A Christmas Cocktail

Chapter 6

"Together?" Why was that word such an odd thing for him to hear from his brother? Arackniss didn't get "together" with anyone. He didn't date at all, much less a man. And if he wouldn't date the person, he definitely wouldn't be fuck buddies with one either. His mind raced, trying to remember the last time his brother had even had a relationship, and he was sure it wasn't in the last decade.

"Yes. It's been about..." The older arachnid shook his head idly in thought. "Five years, I think?"

"Five years? And you didn't tell me about this at all? Does..." A horrifying thought jumped into his head and easily the tightness in his chest rose. "Does pops know?"

"No! Sweet Satan, no. If he found out about this... he'd...." Arackniss shook his head and trailed off, but the sentiment wasn't lost on him. In life, the best their father could do to him was disown him and leave him to fend for himself against a world that wanted him dead. Here? Death wasn't an option anymore, full on non-existence was. The obvious question of how long his brother had felt this way lingered in his mind for a moment, but he decided against it. He couldn't answer it himself, so why should he expect anyone else to?

"Can I just..." Leaning against the railing, he gave his brother a confused look. "Why him? I mean, I get why I'd go for a snake, but I didn't think size, or number, would even matter to someone like you." The words came out and he couldn't even breathe before Arackniss back handed his side.

"It ain't about that, alright." He simply couldn't help but give the other man a skeptical look. Arackniss rolled his eyes. "We... connect, okay?" Fighting the urge to say something else with implications, Angel bit his tongue. "Pen is smart. I know the rest of Hell doesn't think so, but they don't get to see him like I do. If you actually get to know him, you'll see that there's more to him that meets the eye. He can be gentle, and caring, and passionate and... I love that about him." Listening to his brother talk about the serpent made his heart flutter with happiness. The idea that his brother, one of the few people he'd looked up to in life, had found such a love was more than he could have asked for, for any holiday.

"You really love him, huh?" Arackniss gave him a small smile.

"That's why I brought him today. 'Cause I wanted you to meet him. I didn't know you'd fought before." Angel shrugged in response. What did the fight matter now? It had been months already and Cherri had won the turf war anyways.

"I was just doin' a friend a favor anyways. Not a big deal." His brother shook his head.

"Angel, he followed you back to this hotel to finish the job." Turning to look back inside, he focused on the serpent as he sat at the bar with a glass of a deep red liquid.

"Meh, it's not that big of a deal. Besides, when he got here, he focused more on Alastor than me anyways, and that was that. We got our payback for him blowin' off the door when Alator smacked him around and trashed that ship of his." A glance back at his brother caught the tail end of a cringe.

"Yeah, I think I remember that. He left home with two hundred Egg Bois and came home with one." When their gazes met, they both burst into laughter. "At least I know I taught you right. Since I doubt Alastor did all the work."

"Pfft, are you kidding me? The strawberry pimp only cleaned up mine and Cherri's sloppy seconds when it came to those Eggs." Arackniss shook his head.

"Yeah, well I feel like you owe me then, for having to replace them all." His brother pushed off the railing and started to head back inside. Quickly following after, he stared at his brother in shock.

"Wait, wait, wait. What do you mean by that? You replace the Egg bois? Are they like... bought somewhere? How much do they cost?" The other arachnid shook his head.