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>It was a mistake, coming to this hotel
>The promise of redemption, of getting all nice and clean, of getting on the express elevator right to the top floor...
>That was all bullshit
>This place was as much of a dump as any other in this sulfurous hole, the fact that you had nowhere else to go notwithstanding
>You weren't going to ascend anywhere any quicker than a lead balloon
>What you were going to do instead, it seemed, was get harassed daily by an eight foot spider with a double-D bust made entirely of fluff and a complete inability to take a hint
>He
>Just
>Won't
>Stop
>Flirting
>With
>You
>And he just keeps getting more and more graphic in the things he says and the poses he strikes
>He's incapable of accepting the fact that you don't play for that team
>That in itself wouldn't be a problem if he didn't have a leg up on you in every sense
>Besides having lucked into a demon form that was much larger than yours, he was also older, quicker, stronger, handier in a fight, and a lot less inhibited
>It was clear to you from the get go that whenever he finally got tired of being diplomatic, he'd have the leverage to just take what he wanted from you by force
>And apparently tonight was that night.
-
>"Hey Anon"
>You'd frozen in place, bent over at the waist in front of the open refrigerator, as soon as you'd heard Angel's voice
>It was the dead of night
>Everyone else was asleep
>The size of the hotel far outpaced the number of guests it held
>No one would hear you if you cried for help
>The odds of anyone happening upon you and rescuing you by chance were slim
>He could take you right now, and there was nothing you could do about it
>"Hey"
>He's close now, you can feel his presence without looking even as you continue staring at the sparsely populated shelves, trembling in fear at what's surely about to befall you
>"Anon"
>You feel a hand come to rest in the small of your back
>Your legs begin to feel weak
>You can't stop him
>He'll do whatever he wants and get away with it
>He's a big name in Hell. He's famous. His redemption story is worth much more to their marketing plans than yours. Even if you tell someone, they'll just sweep it under the rug, they'll-
>"Could I just slide past ya real quick?"
>Angel doesn't lay another hand on you, or reach for any place you wouldn't want him to
>Instead he reaches past your head to snag a pitcher of water
>Then he straightens up and retreats to the cabinets on the other side of the room, leaving you wondering what his angle is
>He picks himself out a glass, fills it to the brim, drains it, and fills it again
>"Piece of advice, from a professional. If ya wake up in the middle of the night and find you've still got a good solid buzz on, that's the time to get yourself a glass of water. If you just roll over and go back to sleep, yer gonna wake up with a bitch of a hangover."
>That...makes sense
>"Anyway, whats up with you lately?"
>Angel starts making idle conversation with you
>Actual conversation
>Not just playing a game of 'how can I turn what Anon said into something dirty'
>And it's actually pretty pleasant
-
>In spite of the fact that he's dressed in nothing more than a flimsy robe that seems like it could slip off him at any moment, this is the least sexually charged conversation you've had with him yet
>He's rather nice to talk to when he's not wearing the aggressive slut king persona he usually has on
>At some point he switches from water back to the slim bottle of liquor he had tucked into his robe
>He offers you a slug
>You accept
>"Hey Anon, ya mind if I ask you something?"
>Well, only seems fair after he sent a free drink your way
>"You know I'm just funnin' when I flirt with ya right? I mean, you know I wouldn't do anything you didn't want me to do to ya?"
>...You didn't know that actually. From every other experience you've had since you dropped down here you figured his flirtations were little more than a polite warning before he forced himself on you
>You don't want to tell him that though. You're suddenly rather reluctant to say anything to hurt his feelings.
>So you just say yes, you know he won't hurt you
>He seems relieved
>"Good, good. I figured as much. It's just that Vaggie has been right up my ass about that kinda thing lately and she was starting to get to me."
>He takes a step toward you.
>"Hey good talking to ya man."
>He puts a hand on your shoulder and gives it a squeeze
>"Maybe it's just the booze talking, but you're alright. See you tomorrow."
>You bid him goodnight back.
>You need to get back in bed too. You'd come down to try and sneak a midnight snack and ended up having hard liquor instead
>You're going to sleep like a rock
>The relief you're feeling now that you realize you have nothing to fear from Angel should probably help too
>You're actually looking forward to seeing him at the breakfast table tomorrow