A/N:

Hi everyone!

Here with another update as the spider siblings sort out the aftermath from their attempted meeting and the hotel staff figure out what to do about the spies scouting out their building : ) Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy!

Partners

Chapter 54:

Overlord, Ogler, Spider, Spy

Evening had arrived, and Charlie had just finished knocking on the door of Alastor's office and his room with no response from the overlord. She hadn't seen him all afternoon, and she was getting anxious to make sure he knew about the demons watching the hotel. Maybe he was planning to have a late night out, either at the Cannibal Colony or with Angel (who also hadn't answered when she had knocked on his door after Alastor's). Either way, until she could find him and secure his help, Charlie had at least taken the precautions of locking the hotel front door and making sure everyone else was accounted for and safe inside. Also Vaggie had insisted on heading to the roof for lookout duty.

Charlie decided to head into the kitchen and start dinner — hopefully it would be ready by the time her girlfriend came down for the night.

She entered the kitchen to find Alastor sitting at the table, sound asleep with his head on his arms and a covered dish of food in front of him. She was about to step back and leave him be when the door closed behind her with a loud creak and click.

Alastor's ears twitched and let off some static. "Hmm…what's? Quel…? Yes, who is it?" He sat up and glanced around, then he adjusted his monocle and his eyes found Charlie.

"Sorry, Alastor!" Charlie held up her hands. "I didn't mean to wake you! I didn't know you were resting in here until I came in."

"Oh…indeed." He blinked a few times, regaining the last of his bearings. "I suppose I was putting away these leftovers from dinner with Angel, and I must have dozed off." He cleared his throat and quickly straightened his hair and bowtie. "No need to apologize, and you'll have to pardon me for my kitchen respite. Today has been…rather exhausting for me, magically and otherwise." He looked at the food and snapped it away then stood. "I'll just leave you to whatever culinary shenanigans you—"

"Wait, Alastor, I need to talk to you! Husk should be here too though — he saw something, and we're worried." Charlie frowned.

Alastor raised an eyebrow then sighed and snapped his fingers.

Husk appeared in the kitchen, texting on his phone…and reclined on his side on the kitchen table since Alastor had teleported him directly from his bed. Husk blinked at the sudden location change and scrambled off of the table. "Hey, what the hell?!" He glared at Alastor. "How about some warning one of these days before you relocate me, huh?"

Alastor rolled his eyes. "I was too tired to think of sending an invitation prior to your teleportation. Now, Charlie here informs me we need to talk. And for your sake I sincerely hope that the situation, whatever it may be, is NOT of your making." He glared back at Husk.

"Oh make THIS!" Husk flipped him off and went back to texting on his phone.

Alastor seethed then rubbed his temple. "Can we NOT fight for a moment, Husker?"

"You're fighting?" Charlie frowned in worry. "Why?"

Both men spoke at the same time.

"Clueless boss issues…" came from Husk.

"Kitty cat mood swings?" came from Alastor.

They were instantly about to turn on each other again.

"Uh, guys? Please." Charlie held up her hands. "Alastor, Husk didn't cause any problem. Husk, can you describe to Alastor what you told me you saw? Please? For everyone's safety."

Husk tucked his phone under his hat and took a deep breath. "On my way back from going out this morning I saw shady demons hiding and watching this place. Like they're casing the joint or maybe looking for someone." He crossed his arms. "So, Alastor, now would be a good time to think about who you might have pissed off THIS week so we know who might be snooping around here looking for a fight."

"Ha!" Alastor's smile grew as his eyes narrowed. "Between reigning in your recent attitude, seeing to hotel matters, and legislating Cannibal Colony, I haven't exactly had time to become a bee in anyone's bonnet lately!" He crossed his arms, head held high. "Besides, whoever's looking our way couldn't be another overlord — we don't scout things out, we simply attack."

"Not everyone's as impulsive as you, ya know," Husk grumbled, staring him down. "What if it's Valentino pulling some bullshit? What if it's about Angel?"

Quite a bit of the color drained from Alastor's face, and his smile now looked plastered on.

Normally Husk would have taken satisfaction in pulling the rug out from under Alastor, but in this case he only felt concern. Anything that hurt Angel would hurt Molly, and he couldn't let that happen. Also he understood how Alastor felt — the ache of worrying about someone he cared for.

Charlie tried to smile as she noticed Alastor's distress as well. "I'm sure Angel can let us know right away if he thinks that's a possibility. We can go talk to him right now."

"He already left for work," Alastor said simply.

Charlie's brow furrowed in concern.

Alastor snapped his fingers. His shadow appeared. Alastor did his best to keep his tone restrained as he issued orders. "Might powers won't be back at full strength until at least the morning. Linger near the studio. Keep an eye on Angel but not an obvious one for obvious reasons. Do not engage with him unless it is an absolute emergency. If something happens, I will come as quickly as I can manage." The shadow nodded and flew off.

Charlie glanced in the direction the shadow had gone then back to Alastor. "Alastor, we could just call or text Angel to let him know right now what's going on."

Alastor held up his hand. "Angel has had a rather exhausting day as well. And his work has been particularly stressful lately. I refuse to upset him even more by broaching this subject in the middle of his shift. He will be well protected by my shadow until her returns. And then I will discuss the matter with him when he returns, and we will go from there." His brow furrowed in thought, sharpening his gaze. "Are you certain this couldn't be the work of your dramatic parents?"

Charlie shook her head. "They don't do things in the shadows, Alastor. They're direct. Everything is a power move, and they don't hide those — they broadcast them."

"Very well." Alastor nodded. He glanced at Husk, a strained smile on his face as he made himself say, "Thank you for…bringing this matter to my attention, Husker."

"Yeah, sure." Husk glanced away, his frown softened a little. "Can I go now?"

"Were you…occupied with an important matter when I interrupted you?" Alastor tilted his head, genuinely curious as the thought occurred to him.

"It wasn't life or death, but I do have an existence outside of being your lackey," Husk grumbled. "And I'm gonna go back to it for a bit. See ya, Charlie." He took out his phone again and headed out of the kitchen.

Alastor was too tired to analyze yet another unexpectedly sour exchange between himself and Husk right now. Just like he was too tired to hunt down any of the hotel spies at the moment without potentially making the situation even more complicated or dangerous. Not to mention, his promise to Angel that he wouldn't jump into violent situations unprepared. He looked to the princess. "Charlotte, everything with Angel will be fine. This hotel will be fine. I am here and I am invested, and I do not give up my sources of diversion easily." For a moment a wicked grin spread across his face that was quickly replaced with a faint smile and heavy lidded eyes. "But first I need simply to recharge a bit, ha…"

Charlie's smile was gentle. She pushed open the kitchen door. "You go right up to your room and rest for as long as you need. I'll keep things safe for now. You know I'm tougher than I look, Alastor." She winked.

Alastor sighed and smiled a little more as he made his way to the door with a yawn. "Give them hell, Charlie, ha…"

She laughed and watched him go, making sure he made his way safely upstairs. He really did care, maybe too much. Charlie wanted him to remember that he was worth keeping safe and taking care of too just as much as the rest of them. But she had a feeling Angel was the best one to communicate that message — and thankfully the spider was probably in the habit of doing so for Alastor.

She headed into the kitchen to start dinner, feeling much calmer and more confident about the hotel's safety.

Vox could not have explained exactly why he cared enough to be doing what he was doing right now. Maybe it was some pesky feeling of 'owing' Angel, maybe it was a final lingering interest in anything connected to Alastor, maybe part of him was a little curious — and worried — about how Val was doing alone. But regardless, here he was, in a closed electronics shop across the street from the studio (and under his domain), peering through the display window full of tv's to monitor what was happening at the studio tonight. He also had a small television tuned to display the footage of the studio security cameras for him — though Val mostly set those up in the private show rooms, so the footage was less 'helpful' and more 'gross'. But there was a chance Val would show up in one of those rooms or maybe Angel. Definitely not Alastor though of course (Vox tried not to even imagine the thought as it made the circuits in his face overheat).

His phone buzzed. He glanced down — a message from Velvet and a picture of her and Vark.

'We finished making and eating eclairs! He loves them! He ate a dozen! And…then he threw up a little. Maybe on the living room rug. He's sorry! And he definitely feels better because he just ate six more eclairs! Vark says he loves being babysat by Auntie Velvet!'

Vox sighed and shook his head, almost smiling. He texted back.

'That sounds like enough eclairs for both of you tonight. I'll take care of the mess when I get home. Just make sure to give him a bath and then put him in my bed to sleep. And tell him he's a good boy. Also, thanks for the cookies.'

He closed the phone, sighed, ate one of the cookies from the bag Velvet had baked for him (no razor blades or roofies — she'd sworn on Vark) and went back to looking out the window at the studio with all its suggestive signs and flashing lights and horny demons walking in and out.

Suddenly a dark figure moved in front of his view but vanished quickly. Vox blinked then narrowed his eyes — his antenna flicked. He tried to see if he could pick up a cell phone frequency or something to figure out who it was — maybe a spy from Valentino or Valentino himself, or…

His eyes widened as he pinpointed the frequency. "Alastor?"

He grabbed the metal counter holding the tv's and concentrated — static jumped from the table in waves and spread outward through the window and into the street. His screen glitched from the effort he was making. But he opened his eyes and grinned to see the dark figure paper again and become caught in his electric hold. It was pulled from the shadows and finally careened into the glass, held there with the bonds of static he had created.

Alastor's shadow.

Vox grinned. "Well, well…what in the hell are you doing here?" He glanced around. "And where's Alastor?" He turned back to the shadow.

The figment flipped him off with both hands.

Vox almost laughed. "Wow, I'd forgotten that you were the fun one of the two of you. I think Alastor would blush if he flipped someone off." He glared at the shadow then raised an eyebrow. "Are you here to hurt Val?"

The shadow stuck out its tongue.

"Are you here to hurt me?"

The shadow rolled its eyes.

"Are you here to…help Angel?"

The shadow pouted and frowned, looking away.

Bingo.

Vox's nefarious look softened. "You're here for Angel." He took a deep breath in and out. "So Angel did take my advice about going to his new best buddy for protection. And Alastor agreed to help him." He raised an eyebrow. "Is Alastor…okay?"

The shadow blinked and tilted its head at this unexpected question.

Vox blushed. "Hey, I don't mean it like I care how he's doing or anything!" He scoffed. "I-I mean, is okay as in…is he doing good now? Has that stupid 'Happy Hotel' and making friends with Angel somehow been good for him? Like is he less 'horrific radio noises, maniacal smirk' and more 'laugh track and giddy grin'? You know, cuz he's actually helping someone instead of being a standoffish dick…" He shrugged with a pout.

The shadow gave him such a dry look. It then breathed on the glass, drew a television next to a pair of antlers, drew a heart around them, and sliced through it so swiftly that the glass cracked.

Vox glared. "Yes, shut up, I know Alastor is not into me! And I'm not into him! …Anymore." He cleared his throat. "I'm just…going through some stuff, and I'm trying to understand what helps make other people happy so I can figure out more about what makes me happy! And why am I even telling you any of this?!" Static bolts came off of his head.

The shadow sighed. It pointed to Vox, pointed to the porn studio, then raised an eyebrow.

Vox settled down. "I don't know why I'm watching the place. Lots of complicated stuff with Val. Maybe I want to make sure he's not a fucking idiot and doesn't hurt Angel out of spite and get himself killed by Alastor. Val's been shitty for a while, but I don't want him dead."

The shadow hesitated then drew another heart…with a tv and a moth inside. Outside of the heart it put a question mark.

Vox blushed more shot a bolt of static from his hat and vaporized the whole picture. "Absolutely not! And don't go telling Alastor or Angel or anyone else that, because it is NOT true!" He scowled, but the blush persisted…as did a brief image of that time Val had grabbed him and kissed him, offering sex to help him get over Alastor. "I mean…forget it, Val's a fucking toxic mess lately and I'm done. Doesn't mean I don't worry about him. Despite what you and Alastor think, I am capable of being decent, you know."

The shadow granted him a small nod of understanding.

Vox looked back at it. "Look, how about tonight you leave me to my obsessive lurking and I leave you to whatever Angel-related task Alastor sent you here for? Worse comes to worse and something big and dangerous happens, we can help each other out and then never speak of this night again."

The shadow eyed him suspiciously.

"I mean it." Vox added with a dry look. "Come on, I'm exhausted from raising my new shark, telling Val to fuck off, and still running my own district. Do I look or sound like a man in the mood to play games?"

The shadow finally had to shrug and nod in agreement.

"Good. Hopefully no one ends up dead tonight. And if Alastor ever asks, I'm only being nice right now because I owe Angel, nothing more. Got it?"

The shadow smirked and rolled its eyes but nodded.

Vox released his static hold. The shadow freed itself and flew through the glass to go back outside. As it was about to fly off though it hesitated and then popped its head back in and pointed to the bag of cookies next to Vox.

Vox sighed deeply but nodded. "Just take some. And next time Alastor gets pissed at me for whatever, don't let him say I never did him any favors."

With a smile the shadow grabbed a handful of cookies then left, munching away.

Vox took a very deep breath and ate some cookies himself. "We are all just complete basket case messes. And Val fucking owes ME one for all this shit." He rested his head on his hand and continued watching the studio.

Angel was grateful; on top of not seeing Valentino around the studio at all tonight, at the end of his shift there had been no fresh note in his dressing room to come up to the VIP lounge. He got changed and left the building as quickly as he could though, just in case.

Normally as he walked home there were always a few demons on the street leering at him or cat calling him. He usually ignored them or flipped them off and kept walking. And if anyone actually did get frisky with no intention of paying, experience had taught him that shoving a gun barrel into their gut was a very effective way of getting them to fuck off.

Tonight, though, Angel noticed the demons on the street seemed to clear away as he approached. He finally glanced over his shoulder, worried that maybe Valentino or one of his lackeys was following him, but was relieved when he only caught sight of Alastor's shadow in the distance. The shadow blinked at being discovered, bit its lip, then gave him a sheepish wave. A demon crossed the street, sneering in Angel's direction. The shadow glared and took on a horrific demonic shape — the guy scrambled to get away. The shadow returned to normal then hid in an alley again, only its head peeking out as it looked to Angel. Angel smiled a little. "Thanks, Shadow Smiles." The shadow nodded, and Angel continued his walk home. After today he barely had the strength to deal with any chumps — some help was welcome. And he knew everything he'd shared with Alastor about the nature of his bad relationship with Val had probably been a lot for the protective demon to hear. Angel was grateful Alastor had just sent his shadow to keep an eye on him rather than razing the porn studio to the ground in a risky, impulsive overlord fight with Valentino.

He made it back to the hotel safely and went upstairs, hoping for the comfort of a goodnight kiss and a chance to thank Alastor for the extra shadow protection. Angel entered his own room and knocked gently a few times on the secret door to Alastor's room but got no response. A touch of worry made him open the door and peek in.

He found Alastor, still dressed except for his coat, sitting in his arm chair fast asleep with a book in one hand and his monocle fallen out. He was facing their secret door, almost like he had been waiting for Angel, trying to stay awake.

Angel smiled gently at him. He remembered how worn out Alastor had seemed from all the teleporting earlier and how worried he'd been all day about Angel and the rest of the spider family. And then after all that excitement Alastor had drawn Angel a bath and made him dinner and tucked him in for a nap. No wonder he was passed out, especially this late.

Angel stayed quiet — he knew sounds tended to wake up Alastor right away. He went over and very gently scooped up Alastor in his arms, holding under his knees and shoulders. He was afraid that the touching might disturb Alastor and wake him…but the deer just curled himself against Angel's body and smiled in his sleep.

Carrying his beau's body felt nice to Angel. He recalled Alastor's interest in masculine qualities earlier and wondered what the deer would think of being cradled like this. In his sleep, the beautiful lines of Alastor's face reminded Angel of a fairytale princes or princess. He barely resisted the urge to wake the man he loved with a kiss.

Instead Angel blushed very much as he laid Alastor down in bed — the deer demon lost the smile once Angel's arms left him. Angel covered him with a blanket and gently placed his monocle on the nightstand. He dimmed the lights, blew Alastor a kiss, and left him to sleep.

Back in his own room, Angel gently closed the door behind him and let out a satisfied sigh. Nuggets, asleep in his little bed, blinked open his eyes and tilted his head.

"Shh…" Angel said, "Papa Alastor is sleeping. He had a big day. And I guess I did too…" The spider stretched and then took out his phone.

There was a message from Niss he had avoided looking at all night because he was a little afraid of what it might say. But he opened it and read it now — he couldn't avoid it forever.

'Tony — talked to Molly. Explained and apologized. She's okay with trying to meet again, but she'd rather do it at the hotel. Next week sometime if that works for you. Maybe we could all sit at the bar and figure things out over drinks. She's also okay with us meeting Husk as her fella.'

Angel smiled a little. He wrote back.

'Niss — yeah, today kind of sucked a lot, huh? It was a mistake trying to surprise her. She's my twin and I should know her better. And I'm sorry things got so out of control on the airship. I'll apologize to Pen too next time I see him. I'm glad you have a friend by the way. He's lucky to have you as one too. Next week sounds good, for the three of us and Husk. Maybe I'll…even have my guy come by. Maybe you'll bring your girl by too — no pressure though. I'm scared about Molly being stuck here now, but I'm also kind of happy. I missed her. I missed you too.'

He wanted to type 'I love you' but figured the first time saying those words to his brother in a long while would be better spoken out loud and in person.

He took a deep breath and now finally read the brief message he'd gotten from Molly following her missed calls.

'Tony - you're not like Pops. I'm sorry I said that. It wasn't right. And I'm sorry we fought. I love you. Please get back to me when you're ready. I already spoke to Archie.'

Angel wiped a tear away and smiled and wrote back to her:

'Molly… It hurt. But I also get why you got so mad. I wasn't listening to you, and I'm sorry. You're brilliant, and you can handle anything. Including hell. And I feel guilty, but part of me is glad you're stuck here now. We're all siblings, but me and you are special. Twins, heh… I love you. We should be part of each other's lives. I want us all to get together and bitch out Pops, and then you and me can giggle about boys while Niss blushes and acts all weird. He says you're willing to meet again this week, at the hotel. I'd like that a lot. You're gonna raise hell in hell and shake up this place, I know it. Maybe you can even move in here. Maybe one day you and me and Niss'll get redeemed together and end up in heaven. Or if that whole idea's a bust we'll stay here in hell. But we won't be apart anymore. Never should have happened in the first place. I love you so much. Bella notte.'

With a relieved sigh he closed the phone and headed into the bathroom to change and get cleaned up. Then Angel collapsed into bed and fell into a deep and much needed sleep.

Angel woke up earlier than usual after a very sound and restful sleep thanks to the relief of squaring things away with his siblings. Nuggets was asleep beside him. Angel cuddled the little pig close and smiled. He just wanted to lie in bed and savor the morning before getting up. He decided soon he would talk with Alastor about the two of them spending more nights together in bed, dates or no dates, because having the deer beside him right now would have made the moment perfect. Angel sighed and whispered to himself. "Alastor…" Even the demon's name sent shivers down his spine.

There was a knock on the secret door to Alastor's room.

Angel blushed and sat up, made sure he had definitely thrown on pajamas before bed last night instead of just taking off his clothes, and then turned to the wall. "Al?"

"Yes indeedy!" came shyly from the other side. "Are you decent? And if so may I come in? I was going to wait until later, but I thought I heard you say my name."

Angel got up, an eyebrow raised, and opened the door. "Wait, are you gonna hear me now ANYTIME I say your name? Not just if I'm calling for help?"

Alastor, all dressed for the day, shrugged. "Maybe. I've set my hearing to be sensitive to all frequencies of your voice saying my name." He raised an eyebrow. "Is that…okay?"

Angel smiled bashfully. "It's swell, but uh…could you maybe limit it to just the frequencies of me sounding scared or angry? Some of the other times I say your name are…private." He blushed.

Alastor tilted his head then blinked and glowed immensely. His eyes turned to radio dials and his ears twitched back and forth with peals of static coming from them, like he was re-tuning himself. Then he returned to normal. "Done!"

Angel giggled. "Thanks, cutie." He gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Also, good morning."

"Good morning." Alastor's smile decreased as Angel pulled back. "I wasn't able to stay up for a goodnight kiss last night. My apologies." He swallowed. "Did you have any hand in…moving me to my bed and covering me?"

Angel nodded. "I couldn't leave ya in the chair. I figured you needed a good nights sleep after everything. And I didn't want to wake you up." He swallowed. "Work was okay. Still no sign of Val, and he didn't call for me this time. And the walk home was good." He smiled sheepishly. "I might have caught Shadow Smiles scaring off some seedy fans of mine. Thanks for the extra security. I felt safe all the way home."

Alastor's glow increased and his smile softened as his eyes hazed. But then he blinked a few times and his smile tightened into a more serious look. "I'm glad he was able to assist you, Angel, but I didn't just send my shadow as an extra general precaution. We have a new situation, and I needed to ensure your safety until you returned and we could discuss the matter properly. Charlie wanted to call you at work but I…didn't want to add to your concerns there." His ears dropped a little and he bit his lip.

Angel's brow furrowed in worry. "What do you mean? What happened?"

"Husk has informed myself and Charlie and Vagatha that yesterday he noticed several shady individuals 'casing the joint', as he puts it. Demons are hiding nearby and watching the hotel from the shadows — and my shadow reports that they are still there. I don't believe they're any enemies of mine, and Charlie says they're not from her parents. We were concerned they might be from your…employer." He hesitated. "Husk said the spies appeared to be wearing suits and hats though, and from my experience Valentino's henchmen tend to dress more on the side of lust and to be more direct. But still, I'm worried. I meant to stay awake last night so we could discuss the matter."

"Demons…casing the joint from the shadows…in suits and hats?"

"Yes — hats like your fedora, actually."

"Maledizione… It better fucking not be!" Angel's eyes went wide and suddenly the spider was at his dresser, tossing various articles of clothing on the floor as he searched through them.

"Angel?" Alastor tilted his head and approached.

Angel finally pulled out a black sweatshirt and pulled it over his head. He also donned the black and pink fedora Alastor had made him yesterday. "Al, stay here. I might be completely wrong with what I'm thinking right now, but I gotta find out for sure."

Alastor moved in front of him. "I'm afraid I can't just stay here, darling. We're here to help each other after all. But I will follow you and keep myself hidden if you'd like. Where are you going?"

Angel hesitated then smiled a little at the sentiment and support. He nodded. "To the roof. We should take the stairs though instead of teleporting. Just follow me and stay in the shadow of the building. I'll check things out."

Both boys quickly left Angel's room and headed to the roof. Once there, Alastor stayed in the doorway and Angel got down low on all fours and scuttled to the edge of the building in a very spider-like manner. He pulled a compact mirror from his sweatshirt pocket and angled it just right as he turned on his back to look at the glass. Alastor watched as Angel bit his lip…then scowled…then said something clearly obscene in Italian. With the skill of an acrobat Angel kept low and made his way back to the door then shut it behind himself and Alastor.

"Angel?"

The spider was rubbing one temple with his eyes closed and his brow knit in frustration bordering on anger. "We need to talk to Charlie and Vaggie — and Husk too. Now."

Alastor nodded and snapped them away.

They reappeared in his office. Alastor opened the door with a wave of his hand. Angel headed out into the hall. "Charlie! Vaggs! Husk! Fun mandatory meeting time in Al's office!" He crossed his arms, actually eyed Alastor's wine rack for just a moment even though it was barely ten in the morning, then sighed and went to wait by the desk for the others.

The girls ran in a moment later, Vaggie pulling Husk behind her, an empty glass in his hand. "Hey, what? I was just about to get a refill on my screwdriver! It's the most important drink of the morning!"

The door closed and Angel turned to them, his look serious. "Alastor told me about our new little problem, and I went to investigate. The demons watching the hotel definitely ain't from overlords or the king and queen. They're goons from the demon mob… And they're probably here about Niss or Molly. Or me. Or maybe all three. Cuz, uh…our Pops sort of runs that mob."

Alastor's ears perked up. "Bothersome demons from your loathsome father? Why didn't you say so? Shall I kill them for you? My powers are quite restored this morning!" He gripped his hand and a tentacle appeared.

Angel turned and blinked then blushed a little. "No, no…as long as they're not attacking us, let's hold off, heh. Last thing the hotel needs is a mob war and a bunch of gunfire. But, uh…nice to see the lethal side of you again, Smiles." Alastor glowed more, and Angel turned away and held back a giggle. His attention went back to Charlie. "Pops isn't stupid — he's not going to do anything to piss off the royal family, especially starting a fight. They're probably here just to keep tabs and collect info. It's better if me and my brother and sister handle this. I promise we'll get it squared away."

Charlie frowned but nodded. "If you need our help though, Angel, let us know."

"Will do, kid." He winked. He looked to Vaggie. "Keep the doors and windows locked just in case, especially at night." She nodded with a firm scowl. He looked to Husk. "And Husk…" Husk's eyes went a little wide when Angel's gaze met his. "My brother and sister are coming by next week. We can talk about this problem along with other stuff. Hope you'll be free to serve us drinks and maybe have one yourself." Angel grinned a little.

"Yeah, uh…whatever!" Husk blustered, wings puffing up. "It's my job anyway"

Alastor raised an eyebrow at the unusual tone of the exchange.

"And now I've gotta make a call." Angel pulled out his phone and hit a few buttons."Niss? Molly? Good, the party line worked. We've got a problem. Pops has got eyes on the hotel. Now as far as I know I haven't pissed him off. After all, I'm still following his 'rules' — I don't go near him, I don't use the family name, and I don't mention we're related since, ya know, he hates that we are."

Angel rolled his eyes as Alastor scowled a little and imagined giving this Pops a good wack with his microphone…over and over and over.

"Anyway," Angel went on, "Molly, is there any chance he found out you were around? Maybe he thinks he can use me to get to you…" There was a faint reply. "Okay. So then they can't be after you. Then Niss, I know you're stealthy but is there any chance he saw you coming to the hotel yesterday?" There was a reply and Angel blinked. "What do ya mean 'no, but ya did kinda wander around after you left the ship'? You're in hiding! Not that it matters since Husk saw Pops goons before you left Pen's ship, but still —you never have your head in the clouds! Was it about the fight?" More replying. Angel tilted his head then sighed. "Okay, well, whatever. Point is, Pops wants something. I say the three of us just corner one of these goons and demand to know what it is. Armed, of course."

Alastor stepped closer and waved — a tentacle loomed behind him.

Angel grinned, eyes hazed. "And uh, I got a friend real eager to give us some backup." He sighed, tone calmer again. "Anyway, let's all just keep our heads down and sort this out when we meet up. Husk said he'll run the bar for us that night so we'll have drinks, food, and plenty of time to work things out." There were some quick and loud voices came from the other line. Angel laughed and glanced at Husk who looked both annoyed and terrified. "No, Molly, I was only talking about Husk so much cuz he's right here. Niss hadn't told me THAT, but thanks for letting me know. Now if only Niss would be so forthcoming about the name of the demon he's into…" There were some various sounding replies to this suggestions. "Fine, fine, be secretive, I can wait to find out her name. Ciao, you two." Angel hung up.

Angel smiled at the girls. "See, all fixed up." Then he looked at Alastor. "Thanks for being backup, Smiles." Then he looked at Husk. "Molly says hi, Husk. She can't wait to see you again." He winked.

As the blush rose in Husks' cheeks, everyone turned to stare at him.

Instantly some gears started turning in Alastor's head about where Husk might have actually been yesterday morning.

Husk glared at all of them. "You know what? Unlike these two—" he pointed at Angel and Alastor, "I've got better things to do than dramatically beat around the bush for months about obvious shit going on in my life. I like Angel's sister Molly, and I'm seeing Angel's sister Molly! I saw her yesterday morning, in fact! Anyone got a problem with that?" His scowl went to Alastor.

"Aww…" Charlie beamed, "Vaggie, this is just like how you revealed to my parents that we were dating. Remember?"

Vaggie had to smile a little and nodded. "Yeah, I do." She held Charlie's hand.

"Congratulations, Husk." Angel grinned. "Now, did you happen to catch the name of who my brother's looking to date?"

"I wouldn't say even if I had — I'm not a stool pigeon," Husk grumbled, still staring down Alastor.

Alastor stared back. He slowly walked toward Husk, eyeing him closely. "Quite passionate lately, aren't you?" It'd be unacceptable if it weren't so entertaining."

"Deal or no deal, I'm doing this, Alastor." Husk didn't flinch.

Alastor raised an eyebrow. "Why would think I'd want to stop you, Husker?"

Husk blinked, surprised by the sudden understanding tone. "I…because you… I don't know, cuz you don't like sharing, and cuz my misery sustains you?"

"Ha ha!" Alastor rolled his eyes. "Oh Husker… I'm not saying you're wrong about either of those two excellent observations. But, at the end of the day, any meddling in your affairs would cause Angel's sister distress, and you know how naturally disinclined I am to distress ladies, which of course includes Miss Molly." His eyes hazed meaningfully. "Besides, I'm quite curious about how this fresh development will play out. And to see how the new sassier you will continue playing out, however taxing the experience may be at times."

Husk opened his mouth but hesitated, then suddenly the office door was flung open to reveal a beaming Niffty. "I was cleaning the patio and I came inside and I couldn't find any of you and then I saw the light was on in here! What did I miss?"

Alastor put a hand to his chin. "Oh, plans to safeguard the hotel against spies, Angel inviting his siblings over to chat soon…"

Husk's grumpy look went dry. "And I might have told them all I'm dating Molly…"

Niffty beamed and jumped into the air. "Husk!" She wrapped herself around his arm in a tight hug. "I'm so excited for you! I knew you two would get together!"

Husk sighed and gently pried her off. "Yeah, uh…could we talk about something else? Breakfast maybe?" He was blushing as he dragged a hand down his face.

Niffty giggled. "Of course! Come on, everyone, and I'll start cooking!" She began to usher everyone out into the hall.

"I can't wait to meet Angel's sister! Molly — this is so exciting!" Charlie beamed.

"I'm excited too, babe." Vaggie kissed her forehead.

Alastor held up a hand. "Angel and I will join you momentarily. First I would like to speak with him alone."

Niffty giggled and nodded as the others finally left and she shut the door behind them.

Angel glanced at him, hands on his hips. "You and Husk, uh…doing okay? I'm sensing some hostility."

"I don't know." Alastor pouted a little and sighed. "But there's a power balance to maintain in my favor, hence the little display of mine just now. Of course I would never do anything to disrupt your sister's happiness. Though if he doesn't treat her excellently, I'll have to gut him."

Angel chuckled. "Oh please, if he didn't then Niss and I would beat ya to it. And Molly might beat US to it." He rolled his eyes. "Come on, you know he's a good guy."

Alastor sighed. "Yes…I know." He managed to get back some of his smile again as he leaned back against the edge of his desk. "I'm happy to be back up for your confrontation with your father's men."

"Happy to have you," Angel assured, moving to lean beside him. "Now, what did you want to talk to me about exactly?"

Alastor's ears twitched and his gaze stayed down in some nervousness. "When you and your siblings meet…may I pop in as well? Only if I wouldn't be a disruption."

"Are you kidding? Of course! I want you to meet them so bad…as long as you're okay with telling them that we're beaus." Angel blushed and bit his lip. "I mean, I know we have to keep it under wraps for safety reasons but…"

Alastor's hand came to rest on Angel's on the desk. "I would like them to know the truth about our relationship. It matters a great deal to me, in fact, ha…"

Angel's eyes hazed. "You're cute when you get all sentimental." He kissed Alastor's cheek. "Want to have some breakfast then maybe go for a walk with Nuggets? He loves time together with his Daddy and Papa…"

Alastor's gaze was utterly dreamy. He lifted Angel's hand and kissed the back, making Angel giggle. "Indeed, Anthony. All of that sounds practically heavenly, ha!"

They shared a laugh and then strolled out of the office together, holding hands until they reached the end of the hall where they separated just in case Baxter happened to be nearby or any of the spies happened to be watching through the windows (though they sat next to each other at the breakfast table, the toe of Alastor's show grazing Angel's ankle for the entire meal).

A/N:

That's all for now, thank you so much for reading! ^w^ I'm going to be taking a break for a couple of weeks to draft some new chapters and manage some irl stuff but I'll be back soon. I appreciate your support!

Take care!

-Azure129