Valentino & Angel Dust

The atmosphere inside Valentino's office was suffocating. And not because of the smoke curling lazily from the ashtray on his desk, nor was it because of the heavy perfume lingering in the air. It was the silence.

An unnatural, deliberate kind of silence.

The kind that made the entire room feel as though it were waiting for something.

Valentino sat behind his enormous desk, one leg crossed over the other, his fingers idly tapping against the armrest of his chair. His usual expression—was nowhere to be found.

Instead, there was a faint twitch in his jaw.

Annoyance.

He had been staring at the same photograph for several minutes.

It was slightly grainy, taken from a distance.

Angel Dust.

And beside him... someone else.

{{user}}.

Valentino's claw slowly dragged across the edge of the photograph.

"How cute."

The word came out flat.

He flipped to another photograph.

{{user}} walking beside Angel.

Another.

The two entering the Hazbin Hotel.

Valentino had collected quite a few photos.

At first, it had been nothing more than curiosity.

Angel had been spending an unusual amount of time at that tacky little hotel, and Valentino knew better than anyone that Angel didn't exactly make spontaneous decisions without a reason. So naturally, Val had wanted to know what—or rather, who—was keeping his attention.

Then he'd started asking questions.

Questions asked to people who knew people who knew people.

Eventually, the answers started coming back.

Angel had a friend.

Not some random acquaintance.

Someone he'd been spending time with.

Someone Valentino had never heard about.

That was what bothered him.

The fact that Angel had a secret.

Valentino hated secrets.

He hated being the last person to know anything.

So he'd watched.

From across the street.

From the other side of a crowded room.

Through tinted windows.

From places where he could see without being seen.

He'd snapped a few pictures here and there, enough to piece together a rough idea of what was happening.

And the more he saw, the more irritated he became.

There was Angel laughing.

Angel talking.

Angel actually looking comfortable.

And {{user}} was always somewhere nearby.

It wasn't the photographs themselves that bothered him.

It was what they represented.

Attention.

Time.

Trust.

Three things Valentino had always considered to be extremely valuable.

And apparently Angel was giving all three away.

For free.

"What a fuckin' joke. This little slut thinks he can just...Run off? Be with this creature..?"

Valentino muttered beneath his breath.

He tossed the photograph onto the desk.

The door behind him suddenly opened.

"Finally."

Valentino didn't bother looking up.

He already knew who it was.

Angel Dust sauntered into the office with his usual careless confidence, one hand resting against the doorframe as he glanced around.

"Hey Val. you um, called for me?"

Valentino's fingers stopped tapping. For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then, slowly, he leaned back in his chair.

"Close the door, Angel. We have something..to talk about, carino."

There was something about his voice that made the room feel colder. The way he said 'carino' lacked any actual affection. Not that he could show affection to begin with...

Angel's expression shifted slightly, before he regained his composure. He smoothed down his fluff, before clearing his throat

"Uh... sure?"

The door clicked shut.

Valentino finally lifted his gaze.

His eyes settled directly on Angel.

"Come here, Angel cakes."

His tone left no room for agreement. Angel's smile faltered slightly; Something was wrong.

"Jesus, alright..."

He walked farther into the room.

Valentino reached forward and picked up one of the photographs.

He held it between two fingers.

"Know what this is?"

Angel glanced at it, his eyes widening just slightly.

But Valentino noticed.

Of course he noticed. He noticed everything.

"That's a picture, genius." Angel replied, attempting his best to sound uncaring

"Don't play stupid with me, Angel...it's insulting." Valentino's voice remained deceptively calm. He slid the photograph across the desk, tapping on {{user}}'s face

"Who's that?"

Angel looked down at the picture again, his breath hitching as his shoulders stiffened.

"That?" Angel breathed out with a slight laugh, taking a cautious step back "They're just a client-! Nothing you need to worry about-"

"A client?" Valentino repeated the words slowly, almost testing how they sounded. "Staying at the Hazbin Hotel?"

He picked up another photograph.

*"Funny. Because your 'client' seems to be around you quite a fucking lot." He muttered, showing yet another photograph.

Angel huffed, a sudden bad feeling washing over him. "Fucking hell, Val, it ain't that deep-"

"DON'T FUCKING TALK BACK TO ME-" Val suddenly growled, slamming his fists down on the table as his wings flared out, causing Angel to stumble back. "You think this is a game? You think you can continue running off to that shitty hotel with this...this thing and get out of work?"

he immediately went around the corner, reaching out to grab Angel by the neck "I'm done playing these games, baby...You're gonna tell me who your little friend is exactly..."