HuskerDust Oneshots

An Angel's Confession

For all of his life, Angel Dust had been hiding to survive. It was all he knew how to do. In life, he hid his homosexuality because it would've gotten him killed. He hid his mafia family’s connections because it would've gotten him arrested. He hid his depression and his addiction to drugs because it would've disrupted the delicate balance of his family.
Even after his life ended, the hiding never did. Sure, he made himself a career as an openly gay pornstar with constant access to drugs to fuel his addiction, but that didn't mean he was free from the pain and consequences of his actions. He sold his soul to his boss, Valentino, the moth demon, to get where he is. Little did he know, that was just another massive mistake. Valentino is cruel to Angel in every sense of the word. The smallest of things can set him off. He constantly drugs Angel with his pheromones to make him work for hours whenever he wants him to, and in between each film shoot, Valentino has his way with Angel in private. What's worse, Angel can never refuse him, even if he's in pain, uncomfortable, or high out of his mind. Angel is trapped on Valentino’s leash and there's nothing he can do about it; no one to blame but himself and he knows it. So, he hides within himself, keeping it all bottled away. It's better this way, he tells himself. This way, no one worries about him. This way, he doesn't have to try and explain his fucked up situation to other people. This way, he won't get hurt again if he tries to trust someone again.

At least, that was what he used to think until… he came along. The one man who understood Angel without even trying to. The man who saw through Angel's mask and had the nerve to call him out on it. The man who's in just as much agony as Angel, being shackled to a more powerful demon by his own volition and not being able to escape on his own.
Husker, the alcoholic, gambling, cat-like sinner demon who managed to claw his way past Angel's walls and into his heart in just a few months. Husk knew how traumatized Angel was and still cared about him anyway. He knew how broken Angel really was, and somehow managed to love all the smashed pieces of the spider demon.
Falling for Husk scared Angel. He was so used to getting his heart broken that he was afraid he wouldn't be able to love Husk the way he wanted to, the way he thought Husk deserved. He got used to having his expectations shattered by people like Val, he didn't think he could handle another disappointment. He also didn't want his job to come between them. God forbid if Val found out about them. He'd kill Husk. Once again, Angel found himself hiding. Although, this time, Angel was actively avoiding Husk by hiding in his room, playing with his beloved pig, Fat Nuggets to distract himself from thinking about the cat. But of course, this proved to be difficult. The cat demon ran through Angel's mind more times in a day than he was willing to admit. Even in unconscious moments, his mind diverted to Husk. He even had a few dreams about Husk, but he'd rather die again than tell him about those, especially the most recent dream he'd had about him. Let's just say Angel had to change his sheets very discreetly after that.

Angel watched the pig dart around in circles across the carpet chasing after his hand, squealing happily whenever he caught him.
I wonder what Husk would be like wit' a pet, Angel intrusively thought. He shook the thought from his mind the second it came. He wasn't supposed to be thinking about Husk right now. Angel groaned and leaned back against his bed, staring up at the ceiling.
I want to tell 'im how I feel so badly. But there's so much that could go wrong if I do. It's almost ironic, he's the one person I can be honest with no matter what, yet I'm keepin' this big of a secret from 'im. Shit, what the fuck am I gonna do?
Angel was interrupted from his spiraling thoughts by a knock on his door, followed by the voice of the one person he both did and didn't want to see.
“Angel, you there?”, Husk asked from the hallway. Internally, Angel was losing his shit. Externally, Angel was too lazy to stand up or move his head from where it lay on the edge of his mattress.
“Yeah, come on in”, he called out towards the door. As he watched the doorknob turn, Angel had another intrusive thought.
What if I jump out the window before he comes in? Then I wouldn't have to face 'im with my feelings.