In this fic, reader is a fox-like demon (ears and tail), and has features such as increased speed, agility, stealth, sense of hearing and smell. I was reading up on foxes and apparently they can use the magnetic field of the Earth to catch prey, so I decided that reader would have a sort of clairvoyance from that (like movement detection). Also foxes are often associated with illusions, which inspired me to make that reader's main power, as well as part of her character!

Do not throw up.

That's all you could tell yourself as you nervously waited backstage for your cue. Crew surrounded you, fixing your hair and doing your makeup in a way that would look best on live television. You sat there, in the dress and heels you bought just for tonight, having powder swept across your face as you told yourself not to throw up. You were surprised by how much your stomach was tightening and churning with nerves, despite how eager you were to accept Vox's invitation to appear on The Vox-2-Nite Show, which you recently learned actually is taped during the late afternoon. The reality of this being your first ever live talk show appearance was sinking in fast. Vox promised you over and over that you would be amazing and everyone would love you, and while you knew that was true, the pre-show jitters were totally affecting you physically.

The stylists finished up on you, which meant the crew was now ushering you over to the curtain by the set, the thin barrier in between you and all of Hell's eyes. You took a deep breath in as someone snapped a mic onto the neckline of your dress, thus hooking you up to the sound system. You were about to go on. You peaked through the sidelines, watching Vox fix his bowtie and mutter something to a crew member before starting up. The set glowed shades of blue and purple, illuminating the cushioned club chair by his desk with Vox-2-Nite written in glowing electric blue along the front. This was all so real.

Cameras rolling in three…two…

"Good evening, Hell, and welcome to Vox-2-Nite!" Vox announced to the live audience, all applauding as per the cue. "I'm your host, Vox, and we've got one hell of a show in store for you tonight, but first let's give a warm welcome to our studio audience!"

The audience erupted in cheers and applause as the cameras panned to them, making it obvious to you how many people were out there. Do not throw up.

"Tonight we have a very special guest! She's been on the rise for a while now, and I gotta say, she's the real deal. You already know her name, but let's give her the Vox-2-Nite welcome she deserves. Please welcome the CEO of Intuition Media, the 'star maker' herself, Y/N!"

Following the pull of your pounding heart like a leash tugging you forwards, you walked into the spotlight, guiding you to Vox at the center of the set. You smiled brightly at the audience as they cheered for you, waving to them as you made your way to Vox. He raised his brows at you in a knowing way, extending his hand to shake yours as if this was the first time you were ever meeting. To think that was only a few months ago, and now you had The Vees on contract, right in your palm.

"Thank you, Vox." You smiled up at him, shaking his hand. There was a warmth to the gesture from him that you felt to be reassuring.

"The pleasure is all mine." He grins, guiding you to the chair by his desk. "Make yourself comfortable!"

Seating yourself in the thick chair, you crossed one leg over the other as you leaned forwards slightly to let your arms rest on your propped up knee. The applause began to die down as Vox took his seat in the high back swivel chair behind his desk. He scooted it closer to the part of his desk near your chair, flashing a wide smile at the audience before turning his attention back to you.

"So, first time on a talk show- and mine, nonetheless, how are you feeling tonight? Nervous?" He chuckled, raising a brow at you.

"Oh, you don't know the half of it," You laughed, earning a round of chuckles from the audience. You continued, motivated by the approval. "Seriously though, I'm feeling so excited, and absolutely happy to be here, thank you for inviting me on!"

"Aww, isn't she sweet?" Vox cooed, turning to his audience, pointing his thumb at you with one hand, while the other rested over his heart. "And stylish too," He continued, leaning forwards on his desk and looking at you up and down. "Do I recognize that designer, Y/N?"

"I think she'd be insulted if you didn't," You snickered, getting another rowdy laugh from the crowd. "How could I not wear Velvette to my appearance on your show?"

You gestured with your arms in a flourish to the dress you were wearing, and the cheering started up again. You couldn't help but smile wider upon the praise.

"Oh, then I think we'd both be in some trouble." Vox mockingly clenched his smile, looking off to the side and tugging at the collar of his shirt. "Let's focus more on you now. You've really made a name for yourself recently, haven't you?"

You both continued on with banter during the interview portion of the show. You had watched enough Vox-2-Nite to know he liked to warm up his guests before jumping into some kind of interactive segment, and getting into juicer topics. He was building up a trust, trying to get you comfortable talking to him so you would be more willing to share later on- smart. This was a talk show in Hell after all.

"Okay, okay, we're gonna play a little game now," Vox began, pausing briefly for the audience to cheer. "I was thinking we'd play….Is It Just Me or Is It Getting Fucking Hot In Here?!"

The lights on the stage set flickered with orange and red, right as the audience burst into an ongoing cheer. "Oh, I know this one-!" You spoke with a deliberately nervous sounding enthusiasm. Vox was going to be asking you a series of invasive personal questions, and if you didn't want to answer, you had to eat a stupid hot pepper straight from the depths of Wrath. Like the kind that would make you breathe fire, literally. Crew placed a tray of those peppers onto Vox's desk. Your eyes widened, upon seeing the little arrangement of them, dark shriveled red peppers, sparking with embers from time to time.

"Scared?"

You redirected your gaze up to Vox's as he looked at you with a taunting smile.

"Is it that obvious?"

"No, of course not, sweetheart." He said sarcastically, turning to engage with the audience. "I think Y/N's a bit scared, let's give her some encouragement, shall we?"

You laughed bashfully at the load of cheers and applause for you, your name being shouted through the room. "Thank you, thank you, I feel much better now!"

Another round of laughter.

"Let's get started then!" Vox cheered, resting his arms on his desk to get closer to you, like this was a gossip session. "First question: Who's your favorite client?"

"Oh, that's obvious," You smiled, turning to the audience. "Verosika Mayday, easily."

The crowd cheered, and you decided to use your illusions to have a little floating array of some of your ads for her circle around the stage. "I adore Verosika and her aesthetic. She hired me pretty early on in my rise, so bonus points for that- plus I get the music before it's released to design the campaign around it which is pretty sweet." You explained to Vox, gesturing with your illusions to emphasize your points. You decided not to add the part that by working with her, some of your posters made their way to the overworld, which meant there was a chance maybe your parents would see them and think they were clever or pretty. Proving yourself in their eyes, even if it was indirectly. What would they think of you now? "Speaking of," You turned towards the audience again. "You can listen to her bombshell new album on Vogitek." You added, pointing at Vox and changing the ads to be for his music streaming service, which got an excited 'woo' from the audience. "Oh, you are on fire!" Vox encouraged. "See what I'm talking about?" He spoke to the audience. "Nicely done..Next question: Have you ever slept with a client?"

"Nope."

"Dated one?"

"Nope."

"No fucking way."

"I'm serious!" You giggled, brushing your hair away from your face before elaborating, "I know the media likes to speculate on it, but I've honestly never had a relationship with a client."

"Have you ever even thought about it? I'm sure you have."

The audience gasped as you swiped one of the peppers and tossed it into your mouth. Instantly, your taste buds erupted into flames. You used an illusion to neutralize it, but that still would not stop your body from reacting in extreme discomfort to the irritation the pepper caused.

"Oh, fuck!" Vox exclaimed in shock, watching you with amusement and surprise at the sudden action. You were actually being strategic by taking the pepper- it kept that idea a mystery, which was good for your clientele, even if it did suggest the answer was likely 'yes' if you were private about that information.

Everyone watched as your cheeks flushed red from the intense heat, your eyes watering as you frantically tried to fan yourself with your hands. You coughed up a few flames as Vox reached over and patted your back, rubbing gently over your shaking form as you tried to keep yourself composed. "Easy there!"

A glass of cold water was handed to you, and you downed it all, the booming crowd encouraging you. You kept playing this game for what felt like forever, answering questions and taking a pepper whenever you 'couldn't handle the heat' and whatnot. You had to admit, it was going well though! Not just answering questions, but also with how the audience seemed to like you, and how Vox would smile at you encouragingly.

"It was great to have you on tonight, Y/N, thank you for joining the show."

"Thank you for having me! It was a dream come true!"

The audiences 'aww'ed at the exchange, you and Vox smiling at eachother and than to the audience.

"Thank you all for watching, and I'll see you next time on Vox-2-Nite!"

The cameras panned out and away as the audience cheered while you and Vox waved goodnight to everyone.

And cut! Good show everyone! The moment you got backstage, you found yourself in a fit of laughter from unbridled joy and shaken off nerves. Vox held your arms as you laughed, and you held his back as he looked down at you in amusement. "Now that was some good television!" He exclaimed, tightening his hold on your arms. "See? Now what did I tell you? You were fantastic out there."

"Thank you, thank you!" You chirped, meeting his gaze with genuine appreciation. "Vox, I actually can't thank you enough, that was just so amazing!" The words spilled out of your mouth in a rush of gratitude, adrenaline still coursing through your veins.

"Aw, the pleasure was all mine, Y/N. If anything, I should be thanking you for coming on! The ratings are going to go way up, Velvette's been reporting high interest on socials- looks like your promos worked like a charm."

"As per usual." You added slyly, winking at him before letting out another laugh. "It was really just wonderful to be on your show, Vox, and I'm sure you already know this, but you were incredible. It was really cool getting to see you like that- live in the studio. Seriously, thank you so much!"

Vox smiled at your words, looking into your eyes as you held each other. You cleared your throat, sliding your hands off of him and fixing your hair. You didn't want him to get the wrong idea here. You were sure you had crossed his mind already- it was obvious to you. And that was fine, hell, it was how you got him to sign that little contract of yours so easily. Long-term though, you didn't want things to escalate from this. From these little moments you shared. They wouldn't.

"Aw fuck," Vox muttered at his phone, reading whatever message he just received.

"Is something wrong?"

"Ugh, I'm needed upstairs now apparently. Everything goes to shit when I'm gone for more than 20 minutes." He sighed, rolling his eyes as he straightened his back. A smile returned to his face when he looked at you. "I'll catch up with you soon, good job tonight. Oh, and you should wear dresses like that more often, you know, with the tighter skirt- I prefer it, especially on camera."

You smiled sweetly at him, but before you could say anything back, Vox had dematerialized into a cyan electric current that ran up one of the security cameras. Thank you so very much for the input, Vox. I don't think I'll ever tire of your unnecessary remarks. You rolled your eyes at that, and let out a deep breath, deciding to make your way back to your dressing room. You weaved your way through the busy crew members, some of them asking for your autograph and for pictures. Eventually you made it back. You swung open the door, raising your eyebrow at the floral arrangement sitting on your vanity. An intrigued smirk crept onto your lips as you eyed the bouquet of light blue roses, plucking the little card peeking out from the top.

For a stellar performance. Hope to have you on again one day. -Vox

That's sweet…You tucked the card back into the flowers where it once was. You were glad things were going so well, and they were only going to get better. Maybe you would get used to receiving bunches of flowers like this?

—-

Morning sun glared through your window, bathing you in warmth as you sat at your desk, skimming through articles about your appearance on Vox-2-Nite. You scooted closer as you read excitedly, reading through all the positive feedback, all the attention you were getting from the media. Everyone did love you! You had been getting the sweetest messages since the show aired, and your followers count on Sinstagram and ENVEE had shot up too. As you kept scrolling the page on your laptop, the screen illuminated Vox's contact with a call from him. Speak of the devil. You accepted the call, leaning back in your chair so the light softened on you. You learned quickly that Vox did not take well to having his calls ignored, but saw no problem with ignoring the ones he received.

Vox appeared, leisurely sitting in his giant paneled chair and surrounded by all the various screens in his lower office.

"Hey!" You smiled at the camera.

"Hey, how's our little starlet doing this hellish morning?"

"I'm doing amazing!" You beamed, not filtering your excitement. "Holy shit, have you seen this? We're all over the place!" You exclaimed, gesturing to your laptop.

"Oh yeah, we're fucking dominating." He smirked, mirroring your excitement. "I didn't expect anything less though."

"Oh for sure, for sure," You agreed, feverishly clicking open more tabs that had your name on them.

"I can't believe you've never dated one of your clients before."

"Yeah, the tabloids love the idea of it though, that's for sure." You replied simply, too engrossed in your reading to give your full attention to him randomly bringing that topic up.

"You know, we could start a little more buzz. I wouldn't mind putting on a little show for the press if you wanted to."

You raised a brow and smiled with intrigue. "To like what? Fake date?"

"If that's what you wanna call it."

"Oh? And what's in it for you, Vox?" You asked, leaning back in your chair and tilting your head to the side with amused curiosity.

Vox smirked, subtly shifting the collar of his shirt. "Keeps the audience's interest piqued- everyone loves a power couple, right? It's a mutual benefit, plain and simple."

"Tempting, definitely interesting," You mused, softly laughing at the idea of it. You could appreciate that Vox was willing to let you use his name so you could get ahead- all his idea too. Good for you. "I think with the timing right now though, it would come off in a way that undermines me as your accessory than something actually sets me apart."

Honestly, you might've considered it if you were fully established with a steady stream of success and popularity, but until then, you needed to keep your name away from others if you could help it.

"Isn't that what you are though?"

You nearly spat out your latte. "Excuse me?" You asked innocently, hoping that was some poor choice in words from him.

"Don't get me wrong, you're great and all, but isn't your entire company just an accessory to other brands? You enhance, but you don't stand on your own, if that makes sense."

'If that makes sense', shut the fuck up. Bold words from someone who was now solely dependent on you for all promotional materials and use of ad property. Despite the exasperation that flared from that, you kept cool. "What I do is an art, Vox," You began, your smile graced with self-assurance, "My name should hold its own in significance though because I alone am central to making others shine-" You smiled with a playful challenge in your voice, "-if that makes sense."

Vox raised his hands in a mock surrender, smiling back at you with fascination. "It makes sense to me, starlet."

"I hoped it would." You laughed cheerfully. "Anyways, maybe we can try that another time."

"It's all you, hun," Vox added before a reminder popped up on his face screen. "Fuck, I've gotta go for an appointment now."

"Bye!"

The call disconnected. Another thing you noticed was how Vox never said 'bye'. He liked to look busy, be too important to even have the time to spare a parting exchange of words. He said thank you to whatever it was he was needed to call for at the very most. Velvette did sort of the same thing, but with how she considered, or at least treated you, more like a friend than a business connection, she would end the call with 'kisses'. You liked that though, following with the 'Love ya' you reserved for your friends. Speaking of…you were scrolling through emails, a money transfer from Velvette catching your eye.

$$$ Message From Sender: shit from my brand is part of ur compensation xx

Aw! You sent a text to thank her, embellished with heart emojis for extra gratitude. Setting your phone back down on your desk, you kept looking through your mailbox. Email forward from your assistant...Photoshoot? For a magazine? For The Hell Times ?! Holy shit! This was amazing! Fuck yes! You picked up your phone to send another text to Velvette.

Hell Times wants me for a photoshoot, could be a model opportunity for your brand 33

…

I'll get in touch w/them xx 3 3