Chapter 4: The Look on Their Faces
Trigger Warning: A pornstar talking about making porn. Mentions of dismemberment.
Spoiler warning: Major spoilers for Hazbin Hotel Season 1 Finale episode
Cover art, idea, and $request$ by precisespace on Tumblr
Written by ViktheViking
For details on how you could request a story, click the link in my Tumblr bio viktheviking1
Valentino and Vox won the first round, that much had been obvious. They had also won the second round, and as the third round began, and Husk's palms started to sweat. He had forgotten the thrill of the risk, the pressure, the excitement of the reward teetering on the edge, just out of reach.
It was while Alastor was passing out the third round of cards, that one of Husk's ears twitched. He looked up in the direction of the high pitch mechanical sound, and saw a small security camera turning its glass eye towards Alastor; more specifically, towards Alastor's hands.
He stood up, pointing, and shouted, "Vox is looking at the hidden card as you pull it up!"
"Hmm?" Alastor turned in his chair and saw the camera, "So he is."
"Nothing in the deal says it's illegal." The mothman grinned.
"Yeah, great. Just straight up admit to it. Thanks Val." Vox rolled his eyes.
"What, so you expect me to just pretend I didn't notice you obviously cheating?!" Husk slammed his hands on the table.
"You're the one who came here looking for a fight." Val shrugged with all his arms, grinning wickedly.
"Yeah, a fair one." Husk leaned over the table towards them.
Vox leaned in as well, casually with one arm on the table, "It's not our fault we have home field advantage."
"Alastor, are you really going to let him-?" Husk began.
"Let me?!" Vox shouted before lowering his voice to a quiet threat, "Listen hear, fur ball, there is nothing Alastor or you can-"
Glass shattered, and everyone looked up to see the security camera crushed by a black tendril from beneath Alastor. Without looking, He smashed the other two cameras in the room as well.
"Aaarrggh!" Vox screamed, hands reflexively going to his face, "You dick! My eyes were in there!"
"In there? Did that hurt?" Husk asked, not out of pity, but curiosity.
Vox groaned, "Technically no, but how do you like objects flying at your eyes?"
Husk thought for a moment, "Fair point."
"Well done, Husk for figuring out Vox's strategy. I'm surprised you caught on so quickly." Alastor patted Husk's head, who growled, then he continued, "Now, can we move on with the game? I have other things to do today."
He picked the cards off the table and began reshuffling, when Vox interjected, "Hey!"
"A dirty cheater doesn't get to complain when he's caught, Vox. You know that. You should feel lucky I'm not resetting the scores."
"You're not?!" Husk looked surprised.
"Naturally, he still gets credit for the rounds that you didn't catch him." Alastor began laying out the new cards, "So the points will remain 2 to nil."
Val interjected, "They get credit for the rounds he didn't catch us. We're a team, remember? Or are you so old you forgot?"
Alastor rolled his eyes, still grinning, "Oh yes, because you're contributing so much."
Val stood, and flared his wings open. Vox patted them back down grumbling, "Such a drama queen."
"Hit or stand?" Alastor asked the two Vees, ignoring Val's temper tantrum.
The two looked at their cards for the first time, "a 3 and a 6, 9 total." Vox said to his partner, "Alastor has a 4 and a mystery card."
"Hmmm." Val tapped his chin.
Husk let his face fall on the table. He thought that watching the hotel's residents all day was mind numbing, but these guys were so, so much more stupid. If it weren't for Velvette and their hell-given gifts of hypnosis, they'd be street rats living off of the crumbs the overlords left behind, just like the rest of 'em. But he knew from his days both as a gambler and an overlord, that all it took was good connections and luck. And these egocentric frat boys had won the jackpot on both.
While he was stewing on this, he looked up just in time to see the swift motion of Vox's arm in the corner of his eye, but didn't see exactly what happened.
"Hit." Val announced, and received an Ace.
". . . Stand." Husk said, brow furrowed.
"Stand." Vox decided for them both.
Alastor revealed his other card, which was a queen.
"Shit!" Husk thought to himself. Had Vox somehow added that Ace to the deck? Did he have cards that looked exactly like Alastor's custom deck? He could say something, but what if he was wrong? Alastor had congratulated him for being right, but there was no doubt his reaction would be severe if Husk made a wrong accusation. He began to sweat; he'd have to wait and see if it happened again.
He had been trying to play carefully, not taking too big of risks, as this was Angel's fate in his hands, but now they had 3 out of 5 wins and he still had nothing, and if Vox really did have duplicate cards, then next round would be another easy win. He tried to hide his emotions, but he could feel his poker face slipping. He gripped his hands together under the table until his knuckles turned white, and tried to calm his breathing.
That's when a slam came from the door behind him. "Here we go again." He thought, turning around expecting to see Velvette. Instead, he saw the spider demon he was doing all this for. Tall, disheveled, topless and breathing heavily from running, Angel Dust locked eyes with him, and glared.
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"You!" Angel pointed a sharp acrylic nail at Husk, who's fur bristled as he marched over to him.
He pinched his neck scruff with his ungloved hands, lifting him up out of the chair, "What do you think you're doing here?!"
Angel glanced at the gambling table and saw the cards strewn about. Then noted everyone at the table, seeming to realize he was in a room with 3 overlords that could kill him instantly, but he didn't really give a damn.
"I-" Husk started.
Angel turned to face Alastor, "Did you set him up to this?!"
Alastor gave a wry grin, "No, I just followed him here, same as you."
"Same as-" Husk looked back and forth between them, "What the fuck is going on here?!"
"That's what I'm asking you!" Angel shouted in his face, before turning back to the others, "I'm taking him."
"No, you won't." Val exhaled a puff of smoke, and summoned Angel's chain. Luckily, it wasn't on the arm he was holding Husk with, else he might have dropped him. The smoke continued to crawl towards Angel, in its effort to lull his senses, but Angel puffed up his cheeks with air and held his breath, giving Val the finger.
"Now, now, no need to behave like ruffians." Alastor said, taking the cards no longer in play and placing them in the discard pile, "I think it might do us some good to take a break. Be back in 10 minutes Husk, or I'll cut off your gonads again."
"R-right." Husk said, still hanging limply from Angel's grasp.
Valentino held stubbornly for a moment, then sighed, "Fine, but be back in 10. I can't afford to lose your testicles, but I sure as hell will hang you by them."
The moment Angel was free, he scooped up his cat, and ran to a bedroom off the side of the lounge area. Placing husk down on the California King bed, he locked the door behind him; an action he knew would buy them exactly 2 seconds, should the others try to get in.
"You have 3 minutes to tell me what's going on. I need the other 4 minutes to decide what the fuck I'm gonna do to you." Angel stood above him crossing all his arms.
"Didn't they say 10-"
"They won't be that patient and is this really the time to be correcting me on fucking math right now?!" Angel shouted, before looking at Husk's soft expression, and felt his energy leave him.
Husk patted the seat next to him and Angel sat, grabbing a big pillow with a lewd design of someone licking a peach. He hugged it tight and buried his face in it. There was a pause of quiet before Angel took a big breath and looked at Husk again, "Alright, tell me what happened."
". . . Well, let's say, hypothetically." Husk started, and watched Angel roll his eyes. He didn't interrupt though so he continued.
"Hypothetically, I came into possession of Sir Pentious's soul, and-"
"Penn's soul?! But he's dead-" Angel shouted.
"Dead to you, I know." Husk nodded towards the security camera, that was aimed right at the bed.
"Y-yeah, fucking bitch stole my Valenciaga shoes." Angel lied.
Husk smirked, "Why did he do that? It's not like he can wear them."
Angel sweated, "I don't know. Maybe not having them after he died, he's developed some kind of foot fetish?"
"Oh?" Husk stifled a laugh, "He's not just going to resell them?"
"Or that, I don't know!" He punched Husk in the arm, "Finish the hypothetical!"
"Okay, okay, so I got his soul, contract and all. And so . . . I thought I'd come here for a deal;" Husk watched Angel's face shift and corrected himself, "A trade, really."
He sighed, "I thought I could trade your soul for his."
"Annnd you told Alastor this plan and he just went along with it?" Angel asked.
"Yeah, something like that." Husk sighed, "Then, I got over confident in my skills as a gambler. And Vox is messing with the deck. Now I'm down 3 to nothing, and-" Husk put his head in his hands and sighed, "I'm sorry, Angel-"
"Well, you should be!" Husk looked up to see Angel standing in front of him, all his hands on his hips.
"This is my contract. This is my problem. It is my soul at stake. Going behind my back and making decisions for me; that doesn't make you a hero, that makes you just as bad as them!" He pointed at the door, where all the overlords sat in their high and mighty chairs, "You should know better! How'd you feel if I just went and got your contract for you?"
"Amazed and grateful." Husk thought to himself, but he was him, and Angel was Angel. Their situations were also fundamentally different as their contracts had different requirements and rules. Plus, Angel didn't know how much he was risking. If Angel put at risk everything he was risking for him, he'd do anything in his power to stop it. So, instead he simply stared at his feet and said, "Bad."
"Exactly! Not to mention all the fun I'm missing out on!" Angel exclaimed.
"Wait, what?" Husk looked up to see Angel grinning a devilish grin.
"Oh, man the look on their faces when I came through that door," he gave a crazed laugh, "Woohoo, baby! I could get used to that."
Husk sat back and chuckled in shock from the emotional whiplash.
"And just imagine how they'll look when I'm finally free of them! Oh, It'll be better than anything I could ever dream of! I'm pumped just thinking about it!" Angel pounded his fist into his palm and grinded them together, then redirected his attention to Husk, "And you would have denied me the satisfaction!"
"I'm, uh, sorry." Husk rubbed the back of his neck.
Angel thought for a minute, "I mean, you could always repay me~"
Husk gave him a look.
"I'm kidding! I'm kidding! Haha!" He laughed as he sat back down next to him and they chuckled together.
"There is something I'm curious about though. . ." Husk started.
"Ah, ah, ah! Be careful; curiosity killed the cat." Angel waggled his finger.
Husk rolled his eyes and batted his hand away, "I wanna know why you didn't come in with Alastor earlier? . . . And why aren't you wearing a shirt?"
Angel groaned and laid back on the bed, "Yeah, I got here first actually. I realized where you were headed and was hoping to catch ya before you even talked to anyone. But the moment someone on staff saw me, they told me they were doing a shoot and someone swapped a prop chainsaw with a real one, and well, they needed a new actor. Next thing, I know, I'm on set with some burley hellhound covered in a mix of real and fake blood with breath that smelled like a dirty sock. Anyway, I ran down here, hoping that-. . . What?" Angel realized that Husk had been staring at him.
Husk didn't know if the Vee's made any movies that weren't porn, but he knew that if they did, Angel didn't star in them. Meaning that Angel had just been on stage with a hellhound . . . making love. And though he highly doubted there was any actual love involved, it didn't change the fact that he was now in a bed with a nearly naked Angel Dust, disheveled from rough sex. He wondered how much of his tousled bed hair, glistening sweat, smudged makeup, and heavy breathing, had been from running, and how much was from having just been ravished.
"Nothing." Is all he said, looking away.
"Aaaaaanyway," With a quick swing of his legs, Angel was on his feet again, "we don't have a lot of time, so we focus on making a game plan for the next round."
"We?" Husk asked.
"Of course! We're a team now, aren't we? I need you just as much as you need me. Y'know why?"
Husk swallowed; he had no idea why, but he liked being needed.
"Because," Angel leaned over him, so close he could smell the strawberry shampoo he used, and whispered seductively, "I know all of their secrets 3"
Husk, backed up a little, hoping his fur would hide his blush, "Uh, Do you know if Vox has some copies of Alastor's custom deck; particularly the ace cards?"
Angel stood up straight, "That, I don't know. Is he adding those in?"
Husk explained, "I don't know for sure, but he's messing with the deck somehow. And the chances of them getting 2 in a row is odd but not impossible, so there isn't enough evidence to point it out-"
"Don't point it out." Angel said with confidence.
"Huh?" Husk looked up at him.
"Let them keep cheating. We can use it to our advantage. We're a team, right? Do you trust me?" Angel offered him his hand, like Husk had done for him when he felt like a loser.
Husk smiled, and took his hand, "Yeah, I do."
Author's Note:
Hello everyone! Vik here. Quick self-promotion before we get into the details of making this chapter.
Do you like SMUT? Do you like spicy scenes? Do you like Lemons๐? Do you like your favorite character going to your favorite ship, choking on that ******, ****** their ***** then lick all of their ****** before taking out their ******* until they're screaming like a fucking baby? (That last part was a Helluva Boss pilot reference) Then you'll like my side account only available on Ao3 (Archive of our own)! There are a couple of smut one-shots up there already, including 2 Angel Dust x Husk! These stories are not for minors to read. If you are a minor, please DO NOT go visit. Please respect this boundary I'm setting as it would make me feel uncomfortable. But if you're an adult and are feeling saucy, click the link!
/users/Basilisk_513/works
This chapter took so long because I was moving into a college dormitory and getting used to new schedules and studying for placement tests and all that jazz. My roommates are very nice, thank everything. I feel very lucky as I know I could've gotten some very passive aggressive and/or someone with sticky fingers. But they're very chill. I've made a few friends on campus and I was able to paint some of their nails for the first time which was very sweet.
I also had to redo the conversation between Husk and Angel once or twice because my editor helped me see that I was struggling to find the balance between Angel being angry and forgiving. I think I found a decent balance, though I still think it could've been better. Still, I think it's best I stop obsessing over making it perfect and just publish what I've got. There should only be 2, maybe 3 chapters left in this commission, so I hope you enjoy them as well!
Speaking of my dear editor, everyone needs to wish her a happy birthday! It was a couple weeks ago, she is officially ู ุง ูุง ููุงูุฉ years old. She has been helping me so much lately as my friend, confidant, and recently sponsored my healthcare. There is no one else in the world more deserving of affectionate internet comments from strangers than her.
It's sad that I can't just see her whenever I want anymore, and we have to edit my stories over the phone, and I've been missing her a lot. But she's taking care of my cat while I'm gone, and I can send her helluva and hazbin memes in the meantime. For those of you that didn't come here from reading my helluva Stolitz fanfic The Pompous and the Prick, you might not know how awesome she is, but just know that without her, none of this would be possible; as cheesy as that sounds.
Speaking of Pompous, new chapter very, very soon! I can't believe we're already at chapter 29 omg. The story is almost finally fucking done, and I can't believe I've managed to dedicate myself to writing something book length, even if it wasn't an original work. (Makes you wonder what else might be in the works after these are done? ๐) It's all thanks to the people who have insisted my writing is worth reading, even when I didn't feel like it was. So whether it's here or on another one of my stories, thank you for commenting and liking. Trust me when I say I read every single one, and save the screenshots!
(This paragraph includes spoilers for Full Moon episode of Helluva Boss) Speaking of the Helluva Boss fandom, HOLY FUCKING SHIT! The full moon episode? Halfway through the conversation, I though it was going to actually turn out okay, but these dumbass bitches can't read between the lines to save their life or relationship. These writers really want to draw this out, don't they? I mean, who could relate to that? (Not me sitting here with a 28 chapter fanfic that's on a hiatus lol)
And Apology Tour? (Again, spoilers) They were so fucking close! I understand that was a really important character building moment but WHYYYY?!
Wish me luck with my edu-ma-cation! And I wish you all luck with your ventures.
Oh and HAPPY LATE PRIDE! The best circle of hell. ๐