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What Valentino would not have given to wake Angel from this trance.
He had no idea it would go this far.
Well, okay, he did. Admittedly, he wanted a reaction from Angel. Especially after that shit he pulled with the Princess earlier that day, Valentino wanted him to suffer a little bit. So, he blindly agreed to Vox's little plan.
What he didn't expect was for Angel to be so quiet afterwards. He expected sorrow, not exhaustion. But when Angel slumped into his arms by the end of it, Valentino knew he had done something irreparable.
That was how Angel's body ended up draped over Valentino's sofa, eyes closed tight in an attempt to sleep off the assault to his mind.
"I should have said something sooner, mi amor." Valentino whispered. "About how much I love you."
The back of his hand traced Angel's jawline, as if to memorize it. The curve, the smoothness... But in Angel's troubled state, his jaw clenched. It looked so uncomfortable.
Valentino sighed, resting his cheek on the side of the sofa. Poor, sleeping Angel, trying to escape from this cruel reality.
"Do you remember us? A power couple of passion, that's what we were." He uttered, tracing circles into the cushion. No response from Angel, of course.
"You probably don't. Not when you're like this. You don't know anything unless Vox tells you to."
Resignation crossed his face as he watched over his beloved Angel. He looked so vulnerable, and Valentino knew it was his fault. It happened under his approval, under his watch. He was there in the room, he could have stopped it! How could he be so cruel?
Yet, there was always something they could rely on. Valentino was a storyteller, that much was true. Though his preferred medium was film, it was an inherent aspect of humanity that they would tell stories to survive through hardship. The Great Depression had Snow White, most of human history had religion, stories had a power to bring humans together in difficult times.
Staring at Angel's frown, Valentino wondered if this was another one of those times.
"That's the face of someone who wants a bedtime story, I just know it." He chuckled, a warm smile coming to his lips. "Well, once upon a time, there was this hot Overlord and his sexy accomplice."
That is how it felt, once upon a time. Once, when they were silly and stupid and young. They were on top of the world and with big dreams. Back then, it all felt possible and infinite. They danced in the galaxies, gazing at all the constellations to see which they might become.
Back then, they wished on stars and truly believed it would work.
"Yeah, they were a power couple. No one understood them. But they understood each other."
"They had a plan to revolutionize Hell. The Overlord always wanted to be an artist, and the accomplice loved to perform. So, they thought to try film. And they'd make such beautiful stories together, especially with funding from the Overlord's friend."
Vox's inclusion into the deal was one that Angel was wary about from the beginning. Perhaps it was foresight or some kind of instinct, but Angel didn't trust him with their work. A bitten bottom lip and arms folded, Angel closed himself off whenever Vox was in the room.
It was also equally true that Valentino was blinded by love. Just as Vox had made a promise of success to him, he made a promise to Angel.
That promise linked them, bonded them for an eternity. And suddenly, the stars had an end. A boundary. A wall at the end that kept them inside.
All of a sudden, Valentino wasn't in the stars with Angel. He was somewhere much colder, observing from outside. Too big to return, unable to take Angel with him.
"You didn't want to sell out. You didn't want to lose yourself, so I promised to protect you. And then..."
Well, then came the fall of everything. The bruises, the blood, the shards all over the floor that were so messy that neither could tell if it was glass or their own hearts.
No words could describe what they had destroyed. What Vox had destroyed. What his presence had done to them.
"I think I was scared. Scared of a lot of things." He pushed his antenna back with a soft sigh. "You made me feel things so vividly... I wasn't ready to accept it."
A kiss to the hand. A silent apology amongst the verbal.
"And I lashed out. Wanted you to hurt like you hurt me. But you hurt me in the sweetest way."
A kiss to the cheek. Something much more intimate, only reserved for those familiar and close. If Angel never recovered from this, Valentino would have to get everything out now.
The truth was, he didn't know how Vox's powers worked. Not entirely. He didn't know if it was permanent, and he feared that Angel's eyes would open red. That he'd never see Angel the same way again.
"You fueled my art and became my muse. You made me familiar with myself in a way I never had been. And I liked who I was because of the hurt you put me through to know him. Angelito, you set me on fire so that I might be the blazing star I am."
"I just wanted to return the favor. Make you feel that good, sweet hurt that made you know you were alive. Think I just hurt you the normal way though."
A hollow, bitter chuckle fell from Valentino's lips. If he was a character in a film, he and Angel would have made fun of him endlessly from the couch. For managing to fumble the bag, as Angel would say.
"Gross. You deserve better than that mundane shit."
A kiss to the neck. Sensual and intimate, for those even closer than those sharing a kiss of the cheek. Because Valentino knew how it felt to have Vox dismiss him. Vox always looked at things so cold and so objective, and it left none of the space that Angel needed. That he needed. They were suffocating in his artificial blizzard together, and Valentino hadn't even tried to acknowledge Angel pleading for warmth.
Because Valentino saw Angel's unhappiness under VoxTek. When their soul bond became a bond to the company, rather than something only for them. When Vox came in and demanded changes to the films for mass appeal. He heard Angel's complaints, and what did he do instead? On good days, Valentino ignored him. On bad days, Angel ended up bruised.
That wasn't fair.
"And now you're going through the coldest, loneliest pain imaginable, and I'm so sorry." A shuddering breath fell from Valentino's lips. "You had my protection, and I failed you."
A wavering kiss to the forehead. One of reassurance and protection, but Valentino could hardly get there before his feelings began to get in the way. His quivering lips shook so much that he could hardly get to Angel's head.
No wonder Angel ran to the Princess the first chance he got. Angel was right. They weren't safe with Vox here. Vox had sucked the spirit from Valentino, and he was doing the same to Angel. And Valentino had done nothing to stop it.
When did he become such a fraud?
Soft squeaks fell from Valentino as he traced circles into the cushions once again. Red wings closed around him, and he reached for the limp hand next to his.
"Val...?" A voice croaked.
The sound was enough to stir Valentino from his misery. He glanced up to be met with stunning, sugar pink eyes. Twinkling at him like the brightest stars, glimmering with tenderness.
"Angel!" Valentino cried.
"Got the worst fuckin' migraine-" The spider groaned. Sitting up only worsened the room's spinning. "Oh..."
Valentino could have wept in that moment just from the pure relief swelling in his heart. "You're okay! I was so worried, baby."
"The fuck happened?" Angel asked, his face pressed into his hands.
Even now, he was struggling from the invasion into his mind. Valentino had completely failed to protect him, and now his failure was staring him in the face.
But the lack of judgment in Angel's eyes was what got to him. Instead, there was confusion. Vulnerability. Angel had no idea what had happened.
In every story, there comes a time where the hero has to make a choice. A choice that will affect everything in the story going forward. And the universe was giving him another chance.
Perhaps Vox couldn't hurt Angel's spirit if Angel wasn't aware of it happening.
Valentino hummed, placing a hand on Angel's shoulder. "You got higher than the roof, baby. Came to set acting weird, then you passed out and didn't wake back up."
Angel frowned. It was a likely story, and his migraine would allude to that. "I'm sorry."
He looked disappointed in himself, and that was when Valentino remembered that Angel had been trying to go sober. Of course, he didn't believe it. No one did. But that sad expression was too much for him right now.
"Don't be...!" Valentino said, maybe faster than he meant to. No, in all honesty, he was pleading. Pleading for Angel to be happy again. "Work has been stressful. You're right."
"I am?" Angel asked, despite not remembering saying that at all. Then again, he felt it, so it wouldn't be unheard of.
"Yes. You should take the rest of the day off. Go back to that hotel, maybe." The words came out before Valentino could even process them, but he needed Angel out of the building. He needed Angel away from Vox. "You need sleep, Angel. And a drink."
Never before had Valentino offered Angel a break without insisting that he come with. Angel nearly protested, but the distress in Valentino's eyes stopped him. Whatever Valentino was going through, he didn't want Angel there.
If there was one thing Angel had learned in this time, it was that one is not to deny an Overlord a request. So he made his way to the door, leaving Valentino to sulk next to the couch.
"Okay. Bye?"
"Angel?" Valentino called out. "I love you."
Angel's fingers froze upon the doorknobs, and he took a deep breath. How long had it been since he'd heard that one?
"...I love you too, Val."