#bat demon

Y/n and Vox had been tied to one another their entire lives. Their parents had been friends. When they were kids? They were always being forced to keep track of one another, to look out for each other.

At first the pair had hated it but slowly, as time had passed, they had found a specific sort of comfort, a distinct type of camaraderie, with one another. There was nothing quite like having a steadfast alibi, someone who would vouch for you no matter the situation. They were attached at the hip.

It hadn't just been when they were kids either, no. Vox had been the face, but Y/n had been the planner, she had been the eyes and ears. She schemed for him, figuring out the patterns his desired victims followed, putting them into sticky situations, making sure that the only option for them would be death when Vox arrived on scene.

It was fun, a game. She liked the hunt, she liked to tease. Her best skill was always finding the exact thing that was most needed in the sea of darkness.

As Vox had climbed higher, he was sure never to forget his origins. No, Y/n wouldn't allow it. She didn't follow him around like a dog or anything, but she always seemed to appear places. He would open the door to his newest office, and Y/n would already be sitting lazily in his chair, feet on the desk.

He couldn't get rid of her even if he wanted to which, in all actuality, Vox did not want to do. She was useful, he wouldn't have been able to get where he was without Y/n's ever present aid and besides any of that, they were friends. He enjoyed her company, her stupid jokes, her complete and utter lack of respect when dealing with him. It kept Vox in line, it reminded him why he wanted what he wanted and made sure he was close enough to his audience that he would actually be able to achieve his goals.

She had even died with him, loyal to the end. Vox never really understood it. She didn't want money, had no interest in power or influence. Y/n never asked for anything from him save his time, his company, his honesty - all things she was bound to receive regardless. Still, she stood by him.

Of course he had offered her a position as one of the Vees, even offered to help her figure out a name to match the others, a moniker Hell could know her by. Of course, Y/n had declined.

She still showed up, of course. Every day. No job, no pay, Vox supposed the girl simply had nothing better to do. In a sense, he was grateful but it also confused him. It was one of those mysteries he tried not to touch, worried that in recognizing it, she would fade into oblivion, never to be seen by him again.

"Rude." Vox scoffed and Y/n laughed.

She had always had the most incredible laugh. It was infectious, and you could always tell when she was faking it because when she wasn't? She snorted. Maybe that is why her laughter was so great: not necessarily how genuine it was but because who does that? Who actually snorted when they laughed. Well, Y/n did. Vox loved it.

Vox crossed his arms, feigning hurt.

"You know, when you showed up for a chat I thought it was going to be to comfort me, like a good friend does."

"Don't kid yourself," Y/n brushed him off with a wave of her hand and a teasing smile, "I was just hanging around. You're the one who showed up wanting to chat."

"Just hanging around in my office."

"Oh, you love it. Now, what happened?"

Vox sighed, releasing his arms and letting them fall to his sides. He leaned back in his chair, eyes fixed on the ceiling as he swiveled gently from side to side.

"It doesn't matter." he groaned, "What does matter is that I want to get back at him."

"And you have a plan for that, do you?"

Vox straightened up, meeting Y/n's curious gaze. He nodded once, sharply.

"I was actually looking for you in regards to that." he admitted.

"Yeah? Need me to dig you out of a hole again?" Y/n teased.

"No," Vox replied sharply, perhaps a bit too quickly, "I was just wondering if you would like to help me."

Y/n leaned forward, folding her hands on the desk. Her face was cool, resolute, unreadable. It wasn't often that Vox directly asked her for help, after all. This was serious.

"Vox, I know you." she began, "I am always just going to assume it is your fault."

"But?" Vox asked after a moment, breaking the tense silence between them.

Another grin, one a bit too wide, split across Y/n's face. She was excited.

"That does not mean that I am ever going to pass up on a chance to cause trouble with you. So, what's the plan?"

That was how they found themselves where they were now: seated on the couch in the meeting room at the top of Vee Tower, readying themselves. Velvette and Val were sure to be on their way up for their weekly progress meeting and everything had to be perfect for their arrival.

"Tell me how you want me to sit again?" Y/n asked and Vox's cheeks flushed pink.

"Just... on... me?"

"Oh, yeah."

She was teasing him. Y/n was not only the only soul in Hell Vox allowed to push his buttons, she was one of the only souls in Hell who even knew he had buttons to press.

"Come on." he grumbled, "Let's just get this over with."

"Hey," Y/n raised her hands in defense, "this was your idea, remember? We don't have to do this."

Vox shook his head.

"It will work. I am sure of it."

The plan was this: Valentino had always been a tad... suspicious in relation to Vox and his oldest friend. He had dropped hints here and there. They came in the form of jokes, mainly, but jokes that held a deeper meaning.

"Where were you?" Val would asked and when Vox responded with something to do with Y/n, it would be followed by a response like "Oh? Were you fucking?"

The way Vox saw it, Y/n intimidated Valentino in some way. The jokes? Val was fishing for information.

Maybe it was her shared history with Vox, maybe the man was just more insecure than he made himself seem. Whatever it was, Vox was certain that the way to get to him, to really make the moth demon squirm with jealousy and regret, was by Vox finally doing something with the bat demon.

And so they would stage a hookup, maybe fake date for a bit, until Valentino caved. Until he came to Vox on his knees, begging, because if that didn't happen? Vox wasn't going back.

"Okay, whatever you say."

There was only one downside to the plan and it was that something had been off with Y/n since he had requested this favor of her. True, she hid it well, but Vox had known the girl all her life, all her afterlife. He could tell.

The hesitation in her voice was shrouded by bravado, but it was still there. The multiple chances she gave him to get out of his own plan were more telling, however.

Y/n had always been the type of person to go all in. Once the ideas were in place, they were going to be carried out. She did not stop halfway through. In fact, there had even been one or two times where Vox had backed out of a plan and Y/n had forced him to carry it out. It always went well, they always achieved whatever it was they had wanted to achieve and so, Vox trusted her. He trusted her opinion, her judgement.

The fact that she was giving him a way out yet again spoke volumes. What it said? Vox wasn't quite sure. He was certain of one thing, however, and that was that whatever negative impact this choice may have that Y/n saw a possibility of was something he would have to face.

But that was an issue for later Vox. Now? Valentino was what mattered.

Vox was pulled from his swarming thoughts by the feeling of warmth on his thighs. His breath caught in his throat, his eyes flicked forward.

"What?" Y/n asked, her knees resting on the couch on either side of his thighs as she hovered her body above his, "This was what you wanted, right?"

Y/n looked down at him and Vox looked up at her. They were frozen like that, locked in one another's eyes, until Vox looked away. His eyes flitted to the door.

"Yes. Let's just... let's just get this over with."

Y/n was silent for a moment.

"Okay, if you say so." she shrugged before lowering herself onto his lap.

It was electric. Vox turned his head away from her fully now, unable to look. He nearly hit her stomach with the edge of his screen.

They had known one another since they were kids, that was all. It was awkward, it was weird. In Vox's mind, Y/n was always going to be that gangly little kid with scraped knees and missing teeth. Her hair was always going to be fighting its way out of whatever style her mom had put it in that day and her dress was always going to be ruined with grass stains.

Vox closed his eyes, his mouth trembling ever so slightly from the force with which he held them shut.

"Hey, are you okay?"

There was no teasing in her voice, no malice or fun. It was just Y/n, pure and simple. No pretenses, no facade, no... no anything. It was just Y/n. That was the problem.

"Hey." she said softly once again and as she spoke, he felt the cool touch of her fingers on the far bottom corner of his screen.

It felt foreign as she turned his face to hers. It felt... not wrong but off. Like it was forbidden, like this was something they were never supposed to have done.

"We don't have to do this."

Vox opened his eyes. He hadn't meant to and he regretted it as soon as he did because the face before him was not the one from his memory.

Maybe it was just lust. Maybe it was just that it had been a long time since he and Valentino had done anything together, since before their fight even, and Vox wasn't a person interested in hookups. If it didn't happen with Val, it didn't happen. So maybe it was just that, pent up desire. Or, maybe, she really just was that beautiful. Maybe this is what she had looked like all along and Vox had just been too blind to see it.

"I know."

They stayed like that for a moment, her hand on his cheek, their eyes locked. Vox couldn't help it, he looked the one place he wasn't supposed to. Vox looked down.

"Fuck."

Legs spread, ripped jeans straining around her legs, utterly defined waist, and those soft, sweet lips that were so often smiling turned down at their edges from concern. It was everything, everything he had never allowed himself to want. Everything that he had placed just out of reach, had covered up and hidden under decades of disguises. It was everything.

He felt Y/n's muscles tense.

"I knew this was a bad idea."

She sounded so dejected. Vox had never heard her sound like that before. When he was at last able to raise his gaze to her again, it was to see that Y/n had turned away, that her arms were now tense in her lap.

"Why?" Vox asked, strangely breathless as he watched her.

Y/n tucked an unruly strand of hair behind her ear, but refused to meet his eyes.

"Because, I..." she trailed off.

What was she supposed to tell him? That she felt she had loved him all her life? That she knew he could never want her? That this whole situation was tugging on her heart strings like nothing had before and that she physically hurt from the strain?

"I just knew." was what Y/n, at last, settled on, "I'll go."

Y/n moved to lift her legs and get off of him, but found herself stuck under the strength of Vox's hands which were now clawing at her shins, holding her in place. Y/n turned and, much to Vox's surprise, he discovered that her eyes were rimmed with red, tears threatening to spill at any second.

Sure, he had seen Y/n cry before. Over a scraped knee, a broken toy, that sort of thing. He had never seen her cry for another person though, over something real.

"No."

Y/n exhaled sharply, leaning her head back in an effort to keep her tears at bay. When she lowered it again, it bore a look of complete un-amusement, of complete self-preservation.

"Why not?"

Her voice was sharp and controlled. Vox shook his head.

"Because I don't want you to."

Y/n accepted nothing less than complete and utter honesty from the man. Why, especially in this moment, would he give her anything else?

Her eyes widened, her brow furrowed slightly in confusion. Then, as if a switch had flipped, the momentary expression was gone, replaced with apathy and mild annoyance.

"Why not?" she asked again through gritted teeth.

She was too present, too physically unavoidable. Vox couldn't help it.

It felt like some long held in release, under a constantly building pressure, that was finally given an exit. His lips against hers. Cool, cold, undefined against the unerringly existent, the inescapably warm. It was what it all had been leading up to, wasn't it?

"Finally!"

Valentino's voice cut through the air, leaving marks on both Y/n and Vox's cheeks.

Slowly, reluctantly, they pulled apart and turned, simultaneously, to face their adversary. The Moth in question was surprisingly laid back, seemingly releived.

"Yeah, it's about time." Velvette pointedly remarked, sliding discretely out of Valentino's shadow and typing furiously on her phone as always.

Hurriedly, Y/n removed herself from Vox's lap and, to his surprise, he found himself mourning the sudden absence.

"It isn't what it looks like." Y/n insisted, showing forth a remarkable moment of vulnerability as she waved her hands frantically before her.

Velvette laughed, barley deigning to glance up from the device clutched in her clawed fingers.

"Yeah, sure." Val rolled his eyes.

With little hesitation, the pair took their seats at the long conference table which occupied the center of the room. Every fiber of Y/n's being wanted to look over at Vox right now, to make sure he was alright, to figure out what exactly had just occurred between them but she couldn't. Her head wouldn't turn, her spine felt as if it had been frozen into a single rod of steel.

There was a rustle from behind her, the sound of clothing being smoothed by indelicate hands.

"What do you mean, 'finally'?" Vox asked, his voice clouded with irritation but portraying something more helpless beneath it.

Val and Velvette shared a look before the former shrugged.

"I mean, we've all seen this coming for decades now." he drawled.

"Yeah," Velvette pointedly added, "I was beginning to think Vox just didn't have the balls."

Y/n's voice was caught in her throat. She felt trapped. She felt like a prey animal out in an open field, watching the predators surround her. Unconsciously, her wings began to cave over her shoulders, protecting her.

"But I thought..." Vox began but trailed off, unable to find the words.

"He thought you would be jealous." Y/n finished for her oldest and dearest friend, "This was..." she cleared her throat, letting her arms cross protectively over her stomach, "he was trying to get you back."

Her heart felt like it was splitting in two. There was a second of silence that seemed to drag on for generations. Then, Valentino laughed.

"Jealous?" he repeated, "Voxy, I have been trying to drop hints about this to you. There was no 'us,' I was never here to be retrieved in some way by you. You think that I want to be pinned down? Hell no! I was just having some fun."

Only now did Y/n seem able to move again. Slowly, she turned her head.

Vox seemed somehow disassembled. His clothes were wrinkled, despite his earlier effort to smooth them. His eyes were wide, shocked, empty.

"Vox, I-"

"Get out."

"What?"

Y/n was fully facing him now, fury beginning to grow in the pit of her stomach.

"You heard me, get out."

Vox wouldn't meet her eyes, he wouldn't even look at her. Y/n gritted her teeth, spreading her wings. She advanced.

"You know, this was all your stupid ass idea." she hissed, coming to a stop before Vox and digging the tip of one of her fingers deep into his chest to add force to her words, "I gave you every out I could."

"Fuck off."

Y/n scoffed. She knew he could be immature at times but this?

"I told you this was going to end poorly."

Vox had no snappy comeback this time and Y/n turned, her wings splaying out behind her as she did the way the skirt of a dress might have.

"Whatever."

There were tears pressing hot behind her eyes now. That was one thing about anger Y/n had never liked. Sure, it could make you feel powerful, justified, in some way vindicated, but it also always ended in tears. Always.

She groaned, pressing the palms of her hands to her eyes before turning on Vox again.

"You know what? No. Fuck you. Ugh!" she stamped her foot, eyes momentarily glancing to the ceiling before coming back to rest on Vox, "To think I actually... fuck you, Vox."

Vox watched as Y/n turned away again. There was an emptiness, there was a sense of being outside of himself. He was watching everything as it occurred from afar, merely a spectator in his own life.

Y/n had paused now, closer to the door.

"If you're filming?" she was saying harshly to the grinning Velvette, "You better hope you delete it after or I am coming for you."

"Oh, oh no! I am so scared!" Velvette teased.

Y/n was radiating fury, it came off her in hot waves. Then, it was gone.

"You know what?"

Her voice was suddenly calm, cold. She smiled.

"You know what? I am done." Y/n laughed, holding her hands up in surrender, turning to Vox once more, "I have done everything for you. I have never asked for anything in return, you know why?"

Vox didn't answer, he didn't move a muscle.

"You know why?" she said again, letting her hands fall back to her sides as the anger began to creep back in, "Because I loved you, you fucking idiot. That is why I knew this was a bad idea, but I still did it! I still did it for you. And this is the thanks I get? You telling me to fuck off? After everything? Vox, you would be nothing without me. You would have lived and died a fucking weatherman. It is not my fault that Val doesn't care. It is not my fault that he does not want you. You, however, seem to have decided that it is, so that's it. I am done. Good luck with whatever you do next."

It was just as Y/n's hand grasped the ornate door handle that Vox finally found his voice again.

"Wait!"

She didn't want to. Y/n wanted to storm out, she wanted her rage, her fury. It felt so good. She didn't want to, but she couldn't help it, she stopped.

"Please, can we just talk?"

----

PART TWO → Strawberry Kiss pt. 2 (Vox x Bat Demon!Reader)

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