"Alright, so now we add the strawberry flavoring and the vanilla extract," Angel said, carefully adding the ingredients to the mixing bowl, "There we go. Go for it, Husky." Husk nodded and smiled as he activated his magic, his eyes glowing a lovely golden color as he levitated both the bowl and the whisk and mixing everything thoroughly into a thick, light pink concoction. Angel smiled as he reached up and caught the bowl as Husk brought it down with a sigh. "Ooh… looks tasty. I've never made icing from scratch before."
"Oh yeah," Husk chuckled, dipping the tip of his pinky into the mix and taking a taste, "Mm-hmm… perfect. Hey, Tony, get this into an icing bag for us, would ya? I've gotta go take care of, uh… something… really fast. Give us both a chance to get off our feet for a while." Husk said pointing up at Angel. A tall Imp trotted over, taking the bowl from Angel and gave a nod, saying, "Sure thing, boss. It'll be ready by the time you get back."
"Thanks, Tony." Husk said, patting the imp on the back as he dashed away. "So now will you let me take a picture?" Angel asked, pulling out his phone and pointing towards Husk's hot pink 'Kiss the Cook' apron. Husk sighed, rolling his eyes and said, "Alright, make it quick." Angel let out an excited squeak stooping down and wrapping an arm around Husk's shoulders; Husk flashed a smile as Angel snapped a couple of selfies before letting him go and standing up. "Ooh… so cute."
"Don't get used to it." Husk said, pulling off his apron and hanging it up on a nearby rack, "Come on, Angel. We should be back by the time the cake's done cooling." Husk gave a wave as he and Angel trotted out of the kitchen. "Well, Husk, I gotta admit, this is really fun." Angel chuckled, "I just wish I'd gotten to sample that icing before you had it put into a piping bag." "Oh, don't worry, you'll get your chance. Remember, we made two whole big batches of icing. The first was for the body of the cake; the one we just made will be for decorating. I'm just glad Sugar Cube was able to get the pudding done and set up in the fridge last night so we'd have it ready for today."
"Trying to give my niece diabetes, Husker?" a voice scoffed, "Why am I not surprised?" Husk felt his fur bristle as he looked to see Karol leaning against the wall, looking at him with a smug smile. "What the fuck are you doing here, Karol?" Husk growled, "You've got a lot of balls showing your face around here after what you did to my apprentice." "Interesting choice of words, Husker," Karol laughed, "Considering 'she' still has hers."
"Shut your damn mouth!" Husk snapped, "Now, shall I call Gate and the boys to show you to the door, or can you find your own way out?" "Oh, come on, Husker," Karol snickered, "Be reasonable. I understand that your… business often requires you to deal with some very unsavory people. But the fact that my sweet little niece had to be exposed to them for so many years… it's clearly screwed her up. Do you really want your grandchild to turn out the same way? All these felons and predators lurking about… even among your own staff. Maybe you'd be able to live with that, but I can't."
"You're still talking about Sugar Cube, aren't you?" Husk hissed, "If you think that saint of a succubus is a predator, you are legitimately insane. Sug's been like a big sister to Hazel ever since they met. The girl is family to us; hell she's even called me 'dad' a time or two." "Makes sense… I guess. You have known 'her' ever since she was a he. You helped make her the 'woman' she is today, right?" Karol said in a cheeky tone. "Wait, Sugar's trans?" Angel asked. "No way. Damn, whoever did her boob job must be a fucking magician."
"Nope, they're real. After almost sixteen years on HRT, hehehe… trust me, everything you see is one hundred percent organic." Husk snickered, "She just hasn't had the… you know… the big tuck yet. And she doesn't want it. Not anytime soon, anyway." Angel let out a hum, pondering for a moment and said, "But, she doesn't have a… what does she do with her," "She tucks. No joke, the girl carries a roll of tuck tape with her pretty much everywhere she goes." Husk explained. "Oh, I get it." Angel nodded, "Eh, it's whatever."
"How can you say that?" Karol scoffed, disgusted, "How can you call yourself a woman when you have a… she doesn't get… I mean she… I… well, it's not she can't get pregnant." "Neither could my great-auntie Mae, and she was born female." Husk said, crossing his arms, "Sugar Cube might've been born a boy, but she's grown into a strong, beautiful woman in every sense of the word. You're just bitter that people actually enjoy being around her, and that people actually find her attractive, despite being a 'fake woman,' whatever the fuck that's supposed to mean."
"It means she's crazy jealous." Angel snickered, "Look, lady, just say whatever the fuck it is you wanna say and leave. We've got some important shit to do, so just… spit it out already." Karol growled, curling her hands into fists as she gnashed her teeth and let out an angry hiss.
"I want you to talk to my niece," Karol huffed, "She has nothing but the utmost disdain for me. Me! Her only family! I have a right to be in her life and to decide what happens to my late brother's grandchild." Husk sputtered and exploded into laughter, clutching his stomach and pressing his knees together as he tried to catch his breath. "Oh… oh my… Jesus Christ, hahaha!" Husk gasped, "You… you seriously believe… you have any right to anything? Are you… are you mental!?"
Karol just stood there in shock as the old sinner struggled to calm down, sighing as he took deep breaths and let them out slowly as he finally managed to catch his breath and said, "Karol… look… I'm gonna be completely blunt with you. You don't have a leg to stand on here. Alright? You might have something of a point if you had actually been the one to raise Hazel after her folks died. But, you didn't. You quite literally said that she was my burden… my burden. A burden, that's seriously how you see your late brother's only daughter; your own flesh and blood!"
Karol took a step back as Husk's face went from looking amused to furious; his eyes took on a red tint and his wings flared in anger. "So, no; you have no rights, no say in anything. No say in what I do regarding my staff; no say in what Hazel does for herself or her own child… whatsoever. And if you don't like it, tough shit!"
Karol jumped as Husk jammed a finger in her face and said with a hiss, "Now, you listen here, bitch… go away, and stay away. And if you continue to harass me and my family, I'm gonna get Esther and the other Loan Sharks involved. And trust me, it will not end well for you. Are we clear?" Karol nodded nervously, much to Husk's relief; the spider demon let out a sigh of relief as Husk said, "Good. Now get the fuck out of my house. And don't let me ever catch you back here again."
Karol huffed, turning to walk away and took one step before she turned on her heel, punching Husk hard in the lower gut. Husk gagged as Karol lifted her knee and hit him between his legs, sending him collapsing to the floor with a high-pitched, broken whimper. Karol let out a pained grunt as Angel stepped up and punched her hard, kicking her away and sending her flying several feet away where she crashed hard onto the tile floor.
The woman let out an angry shriek as she got up, screaming at Angel, "How… dare you!? How dare you hit a lady!?" "Shut up, bitch!" Angel spat, "You are a lot of things, but a lady ain't one of 'em. Besides, what you've got between your legs doesn't mean shit around here. You wanna throw blows, low blows, don't act shocked when someone actually swings back." Karol gasped as Angel stomped over and loomed over her, all six eyes glowing angrily as he stared daggers into her and let out a furious hiss. "Get out of my sight. Now, bitch… before I show you what a real punch feels like." Karol raised her hand to say something, jumping back as Angel cut her off with a raised hand of his own and snapped, "Scram!"
Karol growled, slamming her fist on the floor before getting onto her feet and scampered off. Angel ran back to Husk's side, finding the man in a ball of pain. "Husk, are you okay, bud?" Angel asked softly, "Speak to me, Husk. Come on, say something." As he went to help Husk to his feet, he caught a whiff of something pungent, the smell nearly knocking Angel back as he shielded his nose, "Yikes! What is that smell!? It smells like cat… ooh. Oh… fuck." Angel looked down as Husk managed to turn his head and look at him; the man's face was burning bright red with embarrassment as tears flooded down his blushing cheeks, "Oh boy. Uh… alright, come on, Husk. I'll help you get cleaned up."
Husk let out a flustered cry, not wanting to move. Angel just let out a sigh, kneeling next to Husk and gently rubbing his back to try to soothe him a little while he waited for Husk to gather the strength to get up. It took a few minutes, but eventually Husk reached out his hand for Angel to take and the spider demon carefully took Husk's hand and forearm and gently helped him to get up off the floor and onto his feet.
Angel gagged and shielded his nose as the smell from earlier became much more obvious; he looked down and saw a large stain on the front of Husk's pants. Angel shook his head and steeled his nerves before reaching up and removing his jacket, tying it around Husk's waist to cover him up and resting his middle hands on Husk's shoulders. Husk's eyes widened in surprise as Angel smiled at him and gave his shoulders a reassuring squeeze, offering him a hand as they started towards the elevators.