Satisfactory
♫ Hey, hobo man! Hey, Dapper Dan, you've both got your style... ♫
Elegant crimson swirls were plastered along the walls before you. The red papers were neatly cut off at a straight line, leading down to a shimmering onyx at the bottom. Dim light peaked through your velvet curtains, which you nonchalantly pulled apart. It washed the darker sections of the wall with a false gold; the rays of modest light made the room more captivating. Standing in the silvery carpet, it contrasted beautifully with the walls. The whole room followed this dark and light colour scheme, and it was quite breath taking. The combination went well together, at least to some people. You closed your eyes and took a second to relish in the gentle scarlet rays that softly spread across your features. The sight outside was hardly pleasant. Everything lay painted in blood, but what could you do? Not much. Was that comforting? Not... much.
"... But brother, you're never fully dressed without a smile..."
You felt your lips tug upward at the end of the musical line, taking a long and steady inhale. Opening your lids with a weak grin, you began to make your bed. It was rather simple, classic black and white, but you had no reason to complain. They were comfortable, and that was the only thing you considered when it came to something like this. You eyed the clothes that hung in your closet from a distance, each piece with one or two intentional holes along the backside.
♫ Your clothes may be Beau Brummelly! They stand out a mile! ♫
Keeping the smile across your face at any cost, you continued to hum along as the radio played in the corner of the room. It was not as modern as the one you had when you were alive, but it was one of the few possessions you owned. You had very little; the reason you had anything was this hotel, more so the people in it. Putting your mostly vacant room aside, if anyone had seen you now, you being a fresh and new soul would have been the last thing to come to mind. The way you held your head high and shoulders square was nothing like the way you managed in your past life. When you were satisfied with the bedding, you walked over to the closet to search it.
♫ But brother, you're never fully dressed without a smile! ♫
You hadn't had your own room when you were alive. You never really got out to make a living, either. The inexperienced aura that radiated off of you had dissolved since you took up a job here, and it definitely made you think a bit higher of yourself. You used to be a nobody that was very lenient, very content with anything. Indifferent and easy to satisfy. Though, your pride wasn't hard to swallow. You had many people here to thank. You knew they didn't do any of this out of concern for you (well, maybe your boss had) but it helped you feel much more alive, ironically. You made sure to show everyone your gratitude as often as you could without doing it too frequently.
The radio sat atop a wooden bed table, polished gorgeously and ebony, even. A dresser of the same set was pushed against the wall by your closet, resting beneath an ovoid mirror surrounded with yet another false gold framing, exquisitely twisting with more snake-like swirls. Next to the front door and across from the bathroom doorway, you had a small table and a chair, even a mini-fridge behind the chair. All of the furniture here was dark enough to stand out against the red of the wall and the snow of the ground. Stain free, to your and everyone's delight. Room service was never a worry for you.
♫ Who cares what they're wearing on Main Street or Saville Row? ♫
Finally picking out what you had wished to wear that morning, you unhooked them from their hangers. Calling the fabric nice to the touch was an understatement. You let it drape over your arm. They definitely were not the kind of quality you could afford before, and you didn't even get the pleasure of buying them yourself. Placing them on the bed, you stood there for a second, expectantly. The moment you felt a shift in the room's atmosphere, you exhaled and began to undress and dress yourself- with a smile, of course. You pulled on a red dress shirt, rolling the sleeves to your elbows neatly. Next, you slid into jet black slacks with ease, following with a vest to match, the silk garments attractively hugging yet exposing your slim figure. Slipping into socks and lacing up your perfectly polished oxfords, you clicked your tongue as you stepped into the bathroom.
"... so long... for a while..."
You cranked your neck up to see the greyed skin that stained down your arms, up your neck, and over your face. The pale gold in your eyes relaxed in the charred sclera. You examined the dark hair of yours that tangled around your short horns. With a strained expression, you gently clawed at it until it didn't rope around the horns anymore. You didn't think of it much, but you were practically blessed with this appearance. A lot of the demons here were given freaky bodies they didn't feel comfortable in. You had a more humanoid look, putting aside the obvious demonic features here and there.
"Remember, you're never fully... dressed..."
Pausing, the song didn't wait for you.
"... Without a smile!"
You pull those corners up once more, beginning to brush your teeth and do whatever else you had needed to in front of the mirror.
Your wordless voice sang in hums as you pampered yourself, at a pace, obviously. You combed through your locks gently, parting it slightly to your right. As you buttoned up the two last undone buttons at the top of your shirt, you began to work a striped tie around your neck and under the collar, matching your current colour theme. Before you finished, you found yourself turning to see your backside. You knew you had fit your tail and wings through their designated apertures, but it didn't hurt to give a quick once over.
With a couple more quick adjustments: gloves pulled over your claws and a pocket watch clipped, you grinned wide at your appearance. You made sure nothing was out of place and you finally left your room with a skip in your step.
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The Hazbin Hotel was a wonderous place, wasn't it?
You didn't leave before you took your radio with you, though. Lowering the volume, you continued to hum all while you unlocked a door to retrieve a laundry cart. You skipped rooms that had door hangers, and the few ones that didn't held demons that were still a bit irritated at your knocking, but you hadn't faltered one bit. There were about 3 times the residents now compared to the day The Radio Demon arrived. So, surprisingly, that meant at least some people believed in redemption (or a free hotel room). The condition of the place wasn't bad, especially since you and a certain someone seemed to compete everyday.
Laundry was being finished up as breakfast was near end in the lobby. You might have not wanted to miss breakfast, though you made an exception with this task. You were trying to live as normally as you could, but this was Hell, after all. Observing the notepad in your hand, you separated the sheets, pillow cases, comforters, and towels accordingly, unforgiving if you were to mix anything up at all. You delivered, much to everyone's delight. Basking in the pleasantry of being useful, you did a couple other things here and there; re-filling ice dispensers, drink and snack machines, and whatever you were certain hadn't been assigned to anyone.
You could see the shadow following in your own, sighing quietly. Maybe you were overdoing it, as everyone would always accuse you of, even though it felt like no work at all. Sure, there were quite a few people working there just like you, but you really couldn't help it. Niffty was on another level of course, but if she also asked you to chill, you supposed you could ease off. Time just passed so slowly if you weren't distracted by some errand or another. Letting yourself join whoever still remained downstairs, you slicked your hair back absentmindedly.
As you approached the bar, the sweetly coloured spider turned his head towards you as the ever-so-charming Husk's sight focused on you. Your bat-like wings, though they were tiny, stretched out as your arms extended upwards. That was the first yawn you let out since you woke. The feline growled, but you could tell he was at least a little glad you were there now. Angel Dust's mismatched eyes widened as his brows crashed down, smiling in a rather... hungry manner.
"... Hot fuckin' damn. What's the occasion, sexy?"
"Hahaha, I know those eyes, Angel."
"Whatever do you mean?~"
The smile stayed on your lips as you laughed in an innocent tone. The spider was playfully keeping eye contact- almost in a challenging fashion- smirking back. He just eyed you up and down as you seated yourself at the bar with the other two, making sure to sit straight.
"... Stop mentally undressing me."
"Wear shit like that, you're beggin' for it."
"Ha! Haha, this is what I usually wear! You'd have to pay to see me do that."
"... Oh?~"
"I take it back."
You could see the slight irritation in Angel's expression, but with the liveliness of your each response you had him on the edge of his seat. Every bit of his attention stuck to you for the time being and he was wildly amused, chuckling under his breath. You just grinned and placed your intertwined hands on the bar's surface, shooting an apologetic look to Husk. Poor cat had to deal with this a lot, huh? He rolled his eyes, but stepped away to get you a drink.
"How has your morning been, Angel?" You made another attempt to conversation... It went as expected.
"Just been wondering how touch-starved ya must be."
When you heard him hiss you felt yourself tense a bit, laughing lightheartedly when you noticed what dripped in the spider's voice. "I'm just not that type, Angel."
"And if ya were?~" He propped up an elbow on the bar and cradled his cheek in his palm, twisting his body on his stool to face you entirely. "Would ya do me?"
"Hmm..." You narrowed your eyes at the fluffy spider while a glass of plain water was placed before you. You simpered, letting your hands wrap around the cold glass. "... Maybe in another afterlife."
"That's enough consent for me!"
"Haha, no! Not even close to enough!"
Your brows furrowed and your slim figure leaned back a bit, though you laughed in a soft and alluring manner. You knew he were partially joking so it didn't pinch at you much. Angel made grabby hands before he eventually chuckled back, admiring that at least you didn't puss off like a few demons always would. Looking at him now, you couldn't help but think about the day you first met him in person.
You remembered getting caught in the sudden crossfire, Angel Dust armed and ready at the side of a chaotic miss you now know much better. That section of the city seemed to be falling apart, rubble dusting across the horizon while a snake excessively shouted and disappeared in a colossal vehicle in the distance. You remembered how filthy you were at that moment, the way the spider leered at you in disgust before his eyes lit up. The urge to frown washed over you at that specific memory, but it only barely affected your grin. Ah yes, you remembered being dragged into the limousine with the spider and two ladies, not sure where you'd end up. You were just a "recruit", a means for the star to get off the hook easier, but you were glad that happened. Now, you were as clean as a whistle. Everyone got a bow and scrape from you, and as much as it were verbally denied, it was silently appreciated.
With a gentle backwards tilt of your head, a peaceful smile stuck on your lips as you took a sip of the refreshing beverage. With a sudden chuckle, you started coughing. Out of nowhere, your brain had pulled up the memory of a baffled and kind of pissed off Husk when you first asked him for water. He appeared as if it were the most ridiculous thing in the world.
"F-" With an abrupt pause, you caught yourself. "-Fortunately, I didn't pull an Angel." You smiled proudly the moment Angel Dust caught on, a fighting spirit in him, though his voice drowned out under a sharp feedback interruption. Ah, great.
"Husker, is (Y/n) there?"
With an eye roll, you stood from the stool. Husk was huddled at the opposite end of the bar, trying his hardest to drink in peace, and your presence actually let him. For a while. But you knew you were wanted elsewhere before it was even stated. Sorry, Husker. The moment he saw you heed to the demon's call, he quickly dropped his attention back to what he was best at. You never knew why he wouldn't ever ask for you to your face though. It was always someone else being asked if you were there. Likely, it was to annoy them because everyone knew he could have eyes anywhere he desired. What a troll.
"Yes, Alastor?"
There he was, standing in the empty lounge. Like a break or snack room, available to employees... with the exception of a few people.
You brought your gloved hands to fold over your abdomen as your eyes locked, his intimidating reds with your ink and golds. You couldn't deny that the way he dressed fit him. His superfluous mannerisms, his menacing domineer; that was it, it was the contradictory that made so much sense in regard to him. That ruby pinstripe tailcoat, neat and well kept, yet tattered at the bottom. The elegancy of his monocle, bowtie, the puffed shoulders, only to run down to carmine claws that'd petrify others with the fear a single caress could end them. He was proper in a wicked and time-worn way.
"Have you eaten yet, my good fellow?"
"I gain no benefit from lying to you, Alastor." You spoke matter-of-factly, mirroring his smile. "You've been observing me all morning, yes?"
"Mh. Then..." Though you could see his shadow phasing across the ground, you kept eye contact with him and let the shadow linger in your peripheral vision. "We'd butter get some food into you." He appeared at your side, a rough hand on your shoulder turning you around and leading you to where residents ate breakfast. You saw his toothy grin at your side, fighting the immense urge to pinch the bridge of your nose and groan. You knew he took note of it; he was able to take note of things you sometimes didn't even realise yourself.
"Let's make you an egg-cellent breakfast, shall we? My apologies for cutting to the cheese." Alastor chirped, closely watching your face. You didn't know it then, but he could sense the former falsity behind your smile. It always puzzled him, but it was a good thing to take advantage of if bored. He felt you tense as he chucked out more puns. "Have you thought of something batter?" The genuineness of your smile began to grow. With a sudden snap of his fingers, he held up a mug of coffee. "... Rise and grind?"
"Oh, good grief."
"Hm?"
"That was..." You felt your face contort. You had been up for a while, but you really felt it was too early for this crap. It took you a bit to realise that your smile was honest in that moment. Eventually you gave in, a balled fist raising to cover your lips as you (tried to) hide your chuckle with coughs.
"... I apologise."
Upon hearing him, your head snapped back to look at him. He always wore a smile, but this one was more... amused? You could assume he were laughing at his joke internally anyway. His sudden apology did strike you as strange though. From past experience, it was hard to get him to stop talking, he just went with the flow and so did his voice. Perhaps that was only when he had a chance of not being the centre of attention. It was just the two of you, he didn't have to battle for the spotlight. You realised it was hurting your head to put so much thought into it. With a soft "bah", you walked past the cluttered counters and into the kitchen yourself. You knew he'd follow you in there, so you didn't bother to put in any effort to speak louder. "Don't, it got me." You unhooked a small pot from the rest that all hung by their handles. "I'll settle for cream of wheat."
"S-wheat."
The snort you made followed with a tilt of the deer demon's head.
"It doesn't have to be. Would you like a bowl?"
While reading the box soundlessly, you were filling a measuring cup with water. Usually, nothing preoccupied your mind. You were very good at paying attention to multiple things at once, as long as it was quiet enough to focus. You couldn't completely tune out everything, but you could ignore most things that weren't loud. You waited for a response, but didn't expect one from him. The Radio Demon had other plans, but for now, he didn't answer. He just observed you as he had since his arrival. When the faucet shut off, a rather welcoming silence enveloped in the air. Looking at you now, he couldn't help but think about the day he first met you in person.