Angel Dust had given her exactly fifteen minutes to settle in before the questions started- Which was about thirteen more than Clover had expected.
"Spill."
"Absolutely not."
She didn't even bother to turn her head from her drawers, too busy trying to find a very particular set of sweatpants to entertain the undoubtedly adorable pout he was probably giving her back. A beat followed by a rustle of sheets gave her hope that he'd given up and collapsed to her bed to seethe in silence, and Clover was able to finally focus on her search in the meantime. She pulled them from her dresser with a triumphant gasp, the legs stretching as they were caught up among the other clothes that had been left on her bed that she'd haphazardly shoved into the first empty drawer without thinking before they finally came free and sent Clover tumbling backward. Her stockings slid against the carpet as she struggled to stay upright, her hair blown from her face with a huff before she began the long task of unbuttoning her blouse, back still turned towards Angel.
He at least had the decency to wait until she had changed to start up again, Angel's long arms reaching over the bed's baseboard to catch her arm as she shuffled by.
"C'mon, toots! I'm dyin' here- I gotta know, just a little somethin'," Angle whined as she wiggled free of his fingers, the spider flopping over onto his back pathetically and his pout beginning to wobble around his drawn-out plea. "Please?"
"Angel, I can't. What happened was- Too special to be shared."
"I'm not askin' for a play-by-play, I just want some'a the horny details!"
"That's the same thing!"
"Not to me it ain't!"
Clover collapsed face down onto the bed beside him, her legs kicking behind her in frustration before she lifted her head just enough to catch Angel's eye and give him a heavy sigh.
"...Yes or no questions, and all I'll do is nod and-" Angel was already scrambling to a sitting position before she'd finished, his smile turning salacious as the corrupted cogs began to turn- Clover was quick to throw a wrench between them. "And! You only get three of them."
"Now you're just blue-ballin' me! Three's nothin', I do more than that on any otha' Tuesday!"
"Three of what?"
Lollie's question barely interrupted her humming along to whatever video was currently playing from her cell phone, and Clover caught the end of a chorus as painted fingernails turned the sound down in favor of the current conversation- Whoever the performer was, they certainly didn't sound satisfied with their employer, and if Lollie was listening to it, Clover was sure it was probably warranted.
"Join the party push pop!" Angel made a show of scooting over to make more room in Clover's bed for a third, blatantly ignoring Clover's muffled groan as she slid defeatedly off the edge of the bed. "We're talkn' about what Al's like in bed."
A padded hanger and garment bag were dropped onto the chair beside the newest expensive addition to Clover's wardrobe, but the gratitude Clover would have given Lollie for them was short-lived as the tiny demoness bounced onto the bed, her sweet smile turning impish as she clutched a cushion to her chest.
"Oh! Gimme somethin' good, I'm running dry over here."
"Fine!" Clover threw her hands up at them both as she hopped to her feet. "Three questions each. But if you truly care about me you will keep it R-rated, and nothing above that."
Angel nearly took the end of the finger she'd pointed at him off with how sharply his smirk shifted into a scowl, Clover's ears pushing flat against her skull as his volume rose once again.
"What are we, fuckin' nuns?!"
"Not in my free time." Lollie chimed in. "Now a priest? That's something I could get unda'."
That was, thankfully, enough to divide Angel's attention.
"I think you mean 'get behind', suga'."
"Nope."
The consonant popped like an overblown bit of bubblegum and hung in the air far too long for Clover's comfort, and as much as she was coming to hate herself for offering up anything about what had come to pass between her and Alastor, she knew that if she didn't define the terms quickly that this would get further away from her than she was prepared for.
"Three questions safe for sensitive ears each, that's my final offer. Deal?"
Angel's face fell at the seriousness of Clover's tone, long arms crossing across the puffy curve of his chest as his voice went flat.
"You've been spending way too much time with Alastuh' toots."
Fingers thumped against his chin as he took a moment to think, seeming to weigh his options before they snapped together in a rapid manner that she assumed meant he'd come up with something he thought was particularly tempting.
"Oh! I've got some stories about ya' boss tuh' share, how 'bout a tra-"
"Deal." Lollie didn't look up from her nails as she interrupted, nor when Angel sharply turned to glare down at her for it, letting him collapse into her side with an overdramatic, defeated huff before she paid any mind to his tantrum. "Let the girl have her secrets, mon Ange, she's in love!"
"You broads are no fun."
Clover took the time Lollie spent giggling at Angel's continued complaints while she squished his cheeks to fetch her phone from her bedside table and plug it in, finding the device as utterly dead as she'd expected it to be after days- Or weeks?- of being untouched. As soon as she'd set it down again Lollie was bouncing up onto her knees and crawling to the end of the bed as Clover sought out something else to distract her from the inevitable embarrassment that was about to befall her.
"Okay, me first! Was he as decent as you'd think he'd be? Or did he get a little-" Lollie paused to give a little purr, and if Clover had turned around she was sure she'd have seen those pale pink fingernails curled into claws to emphasize the point. "Feral, in the best kinda' way?"
The "yes or no answer" portion of this broadcast was not going to fly, Clover could already tell. She hummed as she thought of how to answer, chewing at the inside of her cheek as she finished folding her new skirt over the hanger's bar. There were a few ways to properly answer this question, and even though she was well within her rights to move past it, part of her wanted to share this sinful little secret with her closest platonic companions; Not including the absent parties of Husk and Cyrus, who she would rather die again than either of them witness what she was about to do.
Clover tugged the hoodie she'd pulled on to hide the marks that decorated her decolletage over her head, whining when it caught her ears before tossing it to the bed. Her skin had already begun to burn as she pressed her hands to her cheeks before quickly tugging down the sagging neck of her shirt, and the heat only grew worse as Angel and Lollie quickly scrambled off the bed to get a closer look.
"Holy shit!"
"I knew ya' beau had a possessive streak but I didn't think he had it in 'em to leave marks like that- And I've got a feeling they go all the way down."
The waistband of Clover's sweatpants snapped against her skin from Lollie's pulling and with one hand still hiding her flushed face, Clover rolled it down just enough to show off the finger-shaped bruises criss-crossing across her hip. Hands quickly caught the hem of her shirt and pulled upward to get a better look at them, but Clover wiggled her way out of Angel's overly interested hands and picked up her expensive new clothes to ward off any further hands-on investigating. Lollie's giggling painted her next question with a lighthearted enthusiasm that did little to quell her shaking as she shooed Angel away, the tall demon nearly doubled over to continue gawking at the collar of contusions not covered by her comfortable shirt.
"Does he have any? I know you've got bite, bunny, ya' can't fool me. And you're just as jealous as he is, so-"
Clover's ears flopped as she nodded perhaps too quickly, not looking up from her fingers as they fumbled with buttoning up her blouse so it would not slide off its new hanger, not even as Angel barked a loud laugh and tossed himself back onto her bed.
"I would pay good money to see that! I bet he's got little love bites all down those shoulders of his, leadin' all the way down tuh' his-" Angel sat up again before he'd even hit the pillows, ignoring the wide-eyed look Clover gave him as his train of thought sank directly down the drain. "Oh! What's he look like- Ya' know- downstairs? Fuck, is he, uh- Well, would'ya need to pay for extra postage on the package, I guess is what I'm sayin'?"
Choking on the breath she'd taken to shout at him for the euphemism, Clover doubled over and sputtered out an indignant noise in response and waved her hands to helplessly ward off the emotion it evoked. A gentle palm patted her back as she wheezed, but the demoness attached to it was quick to sway away when Clover turned on her next for her added commentary.
"If she's chokin' on it then it musta' been pretty good."
"Will you two stop?!" Clover finally managed. "This is not what we agreed on!"
"I didn't sign or shake on shit sugar, so don't give me your attitude for havin' a little fun." Lollie chided as she took the slowly wrinkling clothing from Clover's clenching hands and took over the task for her. "Now answer the question."
The bed bounced as Clover collapsed beside Angel, not bothering to move away the pillows that tumbled onto her off the arguably excessive pile she'd collected in her time here as she thought of how to answer this question. It was obvious that they'd both thought about what the Radio Demon would be like intimately before, and she couldn't blame them for that; Not when it had plagued her own thoughts for far too long, but in a much deeper meaning of the word. She should have known better to give either of them an inch of information- And that phrasing in itself solved her problem.
Clover thought perhaps too hard about how Alastor had looked beneath her, but she thought even harder about how best to give them an idea without totally breaking any of the trust she had with him; The images she'd stored away instantly pooled brilliant heat beneath her skin, and she needlessly cleared her throat of its squeaking before silently shoving sweaty palms into the air above her. The not-so-exact measurement ebbed and flowed as she tried to fight the shaking of her hands to hold up her end of the bargain until she finally gave up on the charades and pulled the pillows from her face with a defiant huff.
"He's above average- I think? What's average for a demon anyway? I don't know what you expect from me!"
"A diagram would be helpfu-hrmph!"
Angel kicked the pillow she'd smacked him with into the far corner of her room with a scowl, his fingers prodding at her sides until he'd succeeded in getting her to squirm off the far side of her bed. Clover glared at him from over the bunched bits of her comforter, her nose barely peeking over the top of it before she turned to pick up her phone from the bedside table. The device buzzed against her palm as it began its slow start-up, and Clover had to tense every muscle to keep from dropping it all over again as the first flood of panic since she'd run off to Alastor's ivory tower chilled her blood. Lollie paused on her way to the closet, her soft smile turning downward for a split second before it appeared again and parted to show pearly teeth; As much as she was dreading Lollie's next question, she was thankful for the distraction- For now.
"Where do you want this? With your otha' schmancy clothes?"
"Uh- Sure," Clover said, her mouth hanging open as her brain tried to reconcile with the merry-go-round of emotions these two were taking her on before she set her phone down again and hauled herself to her feet. "You don't have to do that Lollie, I've got it."
"Let me help! I'm keepin' ya' hands free in case you wanna try anymore 'demonstrations'," That little nose scrunch appeared again as Lollie playfully elbowed Clover's side, the tiny demoness hopping up onto her toes to hang up the garment bag. "So! After your little couple's broadcast- Did you do it in the studio?"
A small nod was all Clover could manage in response, her cheeks returning to their flaming glory under Lollie's knowing gaze.
"That's what I thought, you two didn't sound like you were going to make it to a bed."
"You fucked 'em afta' flirtin' with him on the radio!?" Angel yelled from behind, laying Clover's ears flat against her head. He was lucky that Lollie beat her to the punch in answering him.
"Obviously, you could feel the sexual tension through the frequency- And Alastor's microphone accidentally picked up his chair moving and the tiny little sound she made afterward," Lollie's fingers gave Clover's nose a tiny teasing tap before the gesture turned gentle, painted fingers pushing her glasses back into their proper place. "Don't sweat it too much suga', I don't think anyone noticed but me."
"Geez, toots, you twos are a little more adventurous than I woulda' thought."
A moment of silence offered a short reprieve as Angel sank back onto his palms, his head tilted in thought. His eyes were far too serious for the current conversation when they refocused, the fleeting blue sharp beneath the heavy curls that hung into his face, and for a moment she was worried he was going to ask something that carried more weight than she could currently handle as her phone buzzed again-
But then again, this was Angel Dust she was talking about.
"Please tell me he got ya' off every time, otherwise I'm gonna have'tuh march down there and teach 'em a few things."
"Angel, oh my go-"
"What? It's a genuine concern! I doubt a man like that knows what he's doin' with anythin' that ain't his own di-"
"ANGEL!" Clover wished for a moment that her growing power would grant her the ability to sink into the floor, much like Alastor's Shadow had done the last time it had joined the three of them in her room; The thought fluttered to land on the pin-board that was her inner mind as she shook herself free of it so she could shuffle through the list of adjectives she could use that would not provoke further questioning, but still hopefully satisfy her spidery friends hunger for a risque retelling of herβ¦ retreat with the Radio Demon. "He's very- Perceptive. And a quick learnerβ¦and very enthusiastic."
"If we're playin' fast and loose with the rules, I've got some questions that need detailed answers-" Lollie said as she fell against Clover's side with a ridiculous little wiggle.
"No! That's all I'm saying. You both have one more question and then this conversation is over."
The hollow thud her foot made against the carpet as she stomped out her frustration sent both of them spinning off into a fit that filled the room with a cacophony of clashing cackles and hysteric hiccupping, drowning out Clover's following footsteps as she went to retrieve her phone as it's sporadic buzzing finally fell silent.
"Maybe that's for the best, you look like you're gonna have steam comin' outta' ya' ears any second now," Angel spoke through fading laughter as he pushed himself up from where he'd fallen face-first into her sheets to muffle his snickering as his expression hardened. "I'm serious about it though, he betta' have treated you like a damn princess after all the pushin' and pullin' you had to do with him."
A hand caught her wrist as she ignored the statement in favor of swiping through the countless messages that filled her inbox, Angel tugging her to turn towards him as he continued, this time in much softer tones than he'd used so far. Clover's eyes stopped mid-roll as she realized how serious he was being, his eyes wide as they stared sternly into hers and his brow pushing worried lines between them.
"You two talked about all of this, right? I'd hate for ya' first time to be because of some stupid instincts ya' can't control and you end up regrettin' it afterward."
It was like he'd taken one of her pillows and walloped her in the chest with it, knocking every bit of air from her lungs as weight bore down upon her ribcage. Warmth spread from her fingertips, fighting back the cold chill of anxiety that still lingered as she laced her fingers with his and squeezed.
"We did, and we don't, not one bit."
"Did you end up sayin' those three little words, or do we gotta wait for that in the sequel?"
Lollie's question came from nearer than Clover had expected it to, so earnest despite its gentle teasing tone. The constrictive thickness of sentimentality had made her voice but a squeak before, but now as moments of soft firelight and heartfelt admissions returned to her, she couldn't find any room around the swell of emotions that filled her throat now to form words big enough to explain all they'd been through; So Clover simply nodded, uncaring of the tears she shook free as Angel's impatient fidgeting froze, and his voice fell uncharacteristically soft for his final question.
"And he said it back?"
Angel was up on his feet before she'd even had the chance to nod, taking the small upward tick of her lips as a giggle-broken sob bubbled from between as enough of an answer. He cheered, bouncing on his toes around her before deciding to pick her up to join him, his shouting echoing off the high corners of her bedroom as she squealed into her palms.
"Fuckin' finally! Only took ya'-" Angel paused as he dropped her onto her bed, his eyes expectantly looking up towards a lightbulb that never went off. "Uh- Well, it felt like it took for-fuckin'-ever, honestly. And that is somethin' to drink to! I'll be right back- Don't you dare share any more juicy details without me!"
The door bounced off the frames behind him as Angel sped out of the room, open just enough to let the sound of cursing down the hall and the tiny excited squeals of Fat Nuggets drift back towards them. Lollie had stepped up beside her as soon as Angel set her down, now reaching out to capture her hands and shake them excitedly between them.
"I'm so happy for you, Clover. I mean it-" Lollie's voice wavered, growing thick with oncoming tears as they pooled in the corners of her eyes and clung desperately to her lashes. "You deserve what that man is willing to give you, more than anyone. Don't you ever forget that, not for a second!"
The little bit of restraint Lollie had left broke before she could speak the last syllable, the gentle slope of her shoulders folding inward as they began to shake with nearly silent sobs. Without a second thought, Clover pulled her close, shushing any of Lollie's concerns that she'd stain Clover's shirt with her mascara and the apologies that followed.
"I'm sorry, I just- You don't see many happy endings down here, ya know?"
Clover wasn't quite sure what to say to her friend; Lollie maintained such a poised persona so much of the time that it took her off guard when it shattered, even though she'd often noticed the cracks before. She'd seen the flirtatious femme fatale giggle like a schoolgirl over a celebrity crush, seen her smile harden into a somber seriousness, and watched as their friendship shift into something that felt much more like family than Clover thought she realized, but she'd never seen her show such tenderness, such raw vulnerability- It was maybe the sweetest thing she'd ever get out of her candy-colored friend, and that meant she had no choice but to cherish it.
"Hopefully this will be the start of a new trend."
Lollie snorted at the prospect and then sniffled, pulling herself out of Clover's embrace to drag the back of her hand daintily across the black smears of mascara that ran down her cheeks.
"I hope you've figured out that you can see the future too, Bunny, 'cause there isn't nothin' I wouldn't give for you to be right about that."
"What the fuck did I miss?"
Both girls turned to find Angel in the doorway, one set of arms clutching a trio of bottles to his chest while the other held Fat Nuggets against his hip. Clover turned to look at Lollie, who in turn looked to Clover, and then both girls turned to look back at Angel, only to burst out laughing at the wide-eyed confusion that comically twisted his features.
They all eventually ended up sprawled across the bed with drinks in hand, talking idly about what Clover might have missed until the trio fell into a pleasant silence only broken by the idle sound of Lollie scrolling through her social media and the soft snort of Fat Nuggets. On the third play of the same song in the last half-hour, Clover finally got too curious to continue ignoring it.
"Lollie?"
"What's up, doc?"
Clover snorted into her glass of wine at the dry delivery of the daytime cartoon reference, shaking her head at the tiny smile that twitched around the sucker stick stuck between Lollie's lips.
"Do you have an earworm?"
"Came up clean the last time I checked."
Another snort, this time paired with a heavy roll of Clover's eyes as she exchanged her drink for her device, ignoring the buzz of her phone in her palm as she nudged Lollie's hip with her toes.
"No, I mean, do you have a song stuck in your head?"
"It's that clown again." Angel chimed in between the kisses he continuously pressed to Fat Nugget's stomach, the tiny piglet squealing as it wiggled between his palms. "He fuckin' quit."
"He's quitting performing?"
"No! He quit his contract!" Lollie clarified as she rolled over onto her stomach. "I wish I could'a been there, but of course, I had to be born a sinner, so I can't leave the city."
"I don't think anyone is born a sinner babes."
"Depends on who you ask."
While Angel paused and pondered Clover's words, she shifted so she could lean into Lollie's shoulder, watching as her thumbs tapped away a comment on a Sinstagram post before she flicked back to a video saved to her phone. It was shaky, as concert videos usually were in Clover's experience, but seemed to be shot from decently close to the stage and the footage had attempted to be steadied by some sort of editing software. The camera followed the same neon-clad imp jester Lollie had shown her before as he stood among an eruption of fireworks that the auto-adjust struggled against, the sound blowing out from the explosion for a split second before his voice came clear through the phone's speaker.
"Fuck you! HerΠ΅'s my two minutes' notice, fuck you!
Time to quit and smell the roses,
Say goodbye, while I look you in the eye and say "Fuck you!'"
It was incredibly impressive that he could sing all of that while balancing on balls and leaping around like a frog, Clover thought.
"Well, that's one way to turn in your resignation."
"It's iconic, that's what it is. And just think- If he can quit a contract with Mammon then what does that say about the rest of us? This could change something-"
"He's an imp, babes. For all you know it works differently with hellborn," Angel cut in, craning his neck up to give Lollie a look that showed the weariness of hours of prior conversation on this topic before turning to Clover. "Maybe you can talk some sense into her, she won't listen to me."
Clover thought for a long moment, trying to think of what she could say that held any weight to either of them. She was without a contract, and her opinions on the matter were incredibly influenced by her experiences with Alastor. The little she knew about the business of dealing in souls and signing contracts came from someone who had himself offered her a contract, and who had backed down when she'd put her boundaries in place; And the more that she'd begun to think about it now that they'd cleared the air, the more biased she became- What could she say to Angel, who had been tied to a man as vile as Valentino for longer than she'd been alive, or to Lollie who fought against being caught in the same web with every struggling step she took up the social ladder, when she was so unsure of her stance on the whole thing. For some a contract seemed purely beneficial, and to others, a contract seemed more like a death sentence than anything else; It was business, and depending on who you dealt with your soul could end up as anything from stock to be sold or a partnership on paper.
The only sure thing about all of this was that it, and the wine, were giving her a migraine.
"I don't have enough experience to say, but I don't think there's any harm in having a little hope." She finally said, looking back down at Lollie's cell phone as the song continued to play. The screen was a mess of color, the energetic jester bounding around the stage leading the crowd in a chant that Lollie happily sang along with as her feet kicked behind her in time with the rhythm. "And that the clown boy seems like Lollie's type, so I don't blame her for idolizing him a little."
Another buzz from her phone tore her away from whatever retort Angel would have had for her as he hauled himself upright, but as Clover chanced a glance back at him over the top of her phone to make sure he wouldn't turn it on Lollie instead, she caught how his eyes softened ever so slightly as they'd finished their rolling. Clicking on the most recent text notifications, her migraine only worsened as she saw the number of messages she'd have to sort through to clear through the clutter that had taken over her phone, Clover scrolling through the scattered texts that had been sitting in her inbox since Halloween before clicking on the most recent sender.
Cyrus (4:00) πππ ππππ’?
Cyrus (5: 25) π³ππ π’ππ ππ ππππ ππ πππ πππππ?
Cyrus (6:00) π²πππππ
Cyrus (6:10) π·ππππ
Cyrus (6:27) π³π π’ππ π πππ ππ π πππ ππππ π πππ ππ π πππ?
Cyrus (7:45) π΅πππ, ππππ ππ
The door swung open as soon as she'd finished reading the last text, and Clover didn't bother to look up to see who had stomped into her bedroom.
"Ans-s-swer your fuckin' phone!"
"Hi, Cy."
Cyrus pushed through the puff of smoke that had preceded him as he stalked into her bedroom, nostrils flaring and eyes narrowed as they darted from face to familiar face. He ignored Lollie's chipper greeting as his eyes focused on Clover, his tongue flicking furiously between his fangs as he tossed a crumpled paper bag onto her bed.
"What the fuck happened to you? Did you get banned from using technology that doesn't pre-date dinosaurs-s-s already or what?"
"You're older than Alastor, you have no room to talk. I had to bully you into getting a chip reader."
The dry tone of her reply sent a twitch to his eye, and Cyrus spoke louder than she'd ever heard from him before in response.
"Well, I'm makin' room!" Claws raked through his hair harshly enough to scrape the scalp before they swept down his face, and Clover watched as he hurriedly went to catch the ash dangling dangerously from the end of his joint once he'd noticed it, knocking it lazily against his finger into his palm before dusted it off inside of his jacket pocket. The long draw he took gave him the time to relax, his shoulders sinking as smoke curled from his nostrils towards the ceiling. "Look just- A text to your bos-s-s would have been appreciated, that's all I'm s-s-sayin'."
"Are you still my boss?"
His face twisted so fiercely at this statement that his eyes almost disappeared under the furrow of his brow, his lip curling back in confusion as he sputtered through smoke.
"What? No- I'm not fuckin' firing you for this, you're too good at your job."
Cyrus walked further into her room, creeping on his toes like he was scared someone's overprotective father would barge in, rifle in hand, at any moment; And honestly, he might have had reason to be with the combined watchful eyes of Alastor, Husk and Vaggie around every corner. Yellow slits darted around the room, taking in the slowly dwindling pile of laundry decorating her reading chair and the stack of dusty books cluttering her nightstand before he finally reached out to playfully kick the leg Angel had let dangle over the side of the bed. Any complaint Angel might have had was immediately hissed over, but not without a sly little smile that began to slowly lighten Cyrus's sour mood.
"The only information I got was from these two clowns-s-s, and I had to march my ass over here to get it. Next time you wanna take a vacation, just- Let me know in advance or s-s-somethin'."
"I'm sorry, Cyrus. You can schedule me double the rest of the month to make up for it."
"Why the fuck would I do that? You already said s-s-sorry, I'm not gonna punish you for it like some tyr-" The sentence came to a screeching halt as Clover's head tilted to peek into the sweet-smelling bag he'd tossed at her, Cyrus's eyes narrowing in on the exposed skin of her shoulder. "The fuck is that?!"
Embarrassment flooded her all over again as she realized what had caught his attention, Clover foolishly forgetting to put back on her sweatshirt after her show and tell despite the winter chill that crept in from the window. Her fingers were painfully cold against the warmth of her flush as Clover quickly clapped her hand over the bruises that dotted her throat and shot Cyrus a look that couldn't have screamed "Shut up" any louder if she'd said it herself; Which might have been a far easier thing for her cotton-filled mouth to say over the grumble that came out instead.
"That's none of your business."
"You look like you got into a fight with a noose and lost!"
"Now that's a little dramatic," Her nails bit into her skin as she struggled through yet another awkward conversation about her more private preferences, digging in so hard it broke through the lump in her throat before the silence let Cyrus overreact any further. "I'm not hurt, it- It was entirely voluntary, I promise. Now drop it."
Cyrus blinked, slow and thoughtful as he looked from where Angel had taken to smothering his wheezing laughter with one of her pillows to where Lollie was listening with rapt attention, her hands tucked under her chin and the curled ends of her hair swinging against her cheeks with every turn of her head.
"...Are you tellin' me the Radio Demon did that?" He finally said, his tongue darting in and out of his mouth like he'd tasted the words and decided he didn't like them.
"I'm not telling you shit."
"I never expected him to be s-s-so-" He hissed for far longer than usual, drawing out the word as he stared into the empty space between them before a shudder shook him out of it. Fangs bit into his lip as they were bared, Cyrus grimacing as he spat out his next choice words. "Vulgar, about that kind of thing."
A pillow landed in Clover's lap as Angel leaned up onto his elbows, and for once in Clover's life, she was utterly thankful for his habit of oversharing.
"You have no room to talk Scales, just cause you can't see nothin' you left behind under all the fur didn't mean you didn't mark the shit out of me."
Lollie's jaw dropped with an audible, wet "smack" as all three heads turned expectantly to the man who now stood frozen on her carpet, his cigarette drooping between his lips as Cyrus's face fell slack when the tables suddenly turned. As Clover watched every stage of grief cross his normally cool features she noticed, much to her vindication, that a steadily deepening shade of green was spouting from the frills around his ears and spreading down his neck. The silence grew heavier with every passing second, Cyrus changing color so quickly that Clover began to wonder if her first guess at what kind of lizard he was had been wrong, and then he broke it. Cyrus gave a wobbly interpretation of a cough to clear his throat, allowing him to mumble a few final words to Clover before he turned on his heel to leave.
"I'll text you your schedule, just- Wear a turtleneck or s-s-somethin' when you come in."
"Whatever you say, boss."