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Rain poured down over Pentagram City, hard, heavy, relentless and acidic. Lightning strikes left bright red scars over the rapidly darkening sky and a soft chorus of thunder began to slowly crescendo. Angel Dust stared out a window at the rain assaulting the ground outside, watching puddles pool and steam as if they were coming to a boil. He was stuck inside until further notice. No way he was going out in this. Though admitting it aloud required more vulnerability than he was ready to share with the class, he was grateful he was stuck at the Hazbin Hotel instead of the Vee's tower. An evening surely to be spent on self-improvement and group trust exercises sounded much less hellish than a night of tireless, thankless work with Valentino...
Once Angel had grown bored of rain-watching, he turned his attention to the bar. Nothing like a little liquor to warm a guy up for some group therapy participation. He sauntered over and took a seat on one of the stools, leaning his arms on the bar top and holding his head in his hands. The bartender stood cleaning glasses, looking annoyed or otherwise irritated, his ears pressed back against his head.
"Hey, Husky, mind pourin' me a little somethin'-somethin'?" Angel sighed, "I have a feelin' it's gonna be a long night..."
Husk raised an eyebrow, but turned to get a little "something-something" anyway. "You're telling me." With his back turned to Angel, the spider could see that the fur on his neck was all ruffled up. Husk swiveled back around with a drink before he could make a snarky comment about it, though. He accepted his drink but was content to just hold it in one of his hands for security instead of immediately downing it. The bartender was content to do the opposite, opting to throw his head back and take a long drink directly from the bottle he'd just poured from.
A sudden, loud clap of thunder roared outside, causing Husk to jump nearly out of his skin, his fur standing on end and his wings stretching out like he was ready to take off. It was Angel's turn to raise an eyebrow.
"You 'kay, kitty?" His tone was playful, teasing.
Husk cleared his throat and avoided meeting Angel's eyes, his own still wide and darting around anxiously as he tried to regain his composure. "Hem, yeah, why wouldn't I be?"
"Looked a little startled there, if my eyes ain't deceivin' me," the spider smirked, holding his glass up to his lips. It seemed a little weakness was unlocked; Husk was afraid of the thunder. Husk! Afraid! Angel could hardly believe what he was seeing. He bit his lip before going to speak again, excited to have a new little thing to tease his friend about, but another clap of thunder rudely interrupted him.
This one was louder than the last, and longer, too, rolling out into a low rumble that threatened to shake the hotel walls. At the sound, Husk again jumped, diving under the bar for cover as if the whole building was going to collapse in on him. Angel looked around to see no objects moved more than a millimeter out of place and nothing but the tiny crack in the entryway ceiling looking faulty. They'd already placed a bucket under it to catch any acid rain that snuck its way in, so Husk had nothing to worry about.
Peering over the bar revealed the most pitiful sight Angel had seen in some time- Husk was curled up in a little ball, wings wrapped around himself tight, paws protecting his head, ears pinned back, his full body maybe even shaking. All this over some shitty weather?
Maybe this wasn't something Angel Dust desperately needed to poke fun at him for, he thought. At least, not until the storm had passed. Maybe instead he should try to soothe the poor kitty cat, who'd transformed into a trembling little animal before his eyes. He took a breath and pushed himself off of his stool, throwing his drink back with little reaction as he slunk around the bar. A set of his hands rested on his hips as he leaned down and offered another hand to his friend, "C'mere, whiskers, lemme help you."
Husk spat an empty "fuck you" his direction, but took his hand anyway and allowed himself to be hoisted up. Another clap shook Husk to his bones and he instinctively pulled Angel suffocatingly close, wrapping his wings around the both of them like a shield. Angel stifled a giggle.
"Let's getcha upstairs, 'kay?"
Although going further up the building made Husk uneasy, nervous that the whole mess was going to start swaying with the wind, but he complied without an argument. The pair climbed upstairs while Husk held onto one of Angel's arms like the scared little baby he was being.
When they made it to Husk's room, he clambered underneath his bed with a start. Another thunderclap- Angel hadn't even noticed it this time. The spider sighed and invited himself to lay on Husk's bed and settle into the nest of blankets he found there. Husk trembled so hard beneath him that his bed almost felt like one of those fancy massage chairs Angel had always wanted to try...
He dangled one of his thin arms off the side of the mattress and waved. "Huskyyy, come out an' let me comfort ya or whatever. Hard to do that when you're down there and I'm all th' way up here," Angel swayed his arm back and forth nonchalantly as he spoke, then was surprised by Husk pawing at him from under the bed like a kitten. He had to try not to laugh again when the cat demon poked his head out and bonked into his hand before tentatively crawling into bed.
Husk curled up in a defensive little ball once more, and Angel was pleased when he let him pull him close. Wrapping all his arms around Husk and holding him to his chest felt natural. He took a few deep breaths for the other man to follow, hoping this was having the soothing effect he was going for and not stressing Husk out more. Angel's goal was to be like a fluffier, sexier, lankier demon version of one of those thunder vests you put on an anxious dog.
Husk nuzzled into Angel's fluff and took a shaky breath. A hand reached up to pet the back of his head. Angel felt the demon start to relax against him, the pitter-patter of rain against the walls drowning out any other sounds around them. The isolation of Husk's room felt like a little slice of heaven, if only for a few moments.
Another clap, a jump, a wrap of wings around the two. Angel hushed Husk as he combed his fingers through his fur. He could smell the alcohol between them as their breathing slowed. This was nice. Angel couldn't remember the last time he'd been snuggled up with someone like this, safe and secure, like nothing outside of the walls of Husk's room- the warmth of his bed, the shell of his wing- could ever touch him. Husk unfurled himself from his own death grip and snaked an arm around Angel, making the spider smile.
Despite the fear, neither of them could think of anything sweeter than this. Angel being held without ulterior motives. Husk being cared for like he was some precious, innocent thing. Any impulse to laugh at the cat's jumpscares had long since faded away, replaced with nothing but the urge to hold him and keep him safe. It sounded like the worst of the storm was passing, but neither man showed any signs of untangling from one another anytime soon. They laid in a comfortable silence for a while before Angel carefully broke it.
"You doin' okay?"
Husk pushed himself back a bit to look up at Angel's face, his brows furrowed. He gave a weak shrug. Angel smiled softly and brought a hand up to rub the space between Husk's eyebrows with his thumb. He gently smoothed out the muscles there, jokingly noting that Husk didn't want to get wrinkles, as if that mattered in Hell.
Angel felt a low rumbling then and braced himself for Husk's reaction, but was surprised to find he'd closed his eyes and relaxed into Angel's touch. The sound and feeling of purring took him a few seconds to process. Angel felt like the luckiest guy to have ever died and gone to hell. He dared not to point out the the obvious, knowing that embarrassing Husk would make him stop. He just relished in the feelings he was feeling, the comfort, and closed his eyes as well.
"Thanks," came Husk's quiet confession, "I was scared."
Angel snickered, "No way, really?" He wouldn't say it aloud, not right now, but his heart was being set ablaze, a soft warmth that spread all throughout his body. He couldn't help but hope they'd get another storm soon, as long as it meant he'd get to skip work to snuggle. Or maybe he'd just pray that he and Husk could find some other excuse to be this close, this quiet. Was it brash to think he'd be happy to do this every day?
The urge to plant a kiss on the cat's head right between his ears felt like it was eating Angel from the inside out, but failing to refrain might fuck up their moment. So, he held himself back, however difficult. Husk only made things infinitely harder as he pushed his head forward again to nuzzle up under Angel's chin. They both breathed out a sigh.
"Luxuries like this are hard to come by 'round here," Husk mumbled against Angel's neck.
Angel flushed, embarrassed that something so wholesome got to him the way it did. He'd seen it all in his line of work, but not this. Never this. He clawed his way through the embarrassment to reply with a sly, "Luxuries, huh?"
"Don't tease."
Baring their souls to one another was a scary thought. Baring their souls, showing weakness, to anyone in Hell was bound to wind up coming back to bite them. They knew that- they'd learned that each in their own ways, and yet some unstoppable force was drawing them closer still. Letting walls down, trusting again, was going to take time- but here they were, with seemingly all the time in the world, feeling all but ready to jump into the deep end. As they held each other, there was no struggle for air, no fight to keep themselves afloat- they just swam in the delicious ambience of the rain and the unexpected intimacy.
A kiss pressed to a forehead made Angel panic for a moment, forgetting himself. The worry that had washed over him fell away in an instant when he received a little peck on his neck in return. The two sighed together again and let the rain lull them to sleep, still pressed together in their makeshift nest under Husk's protective wing.
