[RadioDust] Artificial Love

Chapter 8: One Thing After Another

After changing into a cozy sweater dress and tights, he went back downstairs to find Alastor seated real still on the couch, listening to some soft music again, his eyes closed and brows furrowed like he was concentrating hard. Curious what he was thinking about, Angel came over and touched his shoulder—and Alastor jerked away from him sharply, sucking in a gasp of shock as his eyes snapped open. When he saw Angel's confused and apologetic face, he let his breath out as a sigh and relaxed again.

"Sorry," Angel mumbled. "I didn't mean to scare ya."

"No, you don't have to apologize. I just got absorbed in what was going on internally"—Alastor gestured to his head—"and I wasn't expecting the external part to change without warning. If you could, next time, just...say something first?"

"Okay," the blond agreed, trying to commit that to memory as he sat down at Alastor's side. "Guess I didn't realize you were that focused. What were ya thinkin' about?"

"Music." The tom gestured at Angel's sound system, which was playing some more classical, orchestral stuff at the moment. "It's interesting to me, so I want as much exposure as I can get. I'd like to hear the sort you enjoy too."

"Oh, sure! It's nothin' like this, though, just to warn ya."

They spent the next few hours listening to a few different genres, from bass-boosted remixes like they played at the club to soft, angsty alt rock to the various kinds of jazz Alastor had already identified as something he liked. Angel even got to show off a couple of the routines he and Arden had choreographed to certain popular songs, and he enjoyed Alastor's wide-eyed fascination as he watched. Why his tom was so interested in hearing every sort of music he could, Angel didn't really know, but he found it just as interesting to hear Alastor's opinions about each one, even if some of them were kind of hard to follow. (Like, what the hell did he mean when he said one of Angel's favorite songs to dance to was 'stressful'? He wasn't even playing it as loud as he wanted!)

Sometime around six, Angel's phone buzzed on the coffee table, and he grabbed it to find a text from Molly. Come on, you can't tell me you're not awake by now! Can we come over yet? 🥺

Shit, he'd kind of forgotten about Molly's visit. Glancing up at Alastor, who was tapping his heel in time with the rhythm of the song they had on now, he asked with a tentative smile, "Is it cool if I tell Molly she can come? She's gonna start throwin' a fit soon otherwise."

All at once, Alastor's smile disappeared, and he blinked like he'd forgotten she was coming too. "Of course." After sending back a quick text to let her know it was okay, Angel scooted closer to him on the couch.

"Hey, there's one more thing we need to talk about before she gets here," he said. "And it's actually kinda important for any time we're around other people, I guess."

"What's that?" Alastor asked, cocking his head to one side.

"You remember what Anon said about not lettin' people catch onto us, right? I think we're gonna hafta try a little harder at that."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, if Molly figures out what's up with you, it's gonna be bad news. It's not like that'll be her first thought or anything, but if she notices too much that's weird about us or...about you, it could be a problem." The more Angel explained, the worse he felt. The look on Alastor's face made it clear hearing all this was really bothering him—but what other option did they have? "And ya know it's not anything you're doin' wrong! But if ya act like you've been, you're not gonna be what she expects."

"I thought that was the idea," Alastor murmured.

"With you 'n' me, it is," the blond told him quickly, moving closer to take his hand and lace their fingers together. The last thing he wanted was for Alastor to think he couldn't be himself when they were alone. "If we were with the guys from yesterday, it'd be fine to act however you want, and ya know I always wanna see you bein' honest. But with Molls or when we're out around most people, you gotta seem like you're the same as any other tom."