Chapter Text
Miraculously, Husk survived. Not entirely in one piece though.
His wing trailed behind him, either broken, dislocated, or both. He'd lost a lot of blood through the night and was feeling dangerously lightheaded as he limped up to the hotel.
One person defending an entire district against angels wasn't feasible. But Husk had tried his best — was forced to try his best — and only a few cannibals were victims to an angel attack that night.
The edges of his vision were shadowy and dark as he barely made it to the door. He couldn't move his right arm as there was a large gash in his shoulder, still profusely bleeding, but he tried to use his other arm to push against the door.
It didn't budge.
Was it still locked? Or was he just too weak to push properly?
He tried again, vision dancing once again as he lifted his non-dominant arm to push against the door. He was so close to safety. So close to the thing he'd called 'home' for the past two years.
The door didn't move.
Husk's legs felt weak. He'd gotten this far. But this is what was stopping him? Ridiculous. He tried again and again but his vision just continued to narrow. His hearing faded in and out as sirens sounded behind him, racing across Pride. And he wasn't sure if he was starting to see things because at his feet a small shadow portal opened, much smaller than Alastor's typical ones. And instead of Alastor or one of his shadow minions popping through, Fat Nuggets poked his head out, looking up at Husk with an 'oink!' and then he disappeared.
What a strange vision, Husk mused, the concrete he was standing on coming rapidly closer to him. Distantly he realized he'd fallen, and that the world was suddenly brighter.
"Husk!"
Arms wrapped around Husk's crippled form, lugging him forward and inside. Husk wasn't sure if he was imagining it or not. Just one second he was cold, bleeding out on the concrete, and the next he was warm and bleeding out pressed against Angel's chest fluff.
What a perfect way to go. Husk felt himself begin to purr — perhaps a tad inappropriately — as Angel began screaming for help. Husk could barely hear him, still half-way gone.
He was propped up on a couch, still in Angel's arms as the spider began to navigate Husk's litany of wounds. The spider was crying and cursing and screaming. At one point he thought Angel might even be yelling at him, which was quite funny to Husk and he smiled, blinking slowly up at Angel.
Belatedly he remembered leaving Angel a letter, explaining what might happen over the night. But now it was no longer needed, he was back home, back with him. Yeah Alastor might send him on another suicide mission, but for now, he had this.
Nifty appeared at his side with a needle and thread.
Ah shit. Husk hated this part of healing up. Nifty had patched him up countless times over the years. She was quite skilled at it, but also didn't hold back no matter how much Husk cursed or cried or tried to fight her off.
Soberness hit Husk as he looked back up at Angel, trying to reach for him with his one good hand. "-skey," he murmured.
"What?"
"'hissy'" he tried again, not quite getting his tongue or teeth to move the right way.
Nifty brandished her needle, going to the gash on his arm. "He wants liquor." She filled in for Angel, being able to read Husk's near-death ramblings easy-enough. This wasn’t their first rodeo.
"Oh."
Before Angel could move, a small shadow portal opened above Husk's chest, opening to a small cabinet beneath the bar. Fat Nuggets was standing there with a bottle between his teeth.
Husk stared wide-eyed in wonder. Was Nugs somehow… controlling the shadow portals? There was no way Alastor was opening these for his convenience.
He didn't have much more time to think about it before Nifty jabbed the needle into his flesh and Husk screamed.
"Ah shit." Angel grabbed the bottle from Nugs mouth and tore the cork up with his teeth before feeding the bottle between Husk's lips. "Drink, baby, it'll help."
The liquid burned going down, just how Husk liked. Focusing on swallowing helped distract him from the pain of Nifty stitching him up. He blinked up at Angel still bent over him, looking distractedly as Nifty threaded her needle through Husk's skin.
Angel looked good, Husk thought as the liquid began to work its magic and make the brain work properly. Angel looked safe and healthy and only distressed by whatever the fuck Husk had going on right now.
Looking around some more, the hotel also looked fine. Every wall intact, no damage, no broken glass. Truly a feat in and of its own. Seemed the hotel had withstood without Husk and he felt weird about that. Weird to not be here on the most eventful and dangerous night of the year. Weird to be exiled from this safety to go shelter cannibals who'd rather take a bite out of him and treat him like a dog than welcome him into their home — ungrateful dicks.
His hatred for Alastor reared its head, but like always he swallowed it down with the whiskey.
He'd cursed his boss’ name plenty throughout the night. Every injury, every stab, it was Husk cursing Alastor for putting him in this position. But he couldn't exactly do that here, not with the radio demon lurking in every corner.
As if summoned by his thoughts, that creepy-ass smile appeared hovering above the back of the couch.
Husk glared at it, causing Angel above him to turn to see what he was looking at.
"Seems he made it back!" Alastor's faux cheery voice called out with a laugh. "How convenient."
"Fuck you." Angel glared up at him. "You are a vile, disgusting, figlio di puttana-"
"You flatter me." Alastor didn't stay long, swaying off in the direction of the kitchen but Angel looked pissed. More pissed than Husk had ever seen him.
An oink sounded somewhere Husk couldn't see and Angel dropped his gaze to probably Fat Nuggets, he said, "Sic em, baby."
And then was the familiar sound of Fat Nuggets' war cry.
Husk giggled as he heard Fat Nuggets' little hooves run off somewhere and the sound of Alastor yelping. Fat Nuggets was always doing that, much to Husk's amusement. The little guy had a vendetta against the radio demon that was frankly adorable. Although this did sound more intense as the lights began to flicker around the hotel.
The sounds faded away though as Nifty started on a wound that needed stitches on Husk's leg, reaching through a gash in his pants rather than just taking the stupid ruined garment off. Well he would rather not be pantsless in the hotel foyer, so he guessed this was adequate.
Oh shit. He realized belatedly, he just ruined his one pair of good pants. Fuck. He'd need to scrap together some fabric or something to make another.
The pain in his leg spurred him to drink some more and made the concerns nonexistent.
"Hey, look at me." Angel tilted his head up and to the spider.
Husk followed willingly, finding tension in every line of his body as pain racked him. His body went from hot to cold to hot to cold again. Was this what it felt like to die? He wasn't sure. He'd only died by Alastor's hands before this, not by an angelic weapon. And when he died it was much slower and colder than this. So perhaps the hotness was a sign he was actually doing alright.
He hadn't realized his head lolled until Angel was gently moving it back to tilt up at him. "Sorry." Husk mumbled, finding words coming easier to him.
"Don't apologize."
Somewhere in another room there was the shattering of glass and the howl of the radio demon.
Husk stiffened, not liking the sound as it often meant that Alastor would be in a bad mood and probably make Husk do some fucked up shit again.
"Shhh…" Angel soothed, petting his cheek in a soothing pattern. "I'll talk to the princess, make sure Alastor lays off you for a bit, okay?"
Husk shuddered as Nifty finished up stitching his leg. Then came the wing, which was pinching painfully against Husk's back. But he'd learned how to keep quiet about injuries and had ignored the pain until Angel jolted beneath him.
Fat Nuggets’ howl echoed through the hotel as the lights flickered rapidly. Lucifer — with a pan in hand — raced out of the kitchen, looking frazzled. Behind him was Alastor and Nuggets. The little piggy had a red strip of fabric in his mouth, eyes and horns glowing, shadows surrounding him furiously like some angry octopus.
"He's uncontrollable!" Lucifer cried out before light-portaling away.
Alastor followed suit with a shadow portal but Nuggets raced after him and then suddenly it was quiet in the foyer once again.
Husk felt wetness on his cheeks as Angel shifted again, and his wings pinched unbearably.
"All done!" Nifty announced before racing away with her needle brandished. Must've seen a bug or something.
"Wait- Nift!" Angel called out, leaning forward, again moving Husk's broken wing.
Husk groaned, trying to curl up away from Angel so that his wing could get a reprieve. "Stop." He heard himself beg although he didn't remember thinking about saying it.
"Wha- Husk?" Angel's voice softened and his body stilled.
Husk inhaled slowly, trying to breathe through the pain. His whiskey bottle was empty, his wounds were stitched up, but he was still cold and his wing hurt.
"What the fuck is going on?!" Vaggie and Charlie raced down the stairs, looking pissed. "Who the fuck is screaming? The extermination is over."
Angel sat frozen on the couch, Husk crying silently in his lap.
The princess approached. "What the hell happened?" she exclaimed after seeing Husk's decrepit form.
"Your fucking business partner is what happened." Angel spat out, combing his fingers over Husk's ears in a comforting manner. "Alastor sent him out during the extermination for god knows what and look what happened!"
"His wing." Vaggie noted, kneeling down before the two on the couch.
"Not just that." Angel's voice sounded panicky and picking up pace. "His arm, his leg, he was on the floor just outside the hotel entrance when I found him. Couldn't even get in here by himself." His breath hitched. "And god knows what else is broken. He's- he-"
Charlie's face hovered in front of Husk's but was looking up at Angel. "It's alright, Angel, he'll be alright."
Husk stared up at the princess of Hell in wonder. She was usually terrible in these types of situations. Always panicking and too distracted by fifteen steps ahead of the step she was about to take, causing her to fall. But this… she was doing well.
"Help me lift him onto his front." Vaggie ordered, kicking the coffee table out of the way. "We have to set his wing."
Oh right, she had wings, she knew how this worked. Thank fuck. Everytime Husk had to do this in the past, he had to set it himself. And that hurt like a motherfucker. Especially because he couldn't do it right away, he was usually too out of it for like a day after it broke and when he tried to set it, it had already tried to heal himself which was… interesting.
"Angel, get him a belt or something to bite on."
Husk heard Angel sniff and mumble a quiet, "Okay," and knew that his friend was really struggling right now. A distraction of finding a belt would be good for him while Vaggie got his wing set. Because this was not about to be pretty, he knew. He hated people touching his wings normally, and now that they were hurt? Oh boy.
Charlie put a pillow down for his head as Vaggie and her gently rolled him onto his front, spreading his relatively unharmed wing out to the side before even attempting to maneuver the broken one.
It hurt like a motherfucker. And Husk said as such as the girls fought him to get into a workable position. Screaming curses and sobs and longing to be anywhere but here. He wanted Angel back.
"Here, Whiskers." And a piece of leather was pushed between his teeth and Angel was before him.
With blurry eyes, Husk looked up to him, hoping Angel would make things all better again. Would make everything stop hurting.
Angel looked back with red-rimmed eyes, "You got this, almost done."
What followed was the worst fifteen minutes of Husk's entire life.
Vaggie was shouting orders, getting Charlie to bring down some sticks she could use for splints and a brace, some elastic too. She had to pluck some feathers to get a better look at what was happening beneath his skin and Husk felt like he was dying all over again.
His wing was maneuvered in unbearable positions and Husk wasn't proud of the way that he cried, keeping his eyes on Angel to not have to think too much about what he looked like. He needed Angel there, needed him to hold his hand to help him through this.
And in a blur of pain and screams and pleads, it was once again just Angel and Husk in the foyer.
"In and out, baby." Angel coached him through breathing, squeezing his hands. "You're all done, promise."
Husk heaved a massive breath, the sobs slowly dissipating. This was probably one of the most humiliating experiences of his after-life. A year ago, he would've never guessed he'd be sobbing and crying in front of all these strangers. But he'd been hurt bad, brink-of-death bad. Alastor had a pension of doing that to him, he liked testing his resilience. Husk didn't expect that to stop once he started working at the hotel, but he guessed he didn't realize he'd have people care about him like this.
Especially Angel. Annoying, infuriating, beautiful Angel.
A small shadow portal opened over the couch and Fat Nuggets leapt through it with a stick in his mouth, Alastor's staff without the microphone. Then a larger portal opened a few feet behind it and Alastor himself leapt through it with the microphone clutched in his hand as he screeched after the pig.
Nugs merely opened another portal and jumped through it.
"That fucking swine!" Alastor shouted before diving through a new portal to continue to chase the pig.
Angel and Husk observed in stunned silence, before looking back at each other.
"Let's get you properly cleaned up." Angel suggested, offering some hands to help Husk up to his feet.
Husk agreed, feeling shaky and off balance by all the new weight on his wing. It didn't pinch as bad any more but still ached and hurt. Probably wouldn't feel right for a week at least.
But it didn't matter, Angel helped him every step of the way. Occasionally they stopped or the lights would flicker or they would catch Fat Nuggets and Alastor shadow portaling after each other throughout the hotel. Just eventually they made it back to Angel's room.
"Up for a bath, kitty cat?"
Fuck no. Husk shook his head immediately as he was plopped down on the bed. He hated baths.
"Okay, sponge bath it is." Angel decided, marching off to the bathroom to get supplies. "I have proper bandages as well to wrap your stitches in. They started bleeding again."
Husk looked down, seeing that Angel was right, he was bleeding again. Albeit, not as profusely as before — the stitches worked after all — but he still was bleeding a bit.
And his pants were ruined.
That bothered him a lot more than he realized as tears welled in his eyes. When he'd been an overlord he'd taken much pride in his clothing, and Alastor took not only his soul away but his entire identity. Husk couldn't be who he wanted to be any more. For better or for worse. Yeah he was a prick overlord, but he'd had style, he'd liked his clothes, he'd liked where he lived. And now what?
He didn't even have proper sheets or a mattress. Only a roll on the floor and whatever pants he could scrounge up — he'd given up trying to make his shirts ages ago, they were too complicated and always looked horrible which made him sad. But he liked his pants. As ridiculous as it was. He liked them. And now they were ruined.
"Probably should get you out of those, shouldn't we?" Angel appeared in front of him, bathing bin, towel, sponges in hand. He didn't outright acknowledge the tears, but looked worried nonetheless. "I promise I won't peek."
Husk hung his head, already sliding the loops off his arms. He didn't have anything on underneath this. Making underwear seemed like a waste of time knowing that no one would see them. Call him unhygienic, he'd been called worse things.
As he shimmied out of his blood-soaked pants, Angel put a hand over his own eyes, asking, "Are you decent?"
Husk sighed, "No. But I don't care."
"Oookay!" Angel said, dropping his hand and glancing again worriedly at Husk.
Husk was too exhausted and hurt to be embarrassed about his nudity, or getting blood on Angel's bed. Angel’s huge, comfy bed — Husk was only a little jealous of it.
Angel pressed a warm, wet rag to Husk's cheek, rubbing at the dirt and grime and blood there. Husk looked up at him with wide golden eyes. Just focus on Angel. Angel was the only good thing about his life right now. His guiding light. Husk’s lids were heavy as he blinked up at him.
"I left you a letter." Husk found himself saying.
Angel swallowed, and began to clean Husk's other cheek. "I couldn't read past the first sentence."
"I came back." Husk said as if realizing it for the first time himself. He came back to the hotel, alive. It was a miracle. "I probably should say the rest of it in person."
"Yeah considering the first thing you wrote me ended up being false, I'm not sure what I can believe from it."
Ah right. Husk belatedly remembered the first thing he wrote was, 'If you're reading this, I most likely did not survive the extermination.' kind of a pity that Angel hadn't kept reading past that. It did get much better after all that doom and gloom. He even signed it 'Love always, Husk' and a silly P.S. about being a loser.
Right when Husk was about to respond, a shadow portal opened a few feet away from them and Fat Nuggets popped out, staff in hand with duct tape at the end of it for some reason?
Angel and Husk turned to watch as another portal opened and Alastor jumped out, lunging for the pig.
Angel's hands clenched into fists as Alastor swiped up Fat Nuggets into his arms.
“Gotcha!”
Nuggets dropped the staff and whirled to bite onto the microphone.
Alastor howled as if in pain and dropped him. But Fat Nuggets didn't get far before a tiny portal opened, catching his fall by teleporting to who knows where, Alastor's microphone in his teeth. He squealed adorably as he fell.
"Oh I'm gonna kill him!" Alastor swiped up the remains of his staff and raced back through his portal to find where the piglet had gone. Leaving the two once again alone as the shadow portals abruptly closed.
Husk stared. "What happened?" He would think that Angel would be more upset that the radio demon was threatening to kill his baby.
Angel sighed, cracking a half smile. "Nuggsy ate a piece of Al's microphone and now he has some of the radio's shadow powers. He can hold his own just fine, I'm sure."
Husk swallowed and nodded. That was… something.
"Y'know." Angel started to laugh, but it sounded sad. "I moved here for Nuggets. He was being abused by me and Val in the tower and here… well… Charlie made a compelling offer. But Nugsy still had a temper, and was still a terror to most people until you…" With a spare hand Angel wiped at his eyes and moved the sponge to Husk's ears. "I asked you to babysit him so that maybe he'd have a better life, less terrorizing, less neglect cause I know you would never-"
"Angel-"
"I just-" Angel began to cry, breathing hiccuping as he tried to speak. "I guess I forgot you were on a leash too. That you had a shit boss as well and I know-" a sob. "I know we talked about it. I know it's not great with Al, but I never knew. Y'know?"
Husk's hand went up to stop Angel from cleaning him. "You don't have to explain. You got a life and problems of your own."
"I didn't want Nugs to have to witness those sorts of dynamics any more. But I- I sent him to you anyways." Angel continued as if not hearing him. "I never want him to be around that abuse, and I don't want you to be either."
Husk laughed at the preposterous idea. "Well, there's not much we can do there."
Angel sniffed, looking away.
Husk gentled his touch and helped Angel put the sponge down. "Nuggets is growing up." He started. "He can take care of himself. You've taught him well."
"I've taught him to be a terror."
"A protective terror." Husk pointed out. "And I love him for it."
Angel's eyes glanced briefly back to Husk, then away again. "He loves you too." He said quietly.
A heavy moment rested between the two of them. The water from the sponge dripping into the basin, the sound of little footsteps scampering down some hall or room above them, the bellows of Alastor chasing the pig down, the distant sound of sirens racing through Pride.
Husk inhaled deeply, then exhaled. "I love you, Angel."
The sponge dropped with a splash.
"I wrote that in the letter too." Husk continued, shifting his legs slightly, realizing with more embarrassment that he was naked and having this conversation. "Wanted you to know how I felt even if I was gone. That you are loved and valued and cherished. You- Angel-" Husk didn't know how to continue, feeling his chest seizing up as his emotions overcame him. "I thought for sure I was going to die yesterday and all I wanted was to see you one last time."
"Husk." It was a broken sound, barely a name, barely a word.
Husk looked up to find Angel staring at him with even more tears in his eyes. "I wanted to take things slow." Husk confessed, finding the words bubbling out of him. "You deserve to be courted and waited on and not rushed before you're ready. And even though you claim to have no boundaries, I know you do." Husk choked on his tears but he couldn’t stop. "And I wanted to do it right. To do this right. But-" Husk couldn't look at Angel any more. He looked down. "But then Alastor sent me away and I didn't think I was coming back."
"That's why you were plastered." Angel said as if in a daze. "Why you were so cuddly… damn cats!" he scooped up the sponge with more vigor than was needed, dipping it in the water and coming back up to wipe at more of Husk's fur. "Why do you always do this right before you're about to die?"
Husk laughed, glad his confession seemed to be going well. "I don't know."
Angel wiped gently at Husk's fur, sopping up the blood and cleaning him up.
"I'm sorry I didn't say it earlier." Husk whispered, feeling sad all the sudden, like he messed up. "I was scared."
"I would be too… shit." Angel blinked hard and moved to a different part of Husk's body. "I can't imagine what was going on in your head."
Husk shook it, knowing his mind was a dark place these past forty eight hours. But Angel was a bright spot in it for sure.
"And I love you too, dumbass." Angel mumbled, as finished cleaning his arm wound and started wrapping it in gauze. "Love you a whole lot actually."
"Oh." Husk felt a blush warm his cheeks at the confession. He'd always been focused on his own self saying it, he never really imagined hearing it back. When was the last time someone had actually said they loved him?
They couldn't get much further when a tiny shadow portal opened behind them and Fat Nuggets trotted through looking supremely proud of himself. He had a red garment in his mouth, blood dripping from his tiny tusks and a few scratches of well-earned battle scars but nothing was bleeding, much to Husk's relief.
"Well, hello there little Fatty." Husk greeted, glad for a change in direction, he couldn't get much more emotional than that. "You terrorize my boss for me?"
Fat Nuggets oinked happily, dropping the garment at Angel's feet and pranced around, showing off his little hooves that were also dipped in some rusty color that was likely blood as well.
"Oh who's a pretty boy?" Angel cooed after Fat Nuggets. "Who's the big strong protector of this little family?"
Husk blushed at that, finding pleasure in being incorporated in 'this little family'.
"Yes you are." Angel rubbed at Nuggs head, giving him all the pets he deserved.
Their little moment of victory didn't last long though before the door burst open and Alastor stood there seething, bleeding from his calf and holding the remains of his staff and microphone close to his chest.
Angel was on his feet immediately, standing in front of Husk with his arms crossed. "You can't come in. Husk is indecent."
"Oh please, like it's nothing I haven't seen before." Alastor said as he swept into the room. "Where's that hellspawn?"
Angel's jaw dropped though, looking behind him to Husk and then back to Alastor.
Husk could understand the confusion. Angel's hypersexuality tended to keep Alastor away, but not when it came to Husk. But probably not for the reason Angel's mind had jumped to. Nothing about Alastor and Husk's relationship was even close to what Val and Angel had going on. But it still wasn't pleasant.
Fat Nuggets oinked, wagging his tail like he was excited that Alastor was here. He bared his little teeth, blood still staining them.
"I'm gonna kill-"
"Alastor, no!" Charlie shouted, racing into Angel's room without so much as knocking, Vaggie not far behind.
Well, now Husk was embarrassed sitting here naked while half the hotel piled into the room. He placed his palms over his lap to hopefully remedy the situation.
"You can't touch Nuggets." Charlie said sternly, breathing hard.
"He's a wretched, little-"
"You can't." Charlie's 'princess' voice crept in and her eyes glowed. "You know I have a strictly no-violence policy inside the hotel-"
"He started it!" Alastor waved towards Fat Nuggets with the broken end of his staff. "I am well within my right."
"No." Charlie said again, glaring at the radio demon. "Fat Nuggets is just… well-knowledgeable of the rules in this hotel. He knew you hurt Husk and reacted accordingly."
Fat Nuggets huffed in agreement.
"Oh that's bullshit. I didn't hurt Husk! And if I did, it wasn't in the hotel, not after the last time."
"Wait- What-?" Angel asked, looking wildly to Husk for an explanation.
Husk shrugged sheepishly. "Your shifts are long." He explained vaguely.
Angel paled and turned back to the stand-off between Charlie and Alastor.
"Those are the rules, aren't they?" Alastor challenged the princess. "I can't hurt people inside the hotel. So… I haven't. I'm innocent."
Oh Alastor was far from innocent.
Charlie glared back, showing a backbone against Alastor for the first time in a long time. "You are twisting my words and the definition of 'harm' and 'violence'. Sending Husk to fend for himself and the entirety of cannibal town on the night of the extinction is both of those things."
Wait, how did they know that was Alastor's plan? Husk briefly wondered before seeing that his letter to Angel was actually clutched in Vaggie's hand. She must've grabbed it after they helped him with his wings and read it. Another blush raced to Husk's cheeks as he was in an even more humiliating position of the girls knowing his sappy feelings for Angel.
Charlie cleared her throat, tilting her chin up. "You are hereby banned from this hotel until you've formulated a written apology to both Husk and Fat Nuggets."
"What?!" Husk, Angel, and Alastor asked simultaneously. Since when was that the rule?
"And since I am Princess of Hell, I declare sanctuary on Husk's behalf. He may not leave with you."
That was a thing?! Why the hell weren't they doing that for Angel ages ago?! Husk straightened up to ask just that when Alastor butt in, stomping past the princess.
"Fine." The radio demon bit out. "You'll get your apologies, but I won't mean them!" And he marched away.
As soon as he was gone, it was like a breath escaped everyone at once. The tension bleeding out of the princess and Angel and Husk. Vaggie stood guard at the door and Fat Nuggets yawned before trotting over to his bed for a nap. Poor guy must be so tired.
"That's a… thing?!" Angel voiced Husk's concerns. "The sanctuary thing?"
Charlie shook her head. "I'm surprised he believed me." She admitted shakily. "Wish it were that easy but I was so worked up, I had to do something to protect him." She gestured at Husk. "Even if it was a lie."
"Princess." Angel whistled appreciatively, going over to squeeze her in a hug. "This is a good side of you."
She laughed and it sounded like a sob. She squeezed Angel back tightly, looking like she needed the hug more than Angel did.
Husk looked to Nugs who was yawning again and curled up in his bed. He was supremely jealous of the little pig. He wanted to rest. He'd been fighting for the better part of the past twenty four hours. He was exhausted. And he just went through hell getting stitches and bracing his wing.
"Alright babe." Vaggie's voice called out, shooting Husk a knowing look. "Let's leave the boys alone."
Charlie whined, squeezing Angel tighter before letting go. "Okay, you two alright? Anything we can get you?"
Husk shook his head, watching as Vaggie put Husk's letter on Angel's vanity before all but dragging her girlfriend out of the room.
Angel chuckled, turning back to Husk, "Oh shit, you're still naked."
Husk rolled his eyes, not caring now that it was just Angel and Nuggets in the room. He dropped his hands from his lap.
"You want me to get you some of your clothes?" Angel offered, stepping closer to the door, "Pajama's maybe?"
Husk's shoulders deflated. "Don't have any." he murmured.
"You-" Angel began to laugh, then stopped. "Wait, you're serious?"
Husk looked away, ears pinned back.
"Oh."
And that was that. Husk slowly lowered himself to the basin to finish cleaning himself up so he could get some goddamn rest without getting any more blood on Angel's sheets. His ruined pants kicked to the side. He'd have to figure out what to do about clothes later. There was a time he didn't have any and Alastor still had him out and working. Husk doubted Angel remembered that time, the spider was pretty high when Husk first met him.
He managed to wipe the blood and grime off his legs, wrapping the gauze around his wound on his thigh to prevent any more spillage.
Then something fluffy and pink dropped into his lap.
Husk looked up, finding Angel standing above him, biting his lip.
"That should fit you, I just cut a hole in it for your tail."
They were fluffy, hot pink pajama pants. Husk stretched them out, enjoying the absurdly soft feel of them. They were long. Much too long for him, clearly they were Angel's pants.
And then Angel's arms were wrapping around Husk, getting him back up to his feet as Angel knelt on the ground, rolling up the pants to help Husk step into them. Husk stared down at him in awe as he raised the fluffy pants up to his waist, pulled his tail through the makeshift-hole all without any sort of lude comments or unnecessary touching/feeling.
Husk didn't know why he was surprised. He'd known Angel was different from how he'd met him initially, that they'd grown past those sort of crude flirts and touching. But it still put him in awe how much Angel truly cared. Husk hadn't felt cared for in a long ass time. Not like this, anyway.
When Angel tightened the draw around Husk’s waist, the legs of the pants still pooled at his feet and Angel withdrew some scissors to tailor them right then and there.
Husk didn't even have time to object before there was extra fabric on the floor and Husk's fluffy pants now fit him almost perfectly. And they were soft and comfortable and it felt like Angel.
"Let's go to bed, Whiskers."
Husk was gently guided to laying on the bed, Angel carefully maneuvering his wings so that they didn't pinch and were propped up to heal. Each touch was loving and warm and gentle and Husk felt like crying.
Angel crawled into bed beside him, smiling sadly over at Husk. "Comfy?"
"Angel." Husk reached out with his arms, relieved when Angel scooted closer, letting Husk burrow into his chest. "I love you."
"I love you too." Angel murmured, pressing a kiss to the soft patch of fur right between his ears. He exhaled shakily, chest vibrating against Husk's cheek. "I know I complain about Val a lot, I hope that you know you can complain to me about your… situation as well."
Husk burrowed closer, feeling much safer in Angel's arms. "I know." Husk mumbled, hating that Angel thought that he was somehow the reason for why Husk didn't come to him about the abuse he endured with Alastor. "But there's not a place here where he can't hear me." Husk explained, leaning back just enough to make eye contact with Angel. "I don't want to get in more shit than I already am, you understand."
Angel nodded, using a spare hand to wipe at his cheeks. "I get it. I'll-" he sniffed. "I'll take you out, on a date." He smiled.
Husk smiled back. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." Angel nodded firmly. "We'll go out like proper partners and you can complain about your boss all you like. And we can do… stuff."
Husk chuckled at the absurdity of it all. He pressed his face back against Angel's chest. "You'd think you of all people would be better at propositioning me."
"Hey!" Angel exclaimed, offended but laughing. "Usually people are chasing after me. I've never done this before. At least not seriously. Not with someone I… love."
Husk blushed, squeezing Angel tighter. "I should let you know I'm broke. Can't pay for dates. Al takes it all."
Angel sighed. "It's alright. I already knew you were a loser, I can pay or maybe we can pull from Nuggets tip jar. He won't mind."
"Stealing money from a baby." Husk muttered amusedly. "This is why you're in Hell."
"Shut up you dork and get some goddamn rest. You need it."
And well, Husk couldn't argue that. He felt his own chest vibrate with a purr as he rested against Angel. Today was a lot. It didn't feel like just a test from Alastor, but also from the universe. A test on Husk's love and devotion.
When faced with utter destruction, he'd survived and dragged his ass back here to Angel. When faced with the humiliation and the pain of needing help, he'd pushed through and let the others in the hotel help him. When faced with the tearstained face of his love after it all, he'd confessed his deepest heart's desires. And despite all that pain and humiliation and fear, Husk was happy.
When was the last time he was truly happy?