Chapter Text
Chapter One: In Which There is a Venn Diagram
"I've got the strangest feeling, this isn't our first time around."
-BØRNS
Vox awoke to the smell of a warm cup of coffee.
He stretched, the normal reddish glow of the Pride Ring's sky pouring in through the windows. It was still the early hours of the morning, and yet, Alastor had still managed to wake up before him. If Vox didn't know any better, he would have questioned whether the radio demon slept at all. Vox vividly rememberd, however, all the times where they had fallen asleep together– On a chair, while had Vox pet his ears, or together in bed, holding each other close, or even sitting together in front of a warm fire. Vox smiled fondly and got up out of bed.
He shared a small little apartment with Alastor. While Vox would have been perfectly content to build a towering skyscraper in the center of the entertainment district– "We could call it the AV tower!"– but Alastor had insisted on living somewhere much quieter, with a simpler pace. Vox had been happy to oblige– after all, he wanted nothing more than Alastor to be happy, and besides, living with Alastor was a dream come true. No matter how it came. No, Vox wouldn't trade it for the world.
As he exited the bedroom, Alastor glanced his way, a genuine smiling lighting up his face. "Good morning, darling."
Alastor was making breakfast, as always. Vox would've loved to help out, but Alastor insisted he not dare touch a single utensil in the kitchen. As much as Vox would've liked to believe that Alastor simply loved caring for him, they both knew the true reason: Vox couldn't cook for shit.
...It could be both, though. Both was good.
"Morning, Al," the TV demon said, approaching Alastor, cupping his face and leaning in for a kiss. The radio demon leaned into him, kissing him back softly, gently. If Vox had it his way, they would stay like that all morning– feeling, touching, mapping each other out. Unfortunately, Alastor had other plans. All too quickly he was swatted away– but Vox didn't miss the fondness settling in Alastor's smile.
"I have to keep an eye on the food," Alastor chided, his eyes reluctantly drawing back to the stove. "We couldn't have it burning now, hmm?"
"Yeah, yeah," Vox grumbled, but there was no real malice behind the words. "And all I wanted was to kiss my beautiful boyfriend good morning." He sighed dramatically.
"You got your kiss, did you not?" Alastor hummed, then paused. He grinned wickedly as he turned back to look at Vox, a glint in his eye. Before Vox had the chance to be scared, he was suddenly jerked closer by his collar until Alastor's lips were against his neck. "Besides," he purred. "We have plenty of time left in the day."
The lights flickered dangerously.
Alastor chuckled– then, to the TV demon's dismay, he shoved Vox away. "Quit distracting me, Vox," The radio demon scolded, but there was a teasing look behind his eyes.
"Me– I– the fuck– distract you?!" Vox sputtered. Alastor couldn't stifle his laugh as Vox harrumphed and sat down at the table– which had a cup of coffee sitting on it, waiting for him. "You're the worst," He reminded the radio demon, taking a sip. The coffee was sweet and creamy, just as Vox liked it– even though Alastor protested that "It was practically all sugar, no coffee," he still made it for his partner every morning. Just thinking of it filled Vox with a sweetness so tender and loving that he almost let out a happy sigh. That being said, though...
"I hope you choke on a dick," He added saltily.
There was a split second silence, then– "Only yours." Alastor murmured.
Vox spit out his coffee, the lights flickering again as Alastor cackled. It was rare for the radio demon to ever make such vulgar, risky jokes. Of course, Alastor saved them for moments like these, when Vox was not it expecting it– It just made the silly picture box's reaction all the more worthwhile.
"Dammit, Alastor, you're gonna be the death of me," Vox complained insincerely.
"One can only hope," Alastor hummed, flicking off the stove and plating up breakfast. He deftly slid the plate in front of Vox, who was still pouting, even as he took sips from his sugar-filled coffee. Alastor rolled his eyes exasperatedly, proceeding to walk behind his partner and pull him in a tight hug, holding him for a few minutes as Vox slowly melted into his touch.
"Am I forgiven?" Alastor murmured.
Vox sighed. "You're lucky I love you."
Alastor laughed at that, drawing away and taking his seat at the table. "If anything, you should consider yourself the lucky one! Why, if it weren't for me, you would surely die of starvation," He teased.
"I'm not that bad of a cook!" Vox protested weakly, both of them knowing it was a bald faced lie.
"Darling, the one time you attempted to cook for me, you ended up exploding our microwave. The microwave wasn't even necessary for the dish."
Vox opened his mouth– and then fell silent, knowing he was unable to deny it. In his defense, nobody ever told him that foil wasn't supposed to go in the microwave. How was he supposed to know? Anyone could've made that mistake! Regardless, he looked upon that day with fondness and vividness, not just because of said exploding microwave, (although it may have been a large portion) but because Alastor had come home, taken one look at the microwave– not even looking surprised, mind you!– and took Vox out to dinner. That was one of their better dates.
Alastor laughed affectionately at Vox's silence. "I can assure you," The radio demon promised, "I appreciated the effort."
Vox rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well. We can't all be good at everything."
"Indeed! Some of us are good at nothing at all!" Alastor smirked.
Vox shot him a glare, to which Alastor's smirk instantly disappeared as he blinked innocently. "What? I was speaking of your old friend Valentino, of course."
Vox narrowed his eyes. "Yeah?" He leaned forward, suddenly grinning. "You know your old friend, Mimzy? Remember when we were out on a date and she came and tried to sit in–"
Alastor leaned forward, meeting Vox in the middle of the table and planting a kiss on his lips, effectively silencing the television demon.
When he pulled away again, Vox cursed.
Alastor tutted, smiling fondly. "Finish your breakfast, dear. We have work to do."
Vox rolled his eyes and shoveled the food into his mouth. Alastor. He was such a flirt.
• • •
Vox awoke to the smell of burning metal.
He groaned. Dammit, dammit, dammit! Where even was he? He glanced around, seeing only crumbling buildings and fading neon signs. Somewhere in the entertainment district then, likely on the outskirts. How did he even get here? He never went here– everything he did could be operated directly from the Vee tower. There was no reason for Vox to ever be here, save he wanted to talk to some homeless nobodies.
In a flash, he searched his memories and found the reason: Alastor.
They had been fighting ruthlessly, going blow for blow, frequency to frequency. Vox had been so angry... He had hardly noticed his energy deteriorating, until finally, Vox realized he could hardly move his body anymore– most definitely too injured to fight. If he had stayed another minute longer, Alastor surely would have killed him. Vox had zapped away into electricity at the last moment– god fucking dammit, Alastor was sure to taunt him for running away– but he had passed out somewhere along the electrical lines. Vox supposed he had been dumped out at random, ending up here.
Well. It wasn't the first time he had woken up and not immediately known his location. All too often, exhaustion claimed him, causing him to pass out in several inconvenient locations. On chairs, at his desk... One time, he had even passed out in front of a fireplace, just as he had sat down. Hell, he was lucky if he fell asleep on his own bed.
Vox glanced up at the red sky. It was early morning. It was possible nobody had even noticed his absence.
Quickly, he zapped himself back into the power grid, depositing himself safely back at the Vee tower, which was directly in the center of the entertainment district. Home sweet home.
There was nowhere else he would rather be.
He was happy to be home... Except for the moth demon who was instantly in his face, Velvette trailing not far behind.
"Where the fuck have you been, Vox?" Valentino spat angrily. "Power was out for nearly an hour. I couldn't shoot shit!" His red eyes were contorted with rage, but then, in a blink-and-you-miss-it sort of manner, his demeanor shifted into that of a caring lover. "I missed you, amorcito. Can I give my beautiful boyfriend a kiss?" He purred, running a finger down Vox's screen. Jesus. One of these days, Valentino's mood swings was going to give Vox emotional whiplash.
Vox gave Valentino a quick kiss– resulting in a gagging noise from Velvette– and drew away as quickly as he could without aggravating Valentino. Sure, he liked kissing Valentino, but he just wasn't in the right headspace at the moment.
"I was caught up in some shit with Alastor," Vox muttered as he pulled away. No, he decided more firmly, he wasn't in the mood for Valentino's bullshit, not right now. In fact, currently, he was in a particularily murderous mood– directed at a particular old timey prick.
"It's always Alastor," Valentino complained, crossing his bottom pair of arms and frowning. Vox opened his mouth to reply, but found that he had nothing to say. Valentino was right, after all. It was always Alastor.
"Val is right," Velvette interjected. "You're always off on some shit with the damned radio demon." As if Vox didn't already know that! The fashion demoness pursed her lips. "I know you're obsessed with the twat, but you might want to cool it. This shit isn't a good look for anyone."
Vox sighed tiredly. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'll quit fixating on Alastor." His mouth formed a thin line before he spoke again. "If you don't mind, I'd like to get some rest. I just got beat bloody and need some time to recover." Vox tried his best to put on his most charming grin– which seemed to work, until out of the corner of his eye, he saw Velvette narrowing her eyes at his expression. Shit. He couldn't quite slip things past her as he did with Valentino– As Velvette was constantly on her phone, it was easy to forget just how preceptive she was. He internally sighed. He definitely wasn't going to be let off easy for this.
Valentino's eyes lit up, snapping Vox out of his thoughts. "I could help you... Relax, Voxxy~" The moth demon purred, blowing a wisp of red smoke into Vox's face, who waved it away with an irritated frown.
"Not right now, Valentino. Maybe later." Please, please just let me go.
Valentino let out a huff of irritation. "Fine, whatever. I have shoots to film anyways." He blew another puff of red smoke in Vox's face– purely from spite, Vox knew– and sauntered away without another word. Vox let out a breath– that could have gone much worse. He was lucky that Valentino had gone down without much of a fight. Typically, the moth demon would just harass Vox until he finally gave in, too tired to protest.
"Want me to send up a coffee?" Velvette asked, an unusual note of concern in her voice. Had his forced smile been that telling? Or did Vox just really look that fucked up? He was slightly touched by her care, but he shook his head regardless. If Velvette started worrying about him now, he would never escape to his office.
"Nah, I'm just gonna get some quick sleep." He put on his best smile again, working slightly harder to keep it looking authentic, slowly edging towards the elevator.
Velvette raised an eyebrow in doubt, but didn't press. "Whatever you say, Vee. Try and heal up a bit, will you? You know you're my favorite model, and I can't have you looking so bloody ugly. Anyways, I'm busy as shit, so I have to get back to work. Kisses!" Accordingly, she blew her business partner a kiss and promptly walked away towards her fashion studio.
Vox's smile dropped as her back turned, but only slightly. Believe it or not, that was Velvette being affectionate. She wasn't always the best at showing it, but Vox knew she cared. She just might be Vox's best friend, in fact.
Vox was infinitely grateful that she hadn't pressed the issue. Velvette meant well most of the time, but he didn't think she would be able to help much with Vox's... Alastor problem.
He entered the elevator resignedly, knowing full well that he would be getting no sleep. He found it easier to simply throw himself in his work, always improving VoxTek, always generating more power. It was his only way to stay afloat. Especially since Alastor was constantly on his mind– he needed something to distract himself.
He entered his office, grumbling. Now he was thinking about Alastor again.
Fucking Alastor.
He paused a moment, then sent a quick text to Velvette.
You still offering to send up some coffee?
Stupid, fuckass Alastor.
Everything was all his fault.
A ping. Sure, Vee. Black, just how you like it?
You know me too well. Thanks, Vel.
• • •
[2 Weeks Later]
Oh shit, oh shit, oh fucking balls shit.
"Valentino," Vox bit out. "What are you doing here?"
Vox had been attending to business around the outskirts of Cannibal Town. Rosie had been thinking about expanding, so as a favor, Vox had decided to look into it– map out the area, maybe draw up some blueprints. He had gone alone, hoping to present it as a surprise to both Rosie and Alastor. Cannibal Town was essentially a second home to Alastor, so he thought he could include Alastor in his little planned surprise.
Unfortunately, as Vox prepared to leave, he encountered a different kind of surprise.
It was his old... friend. Valentino. The moth demon.
"What?" Valentino purred. "Did you not miss me, amorcito?" The moth demon drew closer, resulting in Vox taking an involuntary step back.
Vox could beat Valentino in a fight. He was sure of it. Still, however, the moth demon instilled a certain sense of... Discomfort. His mind skittered over their past, but he was firmly not thinking about it. He should just kill Valentino here and now. Yes. That seemed like a good idea.
Electricity zapped discreetly between Vox's fingers. He would end this, quickly.
That is when Vox encountered his next surprise. Before he could blink, Valentino whipped out a gun. It wasn't just any old gun. It was one of Carmine's, he could see that clearly. There was just a certain... light radiating off it. Carmine's weapons were always particularily threatening, but this one... Vox's eyes widened as he realized it was crafted with angelic steel, meaning–
"One wrong move and I kill you," Valentino hissed, keeping the gun carefully trained on Vox. "We're going to make a deal, whether you like it or not, Voxxy."
Vox swallowed, not daring to move another muscle.
"What do you want?"
• • •
Oh shit, oh shit, oh fucking balls shit.
"Alastor," Vox bit out. "What are you doing here?"
Vox had been taking a small excursion outside the Vee tower to etch out the details of a potential business deal. It was a small café just a few blocks from the Vee tower, so Vox had decided to put his legs to good use. After all, zapping into electricity could be draining, and Vox needed all the energy he could have to be as cunning as possible during the deal. Unfortunately for Vox, halfway through his walk, he was interrupted by a certain radio demon.
He didn't have time for the radio demon's bullshit right now. He had to get to that business deal, immediately! It wasn't one he could afford to lose.
(Well. VoxTek would still stand without it, but Vox, ever the power chaser, wanted it badly.)
"Hm?" Alastor's smile stretched wide. "Am I not allowed to greet an old friend hello?" The radio demon took a step closer, his antlers growing slightly, his shadow elongating wickedly.
"We both know your intentions aren't that pure," Vox spat. "I don't have time to fuck around with you right now. Get the fuck out of my way."
And besides... Vox didn't know if he could walk away from a fight with Alastor right now.
"Hmm, no!" Alastor said brightly. "I don't think I will. I'm quite bored today, old pal, and you're the quickest way to remedy it!" A stupid laugh track played in the background.
Vox swallowed. He didn't really have a choice now, did he?
No, he couldn't let Alastor win like that. There had to be another way.
Vox scowled. "Fuck off."
• • •
There were no wires around him. No, the area where Vox was clearly had been long-since abandoned. Dammit, why had he come alone? He hadn't seen Valentino in a long time, but he should have known the moth demon was plotting revenge. Vox had practically handed himself to him on a silver platter! What was he thinking? Why had he come to a place with no wires, no electrcity that would give Vox an easy escape? Perhaps he had just gotten used to feeling so safe with Alastor... Perhaps it had made him careless. Careless, in a place where he couldn't afford to be– there was nowhere Vox could escape as a spot of electricity into.
Valentino was speaking, but Vox wasn't listening, instead frantically searching for a way out. Valentino still had the gun trained on him... He couldn't start a fight. The moment Vox tried to move, Valentino would surely put a bullet through his screen. He needed another plan.
"Vox! Are you even fucking listening?" Valentino snapped.
Vox startled. The moth demon snarled and the gun twitched in his hand.
Vox would make an escape.
• • •
"That's rather rude, darling." Alastor grinned widely. "Perhaps someone ought to teach you a lesson." He continued growing, growing, eyes turning to dials and Vox didn't have time for this, energy be damned he was going to zap the fuck away–
Frequency and static filled his ears and he yelped in pain. What was the fucker doing? He tried to concentrate– to build the energy to turn into electricity–
The static continued hammering in his brain. He could hardly think. The pain was nearly unbearable. Alastor was speaking, but Vox didn't know what he was saying, nor did he care. What the fuck was this? It swarmed his thoughts, loud and pressing and painful. It was the worst headache he had ever experienced, the pain spreading throughout his body–
He just... he just needed more electricity.
A thrumming began working it's way above his skin.
• • •
Electricity hummed, creeping underneath his skin.
"Do we have a deal, Voxxy?" Valentino smiled with false sweetness as he stuck out his hand, another one still guarding Vox with the gun.
It was now or never.
He sighed dejectedly, reaching out his hand. "We do."
Valentino– Stupid Valentino, who wouldn't see a ruse if it approached him naked with a name tag– grinned wickedly and moved to meet his hand–
And Vox sent out a burst of electricity.
It threw the moth demon back with such a brutal force, Vox prayed that perhaps the moth demon hadn't survived at all.
Perhaps a little more, just to make sure...
More electricity was coursing through his veins than he had ever experienced. It was glorious. He had been working it up the entire time that Valentino was talking, but he hadn't realized– quite how much... It was painful. It was draining. He felt all his energy slipping away, his legs begging to give out from underneath him.
His eyes widened as he realized where that energy was going. On the floor beneath him, a portal formed, glowing bright cyan and crackling. It was a way out. An escape.
Vox stepped forward, promptly passed out, and pitched forward through the portal.
• • •
Vox's mind was a mess.
It was all static, frequency, and electricity. No space for coherent thought. Just the loud buzz and determined crackle.
Unbeknownst to him, Alastor had long stopped filling his mind with painful frequencies. Now, he simply stared curiously as Vox's entire body seemed to hum, electricity bouncing off of his skin.
The electricity pooled at his feet, buzzing, eating away at the floor beneath his feet, glowing bright cyan. Vox hardly noticed.
He hardly noticed, even as he was falling through, only feeling a sense of peace as the chaos faded from his ears...
He hit the ground.