The next morning, Angel awoke to the bright, unforgiving light of Hell's fires blazing in through the window and shining down upon his puffy, red, swollen eyes. Angel groaned in light irritation as he rolled over in order to turn his back to the window. As he rubbed the crust from his mismatched eyes all he could think about was how much he hated it when Alastor would make him cry himself to sleep at night. Alastor had been the only person who could upset him this badly for quite some time and Angel hated how easily The Radio-Demon could do so. Angel snatched the body-pillow off of the bed only to realize that Alastor was no longer in bed with him.
"Al'?" Angel called out as he sat up to scan his surroundings for his deer-like companion.
"Right here, Angel Darling!" Alastor cheerfully replied as he stepped out of the bathroom, now fully dressed.
"Whata ya all dressed up for?" Angel demanded, narrowing his eyes at his partner.
"Why, I'm off to work of course! I'll be home later this evening so don't wait up!" Alastor beamed in response.
"You're really workin', today of all days?" Angel asked incredulously, anger and sadness beginning to fill his heart once again. Had Alastor really forgotten what day it was?
"I work everyday, darling; you know that!" Alastor happily reminded him.
"Even on our Anniversary?" Angel muttered beneath his breath.
"What was that, darling?" Alastor questioned as he straightened his tie.
"Nothin'..." Angel pouted before burying himself beneath the covers. He just could not bare to look at Alastor at the moment before bursting into tears all over again. Alastor turned to look at the trembling lump within the covers with slight concern in spite of his grin as he began to wonder if something were bothering his partner. He ultimately decided to deal with whatever was troubling Angel when he returned to the hotel since he would be late for work otherwise. Upon realizing that Alastor had left him all alone and that he was not going to even try to comfort him, Angel continued to softly cry as he remained hidden beneath the covers.
After a good, long cry, Angel Dust got dressed for the day before sneaking out of the hotel. The spider was furious with his partner's callous actions and he was looking to get a bit of revenge upon him. As he took up his old, long-since abandoned spot upon the street-corner, Angel decided that he may as well have as much fun as he could today. If Alastor was going to fail to respect him and their Anniversary, then why should Angel bother respecting their relationship? On top of everything else, Alastor had been making Angel feel so unattractive lately, that Angel just needed to prove to himself if not all of Hell that he was still attractive, that he could still have any demon he wanted to. A burst of confidence shot through Angel when a Limousine already pulled up to the street-corner within a matter of minutes.
"Hey, baby...Ya lookin' for a good time?" Angel purred, flirtatiously as he adjusted his chest-fluff before approaching the vehicle. Inside of the vehicle, sat none other than Prince Stolas. The owl appeared saddened and disheveled, a shell of his former self as he reached over to open the passenger's door for Angel without even so much as a word to the spider.
Oblivious to The Owl Prince's clear depression, Angel excitedly hopped into the Limousine, excited that his first client had not only come quickly but that he was also a wealthy, well-known Prince. Angel practically could not wait to rub this experience in his soon to be ex lover's face later. Stolas remained completely silent as he somberly drove Angel Dust back toward his mansion. As Angel awkwardly sat in silence, he slowly found himself beginning to regret his decision to go back to his old profession as he found himself wondering if Stolas were going to kidnap or even harm him. Sadness began to fill Angel once again upon realizing that Alastor probably would not care if anything like that truly did happen to him.
"Hi, Via..." Stolas attempted to greet his daughter once he saw her upon entering his mansion. Octavia's only response was to glare daggers at her father before angrily storming back off to her bedroom. Angel and Stolas both flinched upon hearing the door to her bedroom slam. Stolas then released a sad sigh before beginning to lead his new hooker upstairs.
"Luna? Are you feeling alright?" Stolas then gently questioned as he knocked on one of the many doors that lined his massive, upstairs hallway.
"Go away!" Luna snapped from the other side of the door, choking on a sob in the process. Even though Angel's guard around The Prince was beginning to lower, he found himself mentally questioning just what was going on in The Prince's life at the moment. Everyone knew of Stolas divorcing his wife but no one had ever stopped to think about how this would be affecting Stolas, himself or his daughter for that matter. On top of that, Angel found himself questioning who Luna was as Stolas released another somber sigh before leading Angel into his bedroom.
Once they had entered Stolas' fancy, Master bedroom, Stolas removed the old, tattered, burgundy robe of which Angel had neglected to notice that he was even wearing until now. Stolas then climbed into his King-sized bed and made himself comfortable as he waited for Angel to join him. Angel had to admit that for an owl, Stolas had a perfectly sculpted body. Angel smirked at his new client with a flirtatious gleam before making his way over to the bed and climbing on top of Stolas. Stolas shivered lightly as Angel began to place tiny kisses along his neck, soon trailing down his chest and then his stomach.
Just as Angel was about to do what he did best, he stopped when Stolas' body began to shake with soft sobs.
"What's with you?" Angel snapped, growing frustrated from the lack of passion in his life.
"I-I'm sorry...I can't tonight, I just can't..." Stolas explained in between sobs before beginning to full on weep.
"Oh, I get it...It's because I'm too ugly for ya? Too fat?" Angel accused since seemingly making a client cry was only confirming his insecurities that he was no longer attractive.
"No, no...It isn't that; you look amazing...It's just..." Stolas began to trail off as he began to contemplate if he should open up to this complete stranger. Angel's glare then softened once he realized how harsh he was being toward someone who was already clearly in pain before he even picked Angel up.
"Hey...I'm sorry...We don't have to do anything; we can just talk..." Angel offered with a look of sympathy. He had clients who just wanted to talk or cuddle in the past so Angel knew how to handle situations like this. Angel just wished he had not gotten one of these clients whilst he was trying to prove to himself and Alastor that he was still attractive.
Stolas nodded in response, covering his beak to stifle a sob as more tears fell. Reluctantly, Stolas then began to tell Angel his story.
I was attending a Royal Ball with my ex-wife and daughter. We were answering questions about our separation when suddenly...
"STOLAS! NOOOOO!" Suddenly, my Blitzy ran up onto the stage.
"Blitzy?" I was concerned because he was in tears when all at once, I heard a gunshot ring out. I heard Blitzy gasp and that was when I noticed he was hurt. His chest was glowing like nothing I have ever seen before. Blitzy's eyes then rolled to the back of his head and he began to fall as I rushed to catch him.
With Blitzy in my arms, I dropped to my knees because of how weak they felt, my own eyes blurring with tears.
"Blitzy...no...Stay with me, please..." I pleaded as Blitzy tearfully stared back up at me. As he gasped for air, I could tell he wanted to say something but before he could get a word out, the life left his eyes. I cried, I screamed until my wails of agony turned into the screeches of an owl and then everything went black.
"When I awoke, I realized I had gone on a rampage...I destroyed half of The Pride Ring and I had even turned Stella to stone...I don't remember doing it but Via still hasn't forgiven me for killing her mother...Tonight is the Anniversary of that dreadful night I lost the one, true love of my life..." Stolas finished his story with a sigh of defeat before once again breaking down into a fit of sobs.
"Wait, were you that giant, owl monster that attacked The Pride Ring?" Angel questioned as the terrifying memories of Charlie barricading the hotel's doors and windows to keep the giant, destructive beast out began to flood his memories.
"We're on your side!" He remembered hearing Charlie cry out, assuming it was Extermination Day when the beast actually began to attack the hotel.
"Holy crap!" Angel remembered shouting when one of the windows had been shattered by a gargantuan, black claw.
"I am afraid so..." Stolas confirmed through his sobs.
"Hey, it'll be okay..." Angel attempted to sooth the owl as he pulled Stolas into a gentle hug. Stolas accepted the hug as he buried his face into the fluff of Angel's chest and just allowed himself to cry for a good, long while. As Stolas sobbed into Angel's soft, fluffy chest, he could not help but notice that Angel smelled faintly of cotton-candy. Angel gently began to stroke Stolas' feathers as he allowed the giant bird to cling to him for comfort.
"I'm sorry I wasted your time..." Stolas apologized with a sniffle after he had finished his good, long cry. He then proceeded to pay Angel a large amount of money for his time.
"Ah, don't worry about it..." Angel reassured in spite of the fact that his insecurities were now beginning to get the better of him. In turn, he refused to accept the money since he no longer had a Pimp to answer to and taking money from the bereaved bird just did not seem like the right thing to do.
"Can I see you again?" Stolas then requested since for the first time in a long time, he felt a sense of comfort around Angel as if Angel were the missing piece to fill the imp-shaped hole Stolas now held within his heart.
"Sure thing!" Angel happily agreed since he actually did enjoy the time he spent with Stolas even if it did worsen his insecurities. Stolas was a gentleman, just like Alastor once was to Angel a long time ago. Hopefully, they could actually do something next time, though.
"Hey, can I use your bathroom real quick?" Angel then requested.
"Of course, It's down the hall and to your left." Stolas politely instructed as Angel headed into the bathroom to force himself to vomit again. Maybe next time, Stolas would find him more desirable if he were just a bit thinner. When Alastor returned to the hotel later that night, he found that Angel Dust was already in bed.
"Angel? Are you awake?" Alastor gently inquired. Angel was awake but he just could not bare to even speak to Alastor after having his worst insecurities proven right to him by The Prince of all people. On the verge of tears, Angel decided to ignore Alastor and pretend to have already fallen asleep. Alastor sighed in defeat as he entered the bathroom to change into his pajamas. Perhaps he could talk with Angel about what was bothering him some time tomorrow.