A Wide Collar & Short Leash

by Total-Mal

It's bad enough to be forced into close quarters with an enemy, but Angel Dust is by far one of the most irritating demons Pentious ever had the displeasure of crossing paths with. Now the only way they're both getting out of this situation is to cooperate. Hopefully he doesn't lose his sanity in the meantime. Cover art by Scribblehearts.

6. Caught Between a Prison & a Ladder

MAJOR CONTENT WARNING FOR THIS CHAPTER. PARTIAL PHYSICAL MUTILATION/TORTURE AHEAD. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

"The shortest distance between two people is a story."
Patti Digh

---

Sunlight streamed in through the window, illuminating the entire room with a gentle red glow. The Hotel sheets were skewed and tangled beneath his outstretched limbs while pillows cushioned his head and lifted his hips to the ideal height for the snake to grip and hold in place.

Angel gave a shuddering sigh as he combed a hand down the back of Pentious' hood, not applying any pressure as his palm cupped the smooth scales. "C'mon, you can do better," he hissed, arching his back against the pillows as he shifted his legs further apart, the claws of his feet digging into the bedding. "I saw how you ate that damn ice cream, ya fuckin' tease."

Pentious moaned softly, eyes closed in concentration as he slowly began to sink down onto Angel until his nose was brushing the spider's pelvis. Angel gasped as the snake's sharp claws tightened their grip on his thighs, scratching through his fur with the absolute perfect amount of pressure.

He felt Pent's tongue wrap around the base of his shaft, sliding up and down as the snake began to bob his head. "Oh fuck, just like that," he groaned, his bottom two hands cradling Pentious' head while his top set tangled in the sheets underneath him and groped his own chest respectively, squeezing down hard as he shivered against the mattress.

A lazy morning blowjob was the perfect start to the day and damn if the other Demon didn't have a good mouth on him. Maybe afterward he'd see if Pentious was just as adept with his other dirty bits as he was with that filthy forked tongue.

Angel bit his lip as he rocked his hips in time with the measured bobs of the snake's head and the fantastic suction of his mouth and throat. He closed his eyes, moaning softly as he felt the snake nearly pull off all the way, pressing a kiss to the tip of his cock before swallowing him back down in a slow calculated slide. "Definitely not straight," Angel murmured with a breathy laugh as he dug his nails into the other Demon's scaly skin, scratching a path down Pentious' hood. "Shit, you should let me cum in your mouth, Pen. I wanna see you swallow."

"Cut!"

Immediately, Angel frowned, lifting his head as he opened his eyes and looked around. Harsh white spotlights had replaced the red sun streaming through the Hotel window, overly bright and practically blinding in comparison to the dark empty room around them. Wait, where were they? "What the fuck-"

Angel lifted one arm to shield himself from the glare and then froze in place as he caught sight of a familiar silhouette in the shadows.

Grinning, Val walked up behind Pentious and grabbed a previously unseen chain that trailed down the snake's spine, abruptly yanking him off Angel's throbbing cock. Pentious gasped, precum and spittle trailing down his chin as he was dragged up by the chain, his tail loosely coiled against the sheets below. "Our newest acquisition shows a lot of promise, doesn't he, Angel Cakes?" The moth murmured as Angel tugged his legs up and closed, hiding his prick in the apex of his thighs. "Thank you so much for volunteering to train him up."

Val smiled as he toyed with the metal links that attached to a thick steel collar locked around Pent's throat, one of his other hands petting down the snake's black hood. Pentious slowly opened his eyes, his stare glassy and out of focus (bordering on drugged) as Val's hand trailed from the top of the snake's head to his cheek and then down, finally stopping at Pent's mouth.

The Overlord hummed and poked one of Pentious' long yellow fangs with his index finger, quirking his eyebrow as he tsked. "We'll have to get rid of these before we put him to work." Val said, glancing back to Angel with a knowing stare. "We don't need any future clients getting bitten."

Pentious panted heavily as he stared down at Angel, both arms shaking as they came up to touch the locked collar against his throat. Angel swallowed hard as he watched those claws (that had been gripping his legs moments before) helplessly scrape against the thick unforgiving metal.

Shifting to sit up, Angel winced as he felt a hard yank to his own throat, keeping his head pulled almost flat against the headboard. He reached a hand up and his eyes widened in horror as his fingers outlined the shape of a heavy shackle around his own neck, feeling along the length of chain until it stopped at the headboard behind him. He looked back up at the moth as he dropped all four hands to the bed, his voice soft and pleading. "Val, you can't-"

"Oh Vox, be a dear and fetch the pliers for me?" Valentino said, not even looking at Angel as he gripped Pentious' jaw, turning his face from side to side. The snake grunted, gritting his teeth as his talons kept trying to dig into the space between his throat and the collar. Then those slitted eyes turned back to meet his and Angel felt his stomach sink, helplessness boiling inside as the seconds stretched between them.

The other Demon didn't speak, but he didn't have to. Angel had seen that exact look on his own face countless times before, in videos, in mirrors…

In the reflection of Val's glasses...

He shifted, giving himself as much chain slack as he could to reach out his hand towards Pentious. But then Val adjusted his grip on the snake's jaw and Pentious gave a full-body flinch, his tail flopping off the bed and out of reach.

Angel froze, his arm still extended as Val lifted up a rusted pair of industrial forceps, clacking them playfully in his grip "You won't be needing these anymore, darling," the moth purred, tapping the pliers against each of Pent's exposed teeth in turn, making the snake whimper and tighten his grip around the collar binding him. "They're only going to get in the way of that pretty mouth."

"Val-!" Angel gasped as the Overlord clasped the first fang between the metal tongs and kissed Pentious' cheek. The snake's red eyes watered, tears threatening to brim over the edges as his tail began to thrash against the floor.

"Don't worry, it won't hurt for long." Val grinned and turned to look at Angel, his cruel smirk twisting the blade even deeper into the spider's guilty heart.

"Just close your eyes and think of England."

---

Angel woke to the shrill whistling of Pentious' tea kettle, his heart pounding in his chest as he slowly loosened his death grip on his pillow and sheets below.

He touched the shackle on his wrist with the opposite hand, following the length of chain before turning to confirm that Pentious was still asleep next to him, the other Demon fully buried in his blankets with only his head exposed to the air. Sitting up, Angel leaned across Pent, noting that both the snake's fangs were still there, hanging outside of his mouth in a slight overbite.

Swallowing, Angel cradled the sides of his head with his top set of hands and rubbed his eyes with the bottom pair. Fuck, that had felt so damn real. The dream had been fuckin' nice at first (hardly his first sex dream involving one of the men he spent a lot of time around, as Husk and Alastor regularly featured in his horny subconscious) but the end…

He dropped his bottom hands to his chest and took a few deep calming breaths.

Pentious wasn't a saint (no one in this fuckin' dump was), but Angel wouldn't wish Valentino's brand of sadism on anyone. And Val would break the snake. Pent's insufferable pride and bombastic enthusiasm wouldn't survive someone like Valentino, no matter how much Pentious boasted and bragged like the stupid fuckin' moron he was.

There was no helping it, though. Angel hadn't forced Pent to make that deal. He'd done it all on his own, just as self-righteous and confident as he always was...but Angel probably shouldn't have expected anything less from Pentious. The guy had tried to take on Alastor with nothing more than a wrecked airship and a handful of minions after all.

Why the fuck wouldn't he goad the Overlord running the entire pornography district?

It simply comes with the territory of climbing the ladder. Sometimes you need to be willing to risk stepping on someone else's fingers to get to the next rung.

The kettle continued to shriek behind him as Pent grunted and shifted under the blankets, finally woken by the incessant noise. Angel watched as the snake reached out with one hand, missing the nightstand entirely as he tried to turn off the boiler plate only to whack his palm against the bed frame. Taking pity on the other man, Angel reached over and switched it off for him. "Surprised you're awake after last night," Angel said as Pent sat up with his eyes still closed, both hands rubbing over the top of his head.

"As am I…" Pent muttered, his voice slightly raspy as he dropped his arms back down to his sides. "Ugh, my mouth." He stuck out his tongue and then looked over the side of the bed, wincing at the amount of stagnant vomit in the bucket. "What happened? I remember drinking and dancing...then we were in a cab?" He finally blinked his eyes open and turned to Angel, his slit pupils shifting in size as they focused to the ambient light. "This doesn't feel like a normal hangover."

"That's cuz it's not, dumbass." Angel said with a tired sigh, grabbing his phone off his charger to check his messages, noting a few from Cherri asking if they'd survived the night. "Someone drugged you while you weren't payin' attention."

Pentious frowned as he watched Angel text. "I was drugged? Oh dear…" He placed his palms flat against the sheet before curling his fingers into loose fists. "Did...anything happen?"

Angel shook his head as he locked his phone and placed the device back on the nightstand. "Nah, we noticed pretty quickly and got your ass outta there. No one did nothin'."

Nodding, Pent poured himself some hot water, digging out a teabag to steep. "Then I owe you my gratitude for getting me back safely."

Angel snorted and gave a dismissive shrug. "Considerin' the number of cab fees you've paid, we're probably close to even." He leaned one elbow on the pillow to cushion his head in his palm as the snake settled against the headboard, tapping his talons along the rim of the steaming teacup. "But I won't say no to more of your stupid baked goodies."

Pent raised an eyebrow and then chuckled, blowing away some of the steam. "I suppose that is a reasonable request. You prefer strawberries, correct?" He paused to drink from the cup, giving a deep sigh as he tilted his head back and closed his eyes. "Though I want a bath before we do anything else. I feel absolutely disgusting. " He sniffed at his shoulder and winced. "There was so much cologne in that place."

"Well, we got that big tub," Angel kicked the sheets off, forgetting that he was still naked from the night before and raised an eyebrow as the snake immediately averted his gaze away from his crotch. "Y'know you're not gonna burst inta flames if you see my dick," he said, holding his chained arm aloft as he stood up and rounded the bed, grabbing his phone again as he pulled a fluffy pink bathrobe on over his naked body.

"How can I expect you to respect my privacy if I can't hold myself to the same standard?" Pent countered, slowly getting up as he drank the rest of his tea without much ceremony, placing the empty cup down and picking up the bucket with a grimace.

Angel followed him to the bathroom, watching the other Demon dump the bucket into the toilet and flush it before rinsing out the metal container in the sink. Then Pent turned to the roman tub and rubbed his chin. "At this size, I won't be able to fill it more than halfway. I'm going to displace a lot of water otherwise…"

He turned on the faucet, setting the temperature to warm (but nowhere near scalding) and let the tub fill as Angel took a seat on the rim, opening his phone to see a response to his last text from Cherri along with comments on the photo Pent had taken of his club outfit.

A few people had noticed the chain (it was barely in frame, but still nearly impossible to hide) and had made a lot of teasing comments, asking if he'd gotten himself caught on something or if that was the reason he hadn't been posting selfies as of late. It was true. His last 50 posts had been of Nuggets, cute things he'd seen, or some of the better meals that Al and Niffty had cooked up when he normally posted selfies (new makeup looks, outfits, and plenty of thirst traps) at least every other day.

Angel heard Pent turn off the faucet and he glanced up, watching the snake slowly lower himself into the tub with a groan. He rested his head back against the rim opposite Angel, the tip of his tail flopping out over the side to brush the spider's hip. "Damn, this is a pretty big tub and it barely fits you," Angel said, noting that Pent was right and that the water had risen up substantially once he'd slipped into the basin.

"Were we not chained together, I'd be in my own bath at home," Pentious said with a sigh, closing his eyes as he shifted his hips under the water. "It's at least three times this size and custom made to give me plenty of space to stretch out."

Angel's mouth curved into a teasing smile. "So it's a good tub to fuck in is what you're sayin'?"

Pent gave him an annoyed pout, but didn't open his eyes. "Potentially. Depending on the size of the partner in question," he muttered, his cheeks slightly flushed. "In any case, it's far more comfortable and luxurious." He sank down so that the water went up to his collarbone and hooked his arms over the rim, his fingers idly tapping the sides of the basin.

"Considerin' how fuckin' froofy your house is, I can only imagine," Angel murmured, watching as Pent gave a contented groan and shifted his broad shoulders under the clear water, his entire chest deflating with his next deep exhale.

Angel stared at the other man for a moment before his gaze slid to the floor, one hand reaching up to tousle his own bedhead and tug a few stubborn knots free. It was weird to think that less than a handful of hours ago, he didn't know the snake's real goddamn identity.

Simon.

The name was pretty unassuming; nothing as ridiculous and attention seeking as Sir Pentious, but that was what made it all the more real, wasn't it?

It was probably why Pentious had dropped the name in the first place. It was too damn human and who the fuck would ever take a Demon named Simon seriously?

As much as he tried, Angel couldn't even begin to think of what a young Pentious would look like, but somehow it was all too easy to imagine a little boy named Simon, mixing a vat of chemicals that was as big as he was and buying himself a penny candy from the cornerstone.

But Pentious wasn't that kid anymore. The kid named Simon had grown up and then died, choosing to reinvent himself just like nearly every other asshole with a fuckin' chip on their shoulder. Angel could sympathize with that. He'd been chomping at the bit to abandon his own name once he'd realized he had the option.

As Angel Dust, he could become everything that Anthony De Luca wasn't.

Anthony struggled to get through life whether he was high or sober while Angel fuckin' took every day by the horns and made it his bitch.

Anthony had been caged inside and out where Angel was free to be his goddamn self.

The day Anthony De Luca died-
Angel Dust was born.

Though it wasn't like he was called Angel or Anthony by anyone who knew him in life (what few were left anyway).

To his dad, he was always the faggot.
To Niss, he was Tony.
And Molly…

Fuck, he missed Molly.

Angel heard a loud splash and glanced up from his phone to see Pent was slowly dragging himself out and toweling off. Wet and slick, the snake's scales were actually quite shiny, looking more like polished obsidian than their usual matte finish. But that changed quickly as Pent brushed the terry cloth over his skin, wiping away any drops of water that stubbornly clung to his body.

Pent hummed to himself as he hung the towel up and pulled the drain from the tub. "I hope you don't mind a quiet day. After yesterday's...incident, I'd rather take it easy," he murmured as he slithered to the sink, Angel getting up to follow him.

"Fine by me," Angel said as they both began to brush their teeth (Pent brushing for far longer to rid his mouth of the lingering bile). "Though, we need ta stop by a vendin' machine. I'm almost outta powder."

The snake rolled his eyes, but nodded anyway as he continued to brush, foam dribbling messily down his chin.

After forcing down a quick breakfast, they took Nugs to the park and sat on their usual bench, Angel playing fetch with his pig while Pent settled next to him, taking his glasses out from inside his jacket to read the news on his phone.

As the snake donned his dorky little readers, Angel raised a brow and tossed the stick, his expression shifting into a smile as Nuggets happily oinked after it. "Is your eyesight that bad? I don't see you usin' those all the time."

Pent shook his head and adjusted the angle of the frames against his rather flat nose. "It's by no means terrible. I can read without them, but it does strain my eyes after a time."

"Why dontcha just increase the font size?" Angel asked, gesturing to the phone in the snake's grasp.

Pent frowned, his thumb tapping on an article link to draw it into focus. "I did that once and was told that's a sign of age. Besides, it ruins the text interface for nearly all websites." His pupils shifted as he read, darting from left to right at a rather impressive pace. "I will occasionally get comments on my glasses, but even young people can have a prescription."

Angel chuckled and hooked his top arms around the back of the bench, his chained wrist dangling loosely behind Pent's head. "You really don't like bein' called old do ya?"

"I'm not overly fond of it," Pentious admitted, sighing as he closed out his news article and turned to look at Angel from over the rim of his frames. "Especially considering there are Demons who have been here for far longer than me that don't receive such patronage."

"Yeah, I guess it's less your actual age an' more your damn attitude," Angel said with a smirk, leaning over to scoop up the stick Nugs had brought back with his bottom arms. "But y'know the more you push back against somethin', the more people are gonna dig into it, right? If you didn't let their bullshit get to ya, no one would care."

He continued to smile as he pet his pig's head fondly before throwing the stick and leaning back to watch Nuggets trot out after it.

Pentious sighed, slowly dragging the readers from his face and turning the frames over, the clean glass easily catching the red morning light. "It's hard not to care. Reputation is everything. Surely even you know that."

Angel shrugged with both sets of arms and tilted his neck back against the bench. "Yeah, but I only care about people knowin' that I'm the best at what I do, whether it's fightin' or fuckin'." He laughed and shook his head, lifting one arm to casually card through his fringe. "Those are all the things I'm good at anyway so who gives a damn about the rest?"

The snake pursed his lips, pocketing his phone as he folded the temples of his glasses and slid them to hang off the side of his jacket collar. "I suppose you're not a terrible fighter, though you rely heavily on winging it over actual battle tactics. I can't speak to your prowess in bed-" He gave a scoff at Angel's pointed eyebrow waggle and the accompanying jerk-off motion he made against his crotch. "But you're a rather skilled dancer. I assume you were self-taught?"

Pausing, Angel let the arm miming a hand-job drop to rest on his thighs. "Kinda?"

The snake hummed. "Who taught you?"

Nugs came running back with a different (much larger) stick and Angel leaned over, picking up the pig and settling Nuggets into his lap as his pet happily gnawed at the branch in their teeth. "My sis used to take ballet lessons when we were growin' up. She'd practice at home and I learned second-hand through her. Ended up knowin' all her routines by heart." He kept his eyes focused on Nugs, a small smile on his face as his baby continued to snort and snuffle against him.

Molly had always looked so damn pretty in her bright fluffy tutus and he distinctly remembered the day she asked if he wanted to try one on. When he looked at himself in the mirror, dressed in a black leotard and pink tulle, he had felt pretty too.

Then dad had come home.

Angel's easy smile slowly fell as the memory bubbled up, slightly frayed at the edges, but no less vivid for its age.

There were no more lessons after that.

"Ballet is wonderful," Pent said as he leaned back against the bench, his long hood brushing Angel's hand. "There are many beautiful forms of dance, but the inherent grace of ballet has never failed to impress me." He paused and glanced back to Angel. "Though your dancing now doesn't much resemble it."

Angel quickly quirked his lips back up, exposing his teeth. "Heh, I mean, pole dancin' has some ballet in it. The basics were hella useful for learnin' muscle control, balance, and that sorta shit." Angel curled Nug's spiral tail around his finger and added, "Everythin' else was just a lotta practice and fallin' on my ass until I got good."

Pentious nodded and reached a hand out to pet Nugs as well, only to wince when the pig spit out the wet and partially chewed stick into his palm instead. "It sounds as though you were rather close with your sister. I assume she's not down here then?" Pentious asked as he dropped the stick to the ground and dragged out a handkerchief from his pocket to clean his fingers. "Though I remember you saying that you did have family in the city."

Angel sighed and released Nug's tail, unable to keep the pretense up through the snake's insistent prodding. "She ain't anymore…" he murmured quietly as Pent stiffened next to him. At least the asshole had the courtesy to look guilty about it. "It was a while ago," Angel assured, waving the other man off with one of his free hands. "Give or take a few decades."

Pent nodded, tucking away his hanky before petting over Nuggets who eagerly leaned their head into his touch. "Was she older than you?"

"Nah, we were twins," Angel said, lowering his chin as he watched the snake's red claws gently card over Nug's velvety ears. "She lived a lot longer than me so we didn't get a lotta time together when she was here, but it was nice seein' her again, even if it didn't last."

He swallowed thickly and cleared his throat. Fuck he hated when he got choked up. "You got any siblings, snake?"

Pentious shook his head, his hand scratching the space between Nugget's tiny horns. "I had an older brother, but he died in infancy." The snake shrugged and made to pull his hand back, only for Nugs to give a small oink of protest. Sighing, Pentious put his palm back on top of the pig's head, letting Nuggets nudge insistently against his fingers. "Functionally, I was an only child."

"Heh, lucky." Angel tilted his head back and cracking his neck as he shifted it from side to side. "I wish my brother had kicked the bucket before he grew into a prick."

The snake raised an eyebrow. "And he's down here? With your father?"

Angel nodded, staring up at the red sky and the pink clouds that passed overhead. "Yeah. They're somewhere out there, but I don't keep tabs on 'em or anythin'." He pursed his lips and let out a muted snort. "They can both rot in a ditch for all I fuckin' care."

The snake didn't have any response to that so Angel lifted Nugs to pull out his lighter and cigarettes, settling the pig back down as he stuck a stick in his mouth and struggled to ignite the wick with his top set of hands. He grunted, digging his teeth into the base of the cigarette as he flicked the wheel, managing to spark the flint, but not catching a light. Before he could make more than two attempts, Pent slipped the lighter from his grasp and casually began to inspect the device. "Hey, give it back!"

The snake ignored him, continuing to turn the lighter over in his claws. "Why don't you buy a replacement?" He asked, thumbing the rust that covered the etching. "There are plenty of cheap plastic ones on the market that will serve your needs better than this."

Angel scowled and reached out to make a grab for it, only for Pent to pass the lighter to his opposite hand and lean away from him like a goddamn child. "Snake, I'm warnin' ya now. Gimme my shit back."

Pent just hummed and opened the top, looking at the few visible interior components before sliding the insert out of the rusted metal case entirely. Angel glared at him as the other Demon curled his tongue around one long fang thoughtfully before snapping the insert back into the case. "How about I fix this for you?" he said, casually shaking the lighter in his grasp.

At Angel's confused look, Pent rolled his eyes and gave a solid flick to the wheel, catching a spark and leaning in to light the end of the spider's cigarette for him. "As payment for taking care of me last night," he clarified, capping the lid to kill the flame and offering it back to Angel.

Looking down at the rusted lighter, Angel took a drag on his lit cigarette and huffed out a cloud of smoke. "How long will that take?"

The snake shrugged as Angel slipped the lighter from his grasp. "Maybe an afternoon; certainly no longer than a day. We will need to go to my workshop as I require access to my chemicals and tools, but it should be a fairly simple job," Pent assured, as he watched the other Demon curl his fist around the device as if to hide it away. "I can promise it will look practically new and function with much greater efficiency by the time I'm through."

Angel frowned and shifted his fingers around the width of the lighter, continuing to smoke as he stared at the other man. "You damage it, you're fuckin' dead," he said, loosening his grip to slap it back into the snake's open palm.

Pentious grinned and pulled the side of his jacket open to tuck the device into his pocket alongside his phone. "Ah, so you're the only one allowed to fling it into walls?" he teased as Angel let another plume of smoke escape from the corner of his mouth. "In any case, I've rebuilt far more complicated pieces than this." He buttoned his jacket once again and stood, turning to offer his chained hand to Angel. "Shall we then?"

Angel stared at Pent's extended fingers for a moment before sighing and taking it, allowing the other man to pull him up as he slid Nugs from his lap and into his lower set of arms. "So much for havin' an easy day, huh?" He took another drag, exhaling the smoke through his nose and away from the snake. "You really are a fuckin' workaholic."

Chuckling, Pent released Angel's fingers and began to slither in the direction of the Hotel entrance. "This is hardly work for me. In comparison to repairing my ship, fixing a lighter is a simple project."

Angel rolled his eyes, but there wasn't any real heat behind it. "If this isn't work for you, I'd hate to see what you think a goddamn vacation is."

---

They arrived at Pentious' house an hour later, the eggs greeting them in their usual chorus and immediately offering up plate of tea and fresh cookies ("They are biscuits, not cookies. Ugh, Americans.") . The adorable little idiots then followed them down into the lab, taking Pent's jacket, shirt and hat as the snake stripped down to his sleeveless undershirt and donned his usual apron and hair-tie (hood-tie?). Angel grabbed a spare seat as he watched the snake slip on a set of chemical-resistant gloves and then gesture for Angel to settle next to a wide workbench.

"First thing's first, we take everything apart," Pentious set the lighter down as he raised a massive magnifying glass winched to the table to be at eye level, flicking on the lamp attachment to blast a halo of light down onto the countertop.

Angel leaned over, curious to watch the process since he'd never seen Pent detail something so small before. He was used to watching the snake lift massive tools and huge sheets of metal and glass (not a bad show all things considered) but something like this required more precision than strength.

A few of the eggs fetched a box of small tools and Pent took it from them, placing the crate down on the bench before carding through a series of nails until he found one that would fit the hinge bolt. He removed the lighter case, setting the insert off to the side before oiling the hinge, making sure plenty of liquid was squeezed between the metal. Then he tapped the bolt from the hinge using the chosen nail and a small hammer, cleanly separating the top of the case from the bottom before removing the nail with a set of pliers.

Angel pursed his lips as he watched the snake began to open the insert, applying chemicals to eat at the rust and give him access to the small screws at the bottom. "Why don't you ever post this nerdy stuff?" he asked as Pentious set the screws inside of the plastic trays he normally used for separating out specific parts.

"What, to social media?" Pent asked, pulling the cotton filler from the bottom of the insert, making a face at all the rust that stained the once white fibers. "No one is interested in this," he muttered, gesturing to the scattered parts and tools. "I see the statistics online and the most viewed images and videos are of food, half-naked bodies, and exotic locales." He bit his lip as he yanked out the wick which was barely more than a stub after decades of use. "This is considered educational and thus dull."

"I dunno. Some folks might be pretty interested in watchin' someone who knows what the fuck they're doin' take shit apart and repair it," Angel murmured as the eggs fetched more chemicals at the snake's request. It would definitely play to Pentious' strengths (since he was fuckin' garbage at taking selfies) and probably let him stand out among the overly-saturated online crowd. It wasn't like a ton of people had this sort of in-depth knowledge and experience.

Pent glanced up and chuckled as he was handed a small plastic container and a well-worn toothbrush. "Maybe, but I can't see that working as a substantive audience…"

"Just sayin', people are pretty bored and there's at least a few nerds like you down here," Angel said as Pentious filled the basin with the selected chemicals, wetting the old toothbrush and cleaning the case. Almost immediately, rust began to visibly melt off the surface and stain the bent bristles a dark black.

"How long is that gonna take?" Angel asked as the snake finished brushing and dropped the parts into the liquid to steep before stripping off his gloves. "We gonna have tea or some shit in the meantime?"

"No, I have another project I can work on until that is done bubbling away," Pent said with a smile, turning to the eggs who immediately jumped at attention as he gestured towards a shelf stacked high with neatly labeled boxes and bins. "Fetch the grenade components and the collection jars."

Angel watched with one brow raised as the eggs ran to the shelf (practically fighting each other to get the requested parts), only to return with two glass jars and what looked like a syringe and a tray of familiar looking yellow nodes. "The fuck are those for?"

"My venom," Pent said simply, bringing the first jar up to his mouth and hooking his two long fangs over the rim, hyper-extending his jaw to fit. Angel winced as clear liquid began to drip down, a light dribble at first before picking up to trickle down in a spotty stream.

"Uh, why the fuck are you collectin' your own damn venom?" Angel asked, picking up one of the yellow nodes and glancing to the syringe. "You sell this shit to drug dens or somethin'?" Pent shot him an annoyed look, clearly unable to speak with a jar in his mouth before he took out his phone, opening a text to speech app and typing.

Suddenly a robotic voice read out, "My own toxin isn't much of a party drug, but it makes for quite the powerful numbing agent. You experienced the effects of it first hand."

"Wait," Angel paused and then looked to the various components laid out on the bench, the nodes taking on a whole new meaning. "The shit in your bombs is your own fuckin' venom!?" he exclaimed, dropping the node back on the bench where it rolled off the edge and hit the floor with a clatter.

Pentious rolled his eyes, bending over to pick up the node with one hand as the other texted, "Yes."

Angel's expression only became more confused as he watched the snake drop the node back into the tray. "Then why the fuck did it work on you if it's your own damn juice? Don't you get like...immunity to your poison?"

Slowly, Pentious removed his jaw, wiping his spit off the side of the jar before clearing his throat. "It's venom, not poison," he corrected, setting the filled container down on the table. "As for immunity, that comes through repeated doses and I don't exactly use these on myself." Pent gestured to the disassembled bomb components and picked up the second jar. "I'm not in the habit of biting my own body, either."

Angel just stared incredulously as the other man repeated the process until little more than a drop was coming out every few seconds. Pentious then took a syringe and filled it with the collected venom, inserting the needle tip into the first readied node. The snake glanced over to him as he pressed down on the plunger, adding, "I do occasionally sell it when I have more than I require, but I usually keep the excess for my own purposes."

Angel's eyes followed the needle as Pentious repeatedly filled it and emptied the canister into the nodes, the pattern clearly well-practiced to the point of being disturbingly normal. "That's kinda fuckin' weird…"

"How so?" Pentious asked, closing the jars to seal the excess venom before handing them to the eggs to store. "I'm simply using all advantages that are available to me." He lifted one of the nodes, turning and shaking it to see the dancing waterline that was barely visible through the plastic even under the bright overhead lights. "I prefer not to needlessly endanger my corporeal form so biting an opponent in direct combat is out of the question." Placing the node back down on top of the stack, he added, "With this method, I can paralyze foes from a distance and not risk any injury to myself."

Angel winced as the snake rubbed his jaw and then cracked it, easily shifting the loose bone around in its socket. "Though I admit the milking process itself isn't particularly comfortable."

Running a hand back through his fringe, Angel just shook his head and leaned against his chair. "Certainly didn't look it, but I guess this shit works. Knocked me on my ass when I got hit."

Pentious chuckled and picked up the grenade shells, fitting the nodes into the pre-drilled slots of the outer casing. "It's not powerful enough to do much more than shut down most major muscle groups, but I'm satisfied."

After all the nodes were placed, he checked on the de-rusting process and gestured for Angel to look at the bubbles emerging from the surface. Over the course of several minutes, the liquid had changed color from clear to a distinctively piss yellow. "We'll give that a few more minutes," Pent said, taking the detonation triggers for the grenades and attaching them to the interior of the casings, making sure they aligned perfectly to the shape of the shell.

Angel glanced back to the eggs who were standing atop of each other in a makeshift ladder, attempting to stack the jars of venom precariously on the top rack of the shelving. "Maybe instead of focusin' so much on weapons, you should make these little shits better?" he suggested, jerking his thumb in their direction as they managed to get the jars into place just a second before they all came tumbling down in a heap of wiggling limbs.

Pent took a screwdriver and began to merge the two half-domes of one grenade. "They're difficult enough to produce as is. Do you know how hard it is to manufacture a being with any sort of intelligence from scratch?"

Grinning, Angel lifted himself off the chair, giving a solid hip thrust into the snake's side. "I mean, it takes nine months if you do it the fun way."

The snake gave an annoyed groan, lowering his screwdriver to shove Angel back down to sit. "In any case, I've always been a far better engineer than I was a biologist." Pent hummed as he turned the finished grenade, inspecting the surface for any imperfections before he leaned over to check on the lighter sitting in the chemical bath. "Mmm, better."

He set the grenade back on the tray before slipping on his gloves again, removing the insert and leaving the casing to continue soaking before taking a swab to clean out the remaining rust along the interior. Angel whistled as the swab went from cotton white to coal black in just a few swipes. "Shit, didn't know it was that gunked up. Kinda surprised the damn thing worked at all."

Pent chuckled and pulled the case out of the rust remover, replacing it with the screws and hinge. "Most quality items will continue to work long past their prime. This is a very nice lighter, but it definitely required some attention." He gestured for the eggs to grab what looked like a fan composed entirely of small plastic fibers from another bench and said, "I imagine you've had this the entire time you've been down here?"

Angel nodded, watching as Pent took the fan and turned it on, rubbing the casing along the side to remove the last layers of damage from the metal. "Yeah, it's my one constant in this shit-pit."

Pentious blinked at the crude wording, but continued to shine the surface before finally lifting it to the work lamp. The metal caught the light beautifully and Angel's eyes widened as he leaned in to get a better look at the polished casing. "See? Just as I said, it's practically new," the snake declared, his tone a touch smug as he turned the case over in his claws. "We'll need to reseal it of course to prevent further oxidation, but it really is lovely without all that rust."

Pent opened his fingers, letting the casing rest against the flat of his palm so that the cursive etching was fully exposed. "De Luca? Hmmm, that's not a brand I've ever heard of…"

Angel pursed his lips and averted his eyes. "It's a rare one. Pretty sure they went under ages ago," he said, watching as the snake traced the lettering with one claw before setting it aside to work on the insert.

"It sounds Italian, but that makes sense. You were Italian American, yes?" Pent asked, his eyes not leaving the work bench as his hands carefully polished the insert.

"Yeah, most of New York's worst were." Angel leaned his chained elbow against the bench and tapped his fingers against the side of his face as he watched the snake tinker away. He wanted a cigarette bad, but that was out of the question until Pent finished with the lighter. "The entire fuckin' East Coast was run by the mob."

Pent nodded, sending the eggboiz to grab even more chemicals from his supply shelf. "New York seemed lovely. I never crossed the pond myself, but I often saw pictures in the newspaper. It certainly looked a lot cleaner than London." He shuddered as he was handed a bottle of green fluid, cable jumpers, a fuckin' battery, and what looked like a small sample sheet of metal. "London was literally filled with shit."

He filled another larger container with the new chemical, attaching the cable jumpers to the metal sheet and the casing before slowly lowering them into the liquid. Angel raised an eyebrow and gestured to the bizarre setup with both his bottom hands. "The fuck is this Frankenstein crap?"

"Electroplating," Pent said as he clipped the end of the cables to the battery. "This is nickel-" he tapped the metal sheet with one claw. "-and your lighter is made of brass. Brass is a fantastic metal, but it does require more work so we're giving this lovely little case some extra protection from the elements."

"The fuck?" Angel just stared at the container, absolutely mystified by the fact that the snake was smart enough to figure out complicated bullshit like this, but somehow was unable to take a decent goddamn selfie.

Pent went back to working on the grenades as they waited, managing to construct three more before he lifted the casing out of the chemical, letting the liquid drip down into the container. "See? Now the brass won't be compromised."

Angel sighed and gave a tired shake of his head. "Pen, you might as well be speakin' fuckin' Russian for all that means ta me."

The other man pursed his lips and then cleaned off the casing. "It will help. Trust me." He traded the casing for the insert and then went back to the grenades as the chemicals did whatever fuckin' science magic that was electroplating.

Once all the pieces were coated to the snake's satisfaction, Pent began the process of reassembling the lighter, fitting the bolt back into the casing hinge and giving it a few playful clicks back and forth to show Angel just how much smoother it would open and close. Then he stuffed a fresh wick and oiled cotton into the base and wet it with lighter fluid before closing the entire insert with a triumphant smirk.

Angel snorted and took out a cigarette, sticking it between his lips. "Alright, don't get so damn cocky. Let's see if it fuckin' works first."

"I have every right to be cocky," Pent said as he flicked the wheel, sparking the flint and igniting the wick with no effort. He lifted one eyebrow pointedly as he lit the cigarette before closing the lighter and handing it to Angel. "See? Easy."

"None of that looked easy," Angel muttered, taking a solid drag on his cigarette as he opened and closed the lighter for himself, running his thumb over the polished surface. "But it looks real damn pretty." He slipped it into his pocket and smiled as he watched the snake strip off his work gloves. "So thanks…"

Pent returned the grin, packing up his equipment while some of the eggs went to dispose of the chemicals and a few others worked to wipe down the bench. "You're welcome. Hopefully now you will be less inclined to throw it at unsuspecting mirrors."

Angel rolled his eyes and plucked his cigarette from his mouth, staring at the smoke as it curled out from the end. "Why did you help me out that night?" he asked, his eyes half-lidded as Pent organized his tools.

"Hmmm?" Pent said, moving the magnifying glass and flicking off the lamp below it.

Sighing, Angel dragged a hand down through his hair and gestured with the arm holding his cig. "Oh c'mon, you know. When I broke the fuckin' mirror." He glanced at the snake out of the corner of his eye and chewed his bottom lip. "Why'd you do that shit?"

Pentious was quiet for a moment, closing the small box of tools and shifting it to the side of the workbench. "There was no comforting or consoling you and I wasn't really in the place to offer such a thing anyway…" he began, dragging the tie from his hood to free it. "But you wanted to smoke and were struggling so the practical thing to do was give you what you wanted."

"Practical solutions over pity?" Angel parroted and Pent confirmed it with a nod.

"If it was offensive in some way-" the snake began, but Angel waved him off, taking another drag on his cigarette.

"Nah, nothin' like that. Just...wasn't expectin' it. Especially from a guy like you." Angel tapped the ash off the end of the stick and Pent scowled, taking one of the empty plastic containers and shoving it under the cigarette pointedly. Angel just chuckled and kicked one leg up onto his opposite knee. "You're such a fuckin' neat freak…" he muttered, but tapped the rest of the ash into the plastic anyway.

The snake put his hands on his hips and nodded toward the organized stacks and shelves that surrounded them. "The less of a mess you make, the less you have to clean up later on. It's tactical laziness," he said simply, raising his chin as Angel continued to smoke.

"Call your OCD whateva ya like," Angel teased as he glanced at the stack of grenades left on the tray. Now that he knew they were filled with Pentious' venom, it made a great deal more sense why removing the bolts had stemmed the effect. He'd never seen another Demon so thoroughly weaponize their own body; most choosing to rely on whatever mystical powers their forms were given.

Granted, it looked like Pentious lacked any type of powers (or at least he'd never displayed magic like Alastor or the princess). Maybe making shit and using his own body was all he had to work with in the first place?

Angel blew out another plume of smoke, watching as the snake handed his tool box to the eggs only to shriek at them when they dropped it, spilling the contents onto the floor.

No wonder Pentious was so bitter about being left in the dust. It wasn't exactly easy to grab at power when you were one of the thousands of unlucky Demons who spawned into the city with nothing. Almost all the current Overlords had at least some magic, even Val (though his abilities mostly worked on people who were already troubled and vulnerable).

Valentino picked his targets like a fisherman carefully considering his lures before casting. He'd find the thing you were the most insecure about, your deepest darkest desire, and then claw it out of you.

For a while, he'd dangle that carrot just out of reach before promising that he could give it all to you as long as you were willing to part with just a few years of service.

A few hundred years.

Angel was knocked from his thoughts by Pent twisting his neck to crack it as he undid his apron to hang the smock on the wall rack. "Need me to snap your back for you again?" Angel asked, tapping more ash out into the plastic. "Bet you're still pretty knotted up there." Especially after hunchin' over a bench for half the fuckin' day.

"I'm used to it," Pentious said with a dismissive snort, gesturing for Angel to stand so he could store the grenades. "There's a certain threshold of pain that is normal for me. Besides, our Demon forms are meant to be a punishment all their own." He lifted the tray into his hands and shrugged. "The pain is expected."

Angel continued smoking as he got up, following Pent across the workshop to a metal cabinet leaning against the opposite wall. "I guess that's true. I don't mind mine all that much outside of not having an ass." His eyes flickered down to the snake's backside, watching the minute shift of the other Demon's hips as Pentious slithered.

"You definitely have a weird thing about your feet," the snake reminded as he stopped in front of the storage locker. "Which aren't even that strange. You're a spider and so you have spider paws. It's about as unusual as my hood or fangs." He pointedly tapped one tooth and Angel winced, reminded of his dream and the way Val had smirked as he clicked the pliers.

"I still don't like 'em," Angel said as he watched Pent move to the side of the cabinet, setting the tray down to push the metal locker out of the way and reveal a hidden door and keypad. "Not that it dissuades the foot-fetishists though. I get so many stupid requests to do feet stuff and it's fuckin' nasty."

Pent snickered as he typed in the passcode, this one just as long and overly complicated as all the rest. "I think that's the first I've heard of you having any standards," he teased as the door unlocked with a series of beeps. He quickly picked up the tray off the floor and pushed the door open with his hip, slithering inside and holding it for Angel to follow.

"Ha fuckin' ha, pal-" Angel paused, his eyes going wide as he stepped into the room, the overhead lights blinking on to reveal a ridiculous cache of weapons. "Holy shit," he said, his cigarette nearly tumbling out of his mouth as he stared at all the guns.

Pentious gave a smug tilt of his chin as he adjusted his grip on the tray in his hands. "This isn't even close to being all of it. I have more explosive materials elsewhere, but they're not stored near the house for obvious reasons. I've already caved in this damn roof twice now." He lifted one arm to point to the ceiling where Angel could see lots of metal support beams holding up plates that had been welded in for extra reinforcement.

"How many times have you blown yourself up?" Angel asked, grabbing one of the ray guns and testing the grip in his hand. Pent immediately snatched it back and set it on the shelf, giving him an annoyed glare.

"More times than I can count. Though the only one that ever truly damaged my person was the one that sent me here in the first place," Pent said as he began to stack the grenades into a box labeled with big bold font reading, "PARALYSIS, NOT SMOKE".

Angel raised an eyebrow and crossed both sets of arms over his chest, letting his eyes continue to scan the cache of sweet looking guns and other weird weapons that lined the walls of the hidden room. "That how you died then? Death by explosion?"

Pent shrugged and straightened, holding the now empty tray in one hand. "I assume so, but I don't remember feeling pain. I was in my workshop and heard a loud bang. Then suddenly I was on the ground." He gestured to his tail and laughed, dragging his fingers down the side of his face. "At first I thought I had blown my legs off as I couldn't feel or move the individual limbs, but when I finally came to, I realized I had a tail." Pent shook his head as he continued to chuckle. "Like most people, I assumed I was dreaming, but when I didn't wake up, I knew that I was actually dead."

He exhaled and then cleared his throat as he looked at Angel. "You overdosed, right? I imagine that felt rather like falling asleep?"

Angel fought down a grimace, his teeth digging into the cigarette.

His last moments of consciousness had been spent stumbling around his shitty apartment, knocking over empty beer bottles from his shelves as he tried to get to the bathroom. He ended up puking on the cracked linoleum and curling up into a ball for what felt like hours, but in reality was probably a few minutes.

Then he was here, alone and no longer high, but all the more terrified for his sobriety.

"Yeah, like fallin' asleep," he repeated as they exited the weapons storage, Pent moving the cabinet back in front of the door as the lock clicked into place behind them. "Molly found me, least that's what she said when she was still down here."

"Molly? Is that your sister's name?"

Angel sighed, blowing out a stream of mouth. "Yeah. Wish she hadn't been the one to see it, but y'know...not like I coulda fixed that shit." He shoved his bottom hands into his pockets and kicked at the concrete flooring. "Wasn't plannin' to fuckin' die that day. Just got stupid."

Pentious shrugged and began to slither back to the elevator, tugging Angel along as the eggboiz scurried up behind them. "Most don't plan to die when they do, it simply happens." He hit the button to call the carriage and crossed his arms, tail tapping lightly at the floor as they waited. "I regret dying when I did. No doubt I left quite the mess behind for my dearest wife, our son, or whoever found me first." The doors opened and he slid inside, waiting for Angel to get in before hitting the button to take them to the ground level.

"They not get booted down here?" Angel asked, lifting his heel to stub his cigarette out on the bottom of his shoe (the snake would probably get pissy if he used any walls in the elevator). "That why you actually thought I mighta been your kid?" he asked as the eggs managed to race inside, practically falling over themselves just before the doors closed.

At the time, he'd been more confused than anything. Angel had gotten lots of different reactions to his openly sexual flirting over the years including anger, lustful reciprocation, and outright rejection, but he'd never seen the innuendo go so completely over someone's head to the point where they actually thought he was being serious.

And the snake had looked so genuinely hopeful for that moment.

In hindsight, it was kinda fuckin' sad.

Pent frowned, leaning against the wall as the elevator jolted up. "I've seen no sign of them. Though searching isn't exactly helped by the fact that Demonic forms rarely come close to representing the person's visage in life." The carriage came to a stop and the doors opened, revealing the hall leading to the foyer entrance. "I suspect I would have found some trace of them by now so I can only hope that they're in Heaven and not missing me the way I miss them."

Angel pursed his lips as they both stepped out of the elevator, the wall automatically closing up behind them to disguise the hidden passage. "Well, maybe you should try your hand at Charlie's gig? Get to Heaven an' be with your folks again?" Fuck, the snake would probably have an easier time at earning redemption than taking over Hell. He was a selfish idiot, but Pentious didn't even come close to the worst sinners down in this goddamn sinkhole.

Pent chuckled, the sound subdued as he led them into the dining hall, ordering the eggboiz that had followed them into the elevator to go make some lunch before turning back to Angel. "132 years in the grand scheme of eternity isn't so long, but people change. I know I have."

He paused as one of the eggs offered his jacket, shirt and hat, the snake taking them and folding the fabric over one arm with a small sigh. "I'm not the same man that Kat married. No doubt she isn't the same woman either. We would be strangers in each other's lives." Angel frowned, following Pentious into the dining room as the other Demon pulled out a chair and sat down at the expansive (empty) table. The snake blinked as if trying to clear his vision before he began to slip his shirt and jacket back on, fitting his hat back atop his head. "I just hope they're happy, wherever they are."

Before either of them could say anything further on the subject, the eggboiz came in with trays of tea, water, hastily cobbled together sandwiches. Angel picked at the bread and raised an eyebrow. "Ain't no pork in this, is there?"

One of the eggs bounced on his heels and shook his head (which really just was their whole damn body). "No, Mr. Bossman's friend! We got rid of all the pork. This is turkey and cheese."

Pentious groaned, dragging a hand down the side of his face as he tugged at the brim of his hat. "You didn't need to waste it…" he muttered. "Ugh, nevermind." The snake dismissed them with a flapping hand wave before pulling out his phone and sipping his tea.

Angel snickered and picked up his sandwich, taking a bite. "So, Bossman's friend?" he repeated as he watched the snake scroll through his phone.

"They're not capable of distinguishing nuance," Pent reminded, lifting the rim of his cup and blowing across the top. "But I suppose that it's not entirely inaccurate, at least in the current scenario." He raised his chained arm and said, "Who knows how long this amicable period will last when we're no longer forced into each others' company."

That was true. How much of this tenuous relationship was built off the fact that they really had no goddamn choice but to be nice and stick together? A few months ago, Angel would have been able to give a clear cut answer to that question: of course they'd still be enemies. Just because they weren't complete strangers anymore didn't mean they were on the same damn side all of a sudden.

But now it was a lot more fuckin' complicated. As weird as Pentious was, he had started to grow on Angel.

Pentious had a nerdy sort of charm to him (despite the fact that the snake was also a smug fuckin' prick who never shut his goddamn mouth). He had a passion for creating things that Angel had never seen before (especially in Hell where most people preferred to destroy rather than build). Pent was also the kinda guy who knew what he liked and disliked; what he wanted and how to get it (even if he consistently failed).

Narrow views aside, true conviction was pretty damn rare and if anything, Pentious had it in spades.

The thing that still caught him off guard from time to time though, was Pent's gentleness. As much of a noisy stubborn shitlord the snake was on a regular basis, he could also sit for hours on the couch, idly petting Nugs in his lap as he read from his phone or a book (those stupid little glasses perched on the bridge of his nose all the while).

Ultimately, there was no way of knowing what would happen when they were finally free of each other at the end of the year. Angel couldn't read the damn snake's mind so for all he knew Pentious was secretly plotting to kill him as soon as they were unshackled (though he highly doubted it). As smart as the snake was, he was also a terrible liar with absolutely no poker face (no wonder he stayed away from cards and stuck to craps).

But that shit was forever an' a day from now. They had bigger problems outside of whether or not they were gonna go back to being enemies at the end of this mess. Keeping Val and Stolas off their asses was the priority so once that was all settled and buried, then they could figure the rest of this nonsense out.

The image of Val holding the pliers to the snake's teeth suddenly reemerged from the depths of his thoughts and Angel shuddered, looking down at the half-eaten sandwich on his plate. Across the table, the snake was leaning back in his chair, attempting to take a selfie with his tea cup and all of his teeth (including the pointed fangs) on full display.

Angel touched his own jawline and slowly picked at the sandwich, any appetite he had gone in a flash.

Less than a year to figure this shit out.
Less than a year until they'd know if they were dead or fucked.

It was the slowest goddamn countdown Angel had ever witnessed and yet it would never be long enough.

---

As the next few weeks turned into months (now sittin' pretty at nearly half a year chained together) Angel no longer found himself surprised by just how used to Pentious' presence he had become. It was simply second nature to wake at the sound of a whistling tea-kettle, picking up Nugs to let the pig circle the sheets between them as Pent sipped his tea and Angel checked his social media.

Fuck, it was almost nice to have some semblance of a routine. He couldn't remember the last time he'd woken up at the same time consistently or even had a rough estimation of how his day would play out (though that was due to no longer having to come into the studio or rove the streets looking for a desperate John with cash to spare). He thought he would have gotten bored of it by now, but there was a sort of comfort in the everyday shit that he could recognize now that it had become his new normal.

It was also helped by the fact that Pentious had gradually become slightly more adventurous (Angel liked the routine, but fuck he needed a little spontaneity in his goddamn day).

To no one's surprise, the snake still refused any more trips to the beach or extremely crowded areas, but he wasn't as terrified of being seen in public anymore and was more or less willing to go shopping, get coffee, accompany Angel to one of the less shady drug dens so he could get coked out of his fuckin' mind-

Hell, after a few weeks, Pentious even suggested going to a movie theater.

And that was where Angel discovered Pent's secret love of cinema. The weird thing was that the snake had very little desire to see any films that were actually made in Hell (considering he was the one paying for the tickets, Angel figured it wasn't worth fighting him on that). He only ever wanted to go to the venues showing bootleg copies of films from Earth stolen by the few Demons who had access to the mortal plane.

"I never got to experience the thrill of motion pictures when I was alive," Pent explained as they stood to queue up for snacks and drinks. "It was so long after my time that even if I had lived to a ripe old age, I likely would not have made it to the talkie era." The snake sighed and adjusted his hat which he had transfigured into a knit beanie to match his black and yellow tiger-striped turtleneck. "Just think of every major technological and artistic advancement that has occurred since your death and ask yourself if you would rather have a cheap recreation or the real deal? There are plenty of amazing artists in Hell, but there's something about seeing this creative vision in its original form that I find truly fascinating."

Angel shrugged, letting his lower set of hands sink into the back pockets of his shorts while the upper set crossed over the bust of his blue halter-top. "I guess, but there's like, millions of fuckin' movies at this point. It'll take ya forever to get through 'em all if that's your goal."

Pentious chuckled as the customer ahead of them stepped away, hotdog successfully acquired. "It's a good thing I'm damned for all eternity then isn't it?" He turned to the clerk, ordering a popcorn and some beers before glancing back at Angel from over his shoulder. "Was there anything you wanted?"

Angel stepped up and looked over the menu, his eyes sweeping to the candy display. "Those sour gummies sound good." He pointed out the item from behind the glass and Pent nodded to the clerk who fetched a box before pouring their beers.

Loaded up (Angel carrying the candy and both drinks while Pent held the popcorn), they headed to their theater. "Did you ever see this film when you were alive?" Pent asked as they passed the poster, his red eyes scanning the names of the lead actors with curiosity. "This came out around your time, did it not?"

"Yeah, think I was like 20-somethin' when it released," Angel said with a nod, looking at the faded print underneath the cracked glass of the display. "Was the first color picture I eva saw."

Though that had been the surprise. Angel hadn't known anything about the film prior to Molly insisting that they had to go to the movie's expensive road-show tour in New Jersey together. He could remember sitting in the dark and watching the first act play out in traditional film gray, thinking that this was nice, but nothin' special. Certainly not worth the extra cash they forked over to see before it got a wide release.

Then the lead actress opened the door to her house and stepped out into an entirely new world that was bursting with vibrant color, not a thing around her a single shade of gray.

Angel's jaw had dropped to the goddamn floor and Molly took his hand, squeezing it excitedly. He'd heard of films starting to test out color, but he'd never seen it for himself before. And not only was this thing colored, but it was fuckin' gorgeous. Oz was a world that was bright and cheerful, not filled with trash and burned out fuckers strugglin' just to get by.

He'd gone to the movies with Molly so many times, but that night was the one he'd never been able to forget even after all these years. Maybe it was because it was so hopeful or offered a different way of looking at things, but he couldn't get it out of his head.

Of course, just because the experience was mind-blowing didn't mean that he'd retreated fully into the fantasy. He knew worlds that beautiful only ever existed in fiction.

Oz was fake, nothing but fancy Hollywood sets and actors in a pound of makeup being lit from 20 different angles. The real world was always Kansas, gray and lifeless with dusty lost souls wandering an empty plain-

Wishin' on fuckin' rainbows.

They entered the dark theater and took a couple of seats close to the center. Pent settled the popcorn on his lap while Angel slipped their drinks into the cup holders, both of them sinking down as ads cycled on the screen in front of them.

A few minutes later, the doors were closed and the lights dimmed, casting them and the few other Demons scattered through the rows in total darkness save for the back-light of the screen. Angel ripped open his box of candy and tore the bag inside as he moved the armrest of the seat next to him, kicking up both legs onto the stained cushions. Pentious glanced down as Angel leaned his head against his shoulder, but didn't comment on it, just popped a few popcorn kernels into his mouth as the pre-film trailers began to roll.

Pent talked through most of the film, mostly to point out things that he liked to Angel such as the opening number through the grim gray fields of Kansas ("I have to find the sheet music for this. It's such a lovely song."), the sudden jump to technicolor when the lead actress stepped out into Oz for the first time, the grandiose exit of the Wicked Witch ("See? Now that is how you strike fear into the hearts of your foes!" which earned him a few shushes from the people sitting behind them), and the fantastical design of the costumes and makeup.

Funniest was the snake gasping stupidly loud when the all-mighty wizard turned out to be little more than an old man with a fancy projector. Angel couldn't restrain the snort as Pent quietly hissed, "After all that build up...Well they certainly pulled the wool over my eyes, now didn't they?"

At the very end when Dorothy was back in her gray home and surrounded by family, Pent frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. "I understand that she missed them, but it is almost sad to see her go back to that place." He sighed and shrugged. "I suppose her aunt will treat her better now at least."

Angel sat up, cracking his neck and stretching out his arms. "Heh, they certainly didn't treat the actress playin' her any good." He grabbed his beer, swallowing the last swig before munching through a few bites of leftover popcorn while the end credits rolled (Pent always had to read them for some reason).

"Whatever do you mean?"

Angel sighed and pulled out his phone, wincing as the brightness of the screen cut through the dark of the theater. "Her life was pretty fuckin' miserable, least that's what I heard." He saw Pent's frown deepen out of the corner of his eyes as the floor lights clicked on around them, other guests beginning to shuffle their way through the rows.

"That's terribly sad…" Pentious muttered, lifting one hand to gesture at the screen. "She seems so young and happy here. But I guess that is what makes a good actor. They have to be capable of pretending to be something they're not."

Shrugging, Angel scrolled through his feed. "Yeah and that's showbiz for ya. Smile real pretty fer the camera and take a hit or shot when they yell cut." He paused, wincing as the memory of his last studio shoot came to mind. "Still a good fuckin' movie."

"It is. Especially that song. I just can't get it out of my head." As he trailed off, Pentious began to hum softly, the rumble of his voice syncing to the credits as they played.

Glancing up from his social feed, Angel watched the snake's frown slowly morph into a smile, Pent idly tapping his fingers against the armrest in rhythm as he read through the list of lighting assistants.

The expression was so simple, just a genuine display of happiness with none of the snake's usual smugness or haughty attitude. Weirdly cute actually.

Sliding his phone up, Angel opened his camera and snapped a picture, immediately drawing Pent's attention. The snake blinked and frowned, twisting in his seat. "Did you just take a-"

"A decent picture of your stupid ass? Yeah," Angel said with a grin, turning the phone to show Pentious. "See? Good angles and being in focus make a world of difference." He saw the snake's pout slowly fall as he looked over the photo, tapping his chin with one claw.

"I guess it's not terrible. Are you going to send it to me?" Pentious asked as the credits wrapped up and the rest of the lights came on, revealing just how much popcorn they'd ended up spilling onto the floor over the course of the film's runtime.

"Uh, no? I'll tag you, but this is my picture." Angel stood, brushing a few stray pieces of popcorn off his long legs as he sidestepped the spilled kernels. "I ain't givin' you credit."

Pentious collected their trash and sighed, slithering out of the aisle with Angel behind him. "If you post that, people are definitely going to start talking."

Angel gave a shrug, adjusting the hem of his halter top and tugging at the strapless push-up bra underneath. "I mean, people have seen us chained together and it's pretty well known that we're stuck hangin' out. They just think it's some weird bet or punishment."

The snake dropped their trash into the nearest bin and clapped his hands together to brush off any residual crumbs. "Yes, but posting pictures like that makes us seem rather friendly…"

Quirking an eyebrow, Angel grinned. "And we're not? C'mon snake, we're practically on a movie date." He jerked his thumb back at the screen as they left the theater, passing a bored looking custodian that was pushing a large smelly trash can with two brooms hooked to the side. "You embarrassed to be friends with a porn star?"

Pent pursed his mouth as they wandered through the hall, avoiding spilled piles of popcorn and the stickier looking sections of flooring. "No, but I'd rather not give people the wrong impression of what we are to one another."

"And that's supposed to mean what exactly?" Angel asked, his smile slowly dropping as he watched the snake chew his lower lip. "Wait, do you think people are gonna assume we're actually involved or some shit?"

"It's a possibility," Pent confirmed, his eyes refusing to meet Angel's as they continued through the hall leading to the lobby. "I've already been accused of being your client multiple times. It wouldn't surprise me if that escalates into rumors of us dating."

Angel stopped and crossed his top set of arms over his chest as several teenagers ran by, leaping over the snake's tail as they raced past. "You're not the only one with a reputation at stake y'know." He reached out with one of his lower arms, poking Pent's shoulder hard enough to make the other Demon wince. "But you don't see me whinin' about how everyone is gonna think I'm involved with a loser Kingpin who can't even figure out how a goddamn camera works now do ya?"

Pentious' hood somehow deflated even more than it already was and the other man's expression became sheepish as Angel huffed and rolled his eyes, marching past him towards the lobby.

"Angel-" the snake sighed as he followed behind, not quite able to keep up with Angel's long purposeful strides, but not going slow enough to drag the chain.

"Nah, fuck off with that bullshit," Angel griped, slipping his phone into his pocket. "I don't wanna hear whatever crappy apology you got lined up." They drew a few stares as they entered the lobby, but Angel didn't stop, opening the nearest exit door and walking on through, not caring as it smacked the snake in the chest.

"Wait!"

Angel rolled his eyes, crossing both sets of arms over his chest as he came to a stop on the cracked sidewalk. He fuckin' really hated being chained to this fucker sometimes. Fights were rarer than they used to be, but there was no escape, no way to just have some time to himself before he had to see the stupid snake's face again. "What?" he snapped, raising one hand to hail at the passing cabs.

He heard Pentious sigh behind him and then the snake slowly sidled up to stand next to him, having enough decency to look a little ashamed. "I misspoke."

"How so, asshat?" Angel muttered. "Seemed pretty clear ta me."

Pent loosely clasped his hands together as a cab rolled up, the driver idling the engine in front of them. "I didn't mean to make it seem as though that was the worst possible assumption people could make regarding the two of us. It's not." He glanced up to Angel and gave a nod. "You can post the picture if you would like."

Angel huffed, stepping forward and yanking open the cab door. "Already deleted it," he lied as he slid onto the stained suede seat covers, shifting to the other end of the taxi to make room for the snake. Pent winced and then nodded again as he sat down and closed the door behind him.

"I see," he said as he took out his own phone. Angel barely had time to respond before the snake was suddenly leaning into his space, raising one hand to make a peace sign.

"The fuck are you-" Angel winced at the bright flash then glared at the snake. "Fuckin' hell! Why do you have the flash on!?"

Pent slipped back to his side of the seat as he typed away on his phone. Suddenly Angel felt his phone buzz and he took it out, seeing a new notification from his social media letting him know he had just been tagged in a picture. "Oh you better not have-" He groaned, opening the badly taken photo and enlarging it. The two of them were barely in focus and awkwardly squished up in the back of the junky city cab with Pent flashing a tight smile while Angel was mid-sentence and partially blurred. The caption read "To Oz and back" with a myriad of barely related hashtags underneath. "This is fuckin' awful!"

"I'll gladly take the flack. My camera skills simply aren't as refined as yours" Pent pocketed his phone and raised his chin stubbornly. "Now I suppose we'll see what people make of it one way or another."

"Uh, you two done?" the cabbie asked, leaning back in her seat and pulling a cigarette out from between her blocky yellow teeth. "If you're not gonna give me a destination, then get the fuck out. I'm wasting gas."

Pent blushed and smiled weakly before saying, "The Happy Hotel," as Angel groaned and sunk down into his seat, dragging a hand over his face. As they pulled away from the theater, several comments began to populate under the post, mostly confused fans, though Cherri's screenname caught his attention. He snorted at the neon pink tongue emoji that was posted along with the caption, "Gaaaaaaaay," in a cursive script font before flipping back to the shot he'd taken of Pent.

A much better picture if only for the genuine smile splitting his face.

Well ok, also for being in focus-
And using a flattering angle.

But it really was amazing how the snake could go from being endearingly adorable to a complete sack of shit in a manner of minutes.

Once they arrived back at the Hotel, Pent insisted on stopping by the lounge to use the printer to get the film's sheet music. "Wait, you were serious about that?" Angel muttered with a raised brow, watching as the snake attempted to link his phone to the beaten up looking printer sitting on the dusty unused writing desk.

"Of course," Pent said, scowling as the device gave a loud obnoxious beep and then rotated a sheet of paper through the gears, printing nothing but leaving deep intents in the surface.

Angel snickered and leaned back against the wall, the chain knocking against his hip as the snake gave a frustrated grunt and smacked the side of the printer with his palm. "Thought you were good with machines."

"Printers aren't machines, they are the embodiment of Satan's wrath in mechanical form," Pent snarled, removing the entire ink tray and checking each cartridge. "You have plenty of blue ink! We don't even need blue to print this!"

As the snake continued to shriek at the printer, Vaggie walked by the lounge, stopping to watch them struggle for a few moments more before stepping in. "What's going on?" she asked, cringing as Pentious shoved the ink tray back into the machine with a loud clack.

"Pen's tryin' to print some crap from his phone and the printer's rebellin'," Angel said, taking out his lighter and cigarettes from inside his bra. Catching sight of the beautifully polished surface, he paused, running his fingers over the metal before flipping the case open. The snake really had done a damn good job…

"Here," Vaggie gestured for Pent to step back and held out her hand. "Let me see your phone." Pent frowned but did give her the device, letting her look over the sheet music he had downloaded. "Hmm, do you have a cable? It might not work wirelessly."

Pent pouted and gestured to the wifi symbol on the side of the machine. "Then this right here is a disgusting lie." He huffed and took his phone back, grabbing the chain to tug Angel off the wall. "Let's go and get my charging cord. Hopefully that will work…"

Amused by the snake's open frustration, Angel followed him up the stairs and into their shared room, blowing smoke all while Pent dug through his things for the cord. "So why do you need this shit printed? Can't you just use your phone or laptop to look it up?" he asked as he pet Nugs who gave a tiny yawn as they slowly nudged into his palm.

Huffing, Pent pulled his cord free from under the leg of the nightstand and straightened up, brushing non-existent dust from the front of his sweater. "I've shattered three screens trying to swipe through sheet music while playing. They're inexpensive to replace, but a big pain in the ass to install." He coiled the cord around the flat of his palm and then headed back to the door. "Paper meanwhile is also cheap, but far less likely to get knocked off the top of my piano."

Angel snickered, taking a drag on his cigarette while imagining Pent sweeping his phone onto the floor as he played. It was almost baffling how the other Demon could be so precise in one moment and so utterly clumsy in the next.

The duality of man.

When they went back down to the lounge, Vaggie was standing next to the whirring printer, pinching the bridge of her nose with one hand while the other rested against her hip. "You queued up the same print request several times, didn't you?" she asked as they entered. Pent raised an eyebrow and she groaned, gesturing to the printer which was on its 14th copy. "They all went through...at the same time."

Angel barked out a mocking laugh as Pentious gave a tired sigh, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "Can I throw this thing out the window? Better yet, blast it out of a cannon and into the sun?" the snake muttered, scooping up the finished papers and flipping through them. "At least it finally worked."

"What finally worked?"

Angel glanced over his shoulder as Charlie wandered in, a confused expression coming to her face when she saw the printer chugging away (holding strong now at 17 copies). "You guys printing something?"

Sighing, Pent lifted the stack in his hands and waved it back and forth. "I was attempting to print the sheet music for a song we heard in the theater today. Your printer unfortunately is just as evil as every other of its ilk I've yet encountered."

Catching sight of the musical notes on the sheet, Charlie's eyes got as wide as dinner plates. "Oh! You like music too, Sir Pentious!? Do you sing or play?" she asked as she bounced up to him, barely able to contain her excitement.

The snake blinked, glancing to Vaggie who just nodded along before turning back to Charlie. "I play piano semi-regularly, though I've been told my singing-" he briefly shot an annoyed glare at Angel over the princess' shoulder, "-leaves much to be desired."

"Why haven't you played the one here then?" Charlie asked, gesturing with both hands to the dusty instrument tucked away in the corner. "I'd love to sing for you if you ever wanted to play!" She gave a bashful chuckle as Vaggie stepped out from behind them and put a hand on her girlfriend's shoulder. "I have a little bit of a thing for musicals."

"More like a goddamn obsession," Angel said with a snort, flicking ash off his cigarette and onto the carpet, flatly ignoring Vaggie's death stare. "But you're outta luck, toots. The only piano the snake can play is the one at his digs."

Pent nodded and gestured to his tail. "Unfortunately your piano won't be able to accommodate my physical limitations."

Charlie's smile weakened, but didn't fall as she tucked a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense. But maybe we can move your piano here for a bit? I'm sure you'd have more fun here if you got to play regularly."

"And you would want to accompany me, I take it?" Pentious asked, raising an eyebrow as Charlie clasped her hands together and nodded eagerly, her grin renewed to full force.

"The only other person who's into music is Al and he doesn't really play any instruments." She glanced to Angel and added, "You'd probably get a kick out of it too. It'd be something totally new to dance to."

"Ah, no," Angel said as he took another drag and shifted to bump his hip into Pent's, ignoring the snake's indignant squawk of surprise. "This is like...stage music. Not anythin' that's got a good beat to bop to."

Pentious huffed, straightening back up to his full height as he lifted his chin haughtily. "It's theatrical and, depending on the tempo and instrumentation, is perfectly serviceable for dancing." He looked back to Charlie and added, "I suppose I can have my piano moved here temporarily. It will be nice to get some practice in since we're not spending the majority of the week at my home."

Charlie's eyes rounded and she turned to Vaggie, shaking her girlfriend by the shoulders. "This is so exciting! We'll have to make space for it, but oh my god, Vaggie we can put on shows!"

Vaggie sighed, her one eye softening as she fondly watched her girlfriend rattle off all the possibilities that would come with them having a fellow musician in the Hotel. "Well, let us know when we should make the trip to go and pick up the piano. We'll probably need to rent a truck to haul it out here," she told Pent as the printer finally gave one last tired wheeze, spitting out a blank sheet of paper on top of the large stack of copies.

Stepping forward, Charlie picked up the copies and thumbed through them, wincing at the number of repeats. "In the meantime, I'm gonna go recycle these." With her free hand, she took Vaggie by the arm and smiled at Pent as they backed out of the lounge. "Just text me any other songs you want printed, Sir Pentious! I'll take care of it!"

Now alone, Angel just snorted and waved his cigarette as he elbowed the snake in the shoulder with his chained arm. "You just made her goddamn year."

"I suppose?" Pent said with a shrug, rubbing the spot Angel had hit before running his hand down the back of his hood. "I just hope she doesn't expect a professional. I'm amateur at best."

Groaning, Angel rolled his eyes and shook his head, stubbing his cigarette out on the desk. "Oh that's some hot bullshit if I eva heard it. Don't play modest on me, snake. Your ego's the size of the goddamn moon."

Pent frowned and leaned over to turn off the printer, rubbing at the fresh burnmark Angel had made in the cheap wood. "It's true. I only ever took up piano as a light hobby to woo the more attractive guests at the parties and soirees I attended."

Well that was interesting. Angel's expression slowly morphed into a grin as he followed the snake out of the lounge and into the hall. "Damn, you really taught yourself to play the piano just to get pussy?" He laughed as Pent blushed, the other Demon clutching the papers tightly to his chest as they made their way to the stairs. "Those are some next level tactics right there."

"That is not at all what I said."

Angel just laughed, leaning into the other man's space and playfully winking. "But it's whatcha meant." Pentious gave an irritated sigh and began to slither up the steps, his free hand holding onto the railing as he rounded the banister. Angel followed, crumpling the spent cigarette in his fist as the chain clacked between them. "So I guess the real question then is did it work?"

"I beg your pardon?" Pent asked, glancing back at him from over his shoulder.

Chuckling, Angel stopped, forcing Pent to pause as well. "Did your piano skills get you laid?" He gave a double hip thrust, enjoying the way the snake's grip on the sheet music tightened, his red claws threatening to tear through the paper.

For a moment, Pentious was silent, his blush fierce as he kept his eyes averted to the opposite wall. Then he finally let out a tired breath and said, "Yes. Quite a few times in fact…"

Angel blinked, genuinely surprised that the snake actually admitted to any of his sexual exploits. Huh, maybe he was making some progress with the damn prude. He cackled and tossed the cigarette butt over the railing, letting it drop carelessly to the ground floor. "Nice!" he said, stepping up and smacking the snake's back with his closed fist. "Bet playin' regularly made you real good at fingerin' more than just some piano keys."

Pent coughed, reaching his free hand up to rub at the back of his hood, still obviously flustered. "In any case, I'm no orchestral pianist. I've certainly never played alongside anyone before."

"Not even the wifey?" Angel asked as they continued their trek up to the fourth floor, Pentious shuffling the slightly bent papers around as they went.

"No, Kat was deaf."

Angel blinked, tilting his head to the side as they reached their door. "What?" he asked, watching the snake dig for his key to unlock their room, sliding it through the mechanism and opening the door.

Pentious slithered in and set the papers on the dresser before removing his hat, transfiguring it from a beanie back into a top hat. "My wife was deaf from birth. We met because her father commissioned me to design a device that might give her some semblance of hearing ability." He smoothed over his hood and hung the accessory on the coat rack next to the door. "Unfortunately nothing I made ended up working, but that was simply the technology of the time."

Angel nodded and then smirked. "So, I take it the piano never got her panties droppin'?"

The snake stiffened and bared his teeth, making Angel put up all four hands in a placating gesture. "I'd prefer for you to not speak so crudely of my wife," he groused, slithering to the bed and sitting down, unwrapping his phone cord from around his wrist and plugging it back into the wall. "In any case, she liked watching me play, but had no idea what it sounded like. For all she knew, I was a master musician."

Angel shrugged and sat down next to him, tugging his own phone out and crossing one leg over the other. "I mean, if it made you happy to play and she was happy to watch, sounds like ya had a good thing goin'. Bet she didn't care that you couldn't sing worth a lick." He paused and then raised an eyebrow as he glanced at the other man. "How did you guys communicate then if she couldn't fuckin' hear?"

Pentious rolled his eyes as he set his phone to charge. "She read lips well enough. I became more animated to help her better understand me, but otherwise we had very few misunderstandings." He leaned over, petting Nugs as the pig hopped out of their basket and began to stretch out in front of them both. "Limitations are at the heart of all invention. I adapted to her needs and her to mine. That's just part of marriage, regardless of physicality."

Angel pursed his lips, watching the snake as he picked up the pig and set Nugs down on the bed next to him. "I wouldn't know. You're the first person I've lived with long-term who wasn't family," Angel admitted, smiling as Nugs trotted around the snake and managed to squirm their way into the small space left between them both.

"You had no partners when you were alive?" Pentious asked as he laid against the sheets, his tail flopping over the side of the bed as one arm reached down to scratch at the pig's back spines.

"Kinda had ta be discreet about it. No takin' anyone home for dinner to meet the folks," Angel said simply. "My old man knew. I mean, it was pretty damn obvious, but he had his rep and if anyone knew his son was a goddamn pansy, well…" He dragged a finger across his throat as Nugs turned their head, floppy ears bouncing with the motion. "So I was the big tough gangsta out on the streets, shakin' assholes down for payments, bustin' knee caps when they shorted us, settin' fire to workshops to collect on the insurance an' whatnot."

He sighed, what was left of his smile leaving as he turned to stare at the closet and the mirror next to it, his reflection looking just as tired as he felt. "I paid for a shitty lil' studio in the city. All unda the table of course, didn't need my old man findin' that shit. Only Molly knew 'bout it."

"Is that where she found you?"

Angel grimaced. Fuck Pent was as blunt as a bat to the head sometimes. "Yeah. Not the nicest place to die, but eh...can't win 'em all."

They both fell silent for a time before Pentious sat back up and unplugged his phone from the charger to scroll through his social feed. "On a less morbid note, our picture has 500 likes."

Snorting, Angel looked away from his sad reflection to stare at the snake. "Damn, that's gotta be a record for you. Look at how bein' friends with me boosts your profile." He extended a fist to lightly punch the other Demon's shoulder, but was blocked by Pent's palm, the snake gently turning his wrist to the side. Angel smiled and didn't fight him, letting his arm drop to the bed. "Betcha got a lotta new followers now."

Pent hummed and said, "Well next time, you should be the one to take the photo. You have a better eye for these things than I do." He chewed his lip as he stared at the terrible selfie. "It was a very nice picture you took of me. Have you ever thought of learning the finer aspects of photography?"

Angel blinked and then shook his head. "What, stay behind a camera instead of in front of one?" Catching the snake's eye, he puffed up his chest and lifted one long leg out straight, pointing his toe elegantly. "Why be the artist when you can be the art?"

"I'm sure it's possible for you to do both," Pent murmured with a small shrug, locking his phone again before pulling his arms back to tuck them behind his head. Closing his eyes, he yawned and added, "Anyway, it's just a thought. No need to entertain it."

Angel slowly lowered his leg back to the floor and stared at the snake for a moment before taking out his own phone, flipping back to the picture he'd taken in the theater.

A soft moment captured before it was soured by the same man who inspired it. This one photo was nothing but a glimpse into a person that was as much Angel's friend as he was a total stranger in many regards. For all the time they were spending together, as much as they talked about their lives and their hobbies, it was all barely more than a handful of snapshots of who they both were as people at the end of the day.

Angel might know Pentious, but he didn't know Simon.

Pentious might know Angel, but he didn't know Anthony.

Was it even possible to have any sort of connection with a person when you were still wearing the masks of an alternate persona? A version of yourself that was only ever a single slice of the whole pie?

Fuck, did knowing who they once were even help or just hurt their understanding of the people they were now?

He glanced at Pentious who was now dozing, his eyes still closed and hood tucked underneath his head. Angel sighed, tangling one of his hands in his hair as he locked his device again. He'd never had a fun time trying to pin down his own identity, nevermind someone else's. Pent wasn't a liar or even good at hiding his true nature, but he still didn't give away easy answers.

Shit was fuckin' simple when the snake was just some stupid British fop with too much time on his hands and more ambition than the city could handle.

It was easier when Angel didn't know there was a man behind the green curtain.

---

As the month drew to a close, both Pent and Angel started receiving increasingly threatening messages from Val, demanding to see a sample of Pentious' craftsmanship. After deciding on a meeting date (based on the Overlord's schedule which was apparently very busy), Pent told Angel they would have to take an extended trip to his home in order for him to manufacture the requested prototype.

"How long does it take to make a knife?" Angel asked, looking over the designs that Pentious had drawn up on a sheet of notebook paper. "Will we need to stay over at your place for a while?"

"A few days," Pent confirmed, taking Angel's bedazzled pink duffel bag from the closet and tossing it onto the bed. "No more than a week for a simple test model. When I actually forge with Heaven's Steel, it will take much longer due to the intense heating and cooling processes required."

Angel frowned and glanced over at Nuggets who was now sniffing the empty bag curiously. "Well, looks like we're gonna have a sleepover then," he muttered, petting over the pig. "Guess I'll be seein' the inside of your room after all." He chuckled and wagged his brows at Pent as the snake began to gather Nug's toys and treats. "Better hide your sex stuff."

Pent rolled his eyes as he dumped the items onto the bed (Nuggets immediately taking their favorite ball and squeaking it). "I have a guest room that is perfectly adequate for a short stay," he murmured as he gestured for Angel to begin packing some clothes and other necessities. "It's on the first floor so we won't have to take Fat Nuggets up and down the stairs for their walks."

Pouting, Angel sighed, dragging the dresser drawers open. "You're no fun," he said as he began to pick out the clothes he wanted to bring, tossing a few sex toys on top of the pile just to see Pent squirm a bit.

With everything packed and ready, they informed Charlie of their long-weekend ("Oh, do you guys need a ride? Lemme call the limo."), and harnessed Nugs before heading out front to wait for Razzle and Dazzle. The limo ride was far more comfortable than any of their cab trips with Nuggets running back and forth across the length of the floor while Pent texted the eggs at the house to let them know that they were to ready the guest room and prepare dinner for them both.

Once they arrived, Pent led them down the main hall to a door that was tucked away just behind the study. He grinned and then slithered back to let Angel enter first like the giant goddamn showboat that he was.

Though to be fair to the snake, it was a really fuckin' nice room.

Angel gave a whistle as he stepped across the threshold with Nugs in his arms, immediately noting the french doors that led out to a back porch area with a large hammock hanging from the balcony roof. The room itself housed a queen-sized bed decked out in crimson velvet sheets with a matching wooden dresser and adjacent bathroom. Angel tilted his head up, noting a red crystal chandelier dangling above the bed to match the much larger black one that hung in the foyer. "Man, if this is how you decorate for your non-existent guests, I can only imagine what your actual room looks like," he muttered, peering into the bathroom to ogle the marble vanity, ridiculous shower, and sunken tub.

"I have an image to maintain," Pentious said with a twirl of his wrist, lifting his chin without a hint of irony. "No guest of mine will stay in squalor." The snake then set Nuggets' basket down against the wall and grabbed the duffel from Angel's hand, dropping it unceremoniously onto the bed. Angel raised an eyebrow as he watched the snake drag the zipper open and began to unpack his clothes, folding them into the dresser drawers.

"The fuck are you doin'?" Angel asked, lowering Nugs to the floor and unhooking the leash from the pig's harness so they could sniff around the room.

Pent rolled his eyes and gestured back to the half-empty duffel. "You'd live out of this suitcase if I let you, so I'm simply removing the option." He then closed the drawers, having left only Angel's bras and underwear in the bag for the spider to unpack at his leisure.

"Yeah, I ain't ever takin' a vacation with you," Angel said with a snort as he grabbed his underthings and tossed them haphazardly on top of the dresser, folding the duffel and shoving the bag underneath the bed. "You'll practically move us into the goddamn motel."

"Technically, we are already long term residents at the Happy Hotel," Pent reminded as he gestured for Angel to follow him out of the room, only pausing to make sure Nuggets' food and water was set out before closing the door behind them.

Pent took him behind the mansion, revealing a huge grassy field that was barren save for what looked like a metal barn. It had a ridiculous security system just like the rest of the property, but once the doors slid open, the interior was actually almost rustic, the complete opposite of the more industrial workshop below the foundation. "This is the forge," Pent explained as some of the eggs came toddling in with various tools and supplies, laying them out on a workbench not too dissimilar from the ones inside the house. "The normal ground rules apply in here: do not touch anything, especially the equipment. If your fingers are smashed in the power hammer, you will not have my sympathies."

"The fuck is a power hammer?" Angel asked as he followed Pent further into the barn, looking around to take in the sight of all the massive machines that bordered the three main walls of the structure. The snake raised an eyebrow and then led him to a very tall piece of equipment, turning it on with a few switch flicks and the tune of a dial.

Angel flinched as two heavy plates smashed together with a loud bang, the impact strong enough to actually scatter dust from the surface of the machine and send it flying into the air above them. Pentious quickly switched off the hammer as the plates separated again and turned back to Angel, folding his hands in front of him. "When I'm using any of my automated tools, you are to stay back as far as the chain allows. And whatever you do, do. not. pull. me."

Nodding, Angel watched as the snake removed his jacket and shirt, hanging the clothes and his hat on a rack attached to the nearest wall before taking a leather apron off the adjacent hook.

"It's gonna get hot as balls isn't it?" Angel asked as he watched the snake light the forge and begin to stack fuel inside, the eggs racing around to collect more from a pile near the door. "Do I gotta worry about you passin' out in here?"

Pent closed the grate and tied his hood back with a ribbon provided by one of the eggboiz. "I take breaks outside and my minions will ferry drinks and other cooling agents as needed. I've yet to faint while working due to heat." He straightened up and adjusted the tie of his apron. "Exhaustion is another story entirely."

The snake then pulled up a chair from the side wall and offered it to Angel before grabbing a pair of ridiculously thick gloves from the workbench, sliding them on over his claws. "If you need anything, tell the eggs. We're not going to be leaving for quite some time."

Frowning, Angel nodded and sat down before pulling his phone out from inside his jacket while the forge rose to the temperature required to melt steel. It took ages for the damn thing to just heat up, but once it did, it really was hot as all fuck. Angel found himself sweating through his clothes as he watched the snake take a block of steel and attach it to the end of a long metal pole. He stuck it in the forge and left it until the metal glowed an angry orange.

Pent then took the pole out and moved over to the power hammer, setting the pace of each impact with the dial before sticking the glowing metal between the two surfaces. Angel flinched at the first few strikes as the machine hammered down the steel into a longer and flatter piece, Pent occasionally turning it to one side or flipping it entirely to keep the shape relatively even.

At least the snake was sweating just as profusely as Angel, though it was hard to tell just how much he was affected by it since his red eyes were hidden behind thick heat-proof goggles and the majority of his face was wrapped by a mask to keep the worst of the fumes out.

Unlike his more precise and refined work in the lab, there was something almost primal about this process. Angel couldn't help but be a bit impressed by the way the snake's biceps tightened as he turned the pole to adjust the metal, lean muscles holding the piece in place despite the heady pounding of the hammer as it struck raw steel, sending sparks shooting out in all directions.

It was kinda sexy in its own way, seeing a man bend literal goddamn metal to his will.

Rather than staring at his phone, Angel found himself avidly watching the other Demon as he reheated the metal, taking it out again after a time to lay it against an anvil, grabbing a normal hammer to shape it with more precision. The strength of Pent's blows wasn't as impressive as the machine's, but it was infinitely more enjoyable to watch if only for the way his broad shoulders bunched and released under his sweat slicked tank-top.

It took most of the day just to get the steel folded properly and aligned to the right shape, but by the end it at least resembled a knife (though it lacked any sharpness).

"Tomorrow I'll be filing it down," Pent said, wiping his brow and hanging his apron. Angel moved the chair back against the wall and followed Pentious as the snake made two full rounds to check that all the machines were shut down properly and that his tools had been placed back in their proper spots. "Hopefully it will be ready by Sunday. I haven't made a knife in quite some time so I might just cock the whole thing up and have to start over again."

Angel's face split into a knowing grin and Pentious groaned as he locked up the forge behind them, the eggs following with the snake's clothes and hat in tow. "Spare me, please," he said before the spider could make a comment on his poor choice of wording.

"Y'know if you just paid more attention to the shit flyin' out your mouth, we wouldn't have this problem," Angel reminded with a small snicker as they headed back to the mansion, the sky now dark save for the red glare of the moon and the white dot that was Heaven winking mockingly overhead.

"You are the only person who has managed to take everything I say and rearrange it into a sexual context," Pent said with a small scowl before he touched over the layer of soot and sweat that coated the skin of his hands. "Ugh, I need a shower."

Lifting one of his arms, Angel took a sniff and winced. Yeah, sitting in a hot forge all day certainly got them good and sweaty, but the snake's scales sure shined up nice and pretty under it. At least no one could see the dark soot against Pentious' equally dark skin.

The guest bathroom was apparently much smaller than the Master (according to the snake's boasting) but it still made their Hotel room look like a joke and Angel had no problem stripping down and sliding into the rainfall shower with his bottles of shampoo and conditioner in hand. "Man, I could have an orgy in here if ya let me," he teased as Pent slid in behind him, closing the frosted glass slider to keep water from spilling out onto the floor.

"I made my home to be comfortable for me and any potential guests, but that does not give you permission to invite anyone over while we're staying here." Pent picked up his own wash rag and poured liquid soap into it, wetting the fabric to activate the foam lather.

"Well damn," Angel said with a sarcastic snap of his fingers (earning him an annoyed eye roll from the snake). "I'm gonna have to scrap my big sex party plans." He grinned, watching as black suds dripped off the other Demon's body and down the drain at his feet. Shit, guess Pent had been pretty fuckin' dirty. "Though honestly, I could probably use an orgy. I've been dry for half a year and I dunno about you, but it's startin' ta get to me."

Pentious exhaled and cleaned over his hood, carefully rounding the eyes hidden inside of it. "I'm not immune to sexual frustration," he admitted after a moment, rinsing out the towel to clean the soot from the fibers before adding more soap. "But it is a temporary status. It will all be over in less than six months."

Angel poured shampoo into his fur, washing out all the sweat and dust that had wafted into it while they were in the forge. "I mean, it wouldn't be so bad if you just let me fuckin' nut one out every once in a while. I wouldn't give a damn if you wanted to get some, but someone's a lil' too embarrassed to lemme see what they're packin' away unda those scales."

Pentious scowled, scrubbing the rag over his neck and collarbone, the dirty suds sliding down the yellow pattern of his chest and belly. "Perhaps we could arrange some private time for you to relieve yourself if it's so unbearable."

"Or you relax your purity standards and we just jack off like normal folks," Angel suggested with a casual shrug. "Honestly, if it wasn't for you bein' a power-hungry bastard, I'd really be wonderin' why your dumb ass landed in Hell." He began ticking off fingers. "You don't smoke, don't drink to excess, don't fuck around, barely gamble-"

Pentious gave a dismissive snort and wrung out the rag under the heat of the spray. "Are the only sins in this world self-destructive?" he asked as Angel rolled his eyes and swapped to his conditioner (had to keep all the fur nice and fluffed up). The snake grunted and leaned down to clean over the eyes on the front of his tail. "My crimes are numerous and varied. Some I even take pride in to this very day. However, I've long since accepted my state as a sinner and now simply seek the best possible outcome for my continued damnation."

"So who the fuck did you murder then?" Angel asked, rinsing out the hair on the top of his head. "You gonna tell me you were secretly Jack the goddamn Ripper this whole time or what?"

Pentious laughed and shook his head, his frown melting into a half-amused smile. "Ah, no. If I was truly in the business of murdering prostitutes, you would have found yourself in quite the conundrum being shackled to me." He lifted the end of his tail to soap up the lowest sections without having to bend over and yank the chain connecting them. "Though my actions have resulted in far more death and destruction of property than your gang warfare can claim. It was just more...shall I say, indirect?"

Angel sighed and closed his eyes, standing under the spray as the remaining product washed out of his hair. "The fuck is that supposed to mean?" he asked, continuing to work all four arms down his body to get the remaining soap cleaned out. "You kill people or not? It's a yes or no question, pal."

"I took on a great deal of weapon contracts," Pent said simply, his tail flopping back to the floor with a small slap as it made contact with the wet tile. "I knew what they would be used for and who they would be used against in the various colonies that stretched across the global empire. In the aftermath of these conflicts, I read the papers describing the horrors I'd set upon the world and never once regretted taking the money anyway."

Angel groaned and stepped out from under the spray, squeezing the water from the fringe of his hair. "Ok, that barely fuckin' counts. So you designed some guns an' shit. You weren't the one marchin' off to war and pullin' the stupid trigger."

"It's all cause and effect," Pent replied in turn, glancing to Angel as he shifted to trade spots and rinse the suds from his body, clean water cascading down the black scales. "Only helped by the fact that my work was the foundation that led to other far more terrible inventions that came post-mortem." He grinned, exposing every single tooth in his mouth and making those distinctive fangs almost curl inward menacingly. "When we began to see souls arriving from the Great War, some of the battle engineers that I met with had some very familiar designs in their portfolios."

Angel hummed, noting the obvious pride in the way Pent talked about his death machines.

It was clear that in a fucked up sense, this shit was the other Demon's lasting legacy. Pentious might be dead and in the ground, nothin' but worm-food, but his work lived on without him, continuing to murder and maim all the while inspiring the cruel fuckers who came after to follow in the violent tradition of war profiteering.

In Angel's thoughtful silence, Pent switched off the shower and let the excess water drain out below as they both dripped onto the tile. "If you didn't have a gun to kill people, would your job not have been a great deal more difficult? Would it have been not only more of a physical burden but an emotional one to take out a target?" The snake asked, opening and closing his hood to shake off the droplets that clung to his skin. "You might have still committed great acts of violence had you lacked the technology, but it certainly sped up the process and made it more efficient."

Angel rolled his eyes and stared at the other man as he stacked the bottles of shampoo and conditioner next to the liquid soap on the shower shelf. "Ok, but you still aren't the one responsible for what other people do with your shit." It didn't seem fair for Pent to take the actions of literal strangers into account. Ultimately the snake wasn't the one forcing wars, making people do terrible crap. Sure, he gave them the means to do it, but that way of keeping score wasn't a fair assessment at all.

"I knew exactly what they would be doing with my work. I designed with those very intentions in mind," Pent said as he opened the slider and slithered onto the bathmat, reaching for a towel off the rack. "I wasn't some ignorant blunderbuss. I was asked to create weapons that would kill as many people as possible with the least amount of effort on the part of the user and did just that." He ran the terry cloth over his skin as he shifted to make room for Angel to step out. "I got paid as well as I did because I exceeded their expectations every time.

Angel shrugged and grabbed his own towel, running it along the top of his head and down his body as the snake continued with, "There are hundreds if not thousands of souls that were sent down here prematurely by my weapons."

"Still didn't pull the trigger. You didn't force anyone's hand."

Pentious hung the now damp cloth up to dry and then sighed, straightening the fabric. "I might not have ended a life directly, but I gave the men and women who did all the aid they required. That's what you might call enabling."

Wrapping the hair on his head with his own towel, Angel raised an eyebrow and said, "Well then I guess we're repeatin' history by givin' Val this damn knife." He chuckled and shoved the snake's shoulder. "You're literally handin' him one of the only things that can really kill a person down here."

Pentious returned the smile, but it was more strained than genuine. "I'm already damned. What's a few more corpses to the pile?" He then gestured for Angel to follow him so they could both get dressed and take Nuggets for an evening walk.

They dropped the subject for the remainder of the night.

The next day was partially spent in the forge before moving down to the workshop where the snake blew through the better part of two hours filing the edges of the blade down against whetstone slates of varying grits. It seemed to go on forever until finally Pent raised the bare knife, inspecting it in the light of his table lamp.

Pentious snapped his fingers and an eggboi immediately ran over with the snake's notebook, offering it to him with an excited smile. Ripping a page from it, Pent waited until he had Angel's full attention before he carved a slice through the sheet with just the edge of the knife.

Angel's eyes widened as he watched the thin sliver of paper float to the floor where an egg quickly retrieved it. "Fuck you got that sucker nice and sharp." He sat up and leaned over, staring at the knife as Pent gave it a few more test swipes, practically making confetti out of the sheet.

"That is the point," the snake said before devolving into a series of incredibly dorky giggles at his own pun. Angel just shook his head and slipped the metal from Pent's hands, turning it over to take in just how even the edge was. It certainly looked pretty damn nice, though he'd always been more knowledgeable about firearms than anything sharp and stabby.

But fuck, if he had a knife like this, maybe he'd convert?

"So what's left then?" he asked, handing it back to Pent who was wiping a few stray tears from his face (Jesus, it wasn't that fuckin' funny).

"I have to carve the handle that it will fold into and attach the tang to the spring," Pent explained, tapping the long thin section that extended out behind the meat of the blade. "Most of these components I have in bulk for other projects, but the handle will be more of a rush-job by comparison. I'm not as skilled with woodworking, but this is just a prototype. The real navaja will be solid metal all the way through." Pent looked at the knife and smiled, obvious pride in his eyes as he flipped it to lay flat against his palm. "But I think this part turned out well, despite me being very much out of practice."

Angel sighed and shook his head. "If that's outta practice, I'd like to see what you could cook up when you're actually in the zone," he muttered as Pent set the metal back down on the whetstone, pushing up off the table to stand.

"Well you'll get to witness a full demonstration in just a few months' time," Pent said as he cracked the knuckles of both his hands before flexing out his fingers in practiced stretches. He continued to smile even as he touched over the covered shackle on his wrist. "Heaven's Steel is actually quite beautiful when it's nearly molten. It's the purest white I've ever seen by far."

Angel glanced down to the chain and shook it. "You mean it ain't blue?"

Pent nodded. "Only in its cooled state. When it's super-heated, it's a blinding white." He glanced to the ceiling above them where the fluorescent lights were hung and added, "It's not an exaggeration to say that it's as bright as Heaven is on a clear night."

Pursing his lips, Angel tugged at the cloth, revealing just a hint of the metallic blue cuff underneath. He pressed his thumb to it and winced as it burned, but the pain faded as soon as he removed the digit, leaving only a mild itch in its place.

Angel pulled the cloth back to cover the steel as the snake twisted his hips from side to side and leaned with his hands pressing into the bend at his lower back. A series of loud cracks and pops sounded as Pent sighed and untied the apron from his chest. "Well, before I get started on the handle, how about we have some lunch?" he asked, tossing the leather smock to the nearest egg (not caring at all as the lil' guy was tented and tangled by the heavy fabric). "I'm absolutely famished."

"Eh, I could eat," Angel said, dropping his chained arm down to his side as he followed the snake back to the elevator, glancing once more at the blade as it sat innocently against the whetstone.

As well-made as this prototype was, it would pale in comparison to the final product that followed. Forged with steel that was as bright as Heaven itself and pure enough to burn a Demon with barely even a touch? Fuck, it would probably be worth a goddamn fortune.

He didn't know what other weapons the snake had designed and built during his lifetime, but the knife (as small and simple as it looked) would likely have the same impact as a goddamn nuke once it was made.

There was really no telling what kind of chaos a weapon like this would wreak on the Pentagram, but Angel knew one thing for certain: if Val got hold of it, he was absolutely fucked.

---

Their second ride to the studio was a little more tense than the first time around which was hardly a surprise given that Pentious now knew exactly what sort of Overlord he was dealing with. Though it didn't do much to settle Angel's nerves to know that even Pent was finally being affected by his boss' intimidation tactics.

The box containing the finished knife sat between them with the chain draped over the top, completely nondescript on the outside and giving no clues as to what it contained.

Pentious sighed, scrolling through his phone as their passing view of the city was blurred by the acid rain pounding against the car windows. "I assume he's spamming your inbox as much as he is mine?" he asked, glancing up at Angel. "He does understand that we cannot simply will traffic to go any faster?"

Angel shrugged and continued to stare out his own window even as water pelted the smeared glass, little drops racing across the surface before flying off the side of the vehicle and out of sight. "Val's never been a patient guy," he said simply, resting an elbow against the side of the car while his bottom arms crossed at his waist and his chained top wrist laid flat across his thighs.

That was putting it mildly, but he was sure the snake got the gist of it anyway.

Scowling, Pent pocketed his phone and sighed, shaking his head in annoyance. "I might have once looked up to a powerful man like that, but the more I see, the more I'm convinced that he really is a right ratbag," he muttered, looking out his own muddled window.

Angel's blood ran cold and he turned to look at the snake, lifting his top arms and grabbing the other man's shoulders. Pent blinked in confusion as he was forced to meet the spider's frantic gaze, his hat mirroring the expression with its single eye. Pursing his lips, Angel squeezed down on the other man's arms in warning. "Do not fuckin' say that shit in front of him."

"Say what?"

Angel groaned, one of his lower arms reaching up to rub at the bridge of his nose. "Rat," he muttered quietly. "Just do me a favor and never say that word when you're anywhere near Val."

Pentious' eyes narrowed and he reached up, attempting to loosen Angel's grip on his shoulders. "And why is that exactly? I'm not stupid enough to insult the man to his face, but-" He stopped as Angel put an index finger over his lips, effectively shushing him for once.

"Just don't. If you value everythin' you got, you won't ever fuckin' say it." Angel chewed his lower lip and gave an affirmative nod. "Trust me on this shit, if nothin' else."

The snake was quiet for a moment and then he slowly nodded, reaching up to cover Angel's hands on his shoulders and gently slide them off. "Alright. I'll refrain from using that word in his presence from now on."

Angel nodded and twisted back to his side of the seat, drawing his legs up to his chest as his throat grew tight with anxiety.

There were so many fuckin' things that could go wrong. So many words and phrases that the snake didn't know would set Val off. He just had to trust that Pentious would let him handle it and hopefully save them both from the worst of the Overlord's wrath. Not all, but the worst.

They got out of the car after paying the fare, quickly moving through the burning rain to get to the front entrance. Once past the doors, Pent took his hat off, shaking the water droplets loose as Angel slicked his hair back and up before approaching the desk. The guards were clearly expecting them as they both had toothy shit-eating grins on their faces. "Big V's waitin' for ya up in the Penthouse," the larger of the two said, stepping out from behind the desk and jangling the keys on his belt threateningly.

Angel returned the grin and nodded, struggling to swallow as they headed to the elevators behind the front desk. Security unlocked the panel for the Penthouse with the keyring and hit the button, giving them both a mocking wave before stepping out of the cabin.

Pent scowled, shooting the two Demons a glare as the doors closed and the elevator began to go up to the top of the porn studio. Several screens built into the walls of the elevator automatically clicked to life, showing even more trailers (all with sound on so the moaning and obscene squelching echoed around the closed shaft). The snake quickly averted his eyes, only to realize that there was a mirror on the ceiling and also on the floor below them. "Is this to-"

"Look down people's shirts and up their skirts?" Angel said with a snort, leaning against the back wall as his eyes glanced over to the display monitors. "Yeah, what'd you expect?" He paused as he caught sight of his own face on the screen. "Oh please daddy! Fill me with that monster cock!" he begged as a humongous Demon mounted him from behind, grabbing his hips and yanking the spider back into his crotch with a strangled yelp.

Pent stiffened at the familiar voice and he looked to Angel who just shrugged, continuing to watch his own pornography with a bored expression. It wasn't like the snake was unaware of what he did for a living at this point so why Pentious was still acting surprised was beyond him. "That one was actually pretty tame," he admitted, gesturing loosely at the monitor as he was brutally railed, his top arms chained above his head while the man fucking him held the bottom two by the wrist. A throbbing heart emoji provided a bit of censorship between his spread legs, but very little was being left to the imagination (by design of course).

"I'm aware that there is much more hardcore pornography out there," Pent said with a sigh, pinching his brow with one hand while he gripped the box holding the knife with the other, the cabin leveling out with a high-pitched ding to signal that they had finally reached the Penthouse floor. "But-"

Before the snake could finish his sentence, the doors parted to reveal Vox, the TV Demon's eyes widening in mild surprise before his expression settled into an amused smirk. "Well, it's been quite some time since I saw you here, Angel." He reached up, scratching under the spider's chin. "Val said you'd found yourself in a-" he glanced to the chain that ran between them, "-sticky situation."

Pent grasped the box tightly and Vox chuckled, his screen flickering briefly as he looked the snake up and down. "You must be the Kingpin I've been hearing all about." He folded his fingers together and stepped back, allowing them to exit the elevator. "Well, you're both just in time. Val was getting ready to send someone out to look for you two."

Glaring at the shorter Demon, Pentious hissed, "He knew goddamn well that we were on our way. There was never a need to send his pigeon livered-!"

"You don't have to raise your voice, pet," Vox said with a snicker, gesturing down the hall leading to a single solitary door painted with Valentino's stylized heart insignia. "Go on ahead." His toothy smile only grew all the bigger as he sidestepped them to enter the elevator they had just exited "Now if you'll excuse me, I have business to attend to elsewhere." He folded one arm behind his back and waggled the fingers of his opposite hand as the doors slowly closed, leaving the two of them alone in the empty foyer.

Pent huffed and squared his shoulders before glancing to Angel who had all four fists clenched, his arms shaking in repressed anger. "What?"

"You gotta stop thinkin' you can just talk to Overlords like that you goddamn moron. As much as you'd like to be, you're not one of them!" Angel snarled, grabbing the chain and yanking it to drag Pent toward the door. "You're gonna get yourself and me in a world of hurt."

However, as quickly as his anger had come, it easily dissipated with each step leading him towards that fuckin' awful door. By the time they were standing in front of it, Angel was taking deep measured breaths, his posture tense and stiff. He heard the snake clear his throat and Angel nodded, loosening his body up as he lifted a hand to give a tentative knock, putting on his best neutral smile.

In and out. Show Val the knife and fuckin' leave before the snake could instigate anythin' else. Then they could go to Pent's stupidly big house and he could snort all the powder he wanted before passin' out in that nice ass bed.

Hell, if it wasn't rainin' too badly when they got back, they might be able to take Nuggets for one last walk around the field. A perfect end to this shitty shitty night.

A few moments passed in silence and then the door unlocked with a dull (but ominously loud) click. Angel opened the door and let them both in, closing it behind them where it immediately locked itself again without any preamble.

The Penthouse was just as dimly lit as it normally was, the walls plastered with all of the biggest stars of the studio in a variety of cheesecake shots while expensive (but well-used) furniture circled around the massive floor to ceiling windows overlooking the city below. The lights of the surrounding buildings were bright, but their glare was blurred under the continued onslaught of the rain outside, making it impossible to discern anything aside from vague shapes.

Val lounged on the left side of his half-moon couch, a glowing green drink in one hand as he scrolled through his phone with the other, both bottom arms resting casually on his lap. He didn't even look up, simply lifting one of his lower arms to indicate that they take a seat opposite him when they approached. "Good to see you again, Angel Cakes...and you, Sir…" Val gestured for him to finish and Pent gritted his teeth as the Overlord downed the rest of his cocktail.

"Pentious," he said, managing to bite back most of the malice in his tone as he rested the box on top of his tail. Val just sighed and pocketed his phone, straightening up to look at them as they settled on the other side of the couch.

"Yes. Glad to see you both." He put down the empty glass and held out his hand, extending the arm across the glass coffee table between them "You have my knife?" the Overlord asked, his expression bored, but hinting on annoyed.

Nodding, Pentious lifted the box and passed it to Val who immediately set it on the table. He flipped open the lid and stared down at the folded weapon resting on a bed of crushed velvet (the snake's showmanship rearing its stupid head) in the center of the box, innocent and unassuming at a glance.

At first Val's face remained blank, but then he picked up the knife and unfolded the blade from its casing, running his fingers over the surface of the metal. "Hmmm, you've got more skill than I gave you credit for," he mused, repeatedly opening and closing the knife to test the hinge of the casing before fitting it inside the fabric of his wide sleeve.

Pent huffed and crossed his arms, puffing out his chest. "I have never given you a reason to doubt my abilities," he said confidently, making Angel inwardly scream at him to just shut up and let Val play with his goddamn toy without adding any commentary.

"My mother used to tell me that the little birds who chatter the most are the ones with the dullest plumes," Valentino said simply as he stood, rounding the coffee table to stand in front of them both, pulling the knife out from his sleeve and unfolding it to display the full length of the blade. "Angel dear, I require your assistance."

Angel swallowed, his practiced smile not faltering as he looked up at the Overlord. "Sure, Val. Whatcha need, boss?"

Valentino leaned over, running a finger under Angel's chin to tip his face up, exposing his throat. "Unbutton your jacket for me, baby." His face split into a grin, every one of his sharp teeth on full display. "All the way down."

Nodding, Angel didn't take his eyes off Valentino as his top two hands opened his jacket, exposing his chest fully.

Val nodded with approval and then tapped the sharp tip of the knife against his opposite hand, looking down at them both. "I've had to push back three major projects because of your bullshit, you know," he said, one of his lower arms coming to rest on Angel's shoulder, gently squeezing before tugging the sleeve of the open jacket down and off to fall into the crook of the spider's elbow. "No doubt there's gonna be more delays over the next six months as well."

Angel's grin tightened, but he kept smiling. "I know, Val. I'm real sorry about it. You know I'll make it up, even after we getcha the knife ya want." He inhaled sharply through his nose as the moth leaned down, pressing a kiss to his throat, just under his chin.

"Oh I know. You'll be doing a lot more than that, Angel Cakes." Val pressed another kiss lower, this time against Angel's collarbone and the spider barely managed to repress his flinch. "I'm adding another 50 years to your contract," Val purred, pulling his head back to smirk at Angel over the rim of his pink glasses.

Angel stiffened, his eyes going wide. "Val, baby please-" He froze, feeling the blade press against his collar, the tip sinking into the fur that covered his skin. He gulped as the knife nicked him, the sharp edge drawing a single bead of blood to the surface.

"There's no discussion to be had, sweetheart." Val licked his lips and looked to Pentious who had balled his fists on his tail, sharp teeth gritted as he stared at the Overlord. "This time, if you've got something to say, say it now," Val said, his own smirk taking on a feral edge. "Speak or forever hold your peace, worm."

Pentious continued to glower, his fingers flexing before reshuffling back into tight fists. "Is the blade to your standard?" he hissed through his teeth, the tip of his tail swiping across the floor with unbridled agitation.

Val just chuckled and said, "It's very pretty, but everyone knows there's only one way to test a knife." Suddenly the grip on Angel's shoulder tightened into a vice and Val was digging the blade in, sinking the tip to begin carving straight down the center of Angel's chest in a slow painful swipe.

"Val! Stop-!" Angel immediately began to struggle, but Valentino's other two hands shot out, pinning him against the couch as he continued to draw the bloody line over the spider's sternum and clean through the middle of the pink heart pattern outlining his breasts. Angel gasped as Val finally withdrew the knife, leaving his chest feeling flayed raw, pulse pounding rapidly as blood dripped down the front of his rib-cage and over his abdomen.

The Overlord turned the weapon, watching Angel's blood slide like butter along the expertly trimmed edge. "You're very fortunate, baby," he said, glancing down to Angel who was still in shock, his arms shaking as they were pinned under Val's grasp. "Your little friend made a quality knife."

He released Angel's limbs and slowly the spider brought them up to cover his chest, whimpering softly as he curled in on himself. Val chuckled and patted his cheek before wiping the knife off on the wrinkled fabric of Angel's jacket.

Turning to Pent, Val said, "It's not capable of killing a Demon of course, but you've proven that you can make a decent weapon. Well done, worm." He grinned and folded the blade back into its case while Pentious fumed, the snake's eyes occasionally flickering to Angel next to him as the spider shivered silently.

Then the Overlord lifted the knife and carelessly tossed it over his shoulder where it landed somewhere behind the massive couch and clattered to the floor. Pentious snarled, raising his hackles at the callous disrespect, but Val ignored it, picking up the covered chain that sat between them and thumbing over the links through the black fabric. "How long did it take you to make it?"

Pentious glared at the Overlord and then looked back to Angel, his expression softening. "Two days…" he muttered quietly.

"Good, then I expect the real blade a week after Extermination. No later." He pulled out his cigarettes and lighter, freeing a single stick from the bunch and biting it between his teeth as he lit the end, capping the lighter closed. He blew smoke in both of their faces, Pent waving it away while Angel just lowered his head, the fringe of his hair covering his eyes.

Val smirked and leaned down, forcibly lifting Angel by the chin so that the spider's empty eyes met his. "Oh don't be so glum, baby. That'll heal up long before you get back to work." He tried to untangle Angel's arms with some difficulty as Angel fought to keep them crossed. Val growled in frustration before finally lifting a hand and slapping Angel across the face, the shock enough of a distraction to pin the spider's arms back down, exposing the bleeding cut.

Angel's eyes watered and he looked away as Val hummed and said, "Daddy's already pissed, Angel Cakes. Don't make it worse by being a fucking brat." He released one of Angel's hands to grip the spider's chin hard, forcing Angel to look him in the eye. "Got it?" he asked, baring his teeth in an angry smile.

"Yes, Val," he said softly, his legs shaking underneath him against the couch.

"Good boy." Val leaned in and kissed him, making Angel scrunch his face and try to yank himself back, only to have Val's tongue forcibly shoved between his lips, running across the tight press of his teeth. The Overlord gave an annoyed hiss and pulled away, pinching Angel's shoulder until the spider whimpered under his grip. "Now, why don't we show your little friend his work?"

Angel nodded and slowly turned to face Pent, his arms hanging loosely at his sides to keep his torso fully exposed. The snake tried to look away but Val grabbed him by the face, twisting his neck to force him to stare at the red mark that cleaved through Angel's chest from collarbone to the end of his sternum. "A well-made knife always makes a nice clean cut," Val said with a cruel chuckle. "But best make sure it doesn't get infected anyway. Those tits are worth a lot of money."

He released Pentious who looked like he was about to launch himself at Val, but Angel quietly tugged at the chain, a small reminder to not make it worse. Pent settled for a low growl instead and Val laughed, pulling the cigarette from his teeth to exhale another stream of smoke over them both. "Now, get out," he said, gesturing back to the door. "Unlike either of you, I actually have work to attend to."

Angel nodded and slowly tugged up his jacket, buttoning the middle over the cut as best he could. The top portion was still exposed to the air and stinging fiercely, but he ignored it. The physical pain paled in comparison to everything else.

Once he was covered, Angel slowly stood on quaking legs and Pentious followed suit, still trying to stare down Val like a goddamn bulldog as they headed toward the door.

"Oh and Angel?"

Please let me leave.
Just let me leave.

Pausing with one hand on the door as it unlocked, Angel turned his head, his eyes hooded as he stared at the other Demon. Val quirked a brow and said, "Smile for me, baby. You always look so much prettier with a smile on your face."

What was left of Angel's dignity shriveled inside of him and he swallowed down his feelings, face splitting into a toothy grin as he stared at the other man. Val gave a pleased hum and then gestured again for them to get out which Angel did without hesitation.

Once the door closed and the lock clicked behind them, Pentious let out a breath and hissed, "That dirty rotten shag-bag!"

Angel quickly reached up and clapped a hand over the snake's mouth, marching them both to the elevator despite the fact that both of his legs were jiggling like goddamn jello. He only removed his hands from Pent's face when the elevator doors closed in front of them and he felt the distinct swoop in his stomach that meant the cabin was lowering them back down to the ground floor.

Pentious frowned, his face tight as he looked at Angel. "Are you alright?" he asked, gesturing to the cut that was already bleeding through Angel's jacket, staining a vibrant red line against the white and pink fabric. "I didn't think he'd...well-"

"I'm fine," Angel muttered, his tone curt and leaving no room for further discussion. Pent pursed his lips and nodded, falling silent for the rest of the elevator ride (save for all the obnoxious porn trailers in the background).

When they got to the ground floor, they both ignored the jeering guards and walked right out to the street. It had thankfully stopped raining, but it was no less humid and miserable outside as they waited for a taxi. Once the car pulled up, they both got in, keeping to their own sides of the backseat.

Occasionally Angel could feel Pentious' many eyes on him, but he ignored it, just staring out the window as his collarbone bled sluggishly and discolored the front of his jacket along with the surrounding fur covering his chest. It ached with every pulse of his heart, but the wound itself was just a shallow, surface cut.

Val had gone far deeper than the blade ever reached.

After Pent paid the driver and they got out, he followed the snake up to the mansion, keeping his arms crossed over his torso as Pentious unlocked the front door and let them both in.

Immediately Pent took him by the shoulder and led him into the guest room, pulling out a first aid kit from under the sink and setting it down on top of the marble counter-top.

The snake took a deep breath and looked Angel over as he closed the toilet seat and had him sit down on top of it. "Let's get this cleaned out and patched up," Pent murmured, slowly reaching out to unbutton Angel's jacket.

The spider flinched at the touch and Angel tightened the cage of his arms, squeezing his eyes shut as he lowered his head. Instead of getting annoyed like he expected, Pent just sighed and sank down, coiling his tail underneath him so that he was at eye-level with Angel as he sat. "I understand not wanting to be touched right now," he said, folding his fingers together and pointing them toward the kit next to them. "I just want to take a look at your wound. I can promise that it won't be any more fun to deal with if it becomes infected."

Angel swallowed and opened his eyes, meeting the other man's soft stare. He knew the snake meant him no harm, but fuck this was too fresh. He wanted to be with Cherri, Molly...hell, even the stupid princess. Just anyone who fuckin' cared about him and not this asshole who was half-ashamed to think of him as a friend.

Slowly, Angel bit his lip and nodded, loosening his arms and unbuttoning the jacket himself, exposing his torso and the cut that ran from his collarbone down through the heart pattern on his breasts. Like all injuries sustained from non-Exorcist weapons, it wouldn't scar, but healing would still be painful (and as the snake said, infection was even worse).

Pent leaned in, running the tip of his finger alongside the cut to trace the true length before taking some alcohol and dappling it onto a rag. "This will sting a bit," he warned before beginning to clean out the open wound, the cloth quickly staining red.

Angel hissed, his arms instinctively shooting out to grip the snake's shoulders as the alcohol burned through him. The snake winced, but didn't ask him to loosen his fingers all the while. Once Pent was satisfied that the cut was clean, he took out a needle and medical thread. "If you can...um...push them together-?" Pent blushed and Angel nodded, averting his eyes as he pressed the sides of his chest together with his top hands so that it would be easier for the snake to stitch the wound closed.

"Here, bite down on this," Pentious offered a fluffy towel and Angel opened his mouth, letting him slip the thick fabric between his teeth. Exhaling deeply, Pent threaded the needle and began the process of sewing the cut closed. Angel found his eyes watering as Pentious worked, his chest and heart underneath it throbbing in sync as fresh blood stained the snake's fingers.

After a few minutes, Pentious paused and looked up from his work to offer a tight smile. "Halfway done," the snake said, lifting a hand to wipe a tear from under Angel's eye.

He hadn't even noticed that he had started to cry, but that simple action had Angel sobbing through the towel, his eyes squeezing shut as he tried not to shake if only to keep from fuckin' up Pent's stitches. Outside the bathroom door, he could hear Nuggets scraping the wall with their hooves, clearly distressed by the sounds of his pain.

Wincing, Pentious hurried his pace, sealing the end of the wound before applying bandage cream along with some gauze and tape to hold it in place between Angel's breasts as the spider cried, his whines muffled by the towel.

"There, in a few weeks, it'll be gone," the snake assured even as Angel continued to whimper and shake on top of the toilet. Pent fell awkwardly silent as he packed up the medical equipment, sliding it back under the sink before turning back to Angel with some pain pills to swallow. Angel spit out the towel and took them, downing the tablets without any water as tears continued to trek down his cheeks.

Angel closed his eyes as his knees knocked together, thighs continuing to tremble underneath him. He wanted to get up and go to bed, but he was unable to even lift his own weight long enough to stand, never mind make it across the other room without falling.

He wanted to drink, smoke, get high, and hold his goddamn pig. He wanted to be anywhere but here.

Instead he felt the snake's hand carefully card through his hair and Angel hiccuped, opening his eyes to stare at the opposite wall as he slowly let his arms drop from his chest. He swallowed, sniffling pathetically as they sat there in the overly bright bathroom, blood soaked fabric and cloth lining the counter behind them.

On days like today, he wished he could just close his eyes and wake up to a better world and a better life. Just look out his window and find that all the dull gray had turned into technicolor overnight.

He just wanted a clean yellow road to lead him to someone with all the answers, bitchin' red heels clacking against the bricks with his every step.

But there was no place like home to go back to. No home at all in fact. Just the same prison inside of himself he thought he'd left behind decades ago.

The same one Anthony fuckin' died in.

Angel was pulled out of his spiraling thoughts by the feeling of that same hand trailing from his hair down to his bruised shoulder, not pinching like Val did, just holding. He lifted his chin to meet the snake's eyes and paused, seeing a strange melancholy in the other man's face that almost looked foreign for how somber it was.

Pentious sighed and continued to stroke down Angel's arm in a smooth pass, his claws easily passing through the small tangles of his fur without pulling on the strands. "I'm sorry..." he murmured quietly, his voice barely more than a whisper.

Angel swallowed hard as more tears welled in his eyes. "Oh, you finally pityin' me now, asshole!?" he hissed, his voice weak even as he tried to summon the slightest measure of anger. "Got nothin' practical left to offer but feelin' sorry for the sad little slu-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Pent snuck his other arm around Angel's back and suddenly the spider was being tugged off the toilet and into the bracket of the other man's chest. Angel blinked a tear from his eyes, momentarily stunned by the gentle embrace before biting his lip and whimpering at the feeling of the slow inhale and exhale of the snake's rib-cage against his own.

Pent's hold was tight enough to be firm, but loose enough that if Angel wanted to pull away, he easily could slip out. But as the seconds passed, any desire to escape faded, leaving him bereft of words or any coherent thoughts beyond the comfort of the other Demon's body.

Slowly, the snake sank them both down to the bathroom floor, Pent's back pressing against the wall next to the counter. He wrapped his tail around Angel's legs, tucking the long limbs up into a secure band, but not constricting his movement beyond that.

Being surrounded on all sides by the other man's body should have felt similar to a cage, but the warm muscle was more like a cradle, all-encompassing but open and yielding. He gulped, unable to help the small hiccups escaping his mouth as he hesitantly rested his head on Pent's chest.

Pentious' heartbeat was steady, a soothing metronome and Angel found his breath slowly syncing with the other Demon's as the snake wordlessly continued to pet down his hair and shoulders, not saying anything to fill the silence of the overly bright bathroom.

After several minutes of wordless commiseration, Angel lifted his four arms up, wincing at the ache it brought to his chest before slowly laying his hands on Pent's shoulders. As he felt the snake tense and then relax beneath him, a single phrase began to pound a mantra against the inside of his skull.

There's no place like home.

---

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Beta assistance by SirDust & DerpingLina