• ~ Late Night Thoughts - a Radiodust story ~ •

A Friend Indeed

Husk watched Vaggie pace angrily as he slumped against the counter, sipping from his bottle of booze. Charlie sat quietly, her hands folded in her lap. As Vaggie paced, she spat a myriad of insults, all of which Husk understood. At this point, he was wishing the spider didn't return, just so his ears didn't get blasted off. Naturally, the moment he finished that thought, the doors of the Hotel opened. Vaggie turned around so fast she nearly got whiplash, Charlie standing up in preparation to restrain her feral girlfriend.

Alastor walked in first, holding the door for Angel. The arachnid walked in, arms crossed around himself tightly. Husk scoffed slightly. Shit was about to hit the fan.

"Cabron!" Vaggie hissed, summoning her spear. "What the fuck were you thinking!?" Angel flinched at the volume of the moth's voice. Charlie ran forward, grabbing her shoulders.

"Vaggie, Vaggie! Calm down, honey!" She pleaded. Angel nodded towards Charlie.

"Listen to yer ho, Vags." He smirked, folding his arms. Vaggie snarled at the comment. Alastor's grin widened, his microphone playing a laughing track in the background. Husk gave a snort-laugh. Charlie frowned in disapproval, talking right after the laughing track ended.

"Angel, what you did out there wasn't cool. Are you even trying to take this seriously?" She asked, releasing her hold on Vaggie's shoulders.

"No, Charlie, it's clear he isn't!" Vaggie responded angrily, glaring daggers at Angel. The porn actor scoffed, feigning indifference.

"Yer no walk in the park either, Vagina." He muttered. Vaggie's bow curled up to mimic horns as she marched forward- and Charlie wasn't quick enough to grab her.

"Shut the fuck up, Angel! You act all haughty like you're some fucking big shot just because you're famous! We've stuck our necks out for you, just to get taken advantage of. I'm sick of you ruining the reputation of the Hotel!" Vaggie yelled angrily, giving Angel a particularly hard shove. The arachnid was attempting to take a few steps back but lost his balance as he got shoved. Angel yelped, shutting his eyes tight to brace himself for impact. However, it never came. He slowly opened one of his mix-matched eyes, looking up at his savior.

"That will be enough of that, Vagatha." Alastors voice spoke firmly. He hoisted Angel up, letting go as soon as the spider regained his balance. Angel flashed a small smile of appreciation to Alastor before turning back to the two girls.

"Ya know what? I do care about this place, thank you very much. But I think 'da question is do you care about me?!" he countered. The girls seemed to pause, confused by his statement.

"Angel, what do you mean by that? Of course, we care about you." She said softly.

"Oh, really? It sure as hell doesn't fuckin' sound like it! It's always the Hotel this and the Hotel that!" He yelled. "I've been clean for nearly five fuckin' months now and none of you have said shit! Do ya even understand how fucking hard the withdrawals were fer me?!" He took a step forward as he shouted, Vaggie pushing Charlie behind her and taking a step back.

"Angel, we have noticed your-"

"Bullshit!" He interrupted Charlie. "The only person here who's not an ignorant dickhead ta me all the time is Alastor!" He gestured to the deer who was standing off to the side. He seemed surprised that his name was even mentioned if his confused blinking was anything to go by. "And fer fucks sake, he's 'da most sadistic person here!" The spider stopped yelling to catch his breath. The entirety of the room was silent, save for Angel's angry huffing. He blinked, a flash of guilt appearing in his eyes before they turned stone cold again.

"Whateva. I'm done with all of you." He stormed off, leaving everyone in silence. Charlie watched him go, not saying a word. Vaggie even looked guilty, an emotion she rarely displayed on her face. Alastor glanced around the room silently before he silently made his way in the direction Angel had left. Husk made eye contact with the cannibal, giving him a warning glare. Alastor simply discarded it.

The deer turned into a shadow, zipping up the staircase and materializing in front of Angel's room door, on which he knocked.

"Charlie, if that's you, I ain't in the mood!" a muffled voice called.

"And if it isn't?" Alastor replied. His voice was met with silence and rustling of fabric.

"If it isn't..." the voice from behind the door spoke teasingly. The door opened, revealing the spider with slightly messed hair and a lop-sided smile. "Then that's 20 bucks fer wastin' my time." He was obviously joking, of course. Alastor chuckled.

"Afraid I cannot do that, but could I perhaps pay you with a joke?" He offered, grinning widely. Angel tapped his chin thoughtfully before shrugging.

"Don't see why not." The arachnid smiled down at Alastor. The deer's grin widened as he cleared his throat.

"What is red, striped and behind you?" He asked in his announcer voice. Angel raised an eyebrow, turning his head to look behind him. When he saw nothing but his room, he returned his gaze to Alastor.

"Uh...what?" He asked. Alastor then disappeared into a shadow, reappearing behind the spider.

"Me!" He said gleefully, throwing out his arms. His microphone played a laughing track as he did jazz hands. Angel turned quickly, surprised. He scoff-laughed, rolling his eyes with a smile.

"Al, that was horrible." He replied, shutting the door. Alastor gave a shrug of indifference.

"To each their own, darling." He spoke. The deer kept his eyes on Angel as he gracefully walked away from the door, sitting on the edge of his bed.

"So, whatcha need, Al? I hope ChaCha and Vagina didn't send ya up here ta lecture me." He spoke, rolling his eyes. Alastor gave a small chuckle at his nickname for Vaggie, shaking his head.

"No, my dear, nothing of the sort. I simply wished to check on you. That was...quite the scene." He furrowed his eyebrows, his smile waning slightly. Angel shrugged, not seeming to mind. He patted the spot beside him as he spoke.

"It's cute that ya care about me, toots, but I'm fine. Ya don't needa worry about me." He offered Alastor a reassuring smile, to which the other shook his head.

"I don't worry often, but I am concerned about you, Angel." He said, his tone taking on a hint of his said concern. Angel's cheeks turned a shade of pink.

"Awe shucks, Al. That's real sweet of ya. I didn't know ya had such a soft spot for me~!" he teased jokingly. However, somewhere deep down, he knew what he was saying was true. Alastor let out a chuckle.

"You truly know how to test my patience, Angel." Try as he might, he simply couldn't muster any ill-intent through his words. They simply came out softly, fondly. Angel fell back, his head landing on the meat of Alastor's thigh, causing the deer to tense slightly. He relaxed soon after- he was slowly growing used to the whole sudden touching thing.

"Ya say that, but ya know ya can't live without me." he grinned up at Alastor, pulling his phone out from his chest fluff. Alastor simply returned the grin with a smile of his own.

"Perhaps not, Angel. Perhaps not." He replied quietly. The spider, thankfully, didn't seem to hear that, already busying himself with the glowing brick in his hands. Alastor simply summoned a book, opening it to a bookmarked page and began to read. The two shared a comfortable silence as Alastor read and Angel scrolled on his phone.

It felt...right.