew about the child. Outside of herself, the only people Vanessa knew were aware of the child were Carmilla, Velvette, Vox, and Zeezi.
Of course, Vox only knew because Velvette did, and the fiery doll had a fixation on the child's joy that Vanessa hadn't seen in years. If it weren't for her, Vanessa doubted John would trust the TV Demon with the knowledge of his only child.
"Hi, Dad!" The boy immediately greeted, waving his hand eagerly. John gave a lighthearted chuckle and raised his own hand, offering a much more composed wave as he offered a smile to his caller.
"Hey, Leo." The behemoth returned the greeting, and he offered a small grin as he took in Leo's outfit. "Getting ready for bed?"
"Yep! Mom's taking me for tutoring tomorrow." Leo recounted what he'd been told as if he were regaling them with a thrilling tale of adventure. "She says I have to get in the habit of going to bed early." A small frown replaced his gleeful smile, one which made Vanessa giggle.
Of course, he wouldn't sound happy about that.
"Hate to say I'm with your mom on this one," John replied with a chuckle, earning a groan of disappointment from his son as the behemoth raised a questioning eyebrow. "Speaking of, does she know you're talking to me right now?" He asked.
His question was answered, not with words, but with Leo freezing up at the question, his eyes going wide as if he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
Though, the boy remained silent. After a few seconds, John offered a knowing grin to his child.
"Leo…"
"I want to talk to you!" Leo immediately objected, crossing his arms with a pout as John found himself being forced to retrieve his phone. "I didn't get to talk to you today, and I don't come over until next month."
"I know that," John assured with a small smile as he pulled up his contacts on his phone, and clicked on one that had a picture of a stark naked shark demon smiling at the camera. "But you can't go behind her back like this, little buddy."
"But…" It was almost heartbreaking, how quickly his lip began quivering as it became apparent that he likely wasn't going to get his way. "I didn't get to talk to you today…"
"That's life, unfortunately," John said with a sigh, choosing to give his son a hard lesson as punishment for his small transgression.
Though considering where the boy was born and raised, Vanessa couldn't say it wasn't unnecessary.
"There will be days where you're at your mom's and you won't get to talk to me, and vice versa," John explained with a sympathetic gaze as he sent the text to Nea, letting her know of Leo's current activities before slipping his phone back into his pocket as he affixed the child with a stern look. "I love talking to you, Leo, but I mean it when I say I better not get another call behind your mom's back."
"Okay…" Leo's voice was soft and quiet, the tone of an already thoroughly scolded child accompanying the demeanor of a kicked puppy as the child tucked his arms into his lap.
After a moment, John relented on his admonishment and offered a small smile to the child.
"It's still nice to talk to you, Leo," John assured, causing the boy to perk up with a happier smile on his face. "I love you bud. Don't ever think any different."
Leo allowed his smile to spread to the rest of his face, and he nodded eagerly in response.
"I love you too, Dad."
it was then that he noticed and finally paid some attention to their third party.
"Hi, Nessa!"
"Hey, Leo!" Vanessa greeted with a giggle, trying to hide her intoxicated state for the moment as she offered the child a bright grin. "Sneaking behind Nea, huh? Didn't think you had it in you."
Anyone else would've been terrified to spot a hand the size of John's suddenly coming towards them.
Vanessa wasn't anyone else.
"Don't encourage that shit," John spoke with a small smile that was dripping with thinly-veiled amusement as he gave a playful smack to her arm. "Hard enough raising him in Hell." He joked as the sound of a door opening on the other side of the call rang out.
"Did you sign into my Sinstagram again?" The familiar voice of Nea followed as both occupants of the couch turned their gazes back to the screen.
Leo had immediately twisted around to face his mother, while Vanessa admittedly had to hide the blush trying to fight its way onto her face.
As a long-time nudist, Nea had gotten so comfortable rocking it nude that she didn't feel the slightest bit of shame walking into her son's bedroom with a stern look on her face, an eyebrow raised to her hairline.
Vanessa admittedly found it difficult to focus on the woman's face, considering her bare breasts and luscious hips were bouncing and swaying with every step.
Unlike herself, though, John didn't spare a second glance. Nea was gorgeous, no doubt, but she was also the mother of his child. Though he admired her looks, in the end, what she did or didn't wear was of no consequence to him.
"I wanted to talk to Dad…" Leo admitted to his wrongdoing by explaining his reasoning, as his gaze fell to his lap. Too ashamed to look his mother in the eye, he instead chose to await her response.
"Leo, it's eleven PM. You were supposed to be in bed an hour ago." Nea replied with a frustrated sigh as she brought a hand up to massage her temple, before turning back to the screen with an apologetic look. "Sorry, I didn't think he'd do something sneaky like this."
"It's fine," John assured with a small smile, reassuring the shark as the woman let a relieved smile escape her, before allowing his expression to turn much more stern as his eyes focused on Leo. "Leo, bed. We can talk sometime tomorrow, alright?"
Despite being miles away and speaking over a video call, Leo nodded his head and obeyed without question, though not before leaving one last word for his father.
"I love you, Dad."
John offered a small smile, and he tried not to let too much pride show in his expression.
"Love you too, Leo."
With that, Leo hopped up off the seat and immediately walked over to the bed. Vanessa watched as he climbed onto the mattress and situated himself under the covers… before her head turned away on instinct as Nea took a seat at the desk.
Something the shark took notice of, if the amusement in her tone when she spoke again was any indication.
"Vanessa… come on, you've seen me plenty of times."
There was a teasing tone in her voice, and it made it a little difficult to hide the ever-growing blush on the succubus' face.
"It makes me feel like a pervert." Vanessa replied, mumbling the words more than speaking them. Nonetheless, it earned her a chuckle from the older woman, as well as an extra one from John.
"You can go in and look at all my exhibits without a second thought, but looking at a pair of big, juicy tits is what makes you squeamish?" John teased, and Vanessa immediately snapped her gaze back to him in a fierce glare.
He knew exactly what he was doing when he said juicy.
"Stop it, flatterer." Nea joked with a small grin before Vanessa could get a word out, and the succubus finally opted to hesitantly bring her gaze back towards the TV.
It's not like Nea was a bad woman… but Vanessa hated feeling like one of the scumbags who regularly manage to have their way with her, and that wasn't made easier with the realization of her bi-sexual orientation.
So staring at a gorgeous, nude woman who just so happened to be an ex of her boss was definitely sexual enough to make her feel a little nervous.
"Relax, we're just teasing you." A large, heavy hand came to rest on her back, and a reassuring squeeze was offered as Vanessa once again found herself looking back up at John.
He offered a similarly assuring smile to go with the squeeze, and Vanessa let a small smile escape her as she felt herself relax once again.
With the nervousness fading rapidly, it was once again becoming easier to enjoy her recreational treat.
"Anyway, I'll talk to you tomorrow, John." It was clear Nea was ready for bed herself, and considering her constant state of undress, Vanessa was only now beginning to wonder if John's text had awoken her from her own slumber. "If you're busy, call back before bed, yeah?"
"No problem, Nea," John assured me with another soft smile. That was a smile reserved only for his closest friends, and Vanessa felt lucky that she got to see that smile too. "Get some sleep, didn't mean to wake you up. I'll talk to both of you tomorrow."
"If Leo isn't in bed by then, that is."
"Fair enough."
Nea offered a surprisingly tender smile, and her own serrated teeth didn't take away from the kindness in it in the slightest.
"Take care of yourself, alright?" Her words carried the weight of someone who still cared a great deal. "I know we aren't together anymore… but I don't want to see you hurt yourself."
Even Vanessa knew that the chances of that happening were slim to none, but she refused to comment on it as John let a warm chuckle escape his throat.
"And you know I still love you, tooth and nail." John assured as his expression changed to a more forlorn one. He almost looked genuinely sad, and Vanessa could understand it.
From what she'd had the privilege to hear from both, John and Nea were happy during their short two months together, but they'd ended up calling it off for reasons still unknown to everyone else.
Seeing them right now, Vanessa was curious as to what unholy power could cause such loyal demons to separate, especially considering how much affection they offered each other with their eyes alone.
"Bye, John. Be careful."
"You too, Nea," John says with a small smile. "Go to bed, get some sleep, alright?"
"Alright. Love you. Good night."
And that was the end of the call, as the video feed disappeared and the sounds of a little yellow sponge once again returned to the room.
"Well, I've lost my appetite for Spongebob," John said as he leaned forward, pushing himself up off the couch with a grunt. Vanessa felt the cushions sink as he pushed against them before they quickly reformed back to their normal shapes as the behemoth rolled his neck. "All yours, just don't stay up too late."
"Do you care if I keep digging into your stash for a couple of hours?" Vanessa questioned as the behemoth's heavy, thumping footsteps carried him across the room.
"That cabinet's filled with baggies," John replied, jerking a thumb over his shoulder and towards the table where the rest of the original baggie still sat untouched. "Take some for yourself before you leave in the morning."
"Thanks, John." Vanessa said, shooting a genuinely thankful smile at the back of his head even though he wasn't looking.
"No problem." John answered casually with a nonchalant wave as he disappeared into the door behind his bedroom. A second later, the sound of the lock engaging notified her that he was indeed checking in for the night.
With a contented sigh, Vanessa leaned forward and gripped the cabinet, pulling it open and pulling out a few filled bags for her to take with her when she left the next morning, before retrieving the remote and flicking through the channels on the TV.
This was a setup that had been the norm for Vanessa and John for well over a year now. On the nights she stopped by and ended up smoking with him, chances are he was in his bed sleeping in the dead of night while she lounged around on his couch, watching TV and playing some of the games he had.
And if he had enough to spare, she usually smoked a good portion of his stash.
By the time she'd decided to hit the hay herself, two hours had passed and her mind was struggling to keep up with her body, causing her to stumble her way to the spare bedroom.
Admittedly, she threw the door open a little harder than she'd intended, and she actually jumped when the loud bang rang out through the apartment.
Following that was the sound of heavy thumping coming from John's bedroom, and the succubus jerked her sheepish gaze towards the pitch-black door as it was thrown open, and John quickly leaned outside of the door with a look of confusion on his face.
"The hell was that?"
Vanessa offered a similarly sheepish smile to accompany her gaze as she rubbed the back of her neck nervously. If she were sober, she doubted she'd look as intimidated as she did now.
"I threw the door open by accident… sorry." She apologized, holding eye contact as she waited for his reaction.
A small sigh of annoyance escaped him, but other than that, he didn't seem all that bothered.
"Just be careful, don't hurt yourself." He instructed her, before disappearing once more and shutting the door.
Vanessa let a sigh of relief escape her, before she trudged her way into the bedroom and simply sprawled herself onto the massive mattress.
This was the biggest thing she enjoyed about her deal. Though he owned her soul, she considered John a friend of her own, and he made that really easy by making sure she always had a safe place to sleep at night.
It wasn't often that Vanessa felt safe enough to let sleep claim her. Hell, it wasn't often that any demon did.
But when he considers you a friend, John opens his home to you, and you always have a spot to sleep.
And that meant more to Vanessa than she'd ever be willing to let the behemoth see.