Chapter Text
Very little happened in the hotel that Husk didn't know about. Whether by quiet observation when the residents forgot the bartender was at his post or by drunken sob stories spilled out over several rounds of the shittiest liquor in hell, he knew the lives of the residents inside and out.
He was most familiar with Angel Dust. There were a myriad of reasons he could give for that. Angel was the hotel's first resident, the one who frequented his bar the most, the loudest, the most obnoxious. None of them were remotely close to the truth- that Husk just paid more attention to him than he did the other residents. Not that he'd admit that to himself.
Husk knew, for instance, when Angel was taking a call from his shit ass boss, Valentino. There was always a sign– a sigh, an eye roll, a hold on, I gotta take this– something to announce his annoyance before he stepped away. He paced while they talked, free hands flying about, not beating any Italian stereotypes. If anything, the extra arms of his hell-given form just made him more powerful that way. Husk had learned the hard way not to leave glasses on the bar where any of Angel's arms might fly out and knock one over.
That's why it was odd when Husk noticed Angel slip away from “family” movie night, as Charlie called it. Were it not for the light of his phone, Husk might not have noticed him in the shadowy corner by the stairs. The spider's fingers tapped quickly on the screen. Judging by the blank look on his face, Valentino must have been in quite the mood, the kind that made Angel come home with the sunrise, bruised and quiet. Husk poured a glass of Angel's favorite liquor, usually reserved for when Charlie wasn't there to give him her not mad just disappointed look, but it seemed like Angel might need it. Husk was certain he would pocket his phone any moment and come to a quiet slump at the bar.
But Angel stepped out of the shadows and back to his spot by the TV with the others. He said something that Husk couldn't hear that prompted Charlie to go on an animated tangent. A soft smile settled on Angel’s lips as he listened.
Husk had been wrong, then. He knocked back the freshly poured drink and told himself he definitely hadn't been proud of being ready for Angel. He was a shitty bartender at a shitty bar, anticipating his regulars wasn't in the contract, and neither was being someone's knight in shining suspenders. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was more off with the spider than he was letting on.
A few nights later, Angel came stumbling through the doors after midnight. He looked around, confirming no one else was in the lobby besides Husk behind the bar, before plodding his way to a stool without the Angel Dust veneer on.
“Rough night?” Husk asked as he poured Angel a drink.
“Not… all that bad, I guess.” Angel blinked hard and glared at the ceiling. “Fuck, it feels like the damn studio in here, have the lights always been this bright?”
“Far as I know.” Husk sat his drink down and Angel's eye twitched at the sound. “You already hungover or something?”
“Hey, I ain't drinking or getting hugh so much at work anymore,” Angel said. “I dunno, maybe it's withdrawal or something. I've got a killer headache. Feels like someone's drivin’ a nail into my eye socket.’
“Need some painkillers?” Husk asked.
Angel shook his head. “Nah. That shit ain't worked on me in decades. Think I'm just gonna call it a night.” He finished the rest of his drink and slid off the stool. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he wobbled and caught himself on the bar.
“You sure you're alright, legs?” Husk asked.
“It's nothin’ just a little dizzy.” Angel blinked hard like he couldn't quite focus his eyes. “I gotta shake this headache. Val's got me working double tomorrow, filming all day and a client at night. You ain't gotta wait up for me.”
“I know,” Husk said, knowing full well he'd wait up anyway.
Just as Angel had warned, he was late coming back, late enough that Husk started to worry. When he did finally stumble in, he was more disheveled and disoriented than Husk had seen in a while. He stayed on his feet as he did his customary check of the lobby, but he didn't proceed to the bar like normal. His legs wobbled like a baby deer trying to take its first steps.
Husk abandoned his post and went to Angel, hands out, not touching but ready to catch him if he fell. He scanned him for injuries but he only spotted some light bruising, if anything lighter than normal. But the way Angel looked wide eyed at the hotel was like he had never seen the place.
“Legs, you alright in there?” Husk asked.
Slowly, Angel's head turned to him and he squinted hard. “Husky? When did I…”
Oh, he was really out of it. Husk tried to get a look at his pupils, but they didn't seem out of the ordinary except for the way he couldn't quite seem to focus “Any chance you remember what you took?”
“I didn't,” Angel insisted, but his wandering eyes suggested otherwise. “Least I don't think I did… I don't really… I dunno my head’s all fuzzy.”
“Did your boss slip you something?”
Angel’s brow furrowed in concentration. “Maybe? Usually I can tell but I don't remember.”
Husk would've put money on that asshole slipping him something that fucked with his head. It didn't seem like Angel was in danger of overdose, just more out of it than usual. “Okay, we're getting you to bed, can you make it up the stairs?”
“Think so. But um,” He wrung his lower hands. “Maybe you could walk with me just in case?”
Husk couldn't help but warm inside a bit. “Sure thing, legs.”
Husk didn't think any more of that night, or the other nights Angel came in woozy and with holes in his memory, until Angel left for a morning shoot a few weeks later. Before the door had fully closed behind him, Cherri whirled around with a fierceness in her eye Husk hadn't seen before and said, “There's something wrong with Angel.
Husk gave a short laugh. “When ain't there something wrong with him?”
“Fuck off, I mean different from the usual,” she snapped. “Haven't you noticed he's been having headaches, getting dizzy, complaining about the lights, forgetting things?”
“Sounds like his asshole boss is slipping him something on set,” Husk said.
Cherri shook her head. “Look I've known him a long time, he tells me about the things that cunt does to him, and none of the drugs he gives him do this.”
“So? Isn't Valentino’s whole thing finding new ways to make Angel’s life worse?”
Cherri paused. “Well. Yeah, but-”
A smiling presence materializing at the corner of the bar, and they both jumped
“Damnit Alastor, can you come in like a normal person for once in your damn life?” Husk snapped.
“Where's the fun in that?” Alastor asked without moving his mouth.
“It's too early for this shit,” Husk muttered.
“You've got your creepy little eyes all over the hotel,” Cherri asked, likely sparing Husk a scolding for his attitude. “Haven't you noticed that Angel seems weird lately?”
“Hmmm,” Alastor tilted his head in a performance of thought. “No, I can't say I have. Though I can't say I watch him too closely, I prefer to avoid voyeurism.”
Husk huffed and rolled his eyes. He grabbed a rag and set to polishing the already spotless bar just to have an excuse to ignore Alastor while him and Cherri went at it over whether or not Angel was more off than usual. It was better not to let Alastor catch on to the worry rising in his chest as they went on. Husk couldn't deny that he'd noticed exactly what Cherri had said. The headaches, the light, the holes in Angel's memory. Not to mention the few more times Husk had caught him wandering off to text who he could only assume was Valentino with a scary blank look. Maybe the fucker was doing something worse than usual to Angel. Not for the first time, Husk longed for the power of his overlord days to take care of that fucking moth himself.
Alastor finally grew bored of the debate and dissolved into shadow to get on with his busy day of being useless. Cherri turned back to him to try and continue pressing the issue of Angel, but Husk cut her off.
“Look, you know Angel’s tough. Ain't nothin’ we can do about Val. You take care of him when he's here. And that's all you can do, right?”
“Right,” Cherri echoed. “Just. Check in on him tonight, will you? I know you wait up for him.”
“I don't wait up, I work my scheduled hours,” Husk grumbled.
Cherri smirked. “Whatever you need to tell yourself, Grandpa. Catch you shitheads later.” And with that, she blew a hole in the wall rather than use the perfectly good door right next to her and disappeared for the day.
Angel came back in the early morning hours and laid his head down on the bar. Husk couldn't help but give him a fond look. The second Angel lifted his head, he turned his back to collect himself.
“Another rough night?” Husk asked as he gently set Angel's glass on the bar.
“When is it not?” Angel groaned. He downed his drink in one long sip. “Pour me another, whiskers?”
Husk obliged, and Angel took smaller sips of this one. He set his elbows on the bar and rubbed his temples. Though Angel never said it, Husk could tell it was a careful disguise for shielding his eyes from the light that was too bright for him.
“You wanna talk about it?” Husk asked.
Angel shrugged. “Not much to say. Just can't shake this damn headache, and Val's on an EDM kick. I swear he plays it so loud it makes the floor shake hard enough I don't even need a scene partner to-”
“Sounds like a bad combo,” Husk said to cut him off. He didn't mind listening to Angel vent about work, but he didn't love all the gory details.
“Yeah,” Angel agreed. “I think it's punishment for asking for a break earlier this week when the headache kicked up again.”
“Sadistic fuck,” Husk muttered.
“Don't I know it.”
A moment of quiet passed between them, each of them sipping their drinks. Husk didn't want to break the peace, but Cherri would probably plant a bomb on him if he didn't at least try to pry a little deeper.
“You sure there ain't anything else going on?” He asked.
“Like what?” Angel asked, a little more of his sugar sweet tone coming out as he went on the defensive.
“You've had these headaches, the lights are bugging you, and don't even get me started on you coming in not even knowing how you got back,” Husk said.
Angel leaned forward, eyes narrowed. “What are you implying?”
Fucking hell, Husk knew this would happen. Well, in for a penny, out for a pound, he guessed. “Look, I ain't judging, but if you're on something new, I just want to make sure you're being safe.”
“Fuck you, you know I've barely been high for months now,” Angel spat. “And even if I was on something new, it's none of your damn business what I do.”
Husk held up his hands. “I ain't accusing you. But are you sure your boss hasn't slipped you something different?”
“You know I can tell when someone slips me something, and Val ain't done anything he ain't done before.” Despite the venom in his tone, Husk knew he was doing his best to communicate even through the anger. It was a whole day of Charlie’s reform program, and the part of Husk not caught up in this fight was proud of Angel.
“Alright, if you say so,” Husk said.
“Fuck you, I'm going to bed.” Angel rose from the bar and immediately gripped the counter, eyes squeezed shut tight.
“You ok-”
“Shut up, I'm fine,” Angel snapped. To prove his point, he pushed away from the bar and made it exactly two unsteady steps before his knees buckled and he grabbed onto a stool to keep from falling.
“Like hell you are.” Husk rounded the corner of the bar and gave Angel a gentle push back onto a stool. “Talk to me, tell me what's going on.”
“I don't know!” Angel cried. “I swear I'm still cut back on drugs and booze, and I'd know if Val gave me something weird.” He raised his eyes to Husk, no longer glaring in anger but wide eyed, pleading. “I'd know, right?”
Husk wasn't going to give him a bullshit answer, so he opened his arms and let Angel lean into him. With Angel seated, they were near the same height, so Angel could rest his head on Husk's shoulder. Husk wrapped his wings around him to block out the light, and immediately some of the tension left his shoulders.
“I hate Val,” Angel muttered.
“I know, kid,” Husk said. “I know.”
Heart breaking, but satisfied that there was nothing more sinister at play than his boss being an ass, Husk got Angel tucked into bed and closed down the bar.
Just a few weeks later, Husk would realize that Cherri had been right the whole time.