"Vox emotionally abuses Valentino."
Counterargument: Their relationship, when Alastor isn't around, is remarkably healthy considering how repressed Vox is. I can think of one example of potentially abusive behavior between them, and it actually comes from Valentino. But Alastor not only brings out all of Vox's worst traits, he actively feeds them. And he's around for most of Vox's interactions with Valentino, so none of those can be treated as evidence of how their relationship is normally.
The very first time we see the two of them interact, within the first ten seconds of that interaction, Valentino throws a glass at Vox (this is the potentially abusive behavior I mentioned, because he does it more than once, and we know it could actually hurt Vox because it breaks his screen the second time. I have flagged it as potentially abusive because Vox does not care. At all. He looks more upset about Valentino breaking his phone than about having things thrown at him).
Vox is openly annoyed about being called in to calm Valentino down, but he doesn't show that annoyance while talking to him, beyond getting on his phone while Val is ranting. And apart from that, there is nothing unhealthy about how he handles the situation. There is one flash of anger when he realizes Valentino is planning to go attack the hotel, and he immediately recovers himself, steps back, and changes his approach. Before that he just lets Valentino vent while asking questions - which shows that he's listening, even while he's on his phone - and after he realizes he needs to take a more active approach, he just. Talks him down. Last I checked, talking people out of bad ideas is not manipulative or abusive.
Meanwhile, Valentino is so surprised by Vox's brief outburst that he snaps out of his own rage. He allows himself to be talked down. And I suppose you could argue it's because he was afraid of upsetting Vox, but he consistently pushes back whenever Vox crosses a line with him, so I kinda doubt it. And when he expresses disappointment in not being allowed to go shoot people, Vox lights his cigarette for him and offers to call up the lowest earners. Which, to me, says Vox isn't only talking him down to protect the company's image. He could have just said tough luck, but instead he offers Valentino something to make him feel better.
"He's just rewarding him for doing what he wants!"
Show me the line where love becomes a transaction. Valentino took his anger out on Vox and Vox still handled the situation with maturity, including reining in his own anger. I do not see anything abusive here (except from Valentino, but again. Vox doesn't care).
I think this is the only scene we have between them that's truly just them, but frankly, it's all we need.
Backstage at Vox's rally, the two of them have a moment together as they're preparing for the show. Not a dramatic one, just some light flirting that both of them seem comfortable with. And then trouble quite literally rolls in, and a few mocking words later, Vox's behavior towards Val changes considerably: dismissive instead of flirtatious, and he decides to go onstage alone instead of with his team.
This is not Vox being neglectful. This is Vox being manipulated by someone who knows exactly which buttons to push. And we know this isn't normal behavior for him, because Valentino is surprised. He knows full well that Vox struggles to share the spotlight, but it still comes as a shock when he makes the conscious decision not to. And once the surprise wears off, Valentino becomes angry, though he keeps it to himself for now.
Later, Vox goes to Valentino so he can "borrow" Angel Dust. But Valentino is still mad and calls Vox out on his behavior at the rally. And Vox mishandles the situation! He doesn't take Val's feelings seriously, and when he starts to say that they've been partners for decades, he catches himself and corrects it to "partners in business". He then attempts to play off his recent behavior as just "pushing the fan favorites to the front", which shows that he hasn't clued in to why Val is actually mad at him.
Valentino isn't mad because Vox is making himself the star of the show, he's mad because he's hurt. He's losing his partner to an obsession, and he needs reassurance that Vox still cares about him. Being treated as just a business partner makes it worse because it diminishes what they are to each other, and comes across as Vox caring more about his own goals than about him. At this point, Valentino stops talking to or looking at him. But he does squeak, which is a thing some moths do when they're startled or agitated. And that's when Vox finally figures out what's actually bothering him, and changes his approach.
"He's using sex to get what he wants!"
Well, yes. He is also affirming his relationship in the only way he can. This man is so repressed that he would probably choke if he tried to say "I love you", he is not going to resolve a problem like this with words. Sex is safe because it doesn't involve feelings, but it's still an explicit request to spend some time together, just the two of them. It's still acknowledging that he hurt Valentino and making an effort to apologize, even if he can't say it.
And no, I don't think I'm reading too much into it. This is the face of a man who just realized he fucked up.
Even healthy couples fight sometimes. Sometimes that fight is about their relationship. It's their business if they want to resolve it with sex, as long as the conflict is resolved and not just ignored. And Valentino has known Vox for far too long not to have noticed his issues with emotional intimacy, or to expect a spoken apology. If it works for them, that's all that matters. And Valentino is happy to accept the offer, even though he wouldn't even look at him a moment ago, so it clearly works for them.
And then they get interrupted, and Vox's personal hell is right there to drive them apart again. Alastor mocks him and Vox lashes out at Valentino, trying to hypnotize him even though he knows he can't. And once again, Valentino looks shocked before anger takes over and he pushes Vox away, with a wings-open intimidation display for good measure. Vox is clearly treating Val in a way that isn't like him, and Val is not putting up with it.
And Vox backs down. Mind you, he does not give a single solitary fuck about being threatened. He has had an angelic spear held an inch from his chest and didn't even flinch. He is not afraid of Valentino. But he steps back even though Alastor is there to see him concede. He stands there and lets Valentino yell at him even though Alastor is there to watch.
And then he just has to get the last word in to save face, and he gets hit in the face instead. But the point is that he's not being abusive in this scene. He is being human. He hurt someone he cares about, he doesn't realize it at first, and when he does, he tries to course correct. And then he immediately fucks up and hurts him again, because his own emotional wounds are being picked at until they bleed.
These two are terrible people, but there's no evidence that they're terrible to each other, at least when Vox isn't dragging the living embodiment of his own insecurities around with him. Just Valentino throwing things, which Vox clearly considers annoying at worst.
I dunno. I think they're pretty happy together, when Vox isn't having a mental health crisis.
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