A/N:

Hi everyone! Happy Halloween! I hope you're all enjoying your weekend (and the new HB ep!), and I hope you'll like this update too ^w^ Alastor and Angel face the first day of their rest of their lives together, and some other demons face some challenges as well.

Partners

Chapter 36:

Don't Kiss and Tell

It was too damn early in hell - aka before noon. But Vox hadn't slept well last night - or at all really. And at one point he'd started to have a dream about a weird three-way with a certain deer and a certain moth, and after that brief mess he'd decided being awake was the way to go.

He headed around the corner to the nearest Pentabucks, walked inside, and went straight to the counter. "Coffee - black - with cinnamon and sugar. Now." His look was more dry than threatening but it did the trick to get him the quick service he required.

The slightly terrified barista nodded to him and another barista quickly got to work making the drink. Vox glanced into the glass display of baked goods. There was a chocolate chip muffin. He pointed to it. "And that. Also now." The first barista grabbed it and shoved it promptly into a paper bag.

Behind Vox the bell over the door jingled, signaling another customer. He didn't turn around…until he heard a familiar voice grunt and say, "Damn it, Velvet, I told you I'd take you here for breakfast if you'd just fucking act like an adult for five minutes! So start!" His heart…didn't skip a beat so much as it lurched a little in his chest.

"Eh, you'll get me breakfast here no matter what. You don't want to risk pissing me off." Velvet laughed and skipped up to the counter then right over to the television overlord. "Voxy! Morning! What a coincidence!"

Vox glitched and glared at her. Coincidence his ass. More like she had probably triangulated his phone's signal to figure out his location and arrange this little meeting for fun. She'd picked up on some tech stuff after all their years together. Vox gave her the smallest nod. "Hey, Velvet." He barely glanced at Valentino.

Valentino did not glance back at him. The pimp - his coat ruffled and hat askew and with some bags visible under his eyes - went up to the barista. "A fucking huge cup of dark roast for me. And my pain-in-the-ass companion wants a chocolate chip muffin."

The life seemed to leave the barista's eyes. He pointed at Vox, shaking. "This…This overlord just bought the last one."

Valentino snarled.

Vox took the paper bag that had the muffin, rolled his eyes, and shoved it into Valentino's arms. "Here - don't say I never did you any favors. Velvet, you got your muffin - lay off him for the rest of the day, okay?"

She snatched the muffin out of Valentino's hands and took a big bite. "Can do, Voxy! Thanks! Have a good one!" She saluted him, pulled out a knife stabbed the barista in the hand for no reason at all, then skipped out the door.

While the barista whimpered behind the counter, their coffees arrived at the same time from his co-worker. Vox took his as Val took his. Vox sighed. "Vel wants us back together for her. But I'm not getting back together unless it stops being shit for ME. If that can't happen though and she's getting to you, I'll take her off your hands as my partner. I can handle her better."

Valentino let out a deep breath almost like a frustrated growl. "I'm handling things just fine."

Vox sighed. "As long as you're happy." He headed out the door into the street, trying not to think about Valentino or their fights or their future or their kiss.

He didn't see the firm line of Val's mouth dip into a frown as the moth watched him go.

The radio tower apartment was dim thanks to the thick black curtains over the window and the weak light of the fading fire. Two figures still reposed on the sofa, slumbering now - the spider demon on his back and the deer demon atop him. Angel Dust had one set of arms around his companion - his hands rather 'low' down Alastor's back - and another set of arms tucked under his head. Alastor had his head nestled directly over the spider's still-exposed heart, arms hugging Angel and a leg nestled around him to stay close.

Alastor smiled serenely in his sleep - a gentle hum of static followed his breathing. Angel smiled too, though every once in a while his breath caught and sounded against the back of his throat to create a faint snore. Alastor's fluffy ears twitched now and shifted directly into his face, and the snores grew louder.

Alastor sighed sleepily. Then a very distinct grumble left his stomach. Now Angel moaned faintly and stretched a little. Both of their eyes remained closed even though they spoke.

Angel went first. "If you go get a snack, bring me coffee… espresso… actually cappuccino with a dash of nutmeg."

"I'll bring you an extra pillow to prop up your head. You're snoring," Alastor replied.

"Allergic to overlords…" A little laugh left Angel.

A little laugh left Alastor too. "I believe you're merely unaccustomed to a partner who is as 'fluffy' as you - albeit only on my ears. "

They were waking up a bit bit more now, shifting slightly against each other. Alastor opened both eyes then sighed dryly. "Angel, I do believe your hands have drifted to my posterior."

Angel's eyes popped open, and he quickly pulled his hands up to the middle of Alastor's back. "Heh…Probably a reflex so I could keep from falling off this sofa… He raised an eyebrow. "You know, after you contorted your leg around my hip at some point apparently." He smirked.

Alastor's leg instantly straightened out. He swallowed. "Perhaps I will indeed consider using a bed for our next time fraternizing…for the extra space of course." He glowed, then his eyes hazed as he became aware of his heart pressing against Angel's, and the not-unpleasant feel of air on his own exposed neck. Memories from earlier returned… Angel's long fingers tracing near a few of the scars below his jaw line. Then Angel gazing at the top button of his shirt with a mischievous look until Alastor had let that single button open. Then Angel kissing his neck, and Alastor releasing one of those faint static-filled moans from his throat as Angel pressed his mouth near the vocal cords and smiled against the hum.

"Alastor…something on your mind? Al? You who? Cutie?" That term and a giggle from Angel Dust finally snapped him out of his exquisite revery.

Alastor swallowed. "Just that I do hate to see this particular time together end. I never tried dating before, but I do believe I'm thoroughly entertained."

Angel grinned. "I'll say - there's little sparks coming off your hears and horns."

Alastor's glow brightened and he shook off the static. "That's… a very new development you know - brought on by you."

"You're such a freakin' cute deer…" Angel purred.

Alastor tried to pout but did a very poor job of it. "I am a viscous and intimidating overlord of the underworld."

"You're my beau - you can be both things at once." He laughed, brushing away a tear. "That was the best fucking date of my life - and I didn't even get fucked! I love you, Alastor."

Alastor's eyes were bright. He quickly smashed a kiss against Angel's lips then pulled back, practically buzzing with pleasant static.

Angel laughed, flushed all over. "Hey, look at that - we woke up together and you're not running to the other end of the couch - that's definitely an improvement over last time we did this. You feeling a little more in your element with what we got going on now?"

Alastor nodded, eyes narrowed playfully. "Actually yes, I believe so! I feel comfortable. As though I belong in this situation. Like I've plunged into the depths only to find out that swimming doesn't come so unnaturally to me after all. Ha!" He swallowed. "You're also a very good partner to grow comfortable with." His eyes went down shyly and found the heart over Angel's heart again. The spider truly was a work of art.

"You're a good partner too," Angel whispered near his ear. Alastor's eyes met his eagerly. Angel brushed back a stray piece of the deer demon's hair from his face. "You still up for that late night snack? I'm a little peckish now too."

Alastor considered, craving to say yes, but then sighed. "Perhaps we shouldn't'. It'll be time for breakfast soon enough, I'm sure. It must be nearly sunup in fact."

Angel sighed but nodded and stretched. "Yeah, you're probably right. I feel super rested."

"We should head back to the hotel now." Alastor sat up and held out a hand. Angel took it to sit up as well. Alastor pulled his monocle out of his pocket and cleaned it on the cuff of his shirt. "Niffty wakes with the dawn, and we must return and enter separately before she notices - or anyone else. After all, perhaps the girls were bold and stayed up all night long."

"Cherri maybe…but I think we're safe about Vags and Charlie." Angel smirked. "Sneaking around is kind of fun. We're good at it, I think."

"Agreed." Alastor smirked a little back at him then put in his monocle and pulled out his pocket watch to check the time.

"Huh, so you really do need that monocle thing to read stuff? It's not just a hot accessory?" Angel mused.

Alastor chuckled and rolled his eyes as he opened the watch. "I'd simply wear glasses, but they don't seem as intimidating. And this works well enough to let me see that it's already… ten o'clock." He paused, his eyes very wide as he stared down at the face of the watch.

Angel paused too. "Ten…o'clock…in the morning?"

Alastor snapped his fingers. The curtains opened up - neither nightfall nor the beginnings of sunrise were outside. Instead, bright late-morning light shown over the Pentagram.

The demons stared out the window then at each other. They shot up and proceeded to panic.

"Fongul! The girls are gonna send out a search party for us!"

"Niffty will have a million questions and Husker won't quit with quips for days!"

"We suck at sneaking around!"

"We are not starting out well at it, no…"

Angel gripped his hair. "We gotta get back there now! Just…teleport each of us to our rooms or something, and we'll figure out explaining how we got there later!"

Alastor made his cane appear and gripped it, brow furrowed in concern. "I can't teleport us that far with that much accuracy. Especially after a late night and all that wine and brandy and no pure demon flesh for a few days. We could end up lodged in one of the walls!"

Angel paced. "Uh…okay, then just teleport us near the place and we'll figure out something!"

Alastor shook his head. "We need a plan first, Angel. The most important thing when a performance has a snag is to remain calm as though nothing is amiss so the show can go on"

Angel hesitated but finally nodded. "Okay - then to start, we gotta get back in our normal clothes. The first clue to 'hot date night' is both of us showing up in classy outfits."

Alastor glowed a bit and nodded. "Yes, of course!" He snapped his fingers - his shadow appeared and yawned. He glared a little. "Oh, did you have a nice night? I'm so glad you couldn't be bothered to wake us up!" She shadow smirked back at him and gestured to Alastor and Angel and pretended to be sleeping cozily in the air before returning to normal and chuckling. Alastor rolled his eyes. "Get Angel his usual clothes from the hotel and return immediately and do not let anyone see you." Alastor snapped him away and snapped himself into his usual pants and shirt. His coat and bowtie rested on the arm of the sofa. "Please, use the room to change once he returns. I'll perform some ablutions and tidy myself up. You can do the same once you're dressed. We have to appear as though we started our mornings already." He strode across the room and headed into a door that appeared when he snapped his fingers.

Angel ran his fingers through his hair to straighten it to normal and pulled out his cell phone.

Sure enough, there were many texts from Cherri, ranging from "Uh, where are you? I can't stall Charlie and Vaggie from waking you up for breakfast much longer!" to "A twelve hour first date? Damn, Radio Head has stamina!" Angel sighed and rubbed his temple as the shadow appeared and placed his clothes on the sofa then disappeared. Angel began to dress, focused on his phone. "Hey, Al? Look, Cherri texted me - she's stalling the others. But I still don't think we have much time."

"Any amount she can buy us is helpful and appreciated!" Alastor replied from the other room. He cleared his throat. "The powder room is free if you'd like to use it. Are you decent, Angel?"

Angel grinned as he put on the finishing touch of his bowtie. "As decent as a guy like me gets, Smiles. And I'll skip the powder room. I mean, I didn't bring my usual overnight bag with me cuz I didn't think I'd end up…spending the night at your place." He gaze and voice were soft. "I like that I did though."

Alastor walked carefully back into the room, his hair neat and looking refreshed. "I am quite pleased you did as well." Alastor slipped on his coat then picked up his tie and put it on, his fingers fumbling a little as he felt Angel's eyes upon him.

Angel reached out and adjusted the bowtie with a quick touch of his fingers, his gaze on Alastor's. "There ya go. No one's ever gonna suspect a thing about our canoodling."

Alastor gripped his microphone, his chest warm. Then he blinked and stepped closer. "I'll teleport us to the roof of the building. This way there's no chance someone on the street will see us appear and also no chance we'll end up lodged in a fixture, hah. But there may be a small fall if we end up too high off of the roof."

Angel considered. "You know that tall antenna on the roof for the TV and stuff? Can you try to aim us near that? I can use that to soften the blow. Just don't laugh at how I do it."

Alastor raised an eyebrow but Angel didn't explain further. The Radio Demon nodded. "As you wish." Angel held out his hand to take Alastor's, like when they had teleported together yesterday. Alastor hesitated and swallowed. "We'll have to be quite close to be safe - holding more than hands, I mean.

Angel smiled a little. "Like last night when we were dancing, maybe?"

Alastor's ears twitched and his eyes widened. He gave a small nod.

Angel put both arms around Alastor's shoulders, and Alastor held him firmly around his back. Their chests lightly pressed together. Angel smiled down at him. "Before we go…just know I had a really nice time, Al. You're…the only guy I wouldn't mind dating 'eternally'." He blushed.

Alastor's eyes hazed. "I had an exquisite time as well. Thank you for your divine company, ma cherie." He took one of Angel's hands and kissed the back then replaced it on his shoulder. "Now, don't let go."

"Never, babe." Angel giggled as Alastor snapped and they disappeared in a burst of magic.

They reappeared next to the antenna on the hotel roof…about ten feet above the ground. They dropped instantly but stopped before they hit the rooftop. They clung to each other for a moment and then Alastor blinked and realized that they were suspended by… a large cord of what looked like pearlescent string that was attached to the antenna and held in Angel's hand, with one end finishing between two buttons in Angel's jacket. Blushing, Angel broke it off as they stepped down. Angel crossed his arms, glancing away awkwardly. "Spider silk… comes out just below the chest fluff. It's how I scaled your tower and stuff. It's weird, and I don't like it, but it comes in handy sometimes. And I don't mind you knowing about it if we need it again ever for any emergencies." He glanced at Alastor with a pout. "It's gotta stay between us though - like seriously. If it gets out to Val or anyone in the lust district, I'm gonna have requests to do weird stuff with it, and I refuse!"

Alastor bowed. "You have my word, darling." He straightened up. "And I'll never make any requests to see it again either - though I must say I think it's quite pretty." His eyes hazed as his small smile curled up at the ends. "I always fancied the intricacies of spider webs growing up. And also how spiders would skillfully snare their victims with a hypnotic blend of grace and rage." He strolled over two the roof ledge while Angel blushed very much and felt his heart pound for reasons he couldn't quite explain.

Alastor finished looking over the ledge and turned back to his partner. "Perfect! I'll teleport us into the alley down the block. We'll stroll up to the door, enter for breakfast, and claim we went out for an early morning stroll."

Angel nodded then stepped up to him. He kissed the corner of the Radio Demon's mouth. "That's to tide us both over til next time."

Alastor glowed brightly. "I...really must say again that I can't guarantee that all of our outings will involve, er…"

Angel smiled warmly. "I know. But I also think we both know what we like. And I'm here whenever you're ready for more, handsome."

Alastor felt his heart race. He fumbled at first but managed to snap his fingers to make them disappear once more.

Husk smelled something pretty.

Not that he liked pretty things - it was just, this particular pretty thing kind of smelled like flowers. Like lilies and hibiscus. A great mixer for a drink. Whatever it was, he shifted closer on his bed to it and then he realized his hand was holding something warm.

Husk blinked open his eyes, groggy.

He saw Molly's beautiful sleeping face right near his own and realized his hand was holding tightly to hers, and she was holding his back.

Then he also realized that the sun was really high in the sky and that the clock on his wall said it was ten. He could hear sounds of other people bustling around the hotel lobby outside his door. He hissed through his teeth, which made Molly's eyes blink open.

Her eyes widened for a moment but then she blushed and smiled. "Uh…morning?"

Husk sat straight up and let go of her hand, his eyes wide. "Oh fuck…oh fuck…oh fuck…"

Molly raised an eyebrow. "That's an interesting way to say good morning, especially to a lady who you did no such thing with last night."

Husk blushed thoroughly then pouted and leaned toward her. "It's ten! Ten! We slept for HOURS, and now it's ten, and everyone's out there putting out a big hotel breakfast! And we've got people coming over to! And I don't know how to get you out of here!"

Molly shrugged. "Could I just hide here until after breakfast is over and then sneak out?"

Husk shook his head. "No, because Alastor is definitely going to sense a new demon here! He must of been out all night, but the second he comes back he's gonna know someone's here who doesn't belong!"

Molly frowned a little and pulled up her knees.

Husk frowned a little too. "I mean…not that you don't belong, just…you're a new person…"

A bit of her smile returned. "It's okay. I know." She sighed. "Maybe I should just go out there and say hi to everyone. Angel's gotta be back now. We can sit down and have that talk."

Husk blushed a lot.

"What?"

"I…you…I mean…" He held out his arms. "You can't just stroll out of my bedroom with me! Everyone'll think we…you know…" He rolled his hand through the air and huffed in annoyance.

Molly's gaze softened. "You really are a sweetie." She reached out and lightly straightened his bowtie and a wayward tuft of his hair, which made Husk freeze up with wide eyes. She pulled back and sighed. "I'll hide in here for now. Alastor might not quite sense me anyway."

"And…why's that?" Husk asked, regaining some control of himself.

She bit her lip. He really liked those lips. She went on. "Because I'm not quite a demon. heh."

He tilted his head then narrowed his eyes. "Uh…what does that mean?"

She swallowed, looking away from him. "It's a long story. We can talk about it later. Just… even if there is a small part of me that he might notice, maybe if you keep the table distracted he won't get a chance to. And I'll sneak out as soon as the coast is clear. I've…got someone I can call to help me in a pinch anyway." She took a breath. "Then when the time's right I can come back and talk to Angel and then maybe meet everyone and let them know who I really am."

"Who are you? Really?" Husk continued to eye her hesitantly.

She bit her lip more. Then she shut her eyes. "I'm a soul from Purgatory… And I'm here to see if Angel really can save himself. I need him to. He's my brother."

"Purga… How did you…"

"Sacrifices!" She glanced at him, smile weak, tears in her eyes. She held out her spider hand. "Might end up looking like this forever. Might go completely feral and become some kind of mindless spider demon monster. Might not even be allowed back there if I stay here too long. But it's worth it. I don't ever want heaven if I'm gonna be without Angel!"

Husk felt his stomach drop. He got up and put his hands on her shoulders. "You stay in here. I'll deal with everyone out there. And even if Alastor does sense you, I won't let anyone through this door until you're good and ready. Okay?"

She blinked away some of the tears. "Thank you, Husky!" She wrapped her arms around him and gripped him in a tight hug. Husk didn't reciprocate…but he didn't resist. She finally let him go, smiling again. "I know you didn't like it so much but I'm so happy, I could practically kiss you again."

Husk blushed. "I…I liked it okay. And I like you." Then he quickly kissed her red mouth and inhaled deeply through his nose, smelling the lilies and hibiscus of her perfume. He pulled back, blushing thoroughly with a shy scowl, and headed to his door.

Molly sat there for a moment with her mouth open. "Grazie, Husker…" left her gently.

Husk stepped out into the lobby and shut the door behind him. He tried to will away the blushing in his face and the churning in his stomach that definitely didn't feel like it was from liquor. And suddenly he realized it was because the truth about Molly meant she would probably go away once she finally talked with Angel - she might NEED to go away or she would be as damned as the rest of them. And he would miss her. A lot.

"Husk?"

Husk blinked and turned to see Niffty looking up at him with a frown. "Is everything okay? You look sad? Did something happen?" She blushed a little.

"I, uh…uh…" He put back on his scowl as best he could, tried to find some words. "I don't really… I need to get a drink." He looked to the bar, his eyes stinging a little.

No one else was out here right now. Niffty took hold of Husk's paw. "Husk…if you need help with something, I'm here. And it'll all stay between us. Because we're best friends. And, since we both belong to Alastor, we're almost like brother and sister too," she offered softly.

Husk's scowl melted away, and that stinging in his eyes turned into something he had to wipe away immediately before any more of it came up. He looked down at her. "I need help to help someone else. Niffty, we gotta keep Alastor really distracted at breakfast so he doesn't notice…something. And then I've gotta get someone out of here. I…"

Niffty came closer. "It's okay. I came downstairs last night late. I saw her go into your room."

"Nothing happened!" Husk blushed a lot, wings flaring. "I was just hiding her to help her."

Niffty giggled. "Whether anything happened or not, you're a very nice demon, Husk. And I trust you. And I'll always help you with anything because I love you." She hugged him.

Husk swallowed, in shock for a moment. Then, in a low grumble, something left him that sounded like, 'I love you too.'

Niffty's eye widened and she pulled back, beaming. "What was that?!"

He put on his scowl again. "Nothing! Just…thanks or whatever. But hey, if YOU ever sneak anyone in here, make sure they're good enough for you! Because you're great or whatever!""

She giggled. "You're great too, Husk."

It was then they heard the front door open and turned to see Alastor and Angel enter. The Radio Demon closed the door behind them and they casually strolled into the lobby, Alastor twirling his cane and Angel laughing like he'd just made a good joke.

Angel waved to Husk and Niffty. "Hey, guys! I mean, morning! Didn't see you when we got up."

"Yes, indeed." Alastor swung a fist through the air. "Angel and I both woke up some time ago and decided to take one of our usual strolls through the city until everyone else had risen. Speaking of which, HAS everyone else risen?" His smile grew a little too wide and one of his eyes twitched. Angel noticed and then tried not to notice.

Niffty giggled then replied confidently. "I'm glad you both had a nice morning walk. Charlie and Cherri and Vaggie are in the kitchen finishing making breakfast. And Louise and Abel are sleeping in. Rosie and Mimzy should be here any second, so you're just in time for breakfast!"

"Uh, yeah…everything she said!" Husk crossed his arms and forced himself to step away from the door to his room - if he didn't move, it would seem suspicious and Alastor would pick up on it in a second. "I was just gonna grab some stuff from the bar for Bloody Mary's."

Alastor and Angel both headed to the dining room, but then Alastor paused and his ears twitched like he was listening for something…or sensing something.

Husk felt his ears drop and a bottle nearly slipped from his hand to the floor.

Niffty noticed and quickly dashed up to Alastor. …while Husk positioned himself at the edge of the bar nearest to the door to his room and took a very long time making himself a drink. "Alastor! The girls all gave me a makeover last night! And also there were fireworks! And also Nuggets let me cuddle him all night! I had the best time!"

Angel stepped back beside Alastor to smile down at her. "Hey, glad you had a fun night! I knew you girls would all hit it off together."

Between Niffty's efforts and Angel's mere presence, Alastor's attention shifted away from the greater hotel. He grinned down at the perky demoness. "I'm ecstatic you've formed some entertaining friendships here, Niffty dear! If anyone deserved a night of diversion, it's you!"

She remained smiling up at him…but then her brow furrowed and she looked back and forth between the spider and the deer.

Angel and Alastor's heads titled.

"Is something different about you two?"

Angel's eyes widened and Alastor's grin filled his entire face as he glowed.

Then there was a knock on the door. Niffty's attention quickly went there. "Oh, I'll get it!" She zipped over.

Alastor spoke to Angel quickly under his breath. "You said I appeared perfectly put together!"

"You do!" Angel whispered back. "And I know I'm flawless!"

"Then what could she have meant?"

"I don't know!"

Just then Charlie, Cherri, and Vaggie all came out of the kitchen. "Alastor, Angel!" Charlie ran up to them. "Good morning! I didn't even hear you come in last night—"

"We've been out on a walk!" Alastor said, perhaps a tad too forcefully.

Angel quickly added, "We each got in so late that it was early and then just went for one of our strolls." Behind Charlie, Vaggie eyed them curiously while Cherri held back a smirk.

"Rosie! Mimzy! Good morning!" Niffty announced from the door as she opened it.

The boys turned to the doorway, trying to keep their nervous smiles as casual as possible.

"Niffty, darling!" Rosie gave her a kiss on the forehead.

Mimzy picked her up for a hug. "It's so good to see you."

"And there are our favorite boys!" Rosie grinned. "And more of our new charming hotel friends!" She gave Charlie a small bow. "Thank you for having us, Princess."

Mimzy nodded as she came forward too. "Yes! A late breakfast is so nice. Rosie and I had time to walk here from the colony. There's nothing like some fresh hell air to start the day."

"Agreed!" Alastor quickly added. "Angel and I would know, ha! We did just take a walk after all!"

Angel tried very hard to resist a nervous sigh at Alastor's continued blatant enthusiasm about their 'walk'.

"Didn't all of you run into each other out there?" Vaggie asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Oh…not necessarily, I suppose…" Rosie smoothly replied. She eyed the boys with interest.

Angel waved off Vaggie. "Al and I went a different direction than usual and took the long way back. And now we're starved. So let's get to the grub! Race ya to the table, Smiles!" Angel eyed him meaningfully for a moment then dashed over to the dining room table.

Alastor's eye twitched. "Excuse me, I have to go remind him I can teleport places." He snapped his fingers and was over by the table just as Angel got there.

The ladies all watched them leave with varying degrees of interest and understanding.

Niffty looked to everyone. "Husk and I will get the food put out - everyone just take a seat!" She zipped forward and dragged a very reluctant Husk away from the bar and into the kitchen.

As the ladies approached the table, Alastor took a seat at one table head and Angel took the seat by his right. "Al, cool it…" he whispered. "No one suspects about us. Or, I mean…I already told you everyone's kind of got us figured out to different degrees. But if you don't want them to figure out more, just quit bringing up the walking story and everything'll be fine."

Alastor clenched his hands on the table and looked down at himself. "But what is different about me? And you? What did Niffty notice?"

"Don't worry…" Angel offered with an understanding smile. "Whatever it was, no one else noticed. And she's already forgotten about it. And you look as dapper and dignified as ever."

Alastor glowed a bit but did seem to relax. "You look more than presentable yourself." He glanced at Angel then looked away as Angel blushed a little.

The spider giggled. "Okay, enough flirting - they're all coming. If we're both blushing messes then they'll definitely know something's up." They shared a small look then turned their attention back to the others as the ladies all took their seats. Niffty and Husk came out of the kitchen and set platters on the table, and soon they were all seated and ready to eat. Husk eyed his bedroom door and Niffty, and Niffty eyed Alastor and Angel, and the boys in question just tried not to make much direct eye contact with anyone.

It was unlikely that everyone would escape this meal unscathed.

A/N:

Thank you for reading! The next chapter is going to continue with this meal with a lot of people doing a very bad job of lying to other people lol. I'm going to try and have it up next weekend but I might need to wait until the weekend after. There's been a lot going on here lol. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your Halloween! Thank you for your support!

-Azure129