Chapter Text
If you wanted ice cream, you went to an ice cream shop.
If you wanted booze, you went to a liquor store.
If you wanted a cup of Joe guaranteed to not only put a pep in your step but have you fellating your cup for every last drop and keep you coming back, you went to Jackpot Cafe.
It was a cafe in a rather quiet area of the city which was perfect for the owner, Husker (who preferred 'Husk') who was a tuxedo-patterned cat demon with wings. He didn't care much for loud noises or any general cacophony of sound due to his sensitive ears. That and he had the social grace of a wood chipper.
A decade or so back he was a heavy drinker and a crooked gambler but after one too many nights nursing split lips and splitting headaches he decided a change of pace was needed if he was going to last in Hell. He'd been walking this path since landing in Hell but it had started becoming harder to maintain with the confidence he'd walk away with all of himself still intact.
Instead of whiskey he took up drinking black coffee. Most places couldn't make coffee for, haha, beans and it always tasted burned. Others would have it so strong it dried out your mouth.
Buying bottled from grocery stores wasn't much better. Sweeteners, fake flavoring, aftertastes. Home machines made only for the cups of instant coffee and even the expensive, ridiculously complicated machines for espresso and other 'more refined' coffee types were just, well... underwhelming.
Husk had a personality built for addiction and when coffee was the new fixation he decided he would go all in and open his own cafe. Something small and welcoming. It would keep him busy, make him money, and keep him from backsliding. Well, he hoped for that.
It took him months to come up with the money for the location he chose and more to get it put together. A lot of the labor was his own out of distrust towards others as well as the belief he could do the job even without so much as a V-tube tutorial video but now and again he had to curb his pride and hire someone.
The same became the case once he opened.
Husk had not anticipated on the volume of customers and keeping up with every order while trying to deal with the sensory overload and bite back the urge to scream was exhausting. He had gone 0 to 60 way too fast for his liking and it showed in multiple ways. His profit was almost never in the black because he was drinking too much of his own supply just to get through the days. Not to mention wasted inventory from poorly calculated order numbers and the number of times he had to remake drinks or flat out comp them. If he was to ever turn a profit and get some respite, he'd have to take on an employee.
So, pride be damned, he put out a Now Hiring ad online.
Most that came through were flighty types that didn't seem to have the brains to stay in the moment much less at the job. Some had red flag references on their resumes and some didn't even bring one or even know what it was. It was becoming a fruitless endeavor. He'd heard of people having trouble finding 'good help' but this was ridiculous.
He wanted his cafe to succeed. He wanted something in this life he could be proud of.
And then there was Angel Dust.
When the slender spider had walked into the cafe for the interview Husk had at first believed him to be a customer and announced the cafe was closed. Angel ignored this and dropped in the chair across the table from Husk, crossing one spindly leg over the other, and putting down a closed manila folder onto the table and giving it a gentle nudge so it slid across and stopped only when gently bumping one of Husk's knuckles.
"Uh..." Husk picked up the folder and opened it after bending the small wings back to loose the flap, seeing the resume inside printed on powder pink paper and giving off a floral scent. His resume was scented. "So, you're..."
"Angel Dust." The demon grinned proudly, showing off a gold tooth. Then came a wink.
"Mhm." He took up his reading glasses and started to scan over the resume, stopping only when he heard a rather appreciative noise.
"Daddy vibes," Angel Dust purred. "I like this place already."
Strike one.
"Says here you worked in your family's business for a while." Husk moved his glasses further down his nose to be able to look at Angel properly from under his feathered brows.
"Yeah." Husk noticed his bottom hands fidgeting. That wasn't a good sign.
"And it was...?"
Angel sighed and rolled his shoulders. "Does it matter?"
Strike two.
"Okay, well, your listed skillset doesn't seem to have anything useful for this kind of work." Maybe he'd go away. Far away.
Instead Angel leaned across the table, showing a generous amount of the fluff of his chest that wasn't already out from the heart shaped cut in his top. "Oh I got the skills, baby. You don't need to worry about that." A flirtatious smile graced his obviously glossed lips and a finger twirled at the dark fur on Husk's chin.
Husk threw himself back in his chair instantly, almost toppling backward, just to get out of the spider's reach
Strike three.
"I don't think you're what I'm looking for." It was the nicest way he could word 'get the fuck out'.
Angel didn't seem the least bit fazed. "I'll level with ya. I'm a fast learner, I know how to handle trouble, and I'm not gonna be comin' in late or calling out all the time. I need a job, you need someone to fill the job. So, here I am." He spread both sets of arms out at his sides, presenting himself.
Husk wasn't impressed. "You look like you'd use my broom closet to fuck customers."
"That an option?"
"No." He closed and re-sealed the folder and slid it back across the table. "Better luck next time, kid."
For just a moment Angel looked dejected but that was swept away in an instant when he stood, not bothering to correct the hike of his skirt, and took the folder. "If ya say so."
What a waste of his time.
Husk checked the time on his phone and realized that Angel was the last interview for the day which meant he could start closing up. It was a day wasted.
"Ey-yo, buddy, watch it."
Looking up Husk saw Angel almost at the door, stumbling to the side as a small but rather thick-framed demon barged in. He must have shoved Angel to get in. He'd have to. In those heels Angel was almost too tall for the door and despite having a ridiculously petite frame it wasn't hard to see he easily framed the doorway. Give the guy a spotlight and a microphone.
It wasn't difficult to see the beefy demon wasn't in a friendly mood. His features were puckered and pinched, a singular vein in his forehead was prominent and throbbing, and his eyes were almost shaking with how hard he was glaring. Husk thought he looked a bit familiar but then again he wasn't very good with faces. Came with the territory of never looking at faces to begin with.
"You piece of shit," the demon barked, taloned hands clenching into tight fists. Well, that must hurt. "You turned down my brother because he wasn't good enough for you?"
Oh, right.
Two days ago he'd interviewed a rather dull looking avian demon who was more interested in asking about pay grade and could he give friends drinks on the house and could he leave early every Thursday for reasons never disclosed. It hadn't been hard for Husk to show him the door.
Husk went to open his mouth in rebuttal but shut it the minute Angel hoisted the guy up by the back of his jacket, turning him around in the air to make eye contact. The demon was flailing but Angel showed no signs of letting go or having a loose grip.
"Sweetcheeks," Angel began, annoyance laced in his voice, "if this gorgeous piece of ass you're lookin' at right here ain't good enough for him, what's your dickless brother got goin' for him?"
The flirty and rather over the top spider demon that he'd interviewed just minutes before was now very serious and was wordlessly daring the trouble maker to bite back with anything. There was authority. No theatrics, no bravado, no 'let's show off so I get this job'. Angel was annoyed, pure and simple.
Whatever the demon had been planning to do or say was out the window in a flash and left behind a shrinking violet of a man who babbled incoherently in a soft voice even Husk had a hard time picking up.
"We gonna have anymore trouble?" Angel asked.
The demon shook his head so rapidly it was a miracle it didn't pop off.
"Ya gonna tell your brother to get a job someplace else?"
A just as enthusiastic nod.
"I put ya down, you gonna leave and fuck off for good?"
"YesyesyesyesI'msorrypleasejust--" The demon dropped to the floor with an 'oomph' when Angel let go with the same casual air you'd have dropping a towel. Almost comically he scrambled to his feet, sputtered several apologies toward Husk and then to Angel before going out the door, almost hitting himself in the ass with the door handle as it swung shut. That was probably the first time Husk had ever seen someone get hit that way.
An agitated grunt came from Angel as he wiped the hand he'd touched the other demon with on his stocking-covered knee. "Ugh, cheap body spray. That smell ain't getting off my hand any time soon."
"So..."
Angel's attention snapped quickly to Husk as though he were surprised the cat was still there. "Oh, shit. Yeah sorry 'bout that. I hate pushy guys."
He was going to regret this. Maybe. Definitely.
Oh, he'd regret it.
"Can you start Monday?"
Angel beamed. "Bet your ass I can."