Chapter Text
The sun always set early in hell. Only a little past five, and already, the long shadows of the buildings had covered the streets in darkness. Hell’s hottest commodity stood at the edge of the sidewalk, wind cutting at his skin. He was happy for the level of fluff he’d been blessed with that kept his body as warm as at least a windbreaker would. He would have been wearing more, but Valentino told him the instructions were clear. Wear something nice. And Angel Dust never disappointed.
The wind picked up, ruffling his perfectly unkempt hair. His dress clung to his body as he checked his face in the mirror again. He looked as good as ever, of course. Sure, it was technically marketed towards teen girls, which meant he had to buy new sets more than he would like, but it was worth it. Whoever made the Fizzarolli makeup sets knew a thing or two about covering up marks.
He looked up at the sound of an oncoming car whose bright lights blinded him for a moment, and he was still blinking away the flashes when the limo turned and pulled up to the curve. The door slid open on its own.
Looks like someone has a thing for drama.
His memories of life told him it was a bad idea to get into mysterious limousines. But his soul contract (and his 25% cut because ‘we’ll split your pay evenly’ apparently counted all three Vees) told him he’d been bought and paid for for the night. Probably someone young enough to overestimate himself, new enough to not realize he charged extra for orgies, or both. Paying for a full night of Angel Dust was more than most guys could handle. Even Travis had learned to only book him for a couple hours after the third time.
At least there wasn’t anyone extra in the car. He’d half expected a crew of Loan Shark frat boys to pile out, but the lights were dim, and he was still blinking the headlight flash out enough that he was only assuming the client was here. “Okay, I’m yours for the night,” he said as he slipped in, settling into the plush seats, “But ONLY yours. Anyone else can look but not touch. I don’t do refunds, you’re paying for the night, you fall asleep, your problem. I’ll listen to what you tell me, but if you pop too fast, that’s on you too. Extra fees for women and roleplay, and I’m including the ‘l’ word there. That’s love, not lesbian.”
“I know how it works, legs.”
The familiar, deep voice derailed his train of thought.
“HUSK?!”
“That's me.”
The afterflash faded away slowly, and the formless shapes resolved themselves into the familiar interior of Charlie’s limo.
“You ain’t got Cherry here too, do ya? I’m not changing my-”
“Just me. And I know.”
“Do ya? Then what’s this about, huh?”
“Escort,” Husk answered simply.
“Oh, so NOW you take me up on the offers, huh?” He folded one pair of arms in front of his chest, his other hands on his hips, “I mean, I’ll do it, I’m a professional, but you sure got great timi-”
“I didn’t say I wanted a blowjob,” Husk cut him off, his feline eyes flashing as the limousine rolled along the pentagram streets, “I said I wanted an escort.”
“What, like a date?”
“If you want to call it that.”
“Well what do YOU want to call it?”
“I want to call it,” Husk answered, his eyes meeting Angel’s with the same frustration as when he asked for his third ‘Harder Daddy’ of the evening and they both knew he just liked saying it, “An escort. From an escort service. That’s what I paid for.”
The spider huffed at that, “Oh come on, you ain’t stupid, you know that’s not what it’s supposed to be. Look, if you’re thinking you can come in here playing knight in shi-”
“Do you ever shut up?” Husk snapped at him, fast enough that Angel leaned back in the seat on pure instinct. For a few seconds, there was no sound but the wheels along the pentagram streets.
“What?”
Husk’s voice maintained its razor edge, “I paid for a night with you. Paid triple, too, and we both know I don’t have that kinda money. Had to borrow from Charlie to make up the difference.”
“Hold on, my cut-”
“I’m supposed to get most of it back in the morning, Val said it’s ‘collateral’ but I don’t trust him farther than I can throw that damn robot of his, so we’ll see what happens when I bring you home.”
“Ha,” Angel leaned back in his seat, staring over his head out the window, “You know if this is your idea of romanti-”
“It’s my IDEA of being escorted,” Husk repeated, “You’re escorting me. I’m going somewhere. You’re going with me. That’s what the goddamn word means. I paid good money for it, and I want my money’s worth. You’re supposed to be a goddamn professional, legs. Do what I say and stop asking questions.”
Kitty’s got claws
Well, if he wanted business, that was fine. More than fine. It was what he had prepared for anyway, so he was ready for it. Angel just needed to get his head back in the game. He slid from his side of the limo over to Husk’s, and leaned against him, his hand on the cat’s shoulders, “Mmmm, you know, you’re kinda hot when you get pushy like that.”
Husk just shrugged him off and turned to look out the window.
“Didn’t say to touch me.”
Angel sat back straight, folding both sets of arms now, “Fine, you wanna be like that, be,” he shrugged, “But I was being professional there, that's the service, alright? You want something else, you gotta tell me. Work with me here, Husk, I can't give you what you want if you don't tell me and I know you didn’t pay $5,000 for a pretty face.”
Husk didn’t answer for a few seconds, the lights of the city dancing across his face like tiger stripes. Eventually he gave a dismissive shrug, “I’d do a lot for a pretty face.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means,” Husk turned back to him, the glare still present but beginning to waver into something closer to pleading, “It means that you can do what you want, okay? Just long as I can see you.”
“Never took you for the voyeur type, Husky,” Angel teased, falling back on flirting while he tried to work out where the conversation had gone.
“Not... Ugh,” Husk dropped his head into his hand for a moment, “Look. You remember that club you did that little number at before your disappearing act? We’re going there. The guy who was supposed to work tonight canceled, so Ced called in a favor. I do a show tonight, he clears my tab, we call it even.”
“And what am I, inspiration?” Angel asked, “‘Cause I got a couple pills in my purse if you’re worried about your stamina, big g-”
“WHAT? No!” Husk looked at him in shock, “Hell no, ain’t nobody want to see that from me. I'm the dinner show.”
“Whatcha doing?”
“You remember that box I’m always having to chase Niffty off of?” Husk asked, “The one I keep under the bar?”
“Yeah?”
“I got my supplies in there. Mirrors, trick boxes, that sorta thing. Stage magic.”
“You’re a magician?”
“Why you think I’m all marked up like a Hoyle deck, died in a solitaire accident?”
“Honestly?” Angel asked, “Kinda figured it was gambling.”
“Yeah...” Husk leaned forward now, hands in his lap and looking like a three-day hangover, “Yeah, well, that’s the problem,” he sighed heavily, and when he looked up, not even the low light in the limo could disguise the weariness, “I thought maybe, I dunno, I thought I kicked the habit. Had the night to myself, figured I could just pop in and get my feet wet. Have some fun, for old time’s sake. Keep it from turning into... That,” he took a long, labored breath, “Turns out, I was wrong, and with a capital R. That’s why I called you. I just need someone to keep me out of trouble. So you just keep that pretty face of yours right by the stage where I can see it. Make sure I don’t forget why I’m here. Okay?”
Their eyes met, and Angel took a few seconds to try to get his barings back before finally acknowledging, “Yeah. I can do that,” he said, “Sure. I’ll do that. Then what?”
Husk shrugged, “Then... I dunno. Then you get the rest of the night off if you want. I’ll drop you off somewhere, send Razzle off with the keys, and you can go chase dragons. Or dicks. Or whatever it is you do for fun these days,” Husk shrugged, “Just long as there’s no casino nearby for me to wander into.”
“Sure, Husk,” Angel nodded, and tentatively placed his hand on the cat’s shoulder. Husk bristled, but only for a second, before his shoulder slumped again.
“Just... Just gotta get it done,” Husk said, only half talking to Angel, “Keep it simple. Get in, do my job, and get out. Nothing extra. No games. No messing around. Just business.”
Here, Angel felt like he was on firmer ground. The spider leaned to the side to get both arms in the cat's shoulders. The muscles were knotted up and hard as... Well, Angel could think of lots of things that got hard.
“Sure. Just business,” he reassured him, “You can do that. Just keep your focus on the work, Husky, it'll be over before you know it,” he spoke softly, his fingers finding and pressing on thick knots in the feline’s shoulders. He let Husk guide him as the bartender lay on his front.
“Mind getting right by the wing joint? Always get tense there before a show.”
“Anywhere ya like, Husky, I'm yours for the night,” Angel assured him softly, his second set of hands finding the joint, and the third rubbing along Husk’s sides.
“You’re good at that, Legs.”
“For this price, I better be,” he told him, and continued to press until a low purr rumbled through Husk’s body.
“Oh, and Husk?” Angel said with a teasing tilt of his head.
“Yeah?”
“I’d want to see that from you.”
He laughed at the reaction as Husk pressed his face against the car seat like he was trying to push through it.
“You’re pretty cute when you ain’t pushy, too,” Angel added, as the car rolled to a stop.