Angel Dust

[ the fact that angel is avoiding looking him in the eyes tells valentino enough, but he doesn't make any move to force the eye contact they way he might have done if he were in a different mood. if he's honest with himself, he doesn't think he treats angel that badly. sure, they get into fights, and sometimes valentino has to get... creative, in making sure angel remembers his fucking place, but - valentino also gives him almost anything he wants. jewelry, new clothes, a fuckload of money to blow on anything and everything. drugs, sometimes, when he has them on hand, or when angel asks very nicely. valentino has given him wealth and fame and love. a couple bruises now and then seems like a very small price to pay in exchange.

but whether or not he believes his unkindness is justified is irrelevant. his apology doesn't actually have to mean anything, it just has to sell. angel tucking himself in closer to valentino lets him know that it's believable enough. val lets his hands fall away from angel's face as the spider leans in closer, moving them and draping his arms loosely around angel's shoulders instead, hugging him with both sets now. one of his wings, draped out of the way so it doesn't get caught up underneath him, lifts and folds over angel's lower body like a soft sheet.

angel's apology doesn't surprise him necessarily. he hears them often enough that sometimes he comes to expect them, but right now, it's the admission of being scared that intrigues him. scared of what, exactly? what valentino might have said, if angel had come to him asking to leave? what could he possibly expect other than straight up refusal? maybe he was right to be afraid.

valentino doesn't ask. instead, he tilts his head a little so he can look down at angel and see his face a bit more properly, hands gently rubbing up and down his back. he sighs, though it's not angry. ]

... You scared me, baby. [ is that true? maybe, maybe not. he was definitely fucking angry when he realized angel hadn't come back to the tower in days, wasn't answering his texts or his calls, wasn't on any of the familiar corners. but scared? only valentino knows the truth. ] I woke up one morning, and you were gone.

[ valentino pets a hand down the back of angel's neck, then back up, fingers idly tracing around the shape of the pink heart in angel's fur at the back of his head. like he's god the placement memorized, probably because he does. ]

And when it started getting late, and you hadn't come back... [ his other primary hand slides underneath angel's chin, lifting his face to make him look at val this time. sell, sell, sell - though this time, there might be some truth in his words. at least once, before he knew the truth, it might have crossed his mind that angel could have been in actual danger. ] I was worried something had happened to you. You weren't answering any of my calls or texts. And I don't have to tell you how fucked up some of the drooling perverts who obsess over you can be when the think they have even an inch of power.

[ finally, he cranes himself down so he can brush a kiss against angel's mouth. ]

I still worry, Angelito. Every night you're not here.