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Chapter Text

The lavender colored demon with red hot eyes smiled at whoever happened to glance at him. A white shirt and a harness with a heart shaped center bared his midriff, and booty shorts exposed his extremely long legs. One of his four arms propped up a leg covered in fishnets, and there were three thigh straps with golden buckles on the left thigh. 

He held out a martini glass, perhaps in an invitation to partake, as he pulled suggestively on heart shaped glasses with a wink.

It was Anthony’s favorite poster. 

Standing on the sidewalk, he was smoking a cigarette under a streetlight, trying to commit the picture to memory. It felt like he noticed new details whenever he took the time to look a bit more closely at it; 

This time, he noticed a gold navel piercing, as well as matching ankle chains around his vertiginous stiletto boots. 

He stopped staring only when a charcoal colored hand reached up to tear it off. Blinking a little, Anthony lowered his gaze to look at his brother.

“There you are. I didn’t see you down there.”

Ignoring yet another jab at his stature, Jonathan merely looked at the poster. 

“It seems like this guy is everywhere. Wherever we go, it’s Valentino this, Valentino that… Blah blah blah, enough already.” 

He crumpled it up and threw it in the general direction of a nearby trash can, missing it by quite a large margin. The pair started walking down the commercial street, with Anthony shoving his hands in his gray coat pockets. 

“I mean, it’s no wonder. Word on the street is, he owns a bunch of clubs and has most likely started makin’ deals with demons. People say he’ll be an Overlord in no time.”

“Okay, enough. Speaking of, ya wanna hit a club after?” The small spider demon readjusted his bowtie. “I dunno about you, but I’d like to pick up a broad for the night.”

“Ya know, I’ve been meanin’ to say…  you might have better success with the ladies if you didn’t call them that.”

“Whatever, with enough money, I can call them whatever I want.”

“Since when do you sleep with prostitutes?!”

With an eye roll, Anthony stopped next to a near empty coffee shop. 

“I’m just sayin’. Modern gals, they’re not like they used to be. They have jobs now, and even their own bank accounts.” Anthony nodded emphatically.

“God I miss the fifties,” the smaller one sighed, pulling out a submachine gun and a butterfly knife. “These women had class like no other.”

Anthony pulled out his own SMG, as well as a handgun. “It’s the poodle skirts, right?”

“See, you get it. Alright, you ready?” 

“Ready.” 

The pair of arachnids entered the coffee shop, and immediately, the few patrons took a look at the weapons and scrambled for the exit. Yet, as usual, there were a few stragglers, such as an old cannibal lady who was stubbornly sipping on her drink. 

Jonathan ignored them and made his way to the counter, where he greeted the owner, before he jumped on a chair, waiting for his brother. Not really bothered, Anthony hid his guns away before he approached the old lady. 

“Hi ma’am, would you like to take your order to go?” 

“Are you trying to get rid of me, you little punk?” 

“Punk? We’ve got business here, and respectfully, you hafta go.”

The tall spider gently tried to help her up, but she hit him in the chest with her handbag, making him recoil a little. 

“Don’t touch me, you pigeon-livered cad! Who do you think I am? Do whatever you have to do, I don’t give a damn.”

“Uh… Alright.”

As Jonathan repressed a snicker, Anthony pulled out his weapon again and made his way to the counter, where the very nervous looking owner stood. 

“Oh God, give me a break… You guys were here just last week!”

“Well tough shit!” The tall spider leaned against the counter.

The smaller one pulled out a little black book, licked one of his thumbs and started flipping through the pages. 

“Alright Jerry, let’s see…” He stopped flipping once he found what he was looking for. He whistled at the amount before he put it away. “Let’s try and put a dent in that today, huh?” 

“Oh c’mon, guys…!” Jerry gestured towards the tables. “If you stopped making most of my customers run off, I might be able to make enough money to pay you back.” 

Hearing that, the old lady called the other patrons “cowards” under her breath.

“Not my problem.” 

Without much warning, Jonathan stabbed the man’s closest tentacle and pinned it to the table. 

Jerry screamed in pain, while Anthony pressed the handgun to his temple. 

“You know the drill. Just open the till.”

Whimpering in fear, Jerry did as told, and the pair of spiders leaned over to look at the contents. 

“Wow, you weren’t kiddin’.” Anthony reached for the money inside, doing a quick estimate. “Still better than last week! See what you can do when you try?” 

“Please, guys, you’re bleedin’ me dry…”

“Should have thought of that before you tried to screw with us,” Anthony hissed, pushing the barrel of his gun some more against his head. “You better not be holdin’ out on me.”

“I ain’t, I swear to God! I’m givin’ you all I can already!”

“I think we’re done here.” The small spider pulled the knife out. “See you in two weeks, Jerry.”

He hopped off the counter, as Anthony straightened up and put the money away.

As Jonathan went to wait in front of the door, Anthony walked past bags of freshly ground coffee on a shelf. He picked one up, smiled at the owner, before he made his way to the exit. 

It gave plenty of time for the cannibal lady to push Jonathan out of her way with her cane, making sure to call him a “lowlife imbecile” before she walked out.

The arachnids started walking down the street, eventually coming to stand under mercury-vapor lamps.

“How much did he have?” Jonathan pulled out his notebook and a pencil. 

“Four hundred eighty five.”

With a hum, he did quick calculations before he sighed and put everything away again. “Yeah, I dunno, Tony. I don’t think he’s ever payin’ us back.” 

“Maybe not, but I like our talks with him. Plus, it always smells nice there.” 

“You say the weirdest shit sometimes… So what were we talkin’ about before?” 

“Clubs and modern ladies.”

“Oh, right. So, what do you say?”

“Yeah, we can go to a club.” The tall spider thought about it for a moment, before he smiled down at his brother. “Did you hear about Fuego Azul? It’s new and very trendy.”

“Sounds good to me. Maybe we’ll even find a broad who meets your impossible standards.” 

With a shrug, Anthony looked elsewhere, catching sight of yet another poster of the lavender demon. “What can I say… Unlike you, I don’t want a woman as soon as she notices me.”

“God, you make it sound like I don’t have any standards at all.” 

Unable to resist, the youngest turned a mischievous smile down at his diminutive sibling. “To be fair, I’m not sure you can afford to be picky.” 

“Oh shut up. I can still climb up your freakishly tall legs and kick your teeth in.” 

“Hah! Think you can handle the change in atmosphere?” 

“I swear, Tony–”

Fuego Azul was yet another establishment owned by Valentino. 

Just like its name suggested, the interior was rather cool colored. There were white walls, tall frosted windows, blue lights above the bar area and the scene. 

Anthony and his brother, at the latter’s insistence, sat at a table where they could easily watch a beautiful pole dancer, without being bothered. There were patrons dancing around them, or otherwise throwing money at the people on stage. 

Anthony’s vest was folded over the back of his chair, and the sleeves of his very very pale pink shirt were rolled up to the elbows. Those were the signs he was done working for tonight.

“You can say whatever ya want about him,” he said, sipping on a very classic cocktail, “but Valentino knows how to manage a club!”

Always very stern and difficult to get to relax, Jonathan conceded. “Can’t stand seein’ his face everywhere, but I gotta admit, this place is nice.”

“You’re so stubborn! Come on, relax and enjoy.”

“You know I’m more into classic bars. Clubs, they’re just not really my thing. I’ve never been much of a dancer.”

“Why did you mention the club then? We can go somewhere else…” 

“No, you wanted to come here.” Jonathan casually shrugged. “And I can make concessions for your birthday.” 

Anthony blinked a little, before he grinned at his brother. 

“Thank you.” He raised his glass to his brother, before he lifted it and looked towards the ceiling.
“Happy birthday sis, wherever you are.” 

“Happy birthday to you both.”

“God I miss her.”

The spiders paused, with Anthony reminiscing on his own memories  with the young woman. He ended up smiling, a little sadly.

“After all those years, you’d think something like birthdays would be meaningless, but…”

“Any reason is good enough to celebrate in this literal Hell-hole.”

“My sentiment exactly.”

Anthony downed his drink. He remained quiet, looking over at a male performer for a moment. He soon looked back at his brother. “Hey… Do you sometimes feel like… I dunno, maybe we should be doin’ somethin’ else?” 

“Like what?” As Jonathan had to basically stand on his chair, he crossed his arms over the table and sipped on his beer. “I think we deserve a break, we’ve been runnin’ around all week!”

“No, not like that.” Trying to think of the best way to say that, the tallest spider crossed his legs and leaned back. “We’ve been doin’ the same thing for so long, maybe we need a career change.” 

“What are you talkin’ about?” 

“Look, if the new face of the underworld is… well, that?” He pointed to one of the more conservative posters of Valentino he could see behind his brother. “Maybe it’s a sign.”

“The new face? Please. We’ll just adapt, like we did for all those past decades. We’re good at our job and I still enjoy what I do.” 

“Oh c’mon, you can’t tell me the spark ain’t gone… We don’t have fun like we used to. I didn’t feel anything while we were talkin’ with Jerry.”

“Yeah, I can tell. You took the time to smell the coffee.” The diminutive spider rested his chin on the back of his fist. “But for the sake of discussion, what else would you wanna do?” 

“I dunno… Maybe we could have our own club or somethin’.”

Jonathan raised an incredulous brow, alongside two of his smaller eyes. “Do I look like I’m made for customer service?”

“Nah. I’d work front of the house. You can keep the books or whatever.” 

“Are you serious right now?”

“Yeah, why not? We’ve been runnin’ around Hell for forty years and I’m tired of it. Think about it. We’d go to one workplace, make sure everything’s runnin’, and then you get to enjoy the music and cute gals on payroll.” To emphasize what he was saying, he wiggled his brows and moved his shoulders to the sound of the music.

Jonathan was about to say something, but as a gorgeous waitress came to ask them if they wanted something else to drink, he remained quiet. Anthony smiled at her and ordered a second cocktail, as his brother did not even look at her.

Once she left, Jonathan brought his attention back to his brother. “Heh… Ya know what, I’m interested.”

“Yeah? I have so many ideas. I want a huge aquarium with a bunch of exotic fishes, pole dancin’ areas, purple lights…”

“Yeah yeah, this is all nice and well. Can’t wait to hear your sales pitch to the boss.”

With a sigh, Anthony looked once again towards the scene. “Do you get off on crushin’ my dreams?”

“Yeah I do.” There was a bit of a pause, as Jonathan straightened up. “Ya know… I think I know what’s goin’ on here.”

Tilting his head a little, Anthony turned his eyes to his brother. The woman came back with Anthony’s drink. He paid her before he brought his full focus back on Jonathan.

“What are you talkin’ about?”

“Couldn’t sleep, a couple days ago, so I went out for a smoke. I saw you sneakin’ out.”

“Yeah, so? I’m a big boy now, I can do what I want.” 

“You’ve got a girl, don’t you?” Upon seeing the way Anthony blinked, the small spider frowned a little. “Sometimes, when you come back, there’s a lingering scent of perfume. A classy one, very floral. The fact you’re sneakin’ off makes me believe it’s more than hookers. You’re in love, and you want a club so that you can hire, invest, and spend as much time as possible with her.” 

“Uh…” 

Even if Anthony’s whole life was a series of lies, it was hard to completely fool the people who had known him for his whole life and thereafter. “Yeah, I uh, no–”

“Alright, spill it. What’s she like? What’s your type a’ broad?” Jonathan paused a little, as his brother’s eyes shifted, nervously rubbing the back of his head. 

“You ain’t talkin’ ‘bout her and you don’t wanna bring her home ‘cause you know the boss won’t approve. I bet she’s the exotic and artistic type. Doesn't speak Italian. Tall, sensual, not too vulgar.” He paused and smiled again. “ Or maybe you’re ashamed of your family.” 

Unable to repress an amused grin, Anthony shook his head in disbelief. “Wow, and they say you’ve got no imagination.”

With an annoyed raise of a brow, Jonathan rolled his eyes. “If it ain’t that, what have you been up to?” 

“Maybe I just can’t sleep either.” 

At this moment, the music momentarily turned off, and the lights dimmed down quite a bit. Anthony looked around himself curiously. Upon hearing an announcement from the speakers, he spun in his chair to better look at the scene. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, demons and souls, and everything in between… Please welcome your gracious host: Valentino.”

Eyes wide, he was glad the music was already turning up again as he could not repress a gasp. 

From further down the scene Valentino appeared, strutting with his wings folded over him like a gorgeous red coat. He momentarily stopped in the middle of the stage, while the pole dancers came into position around him for what looked like a carefully rehearsed number. 

“Tony?” Jonathan called over the sound of the music.

“Uh, yeah?” unable to tear his eyes away from the moth demon, Anthony just turned his head a little in his brother’s direction. 

“I’m going for some fresh air, you wanna come with?” 

“No, go ahead. I’m gonna finish my drink.” 

The small spider demon jumped off his chair, and soon he was completely out of sight and out of mind. 

The music picked up, and Valentino unfolded his beautiful wings. Underneath them, he wore a revealing leather outfit that would be more appropriate for a bondage club, complete with a riding crop and a whip. Anthony’s eyes went straight to his nipple piercings and the gold chain that connected them. 

A lot of people were already gathering around the stage to get a better look, and Anthony, unable to resist, downed his drink. He had wanted to see Valentino in motion ever since he had seen his picture, and so he also made his way closer to the stage. However, he remained quite at a safe distance, leaning over to better see. 

Valentino was an incredible performer, and so were his dancers. Anthony was mesmerized by the way he moved his wings, and whenever he heard the crack of the whip, it sent a pleasurable shiver down his spine, tempered only by the burning desire he could feel deep within himself. 

The dance was sensual, some might even call it obscene. It was highly physical, with its simulated sexual acts, necks and limbs entangled in the whip, and Anthony drank it all in.

He wished he was up there, with Valentino running his hands on him, throwing him to the floor, he just wanted to grind on him.

At some point, Valentino started walking up and down the stage, close enough for people to be able to reach out and touch him. Some people did, managing to run whatever appendages they had on his boots or fishnets. 

Oh, as he drew closer, Anthony wanted to do the same. He longed to run all six hands on the moth.

Once he was close enough, Valentino’s burning red eyes laid on him. He looked him up and down, crouched down and reached for his tie, pulling him in real close.

With two hands holding onto the winged creature’s arm, Anthony leaned even closer, propping himself up with his middle pair.

Maybe he should have been intimidated, but instead he ran a free hand up his thigh, smiling at the moth demon; a dazzling, breathless smile that had nothing to do with how he looked at anyone else. 

“Are you enjoying the show, arácnido ?”

This voice, those red eyes and grin, the way the wings were spread… The spider nodded.

Right then and there, Anthony had no choice but to fall under his spell.

Valentino winked and pulled his hand away, in order to go back to his performance.

Even if the ordeal lasted less than ten seconds, and even if he knew it was just part of the show, it felt like a rush to be acknowledged by such an irresistible creature. 

Once the music ended and everyone was whistling and cheering, Anthony pulled away from the stage, watching how Valentino was coming down from it. The moth demon was seemingly thanking his patrons for their presence, but from the way he raised a hand, it also made it look like he wasn’t all that interested in discussing. 

It was at this moment that Anthony noticed the way he was being looked at by some of the people around him; as they sized him up, some of them with quizzical expressions, he remembered he was not dressed to perform and that he still looked like a mobster. 

He felt a strong urge to hide his face, but he knew that doing so would only bring further attention to himself, and so instead he casually spun around to go to the bar. 

He ordered another cocktail and a beer from a lovely wasp lady on the other side of the counter, giving himself plenty of time to gather his thoughts. He would take one last drink, and then leave as soon as he would be reunited with Jonathan.

Due to their respective stature, it was well understood that Anthony did not look for his brother; as Anthony was taller and lighter than most creatures of Hell, he was definitely the most eye-catching of the two. 

Maybe he’d come back later, but this time, he’d be in a dress and heels, and if Valentino was still around, he might partake.

Once the drinks were ready, he went to put money on the counter, but to his surprise, a black hand held his wrist back. Anthony’s first reflex was to snatch his hand away and spin around with a snarl, but upon seeing Valentino standing right there, he froze and just stared at him.

“Keep your money,” the owner calmly told him. “It’s on the house.”

Not wanting at all to feel like he owed anyone anything, Anthony once again held out his hand to put the money on the counter. 

Valentino watched him with slightly narrowed eyes, until he smiled again.

“Well, araña… ” The winged demon drew even closer. “I couldn’t help but notice you next to my stage. Let me look at you.” 

He lifted his riding crop, and with it Anthony’s chin. 

“ Que hermoso… Most men like you, they don’t really appreciate my show. I usually get a rise out of them, but not you. You’re something else.” 

He tilted his head a little, getting a closer look at Anthony, who stared back at him. 

Paralyzed.

“Can’t you speak? Or perhaps you’re the type to let your body do the talking.”

The way the moth talked made Anthony’s hair stand on edge, and it was also what finally allowed him to speak again with a little smile. “Mr. Valentino… I loved your performance, and thank you for the offer, but… You’re right. Men like me, we… I–” 

“I know… But I can’t help feeling like there’s something you want to ask of me…” 

Keeping his eyes trained on the winged demon, the spider reached for his cocktail and downed it, as Valentino smiled even more. As he leaned down to approach a soft, black hand towards Anthony’s cheek, the spider opened his mouth to speak. 

How much is your night?

Valentino must have heard this question a million times before, but he’s still amused at how predictable the spider is. He gives him a price. 

Any number, the gangster is certain he can afford it. 

The room Valentino takes him to is shrouded in sheltering shadows, and he can hear the rain outside.

The moth demon is nude already, except for his golden jewelry. It shines in what little light there is, but not as much as the pattern of his wings, the burning color of his eyes and sharp teeth. 

Anthony undresses. 

Once he stands in nothing but his boots, there is no judgement in the winged demon’s expression. Maybe there’s a hint of amusement upon seeing how shy the spider appears. 

After all, he’s never as confident as when he presents as androgynous. 

Despite the pink patterns of his fur, the heart surrounding the real one, the generous fluff on his chest, he very much looks like a man then and there. 

Valentino understands, with one look, that this mobster doesn’t dominate in bed. 

He pushes him to the mattress and climbs on top of him, a pair of hands spreading his legs, the other one holding him to his chest. 

All of Anthony ’s limbs wrap around his wings, his back, and hold his partner’s head. 

He claims his lips, and once they’re good and ready, Valentino gets him on all eights and penetrates him.

As much as he wants to look at Valentino while they fuck, he also likes being taken like this. He wants his hair grabbed, hips and shoulders pulled, his face pushed against the mattress so as to muffle his moans. He clenches all fists on the sheets. In bed, he likes being disrespected, taken like an animal.

He doesn’t need to look at Valentino to see the shadow of those soft, heavy wings, and the way he smiles, hungry, greedy, possessive.

True to his reputation, he’s the best lover Anthony can ever hope for. 

Maybe they never see eachother again, or perhaps Valentino keeps him forever by his side. 

Anthony loves both possibilities. 

The pain of never getting another taste of Valentino feels like torture fitting for this Hell. 

If anything, he’s a masochist.

But should Valentino choose to hold him on a leash, he wants tender days, excitement at night, rough sex and a warm bed. 

He wants his protectiveness, his territoriality. 

His jealousy.

He wants to completely give himself over. 

He craves. 

He wants him more than anything he’s ever tasted before.

The spider opened his mouth to speak.

“How much–”

Anthony never got to ask the question, for a charcoal colored hand slapped Valentino’s own away; Jonathan stood on the nearest chair and leaned over Anthony’s shoulder, glaring at the moth demon.

“Don’t touch him, you disgustin’ asshole.” 

Apparently not expecting that, Valentino pulled his hands away, an eyebrow raised. 

“Excuse me?” The moth demon’s pleasant demeanor instantly turned cold as he looked at this interloper.

“You heard me. Keep your hands to yourself, pervert.”

“Or what?” 

“You don’t wanna find out what I do to fa–”

“Okay, stop!” 

Anthony raised all of his hands, both to Valentino and his brother.

“We don’t want any trouble. Let’s just go.”

The owner of the club eventually smiled again. He took a courteous step back from the pair and gestured towards the door.

“Very well. I’ll see you soon, arañas.”

He spun around, unbothered, and walked away. 

Anthony watched him leave, before he looked back at his brother. He wanted to say something, but he wasn’t sure what.

Jonathan threw his brother's jacket at him before he gestured with his head for Anthony to follow him outside. 

The pair of spiders walked in silence for a while, with Anthony following behind his brother. 

He was nervously wriggling his lower pair of hands, knowing he had to say something before they could get back home. 

Once they reached an empty residential street, the small spider stopped in his tracks and sighed, before he spun around to face his brother. 

“You’re gay, aren’t you.” 

It wasn’t really a question, moreso it was a statement. As it felt like there was no other choice after what had happened today, Anthony took a deep breath before he nodded a little.

“Yeah.” 

As his brother quietly stared at him for a moment, he ran a hand through his hair. 

“Let’s not make a big deal out of it, okay?”

“Tony–”

“I’ll… I’ll just leave, and you won’t have to see me again if you don’t want to.” With a deep breath, he turned his back to Jonathan. “Tell him… I’m sorry.”

“No no, hold on.”

Jonathan looked around himself for something he could climb on to better look at his brother. He opted for jumping on top of a few nearby front stairs.

“Geez, you’re so dramatic. I’m not gonna tell our dad, or anyone else.”

Rather taken aback, Anthony raised a brow, crossing his middle pair of arms and looking back at him.

“Why not?” 

“Alright, look.” Jonathan lit up a cigarette and offered his brother one. He waited for Anthony to sit with him on the steps before he continued. “I can’t say I approve and I never will, but… I mean, ever since we came here, I’ve seen some really disgustin’ shit. As long as it’s discreet and respectful, I don’t really care what you’re into.”

“Huh…” Angel blinked really wide eyes. “You’re not reactin’ at all like I thought you would.”

“What did you expect?”

“I dunno, but it’s weirdin’ me out.”

“Would it make you feel better if I kicked your ass?” 

“Think your legs can reach?”

Without warning, Jonathan kicked him in the thigh. 

“Ow!” It was more surprising than painful.

“Shut the fuck up, I’m tryin’ to be understandin’.”

“Yeah yeah, I know.” Anthony mindlessly rubbed at his leg. “I just hoped you’d never find out.”

“I wouldn’t want anyone to know either.” Jonathan hummed in thought, sitting a bit more comfortably. “Before we never talk about it again, have you been sneakin’ out to see a boyfriend?” 

“Nah, I’m single. I tried, but uh… havin’ to lie through my teeth ain’t a very solid foundation for a relationship. So no, but I’ve had a few lovers over the years.”

“A few? God, I was worried about Molly bein’ the town’s bicycle, don’t tell me it’s actually you!”

“Woah woah woah, I wouldn’t go that far! I can still count my partners on my fingers, thank you very much,” Anthony pointed out, wiggling all of them.

“You have six hands! I had like… three girlfriends, what the fuck is up with that!?”

“Yeah well, it ain’t my fault you get all weird around women.”

Jonathan took a deep, calming drag of his cigarette, eyes momentarily closed. “Okay, so where have you been goin’?” 

Managing a little smile, Anthony shook his head. “I don’t think I’m ready for that conversation with you.”

“Goddammit, Tony–!”

“Don’t worry, it’s not something that affects the family.”

There was a bit of a pause, as they smoked in silence, awkwardly staring elsewhere. At least, Jonathan wasn’t being outright violent, and honestly, it was a huge relief.

“I don’t want you goin’ anywhere near this Valentino fella,” the diminutive spider ended up saying. 

With an eye roll, the youngest of the two sighed and rested his back against the railing. “Johnny–”

“He’s your type, ain’t he?”

The youngest rubbed at the corner of his eyes. “Oh my God…!”

“Listen, I ain’t sayin’ that because you’re gay and I don’t wanna see it. I’m sayin’ that because he’s doin’ somethin’ to ya.” He brought his full focus back to Anthony. 

“I know what you’re like. I’ve seen you high as shit, and I’ve seen you piss drunk. What I’ve never seen is the way you looked at him. You’re damn lucky there wasn’t anyone we knew in there.”

“Not to worry. After what you did today, I don’t think he’ll wanna deal with us, so…”

“Good. The guy’s a major creep.” Jonathan stood up and threw his cigarette away. “Oh, by the way… I feel like I should tell ya what I told Molly; if a man ever hurts ya, I’ll break his legs.”

Taken aback, Anthony stared at Jonathan for a moment before he burst out in laughter.
“You’ll break his legs? With what?! The only baseball bat that fits your teeny tiny hands is made of plastic!”

From where he stood, Jonathan kicked Anthony’s leg again; his needle-like feet might not have been that strong, but it was similar to how it felt when a cat put all their weight on one of their paws. The taller one laughed through the pain, until he finally stood up as well. 

“Hey, Johnny? Thanks, ya know? It’s the coolest you’ve ever been to me.” 

Jonathan put his hands in his pockets before he jumped down the stairs. “Yeah yeah. But for real, se qualcuno chiede… Il pervertito alato ti ha fatto qualcosa . Okay?”

The small spider spoke Italian only when he talked about something very important, or if he didn’t want most people to understand what he was saying. 

And so, Anthony nodded with a serious look.

“ Sì, sì, lo so .” 

The pair of spiders and their father lived in what used to be a textiles factory from a bygone era. The first floor was filled with broken and dusty machinery; as he walked past them, Anthony fondly recalled a time when their little family would try and maintain them. 

The brothers made their way to the wooden stairs and, upon reaching the second floor, they both realized they could hear voices coming from the office, all the way down the hallway. 

It still very much looked like a factory, but most of this floor had been turned into normal living spaces; as Anthony walked past the break room, which had since been turned into a kitchen and leisure area, he saw three sharks standing around the old pool table. As Jonathan ignored them and made a beeline for the main office, Anthony instead went to greet them. 

“Fellas, hi! Need another player?” 

“Hey, Tony,” a blue shark said. “Yeah, we’re still warmin’ up, so come back for the next one.”

“Sure thing!” 

He made his way to the kitchen area and put his new bag of coffee in a well organized cupboard. In doing so, he noticed someone brewed a pot of coffee, and so he poured himself a cup.

“So what’s goin’ on?”

“Your pop’s bein’ a stubborn jackass, that’s what,” a hammerhead shark pointed out. 

“Ah, what else is new…” 

The coffee was not really good; he took a generous gulp, before he shuddered and made a face. 

“Christ, can’t any of you make a decent pot of coffee?” 

“Well excuse you, Mrs. Secretary. We can’t all be coffee fairies like you,” a lemon shark mumbled. 

“The reason why I make the coffee is because you don’t even try–”

“Anthony! Get over here!”

The voice that called for the tall spider instantly soured his mood. 

Anthony took a deep breath and raised his voice.

“I’ll be right there, boss!”

Anthony threw the coffee in the sink before he left the area to keep walking towards the conference room. 

As far as the bedrooms were concerned, the old patriarch slept in what used to be the owner’s office; it was the best one in the whole building. Jonathan had picked the HR office, a lot more for the space and functional layout than for what it represented. 

Lastly, Anthony’s room used to be a secretary’s office; he took the comments about it in stride.

The boss of the spider family was rather large and tall; maybe not as tall as Anthony, but he definitely dwarfed his other son. 

Anthony acknowledged him with a polite headnod, before his gaze fell upon an old friend. 

“Hey, Vinnie!” 

“Hiya, kiddo.”

They shook hands, and Vinnie pulled him closer for a warm hug and a friendly pat on the back. 

“Alright boys,” the great white shark said, “you gotta help me convince your old man.”

From where he sat at the head of the table, the patriarch grumbled a little, keeping his eyes on a creased poster. 

Although he was bilingual, his accent was quite more pronounced than his children. As such, he tended to speak a bit more slowly than the spiders, making it feel like he did not hurry for anything, or anyone.

“I don’t do business with those people. I ain’t about to start.” 

“Yeah okay, you’re gonna have to move on.” Vinnie took a seat close to the patriarch, as Jonathan knelt on his chair, arms crossed.

Anthony came to a stand next to the shark, casually resting his right arms on the table and on his hips. 

“What’s goin’ on?” 

The head of the family inhaled sharply, before he threw the poster on the table, towards his youngest son. Upon seeing an image of Valentino, Anthony couldn’t stop himself from opening wide eyes. He exchanged a gaze with Jonathan, who mirrored his expression. 

Vinnie tapped a finger on the poster, addressing the boss. 

“You’ve got to listen to me. I want to stay in his good graces, and so should you. It’s the perfect moment to strike a deal.” 

“He’s one of those queer weirdos. We don’t associate with that.”

“It’s not the forties anymore! Nowadays, they have rights and shit, and down here, they can be very powerful.”

He paused and looked at the two youngest spiders. 

“What about you guys? Any opinions on Valentino?”

As Anthony kept staring at the poster, Jonathan spoke up. 

“Word on the street is, he started signin’ deals, and he’s well on his way to becomin’ an Overlord.”

Anthony tore his eyes away from the poster to frown at his brother. Their father raised a brow, seemingly a bit more invested all of a sudden. 

“An Overlord, huh? Now that’s interestin’.” 

“Oh you rat bastard,” Anthony hissed at his brother. 

Jonathan smirked at him, but they both stopped when the boss slammed a fist on the table. 

“Shut up Anthony.”

“ I’m the word on the street! I told him!”

“And he’s the one who told me! God, you’ve always got your head in the clouds, why can’t you be more like him?”

Clenching all his fists, Anthony took a deep, calming breath as Vinnie looked up at the old spider, pointing a thumb towards the youngest. 

“Yeah, yeah, we know, Tony’s always been more like his mom and his sister. Can we get back to what matters now?”

“It’s a moot point anyway,” Anthony scoffed. “Your precious Johnny here decided to insult Valentino.”

“What?” The patriarch looked between his kids. “What are you talkin’ about?”

“Valentino was at a club we went to,” Jonathan calmly stated. “And he was comin’ unto Anthony.” 

As Vinnie raised a brow at Anthony, looking him up and down, the old arachnid jumped to his feet, seemingly outraged.

“He what?!”

Not daring to move, and barely breathing, Anthony gave his brother a warning glare. His fists were clenched so tight, it felt like his knuckles would turn even whiter. Thankfully, Jonathan kept his promise.

“I couldn’t just let it slide. So yeah, I gave him some choice words and told him to stay away from him.”

“Good man. Lookin’ out for your little brother like that.”

The boss reached over and patted his eldest son’s shoulder. He then looked at his youngest. 

“And you. What were you even doin’ with that prancin’ fairy?”

“It was his club, I was bein’ respectful.”

“That thing deserves none of our respect, Anthony.” 

“Oh that’s just great,” Vinnie interrupted. “I told him that if you didn’t all come to the meeting tomorrow, I’d at least–”

“Tomorrow?!” Anthony interrupted, looking between his brother and the shark. 

As he’d had enough of his youngest, the patriarch went around the table. Clearly knowing what was coming, Anthony took a step back but did nothing to defend himself from a slap across the face. 

“ Zitto .”

Jaw clenched, Anthony inhaled sharply and averted his gaze. The old arachnid then looked back at the shark, before he made his way back to his seat.

“Go on.”

“I told him I’d at least get Johnny and Tony to go to a casual meetin’, and if it went well, he might meet the boss.” He leaned back in his seat, looking between the two youngest. “But you just had to be a pair of fuckups.” 

“How were we supposed to know?” Jonathan straightened up. “I wasn’t even aware you dealt with him.” 

“As far as you’re concerned, he’s dealin’ with everyone. You’re old enough to know that by now. There’s no choice, you’re gonna have to do some damage control.”

“We’ll all go and here’s what’s gonna happen,” the boss said, turning his attention to his oldest. “You’re gonna apologize to the fairy, tell him you had no idea who he was and that you were merely lookin’ out for your family.”

“Okay, boss,” Jonathan sighed.

The patriarch then looked at Anthony, pointing at him. “As for you… I don’t even fuckin’ know. You’ll introduce yourself and then I want you to go and mingle. Find some girl to dance with so he knows you don’t swing that way.”

“Yes, sir,” Anthony breathed out, keeping his head low.

“Then again, can’t say I blame him. You look like an actual fruit, like a strawberry shortcake. Why aren’t you more like me or your brother?”

“I don’t know, dad, try as I might, I’ll never be an ugly gnome who can barely look over a kitchen table!”

“Oh fuck you, Tony!” Jonathan exclaimed.

“At least he’s not white and pink,” their father pointed out.

“I never asked to be reborn like this,” Anthony muttered, staring him down. “You know what’s queer, dad? Obsessing over colors like you do.”

“ Ti dico di stare zitto . I don’t know where your mother is, but I’m glad she’s not here to see you like this. She’d think you’re some kind of a finocchio! Sometimes I wonder if there was a mix up when you were born, ‘cause your sister was more of a man than you will ever–”

“Alright, this has been very productive,” Vinnie stood up. Like everyone else, he was quite used to the old spider’s endless string of insults for his youngest. “Tomorrow, 7 PM, Infernal Blaze. Tony, can I speak to you in private?”

Not even waiting for the answer, he waved goodbye at the other two before he made his way to the door. He went to the youngest spider’s room, leaving the door ajar. 

As Anthony made his way to the window, moreso to make sure there was no mark on his cheek rather than to look outside, the shark went to lean against a repurposed filing cabinet. 

Vinnie turned on the radio on top of it; it usually meant he didn’t want other people to hear what he had to say.

Seeing Anthony’s cautious expression, Vinnie casually raised both hands. “Don’t worry. You ain’t in any trouble.”

“Yeah, if you say so.” As his reflection looked just fine, Anthony spun around to look at the shark. “What did you wanna talk about?”

“Well, first of all… Happy birthday, kiddo.”

Taken aback, Anthony looked at the shark for a moment before he chuckled softly. “Thanks. I think he forgot what day it is.”

“He’s got a lot on his mind. And your mom was always the one who managed the birthdays.”

“Yeah, I guess…”

Humming in thought, the spider reached over towards his bedside table and picked up a rolodex, mindlessly flipping through the outdated cards. 

“So what’s my gift? Are ya gonna let me win at poker today?” 

“I ain’t that generous.” With a rather amused look, Vinnie shrugged. “My gift is gettin’ you outta there. I think we can both use a little space from your father when he gets like that.”

“Hell is havin’ to spend eternity around him and his bullshit. I’m fuckin’ dead and he’s still saying the crap he told me all my life.” 

“Eh, he’s lookin’ out for ya. He wants to toughen you up.” 

“If I toughen up anymore, imma turn into a goddamn diamond.” Lowering his voice, Anthony vaguely pointed in the direction of the conference room. “He’s the reason I started doin’ angel dust in the first place. He fuckin’ killed me.”

The shark sighed deeply before he raised a pacifying hand. “That’s enough. Deep breath and let’s move on.” 

He waited for Anthony to audibly exhale before he started pacing around the room, bringing his attention to the soulless, corporate artwork on the walls and trinkets from the old days.

“Alright, so… Before I call to confirm the meet and greet, can you tell me what happened between you and Valentino?”

Hesitating, Anthony looked back outside, taking another deep breath to think about it. 

He tried to think about what the moth demon might say; Valentino might talk about his reaction to the show, about how the spider smiled at him and clearly wanted more. 

But at the same time, it must have all been part of the show. Men like Valentino probably did not even care to remember the faces of all the people who were into them. 

If Anthony was lucky, the experience had been thoroughly forgettable for the winged demon. 

“He uh… He was performin’, I was standin’ at the end of his stage. I don’t know why, but he saw me and asked if I enjoyed the show. I wanted to be courteous and so I said I did.”

Vinnie stopped staring at an abstract piece to raise a brow at him. The spider sat on the edge of the window, looking at the empty building across the street.

“He followed me to the bar and told me the drinks were on the house. I refused his offer. Now, um… I guess that’s when it gets… kind of iffy. I-I was…” 

Unsure how to explain what happened, Anthony ran a hand through his hair. He looked back at the shark, frowning a little. 

“Johnny thinks he somehow did somethin’ to me. One moment I was ready to fight him off, but then, I just… I was just frozen on the spot. And… Ah, shit, it’s hard to talk about. He… behaved in a way I would never allow in public. But then, Johnny intervened and we left shortly after.”

“Yeah… I was kinda worried that would happen…” 

With a deep sigh, Vinnie came to sit on the bed, facing the spider. He took the rolodex away from him, a bit annoyed with how the youngest was messing with it.

“Alright, listen to me. You’re gonna have to be very careful around Valentino. I’ve known him for a little while now, and as far as I can tell, he’ll sleep with anyone. Anythin’ , really. But despite that, he seems to have a type and uh… You check a lot of his boxes.”

“Huh?” Anthony’s eyes uneasily shifted from side to side.

“Yeah. To be honest, I don’t even know if tellin’ him you ain’t interested will work.”

Unsure how to feel about this new information, Anthony crossed all three pairs of arms. “What should I do?”

“I think your dad’s right. You gotta introduce yourself and let us deal with him. Keep your distance until he forgets you even exist.”

“Damn, Vinnie, what the hell have you gotten us into?” 

The shark threw his hands up in exasperation. “Hey, I had a plan, but it went out the friggen window the moment you told him you like what he sells.”

“Okay fine, I gotcha. I’ll try and be as… I dunno, as unattractive as possible I guess?”

“Yeah but uh…” The shark rubbed at the back of his neck, briefly looking elsewhere. “Tony, just in case it comes to that… Look, I hate even suggestin’ it, but if it helps close the deal, would you…”

He never found it in himself to finish that sentence.

“Would I… what?” Now with a frown, Anthony stood up, staring down at Vinnie. “What are you–”

“I mean, I don’t know what he wants, but… When something catches his eye, Valentino can be uh...” Sounding a little unsure, the shark eventually stood up. “You know what, never mind.”

Before he could make his way to the exit, Anthony hurried ahead and blocked his way. 

“Hold it,” he said, slamming the door shut. “When you call, you keep my name outta your mouth, you hear me?” Anthony hissed, raising a finger to the shark’s face. “And if he talks about me, I don’t even wanna know.”

“Tony–”

“I’m warnin’ you, Vinnie. Don’t fuckin’ start that shit with me.”

The shark raised both hands in surrender. “Okay, okay…”

“I’m not for sale.”

“Of course not. I gotcha, kiddo.” 

Anthony reopened the door, allowing the shark to step out. He took a deep breath, before he followed him to the living room. He had been promised a game at the pool table, and he was intent on partaking.

His brother was already at the kitchen table, where he was already engrossed in a friendly game of poker with two of the sharks, while their father was already at the pool table; upon seeing his son, the old man smiled warmly at him and gestured with his head for him to come closer and join the game. 

“Let’s show these sharks how it’s done.”

Anthony smiled, as he picked up a cue. 

He won all the games he played with his dad, but when he played against him, it was a lot more of a challenge. He won some, lost some… But what really mattered was the old scorpion squeezing his shoulder and his proud smile whenever the youngest would sink the 8-ball in the end.

When Anthony wore makeup and a dress, he was an entirely different person. 

He shed off the skin of the hard-boiled mobster he once was, to become a beautiful, seductive creature of the night.

Angel Dust.

The lights of Fuego Azul made the black sequins of his dress shine in an enticing manner alongside his shimmery makeup and off-pink wig. The hot pink belt he wore snatched his waist in the right places, and his fishnets and boots brought attention to his long, athletic legs.

Going there was a risky choice, but he didn’t care. He had a few drinks, did some powder, and once he was in the mood, he let a dance partner take him to one of the private rooms. 

He danced with a blonde cyclops woman, purely because it was more fun and there were no expectations. Sometimes, women showed him dance moves he liked to incorporate into his routines.

He danced late into the night.

He did not see Valentino again.

Jonathan and his father both believed that Anthony’s personal money went towards copious amounts of drugs and hookers, but he actually used most of it for a tiny apartment where he stashed all his drag paraphernalia. 

He had lied to his brother. Yes, he could count his actual relationships on his fingers, but being a drag queen was expensive. Forty years was a very long time, and between the casual sex and the fact Angel was more than willing to get on his knees when there was money on the table, he had no idea how many people he had been with in that sense. 

Deep down, he aspired for someone to take care of him, but he didn’t really think it would ever happen.

Sometimes, he wondered if he would ever take anyone to his barely used bed. 

As he washed away the makeup, he caught himself thinking about Valentino, and what Vinnie had said about him. 

On one hand, he wasn’t sure what the shark meant by that, but it was nice that clearly, there was something in Anthony’s appearance that the moth demon liked. And sure, he was a handsome boy. More handsome, honestly, than a lot of the creatures down there. Much more handsome than the other specimens of his family, of course. 

But if it was Anthony that Valentino was into, well… It meant that perhaps he might not be into Angel Dust.

Sighing softly, he looked at himself in the mirror, flattening the fur on his chest. 

For a moment, he thought he could give up dressing as a woman for Valentino, should he want him to present as a man, but at the same time, how pathetic was that?

“God, Johnny’s right,” he told his reflection. “Valentino’s really doin’ somethin’ to ya.” 

He paused, taking a deep breath and letting his expression change back to this neutral look he had while working. 

“This fuckin’ butterfly thinks he can get whatever he wants, huh? Well not you. You’re better than this. Tomorrow, you’re gonna stay sober, keep your shit together, find a girl, and let him know you’re not to be toyed with.” 

He paused, before he turned on the faucet to splash cold water on his face. He dried himself off and looked back at himself. 

“Unless you give yourself up… Maybe if you let him have his way with you, he’ll throw you away, like all the others did…” 

Hating the way he glared at himself, Anthony reached over to shut the lights and left the washroom.

“Yeah. Get over yourself. You’re fuckin’ worthless, after all…”

As an actual creature of the night, Valentino tended to awake in the late afternoon.

In each of his clubs, he had a private room, and as such, as usual, he could faintly hear the music through the walls.

Looking around his mattress, he noticed that the two men and four women he had invited to his bed were still sleeping around him, except for a pair making out on the couch. 

Still sitting on his bed, he cleared his throat, loud enough for the horny couple to look at him, while the people around the bed stirred awake. 

“Good afternoon everyone. It’s time for all of you to leave,” he said in a sweet but authoritative tone. 

They whined a little, asked about the time and whatnot, but they did not argue. They just started getting dressed and making their way to the door. Valentino saw them off, thanked them for a wonderful evening and shut the door behind them. 

He went to wash the night away. 

Once this was done, he stepped out of the washroom, remaining in the nude. He made his way to a small table and pulled out a large planner. Squinting his eyes, he looked at what he had planned for the night. 

There was this meeting with the spiders. 

At first, Valentino had been mildly interested. After all, Vinnie the shark had not been a business partner for a long time, but the moth demon had expressed interest in meeting top of the line criminal elements in an effort to expand his own influence. 

***

“I’ve known the spiders for decades,” Vinnie had told him, as they spoke in the private office of Fuego Azul, around a nice bottle of rum. “They were Italian mafia.”

The moth demon leaned back in his chair, casually crossing his ankles on his desk. “I know the type. Never liked dealing with them, but I’ll make sure everything goes smoothly.”

“I gotta warn you though.” The shark couldn’t stop himself from looking at the winged demon’s high heels and fishnets. “You can’t sway their patriarch with your charms. He’s very stubborn and he’s from the last century, if you catch my drift.” 

“Yes, I can picture him already. Old, gruff, angry, conservative, never went down on his wife and thinks anything other than Missionary is frivolous...”

“I’m not sure about the stuff with his wife, but yeah, I think that’s the experience you’ll get. He’s actually very friendly, but not to… Well, not to you.” 

“What do you mean by that?” The winged demon frowned.

“Sorry?” 

“What is it he doesn’t like? Moths, or hispanics?” 

Clearly uneasy, the shark shifted his eyes away and sort of pulled on his collar. “I don’t think he’ll care about any of that.”

Valentino kept this frown on, before he chuckled. 

“I’m just teasing.” 

With a casual wave of the hand, he poured some more alcohol in both glasses. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to wear pants.” 

“Good to know.” Somewhat relieved, Vinnie laughed nervously, taking a generous sip. “I’ll try and get him to meet you, but knowing what he’s like, he’ll refuse and send his kids instead.”

“How about them?” Grinning, Valentino picked up his glass and mindlessly stirred the content. “Do you think they can be swayed , as you say?” 

“The oldest, no. He’s a less friendly version of his old man. But the youngest… eh, maybe?”

Seeing the way Valentino seemed instantly a bit more intrigued, the shark tried to fan his interest. 

“He’s my favorite, and I think you’ll like him too. He’s the artistic kind, he’s easygoin’, and he’s always been a lot more… flexible, if not malleable. Oh, and as a plus, he’s very good lookin’.” 

Upon seeing how the moth’s smile widened to a creepy extent, Vinnie felt he needed to dial it back a little. He uneasily shifted in his seat, clearing his throat. 

“But uh, don’t get the wrong idea. He’s untouchable.”

“Ay, Vinnie, you can stop now, I’m hard already.”

“Please, don’t say that to them.”

“I know how to behave.” Valentino chuckled. “But it’s the first time I’ve ever heard you talk about someone’s looks, he must really be exceptional.”

“Yeah, but I’ve also seen him take down entire gangs. He’ll shoot all six guns in your face if he has to.”

“How ‘untouchable’ can he be?” The moth asked, complete with air quotes. “He’s dead.”

“He didn’t die in a gunfight.”

Valentino thoughtfully watched the shark. Maybe it was not the intent, but to the moth, this sounded like a challenge.

“Alright, I’m sold, I can’t wait to meet that feisty creature.”

“That’s not the word I’d use, but you’ll see for yourself.”

Valentino pulled his legs away from the desk and downed his drink. “I’ll be free for a meeting with them tomorrow. Call me back with the time of their choosing.”

Later that same evening, Valentino put on a performance for the patrons of his club. 

There, in the crowd, he spotted an eye-catching mobster with eight limbs, bright fur, and an even brighter smile. 

He wondered if it had been their youngest. If so, Vinnie had not lied.

***

Valentino put the planner away and went to get dressed. He had promised the shark to wear pants, but he still enjoyed a low cut shirt displaying his piercings. Those tended to send older men into a fit, and it was a source of endless amusement to the moth. 

He couldn’t wait to see how that bright one might react. 

Truly, Valentino was getting excited at the thought.

At his family’s behest, and following Vinnie’s advice, Anthony put on his most classic suit for that night; an almost black number, its matching hat and a white shirt. His father made sure he did not put on his pink tie, but he would tolerate the one that matched his cherry colored eyes. 

The youngest did not really mind being forced to wear certain things, even if this was far from his first business meeting. His position in the family meant he was mostly expected to stand back, keep watch, and be ready to draw out his weapons. Unless directly addressed, he was to remain silent and let the grown ups do the talking. 

It was annoying, but he didn’t really mind posing as the strong, silent type to appease his family. 

When working, the trio behaved as an unbreakable front, even if behind doors was an inordinate amount of bitter infighting. 

As for this meeting, the spider was not entirely sure what he was expecting. On one hand, he really wanted Valentino to look past him and pretend he never saw him next to his stage.

But on the other hand… 

It felt like a storm was coming.

Compared to Fuego Azul, Infernal Blaze had a much less polished vibe to it. It was darker, with its deep red walls and smaller windows. Most of the tables were on the balcony, with a few scattered around the dance floor. There were neons of bright, clashing colors evenly distributed around the place, as well as risqué artwork. The dance floor was drenched in orange and purple lights.

Even Valentino’s personal office had similar tones. Usually, he would have been mingling with patrons and perhaps finding someone to spend the night with, but he did not wish to be disturbed before the meeting with the eight-legged freaks. 

Once it was time for the meeting, he stood at the one way mirror, looking down at the flow of dancers. He was smoking, exhaling the smoke directly against the window. God, did he hope that dazzling spider would show up tonight. 

When something caught his fancy, he hated to let it go. 

Upon hearing a knock at the door, Valentino stopped staring down there. 

“Come in,” he called. 

A member of his staff opened the door, just enough to let his head through. “Sir? Vinnie’s here for your meeting.”

“Finally.” The moth demon gestured for his employee to lead him to them. “Have they ordered something?” 

“Not yet, sir.”

“Let’s hope they’re thirsty.”

Valentino followed the goat looking creature; as he approached a nice table at the end of the balcony, Vinnie was the first to see and greet him. With a smile, the shark stood up and went around the tables, arms spread out. 

“Valentino, it’s good to see you.” 

“Vinnie,” the moth demon smiled rather warmly as he hugged him. He then brought his attention to the spiders, who were all standing as well. “Good evening, gentlemen. My name is Valentino, and welcome to Infernal Blaze.”

It wasn’t difficult to guess the sort of dynamics in that family; from the way a large and relatively tall one came to shake his hand without looking too closely, it appeared this was their patriarch.

It was easy to say they were spiders, but it would have been more accurate to call them arachnids. The boss was a fuzzy looking scorpion. Aside from his large stature and long, wispy eyebrows, his most important feature was his tail, and the moth demon couldn’t help wondering how it would feel to have that stinger strike right between his eyes. He then wondered if the old man could screw people with that thing.

Valentino bowed down a little to better look at him, smiling pleasantly.

“It’s a pleasure meeting you.”

As expected, the old man looked him up and down, and Valentino couldn’t help noticing the way he frowned a bit more at the sight of his piercings. Vinnie had been right though; he seemed to be a good sport about the whole thing, for he warmly put a hand on the winged demon’s shoulder before he gestured towards his kids. 

“Let me introduce my sons. This is Jonathan, my oldest.”

To Valentino, that thing evoked some kind of very tiny tarantula.

He was glad the diminutive spider was standing on his chair, otherwise he would have had to practically bend over to be at eye level. He reached for his hand, his smile a bit more forced.

“Ah yes, I remember you.”

“Mr. Valentino.” Even if the handshake was over, he kept holding the moth demon’s fingers. “I’d like to take a moment to apologize for my behavior yesterday. The drinks were strong and I overreacted to the way you uh....” He sort of designated the last spider with one hand, but then he just left it at that. “I overreacted.” 

The protective kind.

The first born male looked smart and responsible. Valentino imagined he was the type of man who believed only he was allowed to mess with his baby brother, and anyone else who tried would suffer swift retaliation.

The lack of discernible pupils meant that Valentino could seemingly look at Jonathan, while keeping his attention elsewhere. 

Currently, he was looking towards the creature he’d tried to seduce the previous night; the way he looked at Valentino was not entirely out of professional interest. There was something in his softened stare that made the moth demon believe this spider would soon belong to him.

However, their patriarch went around the table; he stood behind his chair and put a hand on the boy’s shoulder, whispering something in his ear. Valentino’s prey immediately shrank and lowered his head.

The moth demon fully focused on Jonathan once more, his smile and tone pleasant.

“Don’t worry, I completely understand. But speaking of, I don’t do business on a dry throat.” Valentino straightened up, gesturing for his employee to come closer. He addressed the patriarch. “What will you have? Everything’s on the house, of course.” 

“That’s very generous of you,” The old man said. “I’ll have an Old Fashioned.”  

“Bring me a whisky,” Vinnie addressed the waiter directly. 

“I’ll take whatever dark ale you’ve got,” Jonathan said. 

Valentino’s gaze finally landed on the last member of the family. He remained quiet for a moment, just watching the way he kept his head lowered, the brim of his hat hiding his eyes. But even then, Valentino could see his gold tooth and how it catched the ambient lighting. He could almost feel the unease radiating from him.

The youngest. Most likely overlooked and neglected. 

“What about you, ¿hermoso? ” Valentino leaned down a little, to try and catch his eyes. 

“Ah, right,” the boss said, warmly patting the boy’s back. “I believe you met already. This is Anthony, my youngest.”

“Anthony…” The moth demon repeated softly. “How nice, seeing you again.”

He was gorgeous. But more than that, the eight-legged creature was exploitable. 

The way Anthony had reacted to the show had been out of the ordinary; he had let Valentino draw uncomfortably close, touched him, smiled, expressed a deeply repressed desire… 

But obviously, he had to behave much differently around his mobster family.

***

“Funnily enough, I saw a pair of arañas earlier today,” Valentino had told Vinnie, upon being called about the meeting. “A small gray one with a bunch of asymmetric red eyes. He was very underwhelming. But then, there was a very pretty one. Tall, whitish fur, gold tooth, different colored eyes…”

“Yeah, that’s who I was telling you about,” Vinnie sounded a little hesitant. “I just spoke to him, and uh… He said he was being polite and you were behavin’ inappropriately.”

Valentino had erupted in laughter at that.

There was something… 

Something irresistible, in that little mobster.

And it filled Valentino with a barely contained possessive rage. 

If only Anthony’s brother and father were not in the way… He could just take him, body and soul. 

***

The youngest finally looked up at Valentino. Upon seeing his unsure expression, the winged one smiled even more, holding out his hand to shake. Anthony looked at it, before he managed a friendly but uneasy smile, walking over to take his hand. 

“Mr. Valentino, I think there’s been a bit of a misunderstandin’ the other day. If we can move past this, I look forward to doin’ business with ya.”

“So do I,” Valentino purred. With an amused look, the moth pulled his hand to his lips to kiss it. To his satisfaction, he did not feel the spider trying to pull away, despite how wide eyed he was for a moment. “I was afraid I’d scared you off.”

“I don’t scare easy, sir.”

Letting his urges win, Valentino wrapped his tongue around one of Anthony’s soft, delicate fingers, bringing it between his teeth. As the youngest tensed up and his smile froze, Valentino could see Vinnie gesture for the patriarch and Jonathan to settle down. 

"Uh, okay, um..." Anthony carefully pulled his hand away, keeping a very neutral expression. “If anyone needs me, I’ll be at the bar.” 

With an amused smile, Valentino watched as Anthony walked past him to make his way to the stairs. 

The spider took off his jacket and folded it over his arm. As no one was looking at him, he looked at his hand, finding a red residue in his pink fur. He went down the stairs and walked past an empty table, where he picked up a clean napkin. But before he could wipe it away, he brought his hand up and discretely smelled the red stuff.

It smelled sweet. Disgustingly so, a bit like grenadine. 

He wasn’t sure what possessed him to do so, but as no one was looking, he discreetly pressed the tip of his tongue against his finger.

Realizing just how disgusting this behavior was, he sighed and finally wiped it off.

Once on the main floor, he went around the dancers and made his way to the bar, looking around for a woman he might be able to convince to dance for the rest of the evening. 

As he reached the bar, he was quite surprised to see a familiar looking blonde cyclops; the punk woman was chatting with the bartender, smiling warmly. 

Anthony had had such a great time with her the previous night, he felt rather confident as he came to stand next to her. He leaned over the counter and rested a cheek against a hand, with his most charming smile. 

“Hi. Can I buy you a drink?” he said. 

At first, she looked kind of annoyed. She then looked him up and down, and ended up snorting. 

“Aren’t you the crossdresser from yesterday?”

Blinking, Anthony’s smile faded away as he straightened up. “Uh… I uh–”

“Yeah! Let’s have some drinks.” She patted the seat next to hers before she addressed the bartender again. “I’ll have a Sex on the Beach.” She briefly looked at Anthony, as he put his jacket on the back of the chair. “You had a Cosmo yesterday, right?” 

“Yeah, but I’ll have a Manhattan for now.”

“Sure thing,” the bartender said as he went to work. 

The punk spun in her seat to better look at the spider, as he sat next to her. “You make a very convincing gal, but you’ve got some very striking features. That’s how I recognized you so fast… even if I could have sworn you only had four arms.”

“Yeah, okay, thanks,” Anthony smiled a little nervously. “Can we not talk about that here? I’m dressed as a man for a reason.” 

“Oh, gotcha.” Elbow resting on the counter, she kept grinning. “Why are you dressed like a gangster? You even got the fedora.” As he hastily took it off, she erupted in laughter. “Nah, keep it on, I like the style it gives you.” 

Upon getting the drinks, Anthony held out money to pay for the bartender, but once again, he informed him that it was on the house. Hearing that, Cherri whistled. 

“Wow, do you know the owner or something?” 

“I’m startin’ to.”

She raised her eyes to the balcony, and in doing so, she spotted Valentino. And with him, a shark and two arachnids. A dark colored one was actually watching her intently. She stuck her tongue out at him, before she looked back at Anthony. “Who’s that little guy up there?” 

Looking over his shoulder, Anthony obviously spotted the eight red eyes peering at him. “That’s my big brother, Johnny.” 

“He’s kinda cute, in that suit–” She paused, looking once again at the four men around the table. “You’re actually a gangster.”

Remaining very calm, Anthony downed his drink. He was about to ask her not to make a big deal out of it, but she laughed. 

“That’s so cool! What do they think of–”

“They don’t know, and I’d really like to keep it that way.”

She grinned even more. “Holy shit, that’s so hardcore!” She addressed the bartender again. “Hey, I want four shots of B52!” She then held out her hand for Anthony to shake. “I don’t think I told you my name. I’m Cherri Bomb.” 

“Cherri Bomb?” He took her hand and, upon catching sight of Valentino looking at him, he brought her hand to his lips. She rolled her eye at what he was doing, but did nothing to pull away. “What does that mean?” 

“It means I win all my fights with pyrotechnics. What about you?”

“Anthony.” 

“Anthony? Come on, you can’t have such a boring name…!”

Giving a look around, he leaned a bit closer to her, with a very different smile, and very different tone of voice. “You can call me Angel Dust.”

The bartender handed them the drinks, and Cherri offered half of them to the spider. She downed hers, soon imitated by him. She sighed in pleasure before she stood up. 

“Speaking of… There’s a vending machine outside. Ya wanna do some PCP and get on the dance floor?” 

“Ah shit, I’d love to but, I’m uh…” He gestured with his head towards the balcony, running a hand through his hair. “I’m kinda on the clock.”

“Then, why aren’t you with them? And for that matter, why does it look like– but doesn’t feel like– you’re trying to get into my pants?”

“I’m not…! It’s… Look, it’s complicated, okay?”

“Alright, tell me all about it while we dance, and let’s see if I can change your mind!”

Valentino was quite glad to see that those gangsters were a lot more relaxed after a few drinks. What had started on a rather rocky basis felt a bit better now that Jonathan and his father had some alcohol in their bloodstream. 

“I never liked this guy,” Vinnie was saying, casually smoking a cigar. “Those Greed circle demons? I don’t trust ‘em.”

“That’s what I’m sayin’,” the scorpion patriarch said. “No loyalty. Not to their partners, nor friends or family. It’s a miracle they can do anythin’ at all.” 

“You know that’s the name of the game,” Valentino crossed his arms on the table, grinning. “Family is one thing, but I believe you forge these bonds in blood. Despite what I am and what I do, I don’t fuck over my partners.”

“No offense, Mr. Valentino,” the patriarch raised a brow at the winged demon, “I just saw you being inappropriate with my kid. How do we know we can trust you?”

“That was just a bit of harmless fun.”

“Was I dreamin’ when you licked his fingers?”

“I didn’t feel him pull his hand away.”

“My son wasn’t raised in a barn. He shows you respect, and he should expect the same from you.”

There was a bit of a pause, as Valentino thoughtfully stared at the patriarch. He glanced at Jonathan, who looked clearly uneasy, before he finally brought his attention to the shark. 

“Have I fucked you over since I’ve known you?” 

“Absolutely not," Vinnie instantly answered. "Look, he likes to uh… provoke reactions, but Valentino’s always kept his promises.” 

“So uh, tell us again what you want us to do?” Jonathan stopped sipping on his beer to ask the moth.

“It’s a very easy job, and I know you’re great at it. You meet the Greed demons, you pay, they give you the stuff, and everybody’s happy.” 

“And you ain’t goin’ yourself, because…?”

“We had a bit of an argument last time, and they made it clear they never wanted to see me, or sharks, ever again.”

Valentino lit up his cigarette, letting the arachnids think about it. 

“If it sweetens the deal, there are some very nice advantages in knowing me,” the moth looked between the patriarch and his son, leaning over the table a little. “Narcotics are one thing, but my actual business is flesh. I employ the finest entertainers in this circle of Hell. If you find something in my lineup that meets your fancy… It’s yours.” 

“That’s very interestin’ and all, but you haven’t talked about what’s in it for you.” The spider frowned at him. 

“I wish to invest,” Valentino looked at the small spider. “You’re saying family’s the only thing you can count on, right? I want to deepen that bond.” Leaning back in his chair, Valentino blew the smoke in the air, before he brought an intense stare to their boss. “I want your youngest.”