Chapter Text
“Angel baby!” Valentino’s voice rang out through the halls of their apartment in Vegas.
“I’m coming!” Angel hollered back, after just finishing leaning over the toilet bowl and emptying the contents of his stomach into the porcine thrown. The thin man got up and stood on shaky legs. He grabbed the counter to remain upright as his vision started to tunnel.
Once he was sure he wasn’t going to pass out, he let go of the counter to splashed water on his face and rinsed his mouth out. After drying his face and hands he pulled a small compact out of the front pocket of his pants. He popped the lid open of the gold heart shaped container. He took out the tiny spoon in the top compartment and scooped a large amount of white powder from the bottom one. He brought it up to his nose and with a quick sniff to snort the white powder. Angel’s head already started to clear up as he placed the spoon back in where it belongs before snapping the lid closed. He slipped the box back into his pocket before taking a deep breath and looking at himself in the mirror.
Angel still looked perfect, just as Val expected. There wasn’t a single wrinkle on any of his clothes. The white button up and black slacks were professional and clean, even if he felt wrong wearing them. Normally, Val would’ve insisted on him wearing something significantly more revealing on his tall and slender frame. This meeting though was with their boss, and Val has to show off how much more put together Angel was now. Angel continued to study his reflection, despite having just thrown up, his face and hair were still perfect. His blonde hair was perfectly teased and styled and his skin appeared absolutely flawless thanks to a very long nighttime routine and a small amount of makeup.
“Angel baby,” Val called out again, sounding much closer to the bathroom door. It wasn’t but a moment later, when Angel heard a loud knock on the door. Angel flung the door open before a second round of knocking could be heard.
“I told you I was coming,” Angel said in frustration. Val was frozen mid knock. His large fist now inches from Angel's face.
“Yeah! Well not fast enough,” Val’s tone got darker and his hand uncurled to reach down and grab the collar of Angel’s shirt. He dragged him out of the bathroom and down the hallway with ease. The older man was taller than Angel by a good couple inches. He was bald and wore red tinted prescription sunglasses due to having horrid eyesight, a fact Val liked to keep secret so much so that only Angel, Val’s business partner and their boss knew about it. He was wearing slacks and a patterned red button up shirt. He never buttoned his shirts up all the way to always let his chest and gold chains peak out in a seductive manner. Val wasn't particularly ripped but he worked out regularly and it showed.
“Val, I can walk on my own!” Angel said, trying to free himself from Val’s grip.
“You’re too fucking slow. If we end up late I will get blamed for not handling you correctly.” Val reminded Angel. “That means I'll have to correct you again. Is that something you want?”
Angel flinched at the thought of all the ways Val likes to correct him, “No, Val.”
“Good boy,” Val said as he let go of Angel’s shirt. “Now get moving.”
Angel and Val arrived at the Casino right on time. They passed through the huge front doors and were met with the sight of a massive grand lobby. There were card tables and roulette wheels spread out along the main floor. There was a large archway on one side of the lobby that gave Angel a peak at the performance space the casino had. Val grabbed Angel and led him to the main bar in the center of the room.
“Wait here.” Val commanded Angel. “And do not get smashed before our meeting.”
“Yes Val,” Angel replied.
The second Val disappeared into the crowd Angel turned around and called over a bartender. “Shot of whiskey. And make it the strongest shit you have. I don’t care about the price.”
The bartender nodded and got to work pulling a glass out and getting the bottle down.
“Make it two, and make them doubles. Oh! and put both on Alastors tab,” Angel didn’t know when the man sat down next to him but he wasn’t going to complain about a free drink. Even if this guy turned out to be weird, Angel knew Val would be back soon and could handle him if needed.
Plus, he wasn’t too bad to look at. He was a bit shorter than Angel and decently muscular. His salt and pepper hair was pushed back in a way that looked styled yet messy. He looked like he hadn’t shaved in some time but the edges were clean meaning the scruffy overgrown five o’clock shadow was purposeful. The man wore black pants, a gray button up shirt, and a pair of black suspenders. The finishing detail was an untied red bow tie that hung around his neck.
“Why thank you,” Angel said, flashing a seductive smile at the other man. “What can I do to repay you for such a kind gesture?”
“You just look like you need it as bad as I do,” The man said flatly. He ignored Angel’s advances and handed him a glass of liquor.
“Well now you’re making some bold assumptions,” Angel teased.
“I usually am pretty good at reading people. But please don’t hesitate to tell me if I’m wrong,” The man said.
Angel hesitantly let his façade fall, “You’re right…”
“Husk,” the man said, sticking his hand out.
“Angel Dust,” Angle reached out and shook Husk’s hand. It was warm and much larger than his own.
“Oh I get the whole name.” Husk remarked, shooting Angel a smile.
“The more people who know my name, the more money I make,” Angel explained. He pulled his hand back and used it to lift his glass to his lips to take a large drink.
“You’re a performer too?” Husk asked. He raised a bushy eyebrow and gave Angel a quick once over with his eyes.
“In a way, if you count what I can do in the bedroom as a performance,” Angel said with a wink.
“Sounds exciting,” Husk's voice became more intrigued.
“What kind of performance do you do?” Angel asked. Trying to steer the conversation away from his work before he had to get to the details.
“I play the Saxophone for a band,” Husk answered.
“That’s exciting!” Angel exclaimed.
“If you count getting done at 4am, being heckled by drunk assholes, and being controlled by an overbearing manager exciting, then I’m living the dream,” Husk grumbled.
“Guess it's not that exciting then,” Angel said, shrugging. “But who knew we would have so much in common.”
“Damn. And here I was already feeling sorry for you,” Husk let out a chuckle before asking his next question, “You live in Vegas? Or just passing through?”
“I’m here as long as my boss tells me. It sounds like it could be a permanent thing though," Angel explained.
“Well I’m at a different bar each night so maybe I’ll see ya around.”
“A different bar every night? That’s just another thing we have in common,” Angel smiled softly. “I’ll keep an eye out for you.”
“Angel Dust!” Val called out in a menacing sing-song voice from down the bar.
Angel nearly dropped his glass, as his hand fumbled to hastily put his drink down. He turned to Husk and quickly spoke, “I have to go. It was good talking to you.”
“Good to talk to you to…” Husk mumbled.
Angel threw some cash on the bar and practically ran to Val. When Val caught sight of the blonde man he called out, “Oh there you are, Angel Cakes.”
Val wrapped an arm around Angel’s waist pulling him close to his body, “Thought you wandered off.”
“No Val. I was just sitting further down the bar,” Angel explained. He started to ring his hands together nervously as he talked.
“Hm, I hope that’s all you were doing.” Val’s grip tightened around Angel. “Let’s get going,”
Val had them follow two armed guards through the back halls of the casino to an extravagant elevator. They rode the elevator to the top floor, while no one spoke a word. Which only made Angel more nervous. Angel's heart began to race even faster when they approached the elegant doors of the penthouse suite. The guards leading them knocked on the door. After a moment the door opened. On the other side was a very grand entry way that led to a just as elegant sitting room. Sitting on one of the couches was the man who was in control of over half of the city, Vox.
“Sir, your afternoon appointment is here.” One of the guards informed the man in charge.
“Thank you. I can take it from here,” Vox said, dismissing his men.
The guards left in a hurry. Now, it was just Vox, Val, and Angel left in the room. Vox looked over at the pair and eyed them up and down. Angel subtly did the same. He glanced at Vox’s navy pinstriped suit, which was perfectly tailored to his average body, and the small top hat that sat on top of the perfectly slicked back black hair on Vox’s head. He was a good half a foot shorter than Angel, but being on the shorter side didn’t deter the fear he created in everyone he met.
“You’re slut looks like he’s finally got all the cum out of his ass and cleaned himself up,” Vox pointed out, skipping any and all pleasantries.
“Of course he has. I’ve been training him very well since our last visit.” Val said beaming with pride.
Angel shifted his weight between his legs as he was talked about. He was becoming more visibly uncomfortable with each passing comment.
“He’s taking instructions without arguing?” Vox asked.
“Oh yes. He follows every command without issue,” Val explained, putting heavy emphasis on ‘every command’,
“How is his drug use?”
“Under control,” Val said. He placed a hand on Angel's shoulder and gripped so tight Angel had to cough to cover up a gasp of pain.
“Good. If I have to hear another radio announcement smearing my good name because your dumb whore had to be carried out of my casino halfway to death, I’ll be finishing him off myself.” Vox’s calm demeanor shattered as his voice got harsher during his threat.
“There’s nothing to worry about, Vox,” Val said, shooting Angel a threatening smile. “Have you seen the money he’s making us?”
When Vox didn’t respond right away Val continued to talk, “He’s taking twice as many clients as before so twice the money. And with the increase of tourists we’ve been bringing to this town it’ll be easy for us to continue to make even more.”
Angel grimaced at the thought of having to take even more clients in a day. Meanwhile, Vox calmed down at the promise of increased profit. He turned and acknowledged Angel for the first time since they walked in. “This is your last chance, whore. You fuck up and you’re disappointing addict ass will be target practice for my gaurds. Do you understand me?”
Angel tried to keep his face as neutral as possible despite his heart racing in his chest, “Yes sir.”
“Good,” Vox said. “Now go wait for Val downstairs. We need to have a private conversation.”
Angel didn’t need to be told twice. He thanked Vox, turned on his heels and walked as fast as he could out of there. He headed straight to the elevator. Once inside and the doors to the elevator closed, Angel's emotions finally caught up to him. He broke down in the middle of the elevator and fell to his knees. His breath came out in short gasps while tears streamed down his face. He wrapped his arms around his body and squeezed himself tightly.
He could hear each beep between his sobs as the elevator reached its destination. When the elevator doors opened to the main floor of the casino, Angel had stopped crying. No one would’ve known the man had just fully broken down, except for the slight sniffling that slipped out every so often. He continued to finish pulling himself together while he sat down on a bench across from the elevator. He fished out the compact he stored in his pocket earlier that day. Angel picked up the spoon inside and took a quick bump. It managed to clear his head the rest of the way and calm him down.
He patiently waited maybe fifteen minutes before he heard the sound of the elevator doors open. Val didn’t say a word to Angel before he grabbed the other man by the arm and forcefully pulled him to his feet. Angel found his footing quickly, he wished he could say he wasn’t used to Val doing this to him but that would be a lie. Val harshly yanked him in different directions while they made their way through the main floor of the casino, only gripping Angel harder with each movement.
When they passed by the room for events, Angel caught sight of the man, Husk, he talked to earlier that day. The man was now up on a stage playing away on his saxophone. He looked up from his instrument to meet eyes with Angel. At that moment, Angel felt like time stopped.
He was harshly pulled back to reality when Val yanked on his arm, causing the man to cry out and stumble. Val didn’t stop moving even though Angel was struggling. He just grabbed Angel harder and threw him into the front doors. Angel let out a cry of pain while he frantically tried to open the door before Val caught up. He managed to push the door open right as Val approached him. The car was already waiting for them out front. Val climbed in and Angel followed him in right after.
“Let’s go,” Val told the driver before Angel even shut the door. Angel didn’t have time to settle in before Val had grabbed a handful of hair on the back of Angel’s head. Val pulled him close and forced Angel to look up at him.
“Seems we have a little problem to correct tonight after all.” Val growled out.
Angel’s eyes grew wide. He racked his brain to try and remember what happened that could be his fault. “I-I don’t -“
Suddenly Val’s free hand struck Angel's cheek, “Don’t talk back to me. A VERY important man has said that you rejected him at last night's event. A man that would’ve given us money and very important connections.”
Angel held his cheek while he stammered out a response, “I didn’t reject anyone. I promise. I fucked everyone that asked.”
“How many pills did you swipe off those men? Enough for you to maybe not remember your whole night!” Val was now screaming at Angel. “I have a man, that could made us richer than god, who’s said that my whore was too fucked up to be fucked. That’s your fucking one job! He says your dirty addict ass was so far gone he was surprised you were standing.”
“I didn’t take anything,” Angel struggled to say back due to the fear rising in his chest. “T-they drugged me.”
Val hit Angel again the same way he did before, “You expect me to believe that?”
“Please Val!” Angel pleaded. “It’s the truth.”
“It’s a bullshit excuse,” Val responded. He was no longer yelling but his tone never changed from pissed off.
The car came to a stop in front of their building. It made Val finally let go of Angel’s hair. He pushed Angel into the door as he let go of the blond man. Angel was yet again scrambling to open another door for Val and him. When he was finally able to grab the handle and swing the door open, he was in such a rush he fell out of the car and onto the ground.
“Pathetic,” Val said, stepping over Angel to get out of the car himself. He grabbed Angel's arm pulling the man to his feet and dragged him along. Val didn't let go of Angel while they walked through the lobby or when they got into the elevator.
Only when the elevator doors closed and they were finally alone, Val removed his hand from Angel’s arm. The large man took a deep breath then turned menacingly to tower over Angel. He moved closer. It caused and to take a step back until Val had successfully backed the smaller man into the corner. Angel looked up at Val with fear and panic in his eyes.
Val leaned down and snarled out “I told you, if I get in trouble it wouldn’t be very good for you. Now I have to waste my time correcting your behavior, yet again.”