Doe — A Deer — A Female Deer!
Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING!!! Hazbin Hotel and all of its characters belong to Vivziepop and Amazon Prime.
Overlord meetings either made her feel awkward or uncomfortable. It depended on who was in attendance. Rosie didn’t mind Zestial or Carmilla most of the time. Zeezi and Kilian were alright. She adored Alastor. But the Vees…ugh! Velvette—the loudmouth little shit talker was the most tolerable. Vox was a raging, petty bitch boy. And Valentino…his lewd remarks and unwelcome advances were enough to make Rosie’s stomach turn, which was saying something considering her cannibalistic tendencies.
She waited as long as possible before entering the conference room. Walking in with Alastor was usually enough to deter the pimpmoth, especially if they sat beside Zestial. Unfortunately, Alastor had yet to arrive. Part of Rosie feared he’d disappear again for another seven years. The thought formed a lump in her throat she forced herself to choke down. The others were already inside and ready to start. Valentino—the bastard he was, had claimed the seat between Zestial and the remaining unoccupied chairs.
Rosie glanced toward the elevators hoping and praying they’d open with a resounding ding and Alastor would step out. Nothing happened. No ding. No open doors. No dapper deer gent to rescue her from the clutches of Hell’s greatest pervert. Rosie bit back a groan and made her way to the table back straight and head held high determined to ignore the attending Vee.
The meeting began as they always did with roll call. It continued with a list of boring, drawn-out conversations about current events and other tedious things. The exterminations were still on hold and would be until further notice thanks to Charlie’s efforts and Carmilla’s knowledge of angelic steel and how to use it against exorcists. Rosie only half listened glancing at the door periodically looking for any sign of their resident wendigo.
Where was Alastor? Was he avoiding her? She’d been present during the battle, had seen him take a severe blow to the chest from Adam’s weapon. He’d come to her later for medical assistance. She’d cleaned, treated, and bandaged his wound. He’d promised to visit in the near future once repairs on the hotel were complete. She hadn’t seen, heard from, or spoken to him since. That had been a month ago.
Rosie tensed when she felt a familiar presence next to her. Valentino had switched chairs. He sat so close she could smell the overwhelming stench of his expensive cologne. She fought the urge to gag as he leaned in. His breath smelled of cigarillos and liquor. “What are you looking for, hermosa? Don’t you know everything you could ever want is right here?” He gestured to himself with what he probably thought was an alluring smile.
Rosie wrinkled her nose—or she would’ve if she’d had one. “I doubt that.”
The moth demon’s ill-tempered nature was legendary. It showed in how his expression twisted from false charm to petulant in the blink of an eye. “Hey, don’t blame me because your favorite furry isn’t here.” His suave facade slid back into place quicker than a snap of one’s fingers. “I’d never abandon you, Rosita.” He took her hand making her skin crawl as he brought it to his lips. “Forget Alastor. Date me instead. I don’t mind the occasional love bite.” His tongue slid out of his mouth to run along her knuckles.
Rosie jerked her hand out of his and recoiled. “That is disgusting!”
Everyone looked up and silence filled the room. Carmilla narrowed her eyes at Valentino before addressing Rosie. “Something you’d like to share with the rest of us, Rosie?”
The Cannibal Queen refused to falter under the weapons dealer's disdainful gaze. “Yeah. I have something to say.” She stood up and put one hand on her hip while pointing a finger at Valentino. “This prick’s been harassing me for weeks now, and not a damn one of you has said or done shit about it. These meetings are supposed to be neutral, not a breeding ground for sexual perversion. I’m leaving, you hear me? And if you don’t like it, feel free to kiss my ass!”
Carmilla’s eyes widened in shock as Rosie turned to leave. Zestial opened his mouth to speak, but Val beat him to it. “Hey! No one speaks to or about me that way, especially some cheap, tacky old slut from the cannibal colony!”
Rosie kept walking determined to get out of there. Before she could reach the door, Valentino lunged up out of his chair, one hand latching onto her hat while the other dug into the fabric of her gown just below her waistline. Rosie gasped caught off guard by the other demon’s rough attempt to drag her back to the table. She whirled around intent on elbowing him in the face or throat, but Val sidestepped, retaliating with a backhand to the face that left Rosie seeing stars.
The other overlords were about to intervene when something—or rather someone—slammed full force into the moth and sent him flying backward onto the table. The sheer strength of the collision knocked Rosie off balance. She landed on her knees catching herself with her hands as the sound of torn fabric filled her ears. Cool air danced along her doe ears and tail. One hand flew to her hair, the other to the lowest part of her spine in a futile attempt to hide what the others had already seen.
“Holy shit,” Zeezi exclaimed. “She’s a deer too!”
Rosie twisted around desperate to locate her hat. Val had taken it and a portion of her dress with him. He and Alastor were still grappling on the table. Val tried to kick Alastor off of him, but The Radio Demon was relentless and unyielding, landing punch after punch to any and every part of Valentino’s body he could reach. The solid wood beneath them caved in, but even that did nothing to dampen Alastor’s fury. He dug his nails into Val’s scalp and began slamming the pimp’s head against the concrete floor. “Don’t you ever touch her again you filthy piece of shit!”
Rosie winced at the sound of cracking bone. She felt something brush her shoulders and looked up to see Kilian putting his coat around her. Meanwhile, Alastor’s red scleras blackened and his pupils morphed into radio dials as he slashed at Valentino’s face, neck, and chest with his elongating claws.
“Get this fucker away from me,” Val screamed.
Zestial moved forth in a blur taking hold of Alastor. It took him and Zeezi working together to drag Alastor off of Val. Alastor struggled against their hold compelled by unparalleled anger at the moth’s repulsive treatment toward his Rosie.
“Alastor, cesar y desistir,” Carmilla ordered. Her commands fell on deaf ears.
Valentino crawled to the opposite side of the room putting as much distance between himself and the deranged deer demon as possible. His upper body was covered in deep gashes and fresh bruises, his attire soaked in blood. He pointed a trembling finger at Alastor. “Keep that thing away from me!”
Alastor hissed and gnashed his teeth. Zestial responded by slamming a wave of his dark magic down on the wendigo. Alastor bleated in pain breaking Rosie out of her stupor. She jumped up and ran to Alastor. “Don’t hurt him,” she cried, pushing Zestial away from Alastor. Much to everyone’s surprise, the ancient spider demon relented without protest and made no attempt to reprimand her.
Rosie knelt down beside Alastor and placed a hand on his back. The sound of her voice, gentle touch, and sweet lavender scent jolted him back to reality. His eyes returned to normal while his body shrank down to its natural size. She cupped his cheek and buried her face in the crook of his neck to soothe him.
He turned his head to meet her eye. “Did he hurt you?”
She shook her head following his gaze as it dropped to the coat draped around her. Rosie didn’t argue or fight him when he peeled it off her to replace it with his own. His instincts were likely screaming at him to make it clear to those present that she was already spoken for. Rosie cupped his face and rested his forehead against hers. Alastor's permanent smile softened as he wrapped her in a warm embrace and released what their onlookers could only assume was a content buck bleat.
“Awww,” Zeezi cooed. “So cute!”
Carmilla took a breath to steady herself. She didn’t like reprimanding Rosie or Alastor, especially for something Valentino had started, but there were rules and regulations when it came to overlord assemblies. She squared her shoulders and her voice took on an authoritative tone. “Alastor Dubois, Rosie Hunt?” Alastor stood and helped Rosie to her feet. They both turned toward Carmilla. “You are hereby banned from attending overlord gatherings for the next three months.”
Rosie scoffed. “Whatever. Ain’t no skin off my ass.”
Alastor wrapped a protective arm around her as they headed for the door. Valentino flipped them off thinking they couldn’t see with their backs turned. Alastor paused in the doorway to glare and snarl at the moth over his shoulder. Val screamed like the sissy bitch he really was and pressed himself against the wall. Alastor huffed and guided Rosie out into the hall.
Alastor always smelled of black coffee and pipe tobacco. Rosie breathed him in realizing right away his scent was stronger than usual. “You’re in rut,” she whispered, waiting until they were far enough away from the others to ensure they wouldn’t hear their conversation. “Is that why you haven’t visited me?”
“I didn’t want to risk harming you by succumbing to my baser needs,” he answered, pressing the first floor button.
“Oh, Al, you’d never hurt me,” Rosie assured him as they stepped onto the elevator.
The door slid closed behind them, though not before they saw Carmilla boot Val out of the conference room having banished him as well. Rosie covered her mouth to muffle a giggle at seeing the weapons dealer literally kicking the pimp’s ass all the way down the corridor to the adjacent stairwell. Her smile faded when Alastor removed his arm from around her so he could move to the other side of the elevator as they started their slow descent to the front lobby.
“You’re perfume,” he murmured, turning his face away and averting his gaze to the floor. “It’s so…”
“I’m in estrus,” she confessed, which explained why Val had been even more aggressive toward her than he’d been at previous meetings.
Rosie tried to close the distance between them but he held out his arm to stop her. “Don’t, Rosie, please…” The adrenaline from his fight with Valentino was still coursing through him along with the overwhelming desire to mate.
Rosie caught a glimpse of his strained expression. “Al…”
Without warning, she reached over, yanked open the emergency compartment, and pressed a button. Alastor swayed slightly when the elevator stopped. He lifted his head and saw her close the panel. “Rosie, what are you—”
Rosie silenced him with a kiss. Alastor’s ears jerked upright at the sudden, unexpected interaction. He tried to pull back but she cupped the back of his head and pinned him against the wall with her body. “The cameras,” he warned.
“I don’t care who sees. Let them watch. Maybe they’ll learn something.”
Alastor’s resolve melted away as she trailed kisses along his jawline and throat. He flipped them around pressing her against the wall while she undid his belt and unbuttoned his trousers. “Please don’t hold back,” she begged.
He hiked up her silk skirt so it pooled at her hips. “Dearest Rosie, I’d never withhold anything from you.”
The other overlords stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed at the screen in front of them. They’d left the conference room the moment they’d noticed the red light flash above the elevator. Carmilla, leading the way, had run to her office thinking the elevator had stalled due to a technical malfunction. She’d snatched up the phone on her desk planning to reassure Rosie and Alastor they’d get them out as soon as possible only to freeze after noticing what was unfolding on the security feed currently displayed on her computer.
“Santa mierda! Are you serious right now?”
Zestial tilted his head to get a look and immediately averted his gaze. “Oh, my…”
Zeezi started laughing so hard she had to lean against the desk to keep herself upright. “It’s demonic Animal Planet!”
Kilian blushed then turned away. “We shouldn’t watch. It’s impolite.”
“They’re fucking in my elevator!” Carmilla yelled.
“Be glad it isn’t your office or the conference room,” Zeezi wheezed.
“She doth have a point,” Zestial admitted.
