Preening
Word Count: 2548
A little Radioapple tickle fic I wrote a while back. It’s a tad rough, but I thought why not post it hehe. Enjoy!
*
*
*
*
It was late one evening at the Hazbin Hotel, and Alastor could be found humming to himself, snuggled in the king bed within Lucifer's room. A small radio on the bedside table played some soothing, quiet jazz as he turned the page of his book. The lamp beside him provided a warm and cozy atmosphere, along with the presence of his darling Lucifer who shifted with his eyes closed beside him. This wouldn’t be of concern, had Alastor not noticed him moving around restlessly tonight.
He was not asleep just yet but was certainly attempting to. He glances away from his novel, his red eyes glowing softly in the dimmed bedroom lighting. Lucifer shifts for what feels like the thousandth time that night and grunts, muttering something incomprehensible before rolling onto his side to face Alastor once again. His brows are knitted together in slight distress, his expression matching one of discomfort. Alastor marks the page of his book and then sets it aside, giving the King of Hell his full attention. Though this was quite new to them and they were still figuring out this whole ‘dating’ complex, it was clear to Alasor that something was agitating him. He continues studying him for a moment longer before he reaches out with one hand to brush away the strands of hair that had fallen over his eyes. A fleeting touch that lingers for a brief moment, as if to offer a silent reassurance while also testing the waters. His touch is rather delicate, a contrast to his usual persona and facade. He speaks in a soft tone.
“Is something troubling you, Lucifer?”
Lucifer sighs in response, his expression still displaying signs of restlessness. At the touch on his head, however, his expression softens slightly. He opens his eyes to glance up at him, muttering quietly, “It’s nothing, Bambi.”
Now Alastor’s eyes narrow slightly, noticing how Lucifer leans into his touch, a small indication that perhaps it was welcome rather than intrusive. He tilts his head with an unreadable expression, “You are clearly restless. It’s obviously apparent you’re not comfortable right now.”
Lucifer locks eyes on his gaze, with a face flushing slightly. Unfortunately for him, it always feels like Alastor can see right through him. Yet, he knows he was not exactly being subtle about it. “It’s nothing you need to worry about. It’s just my wings.” He admits with a mumble.
Wings. Alastor hums in interest at Lucifer’s sudden revelation and the flush of his cheeks, though he doesn’t comment on it further. He glances towards Lucifer’s back, “Your wings,” he repeats. He tilts his head, observing the way Lucifer looks almost embarrassed. “Are they uncomfortable?”
The look Alastor gives him only makes Lucifer flush more. He shifts in the bed so he is now lying on his stomach, looking up at Alastor. “It’s molting season. That’s all.” He doesn’t elaborate further, though one of his wings twitches.
“Molting season?” Alastor repeats once again, a hint of amusement in his tone, “Lucifer, the King of Hell himself, is having trouble sleeping because of a molt? I find that quite charming.” He couldn’t help but find the thought of Lucifer being mildly inconvenienced by such a mundane circumstance rather entertaining, but he mainly kept that thought to himself.
Lucifer scoffs slightly. “Of course you do.” He can't help but have a wing twitch once again, his feathers clearly bothering him. He notes to himself that he really should have preened before he invited Alastor to spend the night with him, he was just excited.
Alastors amusement grows as Lucifer scoffs, his eyes gleaming with an urge to tease him. “Well, it’s just quite…simple. I didn’t exactly expect you to be fussing over your wings.” He reaches out, gently brushing away a couple of loose feathers that have fallen onto his shoulder from his constant twitches, “You should have said something earlier.”
Lucifer’s response was a simple huff and whine of, “I didn’t think they’d be this annoying.” It was true. He figured he would just preen tomorrow after Alastor leaves to do…whatever he does. He wasn’t expecting his wings to be so aggravating tonight.
Alastor’s amusement grows, a smirk playing at the corner of his lips. “Ah, so you were caught off guard by the wrath of molting feathers despite having them for an eternity.” Taking into account his previous reaction to his gentle brush of his hair, he moves his hand to gently run his fingers through Lucifer’s feathers to try to remove and settle them to help his darling get comfortable. “You’ve got me here now. I happen to be fairly good at preening feathers.”
Though this was a simple act of comfort, Lucifer instantly tenses and flushes further. His wings twitch in response and he squirms slightly. “Sure you are,” he speaks in an attempt at sarcasm to mask his squirm.
Alastor has a keen eye, however, and a hint of concern appears on his features as he continues to tease the feathers straight. “Mhm. Indeed I am. Though I understand your disbelief.” But Lucifer continues squirming, his wings still twitching. “Relax. I’m not going to hurt you.” He continues the gentle preening motion, ensuring he is not tugging or scratching too rough, his eyes focused on Lucifer’s feathers with an occasional glance to gauge his reactions.
“I am relaxed!” Lucifer protests, but his voice is squeaky. He squirms more as time goes on as he buries his face into the pillow in order to hide a growing involuntary smile.
“Oh, I can see that,” Alastor says softly, his voice tinged with amusement as he continues to preen Lucifer's feathers gently. “Your squirming and hiding your face are all signs of utmost relaxation, after all.” His smirk grows wider as he watches Lucifer bury his face further into the pillow, causing him to chuckle. Lucifer is about to make another sarcastic comment, but as he does Alastor brushes against the top arch of one of his wings causing a giggle to escape instead. This causes Alastor’s eyes to flicker with interest.
“Oh?” He chuckles once more, repeating the motion, curious to see if it will elicit the same reaction, “So those wings are sensitive, I take it.” he teases. This teasing only further weakens the attempted defense Lucifer is trying to build, another giggle escaping as he tries to reach over and grasp one of his arms to pull them away from his wings. “No. They’re not. And quit it, I can preen them myself tomorrow.”
Alastor laughs now, a rare genuine sound from the usually composed Overlord. “Oh, come on! I was just having a bit of fun and trying to help you,” Alastor says with a playful tone. He avoids Lucifer’s attempts at stopping him and returns to the top of his wing. “Now sit still and let me preen you.”
Lucifer tries to protest but instead begins giggling. “Bambi!” he squeaks, instantly trying to roll away from him half-heartedly. Despite the ticklish sensation, he couldn’t deny that he was untangling some irritating feathers that had been bothering him earlier.
Alastor’s amusement reaches new heights as the protest dissolves into a burst of giggles, quite an adorable reaction in his opinion. In mere moments, he’s tossing covers aside to sit on the lower back of Lucier, careful to avoid sitting on his wings. “Are you telling me, you, Lucifer Morningstar, the almighty king…” he leans in closer, whispering into his ear. “Are ticklish?”
Lucifer lets out a strangled noise as Alastor moves in a flash to sit behind him, weakly attempting to throw him off. “What? No!”
Alastor leans to see that growing blush. His fingers quickly go back to preening his wings, though purposely moving in that same light fashion and focusing on particularly sensitive spots that seem to get Lucifer worked up. “You aren’t? That giggle of yours along with those fluttering wings say something on the contrary.”
Lucifer squirms and twitches, giggles falling uncontrollably from his lips. Alastors weight on his lower back proves to be a lot more difficult to escape from when he’s weakened by his own giggling. As Alastor moves to try to focus on those sensitive spots, his giggling grows louder and more unrestrained. “H-Hey! Okay! Al, don’t!”
Alastor continues his gentle yet relentless assault on Lucifer’s wings, not being able to resist as he watches Lucifer giggle and his wings flutter frantically. He removes some of those pesky loose feathers in the process. “But it’s so much fun just teasing you like this, Luci,” he mumbles into his ear, the nickname slipping out in the moment of chaos and amusement, “And besides, you really need me to properly preen your wings if you plan on getting any sleep tonight.”
The combination of Alastor’s fingers on his wings and the sudden use of the nickname ‘Luci’ sends him into another, louder giggling fit as his wings flutter faster. He squirms more violently, trying to escape the relentless assault, “Al, I’m- I’m serious!”
Alastor relishes in the moment, continuing to carefully preen Lucifer’s wings while causing a flurry of giggles to come from his mouth. He continues leaning in to whisper against his ear, “Sure you are. But you’re so fun to mess with, and I would be foolish to let this opportunity go to waste.” He hums and continues to preen his wings as he moves to the base of them, fingers dancing over them. “Come on, Lucifer, stop resisting so much. Let me finish this little preening session. It will all be over soon.” He teases.
Lucifer squeals at the contact when Alastor reaches the base of his wings, causing the loose feathers to fall and his back to arch. He’d be lying if he said this wasn’t helping relieve some of the irritation or that he hated this, but he’d never admit to either anyway. “Ah! Alastor, not there!”
Of course, that reaction piques Alastor's interest. He raises an eyebrow, a smirk still present on his face. “Not there, you say, hmm?” he murmurs, his voice low and teasing. His fingers dance along the base of his wings again, making sure to send a shiver up Lucifer’s spine. “Well, this appears to be a great help. Look at these feathers. I should charge you for my services.” he teases.
Lucifer can’t help but squeal once more, trying to protest but every word is cut off by another wave of uncontrollable giggling. “Please!” he manages to squeal out, his voice high and breathy as his body shakes. His laughter, the arching of his back, and the flutter of his wings are almost a symphony of reactions that Alastor finds satisfying.
“Please what? Please stop? But look at how much your wings are enjoying it, Luci! Admit it.” He teased, moving to another set of wings to continue his ticklish preening, now purposely nuzzling his nose to the back of his neck, causing Lucifer to giggle more if that was even possible. His wings begin fluttering at a rapid pace like a hummingbird’s trying to take flight. The combination of Alastor’s relentless teasing and the nickname leaves him more vulnerable than he would like to admit.
“I’m not enjoying this!” Lucifer insists through his laughter, but it is clearly a lie evident by the amount of giggles and lack of an actual escape attempt. They both know that if Lucifer really wanted this to end, he would have stopped him long ago. And Alastor was not going to waste any time pointing that out.
“Don’t even bother, darling. Why are you giggling like a schoolgirl then, hmm?” He asks in a teasing tone, “You’re not even trying to actually get me off. I think the great Lucifer might, in fact, be enjoying himself a little.” As if to prove a point, he moves to the final set of wings to preen them in a rapid manner, moving carefully but quickly around them to set them straight and untangle the feathers.
Lucifer’s response descends into hysterical laughter, the quick preening causing a stream of uncontrollable laughter to escape his lips. He attempts as weakly as before to push him away, but thanks to how half-hearted they are they don’t do much. “Okay! Okay!” He laughs, the words slightly broken by the laughter. “Yes, yes! I sort of like it! You happy?”
Alastor chuckles victoriously, his smile widening at his admission. He continues for a few minutes, relishing in his hysterical pleas and laughter. “See? Was that so hard to confess?” he finally speaks, in a still playful voice as he finishes preening Lucifer’s wings. He takes a moment to ensure they’re all in order. “There we go. All done.” The hands on Lucifer’s back move to his hips as he rolls and grasps Lucifer to switch their positions so his wings are comfortably on the bed. “I never knew you were so damn ticklish.”
Lucifer catches his breath, giggles slowing into breathless chuckles as his chest rises and falls rapidly. The shift in position causes a small shiver to ride up his spine. “I swear, if you tell anyone a word of this I’ll kill you, Bambi.”
“Oh, you’re threatening me now are you?” Alastor laughs, but there is no real menace present in his words. He moves a hand up to run his fingers through Lucifer’s hair, his touch soft and tender. He’s always soft around him apparently. A part of him, he’s learning, is something only Lucifer can see. “Rest assured, your little secret is safe with me. I have no intention of telling anyone you're an absolute mess when you’re tickled. Only I get to exploit that.”
Lucifer flushes, leaning subconsciously into his touch. “Shut up.” Is the only thing that slips from his lips, other than a soft yawn. He relaxes into the bed, his wings feeling much less irritated.
Alastor laughs, enjoying the sight of Lucifer practically putty beneath his fingers. “Did I wear you out, Your Majesty?” he hums, pressing a gentle kiss to his lips before moving off of him, brushing the loose feathers off the bed to be dealt with tomorrow. He moves to turn off the lamp. “Judging by your relaxed demeanor is it safe to say you feel better now?”
Lucifer turns his head to look at Alastor, a small pout on his face at the continued teasing. “Yes, I feel better, smartass,” he mumbles. There is a slight pause before he adds in a whispered tone, “Thanks, Al.”
Alastor smiles, his gaze softening at the muttered response. He shifts closer to pull him against his chest, wrapping himself around him and putting his face against him. “It was my pleasure.” He speaks quietly, moving to instead rub gentle circles along his back to soothe his darling to sleep.
There is no protest from Lucifer this time, only a soft noise of approval as he closes his eyes and melts into the bed. “I’m getting you back for that.” he whispers, to which Alastor laughs softly and murmurs, “I’d like to see you try.” Before finally getting him to sleep. It doesn’t take long for Alastor to follow suit either, knowing that the next morning he would likely have a little fireball to deal with. Not that he’d complain, it was his darling after all.
*
*
*
*
*
Hopefully you all enjoyed it! It’s definitely not my best work but it’ll suffice for now hehe.