"Husky!!!!!!" Angel shouted as he stormed into the lobby of the hotel.
Spitting his drink in surprise, Husk wiped his mouth and turned around to see an angry spider marching towards him, a little piglet trotting just behind. Husk had been guzzling down more alcohol, sitting on a couch as he read a newspaper, a part of his routine in life that he had kept doing now that he was in hell, but the quiet was broken and his paper was drenched.
"The f**k do you want? I swear, I can't do anything in peace with you around." He grumbled back as he put the sopping wet mess on the coffee table.
Angel ignored the jab and shoved something colorful in the cat's face, "The f**k is this?"
It took a moment to register in Husk's brain what Angel was holding, ". . . It's a pan pride flag?"
"So, you do know what it is! I was half-hoping maybe you were just so old timey that you had it not knowing what it meant." Angel said in a strangely accusatory tone.
"Wait, did you get this from my room? What the hell were you doing in there?" Husk snatched the flag from his hands.
"Don't change the subject! Are you pansexual or aintcha?" Angel crossed one set of arms, and placed one hand on his hip as he dramatically pointed at him with the other.
Husk blushed a little; his sexuality wasn't exactly something he went around shouting to the world. He hadn't been in a relationship for a long time and he wasn't planning on entering one any time soon, so it really was no one's business. Honestly, he forgot he even had the flag. It was just something marked down in July, after pride month had passed, and he grabbed it as just a little something for himself. He was the only one he planned to let see it, just as a reminder that he was okay to be whoever he was and like whomever he wanted; something he was never allowed in life.
" . . . I don't gotta answer that. What's it to ya anyway? I didn't exactly take you to be a 'super straight'?" He mumbled as he used air quotes.
"That's exactly the problem!!!" Angel slumped over exasperated.
Husk didn't really get it, but he was absolutely done with whatever it was, so he stood up and jabbed a finger at the spider, "Look, I don't know what the f**k you're freaking out about Legs, it's got nothin' to do with you!"
Angel shifted his weight where he stood, "Well, you're right but I still wanna know!"
"Why the hell does it matter to you?" Husk stood up, glaring.
"I-I'm just curious is all. . ." Angel blushed a bit.
"Yeah, well, you can shove your curiosity up your *ss." He pushed.
"Why, you don't trust me or somethin?" Angel stood his ground.
"No, why the f**k would I?!" Husk raised his voice.
"Hey, what is your problem?!" Angel raised his back.
"I don't need to be judged by a drug addict pole dancer." He shoved.
"Oh wow, real mature. I'll have you know that pole dancing is an under-appreciated art." Angel defended.
"Well, I'm sure it's very appreciated by those freaks out there who drool all over you." He rolled his eyes.
"All this over a little flag and a simple yes or no question. Acting out like a scared little boy." Angel leaned down to glare at back at him.
"Fine! I'm pan! I'm pansexual! I hate the stupid gender binary and I like people based on their personality. Ya happy now?!" He shouted.
Husk expected Angel to be happy. He expected a smug look on his face and maybe a 'see was that so hard?'. And Angel was happy for a moment, but then he looked sad. Then his face soured, and suddenly he was angry again all over again.
"YOU MEAN I HAD A CHANCE THIS WHOLE TIME?!?!?!" Angel looked actually furious now.
". . . The f**k. . .?" Husk was very, very confused.
Angel took a few steps towards him and he took a couple steps back, "You mean to tell me that I've been throwing myself at you, half-jokingly, for so long . . ."
"I've teased you, I've pranked you, and strutted around you like a fool . . ." Angel pushed him down onto the couch, and blocked him in with all his arms, "And you weren't f**king straight?!?!"
". . . Look, I don't know what you're getting at, but-" Husk started.
"And you've just stared at me, like unflinching! So I figured, 'aw well, guess he's straight, may as well flirt with him, and see if I can't make him uncomfortable'. I've straight up told you how I pride myself on having great f**king gaydar! But then I get it wrong with you of all people?!" Angel turned around, covering his face with his top arms, "Do you know how embarrassing this is for me?!"
Husk sat with his jaw agape for a moment, processing. He sighed, grabbing one of Angel's lower arms,"Sit your tall *ss down." and pulled him onto the couch, turning in his seat to face him.
Angel was still covering his face, honestly unsure of what he had said in all of his rambling. He just wanted to crawl into his bed and die. Gentle hands curled around his wrists, and he didn't resist as they pulled his hands from his face.
" . . . Angel, would you open your eyes please?" Husk's voice was a quiet, sarcastic, but soothing tone.
"No, I feel humiliated enough. I don't need you to mock me right now." Angel said, covering his face again.
Husk chuckled and moved Angel's hands away again, "I'm not going to mock you, Legs."
"You're not going to wear your dumb, smug face, and tell me how you, a person who is attracted to people based on personality, could never like me, a self-absorbed idiot?" Angel rambled.
Husk snickered, "No, never that. Come on, Legs. Please?"
Angel slowly opened his eyes to see a warmest smile from Hell's grumpiest cat, "See? There you are."
Angel blushed and looked away, but Husk turned his chin back to him, "You think you can say all that and not face the consequences."
"C-consequences?" Angel stammered, blushing harder.
Husk leaned back and sighed, scratching the back of his head, "Listen, I haven't - . . . I mean I don't- . . . Well, you know how- . . ." He sighed again, "I'm not very good at telling people how I feel, but uh. . . If you wanted to ever . . . We could have a drink sometime . . .?"
Husk blushed, "I mean, we have drinks together all the time, so I guess that's kind of stupid, but uh-"
He was suddenly clobbered by a massive spider and fell backwards, "Yes! Yes, of course! That sounds great!"
They both laughed there for a moment, Angel on top of him, "What a f**kin' dumb*ss way to figure out we were crushin' on each other, huh?"
Husk chuckled at that, "I feel like it's mostly my fault. You were flirting with me constantly."
"Wellllll, I will admit I do flirt with lots of men. I guess," Angel sighed into his fur, "I just really meant it with you."
Husk smiled as his face flushed, "Aren't we a pair?"
Again, they giggled together like little middle school lovers; giddy and drunk on reciprocated feelings, high on finally being understood.
Angel started to get up when he realized that he was currently on top of a man who just asked him out.
He grinned a mischievous grin, "You know~" he held himself up with his lower hands adjusted his hair and loosened Husk's tie with the others, "We could-"
"Absolutely not." Husk said flatly.
Angel sat up, letting Husk do the same, but still pouted, "But why not? We like each other and . . ." He leaned in, resting his hands on Husk's legs, "I'm sure you're dying to know what you've been missing out on."
Husk was still just staring blankly, but now Angel started noticing things he hadn't noticed before, because he was so sure it was impossible. The slight flush of his cheeks, the dry swallow of his throat, the sweatiness of his palms as he gently pushed Angel away from him.
"I may be pan, but I'm still old fashioned." Husk stood up, picking up his wet newspaper to throw away, "Another time, babe."
Angel watched him leave, and it wasn't until he was sure he was fully out of range that he whispered to nugs, "Did he just say, another time? Did he just call me 'babe'?!"
Husk, once he was sure he was out of ear shot, grumbled to himself, "Babe. Babe?! Could I have said anything more lame?" He kicked over a trash bin.
Nifty would had run over and scolded him for it, but she was still kneeling behind the couch with her broom and dustpan frozen in place as she had been the entire time, accidentally stuck there eavesdropping.
". . .The f**k was that?"
Thanks for reading some HuskerDust. Sorry, it was self-edited / self-betad. If it's bad, you can blame that, or that I'm not used to writing these characters, or that I'm publishing it from my phone, or that the stars weren't aligned or whatever. Thanks for always supporting me and my writing!
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