[RadioDust] Sugar is Sweet (and So Are You)

Chapter 18: Mistaking Honey for the Bees

Alastor could only hope his smile was convincing as he entered and Angel shut the door behind him. The room was messier than he'd last seen it, but he didn't miss the several empty bottles among the clutter. He wondered vaguely whether Angel had been using again as well but tried to brush the thought out of his mind in order to focus.

"So? What can I do for ya?" Alastor glanced back to find the spider draping himself against the dresser by the door, his robe falling open to display the hip-length negligee he wore underneath. The only sound that made it past the Radio Demon's waning smile was a sort of garbled hiss of audio interference, and he quickly turned away again. "C'mon, Al, I haven't seen ya this shy since that first night you could barely kiss me without trippin' all over yourself." The laugh Angel let out made it clear the comment was more ridicule than playful teasing.

"Like I said, it's been a while."

"So you forgot how to do it? Am I gonna hafta teach ya all over again?"

"Why are you being this way?" Alastor asked without looking at him.

"I dunno whatcha mean. Ain't my fault ya lost your nerve." Angel breezed past him to sit on the edge of the bed, crossing both his arms and legs impatiently.

"If you're angry with me, talk to me. What you're doing now is juvenile and counterproductive."

"Mm, that big vocabulary of yours gets me so hot, Daddy," Angel purred, wetting his lips. It seemed he was being as blatantly sexual as possible either for the purpose of making Alastor uncomfortable or to deflect from the conversation he didn't want to have. It wasn't going to work.

"And if you don't want anything more to do with me, you can say that too."

"Hey, I don't mind keepin' up the way we been doin'. I just felt like we needed a little more structure so there's no more misunderstandings."

"So that's it? You're done being honest with me? I've lost the privilege of your sincerity?"

"Pretty much," Angel agreed with a shrug. "I mean, ya did use it against me, so I feel like I got grounds."

"I didn't use—" The Radio Demon raked his fingers through his hair as he paced across the room to the door, then turned back once he'd reorganized his thoughts. "What about Valentino? He's going to keep trying to bring you back to the studio, away from the hotel, and under his control. What do you plan to do about that?"

"Lucky for you, it ain't your problem to solve," Angel answered, though the hard tone of his voice said Alastor was venturing into dangerous territory. "Never was. Now are you actually gonna make a move or are you just wastin' our time? I don't do refunds."

"You already know I don't want anything you don't want to give."

"Look, Al." Angel pushed to his feet and came to stand directly in front of Alastor, playing on every inch of difference in their heights as he looked down into the Radio Demon's eyes. "This thing, you 'n' me? It ain't about what I want. You pay to use my body for a while, and I don't get to gripe about it. That's how my job works. If you're not plannin' to take advantage of that, you can get lost."

He watched Alastor's face closely, waiting for his reaction while Alastor struggled for the will to keep arguing. Angel had become so closed off, so unreceptive, so antagonistic that reconciliation was quickly starting to seem impossible. He certainly wasn't acting like he was hurt by their separation. Maybe Charlie had been mistaken.

"Mon ange..." Alastor reached for his hands, and surprisingly, Angel allowed him to take them. "Please, at least let me help you deal with him. Even if you don't want to be with me, even if this is all my feelings for you ever amount to—"