~elibabette~

The discovery

Angel returns to the Hotel as a broken soul, fragile, dissociated, and convinced that the swelling in his abdomen is just another horrific side effect of Valentino’s "treatments" or stress. He has no idea he is carrying something.

The night he and Husk share their first moment of true intimacy, the trauma reaches its peak. In a solitary, terrifying, and confusing moment in the bathtub, Angel lays an egg. It's sudden and violent, leaving him in a state of total crisis. He refuses to even look at it; that egg is clearly Valentino's and it represents the violence he endured and a threat to the new life he is trying to build with Husk.

Husk: the dad who stepped up

Husk doesn't push Angel. He makes it clear: he will stand by him whatever he chooses to do. While Angel falls into a deep depressive state, Husk becomes the "guardian". For two weeks, he is the one who watches over the egg, protecting the silence Angel needs to breathe.

However, even in his dissociation, Angel’s body reacts with a primal, involuntary instinct: he weaves a nest of webs in a corner of the room, warm and protected. He hates himself for it, calling it "just animal instinct," a betrayal of his own mind. But it is Husk who truly take care of her, holding Fanny tight so she won't feel the rejection. For Husk, loving her is the ultimate extension of his love for Angel: protecting the part of Anthony that is still innocent.

The hatching & the "monster"

When the egg hatches two weeks later, a tiny, fragile creature emerges. Angel is paralyzed by disgust and shame, calling her "monster" or "thing," hoping that if he ignores her, she might simply disappear.

Husk becomes the father from second one. He is the one feeding, rocking, and protecting her, all while supporting Angel without judgment. For a long time, she has no name. To the Hotel, she is just "the little one," but to Angel, she remains a nameless reminder of his pain.

The turning point

The change isn't a miracle; it's a slow, sarcastic crawl toward healing:

The first hold: Triggered by a flash of jealousy when someone else cares for her, Angel finally picks her up. He holds her at arm's length, tense and nervous, but her sudden silence disarms him.

Involuntary care: He starts noticing details: her breath, her expressions... they look like his, not Val’s. He finds himself cleaning her or adjusting her clothes without thinking, then stops, shocked: "What the fuck am I doing?".

The breaking of the mask: During a severe panic attack, Angel collapses. The baby doesn't cry; she simply takes his finger in her little hand and looks at him with absolute purity. In that moment, Angel breaks. He cries in front of her and, for the first time, sees her as an individual, separate from her origin.

Name & redemption

When Angel finally decides she is worthy of love, he gives her a name that is 100% him: Fanny. It’s a bit silly, a bit ironic, but it’s the moment she stops being a "monster" and becomes his baby.

While Valentino only knows how to destroy, Angel has created something. He didn't save Fanny by letting her stay. Fanny gave Angel a reason to redeem himself. She is a tiny, pink reason to prove that he is more than what was done to him.

The Shadow of Valentino

Valentino doesn't know. He has no clue that a part of him exists outside his control. For Angel, this is a ticking time bomb. As he slowly starts to love Fanny, his affection is poisoned by a paralyzing fear: “What if Val finds out?” To Val, she wouldn't be a daughter; she’d be another leash. A new way to break Angel forever. Every time Angel holds her now, he isn't just feeling tenderness; he’s feeling the desperate need to hide her, to keep her invisible from the hell outside the hotel.