A/N:

Hi everyone! Yes, I'm finally back with more "Partners" ^^ Thank you for your patience! I've been dealing with a lot of life changes lately, but I'm so happy to be back writing this story. I have lots of fluffy and fun shenanigans planned for our boys and a lot of others, and I really hope you all enjoy it : ) Thank you for your support!

Partners

Chapter 46:

(Shark) Parenting and (Gay) Panicking

Arackniss groaned as he stared at his phone. He had blocked every number except Angel's, Molly's and Sir Pentious's. He had no missed calls, which meant that Pen had respected his need for some time alone and still hadn't tried to reach him. Niss was grateful…but now that a lot of his panic and confusion had subsided, he wanted to check in with the snake…for many reasons. After all, Niss and Angel were due to pay Molly a surprise visit this weekend on the airship, and Sir Pentious at least deserved some warning about the event, especially considering his adversarial relationship with Angel. And also Niss…had feelings and concerns he wanted to talk about with his special friend while he still had the courage.

Niss pulled a hand through his hair as he sat on his bed in his room at the Emporium, still debating whether he should call or text. But a text would mean waiting for Pen to reply, and he couldn't bare that delay. Besides, a call was more personal — and he would get to hear that melodic Victorian voice again coming from that unusual mouth.

Blushing, Niss touched the corner of his mouth and remembered standing so close to Pen the last time they'd been together when he'd dropped off Molly — but had they actually kissed? There had been barely any space between their mouths but not quite full contact. So maybe it didn't count as his first kiss with a guy…with Pen. But maybe that was better — Niss had felt awful about so many things that day, after all. He wanted a first kiss to be special.

He also wanted Sir Pentious to be sitting next to him on this bed, holding his hand and smiling and telling him everything would be okay.

But he knew moments like that would never happen unless he took a chance.

So Niss breathed deeply, dialed Pen's number, and waited…

On the airship, Sir Pentious was having fun barreling the ship through the air over wasteland territory, and Molly was having even more fun shooting random targets on the ground with the ship's ray gun while the Egg Bois cheered them both on.

"You've gotten the hang of that device quickly, Molly! I'm impressed!" Pen praised with a grin.

Molly laughed and aimed the ray gun at a few pieces of debris. "Aw, thanks! I used ta skeet shoot with a rifle when I was alive, and it's pretty similar. I've always liked a movin' target!" She fired again, hit her mark, and clapped her hands together happily.

The Egg Bois applauded, and so did Sir Pentious. Then his phone rang. He picked it up — his jaw fell open and he let go of the wheel entirely. The ship dipped hard to the right.

"Whoa!" Molly held onto her controls and did her best to keep too many Egg Bois from toppling over. "Penny! What happened?"

Sir Pentious blinked, realized the ship was going down, and scrambled to right. "Oh heavens, I'm so sorry! It's just… er, Niss is calling, heh!"

Molly's whole face brightened. She dashed over to him and grabbed the wheel. "I'll take over! Answer it, answer it! Presto!"

Pen fumbled with the phone then slithered off to the side and tried to sound confident as he said, "Hello! Niss, my fine friend, er…is that you?"

In his room, Niss was already a blushing and cringing mess. "Yeah! Uh…hi…um… Nice to talk to you again, Pen! How are you? Is, uh…is Molly around?" He tugged at his collar.

Sir Pentious nodded, frowning a little. "Oh, yes, of course — would you like to talk to her?"

Molly blinked then shook her head, pouting. She pointed to Sir Pentious — the one her brother should stay talking to — and smiled meaningfully.

"No, no!" Niss quickly answered, shaking his head. "I want to talk to YOU, just in private. Can you go somewhere? Away from Molly?" He felt like an idiot or a clueless teenager. Every word coming out of his mouth sounded so dramatic and ridiculous to him.

Sir Pentious swallowed, blushing. "Yes, of course, I understand, heh…!" He shot Molly a smile and a thumbs up, and she returned the gesture. He headed to the back window of the ship and lowered his voice. "I'm alone now — is everything okay?" He frowned, remembering Niss's eye from last time. "Are you well?"

Niss nodded, swinging his short legs off the edge of the bed. "Yeah, I'm…really good. Eye's better and I'm making some friends at the place where I'm holding up, heh… I just…" He bit his lip and decided to start slow, "I wanted to thank you again for taking in my sister. But, uh…you should know, Angel and I really need to come by to talk to her this weekend. Molly can't know though — she might…get nervous and run off. But it's really important the three of us talk. Angel's been worried about her." He sighed deeply. "I don't mean to drop all this family stuff on you, and it's your air ship, and I know you've got a history with Angel. If us comin' by isn't okay, just let me know — we'll figure out something else. Maledizione, I'm sorry this is gettin' so complicated…"

From the other end of the line Sir Pentious sighed. "Niss, it's quite all right. I know family affairs can be delicate. I'm just glad to hear you're all planning to talk — your siblings are fine demons. I'd be happy to have you and Angel aboard the ship to speak with Molly. It'll be nice for the Egg Bois and I to have so many guests to entertain. I'd never turn away your loved ones…or you."

Niss's heart was pounding. "I…know. Thanks. And I…" he sighed and made himself move on to most important stuff he had to say. "Listen, about…us… Last time I was there, I…you…we…" He gripped the phone. "Pen, I LIKE you. But there's also a lot going on right now, and I'm a mess, and I'm not sure what to…" He groaned and rubbed his forehead. "This is coming out even worse than I imagined."

"You've been…thinking about me enough to imagine telling me all this?"

Niss turned cherry red, and his eyes widened. He nodded at first but then remembered he was on a call and cleared his throat. "Yeah… You're not an easy guy to forget, Pen."

"I've been thinking about you too," Sir Pentious replied softly. "Concern for your general well-being of course but also…I like you very much too."

Niss's heart fluttered and his stomach churned. "I…" he pushed down a lot of lovesick (and embarrassing) stuff threatening to come up. "I think Molly already suspects that much…"

"I'm afraid I have to confirm your suspicions, heh." Sir Pentious cleared his throat. "Not that she's broached the subject directly but…she's a very clever and open person."

"Yeah, that's Molly." Niss grinned then bit his lip. "So we…like each other."

"It would appear so. Quite the happy coincidence."

Niss's insides were all churning pleasantly. Yet his eyes went down. "Um, but…when I come with Angel… he can't suspect about any liking at all. Is that okay?"

There was silence. Then the snake swallowed. "Oh, um…yes of course. I understand…"

Niss could hear the hurt in his voice. "No, no, I really don't think you do! I… This is new for me, Pen — SO new! Angel doesn't know I'm…gay." The word strained out of him, and Niss did his best to hold back some tears. "He never knew. Molly never knew. I barely knew. I actually, uh…never said it out loud to anyone til right now. But sayin' it to Angel is an extra complicated situation, and I need to tell him in my own way. That's the only reason I'm askin' for discretion. Otherwise I…damn, Pen, you're amazing. Why wouldn't I brag to my little brother that some charming, handsome, smart overlord is giving a low class lackey like me the time of day?" The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them, and then he just sat there, head buzzing as he blushed to no end. Niss couldn't wait for a response; he couldn't bare it. "I should go — you probably have things to take care of, and then there's Molly and all the eggs. I'll see you this weekend!"

"It's a date!" Sir Pentious blurted out, and then turned absolutely scarlet as he hung up the phone.

Sir Pentious couldn't recall the last time he'd been flirted with, but whenever it had happened it had never made him feel like this — a tongue-tied mess of euphoria and bewilderment. So, Niss was…but no one knew. Several details suddenly made sense. Sir Pentious would keep his friend's confidence as long as the brothers were here, but perhaps during the visit he could sneak a moment alone with Niss to plan a longer moment alone together to talk more and explore all of their 'liking' of each other. He didn't care where or how or when, he just wanted to finish that kiss that they had almost started the last time they'd been together.

Niss pulled in his knees as he collapsed onto his bed. "I should have fucking talked to him more! Fongul, does he think I'm a tease or a disaster or just his weirdest friend?" He pulled a pillow over his head and whispered to himself. "I want him to pick me up in that tail of his so damn bad. Havin' feelings has GOT to make men seem hotter cuz I never felt this attracted to a guy, and also snakes always scared the hell out of me in life." He let out a deep sigh and tried not to get lost in daydreams of all those smooth scales and strong muscles and that melodic voice. He tried to just breathe and think about some nice time in the future when he and Pen might talk to each other all the time, with ease and happiness and maybe kisses too.

On the airship Molly watched Sir Pentious re-enter the cockpit looking absolutely pink in his cheeks. She held back a giggle. "You okay ta drive or do ya need ta lie down?"

"Hmm?" He blinked a few times but then came back to reality and approached her. "Oh, er, I'm fine. Yes, Niss just…wanted to thank me again for taking you in, and to talk about…things." He took the wheel and kept his eyes down on it.

"Sounds nice." Molly held back a giggle. "Well, if you're okay I'm gonna get some fresh air out on one of the decks. Egg Bois, take care of Penny!"

The Egg Bois all nodded and saluted to her as Molly dashed out of the room and climbed the ladder to one of the upper levels.

She exited onto one of the decks — where Cherri Bomb happened to be sitting.

Cherri grinned. "You're late. I almost came in to look for you, but I didn't want to get mobbed by my Egg Boi fan club." She rolled her eyes.

Molly shrugged. "Sorry, had ta steer for a bit — Penny just took a very important call. Did ya know he's friends with Niss?" Molly eyed Cherri carefully.

Cherri hesitated. Molly was very difficult to lie to. Even putting one over on Angel was easier than her. Molly was also an expert at sussing out her brothers' secrets. "Yeah, I knew. I've been spending a little more time around Niss these days, hooked him up with a place to stay… told him to call Angel."

Molly crossed her legs and her arms, eyes still locked on Cherri. "How much do you know exactly?"

"Enough that I promised Niss I'd keep a lot of it a secret," Cherri finally replied.

"Are ya keeping a secret for Angel too?" Molly asked, eyeing her more.

Cherri sighed. "Your brothers are gonna kill me if I confirm or deny anything."

Molly smiled a little. "My brothers are really good at finding fine fellas in this place."

"And I hear you found yourself one too." Cherry smirked. But her look softened when Molly looked down, pouting a little. "What's up?"

Molly sighed. "Men are confusing sometimes, is all."

Cherri smiled a little again. "That's why I like that I date men and women — when I get sick of the drama with one, I can go to the other instead."

Molly laughed a little. "I wanna see my brothers happy with the people they care about. I don't want 'em to be alone anymore. And I don't want to be alone anymore."

"You guys'll figure it out. It'll be okay."

"Thanks, Cherri." Molly's usual bright smile returned. "You sure you don't wanna come in? We could sneak past the Egg Bois."

"Nah. Pen gets all dramatic with me — let him relax and keep his mind on someone else for now." She leaned against the railing. "So your text said you wanted…what exactly? Lessons about hell?"

Molly nodded. "I wanna know everything about this place. All the territories and rules and who's who. If I'm gonna stay here, I need ta understand hell better and learn how ta get around and make it on my own."

"Okay, but a lot of stuff in the Pentagram is always changing, and so are the demons involved."

"Let's start with Alastor. For Husk's sake. And Angel's too."

Cherri blinked and hesitated, her eye wide. Molly's gaze stayed locked on hers. Cherri swallowed. "You know that Alastor's the one who Angel…?"

Molly just shrugged and nodded. "Saw some little things — put two and two together. Twin's notice stuff real good about each other."

Cherri hesitated. "Molly, the Radio Demon's a…very loaded figure around here. All things considered, are you sure you don't want to ask Angel or maybe Alastor himself about—"

"I wanna hear from a neutral party," Molly assured. "I wanna hear about Pen too of course, but I'm already learning' a lot about him first hand livin' here. Alastor I've only got bits and pieces of — I want the full picture. Angel's my twin, Cherri, and Husk's…real special ta me. I need ta know."

Cherri finally nodded. "Okay… Well, my politics are a little rusty but I do know that Alastor showed up in hell decades ago and wreaked some serious havoc on the place. A lot of deaths, a lot of deals, a lot of mystery. And he never stops smiling. Even when he's… eating other demons…" Cherri went on hesitantly. But when Molly just nodded, she decided to press on. Cherri kept her explanations as clear and unbiased as she could while Molly listened intently to understand more about this man who was so significant to two of the most important men in her life.

The Radio Demon himself, meanwhile, had been quite glued to Angel's side ever since their disagreement and subsequent making up. Not needing to hide their involvement anymore from the others at the hotel didn't mean public displays of affection would be happening anytime soon. But it did mean that Alastor now led Angel down the stairs on his elbow, and they walked side by side through the halls, and they sat next to each other at mealtimes, and they stood just a little bit closer when gardening in the yard. Alastor had had a small fear at first that their disagreement would leave behind some lingering tension, but all seemed well again thankfully. And so he was content to merely bask in the awe of how Angel, his new beau, made him feel.

Right now Alastor contented himself by reveling in such feelings while watching Angel clip herbs in the yard as the deer demon stood with a parasol over both of them so the rays of the setting sun wouldn't get in Angel's eyes. Alastor was also having fun thinking over some of the plans he'd conjured up with Rosie for the cafe earlier and how Angel might like them considering the other demons involved. Of course, he would wait until all was right with Angel and his siblings — and until he had been properly introduced to them — before moving forward with his plans.

Alastor's eyes hazed. The idea of being introduced to Angel's family…or perhaps being able to become close to…or even part of…that family was heavenly.

Angel finished clipping from another plant. "You sure you and I need herbs for our date, Al?" He smiled over his shoulder.

"Yes, quite!" Alastor assured as he came out of his pleasant thought. "We're having a picture show night in my office, after all, and popcorn is a must. Herbs flavor the butter to keep things interesting."

Angel giggled. "I never had a moviegoing experience this fancy. I'll have to change into something nice."

Alastor's glow grew, and he almost felt weak in the knees again at the sound of that giggle. "Actually I thought casual attire would be appropriate considering the casualness of the date."

Angel stood up with the small basket of cut herbs and smirked, eyes bright. "Don't tell me I'm finally gonna get to see the Radio Demon out of his suit!" He blinked and blushed. "I-I mean, not 'out of', I mean…heh, sorry, the innuendo is hard to turn off."

Alastor just smiled at him. Angel shy was a rarity and a precious one. "Meet me in my office in one hour and you'll see then," he replied tenderly. He swallowed and added, "And if you're feeling up to it this evening, we can finally attempt falling asleep together in bed for practicality's sake. I am rather comfortable with the idea now after our little nap together."

Angel's white fur was glowing pink, and his pink marking's were glowing almost neon. He nodded, smile wobbly. "We'll see how the night goes. I'm just happy to spend any part of it with you, Alastor." He pulled his hand through his hair nervously.

Alastor was charmed completely. "A bien tot then, mon ange. Thank you for collecting the herbs for me so I wouldn't kill them on the vine with my touch. Ha!" He closed the parasol as the sun went down. It turned back into his microphone, and then he disappeared in a flash of magic while Angel waved with a giddy grin.

Vox had been on baby shark duty for a couple days now. He'd been woken up in the middle of the night for walks and had spent a stupid amount of money on pet toys and had found bite marks on everything from the couch cushions to the pillows in his bed (where Vark may have been sleeping even though Vox had gotten him a bed for the floor). Yet even though it was exhausting and frustrating and a lot of work, the overlord felt…good. He had a project to work on — caring for a creature besides himself. And when Vark did a flip in excitement or jumped on Vox to lick his screen or fell asleep in the overlord's lap snoring, Vox was genuinely happy. He liked the quiet moments when he could just pet the little shark, and Vark would roll over and look up at him like he was the most important and special person in the world.

Vox hadn't even had time to obsess over Valentino or Alastor or anyone ever since finding Vark, and he liked that fact too.

Velvet had been helping him with the baby shark, though sometimes she was more like another force of chaos for him to reign in. One moment she'd be preparing little shark-themed cupcakes for Vark to eat, the next she'd be dancing around with one of his baby teeth cheering that Vark was the best pet because he came with his own supply of mini teeth knives she could collect as they fell out. Overall though, she seemed less prone to her darker, more violent moments with the shark in their lives, and Vox was happy for that fact too.

He did wonder briefly if Vark might have a similar good effect on Valentino. But he put the notion out of his mind quickly. He still needed space, and Val's demons were darker than Velvet's or his own, and it wasn't Vark's job to fix everyone — the little shark's ability to bring happiness was just a nice side effect of his presence, but it wasn't his purpose.

Right now it was sunset, and Vox was in his kitchen preparing dinner for himself and Velvet and Vark. Cooking was an activity he'd rarely participated in on his own. Usually he ate crappy appetizers at the studio or fast food since that was Val's go-to or (an irony he would never share with anyone for fear of it getting back to Alastor) frozen tv dinners at home. But taking care of Vark and Velvet made him want to take care of himself too.

He wasn't a good cook, admittedly, but he could follow a basic recipe well enough for himself and Velvet. And as for Vark, right now he was spoiling the little thing with a stew made from some of the finest cuts of meat he could get until he could research more about what exactly sharks liked and needed.

"Vel?" Vox called over his shoulder. "You've been awfully quiet in there with Vark — you two aren't up to anything, are you?"

He heard her sigh from the living room. "I'm not doing anything. I just got a text from Val and now I'm thinking about what to write back."

Vox nearly knocked the pot of stew off the stove in surprise. "Oh, uh…that's…new."

"He says I should come over to the VIP lounge for tonight's show. He's acting like nothing happened between the three of us. He probably thinks I'm too out of my head to remember or care."

Vox frowned a little but sighed, adjusting the pot. "Vel, if you want to hang out with him or check up on him or whatever, it's fine. You don't have to choose between us. I'll be okay. Just make sure you're taking care of yourself."

She laughed "I already told you, dummy — you're much more fun than Val's been lately. Besides, what, does he think I LIKE sitting up there watching a bunch of dressed up demons down below taking off their clothes to music? Men… I only like it up there when you two are with me so the three of us can make a night of it. Remember all those times I drugged the cupcakes and didn't tell you? Val would get pissed and you would get grumpy, but you were both too high to do anything about it? Good times - ha!"

Vox found himself holding back a laugh. "They were nice times, yeah…" He was relieved that Velvet was okay enough in her head right now to know what she wanted and to not jump back into things with Valentino too quickly. He opened the oven and pulled out a casserole. "Maybe there'll be more nice times later… But for now these times are nice too."

Then there was the distinct sound of a heavy and expensive item shattering to the floor followed by the scrambling of fins against the hardwood.

Vox straightened up. "Velvet — I thought you said you two weren't up to anything. What was that?"

"Oh, no, I said - I - wasn't up to anything. But VARK was trying to walk standing on his back legs and sort of knocked the tv off the wall. He says sorry!"

Vox sighed and shook his head but couldn't help smiling again. He carried the casserole to the kitchen table then took off his apron and grabbed Vark's bowl from the floor. "I'll clean it up later. For now you two get in here — food's ready. Vark, I'm not mad! Slightly insulted because it was the TV you broke, but not mad." He scooped some of the meat stew from the pot on the stove into the bowl and set it down.

Velvet skipped into the kitchen, and Vark came skittering after her, panting with a smile as he sat down before the bowl.

Vox patted him on the head. "Dig in, buddy."

The little shark dove into the bowl, eating sloppily.

Velvet tilted her head. "He's a madman — I love him."

Vox snorted and rolled his eyes as they took their seats and served themselves

"Anything special planned for dessert tonight?" Vox asked.

"Angel Food Cake — in honor of Angel talking you into this crazy amazing shark idea." She stabbed the casserole with her fork and ripped off a huge hunk with her fangs. "You're gonna have to thank him, you know."

Vox pouted but nodded. "Yes, I know. I'd rather just find some small, subtle way to do it though than actually going up to him and saying the words. I'm not sure if I could get them out, and also I'm pretty sure Alastor would take a bite out of me. That guy is fucking possessive over Angel. I'm not even jealous, I'm just saying — VAL'S barely that obsessive over the guy."

Velvet shrugged. "Maybe Alastor's not being controlling. Maybe he and Angel really are super good friends and he's trying to keep him safe — or he doesn't want to share. Maybe Angel weirdly does for him whatever good, relaxing thing Vark does for you. Minus all the torn furniture and shark drool."

"Hmm…" Vox stared down at the food on his plate in thought. "If Alastor cares that much about Angel, I could probably use it against him. It'd be really easy."

"Maybe that could be your small, subtle thank you to Angel — NOT using him to piss off Alastor for fun," Velvet suggested with a shrug.

Vox groaned a little but nodded. "I know. Besides, I don't have it in me to use Angel like that after he helped me. Even if I could pull off, I know what would happen. I'd kidnap Angel, then Alastor would kidnap you or Vark, we'd both be stressed and at each others throats, then Val would have a field day with it." He poured some wine and took a swig. "Eh, fuck it — maybe Alastor having a best friend is a good thing. His attention is focused a lot less on being lethal to everyone in the Pentagram, including me, you, and Val. I don't want to rock that boat. I'm too tired to rock that boat after all the care Vark needs."

Velvet nodded and swallowed another big hunk of casserole. "I sent over some cake for Val too, you know. Devil's Food. He likes chocolate, and besides you know he'd take the Angel Food Cake thing as some kind of big passive aggressive challenge about Angel Dust."

"Drama Queen." Vox grinned, then his voice softened. "I think he'll appreciate the cake, Vel."

"He damn well better — I don't give cake to just anyone. I didn't even drug or poison it!"

Vox laughed.

Vark sat up, face covered in food, tail swishing powerfully on the floor.

Vox grinned down at him. "You're gonna need another bath. Every meal with you…" Vark tilted his head adorably. Vox tossed him some break and Vark gnawed on it happily. "I'll clean up the living room first, then we'll worry about your bath. Then I guess you'll be sleeping with me again tonight." Vox was interested to realize that he suddenly didn't care about the broken TV at all. Because all of this right here was more enjoyable to him right now than anything in his domain or the rest of hell could offer.

Husk had been hiding out in his room as much as possible for the last couple of days, but he finally dragged himself out to the bar this evening simply because he couldn't stand the guilt of having Niffty tending to him so much. She deserved to do something besides coddle an old bar cat who was hung up on a girl and wallowing in self-pity. And maybe he was feeling marginally better — still heartbroken as hell but used to it at least.

He wiped down the counters then pulled out a glass and reached for a bottle on the shelf. He poured himself a moderate amount and tried not to let his eyes linger on a large empty space on one of the shelves. That was where the absinthe had been that had gotten him so crocked the night Niffty had found him a crying mess. She'd told him yesterday that she was sorry but she'd poured all of that funny green liquor down the drain because she couldn't stand what it did to him. Husk hadn't been mad in the slightest. He hated what he let that shit do to himself too. For now he took a swig of some decent whiskey and rested his head on his hand, gazing out at the empty hotel lobby. Here he was again — another moment in this place where everybody was off doing something, probably with someone else, while he was alone. Just grumpy old Husk.

His phone buzzed.

He pulled it out — Niffty was cleaning the upper floors right now, and if it was her texting and he didn't reply right away she'd get nervous and interrupt her work to check on him. And on the off chance it was Alastor, if he didn't answer then the pushy deer demon would teleport here and not leave him alone.

When he saw that the message was from Molly, he clenched his glass and his heart pounded.

He both wanted to run away from the phone and to hug it close to his chest. And then his insides knotted up as he realized that these feelings were getting too intense — they were starting to go beyond a crush or an attraction. Maybe he was starting to fall in…

Alastor came practically prancing out of his office, humming to himself as he twirled his cane and headed over to the bar.

Husk fumbled his phone several times and then finally stuffed it under his hat and tried to resume looking nonchalant. He took another belt of the whisky to settle his nerves.

Alastor's eyes brightened when he caught sight of the bar cat. "Ah, Husker! Haven't seen you out and about lately. You must have been minding quite the hangover these last few days." He raised an eyebrow.

Husk scowled. "I was sick. Even eternal servitude gets sick days. Thanks for checking up on me, by the way."

Alastor blinked. "You had Niffty to assist you —I assumed she would have told me if you were suffering from anything serious."

"Whatever." Husk sighed and rolled his eyes. "Can I get you something?"

Alastor's glow brightened a little. "Why yes! I wanted to collect a few bottles of that sarsaparilla you keep supplied for me. I was going to serve a nice wine, but then I realized that of course soda pop goes better with popcorn!"

"Serve for what? To who? And since when do you eat popcorn?" Husk raised an eyebrow.

Alastor cleared his throat lightly. "Ha! Why, the popcorn and sarsaparilla are all for an engagement I have this evening in my office — with Angel." He shrugged but his ears twitched.

Husk was absolutely not in the mood to hear how fantastic Alastor's efforts at dating a spider were going. He grabbed four bottles, shoved them into an ice bucket, and shoved it into Alastor's hands. "Here — don't say I never did you any favors. And if you do get into the wine later, don't get drunk. Niffty's doesn't deserve to nurse any other demon's hangovers." He flushed a little in guilt as he went back to his own drink.

"Of course!" Alastor's eyes darted around then down to the bucket. "Thank you, Husker!" He hesitated before turning away. "Are you…quite all right? Angel may have mentioned… I understand you're quite put out about Molly. And if you really are ill as well, perhaps…"

"I'm FINE! Now that you're FINALLY asking," Husk almost growled. "Just go on your date and let me have the bar to myself in peace." He topped off his drink and turned away.

Alastor still eyed him closely but then finally nodded and teleported himself out of sight.

The second he was gone, Husk took a deep breath and pulled the phone out from under his hat. He looked at the screen, at Molly's waiting message. Part of him still wanted to run away. But a bigger (and maybe better) part of him decided to open it.

'Hi Husky,

It's me, Molly, remember — heh? I hope you're doing okay. I hope you know I miss talking to you. You make me smile, and I like it. And I like making you smile too.

Anyway, I'll stop with the sweet talk. I know you probably got a lot of questions about me and maybe you're confused about some stuff. I know the purgatory thing was probably a lot to process too. I also know I'm an intense gal with a lot of baggage. And if all that's too much for you in your life right now, it hurts but I understand. Promise. I just hope we can be friends still somehow.

But if there's a chance that you just need to get used to things and maybe want to talk and maybe miss me too, I'd like to start here. I figure we could send some messages sometimes. And if you want me to stop, just say the word and I will. But if you want to write back, just send any words that come to you. I'm here, and I'm listening, and I like you. So much.

Take care of yourself, mi amore.

-Molly'

Husk could have cried again. Even reading words from her felt good. He knew that she probably wouldn't stick around hell, and even if she did…what did he have to offer her? He didn't even have his own soul, much less anything else to his name so he could provide for her. But maybe if they at least talked it out then the heartache would go away, for both of them.

He glanced around, making sure he was alone, and then Husk typed back to her.

'Hi,

Sorry I didn't say more the other night. I've been thinking about a lot of things — including you. I do want to talk. Just slow — like not everything at once. Maybe we could start easy. How was your day?

-H'

He pressed send before he could stop himself then sat with his drink almost forgotten as he held the phone close. She replied back quickly. And after musing over her words he replied again. Back and forth — maybe it wasn't a fancy dinner date in an office like Alastor and Angel were going to have tonight, but it was something, and Husk sort of liked it a lot.

But he reminded himself was using this for closure — to end something that had started, not fan the flames. He had to remember that fact…even if something about her made him feel seen and understood and special for the first time in a long time.

A/N:

Thank you so much for reading! I appreciate all of your support :) I'll try to updated a little more regularly again. I hope you're all doing well and taking care of yourselves!

-Azure129