A/N:

Hi everyone!

I hope you're all doing well and having a nice holiday 3 Thank you for your patience with my longer than usual break from this story - this month ended up very full for me and a little stressful for my mental health ^^ But I'm happy to be back and writing more of our soft boys. I hope you enjoy this latest chapter!

Partners

Chapter 39:

Good Intentions

Molly gave Sir Pentious some time after catching him with Niss. She figured her dashing snake host had a lot to process, and she wanted him nice and unsuspecting before she struck up a casual conversation and brought up her brother. She liked this guy, and she liked that her brother liked this guy, and she wanted to know more about him. She also had a feeling Sir Pentious would need encouragement to wait for Archie to get it together and make another move. Her brothers had always been so shy about romance. She herself had always been pretty bold — ironically their pops had always told her to be more reserved like her brothers, and told her brothers to be more aggressive like their sister. That was another reason she couldn't stand their father: he was always trying to change people.

She felt her demonic power rising and took a breath to will away the fangs and the glowing and the claws. She needed to be her most friendly and comforting self if she was going to get this Pen guy to open up.

She turned to the Egg Bois currently in her room. "Hey, Egg Fellas? Do ya think ya could ask ya boss if he's free ta have tea together now? I know it's only the two of us since Niss had to go, but I'd still like to thank him for taking me in like this."

One of the Egg Bois saluted. "Of course, Miss Molly!" He dashed off with the others following behind him. Molly giggled and sat down on the bed, swinging her legs. And while she waited, she daydreamed some plans about how to secure a conversation with the Radio Demon at some point too. After all, as long as she was keeping an eye on one brother's love life, she might as well check out her other brother's special fella too.

After leaving Alastor and Charlie to talk (Angel knew Alastor wouldn't cross any lines but he still hoped the stubborn deer wouldn't shake up the princess too badly), Angel reached his room and prepared to enter with a yawn. Once he finished giving Nuggets breakfast he was going to collapse into his bed and catch up on some sleep…but maybe giggle and daydream about Alastor first…and also maybe pull out a few toys and fantasize too as long as he was at it. That man had lain on top of him last night, and even though they had both been fully clothed, it had somehow been a fully erotic experience for Angel.

"Angel? Angel! Aye… Hello!"

Angel blinked himself out of a daze and turned to see Vaggie of all people standing near him, tapping her foot with a scowl. "I called your name four times. Are you ignoring me or just that distracted?"

Angel rolled his eyes. "Oh, what would I have to be distracted about? Just the fact that my boyfriend and I got our relationship outed publicly over breakfast." He blushed slightly.

Vaggie blushed too. "Yeah, well…that's what I wanted to talk to you about."

Angel held up a hand, his look dry. "Let me save you the trouble. No, he DIDN'T 'magic' me into liking him. Yes, I am AWARE of the risks and the stuff he's done just like he's aware of all my baggage too. And for the record we DID NOT sin last night in ANY way…even though we still had fun." He couldn't help smiling a little.

Vaggie sighed and frowned. "Angel, I'm not here to grill you. I just…" She bit her lip, looking away.

"Wow, you're hesitating to express an opinion — this must be a big one." He raised an eyebrow.

"I just need to know that you two are still focused on the hotel and our redemption mission!" she suddenly blurted out.

Angel sighed. "Gee, thanks for checking in about your hotel bottom line instead of checking in to make sure we're okay first after everything at breakfast."

"I'm not asking for me! I'm asking for Charlie!" She frowned. "If you and Alastor are planning to run off together and reign over his section of hell or something, I at least need to soften the blow for her. You guys being here matters to her so much."

Angel scowled. "Seriously? Of course we're not gonna abandon ship! We can be responsible adults who give a shit about our friends. And maybe you haven't realized yet, but Al and I LIKE it here! We like Charlie and everyone and the hotel, and even you when you're not jumping down our throats. I get it, Vaggie — you've got trust issues with men. Welcome to the club! Al and I are the fucking co-presidents! But you don't have to assume the worst." He frowned.

Vaggie took a deep breath. "I know. I'm sorry. But I needed to ask just in case, for Charlie's sake. She loves you guys, and she's starting to think of everyone here as her family, and she believes in this project so much. I don't want her to get hurt." She hesitated. "She's already been hurt enough by her actual family."

Angel's look softened. "Yeah - the party made it clear they hate this hotel thing. Also she…might have mentioned something just now about her parents giving her a hard time when they found out about you two."

Vaggie groaned. "It was a nightmare. Her mom tried to convince her that she just needed a trip to the Lust ring to get over me, and her dad didn't talk to her for two weeks. Said he was thinking things over. Idiota." She scowled.

"Well," Angel grinned, "I for one think you guys are great for each other. You've got the healthiest relationship I've ever seen in hell. Like seriously, I've been jealous since I climbed into the limo with you two that first day you found me."

She rolled her eyes. "Hard to tell since you kept calling me Vagina and giggling."

"Defense mechanism." He laughed, and she cracked a smile. Angel went on. "Al and I aren't leaving you two the same way you and Charlie aren't leaving each other. Okay?"

Vaggie nodded. "Okay. Thanks, Angel. And for what it's worth, if Alastor makes you happy I wish you all the luck with him. And Alastor is lucky to have you — remember that." She hesitated again but then put a hand on his shoulder. "Charlie can feel that you have a good heart. And I believe her." She laughed. "I think you actually could get to heaven one day if what we're trying to do works."

Angel hesitated. He bit his lip. "Vaggs, speaking of… I mean, if we're talking about preparing Charlie for things so she doesn't get hurt… Look, I'm gonna keep trying to work on being a better person. And I'm all for helping others do the same thing and helping you gals prove redemption is possible somehow. And Alastor is too in his own way — or at least he supports me making better decisions. But…" he blushed, "fuck, you're gonna think it's stupid…"

"But…you don't want to go to heaven alone," she finished softly.

"Yeah…" Angel's eyes widened. "If you can redeem Al too, then we can talk. I don't think he's up for it though…" He raised an eyebrow. "How did you know?"

She shrugged and smiled sheepishly. "Why do you think Charlie and I haven't just tried redeeming me? I want to prove her theory. But we won't be taken apart. Nothing's heaven without each other…"

Angel blinked away a tear. "Look, I know Al and I have only known each other a little while, but that's how it is for us too, okay? I feel comfortable and safe and happy with him. And I'm not leaving him alone — I won't put him through that. He tried to get me to change my mind last night, and I told him no way." He scowled, trying to hold back the tears. "He's been alone too long already! And I've been alone too long already too."

"You don't have to be alone here. Neither of you. And…if you just want to make better choices but don't want heaven — I'll talk to Charlie. It's okay. Just…maybe don't advertise that fact outside of the hotel for now — at least not until we get more guests so we have more redemption candidates. Or until Alastor decides he feels like trying for redemption too, heh."

"Okay." Angel laughed. "And I kind of hope one day he will… There's someone up there I think he might be ready to see again."

Vaggie raised an eyebrow. Angel just gave her a quick hug then pulled back. "We're all gonna be okay. Don't worry so much, Vags." He winked. "Now I think you should head downstairs and find your girlfriend, because Alastor asked to talk to her alone, and our significant others have a habit of getting carried away."

Vaggie blinked then groaned. "Oh no. He's going to make tentacles appear and she's going to sing. I'm going!" She made her spear appear and turned around.

"See ya, Vags!" Angel called out to her. "Maybe the four of us can do a double date sometimes - or a double wedding. Whatever sounds more fun."

Vaggie blushed a lot. "Angel!" She raced down the hall, but she was smiling a little.

Angel chuckled and headed into his room. Nuggets was sitting on his bed. He went over and hugged the pig. "Hey, buddy! Heard you had a fun sleepover. Daddy had a fun night too...with other Daddy." He blushed as he filled Nuggets' dish. "I mean, not that he's your daddy too yet, but if there were any contenders…" He giggled as he set the dish down and Nuggets nuzzled him then began to eat. Angel collapsed onto his bed and then kicked his legs, hugging a pillow and beaming. "Fuck, I have a boyfriend! Alastor's my boyfriend! My beau! He made out with me and touched me and I kissed that hot fucking neck of his." He groaned happily. "Smiles… We'll be okay, Smiles… We both got someone to come home to now." He settled in, ready to dream about Alastor calling him darling in that sultry way of his while they held each other close and Alastor's leg wrapped around his hip and Angel's hand reached around his hip..

XXX

A little while after being sent to find Sir Pentious, one of the Egg Bois came back to Molly. "The Boss says to meet him in the solarium for tea! We'll take you!"

Molly stood up eagerly and followed the Egg Bois out of her room. "Solarium, huh? Fancy digs here. Ya boss has a lot going for him. Seems like a great provider!"

"Oh yes, he's the best boss ever!"

She giggled and continued following down a walkway and up two levels to a large, ornate door with frosted windows full of light. Her smile grew.

"The Boss is right in there!" One of the Egg Bois announced while the others opened the doors for her to showcase a huge room full of light and plants, almost like a small park or a huge greenhouse.

Molly patted each of them on the head. "You're all too sweet. My little bambinos… Why don't ya go play, huh? Leave me and Boss Man alone to talk — I gotta catch up with him about my brother Niss."

"The boss loves talking about Mister Niss! He likes him as much as we like the boss's ray gun!"

"Oh really?" Molly smiled more.

The Egg Bois nodded then looked to each other.

"Ooo, we should go check on the ray gun while he's having tea!"

"Maybe some of us can go outside and the others can shoot them with the ray gun!"

The Egg Bois ran off, very excited, while Molly just raised an eyebrow and shook her head. Then she turned and headed into the Solarium, the door closing behind her. The room had a large domed glass ceiling to fill the space with the red 'sunlight' of hell. It was warm and humid, and Molly instantly took off her hat to fan herself. She was feeling a little less self-conscious about her spider body ever since Husk had told her she looked pretty. Maybe she really was still beautiful as a spider. Angel was still beautiful, after all. And Husk was a flying kitty, but somehow he was beautiful as a demon too.

She tried to focus again on the moment at hand. There were shrubs carved in Sir Pentious's likeness, and tropical flowers, and lush and exotic grasses, and large flat boulders. She followed a small stone path then came around a bend and saw a charming white table set with tea and sweets, and in one chair was the snake demon himself. She hid for a moment behind some of the shrubbery to watch. The snake was frowning, his flaps drooping. He sighed wistfully and curled his tail in close to himself. He really must miss her brother. But maybe having someone to talk to about him would help.

Molly cleared her throat to make her presence known and then stepped into sight.

The snake quickly straightened up and put on a happy smile. "Molly! Come right over, the tea is nice and hot! Of course, most things in here get nice and hot - this room traps heat. It's a snake demon need, I'm afraid. If it's too warm for you though just let me know — we can always move to another part of the ship!"

Molly strolled over, looking around. "Are ya kidding? It's lovely in here. This place is stunnin'!" His tail came over and he pulled out her chair for her then pushed it back in when she sat down. A real gentleman - Niss needed that. She was liking Sir Pentious more and more. "Has, uh…my brother seen this place yet?"

"Oh…no," Sir Pentious glanced down shyly and poured them both tea. "Erm…neither of your brothers actually."

"Ah, so the cat's out of the bag about Angel, huh?" Molly feigned surprise. "Well, then, as long as we're letting out secrets, do you mind if I take off this coat? It's a little too hot for it. But, uh…something's gonna be kinda obvious when I do. Don't freak out on me, okay?"

Sir Pentious chuckled, intrigued. "I can assure you, I've been in hell long enough at this point that nothing freaks me out."

Molly shrugged. "Okay then!" She took off the coat for the first time. Beneath it she wore a black and pink skirt with white pinstripes, a matching blouse, and a pink bowtie. The fact that she was also a white spider with pink markings was obvious.

Sir Pentious eyed her for a moment. "You and Angel…have a striking family resemblance. You look like a lady Angel, if you don't mind me saying."

"We're twins." She threw out her arms. "Ta da!"

Sir Pentious almost choked on his tea. "Well, I do have to admit, I didn't quite see that coming." He swallowed. "So Niss is…"

"Our older brother even though he's a shorty, heh." She grabbed a muffin but then blinked and quickly added. "Short guys can have a lot going for them though! Niss was always so strong and crafty — we were jealous sometimes, growing up."

Sir Pentious bit his lip, looking down. "Molly…is Niss okay?"

She played with her muffin and chose her words carefully. "If you asked me a few weeks ago, I'd of said no. But now…I think he's almost there. Ya know, he always just wanted to make our Pops happy, especially since Angel and I weren't very good at it. He tried to be everything and to protect us. But now I think he's finally working on making himself happy. He's acting better, and of course he's hanging out with nice guys like you."

Sir Pentious smiled more and blushed. "Well, I…we just hit it off and…he's an excellent companion and fighter! And we both have a certain fascination with the princess's hotel!"

Molly held back a giggle. "Hey, Pen? Can I call ya Penny?"

He smiled a lot. "Penny? I like that! Yes, of course."

"Well, Penny…I'm kinda new in these parts and I was wondering…could I get your advice about something?" She blushed, but this was for Archie so she pushed through.

"Of course! I'm happy to assist!" He doffed his hat and leaned on his elbows, listening eagerly.

Molly played with her hair. "Well, I kinda got this fella I like. And I think he likes me. But, ya know…neither of us has just outright admitted it yet. We keep getting shy or interrupted. And he's got this difficult boss that mucks things up a little. And I'm going through a transition phase myself, heh. So, um…what do you think I should do?" Her eyes came up and she bit her lip. "I just don't want to miss out on this guy."

Sir Pentious watched her with wide eyes and a distinct blush. "I, er, well…I think…" Finally he sighed and his eyes went down. "I think you should tell him before you lose the chance. Even if you both need time to settle the details, it's best to let people know you care for them. And if both of you like each other, I'm sure you'll make each other happy."

Molly leaned closer across the table. "I agree, ya know. Maybe it's scary, but saying your true feelings has gotta be the right thing to do." She swallowed and added, "And if the other person needs just a little extra time to work through understanding their feelings before they share everything, I think it's a swell thing to wait for 'em if you can."

Sir Pentious's smile returned a little. "Yes, I suppose your right." His eyes met Molly's and his smile grew. Then he added, "Er, have you asked Niss about your situation?"

"Nah, not yet. I have't had a chance." She laughed. "Also if I did he'd probably try to interrogate the guy or something. Always so protective." She rolled her eyes.

"Yes, he's rather strong and determined." He swallowed. "Is he staying at the hotel or…"

"I don't think so." Molly finished a muffin. "But I think it'd be good for him if he decided to. That place seems nice, and he'd get to spend more time with Angel. He needs that. But I'll check in with him later to see where he went. I'll let ya know what I find out — that way neither of us has to worry."

"Oh wonderful!" Sir Pentious clapped his hands together, beaming. "I mean, erm…thank you! It's always a relief to know a friend is taken care of." He sipped his tea, looking a little dreamy-eyed for a moment. Then he raised an eyebrow. "Molly, do you also happen to know if anything out of the ordinary is going on with Angel too? He attacked my ship the other day for one of our usual sparing matches, but he had the Radio Demon too. They worked together! In formal wear! Then before we could strike final blows, they disappeared? It's just…such a different style of attack for Angel. It makes me rather curious of the effect that hotel has on demons."

"Oh, ha!" Molly grinned sheepishly and enthusiastically waved off Sir Pentious. "Angel's just trying to make friends around there! As far as I can tell that place just makes demons want to try having fun in new ways." She shrugged. "Besides I…I haven't really talked to Angel since I came around here. I gotta say some things to him, I'm just not sure how to say 'em yet."

Sir Pentious nodded, sipping his tea. "Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out. And in the meantime, I want you to know you are welcome to stay here for as long as you'd like."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "I was really hoping you'd say that. I'd really like ta get ta know ya more and ta be here so my brothers can find me easily. I can help out! I don't mind hard work, and I can entertain the little egg guys, and learn about how the ship works to help with repairs, and I can brew a mean espresso."

"You are under no obligation," Sir Pentious assured. "You're our guest, and we're happy to host! Stroll the ship, response here or in the drawing room or anywhere else you'd like, oh and of course please observe the Pentagram from these heights. The view is fascinating!"

Molly beamed. "I'd love that! Hell is kind of beautiful…in an intense way."

"Indeed!" He perked up. "Would you like to see some of my territory! We're flying over it now!"

She nodded eagerly, and Sir Pentious lead them over to one of the glass panes where he pointed out landmarks and battle sites and his favorite places. Molly took in the sights and felt like hell had so much to offer and was a place worth exploring, especially since both of her brothers were somewhere down there.

Husk had spent most of the morning with Niffty, helping her with her chores. He wanted to pay her back for lying for him, and also he didn't want to leave her alone right now. She still seemed worried about causing Alastor any trouble — she kept frowning and spilling cleaning fluid and once she just stopped right in the middle of sweeping with a sad look in her eyes. After lunch, Husk insisted she take the rest of the day off to play with Nuggets and have some fresh air in the garden — he would take care of everything else she usually did around the hotel. Niffty had hesitated but then finally accepted. She seemed tired.

Once she was out of the way, Husk paced in his room for a bit and then went up to see Alastor a little while after the Radio Demon returned to the hotel — holding a discrete (though bloody) bag of what Husk could only assume had formerly been some poor sinner. Despite publicly putting on his radio shows for hell to listen in, when it came to visuals Alastor usually preferred to eat alone. He claimed it was to preserve the air of mystery around his demonics, but Husk just figured that a guy as prim and preppy as Alastor didn't want his public image to become a bloodstained mess of fangs and claws.

He must be done eating by now though. Husk knocked on the door. "Alastor — we've gotta talk. Now." He blushed a little. "Uh, unless Angel's in there in which case I'll come back later." Husk rubbed the bridge of his nose — the last thing he needed was a mental picture of Alastor getting frisky with Angel.

The door flew open, and there stood Alastor with a too-large smile. "Ha! Despite your wild imagination, Angel and I are not together every minute that we're not in sight of a third party."

"You live next door to each other, the odds were in my favor."

"Ho, if the odds were in your favor, Husker, you wouldn't be here with me now, would you?" Alastor narrowed his eyes. "Now, what do you need?"

Husk crossed his arms. "For you to listen. And to not freak out. And to talk to Niffty at some point — she needs it."

Alastor tilted his head. "Niffty?" He snapped his fingers — now he was sitting in his arm chair and Husk was seated in a wooden chair across from him, and the door was closed. "Is anything the matter with the little darling?"

"Look, she feels bad for pointing out 'tie' situation with you and Angel this morning and busting your whole affair wide open." Husk crossed his arms.

Alastor raised an eyebrow and one ear twitched. "Hmm, I hadn't thought about the situation as her fault at all. Angel and I discussed the matter, and he was right — it was our error, and we were bound to be discovered by someone sooner or later in this tight-knit hotel. Niffty was merely making one of her meticulous observations and just happened to be the one to get the ball rolling."

"Yeah, well, that's not how she feels." Husk frowned. "She thinks she upset you. And she actually probably wouldn't have said anything at all about your ties if she hadn't been trying to help…me." He sunk lower in the seat and his eyes went down.

Alastor's eyes narrowed and he tented his fingers, intrigued. "Help you…with what, pray tell?"

"Oh come on, Alastor — you know I was all worked up at breakfast, you know something was going on!"

"Oh yes," Alastor replied easily. "But, naturally, managing my own immediate problems took precedence. I had penciled in to grill you about your suspicious behavior sometime tonight once you had a few good, loose-lipped drinks in you. But if you'd like to reschedule for now, I can manage." His eyes turned to radio dials. "What has been going on here while I've been away, Husker? When the deer's away, the cat will play?"

Husk didn't flinch. He looked Alastor straight in the eye. "The spider lady was here all last night — her name is Molly and she's Angel's sister. And she wants to talk to him, just not yet. So she snuck out this morning to Pentious's ship after she called someone for help. She'll come back when she's ready!" Husk was flushed. "And yeah, I didn't tell you, and yeah, I don't care. Not EVERYTHING in my life is your business. Niffty was just trying to help me keep it that way."

Alastor's eyes flickered back to normal. He was quiet for a moment. Then he took a deep breath and snapped his fingers. Angel appeared in the room — dressed in a pink and red outfit with two curlers nestled in his hair, and in the middle of applying some mascara.

Angel blinked and jumped. "Al! Fuck, don't do that without warning me! I'm don't got my face on yet!" He blushed and tried to smooth out his hair. "Shit, if you'd done that ten minutes earlier I'd have ended up in here with wearing only a thong."

Alastor glowed brightly — which both fascinated and slightly nauseated Husk — then cleared his throat and turned to the spider. "My apologies, darling. It's urgent and I lost my temper." His eyes went right to Husk and narrowed. "Husk has an update on the spider lady you have such an interest in — who according to him claims to be your sister, Molly. Husker, if you will?" It wasn't a request — it was a command. Alastor dug his claws into the armchair.

Angel blinked as he took out the curlers, blushing a little. He glanced at Husk. "When did she finally leave for good? She's never stayed longer than a few days…"

Husk titled his head. "Uh…she's still here."

Angel's jaw fell open. "No…no she can't still be here."

"I'm afraid Husk isn't lying," Alastor interjected. "He knows at this point I'd rip out his tongue if he was. Apparently she was here for a brief time during breakfast and snuck off to the sanctuary of Sir Pentious's ship."

"What?!" Angel grabbed his hair, effectively ruining the curls that had just been put in. "Maledizione! Fongul!" He grabbed Husk's shoulders. "Why the fuck did she do that? Why the fuck didn't you tell me she was HERE? Why the fuck is she still around at all?"

"She wants to talk to you! But I think she's nervous to… She wasn't ready, so she snuck away!"

Angel paced then went back to Alastor, wringing his hands. "I've gotta go. I've gotta find Pen and kick his ass if he kidnapped her, and then I've gotta send her packing! She ain't like us, Smiles!" He was shaking.

"But the snake didn't kidnap her!" Husk shot back. "She called someone to help her and they called Pentious. I don't know who…"

Angel's eyes widened again then narrowed. "Niss, I'm gonna fucking kill you."

"Who is…Niss?" Alastor raised an eyebrow.

Angel threw his arms in the air. "Well, as long as we're just opening up everything about my personal life, Arackniss — or Niss — or fucking Archibaldo the idiota — is my big fucking brother! And he should know better than to let her stay in hell!"

"Stay in—?"

"She's from purgatory, and she's supposed to stay in purgatory so that she can get to heaven soon and be with Mama! But she likes to drop in sometimes because she misses us and doesn't want to leave us. Souls like her stay here too long though, and they become like us — they can't go back!" Angel paced then turned his panicked sights to Husk, scowling. "Why didn't she just leave when she got here last night and realized I wasn't around? And why did she trust you with all of this? And where was she even hiding?"

"I…" Husk blushed a lot, eyes wide. He held up his hands. "She stayed cuz we get along. And she just wanted someone to talk to. And…look, NOTHING happened, all right?!"

Angel's eyes widened then he sighed and rubbed his head. "Cherri was right — Molly wasn't gonna resist 'hot dad bod; Husk."

"What?" "What?!" Alastor and Husk exclaimed in distinctly different tones.

"You know," Angel rolled his eyes and gestured to Husk, "that sturdy, grumbly, solidly-built sort of guy."

Husk practically pulled his wings around himself. "Can we have ANY OTHER conversation besides this one?"

"Please do not call Husker 'hot'," Alastor rolled his eyes, pouting a little with his arms crossed.

Angel tilted his head then smiled. He came closer to Alastor. "Smiles, I'm gonna have to wait til later to be turned on by you being jealous that I just called Husk hot." His smile fell again. "But for now…this is really serious. I need to help my sister."

"She's gonna come back when she's ready to talk to you," Husk offered. "She promised."

"I can drag the snake's ship here by force if you'd like," Alastor offered, composure restored.

Angel shook his head. "No, I don't want to freak her out. And if Niss trusts Pen with her, he must have a reason." He considered. "I need to go to work soon, but after that I'll call my brother. If we actually work together maybe we can still send Molly back where she belongs."

Husk frowned, looking down.

Angel noticed. He swallowed and added, "But I mean, maybe she can at least come by here first — you know, to meet Al and…to say goodbye."

Husk blushed and let out a small relieved sigh. "Yeah. Good."

Alastor nodded. "Very well." He looked to Husk, eyes flashing red. "Husk, I'll speak to Niffty later. There is nothing for HER to worry about." Then he turned to Angel. "And of course my resources are at your disposal, Angel. And I…hope I can meet both of your siblings. Unless there's a third I should also know about — ha!" he joked weakly, trying to lighten the mood.

Angel's eyes were down. "There's just my dad. You don't want to meet him. Niss can be kind of a dick but my dad is…" He sighed. "Well, you, me, and Charlie know how some dads can be."

Alastor gave a small nod. "Quite."

They were standing very close. Husk slowly backed to the door. "Okay, well, in case this is the part where you two celebrate relating to each other by making out, I'll go."

Alastor held up a hand, not looking away form Angel. "If anything goes wrong for Angel's brother or sister due to your deceptions, I'll hold you personally responsible."

"Fine," Husk grunted. "But I still wouldn't take back what I did this morning. She's got just as much right to privacy and time as the rest of us." He quickly turned and left, shutting the door.

Angel sighed. "I think he was really trying to do the right thing. And I don't blame Husk if he really likes her that much. Molly's just…full of joy. It's hard not to help her if she needs it."

Alastor relaxed a little. "Well, perhaps I can understand considering my own recent foray into the powers of affection… I won't punish him, I merely wanted him to know I was displeased."

Angel smiled and took Alastor's hands. "If I go see Niss, I'll probably go alone. I don't want to leave you out, but we had a bad relationship growing up — specifically about me liking guys. If he mouths off to you and I have to sock him, that's gonna delay going to see Molly."

"You'd defend my honor so forcefully?" Alastor asked, smile up on one side.

Angel blushed, eyes hazed. "You know it, babe."

"Then that observation about Husker's physical attractiveness is forgotten." Alastor raised the back of both of his hands and kissed Angel's knuckles. "And I suppose I can't blame you for the comment." His glow grew. "You know, part of why Husker is in my service is that I may have used my charming ways to inadvertently seduce him."

"You did not!" Angel's jaw fell.

"I merely noticed he liked looking at me so I let him until I had him under my control." Alastor laughed awkwardly and released Angel's hands. "I didn't know what he saw in me but I worked with my resources until I got what I wanted." He rolled his eyes. "Please don't bring it up to him — he gets quite grumpy thinking about how easily he let his guard down for a handsome face."

Angel laughed. "I won't. Thanks for making me smile, Smiles." He gave him a gentle hug then pulled back. "I'll be back late. But I'll knock on the door — if you're still up, let me in for a goodnight kiss." He winked over his shoulder as he headed back to his room.

Alastor's ears stood straight up. "I'll be at the ready, darling!"

Angel giggled as he left the Radio Demon alone.

Once Angel was gone, Alastor considered then snapped his fingers to make his shadow appear. "Tail the air ship. And if it is in ANY distress call me immediately." His eyes narrowed. "I don't know why you didn't tell me about the spider woman boarding it earlier, and for now I don't care. Do NOT let it happen again!" The shadow scowled but nodded and disappeared. And Alastor now thought over what he should say to Niffty when he saw her next to make sure she knew there was nothing in the world to forgive.

A/N:

Thank you all for reading and for your support! I hope you're all taking care of yourselves and that you have a nice new year's. I'll update more next weekend, then after that I might go to every other weekend to give myself some breathing room lol. Thank you for understanding and for your support : )

Take care!

-Azure129