Chapter Text
Angel was no stranger to dealing with bitches.
He’d survived worse back in the day, clients with money, power, and the emotional intelligence of a soggy napkin. He knew how to smile, how to sweet-talk, how to bend just enough without breaking. He knew how to keep people calm so Valentino wouldn’t come knocking later.
So yeah. He thought he had it handled.
He did not.
Because today, the universe had sent him this woman.
This relentless, shrieking, nightmare of a mother who seemed to believe her precious little demon-spawn deserved academic praise simply for existing. Angel had already counted to a thousand in his head, twice, which was still more than her kid could count on his fingers.
“My son is failing because of YOU.” The woman slammed her manicured hand on his desk.
Angel pinched the bridge of his nose and inhaled slowly.
“I understand why ya upset, ma’am, but look-” He held up the test. “He got almost every question wrong. I can’t just give points outta thin air.”
“And how is he supposed to learn with a teacher who doesn’t even know how to speak properly?” she snapped. “It’s you, not ya. This school is doomed if they keep hiring people like you. Honestly, the kids deserve a medal just for having to look at you every day.”
Angel felt something dark and feral stir in his chest.
“Listen here, it ain’t my fault your kid’s stupid-”
“ANGEL!”
Salvation arrived wearing combat boots and chaos.
Cherri burst into the classroom like a force of nature, grabbed Angel’s hand, and smiled sweetly at the mother.
“So sorry, emergency teacher stuff, super important, principal-level boring,” she rattled off. “You’ll have to come back another day. Preferably not during lunch. Oops!”
And then she dragged him out while the woman screeched threats behind them.
Angel sagged against the hallway wall.
“Babe, I love you, but that woman is absolutely going full Karen on the principal. Sera’s gonna take her side, like always.”
“Eh,” Cherri shrugged. “Worth it. It’s lunch time, bitch. And I haven’t teased you about your old-man crush today.”
They stepped outside, and Angel froze.
Charlie was sitting near the front gate, swinging her legs.
“Oh shit,” Angel muttered. “Forgot to tell Lucy I had a parent meeting.”
“Angel!” Charlie beamed when she saw him. “I was gonna leave earlier, but Dad says I shouldn’t walk home alone anymore ‘cause there’s more car accidents these days.” She mimicked Lucifer perfectly. “So I waited!”
Angel’s heart cracked clean in half.
“Sweetheart, thank you for waiting,” he said softly, lifting her into his arms. “I promise I’ll never let you wait alone again, yeah?”
“It’s okay!” Charlie said cheerfully. “I made friends with a beetle.”
Cherri snorted.
“Yeah, she’s definitely her father’s kid.”
They started walking toward the café.
“So, kid. Tell me. How’s ya dad doin’? He finally smoochin’ the radio guy yet?” Cherri glanced at Charlie, grinning.
“Cherry what the fu- heck? She’s eight, that not how we shoulda tal-”
“Oh I don’t know, dad’s not really the type to see when other people like like each other” Charlie says getting more adjusted into Angel’s arms “he tries but ‘his mind is full of stuff so we need to be more patient with him’ it's what his lady always says”
“His doc” Angel splain when Cherry was looking at him with an ‘he has a lady?’ expression.
“But I like Alastor,” Charlie continued happily. “He plays good music on the radio. And he makes Dad turn red.”
Angel and Cherri exchanged a look.
Oh yeah. This was gonna be a mess.
They crossed the street together, Angel keeping Charlie tucked securely against his chest. The afternoon sun hung low, warm but wrong somehow, casting long shadows that stretched across the pavement like grasping fingers.
Cherri flipped off a car that sped past too close.
“See?” Angel muttered. “Lucy ain’t wrong.”
Charlie hummed. “Dad says people don’t look where they’re going anymore.”
Angel opened his mouth to respond, but stopped.
Because right across from the café, blotting out the sky like a scar, stood the V Tower.
It hadn’t always been there.
At least, that’s what it felt like. One day it simply existed, rising too tall, too sharp, too glassy for the neighborhood it infected. Neon accents crawled along its edges even in daylight, screens embedded into its surface flashing ads, faces, trends, laughter without sound.
It didn’t belong.
“God, I hate that thing.” Cherri slowed her steps, jaw tightening.
Angel followed her gaze upward.
The lower floors housed the café-clone Vox had opened purely out of spite, all cold lights and screens, no warmth. Above that, stacked offices, studios, apartments no one normal could afford. And higher still, the private floors. The ones no one talked about.
“The guys who run that place are bad news,” Angel said quietly, instinctively lowering his voice. “Real bad.”
“It looks angry.” Charlie squinted up at it.
“That’s ‘cause it is, kid,” Cherri replied flatly. “Buildings like that are built by people who hate the world.”
Angel forced a smile for Charlie. “C’mon. Let’s just get inside.”
The café doors were only a few steps away.
They never made it.
A ripple went through the crowd across the street, laughter rising, phones lifting, voices pitching higher with excitement. The underground club entrance had opened, bass leaking out in heavy, rhythmic pulses that vibrated through the sidewalk.
“…That’s weird.” Cherri stiffened.
Angel felt it before he saw it.
That old, familiar tightness in his chest. Like his body recognized the danger before his brain caught up.
The music cut.
The doors swung open.
And Valentino stepped out.
He didn’t stride. He glided.
Tall, lean, dressed in a tailored pink coat that probably cost more than Angel’s rent. Gold rings caught the light as he adjusted his cuffs, sunglasses shielding eyes that Angel knew better than to trust. Everything about him screamed excess, perfume hanging heavy in the air, confidence dripping from every careless movement.
He shouldn't be back already
He looked immaculate.
He looked wrong.
Valentino smiled and Angel’s stomach dropped.
“Well, well,” Valentino purred, voice smooth and lazy, carrying effortlessly over the noise. “If it ain’t my favorite runaway.”
Angel froze.
Not because he wanted to, but because his body remembered.
“Angel…?”Charlie’s arms tightened around his neck.
“Back the fuck up.” Cherri moved instantly, stepping half a pace in front of them.
Valentino’s head tilted slightly, amused. His gaze slid over Cherri like she was an inconvenience, then returned to Angel, slow, assessing.
Still smiling.
“Relax,” he said softly. “I’m not here to cause a scene.” His eyes flicked, just briefly, to Charlie. Calculating “Wouldn’t wanna scare the kid.”
Angel swallowed hard.
“Don’t talk to him,” Angel said to himself in a tiny voice, then a little higher, voice tight. “You don’t get to talk to me.”
Valentino chuckled.
“Oh, sweetheart. You always were dramatic.” He took a step closer, too close. “I was just passing through. Thought I’d check on my investment.”
“I ain’t yours,” Angel snapped, finally finding his voice.
Valentino leaned in, just enough for Angel to smell his cologne., so sweet.
“Careful,” he murmured. “You’ve built yourself such a nice little life. School job. Respectable. Would be a shame if people started asking questions.”
Cherri’s fists clenched.
Angel felt sick.
“And schools?” Valentino continued lightly, straightening. “They’re very sensitive about… history.” A pause. “Especially when parents get involved.”
“Angel?”Charlie shifted, confused.
“It’s okay, baby.”Angel tightened his grip on her, forcing his voice steady.
Valentino smiled wider.
“Good,” he said. “Because I’d hate to remind you where you came from.”
Then he turned, disappearing back into the noise like he hadn’t just detonated Angel’s world.
Across the street, high above them, a drone hovered.
Its red light blinked. Recording everything.
“I swear to god,” Cherri stared after Valentino, shaking with fury “we are burning that tower to the ground one day.”
Angel didn’t answer.
He was too busy trying to breathe.