Chapter Text
After Gray and Angel caught him staring, Husk had no choice but to hide back in his office. He had other ways of watching Angel, after all. And no, that wasn't creepy. He was just... ensuring that nothing bad happened to his new employee on his first day. There was nothing weird or wrong about that. He'd watched over his other employees-- Gray included-- on their first days. Angel just needed closer supervision in case someone tried to attack him.
No matter what Gray thought, Husk was just being a good boss. Even now, as he watched out of his office's clear doors for what little he could see of the spider demon, he was simply watching over his new, extremely vulnerable, extremely adorable employee.
Suddenly, there was a glitched chuckle directly behind him. Though it surprised him, Husk didn't need to turn around to know who it was; he'd recognize Vox's annoying glitchy voice from anywhere. Still, he turned around to confront the TV overlord, who was grinning a smug grin at him and leaning against Husk's desk. Husk growled at the blatant disrespect and folded his arms.
Vox paid no attention to Husk's annoyance and continued grinning at him. "Why don't you take a picture of him? Or even a video? It'd certainly last longer than a brief glance."
"That's none of your business," Husk snapped, walking over to his desk and sitting in his plush armchair. "You have a lot of nerve showing up here without warning after the stunt your boyfriend pulled a few nights ago."
Vox's grin dropped. "Well, I was going to call ahead, but you never gave me a number, despite the fact that we've worked together before. And besides, you use my tech, so I have the right to be here if I want."
Husk rolled his eyes. "Sure you do. Well, you're not getting your hands on Angel Dust again. I won his soul, he's mine, so unless you have anything else to--"
"I'm not here for Angel, I'm here for Gray," Vox snapped, his eyes flashing angrily. Then, he took a deep breath to calm himself and stepped away from Husk's desk. "I'm here to talk, unless you give me a reason to get violent." His tone hitched at that last word and his static briefly appeared between his antennae, but Husk didn't feel threatened.
Husk hummed and tapped his claws together, staring Vox down. "And what exactly is there to talk about? Gray is one of my best employees, and I value her as both an employee and as a person."
"You mean she's your slave," Vox growled, the static flashing again. "You own her soul, don't you?"
"Yes, I do," Husk replied. "It was a part of our agreement."
"What agreement?" Vox demanded. "My Gray would never bet something as precious as her own soul. No, you forced her into this, didn't you? Husker, I swear to god if you've laid a single claw on my daughter--"
"I can promise you, Vox, I've done nothing to hurt Gray," Husk interrupted before Vox could rile himself into a killing spree. "Our agreement is that she works for me, and in exchange I provide her with housing, payment, and protection."
"Protection?" Vox repeated. "What does she need protection from? Who does she need protection from?"
In response, Husk simply looked Vox up and down.
Vox was livid. "What the hell are you implying?! That my own daughter wants protection from ME?! I'd never hurt her! I never have! I love Gray! I've been looking for her for years! And moreover, Gray doesn't even belong in hell, let alone in your casino as a slave! And if you think I'm going to let you keep her here--"
"VOX!" Husk shouted, standing up and slamming his fist on his desk. "I have not been keeping Gray as a slave. She works here because she wants to. And as for her protection, it wasn't just from you. It was from the Vs as a whole, and even other overlords too. She trusted me with her soul because I helped her get what she earned from some creep who tried to cheat her, and because I was willing to let her stay the night when it was raining acid."
"But why didn't she come to me?" Vox asked. "She had to know I was in hell, she had to know I would look after her."
Husk sighed, shaking his head. "You know, Gray doesn't talk about her past. I don't know why she didn't look for you when she first came here, but based on the way she avoids the topic of her past and the distance she keeps between you and her, I can make a guess. So tell me, Vox, why do you think she doesn't want anything to do with you?"
Vox's eyes widened, then his expression saddened. He sighed and took a seat on the other side of the desk. "Right... it's been so long, I'd almost forgotten...." He sighed again, downcasting his eyes.
Husk narrowed his eyes at Vox, equal parts curious and hesitant. Yes, he should respect Gray's privacy, and she obviously didn't want anyone to know about her past or the fact that her father was the Vox, but he also had a right to know about his employees, especially if one of them was related to a powerful overlord. Besides, it's not like Gray would ever know that Husk talked with Vox.
Even if it was horrible to go behind her back.
"Vox..." Husker said. "Tell me what happened."
Vox sighed a third time, and then stood up and walked to the office's clear doors, back turned towards Husker. When he spoke again, his voice had lost its proud and commanding tone, leaving him sounding like a depressed, hollow shell of a man.
"For as long as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a star," he said. "And I knew I had it in me to be one. I never expected to be a husband, or... or a father. But then I met my wife, and we bought a house together, and I got a job as a spokesman for a world famous tech company. It was demanding, but it was my dream, and my wife supported me through it all. And then, just when everything was falling into place, we found out that she was pregnant." He paused, taking a heavy breath, then continued. "I was terrified, but I promised myself and Marla that I would support our family. And when she was born... my precious baby girl... I loved her more than anything. And I swore I would be there for her through everything. I was so stupid to think I could ever keep those promises." Another pause, this one lasting a full minute while Vox fiddled with his ring finger. "As time went on, my job got more and more demanding to the point I was hardly spending time at home at all. And I tried to be around for them-- I fought tooth and nail just to come home at night, but nothing was ever enough for my job. And if I didn't comply, they'd replace me."
"And you'd lose your dream," Husker said.
Vox bowed his head a bit. "The only upside was that, even away from them, I could still watch my family from work. We had these specialized cameras that I could watch from my watch or just the television in my office. And when I was writing scripts or studying the newest product, that's what I'd be doing. You see, my wife was a stay at home mom, and when Gray was a baby my wife kept her home to care for her. So I could watch them both for as long as I wanted." Another pause. "Have you heard Gray sing? She's always had a beautiful voice that you could listen to for hours and never grow bored or annoyed. She was the star student in all her music classes, and she won every music or talent show she ever competed in. Sometimes, I'd pay some of the cameramen to go to her competitions and film her. I never got the leniency they did; they could take all the time off they wanted. But I was the face of the company, I had to stay. So all I could do was watch my baby grow up from behind a screen, cheering her on from afar."
"She didn't know?" Husker asked.
"No, but my wife did," Vox answered. "Gray... she was so young, she shouldn't have had to worry about me. So we kept her in the dark, hoping that once she was older we could explain why I had to cancel so many birthdays, dinners, daddy-daughter days..." He heaved a barely hidden sob and rubbed at his eyes. "We didn't think... I didn't think about how she must have felt about it all. And by the time I did, it was too late. She was fourteen, and she had just won a national singing competition. I'd promised to be there, but I had to redo some stupid commercial. I missed the entire day, and that's what broke her. My wife and I had a huge fight-- I don't know if she heard it or not-- and we decided we were going to tell her why I wasn't there, but when Marla went up to her room, she was gone. She couldn't take the disappointment anymore, and so she..."
Vox started quietly crying into his hand, unable to say it, but Husk understood: Gray had run away. And from there, he knew the rest, as it had been the only things Gray had been willing to tell him about: how she'd found a crime family to take her in, how she started singing in their gentlemen's club during the day and assisted them in covering up their many crimes during the night just to survive. Then, after a police squadron took them out in an ambush, Gray took some explosives and blew up the police station... while she was still inside. Then, she ended up in hell. On Extermination Day. She should've died again, along with the crime family, but despite it all she made it. And the rest was history.
Husk sighed and tapped his desk. Despite her hesitance to reunite with her father, Husker knew a part of Gray wanted a relationship with him. Even if she didn't talk about him, the way she stared at his pictures and infomercials told him all he needed to know. And, yes, maybe he sympathized with Vox a bit, having been a father himself once, and if his kids were in hell he'd want them with him, too.
Husker opened his mouth to tell Vox this, but Vox opened the office doors and looked out. Husk called, "What are you doing?"
"One of Val's brutes," Vox said. "He just threw something out of the casino, and Angel-- Angel has a gun!"
Angel!
Husker threw himself out of his chair and ran out to look out with Vox... just in time to see Angel blow the head off of some giant red demon. And when Husker took a quick look around he couldn't see Gray anywhere.
Oh... oh, no...
He jumped over the mezzanine and flew down just as Vox teleported down. Husker ran over to Angel, taking his shoulder and then his hand when Angel jumped, tears streaming down his handsome, fluffy face. "It's just me," he told him, kneeling beside him. I'm here, and I'm not leaving. I'm so sorry I was late." And before he could explain, Vox let out a pained, horrified scream that confirmed Husk's fears. He didn't stop Vox from running out, grabbing hold of, and hugging his bleeding and unconscious daughter like his life depended on it. He needed to make sure Angel was okay, and then find out why the guards weren't protecting him, why Gray had to step in and put herself at risk.
He'd close the casino again-- free drinks, punch cards, and refunds would be provided to soothe the patrons-- and Gray and Angel would be put on bed rest for the next couple months. They'd be treated for their injuries, spoiled for the trauma, and Husk would even have the maids spoon feed them if they needed.
And if there was anything left of Valentino after Vox was done with him, Husker would make DAMN sure there wouldn't be once he got his hands on that fucker.