Throughout the following week, Angel would continue to sneak off to see Stolas in secret whilst Alastor was away at work. The couple mostly spent their time together at Stolas' mansion. After a bit of passion, the two would cuddle up to one another and watch a movie. Luna and Octavia were even beginning to warm up to Angel after getting to know him better. Angel encouraged their relationship and was ultimately the reason the two girls felt comfortable enough to officially come out to Stolas about their relationship. Stolas was of course accepting of his two daughters which lead to Octavia's bond with her father strengthening.
Octavia had always been a daddy's girl after all. It was no secret, even to Stella that Stolas was her favorite parent. When Angel was with Stolas and the girls, he felt complete, like he was a part of their family. During his outings with The Owl Prince and his family, Angel remained unaware of the fact that he was being spied on by none other than Husk. One night when Angel had returned to the hotel, in a good mood as usual, he made his way upstairs and climbed into bed with Alastor, not even seeming to take notice of the body-pillow for once. However, Angel did take notice of the soft sniffling that seemed to be coming from Alastor.
"Smiles?" Angel questioned in concern as he sat up to get a better look at Alastor. The red-clad man had his face buried into his pillow, his body shaking with gentle sobs as his ears remained flattened against his skull.
"Smiley, are you okay?" Angel further inquired as he placed a hand upon his partner's shoulder. Though the couple had been struggling in their relationship for quite, some time, a very small part of Angel did still care about Alastor.
"Don't touch me!" Alastor snapped as he sat up to glare at his spider-like partner, tears streaming down his cheeks like blood from a fresh wound. His sudden reaction had of course startled Angel into flinching away, now feeling hurt that his partner was now snapping at him after having rejected him for so long.
"I know about your little affair with that filthy owl!" Alastor practically spat through his permanent grin as more tears gushed from his bright-red eyes. At first Angel was stunned but then the spider became angry.
"I'm surprised ya even care! Ya never even touch me!" Angel finally snapped back at his partner, on the verge of tears of his own. Who was Alastor to be angry at him when he barely even paid attention to Angel?
"Angel..." Alastor began, still enraged by his partner's infidelity.
"No! I am done pretendin' like everything's fine when it's not!" Tears finally escaped from Angel's own eyes as he snatched the body-pillow off of the bed and threw it onto the floor.
"Ya have no right to be mad at me when ya don't even care about me! Ya make me feel like I'm some kinda disgustin' freak and I'm sick of it! At least Stolas makes me feel desirable..." Angel's voice broke, his mascara now beginning to run as he finally broke down into a fit of sobs.
"Angel...I had no idea you felt this way..." Alastor was now beginning to feel guilty as he reflected on all of the ways he had been pushing Angel away in the past.
"Just tell me the truth, Al'; am I hideously disgustin' to you?" Angel practically sobbed as he begged for Alastor to at least tell him the truth.
"No...No Angel, of course not...I just...Intimacy is a bit of a challenge for me..." Alastor finally admitted as he reluctantly pulled angel into a comforting hug. His guilt began to increase at the way Angel began to cling to him as if his life depended on Alastor's warmth.
Alastor gently began to stroke Angel's fur as the spider's body violently shook within his arms due to his sobbing.
"I will try harder for you..." Alastor then promised as he began to rub the small of Angel's back in soothing circles.
"Y-Ya really mean it, Al'?" Angel's voice wavered as he stared up at his partner with a hint of hope behind his mismatched eyes.
"If it means this much to you..." Alastor reassured as he pulled his Angel closer to him. Angel smiled softly with a tiny sniffle before yawning and snuggling close to Alastor, soaking in every moment of their first cuddle together. However, Alastor released an uncomfortable sigh at the closeness as he reluctantly allowed the spider to fall asleep within his strong arms. After a while, Alastor finally fell asleep as well as he hoped that he would soon get used to sharing moments of intimacy with Angel Dust.
The next morning, Alastor awoke bright and early as he always did. After weaseling his way out of Angel's tight grasp around his waist, he got ready for the day and made his way downstairs, to the lobby. However, before Alastor could have the chance to leave for work, he had been stopped by Charlie of whom wanted to discuss a few, new ideas she had for the hotel. Angel Dust awoke a few moments later to an empty bed and soon followed an empty feeling in the pit of his stomach. After getting ready for the day, Angel descended the stairscase much, more slowly than he usually did due to the fact that he just felt so light-headed that morning.
"Good morning, Angel!" Charlie greeted with a smile only to frown in concern at the way Angel seemed to be clinging to the staircase's railing.
"Are you...feeling alright?" Charlie then inquired, alerting Alastor to his partner's strange behavior as well.
"Y-Yeah, I just uh...I just need some coffee...Yeah, that's it..." Angel reassured before quickly pulling his now loose-fitting skirt back up once it had begun to slide down. Alastor and Charlie watched with concern as Angel ventured into the kitchen with the intentions of making a cup of coffee for himself. As Angel attempted to pour himself a cup of coffee, he swore lightly beneath his breath when his hand suddenly spasmed, causing him to drop the mug onto the counter.
"Angel, are you alright?!" Charlie gasped once the cup had shattered onto the counter, causing a small piece of ceramic to fly up and cut Angel's forehead.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine! I just need a bandaid..." Angel reassured as he made his way over to the powder-room that was located beneath the staircase. When Angel had attempted to retrieve the small box of bandaids from the medicine-cabinet, his hand spasmed once again, causing him to drop the box and ultimately spill the bandaids everywhere. The last thing Angel remembered was hearing Charlie and Alastor calling out to him in concern before he passed out.
When Angel finally awoke, he was lying in his own bed with his pet-pig, Fat Nuggets snuggled up to him with a look of concern.
"What the Hell?" Angel groaned when he took notice of the I.V. that was hooked up to his arm. There were not a lot of doctors in Hell but thankfully, Vaggie use to be a nurse in her lifetime. Vaggie thankfully, knew what to do right away once Angel had passed out. She was also able to fortunately figure out what was ailing Angel and how to treat it.
"What happened?" Angel then groggily questioned once he had taken notice of Alastor's presence next to his bedside.
"Angel, darling? You passed out..." Alastor explained as he gently took Angel's hand within his own.
"I did?" Angel inquired as he struggled in vain to recall that morning's events.
"You are severely malnourished! When was the last time you ate something?!" Vaggie then exclaimed as she tried to hide her worry behind a mask of anger.
"I don't remember...It's been days..." Angel admitted with a sigh as he rested his head back upon his pillow.
"Angel, why would you starve yourself like that?!" Charlie demanded, on the verge of tears.
"I thought that maybe if I was thin enough...Alastor would finally want me..." Angel's voice broke upon a sob as tears escaped from his mismatched eyes. Alastor's ears folded back with regret as tears began to sting at his own eyes.
"Alastor, wait!" Charlie called out after Alastor once The Radio Demon had rushed out of the room to hide the tears that were now cascading down his cheeks.
"Alastor!" Charlie chased after the deer before reaching out and grasping onto one of his hands to stop him.
"It's all my fault!" Alastor sobbed as he turned to face Charlie, the sudden display of emotion causing the blonde to flinch from surprise.
"Oh, Alastor..." Charlie then frowned from sympathy after seeing Alastor cry for the first time.
"It's all my fault! I did this to him! It's my fault!" Alastor's smile nearly broke through his frantic sobbing but he forced himself to maintain it, not wanting to allow himself to become more vulnerable than he already had. In tears, Alastor rushed into the nearest restroom so that he could cry in private. Charlie simply released a sigh since she was uncertain of what she could do to help her friends.
Once in the restroom, Alastor stared intently at his reflection within the cracked mirror just as Angel had done the night of the banquet that Charlie had been hosting for a majority of Hell. Alastor's grinning lips quivered but he refused to allow himself to frown as he slowly began to unbutton his shirt. After a brief moment of hesitation, Alastor removed his shirt in order to examine the scars that covered his body. Oh, how he hated those scars with a passion. They made him feel so filthy as if his own body did not belong to him at all. Alastor burst into another fit of sobs, burying his face into his hands since he could no longer bare to look at himself.
For the sake of Angel Dust, Alastor then vowed to work through his personal issues. He silently vowed to himself that he would no longer allow his trauma to have power over him and that he would become more intimate for his Angel.