What's the worst part of this hell? I can only blame myself...

At first, the responses came as quick as she sent the photos, then it took a few hours, then days, then nothing at all.

Val must be keeping him super busy or something awful must have happened. Either way, there's only one way to find out.

On a night she was free from singing, Lumina snuck down outside of the hotel and down to the street where she found a payphone and plunked in a few quarters. With a long sigh, she made the call she never thought she would, reading the numbers off the peeling sticker on the side of the slightly rusted unit.

"Heyyyyy," she drawled with an exaggerated valley-girl accent, high and nasal and insipid-sounding in a way that would disguise her identity. "Is this Valentino, like the Valentino? I was hoping you could help me with something."

Angel and Valentino are in bed together when the Overlord's phone rings. "Mierda," The moth hisses under his breath, not happy about being interrupted when he's spending time with his favourite toy. He answers the call, fully intending to snap 'who the fuck is this?' but before he can, the person on the other line speaks. He instantly clocks the valley-girl accent and changes his approach, assuming that she'll be easy prey

"The one and only, baby. Of course I can help you, you're talking to the man who saved the Pride Ring! Helping is what I do best~ what do you need, hmm? I'm sure we can work something out," Val says sweetly, laying the charm on thick

Angel buries his face in the nearest pillow, not wanting to witness another pour soul getting sucked in by Val, but knowing he's powerless to prevent it. He doesn't recognise Lumina's voice at all, her act is pretty convincing, and he's exhausted and far from sober

Yeah. Sure you did, buddy.

But her cheerful, ditzy persona bought it hook line and sinker.

"Ohmigawwd, yassss!" she cheered. "I can't believe I'm talking to such a celebrity, I'd like, bow down if I wasn't a disembodied voice on the phone!"

Saying anything nice about the Vees made her stomach turn, but it wasn't exactly like she had a choice.

Val preens from the praise, he's used to star struck fans of course, but it's rare that someone wants to bow down to him like some kind of royalty!! He doesn't have a God-complex quite as severe as Vox's, but he's still more than happy to let people worship him!

"Well, aren't you a sweetheart? I'd give you an autograph if you were here, baby. Maybe I'd give you something else, too~," He says suggestively, planning to try and lure the caller to the tower so he could offer her a contract. Someone who seemingly adores him so much definitely wouldn't say no-

Oh.

The moth visibly deflates when he hears that she's only looking to hire one of his whores, but he's still in a good mood from all the flattery, "Ah, you mean Angel Dust?" The spider in question looks up from the pillow when he hears his name, instantly alert and on edge

"He's my best boy, he'd make a wonderful gift for your man. But premium gifts come with premium price tags, y'know? His time doesn't come cheap, babe~"

"Give me something else too"? A venereal disease, maybe...

"Yeah, that's the one, he's so cute!" she crowed, "Don't worry, we've got the money! Bring him to the old No-Tell Motel, my man will be there with cash on delivery in room 169."

"Good, good, I'm glad you can afford him. Angel, amorcito, pass me your phone. I need to check when you'll be free"

Angel has to bite back a sigh, Val could just check on his own phone... that'd be so much easier. But he doesn't dare voice that. Arguing in front of a customer would not go well for him

"'Kay, uh... gimme a sec," The spider slurs, stumbling over each word. He gets up from the bed and kneels on the floor, searching through the pile of clothes that Val ripped off him and threw on the ground earlier. He can barely see straight so it's taking him a while to find which pocket his phone is sitting in

"Can you hurry it up, Angelcakes? You know it's rude to keep clients waiting..." Val subtly warns him. Angel easily picks up on the hidden threat, even in his current state, and starts searching a little more desperately until he finally finds what he's looking for. He tosses his phone to Val before he climbs back on the bed, not wanting to keep his boss waiting any longer than necessary

Val's irritation melts away when he gets what he wants, "Good boy~"

He unlocks Angel's phone- he knows the password, his favourite pet doesn't get any privacy- and loads up his schedule

"Hmm... would Sunday at 1AM work?"

If it wasn't me, it would be somebody else, she tried to remind herself, unsure if she was hoping it was true.

"Don't rush the poor thing, not when I can talk to you all night~" she purred, trying to recover smoothly with some flirtatious charm.

Then she heard the only time he was available.

And here I thought I had an awful work schedule...

This plan seemed to be a worse and worse idea the more this dragged on. Lumina had hoped she could spare him more than a handful of hours.

"Ooo, you must be a lucky lady, if your man has enough stamina to go all night~ is he good looking? Does he need a job? It's SO hard to find stars that can keep up with my Angel-cakes," Val complains as if he's the victim in this situation- how dare people expect breaks? 12 hour shoots are completely reasonable, his employees are just lazy and spoiled

"If you want want them to have the whole night together, I can make that happen. Buuut it'll fuck with my filming schedule so you'll need to pay extra, I'm sure you understand~ If you can't cough up the full amount in cash, I'm sure I could find a way for you to make up the difference~ and don't worry, I'm used to all sorts of special requests. I don't judge. I'll make sure he's fully sober when I send him over"

Angel cringes when he hears just how hard Val's trying to recruit this particular client. It's painful to watch. He shoots Val an 'oh please no' look and shakes his head in protest when his boss agrees to hire him out for an entire night, with nothing in his system to numb the pain. Val rolls his eyes and simply mouths 'you'll be fine', and it makes Angel want to scream

But interrupting the filming schedule! Bingo! Ohhh, he's going to be so happy when he finds out!

Schooling her voice back into its insipid Valley Girl tone, she crooned, "Don't worry, we can pay! See you Sunday."

Only when she finally slammed the receiver down, the payphone rattling with ancient change, did she acknowledge the way her stomach turned.

Poor Angel. I hope this is enough.

More than once, Lumina considered telling Angel the truth, texting him ahead of schedule so he wouldn't panic about tonight. Every time, though, she talked herself out of it. If he seemed too excited, too happy to be on this job it would raise suspicions and make everything so much worse for Angel.

The thought did nothing to calm her nerves, though.

Or Fat Nuggets's.

"Easy now. He'll be here soon," she cooed to the piglet in her arms, bouncing him in her clutch like he was a baby as she paced the motel room.

The pig merely oinked and burrowed his nose into her elbow, as if he too was unsure of what came next.

She busied herself getting the space a bit more prepared, something she felt was a bit more productive than useless fidgeting.

The greenish overhead lights flickered in a nauseatingly uneven rhythm from behind their greasy frosted plastic like a particularly neglected petrol station, but they were easy enough to flick off.

Thankfully, her 90s girl instincts had told her to snag a few candles on the way out of the Hote. She set a few out on the end tables and the console beside the door where a fat stack of cash waited in a bowl. Conjuring up the faint bit of Hell magic she possessed, each one was lit with the tiny green flame at her fingertip before she blew it out.

"There we go. That's a lot better," she told Nuggets.

In fact, it was feeling much... much more cozy in here.

Dimly lit by the fluttering flame, her lids began to feel far too heavy to keep properly open and a yawn escaped unbidden. It had been a long day of seeing clients, plus her matinee show in the Lounge. Singing, dancing, and helping people heal from a lifetime of trauma could take a lot out of a person.

And the bed looked so very soft and inviting and relatively free of bedbugs.

It would be a while until Angel got there anyway. She could afford a little rest.

Lumina set Fat Nuggets carefully down on the comforter before joining him, her whole form curling around him to offer some comfort and muffle the oinking - this was technically a 'no pets' joint.

"Vaaaal, pleeaase, just a bit? He ain't gonna know, it ain't like he's gonna have me piss in a cup to check I'm clean!" Angel pleads as Val bundles him into the back of the limo, completely sober and incredibly unhappy about it

"No, baby. This client paid a lot for you, and he wants you sober. You wouldn't want to disappoint him, would you? You wouldn't want to disappoint me?"

Angel sighs and shakes his head

"That's what I thought. It's just one night, you're being so overdramatic! You went a whole month without any drugs when you were staying at that little hotel, all to keep the princessa happy. Why do you make more of an effort for her than you do for me, hm? Do you know how much I've done for you?!"

The moth slams the limo door shut before Angel can reply, leaving the spider alone to stew in his guilt. He breaks after a few minutes and sends a quick apology text:

'Ur right, it's just 1 night, I shouldn't b complainin. Srry for bein a lil bitch bout it. I'll miss u whilst I'm gone, ily🩷'

Val leaves him on read, and it makes him a little panicky, on top of the panic he was already feeling over having to see a new john...

"Ya got any booze in here?" He asks the driver, who doesn't even bother replying

"Fuckin' rude...," Angel huffs. He tries to play a game on his phone to distract himself, but his hands are shaky so he keeps dying. He feels like he can't do anything right...

He's in a pretty terrible mood by the time he finally arrives at the No-Tell Motel, and coming back to the place where Vox- ugh, he doesn't even wanna think about it. Not right now. He needs to try and stay in 'work mode', he can't afford to have a breakdown. Val's already in a bad mood, a complaint from a client would just make things even worse. He knows that. He knows he needs to make a good first impression here, but it's still so hard to force himself to get out of the limo. It's like his legs are on strike and don't want to let him get up. Almost as if his body is telling him 'last time ya were here, it was a trap. Yer in danger. Don't go in'

The driver seems to notice that his passenger's stuck in place, so he gets out of the vehicle and opens the door for him. It's a demand to get moving rather than an act of kindness

Angel reluctantly gets up and starts trying to track down room 169. "Why are there so many fuckin' rooms in this shithole, it ain't like they get much business... where the fuck- oh, finally!" He knocks on the door and there's no answer. He tries a few more times and still nothing. He sighs and decides to try the door handle, and finds it unlocked

"Hey, I'm here! Hope ya don't mind me lettin' myself in, I tried knockin'," He says carefully as he enters the room. He immediately clocks the candles and figures they're some kind of attempt at making this seem more romantic than transactional. And then he notices the person shaped lump on the bed, underneath the covers... Angel wonders if the john's jacking off under there, some clients do that before a session if they're worried they'll finish too quick and embarrass themselves. He hears what's either heavy breathing, or faint snoring, coming from under there... and naturally he assumes it's the first option. Nobody pays to sleep with him and takes it literally

"Ohhh, ya havin' some fun already, huh? Need a hand finishin'?"

That is until he emerged completely, jumping off of the indistinguishable form and towards Angel's numerous arms.

It jolted Lumina awake, her rust-coloured hair a nimbus of unrest, eyes still heavy with sleep.

"Huh... what now...?!"

It was a long moment of slow, exhausted blinks before she even realised what was going on.

"Oh! Angel! I'm so sorry, I meant to be awake when you got here...!"

Throwing off the covers, she lurched up to sitting, doing what she could to neaten her mussed hair.

"W-wait, Nuggs?! What the fuck...?!" Angel quickly scoops his precious piglet up into his arms. He's happy to see him obviously, but he hasn't figured out what's going on yet so he's worried that this mystery client is a crazed fan who kidnapped his pet or something. He quickly checks Fat Nuggets over, cradling him close to his chest and making sure he isn't injured in any way

"What are ya doin' here, huh? Oh baby, it's okay, I gotcha, I'm here now, I ain't gonna let anyone hurtcha-," Angel fusses over Nuggs, completely ignoring the lump under the covers until it speaks up in a familiar voice

Is that... nah, it can't be... can it?

"Lumi?! Yer the client!? Oh shit, it actually was snorin'..."

"Sorry I didn't tell you. I didn't want Val to find it in your phone or something like that."

Not only that, but Angel had a bad habit of wearing his heart on his sleeve before figuring out how to lose the shirt. If he seemed to excited to see a client disgustingly not reluctant enough, the moth Overlord might be tipped off that this was no ordinary arrangement.

Maybe Val wouldn't care, maybe he'd be happy to get the money either way, but she wasn't about to test that theory any time soon.

Instead, she curled her knees up tighter and looked away.

"You stopped answering your texts," she admitted softly. "I got real worried and thought you could use a night off."

After all, she knew better than most what it was like to be overworked by a powerful Overlord. At least Lumina technically had some time off, even if it was never a full day's break.

Angel flinches slightly when Lumina apologises... he's been having a bit of a hard time with people saying sorry to him lately. That word's starting to feel dangerous. Val's been using it more often than usual, but 'sorry' doesn't mean 'I'll stop' when it comes from the moth's mouth. It means 'I'll do it again, probably worse next time'

"Yeahhh my texts ain't exactly private. Nothin' on my phone really is...," Angel sighs as he gives Nuggs some scritches behind his ears. It'd be hard enough to reach out to his friends when he's struggling even without the knowledge that Vox can read every word...

"Things have been...," The spider says 'really fuckin' traumatic' in his head, but outloud he just says, "...Worse than normal." He doesn't explain more than that, it's really hard to focus. Cravings are kicking his ass right now

"A night off sounds good, thanks," He forces himself not to add 'would be better if I wasn't havin' withdrawals, though.' He has to remind himself that Lumima's doing a really nice thing for him, that she's spending a lot of money to give him a chance to rest so he should be grateful. He's relieved to see her (and Nuggs) deep down, He's just a little triggered and upset about having to stay sober

At first, the responses came as quick as she sent the photos, then it took a few hours, then days, then nothing at all.

Val must be keeping him super busy or something awful must have happened. Either way, there's only one way to find out.

On a night she was free from singing, Lumina snuck down outside of the hotel and down to the street where she found a payphone and plunked in a few quarters. With a long sigh, she made the call she never thought she would, reading the numbers off the peeling sticker on the side of the slightly rusted unit.

"Heyyyyy," she drawled with an exaggerated valley-girl accent, high and nasal and insipid-sounding in a way that would disguise her identity. "Is this Valentino, like the Valentino? I was hoping you could help me with something."

Angel and Valentino are in bed together when the Overlord's phone rings. "Mierda," The moth hisses under his breath, not happy about being interrupted when he's spending time with his favourite toy. He answers the call, fully intending to snap 'who the fuck is this?' but before he can, the person on the other line speaks. He instantly clocks the valley-girl accent and changes his approach, assuming that she'll be easy prey

"The one and only, baby. Of course I can help you, you're talking to the man who saved the Pride Ring! Helping is what I do best~ what do you need, hmm? I'm sure we can work something out," Val says sweetly, laying the charm on thick

Angel buries his face in the nearest pillow, not wanting to witness another pour soul getting sucked in by Val, but knowing he's powerless to prevent it. He doesn't recognise Lumina's voice at all, her act is pretty convincing, and he's exhausted and far from sober

Yeah. Sure you did, buddy.

But her cheerful, ditzy persona bought it hook line and sinker.

"Ohmigawwd, yassss!" she cheered. "I can't believe I'm talking to such a celebrity, I'd like, bow down if I wasn't a disembodied voice on the phone!"

Saying anything nice about the Vees made her stomach turn, but it wasn't exactly like she had a choice.

Val preens from the praise, he's used to star struck fans of course, but it's rare that someone wants to bow down to him like some kind of royalty!! He doesn't have a God-complex quite as severe as Vox's, but he's still more than happy to let people worship him!

"Well, aren't you a sweetheart? I'd give you an autograph if you were here, baby. Maybe I'd give you something else, too~," He says suggestively, planning to try and lure the caller to the tower so he could offer her a contract. Someone who seemingly adores him so much definitely wouldn't say no-

Oh.

The moth visibly deflates when he hears that she's only looking to hire one of his whores, but he's still in a good mood from all the flattery, "Ah, you mean Angel Dust?" The spider in question looks up from the pillow when he hears his name, instantly alert and on edge

"He's my best boy, he'd make a wonderful gift for your man. But premium gifts come with premium price tags, y'know? His time doesn't come cheap, babe~"

"Give me something else too"? A venereal disease, maybe...

"Yeah, that's the one, he's so cute!" she crowed, "Don't worry, we've got the money! Bring him to the old No-Tell Motel, my man will be there with cash on delivery in room 169."

"Good, good, I'm glad you can afford him. Angel, amorcito, pass me your phone. I need to check when you'll be free"

Angel has to bite back a sigh, Val could just check on his own phone... that'd be so much easier. But he doesn't dare voice that. Arguing in front of a customer would not go well for him

"'Kay, uh... gimme a sec," The spider slurs, stumbling over each word. He gets up from the bed and kneels on the floor, searching through the pile of clothes that Val ripped off him and threw on the ground earlier. He can barely see straight so it's taking him a while to find which pocket his phone is sitting in

"Can you hurry it up, Angelcakes? You know it's rude to keep clients waiting..." Val subtly warns him. Angel easily picks up on the hidden threat, even in his current state, and starts searching a little more desperately until he finally finds what he's looking for. He tosses his phone to Val before he climbs back on the bed, not wanting to keep his boss waiting any longer than necessary

Val's irritation melts away when he gets what he wants, "Good boy~"

He unlocks Angel's phone- he knows the password, his favourite pet doesn't get any privacy- and loads up his schedule

"Hmm... would Sunday at 1AM work?"

If it wasn't me, it would be somebody else, she tried to remind herself, unsure if she was hoping it was true.

"Don't rush the poor thing, not when I can talk to you all night~" she purred, trying to recover smoothly with some flirtatious charm.

Then she heard the only time he was available.

And here I thought I had an awful work schedule...

This plan seemed to be a worse and worse idea the more this dragged on. Lumina had hoped she could spare him more than a handful of hours.

"Ooo, you must be a lucky lady, if your man has enough stamina to go all night~ is he good looking? Does he need a job? It's SO hard to find stars that can keep up with my Angel-cakes," Val complains as if he's the victim in this situation- how dare people expect breaks? 12 hour shoots are completely reasonable, his employees are just lazy and spoiled

"If you want want them to have the whole night together, I can make that happen. Buuut it'll fuck with my filming schedule so you'll need to pay extra, I'm sure you understand~ If you can't cough up the full amount in cash, I'm sure I could find a way for you to make up the difference~ and don't worry, I'm used to all sorts of special requests. I don't judge. I'll make sure he's fully sober when I send him over"

Angel cringes when he hears just how hard Val's trying to recruit this particular client. It's painful to watch. He shoots Val an 'oh please no' look and shakes his head in protest when his boss agrees to hire him out for an entire night, with nothing in his system to numb the pain. Val rolls his eyes and simply mouths 'you'll be fine', and it makes Angel want to scream

But interrupting the filming schedule! Bingo! Ohhh, he's going to be so happy when he finds out!

Schooling her voice back into its insipid Valley Girl tone, she crooned, "Don't worry, we can pay! See you Sunday."

Only when she finally slammed the receiver down, the payphone rattling with ancient change, did she acknowledge the way her stomach turned.

Poor Angel. I hope this is enough.

More than once, Lumina considered telling Angel the truth, texting him ahead of schedule so he wouldn't panic about tonight. Every time, though, she talked herself out of it. If he seemed too excited, too happy to be on this job it would raise suspicions and make everything so much worse for Angel.

The thought did nothing to calm her nerves, though.

Or Fat Nuggets's.

"Easy now. He'll be here soon," she cooed to the piglet in her arms, bouncing him in her clutch like he was a baby as she paced the motel room.

The pig merely oinked and burrowed his nose into her elbow, as if he too was unsure of what came next.

She busied herself getting the space a bit more prepared, something she felt was a bit more productive than useless fidgeting.

The greenish overhead lights flickered in a nauseatingly uneven rhythm from behind their greasy frosted plastic like a particularly neglected petrol station, but they were easy enough to flick off.

Thankfully, her 90s girl instincts had told her to snag a few candles on the way out of the Hote. She set a few out on the end tables and the console beside the door where a fat stack of cash waited in a bowl. Conjuring up the faint bit of Hell magic she possessed, each one was lit with the tiny green flame at her fingertip before she blew it out.

"There we go. That's a lot better," she told Nuggets.

In fact, it was feeling much... much more cozy in here.

Dimly lit by the fluttering flame, her lids began to feel far too heavy to keep properly open and a yawn escaped unbidden. It had been a long day of seeing clients, plus her matinee show in the Lounge. Singing, dancing, and helping people heal from a lifetime of trauma could take a lot out of a person.

And the bed looked so very soft and inviting and relatively free of bedbugs.

It would be a while until Angel got there anyway. She could afford a little rest.

Lumina set Fat Nuggets carefully down on the comforter before joining him, her whole form curling around him to offer some comfort and muffle the oinking - this was technically a 'no pets' joint.

"Vaaaal, pleeaase, just a bit? He ain't gonna know, it ain't like he's gonna have me piss in a cup to check I'm clean!" Angel pleads as Val bundles him into the back of the limo, completely sober and incredibly unhappy about it

"No, baby. This client paid a lot for you, and he wants you sober. You wouldn't want to disappoint him, would you? You wouldn't want to disappoint me?"

Angel sighs and shakes his head

"That's what I thought. It's just one night, you're being so overdramatic! You went a whole month without any drugs when you were staying at that little hotel, all to keep the princessa happy. Why do you make more of an effort for her than you do for me, hm? Do you know how much I've done for you?!"

The moth slams the limo door shut before Angel can reply, leaving the spider alone to stew in his guilt. He breaks after a few minutes and sends a quick apology text:

'Ur right, it's just 1 night, I shouldn't b complainin. Srry for bein a lil bitch bout it. I'll miss u whilst I'm gone, ily🩷'

Val leaves him on read, and it makes him a little panicky, on top of the panic he was already feeling over having to see a new john...

"Ya got any booze in here?" He asks the driver, who doesn't even bother replying

"Fuckin' rude...," Angel huffs. He tries to play a game on his phone to distract himself, but his hands are shaky so he keeps dying. He feels like he can't do anything right...

He's in a pretty terrible mood by the time he finally arrives at the No-Tell Motel, and coming back to the place where Vox- ugh, he doesn't even wanna think about it. Not right now. He needs to try and stay in 'work mode', he can't afford to have a breakdown. Val's already in a bad mood, a complaint from a client would just make things even worse. He knows that. He knows he needs to make a good first impression here, but it's still so hard to force himself to get out of the limo. It's like his legs are on strike and don't want to let him get up. Almost as if his body is telling him 'last time ya were here, it was a trap. Yer in danger. Don't go in'

The driver seems to notice that his passenger's stuck in place, so he gets out of the vehicle and opens the door for him. It's a demand to get moving rather than an act of kindness

Angel reluctantly gets up and starts trying to track down room 169. "Why are there so many fuckin' rooms in this shithole, it ain't like they get much business... where the fuck- oh, finally!" He knocks on the door and there's no answer. He tries a few more times and still nothing. He sighs and decides to try the door handle, and finds it unlocked

"Hey, I'm here! Hope ya don't mind me lettin' myself in, I tried knockin'," He says carefully as he enters the room. He immediately clocks the candles and figures they're some kind of attempt at making this seem more romantic than transactional. And then he notices the person shaped lump on the bed, underneath the covers... Angel wonders if the john's jacking off under there, some clients do that before a session if they're worried they'll finish too quick and embarrass themselves. He hears what's either heavy breathing, or faint snoring, coming from under there... and naturally he assumes it's the first option. Nobody pays to sleep with him and takes it literally

"Ohhh, ya havin' some fun already, huh? Need a hand finishin'?"

That is until he emerged completely, jumping off of the indistinguishable form and towards Angel's numerous arms.

It jolted Lumina awake, her rust-coloured hair a nimbus of unrest, eyes still heavy with sleep.

"Huh... what now...?!"

It was a long moment of slow, exhausted blinks before she even realised what was going on.

"Oh! Angel! I'm so sorry, I meant to be awake when you got here...!"

Throwing off the covers, she lurched up to sitting, doing what she could to neaten her mussed hair.

"W-wait, Nuggs?! What the fuck...?!" Angel quickly scoops his precious piglet up into his arms. He's happy to see him obviously, but he hasn't figured out what's going on yet so he's worried that this mystery client is a crazed fan who kidnapped his pet or something. He quickly checks Fat Nuggets over, cradling him close to his chest and making sure he isn't injured in any way

"What are ya doin' here, huh? Oh baby, it's okay, I gotcha, I'm here now, I ain't gonna let anyone hurtcha-," Angel fusses over Nuggs, completely ignoring the lump under the covers until it speaks up in a familiar voice

Is that... nah, it can't be... can it?

"Lumi?! Yer the client!? Oh shit, it actually was snorin'..."

At first, the responses came as quick as she sent the photos, then it took a few hours, then days, then nothing at all.

Val must be keeping him super busy or something awful must have happened. Either way, there's only one way to find out.

On a night she was free from singing, Lumina snuck down outside of the hotel and down to the street where she found a payphone and plunked in a few quarters. With a long sigh, she made the call she never thought she would, reading the numbers off the peeling sticker on the side of the slightly rusted unit.

"Heyyyyy," she drawled with an exaggerated valley-girl accent, high and nasal and insipid-sounding in a way that would disguise her identity. "Is this Valentino, like the Valentino? I was hoping you could help me with something."

Angel and Valentino are in bed together when the Overlord's phone rings. "Mierda," The moth hisses under his breath, not happy about being interrupted when he's spending time with his favourite toy. He answers the call, fully intending to snap 'who the fuck is this?' but before he can, the person on the other line speaks. He instantly clocks the valley-girl accent and changes his approach, assuming that she'll be easy prey

"The one and only, baby. Of course I can help you, you're talking to the man who saved the Pride Ring! Helping is what I do best~ what do you need, hmm? I'm sure we can work something out," Val says sweetly, laying the charm on thick

Angel buries his face in the nearest pillow, not wanting to witness another pour soul getting sucked in by Val, but knowing he's powerless to prevent it. He doesn't recognise Lumina's voice at all, her act is pretty convincing, and he's exhausted and far from sober

Yeah. Sure you did, buddy.

But her cheerful, ditzy persona bought it hook line and sinker.

"Ohmigawwd, yassss!" she cheered. "I can't believe I'm talking to such a celebrity, I'd like, bow down if I wasn't a disembodied voice on the phone!"

Saying anything nice about the Vees made her stomach turn, but it wasn't exactly like she had a choice.

Val preens from the praise, he's used to star struck fans of course, but it's rare that someone wants to bow down to him like some kind of royalty!! He doesn't have a God-complex quite as severe as Vox's, but he's still more than happy to let people worship him!

"Well, aren't you a sweetheart? I'd give you an autograph if you were here, baby. Maybe I'd give you something else, too~," He says suggestively, planning to try and lure the caller to the tower so he could offer her a contract. Someone who seemingly adores him so much definitely wouldn't say no-

Oh.

The moth visibly deflates when he hears that she's only looking to hire one of his whores, but he's still in a good mood from all the flattery, "Ah, you mean Angel Dust?" The spider in question looks up from the pillow when he hears his name, instantly alert and on edge

"He's my best boy, he'd make a wonderful gift for your man. But premium gifts come with premium price tags, y'know? His time doesn't come cheap, babe~"

"Give me something else too"? A venereal disease, maybe...

"Yeah, that's the one, he's so cute!" she crowed, "Don't worry, we've got the money! Bring him to the old No-Tell Motel, my man will be there with cash on delivery in room 169."

"Good, good, I'm glad you can afford him. Angel, amorcito, pass me your phone. I need to check when you'll be free"

Angel has to bite back a sigh, Val could just check on his own phone... that'd be so much easier. But he doesn't dare voice that. Arguing in front of a customer would not go well for him

"'Kay, uh... gimme a sec," The spider slurs, stumbling over each word. He gets up from the bed and kneels on the floor, searching through the pile of clothes that Val ripped off him and threw on the ground earlier. He can barely see straight so it's taking him a while to find which pocket his phone is sitting in

"Can you hurry it up, Angelcakes? You know it's rude to keep clients waiting..." Val subtly warns him. Angel easily picks up on the hidden threat, even in his current state, and starts searching a little more desperately until he finally finds what he's looking for. He tosses his phone to Val before he climbs back on the bed, not wanting to keep his boss waiting any longer than necessary

Val's irritation melts away when he gets what he wants, "Good boy~"

He unlocks Angel's phone- he knows the password, his favourite pet doesn't get any privacy- and loads up his schedule

"Hmm... would Sunday at 1AM work?"

If it wasn't me, it would be somebody else, she tried to remind herself, unsure if she was hoping it was true.

"Don't rush the poor thing, not when I can talk to you all night~" she purred, trying to recover smoothly with some flirtatious charm.

Then she heard the only time he was available.

And here I thought I had an awful work schedule...

This plan seemed to be a worse and worse idea the more this dragged on. Lumina had hoped she could spare him more than a handful of hours.

"Ooo, you must be a lucky lady, if your man has enough stamina to go all night~ is he good looking? Does he need a job? It's SO hard to find stars that can keep up with my Angel-cakes," Val complains as if he's the victim in this situation- how dare people expect breaks? 12 hour shoots are completely reasonable, his employees are just lazy and spoiled

"If you want want them to have the whole night together, I can make that happen. Buuut it'll fuck with my filming schedule so you'll need to pay extra, I'm sure you understand~ If you can't cough up the full amount in cash, I'm sure I could find a way for you to make up the difference~ and don't worry, I'm used to all sorts of special requests. I don't judge. I'll make sure he's fully sober when I send him over"

Angel cringes when he hears just how hard Val's trying to recruit this particular client. It's painful to watch. He shoots Val an 'oh please no' look and shakes his head in protest when his boss agrees to hire him out for an entire night, with nothing in his system to numb the pain. Val rolls his eyes and simply mouths 'you'll be fine', and it makes Angel want to scream

But interrupting the filming schedule! Bingo! Ohhh, he's going to be so happy when he finds out!

Schooling her voice back into its insipid Valley Girl tone, she crooned, "Don't worry, we can pay! See you Sunday."

Only when she finally slammed the receiver down, the payphone rattling with ancient change, did she acknowledge the way her stomach turned.

Poor Angel. I hope this is enough.

More than once, Lumina considered telling Angel the truth, texting him ahead of schedule so he wouldn't panic about tonight. Every time, though, she talked herself out of it. If he seemed too excited, too happy to be on this job it would raise suspicions and make everything so much worse for Angel.

The thought did nothing to calm her nerves, though.

Or Fat Nuggets's.

"Easy now. He'll be here soon," she cooed to the piglet in her arms, bouncing him in her clutch like he was a baby as she paced the motel room.

The pig merely oinked and burrowed his nose into her elbow, as if he too was unsure of what came next.

She busied herself getting the space a bit more prepared, something she felt was a bit more productive than useless fidgeting.

The greenish overhead lights flickered in a nauseatingly uneven rhythm from behind their greasy frosted plastic like a particularly neglected petrol station, but they were easy enough to flick off.

Thankfully, her 90s girl instincts had told her to snag a few candles on the way out of the Hote. She set a few out on the end tables and the console beside the door where a fat stack of cash waited in a bowl. Conjuring up the faint bit of Hell magic she possessed, each one was lit with the tiny green flame at her fingertip before she blew it out.

"There we go. That's a lot better," she told Nuggets.

In fact, it was feeling much... much more cozy in here.

Dimly lit by the fluttering flame, her lids began to feel far too heavy to keep properly open and a yawn escaped unbidden. It had been a long day of seeing clients, plus her matinee show in the Lounge. Singing, dancing, and helping people heal from a lifetime of trauma could take a lot out of a person.

And the bed looked so very soft and inviting and relatively free of bedbugs.

It would be a while until Angel got there anyway. She could afford a little rest.

Lumina set Fat Nuggets carefully down on the comforter before joining him, her whole form curling around him to offer some comfort and muffle the oinking - this was technically a 'no pets' joint.

"Vaaaal, pleeaase, just a bit? He ain't gonna know, it ain't like he's gonna have me piss in a cup to check I'm clean!" Angel pleads as Val bundles him into the back of the limo, completely sober and incredibly unhappy about it

"No, baby. This client paid a lot for you, and he wants you sober. You wouldn't want to disappoint him, would you? You wouldn't want to disappoint me?"

Angel sighs and shakes his head

"That's what I thought. It's just one night, you're being so overdramatic! You went a whole month without any drugs when you were staying at that little hotel, all to keep the princesa happy. Why do you make more of an effort for her than you do for me, hm? Do you know how much I've done for you?!"

The moth slams the limo door shut before Angel can reply, leaving the spider alone to stew in his guilt. He breaks after a few minutes and sends a quick apology text:

'Ur right, it's just 1 night, I shouldn't b complainin. Srry for bein a lil bitch bout it. I'll miss u whilst I'm gone, ily🩷'

Val leaves him on read, and it makes him a little panicky, on top of the panic he was already feeling over having to see a new john...

"Ya got any booze in here?" He asks the driver, who doesn't even bother replying

"Fuckin' rude...," Angel huffs. He tries to play a game on his phone to distract himself, but his hands are shaky so he keeps dying. He feels like he can't do anything right...

He's in a pretty terrible mood by the time he finally arrives at the No-Tell Motel, and coming back to the place where Vox- ugh, he doesn't even wanna think about it. Not right now. He needs to try and stay in 'work mode', he can't afford to have a breakdown. Val's already in a bad mood, a complaint from a client would just make things even worse. He knows that. He knows he needs to make a good first impression here, but it's still so hard to force himself to get out of the limo. It's like his legs are on strike and don't want to let him get up. Almost as if his body is telling him 'last time ya were here, it was a trap. Yer in danger. Don't go in'

The driver seems to notice that his passenger's stuck in place, so he gets out of the vehicle and opens the door for him. It's a demand to get moving rather than an act of kindness

Angel reluctantly gets up and starts trying to track down room 169. "Why are there so many fuckin' rooms in this shithole, it ain't like they get much business... where the fuck- oh, finally!" He knocks on the door and there's no answer. He tries a few more times and still nothing. He sighs and decides to try the door handle, and finds it unlocked

"Hey, I'm here! Hope ya don't mind me lettin' myself in, I tried knockin'," He says carefully as he enters the room. He immediately clocks the candles and figures they're some kind of attempt at making this seem more romantic than transactional. And then he notices the person shaped lump on the bed, underneath the covers... Angel wonders if the john's jacking off under there, some clients do that before a session if they're worried they'll finish too quick and embarrass themselves. He hears what's either heavy breathing, or faint snoring, coming from under there... and naturally he assumes it's the first option. Nobody pays to sleep with him and takes it literally

"Ohhh, ya havin' some fun already, huh? Need a hand finishin'?"

At first, the responses came as quick as she sent the photos, then it took a few hours, then days, then nothing at all.

Val must be keeping him super busy or something awful must have happened. Either way, there's only one way to find out.

On a night she was free from singing, Lumina snuck down outside of the hotel and down to the street where she found a payphone and plunked in a few quarters. With a long sigh, she made the call she never thought she would, reading the numbers off the peeling sticker on the side of the slightly rusted unit.

"Heyyyyy," she drawled with an exaggerated valley-girl accent, high and nasal and insipid-sounding in a way that would disguise her identity. "Is this Valentino, like the Valentino? I was hoping you could help me with something."

Angel and Valentino are in bed together when the Overlord's phone rings. "Mierda," The moth hisses under his breath, not happy about being interrupted when he's spending time with his favourite toy. He answers the call, fully intending to snap 'who the fuck is this?' but before he can, the person on the other line speaks. He instantly clocks the valley-girl accent and changes his approach, assuming that she'll be easy prey

"The one and only, baby. Of course I can help you, you're talking to the man who saved the Pride Ring! Helping is what I do best~ what do you need, hmm? I'm sure we can work something out," Val says sweetly, laying the charm on thick

Angel buries his face in the nearest pillow, not wanting to witness another pour soul getting sucked in by Val, but knowing he's powerless to prevent it. He doesn't recognise Lumina's voice at all, her act is pretty convincing, and he's exhausted and far from sober

Yeah. Sure you did, buddy.

But her cheerful, ditzy persona bought it hook line and sinker.

"Ohmigawwd, yassss!" she cheered. "I can't believe I'm talking to such a celebrity, I'd like, bow down if I wasn't a disembodied voice on the phone!"

Saying anything nice about the Vees made her stomach turn, but it wasn't exactly like she had a choice.

Val preens from the praise, he's used to star struck fans of course, but it's rare that someone wants to bow down to him like some kind of royalty!! He doesn't have a God-complex quite as severe as Vox's, but he's still more than happy to let people worship him!

"Well, aren't you a sweetheart? I'd give you an autograph if you were here, baby. Maybe I'd give you something else, too~," He says suggestively, planning to try and lure the caller to the tower so he could offer her a contract. Someone who seemingly adores him so much definitely wouldn't say no-

Oh.

The moth visibly deflates when he hears that she's only looking to hire one of his whores, but he's still in a good mood from all the flattery, "Ah, you mean Angel Dust?" The spider in question looks up from the pillow when he hears his name, instantly alert and on edge

"He's my best boy, he'd make a wonderful gift for your man. But premium gifts come with premium price tags, y'know? His time doesn't come cheap, babe~"

"Give me something else too"? A venereal disease, maybe...

"Yeah, that's the one, he's so cute!" she crowed, "Don't worry, we've got the money! Bring him to the old No-Tell Motel, my man will be there with cash on delivery in room 169."

"Good, good, I'm glad you can afford him. Angel, amorcito, pass me your phone. I need to check when you'll be free"

Angel has to bite back a sigh, Val could just check on his own phone... that'd be so much easier. But he doesn't dare voice that. Arguing in front of a customer would not go well for him

"'Kay, uh... gimme a sec," The spider slurs, stumbling over each word. He gets up from the bed and kneels on the floor, searching through the pile of clothes that Val ripped off him and threw on the ground earlier. He can barely see straight so it's taking him a while to find which pocket his phone is sitting in

"Can you hurry it up, Angelcakes? You know it's rude to keep clients waiting..." Val subtly warns him. Angel easily picks up on the hidden threat, even in his current state, and starts searching a little more desperately until he finally finds what he's looking for. He tosses his phone to Val before he climbs back on the bed, not wanting to keep his boss waiting any longer than necessary

Val's irritation melts away when he gets what he wants, "Good boy~"

He unlocks Angel's phone- he knows the password, his favourite pet doesn't get any privacy- and loads up his schedule

"Hmm... would Sunday at 1AM work?"

If it wasn't me, it would be somebody else, she tried to remind herself, unsure if she was hoping it was true.

"Don't rush the poor thing, not when I can talk to you all night~" she purred, trying to recover smoothly with some flirtatious charm.

Then she heard the only time he was available.

And here I thought I had an awful work schedule...

This plan seemed to be a worse and worse idea the more this dragged on. Lumina had hoped she could spare him more than a handful of hours.

"Ooo, you must be a lucky lady, if your man has enough stamina to go all night~ is he good looking? Does he need a job? It's SO hard to find stars that can keep up with my Angel-cakes," Val complains as if he's the victim in this situation- how dare people expect breaks? 12 hour shoots are completely reasonable, his employees are just lazy and spoiled

"If you want want them to have the whole night together, I can make that happen. Buuut it'll fuck with my filming schedule so you'll need to pay extra, I'm sure you understand~ If you can't cough up the full amount in cash, I'm sure I could find a way for you to make up the difference~ and don't worry, I'm used to all sorts of special requests. I don't judge. I'll make sure he's fully sober when I send him over"

Angel cringes when he hears just how hard Val's trying to recruit this particular client. It's painful to watch. He shoots Val an 'oh please no' look and shakes his head in protest when his boss agrees to hire him out for an entire night, with nothing in his system to numb the pain. Val rolls his eyes and simply mouths 'you'll be fine', and it makes Angel want to scream