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Husk purred away, his head resting on Alastor's thin, boney thighs as the Radio Demon stroked his long claws gently between Husk's ears.
This was not a customary occurrence between the two long-time acquaintances.
Husk often overestimated his tolerance for alcohol, and while his wallet had always drawn that line-in-the-sand before, his new-found endless supply of booze left him in a dozy, drunken hangover almost 24/7-- so it wasn't a surprise to anyone whenever he curled up on the nearest furniture to sleep it off.
Today, however, Husk hadn't noticed who occupied the other side of the lounge's sofa before collapsing long-ways onto it.
Alastor was somewhat perturbed by Husk's brazenness, but when he opened his mouth to remind Husk of the "professional boundaries" to their working relationship, he realized the cat had immediately fallen asleep on him. Alastor placed down his book on the side table (a divine comedy, of course), and considered his options.
He could shadow himself to another spot in the lounge, but that would require him to give up the most comfortable seat closest to the fireplace. He didn't get enough days off to sacrifice such a coveted luxury.
Waking Husk would obviously not go well, (previous experiments to that regard flashed through his mind), though he did briefly consider throwing Husk across the room.
If he gently shadowed Husk away, however, the cat would inevitably suffer a worsened hangover later that he'd definitely blame Alastor for-- Alastor might not get served at the bar for a whole week in that case.
Alastor pondered so long on how to best solve his predicament, he hadn't noticed his hand come to rest on the nape of Husk's neck. A soft noise soon drew his attention downward.
All Alastor's thoughts came to a halt with the scratch of a record. Husk, why, he looked downright adorable without a horrid scowl on his features-- much to Alastor's amusement.
Alastor figured he might as well take a bit of personal enjoyment in the situation, and dragged his claw lightly down Husk's shoulders and back. The quiet little purr he elicited had Alastor's amused smile curl into a smirk: He'd never known Husk to purr before. Perhaps Husk would prove more amusing than an dusty old book this evening.
Alastor thus began a little game with himself, wherein he slowly teased the volume of Husk's purring to a level that would have been embarrassing if Husk were awake or anyone else currently occupied the room. Alastor smiled almost genuinely as he toyed with Husk's inhibition.
As long hours past, Alastor found himself lulled into a sleepy calmness by the slow, consistent purring. He closed his eyes, not noticing when Husk's claws clutched his thighs, now suffering dreadful pins and needles, and dragged his legs-- along with the rest of him-- under the sleeping cat. Alastor reevaluated his choices as he laid tightly pressed into the over-sized, warm, and smelly demon. He tried to decide whether or not he liked this new situation. Noticing the sudden quiet, he bought his claws around Husk's side to continue petting. If he did anything to wake Husk now, he would certainly get a show out of it. Alastor had gotten awfully tired, though, as the fire died down and night crept into his bones. He decided he wouldn't miss anything if he let Husk wake up on his own... And what better way to pass the time than to take a little kip for himself?
Alastor breathed deeply in Husk's scent before he let himself drift away.
----
Angel Dust slammed opened the door to the lounge, not expecting anyone to be around at this time of night-- he'd stuffed some jank between the sofa cushions when Charlie surprised him with a drug test earlier, and he really, really needed it back.
The sight of Alastor wrapped around Husk on the sofa had caught him off guard, to say the least.
"What the fuck?" He said, a little too loudly in his high-pitch whine.
Husk flicked his tail and slowly opened his eyes. He gave Angel Dust an inquisitive look before slowly following the spider's gaze back to Alastor. Alastor could feel the heat radiating from Husk kick up a few degrees as he smiled back up at Husk innocently.
"Don't look at me like that, you're the pervert," Alastor cooed.
Husk bristled before half jumping-- half falling-- over the back of the sofa.
Alastor sat up and shot Angel a dirty look.
"Was I interrupting sumin'? The spider asked.
Alastor's shadow slammed the door shut, knocking Angel out of the room.
"Husk? Here kitty kitty," Alastor sang softly as he looked out onto the rest of the lounge behind the sofa.
"I'm not a fucking cat." Husk grumbled from the floor below.
Alastor looked down at him from above.
"Well, you smell like a cat. You're lactose intolerant, even. And... you purr like a kitten, too." Alastor looked ready to start purring himself as he divulged to Husk his new knowledge.
Husk shimmied underneath the sofa in abject embarrassment.
Alastor shadow-materialized Husk back on top of it, then trapped him from running off again by straddling Husk's hips.
"Fucking CHRIST, Alastor"
Husk held his head, thrumming from the sudden, intense vertigo. Alastor busied himself getting comfortable again.
"Go back to sleep, kitty."
Husk sorted out his current situation though all the thoughts swimming in his dizzied head.
"Fuck. Get off me you god damned voodoo shadow fucker."
"You're not in any position to make demands, my dear."
"Why the fuck not?"
Alastor smiled dangerously.
"I recorded your cute little purring, Husk. And if you want me to keep it off the air, you'd better to do as I say." Alastor said as intimidatingly as he could while nuzzling Husk's chest. He simply loved to see Husk squirm.
"....Are you really going to hold that against me?" Husk asked, partially nervous and partially confused as to why Alastor was being so cruel.
"Of course not, but I will use it to hold myself against you." Alastor teased. Husk might have found Alastor's words unusually sweet... if he wasn't technically being held against his will. At least now he understood.
"Realized you like to be cuddled, Al?" Husk smirked.
Alastor blushed slightly.
"No. I'm not cuddling you, I'm blackmailing you. See the difference?"
Husk shrugged and submitted to the Radio Demon's strange request.
He'd give Alastor hell about this in the morning, but for now it was enough to watch Alastor's happy face nuzzle into his chest and ruffle his fur with every breath.
If he purred Alastor back to sleep, neither of them mentioned it.