Angel sat slumped over on the sofa, fiddling around on his cellphone as he and the others waited for Husk to come down. It was their first date tonight and Angel couldn't wait to see where the old cat was planning to take him. But, while Angel had been ready to go for almost an hour now, Husk was still up in his room getting ready. He figured whatever Husk had planned for that night would be simple. Given it was their first date, and he probably didn't want to do anything too expensive or flashy, Angel decided to wear one of his less-fancy outfits, something nice but also simple enough for, say, a night out drinking at a bar, or whatever. He had on a bedazzled crop top, red low-cut shorts, and his usual black thigh-high boots. He also carried a small fluffy pink purse that hung over his shoulder; it was just big enough to carry a few makeup items, some cash, and, of course, his phone.

Angel tried to be understanding, this was Husk's first real date in a really long time, after all. It's understandable that the old man might be nervous and was probably overthinking things. But as the clock turned to seven o'clock, Angel was starting to get impatient. "Ugh, what's taking him so long!?" Angel gripped, "Even I don't take this long to get ready for a date." Angel huffed and stood up and said, "That's it, this is officially getting ridiculous. I'm gonna go up and see what's taking the old fuck so long."

"Angel, calm down, I'm sure he's on his way down now." Charlie said, trying her best to get Angel to relax. Angel ignored her and headed straight to the elevator, punching the number five button and headed up to Husk's floor, arms crossed and foot tapping the floor as he let out a soft growl and a sharp huff.

"Ugh, so much for patience." Vaggie groaned as Angel vanished from sight, "For what it's worth, I didn't think it'd take Husk this long to get ready, either. I mean, the guy's got maybe three outfits to his name. What's he doing up there?" Charlie let out a deep sigh and shrugged as she walked back to the sofa and flopped down next to Vaggie, saying, "Who knows? But, it must be for a good reason, right?" "What's for a good reason?" a deep voice rumbled. Charlie and Vaggie turned and saw Husk standing at the bottom of the staircase; their jaws dropped at the sight of him.

Husk was dressed in a very dapper-looking suit colored a shade of navy blue so dark it almost looked black, with bright golden orange cuffs around his wrists and on the edges of the lapels; a simple white dress shirt with small round black buttons was worn underneath. Shiny black heart-shaped buttons adorned the cuffs and the buttons on the jacket were the same size and shape, except they were the color of aged gold instead of black to help them stand out against the super-dark blue fabric. He had on a dark brown belt instead of his usual black suspenders; it had a heart-shaped buckle that matched the buttons on his suit jacket. His pants were the same color as his jacket with two thin strips of golden orange running up the sides of the legs. He also wore a small black bowler hat that sat neatly between his ears. The last piece of the ensemble was a bowtie around his neck. It looked similar to his usual bowtie, only instead of red it was dyed the same lovely golden orange as his cuffs.

Husk's outfit wasn't the only thing that was different; his fur looked like it been thoroughly brushed out and given a bit of a trim, especially around his cheeks. His wings had clearly been preened, and the girls noticed the slightest hint of the scent of cologne as Husk got closer. It wasn't cheap cologne, either; it had a somewhat earthy smell to it, but it was quite pleasant and surprisingly subtle, only becoming obvious once Husk was leaning against the arm of the sofa.

"So… how do I look?" Husk asked, "Be honest, is it too much?"

"Whoa, Husk," Vaggie chuckled, "You look," "Amazing!" Charlie squeaked, "Uh… yeah. No kidding. You clean up nice; really nice." Vaggie agreed, "Where'd you get the suit, anyway?" Husk chuckled and said, "Let's just say it was a gift from an old friend. Hope Angel likes it. I, uh… might have gone a bit overboard."

"No way," Charlie gasped, "You look awesome!" Husk gave a grateful smile, only for it to disappear a few seconds later as he gave a heavy sigh and said, "I really want this to go well. I haven't gone out with anyone in nearly twenty years. Honestly, I just want Angel to have a good time."

"You're being way too hard on yourself, Husk." Charlie assured him. "Yeah. I'm sure you two will have fun," Vaggie agreed, "Just, let loose and be yourself. You know, all that life advice shit you're always giving us." "He-he, yeah," Husk chuckled, "Well, you know how it is with giving sound advice versus actually following it. Easy to say, not so easy to do."

Vaggie gave Husk an empathetic smile, placing her hand on his shoulder and said, "Mind if I give you a little advice?" Husk nodded, his ears perking forward to listen as Vaggie said, "Don't think so much. I get it, you want this date to be perfect. But, if Angel really does like you like he says he does, than it won't matter. He'll take you for who you are, flaws and all." Husk smiled and nodded, perking up a little and saying, "You're right. Angel's in this for me… for us. At least… I sure hope so."

"Unbelievable! Un-fucking-believable!" Angel's voice echoed; the others looked up to see Angel stomping over as he exited the elevator, "The dumb bastard isn't even in his room! Did he get cold feet? Like, what the fuck!? Where did he fuh-uh," Angel cut himself off as he spotted Husk. Angel's eyes widened and his cheeks took on a bit of color as he scanned Husk up and down, possibly because this was the first time he'd seen Husk wearing a real outfit.

"Oh shit," Angel thought, "No wonder it took so damn long… he went all out for this, didn't he?" Angel's face warped into a mischievous grin as he continued thinking, "Wonder what whiskers has planned to get dressed up this fancy?" "Husk, y-you look… me-yow!" Angel said with a playful smirk and a purr. "Uh… yeah," Husk chuckled, rubbing his neck nervously, "You, too. Uh… you think maybe I'm a bit overdressed?"

"Shit, are you kidding?" Angel chuckled, "If anything I'm underdressed. Think maybe I ought to change my top at least? I got a nice blouse that'd go great with your outfit." Husk let out a thoughtful hum and said, "I don't know. I kind of like this look," Husk's cheeks became flushed as he cleared his throat and said, "But, it might be a bit cold at the restaurant. Maybe you should grab a sweater or something at least?"

Angel smiled and nodded, turning and walking off towards the elevator and said, "Be back in a jiff." Husk let out a soft, doting sigh as Angel disappeared into the elevator. "Aw," Charlie gushed. Husk's ears twitched as he turned to the girls and said, "What?"

"Oh, nothing… nothing," Vaggie said with a smile; Charlie covered her smiling mouth to muffle a chuckle, groaning softly as Vaggie nudged her with her elbow and hushed her, "It's… it's nothing, Husk." Husk arched a brow curiously as he thought it over a second, only to let out an unamused groan a few moments later, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. The older man's slight irritation only made the girls giggle more, prompting him to cross his arms and wrap his tail around his ankles to keep it from swishing in aggravation.

Husk did his best to keep his ears perked up, in part to listen for the elevator or Angel's footsteps coming down the stairs, but also because he didn't want to hear Charlie and Vaggie giggling at him anymore and didn't want to give them an excuse to continue. After everything he'd suffered over the last few decades, especially after having to make his deal with Alastor, he had to save what little dignity he had left. "Just let 'em laugh," Husk thought bitterly as he plopped into the armchair next to the sofa, "You know they wouldn't be laughing if… if they knew."

A few minutes later, he heard the elevator ding and saw Angel trotting over with a cute pink and white sweater tied around his neck. He was checking his makeup, touching up his lip gloss as he walked towards the group. Husk did his best to push back the blush that threatened to come onto his cheeks, ignoring the girls' laughter as he stood up, walked up to Angel and said, "So… shall we?"

"Well, that depends," Angel teased as he put his mirror and lip gloss in his purse, "Where we going tonight?" Husk sighed, rolling his eyes as he grabbed Angel's lower left hand and started leading him to the front door, "It's… a surprise, okay?" Husk's ears pinned back and his fur bristled a bit in embarrassment as Charlie and Vaggie let out another barely muffled giggle fit, "Can we just go already? Please?"

"Uh," Angel hummed as he looked down at Husk's hand holding his. Angel noticed Husk's ears flinch as Charlie let out another gleeful squeak. Vaggie, who was doing her best to keep her overly giddy girlfriend quiet, muttering "Shh, Charlie, stop." Angel gave Husk's hand a gentle squeeze as he noticed Husk's flustered state. "Yeah… sure," Angel said softly, "Lead the way, Husk."

Husk didn't need to be told twice as he led Angel to the front door of the hotel, opening it for Angel and hurrying them both out before quickly shutting it tight behind him. "Damn, Husky," Angel chuckled, "Where's the fire?" Husk sighed as he and Angel walked towards the gates.

"I don't like being laughed at, okay? I get enough of that shit from my boss on an almost daily fucking basis," Husk let out a grunt as he opened the gate for Angel, saying, "I don't need it from the people who claim to be my friends."

"They weren't laughing at you, Husk," Angel scoffed, "They're just happy for us. Sometimes people… laugh when they're happy." "I know that!" Husk barked, quickly shrinking back before saying, "Guess it's just… been a long time since I knew what that was like. What that… felt like."

Angel's expression softened as he reached down and placed his top left hand on Husk's shoulder and took the Husk's hands in his second set. Husk's mouth turned up into a small smile as his cheeks took on a little bit of color, squeezing Angel's hands in appreciation as the two took a moment to just be still together and enjoy the quiet.

"So," Angel said, finally breaking the silence, "Where are you taking me tonight?" Husk let out a happy chuckle, wrapping an arm around Angel's waist as he started leading them down the sidewalk. "Like I said, legs; it's a surprise. But… I think you'll like it."