#cloval

Val couldn’t help but enjoy mixing work and pleasure, so scoping out the people at the club was as much about his personal tastes as what would sell. He was picky about who he invited to sit with him, curating only the most gorgeous people in the club. At the moment he had a girl tucked under each arm, and another person sitting across from him talking about Val’s work. “You’re really gorgeous, you know. You could make a killing if you starred in a video.” His voice was a purr, One of his hands swirling his glass of wine casually. He stopped his swirling when he realized the glass was empty, turning his head to look over to where Clover stood near the lounge. “You. Go get us some more drinks.” He snipped.

As Clover trotted off to get another round for Val and the people he was chatting up, he could hear their voices faintly over the music. “Haha, I can see why you need some new employees!” Clover flinched a little at the words, but it didn’t really get to him. He looked better than usual, but he wasn’t stupid enough to assume that made him on par with the usual sort Valentino would hire for his videos. He was more surprised to find his pride wounded when he heard Val laughing along with them all- and he brushed the feeling off as quickly as it came. He wouldn’t let his freak of an employer get to him. He hadn’t taken this job with any delusions of grandeur, so he shouldn’t be surprised when he didn’t meet these shallow jerks’ standards. Still, he picked himself up a drink at the bar as well, dropping drinks at the table before resuming his spot standing nearby.

The rest of the night was more of the same honestly- Snide jabs about his weight or his appearance, either ignored or directly laughed at by Valentino. Drinks that disappeared quicker and quicker as the night went on. And at the end of the night, a ride back to V tower in a limo now packed with new ‘employees’. Frankly, Clover had no interest in sticking around to see which of these people Val fucked, so he clocked out and left when the limo pulled up to the tower. Val didn’t stop him, except to pause and snip over his shoulder at Clover.

“Tomorrow, don’t wear those ugly ass shoes. Real leather please. And do something with your hair.”

Clover didn’t bother telling Valentino this was him doing something with his hair. He just walked away, trying his best to ignore the hot sting of tears burning his eyes. He would not cry because of some shit that creep said- he wouldn’t.

At home, Clover finally allowed himself to fully drown his sorrows, knocking down another two shots and a second xanax despite still being half drunk, then curling up on the couch, fancy new leather shoes tossed haphazardly next to the door. He couldn’t help wondering if this was all worth it… but really, if he could look past the weird sexual vibe and the backhanded comments at the club, it was a pretty easy job, and it clearly paid well if he’d been told to replace everything but his underwear and socks before he’d even received his first paycheck. He could handle this, right…?

And to be honest- deep down, under all the reasons he could find to justify sticking around despite all the red flags, Clover just plain thought he deserved it. He didn’t really deserve good treatment after what he’d done… he was in Hell for a reason after all. Maybe this was as much a part of his penance for what he’d done as any other part of being down here. As he drifted off to sleep, Clover tried to stifle the memories of what he’d done. No need to torture himself, there’d be plenty of torment to come tomorrow.

Helping Valentino at the studios wasn’t quite as bad as bringing him drinks at the club, but it was certainly more embarrassing. Clover wasn’t used to seeing people fuck in real life, though of course when he was alive on Earth he’d consumed porn like any other guy. Honestly, he mostly tried to avert his eyes and focus on bringing Val food and drinks, running scripts and instructions back and forth, and otherwise acting as a set hand. It was less overstimulating too, since there were more quiet moments and much more space to breathe.

Things seemed to be going smoothly- Clover had learned to prepare Val’s morning coffee and deliver it without waking him up, and found it was a lot easier not to get flashbanged by moth penis if he did it that way. Val hadn’t commented on Clover’s hair or shoes yet, which… was an improvement, he supposed. Clover tried not to fuss over his hair or seem self conscious, fidgeting with a strand of it. He’d made a point of blow drying and conditioning it, and using an actual hair tie instead of a claw clip this time, and he hated how much he wanted confirmation that he was doing it right this time. 

Of course, Val being the sort of person he was, he didn’t seem to notice or point it out at all- in fact, from drinks to lunch orders to appearances, Val only ever seemed to have anything to say about Clover’s performance when it fell short of expectations. There was never a “thank you” or a “this is good”, only the silent acceptance that meant he’d done well enough not to get corrected. Clover tried his best not to let it wear on him, but he must not have been great at hiding his emotions, because as he was working on making Val his fifth cocktail in as many hours, one of the other members of the production crew approached him.

“Hey man- are you ok?” The man who approached Clover was an imp, not much taller than Clover himself in stature, at least not if you didn’t count his horns. He cast a quick glance over his shoulder to be sure Val was distracted with the ongoing shoot before he gave Clover’s shoulder a little pat. “You looked pretty depressed back there, and I know Valentino’s the worst to work for, but this is the first time I’ve seen you here. Is he really wearing you down that fast?” 

Clover was surprised, blinking a couple times before shaking his head. “Ah- no, don’t worry! I’m alright, really. Just a long night, you know? I’m just tired.” But to be honest, meeting the man’s eyes, he felt ready to tear up for some reason. “Um… What’s your name anyways? I’m Clover.” 

Clover was hoping to get an answer, but he was interrupted by the shout “CUT!” from across the studio. At ten feet tall, it didn’t take Val very long to cross the length of the studio, pushing the imp out of the way without worrying much where he fell. His wings were still carefully wrapped around him like a coat, but Clover could see the telltale irritable twitch in the hem of the coat before he even looked up at Val, who leaned down a little, lower set of hands resting on his knees as one of the upper hands grabbed the little ponytail at the back of Clover’s head, pulling it hard to make him look up. “I wondered what was taking you so long to get me my fucking drink- you’re over here flirting like an attention whore. Finish making that drink and get it back to me. I don’t pay you to stand around chatting with imps.” 

Honestly, Clover was in shock- for one, he couldn’t understand what exactly set Val off so badly. This was more angry than he’d seen Val before, even in the bedroom when Val got angry at Clover for not looking at him, and definitely more than the usual scolding he got for being too slow about getting Val a drink. He nodded quickly, stiff and a little shaky.

“What do you say?” Val leaned in a little closer. “Use your words, ovejo.”

“I-... Yes, Valentino.” 

The words seemed almost to sedate Val, and the anger seeped from his expression, fading to mere annoyance. “Good. Now hurry it up, I’m almost feeling- ugh- sober.” He paused, kicking the poor imp a little with one heeled foot. “Oh, and you- you’re fired. Get out. Now.” 

The imp sputtered a little, but seemed to think better of arguing and hurried out of the studio after a moment, and Clover was left standing dumbstruck and confused. Was it really that big of a deal that he stopped to talk to someone for a few minutes while making Val’s drink? His hands were still shaking a little when he delivered the drink, and this time he didn’t stray from Val’s side or speak to any of the other employees. He just stood quietly, hurrying back and forth getting Val drinks until the day was over and he could go home. Again, he found himself wondering if all this was really worth it… Couldn’t he just eat his pride and get a job working under one of the less intense overlords? He’d have to sell his soul, but honestly even that was starting to look better than this. He pushed down the thought. ignoring the urge to flee. Deep down he knew he should, but… truth be told, he still didn’t feel like he deserved to get out. 

He took another few pills to sleep that night, drifting off into a xanax-induced sleep that felt dark and heavy, uninterrupted by dreams of any sort, good or bad. As he sunk into sleep, he found himself contemplating not his usual topics of guilt and depression, but confusion- what was it that made taking a few minutes to chat with that imp so different to Valentino than taking a few minutes to use the bathroom or tie his shoes? Was it because one was avoidable and the other wasn’t? Or maybe… No. Clover pushed that possibility aside right away. There was no reason for Valentino to be possessive of him in any way. They’d known each other for maybe two days, and in those two days, Valentino hadn’t said a single good word about Clover, other than maybe saying “You’ll do” when he hired him, but that hardly counted. 

It must be the fact that he was choosing to talk to that imp, rather than something unavoidable like a bathroom break. That was it. No reason to worry about it anymore, right? And really there was no reason to read too far into what happened in Valentino’s bedroom- it was just a power trip, and nothing more. Just a creepy guy seeing someone easily flustered and deciding it’s funny to mess with him.

By the time morning came and it was time for Clover to return to work, he had managed to tamp down any confusion or questions. Any doubt was pushed aside by the fact that the next days- and even weeks- passed much the same as the last few days had gone. Clover ran back and forth performing any task Val gave him, putting up with idle insults from those Val recruited, and tried his best to keep up with Val’s nitpicks on his appearance and demeanor. The only break in routine was a day about a month in when Valentino went to a nail salon for his own nails, and insisted Clover sit and get his hands done too- claiming his ‘terrible nail beds’ would reflect badly on Val. It was a ridiculous claim to Clover, but at least he didn’t have to pay for the service, and it was honestly a little nice to get taken care of and get to relax for a while. 

Clover should have had some days off here and there, but to be completely honest, he didn’t have more than one or two toward the beginning. After a while, both he and Val learned that he’d pick up work even on his days off- after all, it’s not as if he had friends or anything better to do.