Part Two: Soft Kitty and Apricot Jam

The sun shined bright through the windows of the hotel. Charlie had made enough pancakes to feed an army. Most people were eating it in the hotel's lobby. But Husk had taken the pancakes and gone back to his room. Angel had made up an excuse about how husk didn't get any syrup so he was going to bring it up to him. He wasn't sure if anyone bought it, but whatever.

". . . Hey, Husk?" Angel knocked on the door, unsure of himself, "Can I come in."

The room had a bright window by the bed, which was messy. His black blankets and bed sheets bundled together and falling off the side. Husk said he just liked the color, but Angel suspected that he chose that color so the amount he shed wasn't as obvious. Husk sat crossed legged on the side of the bed closest to the door, a plate of pancakes on the bed in front of him.

"Yeah." He heard Husk's muffled voice, so with a deep breath he opened the door.

"Hi so- oh my god." Angel laughed.

"What?" Husk asked, mouth full of pancake, face covered in crumbs.

"You've got-" Angel wheezed, pointing to his own face, "You've got a little something on your- Hahaha!" He doubled over laughing.

Husk touched his own face, and blushed a bit. He wiped his arm across his face, "Shut up! I didn't expect you to come barging in here." He sighed, "I'll never get used to having so much fluff on my face."

Angel groaned, "Don't I know it. I remember the first time I tried Takis from Hell. I dropped some and the dust dyed my chest fluff orange for weeks!" He fluffed his chest for emphasis.

Husk laughed, "Alright, Legs, what did ya need?"

"Do I have to need something to visit my favorite pussycat?" Angel walked over and sat on the bed.

"You're hiding something behind your back with your lower left arm." Husk nodded towards it.

"Perceptive~ Here, you forgot to grab some in your rush." Angel revealed the maple syrup bottle.

"Oh, uh, actually, I prefer it dry." Husk said awkwardly.

Angel gave a long exaggerated gasp, "PANCAKES?! DRY?! How dare you, sir! Blasphemy! Blasphemy, I say!" He shook his fists in the air, one holding up the middle finger.

Husk laughed, "Well, if I had my way, I'd eat it with apricot jam, but that's not something a lot of people keep stocked in their pantry. But dry is better than that sugar headache."

"Really? You're missing out man. Maple syrup is the most popular pancake topping for a reason." Angel said, putting the bottle on the floor by the bed,

"Listen, uh, I'm sorry about last night." Angel twiddled two of his thumbs and rubbed the back of his neck, "My teasing went too far. And I didn't know the thing about cat's noses."

Husk's hand reflexively went up to his face, "What thing about cat's noses?"

"The thing, you know," Angel pulled up the website he'd been looking at.

Husk took the phone from him and started reading out loud, "No matter how hairy the pussy is, the cli-"

"NO! NO! NO!" Angel stood up and snatched the phone from him, "Not that!"

He laughed, blushing, pulled up the other website he'd been reading, and began rambling, "I meant to show you this. It talks about how cats' noses are extremely sensitive, so don't go running up to cats you don't know and booping their noses. And how cats boop the people they love and trust with their noses, as a sign of affection and all that . . ." He trailed off

". . . You do realize I'm not an actual cat, right? I'll show affection how I damn well please." Husk said, tossing the phone on the bed.

Angel blushed harder, sitting back down, "I know that, but I figured the nose being sensitive thing was probably true given last night, and-" he cut himself off, looking away and sighed, "Sorry."

Husk leaned back, "Nah, you're all good. And you're right, my nose is a little sensitive. But, uh, …" husk mumbled something after that.

"What?" Angel tipped his head.

"It's nothing." Husk curled his legs to his chest.

"Oh, come on, tell me!" Angel pushed him, playfully.

"You just caught me off guard, last night, that's all. It's not that I'd mind-" Husk cut himself off. He said too much.

Angel grinned; a wide mischievous grin, "Oh, I see~ Does kitty want some nose touches."

Husk had tucked his face behind his knees and wrapped his wings around himself, "Shut up! Keep your pink hands away from me!"

"Awe!" Angel said through chuckles, and began to gently move his wings away, "You don't need to be shy, Mr. Mittens~ It's alright, I promise I'll be gentle this time~"

" . . . ya promise?" Husk peeked over his knees.

"Oh!" Angel said, pulling his hands away, realizing he was being serious, "uh, yeah? H-here."

He put up his pointer finger in front of Husk's face, "You just, come to me. . . And yes I heard it, too."

Husk snickered, closed his eyes, and slowly touched his nose to Angel's finger. After a moment, he began rubbing his cheeks against Angel's fingers, scratching the sides of his face. Angel sat, surprised at how enthralled Husk seemed to be at this moment. He tried opening his hand. Husk leaned his forehead into it, and let Angel scritch the top of his head. Husk slowly opened his eyes and looked almost surprised that Angel was there.

"Shit." He said, pulling away and scooting to the top of the bed.

"No, no, no, it's fine! I get it. Sometimes I get all spidery, too, like uh . . ." He tried to think of a specific example, "Oh! One time a fly flew into my mouth, and uh . . ." He leaned in and whispered, "I liked it."

Husk went from looking embarrassed to a mix of horrified and amused. He snickered, ". . . That's fucking gross, man."

"I know!" Angel laughed, and Husk started laughing too, relaxing his muscles.

"Thanks, uh, for not making it weird." Husk said.

"Ey, no worries. You want me to-" Angel started lifting his hand.

"No, no, I'm good for now. But uh," Husk swung his legs off the bed and blushed, glancing at him, "I know where to go if I ever need to, uh . . . you know." He motioned to his head.

"Let the cat out?" Angel snickered and stood, picking the syrup off the floor, "Yeah. Well, anyways, I'm going to go back for seconds. I'll see ya later, kay?" a pair of arms gave finger guns as he opened the door.

"Haha! Yeah, see ya." Husk waved.

With that, Angel left the room, leaving Husk to put his face in his hands, smiling. He was mortified, a little happy, and completely flushed.

— — —

"Pfft-! Hahahaha!" Husk doubled over in laughter, "Holy shit! Hahahaha!"

He and Angel were in the lobby of the hotel, sitting on opposite red couches, both with drinks in their hands. They were alone enjoying some peace and quiet together. Sir Pentious was going to a parent teacher conference for his egg minions. Vaggie and Charlie were off putting up posters for the hotel or something. Alastor had said something about doing a comedy hour on his radio show, which they were pretty sure we're just bad puns. And Niffty? Well, they hadn't seen her in hours. But there were no screams for help from inside the walls yet, so she hadn't gotten herself stuck in there again while chasing bugs . . .probably.

Husk kept laughing at his phone, unable to control himself.

Angel chuckled a little, confused, "What is it? What's so funny?"

"You talking about googling cat facts made me wonder about spider facts and- Hahahaha!" He laughed, hand on his forehead.

"What is it?! Tell me!" Angel pushed his shoulder, smiling.

"It- It says-" Husk caught his breathe, "It says, and I quote, 'some male spiders just want to get eaten.'" He began laughing again.

Angel tried to hold back from laughing, but it didn't work. "Pfft . . . Hahaha! I mean, it's accurate!"

"Bet that's changed a lot now, hasn't it?" Husk laughed.

Angel slowly stopped laughing, waiting for the punch line, "Whaddya mean?"

"Oh- uh. . ." Husk fumbled for words, and rubbed the back of his neck, "I just meant with . . . with your job and all, you must- I'm sorry. Forget I said anything."

Angel smiled, "What, I must hate sex now? Sorry to break it to ya, kitty, but no one can keep this tiger down for long."

"You don't have to act all tough, you know. You've come back here crying enough times that you can't tell me you don't hate your job." Husk pointed out.

"I'm not and I do, but I've always had high libido. That's part of why I was willing to accept the job in the first place. Trust me, if I was as sex-repulsed asMr. Horned-but-not-so-horny Buck face, I would never have signed that dotted line, no matter the drugs." He paused to take a swig of his drink, " . . . So yeah, I'm not exactly against the idea of having a relationshi- relations outside of work."

Husk's ears twitched. Did he hear that right? That must have been a word flub. But relations was an oddly specific, coy term for sex. And he had never known Angel to be coy.

". . . I see. Good to know. N-not that I needed to know, obviously."

"Right, yeah. Of course, not." Angel replied.

A moment of awkward silence passed between them. And they both looked away, trying to seem preoccupied with the drinks in their hands.

Suddenly, the front doors of the Hotel swung open and Charlie ran in, "Would you guys just fuck alread-!"

Vaggie quickly clasped her hand over Charlie's mouth. She had to stand on her tiptoes to reach, but she was able to shut her up, "Hey, we're back. We'll be in the kitchen if you guys need anything." She began dragging Charlie along like a ragdoll. Charlie struggled for a minute but eventually just crossed her arms and let her legs trail across the floor.

" . . . Riiiiight, see ya." Angel said, then turned to Husk, "What the fuck was that about?"

Husk looked away from him and replied, "Who knows? The princess is always getting crazy ideas in her head."

Angel looked down and chuckled as he tried to tuck some hair behind his ear out of habit, "Haha . . . Yeah. Oh! I almost forgot! I got something for you!"

"Huh?" Husk looked over to see Angel putting down his drink and rooting around in his chest fluff.

"Ah-ha! Here it is!" He pulled out a small glass jar, looking very proud of himself, "Your very own apricot jam!"

Husk put his own drink down and stood up, approaching the jar with a thoughtful look.

". . . What are ya doin?" Angel asked.

"Inspecting it." Husk took the jar from him and turned it over in his hand.

"For what? It ain't poisoned." Angel put up a hand, exasperated.

"Hmm . . ." Husk popped open the lid and scooped some with his claw.

"We have spoons, literally down the hall." Angel objected.

Husk tasted the jam on his finger and after a moment said, "Not as good as Mom's, but . . . it'll do." Husk grinned and ruffled Angel's hair, enjoying this rare chance to be taller than him, "Thanks, kid."

Angel looked a little annoyed and pouted, crossing his arms and looking down, "I'm not a kid, ya know."

Husk was surprised, was he . . . acting coy? Now, why the hell would he do that? He sat down next to him leaning on one hand, "I know. I just like teasing you, is all." He tried to casually turn the apricot jam in his other hand.

Angel glanced down at Husk's hand on the couch, then turned away and casually put one of his hands on the couch to lean on, putting it less than an inch away from Husk's, " . . . Oh, yeah? And why's that?"

"Hmm, I don't know." Husk shifted his weight on his hand so now their fingertips were touching, "Guess I find you . . . particularly amusing."

Angel turned to look at him, "Now, why would someone like you find someone like me so amusing?" He interlocked their fingers.

Husk blushed, and rubbed Angel's thumb with his, "I don't know, I guess I just like-" He cut himself off as he turned to find Angel's face startlingly close to his.

"Yeah? What is it you like?" Angel said, glancing at his mouth.

Husk swallowed dryly, then smiled, "I guess, I just like 'em stupid."

Angel giggled, "Well, then," he put a hand on Husk's cheek, "I'm glad that I'm stupid."

They both leaned in and kissed each other, soft and slow. Angel's other arms wrapped around Husk's waist. Husk kept one of his hands holding Angel's, resting on the couch, but the other he placed on Angel's upper back and pulled him closer.

"HEEEEEELLLLLPPP!" a muffled scream came from inside one of the walls, and they both pulled back suddenly, looking around startled.

"Help! I'm stuck again!" The voice shouted again.

"Ugh, Niff . . ." Husk groaned, then shouted back, "Why you gotta ruin a good thing for me, huh?!"

Angel chuckled and stood up, offering Husk his hand, "Come on, let's go rescue your damsel in distress."

"Pfft, hehe. She's our damsel in distress now." Husk took his hand and stood up.

They started walking down the hall together, "What? Aren't you moving a little fast there, kitty? One little kiss don't mean I wanna keep ya." Angel teased.

"Don't think you gotta choice in the matter. You know what they say about strays. If you feed them once, they won't leave you alone." Husk replied.

And he never did.

Author's Note:

Thank you so much for reading Soft Spot! I wanted to add a little thing here saying that later, when asked who made the first move, they both said I did simultaneously. . . They never resolved who really was the first and would occasionally bring it up to mess with each other for the rest of their afterlives :)

Please leave a comment with who you think made the first move.

If you want more HuskerDust stuff, I have another one-shot posted and potentially more fanfics on the way. I also have a Helluva Boss Stolitz fanfic that is 27+ chapters long, so if you want, you can check that out too. And I may have more Hazbin stuff in the works so maybe subscribe or follow or whatever. You know, if you want.

I also have a Tumblr where I post Hazbin Hotel theories, jokes, headcanons, and more!

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Please have a good day, good week, and generally good life. Hope to see you again on one of my other projects. Bye-bye!