Chapter Text
The Lust Ring was bright. Even at night, the neon signs lit up the city, painting the buildings in every color. The streets were damp from the rain, and the small puddles created even more reflections of the many lights. There were people everywhere. Waiting to get into clubs, making out on street corners, chatting with friends. When Lucifer and Alastor appeared on the main street, several eyes turned towards them. Some succubi pointed and whispered, and a few got out their phones to take pictures. Lucifer took a deep breath; he knew this could happen. The whole point of going out in public was to be seen. He did not let go off Alastor’s hand.
The Radio Demon was more focused on the place than the people watching them.
Alastor looked from one unfamiliar building to another. “Where are we?”
“In the Lust Ring.”
“The-” Alastor spun around and stared at him. “But how? I’m-”
“Just a little angelic magic.” Lucifer smiled, wiggling his fingers. “Enough to bring you out of the Pride Ring, so we could have some time to ourselves.”
“Ah. I- I see. You are full of surprises, darling.”
The flashes of cameras were easily lost in all the other lights, and no one actually approached them; the people of the Lust Ring were just watching. Music poured out from every neon lit nightclub and bar, beckoning people to come inside. But Lucifer led Alastor down the street, passing all of them. The Radio Demon tried to act unimpressed and walk down the street like he owned it, the way he did back home. But Lucifer could see how he watched the new people, studied the new sights, listened to the new music; clearly trying to commit a previously unattainable place to memory. Excited and nervous at the same time.
They moved away from the heart of the city, and soon they left the main road and followed a back-alley that crawled in-between tall buildings. Here, the light had dimmed somewhat, and the music was blaring from old, damaged stereos. Instead of the giant doors with long queues, the nightclubs were hidden down in basements, or up on the second or third floors, where the half-naked guests were climbing rickety fire escapes to come inside. Still, the bouncers were doing their jobs even here, and Lucifer barely missed a drunk demon slamming into him when the poor guy was thrown from a balcony.
“Lucifer ...?” Alastor’s tone seemed nonchalant, but Lucifer could sense some discomfort underneath that facade.
“This is just a shortcut; we’ll be there soon-”
“Someone’s following us.” Alastor whispered.
They stopped in the middle of the road. Lucifer tried to look over his shoulder, and got a glimpse of a demon in a top-hat before the creature slid behind a corner and out of view. Up till now the people of the Lust Ring had at least kept some distance, but clearly this person was more interested than others.
“Let’s just keep walking.” Lucifer said.
Lucifer could take pretty much anyone in a fight, but he’d rather not get into a brawl while on this date. They continued to move down the street, but they both kept glancing back. The figure appeared again, following them; never disappearing completely. It didn’t take long before the street widened out again, leading them to what seemed like the edge of the city. It was quieter, darker, and fewer people around. Still, the demon followed them. It didn’t seem hostile, nor dangerous. Instead, its presence felt almost ... familiar?
Lucifer let go of Alastor’s hand, stopped and turned around. “Ozz, what the fuck is this?”
The demonic figure slid out from behind a trashcan. Asmodeus looked smaller than usual; there was no flames and only one visible head, but when he spoke, the voice was the same. “Oh, I just wanted to say hi, Luci.”
“Three is one too many tonight.”
“Oh, I would never intrude on your date!” Asmodeus said, smiling. “I just wanted to make sure no one bothered you.”
Lucifer did not believe that for one second; he rather suspected Asmodeus had been waiting around for them to appear and followed them out of curiosity ... and possibly bragging rights over his fellow Sins that he got to meet Lucifer’s new partner first. Glancing over at Alastor, Lucifer noticed how the Radio Demon was standing very, very still and staring intensely at the newcomer, as if weighing whether fight or flight would be the best option for a possible threat; most people wouldn’t sense it through the disguise, but Asmodeus was very powerful.
“... Alright, I suppose I can introduce you.” Lucifer gently put his hand on Alastor’s back. Alastor glanced down at him; his ears twitching slightly. Lucifer smiled a reassuring smile, and gestured to the Sin in front of them. “Alastor, this is Asmodeus, Sin of Lust, and ruler of the Lust Ring. He’s an old friend of mine.”
Asmodeus nodded and tipped his hat, and so Lucifer continued: “Asmodeus, this is Alastor, the Radio Demon. Overlord, Radio Host and scourge upon the Pride Ring. My partner.”
“Welcome to the Lust Ring, Alastor! It’s good to finally meet you.” Asmodeus took Alastor’s hand. He bent to kiss it, but noticed how Alastor seemed to freeze up, and changed the greeting to a handshake instead. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“... all bad, I hope.” Alastor replied.
Asmodeus chuckled. “Terrifying. But I think Luci needs some spice in his life, now that he’s out and about again. You will take good care of him, won’t you?”
Lucifer groaned. “Ozz, please, no shovel talks-”
“Oh, I am certainly up to that task, Sir.” Alastor grinned, showing off all the sharp teeth.
This could in no way be threatening to a Sin, but Asmodeus could take a hint. “Good to hear.” He smiled, and bowed. “Now, I shouldn’t keep you love birds any longer, should I? I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful evening. I hope you’ll visit again soon.” With a final wave, he disappeared back into the back-alley they had just left.
They stood there in silence for a moment, until Alastor said: “An old friend?”
“Yes, eh ...”
“I can’t recall you mentioning him before?”
“I ... I haven’t had not been much contact with the other Sins these last years.” Lucifer mumbled. “Word of warning, dear; I got bombarded with calls and messages as soon as I announced that we are dating. Several of them want to meet you.”
“Ah.” Alastor said. “I supposed that’s fair; you’ve met my friends.”
Lucifer recalled a dinner with Rosie, filled with thinly veiled threats. At least Asmodeus had been much more welcoming, and made it a shorter meeting. He took Alastor’s hand. “It can be an excuse to take you to the other rings?”
Alastor smiled. “Now, that is tempting, darling.”
They continued walking. At the end of the street, there was an old building that did not match well with the rest of the neighborhood. It looked like someone had stolen a tiny gothic castle from earth and plopped it down in-between the more modern buildings. Instead of neon-lights, there were candles flickering beside the entrance, barely illumining the old sign declaring that this was ‘The Clandestine Castle’.
“Here we are.” Lucifer said, pulling Alastor along.
There wasn’t any long queue like the ones outside the nightclubs at the center of the city, so the two of them walked up to the door and was let inside. The interior of the Castle was stuck somewhere in 19th century’s England; at least the slightly creepier parts of it. Dripping candles, some in tall candelabras, others placed on top of sculls, provided the light. A succubus dressed in an old-fashioned dress with a high collar appeared and led them to a table close to the small dancefloor. The tattered curtains on stage moved slightly as a singer crooned a slow, melancholy song.
“This is not quite what I expected from the Lust Ring.” Alastor admitted, looking around at the other guests. The clientele at The Clandestine Castle’ was wearing considerably more clothes than any other citizens they had seen up till then, and so far, no one in the room seemed inclined to remove them. “How did you find this place?”
“Asmodeus recommended it.” Lucifer admitted.
According to Asmodeus’ notes, ‘The Clandestine Castle’ had been built during the Victorian Era. Fanny Device, a succubus working on earth at the time, had been inspired by how repressed the human society were, and how those appearing chaste and innocent could hide so much under the surface. The restaurant had since been passed down several generations of the Device-family, providing a place for guests that followed the rules of ‘less is more’; where the sight of an ankle was scandalous, and the simple touch of a hand could be the most erotic thing in the world.
A waiter appeared with menus in his arms, and stuttered through the drink recommendations. At first Lucifer wondered why the guy looked like he had seen a ghost, but soon became clear that the ghost in question was himself; the long absent king. When the waiter hurried back to the kitchen, he stopped in a dark corner and started whispering to his colleagues. When Lucifer looked towards them, they all scrambled to hide, pretending they weren’t looking.
The menus matched the rest of restaurant; there were no overtly sexual puns, or pictures of banana desserts in suggestive shapes, instead it was all in a flowing handwriting that bordered on unintelligible. The single candle at the table did not make nearly enough light to read properly. Figuring he could ask the stuttering waiter for recommendation’s when he returned, Lucifer put the menu down. Alastor continued to read, probably looking for the rawest, bloodiest dish the restaurant had to offer.
The nervous waiter did not return. Instead, a small cough announced the appearance of a large demon with two glasses and a bottle filled with red liquid. “Your majesty, here’s the wine you ordered.” He quickly put everything on the table, and stepped back. His face was a picture of nervous excitement. “Your majesty, I am Désiré Device, owner of this establishment. I would like to welcome you to our humble restaurant. If there’s anything, anything at all I can do to make the evening more memorable, do not hesitate to voice your wishes! What food can tempt the two of you tonight?”
Mr. Device was talking too loudly and drawing attention from every single table towards them. People started whispering again. Lucifer could feel them staring. Too many eyes. But – this was what they had planned, wasn’t it? For people to see them, see that they were a normal couple? Or at least as normal as the two of them could be. Damn it, he was supposed to be the king, he had managed to speak to all of hell today, even if he hadn’t actually seen his audience, so why was he suddenly freezing up now?
Alastor reached out and took Lucifer’s hand, squeezing it. Then the Radio Demon turned towards the owner, his smile big and bright. “Why, thank you for welcoming us to your charming establishment. What do you recommend we eat tonight, my good man?”
Lucifer watched as Alastor ordered. He didn’t need to say anything, just nodded when asked if he was fine with the choice of food. Then Mr. Device finally retreated; the demon was still seemingly walking on air, and every unoccupied employee followed him into the kitchen, presumably to analyze the entire exchange.
Alastor turned back, and while still holding Lucifer’s hand, pushed one of the wine-glasses into his other hand and filled it. The wine was rich and red. Lucifer lifted the glass and took one big swallow, and remembering Husk’s warnings, kept the next sips small.
“Sorry.” He mumbled.
“Don’t worry about it.” Alastor sounded almost too cheerful, trying a bit too hard to brush it all away.
“I should – I was just-”
“I’m sure we can get them to throw out all the other guests and have the whole restaurant to ourselves, if that would make it better?”
“Let’s not.” Lucifer looked around. “We don’t need to add bad yelp-reviews to our list of sins. I ... I just need to get used to this. There hasn’t really been an audience to our dates so far.”
“Darling, don’t think about the audience. ... You can look at me instead.” A small, teasing smile played over Alastor’s lips. “Unless I’m not interesting enough for you?”
Lucifer managed to laugh. “You could never be uninteresting, dear. Especially not when you look so beautiful tonight.”
“You didn’t give me much time to prepare, so I went to Rosie for advice.” Alastor admitted. “She dragged me to the tailor and barricaded the door, so the man could not leave until we were satisfied. Your reaction was entirely worth it; anything less and I would have to go there tomorrow and fulfil my promise of eating all his fingers.”
After a while, the conversation flowed like normal. Whenever Lucifer began glancing at the other guests, Alastor pulled him back to focus on the two of them; this was their evening. A new waiter brought them their food; the girl seemed as starstruck as the owner had been, but did not say anything as she placed the food on their table. They got served before several other tables that had already been seated when they entered, and Lucifer rather suspected they were getting special treatment. This restaurant was on the edge of town, it catered to what could be called a niche audience here in Lust. The King himself visiting, bringing his new partner to dine here on their first (as far as the public knew) official date? That was publicity.
Alastor had ordered almost every single recommendation the owner had given, so their table was weighed down with soups, roast duck, beef and other old-fashioned dishes. They dug in.
“Hmm, they used lamb.” Alastor mumbled, after the first bite of a pie.
“Al, you can’t expect the shepherd’s pie to be actual-”
“No, but I can hope, can’t I?”
Lucifer just shrugged and focused on slicing up the duck on his own plate.
The food was good, but it was way too much to finish if they wanted room for dessert. Alastor wasn’t keen on changing forms and devouring the whole table, as that ‘might ruin the new suit, and then Rosie would be very upset with me’. The third waiter of the evening took their orders for apple crumble and bread pudding. It seemed that every employee wanted a chance to get close to them. At least none of them had tried to take any photos so far.
They got served dessert by yet another new waiter, sipped their wine and talked. Lucifer was actually starting to feel fairly relaxed when he felt Alastor’s foot stroke against his own underneath the table. The table cloth went almost to the floor, so no one seemed to notice, and it was fairly innocent compared to what could be going on underneath tables at other establishments in the Lust Ring.
“Looks like they’re having fun.”
Lucifer turned around to see what Alastor was looking at. Some of the guests had taken to the floor, swaying slowly to the music. Dancing. Looking back at his partner, Lucifer could see how Alastor’s eyes were shining. There was another little nudge from his foot underneath the table; he didn’t use any words, instead hinting what he wanted to do.
Yet another thing they’d never done in public, never with an audience. People would be watching. Was that why Alastor wasn’t outright asking? He’d seen Lucifer’s nerves strike once already tonight; did he think he’d get a no if he asked? Of course he wanted to dance, Alastor was good at dancing. Lucifer wasn’t that bad himself, but that was back at the hotel, when it was just the two of them. It didn’t matter if he took a wrong step there, but here-
The foot under the table retreated. Fuck, did Lucifer manage to say no without even saying the word? Damn it, he was thinking too much, he just needed to do it. He stood up so fast his chair tipped back and fell. Great, now everyone was definitely looking at them.
Lucifer held his hand out. “May I have this dance?”
Alastor’s smile grew so big it looked physically painful. “You may, darling!” Then he too was out of his chair, and in less than three seconds, they were out on the dancefloor. They fumbled a bit with their hands, in a silent dispute over who should lead, but tonight Alastor let Lucifer win fairly quickly. The music was slow and old-fashioned; it didn’t really match the more fast-paced dances they usually shared. Instead, they ended up just ... moving to the music, letting the song guide them, improvising in slow-motion.
There was a flash of a camera. Someone was taking pictures. Lucifer looked up, forgetting his feet for a moment. He stepped wrong, and should have stumbled, but Alastor was a steady partner, pulling him along for the next step, lifting a him slightly off the floor before putting him down, and starting again. It was so smooth and quick, no one seemed to notice. At least, no one was laughing.
The other couples moved away. There was room enough on the dancefloor, but they apparently preferred to watch now. There was the sound of feet tip-toing around, and when Lucifer dared to look up from his feet the next time, he could see several employees standing by empty tables, pretending to work as an excuse to watch. Some of them had their phones out.
“They won’t get much out of those videos.” Alastor whispered. “When you are this close, the static will cover both of us.”
That felt comforting in a way, that Alastor’s shield could shelter Lucifer as well. Lucifer pried his eyes away from the audience, first to watch his own feet, and then, when he felt confident enough, to watch his partner. This was fine. It was more than fine, it was fun. It got easier with each step. The song stopped, and a new started, and they kept on dancing. For the next song, and the next, Lucifer was losing count, until his feet began to ache. Alastor didn’t seem to get achy feet, and could have kept on going, but in the end, he let Lucifer lead him away from the dance floor.
Few people were watching now. The guests had turned their focus back onto their own partners, and the employees had seemingly remembered that they had a job to do. Lucifer and Alastor shared another bottle of wine and asked for the bill. Mr. Device tried to insist that ‘of course it’s on the house’, but Lucifer put down enough money on the table to pay for the meal twice over. It was never a good idea to owe anything to anyone in Hell, even if it was just an overfriendly restaurant-owner.
Outside, the only indication of time passing was how the people they passed seemed drunker than before. They themselves were slightly tipsy; the stage where they could let their shoulders down more easily. Lucifer pulled his phone out of his pocket and tried to discreetly find the Hell Map-app.
“Checking your watch?” Alastor asked. “Is the night nearing its end?”
“No, no, I just want to show you one last thing.”
“Oh ... Lead the way, then.”
They went back through the city center, weaving through crowds of people getting evicted from nightclubs, and starting their own parties in the street. Finally, they rounded the right corner, and found themselves at the edge of a park. They walked over the gravel paths, heading away from the bright lights and music. There were benches along the path, but every single one seemed to be occupied by people in various state of undress and intoxication.
“I was hoping for a little more privacy.” Lucifer mumbled.
Beside the path, down a sloping hill, there was a cluster of trees, darker than the rest of the park. They were halfway there when Alastor stumbled over a root, and dragged Lucifer down with him. They tumbled down the hill and landed in the bushes.
Alastor held up a torn sleeve that got caught on a branch. “Rosie is going to kill me.”
“... does that mean I won’t get another date?” Lucifer asked, and started laughing at his own joke. “Cause – you know – you’ll be dead?”
“It didn’t stop you from asking me out the first time.” Alastor mumbled, before joining in on the laughter.
When the laughter died down, they lay quietly in the grass for a while, and Lucifer began to pick leaves out of Alastor’s hair. Alastor turned towards him. They were so close now their faces were almost touching; Lucifer could smell the wine on his breath. He moved to close the gap, and Alastor met him in a kiss. Soft and warm. They rolled around, and then Alastor was underneath him, smiling up at him; in the dark his antlers seemed to blend with the branches on the ground, like it was some strange sort of crown. Lucifer bent down and kissed him again. He had never been a teenager, but perhaps this was what it was like? Drunk om wine and each other, fumbling in the dark, underneath the trees, not a care in their heads-
“Yeah, guys! Get some!!”
The shout snapped them both out of the comfortable haze they’d been in. Fuck. They were out in public; someone had seen them! Somewhere deeper into the shade of the trees, someone else was laughing, stumbling and falling. The voices sounded young. But no one pulled out a camera, no one shrieked at the scoop of finding the King of Hell making out with the Radio Demon in a public park. The demons probably hadn’t even realized who they had seen.
“Looks like we’re not the only ones who wanted some privacy under the trees.” Lucifer mumbled. “Is there a single place in the park where people aren’t fucking?”
“This is the Lust Ring, darling.” Alastor swallowed. “... You don’t have any such expectations, do you ...?”
“Huh?” Lucifer looked down.
Even in the dark, the blush was visible on Alastor’s face. He looked away, his smile shaky and his ears drooping. “Because, uhm ... I ...”
Was this what it felt like when you got sober in an instant? Suddenly, it was like the fog lifted from Lucifer’s mind. He put his hand on Alastor’s cheek, turning his face so he would look at him. “No. I’m not expecting that.”
“... because it’s the first date? I know people might wait till the third-”
“Because I don’t expect you to do something you’re not comfortable with. No matter if it’s the first date or the hundredth.” Lucifer swallowed. “You – you weren’t thinking – when I asked you out, you didn’t think that I-”
“No, not at first. It’s just that ... you took me to this ring ...”
“And I found a place where you could be comfortable. Everyone’s welcome here, dearest. No matter what they feel.”
“Yes. You’re accommodating for me, and I don’t give you anything in return-”
“You put up with me, you cheer me, you help me – I could go on and on, you are my partner. I don’t need anything from you that you won’t give.” Lucifer stroked Alastor’s ears. “Please believe me?”
Alastor stared up at him. The smile softened. “... Alright.”
“It’s been such a wonderful night, let’s not end it on a sour note, hm?” Lucifer asked. “So, can I kiss you again? That’s all I want, just to kiss you.”
“Yes.” Alastor whispered. “But perhaps we ought to get somewhere more private.”
They crawled out from under the trees, and brushed off leaves and dirt. More cameras started flashing; a group of half-naked demons seemed to find snapping photos of the King and his companion a bit more interesting than whatever they had first sought out the park for. Lucifer rolled his eyes, and took Alastor’s hand. A flurry of red and gold carried them out of the Lust Ring.
The back-up generators really were a god-send. Well, perhaps not a ‘god-send’, not down here, but they kept the V Tower from going dark. The lights flickered in the meeting room, but they stayed on. No electronics had been broken, except for the screen Vox had thrown out of the window when he had first heard Lucifer’s official statement. Velvette put down one of the many newspapers they’d gathered and swiped through her phone. It looked like the online version of Lust Ring News had been the first to break the news, and from there it had travelled to every gossip rag in the Lust Ring, before spreading to the other rings.
The King of Hell had taken the Radio Demon out on a date.
There was a slew of photos, most of them staticky, but it was possible to see the new ‘power couple’ drinking, dancing, laughing together, all in all looking disgustingly sweet and romantic. There were stories from eyewitnesses, opinions from experts, and apparently one not-so-popular restaurant was suddenly booked out several months in advance.
Velvette scrolled through the fashion blogs discussing the couple’s outfits. Should she make a statement? The Radio Demon was wearing too much red, as usual, but it was a stylish fit. The King looked down-right dashing. She looked up to see Vox rip yet another newspaper into shreds; the floor of the meeting room was covered in bits of paper. Perhaps it was best not to make any comments right now.
“Why! Why did they go to the Lust Ring!?”
Valentino shrugged. “Because you’ve made sure everyone here in the Pride Ring was harassing them, Cariño?”
“How then!?” Vox screamed. “Sinners aren’t supposed to travel between rings!”
“He’s the devil, he got his ways, apparently.”
“He can’t just steal Alastor away, breaking all the rules-”
“Oh ho, it looks like Radio Demon was more than happy to be stolen-”
“That fucker took him to the Lust Ring! The Lust Ring, Valentino!”
“I knooow!” Valentino stretched out in his chair. “Never thought I’d envy Alastor. Do you know what kind of kinky shit they get up to there?”
“Shut up, both of you.” Velvette rubbed her temples; she could feel a headache coming. “It does not matter what they did there.”
“All the best sex toys, all the best sex clubs, the official dominatrix school-”
“If Alastor let that bastard dom him, I swear I’m gonna-”
“You’re gonna what!?” Velvette yelled. “You can’t do a thing to stop him! You- we can’t even turn the public against them properly! Look at this!
She swiped her phone, casting the image onto one of the screens. The net had exploded with new reactions. There were still tons of demons condemning the relationship, due to secrecy, the difference in status, the Radio Demon’s reputation, and a ton of other reasons. But now, there was starting to be a push-back. The king’s official statement had been analyzed by every so-called expert in the Pride Ring and beyond, and some of them were agreeing with him. Little old demon royalists were writing comments about how it was ‘sweet if the king could find love again, the poor man’, someone had made a ship name for the two, and now ‘radioapple’ was trending!
“All the official news coming from the Lust Ring are positive! Someone there is pulling strings for them.”
“But thousands of people hate the idea of them being together!” Vox wailed.
“You most of all. But it does not matter, does it; it will not break them up. If anything, it made them come out and make it official. So instead of this being a dirty little secret of no consequence, the Radio Demon is now officially linked to the royal family. If Lucifer proposes down the line and makes Alastor his consort, the red freak ought to send us a damn thank you-card!” Velvette glared at the other two, daring them to keep arguing.
Vox sat down by the table. He was quieter now; perhaps he at long last could calm down about the whole situation, and think with his cold, calculating TV-head instead of being caught up in this ridiculous mess of emotions he had about the Radio Demon. Perhaps, seeing how hopeless this was, he could finally let that damn obsession go.
“Alright.” Vox took a deep breath, and said, in his most business-like tone: “What do we do now?”
“I can make some new movies to capitalize on the news.” Valentino said. “I still have that red wig you talked me into wearing once-”
Vox’ face started glitching.
Velvette got up and left the room before he started screaming again.