Warning: angst
Notes: The specials are chapters for certain events, such as Easter or Christmas. If possible, they will include the characters' backstories. What happens in them is not 100% accurate with the actual fic, but it will help understand the characters' dynamics (the backstories are 100% accurate with the fic).
After returning to the hotel, Alastor went to the kitchen and looked around to see if there were all the ingredients for making Jambalaya.
Seeing that all the ingredients were there, he started preparing the dish.
In the meantime, Angel was in his room doing who knows what after the conversation with Niffty and Husk, Vaggie and Charlie were talking about the attack that Sir Pentious did, Niffty was mopping the floor and Husk was rearranging the stockings of alcohol so he wouldn't have to search in every shelf to find a bottle.
After a while, Niffty stopped mopping and rushed to the counter. She sat on the counter and stared at him while he put the last bottle of whiskey on a shelf. He turned back, meeting the cyclop's eye. "How can I help you?" he asked, smiling. "Can I have a glass of orange juice, please?" Niffty replied. He took a bottle off a shelf, poured its contents into a glass and handed it to her. Niffty took the glass, muttering thanks before taking a small sip. Husk watched as she finished her drink, a smile forming on his face, and put the bottle back on the shelf. After he turned back, the girl already left. He took the dirty glass on the counter to wash it.
Afterwards, seeing that there was no sign of the spider possibly coming into the lobby and that the two lovers left the lobby, he decided to go to the kitchen.
'He has to give me and Niffty an explanation of his disappearance' he thought to himself, a look of concern in his eyes. 'There was no way we would fight, right? Not after we just saw each other after seven years. He probably didn't change much in those years'. He stopped in front of the door. 'He didn't get hurt during those years, right?'.
As he was about to knock, he decided to ask about the hotel before getting to the more serious topic.
The Jambalaya was in the pot, covered with the pot lid and left to simmer. '20 minutes and it's done' Alastor thought and turned to lay the table.
After he finished laying the table, someone knocked. Knock one second later knock knock. Alastor immediately knew who was knocking and didn't know whether he should open the door or not. Knock, it started again. Knock knock was heard again a second later. 'Welp, better get this done already'.
He turned the handle, revealing the bartender standing on the other side of the door. He took a few steps back to let the cat in. When he felt his smile tighten, he immediately adjusted it.
Husk asked, "Is dinner ready?". Alastor studied him before answering "Almost ready, it should take 20 minutes". Husk looked at the clock before looking at him again. "What's the real reason you're helping run this hotel?" Husk asked, looking into his eyes. "Why, I thought I already answered that before!" Alastor replied, smiling wider. "That's not an answer, brother, " the cat said, his piercing the other's eyes. Ah, how he hated that Husk saw him as his 13-year-old self.
The cat took the role of an older brother for him since they were thirteen and he hated it. He hated that he knew so much of him. It made him feel exposed.
"I decided that I won't answer the question, @sshole" he replied, smile tightening even more and ears pressed to his head. Husk's ears flinched at the last word, the room felt heavy. "What did you just call me?" he asked, glaring at the deer. "@sshole" Alastor replied, a smug grin on his face. "The little fawn seems to have forgotten his manners" Husk mocked. Alastor's ears perked up. "Shut up, idiot," he said as his smile turned into a snarl. "What are you going to do if I don't, manchild?" Husk scoffed. They kept on bickering for like 18 minutes or so. "You're as stupid as a dog!" Alastor yelled. "I'm sure a dog would be smarter than you" Husk responded. "Go fck yourself" Alastor cursed. "It's better than talking to you" Husk responded.
After more bickering, Husk looked at the clock and asked, finally putting an end to the bickering: "When was dinner supposed to be ready again?". Alastor looked at the clock, his expression quickly turning into one of panic. "F@ck" he exclaimed, before rushing to turn off the stove. He turned back with a bowl of jambalaya. It was a little overcooked but still edible. "Go get the others" he ordered. Husk walked out of the kitchen without saying a word.
After not too long, Charlie walked in with a bright smile on her face. She was quite excited to taste her new work partner's meal. Vaggie followed right behind her, not as excited. She hoped that the Overlord wouldn't poison them or make them eat human/demon flesh. Niffty rushed in after them, excited as ever. She missed her father's cooking a lot. Angel and Husk entered together. Angel was trying to flirt with the cat, who didn't say a word. He was probably overthinking.
In the middle of the meal, Charlie decided to start a conversation. "How was your day?" she asked to everyone.
"Nice, though it would've been better if Smiles and I went to bed together, don't you think, Daddy?" Angel said, giving a wink to the sinner in discussion. "Ha, I'd rather set myself on fire than do that" Alastor replied, a laugh track can be heard.
"If it wasn't for the interview, for the attack that snake did and for Alastor, it would've been nice," Vaggie said, eyeing the two sinners in the discussion. "I take it as a compliment" Alastor commented. "Shut up, you hijo de mierda!" Vaggie yelled across the table. "Vaggie!" Charlie called frowning. "Sorry, hun" Vaggie apologized.
"What about you, Husk? How was your day?" Charlie asked, looking at the bartender, a bright smile on her face. "Quite nice, if we forget about the spider that's sitting right next to me's existence" Husk replied, looking at Angel. "Oh, please. You'd be lucky to get to stick your c@ck in my b@tt" Angel said, smirking.
"Please, do not harass our bartender," Alastor said, static growing a little. He may be mad at Husk, but that doesn't mean he won't stick up for him. After all, the cat would always stick up for him, even when he was mad at him. Even when he had done something truly terrible.
"Alastor?" a white boy called across the room. He had messy black hair and a pair of dark brown monolid eyes. He wore a white shirt with its sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a white collar, black trousers with suspenders and some worn-out leather shoes.
"Husk!?" Alastor said, raising his eyes. His eyes were filled with tears, his hands and his shirt covered in red. A surprised expression on his face. "W-What are you doing in my house!?" he asked, standing up immediately. Husk doesn't answer the question. "I didn't expect you to end him on your own" he said walking closer to him.
Alastor tried to run away, accidentally trembling on his father's arm. 'No, no, NO! He's going to hand me over to the police!' he thought panicking. Husk walked over to him and stood there for a moment, examining the corpse. Then he kneeled and pulled him into a hug.
Alastor blinked a few times, panic turning into surprise. He was not expecting that, but he hugged back anyway. He leaned his head on Husk's shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably. Husk gently traced soothing circles on his back and tightened the hug. "I won't hand you over to the police nor will I tell your mother about it. I won't tell anyone about it unless you let me" he whispered into his left ear. "You won't tell anyone?" he asked, his expression one of disbelief. "Like I already said, I won't tell anyone about it unless you let me" he responded calmly. "Why would I tell the police anyway? You did a good job at ending his life" he added.
"But it's wrong!" he said sniffing "Murder is a crime. The police will find out and my mother will be so disappointed in me. Didn't I make things worse?" he said, shaking uncontrollably. "The police won't find out. I doubt anyone would call them on your father and your mother won't know" Husk responded, putting his right hand on Alastor's head, gently stroking his curly brown hair.
"It's because of you that your mother is finally safe. It's because of you that he won't be able to hurt anyone ever again. It's because of you that that bastard is finally dead. Killing isn't completely wrong" he said while using his left hand to gently stroke the murderer's back "Especially when it comes to protecting someone you love" he stated, smiling.
Alastor raised his head, making eye contact with his comforter, and smiled. "Thank you," he said as his sobs ceased and he stopped shaking. Husk slowly unwrapped his arms around Alastor and took out a hand for Alastor to take. Alastor took it almost immediately, covering his hands with blood. Husk helped him stand up and took a last glance at the corpse.
"Would you like me to help you get rid of the body?" he prompted, looking at him "It's going to take a long time for you to get rid of it on your own". Alastor thought for a while before responding "That would be lovely". The two of them immediately got to work.
"What, you jealous?" Angel teased "So that's why neither of you wants to f@ck me". Husk and Alastor stared at him.
Alastor's pupils turned into radio dials. He was about to say something when Husk put a hand on his shoulder. He calmed down and sat in his seat, pissed. None of the two responded to the p@rn star's comment. Angel looked at the two and was about to make another flirty comment but got stopped by Charlie.
"Let's just move on" she said, a fake smile plastered on her face. "What about you, Niffty?" she asked, facing the cyclop."I'm so happy that I could set the world on fire with my laughter!" Niffty exclaimed smiling.
Everyone turned to look at her. Vaggie looked at her with a sharp, cautious gaze, Angel wanted to say something but decided not to, Husk looked at her with his usual expression, but his tail was swishing slowly behind him, signalling that he didn't like the outburst of excitement, Alastor's smile grew and Charlie kept her composure, but her smile got a little smaller.
"It's good to hear! But can you tell us why?" Charlie asked. Niffty stayed silent for a few seconds, before saying "Because today my father came back, I made new friends and he made dinner for us".
Silence reigned in the room for a minute. "There's no way the Radio Demon has a daughter" Vaggie said, breaking the silence and moving her gaze from the girl to the deer and back to the girl. "But he is my father!" Niffty shouted. Husk looked at the cyclop and narrowed his eyes, warning her to keep her composure. "Oh my gosh!" Charlie exhaled "Family!" she shouted. She was so excited that she could almost jump on the table and start singing! Thankfully she didn't. "Charlie, calm down" Vaggie said putting a hand on Charlie's shoulder. Charlie didn't seem to have heard it. "Where's your mom? How did your parents meet? Do you have siblings? Is there anything you'd want to share with us? OH, MY GOSH I have so many questions!" she let out a gasp and caught her breath. She looked at the father and daughter duo excited, curious about everything about them. The two of them blinked a bit, trying to remember the first question. When they did, Niffty looked down, while Alastor put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. Charlie noticed the tension, her smile turning into a concerned frown. "Did I say something wrong?" she asked, trying to understand what happened to make them act like that. Husk, seeing that the duo doesn't seem to be going to answer, decides to answer the questions for them "Her mother's in Heaven, Alastor is her adoptive father and he never had a wife, she doesn't have siblings and I doubt she'd want to share anything right now". It took a moment for Charlie to process the information. "Oh" she let go after understanding the issue, her frown worsened "I'm so sorry for upsetting you! I-I didn't mean to" "It's fine, my dear. It's not your fault for being curious" Alastor interrupted, smiling softly. "He's right, hun. Don't be mad at yourself for it" Vaggie joined, eyeing the deer with narrowed eyes. "Alright then" Charlie gave up, making a small smile. After dinner, everyone went back to their rooms.
Well, everyone except for Alastor and Husk. The cat was sitting on the sofa, while Alastor was washing the dishes. Green and red lights started to growl from Husk's glasses and the glasses started to change their form: first appeared small ears, then the lenses turned into bright red and green eyes, then a tail grew out, then one paw, two paws, one leg, two legs... it turned into a cat. If it were a cat from Earth, it'd probably be a Maine coon. It was black, except for the eyes, the nose and the insides of the mouth. Its eyes didn't have pupils.
It stared at Husk for a few seconds before jumping on his lap. Husk let out a sigh as the meowed. He wasn't in a good mood: he bickered like a kid with his brother/boss, got flirted by a p*rn star for most of the time in the building and almost got hit by a fcking door. He didn't get any clue on where Alastor went for the last seven years.
'I'll try again tomorrow' he thought. The cat meowed again and put its paws on Husk's shoulders. "四妖, stop it," Husk said to the cat, not in the mood to satisfy it. The cat jumped on the couch and sat on his head, letting out a meow. Husk let out a sigh and gently petted its head.
A few minutes later, Alastor walked out of the kitchen and entered the lobby. The two met the other's gaze, then the deer sinner decided to leave. But before he could walk away, Husk said something that his head didn't register. He stopped for a moment before turning his head for 360. "Pardon?" he asked. "I'm sorry for earlier, I shouldn't have said those words to you," Husk said, furrowing his brows. Alastor fully turned to Husk and walked towards him. He sat down next to him and stopped smiling. "Sorry for starting it" he apologized, a little agitated.
When was the last time he had ever apologized to someone? He couldn't remember. He didn't know why he didn't feel guilty for what he did and had done, but he knew how to act like he did. He didn't know why he was able to be so sincere with Husk, though. The same goes for Rosie. These two were always the ones he had relied on when he felt sentimental and it was always so easy to feel emotions with them. Which was kind of rare now that he had been in Hell for almost a century. But he didn't mind. As long as it doesn't ruin his reputation, at least.
Husk made a small smile and patted on his shoulder before continuing to pet the cat. They sat there for a while before the two of them finally went to their rooms.
Note: Sorry for all the grammatical mistakes in the chapters before and the chapters later on, English is my third language. Also, 四妖 is pronounced as "zh yao". It's the cat's nickname. Its real name is 四妖三 and it was due to certain reasons that will be revealed in a chapter later on, I guess. Husk's form isn't a cat because he hates them, but for other reasons which I won't spoil yet. The notes at the start of the chapters are notes for the chapters before that I forgot to write. That's all. Stay tuned!
