Work Text:
[Podfic Link Here: https://soundgasm.net/u/BunnyGoon/Just-Right-SFW ]
"This is stupid." The tired cat gumbles.
"Then don't do it?" The spider shrugs as he grabs wipes to remove the clumping mascara from tired, glitter-scratched eyes.
"Just watch over me then like last time, or go downstairs and make a quick drink before" Angel offers.
Husk cocked an eyebrow.
"So you want me to sneak some whisky to ya? Alright kid but I could lose my job so don't tell your parents" he teases.
"My grandma used to let me taste her moscato when I was 7" Angel says plainly as if he’s just telling the time of day, patting his face dry and pulling a white tank top over himself as Husk snorts at his comment.
"That definitely tracks. Well, I don't wanna leave ya alone. But why do I gotta wear this?" Husk asks, stretching his pajama shirt. The long, grey thrift store buy Angel had cut out the back of to accommodate Husk's wings, an image a top hat with a rabbit peeking out.
"Wear whatever you want, just put a shirt on, slut! It's hard to think in a kid headspace if you're flashing me gettin' me flustered" Angel jokes and shrugs before he lowers his voice in a shy, timid tone.
"And uh, when I’m like that I don't want anyone half naked around me. I know it's silly just... it's been a long day and I don't wanna deal with any impulses, even my own, y'know?"
Husk sighs, understanding at least that much and isn't about to yuck the yums of his lover, who currently looked like his mind was already one foot out the door in preparation to regress.
Angel had already regressed with Husk a few times, with the grouchy cat acting as a caretaker and he adjusted to the role naturally. The stern demeanor with caring touches and straight answers for every juvenile question or request reminded Angel just enough of the men he'd grown up with to seem familiar. The stark difference was Husk seemed like he’d have acclimated with kids, in a “cool drunk uncle” sort of way. Angel wondered if he'd been a dad in his past life, but never dared ask.
Tonight though, Angel had finally hit the point he wanted to try to regulate himself, to some extent at least. Truthfully, sometimes having the bartender boss him around made him anywhere from agitated to aroused, which more often than not yanked him from the headspace he was craving. Husk was a wonderful caretaker, but Angel insists he doesn’t always need one and offers for Husk to play with him “as a peer".
Husk laughs it off at first, before seeing that there is no joke in Angel's earnest expression.
"I feel silly Angel," he whines in his baritone, "I'm too old for this shit, and this shirts too big and... Well, I dunno, I didn't even know how to be a kid when I was one, fuck!”
Angel sighs, tapping his cheek " Sounding pretty close to a whiny brat to me. It's alright whiskers, there's no tommy to your skull about it, but just don't rag on it for me, ok?"
Husk stops, his wings falling a bit bashfully. Angel’s right, shitting on something his partner obviously enjoys just because he hasn’t handled his own shit is a buzzkill in any regard. Husk redirects himself.
“Yeah, sorry. Lemme go wash my face and grab us some drinks. I’ll meet ya back here”
Husk returns, kicking the door closed with his foot before he kneels to set Angel's cherry cola he'd made him in his special cup. Usually Angel would enjoy a specific record he'd used to dance to with his sister once upon a time, or browsing a picture book to descend. In this instance, Angel settles on a coloring book. Husk can tell by the fist-hold on his crayon and the fact the rest are already dumped across his plush rug that he’s already little. Husk takes a long final swig of his bottle before placing it on a shelf out of immediate sight. Even as Angel tries to let himself drift, he can tell Husk is having trouble letting go. A freshly "Little" Angel crawls over and digs through a box of toys, giving Husk a deck of cards with a soft tone and helpful nudge.
“Here play that alone-game you like and I’ll color by you” Angel sits next to him and puts his blanket on them both while he resumes coloring.
Husk sits there for a moment, clearly confused. Alone game? before he realizes he means Solitaire. He told Angel once he played it a lot as a kid, since no one wanted to watch him practice magic until you're already good at it. He starts setting the cards in columns and when he looks at Angel working on his piece, he seems so relaxed. Cerise eyes focused only on what’s in front of them and Husk sighs, trying to let himself unclench and do the same.
Time passes, and Husk lets himself slip without really realizing. Each flip of the card he can stack gives him the minute spark of accomplishment, and with no one to gamble against the only rush is from the anticipation for whatever he's about to draw. No pressure (or pleasure) of money on the line, he lets his mind drift in just enjoying the wordless parallel play. There’s something nostalgic about it even though it's unfamiliar to him. It doesn't feel nearly as sad as it made him when he did this as a kid, so long as he can feel Angel’s occasional shifting positions next to him.
Husk finally hits a dead end, but he can’t even be bothered at the unwinnable game. Husk just sits in this light feeling for a long moment but tenses when he sees Angel grab some of the cards from the piles, and he can’t help the higher than normal noise that escapes.
“Hey!” Husk shouts defensively before Angel looks at him, confused as he starts messily shuffling the cards.
“What? Don’t you have any brothers or sisters? You gotta share" Angel reprimands, top hands tapping the cards on the ground with force as some spill out the side and bend to his roughness. "Let’s play Go Fish.”
Husk lets Angel take the cards back, having to consciously remind himself they weren’t his to begin with and puts his hands in his lap patiently as he watches Angel struggle. Husk feels squirmy, impatient, and something in the back of his mind tells him that was an overreaction but the voice fades as he tries to focus only on the matters at hand. Clammy hands flex and release in his lap. Why was he so high strung right now? He tries to keep quiet as long as he can, but at every bent card-corner in Angel's haphazard motion he called shuffling, he loses control of the impulse creeping heavy on his tongue until frustration pries his mouth open.
“Can I do that part then? You’re kind of bad at it.”
Angel sticks out his tongue and pulls them back as if Husk had tried to grab him, before he nods and lets him reshuffle.
“Yeah alright. But you gotta be nice or people won’t wanna play with you yknow”
Husk feels put on the spot at that, small, like he wants to retreat, but the way Angel says it more as matter of fact statement than the scolding that echoes in him like a faraway dream. This is much nicer. Even though he can’t gather it in sophisticated verbiage at the moment, something in him feels healed that Angel gives him the option to try again instead of just leaving. The cat gives a stifled huff and sits on his hands to stop them from their flexing fit.
“Ok I’ll try.”
Angel hands him the deck and Husk's wings give a rapid flit displaying his excitement. Angel notices and can't help a breathy laugh as Husk starts his trick shuffling. Practiced hands peel and bow each card until they fall back into shape and rearrange with ease. Husk can't resist his first favorite trick he ever learned as he lets the cards waterfall from one hand to the next, and sees the excitable spider's eyes widen at the smooth flow of motion.
" Wow that's so cool!" Angel beams as Husk sets the deck down and starts dealing cards out. He can feel his cheeks get hot at the compliment, but doesn't reply. Husk forgot how easy it is to get tongue tied at compliments he wasn't used to receiving. The two start their game and they play smoothly for a while. Asking for cards, drawing more, gives them a call and response flow. Before the two know it, Husk realizes he's won the first game, and asks to play again. Angel gives a shrugging little "Sure" as they proceed, game after game until Angel's lower hands start to fidget. After Husk's final win, Angel decides he wants to move onto other toys in his box. Most were small singular toys, some old, others more modern.
Husk scoots over on the floor, trailing next to Angel as the taller man pulls out a pouch of scatter jacks with a little red ball.
Angel starts them off, swiping 4 jacks pieces and then missing the second bounce before handing Husk the ball for his turn. Husk drops the ball at a slight, deliberate angle that gives it some extra bounce and a lightning-quick swipe of his paw that Angel can't help but follow with his eyes. When he looks back down he's astonished that no jacks remain. Angel wrinkles his nose.
"Hey, we were playing foursies ya cheater. AND your hands are way bigger than mine." Angel whines, nose still wrinkled in an accusatory scowl.
"You didn't say that, we play tensies in Vegas" Husk shrugs smugly.
Angel's scowl softens but his eyes still glare as he starts a new round. The ball bounces and he uses both hands to pickup all ten jacks and catches the ball with his lower hand. Husk's ears flatten down.
"OI that's cheating, you can't use that many hands" he raises his voice, feeling that flustered flutter in his chest like before. Angel only smirks back.
"You didn't say that. Rules say I can't use two hands but no one says 3" He says, seeming very impressed at his loophole.
Any other time Husk would find this amusing, their back and fourth banter as adults is stimulating even when it delves into the more grating parts. Right now however Husk is... raw, vulnerable in a way he hasn't been in a long time. The logical part of his brain registers that he did start it, but something more fragile in him flares up. This is always when they leave, when his tricks stop being fun to watch when they're utilized against someone. But that's just how games go, that's how winning goes, isn't it? Husk feels his chest tighten, and his airway constrict with the lump forming in his throat.
"Fine! Forget it, I don't need your dumb toys anyway" he mumbles, and Angel scoops his things together and messily drops them all in the shoebox for Adult him to deal with later, his mood souring a little. Something feels familiar about the interaction, like whenever Niss was a sore loser. He visibly shakes his head as if to shake the forming memory away.
"Fine! Play with your own toys you ain't got then!" He retorts in a huff.
"Good! I don't need toys or nobody! This is stupid" Husk says, volume rising but it's not his gruff voice that usually happens when he's irritated. This is more high, shrill even before his tone fluctuates back down. "No one shared nothin' with me so why would I need it now? Good riddance to all this baby shit anyway I don't care!"
Angel is momentarily taken aback, his own headspace paused, floating on the surface like a buoy on water. He's unsure if he needs to break the scene and check in on his companion, who's now turned fully around and obscuring himself with his wings as Angel sees his tail swish back and fourth anxiously. Whatever Husk had just blurted seemed pointed, but not personal to Angel, as if he was reciting a memory. Angel sighs, recognizing the rise and fall of shoulders under shaky wings and hushed little hiccups.
Angel scoots twice on his knees to meet Husk halfway as he tries to hide deeper in his wing, wiping the wetness of his eyes. Angel grabs his hand and gives it a squeeze, but his voice stays small and non threatening.
“This is weird.” Husk says plainly, his normal voice apparent as he hugs his knees to his chest, but his language still more rudimentary than he’s used to. Forming words like this was immensely harder than he’d imagined. “I don’t wanna ruin your playtime just cause I’m bad.”
Something in Angel’s heart breaks at that, and his head swirls with the familiar feeling. Sure, he always had his sister and begrudgingly his brother on a rare day, but he still remembered the sting of being ostracized. Always too feminine, too loud, too immature, too much of something he could never fully understand. He remembered the confusion of wracking his brain for what more he could possibly take away from himself just to fit in.
The heavy pause between them is only interrupted by the faint, self-soothing purr that rumbles from Husk’s chest. As if on queue, Husk jolts and yanks his hand from Angel’s grip to drop his knee and give his chest a firm punch, as if to subdue the noise. Angel reaches to catch the second punch but instead loops his hand in front of Husk’s to soften the impact of the fist. It hurts his knuckles a bit between the cat’s fist and bony collarbone padded only by fur. After a few more hits, Husk lets his hand start to wind down as Angel’s gentle blockade guides his hand to an eventual stop.
"You're not bad. You're just a lot" Husk's head whips around, feathery brows furrowed. Angel shrugs, curling his hand in to poke Husk in the chest. "What? I said a lot not too much."
Husk softens his expression a bit, and Angel weaves his small digits in Husk's to play with each other's hands while they talk, rubbing little circles on heart shaped palms while long fingers curl and fidget in response.
"Y'know it doesn't have to be exactly like back then" Angel whispers against the back of Husk's ear, his voice relaxing into his adult register for a moment.
"You can do whatever you want, and no one can come yell at you"
Husk sits reflectively, embarrassment still lingering a bit but is thankful to have Angel here to remind him of realities within their control. Angel wraps his legs around Husk, locking him close until they both fall over. Husk and him wrestle and shuffle each other around a bit, rolling and climbing with minimal force to expel the last tensions. The two men let their laughter come naturally until they both need a breather to lay flat on the floor. Husk looks next to him and smiles.
"Thank you" Husk says breathily, Angel nods, letting himself plant a chaste peck on Husk's forehead before he sits up.
"C'mon, I'll put on some cartoons and you can show me more tricks."
Husk's involuntary trilling noise resonates through the quiet room, and it takes everything in him to not retreat when he sees Angel cover his mouth with both hands to laugh, seeming little once again. Husk pushes through the urge though, he sees Angel's beaming laughter is genuine, not tinged with scorn or malice. The feeling of dropping his guard in such a delicate headspace goes against every mechanism he'd grown accustomed to for so long. It's foreign, but if he trusts anything or anyone to let the walls fall with, he trusts Angel implicitly. This allows him to flutter back down, the tempered emotions of old burns fading into gentle warmth, like floating in a hot air balloon. With that Husk gives a wordless nod and follows Angel to his devise, watching Angel scroll for what to watch as he grabs the cards, a little more skip in his step than he'd ever admit aloud.
"No I'm serious! Some get good. I think I only watched this one cause Val did a parody of it that hit, but it was actually really cute. I'd skip most of the beginning stuff that came out, I like how bouncy and boing-y it is but uh a lot of the gags now are pretty, YEESH" Angel warns, his hand flattened in a negative motion by his neck with a fast paced head-shake. Husk chuckles, pouring more of his drink into a plastic cup Angel had leant him.
"Nah I believe it, I seen some in passing I just never sit down to watch em. This one ain't bad" Husk says, settling into Angel's shoulder.
"So, should I be big daddy caretaker next one? I think some structure and discipline might do ya some good if that self deprecating streak stays" Angel grins, taking a sip of Husk's drink with a wince and woop at the strongness of the drink, "I
"No!" Husk says quickly, "I uh, don't think that's in the cards for me" Husk says, momentarily exasperated. "I just wanna hangout with a friend, that's more than enough for me"
Angel nods, moving in closer under the blanket, his ankle locking around Husk's as they sway behind them locked together back and fourth.
"Not too much?" Angel says tentatively. Husk smiles, his tail coiling around Angel's leg to bind them together as they watch the shimmering screen and dancing pictures of some colorful, comforting show in front of them.
"Nah, just right."