Chapter Text
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess. He was kept locked away- imprisoned? No, protected- by his one true love, who wanted to keep him all to himself. Living like this was what kept him safe, kept him desirable, and was ultimately what was best for him. Or so he was told.
He was starting to see past the lenses of his lover’s rose-colored glasses. His sexy, heart-shaped, rose-colored glasses that fit his handsome face so well.
Too bad he was such an abusive asshole who wouldn’t let him go out for a drink every once in a while.
Angel let the pen fall from his fingers in boredom, his chin resting in the palm of his hand as his eyes flicked up to the analog clock on the wall. 9:45 PM. Valentino would be home soon.
He glanced down at the journal he had been writing in, scoffing as he tore out the page. He could think of something better to do with stupid, made-up fairytales.
His eyes seemingly dilated early as he lined up the pretty white powder atop the smooth surface of the desk, rolling the paper into a thin makeshift straw. His face numbed with familiar tingles once he sniffed it up.
“That’s enough of that,” Angel sighed, nudging himself into a lazy spin in the office chair.
He’d better tidy up the penthouse before Val got back. He did his usual morning clean-up when Val left earlier, but he spent the evening procrastinating with hobbies instead of chores.
Reading, Painting, Knitting, Cooking.
Journaling.
Angel groaned as he stood, stretching until six satisfying pops echoed from all six arms. Loose white and pink strands fluttered to the floor.
Oh, yuck.
He’d have to clean himself up, too, if there was any chance of going out.
The room only spun a little bit as he made his way over to his nightstand. Opening one of the drawers and rummaging around, he quickly found his favorite bandana. He tied it around his head. Val said it made him look like a little housewife. Angel chose to take that as a compliment.
Well, time to clean a bitch.
At first, it wasn’t much cleaning, more like kicking stray shirts and dildos beneath his bed and sweeping dust beneath rugs, but as the drugs kicked in, his cleaning became more erratic. He cleaned his desk, made his bed, then vacuumed literally every corner of the penthouse. He even polished every window and mirror; he knew that Val loved it when his reflection was reflecting off every surface.
He sighed and slumped onto the couch in the main room, and another glance at the clock made him realize that he had gotten all of that done within fifteen minutes.
Damn. He’d have to let Val know this dealer was worth keeping around.
Speaking of Val, he felt the tell-tale shiver travel down his spine as he heard keys unlocking the front door.
Daddy was home.
Angel let out a nervous sigh, running his hands over his cheeks and through his hair as he inwardly psyched himself up.
Big smile, Angel. We want him to be in a good mood.
Putting on his best “don’t punch the shit out of me” face, he stood from the couch and skipped over to the door. He watched as Val entered, then kicked the door closed thoughtlessly, his eyes locked on his phone. Angel stood patiently, waiting for Val to notice him, and soon enough, those red-hot eyes flicked up towards him, sharp teeth flashing in a wide smile.
“Angel Cakes~” Val purred, taking one large step towards Angel and cupping his chin in his hand. “Look at you, being a good little housewife.”
Angel continued to smile. Alright! So far so good. It looked like he was in a good mood tonight.
He leaned into Val’s hand and flashed his big shiny eyes that Val loved to see. “Yep. Cleaned the whole joint for you, Daddy.”
Val cupped Angel’s cheeks in his hands, seemingly very pleased with him, as he brought him in for a kiss. “Good boy,” he praised before pausing. His mouth shifted from a smile to a tight-lipped, thinking frown. The overlord raised a curious brow, and Angel could only watch with bated breath as he leaned down, kissed him again, and then licked his lips.
“Needed a quick little pick-me-up to hurry and get the housework done before I got home, hm?” he voiced with displeasure.
Angel held back a sigh. Here he goes.
“I did most of it this morning, promise,” Angel stated, not quite bending under Val’s critical weight just yet.
Val hummed, watching Angel for another long moment before speaking again. “Well, let’s see how well you did then, shall we?” He grinned at him, pulling away from Angel and heading for one of the floor mirrors.
Yes! Angel knew he was right to clean those.
Angel observed as Val gradually went from inspecting the mirror to simply checking himself out, and he couldn’t help but give a quiet huff of amusement. Of course.
Okay, Angel, here goes nothing.
“So, Val-”
“Ah ah- Not right now. Wait ‘til Daddy’s done, sweetheart,” Val dismissed him with a wave, and Angel’s face nearly fell, body shrinking, but he wouldn’t let Val see. He’d wait until he was done admiring himself and try again.
After a moment or two, Val finally turned to face Angel again, giving a sweet yet condescending smile. “Alright. Tell me, princesa, what was so important that you had to interrupt me?”
Well, he was only checking himself out, but okay.
“Val,” Angel began, holding his hands in front of himself sweetly. “Do you know what today is?”
“Angel- Don’t ask stupid questions. Just say what you want to say, babe. Are you asking me for something?” Val replied with a raised brow, and Angel held back a wince.
“Sorry. And not really. Maybe? You left in such a hurry this morning, you didn’t give me a chance to remind you that… It’s our anniversary today.” After a few beats of silence, Angel tried again. “I signed myself over to you on this day, thirty years ago… Remember? We celebrate every year…”
After even more silence, Angel bit his bottom lip and studied Val’s expression. Yeah, no, Val definitely didn’t remember.
“Looks like I forgot, amorcito. I’ll make it up to you tomorrow. Daddy’s too tired to celebrate tonight,” Val stated, plainly, turning to head to his bedroom.
Angel blinked. That was it?
He almost reached out to grab Val’s arm before he thought better and stopped himself. “Wait, but- I thought-”
“Thought what?” Val scoffed. “That I was going to take you out? How could I with you looking the way you do right now, Angie?”
Ouch.
He glanced down at himself self-consciously, brushing some dust and stray powder off his clothes. Angel always had a hard time keeping Val in his good mood.
“I can get ready quick! You know I clean up real-”
“The answer is no. I’m going to bed.”
“But- Val, I haven’t left the penthouse in-”
“Angel, shut the fuck up. You’re giving me a headache.”
“It’s our anniversary! Come on, Val, you never turn down the chance to-”
CRASH!!!
Angel wished he could say that he was surprised to see the mirror he’d just polished thrown at the floor at his feet, shattered into pieces. This was far from the first time anything like this had happened, but it didn’t stop him from jolting back and raising his arms to shield himself.
“Clean this shit up,” Val growled. “Quit fucking pestering me. When you’re done being annoying, come to bed. Or don’t. I don’t care tonight.”
And with that, Val made it the rest of the way down the hall and into his bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him.
Angel released a shaky sigh and dragged his palm down his face. His brows furrowed in frustration and disappointment as he went to grab the broom and dustpan to clean up the mess.
Well, he royally fucked that one up, didn’t he?
Angel stood there sweeping for a long while, far longer than he rightfully should have, but he could also use the small, shattered bits of glass as an excuse for why it was taking him so long if Val had any questions about it.
What was that, Val? Oh, sorry, I just want to make sure you don’t step on glass first thing in the morning on your way to grab the coffee I’d have already made for you. Breakfast will be ready too, like it always is. Yep, and your laundry, done and folded. Why wouldn’t it be? Why would anything change from the way it’s been for the last thirty fucking years?
…Not that he would ask anything anyway, he was pissed enough to decide that he didn’t want Angel to follow him to bed, so that was that.
Angel’s face twisted into a glare as his hand stilled from where it was sweeping.
This was such bullshit. He did literally everything for that man, and in return, he couldn’t even get one night out? He wasn’t sure whether he wanted to hit something or cry. Probably both.
Most likely neither.
He emptied the dustpan full of glass shards into the trash with an irritated huff, then reached into his pocket. He earned a smoke after all the…
…And he was out of smokes. Great.
Angel let out an exasperated groan, throwing his hands up in defeat. He couldn’t even have a nice, relaxing, lung-shrivelling smoke after all of that drama? Was there no justice in Hell for a poor old whore?
Alright, dumb question.
He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Alright, time to brainstorm his options. He could ask Val to grab him some more in the morning, but he knew he’d either still be pissy about tonight or would just forget, like how he forgot their anniversary. It wasn’t like it was a big one or anything, no, just thirty years.
Anyway, worst case scenario, Val wouldn’t be bothered to remember, that is, until Angel would become too annoying to ignore by bitching and moaning about withdrawal symptoms, which has happened before, but dammit, he did not want to go through that again.
Alright, new plan. He could… sneak out.
He’d done it a few times before, when he was desperate, and Val was always none the wiser.
It was just risky.
Val barely let him out at all. If he ever found out Angel even so much as used the fire escape to play with the stray quieves in the alley, he’d-
Well. Angel didn’t know what the fuck Val would do to him. And that was terrifying enough by itself.
Plus, the studio was crawling with underpaid broads working overtime, and some of them would readily jump at the opportunity to tell Val that his favorite little pet snuck out while he was away in hopes of some reward or something. Backstabbing bitches.
So, it was either risk going through withdrawal- which, judging by the fact Angel was already contemplating sneaking out to avoid it, was clearly off the table- or… well. Sneaking out.
He guessed desperate times called for desperate measures.
Angel took a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair. He would do it tomorrow when Val inevitably would leave to be out all day doing who knows what- he didn’t want to know- with Vox, and all the studio bitches would have too much dick in their mouths to tattle on him.
There was just one more thing. Cigarettes cost money.
Val always flaunted cash around wherever he went; surely, he wouldn’t miss a five or two if they went missing, would he? He just had to get the five off Val without him noticing… He had to be asleep by now.
One thing he was grateful for about Valentino was that he was a quick, heavy sleeper, and Angel could get away with almost anything once Val slipped on that dumb sleep mask with the eyelashes. He just had to be fucking careful. Valentino was already pissed at him enough; he did not need to invoke more wrath.
Ah, well, no time like the present to put his plan into place.
Angel crept down the hall and up to Val’s bedroom door, and held his breath as he tried the knob to see whether it was locked or not.
Open.
Thank God.
He slowly pushed it open, praying the hinges wouldn’t squeak, just enough to slip through the gap. Once he was in, his eyes scanned around the dark room for Val’s wallet, and he spotted it on the nightstand right next to where Val was sleeping.
Okay. Deep breaths. He could do this.
He took a few cautious steps forward, using the plush carpet beneath Val’s bed to his advantage so that his signature boots wouldn’t click-clack against the wooden floor. Once he had his wallet in his hand, he opened it and took out a couple of five-dollar bills. One for now and one for his next trip, should he need it, so he wouldn’t have to come back and do this heart-racing maneuver for a while.
“What are you doing?”
Angel flinched, dropping the wallet, and he whipped his head around to see Val sitting up in bed, his eye mask comically still over his eyes.
“I was just-” Angel stammered with a nervous laugh, hurriedly bending down to snatch up the wallet. “I- I needed a bill for a couple of lines. I only took one, I promise!”
He watched Val for what seemed like eternity, his heart beating rapidly in his chest. Valentino seemed to be thinking very hard or not at all, and it was then that Angel realized he was most likely still or half asleep…
Angel released a shaky, relieved breath as Val lay down again, presumably forgetting this ever happened. Oh, thank fuck. He was almost so fucking screwed. He quickly pocketed the fives and tiptoed out of Val’s room. If he had a tail, it would be between his legs.
He shut the door gently, puffing his cheeks as he headed straight for his own bedroom. He’d sleep in there tonight; there was no way he was sleeping with Val. On one hand, Val was too mad at him, and on another, Angel was too terrified. He was lucky Val didn’t bite his head off in there after what happened with the mirror.
He closed his own door, slumped onto his bed, and sat with his head in his hands.
Things would be better in the morning. He’d get to breathe fresh air.